78 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



April, 1909 



cannot cut the flowers easily. You have 

 got to get on both sides to cut them. 

 We find that they do better without too 

 much water. That may be because I 

 take a hand cultivator and pull it around 

 them every day. I don't think I missed 

 a day without stirring up the soil. I was 

 told that it was not necessary to work the 

 ground so much, but I wanted nice flow- 

 ers, and I had them. 



Planting for Winter Effect in the North' 



George Edward McClure, Buffalo 



How I Grow Frccsias 



Editor, The Canadian Horticultur- 

 ist, — In your February issue you ask 

 readers to tell their experience with 

 freesias in the window garden. We have 

 grown freesias successfully in winter for 

 over twenty years. The treatment we 

 give is as follows : 



Fill each pot 

 with bulbs close- 

 ly planted, as 

 they are small, 

 and neither the 

 narrow knife - 

 like leaves, nor 

 the slender 

 stalks take up 

 much space. Use 

 rather shallow 

 pots, with mod- 

 A Pot of Freetiai erately rich soil, 



preferably decayed leaf mould (woods 

 earth), leave in a sheltered place for 

 about two weeks, and then place in a 

 sunny window. Water moderately. 



Freesias come to us from the Cape of 

 Good Hope under burning skies ; there- 

 fore, they like the heat of the sun. If 

 they do not get lots of sunshine the 

 grass-like foliage will grow tall and limp, 

 fall over and no bloom will appear. If 

 planted about the beginning of Septem- 

 ber, they will bloom in February and fill 

 the house with sweet incense all their 

 own. The perfume alone of the freesia 

 would make it a favorite, but added to 

 this charm is its perfect beauty. 



When done blooming, set the pots in 

 the cellar or dark place, safe from mice 

 or squirrels. In the fall take them from 

 their grave and you will find the bulbs 

 just as good for forcing as ever, with 

 many others added. — Mrs. W. J. Arnott, 

 Churchill, Ont. 



Grass can stand more cutting than 

 weeds. 



While the snapdragon is increased us- 

 ually by seeds sown in the open, it may 

 be propagated, also by cuttings taken 

 in late summer and early fall, when they 

 will readily root in a cold frame or in the 

 house by the window. 



The best tying material for tying up 

 plants in the greenhouse, .window gar- 

 den or outdoors, and for budding, is 

 ratlia. It comes from the eastern trop- 

 ics, and is the product of a palm. It 

 may be purchased from seedsmen. 



ONE of the best opportunities for 

 brightening up the winter landscape 

 is offered to us with a lavish hand in 

 the bright colored branches or twigs in 

 shrubs and trees. Who of us has not 

 been charmed, after the leaves have fall- 

 en, with a large mass of the red osier 

 dog wood (Cornus stolonifera), as seen 

 from the window of a train? The effect 

 is lasting. A number of the cornus are 

 useful in planting for winter effect. The 

 best are C. alba Sibirica and C. stoloni- 

 fera for red stems, and C. stolotiifera 

 var. flaviraniea for the yellow effect of 

 its branches. When planted in large 

 masses beside the brilliant green branch- 

 es of Kerria ]aponica, the effect is really 

 wonderful. There are numerous species 

 of cornus, among which might be men- 

 tioned C. Amomutn and C. circinata, with 

 bright colored bark, which gives us 

 shades of color which are useful for 

 winter effect, and as their berries are 

 quite persistent and usually of a bluish- 

 white shade, the contrast between stems 

 and fruit is good. The red stems of 

 71*0X0 lucida are also used to advantage, 



In large shrub borders, along margins 

 of ponds and edges of creeks, the brilliant 

 osiers form an important part of the 

 winter landscape. About the best are 

 the golden-branched willow {Salix vitel- 

 lina var. aurea), and the variety, Britzen- 

 sis, with reddish branches. The basket 

 willow (Salix viminalis) has also bright 

 yellow stems and is especially valuable. 

 The purple osier {Salix purpurea) gives 

 us a chance to introduce a purple hue 

 into the winter landscap-^, which in the 

 distance is particularly enchanting. Salix 

 pahncefolia has also purple branches and 

 is very useful. As a purple branched 

 shrub the purple-leaved barberry (Berheris 

 vulgaris purpurea) is often used in small 

 plantations. 



For grey effects in stem and twig col- 

 oration, we can resort to the sea buck- 

 thorn (HippophcB rhatnnoides), and to 

 one of the oleasters, (Elceagnus argen- 

 tea). Effects in grey are sometimes 

 very desirable in the winter landscape 

 picture. For effects in green branches, 

 we ha'e the grass green stems of Kerria 

 Japonic /, the green stemmed variety of 

 the red c^ogwood (Cornus sanguinea 

 viridissim.i), and the golden bell (For- 

 sythia vindissima). 



We look to the coral berry (Symphor- 

 icarpus vulgaris) for a magenta shade. 

 For soft brown shades we have ample 

 opportunity to select from a long list, 

 such as Stephanandra flexuosa, Spircsa 

 callosa, the golden bell (Forsythia sus- 

 pensa), the tree of heaven (Ailanthus 

 glandulosa), CratcBgus crenata and 

 many others. 



'The conclusion of Mr. McClure's article wliich ap- 

 peared first in the February issue 



Many fail to notice the beautiful soft 

 effects that can be obtained by mass 

 planting of the brown-stemmed shrubs 

 and trees, but it is particularly agreeable 

 during the months of January and Feb- 

 ruary to see a mass of brown stems 

 as a relief from the blinding glare of 

 the sun on the snow. It is then that we 

 value the brown-stemmed shrubs along 

 with the osiers and dog-woods. 



In order to secure exceedingly good 

 effects in stem coloration, it is well to 

 remember that the highest color is pro- 

 duced in the growth of the current year, 

 and in order to secure this growth we 

 must not be afraid to prune heavily in 

 the spring, so as not to destroy the ef- 

 fect in winter. This is particularly true 

 of the willows, dogwoods and kerrias. 



STUDY THE WINTER EFFECT 



All planting should be done to a defi- 

 nite purpose. If it is for a place that is 

 to be occupied throughout the entire 

 year, we should not fail to make ample 

 provision for the effect which we can 

 produce in the winter. If successfully 

 planned, such a planting would be a 

 work of art, which would not only appeal 

 to every artistic eye, but would at the 

 same time serve as an education to the 

 people. 



The efforts of many landscape garden- 

 ers in the past have been to plan for 

 summer effects only, and we are often 

 sated with the profusion of summer 

 bloom. It is in the winter that we more 

 fully appreciate what we get by way of 

 color and tone. 



Too often we see the home grounds ar- 

 rayed with bundles of straw, burlap, 

 and barnyard refuse, and graceful shrubs 

 which are absolutely hardy and need no 

 protection, tied up in an unspeakable 

 manner, suggestive of the hair dressing 

 of an African chief. 



The effective arrangement of plants 

 for winter effect can never be taught, as 

 it is more difficult than the more or less 

 stereotyped summer effects can possibly 

 be, yet it is worthy of careful study and 

 will repay every effort. Winter travel 

 and constant observation will enable i 

 to add to our storehouse of knowledge 

 The growing desire for out-of-doors ex- 

 ercise, especially in winter when indoor 

 ventilation is so often neglected, cannot 

 be too much emphasized, and if it can be 

 stimulated by the creation of better win- 

 ter gardens and by rendering more beau- 

 tiful the great out-of-doors, in the winter 

 season, the art of the landscape profes- 

 sion will have taken a long stride for- 

 ward. 



The best nursery stock should be free 

 from insects, disease and blemish. It 

 should be well grown, clean and 

 straight. 



