1 887. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



193 



Some Fine Flowers.— How to Raise 

 Them. 



L. W, OOODELL, DWIGHT, MASS. 



The Japan Irises are now (July Sth) making 

 a grand show with their wealth of immense 

 purple, blue, yellow, and white flowers. This 

 Iris is perfectly hardy here and does well in 

 any gooil soil, if not too dry, but succeeds best 

 in a rich, deep and rather moist soil. In such 

 a soil the plants grow to a height of 3 to 5 feet, 

 and the flowers (i to 9 inches in diameter. 



The high prices of the plants of the named 

 varieties of this Iris have prevented it from be- 

 coming at all common, but it is easily grown 

 from seed, and seedlings are often quite equal 

 to the named sorts. The seed requires :i to 4 

 weeks to germinate, and had best be sown in 

 spring in cold frames or boxes in the house, 

 and should be kept quite moist. As soon as 

 the seedlings have made an inch of growth, 

 transplant to a rich bed in the garden and they 

 will bloom the second season. 



In the rush for new things many of the old 

 fashioned flowers have been sadly neglected, 

 but it is pleasing to note that a reaction is 

 taking place and the Maiigolds, Poppies, Four 

 O'clocks, Sweet Williams, etc., are again com- 

 ing into favor. 



Among the hardy perennials there is nothing 

 more showy than a good bed of Sweet Williams, 

 yet a really choice collection is seldom seen. 

 And then there is the Hollyhock, with flowers 

 as double and perfect as could be desired, of 

 every shade from pure white to darkest crim- 

 son; and the Larkspurs and Aquilegias or 

 Columbines of many species and varieties. 



In Aquilegias, the finest of all ai'e the newer 

 A. ctmili'a from the Rocky Mountains, and A. 

 chrysdntha from Arizona. The former has 

 flowers about three inches across, of the richest 

 cerulean blue with white petals, and the latter 

 forms a large plant from 3 to .5 feet tall, the 

 flowers are golden yellow with long slender 

 spurs ; and while the common Aquilegias remain 

 in bloom but a short time, this species continues 

 in bloom from June to September. 



Seeds of the hardy perennials, especially 

 those of slow germination hke the Aquilegias, 

 Foxgloves, Campanulas, etc., often fail to 

 germinate, and the seedsman is unjustly blamed 

 when the fault is entirely with the sower in not 

 taking proper care of them. They are usually 

 sown in the open ground, perhaps are watered 

 when sown, perhaps not, and then in a week 

 or so, after the hot sun has di'ied the earth to 

 powder an inch or two in depth and ruined the 

 sprouting seeds, they are perhaps given a little 

 more water. They might as well have been 

 thrown into the lire to begin with. 



Pansy seeds, which are usually sown in 

 August to get nice plants for eai'ly spring 

 blooming, are often ruined by the same careless 

 treatment, sometimes by professional florists 

 who ought to know better. 



The proper way is to sow in a seed bed, then 

 make the soU over the seeds as firm and hard 

 as possible, water thoroughly and shade en- 

 tirely from the sun till they germinate, with 

 boards raise<l an inch or two above the surface. 

 Examine the bed every day or two and water 

 often enough to keep the earth constantly 

 moist, removing the boards as soon as the 

 plants begin to appear. 



Pansy seeds are very sensitive to the drying 

 out of the soil, and also often fail from a high 

 temperature ; shade answers the double purpose 

 of keeping the soil both moist ajid cool. 



Tld Bits From a Subscriber. 



Raised beds for plants are ob.iectionable un- 

 less the giound is insufliciently drained. 



None but Ijog plants will grow in standing 

 water. 



Do not grow weeds for the pigs, but clover 

 instead. 



It is useless to try to grow two crops together 

 on the same piece of land — the weeds are sure 

 to come out ahead. 



A little air-slaked lime sprinkled on the 

 Com as it makes its appearance is disgusting 

 to the crows and worms. 



Elbow-grease, if rightly applied, is an ex- 

 cellent stimulant to plants. 



