I89I. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



133 



Nice Plants for the Fern Case. After getting 

 the leaf mold, mixiDg with meadow soil and 

 sand, baking in the oven, until the insects and 

 germs are destroyed, and ailing the zinc tray, 

 that goes under the glass, we must get the plants 

 that will do well in the case. One of the best, is 

 Naranta discolor. The leaves are quite large, 

 thick, and beautifully shaded from dark green 

 to white, and it has a pretty white blossom. A 

 Begonia Rex will flourish inside a case, and it is 

 a glad surprise to the amateur, after seeing so 

 many that have been placed in the window 

 shrivel and drop their leaves, to watch them in- 

 side the glass. The leaves seem to e.xpand from 

 day to day. Florists' Ferns always do well, and 

 moss can be put here and there, around the 

 plants, and often dear little strange things will 

 spring up from the moss, that remind us of the 

 woods from which we gathered them. Another 

 showy plant is Sanohezia nobilis. This has long 

 pointed leaves streaked with yellow. A plant 

 sprinkler is good, with a fine spray. This keeps 

 the leaves in a moist condition. Snails are a de- 

 cided nuisance in a case. They always select 

 your handsomest plant, and riddle the leaves 

 until their beauty is gone. All night they leave 

 a trail on the glass, and you mu.«t look until you 

 find them, even It you have to turn every leaf. 

 Some bait with a piece of Potato and catch 

 many.— Sister Gracious. 



Unexpected TreaBures. A florist was once 

 asked what made one flower blue and another 

 yellow, both growing near each other, he frankly 

 said. *' don't know," and added, " This is one of 

 the charms of horticulture. The oldest cultiva- 

 tor always finds something new, and to learn, 

 and we never get to the end of it." To the 

 amateur, even among her own plants, there are 

 pleasant surprises all along. There was brought 

 me a bulb, picked up from the sidewalk. It had 

 been stepped on, until it was flat, but it was care- 

 fully potted and in about a month, began to 

 grow, and in time produced beautiful flowers. 

 Another surprise, is the persistent attempts 

 some plants make to grow. A Geranium hung 

 from the rafters in the cellar, top down, will be 

 found towards spring sending out shoots, and a 

 spotted Calla that had died down, and was appa- 

 rently dead, was placed in the cellar. On the 

 top of the pot, was placed another large pot, 

 filled with earth, on lifting this off there was the 

 poor Calla trying to send up a green shoot, in 

 spite of the weight upon it, I might add our 

 great surprise, though not entirely a pleasant 

 one, when Bridget was told to prepare Onions 

 for dinner, she found a bag of choice Hyacinth 

 bulbs on the pantry shelf and boiled them all, 

 instead of the Onions. And a friend was assured 

 by the agent at her door, that the plant she 

 bought for two dollars would certainly bear 

 green Roses, and the flowers turned out a 

 muddy pink.— Sfafcr Oi'aciuus. 



Tasty Tree and Plant Labels. The cross form 

 of the labels, as so often seen in European public 

 parks and private' ornamental grounds, is open 

 to the criticism of imparting to such resorts of 

 pleasure and recreation a somewhat cemetery- 

 like appearance. Mr. K. Endlicher, a German 

 landscape gardener uses and recommends the 

 style of label shown in annexed engraving. 

 This label is not only simple, cheap, and practi- 

 cal, but also quite tasty, and pleasing to the 

 eye, and at the same time showing the name 

 legibly and prominently. The label part is cut 

 or stamped out of heavy sheet zinc. The form 

 to be adopted may the one shown in illustration, 

 or it may vary from this according to individual 

 taste. The face side is given two coats of black 

 paint, and upon this, when thoroughly dry, the 

 name is to be written with white paint prepared 

 from rectified varnish and white lead. Only the 

 very l)est quality of each ingredient should 

 be used. The writing may be done with a 

 common soft pen, after the point has been 

 dulled on a grind stone, or better with a goose 

 quUl. The use of upright Roman characters, as 

 shown on sample label in illustration, admits of 

 crowding the name in a very small space. After 

 the name is put on, and has become thoroughly 

 dry, the whole surface should be given a coat of 

 best rectified varnish. When dry, such label will 

 be good for many years, unless injured or spoiled 

 with malice and aforethought. For larger trees 

 the labels may be fastened directly upon the 

 body, at proper height. For shrubs and plants, 

 a piece of heavy galvanized iron wire is attaclied 

 to each label in the manner shown at the right- 

 hand figure of illustration, namely by winding 

 it through two eyes formed by soldering two 

 little pieces of lighter wire to the back. 



