164 



• ' • GARDENING. 



Feb. is, 



out just as soon as the frames can be 

 had, which will be about the 15th of 

 April. By doingthis you can have stocks 

 in flower very early; the antirrhinums 

 will last the longest, but then everybody 

 likes the ten-week stocks. What you 

 plant is merely a matter of taste so long 

 as you plant something; and I think you 

 will be well repaid for the extra trouble. 

 David Fraser. 



flERBAGEOUS PLANTS FOR LOW AND DAMP 

 BORDERS. 



A great number of our hardy plants de- 

 light in moist ground, others may really 

 require the opposite conditions, and still 

 another very large section, which we gen- 

 erally- consider to do well in any ordidary 

 good garden soil, are also suitable for the 

 lower ground, but in this case it is often 

 necessary that the land should be well 

 drained. 



If the ground should be so low as to al- 

 low the surface water to gather in larger 

 or smaller pools in spring or during pro- 

 longed heavy rains at any time in the 

 year, the land must be drained or else the 

 lowest point maybe dug out a trifle more 

 and the surrounding ground graded off 

 so as to drain all surface water into the 

 depression, wherebog plants might find a 

 suitable home. Or if the land be springy 

 we could create an additional attraction 

 by laying out a pond of larger or smaller 

 dimensions even though there be not 

 enough water in the dry season to supply 

 a constant flow; we could prevent this 

 pool of water from getting stagnant by 

 planting all sorts of water plants in and 

 around the little pond. 



The surrounding ground can, if neces- 

 sary, all be tiled and drained into this de- 

 pression, then the borders may be laid 

 out according to individual fancy and 

 taste. As to water plants I shall have 

 nothing to say; 1 leave that part to such 

 experienced men as Messrs. Pettigrew, 

 Tricker, Bissett and others whose fre- 

 quent suggestions can safely be followed 

 in all cases. 



Trees and shrubs may seemingly be in 

 the way of the border. I would rather 

 not disturb any of them; you can manage 

 nearly always to get around these ob- 

 stacles in one way or anothei; we do not 

 care for straight lines nor for an even 

 width in these borders; projections and 

 recesses will add considerable to the 

 beauty and general aspect; no matter 

 how abruptly or sudden those bends in 

 the outlines may appear to our eyes be- 

 fore the plants are introduced, by proper 

 planting they may be so constructed as 

 to form the most interesting features in 

 the borders. 



In the projecting parts, plants of medi- 

 um or taller growth may find a home, 

 screening from our view, as we approach, 

 the lower subjects in the recess until we 

 are close to or opoosite this spot, which 

 coming on us unexpectedly is appreciated 

 all the more, especially if it contains some 

 rare or particularly interesting plants. 



In the lowest part or near the water's 

 edge Iris Ksempl'erii will be right at 

 home; don't scatter them all around but 

 form a compact mass of them; you can't 

 make the patch too large. For finishing 

 off the edges, the variegated I. pseudo 

 acorus var. can be used, so will either the 

 red or white monarda answer the pur- 

 pose and if the red color is for some rea- 

 son objectionable, take Chelone ohliqua, 

 C. obi. alba, C. glabra, or the beautiful 

 C.I.yonii, all of which bloom until very- 

 near October. Cardamine pratense fl. pi. 

 will grow luxuriantly here, sending up its 

 many-flowered stems from every growth 



during the spring months to a height of 

 15 to 20 inches; the flowers are pale blue 

 with a purplish tinge and the leaves are 

 pinnate, broad and rounded at the ends. 



Astrantia carniolica, A. major and A. 

 helleborifolia love a moist place; they 

 flower in May and June, the first named 

 bears pretty white flowers and is the 

 dwarfest of the three, growing only about 

 1(1 inches high. The other two haverosy 

 pink flowers and attain a height of nearly 

 2 feet; they are not difficult to manage 

 under these conditions but in dry places 

 they- very often refuse to establish them- 

 selves. Anagallis tenella, a pretty bright 

 pink flowering perennial blooming for 

 several months during the summer, should 

 be grown in a moist place; it is a trailer 

 and never grows more than 3 to 5 inches 

 high. All the polygonatums are fit sub- 

 jects for the same situation and are sure 

 of being appreciated when planted in 

 masses; single plants cannot make a 

 show. 



Astilbe rivularis, with spira;a-like foli- 

 age and flowers of a whitish color suffused 

 with red should be planted in low ground 

 where its many-flowered panicles will 

 come out in perfect shape, which they- 

 often refuse to do in dryer places; here it 

 will attain a height of 3 feet or more and 

 flower during July and August. Anemone 

 rivularis is one of the moisture loving 

 species and is well worth growing; its 

 flowers are white with a purplish disk, 

 grows about 18 or 20 inches high. 



The perennial ranunculuses do well 

 under such circumstances but the ground 

 should be well drained; the double white- 

 flowering R. aconitifolius and R. amplex- 

 icaule continue to bloom from early 

 spring until June or sometimes longer, 

 the former growing from 1 to 2 feet high, 

 the latter only 6 to 8 inches. R. bulbosus 

 is golden vellow, blooms until July and is 

 a few inches higher than the last men- 

 tioned. R. acris fl. pi., the common dou- 

 ble buttercup, flowers nearly all through 

 summer and varies considerable in height 

 but usually does not grow over 2 feet. 

