126 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



May, 1915. 



A portion of the perennial border in the garden of Mr. T. H. Taylor, Hamilton, Ont. 



An Amateur Rose Garden 



R. Brodie, Montreal, Que. 



ALTHOUGtH in our severe cli- 

 mate, with its cold winter 

 and hot, dry summer, we 

 can't grow roses to such perfection 

 as they do in the OM Oounrt;ry or on' 

 the Pacific Ooast, yet with care we can 

 have an abundant supply of roses in 

 June and July, with a fair supply 

 through the summer months till frost 

 touches them. Last summer, when in 

 Victoria, B.C., I spent a pleasant hour 

 in the beautiful rose garden in front 

 of the Parliament Buildings. There 

 was a great variety of color, and the 

 plants were labelled with the name of 

 their variety, which made the display 

 very instructive and interesting. 



Rioses do best in a good, strong soil, 

 well underdrained. If it is a light, 

 sandy soil use well rotted cow manure 

 in beds. Place hybrid perpetuals in 

 rows three feet apart and two feet 

 apart in the row, the first row two feet 

 from the side of the bed. For hybril 

 teas use ro'ws two feet apart and eigh- 

 teen inches in the row. In planting out 

 budded or grafted rosbs cut them back 

 to within a few buds of the stock and 

 plant deep enough to almost cover the 

 tips of the ' branches. If t)he season is 

 dry wfiter often arid oultivate. The 

 first year 'will give a number of blos- 

 soms. . 



For the winter protection of roses 

 we gather the branches together with 

 binder twine, dig a sipade full of soil 

 away from side of the plant and bend 

 over and pin to the ground. Lay the 

 bushes all one way. The first few 

 years I coivered with earth from be- 

 tween the ro'ws, but now the bu^es 

 are too large, so we nail boards to- 

 gether A shaped and cover the bushes 

 with them. The winter of 1913-14 



was a very severe one, yet our roses 

 came through in good condition. Our 

 first plantation contained over 100 

 bushes, mostly hybrid perpetuals, al- 

 though we still had a number of the 

 old varieties, set out by my grand- 

 father, like lihe old Moss Rose, the Cali- 

 bage or Province, the Maiden's Blush, 

 etc. 



The following are my favorite varie- 

 ties: 



White: Frau Karl Druschki, Mabel 

 Morrison, Margaret Dickson, Mdm. 

 Plantier. 



Pink: Baroness Rothschild, Mrs. 

 John Laing, John Hopper, CapL. 

 Christy. 



Red: Ulrich Brunner, General Jac- 

 queminot, Alfred Colomb, Capt. Hay- 

 ward. 



Dark Red : Prince Camille de Rohan, 

 Baron de Bonstetten. 



Yellow: Soleil d'Or, Gloire Lyon- 

 naise, Persian Yellow. 



Hybrid Teas: La Prance, Pink Kil- 

 larney. White Killarney. 



Pick Sunny Spots for Shrubs 



A. E. Thatcher 



All hardy shrubs, except those which 

 are naturally more at home beneath the 

 shade of trees, succeed best in an open 

 sunny position where they receive the 

 full benefit of light and air. This is par- 

 ticularly true of those grown for their 

 floral beauty. It is important, therefore, 

 to select if possible a position which, 

 while being sheltered from rough and 

 cold winds, is fully exposed to the bene- 

 ficial influence of the sun. This enables 

 the wood of the current season's growth 

 to become thoroughly ripened and con- 

 sequently much better able to pass 

 through the winter without harm. 



Having selected the position, it is of 

 paramount importance that the ground 

 be properly and thoroughly prepared, 

 first by seeing that it is well drained, as 

 very few shrubs will succeed in a water- 

 logged soil, and then by having it well 

 broken up to a depth of at least two feet. 

 If the soil is naturally very heavy it is 

 a good plan to freely incorporate decay- 

 ed leaf mould and sand, but if very light 

 and dry in character nothing is better 

 than a good heavy loam. Well decayed 

 manure will prove of much benefit to the 

 shrubs if it can be worked deeply into 

 the ground, but not otherwise. 



All hardy shrubs will succeed in a 

 loamy or peaty soil, providing it is well 

 drained and deeply worked. It may seem 

 to some that it is unnecessary to prepare 

 it so deeply. It is, however, highly im- 

 portant, even if the expense is some- 

 what larger, for the difference between 

 shrubs planted in ground which has 

 been properly prepared and those in 

 poorly worked soil is remarkable, and 

 no one will question the advisability after 

 seeing its results. 



Making Garden Walks 



Arthur Waller, Cobourg, Ont. 

 This is the way my garden walks are 

 made: Along the edges I place a row 

 of stones about the size of a person's 

 fist. Ashes are then spread and raked 

 off level. Some fine ash dust is then 

 sifted over the surface, sprinkled with 

 water, and rolled. After a few rollings 

 I have a good walk that is easily kept 

 free from weeds. I keep the walks 

 rolled after every rain. 



Floral Reminders 



Pergolas or summer-houses may be 

 made not only beautiful but useful by 

 growing the Avild grape or Beta grape 

 over them. 



Use plenty of manure in the garden. 

 Good cultivation and plenty of plant 

 food is responsible for most of the 

 "good luck." 



Many ttoweriug annuals, such as 

 petunias and portulacas, may be sown 

 in the open ground as soon as it is well 

 warmed. 



It is easier to put up the pea trellis 

 before the peas come up. 



There is still time to do some top- 

 working and to set out some orna- 

 mental plants and shrubs about the 

 house. 



To get a succession of gladioli, make 

 several plantings of the bulbs. 



Do not prune spring-flowering shrubs 

 until after they have flowered. 



Gladioli and dahlias may be set out 

 the latter part of the month. 



Protect and shelter the birds as much 

 as possible. A few windbreaks or 

 thickets of brush give the birds a nest- 

 ing-place, and they pay for it by catch- 

 ing many injurious insects. 



