STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 107 



arranged and best kept flower garden. August nineteenth, the 

 Garden Committee, upon invitation of Mrs. Mary C. Goddard, went 

 to Hopedale to visit her garden, and I take great pleasure in givino- 

 you a verbatim report of this visit, as the methods employed by this 

 lady are within the reach of many other ladies : 



**The ground comprises about twenty-five thousand feet, and is 

 devoted largely to a lawn with flower beds cut in the grass. The 

 most noticeable bed was the one on the right of the walk, near the 

 entrance ; it was twenty- eight feet in length by four and a half feet 

 in width, and planted in three sections with phlox drummondii, — 

 Isabellina occupying the center, with coccinea and rosea at the 

 ends, lengthwise in the center of the phlox drummondii. The 

 rosea were Blue Victoria asters, and similarly in the coccinea white 

 asters, and in the Isabellina red asters ; a border of ageratum, Tom 

 Thumb, surrounded the whole, the stiff, woody growth of the 

 ageratum serving to hold the phlox upright. By this means all the 

 plants were kept in place without any aid of stakes or twiue. The 

 colors of the flowers blended harmoniously, and the whole effect of this 

 arrangement, using but a few varieties judiciously placed, was very 

 pleasing, and fully proved that it does not require a large expendi- 

 ture of money to have a nice bed of flowers tastefully arranged. 

 Another bed next the wall, sixty feet long and three and a half feet 

 wide, was planted with single dahlias, salvia splendens, and zinnias, 

 with a row of gaillardia in front, and tropoeolum spitfire running over 

 the stone wall. In front of the house a circular bed was arranged 

 with cannas in the center, surrounded by a row of coleus verscha- 

 fettii, and outside of that a row of centaurea gymnocarpa. On the 

 east side of the house a crescent shaped bed contained three varie- 

 ties of coleus, each color being planted separately. In another bed 

 we noticed tritoma uvaria with canna ehemanni in the center, bor- 

 dered with portulacca ; in the spring this bed contained pansies. 

 The piazza was covered with neatly trained vines of tropoeolum 

 lobbianum, cobea scandens, and Thunbergias." 



Now how is this done.'' Mrs. Goddard sa^'s : "I sow my seeds 

 in Apiil in very gentle heat, and ought to transplant once before 

 putting into the garden, but for lack of room omit to do so except 

 with a few plants of pyrethrum. I have the flower beds dug very 

 deep and made quite rich, and then a top dressing of phosphate is 

 dug in around each plant, and the earth is loosened at least once a. 

 week, until the plants are so large that it is impossible to do so." 



