36 



GARDENING. 



Oct. 75, 



showiest of the whole section. We also 

 have the double sorts, such as Orange 

 Phoenix, Von Sion, Alba plena odorata, 

 etc.; the double sorts are not so attract- 

 ive as many of the single varieties, but a 

 few clumps of each should be grown as 

 they are nice for cutting, the white one 

 especially. 



The Poet's narcissus, N. poeticus and 

 ornatus are general favorites wherever 

 grown, their sweet scented, beautiful 

 flowers being much prized for cutting. 

 They should be largely grown for this 

 purpose as they are of easy culture and 

 flower so freely. Moreover they are long- 

 lived and improve from year to year if 

 left to take care of themselves. N. orna- 

 tus blooms much earlier than the plain 

 poeticus, bears larger flowers and is the 

 most perfect flower of this section; but 

 both should be grown, as in this way a 

 succession of bloom can be had for a long 

 time. They are very nice to naturalize in 

 the grass, and if planted in some part 

 where the grass is not cut until late in 

 spring, they will soon form a large col- 

 ony, and when planted in this way the 

 effect is beautiful. The hoop petticoat 

 varieties are also nice for naturalizing 

 and do well if treated in this way, or they 

 can be used for edgings, as they only 

 grow a few inches high. 



Little need be said about the tulips as 

 they are the most important bulb we 

 have for spring flowers. They are so 

 showy and have such a variety of color 

 that no garden is complete without them. 

 They grow in most any kind of soil, but 

 like most all bulbous plants prefer a 

 sandy one which has been well enriched. 

 But a lot of rough manure should not be 

 dug into the soil at this season; if the 

 beds had a good coating in spring, before 

 the summer flowers were put out, that is 

 all that is needed until spring time again. 

 Hyacinths, like the tulips, are so well 

 known that we will pass on to the more 

 uncommon, or plants seldom seen in our 

 gardens. First of all comes the snow- 

 drops. If these are planted in a sheltered 

 spot they come into flower very early. 

 The past winter we gathered a nice bunch 

 on February 7, and every day until late 

 in spring we had ourbunch of snowdrops. 

 We use bell glasses to cover them in order 

 to keep tne flowers clean, and for cutting 

 purposes they are all that could be de- 

 sired. They are fine to naturalize in the 

 grass and if planted quite close together 

 a beautiful colony will soon be had. They 

 improve with age and when once planted 

 all that is required is to leave them 

 alone. The variety Ehvesii is the largest 

 and is much finer than the common one. 

 The flowers are quite small and should 

 be planted in a mass as a few bulbs are of 

 little use and make no show. A thick 

 line of them around a border look nice, 

 but much care has to be taken when dig- 

 ging, and in such a place we always plant 

 a few inches deeper than we would in the 

 grass. 



After the snowdrops comes the winter 

 aconite, Eranthis hyemalis. This is one 

 of the earliest harbingers of spring and a 

 pretty little flower it is. It will grow 

 most anywhere, under trees, in the grass, 

 or in fact in almost any place or soil. 

 When well established it forms a sheet of 

 glistening yellow flowers which last a 

 long time in perfection. It is of no use for 

 cutting purposes. 



The scillas are of a freefloweringnaturc 

 and for a broad line or mass are very 

 desirable, but many have to be planted 

 and quite close together before much of a 

 show is had. S. siberica is the one mostly 

 seen in our gardens and is the earliest to 

 flower, S. campanulata is a larger and 



later blooming species and looks very 

 much like a small hyacinth. White, blue 

 and red or rose are the colors found 

 among them. 



Crocuses are very showy while they 

 last and make a fine display. Grown in 

 a matted line in the front of a border 

 they look nice, but planted in the grass is 

 where they look at home and when once 

 planted they need no more care. 



Leucoium vernum is a beautiful early- 

 blooming plant and resembles the snow- 

 drop, but is of taller growth. The flow- 

 ers are pure white with a green spot on 

 each of the petals. It is one of the best 

 spring flowers for cutting and will grow 

 most anywhere. We have it associated 

 with the choice primroses in a shady 

 border and in such a place it does fine as 

 it seems to like the leaf soil of which the 

 border is made! It lasts a long time in 

 flower. 



The bulbous irises are all desirable. The 

 first to flower is I. reticulata and a pretty 

 little flower it is. It blooms very early, 

 before it makes any leaves, and so nice it 

 is that all should grow a few of it. The 

 English and Spanish irises make a good 

 show in late spring. The Spanish blooms 

 first the English about three weeks later. 

 These irises need a warm, well drained 

 place in which to grow as they are not 

 over hardy. The flowers of all the bulb- 

 ous irises are large and handsome, the 

 color rich and varied. They look nice if 

 planted in clumps of say six to twelve, 

 and left to themselves they will improve 

 from year to year. 



The guinea hen flower (Fritillaria 

 Meleagris) is a beautiful plant and too 

 many of it cannot be grown. It does fine 

 in the border where it can be left to run 

 at will, and will improve from year to 

 year. The flowers are drooping and 

 last for some time. The markings are odd 

 and striking and a patch of them should 

 be in every garden. 



