iS 97 . 



' ' • GARDENING. 



199 



/ Hew in the " / 'ale of Cashmere." 

 PROSPECT PARK. BROOKLYN. N. T. 



every village and town from July to Sep- 

 tember. Within a radius of ten miles of ray 

 home in Scotland seven amateur flower 

 shows were held. These shows are well 

 patronized and the greatest rivalry pre- 

 vails among the exhibitors. Why cannot 

 we have such exhibitions in this country? 

 Alas, not even the great city of New York 

 can afford one. Some good shows have 

 been given but they were financial fail- 

 ures. We will live in hope that garden- 

 ing will improve and that the people will 

 give more time and thought to the beau- 

 tifying of their homes, t'ntil that time 

 we cannot expect to see many old fash- 

 ioned cottage gardens. David Fraser. 

 Mahwah, New Jersey. 



PRIMULAS. 



Mr. H. E. G. would like to know 

 whether the so-called hardy primroses 

 will stand our severe winters and also 

 puts a few more questions, answers to 

 which may be found below 



Hard}' primulas, like most all our her- 

 baceous plants, are deserving of more 

 attention than they have received hith- 

 erto. Some of them require but little 

 care and do well year after year in ordi- 

 nary garden soil, others are more delicate 

 in constrution and must have a moist and 

 shadj' situation, yet there should be no 

 superfluous water around the roots at 

 anytime. The cold does not hurt them, 

 but they suffer during the hot and drv 

 weather in summer and fall. Among 

 those which invariably do well without 

 much extra care we may mention the 

 pale yellow, P. eliator, which blooms in' 

 large many-flowered clusters; P. vulgaris. 

 often called acaulis, of which there are 

 numerous single and double varieties of 

 various colors, is a low and verv free- 

 blooming sort, very desirable, the orig- 

 inal form being pale yellow; P. officinalis. 

 identical with P. veris, bears large more 

 or less tall umbels, dark yellow with 

 a lighter center. 



P. variabilis is the species which we 

 generally call polyanthus They are 

 sturdy growers and flower in large 

 bunches for a long time in spring. In 



color there is a great variety, ranging 

 from light yellow to dark purplish and 

 reddish brown in different shades; some 

 are edged and laced with yellow, others 

 are self colored with a distinct large or 

 small eye. The hose in hose varieties 

 occur among these as well as in the last 

 named. 



All the above mentioned species and 

 their hybrids will generally do well in 

 any ordinary border, though they would 

 probably improve under slight shade and 

 protection from the midday sun; their 

 flowers would last longer in perfection 

 under such conditions. A well drained 

 soil is essential for their welfare, therefore 

 a northern aspect in a rockery, on a ter- 

 raced bank, or a situation on the north 

 side of a building with a slightly sloping 

 ground, would furnish an admirable 

 place in which to grow the rarer and 

 more delicate species 



We have grown P. cortusoides Sieboldii 

 which Mr. G. with many others calls 

 plain P. Sieboldii, for years on the north 

 side of a rockery with good success. The 

 plants start into growth rather late in 

 the spring and are without any leaves in 

 winter. The roots are creeping and travel 

 a considerable distance, so that special 

 care must be exercised not to disturb 

 them when cleaning up or loosening the 

 soil in spring or autumn. They bloom 

 inunbelsofS to 10 flowers, color deep 

 rose with a white eye and the under side 

 of the flower is darker; they vary in color 

 though, for we often find much lighter 

 shades among them. P. auricula can 

 easily be grown in a cool situation. A 

 great variety of colors are represented in 

 these and they are among tl'e prettiest of 

 the genus, nearly everybody is familiar 

 with them. P. rosea has stout upright 

 flower stems terminating in a cluster of 

 rather large bright deep rose flowers but 

 requires shade and cool soil; where such 

 a position can be provided all hardy 

 primulas may be successfully cultivated; 

 the lovely red P. siberica, the delicate 

 lilac P. s. Kashmiriana, the little yellow 

 P. fforibunda, P. denticulata with its 

 dainty lilac whorls, the rosy purple P. 



viscosa, the snow white P. nivalis and 

 many more may find a congenial home 

 here and I even would not hesitate to try 

 those of a more delicate constitution like 

 the beautiful violet blue P. capitata, pro- 

 vided, however, that the air can plav 

 freely and unobstructed around the 

 plants and they are protected from the 

 burning sun at all times; the cold never 

 hurts them under these conditions. 



Under the milder sun of northern Euro- 

 pean countries primulassucceedfar better 

 than with us, although even there some 

 varieties require shady position; many of 

 the rarer kinds are there wintered in cold 

 frames, not because tbey are unable to 

 endure the cold, but for fear of too much 

 moisture; with our dryer atmosphere we 

 can safely leave the plants out all winter; 

 what bothers us is the dry heat in sum- 

 mer. 



Thereare but few commercial establish- 

 ments in this country where primulas are 

 grown in variety and Mr. G. may have 

 to try several firms if he wants trie rarer 

 kinds, while ordinary border varieties 

 can be furnished by mostany of ourlarger 

 establishments. J. B. K. 



VARIOUS QUESTIONS FROM "B. M. C." 



The following questions have been 

 referred to me: 



1. "Have ycu any knowledge whether 

 the new Climbing Meteor rose will win- 

 ter in a sheltered place with good protec- 

 tion?" It would need so much protection 

 and then with doubtful results that it 

 would not be worth trying out of doors 

 north of Washington, D. C 



2. 'When is the correct time to prune 

 moss roses? Some claim before flowering, 

 others after flowering?" The month of 

 March or early April is the best time to 

 prune moss roses. You can th.n see if 

 there has been any winter killing. Don't 

 prune as hard back as you would the 

 ordinary hybrid perpetuals. 



3. "Can you give a listof sixortwelve 

 best bedding geraniums, new varieties 

 included — such varieties as are generally 

 continuous bloomers?" Six good gera- 

 niums for bedding, but not new, are Emile 



