r ■ APMt 30, 1008 



I; _ 



The Weekly Florists' Review, 



"i^^T.- 



Campaatda. Medium* 



«f preparing compost and then allowing 

 weeds to largely exhaust it. 



Brief Reminders. 



Oontinue to get the hardier bedding 

 stock into coldframes, but be sure to 

 eover the sashes on frosty nights. 



Carefully watch the crops of ten 

 weeks ' stock, candytuft and feverfew for 

 Memorial day. Air freely, water care- 

 fully and scratch the surface to pre- 

 vent baking. 



Add a little more shading to the glass 

 roofs on palm and tropical houses. 



Pick the seeds from all left-over 

 azaleas as they pass out of flow«r. 



Finish all pruning of outdoor roses 

 without delay and keep the surfa.ee soil 

 stirred among them. 



Start your crop of valley in frames 

 for Memorial day. 



Give the hydrangeas, spiraeas and 

 other Memorial day stock an abundant 

 water supply. 



Prune dead wood from deciduous 

 shrubs before they come into flower. It 

 adds much to their appearance. , 



Loosen the surface soil among tulips, ' 

 narcissi and hyacinths outdoors. 



Plant out Incarvillea Delavayi and 

 montbretias carried over winter in the 

 cellar. 



Continue propagating Lorraine be- 

 gonias from bottom cuttings. These will 

 still make good plants. 



PLUMOSUS WlTH OTHER CROPS. 



Please tell us what would be the best 

 crop for cut flowers to grow in a house 

 in connection with Asparagus plumosus. 

 I should prefer to grow carnations, if 

 possible. How much space should be 

 given between plumosus plants growing 

 in a solid bed in the center of the house, 

 the flowering stock to be grown on side 

 benches t J.A.C. 



Calla lilies would make the best crop 

 to grow in a house in connection with 

 Asparagus plumosus. The shade on the 

 north bench, also the high temperature at 

 which plumosus is grown, would be detri- 

 mental to the carnations. Fifteen inches 

 18 about the right distance between plu- 

 mosus plants. Albert F. Amlinq. 



CAMPANULAS. 



This is not the first time that the Be- 

 viEW has given space for commendatory 

 remarks on campanulas. I believe, how- 

 ever, that the distinct ornamental quali- 

 ties as garden plants and the high value 

 as cut flowers of quite a number of va- 

 rieties justify my present attempt to 

 advocate their claim for wide recogni- 

 tion. Campanulas have so far found a 

 permanent place and due cultural atten- 

 tion chiefly within New England gardens. 

 Nowhere e'lse have I seen them employed 

 in such quantities and grown to such 

 perfection as in our northeastern states. 

 My impression is that few perennial bor- 

 ders or herbaceous flower gardens are 

 complete without some of the best va- 

 rieties of campanula being part of the 

 composition. 



Especially among the peach-leaved spe- 

 cies there are striking forms and colors 

 which deserve a careful trial by every 

 garden owner and plant lover. Wherever 

 Campanwla persicifolia grandiflora is 

 showm to perfection it finds ardent ad- 



mirers. So, also, does the white variety 

 — grandiflora alba. Perfectly hardy, 

 they begin to bloom in June and last well 

 into August, bearing an abundance of 

 clear blue or white, bell-shaped flowers, 

 on long, erect stems. Their good keep- 

 ing qualities make tuem an excellent 

 material for flUing vases. 



The same may be said of C. persici- 

 folia Moerheimi, a more recent introduc- 

 tion, of free blooming habit and double 

 bells, of a wonderfully clear, glossy 

 white. It has proven a ready seller, 

 both for cut flowers and plants. 



The hardy biennials, C. Medium and 

 C. calycanthema, are great favorites 

 with" the throngs of northern summer 

 residents and, among other localities, 

 have their innings in Bar Harbor gar- 

 dens, where the breaking of their count- 

 less buds is a distinct feature of the 

 floral displi^ of the season.- No mat- 

 ter if white/>ink, pale lavender or deep 

 violet, everyone loves Canterbury bells 

 and their pure and bright hues. In fact, 

 it seems hard to decide whether their 

 rich blossoms are more ornamental on 

 the garden border, or in the floral ar- 

 rangement of vases for indoor decora- 

 tion. Strong, bushy plants, of both the 

 single and the cup and saucer forms of 

 Canterbury bells, when lifted and potted 

 late in the fall, may be overwintered in 

 a cool, airy place and forced the fol- 

 lowing spring. The same is often done 

 with the tall growing variety, C. pyram- 

 idalis. Well flowered, they find easy 

 sale and are otherwise valuable for the 

 decoration of a conservatory. 



The wealth of flowers of the low grow- 

 ing blue and white C. Carpatica is most 

 effective in the rock garden. They are 

 equally adapted for bordering purposes 

 in both formal and informal arrange- 

 ments. The charm of the many little 

 bells on a sunny day, swaying lightly in 

 the summer breeze, makes one feel as if 

 he could not afford to be without them. 

 C. fragilis and C. Mayi are of try- 

 ing habit.. Half hardy,^they produce a 

 mass of blue flowers practically through 

 the whole season. They are much used 

 for the planting of vases and piazza 

 boxes in England and continental Europe 

 and deserve more attention in American 

 gardens. 

 Concluding my notes, I cannot refrain 



Campanula Carpatica. 



