July 14, 1897.] 



Garden and Forest. 



277 



about two years since, some very large clumps were lifted, 

 rearranged and replanted in full leaf in early autumn. Well 

 planted, thoroughly soaked with water at the root, it was 

 evident what the result would be the year after. Many of these 

 plants, in fact, carried large, handsome blossoms, while 

 to-day they are perfect examples and loaded with vigorous 

 growths and flower-buds. 



Next in importance to planting is the soil, which cannot be 

 either too deep or too rich for these gross-feeding and vigorous 

 perennials. Select a spot away from the roots of large trees 

 and dig the soil as deeply as circumstances will permit, two 

 feet, or three feet if possible. Work in quantities of well-rotted 

 manure and bone-meal, old mortar rubbish and the like, also 

 leaf-soil where this is plentiful and the natural soil very stiff or 

 water-holding. So far as the soil is concerned, Paeonies will 

 thrive in almost any that is deep and well enriched, but there 

 must be no stint of manure, especially where hot sand or grav- 

 elly soils abound. In these latter it will be found a good plan 

 to slightly sink the surface of the bed below the ordinary level, 

 so that manure-water may be given freely at any time when 

 needed. 



Notes from Baden-Baden. 



A LTHOUGH I regard Mr. W. Watson as a cultivator of 

 -**- highest rank, yet my experience with Richardias con- 

 strains me to differ widely from his views. I treat these plants 

 much like Kniphofias or Gladioli ; late in autumn, when the 

 foliage withers, the corms are taken up, left to dry in the 

 greenhouse, and afterward they are stored away in dry soil in 

 a cool room until spring, when at the end of March they can ' 

 again be planted in an outside border. A still better, but less 

 convenient plan is to leave the corms outside, to cover them 

 with some five inches of dry leaves and put on a sash or boards 

 to keepoff the wet. My plants are sturdy, clean, superabound- 

 ing in health and very free-flowering ; they are now in flower 

 and continue to bloom until the end of August. Richardia 

 Nelsoni has slightly mottled, large, heart-shaped leaves and 

 flowers of a very attractive creamy white, with a shade of sul- 

 phur and a large violet-black blotch. It is a striking plant and 

 sure to find admirers. R. Adlami is another still more 

 remarkable new species. It differs from the former by its 

 glaucous green and more sagittate leaves, which have no 

 spots, and by its somewhat larger flowers in which the violet- 

 black blotch is larger, extending often to two-thirds of the 

 spadix. 



A lovely plant is Dierama (Sparaxis) pulcherrima alba, with 

 white bell-shaped flowers hanging and swinging on minute 

 threads. This plant must either be kept in a pot or must have 

 the protection of a frame. The Caucasian alpine, Campanula 

 mirabilis, is now covered with hundreds of its beautiful bright 

 blue flowers, forming a low pyramid, which attracts the notice 

 of every one who passes it. 



Baden-Baden. Max Leicllthll. 



Garden Notes. 



IN Mr. Gerard's interesting notes on June Irises I do not find 

 I. Tingitana mentioned, to my mind one of the most beau- 

 tiful Irises of the bulbous section. It grows about two feet 

 high and bears a flower as large as that of the English Iris, so 

 called, but shaped more like that of the Spanish varieties. Its 

 colors are blue of two shades, white and yellow. I cannot 

 speak as to its hardiness since I have always protected it with 

 hay during winter. 



I have spoken of Ixias before. Mine have just passed out 

 of flower and have been so exceedingly beautiful that I feel it 

 almost a duty to say again if they can have a covering about 

 three inches thick until the first of April they will go through 

 the winter perfectly well and be vastly more satisfactory than 

 if grown under glass. There are only two or three points to 

 be observed: Plant three inches deep, waiting until the end of 

 November, so that there shall be no danger of premature 

 growth ; cover with three inches of Pine or other leaves or 

 hay, removing the same about the first of April, so that the 

 shoots shall come strong, and take up the bulbs about the end 

 of July. I have now in flower two varieties of what Dammann 

 & Co. call their Victorialis strain of Gladiolus. They are almost 

 the same as G. Byzantinas, but not quite as good. They are 

 said to have the blood of some of the African species, but I 

 see no evidence of it. 



Asphodelus ramosus seems to be desirable when grown to a 

 good size. A plant of it this year reached a height of nearly 

 six feet, branching freely, and was covered with its fine white 

 blossoms almost two inches across, with a thin red line down 



the centre of each division. It really seems to me as tine as 

 Eremurus robustus and much more easily managed. 