Deep and thorough culture, with plenty of 

 fertilizers, are the assurers of success. 



Oive all the plants plenty of room for sun- 

 shine and air; it will improve their growth. 



Thin out the fruit if you wish for fair and 

 handsome specimens. P. 



Holder for Exhibition Flowers. 



In arranging cut flowers at the faira or other 

 shows there is always somedifticulty experienced 

 in (iuding holders adapted to stems of diflFerent 

 lengths, which then shall present something 

 like a uniformity of appearance for the entire 

 exhibit. This diffl- 

 culty may be over- 

 come by the use of 

 holders made in the 

 style shown in our 

 engraving on this 

 page. Something 

 similar to this is now 

 in use in some parts 

 of Europe. 



The idea here sim- 

 ply is, the metal tube 

 A, water-tight at the 

 bottom and flaring at 

 the top, which should 

 be set in a foot of 

 metal or wood. Into 

 this another tube B, 

 open at both ends, is 

 snugly fitted, so it 

 can be moved up or 

 down or will remain 

 at any desired point. 

 By moving this in- 

 side tube higher oi' 

 lower it answers 



Holder for Exhibition 

 Flowers. 



readily for flowers of any length of stem. 



To associations designing to encourage the 

 showing of cut flowers, we would suggest that 

 a number of such holders be made for this use. 

 With proper care they would last a long time. 



Grouping Plants and Flowers. 



At flower shows, observes a writer in the 

 Gardening World, the groups are usually 

 limited as to size; and owing to their arrange- 

 ment along the sides of the show room they 

 are almost certain to take the form of a semi- 

 circle or crescent, so as to be literally one-sided 

 masses of plants. In such an arrangement a 

 large central specimen forms the nucleus, and 

 on each side of this the dominant idea is to have 

 each plant the exact counterpart of the other, 

 and so on for each corresponding nook and 

 comer of the whole group. 



Now, novelty of design should be more often 

 encouraged at such exhibitions. Prizes should 

 be offered for novelty in this respect, coupled 

 with graceful curves and free and easy arrange- 

 ment of large leaved plants, to show off by 

 contrast the airy gracefulness of such things 

 as Ferns, Palms, etc., that could readily be 

 furnished by any collection of moderate extent. 



To obtain tasteful novelty of design, every- 

 thing lumpy or massive in its nature should be 

 discouraged in the assurance that the public 

 taste will appreciate artistic merit unencum- 

 bered by formality of design. In public or 

 private gardens, where the arrangements are 

 left to the men in charge, much may be done 

 in the way of grouping plants of a class or 

 group having a family likeness or characters 

 in common. If intelligently conducted, this 

 offers a great improvement on the old-fashioned 

 dot and pmlding style of arrangement, or 

 rather indiscriminate medley. 



When plants are naturally of a leggy char- 

 acter, or the foliage is of such a nature that it 

 affords insufficient density to screen the back- 

 ground, other kinds must be employed to obtain 



the desired end. Nothing is calculated to give 

 better effect to any kind of flowering plant 

 than by exhibiting a group or mass of it, show- 

 ing its range of variation in the matter of 

 color. Each group may have its component 

 parts arranged so as to harmonize and constitute 

 a separate floral picture in itself. 



The arrangement of cut flowers at exhibitions 

 may be calculated to show the effect of masses 

 of any given color or colors, but the clumsy 

 nature of some individual bunches destroys 

 any artistic feature the difl'erent kinds may 

 possess. Surely a graceful and less lumpy 

 arrangement of individual bunches would be 

 more natural, more striking and attractive to 

 the public, and at the same time equally con- 

 venient to exhibitors. 



REPLIES TO INQUIRIES. 



