March 



THE POMOLOGIST. 



» 



43 



Laying Out the Flo^wer-Garden. 

 BY M. o'keefe. 



"Your voiceless lips, O flowers, are living 



preachers — 

 Eacn cup a pulpit, and each leaf a book, 

 Supplying to my fancy numerous teachings 



from lowliest nook." 



The following remarks ou laying out a 

 flower-g.irdcn, are by M. O'Kcefu, Seeds- 

 man and Florist, Rochester, N. Y. The 

 hints given are worth to any one having a 

 taste for the culture of flowers, a year's 

 subscription to the Pomologist, ten times 

 over. With the instruction comprehended 

 in this article, even the novice in floricul- 

 ture need not fiiil of having a well arranged, 

 tasty disjilay of flowers about his home. 

 We have never seen a more comprehensive 

 or instructive article on the subject: 



A flower-garden should resemble a rich 

 picture, with all the colors nicely contrasted 

 and blended together. We find that the 

 most beautiful flower-gardens are those in 

 which there is a continual display of beauti- 

 ful colors and sweet odors, and the plants all 

 having a neat and agreeable hal)it of growth. 

 As to the situatiou, we should prefer a level 

 plot situated near the dwelling-house, and 

 well exposed to the sun and air, with a 

 southern aspect. The soil should be of a 

 deep, rich loam. Work in the flower-garden 

 should be commenced during the months of 

 August and September, that it may be com^ 

 pleted by the middle of October, to receive 

 bulbous and many of the herbaceous and 

 other plants, and such slirubs as are hardy 

 enough to set in autumn. If the work is 

 deferred until spring, it should be accom- 

 plished as early as possible, and then the 

 proprietor will not be deprived of the pleasure 

 of having any thing in its greatest perfection, 

 except annuals and tender bulbous or tube- 

 rose plants for that season. The work sliould 

 be done neatly, as a great deal depends upon 

 the manner of laying out, the proper con- 

 sistency and richness of the soil, the make 

 of the walks and laying the edgings, whether 

 of box, grass, or anything else. It will be 

 diflSeuIt for us to propose any particular plan 

 for laying out the flower-giirden tliat would 

 be likely to give satisfaction to all, for most 

 ever3' one has a fancy of their own, and 

 though they might ask advice, would prob- 

 ably, after all, follow the guidance of their 

 own taste. We think the modern style of 

 grouping and massing the colors in separate 

 figures, is much neater than the old method 

 of mixing and intermingling the species 

 and varieties in all the beds. In grouping 

 or massing it is necessar}' to gel colors which 

 when brought into contrast with each other, 

 will be pleasing to the eye, and make a more 

 immediate impression than a mixture of 

 colors not distinct enough anywhere to give 

 a decided efl'ect to the whole. Another 

 advantage of massing plants is, that they 

 cover all bare surface of soil or parts of 

 figures not covered with foliage and flowers, 

 as the parched appearance of the surface. 



when seen, lessens the freshness of the 

 flowers, as well as their beauty. They 

 should be placed in regular beds or figures, 

 neatly cut out in the lawn, and always in 

 circles or ovals, and when well kept, the 

 green turf will add much to the brilliant 

 colors of the flowers, as well as to form a 

 fine contrast to the beds themselves. For 

 massing or grouping, we should select the 

 most delicate and beautiful shades of pink 

 and white, light blues and straw-colored 

 yellow, with crimson and vermilion. For a 

 large oval bed, the following collection and 

 arrangement will give a brilliant display of 

 colors from July to November : In the first 

 row. Mignonette, to be sown all around the 

 border, eighteen inches from the edging. 

