464 



BEAUMONTIA 



BEDDING 



growth of the previous season. After flowering, the 

 plant should be severely pruned to produce lateral 

 shoots for the next season's bloom. In its native coun- 

 try, this vine 

 climbs over very 

 tall trees. 



grandifldra, 

 Wall. A tall- 

 growing, woody 

 vine: Ivs. obo- 

 vate, cuspidate, 

 wavy margined: 

 sepals 5, large, 

 ovate, wavy, 

 pink-tipped; co- 

 rolla-tube veined 

 with green, the 

 limb 5-cleft. B. 

 M. 3213. Gn. 

 45, p. 138; 49, 

 p. 314. J.H.III. 

 28:243. Var. 

 superba, having 

 larger whiter fls. 

 than the type, is 

 known. 



489. Oriental pattern. 

 1. White geranium. 2. Calendula offici- 

 nalis, "Orange King." 3. Coleus, green. 

 4. Verbena hybrida Purple Mammoth, or 

 Lemoine's heliotrope. 5. Alyssum varie- 

 gatum. 6. Outline of black-red coleus 

 bounding all parts. 



B. fr&grans, 

 Pierre. Evergreen 



shrub with white, fragrant, shallow bell-shaped fls. Cochin China. 

 G.C. III. 49: 306. B. JerdoniArui, Wight. Similar to the above but 

 with smaller parts, and with follicles 10 in. long. Cult, only in rare 

 collections. Wight Ic., pi. 1314. jj TAYLOR t 



BEDDING, or BEDDING-OUT. The temporary use 

 out-of-doors of plants that are massed for showy and 

 striking effects. There are four main types: spring, 

 summer, subtropical and carpet-bedding. 



Spring bedding. 



The most temporary of all forms of bedding is that 

 designed only for spring effects. It is usually followed 

 by summer bedding in the same area. It is the only 

 kind that largely employs hardy plants, as crocuses, 

 narcissi, daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, and other Dutch 

 bulbs. All four types of bedding are commonly seen in 

 public parks, but spring bedding is the most appropri- 

 ate for amateur and home use, as the bulbs flower at a 

 dreary time of the year, when their brave colors are most 

 cheering, and also because they are much more familiar 

 than the subtropical and foliage plants of summer. 

 Moreover, hardy bulbs are more easily cultivated than 

 any other class of plants, and they are cheap. The 

 main principle is to plant them early enough to 



secure a strong 

 root develop- 

 ment. There- 

 fore, they should 

 be ordered early, 

 and planted in 

 the latter part of 

 October or first 

 of November. 

 The colors may 

 be massed or 

 mixed according 

 to taste, the 

 terms massed 

 and mixed bed- 

 ding referring to 

 unity or variety 

 of effect, and be- 

 ing applicable in 

 each of the four 

 main types men- 



490. French pattern. 

 I. Calendula officinalis, "Sulphur Queen." 



2. Ageratum nanum, "Blue Perfection." 



3. White geranium. 4. Scarlet geranium. 

 61 Pink geranium. Palm at center for accent. 

 Whole design oultined with green alter- 

 nant hera. 



tioned above. 



Opposed to 

 this style of bed- 



ding is the naturalizing of bulbs in the lawn. Crocuses 

 and squills are particularly charming when they 

 appear singly, or in twos or threes, at unexpected 

 places in the lawn. Daffodils are frequently natural- 

 ized in large masses in spots where the grass is not 

 mowed. 



Pansies are the only other plants that are used ex- 

 tensively for spring bedding. English double daisies 

 and catchflies are largely used for edgings. Pansies are 

 set out between April 1 and 15. In large operations, 

 pansy seed is sown in August of the preceding year, 

 and the young plants are transplanted once and win- 

 tered in a coldframe. After flowering, the plants are 

 thrown away. The other method is to sow the seed in 

 a greenhouse in January. The August-sown pansies 

 give larger and earlier blooms, but the January-sown 

 pansies will last longer, and in partially shaded places 

 will give scattering bloom all summer, especially if pro- 

 tected from drought. 



Summer bedding. 



Bedding for summer effects often follows spring 

 bedding in the same space of ground, and employs 

 chiefly geraniums, coleus, begonias, ageratum, salvia, 

 vinca, alyssum, petunia, verbena, heliotrope, grasses, 

 cacti, and aquatic plants, the culture and varieties of 

 which may be" sought elsewhere in this work. As to 

 tenderness, these fall into two groups, the first of which 

 may be set out about May 15 in New York, and the 

 second about June 1. Geraniums are the most impor- 

 tant of the first group, and coleus is an example of the 

 tenderest mate- 

 rial, which is set 

 out simultane- 

 ously with sub- 

 tropical plants 

 when all danger 

 of frost is past. 



As to fondness 

 for sunlight, 

 there are again 

 two groups, but 

 the only bedding 

 plants of im- 

 portance that 



prefer shade are tuberous begonias and fuchsias. The 

 popularity lately achieved by tuberous begonias in 

 Europe will probably never be duplicated in America. 

 The secret of their culture is shade, shelter, and mois- 

 ture at the roots. Therefore, a clay bottom is desirable 

 for a bed of tuberous begonias, as being more retentive 

 of moisture than a sandy or porous soil. They enjoy 

 cool air and as much indirect light as possible, but not 

 the direct rays of the sun. The north side of a build- 

 ing is better for them than a station under trees, as 

 the trees usually give too dense a shade, and their 

 roots interfere. On the other hand, coleus is more 

 highly colored in full sunlight than in shade. 



The only fibrous-rooted begonias largely used for 

 bedding are varieties of the semperflorens type, of which 

 Vernon and Erfqrdii are popular varieties at present. 

 In the manipulation of tender perennials, there are often 

 two methods of propagation, either of which may be 

 better, according to the ideal in view. As a matter of 

 general tendency, propagation by cuttings gives bloom 

 that is earlier but not so continuous or profuse as by 

 seeds. Salvias and verbenas are pronounced examples. 

 On the contrary, cuttings must be depended on, as a 

 rule, to keep the choicest varieties true to type, as a 

 function of seeds in nature seems to be to produce more 

 variation than can be attained by non-sexual methods 

 of propagation, as by bulbs or cuttings. Salvias are also 

 an example of plants that are particularly effective 

 when seen at a great distance, and also of plants that 

 are generally massed for unity of effect, and not mixed 

 with others. Verbenas aie commonly grown by them- 



491. French border pattern. 

 1. Marguerite, "Queen Alexandra." 2. 

 Coleus, "Golden Bedder." 3. Scarlet geia- 

 nium. 4. Cineraria maritima. 5. Calendula 

 officinalis, "Sulphur Queen." 6. Ageratum 

 nanum, "Blue Perfection." 7. White gera- 



