November, 1914- 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



26; 



Hardy Flower Border in Manitoba* 



By Mrs. H. Lys, Dauphin, Man. 



THE border that I am going to de- 

 scribe is one of the most attrac- 

 tive spots in the garden from the 

 lime the snow goes until it comes again. 

 It is irregular in shape and might be 

 described as a triangle with two long 

 curved sides. The straight end is at the 

 west and it has a high rustic fence for 

 a background. The long north back- 

 ground is one of Nature's own design- 

 ing, the lovely trees along the river bank 

 and amongst them are two noble speci- 

 mens of silver birch. The curve of the 

 drive is the other side. This arrange- 

 ment has a great advantage, as flowers 

 are all more or less sun worshippers, 

 and often turn their best sides to the 

 south and east. 



Nearly all the plants are hardy herb- 

 aceous perennials, some hardy bulbs and 

 a few flowering shrubs. When the early 

 bulbs have done flowering, iheir places 

 are taken by some annual, and there is 

 room left for a few clumps of variegated 

 and rainbow corn, and in the corner 

 near the rustic fence a clump of our 

 old friend, the sunflower. 



The first flower that blooms is the 

 Scilla Siberira, the old-fashioned squill 

 of our grandmother's garden. This 

 brave little flower is- a clear true blue, 



•Paper read before the recent annual gather- 

 inir of the Manitoba Horticultural and Forestry 

 ABKKjiation at Winnipeg. 



and altlTOUgh the cold nights freeze it 

 quite stiff it thaws out and smiles again 

 in the sunshine. 



The hyacinths and tulips follow close- 

 ly. I was surprised last year to see how 

 much frost the hyacinths stood after 

 they were in full bloom, but although 

 they do well some years they are not to 

 be depended upon. 



Between these bulbs are plants of Ara- 

 bis Alpina or rock cress. Its greyish 

 green leaves and delicate white blossoms 

 make a beautiful contrast and the edg- 

 ing of the border is cerastium, also 

 known as snow in summer. Its silvery 

 leaves are always beautiful, and, when 

 covered with white flowers, it deserves 

 its name. 



The yellow, white and red Iceland 

 poppies are with us before the bulbs are 

 over, their delicate stalks holding the 

 beautiful fragile flowers with a dignity 

 of their own and these are so useful for 

 cutting (but don't use too many in one 

 room, as they have rather an unpleasant 

 odor). If kept cut and not allowed to 

 go to seed, they will contribute their 

 share of beauty to the border for many 

 weeks. 



The old favorite bleeding heart is one 

 of the most graceful of the early flowers. 

 If you have an especially fine clump of 

 this, do not let it grow on too long with- 

 mu dividing it. If left more than three 



Choice and Rare Varietie* of French and English Paeonies 



TTiis illustration Kivoa only a faint idea of the teauty of these paoonies. aa prown by Mr. J. 

 E Thomp^n liamiiron Ont. Th^v include Marechal VaiUaut. a da,rk mauve pink: PeUx 

 Croupe r brilliant red- Madame Emile GaMi. a lilac white, tinged with pink ; Couronne d Or 

 a whTte with yellow Rtamen.s. the «.ntre petals tipped carmine: Mathilde de Bo«oneck^ ^l^J^T 

 ^loSr a very large flower: and Monsieur Jule« Elie, a pale Ulac rose and a very fine variety. 



or four years, the centre of the crown 

 will decay and the beautiful plant will 

 dwindle away. These plants delight in 

 being shared with your neighbors, and 

 simply will not grow in one huge clump 

 for years. 



In this respect they differ from the 

 glorious queen of the herbaceous border, 

 the paeony. This lovely flower resents 

 disturbances, except at considerable in- 

 tervals, and, as you probably know, sel- 

 dom blooms the first year or two after 

 moving. The glorious clumps of Fes- 

 tiva Maxima, L'Esperance, and others 

 shed a delicious fragrance over the bor- 

 der so diff"erent from the old-fashioned 

 red paeony. 



There is one gorgeous flower that 

 blooms at the same time as the paeony 

 — the Oriental poppy. Its brilliancy is 

 so great that it almost kills every color 

 near it ; so it needs very careful placing 

 in the border. I have mine near the 

 rustic fence which is then covered with 

 the soft green leaves of the Virginia 

 creeper and native grape and near the 

 brilliant orange scarlet I put plenty of 

 white, such as clumps of arhillea. 



LATER BLOOM 



From the early part of June the flow- 

 ers are so abundant that I hardly know 

 which to mention first. The pyrethrums 

 are very pretty and are such good flow- 

 ers for cutting ; the long slender stalks 

 and varied shades of pinks, reds and 

 whites make them one of our best all- 

 round early flowers. Be especially care- 

 ful of any good double ones, as they do 

 not come true from seed ; most of them 

 come single. 



Near the front of my border are 

 clumps of dianthus of various kinds. 

 These are so varied in coloring and 

 marking that they are an endless delight 

 to grow. 



I had almost forgotten the beautiful 

 iris, well named "the poor man's or- 

 (-hid." Of course, not all kinds are 

 suitable for our climate, but the Siberian 

 and German varieties are amongst the 

 most profitable plants in the border. 

 They bloom freely, are past descriotion 

 with regard to the rich and delicate 

 colorings and markings, and their folii' e 

 is always decorative. 



The dainty columbine or aquilcgia, 

 also known as "doves in a nest," from 

 the form of the back of the flower, is 

 one of the indispensable perennials. 

 There are many varieties of these. The 

 long spurred ones are so fairy-like that 

 one almost expects to see fairies danc- 

 i"e: amongst them in the June moon- 

 light. The varied shades, from white, 

 lavender, pink, red, blue, purple, yellow 

 and combinations of these give every- 

 one a chance to have their favorite col- 

 ors. I have never seen a wedding de- 

 <Y)ration all of columbines, but can ima- 

 ginie it would be unique if the white 



