• * • GARDENING. 



Sept. 75, 



about the end of April. In this way there 

 are nice little tubers to plant out. The 

 best dahlias we have in the garden were 

 treated in this way and we have just fin- 

 ished putting a big batch in the cutting 

 bench, as I think it pays better to winter 

 over these small roots than it does to lift 

 and winter over the old ones. 



To raise dahlias from seed is a very 

 simple matter as they germinate quickly 

 and grow very fast. The}' should be 

 sown in the early part of March and 

 potted off singly when large enough. 

 The single ones are the best from seed, 

 and where cut flowers are much in de- 

 mand a patch of them will not go amiss 

 in any garden. The double ones are not 

 often raised from seed except when new 

 kinds are sought after, as it often hap- 

 pens that not one good flower will be had 

 out of fifty plants. We have a patch of 

 about one hundred in the reserve garden 

 but what we will have out of them we 

 cannot tell as they are just beginning to 

 flower. 



After the first hard frost they should be 

 lifted, the dead stems cutoff and the roots 

 left to dry a little; leave on a little soil, as 

 this helps to keep the tubers plump. They 

 can be wintered safely in any frost proof 

 cellar or under the benches of a cool 

 greenhouse, but no water should get at 

 them or they will start to grow. 



Mahwab, N. J. David Fraser. 



HERBAGE-OIIS PLANT NOTES. 



Toward the end of the sum t er we find 

 that a great many owners of gardens are 

 not so particular about the looks of their 

 borders or beds as they would be in spring 

 or summer. Most of the plants have 

 done their duty, have flowered in their 

 time, the proprietor has enjoyed their 

 beauty, and as summer is about over, he 

 has made up his mind that it is not 

 worth while to expend any more time 

 and labor on the beds for the present sea- 

 son, because we may expect a sharp frost 

 most any night, and what few flowers 

 there are left would very likely be de- 

 stroyed then anyway. For several weeks, 

 sometimes much longer, the garden looks 

 neglected while the weather is still pleas- 

 ant and our hardy plants have not suf- 

 fered seriously from the effects of an occa- 

 sional light frost. If the borders had 

 been kept clean and as neat as during the 

 earlier part of the season, the deca\ing 

 leaves and the old flower stalks removed, 

 the general appearance of the place would 

 perhaps be greatly improved and enjoyed 

 as much as ever, especially where some of 

 the fall blooming plants have been freely 

 introduced. 



The owner has not lost interest in his 

 plants nor has he any intention to neg- 

 lect them or his place, for next spring we 

 may see him workamorg his beds just as 

 hard as ever, he simply thinks the season 

 for flowers is over about the middle of 

 September and he is then merely waiting 

 for the foliage to ripen before giving 

 everything a last cleaning upfor theyear. 

 Or it may be that he is not familiar 

 enough with our late summer or fall 

 blooming plants, some of which flower 

 up to November and many of them areas 

 attractive as our early spring flowers. 

 The introduction of a few clumps of Sep- 

 tember and October flowering plants here 

 and there between the earlier blooming 

 subjects would greatly assist in keeping 

 up a cheerful, or often even a gay, display 

 of color in the beds until snow and hard 

 frost will put an end to all vegetation. 

 We should under all circumstances re- 

 move the decaying leaves and flower 

 stems once a week regularly, even late in 



fall and in cases where no more flowers 

 may be expected from the plants; the foli- 

 age in itself is often attractive and orna- 

 mental enough as long as no rusty or 

 ripe leaves are intermingled with the 

 others. Everybody knows ihat a bed of 

 plants is greatly improved in looks by a 

 thorough cleaning, whether they are in 

 bloom at the time or not, therefore we 

 must not neglect to go over them as reg- 

 ularly toward the end of the season as in 

 the beginning if we want to enjoy the full 

 benefit or beauty of our beds. 



In the herbaceous borders we can have 

 quantities of flowers long after most of 

 the ordinary bedding plants have suc- 

 cumbed to the cold, and if we would pro- 

 vide a well sheltered warm position exclu- 

 sively for late summer and fall flowering 

 plants, we could there enjoy in October 

 what in other gardensandundcrordinary 

 conditions would seem impossible. A 

 sunny spot, protected from the north and 

 west, is an ideal place for growing late 

 flowers; many of the summer and early 

 fall bloomers will continue for a long 

 time in such a position. 



Campanula carpathica of all shades 

 will send up new flower stems unceas- 

 ingly, Campanula Van Houttcii flowers 

 early in the season and brings a good 

 second crop of its large long bells in Sep- 

 tember, lasting until late in October. 

 Tunica saxifraga is constantly covered 

 with a profusion of little delicate flowers. 

 Saponaria caucasica fl. pi. is to be highly 

 recommended, not only on account of its 

 early and late flowering qualities, but 

 also for its pleasing bright salmon color. 