The crown imperial [Fritillaria imperi- 

 alis) is a vigorous growing plant and 

 with us it is the hardiest of all our bulb- 

 ous plants. It is an old-fashioned flower 

 but where it does well is quite nice and 

 makes a good border plant; but a few is 

 all that is needed. With us we have to 

 plant it every year as the bulbs seem to 

 rot soon after flowering and many of 

 them sometimes before they flower. 

 Chionodoxa Lucilix grows a little taller 

 than Scilla siberica and has larger and 

 more numerous flowers. It is blue in 

 color with a white center and can be used 

 the same as the scillas for massing or 

 edgings. 



To associate with these bulbous plants 

 we use many of the earlier flowering 

 perennials such as forget-me-nots, daisies, 

 alyssum, arabis and such like plants; in 

 fact the garden in April and May is more 

 interesting than at any other time of the 

 vear as we grow so many of these to 

 make a big show. After they are past 

 they are pulled out and a new lot raised 

 from seed each year. This is to make 

 room for the summer flowers and to 

 avoid any bare spots in the garden. 

 Mahwah, N. J. David Fraser. 



bulbs, but these should always be planted 

 rather deep so that in hoeing or cleaning 

 the bulbs and tubers are not unearthed 

 or laid bare. 



The introduction of flowering shrubs is 

 also advisable, especially in the back part 

 of a wide border; the .planting of the 

 whole should be rather close than other- 

 wise, excepting with the rank and tall 

 growing. We should endeavor to cover 

 the ground with verdure in the first year 

 after planting, thinning out is more sat- 

 isfactory than filling bare spaces, and 

 after a few years we would rathet take 

 out every other plant in a thickly planted 

 patch than wait that long for the ground 

 to be covered. Usually the border, when 

 once planted, may remain almost undis- 

 turbed for years. A few species may 

 require dividing or transplanting the 

 third or fourth season and this should 

 not be delayed until spring, as we have 

 more spare time in the autumn and can 

 do it then at leisure, besides it is better 

 for most of the plants, as they then have 

 a chance to send out a few new roots and 

 establish themselves before winter sets in 

 and the3' start more vigorously the fol- 

 lowing spring. 



Where mistakes have been made in 

 planting, where the colors do not harmo- 

 nize or the heights of neighboring plants 

 do not correspond with each other, it is 

 easy to make the alteration now by sub- 

 stituting more suitable objects. 



To have an attractive border of hardy 

 plants at all times from the very begin- 

 ning of spring until November is not so 

 difficult as it may seem to those unac- 

 quainted with the vast material at hand; 

 there is hardly a month in the year when 

 we may not go out in the garden and 

 pick a few flowers at least from our hardy 

 plants; even in midwinter we can gather 

 a bunch of Christmas roses or eranthis. 

 In February Erica carnea, though cov- 

 ered over with snow is in full bloom; 

 March brings out scillas, crocus, arabis 

 and other things, while April gives us a 

 great number and large variety of bulb- 

 ous and spring flowers in general. If we 

 only make the right selection and make 

 it large enough an almost constant dis- 

 play may be ensured, but even if there 

 were no flowers at all in the winter the 

 refreshing dark green of the iberis, the 

 glaucous foliage of the various dianthus, 

 arabis, aubietias and aHhionemas, the 

 many sedums, sempervivums and the 

 green carpets of spergulas, arenarias, 

 prunellas, phloxes, linneas, erinus, drabas, 

 armerias, etc., etc., would be enough to 

 cheer us in our walk through the garden 

 on a bright winter's day. For this reason 

 we must not neglect to include these pretty 

 evergreen plants in the list and introduce 

 them freely in the most conspicuous 

 places of the border; they have the advan- 

 tage over other things in possessing a 

 cheerful appearance even in midwinter 

 when all plant life is supposed to be at 

 rest. J. B. Keller. 



Rochester, N. V. 



PLANNING A GARDEN OP HARDY PLANTS. 

 Before planting or arranging a new 

 border, a list of all the plants to be used 

 should be made out, their respective 

 height, time of flowering and color should 

 be marked alongside of the names, then 

 on a sketch or plan of the grounds their 

 exact places can be determined on with 

 far greater ease than would be the case 

 without the aid of paper and pencil. It 

 is an advnatageif we can associate tin- 

 herbaceous plants with spring flowering 



VIEWS IN LINCOLN PARK, CH1GAG0. 



We present herewith a group of views 

 in Lincoln Park, Chicago. 



In the upper left hand corner is a 

 charming view across one of the artificial 

 lakes, and adjoining it at the right is a 

 view across the strip of water known as 

 "the canal," a part of one of the hand- 

 some vases for which the park is noted 

 being seen at the right. The statue of 

 Linna;us, the great Swedish botanist, 

 was presented to the park by the Scan- 

 dinavian people of Chicago. It represents 

 the botanist returning from a collecting 



