HERB 



HERB 



1469 



Hardy herbaceous perennials for the Dominion of Canada, 

 continued. 



Incarvillea Delavayi. Papaver oricntale and varie- 

 Iris aurea. ties. 



*Iris germanica, in great Phlox aniGena. 



variety. Piilox divaricata. 



*Iri3 Itevigata (Kaempferi), in Phlox glaberrima var. suf- 

 great variety. fruticosa, Miss Lingard. 



Lilium auratum. *Phlox paniculata (P. decus- 

 Lilium croceuni, or L. dauri- sata). in great variety, 



cum (davuricum). *Platycodon grandifloruni. 



Lilium longiflorum. Platycodon grandillprum 

 Lilium speciosum and varie- var. album. 



ties. Polemoniuin humile. 



*Lilium superbum. Primula clatior. 



*Lilium tenuifolium. *Rudbeckia laciniata fl.-pl., 

 Lilium testaceum. Golden Glow. 



Lilium tigrinum. Rudbeckia maxima. 



Lupiuus polyphyllus. Rudbeckia speciosa (R. 

 Mertensia virginica. Newmanii). 



Monarda didynia. Salvia azurea var. grandi- 

 Myosotis alpestris. flora. 



CEnothera fruticosa var. Statice latifolia. 



Youngii. Trillium grandiflorum. 



*Paeonia albiflora and P. offi- Trollius asiaticus var. 

 cinalis. in great variety. plenus. 



PsEonia tenuifolia var. llore- *Trolliu3 europaeus. Orange 

 pleno. Globe. 



*Papaver nudicaule. Veronica subseasilis. 

 Yucca filamentosa. 



Best hardy herbaceous perennials for the prairie prov- 

 inces of Canada. 



Achillea Ptarmica fl.-pl., Filipendula Ulmaria. 



The Pearl. Gaillardia aristata. 



Aconitum, in variety. Hemerocallis flava. 



Anemone patens var. Nut- Iris germanica, in variety. 



talliana. Lilium tigrinum. 



Aster nov£e-angliae. Pseonia, in variety. 



Coreopsis lanceolata. Papaver nudicaule. 



Delphinium, in variety. Papaver orientale. 



Dianthus, in variety. Phlox paniculata. in great 



Dicentra spectabilis. variety. 



Dictamnus albus var. pur- Platycodon grandiflorum. 



pureus. Pyrethrum uliginosum. 

 Doronicum caucasicum. 



W. T. Macocn. 

 Western perennials for western gardens. 



A leading principle in the prairie style of landscape 

 gardening is restoration of the native flora. The 

 history of every country shows three stages in the 

 development of taste. First, the native flora tends 

 toward eJctermination by agriculture, drainage, fires, 

 and the growth of cities. Second, cosmopohtanism 

 spreads everywhere, until the gaudiness of temporary 

 plants, like cannas and coleus and the artificiahty of 

 complicated geometric beds tends to make all parts 

 of the world look alike. Third, people recognize that 

 the greatest variety and highest beauty come from 

 restoring and intensifying the "local color" originally 

 impressed upon each distinct region by eons of experi- 

 ment on the part of nature. This "return to nature," 

 which has taken many centuries in Europe has begun 

 in Illinois within a single century, owing largely to the 

 high percentage (89 per cent) of its arable land. The 

 process of banishing native vegetation went so fast 

 and far that, a few years ago, the secretary of the 

 Illinois Horticultural Society declared, "It is probable 

 that no equal area of the earth's surface has been 

 degraded to such utter ugUness and monotony as 

 Illinois." But, in 1906 to 1909, nearly $4,000,000 was 

 spent on the West Side parks of Chicago under the 

 direction of Jens Jensen, with restoration as the loading 

 idea. The largest and most impressive restorations in 

 the Middle West are, "the Prairie River" in Humboldt 

 Park, and "Chicago during the carboniferous era" 

 in the greenhouses at Garfield Park. In all western" 

 restorations, perennials are often more important 

 than trees or shrubs, because the former are the char- 

 acteristic vegetation of prairies, or treeless areas, and 

 because there are more species of western herbs than 

 of western woody plants. 



Perennials that do not cross the Alleghanies. — 

 Of the 179 plants that do not cross the Alleghanies, 

 according to Brendel ("Flora Peoriana," pp. 76-78), 



thirty-four are perennials cultivated for ornament. 

