Bedding Plants, WKere to Use TKem" 



RIDING through parks, along boule- 

 vards and country roads, speed- 

 ing in trains through villages and 

 towns all over the country, passing the 

 magnificent palaces of the wealthy with 

 their beautiful lawns and the humble 

 cottages of the poor surrounded by 

 modest yards, everywhere, during the 

 growing season, the eyes meet the bright- 

 ness of flowers and richly colored plants, 

 which at once impress upon us the 

 popularity and universal love for bed- 

 ding plants. 



There is such a large variety of these 

 plants, from the smallest annual, like 

 portulaca, to the stately sub-tropical 

 plants. The perennials figure greatly in 

 various effective displays. Then we 

 have tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, and so 

 forth, for early spring flowering. No 

 garden need be without flowers from the 

 time the dainty little crocuses peep out 

 of the snow until late in fall. 



No matter how small the purse, 

 enough seed can be purchased to obtain 

 a very harmonious and artistic effect, as 

 well as a continuous seaFon of flowers. 

 It is not the means of being able to pro- 

 cure a large number of choice plants, 

 but it is the good taste and skill of the 

 designer, who understands how to make 

 an arrangement, to harmoniously and 

 discriminately combine the various col- 

 ors with immediate surroundings, no 

 matter how inexpensive, that appeals to 

 the lover of nature with all its art and 

 beauty, and this is what we are striving 

 for more and more every day. 



It requires just as much artistic judg- 

 ment and ability to arrange flowers 

 properly, as the painting of a picture on 

 canvas. The designer must show in- 

 dividi'ality and know exactly what pro- 

 portions the plants will attain, how soon 

 thev will be fully developed, also how 

 the colors will blend together; in fact, he 

 must see the finished picture before him 

 when he designs his plans. We have 

 evervthing to do it with; now let us 

 understand how to do it. To cover the 

 subject best, I have divided it into two 

 chapters, as the title of this article indi- 

 cates: "Where to use them and how to 

 use them." 



PROPER SELECTION OF PLACE ESSENTIAL 



The proper selection of the place for 

 the floral display is first to be considered ; 

 a place where it will be r>roperly effective 

 is just as important as the execution of 

 the r-lantin?, as this takes a definite part 

 in the entire scheme. T/Ocalitv, build- 

 inf and size of erounr"*^ must be taken 

 into consideration, ''''^e smaller the 



* K^tract*^ from a paper read by Mr. Alois Frcy. 

 Ch'rpRo nt t^e last conven+i"'' o' t^e Society of Amer- 

 ican ^ l-H'^tc ard Ornamental H'-*'''"UuHsts. Valuable 

 sttgge tln"« are given that a-** -'nn'i-able to Canadian 

 pi-k*. a'-H Ir^me ga»-dens. In t^ p ""vf iosue the question 

 of how to U'e bedding piants ■• '11 he discussed. 



place, the simpler should be the display. 

 It is so easy to overcrowd a small front 

 lawn, whereby the proper effect is 

 entirely lost . Large places in proportion 

 will have more elaborate paintings, and 

 the artist will have occasion to plan 

 special features, such as courtyards, 

 parterres, sunken gardens, Italian gar- 

 dens, and so forth. 



. The front of a building is almost al- 

 ways selected for the display, which is 

 generally formal, and, if the space is 

 limited, a narrow border of plants ad- 

 joining the building will be sufficient, 

 with perhaps one or two beds on the 

 lawn, proportional to the latter. There 

 should always be plenty of green grass 

 to offset the beds. The backyard, as a 

 rule, is very much neglected and in 

 many instances unsightly; here I would 

 advocate to have a grass plot with a 

 border plantation. How much more 

 cheerful one would feel looking into a 

 well-kept yard than at a lot of rubbish. 



Places of larger dimensions, with their 

 beautiful landscape effects, must be 

 treated more in detail ; here we have an 

 opportunity to lay out in connection 

 with residences, conservatories and pub- 

 lic buildings, courtyards, parterres, rose 

 gardens, and so on, which, as a general 

 rule, are part of the architectural scheme 

 and in harmony with the style of the 

 building. In the last few years Italian 

 gardens have again become quite popu- 

 lar, and these especially set apart from 

 the rest of the landscape must be treated 

 by themselves; they are very set and 

 usually contain considerable color well 

 blended together. 



Besides the forms of special treatment 

 already mentioned, we also have other 

 flower gardens, which give an opportun- 

 ity for a larger variety of flowering 

 plants, in the line of annuals, roses and 

 perennials, and so forth, which properly 

 arranged make a brilliant effect without 

 interfering with the more subdued and 

 restiul landscape. 



IN CEMETERIES 



A few words should be devoted to the 

 homes of our loved dead. There is noth- 

 ing more soothing to the grief-stricken 

 heart than the sight of well-kept cem- 

 eteries, bedded with appropriate flowers 

 speaking the language of peace and rest. 



PARKS AND FACTORY GROUNDS 



Public parks, especially, are a great 

 field for floral displays, and although 

 some authorities on landscape garden- 

 ing do not favor them, I believe the pub- 

 lic fully appreciate flowers; though the 

 utmost care must be taken not to let 

 them run wild all over the park, but keep 

 them in the vicinity of buildings or en- 

 tirely away and screened off from the 

 quiet landscape. Boulevards also and 



small squares can be most admirably 

 brightened with the ornamentation of 

 flower beds. 



FLOWER BOXES 



How many people are not fortunate \ 

 enough to possess a home with a lawn 

 and flower beds! There is no necessity 

 to deprive themselves of nature's gifts, 

 but they can enjoy them in a more 

 modest way, by keeping flower boxes, M 

 which, no matter how obscure and un- "' 

 assuming the dwelling, give it a home- 

 like air and enliven the aspect of many j 

 an otherwise sombre home. On the l|l 

 other hand, many beautiful residences 

 rely solely upon piazza boxes for their 

 floral display and exquisite results can 

 be obtained in this manner. 



MaKing' a Tennis Court 



T. McVittie, Toronto 



In making a lawn tennis court, there 

 should be a clear margin of at least 

 twelve feet on each side and twenty- 

 one feet at each end of the court. When 

 the ground is selected, measure off a 

 portion, say 100 by 50 feet, which will 

 allow ample margin. The portion for 

 playing on requires only seventy-eight 

 by thirty-six feet. If economy must 

 be considered, only the latter need be 

 carefully prepared, but it is better to 

 do the whole if possible. 



The ground which is to be turfed is 

 best prepared previously. Carefully 

 remove the weeds from the turves. If 

 it is very poor, work in a dressing of 

 decayed manure, taking care not to 

 have it rank. Make it perfectly level 

 and evenly balanced by means of a 

 straight edge and a spirit level. The 

 whole plot should be made very firm 

 with a rammer or the back of a spade. 

 Scratch it over with a rake, lay the 

 edges of the turves close together and 

 ram thoroughly. 



If grass seed is to be sown, see that it 

 is good by purchasing from a reliable 

 firm. I prefer turfing, if sods can be 

 procured free from weeds. 



During the season the grass should be 

 kept cut very close and the court after- 

 wards rolled well with a heavy roller. 



To have extra early cucumbers for 

 slicing, start the seed in hotbeds in 

 March. 



Sow seeds of nasturtiums in pots or 

 boxes, but do not sow thickly, as nas- 

 turtiums do not transplant readily. 

 Earlv flowers of mignonette may be had 

 bv sowing the seeds in pots; also, petun- 

 ias, verbenas, cosmos and lobelia. 



