OdOUB 16, 1914. 



The Florists' Rtvkw 



16 



Carpet Beds at the Entrance to Phipps Conservatory, Schenley Park, Pittsburgh, Pa. 



W'tien should I plant it tti have it in 

 bloom for May 30, 1915, and what tem- 

 perature should be keptt J. G. 



There is no advantage in potting 

 Spiraea Gladstone so early. Wait until 

 the clumps have had a good freezing. 

 It is useless to try to force it until this 

 ha» been done. If you have no higher 

 temperature than 48 to 50 degrees at 

 night at command, it will not pay to 

 attempt any early forcing of this plant. 

 In a minimum of 60 degrees it needs 

 nine or ten weeks to flower it for 

 Easter. For Memorial day eight weeks 

 will suffice, as the plants will naturally 

 he starting about the end of March if 

 under glass of any kind. A tempera- 

 ture of 50 to 55 degrees at night will 

 bring it on for Memorial day. C. W. 



OLIMPSES or SCHENLEY FABK. 



There are few kinds of evidence 

 that are more convincing than a good 

 photograph. Figures may not prove any- 

 thing, for they often lie outrageously, 

 in spite of the old adage to the con- 

 trary and in spite of the fact that 

 • olumns of figures look so solemnly 

 honest and innocent. But, though pho- 

 tographs, too, may sometimes be decep- 

 tive — in the "movies," in business and 

 elsewhere — yet the camera is usually 

 the most trustworthy of witnesses. 

 I'ake notice, then, of the testimony that 

 the camera bears, in the two accom- 

 panying pictures, to the excellence of 

 the work done at Schenley park, the 

 'amous Pittsburgh public resort. Take 

 notice of the delicate exactness and the 

 ^'eneral gracefulness of the planting, 

 '^°a say whether you can beat it. 



l^he park, with its celebrated Phipps 

 ^conservatory, is under the supervision 

 of George W. Burke, superintendent of 

 fhe bureau of parks, and J. W. Jones, 

 •oreman of the Conservatories. Mr. 

 «urke has held his present position for 

 eleven years. The Phipps Conservatory 

 was opened to the public twenty-one 

 years ago last September, and Mr. 

 •'oneg has been connected with the in- 



tt 1?° ^^^ °^^^ twenty years. 



ooth of the illustrations are views 



of the grounds in front of the con- 

 servatory. In one of the pictures a 

 part of the Carnegie Institute of Tech- 

 nology is shown in the background. 

 In this case it was necessary to take 

 the photograph from the roof of the 

 conservatory, owing to a tree that ob- 

 structed the view. Mr. Jones states 

 that the two carpet beds in the fore- 

 ground contain a total of 32,000 plants, 

 comprising 25,000 al tern anther as in va- 

 riety, 5,000 echeverias in variety, 500 

 Kleinia speciosa, 500 yellow cotyledons 

 and 1,000 Geranium Mrs. Lawrence. 

 The plants in the six corners of the 

 beds, he says, are Euphorbia Havanen- 

 sis. 



One of these two carpet beds is more 

 clearly shewn in the foreground- of the 

 other picture, with which Mr. Jones has 



supplied the following description: 

 "The length of the bed from point to 

 point is forty-four feet; its greatest 

 width is nineteen feet six inches. It is 

 planted with Alternanthera parony- 

 chioides, A. brilliantissima, A. aurea, A. 

 amabilis, A. amoena, A. versicolor and 

 Kleinia speciosa, with Geranium Mrs. 

 Lawrence at the back. It is bordered 

 with echeverias. The scroll work and 

 center of the bed are raised. The method 

 of doing so is to use ordinary loam, sifted 

 so as not to have any lumps or stones 

 in it. This is made into a thick paste, 

 or perhaps it has more of the consist- 

 ency of dough. It is laid on the ground, 

 molded into the desired shape and 

 planted while soft. If left to dry out 

 it would be too hard to plant and would 

 crack." 





Carpet Bed tn Front o! Phipps Conservatory, Schenley Park, Pfttsburgh, Pa. 



