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POPULAR GARDENING. 



October, 



On the Culture of Hollyhocks. 



PETER HENDERSON, JERSEY CITY, N. J. 



Hollyhocks are becoming more popular as 

 their culture is being better understood. 

 There is no plant that I know of that pro- 

 duces itself as certainly true from seed, as 

 the double Hollyhock. Seeds taken from 

 double white, crimson, rose, yellow, laven- 

 der, black, orange, or carmine, even when 

 placed side by side, reproduce themselves 

 according to their respective colors, almost 

 as certainly as if propagated from cuttings. 

 The rea.son of this is, that the reproductive 

 organs are so enveloped by the petals of the 

 double flowers, that there is little 

 chance of Insects carrying the pollen 

 from one flower to another, hence 

 each individual flower has to impreg- 

 nate itself, thus preventing the mix- 

 ing, or cross fertilization of the colors. 

 The Hollyhock is best treated as a 

 biennial. The seed should be sown 

 from May to July, when to be grown 

 in the open ground, the plants from 

 which, will produce the flowering 

 plants the next year, during the 

 months of July, August, or October. 

 Florists usually sow as late as the 

 middle of August, and grow the 

 plants along in small pots until 

 October, in the greenhouse,then trans- 

 plant in cold frames, to produce 

 plants for next year's blooming, for 

 although the Hollyhock is hardy in 

 most sections, and will produce good 

 crops of flowers for two or three years, 

 it is best to give the yonng plants the 

 protection of cold frames, when sown 

 as late as August, If sown in May, 

 June, or July, the plants will be 

 strong enough to stand the winter 

 in the open ground, in most places 

 even the Northern states, without 

 protection. 



I notice that your correspondent, 

 E. P. Powell, refers to the use of 

 Hollyhocks on the farm. The late H. 

 W. Beecher, wlio was a passionate 

 lover of flowers, particularly such 

 sturdy specimens of nature's handi- 

 work as the Hollyhock, had great 

 clumps of them of many separate 

 colors, planted on various parts of 

 his farm at Peekskill, N. Y., in such 

 a way tliat his visiting friends would 

 be surprised by a blaze of color around the 

 margin of his Corn or Potato fields. They 

 were planted mostly along the fences, so as 

 not to be disturbed by the plough. 



The Hollyhock does fairly well in partial 

 shade, (though better in full sunshine) so 

 that it can be used with excellcTit effect 

 with any shrubbery, or anywhere, as here its 

 gorgeous colors can be framed by a suitable 

 green background. 



cemes, the bloom being less abundant to a 

 given length than in the latter, but the 

 racemes are somewhat more prominent. Of 

 this species there has appeared a pleasing 

 variety which is shown in the annexed 

 engraving. This is called the White Cur- 

 rant, from the pinkish white flowers and 

 the white fritit that are produced. In gen- 

 eral character this is not unlike the parent, 

 and is equally desirable. There is also a 

 double-flowering variety, which produces 

 its bloom after the others are done. 



Between the two preceding species, a nnm- 

 ber of hybrids have been produced. The 



The Flowering Currants. 



Next to the common Lilac, there is perhaps 

 no ornamental shrub more commonly grown 

 than the yellow-flowering Currant, Rihcs 

 aurcum. It is a handsome, gracefully spread- 

 ing grower, and one of the earliest of spring 

 blooming shrtibs, the flowers appearing in 

 April or May. Attractive as is the bloom to 

 the eye, it is even more so to the sense of 

 smell; no flowering shrub excels it for re- 

 freshing sweetness and spiciness of the odor. 

 The plant is grown with the greatest ease, 

 and is readily propagated by divisions of the 

 root or by layers or cuttings. It is a native 

 species, being at home west of the Missouri 

 River, The species is also known as the 

 Missouri or BuH:alo Ciirrant. 



Another well-known ornamental Currant, 

 and also a native, is the Crim.son-flowered 

 Currant, R. sa iiiiuinciun. This one has 

 deep Rose-colored flowers, which as in the 

 case of the foraier, appear in graceful ra- 



THE WHITE FLOWERING CURRANT. 



best of the latter undoubtedly is Gordon's 

 Flowering Currant(R. Oord(ini), which has 

 both crimson and yellow flowers. This is a 

 profuse bloomer, the flowers appearing 

 somewhat after these of the foregoing, and 

 is of vigorous growth and very graceful 

 habit at maturity. 



