58 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



December. 



The Hydrangea as a Standard. 



At a recent Horticultural Exhibition in 

 Kassel (Germany) a number of Hydrangeas 

 in standard form attracted considerable at- 

 tention. Our illustration gives a good pic- 

 ture of one of the specimens of Hydrangea 

 hortensis, seven years old. 



The exhibitor (Mr. Winter) says that his 

 chief attention, during the first two years of 

 its life, was directed toward the formation 

 of the stem. The head was cut off entirely 

 at the beginning of the third year, and all 

 efforts now concentrated upon the formation 



Ferns in the Sitting-Room Window. 



The peculiar grace which is a character- 

 istic of Ferns attracts the attention and 

 admiration of many flower lovers, and at- 

 tempts are frequently made to cultivate 

 specimens in the window. These attempts 

 almost invariably end in failure, for the rea- 

 son that Ferns to thrive need a constant sup- 

 ply of moisture, far steadier and eveuer than 

 that which can be secured by any amount 

 of sprinkling or showering. What the Fern 

 wants, says Eben E. Rexford in the House- 

 wife, is not water on its leaves, but water in 

 the air in small quantities— enough in sus- 

 pension to make it moist and keep up a 

 steady humidity. Water on the fronds for 

 any length of time will injure them. In a 

 room that can be kept properly moist. Ferns 

 should never be showered. A fernery, while 

 it answers well for small plants, is not what 

 is required for large ones. I have seen a 

 window lately that was made cheaply, and 

 answered its purpose well. 



Imagine a show-case the size of a window, 

 about a foot in depth, with sides and ends of 

 glass,as well as top, but without any bottom. 

 Now suppose you take this show-case and 

 set it up against a window of corresponding 

 size, with the glass top towards the room. 

 You would have a space enclosed on all sides 

 with glass. The glass of the show-case would 

 furnish enclosure in itself for all but one 

 side, and that one side, which the show-case 

 bottom was placed against, would be en- 

 closed by the window. The plan is, to have 

 a frame a foot or thereabouts in depth — a 

 foot and a half would be better — just the 

 size of the window, against which it must be 

 snugly fitted, and this frame is to be glassed 



STANDARD HYDRANGEA HORTENSIS. 



of a well-shaped head. The plant shown in 

 illustration is the result of this treatment 

 and four more years of growth, and its grace 

 and beauty well repays all the pains taken 

 with it. Standard specimens of the Hydran- 

 gea grandiflora were also on exhibit, and 

 not less attractive. 



in on front, sides and top. A shelf at the sill 

 furnishes support for it. With such a frame 

 you have a space for plants, from which the 

 dry air of the room can be excluded, and in 

 wliich the proper moisture can be retained. 



To be made perfectly convenient, the front 

 should be made like a door, and hung by 

 hinges, so that it could be swung open to al- 

 low you to get at the plants inside easily. 

 There will be crevices enough about the bot- 

 tom and sides for the admission of plenty of 

 warm air. The mndow which gave me the 

 idea had an extra sash outside, so that the 

 frost could not gather on the glass next the 

 plants. There were two wire shelves run- 

 ning across the enclosure, and at the bottom 

 there was a zinc pan the size of the space en- 

 closed, about five inches deep. This was 

 filled with wood's earth, in which plants 

 were set, and the surface was covered with 

 Moss and Lycopodiums. The center of the 

 pan was occupied by a very fine specimen of 

 the variegated Fern, Ptirls arricntea. On 

 the shelf above several pots of Maidenhair 

 stood, while the upper shelf had Adiaiitmn 

 ffraciUlm um, that most delicate of all Ferns. 



The effect from the room, as you looked 

 out, was charming. The plants made a 

 filmy curtain of green lace for the ^andow. 

 They grew as well there as they would have 

 grovsTi in a greenhouse, because the glass 

 case protected them from the intense heat 

 of the room with its dry air. The water ap- 

 plied to the soil evaporated slowly, and was 

 condensed on the glass, where it ran down 

 to the bottom of the window and was taken 

 up by the earth in the pan, to be re-evapor- 

 ated. Thus the atmosphere was moist all 

 the time. The window was a fernery on 

 quite a large scale; an upright fernery, rath- 

 er than a flat one, or a square one, such as 

 we usually see. 



