May 23, 1907. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Bedding in Front of the Establishment of A. S. Halstead, at Belleville, III. 



amateur arranges his plants as if they 

 had dropped from the clouds. There 

 seems to be an abandonment about the 

 arrangenSent that is refreshing. 



Let us turn and see what is being 

 done in our own ranks and let us discuss 

 some of the bedding that is to be seen 

 in and around Boston, Of course, where 

 there is so much money spent, and bed- 

 ding done on such a large scale, we look 

 to our city gardens for enlightenment. 

 "We look for effects that come as near 

 to nature as one can come along bed- 

 ding lines. We do not see enough 

 grouping of plants of one variety. We 

 see a good deal of grouping of plants 

 that are at variance with each other. 

 Ficus elastica, Celosia cristata, crotons, 

 Euonymus radicans and echeverias in 

 one group is certainly mixing things and 

 is certainly a poor example, at least for 

 -educational purposes. 



We believe that plants of one variety 

 in a group will give a more pleasing ef- 

 fect than a mixture of plants that seem 

 to be antagonistic, one to the other. 



Geraniums. - 



We believe there are more geraniums 

 grown for bedding than any other vari- 

 ety of bedding plants and that they 

 are the most diflScult to arrange. It is 

 easy for the colors to clash and to place 

 the bed in the poorest situation one can 

 find. The semi-doubles are our favorites. 

 As far as possible we use one variety 

 on an avenue. Never mix tlie scarlet 

 and pink. If you have to mix your va- 

 rieties, use for a dark mixture, S. A. 

 Nutt, Alphonse Ricard and Bishop Wood. 

 For a light mixture use Poitevine, Mme. 

 Thibaut and a good white variety. We 

 never use the variegated varieties for 

 edging; in fact, we do not grow them. 



Cannas. 



The canna is the greatest acquisition 

 for this class of work that has been sent 

 out for many a year. They have a trop- 

 ical appearance and are worth growing 

 for the foliage, alone, but some of the 

 varieties have striking flowers. A group 

 of Admiral Dewey makes a handsome 

 bed. A group of Alphonse Bouvier 



planted six feet apart, some of the 

 plants being set to the outer edge of 

 the bed, and filled in with Vernon be- 

 gonias is superb. 



This leads us up to tropical effects, 

 the grandest of all our. work, when one 

 knows how to arrange such groups. Musa 

 Ensete makes , an imposing subject for 

 tropical beds. We do not use any plants 

 Avith variegated foliage, but depend upon 

 varied shaped leaves for effect. Better 

 have one good sized group than several 

 small beds scattered around the place. 

 Plant large Musa Ensete widely apart 

 throughout the bed i» an irregular 

 form, some of them coming to the outer 

 edge of the bed. These musas are ten 

 feet to twenty feet in height. Plant 

 some good canna around the largest 

 musas, Cyperus alternifolia artmnd oth- 

 ers; Alocasia arborea, with its large 

 leaves; Draca'na indiA-isa, good sized 

 plants; Pennisetum Rupelliana, with its 

 waving plumes and grassy foliage; Ara- 

 lia Sieboldii, Carex Japonica, a dwarf 

 grass. Curculigo recurvata is an inter- 

 esting plant for this work, planted to- 

 ward the outside of the group so that 

 its foliage will be above its dwarf neigh- 

 bors. When the air is still and all 

 around is quiet this plant will move just 

 like the pendulum of a clock. It will 

 suggest that the place is a well regu- 

 lated one and always on the move. 



G-otons. 



Crotoiyi as bedders in the vicinity of 

 ■« Boston do not color up, but I believe 

 this is in their favor. We do not be- 

 lieve the bright coloring of the croton 

 suggests healthfulness, but instead, we 

 are impressed with the fact that nature 

 is having a hard struggle with this child 

 of hers and, in spite of the old dame, the 

 child develops red blotches and yellow 

 streaks. Our Boston crotons outside are 

 demure looking and dignified specimens, 

 refusing to put on a gaudy attire, which 

 is certainly to their credit. We would 

 not advise going into this class of bed- 

 ding too extensively. We do not a^v 

 prove of planting so closely together 

 that the individual is merged into the 



whole. Give a little rooni to show forth 

 the habit of the plant. At the same 

 time, this adds grace to the arrangement. 

 Use the old Peristrophe angustifolia for 

 dovering the ground, and the bed is fin- 

 ished. 



Begonias. 



Begonias are becoming popular as 

 bedders and are being used in great 

 quantities. The leader, in our esti- 

 mation, is Vesuvius, having a fuchsia- 

 like habit. The flowers make quite a 

 display. Altogether this is a charming 

 plant for outside work and cannot be 

 recotnmended too highly. Our Mr. San- 

 der 's variety of Erf ordii is a splendid 

 begonia, flowers of a light pink, and en- 

 joys the sunshine. The red Erfordii 

 gives great promise. Its foliage takes 

 on a beautiful bronze after being plant- 

 ed out, and the red flowers make a 

 beautiful combination. We predict a 

 great future for the begonia as a bed- 

 der. 



Carpet Bedding. 



Carpet bedding is not so popular as 

 of yore, but there is a great deal of it 

 done ami there is more of it overdone. 

 Many gardeners make poor work of their 

 design work. It is a great relief to one, 

 when he knows he has not to erect a 

 white elephant or a gate far enough 

 ajar to allow the elephant to pass 

 through. We believe those who do this 

 kind of work are working along lines 

 that are more artistic and sublime, 

 rather than the monstrous and profane. 

 But we believe there is still some of it 

 done that is apt to cause one to ex- 

 press his opinions in language bordering 

 on the profane, even in this enlightened 

 age. 



How ridiculous to make these serpen- 

 tine lines in the grass, Copley square 

 being a horrible example a few years 

 ago. Rather have a large bed, with the 

 design worked out with the plants, but 

 after all your time and energy Is spent, 

 how artificial it air> is and how little en- 

 joyment you get out of all the patience 

 and thought that one must put into such 

 work. T must say it takes painstaking 



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