POPULAR GARDENING. 



October, 



The Sprlngr Garden of Holland 

 -Bulbs. 



The garden that is without an abundance 

 of spring flowers of the Tulip, Hyacinth, 

 Daffodil and Crocus class is far from being 

 complete. And yet throughout our land 

 there are many gardens, some of consider- 

 able pretense in the way of costly summer 

 bedding, that wholly lack these sweet early 

 flowers. The old-fashioned gardens of our 

 mothers are better oS even, for here, if any- 

 where, may usually be seen plenty of early 

 bulbous flowers. If the improved varieties 



said of their "running out," if the ground 

 is made very rich with old manure and leaf 

 mold from the woods there will be but 

 little cause for complaint here. Along with 

 plenty of enriching material it is well to add 

 some portion of sand to any soil for bulbs 

 that may be deficient in this element. 



In planting Dutch bulbs there is more 

 danger of planting not deep enough than too 

 deep. For the larger kinds, such as Tulips, 

 Hyacinths, Narcissuses and Jonquils, to be 

 buried beneath five inches of soil is none too 

 much, while small kinds, like Crocuses and 

 Snowdrops, should be covered two 

 inches deep at least. For the former 

 sized ones a good distance apart for 

 the bulte is from six to eight inches, 

 while the latter may be put at from 

 four to six inches apart. 



GROUP OF DOUBLE HYACINTHS. 



may be absent, this lack Is often made up 

 by the abundance of what there are, delight- 

 ing the eye and nose in the merry springtime. 

 But why should any garden lack an abun- 

 dance of the best Holland bulbs? The lover 



Some Principles Applied to 

 Effective Arrangennent, 



The pleasing lawn scene shown op- 

 posite does not depend upon any 

 fanciful conceptions of the artist for 

 fine eJI'ect; its very naturalness is its 

 beauty. It is just such a life-like scene 

 as it would be possible to have in any 

 fair-sized garden. It will bear close 

 study from all contemplative planters. 

 But that our readers who possess only 

 small lawns may not attribute the 

 charm of this view mainly to ample 

 ;. area, we desire to draw attention to 

 • one fact: It is that such garden beauty 

 is dependent more upon correctness of 

 principles in the planting, than to large- 

 ness of area. The principles which 

 governed the planting of the garden 

 here shown are applicable to lawns of 

 any size, save perhaps to the very 

 smallest town plats. 

 The main object of this article is to con- 

 sider the principles referred to for the bene- 

 fit of those who may desire to go and plant 

 likewise. First let us notice a negative but 

 very important principle, as set forth in the 



Double White 

 Narcissus. 



of flowers can invest no money that will ! absence of trees and large growths in the 



bring better returns than for that laid out in 

 these. Bulbs of a superior quality, imported 

 from the nurseries in Holland, are now 

 offered at a moderate price by scores of re- 

 liable dealers, who will be glad to deliver 

 them post-paid to any postofflce in the land, 

 however remote. These once in the ground, 

 will continue in most cases to thrive and 

 throw off bloom every spring, with almost 

 no outlay of trouble whatever to the grower. 



The season of planting the Holland bulbs 

 is now at hand, and to continue until the 

 ground freezes, our own choice of time being 

 to set them as early in this month as possible. 

 The bulbs once in the soil, soon swell, and 

 in the course of a few weeks, if unhindered 

 by frost, throw out roots. Where the plant- 

 ing is done early the roots have a chance to 

 reach some length before winter, with the 

 result of giving a stronger growth and finer 

 flowers the following spring than if the 

 planting be done late. 



The spring-flowering bulbs will repay the 

 attention that provides a rich, open soil for 

 them to grow in. This is not so much 

 needed to secure fine bloom from the bulbs 

 that are newly set (for the bulbs afford the 

 nourishment needed by their own fiowers in 

 the main), but to insure a strong growth in 

 the young bulbs springing from the old ones, 

 and needed for future bloom. Take the Hya- 

 cinth, about which one hears a good deal 



foreground of our illustration. Without 

 such an open area centrally in a grass plat 

 one may plant in vain for securing any- 

 thing like the repose and breadth, which is a 

 chief characteristic of the charming scene 

 here portrayed . With the open area secured 

 we hold the key to the finest effects possible 

 from planting orna- 

 mental trees, no matter 

 what may be the size 

 of the lawn treated. 

