28 



THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 



the margin of grass or box edging, 

 then a variegated geranium, next Cal- 

 ceolaria annua floribunda, back of 

 that Salvia patens (a most beautiful 

 blue), then a row of dahlias, and, if 

 the border was wide, backed up by a 

 stately line of hollyhocks. The rib- 

 bon border was well done in this 

 country in many places, but as some 

 of the flowering plants could not be 

 depended upon here we had the coleus, 

 which does finely with us and is a 

 poor, stunted, dull colored plant in 

 the gardens of Great Britain. 



Then twenty-five years ago, or per- 

 haps a little more, the carpet bedding 

 was evolved and was carried out most 

 elaborately in many places, both pri- 

 vate and public. Perhaps in no place 

 in the world was it carried to greater 

 perfection or more ingeniously than 



the leading plants used in carpet bed- 

 ding. They do better in our climate. 

 I cannot believe that the alternanthe- 

 ras would grow there as they do with 

 us, except in the warmer parts of 

 Southern Europe, and if you take the 

 alternantheras out of carpet bedding 

 you leave a large hole. Carpet bedding 

 never was a great item with the com- 

 mercial florist simply because it was 

 too expensive for the great majority 

 of our patrons. A bed that could b3 

 well filled with geraniums or coleus 

 for $15.00 would cost $40.00 if well 

 done as a carpet bed. The plants we 

 always had to grow, for there was sure 

 to be a demand from people who 

 wanted to try their hand at a fancy 

 bed. 



The prevailing taste to-day is to use 

 flowering plants as much as possible; 



hot house plants that are bedded or 

 plunged out during the summer 

 months, including c.rotons, palms, 

 bamboos, etc. They are interesting 

 beds, more interesting than hand- 

 some, but are instructive and to those 

 who love plants are attractive. 



A very simple and well known ar- 

 rangement of a bed that I saw very 

 recently pleased me very much, and 

 still more when the "Missus'" of the 

 grounds said: "Mr. S., we are delight- 

 ed with the bed this year. Don't you 

 think it is beautiful?" It was sur- 

 rounded here and there, but not 

 densely with a few trees and the bed 

 was some thirty yards back from the 

 street. It was simply a center (about 

 two dozen) of a tall, narrow leaved, 

 dark almost blood red. canna (I 

 wish I could give you its correct 



\ 



in the South Park system, of Chicago, 

 under the direction of Mr. Frederick 

 Kanst. It was admired by millions 

 and criticised by a few. The minority 

 are often in the right, but in this casa 

 the critics were only wasting their 

 words. It was gratifying to the mil- 

 lions, and harmless surely, and there- 

 fore served its purpose. On a visit to 

 the "Old Country" in 1885 we noticed 

 much less carpet bedding than we ex- 

 pected to see and remember the re- 

 mark of one head-gardener who was 

 lord of a large domain: "No, we have 

 given it up and gone back to the old 

 geraniums and calceolarias." It was 

 then in its greatest popularity with 

 us, but was on the wane across the 

 water. 

 As with the coleus so with some of 



Bedding in a Public Park. 



even the coleus is not as popular as it 

 was a few years since. To be candid 

 the zonale geranium, with its splendid 

 habit and beautiful trusses of flowers 

 of brilliant and pleasing colors, is 

 such a universal favorite as was the 

 horse Eclipse in the mythical story: 

 "It is the geranium first, the rest no- 

 where." 



There is, however, another style, or 

 rather another arrangement, of bed- 

 ding that is particularly suited to our 

 climate, and on a lawn that is not 

 wanted for croquet or tennis what can 

 be more cheerful than a bed of can- 

 nas, caladiums and coleus. Perhaps 

 this style of bedding is not worthy the 

 name sub-tropical, perhaps the latter 

 term is mare properly applied to a bed 

 that contains a great variety of our 



name) surrounded by Caladium escu- 

 lentum, then two rows of Coleus 

 Verschaffeltii and next the grass a 

 circle of Golden Bedder coleus. This 

 is quite a conventional arrangement 

 with us, but hard to beat and gener- 

 ally pleasing. 



The landscape architect, especially 

 of the most approved style, would, I 

 feel sure, declaim against this bed on 

 the lawn and say it was bad taste, not 

 in harmony with the grass and the 

 shade of elm and maple and linden. 

 The up-to-date landscape" -artist don't 

 want you to plant a golden elder or 

 variegated cornus or Prunus Pissardii 

 in shrubbery groupings because the 

 coloring is abnormal and not in ac- 

 cordance with nature. What does the 

 proprietor care about such things? He 