The best things under glass at present are Gloriosas and 

 Gloxinias. The shining, tendril-tipped leaves and the curious 

 spidery flowers of the former are specially attractive. I once 

 succeeded well in growing Gloriosas out-of-doors. They 

 climbed on pea-brush to the height of four feet and made 

 quite an unusual effect. I never could get them to do it again 

 and have not tried of late. The nearly allied Littonia modesta 

 is much hardier, and I no longer give it room in the house, 

 but treat it exactly as I do Gladioli. Planted in the open ground 

 it has no tendency to climb. As for Gloxinias, I cannot think 

 it well to dispense with naming varieties. It is true that the 

 average seedlings of the present day are much superior to 

 those of twenty years ago, but it is also true that many varieties 

 then existing were superior in substance and coloring to those 

 which are shown now. As soon as we cease to preserve the 

 best kinds (and naming them helps in this matter) we shall 

 cease to improve the quality of the flowers. 



I have used a label of my own invention for several years 

 which I can recommend as satisfactory in general practice. 

 No one kind is best for all purposes, but where permanence is 

 desired I write the name with India ink or a soft lead pencil on 

 a bit of paper, inclose in a small bottle and cork it. The bottle may 

 be fastened to a tree with a copper wire, or when used for Dahlias 

 or Gladioli it can be fastened to a stake of wood or wire. I 

 have used these bottle labels for four years, and not one has 

 been broken, and some have been used for Ixias and 

 have lain out on the ground, winter and summer, since 1893 

 without breakage or loss. I use a kind called half-ounce 

 Boston round. A gross cost me $1.50, and corks for them ten 

 cents more. I think they would give satisfaction for many 

 purposes. „,,.,.,. 



Canton, Mass. W. E. EndlCOtt. 



Opuntias and Pedums. — The value of hardy Opuntias and 

 Sedums as garden plants ought to be more generally appre- 

 ciated. In the heat of summer they bloom finely, and that, 

 too, in situations so hot and dry that few other plants can live 

 there, much less thrive and flower freely. Instead of wilting 

 in the sun, the flowers seem to rejoice in the heat, so that it is 

 a pleasure to look at them. Just now, July 2d, the following 

 are in full display here: O. vulgaris, O. Rafinesqui and O. 

 oplocarpa. These are quite distinct sorts. The first has thick, 

 fleshy joints, with comparatively small, deep yellow flowers ; 

 O. Rafinesqui has larger and flatter joints and rather larger 

 flowers ; O. oplocarpa has large, flat, very spiny joints, and its 

 yellow flowers have a bright orange base. Large masses of 

 these plants make a beautiful display. Sedum album and 

 S. speciosum are also flowering now. Both are creeping or 

 low-growing species. S. speciosum has rosy pink flowers, a 

 rather uncommon color in the genus, and it is one of the 

 best of all, both for its color and its profusion of flowers. 



Coronilla varia. — Not many perennial plants flower for so 

 long a time as this pretty leguminous plant. It is of creeping 

 habit, or rather half-climbing, and does its best to clamberover 

 brush when an opportunity is given it. The flowers begin to 

 appear here in mid-June and they continue for a period of two 

 months, and even later on a tew flowers are displayed. The 

 flowers, sometimes nearly pink and at other times pale purple, 

 are in little heads of about twenty-five each. Like other plants 

 of this genus, the foliage is usually pea-green. It is a native of 

 southern Europe. 



Centaurea macrocephala. — This is also a valuable summer- 

 blooming perennial. The large heads of composite flowers on 

 the various Centaureas are familiar to every one. This partic- 

 ular species bears large, clear yellow flower-heads on stems 

 nearly three feet in height. To make an effective display large 

 masses of it should be planted together. 



Germantown, Pa. J OSeph Median. 



Correspondence. 



Notes from West Virginia. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — This is the time of the year when Hollyhocks, Yuccas 

 and tall Lilies are the most conspicuous ornaments of the gar- 

 den. A few Hollyhocks were planted five or six years ago on 

 ground enriched by an old woodpile, and since then they have 

 been left to themselves. Here they have increased and mul- 

 tiplied in the rich soil, sending up many seedlings every year 

 and grouping themselves in beautiful colonies. All shades of 

 Hollyhock bloom are here, from white through the palest 

 flesh tints to deepest maroon, varied by buff and lemon-tinted 



