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14 



The Florists' Review 



July 3, 1913. 



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Notes of the 



Hardy Garden 



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THE HAEDT PERENNIAL GARDEN. 



Ab It Looks in Early July. 



June may be truly said to be the 

 month par excellence for hardy herba- 

 ceous perennials, the month when they 

 are most fresh and pleasing and when 

 the torrid summer heat has not yet 

 scorched and wilted them to any great 

 extent. Nevertheless, if the plants are 

 in good soil and the soil is kept well 

 stirred, they will be found quite at- 

 tractive still, and it is really surprising 

 what a lot of heat and drought peren- 

 nials will stand, provided they have a 

 mulch of even dry earth about them. 

 Some varieties, it is true, must have 

 water or they will be comparative fail- 

 ures. Particularly is this true of the 

 regal Japanese iris, I. Ksempferi, now 

 commencing to make a glorious show of 

 its many-hued flowers, which rival, and 

 in many ways surpass, the most showy 

 of the orchids. The Japanese irises are 

 sometimes classed as semi-aquatics. This 

 is true only to the extent that they rel- 

 ish an abundant water supply until the 

 flowering eeason has passed, after which 

 they can be kept drier at the root. It 

 is important, however, that they be kept 

 comparatively dry at the root jn win- 

 ter, or many will rot. 



Iris in Sunken Beds. 



Fine Japanese iris can be grown in 

 sunken beds at a moderate elevation, 

 which can be practically flooded until 

 the flowering season has passed, and 

 which can be drained in winter, but it 

 is not necessary to go even to this 

 amount of trouble to secure good Jap- 

 anese iris. In any well prepared herba- 

 ceous border they will bloom splendidly 

 if mulched and soaked occasionally 

 prior to and during the blooming season. 



Speaking of iris reminds us that the 

 blooming season for the Siberian iris 

 has just passed, but it is not too late to 

 say a good word for this hardy, vigor- 

 ous-growing and free-flowering variety. 

 It succeeds best in moist land and likes 

 a little shade, but grows well in almost 

 any location. For cutting it is valuable, 

 particularly that beautiful pure white 

 variety, Snow Queen. This does su- 

 perbly in field rows, but it is to be seen 

 in its greatest vigor on the margin of 

 a pond, swamp or stream. These and 

 the Japanese, as well as the German 

 iris, should" be planted early. From the 

 middle of August to the middle of Sep- 

 tember is much better than a month 

 later, and if set out at that date, a nice 

 lot of flowers are sure to be produced 

 the following season. 



The Stately Larkspurs. 



The perennial larkspurs now are in 

 their full glory, and what an enchanting 

 display they make! Well established 

 plants are six and even eight feet high, 

 and of almost every conceivable shade 

 of blue. There are many flower fad- 

 dists who object to certain hardy plants. 



but those who have any objections to 

 the stately and beautiful delphiniums 

 are few and far between and are surely 

 to be pitied. Such varieties as the Bel- 

 ladoi^na hybrids, the named hybrids of 

 such specialists as Amos Perry and Kel- 

 way. Queen Wilhelmina, formosum, for- 

 mosum ccelestinum and others are su- 

 perb, and the dwarfer but none the less 

 charming white and blue shades of D. 

 Chinense are free-flowering and are first- 

 class in funeral work. It hardly needs 

 to be stated that all the delphiniums 

 are fine for cutting and have a seasona- 

 ble and fresh appearance at this time 

 as compared with the small and faded 

 looking roses and carnations procurable. 

 First-class delphiniums are to be had 

 from seed; in most cases these are equal 

 to the named hybrids, sometimes supe- 

 rior, and they usually possess greater 

 vigor. The present is an ideal time to 

 sow seed in a coldframe, where it can 

 be kept well shaded until after ger- 



|3VERY now and then a weU- 

 ■iS pleased reader speaks the word 

 which is the means of bringing a 

 new advettiser to 



Such hiendly assistance is thoroug^hly 

 appreciated. 



Give us the name of anyone from 

 whom you are buying, not an adver- 

 tiser. 'We especially wish to interest 

 those selling articles of florist's use 

 not at present advertised. 



FLORISTS' PUBLISHING CO. 

