i8 97 . 



• GARDENING. 



243. 



THE WORLD S FAIR WOODED ISLAND. 



derive the most pleasure, I wish to men- 

 tion a few ol special interest. 



One of the very earliest of shrubs to 

 flower is Prunus Davidiana. Its light 

 pink flowers are beautiful and pleasing. 

 At this writing, April 24, it has been out 

 of flower for over a week. But there is 

 now in very fine display what has been 

 sent out as Prunus dasycarpa, but which 

 Nicholson makes Armeniaca dasycarpa, 

 a Chinese shrub, with lovely single white 

 flowers The flowers are large and clear 

 white, reminding one of an apricot, but 

 having larger flowers. It is true that 

 there are numerous kinds of prunus and 

 cerasus flowering at this time, or about 

 to flower, but there are none that I know 

 of as good as this in flower at this time. 



Another shrub now in full flower which 

 is certainh' valuable is one received from 

 Prof. Sargent a few years ago, bearing 

 the name Prunus triloba, species Irom 



Mt. Pekin. It is now as full it as canbeot 

 lovely light pink single flowers. If it be 

 the single form of the double Prunus tri- 

 loba, it leads it in earliness of flowering 

 by some two weeks. 



Cerasus Sieboldi rosea pendula is fully 

 in flower, and as is generally known, any- 

 thing prettier in its way is hard to find 

 at this season of the year. It is fully as 

 pretty in the bud as when in flower. 



] want to call attention to the old stand- 

 by, Forsythia riridissima, not so much 

 to say what an indispensable shrub it is, 

 as to suggest that a little pruning helps 

 it wonderfully. Let alone, it straggles 

 about; prune it, and it becomes as nicely 

 shaped as can be wished. As soon as the 

 flowers fade, prune it into shape, and top 

 the 3'oung shoots in summer before 

 growth is over. More praise is due it. 



Last week the mercury fell to 27° on 

 one occasion. While Magnolia conspicna 



and Soulangeana lost all their expanded 

 flowers, the forsythia did not mind it at 

 all. Not a flower was hurt. Itwillinter- 

 est many to know that the flowers of the 

 two magnolias named are often caught 

 by late frosts, but those of obovata, the 

 purple one, never are, as they open nearly 

 two weeks later. 



In sheltered places the beautiful and 

 odoriferous Daphne cneorum is in bloom, 

 its lovely pink flowers being in much 

 demand on account of their delightful fra- 

 grance. To grow this to perfection a soil 

 largely composed of sand is required. All 

 plants with fine roots like sandy soil. It 

 need not be poor. Decayed leaves, ma- 

 nure or fresh loam may be added, but let 

 sand predominate. When well suited, 

 this little evergreen flowers from April 

 till frost, scattering flowers coming all 

 the time after the main crop of early 

 spring is over. 



Writing of daphnes, let me call atten- 

 tion to an error I have noticed in print in 

 regard to Daphne genkwa. More than 

 once I have seen it stated that this Jap- 

 anese purplish lilac colored daphne is fra- 

 grant. It is not fragrant. I cannot per- 

 ceive any odor to the flowers whatever. 

 A bush of it is in flower here now, and I 

 am certain it is in no sense fragrant such 

 as our cneorum, Mezereum and the green- 

 house one indica. Nicholson makes the 

 same mistake, as well as another in call- 

 ing it an evergreen. 



Philadelphia. Joseph Meehan. 



SOME DESIRABLE HARDY VINES. 



Nursery catalogues of the present day 

 present to their readers a great many 

 kinds of hardy vines, affording an oppor- 

 tunity to select sorts suitable for almost 

 any purpose desired. One of thecommon- 

 est questions asked by those who desire 

 to obtain vines is, which of the list are 

 self climbers. So many desire vines which 

 will cling of their own accord, without 

 needing the assistance of string, wire, 

 etc. The list of such, hardy, in the vicin- 

 ity of Philadelphia, consists of the follow- 

 ing: Ampelopsis bipinnata, A. Veitchii, 

 A. virginica, Bignonia capreolata, Tecoma 

 radicans, T. grandiflora, T. Thunbergii, 

 Dccurnaria barbara, Euonymus radicans 

 and its variety variegatus, Vitus riparia 

 and other sorts, Hedera Helix, Hydrangea 

 scandens and Vitis heterophylla variega- 

 ta. To this list could almost be added the 

 various sorts of clematis as their leaves 

 have a way of attaching themselves to 

 wires and similar supports met with, sus- 

 taining their branches thereby, but they 

 arenot self climbersinthe sensethe others 

 are. 



Of those named, the Ampelopsis bipin- 

 nata, Yitis riparia and V. heterophylla 

 variegata, cling bj' tendrils, and cannot 

 be employed on walls or where there is 

 not something for these tendrils to at- 

 tach themselves to. Bignonia capreolata 

 is also one with tendrils, but it finds a 

 way to cling to stone surfaces, and I have 

 seen it find its way up the wall of a house 

 as high as the third story. 



Perhaps decumaria and tecoma would 

 not prove hardy much north of this, 

 though our winters do not hurt them. 

 Hedera, the English ivy, gets through the 

 winter unhurt, no matter on which side 

 of a dwelling it is, though presenting a 

 better appearance, always, when on the 

 northern or eastern side. This vine and 

 the Japanese ivy, Ampelopsis Veitchii, are 

 the best to use where smoothness of sur- 

 face is required. The others are of rougher 

 growth, and their usefulness lies in other 

 directions, chiefly. 



Among vines not self supporting the 



