p f i i r ■*!!» " i Ttr -»lY^ Imp iit? T M g -airr it tit t u t ^ irr ^ 



Vol. V. 



82.00 a Year. 

 24 Numbers. 



CHICAGO, JULY 15, 1807. 



Single Copt 

 10 Cents. 



No. 117. 



A HEDGE OP DICTAMNTJS (Fraxmella). 



The Flower Garden. 



. HEDGE Or DIGTflMNUS. 



A hedge of an herbaceous perennial is a 

 rather rare occurrence as but few species 

 are adapted to such use. A showy spec- 

 tacle is required when in flower and a 

 pleasing appearance of foliage the bal- 

 ance of the season. The plants must 

 stand up against winds and rains, and 

 grow with vigor in heat and drouth. 

 Probably one of the best for this purpose 

 is the European gas plant, Dictamnus 

 albus, and its variety rubra. Its syno- 

 nym is D. fraxinella and it bears the 

 common names of Gas Plant, Burning 

 Bush and Dittany. It is an old inhabit- 

 ant of the garden, having been known 

 since 1596. 



Under good cultivation it grows about 

 two feet high, blooming in early June in 

 long terminal racemes, white or a deep 

 pink according to variety. It receives 

 the names Gas Plant and Burning Bush 

 from the supposition that on warm, close 

 evenings the flowers emit a gas that may 

 be ignited by a match. I have to take 

 this statement upon the authority of oth- 

 ers, as it has failed to produce this pecu- 



liar phenomenon for me, but as this is the 

 era of gas trusts the genus may have 

 been subsidized. When gently rubbed 

 the foliage emits an odor like that of a 

 lemon peel, but when bruised has a faint 

 balsamic scent. 



The hedge illustrated is one planted 

 three years ago on the beautiful grounds 

 of Mr. A. Tracy Lay, Highland Park, Ills., 

 and is not only a very handsome sight 

 when in bloom, but is a constant reminder 

 of his boyhood days when he played tag 

 around just such a hedge and got spanked 

 for running over the plants. 



W. C. Egan. 



PLANTS IN BLOOM JULY 1. 



The following plants have come in 

 bloom since my notes of June 15. Canter- 

 bury bells are now at their best and are 

 one of the showiest plants we have in the 

 garden. The colors range from blue to 

 white and pink. The double ones are 

 good, so are the cup and saucer varieties. 

 These are fine plants for massing and are 

 seen at their best when grown in this 

 way. After they are through flowering 

 they are of no more use and a new stock 

 has to be worked up for another year. 

 Sow the seed now and winter over in a 

 cold frame. 



The border pinks in variety are giving 



lots of flowers. They are very useful for 

 cutting and last a long time. Cuttings 

 put in about the middle of September and 

 wintered over in a frame make plants 

 that flower nicely the first year. Carna- 

 tions in variety are also giving a few 

 choice flowers. We treat them as we do 

 the pinks, putting cuttings in about the 

 same time. They are also easily raised 

 from seed and if sown now and wintered 

 over in a frame will bloom next summer. 

 We have a lot of- these seedlings in the 

 reserve garden and they give us all the 

 cut flowers we want. There are lots of 

 single ones among them but they all do 

 lor cutting and that is what we grow 

 them for. If there are any real good ones 

 among them we will clean away the poor 

 ones around them and layer the good 

 ones next month. 



Spiraea aruncus with its immense 

 branched panicles of creamy white flow- 

 ers is quite conspicuous. It grows four 

 to five feet high aad makes a handsome 

 bush. English irises are now past but 

 they were very good. They do not seem 

 to be very hardy, as quite a few of ours 

 were winter killed, although planted in a 

 well drained part of the garden. Cam- 

 panula trachelium and var. alba are 

 showy border plants with large bell- 

 . shaped flowers. They grow three to four 



