170 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



A Montreal Vine-Clad Home 



The hoiiR- of Mr. J. Mtndi.rs.)ii, siip- 

 irintendent of Mount Royal Park, Mon- 

 treal, is shown in these two illustra- 

 tions. The grounds in the foreground 



matured, or it might be that at the 

 lime the flower was starting to come 

 the bulb had not sufficient nourishment 

 to develop its florets. The Chinese 

 select three grades of bulbs, first, sec- 

 ond and third. The thirds are very 

 inferior, and verv seldom flower. Sec- 

 onds will flower 'very well. Firsts will 

 give satisfaction to any person. 



I do not think it is any fault on the 



A Beautiful Vine Clad Home 



are beautifully planned and planted. 

 The grand old vine on the residence is 

 the common \'irginia creeper, Ampehpsis 

 qiiinquejolii. It is at least 30 years 

 old, and climbs on wires fastened to 

 the brick walls. A house is seldom 

 beautiful without climbers to add a 

 touch of color and to relieve the bare- 

 ness of the walls. The old-fashioned 

 Virginia creeper is one of the most 

 popular for the purpose. Luxuriant 



part of the grower with the exception 

 that a little ammonia in the water 

 might have helped the bulb to de- 

 velop its florets. It is more than likely 

 that the bulb was such a small size, it 

 had not sufficient nourishment to de- 

 velop the perfect plant. Be sure to 

 have a large bulb another time, and I 

 think you will have no difficulty in 

 securing flowers. — Herman Siniincrs. 



Wild Flowers for the Hardy Herbaceous Border 



A. Alexander, Hamilton, Ont. 



A Virginia Creeper in Montreal 



in its cool, dark green growth in sum- 

 mer, and dying off in resplendent hues 

 in autumn, it rightly deserves its pop- 

 ularity. 



The Virginia creeper is one of the 

 hardiest of hardy climbers. It is easily 

 propagated and easily grown. It is best 

 for the amateur to buy the plants from 

 some reliable nurseryman, as they are 

 not expensive, and a year's time will 

 be saved. The vine is increased by 

 cuttings of moderately ripened shoots, 

 which should be taken in late fall and 

 stored until spring, or where facilities 

 are available, the cuttings may be 

 started in a house or in a cold frame. 

 By the following autumn these cut- 

 tings, under ordinary treatment, will 

 make good plants. 



CHinese Lilies 



Some Chinese lily bulbs that I put in water 

 grew well but failed to produce bloom. What 

 might have been the cause? — C.B., Ottawa. 



This might be due to two causes. It 

 may be that the bulbs 'used Avere not 



IN the April number of The Hokti- 

 ciLTURisT, a few of the earlier 

 plants native to our woods and fields 

 were named as having been satisfactory 

 additions to the hardy garden. In this 

 short article we will name a few more 

 desirable subjects for the same use. 



The first we w^ould call attention to is 

 Phlox divaricata. It is found growing 

 plentifuUv in many of our woods and 

 shadv places. It is a very attractive 

 plant of a fine light lilac color, the loosely 

 flowered panicles growing to a height of 

 nine inches or a foot. It flowers for 

 four or live weeks during May and June. 

 A partial shade is preferred, though I 

 have had it thrive in the open border, 

 among its sun-harderied new acquaint- 

 ances. 



Geranium maculatum is another na- 

 tive that always gives satisfaction. 

 After being planted it will increase in 

 size and profuseness of bloom from year 

 to year. Mv specimen has been in the 

 saine spot for at least 10 years, and has 

 been blooming all through June and 

 was conspicuous during part of May. 

 The flowers are light purple. 



Smilacina racemosa. False Solomon's 

 Seal, is quite an acquisition to any 

 garden. It is found growing in rich 

 woods. With its very graceful, bending 

 stems and its terminal plume of creamy 

 white flowers, it is a thing of beauty. It 



is also fragrant and the flower is succeed 

 cd by a cluster of pale red berries, spot- 

 ted with purple. Why it should be 

 called false Solomon's Seal I am at a 

 loss to know, unless it be that it is very 

 often found in close companionship 

 with Solomon's Seal. It surely has 

 originality enough to have a name to 

 itself. 



There is a little flower, a favorite of 

 mine, Tiarella cordifolia, the foam 

 flower, or False Mitrewort, which I in- 

 tended to have referred to in my last 

 talk of the wild flowers, is a beautiful 

 little gem and fragrant. The leaves are 

 very persistent, and are often richly 

 colored in the fall. 



Those who have room should have 

 some members of the aristocratic orchid 

 family, especially the Cypripediums, or 

 Ladies' Slippers. They arc still to be 

 found in many shady woods and dells- 

 The easiest of cultivation are Cypripe- 

 dium pubescens and C. spectabile. I 

 have had the former of the two for many 

 vears. It is yellow and responds to 

 good treatment in the shape of good soil 

 and favorable locality. 



The only other plant I would refer to 

 is Actaea spicata rubra (Baneberry). 

 It has a spike of white flowers early in 

 the season. These are succeeded by 

 clusters of cherry-red berries, which are 

 verv beautiful. 



Actaea Spicata, Baneberry 



False Solomon's Seal 



