POPULAR GARDENING. 



October, 



A Visit to the Hayes' Estate near 

 Boston. 



A pleasant feature of the Florists' Con- 

 vention, at Boston, was the visit of more 

 than 500 tlorists including ladies, to the 

 estate of the late Hon. Francis B. Hayes, at 

 historic Lexington, near Boston. This place 

 consists of -too acres rolling land partly 

 covered with original forest. 



Mr. Hayes, in his lifetime, had taken 

 special pride in the care of the estate, and 

 had a collection of trees, shrubs and 

 flowers rarely surpassed. The masses 

 of Rhododendrons are one of the chief 

 attractions here and proved a surprise to 

 many of the visitors, in seeing this fine 

 evergreen grown so largely and so well 

 thus far north. 



The proprietor of these grounds had 

 always taken pleasure to open them to 

 all persons interested in horticulture, 

 and on the present occasion the invita- 

 tion extended by Mrs. Hayes to the flor- 

 ists was most cordial. Not only were the 

 visitors conducted about the place by 

 Superintendent James Comley of the 

 estate, but a beautiful spread of viands 

 was made under a tent for whoever 

 desired to partake. 



Both hardy Rhododendrons and Aza- 

 leas are grown on a large scale on these 

 grounds. The former which are in the 

 lead, are arranged in large numbers 

 both in masses and singly along the 

 drives that lead through the native 

 forest. An idea of this is given in figure 

 1 in which the clumps of Rhododendrons 

 are shown by the darkest parts, the forest 

 by lighter shades and the wood drive 

 nearly white. The effect of such an ex- 

 tensive display of this flower in the 

 season of bloom, it is easily imagined, 

 is most striking. 



Not only are the leading hardy varieties 

 of Rhododendrons grown in large numbers, 

 but many that will not endure the average 

 winter without shelter are also included. 

 A Rhododendron house or cellar, as shown 

 at figure 2, is employed for wintering kinds 

 that are not entirely hardy. This building 

 is about 36x100 feet in extent, with the back 

 wall some twelve feet high. It is built in 

 the forest, on a slight slope, the entrance 

 being at the lowest side. The walls are 

 banked up with soil and leaves on the out- 

 side. Light and air are supplied by means 

 of 24 sash set at regular intervals in the 

 roof. The roof is double. 



Scattered over the extensive lawns and 

 meadows, are mauy fine trees and shrubs 

 arranged in masses or disposed singly. We 

 noted especially many clumps of hardy 

 shrubs employed in a manner that is not 





fine thus arranged — they must be vastly 

 more so in their blooming time. 



Among evergreens we were impressed by 

 the beauty of the common Hemlock as it 

 grows to a height of 20 feet of rounded- 

 conical form. Those who imagine this fine 

 native requires a low wet spot for good de- 

 velopment should see the specimens here on 

 elevated lands. Nearly all conifers do well 

 here, some of the most striking specimens 

 being the Nordmann's Silver Fir, Sargent's 



J/^ 



the o^vne^ so choose. The soil at this point 

 is light, dry and rich which may account 

 for the spreading proclivities of the plant 

 which usually does little more than hold 

 its own if it does as much as that. 



Not much attention is paid to the use of 

 tender bedding plants on these grounds, a 

 lack which the florists of all men were 

 quick to notice. Still the very absence of 

 these in a garden that abounds in so many 

 fine effects in lawn, hardy flowers, shrubs 

 and trees, should teach us that beauty 

 in gardening is attainable in a very 

 large measure by the use of hardy sub- 

 .iects alone. 



Fig. I. Arrangement of RododendrottJi ahjng Forest dr 

 on the Haye's Estate near Boston. Mass. 



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Fig. 4. Hedge of Arbor Vitw. 



often met ; they had been planted three or 

 four in a mass at a few feet from center 

 to center. With growth the branches 

 have mingled, and now, perhaps twenty 

 years from planting, each mass has an ap- 

 pearance not unlike a single large spreading 

 shrub about eight or ten feet high and a 

 dozen or more feet across. Masses of 

 Golden Bell (Fiimythia viridLsHitiui), Spice 

 Bush (,('(il]ic(i)ilhiii< floriilus) and Mock 

 Orange (P)iU(ulclj>hu.-i) were particularly 



Weeping Spruce, an 18-foot high specimen 

 being illustrated on page 2, Dwarf white 

 Spruce, the blue form of White Spruce, 

 various Dwarf and other Pines, Golden 

 and other Retinosporas. A pleasing Arbor 

 Vitie hedge about eight feet high, of circu- 

 lar form and which provides a sheltered 

 space within for Chrysanthemums and 

 other choice plants, as illustrated in fig. 4, 

 attracted the attention of the visitors. 



