18S9. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



lovelk'St of planti! are tlie "Fairy Lilies," (Zephyr- 

 anthes or Amaryllis Atamasco) with their deep 

 pink bUtssoms. "Shell Flowei-s " (Tiirriiiias) too, 

 are veiy (lesinible for their iK'auty, with their 

 spotted ami lloeked tlowers whieh last but a day 

 in bloom, bvit rei>ay the lover of nature for all 

 his pains. If late in blooming I put them in box- 

 es or pots and have the pleasure of them indooi-s. 



— Mrs. h. It. /V \yn]f. 



Floral Design for Wedding. Last sprin«^ 1 wils 

 retpiest^Ml to sujrjrest some way toarrnnj?etiowers 

 for a friend's wedding, and as the followin;.' idea 

 wiU"* eonsidcrcd very appropriate for sueh an oe- 

 easion, 1 send it, thinking some of your readers 

 might like it, or some variation of the same. 

 Take a small round, oval, or s(iurtre table Uhe 

 latter is l)e.*Jt) eover with oileloth to iirevent the 

 moisture from injuringit, upon this lay a mirror. 

 of a size to eorrcsponil with the table, cover the 

 mirror frame, and table top with Moss, and 

 along the back edge set a few pretty Ferns, and 

 Vines to trail o\er the edge, and train upon the 

 wall. Do not make the margin of the Moss where 

 it borders the mirror too precise and formal, but 

 rather have it resemble the bank of a real lake 

 as much as possible, set tir)wei-s here and there 

 along the mossy banks, and tiny Ferns, in short 

 imitate nature as closely as possible. Then make 

 a flat-bottomed boat of pasteboard, with wooden 

 oars, gilded, cover the boat with pale lavender or 

 white pa|>er, and upon the stern in gilt letters 

 the wortl HOPE. Launch the boat uptm the 

 lake, fasten to the shore by means of a gilded an- 

 chor, and silken cord, or gilt chair, and till the 

 boat with any suitable blossoms.— "KWcr'sFTi/t*." 



CMldren's Flower Bed. Have the little ones 

 had a flower bed this summer, where they could 

 go whenever they choose, and gather as many 

 flowers as they wished'/ If not, make arrange- 

 ments for one for next season, and for fear you 

 may forget it, or not get time to attend to it next 

 spring, make it, or part of it this fall, sowing 

 mLxed seeds of Poppies, and the old-fashioned 

 " Bachelor'3 Ituttons " {Centaurca cuanusy, 1 

 know of no flowei-s which will require less atten- 

 tion, and give such quantities of flowers as these. 

 Several years ago I bought seeds of these old- 

 fashioned favorites, and they have mixed and 

 crossed until I now have man j' v'arieties. some 

 of them entirely distinct from any included in 

 the original purchase. A part of the old garden 

 has become seeded with them, and all summer it 

 is a mass of pink, blue, purple, and scarlet, undis- 

 turbed save by the busy little bodies whogo there 

 frequently to gather bouquets for themselves 

 and their friends. The Poppies make a gorgeous 

 spot of color, but I am not fond of them as cut 

 flowers, being very short-lived, and their odor is 

 very otfensive to me, but the dainty "' Bachelor's 

 Buttons," with their various shades of pink, and 

 purple, and blue, and white, with various colored 

 eyes, or more beautiful, still the delicately striped 

 ones, form lovely and lasting bouquets, and have 

 a not iinplcasing fnigrauce.— £frfer'8 Wife. 



The Dwarf Wax Flower. The Common Wax 

 flower Haya carnnaa is an old favorite among 



Horse ami Cart Festooned with Fiowers. 



house plants. It is an excellent plant in almost 

 every way, pro\ided it be given a warm place in 

 winter. This is not diflBcult wherever Anthracite 

 coal is used as the heating fuel of our houses. 