 This is a fundamental 

 principle in all success- 

 ful natural arrange- 

 ments of this kind. 



Another principle 

 contributing largely to 

 the beauty of this lawn 

 is that which called for 

 the free and uncrowded 

 arrangement of the 

 numerous conspicuous 

 specimens. Imagine 

 twice as many crowded 

 into the area shown and 

 the aspect would be greatly marred. This 

 is what may be termed the open system of 

 planting, occupying middle grounds between 

 entire openness and close massing. In it 

 there is to be as much sunlight as of shadow 

 on the carpet of grass — never enough shade 

 to interfere with the presence of a thrifty 



A71 Early Garden 

 Tulip. 



Stand of grass under and between the trees. 



The trees (in small places, mostly shrubs), 



too, have the benefit of ample space for fine 



individual development. 



Still another feature of note in this garden 



view is found in the principle which pro- 

 vides for heav}' groups 



of trees in the back- 

 ground. To show the 



importance of this 



matter, especially in 



large grounds, it is only 



necessary to imagine 



this part out of the 



scene, with a fence and 



open meadow in its 



place. These heavy 



background masses of 



verdure and wood are 



of Importance in giving 



a great degree of 



strength to any work 



of this kind. 



Lastly, one should notice the principle of 

 order shown even in the irregular planting; 

 it might easily be overlooked. We refer to 

 the fact that while in general the grouping 

 of trees of the same class is hardly apparent, 

 yet after all this principle was kept in view 

 in the planting of the place illustrated. We 

 observe, for one thing, that the conical or 

 tapering trees are brought more or less to- 

 gether to the right in the engraving, while 

 the same is true of the only round-topped 

 pendulus trees shown in the cut, those to 

 the extreme left. The two large trees in the 

 middle groimd stand like brothers, and seem 

 to keep up a kind of connection with .similar 

 ones massed in the back-ground to the left. 

 Even the herbaceous clumps of Yucca and 

 Grass near the foreground show design in 

 their placing, being brought near each other. 

 Altogether the collection shows, in this re- 

 spect, the work of a master at arranging. 

 To appreciate the importance of this last 

 matter the reader has only to imagine these 

 various classes mixed and scattered from 

 side to side of the scene, instead of as they 

 at present stand. 



We think now that the reader who has 

 followed us closely in these brief observa- 

 tions on the handsome engraving should be 

 able to so well comprehend the principles 

 involved in arranging ornamental grounds 

 pleasingly in a natural style that they could 

 appl}' the same with good results to any 

 grounds they may have in charge. They 

 are principles that belong to all good orna- 

 mental gardening, from the laj'ing out of a 

 plat of one rod to that of a thousand acres. 



4-0 Years' Progress in Floriculture. 



BY PETER HENDERSON, JER.SEY CITY HEIGHTS, N. J. 



Forty years ago I doubt if there was a gi-een- 

 house having a fixed roof in use on the whole 

 continent for commercial purposes. Previous 

 to that time neai'Iy all were constructed of 

 portable sashes as "lean-tos," with high back 

 walls. Then the heating was nearly all done 

 by horizontal smoke flues, the fu-st use of heat- 

 ing by hot water on anything like a large scale 

 having been done in 1S39. Heating green- 

 houses by steam, to the best of my information, 

 was unheard of in the United States 40 years ago. 

 For commercial purposes it was, I believe, first, 

 successfully practiced in Pittsburgh, about 

 1875; it is only in the past five j-ears that its 

 merits have been so fully proved. 



Methods of propagating and growing plants 

 have also been much improved upon. The 

 propagator 4U years ago (generally imported 



