Secrets of Ornamental Planting 



The Rose Garden 



The Rose is the nationa flower, and in all 

 sections, and under all conditions, it is grown 

 by careful, jealous hands, and its first blossoms 

 each season are eagerly awaited. 

 The artist has spread its glory on the can- 

 vass, the poet has sung of its beauty and its 

 sweetness. Youth, manhood, old age 

 all peoples, in all walks of life, have pro- 

 claimed the Rose the "Queen of Flowers." 

 No flower can ever take the place of the 

 Rose with the American people. 

 They should be growing in great beds on 

 all home grounds. Roses will repay the 

 care given them by a wealth of sweetest, 

 brightest blossoms and bring pleasure to the 

 heart of their owners. 



Stark Bro's Quality Roses 



Rose growers have produced Rose varieties 

 by the thousands, and from this great list 

 we have selected the choicest ones. The 

 most beautifully colored, the most perfectly 

 formed, keeping in mind the fact that 

 strong growth, vigor and hardiness is neces- 

 sary. The kinds we offer are the best 

 the choice from the Rose gardens of the 

 world and are grown according to the perfect 

 Stark growing method. They are prac- 

 tically all on their own roots. We have found 

 from experience that only a few varieties, 

 should be grown by the budding method. The 

 plants we offer are strong, field-grown stock, 

 which has had two years' growth in the 

 nursery. The small, light, weak-rooted 

 stock that is sent out at cheap bargain 

 prices, is a snare and a delusion will never 

 give satisfaction to the customer and is 

 very hard to make live. On the other hand, 

 extra strong, heavily rooted, field-grown 

 plants, which are delivered to the customer 

 from our nursery in a dormant condition, 

 become quickly established, and make a 

 strong, thrifty growth the first season, 

 furnishing considerable bloom the same year 

 they are planted. Stark Bro's Roses are 

 not tender, weak plants, grown under glass. 

 On the contrary, they have had two years in 

 the nursery to become adapted to out-of- 

 doors conditions of heat and cold; they are 

 delivered to the customer with roots and 

 tops in moist, plump condition. 



Walks in Rose Gardens 



In the rose garden of the American home, 

 grass paths, or walks are preferable. They 

 are more in harmony with the surrounding 

 naturalistic planting than paths of artificial 

 material, such as gravel, crushed stone, etc. 

 However, the paths and walks can be made 

 to suit the convenience of the owner. 



Rose Beds 



The rose beds should be sunk one to two 

 inches below the level of the grass walks. 

 The rose requires a great deal of moisture 



and by keeping the beds sunk below the level 

 of the walks it helps to preserve the moisture 

 that is in the soil. In past years the mistaken 

 idea that rose beds should be mounded high 

 above the surrounding grounds has been a 

 source of disappointment to the persons who 

 have tried to grow roses this way. In the 

 beds mounded high there is a greater loss of 

 moisture in the soil, the roses do not make 

 as good growth, nor do they bloom as well as 

 when the beds are slightly sunken. But 

 roses do not like "wet feet" plant them in 

 well-drained soil 



The rose bed should not be too wide. The 

 bed which contains two to four rows of roses 

 will be of sufficient width. By picking roses 

 from both sides of the flower bed all of the 

 roses should be reached without stepping off 

 of the turf walk. The beds should not be so 

 wide that it will be necessary to stand in the 

 soil in order to reach the roses. 



Location and Soil For Roses 



Practically every home has certain spots 

 where roses will thrive. Roses will succeed 

 in any average soil, although they respond 

 quickly and surprisingly to applications of 

 rich, black soil and well rotted manure, or 

 other fertilizer. If you have a real desire to 

 grow roses, you can do so and without a 

 great deal of trouble or expense. 



Location of Rose Garden 



Other things being equal, the location shel- 

 tered from the North winds is preferable for 

 the garden, thus a place located at the South 

 or Eastern side of the house will be best. 

 A planting of shrub borders will furnish 

 considerable protection. However, the ques- 

 tion of protection from the North is not of 

 such great importance if the individual rose 

 plants are given proper treatment before the 

 Winter season opens. A mounding up of 

 dirt and mulching will give the necessary 

 protection. For further information on 

 Winter protection, see page 27. 



