June 18, 1890.] 



Garden and Forest. 



301 



consideration will show that such a practice destroys all hope of 

 satisfactory effects. If the border is well drained and well 

 filled with plants and their roots, any deep disturbance of the 

 ground must work some injury to them. The only possible 

 excuse for disturbance would be that the soil might become 

 sour if not stirred, but it will not grow sour if drained and full 

 of growing roots, as a slight inspection of any bit of wild land 

 will prove. Then this upsetting in the spring disturbs the 

 seeds which naturally fall in the borders, many of which will 

 germinate and prove useful in furnishing new plants for the 

 border or for friends. One is also apt to have some favorite 

 hardy annuals in the border, and one of the pleasures of spring 

 is the annual appearance of these old friends from self-sown 

 seeds, which usually produce strong, healthy plants. Advantage 

 may be taken of the shifting or division of plants to lighten up 

 the soil, and at convenient times cluringsummer manure may 

 be spread on the border if necessary to keep ground in good 

 heart. It is also a good plan when dibbling out seedlings 

 after watering to give them a slight mulch of well rotted 

 manure, which saves much attention, helps to keep them 

 clean and gives them a good start. An excellent position for 

 a hardy border, and one often available in a small garden, is on 

 the north side of a picket fence. In summer this shades the 

 plants slightly, if at all, and during winter and early spring, 

 when sun is low, shades them enough to prevent constant 

 thawing and freezing, which is so fatal to many plants. 



One who devotes himself to hardy perennials is necessarily 

 forehanded, as plants are not to be had fully grown and in flower, 

 and planting must anticipate flowering for some months usu- 

 ally. Where taste differs so much it is hard to advise as to the 

 selection of plants, but probably the satisfactory plan for most 

 novices would be to concentrate their efforts and select the 

 more showy and free-growing plants, not trying for a general 

 assortment, but for a fair number of certain families, so that 

 during the season successive displays could be secured — 

 accentuating the season, as it were — in different parts of the 

 garden. Such selections, to name only common plants of a 

 showy character in about the order of their blooming, would 

 be Primulas, Daffodils, Dutch bulbs (Tulips, etc.), Columbines, 

 Irises, Peonies, Poppies, Pyrethrums, Larkspurs, Hollyhocks, 

 Sunflowers, Perennial Asters and Chrysanthemums. This list 

 is a very short one, yet, if one were so disposed, he could find 

 interesting occupation in collecting plants of only one of the 

 families named. A small garden would scarcely contain 

 specimens of all the various Irises, for example, numbering 

 up to the hundreds, which may be had ; and so with Primulas 

 and others. Collecting, however, is one of the refinements of 

 gardening which may be deferred until experience is gained. 

 For a beginner it might prove more expensive than satisfac- 

 tory. At first, it is well to acquire some knowledge of the 

 various families and buy only plants which are likely to suit 

 one's special taste, bearing in mind always that nurserymen's 

 prices are no indication of the beauty of their flowers, except 

 that for a beginner the cheapest are usually the very best, hav- 

 ing been in cultivation a long while and found worth growing 

 in quantity. One is apt to find, on growing a new plant, that 

 the insect specially fond of it will quickly appear to claim his 

 tribute, so the fancier whose taste is turned toward one family 

 of plants finds that some enterprising florist manages every 

 season to furnish a few new things exactly in that line, and he 

 is assessed for an unending tribute. However, as man is a 

 collecting animal, this is a very pleasant feature of gardening, 

 and with as much of the excitement and as few annoyances as 

 any of the usual fads. Many unkind things are said of the 

 nurserymen, very unjustly, in connection with their offering 

 of new plants, but usually by buyers entirely ignorant of flow- 

 ers. No doubt, there are dishonest dealers who coolly adver- 

 tise plants as belonging to a genus with which they are not 

 even remotely connected, but it is usually the buyer's fault if 

 he is deceived. One soon learns to neglect plants which. will 

 not please one's special taste, and yet almost any plant will 

 prove of interest if it belongs to a family of which a collection 

 is being made. 



