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THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



Floral Edition 



shapely flowers are of the most delicate 

 and delightful shade of lavender-blue, 

 paler than celeste, on tall stately spikes. 



Medrano (Vil.) — Fair sized flowers of 

 a most peculiar and striking brown- 

 crimson color. Medium height. De- 

 cidedly attractive. 



Monsignor (Vil.)— This variety, in my 

 opinion, is much overrated, or else there 

 is something in my soil that prevents 

 it doing it selfjustice. It is in two 

 shades of purple, the falls especially 

 being splashed with a deeper purple. 

 It is short, very floriferous, and has 

 medium-sized flowers. 



Nothung (G & K)— So like After- 

 glow that it is needless to describe it; 

 possibly another year it may be taller, 

 but the spikes in 1921 (from August, set 

 plants of 1920) were not long enough to 

 be effective; Large blooms; An at- 

 tractive variety. 



Parisiana (Vil.) — Large flowers, well 

 placed on tall stems of the Mme. 

 Chereau type, but of pinkish-lilac in- 

 stead of lavender, and the color carried 

 over the flower by minute dots and 

 veinings; quite effective. 



Rodney (Bliss) — A lovely pure blue 

 with large well formed flowers; Good 

 constitution. 



Sweet Lavender (BHss) — S pale 

 lavender; F's deeper with a rosy glow. 

 The coloring is charming, far more 

 beautiful than it sounds. Remarkably 

 free flowering with tall branching spikes; 

 A very beautiful variety. 



Tristram (Bliss) — S pure white, F's 

 deep black-purple. This is supposed to 

 be an improvement on Thorbeck. It is 

 very free flowering, but the flowers hug 

 the stem too closely to be effective or 

 graceful ; Strong grower. 



Rubini — This was one of the surprises. 

 I had grown it before but without en- 

 thusiasm, but, on the second day of 

 glads in 1921, it opened a gorgeous 

 five and a half inch flower of exquisite 

 tints that everyone liked immensely. It 

 is a Dutch introduction, and if it can 

 do as well again it is assured of a place 

 in my garden. 



Phyllocacti 



J. H. Callander, Peterboro, Ont. 



IT is interesting to listen to the com- 

 ments made by visitors to the home 



or conservatory, where a cactus col- 

 lection or even a few specimens are 

 grown. Nine out of ten pronounce them 

 ugly, yet they spend more time looking 

 them over than they would other plants 

 of more ordinary appearance. The ugli- 

 ness, when examined closely, is found to 

 be a most striking oddity of form, every 

 formidable spiny guard, having a re- 

 gularity as apparent as the arrangement 

 of the kernels of com on the cob. 



Nature has followed out a wise plan 

 in providing the wicked-looking spines 

 to protect the desert plants, but there 

 are cacti that grow in damper regions, 



where vegetation is abundant, which are 

 unprotected by spines of any kind. The 

 latter are the Phyllocacti, a flat branched 

 smooth-skinned genus, that is partly 

 orchidaceous in habit. They are found 

 adhering to tree trunks and in the moss 

 on fallen logs. The shade of the forest 

 appears to be suitable to their best 

 development. 



This class of cacti has more friends 

 than any other. The common King 

 cactus (Phyllocactus Ackermannii) and 

 the Queen cactus (Phyllocactus lati- 

 frons) are met with quite frequently. 

 The plants themselves, are uninteresting, 

 but the flowers well repay holding the 

 plant all the year round till its blooming 

 season. 



Hybridizers have taken the Phyllo- 

 cactus and produced many marvellous 

 new colors, just as all other wild flowers 

 that show merit, have been cultivated, 

 and improved till they far surpass the 

 original flower. For instance the large 

 red bloom of the King cactus, has, by 

 breeding and crossing, produced a more 

 open flower of deeper, richer red, the 

 throat being given a dazzling tint of 

 violet. It is a flower so striking that it 

 has been named Phyllocactus brilliant. 

