284 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



December, 1 912. 



also among themselves give a variety 

 and pleasing contrast or blending of 

 color. 



To obtain the best results in a border 

 it should be wide, ten or twelve feet in 

 width not being too much, but in some 

 places a narrow border is a necessity 

 through force of circumstances. 



HOW TO 8TABT. 



Were I beginning a herbaceous bor- 

 der in a small garden with the object of 

 obtaining the greatest continuity of 

 bloom at the least expense in the short- 

 est time, I should go about it in the fol- 

 lowing way: As in ninety-nine cases out 

 of a hundred the desire comes in the 

 spring, let us assume that we are start- 

 ing at that time. Prepare the border 

 carefully, using good soil and manuring 

 it well with rotted manure. Plant nearly 

 the whole border with annuals the first 

 year, either sowing the seed where the 

 plants are to be in the border or setting 

 out the plants. At the end of the border 

 which is least conspicuous, or in some 

 other place if there is one available, sow 

 seed of the following perennials of the 

 best strains that can be obtained : 



Iceland Poppy, Long-spurred Colum- 

 bine, Oriental Poppy, Hesperis matron- 

 alis alba (White Rocket), Campanula 

 persicifolia, Foxglove, Coreopsis grandi- 

 flora, Pyrethrum, Delphinium Chinense, 

 Delphinium hybridum, Platycodon, Echi- 

 nacea purpurea, Hollyhock. 



It would be much better if this seed 

 were sown in the autumn as a far larger 

 percentage would germinate. If sown 

 in the spring it should be got in the 

 ground as soon as possible. Sow seed 

 about half an inch deep in rows four 

 inches apart and see that the soil does 

 not dry down below the seeds, at least 

 until after they germinate. If the sur- 

 face soil is kept loose and weeds pulled 

 oiit there should be hundreds of plants 

 by autumn. It is desirable, if there is 

 ground available, to prick out as many 

 of the young plants as possible during a 

 wet time in July, setting them about 

 four inches apart each way. 



From one or two dollars' worth of seed 

 or less, many hundred plants should be 

 obtained. The plants which are pricked 

 out should be in splendid shape for set- 

 ting out in September or early October, 

 and even if they have not been pricked 

 out they may be planted into the border 

 directly from the seed bed. 



OABE OF BUIiBS. 



As soon as the annuals have been in- 

 jured by frost or before, if it comes time 

 to plant them, bulbs should be planted, 

 and these should consist mainly of tulips 

 and narcissus. If a good assortment of 

 these is chosen there will be a succession 

 of bloom from the latter part of April 

 until the latter part of May. In our ex- 

 perience from six to ten bulbs is suffi- 

 cient to plant in a clump. Clumps should 



be planted irregularly from one end of 

 the border to the other and from the 

 front to the back. The more clumps 

 there are the better the effect will be, 

 but it may not be possible to plant all 

 that are desirable the first year. They 

 should be planted so that there will be 

 contrast or blending of colors in adjoin- 

 ing clumps and late or early tulips and 

 narcissi should occur here and there all 

 through the border so that there will be 

 an effective display all over at one time. 



The object of planting small clumps 

 irregularly is that the perennials may be 

 planted between and when they develop 

 during the season they will hide the 

 spaces where the tulips and narcissi have 

 been. These small clumps of bulbs need 

 not take the place of solid beds of bulbs 

 if the garden is large enough to have 

 such. 



SEEDLING PEEENNIAIiS. 



After the bulbs have been planted and 

 an outline of the clumps marked on the 

 surface of the soil, the seedling peren- 

 nials should be taken up and planted all 

 over the border, planting from one to 

 three plants of each kind in a group and 

 bearing in mind that Iceland Poppy may 

 be planted quite close to other plants as 

 it will seed freely in the border and the 

 original plants are likely to disappear 

 after the second season. Columbines on 

 the other hand must not be crowded, if 

 they are to do their best. 



