1889. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



151 



The Double Flowerixu Thorns. It is 

 hard to explain why these are not more 

 common unless it be that they are only 

 "Thorns." But you will never regret hav- 

 ing a fine small tree or bush of the Double 

 Scarlet and another of Double Wliite, and 

 then of the other shades of red. Each 

 blossom is a miniature Rose so give them 

 conspicuous positions. 



Varnish-Leaved Willow. It you have 

 a knoll or other place where you can observe 

 the growth of this you will surely enjoy the 

 exceedingly rich play of light and shade in 

 the polished foliage. It may be grown as a 

 small tree or as a shrub. 



The Red Dogwood. For autumn and 

 winter select this and the two following. 

 The Dogwood has bright red bark from 

 November to April. During the summer it 

 is green, but the bush is pretty, with small 

 flowers and white berries. All winter it is 

 quite a warm red. Grow it in a moist 

 spot if possible. 



The Barberry.- The best is a naturalized 

 English sort, always to be found in our 

 northern woods. It is truly superb, both 

 when in flower and when loaded with scar- 

 let fruit, which hangs on all printer. 



The Euonymous— a native that has seed 

 vessels which open in November and Decem- 

 ber, showing rich crimson berries. A 

 European sort bears yellow berries. These 

 three, with the Mahonia, give a good clus- 

 ter of winter shrubs, brightening the lawn, 

 and fitting well with evergreens. 



One chief pleasiu-e in growing shrubs is 

 lost by most people because they do not 

 undertake seedlings. All of our best shrubs 

 may be easily propagated in this manner, 

 and some fine novelties secured. I have 

 for this year undertaken a large stock of 

 seedling Altheas and another flue batch of 

 Magnolias (Chinese sorts) and some Lilacs 

 from seed of the Persian, as well as a few 

 Syringas. These will all afford great 

 pleasure. They can be grown in hedges if 

 there is no other space. September and 

 October are good months to plant most of 

 the shrubs, unless planted in the spring. 



A Famous Alpine Flower, the 

 Edelweiss. 



W. F. LAKE, ERIE CO., N. Y. 



This beautiful flower, so much loved by 

 the Swiss mountaineers and considered by 

 them the emblem of purity, also being used 



for it thrives best at an altitude of about 

 fi.OOO feet in its native home upon the Alps 

 and Pyrenees, in dangerous rocky places 

 reached only with the greatest dirticulty. 



It has been so extensively collected and 

 sold by Swiss peasants and mountaineers 

 used to climbing the steep slopes that in 

 recent years it has bfecome very scarce and, 

 as with other choice Alpine flowers, the 

 demand for specimens has been so heavy 

 that tlie danger of extermination has threat- 

 ened. The botanic garden at Geneva, 

 Switzerland, is to be commended for exer- 

 cising much skill in preventing this unde 

 sirable outcome; at this place all the rarer 

 Alpine plants are preserved and specimens 

 are supplied to those botanists and collectors 

 who are desirous of them. 



Some question has arisen as to which is 

 the real species that has been so much in 

 demand, but I think there can be no doubt 

 of its being Gnaphalium Leontopodium. 

 Europe, alone, however, cannot lay claim to 

 all, as an allied species, G. Supinura, is often 

 met with on the summit of Mt. Washington 

 and other peaks of the White Mountains. 

 The common Cudweed, or Everlasting, is 

 also of the same family. 



The Edelweiss can be cultivated in pots or 

 in rockwork, in fact will succeed in most any 

 soil, if not too rich, and fully exposed to the 

 sun's rays. The flowers are of downy text- 

 ure, pure white and star shaped, but some- 

 times turn reddish; it has been said this 

 was due to being transferred to a lower level 

 than its native home. The seed can be pro- 

 cured of some of the leading American 

 seedsmen at about twenty-five cents per 

 packet, which if carefully sown, should pro- 

 duce enough plants for any amateur's col- 

 lection, and would be a desirable acquisition. 



A Curious Growth of the Foxglove. 



