452 



Garden and Forest. 



[Sei'Tember i8, 1889. 



Will Tliretfall are good, but we want more pure yellows, both 

 of deeper and paler shades. We have a host of what are called 

 yellow-ground sorts — that is, those in which the body-color is 

 yellow, striped or edged with red or some other tint — but these 

 are not nearly as popular as the pure colors. Among the 

 finest whites is Gloire de Nancy, a clove-scented sort that is now 

 as common almost as the old Crimson Clove and the Blush 

 Clove. Probably the greatest hit that has been made of recent 

 years in ]ioint of color was that by the raiser of the Mrs. Rey- 

 nolds Hole variety, its color being distinct from any other. It 

 is popularly described as terra cofta, but its more definite de- 

 scription would be apricot red. It is among Carnations what 

 W. A. Richardson is among Roses — a color admired by every 

 one. 



Since the above was written I have found at the Messrs. 

 Veitch's nurseries some fine novelties. One of the most dis- 

 tinct new whites is Elaine, whose purity of bloom and vigor of 

 growth is admirable. A very fine scarlet is Defiance, though 

 it is not such an acquisition as a new white or yellow would 

 be, since there are some splendid old sorts of a similar color. 

 A very rich crimson sort, named William Toby, is likely to 

 prove an extremely fine hardy border plant, being free in 

 bloom and strong in growth, while a splendid purple is Pin-ple 

 King. 



The Clove Carnations are the best of all town-garden sorts, 

 and the gardens of the Thames Embankment have been en- 

 riched this season by glorious masses of the old Crimson 

 Clove, the White Clove, and Blush Clove, the latter being the 

 most remarkable because less common. There is much dis- 

 cussion about the new Crimson Clove, named Paid Engle- 

 heart, on account of its sturdiness of growth and dwarfness, 

 which does away with the necessity of staking, which is one 

 of the objections to border carnations. If we can get a race 

 of dwarf Carnations of various colors that would hold up their 

 flower-stems without stakes, it would indeed be a boon. I first 

 saw Paul Engleheart some three or four years ago, and since 

 then I find it has become widely distributed, even reaching 

 American gardens. I was pleased to see Mr. Gerard's favor- 

 able mention of it in Garden and Forest (p. 332), and I hope 

 it may lead to a wider knowledge of the plant. Other sorts of 

 similarly dwarf growth would be welcome. Mr. Robinson, 

 the editor of The Garden, is devoted to the Border Carnation, 

 and at his garden in Sussex he grows every sort worth know- 

 ing. He otters prizes for the finest novelties so as to encour- 

 age raisers, and he receives, throughout the Carnation" season, 

 an enormous lot of Ijlooms from all directions, but he can 

 rarely find a dwarf habited sort like Paul Engleheart. ,,, ^ 

 Ke«- W. G. 



Notes on Wild Flowers. 



'X'HE Swamp Rose Mallow {Hibiscus moscheiitos), still in 

 ■*■ bloom, is well worthy of cultivation, and in rich soil will 

 grow to a height of over five feet. The plant somewhat 

 resembles the Single Hollyhock, both in the measure of its 

 growth and the shape and appearance of its fiowers. We 

 have heard it called the " Wild Hollyhock," which, we think, is 

 a good name for it. The fiower is rose-colored at first, chang- 

 ing to a paler hue, and nearly six inches wide. The leaves are 

 two or three inches broad, nearly round, numerous, and form 

 a pretty contrast with the large showy flowers. 



The Button Snake-roots or Blazing Stars (Liatris) are, several 

 of them, in flower, and their long showy spikes of purplish 

 flowers are very pretty. L. spicata is the finest species we 

 have seen. This plant grows about four feet high in cultiva- 

 tion, and the long, loose spikes of lightish purple flowers 

 frequently form more than half the length of the plant. L. 

 scariosa is somewhat similar in its appearance, but does not 

 generally attain over three feet in height under cultivation. 

 Another small species, about fifteen inches high, is L. cylin- 

 dracea. All seem to be easy of culture. They like open sun- 

 light and a light loamy soil. Lobelia cardinalis (Cardinal 

 Flower) is one of our finest plants for cultivation. Few species 

 equal it in richness of color. In cultivation the flowering 

 spike is frequently over a foot long, and thickly set with its 

 flowers. The plant is usually nearly two feet high, as seen 

 growing naturally along our brook sides, but fully a third taller 

 under cultivation. Lobelia syphilitica (Great Lobelia), also in 

 flower, is two to three feet high, with light blue flowers in loose 

 spikes about a foot long. The leaves are about four inches long 

 by half an inch or more wide, and are quite numerous along the 

 stem below the flowering spike. The plant seems to do well 

 in either shade or sun. 