Flowers for Decorative Use. Color and form 

 are the two features to be taken in consideration 

 The former appeals much more strongly to the 

 ordinary sense of beauty and the domestic side 

 of life, but the elegance of certain plant forms 

 is fully recognized, and instinctively used In the 

 decoration of large interiors, such as churches 

 and public halls. Beautiful combinations of 

 color, says Garden and Forest, are more gener- 

 ally felt and accomplished than beautiful com- 

 binations of form, because the appreciation of 

 form depends upon a much more cultivated in- 

 telligence. It is thoroughly understood in Japan. 

 Any thoughtful observer of Japanese art has 

 noticed— especially in the relief decoration of 

 bronzes— that flowers and plants are used abso- 

 lutely as models, not as mere themes, for decor- 



Pninus triloba 



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Tasty Tree and Plant Labels. 



ative designs. Each flower is used singly, at its 

 best and most perfect development of fonn; and 

 the jar or vase which holds it is selected to carry 

 out the beauty of its lines. This beauty of line 

 which is so effective when applied to ornament 

 is even more effective in nature and can be 

 made to tell with great success in its relation to 

 the decorative grouping of flowers even in the 

 home. Decorative grouping may include the 

 best possible effects of both form and color, 

 and it is always for this combination that the 

 true lover of beauty will strive. Anyone with a 

 good memory for color effects, enriched by 

 many a lovely result of accidental grouping— 

 and possessing also that instinct to select among 

 such lessons which we call taste — is well 

 equipped for using flowers for decoration. 

 These memories of successes in time become 

 principles, so that one comes to use contrasts 

 and combinations in flower tints as unerringly 

 and unhesitatingly as a true artist blends or 

 opposes colors upon his canvas. 



Some Fine Oeraniums. In any part of the 

 world where flowers are cultivated the Geranium 

 can be seen, both in the garden in summer and 

 the house in winter. It is easily grown from 

 seeds or cuttings, will endure many hardships, 

 and will always be a special favorite with those 

 who keep house plants, while the bright flowers 

 of the scarlet varieties, and their endurance of 

 chilly nights and scorching suns, render them the 

 best of all bedding plants for bright colors. 

 The great change which is taking place annually 

 in the way of new varieties is marvelous; many 

 florists are constantly engaged in hydridizing 

 them. With so many varieties, therefore, it 

 would be useless to attempt to notice all. While 

 many are not better than the old soi-ts, there are 

 always some that are superior, and with these 

 we are constantly crowding out old sorts. New 

 Life, for instance, is a most remarkable sport. 

 A variety with its colors and stripes is a novelty, 

 and by many was thought to be a sport that 

 would not hold true where propagated, but it is 

 now an established variety. The plant is dwarf 

 in habit, and a remarkably free bloomer; the 

 bright scarlet color of the flower is striped and 

 flaked with white, salmon and rose, not unlike a 

 Carnation. We think New Lite should be in 

 every collection. Remarkable is another grand 

 Geranium, and is one of the most persistent 

 bloomers in the family. The color is a deep, 

 purple crimson, the truss almost a globe. Emer- 

 son, a bright rose pink, is a constant winter 

 bloomer; Kate Patterson is a large shrimp pink, 

 of free growth and bloom; Jealousy, a salmon 

 pink, is another lovely winter bloomer. Among 

 other good ones might be named Chas. Darwin, 

 Leviathan, James Viok, Streak of Luck, and the 

 beautiful Dwarf White Heroine, and La Favorite, 

 white; and many more.— i. H. Oale. 



