1868. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



345 



board. The dwarf box is the most common and 

 the best edging, and being an evergreen gives a 

 lively appearance to the garden when no flowers 

 are in bloom. It is raised from cuttings or divis- 

 ion of the root. Set them about four inches apart, 

 trim them the next year, and every year, in June ; 

 they should never be higher than four or five inches. 

 When they are too thick take up the plants and 

 divide them. The dwarf pink, if kept neatly in its 

 place, and covered with dead leaves in the winter 

 is quite pretty for this purpose. Also the thrift 

 and the chamomile. The walks of a flower gar- 

 den should be three feet wide, at least, and kept 

 dry, clean, and solid, in all weathers. If of gravel, 

 a little added every spring and well rolled, they 

 will generally be in good condition. Fine cinders 

 sifted from coal ashes make a very good walk. 

 Still, a much better plan is to have all the space 

 between flower beds turfed, and the grass often 

 cut and rolled ; this velvety greenness will give a 

 more vivid aspect to the view, and bring out in 

 strong relief the colors of the flowers. 



Set plants of tallest growth and most showy fo- 

 liage and blossoming at the farthest point of view ; 

 as a general rule they should never be in such 

 quantity among less conspicuous objects as to at- 

 tract all the attention. In arranging flowers in 

 groups place the largest and tallest in the centre, 

 those of light and waving foliage for the outline of 

 the group, those of heavier and prim habit 

 within, and dispose all beds and groups with refer- 

 ence to the general efiect — none should hide or 

 overpower others. Also, in designing these groups 

 or beds see that care be taken to bring together 

 only those colors that contrast well, either with 

 themselves when arranged in "ribbon" form, or, 

 when of one color, with that of the adjacent 

 groups. Never set or plant flowers in beds or 

 rows promiscuously as to colors or forms — there 

 must be harmony in both to give pleasure to the 

 eye. For annuals, the "ribbon" style is very 

 pretty : the seeds are sown, or the young plants 

 set, in circles, one within another, so that when in 

 bloom the bed presents a red, a white, a blue, and 

 a yellow ring. An elegant contrast is afforded by 

 white and red alone, purple and yellow, blue and 

 white, or each of these in one large mass of color, 

 when the beds are surrounded by greenery — are set 

 in the turf of a lawn, and kept distinct. You should 

 also provide for a succession of flowers in your 

 beds, so that when one set have lost their beauty 

 there shall be others just ready to show their 

 colors. The prevailing hue of spring blossoms is 

 white ; of summer, red ; of autumn, yellow ; and 

 in your choice see that you have enough of other 

 tints to harmonize well with them ; yellow is so 

 "overpowering," as some persons say, you should 

 never admit much of it into a garden, or into a 

 bouquet. 



Set shrubs in cloudy, damp weather ; early in 

 October is the best time, but May will answer 

 with all except those of the earliest blooming. 



Give them plenty of room and a good deal of loose 

 soil about their roots ; water them then, and, un- 

 less it rains, every day for a week. Every three 

 years they should taken up, their roots divided 

 and reset. Bulbous and tuberous plants, if raised 

 from seed, should be planted in pots or boxes aa 

 soon as.the seed is ripe, and these boxes kept dry 

 in a warm, dry cellar through the winter. Set the 

 boxes out of doors the next summer, the follow- 

 ing winter in the cellar again ; in spring they may 

 be placed in the garden and will probably bloom. 

 Lilies, most irises, crocuses, tulips, and some kinds 

 of narcissi, may remain in the soil through the 

 winter — also snowdrops and some hyacinths. The 

 gladiolus, tigridia, and dahlia, all need to be 

 taken up in the fall. The bulbs should be dried; 

 the dahlia tubers washed first, and then spread in 

 boxes, or on shelves, in the cellar, where they 

 will not freeze nor yet be very dry ; if heaped to- 

 gether they will be liable to decay. In April 

 throw sand or soil into the boxes suflicient to 

 cover the tubers, and keep the boxes in a warm 

 room, or out-of-doors, in the sun, during the day- 

 time, till they sprout. Then divide the tubers, 

 set in very rich soil, one foot deep, two feet apart; 

 place a tall stake at each root, to which tie the 

 plant when a foot high ; water frequently with a 

 liquid preparation of hen-guano and charcoal-dust. 

 Keep tigridia bulbs in sawdust through the win- 

 ter, — ^dahlias also keep well in sawdust, — where 

 they will not freeze. Set them in May in rich soil, 

 two inches deep, one foot apart. The old-fashion^ 

 ed and more hardy kinds of the gladiolus are left 

 in the ground by some persons and covered with 

 dead leaves. The choice varieties must be taken 

 up before the frost comes. Dry them, and keep 

 them in a warm, dry cellar. They need a sandy 

 loam enriched with leaf mould. Set them in this 

 late in the spring— after all your other bulbs are 

 taken care of— between two and three inches deep, 

 a foot apart ; at the same time give each bulb a rod 

 or slender stick, and tie the stalk to this as it gets 

 high enough. Choice irises should have a similar 

 soil and be cared for through the winter in the 

 same way ; also choice tulips and hyacinths. 



To have annual flowers early, make a bed of 

 light, rich earth in a sheltered, sunny situation, in 

 October, and in this plant your seeds — each sort 

 having a wooden label set with it. Cover the bed 

 with boards until April ; then remove the cover, — 

 at night spread a mat over them until there is no 

 danger from frost. Transplant them to your beds 

 when they have their second leaves. If you have 

 a hot bed for vegetables prepare one also for flow- 

 ers, but use a cloth. screen or cover rather thau a 

 sash. A good way is to fill flat boxes about three 

 or four inches deep with well-mixed sand and loam, 

 and raise them in this in the house. In March, 

 warm the soil, in the stove oven, and then plant 

 your seeds. Keep the boxes where it is light and 

 warm till they are up, then give them sunshine. 

 Accustom them gradually to the out-of-door 



