Winter Work for the Amateur Florist 



JoHn Cape, Hamilton 



WHAT should we amateur garden- 

 ers do in January? No outside 

 work is possible. The gardens are sealed 

 up. Jack Frost holds full sway. Plant 

 life is sleeping the long winter sleep ; and 

 those of us who have no house plants are 

 waiting patiently, or impatiently, as the 

 case may be, for the coming of spring; 

 that annual miracle, the renaissance of 

 plant life. It will be three months yet 

 ere the sweet modest little snowdrop 

 peeps forth, whispering to us the wel- 

 come tidings that winter is passing and 

 heralding the coming of warm weather 

 and nature's awakening. 



What then is there for the amateur 

 florist to do in January? Much, indeed, in 

 the way of planning, mapping and other 

 preparation for the future. It is in the 

 cold dark days of winter that we amateurs 

 grow the most charming flowers (in our 

 minds). It is then we build our castles 

 in the air, and dream dreams of the 

 wonderful achievements we are going to 

 compass in our gardens next summer. 

 Now it is that we bring out our seed and 

 shrub catalogues, pore over them and 

 study them, and, under the seductive 

 influence of their alluring descriptions, 

 and gorgeous illustrations of plants and 

 flowers, shrubs and trees, new and old, 

 we plan new designs and elaborate effects ; 

 make out our lists, and review them and 

 renew them, and alter them to suit our 

 area and our pocket-book, until finally 

 we settle on the absolute requirements 

 and make the orders for seeds and plants. 



The seeds shcndd be purchased imme- 

 diately, and the plants later on. 



What a charming occupation this is! 

 Every grower wants some plant or flower 

 that he didn't have last year. That 

 white Turk's-cap lily that was seen at 

 St. Catharines; that pale blue larkspur, 

 which was a conspicuous feature at the 

 Grimsby show, or that Rocky Mountain 

 columbine that Dr. Fletcher described 

 so vividly. Aye, and we must not forget 

 that Colorado blue spruce for the lawn, 

 or the feathery Japanese maples at Ni- 

 agara Falls Park, that caused us to break 

 the tenth commandment, and covet and 

 desire other men's maples; and that 

 hardy chrysanthemum we saw in Ham- 

 ilton, a great bush of golden glory that, 

 once planted, needs but little after- 

 thought or care, increases year by year 

 in bulk and beauty, and blooms on forever. 



Besides, that color scheme for the 

 south border has to be thought out, and 

 we need to settle what annuals are to 

 supplement the perennials there, and 

 what shall be grown this year especially 

 for the show in September. With such 

 work as this it can readily be understood 

 how easy it is to have our hands full of 

 garden work in winter as well as in sum- 

 mer . 



PURCHASING SUPPLIES 



When the lists are made out the ques- 

 tion is: — Where, and from whom shall 

 we purchase our supplies? Aye, there's 

 the rub! Catalogues pour in upon us 

 in bewildering numbers. Catalogues of 

 seeds, catalogues of bulbs, catalogues of 



trees, of shrubs, of vines, of perennials, 

 of annuals, of native plants, of ferns, of 

 orchids, and of "everything for the 

 gardener"! Catalogues great and cat- 

 alogues small; catalogues modest and 

 catalogues — well — not at all! All and 

 every kind of catalogue, offering all and 

 every kind of growing things, or things to 

 grow. From Germany, from Japan, 

 they come, and from all parts between. 

 The selection of the necessary require- 

 ments from such a mass of material is 

 interesting, and will prove to be more 

 beneficial employment for the winter 

 evenings than working out Alice's riddles 

 in the Ladies Home Journal. 



Experience teaches us that no one firm 

 has "Everything for the Garden," al- 

 though some profess to have. There are 

 specialists in horticulture, even as there 

 are in other lines of industry. Where to 

 get the best roses, is often where nothing 

 else is grown. A firm may be famous for 

 its pansy seed, and yet be unable to fill 

 an order for half a dozen varieties of 

 lilies. When the list of our require- 

 ments has been settled we have to study 

 where the items can Vjest be procured, 

 and make out and send our orders, so 

 that we may get our seeds now and our 

 plants later. If we do not do this svs- 

 tematically and now (do it now!) when 

 we caiinot work out of doors, we shall 

 inevitably be "left" when the spring- 

 time, work-time comes. This is what 

 we can and must do in January, and this 

 is what January is for — to the amateur 

 florist. 



Prepare Your Bedding Plants for next Summer 



JANUARY is the best month for 

 starting a great number of the most 

 beautiful bedding plants for the gar- 

 den next summer. Amateurs who try 

 to grow these flowers are completely 

 discouraged frequently by their lack of 

 success. There is no reason why such 

 failures and disappointments should 

 occur. In almost every case the cause 

 can be traced to lack of knowledge re- 

 garding the proper time to start and the 

 proper methods to follow in preparing the 

 plants for bedding operations. A fine 

 show can be made with very little ex- 

 pense and most of the work can be done 

 during the winter months when other 

 labors are not so pressing. 



Bedding plants are grown with great 

 success in the Allan Gardens, Toronto, 



where Mr. E. F. Collins is an expert in 

 their culture. "In preparing plants for 

 bedding," said Mr. Collins to The Horti- 

 culturist recently, "the growth of the 

 different specimens must be studied. 

 The main object should be to have the 

 plants grow as quickly as possible, and 

 just reach the proper size at bedding 

 time. The slow growing sorts may be 

 started as early as December, while 

 others that grow rapidly will be ready 

 if not started until April. 



"Geraniums, when taken up in the 

 fall, should be potted and placed in a 

 shed. A thorough watering should be 

 given and then they can be allowed to 

 dry out until all the leaves drop. They 

 should then be well cleaned and again 

 thoroughly watered to induce new 



growth. In this way }oung shoots, 

 suitable for making cuttings, will be 

 developed by January. When this first 

 crop of cuttings has been removed, the 

 old plants can be set to one side and 

 again well watered. Another batch of 

 cuttings will be ready in about six w-eeks. 

 Under ordinary treatment the same old 

 plants will grow rapidlj- after this and 

 make fine flowering plants by April or 

 May. 



"Cuttings are best started in coarse, 

 clean sand with good drainage. If only 

 a few are needed they can be put in small 

 pots or in boxes. When large quantities 

 are required, flats can be used. An inch 

 and a half or two inches of sand is suffi- 

 cient, and the cuttings can be placed as 

 close together as possible. If they are 



