272 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



Floral Bdltioa 



plant treasures should not be in too 

 great a hurry. Let your i)laiits freeze 

 up, then cover Avith a few dry leaves. 

 To keep the leaves from blowing away 

 l>lace a few light branches of any kind 

 on top. When cold frames are at hand 

 they can be used to great advantage. 

 Pansies, canterbury bells, forget-me- 

 nots, and such like can be lifted and 

 planted in the frames, then covered 

 with sashes. 



Nothing is more absurd than to cover 

 or envelop roses in straw. It onh- 

 means comfortable quarters for mice 

 and rats. The finest and only protec- 

 tion roses should receive is the hilling 

 of the soil over the crown of each 

 .plant, so that fully ten or twelve 

 inches of the entire plant is under the 

 soil. This oiperation must be done be- 

 fore the ground freezes too bard. 

 After the ground is thoi'ougMy frozen 

 leaves or long litter can be used to 

 advantage. Some advocate burying 

 entirely the choicer varieties of "teas 

 and hybrid teas. Climbing roses are 

 best taken from the trellis and laid flat 

 on the ground. Cover with at least 

 ten or twelve inches of soil. In the 

 spring all the wood should be in good 

 condition. « 



I would strongly advise all lovers of 

 plants, particularly such varieties as 

 polyanthus and auriculas, not to be in 

 too great a hurry to cover them. Let 

 nature have her way for a time. Wait 

 until the plants are frozen in the soil. 

 Then administer your covering with 

 whatever materials you have &t your 

 disposal. To prevent the high winds 

 disturbing the work place a few 

 branches on top as previously advised. 

 One will naturally be most anxious 

 after the long and dreary winter to 

 find what shape their plants are in, 

 and will, on the first fine day in spring, 

 hasten to take off the winter covering. 

 This is a great mistake. Thousands of 

 choice and valuable plants are Lost 

 every season through too great hurry 

 in uncovering them, and more perhaps 

 than through any other cause. Wait 

 until the ground is thoroughly frozen 

 before protecting your plants, so that 

 ithe sun cannot reach them prema- 

 turely and make them start into 

 igrowth ahead of time. Bright, sunny 

 weather in the months of February 

 and March hasten premature growtli 

 should the plants happen to be unpro- 

 tected. Such weather does more in- 

 jury to the plants than the most severe 

 cold would. 



There are some perennials, such as 

 tritomas and incarvillias, which are 

 best lifted and M'i.ntered in a cold cel- 

 lar. Be careful that the plants do not 

 becoime too dry. Paeonies of all kinds, 

 tree, singles and doubles, have been 

 wintered successfully, the only cover- 

 ing being their own foliage. 



Rearranging the Flower Borders 



EVERY year the border of hardy 

 flowers becomes a more important 

 feature in the garden scheme. 

 This is as it should be, for it is a really 

 artistic and decorative asset. To begin 

 with, let it be well placed, well pre- 

 pared, and well planted. Some people 

 ^L-cui to think that a hardy border, once 

 pla.nted, is no more trouble for \ears. 

 This is not the case. When a hardy 



in 



Harmony as expressed b.v the effective setting 



to this boulevard bridge. (Photo by H. J. 



Moore.) 



border has been in existence, say for 

 three years, it will be all the better for 

 some drastic work upon it. Division of 

 plants will be necessary, and uhile the 

 border is being disturbed, manure and 

 additional soil will be very beneficial. 

 One never quite knows why a border 

 should need this additional soil, but it 

 does. It would seem as if the soil, after 

 a time, diminishes, and it is perhaps 

 even more important to replenish this 

 than to_ give manure, though this, of 

 course, in time becomes soil. 



Now is a good time to renew a border, 

 and in apportioning the plants let us 

 keep an important matter in mind. Do 

 not let us get tall or semi-tall plants too 

 near the front. This is one of the faults 

 often noticed in a novice's work. It 

 spoils the effect ; the sense of space 

 which a border ought to show is lost. 

 It is not enough to leave room for a 

 narrow edging, and close behind that 

 to plant subjects of three feet or more. 



An enthusiastic gardener once told 

 me that although his garden was only 

 a small one, he varied it every year by 

 some alteration or additfon. This added 



very much to his own interest 

 and also to that of his friends. Oi 

 way of making a slight alteration is t. 

 give the plants in a border, when the 

 are raised for division, new places. Thii- 

 not only makes a variaticm, but is r, 

 good thing for the plants themselvc 

 With many of them, new soil improv. 

 their growth. There are nWints wh c 

 are veritably old friends, ahd if we 

 like to keep them where they are, well 

 and good, but this does not apply to 

 all. 



Avoid Mechanical Effects. 



A border of hardy plants is iuore ar 

 tistic, more satisfying to the eve, whc 

 planted in groups instead of "rows- 

 line of yellow, another of crimson, an^ 

 so on, gives a mechanical effect similar 

 to that of the carpet-bedding. When it 

 appears year after year, the same ro\ 

 111 the same old place, one seems to hun 

 ger for a change. As far as possible. 

 let plants grow as if they grew thero 

 by chance. 



A simple way to effect a little alten: 



tion in the border is to purchase a fe\' 



new plant.s — something we have not 



grown before. In doing this, we must 



be careful to get plants suitable for th- 



aspect and the soil that we can give 



them. A few lily bulbs, or one or two 



plants of the Japanese rose (rosa 



nigo.sa), either alba or rubra, are gowl 



additions, or better still a plant or two 



of each. These roses, planted about 



three feet apart soon make a beautiful 



hedge. The foliage is a dark, glossv 



green, the flowers single and stronglv 



perfumed, are followed by large, rich 



orange berries. No one who plants a 



few bushes of this beautiful rose will 



regret it after a few years' time. The 



back of a border is a very suitable place. 



Do not forget the honeysuckle. The 



fragrant upright honeysuckle (Fra- 



grantissima) is one of the best. It will 



soon cover an old dead shrub or hide an 



unsightly piece of fencing. Then there 



are the lilacs, and what more welcome 



flower in spring than a bunch of lovelv 



lilac? 



In planting a border that is to make 

 a display over as long a period as pos- 

 sible, the summer display is of the 

 greater importance. The' whole trend 

 of our thoughts on the subject makes 

 us look for radiant, lavish color at this 

 season. That such a border has been 

 beautifiil during spring, or will be beau- 

 tiful in the autumn, is not enough. It 

 must be a mass of bloom during the 

 summer. But there is this to be said for 

 our comfort — if we do not mind the 

 trouble of it, many of the spring- 

 flowering plants can be lifted after they 

 have flowered and given temporary 



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