Oriental Poppies have heavy, rank 

 foliage and should be kept well away 

 from weaker growing plants. As, how- 

 ever, the tulips will be about ready to 

 dry up when the leaves of the poppies 

 overshadow them, the latter may be 

 planted near the tulips. 



Hesperis matronalis alba, or White 

 Rocket, is a most desirable plant. It 

 is one of the few tall, white-flowered 

 perennials blooming in the early part of 

 the season. It should be arranged so that 

 it will come in sharp contrast with the 

 scarlet Oriental Poppies which bloom at 

 the same time. 



Campanula persicifolia, the Peach- 

 leaved Bellflower, is very attractive dur- 

 ing the month of June. One gets it in 

 white and light and deep bluish purple. 

 It spreads rapidly and seeds itself freely, 

 and once in the border is always there, 

 in my experience. 



The yellow of the Coreopsis grandi- 

 flora makes a very pleasing contrast to 

 the blue and white of the Campanula. 

 It will be remembered when planting 

 Coreopsis that the same plant only 

 blooms one year satisfactorily, hence they 

 may be planted fairly close to other 

 plants. They seed themselves freely, 

 and new plants are thus easily obtained. 



Delphiniums : It is difficult to say 

 which is the more useful, the Dwarf or 

 Chinese Larkspur, Delphinium chinense, 

 or the Tall Larkspur, the seed of which 

 may be obtained under the name Del- 



phinium hybridum. The advantage of 

 the Dwarf varieties is that they do not 

 look out of place in any part of the bor- 

 der, being tall enough for near the back 

 and not too tall for near the front. There 

 is not, however, as great a range in 

 color as among the tall ones. 



The Platycodon, or Chinese Bellflower, 

 comes in bluish purple and white. It is 

 a very satisfactory plant, blooming in 

 July and August. It does not take up 

 much room in the border, but will hold 

 its own once it is established. The 

 Purple Cone Flower Echinacea purpurea 

 should be used in large numbers. It is 

 very effective in late summer and autumn 

 when bloom is scarce. It is tall and up- 

 right in habit and for this reason can be 

 squeezed in between other plants. With 

 a good supply of plants of the above 

 flowers a good ground work for the bor- 

 der will be made and there will be bloom 

 from early in the spring until autumn. 



All of these plants seed themselves. 

 Seedlings not wanted may be treated as- 

 weeds. When the seedling perennials 

 which have been planted bloom the poor- 

 est should be rooted out, as more space 

 will be needed every year for the newer 

 things which are sure to be obtained. 



There are many other plants which 

 must find a place if the border is to look 

 its best, but most of these will have to be 

 bought or obtained from friends. 



House Plants and Humidity 



Chas. E. Stewart, Woodstock, Ont. 



House plants, with proper attention 

 and atmosphere, should thrive in the 

 winter time, but how few people succeed 

 with them. There is nothing which so 

 beautifies a house and lends such an air 

 of cosiness and comfort as a window 

 full of plants. Perhaps you have tried 

 to grow them and have had your dis- 

 appointments despite your best efforts 

 and attention. Perhaps you put the 

 blame on the furnace, presuming that the 

 gas killed them, as it surely would, but 

 it really was not gas, but lack of hu- 

 midity which caused your failure. 



The active root-hairs of a plant are 

 really aquatic and must always be in 

 contact with an adequate supply of 

 water. The stems and leaves are aerial, 

 but their behaviour and form are largely 

 determined by the water in the air, that 

 is, the humidity. The water supply is 

 used by the root-hairs, while the water- 

 loss is the result of evaporation from the 

 surface of the leaves. The humidity of 

 the air exerts a direct control upon the 

 amount of water evaporated by the 

 leaves, and it is evident that the eva- 

 poration will be great where the air is 

 dry. If this evaporation or water-loss 

 is greater than the supply, curling, 

 drooping, and withering of the leaves 

 ensues. 



Even when you water the plants faith- 

 fully, the excessively dry atmosphere of 



