1871. 



NEW ENGLAND FAEACER. 



373 



repeating. What we want is some top-dressing 

 that will effect what ploughing does, with the fur- 

 ther good of killing it forever. Mr. Ely put two 

 tons of bone-dust on three acres of grass land, 

 which had much growth of moss, and the grass 

 took such a start that it choked the moss. 



EXTRACTS AND REPLIES. 



WILD GAEDENIXG. 



I read a piece on Wild Gardening, published 

 either in a February or March paper. I think it 

 was written by S. O. J. I have lost the paper, and 

 having a spot that I would like to turn into a wild 

 garden, I wish to know wliat seeds to plant. The 

 piece to which I refer told what would grow^ with 

 but little care, and said many ladies loved flowers 

 who had not time for their cultivation ; it there- 

 fore informed them how to grow a wild garden. 



Will you be so kind as to republish the article, 

 or will S. O. J. inform me through the Fakmee. 

 what to plant ? An Interested Reader. 



Groveland, Mass., 1811. 



Remarks. — A portion of my garden is devoted 

 to the culture of wild flowers, and I enjoy them 

 highly. I cannot make the first darlmg of the 

 spring — the fragrant May flower — bloom out of my 

 fernery. There it opens its sweet eyes in February, 

 and rejoices my heart when all is wintry and 

 dreary. 



But the Blood-root {Sanffuinaria Canadensis) 

 blossoms in far greater beauty in a cultivated 

 border than in the meadow by the brook-side, 

 where I found its fair blossoms several years ago, 

 tightly enfolded in their warm green cloaks. By 

 digging deeply down for their bloody roots, I man- 

 aged to transport them to my border so tenderly 

 that they bloomed directly and as fresh and lovely 

 as if they had not undergone a "change of base." 



The next year the blossoms took unto them- 

 selves another row of petals, and have bloomed so 

 yearly. They are the belles of my parten-e in the 

 early sprmg. Their light green, shield-shaped 

 leaves are easily recognized after their starry petals 

 have fallen, and it is a good time to transplant 

 them now. They seed plentifully, and I have a 

 large bed of them. 



The wild Anemone which rings its pearly pink- 

 tinged bells at every breath of wind, will transplant 

 easily. Its leaves are shaped like the parsley fern, 

 and though its fiowers are departed, its roots can 

 be easily distinguished. 



The Dog-tooth violet, with its curiously varie- 

 gated leaves, is also a very pretty flower. It has a 

 bulbous root, and it gi'ows plentifully in the mead- 

 ows near the pine woods. 



The Trillium with its triune leaves, is very de- 

 sirable. One variety of it has dark chocolate flow- 

 ers of a large size ; the other has lovely white 

 fiowers tinged with pink. The roots can be easily 

 transplanted at any season. 



In my walks, in the early spring, a basket and 

 trowel always accompany me, and every pretty 

 flower I see is immediately impressed into my 

 service. I wait until night fall to set them out, 



but give them plenty of water as soon as I return 

 home. Thus treated, I rarelj' lose any. 



The "Spring Beauty," a dear little pink and 

 white darling, has decorated my garden this many 

 a year. It is a dwarf plant of rare beauty, which 

 springs up amid the greenest of mosses among the 

 rocks by brook or rivulet. It can be grown from 

 seeds or roots. 



The Meadow Rue is a stately plant, with a fine 

 stalk of feathery white fiowers. It does not bloom 

 until late in June, and continues to flower through 

 July. Its foliage is deeply serrated like the locust, 

 but more finely cut, and the under sides of the 

 leaves are of a silvery whiteness, so that it is fre- 

 quently called silver leaf. It has been cultivated 

 in my garden for several years, and there is no 

 Spirea that excels it in beauty and gi-ace. Did it 

 come from Japan, and were it a high priced 

 novelty, it would be sought for by all flower lovers ; 

 but as it is plentifully scattered all over the 

 country, and blooms by the roadsides, in the 

 meadows and dells, it is too common to be cultivated 

 by many ; yet it attracts more attention in my gar- 

 den than many a greenhouse darling. It is very 

 lovely in bouquets and vases, and mingles perfectly 

 with roses and verbenas. Its feathery, waxen 

 white plumes contrast finely with brilliant colors. 

 Eveiy lover of flowers should seek for the Meadow 

 Rue. 



Jack in the Pulpit is a pet of mine. I like the 

 furry flower; so prettily striped Mith chocolate 

 and gi-een, and folded so carefully over the "Jack 

 in Green." 



The charming pink Azaleas or Mountain Pinks 

 are verj- beautiful shrubs, worthy of all praise. 

 The rich, rosy pink flowers perfectly cover the 

 stems before hardly a green leaf is to be seen upon 

 them. 



The woods, meadows, and hill sides of New 

 England aljound with many lovely flowers which 

 would richly repay the cultivator. I do not recall 

 the article to which "An Interested Reader" refers, 

 and doubt if I wrote it,* but I am pleased to tell 

 her of my success in "Wild Gardening," and must 

 beg her pardon for the delay of the answers. Her 

 letter forwarded to us from the ofHce of the Far- 

 mer was mislaid during the unavoidable upheavings 

 of the annual house-cleaning. 



The wild Aster grows to perfection in my gar- 

 den. As it does not bloom until late in August, I 

 had nearly passed it by; but it deserves most 

 honorable notice. There are two varieties, the 

 lilac, and the white. Both of them are very de- 

 sirable, and will grow without any care, and bloom 

 profusely until the frost cuts them down. They 

 grow over two feet high, and the flowers are in 

 large clusters. They are found all over New Eng- 

 land. Bryant mentions them in his ode to "TAe 

 Close of Autumn," thus : — 



*The article alluded to was written, we think, by 



Mrs. H , of Georgetown, Mass., author of a series of 



articles printed iu the FARMER last year, entitled "Wild 

 Wood Studies." 



