Late Spring and Early Sxammer Border Plants 



"Wm. Hunt, Ontario Agricultural College, CuelpK 



THIS class of plants has not received 

 the attention from many of our 

 flower lovers that their beauty 

 and usefulness most deservedly entitle 

 them to. The long spell of triple-season 



The Garden Primrose 



weather — sometimes winter, sometimes 

 spring, intermingled with a few days of 

 quite summer weather — that we have 

 experienced during the last two months, 

 has brought out more prominently than 

 usual the usefulness of manv varieties 

 of late spring and early summer flower- 

 ing plants. 



After the gay galaxy of beauty in the 

 border that the spring flowering bulbs, 

 such as tuHps, hyacinths, narcissi and 

 so forth, give us, there is too often in 

 many flower borders a period of compara- 

 tive dullness before the better known 

 and later summer flowering occupants 

 of the border, such as iris, peonies, del- 

 phiniums, campanulas, and other varie- 

 ties, help to brighten it up. 



vSpring bedding, as it is termed in 

 England, where the cool spring season, 

 often extends from the end of January 

 until early June, gives ample scope for 

 the exercise of the use of this class of 

 early decorative plants. With our usu- 

 ally short, uncertain spring weather, this 

 system of spring bedding cannot, as a 

 rule, be successfully carried out. Al- 

 though we may not be able to have 

 whole beds or borders entirely of these 

 plants, such as pansy, violas, primulas. 

 Phlox subulata, forget-me-nots, Alyssum 

 saxatile, and others of a like nature, 

 many of them can be used verv success- 

 fully in an ordinary perennial or mixed 

 flower border with marked success and 

 effectiveness. 



CORYDALIS NOBIIJS 



This perfectly hardy and showy border 

 plant, a native of the frozen north of 

 Siberia, should be in every collection. 

 Its long, drooping racemes of pale yellow 



flowers, together with its'attractis'e and 

 graceful fernlike foliage, make it a pleas- 

 ing and showy object in the border in 

 April or early in May. Very early spring 

 or early in autumn is the best time to 

 transplant this Corydalis. 



Corydalis hnlbosa is another variety 

 very useful as an early flowering plant. 

 This, as its name implies, is a bulbous- 

 rooted variety, very useful as a border 

 or for rockeries. The bulbs should be 

 planted early in autumn. 



PHLOX SUBUtATA (MOSS PINK) 



The several varieties of these beauti- 

 ful dwarf little plants, with their showv, 

 compact masses of pink, reddish purple, 

 and Hlac flowers, make them indispens- 

 able amongst our low-growing border 

 and rockery plants. The varieties 

 rosea, atro-purpurea, and lilacina are 

 the most effective and hardy for border 

 work, the different shades of color being 



PRIMULA POLYANTHA (GARDEN PRIMROSE) 



Primroses delight in a rather moist, 

 partially shaded position. A hot, sunny 

 position does not suit them. They 

 grow readily from seeds or division. The 

 best time to divide the plants is as soon 

 as they are out of flower. Water and 

 shade them carefully for a week or so 

 after planting. Seed sown in spring or 

 early summer will produce flowering 

 plants the following season. There are a 

 great variety of colors to be had in 

 garden primroses, white, yellow, lilac, 

 and brown being the prevailing colors 

 and shades. Garden primulas should 

 be seen in every flower garden-. 



PRIMULA OFFICINALIS (ENGLISH COWSLIP) , 



It is quite hardy as a rule, and whei 

 treated as described for other primulas,! 

 makes a pretty border plant. In very 

 exposed borders or in the northern sec- 

 tions of the province a light winter pro- 



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Iceland Poppies in Border at Ontario Agricultural College 



Photograi* by E. J. Zavitz 



indicated in the specific varieties men- 

 tioned. A mass of these showy little 

 plants makes a very conspicuous spot in 

 a border. The best time to plant or 

 divide the clumps of this plant is as soon 

 as they are out of flower. Avoid plant- 

 ing them on low ground where water 

 lies during winter. Shade and water 

 after planting for a while. 



FORGET-ME-NOT 



Myosotis grandiflora (M. sylvatica) 

 is the forget-me-not that succeeds best 

 in gardens. The forget-me-not succeeds 

 best in light soil and in partial shade, 

 although they will give good results in the 

 open border. Seed sown in spring or 

 early summer will give flowering results 

 the following year. When once estab- 

 lished it seeds and renews itself everv 

 year, if the situation suits it. The blue 

 type is the showiest, although the pink 

 and white varieties are very pretty. 

 No border should be without a clump 

 of these appealingly pretty, sentimental, 

 spring and early summer flowers. 



166 



tection may be required. Some light 

 rubbish, such as old raspberry canes, or 

 a few small .pieces of brushwood with a 

 few leaves or some strawy manure lightly 

 placed over the plants about middle of 

 November, or a few pine boughs placed 





Forget-Me-Nots 



over the plants until spring, makes a 

 good winter protection for primulas. 



Primula Cashmeriana is a very beauti- 

 ful early flowering variety, its pale 

 lavender blue flowers being very beauti- 

 ful in early spring. Unfortunately, 