The heart of any garden is the seed frame, for from seeds 

 one may raise most plants desired in quantity and it is an un- 

 failing pleasure to watch them in all stages. The frame 

 should occupy a sheltered spot and be covered with glass in 

 winter and " shading " or slats in summer, and attention should 

 be given to watering when necessary. In such a frame seed 

 can be sown at any time it can be secured. Many seeds of 

 hardy plants will germinate at once, some not for months, 

 some only after warmth and some after freezing; so do not be 

 in a hurry to disturb the seed-bed if plants do not soon ap- 

 pear. As to culture, one of the first discoveries the novice 

 makes in a garden is that plants usually grow well — if you let 



them. In good soil none of the popular plants are likely to 

 prove difficult subjects to grow and one soon learns to note 

 quickly any lack of vigor or health by the appearance of the 

 foliage, which some simple remedy will set right. It is proba- 

 bly agreed that gardening is an empirical art and with our 

 present knowledge of plant structure it is almost impossible to 

 say without experiment under what conditions most plants will 

 not live and thrive to a certain extent. Like man, certain of them 

 have an adaptability to changed surroundings, though there 

 seems no general rule for this. The Flag Iris of our swamps is 

 usually found with its feet in water, yet it is an excellent plant 

 for a dry border; remove a Lily pad from its floating home 

 and the first sun shrivels it. Perhaps the best cultural direc- 

 tions can be found in such works as Canon Hole's " Book about 

 Roses," in G. H. Ellwanger's "The Garden's Story," John 

 Burrough's sketches, Alphonsc Karr's *' A Tour Round My 

 Garden," and other books which inspire a love of nature and 

 present pleasing pictures which one would wish to develop in 

 a garden. 



One should try to have his grounds filled with plants, leav- 

 ing them as far as possible to their natural habits, crowded 

 artfully that they do not smother each other, avoiding stiff, 

 formal arrangements and leaving the culture of specimen 

 plants to professionals, for the ultimate pleasure of the work 

 is the cutting and distribution of the flowers and plants. Con- 

 sider no flower too rare for a friend, and always let a liberal 

 supply of stems and foliage accompany the gift — it is better 

 to spoil a plant than a bouquet, in which one's reputation for 

 taste is at stake. 



Every owner of a garden should bear in mind those words 

 from Alphonse Karr, " I do my utmost to spread and render 

 common and vulgar all the plants and trees that I prefer; it is 

 as if I multiplied the pleasure and the charms of beholding 

 them of all who, like me, really love flowers for their splendor, 

 their grace, and their perfume." 



Elizabeth, N.J. J. N. G. 



Orchids in Flower at Wellesley, Massachusetts. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir. — In the large conservatory connected with H. H. Hunne- 

 well's residence at Wellesley, a fine display of Orchids in full 

 bloom has recently been arranged in a very effective way. 

 Just now the Cattleyas form the prominent feature, and many 

 of the plants are remarkable for vigor and abundance of bloom. 

 Among them I lately saw at least twenty-five examples of the 

 beautiful C. gigas, many carrying several spikes each, and the 

 blossoms were noteworthy for their size and coloring. A plant 

 of the true variety, Sanderiana, measured nine and a half 

 inches across, the sepals and petals being broad, the lip 

 intensely rich, and the two eye-like blotches on either side 

 of the brightest golden yellow. Cattleya Mossicc was also 

 well represented ; in some varieties I observed the purple 

 coloring in the lip of the large flowers almost absent, and re- 

 placed by a blotch of rich yellow. C. Mendelii here had pro- 

 duced some fine varieties with round, well-shaped flowers, the 

 broad-fringed lips being invariably very dark. C. Gaskelliana, 

 too, with its showy and fragrant blossoms, was (lowering 

 very abundantly. Among this group of plants were scattered 

 several distinct varieties of Lcrlia purpnrata, all large, well 

 grown plants, and a fine example of the variety Alba carried 

 several large, broad-pctaled blossoms. 



The rare L. grandis, with its buff-yellow sepals and petals 

 and finely marked lip, was represented by a plant carrying three 

 good-sized flowers. These were arranged together with a 

 group of well-Howered Odontoglossum vexillarium. The 

 plants were clean, strong and healthy, and were carrying six 

 to eight flowers on a stem, and showing decided variations in 

 color, from warm purple to a delicate white. A plant of the 

 scarce variety Cobbianum, with (lowers almost white, was 

 very attractive. Some fine examples of the pretty Oncidium 

 Weltonii had strong, well-branched spikes laden with quanti- 

 ties of bright olive-brown and purple flowers. The white and 

 purple flowering Odontoglossum cirrhosum produced a charm- 

 ing effect, arranged with their long stems hanging gracefully 

 among the flowers of the Cattleyas. Many Dendrobiums, too, 

 were flowering freely. At least a dozen plants of D. thyrsi- 

 floruin were carrying three or four spikes each, and one speci- 

 men showed nine well developed clusters of its white and 

 orange flowers. D. Devonianum hung from the roof, with a 

 mass of flowers, on bulbs measuring three feet in length. A 

 plant of Woolley's variety of Sobralia macrantha gave added 

 interest to the group just named, its rich color blending har- 

 moniously with that of the other flowers. Many examples of 

 the beautiful Odontoglossum crispum, 0. Pcsc'atorei and O. 