It is not uncommon in flowers which have 

 the corollas formed by the petals being 

 united at their edges, that an abnormal 

 tendency is sometimes exhibited in the re- 

 turn to a more regular form of bloom, as in 

 our illustration of the common Foxglove 

 {Digitalis purpurea). The natural flower is 

 shown on the lower part of the stalk, while 

 In the abnormal form the corolla has be- 

 come greatly enlarged and split up into 

 spreading segments, beautifully spotted and 

 very handsome. Among fifty other flower- 

 ing Digitalis in the same garden, this was 

 the only one inclining to this forma- 

 tion. For the account and illustration 

 of this singular form, we are indebted to 

 the London .lournal of Horticulture. 



The plant of which the stalk shown 

 was the central stem, had four more 

 slender ott-shoots starting from the 

 ground, each of which terminated in a 

 monstrous flower. Contrary to the natu- 

 ral blooming habit of the plant, these 

 abnormal flowers are the first to open, 

 whilst the other flowers on the same 

 stem, though fewer in number, are with- 

 out any indication of this curious ten- 

 dency. The fiower shown is surrounded 

 by an involucre of bracts or sepals of 

 about twenty one or more leaves, in three 

 whorls or rather crowded spirals, re- 

 minding one of the Composltaj Family 

 {Axtcrs, etc). The corolla is over three 

 inches in diameter and is plaited and 

 lobed, the petals being more or less 

 separated at their terminations. Forms 

 of Digitalis have been known in which 

 the tube was enlarged like a Gloxinia. 



The EdeliceisK of tM Alpx. 



as a bridal flower like the Orange blossom 

 of more temperate climes, is much sought 

 after by the tourists of all nations. But it 

 is only he who is a daring climber that can 

 proudly wear it as an emblem of bravery. 



Cacalias — Their Use in the Sum- 

 mer Garden. 



CHAS. E. PAHNELL, ylTEENS CO., N. Y. 



The several varieties of Cacalia, or as they 

 are popularly called. Flora's Paint Brush 

 or Tassel flower, form when taken together, 



a beautiful and most profuse-flowering 

 genus of summer blooming, or bedding 

 plants belonging to the order Composite. 

 They may be described as being half hardy 

 annuals, growing from one and a half to 

 two feet in height, having ovate spathulate 

 leaves and scarlet or tas.sel-shaped flowers, 

 which are borne in clusters on single stalks 



.C*>^^: 





(V_, v.*' ('"v 





A (htrious Growth of Fmtglovc 



about a foot or so in length, and they con- 

 tinue to bloom from early summer until 

 late autumn, throwing up their tall branch- 

 ing flower stems and furnishing a useful 

 supply of flowers for cutting purposes. To 

 ensure the most satisfactory results, the 

 plants should be grown in beds or groups 

 containing six or eight plants, the plants 

 standing four or Ave inches apart. They 

 prefer a deep, well enriched soil and a 

 sunny situation. 



It is best to start the plants under glass, 

 and for this purpose the seed should be sown 

 about the last of March in a well drained 

 pot or pan filled with light loamy soil. Sow 

 thinly, cover slightly, and place in a warm, 

 moist situation, as close to the glass as 

 possible. As soon as the young plants are 

 well up and strong enough td handle, they 

 should be transferred to other pans or shal- 

 low boxes and placed in rows an inch and a 

 half apart each way, and kept in a cool airy 

 situation until the weather becomes well 

 settled, when they can be planted outside. 

 Or the seed can be sown in a cokl frame 

 about the middle of April, or on a nicely 

 prepared border about the first of May, and 

 the young plants removed to their blooming 

 places as soon as they are strong enough to 

 handle. In this case, however, they will 

 not flower so early. Of the two varieties 

 now in cultivation, C. eoccinea has flowers 

 of an orange scarlet color, and grows from 

 one and a half to two feet in height, while 

 C. ourcei, is similar in all respects to the 

 foregoing, except in the color of its flowers 

 which are of a golden yellow. 



1,120. Making a Clarden. It is almost impossi- 

 ble to advise correutiy bow a given piece of land 

 should be prepared for a garden, without seeing 

 it, but if the ground is thoroughly spaded or 

 1)Upw4'<1. iiiKl plfiity of good manure (use some 

 good cbi'inii-ul fertilizer if other manure is not 

 plent>) is niixt'd through the soil there is no 

 reason why a good garden cannot be had. It is 

 not enough to plant our garden and then leave 

 it to take care of itself; thorough and con- 

 tinued cultivation is as important as plenty of 

 manure; one without the other will only give 

 partial success. — M. B. Faxon. 