The Japanese Maples on the grounds with 

 the place and treatment here given, do not 

 make a very good showing. A Wier's Cut- 

 leaved Maple, some 40 feet high, is as fine a 

 specimen of this comparatively new orna- 

 mental tree as one is likely to meet. An 

 engraving of the same is shown in fig. 5. 



One of the attractions on a rising slope of 

 the grounds was a bed occupied with hardy 

 Phloxes, Dahlias, and Hollyhocks. The 

 Phloxes at this date were in full bloom 

 and being located on a prominent point, 

 showed to magnificent advantage from 

 other parts of the ground. Many were 

 the guesses made by the florists before 

 reaching the bed as to what the flowers 

 were, the plants showed to so much 

 better advantage than they usually do. 

 A reason for their fine appearance is 

 that they have ample space being no 

 less than eight feet apart. 



Those who assume that Bocconia cor- 



data a hardy herbaceous perennial, with 



handsome large leaves, partakes too 



much of a weedy nature to be suitable 



forgeneralplantingmightflnd somegrotmd 



for their position here, although it is the 



first instance of the kind we believe we ever 



have met, and the plant has been known 



and grown by us for a score of jeais. In a 



wide border next to the boundary of 



the place on one side, the plants have 



taken possession of a large spot, to the 



evident disadvantage of other occupants. 



The mass is highly ornamental and perhaps 



could be reduced with little trouble should 



The Newer Gladioli. 



W. E. ENDICOTT, NORFOLK CO., MASS. 



Last year much was said in the papers 

 about a strain of Gladioli which had 

 been produced in California. This year, 

 some of the catalogues offered varieties 

 of this strain, and those of us who are 

 bulhophiles, and who, with appetites 

 whetted by last year's glowing descrip- 

 tions, were eagerly watching to see these 

 transcendent productions burst into view 

 on the commercial horizon, were prom- 

 ised that we should have bulbs (for a 

 consideration) that should produce 

 flowers five inches across in the greatest 

 profusion, which would withstand the 

 fiercest sunshine and the heaviest rain 

 without injury. 



These representations must have been 

 made by persons unfamilar with the 

 present condition of the Gladioli, that is, 

 ignorant of the degree of excellence to 

 which cultivators have brought it, or 

 else the soil and climate of ('alifomia 

 are especially congenial to this pafticu- 

 '"^ lar strain; for I am sorry to say that 

 these sorts, of which I had formed 

 such high expectations, are not what we 

 consider to be very good flowers in the 

 vicinity of Boston. None of them withstand 

 the sun better than our ordinary kinds; 

 none of them have flowers above the ordin- 

 ary size; none of the flowers have colors, 

 shadings, which would cause particular 

 notice. I have had .several, and persons of 

 my acquaintance have had others, and I am 

 compelled to say there is is not one which I 

 should have named had I raised it. Shasta 

 is the best one, and is of that type of which 

 there are so many — white marked with rose. 

 The new strain raised by Lemoine of 

 Nancy, France, is a notable addition to our 

 resources. He calls them the Nancicamts 

 strain, and says they are raised from the 

 ordinary Qandaroisis sorts fertilized with 

 O. Saun(lersi,a,nd their appearance confirms 

 it, for they have much of the peculiar shape 

 and marking of that species. I tried the 

 same cross some years ago and got the most 

 insignificant, inferior fiowers I ever saw, 

 which shows that some hybridizers are more 

 expert than others. These flowers are very 

 large, surpassing in fact the promised size 

 of the California strain. The largest is 

 President Camot, some of whose flowers I 

 found to have a breadth of six inches. None 

 of these can be said to be very good in color, 

 but not only that, but size of spike will be 

 greatly improved now that the break has 

 once been made. 



I wish also to advocate the claims of some 

 of the hardy Gladioli. Last fall I planted 

 several hundred of these, which I covered 

 with leaves and Corn-stalks. As far as I 

 could judge every one cameupand bloomed 

 to my complete satisfaction, beginning 

 about June l.") and continuing to come for- 

 ward in the several sorts up to the end of 

 July. The earliest was O. scf/tfifiii, a species 

 attaining a height of two feet and producing 

 lovely rosy-purple fiowers of good size, 

 adorned with white central stripes on the 

 lower petals. Next came O. communis, 



