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THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



May, 1912 



A^Dwarf Jlris and Lovely Phlox No. 1 



and in the time of blooming. T. pum- 

 illa caeriiiea, a midi^et of only four inches 

 high, with small flowers of a delicate 

 mauve-blue throughout — preceding the 

 others by nearly a week. There are yel- 

 low, white, and purple varieties, sonie 

 with blooms as large as those of the 

 German iris, some coming early and 

 some only fading as T. Florentina, the 

 forerunner of the German iris, begins. 

 They delight in a well-drained soil and 

 sunny situation. 



The Virginian Blue Bells (Mertensia 

 Virginica), with smooth glaucus leaves 

 ahd drooping flowers of the softest plum- 

 bago blue, deserves a well-honored place 

 in the spring border, and so does the 

 creeping Jacob's Ladder (Polemonum 

 reptans) with soft grey-blue flowers and 

 pretty leaves, nor must we forget the 

 claims of the perennial Candytuft (Tberis 

 sempervireus), which lies like a patch of 

 freshly fallen snow, in its dazzling white- 

 ness ; Snow Queen, a new variety, is the 

 finest. A darling amongst the little creep- 

 ing things is the Snow in Summer (Cer- 

 astium tomentosum) with its fine silvery 

 leaves of almost wool-like texture, and 

 comparatively large white flowers, which 

 begin to open in late May and last until 

 mid June. 



Few plants are more charming than 

 the Iceland Poppy (P. nudicaule) (see 

 illustration number two). ' It is not only 

 an early bloomer, but it is one of the few 

 perennials that blossom all summer, pro- 

 vided no seed is allowed to form. Its 

 long stems and airily poised flowers give 

 it great decorative value both indoors and 

 out, for unlike the majority of poppies, 

 it does not drop its petals the day it is 

 gathered. If picked in the bud stage it 

 will often last several days in the house. 



The original colors were pure white, 

 pure yellow, and orange-scarlet, but the 

 last few years have seen .several inter- 

 mediate shades added to these, and also 

 colored flowers with delicate white edges 

 (a la Shirley Poppy), which are exqui- 

 sitely dainty. It, also, can be easily rais- 



ed from seed, and will frequently flower a 

 little the first year if .sown in a hot bed 

 in March or April. 



With the flowers described, as well as 

 those that bloom during March and 

 April, one can have something coming on, 

 to cheer and interest one, from March to 

 the end of May, the three spring months. 

 I do not wish you to infer that there will 

 be much bloom in March, for that would 

 be misleading, but even a few snowdrops 

 are worth while after our long, cold win- 

 ters, and the procession of the flowers 

 is steady, if sometimes slow, in cold sea- 

 sons. By the end of April you will find 

 yourself going out each morning to see 

 if there is not something more in bloom 

 since the previous day, and you will be 

 anxiously watching each little bud un- 

 fold. 



From the first week in May things will 

 run races with each other for precedence, 

 and by the twenty-fourth the spring gar- 

 den will be in the height of its glory, 

 which will only be excelled by June's 

 lavish display. All this time the average 

 gardener is gazing at his empty beds and 

 wondering if he dare have his tender 

 bedding plants put in by the twenty- 

 fourth, while the man who goes in 'or 



Iceland Poppy ^Papaver Nudicaule) No. 2 



annuals, "first, last and all the time," 

 is nursing his tiny plants that will not 

 reach blooming size until the end of June 

 at the earliest — he and his bedding-out- 

 plant rival having the pleasant thought 

 to cheer them that their gardens will be 

 in their prime when either they them- 

 selves or most of their friends will be out 

 of town for their summer holidavs. 



The Perennial Border 



F. E. Buck, Central Eiperimcat*! Farm, Ollawa. 



The following are a few short rule> 

 to follow in the making of a perennial 

 border : 



Prepare the ground for f>erennials in 

 the early autumn, or prepare in the 

 spring, and plant annuals in it for that 

 season. The cultivation of the.se annuals 

 will greatly improve the ground for the 

 perennials. In preparing the bed, work 

 in thoroughly plenty of well-rotted 

 m.lnure. 



Underdrain the border if the soil is 

 heavy. If it is very heavy add, in addi- 

 tion to manure, some sand or peat as 

 well. 



Order the plants from the nursery com- 

 pany' in good time. This will ensure your 

 getting all the plants you order, and it 

 will enable you to plant early and to get 

 the best results. 



Order most of the plants in the sum- 

 mer for autumn planting, except a few 

 that are best planted in the spring. The.se 

 latter you may order during the winter. 



Plant as soon as received and don't 

 on any account let the roots dry out. Set 

 the plants a little bit deeper than they 

 were in the nursery, but don't smother 

 them. 



If you can raise most of the plants 

 yourself from seed, do so. Sow the seed 

 early in the spring, and the plants will 

 be ready to transplant into the border by 

 the fall! 



A FEW DON'TS 



Don't try after color effect until you 

 know your flowers well. 



Don't forget that quiet harmonies are 

 often better than strong contrasts. 



Don't forget to pick off the old flower 

 heads and dead stalks. By so doing you 

 will improve the general appearance of 

 the border and encourage some plants 

 to make a second growth. 



Don't forget that a little water applied 

 during the daytime is worse than none at 

 all. If you give any give plenty. 



Don't forget to stake and tie up the 

 very tall plants. 



Don't forget that in' the early stages 

 of a perennial border you can hardly ex- 

 pect to have a good balance of bloom at 

 all seasons, but strive after that if you 

 have a large border. 



Don't forget that too much variation, 

 even in a flower border, tends to mono- 

 tony. Have big clumps of color if pos- 

 sible. 



Don't forget that exact grading from 

 the tall plants at the back to the dwarf 

 plants at the front of the border will give 

 a stiff appearance. To avoid this plant 

 an occasional large and striking plant 

 in the foreground. 



Don't forget that the drip from large 

 trees is harmful to most plants. 



Don't be afraid to throw out plants 

 you do not care for'. 



