34Q 



GARDENING. 



Aug. i, 



country except for very choice stock. As 

 the month of August with us is very 

 warm it would take a man all his time 

 with the watering can, as one could not 

 expect plants to root when the soil is at 

 all dry. 



We have now a great race of summer 

 blooming carnations called the Marguer- 

 ite. In these we have something that 

 will bloom four months from the time of 

 sowing the seed. They are very good 

 indeed, and a marked improvement is 

 noticeable in them this year. We have 

 Sutton's improved pure white with some 

 good flowers and it has come so far true 

 from seed. In the mixed ones we find a 

 multitude of colors and markings and for 

 a mass of bloom they are very desirable. 



The carnations used by the florists for 

 winter flowering can also be used for 

 summer flowers if properly handled. I 

 have found September the best time to 

 put in the cuttings, wintering in a cold- 

 frame and planting out about the end of 

 April. They will then flower from the 

 end of June till cut by frost. If a good 

 many are grown carnation flowers of 

 good quality will be had all summer if 

 proper attention is given them. There 

 should always be a mulch of some sort 

 around the plants. This keeps the roots 

 cool and helps to retain the moisture. In 

 dry weather they should have a good 

 soaking of water every few days. They 

 should also be kept tied up in some way 

 or the flowers will get dirty. If very 

 large flowers are wanted disbudding will 

 have to be done; but we rarely do it as 

 we prefer to have a mass of bloom, in- 

 stead of a few, as wecutveryfew oftbem. 



Mahwah, N.J. David Fraser. 



FflBONIES ROSBS-DBUTZIflS-flLTflflBfl. 



Please give us some suggestions for 

 beds of pasonies. There must be some 

 way to beautify these beds after the peeo- 

 nies have done blooming, and in the plans 

 offered don't forget the preferred width of 

 bed, and the distance the paeonies should 

 be planted apart. Also, why do some 

 peonies take so long to bloom? We 

 have some plants three or four years old, 

 that have never given us a blossom. 



Is the Wichuraiana rose hardy in the 

 vicinity of Chicago? If so what is the 

 approved method of growing it? Would 

 think it likely to be most effective tied to 

 a post, and if raised in that way could 

 the canes be laid down without breaking 

 off? And how about the hybrids that 

 Henderson offers? 



Judging by what Mr. Egan says in 

 Gardening of June 1, about the winter 

 killing ol his deutzias our winters are 

 not quite so "hard" in Crown Point as 

 west of Chicago. We are only 4-0 miles 

 southeast of the city and say 15 miles 

 south of Lake Michigan, but our deutzias 

 never were so fine as this year. They are 

 always wrapped in straw and tar paper 

 of necessity, still very frequently half the 

 growth will be winter killed. but this sea- 

 son the pruning of the dead wood was 

 nothing. The D. gracilis were sheets of 

 loveliness for a month. The Pride of 

 Rochester commenced June 1 and for 

 weeks was our pride and joy. It covers 

 seven cubic feet of space, is of beautiful 

 shape and has a few blossoms yet, and 

 the Fortunei is in fine bloom at the pres- 

 ent writing. This last named is our most 

 tender variety. 



We have a fine specimen of the varie- 

 gated leaved althaea which is growing too 

 tall for its location. Can it be headed in 

 without injury? F. N. B. 



Pa;onies should be planted about three 



GROUPING P.E0NIAS ON THE LAWN 



feet apart, a little closer, if necessary. 

 The size and shape of the bed depends 

 upon surrounding conditions. You must 

 remember that the plant presents a heavy 

 mass of foliage, and when planted in a 

 mass it has a "lumpy" look rather than 

 an airy, open one, consequently, bearing 

 in mind that nine-tenths of the season it 

 is out of bloom, one should use some 

 judgment' when making a special bed of 

 them. 



In a very wide shrubbery border they 

 may be treated as a low shrub, and fill 

 an irregular shaped bay, and be effective 

 both in flower andout,asthe irregularity 

 of their shrubbery fringe of taller plants 

 relieve the monotony their heaviness and 

 sameness of height produce. 



When you decide upon the shape and 

 relative size of the bed, take an ordinary 

 sheet of ruled writing paper. At the top 

 line put a cipher, and then number each 

 line downward consecutively. Take a 

 drawing compass and make circles three 

 lines in diameter, the width between each 

 line representing one foot. Let the centre 

 of the top circle be on the line number 

 one. The first row of pteonies would be 

 planted on line number one, but the outer 

 edge of the bed would be at the cipher. 

 If they were planted in a long narrow 

 bed in a single row, a bed two feet wide 

 would be enough. It is the head room 

 mainly that requires the three feet width. 

 Continue your circles down the line and 

 you will see that t wo rows require a bed 

 five feet, three rows eight feet, and four 

 eleven feet wide. In this figuring the outer 



row is planted within one foot of the edge. 

 If circumstances compel it, they may be 

 planted at six inches from the edge. You 

 can readily get at the length of your bed 

 by this figuring and tell the number of 

 plants it will contain Observing that 

 each additional width or length must be 

 a space of three feet, and the narrowest 

 point two feet. On this basis you can 

 make the bed any- shape desired. 



Sometimes one's place is not formal; it 

 may be surrounded by curving lines of 

 other plantings where square or oval 

 beds might look out of place, and yet one 

 desires to grow this most excellent plant. 

 I have prepared a diagram of the way I 

 grow my paeonies. These beds are made 

 in the lawn at one side, and so grouped 

 that at a distance from our porch it 

 seems one bed when in bloom. 



There are four holes two feet in diame- 

 ter, each containing a single plant, three 

 that measure four and one half feet at the 

 widest part, containing three plants each, 

 and one measuring five feet containing 

 four. The nearest point any one bed is 

 to another is three feet, which allows the 

 lawn mower to pass between them. 

 These beds are two feet deep, and are well 

 manured and well watered, especially 

 just before blooming. 



I have had no trouble about pjeonies 

 not blooming. I would advise you to 

 work away the soil around your plants 

 as deeply as you can without much root 

 disturbance, and replaceit with rich earth 

 rather heavy in nature, and mulch well 

 with manure this fall. Next spring if 



