1889. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



23 



IJ Tr.uiesiantia ^^'|<i((ll■- 

 tvort) Vinfinica 



various blue, while. 



etc 



May, Au^. 



CAMPANULA CARPATHICA PELVIFORMIS. 

 Trollius laxus iGlobc 



Floircr} bellow April 



Veronica (Sj)e«dweli).. blue May, June 



(To be Continued.) 



Buffalo Fair Observations. 



The great industrial fair here and in other 

 cities now seem to be an assuredly perman- 

 ent annual institution, and as a factor of 

 educating the masses, who have their views 

 broadened by what they see here, and their 

 store of general knowledge replenished, 

 they should not be underrated. 



Yet the first impression the visitor receives 

 on entering the fair grounds, is usually not 

 a favorable one. Every device by which the 

 unsophisticated farmer might be induced to 

 part with his hard-earned money, is (for a 

 consideration) permitted by the manage- 

 ment to unfold itself. We are glad to note 

 the unqualified condemnation of this feature 

 of the fairs by the general public, and as no 

 abuse can long hold out when public indig- 

 nation has once been ftilly aroused against 

 it, we have no doubt that the end of this 

 side show and fake business at the fairs is 

 near at hand. 



Tropical vegetation always has a peculiar 

 charm for northern people, and we were 

 much pleased with the fine specimen of 

 Cocos nucifera (Cocoanut Palm) about 30 

 feet high, and loaded with nuts in various 

 stages of development, with the several 

 Banana plants in fruiting, and Pineapples, 

 etc., all brought from Florida and the West 

 ladies, growing along in immense boxes. 



Missouri has done herself especial credit 

 by her fine and extensive exhibit of Apples 

 — Apples of every color, size, shape and var- 

 iety. Apparently there are some sections of 

 the United States where Apples have es- 

 caped the dangers that beset the fruit so 

 thickly in the earlier part of this season. 



The far northwest, the States in the 

 vicinity of Puget Sound — proved the right- 

 eousness of their claims of superior advan- 

 tages in the production of Cabbages and 

 Cauliflower, and theii- seeds, etc., by exhib- 

 iting some really fine specimens, veritable 

 " Snowballs," and pretty large ones, too, 

 among Cauliflowers, Cabbage heads of 

 bushel basket size, and Onions large and 

 perfect. 



Among the Potatoes we recognized again 

 as " best early "' our old favorites, the Early 

 Ohio and Early Sunrise. 



From Ellwanger & Barry, of course, came 

 an exhibit ot Pears, not as extensive, owing 

 to the earliness of the season, as we used to 

 see it at the annual meeting of the Western 

 New York Horticultural Society at Roches- 

 ter, but of the usual superiority. 



For the benefit of the ladies we should 

 mention the Cataract washing machine, of 

 which there were a number of them, in var- 



ious sizes, and for hand and steam power, in 

 successful operation. No simlper or better 

 machine has ever come to our notice. 



The following are the chief successful ex- 

 hibitors of horticulture products, receiving 

 awards as mentioned. 



Wm. Rhatmier, St. Catharines, Ont., two 1st, 

 four 2d premiums on Pears; two 1st and one 2d 

 on Plums; one 1st and two 2d on Peaches. 



Ale.\. Glass, St. Catherines. Ont., 1st premium 

 on Louise Bonne ; 1st on Duane's Purple Plum. 



John Black, St. Davids, Ont., six 1st and si.v 2d 

 on Pears and Grapes; 2d on Bradshaw Plum; two 

 1st and live 2d on Apples; live 1st on Peaches. 



Thos. Plunkett, Meadford, Ont., three 1st, one 

 second on Plums. 



Chas. Grant, Thomburg, Ont., three Ist and 

 one 2d on Plums. 



Ellwanger & Barry, of Rochester, N, Y., four- 

 teen 1st premiums, one 2d premium on Pears; 

 seven 1st, four 2d premiums on Plums. 



Peter Allen. Nia{?ara, Ont., one 1st premium 

 and four 2d premiums on Pears: one 1st, one 2d 

 on Plums; two 1st, five 2d on Apples; two Ist on 

 Peaches. 



Wootlward & Jacques, Wright's Comers, N. Y., 

 two 1st, three 2d on Pears; four 1st and Ave 2d on 

 Apples. 



Henry Lutts, Youngstown, N. Y., two 1st, three 

 2d premiums on Pears; one 1st and two 2d on 

 Plums; 1st on Transcendent Cnsb; nine 1st and 

 thirteen 2d on Peaches. 



Jno. T. Bird, Wrights Corners, N. Y., 1st on 

 Hyslop Apple. 



W. H. Walworth, Hillsdale, Mich., two 1st and 

 three 3d on Apples. 



VEGETABLES. 



C. F. Vanderhoff, West Elmira, N. Y., twenty- 

 three 1st on Potatoes; two 1st on Beans. 



H. G. Stillman, Almond, N. Y., twenty-three 

 1st and seventeen 2d on vegetables. 



FLOWERS. 



S. Pickleman, Buffalo, three 1st and nine 2d 

 on plants and flowers. 



Wm. Scott, Buffalo, ten 1st and two 3d on cut 

 flowers and designs; thirteen 1st on pot plants; 

 one 2d on pot plants. 



Daniel B. Long, Buffalo, two 1st and three 3d 

 on cut Bowers and designs. 



F. J. Kennedy, HornellsviUe, N. Y., 1st on 

 Pansies. 



O. S. Jacques, Wrights Corners. N. Y., 1st on 

 best display of Dahlias. 



F. Katall, Buffalo, three 1st on plants, one 2d 

 on same. 



