Hardy Perennials for Fall Planting— By w. c. Egan 



Highland Park, 

 Illinois 



A CONSERVATIVE STATEMENT BY AN AMATEUR WHO HAS GROWN EVERYTHING OF 

 IMPORTANCE ON A COLD, HEAVY SOIL IN A TRYING CLIMATE— FALL THE BEST TIME 

 TO PREPARE THE SOIL — MINUTE DIRECTIONS FOR MAKING GOOD FLOWER BORDERS 

 Photographs by Henry Troth, except No. 136, by Flora Lewis Marble, and No. 137, by Albert Morgan 



f" KNOW that great and increasing numbers 

 *■ of hardy perennials are sold by nursery- 

 men every fall, and I believe that they give 

 general satisfaction, provided they are planted 

 in light, well-drained soil, in time to get es- 

 tablished before winter, and covered with lit- 

 ter before the ground freezes. But, locally, 

 I am something of a "bear," because the soil 

 near Chicago is generally heavy, cold and wet, 

 and the winters are severe. So, while I do 

 not hesitate to move almost any plant in my 

 own garden during the fall, should a neighbor 

 come to me for advice as to the safest time to 

 plant, I should answer: "Prepare the soil 

 in the fall, but plant in the spring." This 

 refers to the planting of a new border with a 

 miscellaneous assortment of plants bought 

 from a nursery. 



"iRON-CLADS" AND TREACHEROUS KINDS 



Some "iron-clads," as the Rudbeckia 

 Golden Glow and the Rocket (Hesperis mat- 

 ronalis) may be planted almost any time, but 

 my experience is that unless a very favorable 

 winter succeeds many of the so-called hardy 

 perennials planted in the fall will not be 

 found alive in the spring. Gaillardias, double 

 sunflowers (Heliantlius mul ti flora, var. ple- 

 nus) and the cardinal flower are among 

 those most likely to be missed. Bee balm 

 (Monarda didyma) is another that cannot be 

 relied upon. The tall larkspurs (Delphinium 



jormosum varieties) stand fall planting, but 

 do not do as well the following summer as 

 when set out in spring. 



The Oriental poppy, eremurus, Spanish 

 and English iris, belong to a class that lose 

 the foliage in the summer and are then at 

 rest, the poppy reappearing in the fall and 

 remaining green all winter. These and the 

 many bulbous plants, such as the crocus, 

 scilla, chionodoxa and narcissus, should be 

 planted in the fall — and as early as possible. 



MAKE YOUR BEDS IN THE FALL 



In the fall the soil is comparatively dry and 

 pulverizes in the digging, while in the spring 

 it is wet from the melting snows, and the 

 spade brings it up in compact "hunks," im- 

 possible to pulverize, and which remain 

 thereafter solid brick-like lumps. This pre- 

 vents a complete intermingling of any added 

 manurial matter. 



WHEN TO ENRICH THE BED 



Native plants may be satisfied with such 

 soil, but many exotics are to be brought to a 

 new home and require different conditions. 

 Native plants, when brought into well-made 

 beds, surprise one with their thriftiness and 

 increase in size of flowers. Plants in a bed 

 are like prisoners in a besieged fort, and 

 therefore should be well supplied with food. 

 In our soil — as in most virgin soils— there is 



plenty of inert food (unprepared food is per- 

 haps a better description). The mineral ele- 

 ments present require the action of air and 

 frost, and this can only be obtained by a 

 thorough working of the soil and the addition 

 of humus. The top eight or ten inches is 

 generally in fair condition, as the frost and 

 air have penetrated it and the decaying na- 

 tive grasses or fallen leaves have supplied the 

 humus; but for better results, both in having 



132. Japanese iris, with flowers six to ten inches across. Unrivaled tor the margins ot water-lily gardens 

 and the banKs of sunny streams. Irises should be planted in September or early October, or they may 

 not get established in time to bloom next spring 



114 



133. One of the stonecrops or sedums. a group 

 of fleshyieaved " live-forevers " with clusters of 

 white, yellow or pinkish flowers, rarely blue or scarlet. 

 A type of thing which anyone can grow 



a free run for the roots and for the retention 

 of moisture during dry seasons, the soil 

 should be trenched, or cultivated, eighteen 

 inches or more deep. In England they think 

 nothing of making a bed even four feet deep. 



ADDING NEW RICH SOIL 



If one does not mind the expense of bought 

 soil, a good way to proceed is to remove the 

 top soil to the depth of a foot and pile it at 

 one side. The balance, to the depth decided 

 upon — at least six inches — is dug out and 

 carted away. With a pick or spade, ioosen 

 up the soil at the bottom, letting it remain, 

 and cover it with six inches of fresh strawy 

 manure. Then fill in, say, three inches of 

 the top soil and tread it down well. Add 

 manure and soil alternately until the pile is 

 depleted. Then fill in with the new soil. 

 That from a corn or potato field is suitable, 

 especially if from some well-tilled farm where 

 the weeds have been kept down. Make the 

 bed some six inches higher than the surround- 

 ing surface, as it will settle during the winter. 



THE ART OF "TRENCHING" 



Where one does not bring in foreign soil, 

 proceed as above with the first foot ; then dig 

 out the required depth at one end, about two 



