86 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



Floral Bditioi; 



ditions. iSelect varieties lliat will 

 eventually develop in proportion to the 

 size of the garden, remembering that 

 trees are planted for permanency. 

 These can be used to act as wind-breaks 

 or screens if necessary, as well as to 

 provide a little shade. A specimen 

 shrub or two in the grass is allowable, 

 but in nearly all cases it is best to keep 

 the centre quite open unless the owner 

 is particularly fond of some such flower 

 as roses, when a bed or two for the 

 particular favorite adds a real note of 

 distinction. 



Where part of a garden is to be used 

 for vegetables this should be set apart 

 either at one side or the end, and par- 

 tially screened off from the rest of the 

 garden. There is nothing untidy about 

 a well-kept vegetable garden, and there 

 is no need for complete hiding, but a 

 group or two of shrubs or a small peren- 

 nial border at this spot adds to the lay- 

 out. Geometry should be largely for- 

 gotten in modern gardening. Unless 

 carefully designed it is apt to be arti- 

 ficial in appearance and the tendency 

 to-day is rightly towards the natural 

 and free. Do not over-plant a small 

 area or it becomes stuffy. Aim to keep 

 all planting in harmony with the 

 building, and also aim at simplicity 

 and restfulness. The ideal garden 

 should be a picture, not a collection of 

 merely interesting objects. It is not 

 enough to plant; the plants must be in 

 the right place. 



The Newer Irises' 



Growing Gladiolus Gormels 



Df. F. G. Brethour, Toronto, Ont. 



THOSE who have a few cormels of 

 some choice gladiolus might try 

 the following method with success. 

 I had some cormels of a notoriously 

 difficult variety to increase, and whose 

 cormels are hard to get to germinate, 

 namely, "Madame Mounet Sully." I 

 peeled off the skins and planted them 

 indoors in four-inch boxes, in soil con- 

 taining an excess of leaf mould, and a 

 good deal of coarse sand. This was done 

 early in March, and I left them in a 

 cellar near a window, with north light. 

 As soon as the ground was a bit warm 

 in early May I planted them outdoors. 

 They had leaf growth from two up to 

 eight inches. Some of them bloomed 

 the same year, and many of the corns 

 are one and a quarter inches. They will 

 give good bloom this year. I think by 

 this method you can get much bigger 

 bulbs than by planting outdoors, and 

 have many more germinate. 



This method may be applied to mont- 

 bretias, only you do not need to peel off 

 the outer skin. Bloom will come much 

 earlier and the growth will be much 

 taller. Montbretias require plenty of 

 leaf-mould even outdoors, and they 

 keep on coming for a long time, giving 

 lots of bloom for cutting. 



W. E. Saunders, 



AT the time of our last remarks on 

 irises, the list of quality was head- 

 ed by such varieties as Alcazar 

 and Isoline, introduced by Vilmorin, 

 Aiidrieux et Cie, Paris. Since that time 

 there has been a wonderful improve- 

 ment in the species, and a whole new 

 gamut of wonderful varieties has been 

 introduced. The i'renchmen are still 

 in the forefront, but some of their 

 varieties on put on the market by Eng- 

 lish fii'ms. There are also notable con- 

 tributions by Americans as well, though 

 their flowers are usually held at prices 

 that none but dyed-in-the-wool fans are 

 willing to pay. The result is, that most 

 of their varieties are unrepresented in 

 Canadian gardens. There is also the 

 impression that the American varieties 

 do not possess the same superfine qual- 

 ity ihat is found in France; indeed, 

 some recent American introductions 

 have been adversely criticized by offi- 

 cers of the American Iris Society. 

 ■ The following remarks are therefore 

 necessarily confined to varieties of 

 European origin, and as some of them 

 have been available for only a year or 

 two, opinions now expressed are sub.iect 

 to revision in the near future. All we 

 can say is that the following statements 

 express the opinions of several iris 

 growers up to the present. 



