152 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



June, 1916. 



A useful, labor saving garden Implement which saves many a backache. 



then have one gallon of bordeaux ready 

 for spraying. 



Formaline is used for immersing 

 potatoes in before cutting, and pre- 

 vents blight. Use one-eighth of a pint of 

 formaline to four gallons of water, and 

 let the tubers dry in the sun before 

 cutting. Paris green, the old standby 

 for leaf eating insects, has been set 

 aside in favor of arsenate of lead, mix- 

 ed with bordeaux mixture for potatoes, 

 as it answers the dual purpose of kill- 

 ing the bugs and preventing blight, and 

 does not injure the plant by burning. 



The fight against weeds should be be- 

 gun promptly, and carried to a finish, it 

 means war to the knife. The frequent 

 stiring of the soil between and around 

 the plants, furnishes one of the best 

 means pf protection against drought. 

 Break the crust after every rain, in or- 

 der to admit air to the roots. Don't 

 make the mistake that cultivating is 

 merely a means of checking weed 

 growth, for weeds are merely a mani- 

 festation of nature's kindness to man, 

 as they force him to stir the soil, thus 

 giving the required food, water and air 

 to the roots. It cannot, therefore, be 



considered that weeds are altogether a 

 curse, but rather a necessary evil. Re- 

 member that if weeds will not grow 

 there is not much use trying to make 

 anything else succeed. 



By now you have planted the tomato 

 plants, either against the fence facing 

 south, or in the centre of the garden. 

 If on the fence allow them four feet of 

 space for each plant. Train four shoots 

 (only) up in fan-shape, tying to chick- 

 en netting. If the plants are in the 

 garden place four stakes in, at an 

 angle of 75° outwards, the stakes to be 

 one and one-quarter inches square, and 

 five feet above the ground. Tie the 

 shoots at intervals of eight inches as 

 they grow. When the fourth set of 

 bloom is formed, pinch out the tops of 

 each shoot and give a little liquid 

 manure and nitrate of soda about every 

 two weeks till the fruit starts to turn 

 colour. "Water only the roots and not 

 the fruit and foliage, and thus help to 

 avoid the black rot. Do not cultivate 

 deeply close to the plant, as the roots 

 have a tendency to be near the surface, 

 especially in dry weather. Use the rake 

 and not the hoe for this operation. 



Hardy Perennial Borders 



Mrs. E. P. Smart, Brockville, Oat. 



AFTER many years of gardening 

 and varied experiences with all 

 sorts and kinds of annuals, a 

 most successful horticulturist was 

 heard to say, "A really beautiful gar- 

 den without hardy perennial borders 

 is an impossibility." A good many 

 amateur gardeners are trying to do the 

 impossible in this respect, thinking 

 that the making of a permanent hardy 

 border is too much of an undertaking 

 and does not give immediate results. 

 True, the second and third years of 

 the hardy flowering perennials are the 

 better years, but it is quite possible to 



have a good show of flowers in the first 

 season after planting, if sufTRciently 

 large roots are obtainable. As yet, 

 there are few, if any, flower growers 

 who deal exclusively in the perennial 

 varieties, and who are thus able to fur- 

 nish large roots for immediate results ; 

 but the demand for this class of plant 

 is becoming so much greater, that it 

 will soon be possible to obtain perennial 

 flowering plants of sufficient size and 

 vigor to produce a respectable show of 

 bloom the first year. 



There are several methods of plant- 

 ing hardy perennial borders, the most 



common, and certainly a very satisfac- 

 tory way, being to plant indiscrimin- 

 ately, as to color, keeping, of course, 

 the taller growing varieties in the back- 

 ground. This is what may be called 

 the "riot of color" system, and the 

 majority of hardy beds and borders aro 

 so planted. Another system, and onf 

 which produces very artistic results, is 

 to plant in masses of harmonizing 

 colors. To be more explicit, let us sup- 

 pose a large bed of perennials is to be 

 set out, one which will be seen from 

 all sides (though the same plan works 

 equally well in border planting), a 

 beautiful arrangement would be to 

 plant the tallest growing delphiniums 

 (blue) in masses in the centre, with 

 occasional white flowering plants, such 

 as achilleas interspersed about the edge, 

 the whole mass surrounded by the gar- 

 den lily, 1 ilium candidum. These blos- 

 som simultaneously and produce one of 

 the most remarkably beautiful results; 

 the creamy white of the lilies standing 

 against the background of dark green 

 foliage and the blue raeimes of the 

 delphiniums borne high above the lilies. 

 One should see this arrangement to 

 really appreciate the exquisite eiTeet 

 produced by it. 



In the matter of planting phlox, the 

 finest results are obtained by planting 

 a dozen or more clumps of one shade 

 side by side, either in rows or in a 

 group, rather than by mixing of the 

 various colors. The bright red phlox 

 planted in this way makes a most strik- 

 ing picture in a bed or border. It is 

 much more artistic to have a quantity 

 of one variety than to have plants of 

 every shade and color. 



This, of course, as has already been 

 said, is the "artistic" system of plant- 

 ing the hardy perennial border or bed, 

 and it can be carried out in any color 

 or harmonious arrangement of color. 

 Masses of yellow or yellow and white, 

 yellow and dark blue, or yellow and 

 red, would any of them be most effec- 

 tive. In fact, there is so much oppor- 

 tunity for individual taste in this sort 

 of arrangement that gardens thus 

 planted become, in a very real sense, 

 "individual gardens," each reflecting 

 the individuality of the owner and thus 

 are increasingly interesting. Each pos- 

 sessor of even a small garden should 

 aim to make his or her garden unique 

 and consequently of more than passing 

 interest to every one who sees it. 



Robins will often clear a lawn of 

 white grubs if the sod is kept moist so 

 they can dig through it. 



In transplanting lettuce or other 

 soft foliage plants, do not set too deep. 

 If you do, the water is likely to collect 

 in the lower leaves and cause them to 

 decay. 