 A species of the genus not so well known as the 

 common kind is Hoya Bella^ or as it is common- 

 ly called the Beautiful Wax Plant, of which 

 an engraving is given herewith. This sort is both 

 more dwarf in habit and more delicate in the 

 character of its bloom than is the older one. H 

 needs considerable heat and light, and when these 

 are provided it may easily be handled to be a very 



satisfactory plant. A soil consisting of loam, 

 peat, sand, with flnely broken charcoal and old 

 mortar rubbish pounded suits it well, the pots 

 being thoroughly drained. Lack of heat is liable 

 to render the pliints sickly and unsatisfactory. 

 H. Bdla has been in cultivation more than thirty 

 years, and might be expected to be in almost ev- 

 ery collection of plants; but such is by no means 

 the case, for there are many gardens of more than 

 ordinary pretentions where it is not grown. This 

 neglect of a beautiful plant is strange, for when 

 its delicate, wax-like IJowei-s, with their rich pur- 

 ple central ray, are fully expanded, the plant is 

 uniMvalled. The neat trusses of flowers are in- 

 valuable for cutting when something particular- 

 ly choice is required. 



Mr. EUwanger's New Book. Mr. George H. 

 EUwanger of Rochester, N. Y., has recently 

 written a useful volume entitled " The Garden 

 Story" which is a welcome addition to the hor- 

 ticultural literature of the day. Touching as it 

 does on the beauty, poetry and use of hundreds 

 of ornamental trees, shrubs and plants, it is as re- 

 gards comprehensiveness just such a work as 

 one should expect to emanate from the near 

 atmosphere of the most extensive all-around 

 nursery in the country, namely the Mount Hope 

 of Rochester. The author's aim has been to pre- 

 sent a simple outline of hardy flower-gardening, 

 rather than a formal treatise or text-book of 

 plants— to stimulate a love for amateur garden- 

 ing that may be carried out by all who are willing 

 to bestow upon it that meed of attention it so 

 bountifully repays. Still we could not but wish 

 that the fact of Americans being as a class but 

 learners, often very ignorant, in the field of orna- 

 mental horticulture had been more kept in mind 

 by the accomplished author, and that the simple 

 principles of selection, arrangement and cul- 

 tui-e of plants had received more attention in 

 detail in the story. Much practical information 

 is given it is true, but this in general being 

 scattered is not in the best shape for the average 

 learner, to avail himself of. The following 

 "garden syllabus " as the author styles it, strikes 

 us so favorably that we present it verbatim, I. 

 Wliatever is worth growing at all is worth grow- 

 ing well. II. Study soil and expense, and cul- 

 tivate no more space than can be maintained in 

 perfect 01-der. III. Plant thickly; it is easier and 

 more profitable to raise rtowei*s than weeds. IV. 

 Avoid stiffness and exact balancing; garden 

 vases and garden flowei-s neet not necessarily be 

 used in pairs. V. A flower is essentially femi- 

 nine and demands attention as the price of its 

 smiles. VI. Let there be harmony and beauty 

 of color; majenta in any form is a discord that 

 should never jar. VII. In studying color-effects 

 do not overlook white as a foil ; white is the lens 

 of the gardener's eye. VIII. Think twice and 

 still think before placing a tree, shrub or plant 

 in position. Think twice before removing a 

 specimen tree. IX. Grow an abundance of 

 flowers for cutting ; the bees and butterflies are 

 not entitled to all the spoils. X. Keep on good 

 terms with your neighboi-s; you may wish a 

 large garden favor of him some day. XL Love 

 a flower in advance, and plant something new 

 every year. XTI. Show me a welt-ordered gar- 

 den and I will show you a genial home. The Gar- 

 den Story is from the press of D. Appleton & Co., 

 New York. Uhi-strated, 345 pages. 



New York Floral Notes. 



Since autumn flowers came in, the streets have 

 been full of Golden Rod and Asters, Carduial 

 flowers. Wood Lilies, and the like. Indeed, the 

 florists are not above using these same flowers, 

 for people ask for them; wild flowers are in favor 

 now-a-days. At many out-of-town entertain- 

 ments— there are no entertainments in the city 

 just now — decorations of wild flowers have been 

 arranged with much affect. Some very pretty 

 luncheon decorations have been made of Golden 

 Rod, the centre being a bed of these flowers, 

 mingled with grasses, while loosely-tied sprays 

 formed the favors. 



