-A. Garden of Old-FasHioned Perennial Flo^wers' 



A CLASS of plants that is familiarly 

 known as old-fashioned, hardy 

 garden flowers is herbaceous per- 

 ennials — plants that once estabUshed, 

 continue to grow and thrive year after 

 year with but little care and attention. 

 Perennials are the pioneers of the floral 

 kingdom ; for who is there that does not 

 remember seeing in the front yard or 

 garden of his mother or grandmother 

 ,; some stately subject, such as an old- 

 ' fashioned peony or hollyhock, planted 

 ; and cared for by hands long since laid to 

 rest ? Is it not true that there are to-day 

 I in the rural districts of our country 



imany cheerless abodes that could be 

 made cheerful and attractive by the 

 judicious planting of these good, old- 

 il fashioned perennial flowers? Then let 

 i' us plant liberally of these old friends of 

 our forbears, which are fast becoming 

 I favorites with most flower-loving people ; 

 plant them not only for our own pleasure 

 but for the good of the community in 

 which we live, so that others seeing our 

 example may go and do likewise. As 

 the'poet says: 



Make thy garden as fair as thou canst, 



Thou workest never alone; 

 Perchance he whose garden is next to thine 



May see it and mend his own. 



The proper place for a perennial border 

 or a place where it shows to the best 

 advantage, is at the edge of a lawn, with 

 a background of shrubbery. A border 

 alongside a fence, a wall, or around a 

 garden, also shows to good advantage, 

 though if planted at the side or sides of a 

 ■garden, posts should be driven into the 

 ground and a treUis of wire should be 

 erected behind the border, where the 

 different varieties of vines could be grown 

 as a background. A good deal depends 

 upon the soil and the preparation of the 

 same as to the results obtained in this 

 class of plants, from the fact that they 

 are to remain in place indefinitely. 

 The soil should be a good general garden 

 soil; one that will grow a good crop of 

 vegetables will give good results. In its 

 preparation it should be worked to a 

 jood depth, say 1 8 inches or more, and 

 ,;hen a liberal quantity of good rotten 

 nanure should be mixed into the soil with 

 'ork or rake. 



The proper time for planting in this 

 :limate, and for most all species, is spring, 



rem the fact that the plants then have 

 I year's growth, and consequently are 

 )etter prepared to withstand the rigors 

 i)f our Canadian winters than those that 



re planted in fall. Kven then most 



dnds are benefited by a mulch of leaves 

 I'f light strawy manure, to be raked off 



S soon as spring opens. Good cultiva- 



*A paper read at the last meeting of the Que- 

 i«c Pomological Society. 



J. IV.a^'mond Ball, tlLno^vlton, Quebec 



tion of the soil, and an annual dressing 

 of manure and bone meal, with a thin- 

 ning out and a dividing of some sorts, 

 is about all the after treatment they 

 require. 



Most perennial flowers can be easily 

 grown from seed. If sown early, say in 

 February or March, many kinds will 

 bloom the first year; but it is in the 

 second or third years that the best 

 results may be looked for. Another 

 method of increasing stock is b}^ division 

 of old plants, which operation can be 

 successfully performed either in the fall 

 or early spring. Many varieties can also 

 be propagated by cuttings. 



Perennial Larkspur 

 Grown in Border at 0..\.C.. Guelph 



The following list of varieties includes 

 some of the best. It is by no means a 

 lengthy Hst, as there are thousands of 

 species and varieties, and there may be 

 others as desirable or more so. There is 

 the achillea; the Pearl is perhaps the 

 best known and most desirable, as its 

 double white flowers are borne in great 

 profusion all summer, and are valuable 

 for cutting. Then there are aquilegias, 

 or columbines, of which there are several 

 varieties, all good. In anemones, Jap- 

 onica, of which Queen Charlotte and 

 Prince Henry are perhaps the best. 

 Coreopsis, one of the most popular, with 

 flowers of a rich golden yellow, is good 



63 



for cutting ; it commences to bloom about 

 the end of June, and continues to bios 

 som, more or less, the entire summer and 

 autumn. 



Delphiniums, or larkspurs, are amongst 

 the most showy and stately of all 

 perennials, and range in color through 

 all the shades of blue. There are also 

 white and yellow. They are easily 

 grown from seed. The "gold medal" 

 hybrids are undoubtedly the finest 

 mixture ever offered. I grew them last 

 year, and obtained some beautiful colors. 

 They are all good bloomers. Dielytra 

 spectabilis, bleeding heart, is another 

 old-fashioned flower well worthy of a 

 place in the perennial border. 



In gaillardias, grandiflora is one of 

 the hardiest, most showy and prolific 

 bloomers. It keeps in flower from June 

 until cut down by frost. Of gypsophilas, 

 or "baby's breath" as it is commonly 

 called, paniculata is the one most com- 

 monly grown. It is the most useful. In 

 combination with high-colored flowers, 

 most beautiful effects can be produced. 

 It blooms in August and September. 



The helianthus, or hardy sunflowers, 

 are most effective, hardy plants, and look 

 well not only in the border, but they can 

 be placed among shrubbery, or as 

 clumps on the lawn. Among the best 

 varieties are Soliel d'or, Meteor and 

 Multiflorus maximus. Dianthus bar- 

 batus, Sweet William, is a fine old favor 

 ite that needs no description. 



Besides the foregoing, there are 

 peonies, some magnificent varieties of 

 which were unknown a few years ago; 

 and various species of iris, all of which 

 are pretty and useful. The rudbeckia, 

 or golden glow, is not only useful but 

 indispensable in bouquet work. Last, 

 but not least, I will mention the hardy 

 phlox ; varieties have been wonder- 

 fully improved in the past few years, 

 and 'are among the most showy and 

 important of all hardy perennials. 

 They are in bloom in all imaginable 

 shades and colors from early summer 

 until late in fall. 



Plants for SHady Places 



Will you please give a list of plants that will 

 do well in a shady bed? I have a place that is 

 too shady for most annuals, but looks rather 

 bare when unplanted? — P. W., Hamilton. 



Among the plants suited for shady 

 beds are pansies, lobelia, coleus, ferns, 

 caladiums, nemophilas, forget-me-nots, 

 sweet alyssum, fuchsias, morning-glorys, 

 hardy phlox and lily of the valley. If 

 the shade is dense, few of these will do 

 well, except ferns and lily of the valley. 



It is important, in establishing a 

 lawn, to choose soil originally deep, 

 fertile and in good physical condition. 



