THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



221 



The Yew is a very ancient form of vegetEtion and 

 really belongs to past geological ages. The present 

 forms are very broadly dispersed over the north temper- 

 ate zone. 



Ta.viis hih'catu, English \'e\v, is indigenfjus throngii 

 Europe to northern India. There are numerous garden 

 \arieties, including the well-known Irish Yew. 



'J'a.viis canadensis. Canadian Yew, is the .\nierican rep- 

 resentative of this family. 



Taxns Cus/^idata, the Japanese. 



In addition to these there is a Florida one. Ta.viis tlori- 

 dana and one from ^lexico, Ta.vns globosa. 



Botanists are of the opinion they are all geographical 

 varieties of one species that through the ages have 

 adapted themselves to the conditions under wliich they 

 are growing. 



The yews thrive in almost any soil and are wcmilerfulh- 

 tenacious of life when once established, endure shade 

 well and so make admirable plants for small city yards. 



Unfortunately, they are not particularly hardy and suf- 

 fer from dry frosty winds in winter, especialh- when ex- 

 posed to the winter sun, so that it is better to protect 

 them in much the same way as the Rhododendrons re- 

 quire ; in fact. Rhododendrons and yews thrive under 

 about the same conditions. As far as hardiness is con- 

 cerned, the Canadian "^'ew is considered the hardiest, but 

 a writer in Xational X urserynian sa)s he has seen them 

 winter kill when the Japanese and luiglish came through 

 unharmed. 



MAKING A ROCK GARDEN. 



The pleasure of Iniilding a rock garden is interestingly 

 described by a contributor to the Gardeners' Maga::ine 

 ( r.ritish ). The many varieties of plants, with their wide- 

 ly different habits, make the work a most fascinating one. 

 Careful study of the suitable environments of the various 

 rockery plants is necessary for success. Some of them 

 thrive l^est behind sheltered boulders out of the reach of 

 the sun's scorching ra}s : some where they can flaunt 

 themselves on the driest and warme>t slope, while others 

 must be planted nearly perpendicularly in order to pre- 

 vent the moisture lodging in their hearts and rotting the 

 ])lants. He says it is possible in a rock garden, or a 

 rockery, to produce something in bloom from January — 

 when Saxifraga Burseriana uplifts its brave little head to 

 face the wintry blast — to mid-December, when a stray 

 bloom of Primula capitata may glow deeply purple, its 

 stem and calyx white powdered, like the snowflakes fall- 

 ing softlv around it. 



But .May. June and Jul\ are the heyda}' of alpines ; 

 then color antl scent are alike rampant, and the rock 

 garden a dream of fairj'-like lieauty. Campanulas tumble 

 over, the gray stones like shimmering waterfalls, and 

 Dianthuses gi\-e oft their warm, luscious fragrance. Au- 

 brietias, mauve and purple serve as a background to show 

 up the golden stars of the St. John's Wort, while the sil- 

 very edelweiss, and sky-blue Gentians and Primulas, my- 

 riad-hued, from every clime, complete a group whose 

 brilliance is well-nigh dazzling. 



One of the greatest arguments in favor of a rock gar- 

 den is its wonderful faculty for "coming up smiling" 

 under the most untoward circumstances. A night of 

 rain and storm has laid low the herbaceous border, but 

 no sooner does the sun shine out again than rock Prim- 

 ulas, creeping Antirrhinums, and Avens and Mimulus, 

 St. John's Worts, .Sedums and Saxifrages, Androsaces 

 and Lithospermums are glowing and scintillating in all 

 their prismatic colors, unruffled and unharmed. Other 

 advantages are that alpines need no tedious tying up, 

 no ugly sticks to support them, and for anyone who has 



only a small garden, and not much time to work in it, 

 rock plains yield the best return in point of effect and 

 interest. 



.\nother thing to be remarked is that alpines are not 

 naturally delicate, although it is worth while to humor, 

 even to pamper them, until the tiny plants are firmly es- 

 tablished. .-K ]iane of glass is often very efficacious in 

 a damp winter, and we always dress the plams with 

 some leaf-mold in autumn, and put sand round their 

 crowns. Under this treatment, more as a preventive than 

 a necessity, even Prinnila \Mnteri, accustomed to the 

 rare, clear atmosphere of the high Himalayas, riourishes 

 and I)looms in profusion. 



A WEEPING STANDARD ROSE. 



."-luch perfect specimens of weeping standar<l roses as 

 the one here figured are not, we venture to say, of very 

 frequent occurrence. This particular plant is the well- 

 known Dorothy Perkins, Inidded upon a brier stock at a 

 height of 6 feet from the ground. The total height of the 



.si'i;ci.\U:,.\ vvi;icri»\G sianii.vku rose, dorotiiy perkins. 



specimen was 9 feet, and the diameter 4 feet 6 inches, so 

 that it forms a beautifully symmetrical oval. When pho- 

 tographed there were several growths 12 feet long. Such 

 vigor is only possible when the tree has all that its nature 

 demands. Every chance was given it from tiie first, for 

 before planting took place, a hole was dug 3 feet by 5 

 feet, 9 inches of broken bricks were placed at the bottom 

 and fresh turfs, with the grass side downward, were laid 

 over these. A good mi.xture of clayey loam was then 

 filled in, choj)ped up roughly with decayed cow and horse 

 manure, also a fair proportion of burned earth and 

 vegetable matter. 



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