The best large Roses sent in during midsummer 

 were Mrs. John Laing. This variety seems ad- 

 mirable for summer blooming. Baskets filled 

 entirely with it are very fine; they are usually 

 French baskets about thi-ee feet high, with a 

 high handle. 



Some of the florists do not seem to care whether 

 they decorate their windows or not during the 

 dull season (rather a mistake), but in some cases 

 a good effect is produced with very few flowers. 

 One pretty window contained a bank of Begonia 

 Rex, fringed with Adiantum. Behind this was 

 a row of Lilium auratum, backed by Palms. On 



another occasion the showy blue Agapanthua 

 was used, instead of L. auratum. 



Gladiolus, Milla biflora and other Cape bulbs 

 are seen a great deal; they dress a window well, 

 though they are not likely to bring large prices. 

 Another showy thing seen quite often this season 

 is that showy herbaceous Sunflower, Helianthus 

 multiflorus tV) It really is a handsome thing, 

 with a flower like a golden <^hina Aster. The 

 foliage is fine, too. It is a very handsome thing 

 in the mass, not so coarse as the ordinary, old- 

 fashioned Sunflower. 



Summer-blooming Orchids have steadily held 

 their own, for any fine work. The scarcity of 



Floiveriiig Shoot of the Dwarf Wax Plant "'Bella.'" 

 really good Roses through the hot weather prob- 

 ably had something to do with their use; not 

 that Orchids are not popular and admired among 

 those who can afford to pay for them, but they 

 will never supplant Roses — always a favorite 

 flower. Orchids have a field of their own; they 

 will become more and more popular, no doubt, 

 but they will never drive other flowers out of 

 the market. 



The new white Gladioluses will, no doubt, 

 prove popular in funeral work, coming, as they 

 do. when good pale-tinted flowers are scarce. 

 Gladiolus of all kinds sold fairly well this 

 summer, rich reds being preferred ; next to them 

 ranked the very pale ones. Undecided, medium 

 shades did not sell so well. 



The foreign exodus has been exceptionally 

 large this year ; consequently the steamer trade 

 for the florists was large. 



Boxes of cut-flowei-s disputed favor with bas- 

 kets or bouquets There is no question that a box 

 of fine flowers is a much more popular gift than 

 any sort of design. Occasionally the florist is 

 asked to put the flowers in some ornamental box 

 covered with silk and be-sashed with ribbon, but 

 as a rule, people of refinement are iiuite satisfied 

 with a neat pasteboard box well filled with choice 

 flowers. To fill one of these gift boxes well, so 

 that the full beauty of the flowers is shown on 

 first opening, is as great an art as to fill a basket. 



Salvia is seen a good deal this autumn, arranged 

 in bowls or jars where some bold effect is needed. 

 Trade in Palms and decorating plants is quite 

 brisk this autumn, the demand being for good 

 stuff only. Some of the small conifers in pots 

 have been used with good effect in decorating 

 mortuary chambers; many of them, such as Cy- 

 press, Retinosporas and Spruce are especially 

 graceful and suitable for such work. For ordin- 

 ary room decoration, well-grown golden Retin- 

 ospora is extremely pretty. 



A pretty supper decoration at a countiy Ger- 

 man consisted of vivid scarlet Geranium flowers 

 and Ferns. The German favors were entirely 

 garden and field flowers, little nosegays tied up 

 with all colors of narrow ribbons for the ladies, 

 and little boutonniers for the men. At a seaside 

 ball a rather novel idea in wall decoration was 

 noted. Golden Rod and Cat Tails were mingled 

 in bunches and placed in the straw holders in 

 which wine bottles are packed. These were hung 

 on the wall by ribbons. These holders might be 

 utilized by the florists. Very few corsage bunches 

 are seen on the street, when flowers are worn 

 now they are simply a single spray or cluster 

 tucked in the gown. Men's boutonnieres, how- 

 ever, seem to increase in size. 



Showy many-colored double Poppies are ad- 

 mired for informal arrangements in cut flowers. 

 A big bowl of them is sometimes seen on the 

 luncheon table, or they are arranged in groujjs 

 of showy foliage. 



Emily Louise Taplin. 