35.3. Fuchsia Culture, I find that witli plants 

 wliich have bloomed pontinuciisly all summer 

 there is little hope of their flowering in the winter, 

 unless they are of the Speciosa and Serratifolia 

 varieties. These will often tlower eight months in 

 the year, and are called Winter Flowering in the 

 catalogues. Other species can be packed away in 

 boxes, with a light soil, and kept in a cool, dark 

 cellar, where Potatoes will not sprout They must 

 remain dormant and should have neither light nor 

 warmth to send forth their tiny leaves. AH their 

 leaves will drop, and they must not have any water 

 unless the soil becomes too parched, and if the 

 cellar is damp this will not occur. In February or 

 March, if you desire the plants to bloom early, 

 they can be taken up and potted in rich soil, 

 composed of one third well-decomposed cow 

 manure and two thirds rich garden soil. This can 

 be prepared and put into a box when the plants 

 are placed in the cellar. I always have a large box 

 of compost ready for the potting of llowers in the 

 spring, and also to plant annuals and raise cut- 

 tings when the garden soil is frozen stiff or well 

 covered with snow. So prepare a large box of it 

 and a smaller one of sand, and you can start early 

 vegetables as well as flowers in March. D. E. P. 



37ii. Silkworms, if you will write to the offlce 

 of the Women's Silk Culture Association. 1222 and 

 1220 Arch St., Philadelphia, full instructions in 

 the matter of an outfit for silk culture will be given. 



301. Fruit Trees From Cuttings. Improve- 

 ment in the quality of a fruit is, as a rule, made at 

 the expense of vigor. If therefore propagation were 

 thus practicable— as it seldom Is— there would be 

 constitutional weakness in the new trees, making 

 them inferior to strong seedlings budded or grafted. 

 In the case of the Le Conte Pear and the Marianna 

 Plum, cuttings root readily, and while such are, in 

 the latter (owing to its wild parentage and charac- 

 teristics) looked upon with favor as stocks for 

 various stone fruits, it is now being demonstrated 

 that Le Conte Pear stocks similarly propagated 

 are quite worthless. 



308. Paeony Buds BlaBting, I think that your 

 plants are growing in too large clumps. If so, you 

 had better divide and reset them in the fall. Or 

 the soil in which they have been growing may 

 have become e.xhausted. If so, give a liberal sup- 

 ply of well-decayed manure immediately, and 

 work it in well around the plants. In order to have 

 Pfeonies do well they should be grown in a deep, 

 well-enriched soil, and given a good dressing of 

 well-decayed manure annually.— C. E. P. 



357. No Persimmons. If your plant is growing 

 In the open air, the fruit may be injured or de- 

 stroyed by some insect pest while very small. Or 

 if in a pot or tub it may be that the roots have 

 become injured by being improperly watered. 

 The Persimmons (Japanese) are not perfectly 

 hardy in this latitude. — C. E. P. 



407. Fall Planting of Fruit, (a) In general 

 we may say that on drained land one need not 

 hesitate to plant in the fall all kinds but the stone 

 fruits and Strawberries, unless the latter can be 

 set as early as September. But as our correspond- 

 ent's State is not named we are at a loss to give 

 special advice to meet his case, and also as regards 

 kinds, (/j.) For Alexander Apple on Paradise try 

 Ellwanger & Barry or William Little, of Rochester, 

 N. Y.. Storrs Harrison Co., Painesvllle, Ohio, Mur- 

 dock & Co., Pittsburgh, Pa. 



318. Clematis Falling. Aside from inferior 

 culture, these plants are known to fall from sev- 

 eral causes. One of these Is a dreaded insect very 

 similar in its ways of working to the phylloxera 

 that troubles Grape-vines so widely. It causes the 

 roots to become granulated and to die. The only 

 remedy we have heard of is to put a small quan- 

 tity of fresh Pyrethrum powder around the base 

 of the plant. A borer also sometimes attacks the 

 plants, working In the ground near the surface, 

 when any plant shows signs of failing careful dig- 

 ging should reveal its presence. One of the worst 

 (lisea.'-es is a fungus, which attacks the plant near 

 the root, quickly killing It by girdling. For this we 

 know of no remedy, but should think the sulphate 

 of copper ones, given on page 180, worthy of trial. 



