64 



THE CANADIAN TTORTT C T T/F l' R TS T 



March, 1913 



are all delightful shade trees. The white 

 or silver maple, a particularly graceful 

 and pleasing species for park planting, 

 is not so good as a street tree, it being 

 very easily damaged.. The Horse Chest- 

 nut, planted everywhere because of its 

 beautiful appearance when in flower, is 



imdesirable as a street tree. 1 he ground 

 underneath is strewn first with the 

 sticky bud scales, then the falling flow- 

 ers — later the fruit is such an attraction 

 to the boy that he damages the tree in 

 his attempts to secure it. The tree, too, 

 is particularly liable to insect attack. 



A Plea for the Spring Garden 



Miss M. E. Blacklock, Toronto, Ont. 



THOSE who have only a few beds, 

 gorgeous though they be, of tu- 

 lips and hyacinths, do not know 

 the joys of a spring garden, though 

 they may think they do. Not that 

 clumps of tulips and hyacinths are not 

 a great addition to it, but geometrical 

 beds of them are anything but lovable, 

 dnd lovableness is the very essence of 

 the spring garden. 



The garden I am advocating would be 

 quite unnoticeable a block away, but you 

 can poke about in it and enjoy it and 

 be continually finding something new 

 and interesting. The first| things to 

 greet you will be the snowdrops, which 

 are due here (Toronto) any time after 

 the first of March, and last well into 

 April and even May in late seasons. The 

 Giant Snowdrop (Galanthus Elwesii) is 

 the earliest and perhaps the most showy 

 of the genus, and is much larger than 

 the common one (G. nivalis), which fol- 

 lows it. The double form of the latter 

 makes, when naturalized, a mass of 

 snowy white. Snowdrops should be 

 planted so that the bulbs almost touch 



each other and then left undisturbed to 

 form permanent clumps, which will in- 

 crease in beauty year by year. In time 

 they will become too thick to prosper, 

 but not for a good many years. They 

 can be bought here for one dollar a hun- 

 dred, and are still cheaper in England, 

 so the price is within the reach of near- 

 ly every one. 



While the snowdrops are still in per- 

 fection the Spring Snowflakes (Leuco- 

 jum vernum) are making their appear- 

 ance. These are a little larger and have 

 longer stems than the snowdrop. They 

 have a small yellow blotch at the tip of 

 each petal and are quite sweet-scented. 

 Otherwise they resemble the snowdrops 

 so much that the casual observer almost 

 invariably mistakes them for snowdrops. 



Next come the Siberian Squills (Scilla 

 Siberica), in color a most charming blue. 

 These should be planted in .groups. 

 Left untouched, they will give a solid 

 mass of color during April. 



Blooming contemporaneously with the 

 Siberian Squills are several varieties of 

 Glory-of-the-Snow (Chionodoxa), all of 



them delightful, though very different, 

 shades of blue. C. Luciliae is a nemo- 

 phiki-hlue, C. Sardenis a Gentian-blue, 

 and C. Gigantea {syn. C. Grandiflora), 

 with very large flowers, a lavender-blue. 

 While these are all lovely little flowers, 

 they are not so effective as the Siberian 

 Squill. There is a beautiful white-flow- 

 ered form of Scilla Siberica to be had 

 now quite reasonably. Two other var- 

 ieties of the smaller Scillas are pretty — 

 S. bifolia .Mba and .S. bifolia Carnea, 

 the latter is especially so. 



THE HYAC1NTH8 



The earliest of the Grape Hyacinths 

 (Muscari azureum robustum) — pale blue, 

 as its name implies, with a stiff, upright 

 flower stem — adds to the array of the 

 blue flowers with which nature delights 

 to deck the .April garden. .All these 

 bulbs flower about the same time as the 

 crocus, and continue in bloom equally 

 long. 



Of the herbaceous plants the first on 

 the scene is the single form of the white 

 Rock Cress (Arabis Alpina). The double 

 form of it comes on just as the single 

 is waning. 



For profusion of bloom there are few 

 things that excel the Rock Cress, and 

 it has the added charm of a faint almond- 

 like fragrance. It is perfectly hardy 

 here (Toronto), and will grow anywhere, 

 though like most things it responds to 

 good treatment. The flowers of the 

 double variety taper up into a spike not 

 unlike a miniature stock, and it lasts in 

 bloom much longer than the single. 

 Bulbs of the Muscari Heavenly Blue, 

 planted amongst its creeping stems, give 

 a charming contrast of blue and white. 

 This Grape Hyacinth, I may add, is the 

 largest and handsomest of the family, 

 though there are several other varieties 

 beside it and M. azureum that are very 

 well worth growing— a pure white one. 

 Pearls of Spain (M. botryoides album), 

 a white one tinged rose (M. b. candi- 

 dum), and a pale lavender-blue (M. b. 

 pallidum). The last two are little gems 

 of delicate color, but alas ! they are too 

 expensive to plant in quantity. 



The purple Rock Cress (.Aubrietia) is 

 another dear little spring flower. It 

 comes in various shades of mauve, pur- 

 ple, crimson-purple, and even pale pink, 

 forming low-lying masses of color. I 

 am afraid it is not quite hardy except in 

 well sheltered situations, but as it is 

 easily grown from the seed, which is 

 not expensive, it is well worth a trial. 

 I have wintered mine now for four 

 years, but I protect it carefully and grow 

 it on a warm 'border, where no water 

 ever lodges. It blooms early and com- 

 bines delightfully with Golden Tuft and 

 the white Rock Cress (Arabis), and re- 

 mains in bloom a long time. The Eng- 

 lish rock gardens are brilliant with it 

 through April and May. 



