344 



* ' GARDENING. 



Aug /, 



The next move was to prepare the fern 

 bed. I figured that, as these ferns grew 

 here and there in scattered clumps in our 

 ravines, that the natural conditions of 

 the soil was congenial to them, therefore 

 no preparation was necessary other than 

 to remove enough of the surface to enable 

 me to plant them. This was done by 

 removing about four inches of all the top 

 soil in a space having an irregular out- 

 line determined in a measure by the con- 

 tour of the surface and surrounding con- 

 ditions. 



All this was done in September or 

 October and I was ready for the plants. 

 Taking a narrow post-hole spade that I 

 always use for similar work, a large 

 basket and a wagon I started for the 

 woods. Those growing naturally in my 

 own ravines seemed so happy that I dis- 

 liked disturbing them. They knew that 

 I loved to have them where they were 

 and that I would not molest them, while 

 their less fortunate sisters in the woods 

 belonging to Tom Jones, the real-estate 

 speculator, were ''born to blush unseen." 

 I merely mention this as an excuse for 

 myself and kindred plant lovers, who 

 always go to some other fellow's field for 

 plants. 



When plants were found a sharp deep 

 cut was made with the narrow spade, 

 and a clod of soil about three to four 

 inches square and four to five deep was 

 taken up with the fern roots in the center. 

 The fronds are cut off at the time. Reach- 

 ing home towards evening these squares of 

 soil were packed in the cut out bed just 

 as bricks are placed in a pavement. Old 

 leaf-mould and surface soil from the 

 woods, that had been mixed and sifted 

 through a coarse meshed wire screen be- 

 fore hand, was now placed in between 

 the joints and washed down thoroughly 

 by the hose, and finally an inch layer of 

 this material placed over their entire sur- 

 face. This was their first winter's cover- 

 ing. Now, in addition to the leaves that 

 naturally fall and blow in over the bed, I 

 give it every other fall a top dressing of 

 rotted leaves. At one edge of it I have 

 planted 200 Trillium grandiflorum, which 

 seem at home there, while they are bor- 

 dered at the north by groups of lily of the 

 valley. Quite near them is a bed of 500 

 Narcissus poeticus, so that this section, a 

 shady one, has some attractive feature 

 the whole season through, as the tril- 

 liums, narcissus and convallarias bloom 

 before the fern fronds mature. 



At another point, on what might be 

 termed a shelf on a sloping bank some 

 twenty feet down from the top, is a bed 

 of the common brake (Pteris aquilina) 

 gathered in the same way. This bed, 

 however, is apt to go back somewhat in 

 August if a dry season sets in. 



The ostrich fern, Onoclea (Struthiop- 

 teris) germanica, not native, does splen- 

 didly on my rockery and stands our 

 climate well. 



During dry spells in August and later, 

 it is necessary to water fern beds arti- 

 ficially, and care must be taken not to 

 crush down the fronds by heavy watering 

 overhead. Any sprinkler producing a 

 light fine spray will do and it is a good 

 thing to run the end of a hose in the bed 

 a few feet, close to the ground and turn 

 the force on but slightly so that only a 

 gentle stream is produced. Go away and 

 forget your hose long enough to enable 

 the bed to get a good soaking. 



The maidenhair is one of the easiest 

 hardy ferns to grow. The shady north 

 side of a house is a good place. Select 

 your situation, spade up the natural soil 

 say six inches deep. If the surface of the 

 soil is level, bring in enough soil from the 



SOLANDM WENDLANDII. 



woods, or take old sods from the road- 

 side and chop them up finely. Make a 

 layer of this where your fern bed is to be, 

 right on top, but not mixed with your 

 trenched soil, thick enough that when 

 tramped down and settled it is three or 

 four inches deep. Being that much higher 

 than the surrounding soil it secures drain- 

 age. 



Obtain a few natural rocks, that is 

 rocks showing no recent fractures and 

 that show weather worn surfaces, avoid 

 rounded boulders and fancy stones, and 

 choose those that are rather sharp and 

 jagged; those wide at the bottom and 

 narrow at the top are good. Get them 

 from one to two feet high and a foot or 

 less at the base. Imbed these a few inches 

 here and there in an irregular manner, 

 and then plant your maidenhair or any 

 other hardy ferns in the same manner 

 that I did. Should you buy your ferns, 

 getting the roots only, not with the soil 

 around them, add two inches more of the 

 wood's soil or chopped sod. 



W. C. Egan. 



The Greenhouse. 



SOLflNUM WBNDLANDIl. 



This was introduced in Europe in 1882. 

 and described through the horticultural 

 periodicals, and it is surprising that this 



beautiful climber is so little known here. 

 When first cultivated in this country it 

 was treated as a stove climber and the 

 results were somewhat unsatisfactory 

 because of its excessive rampant growth 

 when given ample pot room, as it then 

 proved a shy bloomer, and its value was 

 not apparent. When planted in open 

 border under glass it grows most rapidly 

 and produces a dense mass of dark green 

 foliage, but few flowers. But when 

 planted in a sunny exposure in open 

 ground it soon produces a profusion of 

 blooms, and then stands in the front rank 

 as a summer climber. 



When grown under glass the first flow- 

 ers appear about the beginning of April 

 and are produced in cymes at the end of 

 pendulous branches. At first these c\mes 

 measure from eight to ten inches in 

 diameter and consist of from twenty- 

 five to foity flowers, but they gradually 

 assume an elongated form as the flowers 

 develop in succession, and last from 

 three to four months. Each flower 

 measures from one and one-half to two 

 inches in diameter, with a corolla of five 

 divisions and connate petals. When first 

 opening the color is of dark blue; this 

 changes to light lilac in center and a 

 darker edge, and therefore flowers of 

 various shades of blue and lilac are seen 

 at the same time. Each individual flower 

 lasts several days, but they diminish 

 gradually in quantity, still the plant gives 

 more or less flowers from April until 



