28 



Garden Topics. 



trees and all fruit trees have domestic char- 

 acter which brings them into relationship 

 with man. They have lost, in a great meas- 

 ure, the wild nature of the forest tree, and 

 have crown humanized by contributing to 

 his wants ; they have become a part of his 

 family, and their individual character is as 

 well understood and appreciated as those of 

 the human members. One tree is harsh and 

 crabbed, another mild ; one is churlish and 

 illiberal, another exhausts itself with its 

 free-hearted bounties. Even the shapes of 

 apple trees have great individuality, in such 

 strange postures do they put themselves, and 

 thrust their contorted branthes grotesquely 

 in all directions. And when they have 

 stood around a house for many years, and 

 held converse with successive dynasties of 

 occupants, and gladdened their hearts so 

 often in the fruitful autumn, then it would 

 seem almost sacrilege to cut them down.'' 



Vases and Baskets. — Mr. Vick, in his 

 Floral Guide., expresses himself strongly in 

 favor of garden vases. 'Of all the adorn- 

 ments of the lawn, nothing is more effective 

 than a well filled and a well kept vase. Of 

 course it is better to have one of a graceful 

 form ; but almost anything will look well if 

 adorned with healthy, and particular!}^ droop- 

 ing plants. It is not of much importance 

 what the plants are, if they are only vigorous. 

 All the ornamental- leaved plants are ap- 

 propriate for the top or center of the vase, 

 while a few drooping plants should be placed 

 near the edge and allowed to hang or droop 

 at least half way to the ground. For this 

 purpose the Verbena or the Petunia will 

 answer. Indeed, few plants appear better 

 than a good strong Petunia. 



My readers, I presume, have often ob- 

 served that vases that arc well planted, and 

 for a season in the spring appear promising, 

 and give encouraging signs of future heauty, 

 about mid-summer become very unsightly, 

 and continue to grow worse until they are 

 really ugly, and are finally removed. This, 

 my observation induces me to believe, is the 

 fate of three-fourths of the vases that are 

 purchased in the spring and planted with 



great care. There is one cause, and only 

 one for all this difficulty, a want of water. 

 The plants are allowed to dry up, root and 

 branch. They may get a sprinkling once 

 in a week or so, but this is useless, at least 

 so far as preserving the health or lives of 

 the plants are concerned. 



People do not seem to understand why, if 

 their flowers do without watering, their 

 vases cannot. Please to observe tliat only 

 the upper surface of the flower beds are ex- 

 posed to sun and air, while at the bottom is 

 the cool, moist subsoil. Then there is a 

 large body of earth, and if the bed becomes 

 drier than the surrounding earth it soon 

 absorbs moisture from the more moist earth 

 around, like a sponge. In a vase you have 

 but a few quarts of earth, while it is exposed 

 to sun and drying winds on four sides, which 

 soon takes every drop of moisture from the 

 earth and the plants famish. 



Place your hand on a vase any time in a 

 July day, and you will not wonder that your 

 plants need plenty of watering. To remedy 

 this defect, or rather to prevent the rapid 

 evaporation of moisture from the earth, 

 double vases have been devised, with a 

 space between, filled with water. Some 

 line their vases with moss, but we have 

 found this altogether unnecessary. We 

 have but one rule, and never fail to have 

 gorgeous vases. Our rule is to give the 

 earth a thorough soaking every evening, 

 and the leaves a good showering from the 

 nose of a watering-pot. We care nothing 

 for heat or drouth, or any patent contrivan- 

 ces. By the middle of the season we could 

 sell every vase we have on our grounds for 

 more than double their real worth, and to per- 

 sons who started in the spring with vases as 

 good and as promising as our own, but who 

 allow their plants to perish for lack of water. 



Blue King is the name of a new and 

 really good blue-colored bedding Pansy, 

 just introduced in English gardens. The 

 flowers are described as fine in form, of a 

 deep, vivid blue color, with a bright and con- 

 spicuous yellow eye. It is not liable to sport, 

 ' nor to be scorched by the summer's suu.j 



