10 



The Florists^ Review 



July 10, 1913. 



slaked lime, we get an ideal combina- 

 tion of fertilizers. Instead of the 

 shredded cattle manure on the bottom 

 of the bench, use long stable litter. You 

 can safely put on an inch of this, and 

 with excellent results. If you use 

 shredded cattle manure at all, use it as 

 a top-dressing when the plants need 

 feeding. 



For making liquid manure you can 



use the shredded cattle manure or sheep 

 manure, but why use liquid manure at 

 all? The dry manure is much more eas- 

 ily and quickly applied and the results 

 are fully as good, if not better. We 

 have not used liquid fertilizers for 

 years. Some of the chemicals, such as 

 nitrate of soda, etc., must of course be 

 applied in liquid form, if they are used 

 at all. A. F. J. B. 



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Notes of the 



^ 



Hardy Garden 



THE HAEDY PERENNIAL GARDEN. 



Pentstemons and ' Phloxes. 



The pentstemons are not sufficiently 

 appreciated as border plants. Several 

 varieties are now in bloom and all , are 

 quite persistent bloomers. P. digitalis, 

 pure white, with the throat shaded vio- 

 let, is now at its best; so is P. pubes- 

 cens, of a more somber, rosy purple hue. 

 P cseruleus, of a pleasing dark blue 

 color, is one of the best now in season. 

 The well-known beard tongue, P. atro- 

 purpureus, with its white-throated red 

 flowers, is a graceful grower, and the 

 charming P. barbatus Torreyi, brilliant 

 scarlet, should be included in every up- 

 to-date collection. 



The first of the suffruticosa phloxes, 

 Miss Lingard, opened a week or two 

 ago. Its shiny green foliage and its 

 compact spike of flowers, pure white, 

 with a delicate pink eye, make it one of 

 the finest phloxes in cultivation. The 

 decussata section of phloxes have buds 

 well advanced and by the middle of 

 July many will be open. In periods of 

 severe drought phloxes sometimes suf- 

 fer, especially if planted in light soil. 

 In deep, well enriched land they with- 

 stand a lot of drought. It will pay to 

 water them artificially rather than see 

 them wilting and losing foliage. Taken 

 all in all, the phlox family is the most 

 generally useful of all the hardy peren- 

 nial flowers. 



Clematis and Columbines. 



Clematis recta, pure white, forming a 

 dense bush and now passing, is one of the 

 finest white perennials for cutting and 

 every florist should grow it. There is a 

 double form that is even more beautiful 

 than the single. C. Davidiana, pale blue, 

 is now opening. Unlike C. recta, this 

 variety rather likes some shade. The 

 aquilegias are now almost over, but that 

 most reliable of all the long-spurred 

 varieties, A. chrysantha, is still produc- 

 ing some of its golden yellow flowers. 



The hardy garden pinks, forms of 

 Dianthus plumarius, are delightful, old- 

 fashioned, sweet-scented border plants, 

 bringing to many of us happy recollec- 

 tions of our earlier days in other lands, 

 where they grew with greater abandon 

 than here. Jhere are some fine named 

 varieties of these hardy garden pinks 

 and none of the old-fashioned borders 

 are complete without them. All are 

 propagated easily by division of the 

 roots. 



Late-Flowering Spiraeas. 



Some of the spiraeas are still in full 

 bloom. These all like a deep soil and, 

 "unless fai^^ly moist, they will soon pass. 

 S. Aruncus, the various forms of S. 

 Japonica, S. Queen Alexandra, S. lobata, 

 and one or two others are now in flower, 

 as are some of Haerens' new hybrids, 

 which make beautiful border plants. 



A few of the many other perennials 

 still in fine flower are: Salvia pratensis, 

 rich blue; Allium roseum, of a pleasing 

 rose color; Polemonium Bichardsonii, 

 sky blue; Lychnis Chalcedonica, scar- 

 let; L. Haageana, in various colors; L. 