 After the seed is through the ground, plant 

 all tlie various colors of Portulaca, alter- 

 nately, one foot apart in the same row. The 

 second row, three feet from the edging, 

 plant all the fine mixed colors of Phlox 

 Drummondii, eight inches from eacli other 

 The third row, four feet from the edging, 

 sow with white Candytuft, planting all the 

 fine varieties of China Pink, three inches 

 apart in the same row. The fourth row, 

 five feet from the edging, plant with Purple 

 Globe Amaranth, eight inches ajjart, with a 

 German Ten Weeks' Stock between the 

 Amaranths. The fifth row, six feet from 

 the edging, plant alternately, all the various 

 colors of fine double German Asters, six 

 inches apart in the row. The space remain- 

 ing in the center, fill with aU the diflferent 

 colors of the Petunia, planting one foot 

 apart, among the Petunias, bulbs of all the 

 fine colors of the Hybrid Gladiolus, which, 

 when in bloom, with their long, densely- 

 flowered racemes of blossoms varying from 

 white to salmon and carmine, scarlet and 

 crimson, standing up among the creeping 

 Petunias, will make a fine display. The 

 walks of a flower-garden should be wide 

 enough to admit two persons, walking 

 comfortably side by side. Four to five feet 

 will not be too wide for the main avenue, 

 and the narrow walks should be graduated 

 by the size of the garden. The best walks 

 are composed of small stones or coarse 

 gravel, covered with five or six inches of 

 fine gravel ; iru^do in this way they will be 

 found to make dry walking at all seasons of 

 the year. A walk of four feet width should 

 be i}4 inches higher in the middle tlian at 

 the sides, and for every foot of increase in 

 width, one quarter of an inch to the eleva- 

 tion of the center. In regard to edgings. 

 Box will be found to be neater and more 

 beautiful than any other plants. Grass 

 makes a very neat edging if kept in order, 

 but it refiuires so much attention to keep it 

 in its place, that we would not reconuuend 

 it. Thrift, if neatly planted, will make 

 handsome edgings to borders or flower-beds. 

 Box edgings should be trimmed in June, 

 and should never be permitted to grow tall. 

 It should he protected in winter by coarse 



litter. No flower-garden can be complete 

 without some grass. First see that the 

 ground is well prepared by deep trenching 

 or digging, pulverizing the soil, that the 

 roots of the grass may penetrate two feet 

 deep, level it and leave it to settle for about 

 ten days, then rake ofi" smooth, and it will 

 be ready for the seed. To have a fine lawn, 

 it is necessary to mow it often, and roll it, 

 especially after a rain, as by doing so, a close 

 texture and fine velvety turf may be 

 obtained. 



Adam's Needle, or Yucca. (.Yucca filmentoso.) 



This plant is an object of beauty the whole 

 year, it only 

 the leaves are 

 seen; these are 

 one to two feet 

 long, bristling 

 out at all an- 

 gles, with 

 sharp points, 

 slender white 

 threads hang 

 from edges. — 

 Flower-stalk 

 stout, tliree to 

 six feet, with fifty to two hundred white 

 blossoms under branching arms. Truly 

 magnificent in June and July. Culture sim- 

 ple — a deep mellow soil is required; per- 

 fectly hardy ; lives to a great age. 



Hanging Baskets. 



Wliat is prettier, especially in winter, than 

 a fresh, green hanging basket? Hearth and 

 Hmne gives the following directions for both 

 making and arranging these simple and 

 tasteful ornamentals : 



Hanging baskets are within the reach of 

 all, and the more simple their structure the 

 more graceful their efl'ect. We have seen 

 one made of cocoanut shell, with the upper 

 section neatly sawed ofl" and scarlet cords 

 attached, planted with moneyworth. Its 

 trailing stems, extending half way down the 

 window, filled with its bright golden blos- 

 soms, might have graced a Fifth Avenue 

 drawing-room, so exquisite were its proper^ 

 tions, so briglit in coloring. For larger 

 baskets, buy at the woodenware shops a 

 wooden bowl twelve to sixteen inches in 

 diameter. Bore three holes at regular dis- 

 tances for the cords to support it. Then 

 ornament with rosettes, made of halves of 

 the coflfee-bean not roasted, grains of rice 

 and small black soup beans. Any girl of 

 common ingenuity can make a pretty one 

 witli these materials. Attach them to the 

 bowl with cormnon glue dissolved in water 

 or whisky — if dissolved in the latter it does 

 not set or harden until used. 



When it has dried, varnish with black 

 varnish, which is readily procured at little 

 expense at any paint sliop or carriage man- 

 ufaetorj'. 



When that is dry, ornament the edges with 

 allspice berries strung on wire. Now attach 

 the cords, and you have as handsome a bas- 

 ket as the shops can furnish, and the expense 

 is very small. A wooden bowl can be orna- 

 mented with the scales of the long pine 

 cones. Each scale can be nailed on with 

 upholster's tacks, first boring the holes, and 

 after the bowl is covered varnish with 

 brown varnish. Even the varnish can be 

 made at home, if one chooses. Buy two or 

 three ounces of asplialtum and dissolve it in 

 turpentine or kerosene, making it lighter or 

 darker as one desires by adding more or less 

 of the asphaltum. 