Landscape Gardening in High- 

 Colored Foliage. 

 {Concluded from September V^tnie.) 

 [Paper by Wm. McMillan, Superintendent of the Buf- 

 falo Parks, before the Society of A/nerican Ftorijtts.1 

 Is this new fashion better than the old way? 

 Formerl.v flowers were cultivated solely for their 

 individual qualities. Delicacy of tints and lines 

 was more valued than strong color, and 

 line perfume more than either. Our regard for 

 them was in direct proportion to our knowledge 

 ot the finer traits of character gained only by in- 

 timate acquaintance with their daily behavior 

 under aU circumstances. Our love was for the 

 individual plants rather than for the general as- 

 semblage—for the features revealed by close ac- 

 (juai ntance, not merely the strong lines seen from 

 afar. It was won by the true test of long famil- 

 iarity instead by fascinating novelty. 



The general aspect of mixed borders of Bulbs, 

 Annuals, Perennials and sweet-smeUing Herbs, 

 or of miscellaneous collections of favorite flow- 

 ers in rectangular panels, was not so neat and 

 trim as clipped beds of fancy forms on shaven 

 lawns: but all the season through, from the 

 first Snowdrop to the latest Aster, each day 

 brought another flower into bloom, and an 

 ever changing phase in the annual growth of 

 each plant to maturit.v. Our chief foliage plants 

 in this latitude do not last quite four months, and 

 their general aspect is the same from the first 

 day to the last, except only in the density of the 

 foliage, or a slight increase of color. Color 

 apart, a bed of pot herbs has less sameness 

 throughout the season, while the fragrance 

 their leaves exhale is a constant source of 

 pleasure more refined than can be given through 

 the eye by any variegated leaves, however finely 

 veined, stained, mottled, spotted or splashed. 

 To the true lover of flowers, high color either 

 in leaf or blossom is but one of imany points of 



interest. The habit of growth from the swelling 

 bud to the fading leaf may be a greater source 

 ot enjoyment, or the fragrance of the bloom 

 may he the chief attraction as in Alyssum, Mig- 

 nonette.Heliotrope, Violet, and Lily of the Valley. 



Where the interest lies chiefly in the foliage 

 such bedding plants as give a tropical luxuri- 

 ance of growth are surely a flner sight than any 

 mixture of the carpet bedding class. Various 

 kinds of Canna, Caladium, Aralia and Castor Oil 

 plant are commonly used in such beds but 

 there are many others of like character. Their 

 rapid growth and great size at maturity give a 

 sub-tropical aspect to the group. Some of the 

 sedges and grasses of warm climates are especial- 

 ly beautiful and effective for this purpose. Some 

 plants ot this class have a stri|)ed variegation 

 with a trul.v natural look and much real beauty. 

 It may have originated as a "sport" but when 

 it has long been knf>wn it conveys no hint of 

 being odd or ephemeral. The Eulalia, striped 

 Maize, and even the old fashioned Gardener's 

 Garter are well-known examples. 



If variety, richness, and contrast of color be 

 the chief aim of the florist why should he seek it 

 in leaves of plants, beyond the natural range 

 from the lightest gra.v to the darkest green which 

 nature spontaneously exhibits. The shades of 

 green are so infinite that no two species of plants 

 have exactly the same hue, and the manner in 

 which these mingle and blend in any natural 

 landscape, if closely studied and copied, will give 

 more real pleasure than the highest art in ara- 

 besque designs in white, yellow, and red. If all 

 the colors of the rainbow be wanted in a group 

 they may be furnished in flowers. Every shade 

 imaginable may be matched by some plant. But 

 the taste is surely morbid that would seek to 

 combine in one group any greater variety of 

 tint than may be furnished in many cases by a 

 single genus, as in the Tulip, Hyacinth. Phlox, 

 Dahlia, Hollyhock, or Columbine. Yet the hunt 

 for a blue Dahlia or Hollyhock, a .yellow Aster, 

 or Verbena, is still kept up, and is akin in spirit 

 to that in which some new mixture of white, yel- 

 low and red in the leaf is sought after. The whole 

 work is false to nature and the foreign color due 

 to disease or distress rather than '* sport." 



In the present fashion of using strongly 

 contrasted colors in garden decoration, the 

 strong tendency to run to extremes is well shown 

 in the style of embellishment among the poor 

 for their small dooryards or parterres. It has 

 been well said that imitation is the sineerest flat- 

 tery. Hence, we often see in such places a col- 

 lection of pebbles and cobbles, oyster and clam 

 shells, and such like, arranged in border edgings, 

 ribbons, and mounds on the carpet bedding style. 

 When newly whitewashed these rival in force of 

 color and distinctness of design any foliage bed. 

 The imitation is sometimes very good, and who 

 now can question the taste displayed or the fit- 

 ness of the materials used? Round pebbles or 

 even shells make an admirable substitute for the 

 fleshy vegetable rosettes we call " hen and 

 chickens." They will border a bed or outline a 

 figure with equal distinctness, and vary as little 

 in form or aspect during the season. For inlaid 



THE DOUBLE-FLOWERING TIGER LILY. 



letters in the grass they are even better adapted 

 than the plants we see used. The inscription is 

 clearer and easier to read, and the whitewashed 

 stones and shells are really the most befitting 

 material for such work. Shakespeare wrote it 

 would be folly to 'gild refined gold, paint the 

 Lily, or add a perfume to the Violet.' His satire 

 would have lost its fine point if in his day it had 

 been as common as it is in ours, to embellish 

 dooryai-ds and lawns with whitewashed quartz or 

 painted sea shells, to decorate graves with dyed 



