2l6 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



October, 1909 



Fall Work Avith Peonies 



p. G. Keyes, Ottawa 



FROM September 15th to October 

 15th is probably the best time to 

 plant peonies or to divide old 

 plants in order to increase our supply. 

 Almost any soil will give satisfactory re- 

 sults if it be not so low that the water 

 will remain on the surface during the 

 winter or spring. Choose a situation 

 away from the roots of trees, but fair- 

 ly good success may be had in partial 

 shade. Trench the soil to a depth of at 

 least two feet before planting, and work 

 in a good quantity of old manure. See 

 that this is well mixed with the soil, as 

 the peony like all other plants resents 

 the direct application of manure to its 

 roots. This trenching is better if done 

 two or three months before the planting 

 season. 



Set the root so that the upper eyes 

 are about three inches beneath the sur- 

 face of the soil. The plants should be 

 set about three feet apart and if in rows 

 the same distance will answer very well. 

 Although the peony is hardy anywhere 



and needs no protection, an inch or two 

 of well rotted manure may be thrown 

 over the crowns in November after the 

 ground is frozen, and the tops of the 

 plant have been cut off level with the 

 soil. This should be removed early in 

 the spring, but it may remain around 

 the plant and serve as a mulch during 

 the summer, or it may be forked into 

 the soil. If forked in mulch the surface 

 around the plant with some fresh strawy 

 manure, as this will serve to keep the 

 ground moist and cool — conditions 

 which exactly suit the peony. 



Plantings may be left undisturbed for 

 years if the soil is occasionally enriched. 

 Typical blooms must not be expected the 

 first year after transplanting ; as a mat- 

 ter of fact, few plants such as are sent 

 out by nurseries bloom in less than 

 three years. I am pleased to see mani- 

 fested a growing interest in these beau- 

 tiful flowers and hope that we may soon 

 be able to form a Peony Growers' Asso- 

 ciation for Canada. 



Have the Garden Effective All the Year 



D. W. Buchanan, St. Charles, Manitoba 



TO those who wish to have a good 

 flower garden with an abundance 

 of bloom for the longest possible 

 season, I would say, indulge liberally in 

 the hardy perennials. There are many 

 species and varieties of these rugged 

 plants that are quite hardy in the west. 

 The severe cold of our steady winters 

 seems more favorable to these hardy 

 plants than the freezing and thawing that 

 they are subjected to in milder climates. 

 We have left our perennial flower plots 

 unprotected, save for the covering which 

 nature provides in the snow, for several 

 years past, and have not suffered any 

 severe loss from winter killing. 



I have a record of the date of coming 

 into bloom of hardy perennials growing in 

 the grounds of the Buchanan Nursery 

 Co., at St. Charles, near Winnipeg, for 

 the season 1908. This record shows that 

 the ' arliest species and varieties were 

 in bloom about the end of April, and some 

 late varieties were still making a good 

 show of bloom in October. This shows a 

 season sufficiently long to make a good 

 flower garden a thing worth striving for. 

 But the flower garden is not everything. 

 In undertaking to beautify the surround- 

 ings of the home, and especially the rural 

 home, where abundant space affords op- 

 portunity for spreading out, trees, shrubs 

 and vines should be used liberally. We 



•Extracts from an address delivered at a 

 meeting of the Western Horticultural Society. In 

 a later issue, that portion of the address that 

 deals with planting for winter eifect will be pub- 

 lished. 



cannot have the flowers blooming out- 

 doors in the winter in our climate, but 

 by a judicious use of shrubs and trees, 

 we can produce pleasing effects for all 

 seasons of the year and make the garden 

 or the home surroundings beautiful even 

 in mid-winter. 



Some people may smile at the idea of 

 planting for winter eff'ect in our climate. 

 Granted, that when the thermometer is 

 away down below zero, we are not likely 

 to linger outdoors to contemplate land- 

 scapes or artistic effects in planting, but 

 after all, the really severe days of winter 

 are few. Even in the depth of winter 

 there are many days on which a ramble 

 in the wood or a stroll about the grounds 

 can be enjoyed, and in prolonged spells 

 of severe weather, a pleasant view from 

 the window is a thing to be desired. Then 

 we have the early spring and late fall 

 seasons, before verdure has appeared, or 

 after the flowers are gone, during which 

 there are many pleasant days to be about 

 the grounds. 



FOE FOLIAGE EFFECTS IN PALL 



For fall or autumn effects, pleasant 

 views may be created by giving attention 

 to the coloring of autumn foliage. When 

 Jack Frost has touched the leaves with 

 his magic wand, many of our trees and 

 shrubs take on a richness of coloring that 

 is hardly equalled in beauty by the fresh 

 foliage and flowers of spring and early 

 summer. There are other shrubs that 

 hold the green leaf until very late in the 

 season. Of the shrubs whose foliage is 



particularly attractive in the fall we may 

 mention, among others, the beautiful 

 Ginnala maple. The coloring of the fol- 

 iage of this plant will vary in individual 

 specimens. Some will be found beauti- 

 fully tinted quite early in the season, in- 

 creasing in richness as the season ad- 

 vances, until the little tree at a distance 

 resembles a scarlet mass. The foliage of 

 the Virginia creeper is nicely colored in 

 the fall, but the leaves soon fall. An- 

 other shrub that may be mentioned in 

 this connection is the Japan barberry. 

 This is a beautiful little foliage plant all 

 summer, but especially beautiful when it 

 has taken on its rich autumn coloring. 

 This plant also holds its foliage well. Our 

 native plum, and also the Sheep berry 

 {Viburnum lentago) have finely colored 

 foliage in autumn. The Russian olive 

 holds its leaf late in the fall, its light 



Colorado Blue ijptoce 



An excellent subject for winter effect. 



color blending nicely with the rich col- 

 oring of surrounding trees. This shrub 

 or small tree gives a fine effect all sum- 

 mer if planted among the green leaved, 

 trees, its silvery foliage showing in fine 

 contrast with the green. In the fall the 

 foliage takes on a lighter shade. Of 

 plants that hold the green leaf late in the 

 fall we may mention the common lilac, 

 buckthorn and Amur barberry. The pur- 

 ple leaf barberry also retains its leaf well 

 on in the fall, the color becoming more 

 of a brownish shade as the season ad- 

 vances. 



When Christmas comes you will wish 

 that you had potted some bulbs in Oc- 

 tober. Do not procrastinate. Send at 

 once to seedsmen that advertise in The 

 Canadian Horticulturist, and get their 

 catalogues. 