 Calthas are genuine bog plants; the water 

 does not hurt them, still they also submit 

 to a treatment in an ordinary border. C. 

 palustris fl. pi. and its varieties bear dou- 

 ble yellow flowers, attain a height of from 

 12 to 15 inches and are very effective dur- 

 ing the spring months, their blooming 

 time. C. leptosepala has pure w-hite 

 flowers, grows to about the same height 

 and continues to bloom up to June. 



Lobelia cardinalis cannot be recom- 

 mended too highly for moist places; under 

 cultivation the individual flowers are 

 considerably larger than in a wild state, 

 the stems are stouter and more thickly- 

 set with flowers, lasting for a long time 

 in perfection; height about 2 feet, bloom- 

 ing time from July to September. L. ful- 

 gens is an equally good brilliant scarlet 

 flower, much resembling the first named 

 in general appearance and in height, but 

 begins to show its flowers 4 or 6 weeks 

 earlier. L. syphilitica, our light blue erect 

 large flowering native variety is well 

 worth growing, blooming for a long time 

 in summer and autumn; it does not grow- 

 as high as the scarlets and the flowers are 

 more densely crowded along the stem. A 

 number of hybrids between the several 

 red and blue flowered herbaceous lobelias 

 are surprisingly attractive; they all do 

 best in moist and partially shaded po- 

 sitions. 



Lysimachia clethroides is an upright 

 growing plant about 3 feet in height, 

 loves a moist ground and produces its 

 long spikes of white flowers from July to 

 September. If planted in an ordinary- 

 border its height will be reduced consider- 



ably, but in low places the flower-spikes 

 grow much longer and their lasting qual- 

 ities are improved. Spiraea aruncus, S. 

 Humboldtii, S. ulmaria pi., S. astilboides 

 and S. a. floribunda, have white flowers 

 and are admirably adapted for low 

 ground. S. palmata and S. a. lobata or 

 venusta, the first a very deep brilliant 

 carmine pink of rather dwarf and com- 

 pact growth, HA to 2 feet, blooming dur- 

 ing June and July, the latter a very tall 

 and remarkably beautiful sort with rich 

 pink flowers, disposed in broad clustered 

 panicles, blooms at the same time; height 

 under favorable conditions about 7 feet, 

 but in the ordinary border only 3 to 4 

 feet. All the herbaceous spira?as love 

 plenty of moisture and rich soil; their 

 flowers will remain in perfection much 

 longer and their foliage retain its full 

 beauty throughout the summer months 

 under such conditions. 



Thalictrum aquilegifolium, with white, 

 purple, lilac or rosy tinted flowers in large 

 panicles during June and July, w-ill also 

 attain a much greater height near the 

 water than in the borders; the feathery- 

 flowers are very freely produced and are 

 very effective in masses; height 4 to 6 feet 

 or over. Polygonum amplexicaule, with 

 its rosy pink drooping flower-spikelets, 

 should be included in the list as it blooms 

 from August to October and forms a neat, 

 compact plant about 3 feet high. If a very- 

 tall subject is wanted in some special lo- 

 cation, the luxii'iant growth of P. sacha- 

 linensewM be found very effective, though 

 ordinarily it is considered too tall for gen- 

 eral purposes, growing from 9 to 12 feet 

 high in one season; its flowers are yellow- 

 ish, springing from the axils of the leaves 

 in little racemes during August and Sep- 

 tember. 



The Hibiscus moscheutus and militaris 

 delight in moist ground and produce the 

 grandest effect during midsummer unfil 

 late in August or September, with their 

 numerous large bright colored flowers; 

 one is white with a large vivid crimson 

 center, the other delicate rose color with 

 a darker eye; both grow to a height of 

 about 4 feet and look more like robust 

 growing shrubs than herbaceous plants. 



Many other hardy- species might be in- 

 troduced here, such as myosotis, funkias, 

 the variegated acorus, various native as- 

 ters, Pyrethrum uliginosum, corydalis, 

 boltonias, hemerocallis, several of the 

 anemones, etc., all of which are desirable 

 and well worth growing, and in connec- 

 tion with the above mentioned would 

 give us an uninterrupted display of inter- 

 esting flowers throughout the entire sea- 

 son, but I am surely not expected to give 

 here in this limited space a complete list 

 of all the moisture loving hardy plants 

 suitable for our climate, for their number 

 is very large, especially if we also include 

 those species which under the mild sun of 

 European countries seem to do well in or- 

 dinary borders, while in our dry atmos- 

 phere they either require constant atten- 

 tion and daily waterings, or they must 

 be planted in moist positions. 



Rochester, N. Y. J. B. Keller. 



Trees and Shrubs. 



GBRCIDlPnyLLUM-HYDRANGEA. 



The Cercidiphyllum japonicum (illus- 

 trated inyour issue of Jan. 15) was raised 

 from seed brought to this country- by tin 

 late President Clarke of the Massachu- 

 setts Agricultural College, who I think 

 introduced the plant here, though I have 

 seen it stated to the contrarv. 



