a7fi 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



Floral Edition. 



Shasta daisies, a clump of whicli is here shown, 



are very sweet and can be grown easily from 



seed. (Photo by Wm. Hunt, Guelph, Ont.) 



garden, some of them quite ten feet 

 high, their graceful flowers of exquis- 

 ite colors hanging over everything. 

 Each year some one flower grows to 

 special perfection, and this season, 

 with us, it was the paeony dahlia. 



Sweet peas must not be forgotten. To 

 attain good success, and the results are 

 very fine, comparable to anywhere in 

 the world, these things are necessary : 

 The finest seed obtainable started in 

 pots in the hot bed, and, directly they 

 are up, removed to a cold frame, where 

 they are kept until the weather is well 

 settled, probably the first week in June, 

 sometimes later, and then transplanted 

 to specially prepared soil. In one of 

 the gardens in Haileybury, that of Mrs. 

 C. A. Foster, the sweet peas grown 

 from Sutton's seeds in this way are 

 very remarkable. The method of plant- 

 ing is unusual and worthy of imitation. 

 The vines are set out in short rows 

 across a long open border about eight 

 feet wide. Each row is four feet apart, 

 growing one variety of sweet pea. The 

 supports, made of wire netting nailed 

 to a narrow wooden frame painted 

 green, serve from year to year. 



Perennials Thrive. 



We have had particular success with 

 perennials, and are confident that any 

 hardy perennial will thrive. True, the 

 thermometer goes low, but the snows 

 come early and there is little danger yf 

 a thaw. Slight coverings are needed 

 against the hot spring sun rather than 

 against the frost. 



The Iberis is the first to appear in 

 the border. Then when the lilacs are 

 a fragrant blending irridescence of 

 color come the tulips, the daffodils, and 

 the narcissus. The Iceland poppies and 

 the pansies follow, and then the long- 

 spurred columbines, the pyrethrums 

 and forget-me-nots, all such charming 

 neighbors. Then come along the coral- 

 red sweet Williams, frosted blue and 

 pink canterbury bells, and shasta 

 daisies; then the oriental poppies, the 

 paeonies, the feathery astilbes, and, in 

 midsummer, the delphiniums. We must 

 stop to admire them. How tall they 

 grow, with their burnished blues and 



lavenders, their clear brilliant blues, 

 their dark, rich black blues, their gray 

 and silvery blues, their many different 

 types of doubleness, their variety of 

 centres, their long, thick spikes, fairy 

 godmothers' wands! Were I boasting 

 of our gardens, I should certainly add 

 that nowhere out of Kel way's or L".- 

 molne's catalogues do such delphin- 

 iums grow ! The giant hollyhocks suc- 



ceed them, vieing in beauty with the 

 phloxes, so prodigal of bloom and color. 

 Hoses are, similarly, of easy cultiva- 

 tion. I saw a bunch of rosebuds picked 

 in October, looking like July. But I am 

 convinced there is no perennial, with 

 the exception of some of the lilies, 

 which cannot be grown with equal, 

 often with more, gratifying, succe ;s 

 than in milder latitudes. 



Winter Care of House Plants 



Henry Gibson 



SINCE the advent of the wonderful 

 Nephrolepsis todeoides fern, many 

 beautiful and desirable new varie- 

 ties have been introduced, until now 

 we have sufficient varieties of nephro- 

 lepsis to form a good collection — Whil- 

 mani, Amerpholi, Marshalli, Teddy 

 Junr., Elegantissima Compacta, to 

 mention only a few, are all charming 

 ferns and are doubly valuable inso- 

 much as they may be used for either 

 house or conservatory decoration. The 

 filmy nature of the fronds is very strik- 

 ing to the eye. I know of no more 

 beautiful fern than the variety known 

 as Elegantissima Compacta. They oc- 

 casionally produce a few fronds of a 

 coarse type, and as this occurs most 

 frequently when the pots are root- 

 bound, it is almost safe to say that 

 poverty of the soil is the cause. The 

 remedy is obvious. 



House Palms. 



Most amateur gardeners, especially 

 those of the gentler sex, become pos- 

 sessed of a desire to grow palms for 

 the decoration of their homes, and some 

 continue trying unsuccessfully to do so 

 for years. Good soil is one of the first 

 essentials, as a heavy, sour soil soon in- 

 duces disease of the roots and conse- 

 quent foliage trouble. Any good gar- 

 den soil is good enough for palm cul- 

 ture if mixed at the rate of three parts 

 soil, one part well-decayed manure, 

 one part leaf mold, and enough sand 

 to make it porous. The soil must be 

 kept moist, l)ut the plant should not be 

 watered every day, nor should it be al- 

 lowed to stand in a .iardiniere or orna- 

 mental bowl half full of water. Defer 

 watering until the soil looks dry, and 

 then give sufficient to thoroughly 

 saturate the soil. Careful attention 

 should be given to this, for not infre- 

 quently plants die even when watered 

 regularl}-. The reason for this is that 

 instead of soaking into the ball of soil 

 the water trickles down the fissures be- 

 tween the soil and the side of the pot 

 and runs out of the hole at the bottom. 

 When this occurs, it is usually con- 

 cluded that sufficient water has been 

 given. In a plant that has been at all 



dry, an examination of the soil would 

 reveal the fact that the water has only 

 wet the outer surface, while the hard, 

 compact centre remains dry. When 

 this condition obtains, the best thing 

 to do is to set the plant in a pail of 

 water and allow it to soak for half an 

 hour. 



Palms and all other decorative foli- 

 age plants that are used to embellish 

 the home should have their leaves 

 sponged at frequent intervals, so that 

 dust does not collect on them- Spong- 

 ing keeps insect pests in check, and 

 not only adds to the appearance of the 

 plants, but by clearing away the dust 

 allows them to perform their functions 

 more satisfactorily. A plant is a living 

 thing that has certain functions to per- 

 form that are essential to its existence. 

 If this was more generally appreciated 

 by plant lovers, we would see the dust 

 being removed from the leaves of the 

 plant just as frequently as from the 

 piano. 



Soapy water, fir-tree oil, or any of the 

 tobacco extracts, diluted according to 

 directions, make good washes. 



Pelargonium Geraniums 



I have found Pelargonium geraniums more 

 difflcult to propagate by cutting than the ordin- 

 ary geranium. How should they be treated? — 

 Mrs. E. B. C, Peterboro, Ont. 



The Pelargonium geraniums are con- 

 sidered to be a little more difficult to 

 grow than the ordinary bedding types 

 of geraniums. In making cuttings it 

 is very often found best to take what 

 is known as the "growing shoots" ra- 

 ther than a cutting from one of the 

 older branches. Sometimes, also, the 

 cuttings are taken with the heals on 

 them, but the ordinary shoot will cal- 

 lous over successfully, forming roots, 

 if taken about August. It is wise to 

 treat them, of course, in a way similar 

 to the regular geranium cuttings, al- 

 though the sand should not be allowed 

 to become dry, which sometimes hap- 

 pens with ordinary geranium cuttings, 

 without any injury to them. — F. E. 

 Buck, Central Experimental Farm, Ot- 

 tawa. 



