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THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



May, 191 1 



made in the open, but this annual is 

 not, to my mind, worth growing when 

 there are so many better things. The 

 annual Marguerite Carnations, though 

 not so desirable, perhaps, as the peren- 

 nial species, produced an abundance of 

 exquisitely scented flowers in many 

 shades of color. 



Annual Chrysanthemums proved valu- 

 able both as bedders and for the window 

 boxes. They were, however, somewhat 

 rank and weedy, and possibly would 

 have been more satisfactory in poorer 

 soil. Clarkia I sowed in the open, but 

 for some unknown reason this failed to 

 come. This year I am sowing under 

 glass. Coreopsis tinctoria grew luxuri- 

 antly, but did not flower till late in the 

 season, though sown inside in March. 

 Coreopsis Drummondii, however, under 

 the same treatment produced a profusion 

 of its rich, golden yellow flowers during 

 the whole of the summer months, and 

 was exceptionally useful for cutting. 

 Collinsia bicolor, an annual with lilac 

 and white pea-shaped flowers, was very 

 satisfactory from sowings made in the 

 open. I tried Convolvulus or "Morn- 

 ing Glory," but the blossoms faded al- 

 most immediately on opening, owing to 

 the bright sunshine. 



The Indian and Japanese Pinks were 

 a great success, and are ,in my opinion, 

 worthy of more general culture here 

 than they at present, receive. They vary 

 in color from pure white to richest crim- 

 son, while many are beautifully laced 

 and striped. They remain in full beauty 

 over a long period. They are not so 

 quickly affected by dryness at the root, 

 as are many other annuals. The Cali- 

 fornian Poppy succeeds in almost every 

 garden . I grew a variety last year call- 

 ed "Rosy Queen," the flowers of which 

 exhibited two very pleasing shades of 

 pink. 



EDGING PLANTS 



The variety of Golden Feather known 

 as Sutton's Golden Ball made an excel- 

 lent edging plant. This variety has an 

 exceedingly compact habit, with finely 

 cut moss-like foliage, its great recom- 

 mendation being that it does not re- 

 quire pinching. Jacobea proved a really 

 beautiful free-flowering annual, produc- 

 ing dense heads of double flowers in 

 white, rose, purple, and crimson shades 

 for a long period. It succeeded in both 

 sunny and shady situations. The Afri- 

 can Marigolds grew vigorously and 

 flowered profusely. I found a small 

 single flowered kind, known as "Legion 

 of Honor," very useful as an edging 

 plant. Malva rosea was excellent as a 

 dot plant, growing into a compact bush 

 2 feet high and covered with large pink 

 flowers. The white Tobacco Plants 

 were very miserable looking objects dur- 

 ing the daytime, the flowers closing, and 

 the plant putting on a drooping, de- 

 jected and woe-begone appearance gen- 

 erally. This was compensated for, how- 



ever, by the delicious fragrance they 

 diffused during the evening and night. 

 I tried Nemesia, a well known and pop- 

 ular annual in England, but it did not 

 prove very satisfactory. 



I think I need say nothing about pan- 

 sies, for everybody that has a garden 

 knows how well they succeed here. 



Success in Vase Filling 



Fred. W. Aduu, Toront* 



A good compost, with lots of fibre, 



makes an ideal soil, and the rougher it 



is packed in the bottom of the vase the 



better. The best centre piece is Dra- 



caena indivisa. Use a size that will 

 throw its leaves well above the rest of 

 the plants. Le Cid and Mme. Barney 

 geraniums have been found to be the 

 most profuse bloomers. Never use but 

 the one variety in a vase, no matter what 

 quality is required. For use around the 

 centre the following are useful ; Achy- 

 ranthes lindenii, coleus fuchsias, abuti- 

 lons and Marguerites, and anthuricum 

 (Var.). For trailers or creepers around 

 the edge we use Var. Vincas, Ivy ger- 

 aniums, double Petunias, Fuchsia, 

 "Trailing Queen," Mesembryanthe- 

 mums (dew plants)), Var. Tradescantia, 

 Lobelia, Alyssum and German Ivy. As 

 much as possible use propagated plants 

 in preference to seedlings, and above all 

 strive for a "riot of color." A va.se that 

 has a green appearance is a poor seller, 

 and anything but attractive. 



If your garden soil is heavy clay, cold 

 and late, you can lighten it greatly by 

 adding ashes or sand. Coal ashes, 

 though of very little fertilizing value, will 

 aid greatly in this respect. A dressing of 

 lime, five to ten pounds to the square 

 yard, will also lighten up heavy lands. 



Growing Sweet Peas 



Mrs. H. C. NickoUra, St. Calbariaet 



The sweet peas shown in the accom- 

 panying illustration were grown as fol- 

 lows : F"irst, I manured the ground well, 

 and then harrowed it thoroughly. I then 

 took some well rotted manure and forked 

 it in where the rows were to be planted. 

 I worked it over and over to the depth of 

 over one foot, so that I had the soil per- 

 fectly pulverized. I then made shallow 

 trenches, about four inches deep, planted 

 the .seed about three inches apart, zig- 

 zag, which made two rows, and as they 

 grew I drew the soil up to them till the 

 soil was level. I then drove two by two 

 inch stakes at each end and the middle, 

 and corded from stake to stake. 



At intervals of two weeks I gave three 

 sowings of nitrate of soda broadcast be- 

 tween the rows. 



Instead of spraying water over the 

 top of the peas, I thought that I would 

 try another method of watering. I had 

 five rows, thirty feet long, four feet 

 apart between the rows. I then made a 

 ditch between each row, and turned the 

 hose into each ditch, and filled full of 

 water. I found that way kept the soil 

 cool, and the water seeped through to 

 the roots easily. The peas grew well. 

 You can see the luxuriance by the photo. 

 Why. I had peas galore, the finest that I 

 ever had. A few days before our July 

 exhibition, I covered them with cotton, 

 for the sun scalds the bloom badly here, 

 which spoils them for show purposes. 



I may say that I always grow the Spen- 

 cer type of sweet peas, as I think they 

 have the most delicate colors and the 

 largest blooms. They generally have 

 three and four blossoms on strong stiff 

 stems. 



Plants for spring blooming should be 

 generously fed with liquid manure and 

 top dressings of fine bone meal. 



Sweet Pea* 

 Orown br Mrs. H. 0. Nicholson, St. Oatharinee 