The Whorled W\\]<iVfeefJL{Asclepias veriicillata) is nearly past 

 flower. Under cultivation it grows about eighteen inches high, 



bearing in numerous small umbels its purple and white 

 flowers. The mmierous leaves are long and narrow, tapering 

 to a pointed end. The seed pods are erect, nearly six inches 

 long. The plant is quite pretty and easy to grow. 



Cassia Chaiiicecrista (Partridge Pea) is an annual which, in 

 rich soil, often grows two feet high. The plant is spreading in 

 its habit, branching from the bottom, and bearing in great 

 abundance its bright yellow flowers, which are about an inch 

 wide. But the beautiful foliage of the plant, which is very 

 delicate, is quite as much of an attraction as the flowers. The 

 leaflets, a dozen pairs or so, have an odd haliit of folding them- 

 selves up at night, and then opening out again in the morning 

 at sunrise. It is easily grown from seed, and is a \'auable 

 plant. 



Another beautiful annual is X\\li(Z'^X\io\'\\^■3.Vo\)\>'j {Es chscholtzia 

 Calif ornica). The decumbent stems are about eighteen inches 

 long. The foliage is a light green, delicate, and very beautiful. 

 The flowers, which are borne in great abundance, are nearly 

 two inches wide, bright yellow, Avith a reddish centre, some- 

 what resembling those of a yellow Calochortus. Few annuals 

 of our choicest collections can be compared with this for 

 beauty when grown on a rich and moist sandy loam. 



Many of the Wild Asters or Starworts are now in flower, and 

 they give us much more variety of color, though scarcely 

 more numerous in kinds, than the Goldenrods. One of the 

 finest is the Aster Icevis, which generally grows from one and 

 a half to three feet high, bearing a loose head of beautiful sky- 

 blue flowers, which are three-quarters of an inch, or more, 

 wide. It grows on sandy soil, and takes readily to cultivation. 

 A. NovcE-AnglicE is a stout species, often seven feet high, very 

 leafy throughout, and bearing a large corymb of violet-purple 

 flowers about an inch wide. The plant is a very showy one 

 when at its best. A. ericoides, fully a week later in flowering, 

 has firm, light green foliage, and a profusion of pretty white 

 flowers half an inch wide. This species grows about two feet 

 high, and, planted in beds, forms a solid mass of fine foliage 

 and flowers qinte attractive. 



The earliest Aster in this section is the large-leaved species 

 A. macrophyllos. The curious root-leaves of this plant are 

 very conspicuous, often nearly a foot long by half as wide. One 

 point in which this species seems to differs from most others is 

 that only a small portion of the plants flower. We often find 

 large beds of apparently strong plants, and perhaps not more 

 than half a dozen will be flowering. When in flower the plant 

 is usually about two feet high, and bears a corymb of white, 

 or bluish-white flowers. It is a desirable species, both for its 

 foliage and flowers. A. cordifoliiis is another fine species, 

 quite variable in size and the color of its flowers. Its pretfiest 

 forms are very beautiful, and under cultivation it attains a 

 height of three feet or more. A. tmdiilatus grows on dryer 

 soil than most species and shoidd be a valuable plant for dry 

 situations. It has pretty light blue flowers, and attains a height 

 of about two and a half feet. 

 Charlotte, Vt. E H. Horsford. 



Autumn ^Vork in the Flower Garden.— When any alterations 

 in the flower-garden are contemplated, many of these can al- 

 M'ays be made in autumn, and whatever is done in the way of 

 shifting plants should not be delayed too long. The fall is 

 the only proper time to move such early flowering plants as 

 German Iris, Pajonies, Phloxes of the Subulata section. Nar- 

 cissus, Camassias and all others that bloom in the early sum- 

 mer months. Plants lifted carefully at least six weeks before 

 the advent of frost have ample time to make enough young 

 roots to carry them through the winter, as the soil is still quite 

 warm, and wherever it is sufficiently moist, action is by no 

 means suspended. Lilies may now be transplanted as soon as 

 the foliage and stems show signs of ripening, as this is the 

 only time when they take a rest, and but a short one at that. A 

 little later, roots will be starting from the base of the bulbs to 

 carry them through the winter and until such time in the spring 

 as the shoots are far enough advanced to supply their own feed- 

 ers. Many failures result from planting Lilies in fall, because 

 the bulbs have no chance to establish themselves before 

 all growth is arrested by frost, and they are in a poor condition to 

 meet the demand upon them in spring, when the young shoots 

 should be produced. It is often the case that bulbs remain 

 dormant a whole year from this cause. Any one who has 

 grown Lilies is always in a position to report failures with 

 some one or other of his pets, and this is not to be wondered 

 at when it is considered that bulbs are received from their 

 homes in all parts of the world and all are expected to thrive 

 satisfactorily in the same spot and under the same treatment. 

 Here in the East the Japanese Lilies grow without any trouble, 

 but there are many of the California kinds that require 