Trees near the garden are of no great dis- 

 advantage if they do not shade the garden 

 more than half of the day. However, it is 

 important to keep the tree roots separated 

 from the flower beds. The rose is a heavy 

 feeder and it will not do well if it has to share 

 the plant food with encroaching tree roots. 

 Bear in mind that the tree roots extend out 

 far from the trunk of the tree at least as 

 far out as the spread of the tree. When the 

 rose beds are made, all tree roots should be 

 removed. 



The garden can be surrounded by a 

 border planting of flowering shrubs, which 

 should be planted more or less irregularly in 

 outline. In front of the shrubs, hardy per- 

 ennials can be planted and then the formal 

 garden with its beds will become enclosed. 



In the rose garden it is very often advisable 

 to plant a hedge entirely surrounding the 

 garden. The hardy Japanese Rose (Rosa 

 Rugosa) makes a splendid hedge and very 

 suitable for the rose garden, or any of the 

 other good hedge plants can be used. 



A suggested outline of a rose garden note the 



width of beds and walks. Make your bed 



arrangement very simple. 



New Roses from Stark Bro's Great Rose Test Gardens 



Many hundreds of roses that show great merit and promise are thoroughly tested 



by our Rose Experts. If they meet with our high standard of requirements 



they are then offered to Stark customers. 



Fertilizing Roses 



Sometimes the soils may be too heavy (too 

 much clay), in which case, it is often advis- 

 able to add a few loads of lighter loamy or 

 sandy soil. Ground limestone or air-slaked 

 lime will also be beneficial to the soil which 

 tends to be too heavy. A stimulant for the 

 rose is Nitrate of Soda, which can be applied 

 in very small quantities early in the season 

 when there is plenty of moisture in the ground. 

 This will result in strong wood growth. How- 

 ever, it is very concentrated and if it is applied 

 it should be in limited quantities. A small 

 handful is enough to each plant. Do not let 

 it come in direct contact with the plant or 

 it may burn it. It should be sprinkled on 

 the soil. Under "time to plant," we have 

 advised Spring planting for most roses. It 

 is a good plan, therefore, to start preparing 

 the rose beds the previous Fall or in early 

 Spring. The manure can be placed on the sur- 

 face of the beds and allowed to remain over 

 the Winter. The Spring rains will help dis- 

 solve the plant food and then later in the 

 Spring the beds can be spaded up and made 

 ready to receive the roses. Liquid manures 

 are also used with very good results; they 

 can be applied to the rose beds any time 

 during the growing season, although it will 

 be most effective in May and June. Liquid 

 manure can be made by suspending a burlap 

 sack containing a bushel of cow manure in 

 a barrel of water for several days This 

 solution can be applied direct to the rose 

 bed or slightly diluted. One to ^two quarts 

 applied to each plant about once a week 

 would be sufficient. 



Soil and Drainage 



The soil where the rose beds are located should be weli 

 drained; roses will not do well if the ground is wet and soggy. 

 Also, wet soil tends to become acid and no ornamental or 

 rose will do well in an acid soil. If the spot you have selected 

 for the rose garden is poorly drained and wet, it is a simple 

 matter to remedy. One good method of draining the flower 

 bed is to dig a trench about 2 or 2% feet deep and put in a 

 layer of broken stone (or other drainage material). This will 

 allow the surface water to drain off quickly. Also, very 

 wet soil may be drained by using a system of tiled drainage. 

 However, most soils require no special drainage. 



Preparing the Beds 



The preparation of the soil for the roses should be at 

 least two or three weeks ahead of planting time. If the soil 

 is in fairly good condition, very little treatment will be 

 necessary, except that it should be spaded deeply, 

 broken up and in fine, mellow condition. When spading 

 the soil it is always a good idea to spade in well rotted 

 manure. Hotted leaves are also good for this purpose. Of 

 commercial fertilizers, probably the best is ground bone, 

 but in applying all fertilizers and manures, keep in mind 

 that the fertilizer should be spaded in deep and this work 

 should be as far ahead of planting as possible so that fertilizer 

 and manure will have time to dissolve. Later on, after the 

 roses are planted, the top or surface applications of manure 

 :ind fertilizer can be made. In using manure in the flower 

 beds, bear in mind that the best kinds are from the cow 

 or horse stable. When spading up the ground the manure 

 or other fertilizer can be scattered on the surface of the 

 ground and then spaded in. Aim to spade the ground deeply 

 and to get the loose top soil underneath the lower soil. The- 



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