i8g6. 



• GARDENING. 



23 



A VIEW IN FAIRMOUNT PARK, PHILADELPHIA. 



ful. If raj theory be correct, kindly in- 

 form me what vines will both flower and 

 keep green until cut down by frost, aud 

 whether cypress (I. quamoclit) , canary- 

 bird flower and thunbergia can be de- 

 pended on for the desired object. 

 Strasburg, Pa. S. N. W. 



The idea is a pretty one. Now as that 

 wire netting is going to be a permanent 

 coveting make a good, neat and strong 

 job of it. Very few annual vines are fitted 

 for the place because they grow up, bloom, 

 ripen seed and die all before frost comes, 

 and some like moonfiower, that will last 

 till frost comes, are a little coarse. Maur- 

 andia Barclayana and Lophospermum 

 scandens raised from seed every year 

 should suit you; and the thunbergia, too, 

 will grow there. The cypress and other 

 quamoclit vines will grow there all right, 

 but we think others would suit you bet- 

 ter; the same with canary creeper. If 

 not too hot and dry hyacinth bean (Do - 

 lichos) would be pretty. But why not 

 use perennials instead? If you plant 

 Clematis Flammula and C. paniculata 

 and C. graveolens and cut them down to 

 the ground every winter and let them 

 grow up afresh they would never get 

 naked at the bottom or unwieldy at the 

 top. A lew plants of Ipomcsa paniculata 

 would help you out wonderfully, they 

 would grow well, bloom all summer and 

 up till frost, then you could dig up the 

 tubers, winter them as you would dahlias 

 and plant them out again in spring. The 

 madeira vine would stand the same treat- 

 ment. It will require a little training and 

 pruning to restrict the vine to a 4 or 5 

 loot limit. 



dazzling in coloring. Hardy azaleas, 

 rhododendrons, irises and paeonies are to 

 be found almost everywhere in great va- 

 riety and have been used to good advan- 

 tage in producing artistic effect, as may 

 be seen in the group illustrated herewith. 

 Planted in front of the bright colored 

 dwarf Japanese maples, the contrast of 

 colors is particularly charming. 



German and Japanese irises, by the way, 

 deserve special attention. Their extreme 

 hardiness, profuse and gorgeous flower- 

 ing and adaptability to most soils and 

 situations ought to make them still more 

 popular than they are. A. B. 



FAIRMOUNT PARK, PfllLA. 



It is in the early spring months that 

 our brightest views are seen in Fairmount 

 Park. Many of the borders are simply 



POTASH MAKES BEGONIAS BLOOM. 



Tuberous begonias vary in the amount 

 of bloom, being all that could be desired 

 one year and the next very disappointing. 

 This year for the first time our bed has 

 been unsatisfactory. Heavily manured 

 with old cow manure and bone flour, the 

 plants grew all right, but the quantity of 

 bloom was very small, and the appear- 

 ance of the bed in contrast with other 

 years was so marked as to excite com- 

 ments which were not very gratifying. 

 We felt that when the plants had received 

 the same treatment as formerly, that pos- 

 sibly there might be some element lacking, 

 and as they had abundance of nitrogen 

 and phosphoric acid in the manure and 

 bone, we thought the experiment, if ap- 

 plying potash might reach the difficulty, 

 so to each large pail of liquid manure 

 made from stable dressing, we added 

 about one table spoonful of dissolved 

 muriate of potash, and thoroughly wet 

 the bed several times. This of course gave 

 an excess of potash. The result was 

 gratifying in every respect and the differ- 

 ence was so quickly manifested we con- 

 cluded the lack of bloom was owing to an 

 insufficient quantity of potash in the soil. 

 Plants that all summer did not have a 

 bloom and others which had small in- 



significant flowers, at once threw up 

 strong flower stems and the blooms came 

 freely as in former years, and of the usual 

 size and a fine color, and the bed is now a 

 beautiful sight. We thought possibly 

 this lack of potash might be the cause of 

 the plants acting as Gardening has men- 

 tioned. Any way, we give you our ex- 

 perience for what it is worth. 



F. C. Curtis. 

 Bath, Maine, Sept. 25, '96. 



ROCKY MOUNTAIN BLUE COLUMBINE. 



W. S., writes: "I sent to Colorado and 

 got some seed of the blue columbine 

 (Aquilegia cccrulea) as advised in Gar- 

 dening as being the most likely way to 

 get the genuine article, and the seedlings 

 are now up. Shall I have to bring them 

 indoors over winter?" 



Arts. If the seedlings look well, and 

 have a fairly good hold of the ground we 

 believe they will live as well out in the 

 open garden where they germinated as 

 they will if lifted into a frame, greenhouse 

 or window. The species is hardy enough 

 and its home in the Rocky Mountains is a 

 far more rigorous country than is the 

 Atlantic seaboard. Just lay a pine or 

 spruce branch over them in winter to save 

 them from hot sunshine and break the 

 winds, also to hold thesnow about them. 



2. "And seedlings of Asclepias tube- 

 rosaV 



Ans. Treat as advised above for the 

 columbines. 



PORCH DECORATION. 



It is sometimes convenient to shade the 

 western end of a porch from the rays of 

 the afternoon's sun, but at the same time 

 there may be certain effective views that 

 should not be entirely cut off. Thrifty 

 vines will in due time produce the desired 

 screen, and their density will soon shut 

 out any view that should in a measure be 

 retained. We have windows in our 