 530-^ Cazton Bldg. Chicago 



mination and then full sun can be given 

 by degrees. The seedlings can be 

 pricked off into other frames and win- 

 tered there, and planted out in nursery 

 rows in the spring, but stronger plants 

 will be had if they are set out in nur- 

 sery rows or beds during cool, moist 

 weather and kept well cultivated. Quite 

 a few will bloom a little the first sea- 

 son; the second year, in well enriched 

 ground, all should easily grow six feet 

 high. Where good varieties are already 

 on hand and it is desired to propagate 

 them, the clumps should be carefully 

 lifted, divided and replanted not later 

 than the middle of October, and a week 

 or two earlier would be better. 

 The Madonna Lily. 

 Associated with the larkspur, and 

 flowering at the same time, is the pure 

 white garden lily, L. candidum, also 



commonly called the Madonna, Ascen- 

 sion, St. Joseph's and the Annuncia- 

 tion lily. This is perhaps the most beau- 

 tiful of all our lilies and one which 

 should have a place in every hardy 

 flower border. Bulbs of these, when 

 they need replanting, should be taken 

 up in July, and the planting of either 

 these or imported ones should not be 

 delayed later than the end of Septem- 

 ber, as they start to make roots and 

 leaves quite early. Lay the bulbs on 

 their sides when planting and they will 

 be found less subject to disease; cover 

 with sand and plant not over four 

 inches deep. 



Two Fine Chinese Lilies. 



Another lily now in flower outdoors 

 is that beautiful new Chinese variety, 

 L. myriophyllum. This is stUl rather 

 expensive, but it is such a good grower, 

 so hardy and so free flowering that it 

 will eventually find a place in every 

 garden. Even tiny bulblets throw flow- 

 ers, and the large white trumpets, suf- 

 fused with pink and shaded with pale 

 yellow, have a delightful odor. Another 

 new Chinese lily, not yet in flower, is 

 L. Sargentii. This is as vigorous a va- 

 riety as L. Henryi, sometimes attainting 

 a height of eight feet. Its immense 

 trumpet-shaped flowers are pure white 

 within; the outside is greenish wliite, 

 shaded deep purple. This is" another lily 

 which has come to stay. The ever re- 

 liable L. Henryi will soon be opening 

 its flowers. If it is plantjfl deep, its 

 vigor is astonishing. It will make im- 

 mense bulbs, which, in turn, will, pro- 

 duce majestic spikes, carrying twenty- 

 five, thirty-five, fifty or sometimes more 

 flowers. The flowers are of the same 

 form as speciosum, and this has caused 

 it to be often dubbed the yellow speci- 

 osum. It is, however, a far more vigor- 

 ous and reliable garden lily than any of 

 the speciosums. 



Campanulas, or Bellflowers. 



The campanulas, or bellflowers, are 

 Still making a goodly show. The beau- 

 tiful Canterbury bells, C. Medium, are 

 passing, which reminds us that it will 

 soon be too late to sow seeds which will 

 produce strong blooming plants next 

 season. But the peach-leaved or persici- 

 folia varieties are still good. Of these 

 C. persicifolia grandiflora and grandi- 

 flora alba, single; persicifolia hermosa, 

 semi-double blue, and persicifolia Moer- 

 heimi, double white, are a fine quar- 

 tette. All are hardy, free flowering, 

 full of grace and splendid for cutting. 

 The clustered bellflower, C. glomerata, 

 is, a useful border and naturalizing 

 •plant. It is just opening its violet blue 

 flowers, which will persist for a couple 

 of months. C. Trachelium, Coventry 

 bells, are now in flower, while on the 

 edges of the border and in the rock gar- 

 den the Carpathian bellflowers, blue and 

 white, make a beautiful green carpet 

 studded with cup-shaped flowers all 

 Summer long. No florist or gardener 

 can afford to make a border without a 

 good sprinkling of campanulas. All arie 

 good growers and of easy propagation. 



Austin, Tex.— The Hyde Park Floral 

 Co., of which Edgar Hall is generstl 

 manager, had a good-looking booth at 

 the Merchants' and Manufacturers' 

 Exposition here. The trimmings, mold- 

 ing and lettering were made of willow 

 split and the roof of post oak poles. 

 The company made a hit by distributing 

 its surplus sweet peas and roses among 

 the visiting ladies. 



