December 9, 1911 



HORTICULTURE 



7V»3 



Two Useful Tenants of the Herbaceous Border 



Pyrethrum roseum, the Pink Marguerite. 



The real charm of daisies, using 

 the name in tin- broad, popular 

 meaning applied to flowi i - of bo- 

 tanicallj entirely differenl plan! 

 3pei ies, is i heir eharacterisi ic sim- 

 j > 1 l » ■ i i \ . Through ages civi ized man- 

 kind has loved the modest beaut) 

 of all those plain single Bowers com- 

 monly called daisies. At the ap- 

 proach of each Bpring we greei the 

 small blossoms of the wild Bellis 

 pcrennis on the sunny meadow with 

 gladdening eyes. It is our firsi 

 daisy, true to its name. Horticul- 

 tural pursuits soon bring about the 

 acquaintance with Chrysanthemum 

 frutescens, the Paris daisy, or Mar- 

 guerite and its more pretentious 

 semi-double and double offspring of 

 recent date. We, too. learn to ap- 

 preciate the merits of Chrysanthe- 

 mum maximum, known as the 

 Shasta daisy, and its numerous 

 more or less distinct varieties claim- 

 ing recognition as such. What I 

 have mentioned of cultivated types 

 so far, however, appears chiefly con- 

 spicuous by the immaculate glistening white of won- 

 derful regular rows of petals. The desire to produce 

 flowers of the same classic form in various clear dis- 

 tinct color-shades has led many of us to try to solve the 

 apparently vexatious task of growing the brilliant hued 

 Cape daisy, Gerbera Jamesoni and its various new hy- 

 brids. The repeated failures in this direction are very 

 apt to induce the North to a higher valuation of the 

 hardy Pyrethrum roseum, frequently called the pink 

 daisy, or the pink Marguerite. Of perfect form, the 

 color scale of its numerous garden hybrids reaching 



Mo\ \u>\ didi \t \. 



from pure while to almost dark crimson makes the 

 flowers a splendid material for vases, table decoration 

 and even for fancy design work. 



Pyrethrum roseum is I rennial par excellence for 



choice outdoor effects. A.s a native of the Caucasus 

 mountains it is under proper winter cover perfectly 

 hardy as far north as Canada. The requirements for a 

 thrifty growth are a rich, rather light garden soil, suf- 



Photo l'y courtesy of Mt Desert Xnrseries 5 



Pyrethrum htbridi \i roseum 



ficiently drained and an open sunny exposure. South 

 of Boston it appears at its best during May and June, 

 while farther north the flowering season extends well 

 into the month of July. Under normal conditions 

 plants attain a height of from 2 to 3 feet. The old 

 stalks removed in time causes the plants to lightly 

 bloom again in the fall. Pyrethrum roseum can be 

 easily raised from seed which, however, only to a cer- 

 tain percentage comes true to color. For special color 

 scheme arrangement- it is therefore more advisable to 

 buy previously assorted plants. 



In modern garden planting with its tendency for 

 higher values in artistic floral effects Pyrethrum roseum 

 and its new single and double hybrids represent a ma- 

 terial which no landscape gardener or garden owner at 

 present can afford to overlook. 



MONARDA DlDYMA. 



There is no scarcity of perennials which, as strong 

 stately specimen-, shovi to their best advantage when 

 placed singly: be it as nucleus of mixed herbaceous 



borders, or on conspic a places as forerunners of shrub 



plantations, or as solitary ornaments on the small sheets 

 of lawn of city house front or back yards. As a few in- 

 stances I mention Gunnera scabra, Yucca filamentosa. 

 Funkia subcordata grandiflora and nearly all the peonies. 

 Again there is a large number which should be planted 

 from the very start in sufficient number and close enough 

 for a good and early mass effect. In the latter class we 

 must count - : ered singly here and 



there the] are ap1 to be lost to vision together 



in clumps of Libei however, they become at once 



interesting, impressive, and while in bloom, decidedly 

 handsome A- natives of our hemisphere monardas I 

 long to our hardiest flowering herbaceous plants in 

 northern States Their characteristic erect, at the 

 branching growth, the aromatic foliage and the blosson 

 forming dense heads or whorls -urrounded by bracts, 

 make an ideal material for border planting. 



Extensive popularity has developed quite a number of 

 common names such as Horse-Mint, Bee-Balm, Oswego 



