i8o 



GARDENING. 



Mar. /, 



about a foot apart. The small tubers are 

 cheap. This is herbaceous, dying down 

 each fall. Following these you can use 

 the trumpet vine ( Tecoma radicans) 

 which may require a slight protection in 

 winter easily afforded by throwing bag- 

 ging or straw over the tops; plant six 

 feet apart. Celastrns scandens {the cYimh- 

 ing bitter-sweet) may be planted eight to 

 ten feet apart and its leader trained hori- 

 zontally about four feet from the ground. 

 The scarlet trumpet honeysuckle (Loni- 

 cera sempervirens) planted four feet apart, 

 and when well established sheared back 

 to within eighteen inches of the fence. 

 Clematis flammula and C. virginiana 



THE SNOWDROPS. 



No spring flower is a more general 

 favorite than the snowdrop. How beau- 

 tiful they are already, nestling in the 

 snow! They opened their first flowers 

 on the 7th of February, and we will soon 

 have nice colonies of them in flower all 

 over the garden. There is a number of 

 varieties but the Elwes' Giant is one of 

 the best, although the common single one 

 (Galanthus nivalis) is the first to flower. 

 G. Imperati, G. latitblius and G. plicatus 

 are not yet in flower, but will soon be if 

 the weather keeps open. 



Snowdrops are one of the easiest bulbs 

 to grow. Alltheyrequireis to be planted 



ELWES' GIANT SNOWDROP. (Galanthus Elwerii). 



more prized than the choicest rose or 

 orchid the greenhouse can produce. 

 Mahwah, N.J. David Fraser. 



placed six feet apart, and finally in the 

 most conspicuous position place Clematis 

 paniculata five to six feet apart and treat 

 as recommended in recent numbers of 

 Gardening. 



All vines mentioned so far should be 

 hardv with you under a winter's mulch. 

 If you desire no others, and the expense 

 of making the beds is an item to be con- 

 sidered, alloweach plant (save the border 

 of cinnamon vines; a hole three feet 

 square, but if the border is made as first 

 suggested you can grow for a few years 

 in between the permanent vines any or 

 all of the following from seed sown in the 

 ground where they are to bloom: sweet 

 peas (start early), morning glories, 

 Lobb's nasturtiums, gourds (if the situa- 

 tion is hot) and the variegated annual 

 hop vine. The scarlet runner bean might 

 do in full sun. Cobsea scandens and Pas 

 siflora Pfordti, to be obtained from the 

 florist, placed out when the weather is 

 settled and the cold nights past, will do 

 well. The cobsea will cover a large space 

 and bloom even after light frosts. 



CHRYSANTHEMUMS FOR THE GARDEN. 



In the October 15 number of Garden- 

 ing 70u published interestingeommunica- 

 tions on the growing of chrysanthemums 

 supplemented with names of desirable 

 new varieties But v. ill you allow atl old 

 time lover of the Queen of Autumn to 

 inquire what has become of the beautiful 

 large double chrysanthemums of the 

 Chinese type, that forty or more years 

 ago grew in our grandmothers' gardens. 

 Yellow was the prevailing color, but 

 white and blood red flowers were often 

 seen. The plants remained in the open 

 ground ftom year to year, protected over 

 winter by a covering of leaves, and about 

 the middle of October were in a blaze of 

 bloom. 



Newer varieties having larger flowers 

 and of more novel coloring have recently 

 been introduced, but the writer has again 

 and again found these promised "beau- 

 ties" unsatisfactory in the open ground 

 on account of not coming into bloom 

 early enough to escape our October 

 ber frosts. Possibly readers of Garden- 

 ing can be informed how to obtain the 

 old, hardy, early chrysanthemums referred 

 to and if so the writer is sure the good 

 news will be welcomed with sincere 

 thanks. S. N. W. 



. Strasburg, Pa. 



No rational person ever recommended 

 the big Japanese varieties so much thought 

 of for indoor use for outdoor cultivation 

 in Pennsylvania. The old varieties or 

 type you inquire about have fallen into 

 disrepute simply because the people have 

 dropped them so as to take hold of the 

 newer and gayer and bigger sorts; it is 

 simply a matter of taste. If there is no 

 sale for those old kinds you cannot expect 

 that any live florist would carry such a 

 dead weight as they would be in stock. 

 At the same time if you are willing to 

 pay for them you can get all you want of 

 them. Try John Saul, Washington. 



and left alone; they will grow stronger 

 from year to year and make a fine show 

 if planted in a mass in some corner of the 

 lawn or amongst deciduous shrubs where 

 hardly anything else will grow. They are 

 also charming if planted near the house 

 where they can be seen from the windows; 

 in this way they can be associated with 

 other bulbs that flower about the same 

 time, namely the winter aconite, Scilla 

 siherica, crocus and chionodoxas or 

 planted in the hyacinth or tulip beds; in 

 this way beds in the vicinity of the house 

 are kept gay a longer period, and the 

 foliage of the snowdrops makes a nice 

 groundwork for the hyacinths or tulips. 

 But these early spring flowers are not 

 much seen in gardens. They are notice- 

 ably absent from the grounds of the 

 country homes of those who live in the 

 city in winter, but the gardener in charge 

 should see that there is a patch of snow- 

 drops, for in March, when the greenhouses 

 are full of bedding plants and flowers are 

 scarce, a colony of snowdrops will help 

 to swell the flower basket and may be 



THE COW PARSNIP. 



(Heracleum lanatum.) 

 This umbelliferous plant can be used 

 quite effectively in la'ge wild gardens, on 

 the face of bluffs or on the banks of 

 ravines, provided they obtain a fair 

 amount of moisture in the early summer 

 months. They should be planted among 

 low underbrush or grasses; anything to 

 hide their browned leafage in August, 

 when after blooming, the foliage dies 

 down and the plant remains almost dor- 

 mant until next season. They reach their 

 perfection, however, in damp places in 

 full sunlight, where they have been known 

 to reach a height of nine feet, bearing 

 umbels one and a half feet in diameter, 

 composed of numerous small white flow- 

 ers. They bloom in the latter part of 

 June and remain in good condition along 

 time. 



A group of eight or ten plants in a suit- 

 able position have a grand, stately look. 

 Many of us have wild, almost waste 

 places, that would be much improved if a 

 group of these plants were intelligently 

 introduced. 



The species mentioned above is indigen- 

 ous to the U. S. H. sibiricum and H. pi/- 

 losum, from the Caucasus, growing over 

 ten feet, are sometimes used in wild gar- 

 dening in England "Le Jardin" illus- 

 trates a plant of H. persicum growing 

 in the garden, St. Maurice, Lille, that 