 Viscaria splendens, double rosy red, and 

 L. vespertina fl. pi., double white. These 

 are all quite persistent bloomers, espe- 

 cially the last named. Malva moschata 

 alba, pure white, makes a neat plant, as 

 does Heuchera sanguinea, with its nu- 

 merous graceful spikes of red flowers. 

 Among the hemerocallis, or day lilies, 

 H. aurantiaca major, deep orange; H. 

 disticha fl. pi., double orange; H. ruti- 

 lans, golden yellow, and one or two of 



the newer hybrids are flowering. The 

 useful H. Thunbergii, golden yellow, is 

 just opening. 



Asters, Foxgloves and Others. 



Scabiosa Caucasica, lavender blue, is 

 a fine perennial. So is the graceful Gil- 

 lenia stipulacea. Some of the earlier 

 asters, like Himalaicus and speciosus, 

 forms of alpinus, have been in flower 

 for some time. The bulk of these come 

 later in the season, however. Erigeron 

 Coulteri, lavender, is one of the best of 

 its family, and Stokesia cyanea, with 

 its large sky-blue flowers, will bloom 

 until fall. The digitalis, or foxgloves, 

 which have been making a stately show, 

 are now passing, except in the cooler, 

 shadier woodlands. Now is the time to 

 sow seeds of these to bloom in 1914. 

 Digitalis ambigua is a useful variety in 

 early July. Centaurea dealbata, bright 

 rdse, and the several forms of C. mon- 

 tana now blooming are all useful border 

 plants. Incarvillea Delavayi, where 

 well watered, still flowers well. To 

 winter this successfully, give it well 

 drained soil, but water freely while 

 growing, in order to secure strong spikes 

 of its rich, rosy flowers, which are not 

 unlike large gloxinias. 



Anchusa Itali6a Dropmore and Per- 

 ry's variety, of a glorious gentian blue, 

 will each flower for some time longer. 

 Baptisia australis and Thermopsis Car- 

 oliniana are just passing. Some of the 

 forms of Chrysanthemum maximum, of 

 the Shasta daisy type, are opening. So 

 are some of the heliopsis. One or two 

 of the heleniums are in good flower. 

 Among cenotheras, fruticosa major and 

 Youngii are each flowering. Valeriana 

 officinalis, some of the kniphofias, or 

 tritomas, the persistent flowering Viola 

 cornuta. Yucca filamentosa, and quite a 

 few other perennials add to the glory of 

 the early July borders. I have omitted 

 hollyhocks, which, in themselves, will 

 soon make a regal display. Now also is 

 the time to sow these for the coming 

 year. 



THE LILIES' LAMENT. 



The German Society of Lily of the 

 Valley Growers and Exporters has pub- 

 lished an illustrated poster which con- 

 tains, in addition to some nice pictures 

 of lily of the valley, the following 

 notes supposed to be addressed by the 

 lilies to all who handle and deal in 

 them: 



1. Never let my pips be uncovered 

 or exposed to sunshine and wind. 



2. Cover me with earth or other 

 shading materials, and let me have al- 

 ways the necessary moisture. 



3. Cover me in winter time with 

 short manure. 



4. Do not hurt me, when separating 

 my principal roots or in sorting, and 

 you must never break off my flank pips 

 but cut them. 



5. Let me never be suffocated 

 among weeds when growing; I want 

 light and sunshine. 



6. Protect me against frost during 

 transport. 



7. Let me have sufficient moisture 

 when you preserve me in cold storage 

 boxes or barrels. 



8. Always use fresh grown moss for 

 packing, and" spread coarse sand be- 

 tween my roots. 



9. Always use boxes instead of bas- 

 kets for packing, and take care that 

 my flank pips are not pressed against 

 the sides. 



10. Never call me first quality wh'^n 

 I am only second, or third; when I sm 

 an "early-flowering" I do not belong 

 to the first quality. 



11. Inform every buyer whether I 

 am an early or late flowering variety, 

 and if I am grown on humus, sand or 

 loam (clay) soil. 



12. Do not sell me too cheap, or else 

 it will not pay you to grow me. 



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