 Another instance of the change made is 

 seen in the bloom of P. Cleopatra, which 

 is a salmon flesh shade, that somehow 

 seems to be appropriately named after 

 the famous Egyptian beauty. 



A fortunate find placed the writer in 

 possession of a collection of about 28 or 

 30 varieties, a number of which have 

 flowered, and proved fine additions to 

 any assortment of house plants. In fact, 

 the Phyllocacti are the most satisfactory 

 of all cacti as house plants and when in 

 bloom are the pride of their owners'. 



Don'ts with Peonies 



Do not plant in the spring. 



Do not plant the crown any deeper 

 than three inches. 



Bo not crowd the plants. Allow a 

 distance of three feet or you will retard 

 proper development. 



Do not allow dampness to remain at 

 the roots through lack of proper drainage. 



Do not make soil so poverty stricken 

 that it will dry out with the first gleam 

 of sunshine. 



Do not disturb them. 



Do not cut awav foliage after blooming, 

 as the leaves are their lungs. 



Do not leave foliage on during winter, 

 as it harbors disease. Cut all off and 

 burn it. 



Do not worry over ants on the buds, 

 as they are harmless. 



Early celery may be blanched by 

 standing boards 10 to 12 inches with 

 one edge at each side of the row close 

 up to the plant. Late celery is blanch- 

 ed usually with earth. — Prof W S 

 Blair, Kentville, N.S. 



Foundation Planting 



W. E. Groves, Hamilton, Ont. 



HOUSES which set close to the 

 ground should have little or no 

 planting at the base. The grass 

 might extend up to the porch or verandah 

 and group plantings be made at the cor- 

 ners. Where the floor level is slightly 

 off the ground or where it is three or 

 four feet high what is called foundation 

 or base planting is correct and artistic. 

 The purpose in this kind of planting is 

 to soften and to some extent hide the 

 straight severe lines and angles so obvious 

 in an unplanted home, or in other words 

 to provide a pleasing connection between 

 the home and the surrounding ground. 

 The average Canadian home, especially 

 in towns and cities, is so constructed 

 that it is approached by steps, and the 

 kind of garden decoration suggested 

 makes it possible^ to turn what may 

 easily be common-place into a pleasing 

 attraction. To accomplish this is not 

 difficult. Where the whole front of the 

 house is used for verandah and entrance, 

 plants that will grow up to the height of 

 verandah rail may be used for back- 

 ground. A row or rows of lower growing 

 kinds in front of these will finish the 

 planting. 



To plant against a house where there 

 is no porch or verandah demands slightly 

 different treatment. There are nearly 

 always windows to be considered, and it 

 is well to avoid planting tall growing 

 varieties under the windows. The place 

 for them is between the windows. It is 

 quite obvious that this arrangement 

 allows for more freedom in the planting 

 and less of the uniformity which does 

 not always bring softness or artistic 

 effect. If the window-sills are five to six 

 feet from the ground varieties growing 

 about four feet should be planted di- 

 rectly under the windows, and advantage 

 could be taken of the spaces between to 

 use kinds growing from six to eight feet 

 high. 



A double row of plants is always wise, 

 the practice being to stagger the rows or 

 to avoid planting one shrub directly in 

 front of the other. Unless the distance 

 between the house and sidewalk is very 

 limited parts of the planting might be 

 extended forward, making the front ir- 

 regular rather than formal. A little 

 extra massing near the comers and at 

 the steps can be achieved in this way. 

 Remember that the extra width of the 

 planting should always occur where the 

 tallest shrubs are used at the back. 

 Usual distances to plant are three feet 

 apart for varieties that do not usually 

 grow over five feet in height; three and 

 one half to four feet apart for larger 

 growing kinds. 



Do not neglect the small fruit bushes. 

 The result will be an increased crop 

 next year after the fruit is picked off. 

 Keep them well cultivated. 



