•tiU 



BKAlMOXriA 



BEDDING 



gniwth of the provious soiu^on. After flowering, the 

 plant should be severely pruned to produce lateral 

 shoots forthe next sejison's bloom. In its native coun- 

 try, this vine 

 climbs over very 

 tall trees. 



grandifidra, 

 Wall. A tall- 

 growing, woody 

 vine: Ivs. obo- 

 vate, cuspidate, 

 wa^■y margined: 

 sepals 5, large, 

 ovate, wavy, 

 pink-tipped; co- 

 rolla-tube veined 

 with green, the 

 limb .'■/-cleft. B. 

 M. ,3213. Gn. 

 45, p. 138; 49, 

 p. 314. J.H.III. 

 28:243. Var. 

 superba, having 

 larger whiter fls. 

 than the tj'pe, is 

 known. 



489. Oriental pattern. 

 1. White Kernnium. '2. Ciilrtidula offici- 

 nalis. "OranKC KinR." 3. C'oleus, green. 

 4. \'erbena hybrids I*\irple M:iininoth, or 

 Lemoine's heholrope. 5. -Vlys-sum varie- 

 Katum. 6. Outline of black-red coleua 

 bounding all part^. 



B. fr&granSt 

 Pierre. Evergreen 

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

 G.C. III. 49:30t). — B. Jerdimiina. Wight. Similar to the above but 

 with smaller part.^. and with foliicle-s 10 in. long. Cult, only in rare 

 collections. Wight Ic.. pi. VHi. 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, 

 sununer, 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 becMing in the same area. It is the only 

 kind that largely entjiloys hardy plants, as crocuses, 

 narcissi, daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, and other Dutch 

 bulbs. .Ml four types of bedding are commonly seen in 

 public parks, but spring bedding is the most appropri- 

 ate for amateur and home u.se, as the bulbs flower at a 

 drearj' time of the year, when t heir brave colors are most 

 cheering, and also because the\- are nnich 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 

 (Jctobcr 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 a[)plicable in 

 each of the four 

 main types men- 

 tioned above. 



Opposed to 

 this style of bed- 



490. French pattern. 

 I. Calendula officinaliN, ".Sulphur Queen," 



2. Ageratum nanum, "Blue Perfection." 



3. White geranium. 4. .Scarlet geranium. 

 5. Rnk geranium. Palm at center for accent. 

 Whole dantga oultined with green alter- 

 naotbera. 



ding is the naturalizing of bulbs in the lawn. Crocuses 

 an<l stiuills are [)articularly charming when they 

 appear singly, or in twos or threes, at unexpected 

 places in tlie lavvii. Daffodils are frequently natural- 

 ized in large masses in spots where the grass is not 

 mowed. 



Pansi(>s are the only other plants that are used ex- 

 tensively for spring bedding. English double daisies 

 and catchdies are largely used for edgings. Pansies are 

 set out between Ai)ril 1 and l."). 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 coldfraiiie. After flowering, the plants are 

 thrown away. The other methcjil is 1,o sow the seed in 

 a greenhouse in January. The .\ugust-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 Maj- 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- — •• a il<- 



ously with sub- 

 tropical plants f/feV 

 when all danger V^-^ 

 of frost is past. 



As to fondness ,„, t- ,. l ^ 



f 1 • 1 ^ 491. French border pattern, 



for sunlight, , ,, ..„ ,, , „ „ 



*l,««.^ „« .r« :r. 1. MaPKuente, Queen Alexandra. 2. 



tnere are again Coleu.s, "Golden Bedder." 3. .Scarlet gera- 



two groups, but nium. 4. Cineraria maritima. 5. Calendula 



the only bedding officinalis, "Sulphur Queen." 6. Ageratum 



. ^ .. *^ ^f ;™ nanum, "Blue Perfection." 7. White gera- 



plants of im- ^j^^,, 



I)ortance 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 sanely 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 Erfordii are |)opular varieties at present. 

 In the manipulati(jn 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, [jropagation 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 tj'pe, as a 

 functi(jn of seeds in nature seems to be to produce more 

 variation than can be attained by non-sexual methods 

 of propagation, as bj- 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 ale commonly grown by them- 