 Verbena venosa blooms very late, Malra 

 moschata holds out good through Sep- 

 tember, gaillardias are indispensable, the 

 trailing branches of Callirhoe involucrata 

 will perfect new flower buds at every 

 joint as long as the weather permits 

 them to grow, and their brilliant deep 

 colored flowers have no equal so late in 

 the season. The immense mass of small 

 purple flowers on Linaria purpurea in 

 cool weather is astonishing. Salvia far 

 inacea is exceedingly useful in such a 

 place, blooming early and late. The 

 pretty Lychnis vespertina plena will hold 

 out as well as the smaller pink flowered 

 L. semperflorensplenissima. The flowers 

 of helianthemums will last longer in the 

 cool fall weather than in summer. Phlox 

 sufl'ruticosa alw ays perfects a second crop 

 of its loose panicles during September 

 and October. Montbretias of various 

 sorts make a fine show anywhere during 

 the latter part of summer and in fali. 



The everblooming Silene maritima ti. 

 pi. should not be missed. Silene Schafta? 

 will flower freely in a more shaded spot 

 and if a moist corner can be found the 

 second crop of the beautiful Caltha palus- 

 tris H pi. will last from August to severe 

 frost. Sidalcea malvxtiora and Candida 

 would bloom for a longtime there. Core- 

 opsis granditiora I have seen flower pro- 

 fusely even in November but the old stems 

 must be kept cut. Statices always look 

 well. Cimicifuga racemosa with its tall 

 and branchy spikes keeps well through- 

 out September and often later. A second 

 crop of Delphinium formosum and hybri- 

 dum is often out from September to Octo- 

 ber. Chrysocoma linosyris lasts well 

 through these months. Polygonum am- 

 plexicaule, P. affine and P. cuspidatum 

 are all good late bloomers. Daphne 

 cneorum blooms in spring and late in fall. 

 Viola cornuta is full of flowers until 

 severe frost. The fall blooming aconi- 

 tums, the boltonias, chrysanthemums, 

 Japanese anemones, scabiosas, armcrias 

 and many varieties of asters and helian- 

 thuses will all flower late in the season. 



We could also plant a lot of colchicums, 

 Scilla autumnalis and other bulbous 

 plants, all of which would contribute 

 their share toward the embellishment of 

 the beds in fall. A lew Desmodium pen- 

 duliflorum and Caryopteris mastacanthus 

 would not be out of place among them 

 and there is a host of other plants which 

 might be mentioned, though the list as 

 given above shows plainly that fall flow- 

 ering plants are not at all scarce and our 

 borders could present an attractive ap- 

 pearance long after our ordinary bedding 

 plants have been destroyed by frost. 



Even in the limited space of a city lot, 

 we may find a place for a bed of autumn 

 flowers; a southeastern exposure will be 

 just what they want; here they are shel- 

 tered from the cold northwest winds and 

 will often mature perfect flowers in the 

 month of November, while the same spe- 

 cies planted in an unprotected position 

 would haveceased to flower several weeks 

 or a month earlier. Fall flowers are ap- 

 preciated as much if not more than the 

 earliest spring flowers by nearly all lovers 

 of nature; the last rose of summer pos- 

 sesses the same charms for us as the first 

 one of the season, then why should we not 

 try to have them in the garden as long as 

 possible each and every year. All that is 

 needed is a judicious selection of these 

 hard}' plants and the right place to grow 

 them in. J. B. Keller. 



CLEMATIS PANIGULATA AND MOISTURE. 



We have been told many times that 

 that royal fall bloomer, Clematis panicu- 

 lata, requires abundant moisture, but we 

 are apt to overlook this fact, or to mis- 

 judge what is meant by abundant moist- 

 ure. Once in a while some event, by acci- 

 dent or otherwise, happens that teaches 

 an observing person a lesson more indeli- 

 bly impressed than knowledge gained by 

 burning the midnight electric light. I 

 have had an object lesson very forcibly 

 grafted upon my memory. 



I have eight old plants of the C. panic- 

 ulata set within twenty feet of each other, 

 growing in the same natural conditions 

 of soil, and under the same climatic influ- 

 ences. Four of them, in a "bay" caused 

 by the projections of the building, are 

 subjected to an unusual supply of water. 

 The pipe at the eaves carrying the water 

 from the roof had sagged, and to relieve 

 it was tapped by an inch pipe and the 

 surplus water carried down to the roots 

 of these four plants. The pipe extends to 

 within six inches of the soil, thus allow- 

 ing a V shaped wooden trough to be 

 placed under it in winter and cany the 

 water out to a roadway. Immediately 

 under the pipe is a "pocket" of gravel 

 connected with which is a three inch tile 

 crossing the centre of the bed containing 

 the four plants and ending within it. 

 This bed is two feet deep and very nearly 

 five feet square. The plants have b;en 

 there two years. 



Last year from early June until fall I 

 noticed that the four plants thus favored 

 outgrew the others. All the eight plants 

 have received their usual quota of water 

 when the season was dry. This year was 

 one of unusually heavy rains, and at times 

 this bed became so saturated that the 

 water overran it, and I have watched the 

 effect with interest. Two of the eight 

 plants are within three feet of a cellar 

 wall, being in the best drained situation 

 of the lot. On June 23 these two were 

 six feet high; two having no under drain- 

 age, were seven feet, while those supplied 

 withext~a moisture by the pipe, were nine 

 feet. 



The behavior of these plants two sea- 



