May, 1916. 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



125 



) trude, single white; Rapheil Beauty, 

 j single red ; Kitty Borne, single yellow. 

 I To grow good pot, mums, start with 

 healthy, strong cuttings. They will 

 readily root in sand and soil. When 

 cuttings are well rooted, put them into 

 two and a half inch pots. When these 

 are filled with roots pinch out the tops, 

 which will make them break and give 

 you the foundation. If you have not 

 sufficient shoots they can be topped 

 again later. Repot as required up to a 

 six inch pot, which is large enough for 

 them to flower. The ideal spot for 

 young mum plants in the spring is in a 

 cold frame. In the summer they may 

 stand in the open. Select a spot where 

 they will be sheltered from the Avind 

 and hot sun, othenvise the pots will dry 

 out too quickly. Stand the pots on 

 ashes to prevent the worms from enter- 

 ing the pots. They will grow outside 

 until signs of frost. Use good, turfy 



loam for potting, and feed with liquid 

 manure when buds are well set. 



Hyacinths, daffodils, and tulips are 

 now in bloom and help to remind us 

 that spring is here. They make nice 

 pot plants. People are growing more 

 bulbs each year. Hyacinths are noted 

 for their fragrance. They can be grown 

 a single bulb, in a four or five inch pot, 

 or three bulbs in a seven inch pot or 

 pan. 



Daffodils and tulips look best grown 

 in clusters. These are usually planted 

 in October and November. A mixture 

 of good garden loam and Avell decayed 

 manure suits bulbs. It is a good plan 

 to stand the pots of bulbs in the cellar 

 after you have given them a good wa- 

 tering, and to cover with ashes. In 

 about six weeks they should be nicely 

 sprouted, with pots full of roots and 

 ready to be taken up to the light where 

 they can have regular treatment. 



Garden Suggestions for May 



Henry Gibson 



MAY is the month of the poets, 

 the queen of the calendar, yet 

 it is a month of many activi- 

 ties for the gardener. Nature has 

 brought us to the threshold of summer 

 and is whispering to us of the unfold- 

 ing beauties that shortly are to be 

 spread before us. The orchards will 

 be white and pink, with a thousand 

 temptations for the tuneful birds and 

 buzzing bees. The iris will be unfurl- 

 ing its bannerets of royal purple and 

 golden yellow. The tulips will add a 

 glow of color to the beds and borders 

 that ere long will be planted to more 

 tender subjects from the greenhouse, 

 and at last we will be made to forget 

 that Jack Frost ever tried our patience 

 with his Avintry pranks. 



Now, when planting operations are 

 going on, is the time to add some at- 

 tractions for the songsters. There are 

 innumerable varieties of shrubs that 

 produce berries that the birds can feed 

 on during the cold weather. Si)ace 

 forbids giving anything like an ex- 

 haustive list of the shrubs here, but we 

 will mention a few off-hand as a sort 

 of guide to go by: Morus Rubra (red 

 mulben-y), Prunuses, in variety, Cor- 

 nus Alterifolia (blue cornel), Vac- 

 ciniuni Perisylvanicum (lowbush blue- 

 berry). Viburnums, in variety, Rhubus 

 (thimbleberry), Sambucus Canadensis 

 (common elder), Symphoricarpus 

 (snowberry). More and more interest 

 is being evinced each year in the pre- 

 servation of our native birds, and much 



can be done by attracting them to the 

 garden and around the house. It ma\' 

 be claimed by some, and it is true to a 

 certain extent, that birds do a lot oi 

 damage in the garden by picking up 

 the seeds that one sows, and eating the 

 small fruits. Birds do not always, as 

 is supposed, pick up the seeds from a 

 newly-planted piece of ground. They 

 are invariably after the grubs. The 

 damage to the fruit can be overcome 

 by planting a few mulberries in close 

 proximity to the fruit patch. Bird> 

 prefer mulberries to either blackberries 

 or raspberries. Sunflower seeds should 

 be planted in a corner of every garden 

 for the birds to feed on in the fall. 

 Water should be provided in shallow 

 receptacles, which may assume some 

 ornamental form if the owner so 

 desires, but let them be shallow. 



The Flower Garden. 



In normal seasons a number of the 

 more hardy annuals can be sown in the 

 open ground about the middle of May. 

 The tender ones should be accom- 

 modated in a cold frame or mild hot- 

 bed. Commence to harden off those 

 annuals that were started early in the 

 hotbed or greenhouse, preparatory to 

 planting out. Montbretias and gladi- 

 olus can be planted as soon as the 

 ground is fit to work without being 

 sticky. Gladiolus should be planted 

 several times throughout this month 

 and next, so as to have a succession of 

 flowers all through the season. Dor- 

 mant roots of dahlias may be set out, 

 but where young, green plants are to be 

 put out, it would be advisable to wait 

 until all danger from frost is past. 

 Dahlias are very tender, and the least 

 bit of fro.st will render them useless. 



Perennials that are still to move 

 should be attended to at the earliest 

 possible moment. Get the planting of 



This unique and strlkine stone wall, which .separates Spadina Park from the residence of Mr. A. W. Au.stin, Toronto, is a ."source of much p'oasui 



to large numbers of people each year. It i.s 1,000 feet long. 