The firm of Vilmorin stands, per- 

 haps, at the head of the iris world, and 

 shall therefore receive first considera- 

 tion. Their new varieties have been 

 fairly tested in the London district, and 

 Ambassadeur, Ballerine, Cluny, Grevin, 

 Magnifica and Moliere have been found 

 worthy of the highest praise. Ambas- 

 sadeur is a noble Squalens of fine habit, 

 with large and substantial flowers of 

 the richest tints. Ballerine, Cluny, 

 and Magnifica are bicolors that arouse 

 enthusiastic comment from every be- 

 holder. Moliere so far appears to be 

 rather dwarf, but with enormous 

 flowers in which the blue is modiled by 

 red. Grevin is of the deep rich garnet 

 color found in Opera, previously intro- 

 duced by the same firm, an exceedingly 

 rich color and a flower of great beauty. 



The Outstanding Irises. 

 Perhaps the outstanding iris of the 

 world to-day is the product of the 

 skill of Bliss, the celebrated English 

 hybridizer, and is named Dominion. 

 It is unfortunate, though perhaps un- 

 avoidable, that Wallace and others who 

 offer it for sale have not yet been able 

 to recede more than a trifle from the 

 introduction price of five guineas. The 

 flower is a nrarvellous blue of a rich- 

 ness previously unequalled, and an 



•A report presented by the Names an<3 

 Varieties Committee at the recent Ontario 

 Horticultural Association Convention. 



London, Ont. 



American visitor reported that th' 

 stock at Wallace's was "much deple; 

 ed, owing to the enormous demand." 



From the garden of Millet and Son, 

 in France, comes the great iris. Sou- 

 venir de Mine. Gaudichau, said by soui' 

 expert growers to be the finest iris the 

 have ever seen. Ochracea Coerulea, L 

 the same men, is one of great promisi 



Mile. Schwartz, by M. Denis, is tli 

 choice of another enthusiast as the be.si 

 so it will be seen that while opinion 

 differ, all unite in thinking that on 

 of the new ones is the finest. 



Lent A. Williamson is the fourth i- 

 the new rich blues that are acclaimed ;i 

 the top. It is an American variety, am 

 the plants so far reported have not yc 

 bloomed. 



Wallace & Co. are the distributors <■ 

 a large group of new irises by Deni^ 

 Bliss, Van Hort and Yeld, and from th i 

 group we may look for many fin- 

 things. They are all, or nearly all, in 

 Canada, but some of the young plants 

 have not yet bloomed, and no opinions 

 can be definite as yet. Crusader and 

 Lord of June are certainly very fine bi- 

 colors of great stature, and fine sub- 

 stance and color, bearing many magni- 

 ficent flowers on a spike, and in that 

 respect lies one great point of super- 

 iority, of the new irises over the old 

 ones. Lady Foster is a lovely pale 

 mauve, practically self-colored. Cle- 

 matis, opens after the style of a Kaemp- 

 feri with beautiful markings on the 

 lavender petals. Deuil de Valery Mayet 

 is a splendid ^\ine red, and seems to be 

 one of the coming kinds. Dimity is one 

 of the new frilled ones, probably bet- 

 ter than Mme. Chereau, and it take- 

 no mean flower to eclipse this old , 

 variety. Sunshine, Viola, Tomtit and ' 

 Sweet Lavender may easily be worth 

 M-hile, but Yeld 's Dawn seems to lack'' 

 sufficient character to make it sure of a 

 grower. 



Preparing Soil For Dahlias 



J. K. Alexander, Bridgewater, Mass. 



The preparation of the soil in which 

 you put your dahlia tuber is just as im- 

 portant -as the fertilization and culti- 

 vation you give your dahlia after you 

 have them planted. 



The soil should be thoroughly culti- 

 vated ; plowed or spaded 8 to 10 inches 

 deep, well pulverized and thoroughly 

 worked over, thus affording an oppor- 

 tunity for rapid expansion, and making 

 an easy path for the tiny rootlets. To 

 secure exceptional results, have your 

 soil thoroughly plowed or spaded in the 

 fall or early spring; then just before 

 plantjpg have it plowed or spaded 

 again. 