One charm of all the flowering Currants, 

 is the richly colored crimson and yellow 

 hues which the foliage assumes early in 

 autumn and just preceding leaf-fall. 



Ornamental Gardening at the Sol- 

 diers' Home, Near Dayton, Ohio. 



ROBERT L. DEAN, OREENE CO., O. 



The central branch of the National Sold- 

 iers' Home, located at the above named place, 

 is the largest institution of its kind in this 

 country, and furnishes a pleasant abode for 

 about Ave thousand dependent veteraifs. 

 Ever since its founding, this place has been 

 a favorite resort for a great many people, 

 even from ad.ioining states. The chief 

 attractions during the summer, are the 

 various floral and kindred features of orna- 

 mental gardening, though it seems to me 

 that ornamental engineering is more descrip- 

 tive, since the beauty of the place does not 

 lie so much in its ornamental planting, as 

 it does in a bold combination of this feature, 

 with others going to make up an ideal pleas- 

 ure ground. The growth of flowers is strik- 

 ing, but there is not that profusion which 



unconsciously tires one. Some respect is 

 given to the law, that nothing is more de- 

 structive to the rare value of certain floral 

 forms than their extreme commonness. 



The Home has its own water-work system, 

 and during the dry season the watering of 

 plants goes on almost continuously. The 

 labor necessary to keep these ornamental 

 features in proper condition from May till 

 frost is considerable, but it amply pays. The 

 value of nature's adornments has become 

 more apparent every year. Her beauties 

 are always new. Nothing can do more 

 to break the Insipidity of the aimless lives 

 of the inmates, than do these varied 

 floral combinations, and the visitors 

 they attract. Formerly an animal 

 park was kept, but it was soon made 

 manifest that the returns it yielded, 

 were not sufficient to warrant Its 

 maintainance. It also soon ceased to 

 be attractive to the veterans, so, 

 since then greater attention has been 

 given to the cultivation of flowers 

 and artificial works. 



The natural features of the ground 

 were well fitted for improvement. 

 The surface is hilly but not broken. 

 A number of elevated springs mark 

 the position of the flower garden 

 proper; these wind through a number 

 of basins, which are besprinkled here 

 and there by fountains from one or 

 two cascades, and feed a series of 

 lakes. The absence of rocks and 

 blufts has been largely supplied by 

 rock work artificially arranged; in 

 fact this is one of the noteworthy 

 features of the place. The grounds 

 are essentially artificial, but not 

 noticeably so, as is shown by the 

 grotto and cliff work, which is so 

 screened by plauting that the arti- 

 ficial character is largely concealed. 

 I never realized before that there 

 was so much beauty in rocks. Skill- 

 ful hands have wrought them into 

 such combinations that the effect is 

 really fine. There are rock vases, 

 rock receptacles for flowers, and rock 

 basins — not mere bald stone piles, but 

 structures substantially cemented to- 

 gether. One is struck by the fact 

 that the number of meritorious plants 

 is not great. The novelties are in 

 the greenhouses, principally. 



The Agave and Hibiscus are prominent. 

 Bananas were numerous, and had their 

 leaves not been so riddled by the weather, 

 they would be one of the features of the 

 place. The Canna and Caladium are old 

 plants which are hard to displace for giving 

 graceful effects. But few changes have 

 been made in the varieties for bordering and 

 bedding. The rural visitors were interested 

 in the Orange trees with real fruit on them. 

 The shady nooks covered with trained wild 

 Grapevines near the springs are appreciated 

 by the veterans during the hot days. Col- 

 lections of Cacti and Palms fill a single con- 

 servatory, and attract more attention than 

 the others combined. Visitors admire the 

 stately and massive, but it occurs to me that 

 these would become tiresome to the inmates 

 ere long, and they would turn to the 

 humbler species, upon which the casual 

 observer scarcely bestows a second glance. In 

 wandering over public pleasure grounds, 

 it is natural to contemplate the sums of 

 money kept in reserve for beautifying the 

 same; but it is interesting to notice that 

 reasonable economy is practiced, as a rule, in 

 the manipulation of these pleasure grounds. 

 Said an inmate and workman putting the 

 finishing touches on a new fountain. " Its 

 hard to get up anything new here; they tell 

 you it costs too much. Now this fountain 

 cost the institution hardly ten dollars." 