An Interesting Sammer Flower— Nierember- 

 gia Gracilis —is not met near so often as its 

 merits entitle it to be. I have never grown the 

 plant a single season but that it has attracted 

 m uch comment from visitors, many not know- 



ing it at all, others supposing it must be confined 

 to the house and not knowing of its great value 

 as an outdoor bloomer. One of the most satis- 

 factory ways of using it is in a bed by itself with 

 a centre specimen of some bold foliage plant like 

 the C'aladium esculentum. Planted thus, in rich 

 light soil, about ten inches apart, the ground 

 will soon be completely covered and the plants 

 will show thousands of the beautiful white 

 shaded and streaked purple, yellow-centred 

 flowers in a surprisingly short time from plant- 

 ing. The stems to this variety are more erect 

 than in many of the other species, and the tube 

 of the flowers is longer. Another merit is its 

 very floriferious habit. The leaves are linear, 

 sub-spathulate, obtuse, the plant downy, and 

 half-hardy, or as I usually grow it, a tender an- 

 nual. The uses of the Nierembergia gracilis do 

 not end with the summer flower bed, but it is 

 well adapted for pot culture and greenhouse 

 decoration, and usually meets with good sale 

 where plants can be had in bloom to show pur- 

 chasers. In hanging baskets its many flowers 

 hang very gracefully among bolder plants. It 

 is a pleasing departure from the tiresome cheap 

 trash put in by so many florists who aim to make 

 an attractive basket at a low figure. Hanging 

 baskets usually are said by the larger dealers to 

 be a nuisance and not worth bothering with, at 

 the prices they are usually sold at, but still are 

 demanded by certain customers. Large plants 

 which may be in bloom at time of frost, may be 

 lifted carefully, and will continue to bloom for 

 some time in the house, but require considerable 

 water to prevent their flagging, as would be 

 natural with having so many of the roots broken 

 in lifting. Nearly all the species may be propa- 

 gated by cuttings, but in my experience, it is far 

 easier to obtain the supply of the gracilis variety 

 by seed sown early in spring in the house. It is 

 interesting, however, to obtam cuttings in the 

 fall for growing during winter, and which make 

 larger plants the next season. The genus de- 

 rives its name from John Eusebius Nieremberg, 

 born in 1.5i)5, a Spanish Jesuit, author of a work 

 on the Marvels of Nature. South America is the 

 home of nearly all of the species.— W. F. Lalte. 



City Block (jlardene. It is a good idea and one 

 worthy of being urged with all energy, this 

 adoption of the Spanish-American patio or inner 

 court for our city houses. Instead of having the 

 interior court a feature of a single house, says a 

 writer in Garden and Forest, let it be common 

 to a neighborhood of houses. Let the space now 

 devoted to unsightly back yards and alleyways 

 in the quadrangle formed by the four streets of 

 the usual city block, be converted into an en- 

 closed garden space, where children may romp 

 in safety, free from bad influences and dangers 

 and where the open air may be enjoyed in com- 

 mon by all the surrounding households. It is 

 possible to make a delightful garden of such a 

 place. A start has already been made toward 

 such a system in one of the new districts in Bos- 

 ton, where, in the building of blocks of houses 

 on the four streets forming a quadrangle, a 

 turfed enclosure and play-ground was laid out 

 in the center; and it has proved a very satisfac- 

 tory and attractive feature. That such a scheme 

 as this must "pay" in a city or in a fairly closely 

 built suburban neighborhood, would seem to ad- 

 mit of no question at all. It is certainly much 

 better than an enclosed park in front of the 

 houses- a feature which was much agitated a 

 few years ago— because the park in front prac- 

 tically becomes a part of the street, with street 

 dangers and disagreable features. In comment- 

 ing on this, somebody tells how he once hap- 

 pened to live in one of a block of houses which 

 had, accidentally, a common court or garden 

 like this, cut off from the view of the street. 

 The block of houses had been built on two sides 

 of what had been an old garden and orchard, 

 and upon the other two sides were blank walls. 

 There were Apple trees and Locust trees, some 

 shrubs, a fair amount of green grass— and no 

 fences separating the lots. The trees were quite 

 large enough to hang swings from, and there 

 were open spaces large enough to play ring- 

 round-rosy or marble upon, and even to play 

 "catch " in. All the children in the block made 

 common property of this simple old garden, and 

 did not quarrel a bit more than seems to be nec- 

 essary for children. The street had no attrac- 

 tions for them. Of cou rse they had their favorite 

 spots, their separate games and their jealously 

 guarded individual playthings. It was also 

 noticeable that the families in this block were 

 as a whole, on terms of unusual friendliness and 

 intimacy. The " back garden " was thoroughly 

 good for them all around. 