Any carpenter can make the frame for the 

 glass, and be sure of getting a good fit if he 

 measures the window accurately. Before 

 setting the glass, the frame should be well 

 painted. Then bed the glass in aquarium 

 cement, and paint over all tlie wood not cov- 

 ered by glass or cement, to protect it from 

 the effect of too much moisture. A door 

 will be necessary to get at the plants from 

 time to time to remove dead leaves, and to 

 turn them as they draw towards the light, 

 aud for this reason there should be conveni- 

 ence of access. It will be best in all cases, I 

 am sure, to have the entire front like a door, 

 for this will allow you to get to any part ot 

 the enclosure with ease. In such a case you 

 can grow Rex Begonias and other plants 

 fond of shade aud moisture. The window 

 which you fit up for Ferns should never be a 

 very sunny one. An eastern exposure is 

 good. A north window will do very well. 



About the Christmas Rose. 



E. ORPET, PASSAIC CO., N. J. 



The hardy flower garden is not the most 

 interesting place imaginable, now that win- 

 ter is upon us. The only place where flowers 

 are to be fotind is where the so-called X-mas 

 Roses grow, and well do they merit this 

 popular name. Helleborus niger is much 

 valued at this time for its pretty white 

 flowers, and justly so, but the subject of this 

 note is to be seen as I write, with pure white 

 flowers surrounded with its handsome ever- 

 green leaves, rising a foot above the carpet 

 of snow, as bright and fresh as if it had 

 never known a seven days' frost and snow. 

 In a collection of 18 species and varieties the 

 above is far the best. No collection of hardy 

 plants should be without H. niger maximus, 

 or major, as it is .sometimes called; both 

 names are applicable, the flowers being three 

 inches across, pure white inside, tinged with 

 pink outside. 



The whole family thrives well in a shady, 

 place, so that they may not have the full 



force of the summer sun. Given a good 

 depth of vegetable mould they will thrive 

 vigorously aud well repay any little care 

 bestowed upon them. 



Rose Forcing by an Expert. 

 How to get Hybrid Remontants at Clirist- 

 mas, is a question very ably treated by Mr. 

 .John N. May in American Florist. Start by 

 having good plants in pots in June, he says. 

 Let the pots ( eight-inch size preferred) be 

 well drained with not less than two inches 

 of broken pots, coarse at bottom with some 

 finer pieces on top; over the whole place a 

 piece of very thin sod to keep the soil from 

 washing down into the crocking and filling 

 it up; this is a very important part of the 

 operation, as success depends entirely upon 

 the condition of the soil during the time the 

 plants are being forced into flower, tor they 

 require liberal waterings, aud the means for 

 all surplus water to drain away freely. Next 

 take a good quality of loam — old sod is 

 much the best, if heavy add a liberal pro- 

 portion of sand — and to every seven or eight 

 loads of soil add one of well decomposed 

 cow manure, broken up fine; thoroughly 



IMPROVISED FORM FOR DECORATION. FIG. 2. 



mix and if the soil is naturally very poor a 

 little pure ground bone may be added at the 

 same time. Then repot the plants into suit- 

 able-sized pots, pressing the soil firm around 

 the ball, Init do not break the young roots. 



When this is done the plants should be 

 placed in the open air on a bed of coal ashes 

 and plunged nearly to the brims either in 

 coal ashes, sand, or similar material. Water 

 carefully and syringe frequently for the first 

 week to prevent them flagging in the hot 

 sun. As soon as the roots begin to get well 

 hold of the new soil, they will push out soft 

 new growth; this must be watched carefully 

 as at this late date it would be fatal to suc- 

 cess if the eyes at the base of the strong 

 shoots should start into growth, and to avoid 

 this it will be necessary to watch the water- 

 ing very carefully so that they are not over- 

 watered; the object being to get new roots 

 without producing very much soft young 

 wood; so long as the new growth is confined 

 to the tops of the shoots already made, no 

 harm can come. 



Let them continue in this way till about 

 the middle of August, then commence to 

 withhold the water from them, gradually of 

 course at first, aud continue to lessen the 

 quantity every day till the wood becomes 

 quite hard; but try to retain some leaves on 

 them to keep the sap balanced between root 

 and branch. By the middle of September 

 they ought to stand for a week at a time 

 without any moisture at all other than the 

 dews at night. Should wet weather occur 

 during this period, means must be provided 

 to prevent it getting to the roots— laying the 

 pots on their side with pieces of boards laid 

 over the pots is as good a means as any— for 

 dry they must be kept or there will be no 

 Roses when wanted. 



If they have been properly treated, by the 

 Istof October the wood will be hard and solid 

 without its being shrivelled, with the leaves 

 turning a pale green. In this condition they 