 Of western origin, he thinks, are the following: Anem- 

 one caroliniana, Chrysopsis inllosa, Clematis Simsii (C 

 Pitcheri), Echinacea angustifolia, Helianthus Isetiflorus 

 and H. scaberriynns {H. rigidus), Lithospermum lin- 

 earifolium {L. anguslifolium) , Lythrum alatum, Pela- 

 loslemoH Candidas and P. violaceus, Camassia escu- 

 lenta, (Quamasia hyacinthina) , and Solidago glaber- 

 rima {S. misisouriensis, Hort. not Nutt.). The above 

 came originally from the Great Plains. Of southern 

 origin are: Amsonia Tahernsemontana {A. Amsonia), 

 Baptisia leucanlha, BoUonia asteroides, Coreopsis lan- 

 ceolata, Liatris (or Ladnaria) cylindracea and L. 

 pycnostachya, Lepachys (or Ratibida) pinnata, Rud- 

 beckia subtomentosa and R. triloba (biennial), Silphium 

 laciniatum, S. pcrfoliatum, and S. lerebinthaceum. The 

 origin of the eleven following species is not stated: 

 Cypripedivm candidum, Echinacea purpurea, Eupa- 

 torium altissimum, Filipendula rubra {Ulmaria rubra, 

 Spirsea lobata), Helianthus doronicoides, Heuchera 

 hispida, Hibiscus mililaris, Jeffersonia diphylla, Phlox 

 glaberrima and P. maculala, and Solidago ohioensis. 



State flowers. — Before a legislature chooses a state 

 flower, lists like the above should be carefully studied 

 by impartial ob.servers, to make sure that the flowers 

 recommended are really characteristic, easy of culti- 

 vation, and lend themselves to the decorative arts. 

 WTien sentiment alone is allowed to decide these 

 matters, plants are often chosen which it is impractica- 

 ble to grow. Yet, it is a great advantage to choose a 

 flower that can be grown in every garden. One prairie 

 state chose the "prairie violet." Doubtless the showy 

 Viola sororia was meant, yet this is a.native of the woods, 

 and it is as common East as West. The bird's-foot 

 violet {V. pedata) is showy on the dunes, and, even 

 when conventionahzed by the decorative arts, would be 

 distinct, but it is not confined to the West. Its western 

 representative (F. pedalifida) is a genuine prairie 

 plant, but infrequent and presumably impracticable 

 for cultivation. Unfortunately, V. sororia makes its 

 response to good soil by producing leaves instead of 

 flowers. 



City flowers. — The western cities have now definitely 

 begun the practice of choosing city flowers to be grown 

 in every yard and woven into their civic art. Perhaps 

 the most appropriate way to symbolize the history or 

 ideals of each locahty is to choose a flower character- 

 istic of its pecuUar scenery or soil type. The soil type 

 can be determined by correspondence with the Bureau 

 of Soils, United States Department of Agriculture. 

 The prairie states belong chiefly to the Upper Austral 

 zone, but there are a few cities and counties that can 

 choose their pubhc planting motives from the Lower 

 Austral and some from the Transition zones. "Life 

 Zones and Crop Zones," by C. H. Merriam (Bulletin 

 No. 10, Division of Biological Survey), gives the trees 

 characteristic of each zone, and these may be helpful 

 in suggesting the most characteristic plant-associations 

 of each locality. The nearest local botanist will usually 

 give invaluable help. 



The best garden perennials. 



The following are all sun-loving plants, succeeding 

 in ordinary garden soil without special care. They are 

 arranged according to the month in which they ordi- 

 narily begin to bloom, although, of course, consider- 

 able variation in season may be expected. 



White. — April: Sanguinaria canadensis. May: Phlox 

 divaricata var. alba grandiflora. June: Anemoiie cana- 

 denids, Penlstemon Cobsea var. albus. July: Eu- 

 phorbia corollala, Phlox paniculata vars. Miss Lingard, 

 Snow Queen, White Queen, Albion, Diadem, Her- 

 mione, Helena Vacaresco, and Von Lassburg, Physos- 

 legia virginiana, Thalictrum pnli/gamum. August: 

 BoUonia asteroides, Hibi.scus Moschrutns var. albus. 

 Salvia azurea var. alba. Aster plarmicoides. September: 



