The Garden Magazine 



Wintering Herbaceous Plants. — Since writ- 

 ing the notes about the newer perennials 

 (published in last month's Garden Magazine) 

 my experience with Thalictrum dipterocarpum 

 leads me to believe that to insure its wintering 

 over safely (in this section, at all events) it is 

 necessary to select for it a particularly well 

 drained spot in the border and give it some 

 protection. I think, however, that it is 

 mainly the damp and not the cold that proves 

 fatal to it; plants under sashes have always 

 wintered over perfectly for me, without 

 mats or any other covering, beyond the single 

 thickness of glass. — Frank M. Thomas, Penn- 

 sylvania. 



Peonies that Fit. — I want help! All the 

 Peonies in the lists of the dealers are alike in 

 merit, but I want relative facts about some 

 good varieties to buy at a moderate price, say 

 about $2 for two-year roots. Please suggest 

 these varieties: (i) a white with as much yel- 

 low as possible, (2) a different shade of red than 

 Felix Crousse, and (3), a different pink from 

 M. Jules Elie.— E. A. W '., Pa. 

 — I suggest, for the first, Solfatare, or Due de 

 Wellington; for the second, Adolphe Rousseau, 

 Raphael, Volcan, Mme. Bucquet, or Edouard 

 Andre; for the third, Livingstone, Albert 

 Crousse, Eugenie Verdier, Delicatissima, or 

 Triomphe de l'Exposition de Lille. — A. P. S. 



A Hedge of Lupins. — We have invariably 

 found that the most pleasing effects in and 

 about the garden are the outcome of natural 

 grouping and not the result of studied arrange- 

 ment. Few spots on our "domain" can rival 

 in attractiveness the one glorified by a big 

 clump of golden Day Lilies veiled in a mist 

 of wind-sown white Columbine, beneath the 

 drooping branches of an old apple tree; or the 

 tall, glowing "lamps" of Phlox against a 

 curtain of wild Clematis that sways down 

 from the trees. And so, too, it was almost by 

 chance that our Lupin hedge came about. 



One spring we had sown a row of them, and 

 when they came up very thickly they were 

 neglected. The following year, they were a 

 mass of enormous clumps far overcrowding the 

 allotted space. A curving piece of turf 

 surrounding a well is separated from the 

 vegetable garden by a row of big red-currant 

 bushes, and the cultivated space intervening 

 between them and the grass plot suggested a 

 border. So one rainy afternoon the Lupins 



were laboriously dug up, separated into smaller 

 clumps by a process of "short division" and 

 hastily set close together in a line following 

 the curve of the turf. The rain continued to 

 water them, and we gave them no care, or 

 scarcely a thought till they began to bloom. 

 How they flourished! Our hedge was the ad- 

 miration of all the passers-by, and the spikes 



The Neighbors' Present Duty 



JTJ In reviewing the present situation, 

 ^il so far as it concerns those who 

 have had the privilege of "doing their 

 bit" in increased food crop produc- 

 tion, Secretary of Agriculture D. F. 

 Houston says: 



JIT "The producers have responded 

 ^il promptly to the appeal issued by 

 the President at the beginning of the 

 war, and Nature has been bountiful. 

 The time has come for us, as con- 

 sumers and conservers, to do OUT 

 share. 



Jjj "Any housewife who desires addi- 

 ^il tional information is urged to get 

 in touch with local organizations or 

 with the local representatives of the 

 Department of Agriculture, the State 

 Agricultural Colleges, or directly with 

 the Department of Agriculture in 

 Washington, which will mail free of 

 charge, on receipt of a post card re- 

 quest, literature covering all phases 

 of canning, drying, preserving, pickling 

 and the home storing of perishable 

 fruits and vegetables. 



tfTJ "By cooperating with the Depart- 

 al ment at this time, the women of 

 the country can render a definite 

 national service." 



Copyright, 1917, by Doubleday, Page & Co. 



of bloom we cut from it were legion — thus in- 

 creasing the abundance of flowers. They 

 were, for the most part, the shades of blue, 

 with a chance grouping of white at one end 

 which straggled off artistically down the line 

 and was lost among the blue ones. Seen from 

 the street, beyond the fruit-hung currant 

 bushes, with the vivid green of lettuce beneath 

 them, they were most effective. This year 

 we have tried to create as good an effect, in 



39 



imitation of the other natural one, by starting 

 another hedge of various pink varieties, shad- 

 ing down to a group of white ones. 



If some of you find yourselves overburdened 

 with Lupins, perhaps you may like to "go and 

 do likewise." — Charlotte Brassey-Brierley, 

 Maine. 



A Rare Poppywort. — It is customary to 

 dismiss Meconopsis from further attention, 

 remarking that our atmosphere is too dry for 

 their family. But under date of August II, 

 Mr. A. E. Thatcher of Bar Harbor, Me., tele- 

 graphed that "M. integrifolia opened perfect 

 flowers." This is one of Mr. E. H. Wilson's 

 notable discoveries in herbaceous plants and 

 Mr. Thatcher flowers it for the first time in 

 America. We shall refer to the subject 

 again next month. — L. B. 



Pansies all the Year in Tennessee. — For 

 three years I have not planted a seed and 

 have Pansies every month in the year. About 

 July or August, I allow the seed pods to ripen 

 and sometimes even before, for it seems im- 

 possible to keep all the blooms picked. I 

 leave the old plants until they become ex- 

 haused. By the time I pull them up, I find 

 under the old- plants many young seedlings. 

 If too thick, I transplant. In April, May, and 

 June they are at their height. The bed is a 

 solid mass of blooms. About once a month 

 they are given liquid fertilizer (rather weak) by 

 lifting the stems and pouring on the roots. In 

 that way, the foliage and blooms are not in- 

 jured. Sometimes in early spring, they are 

 given a little pulverized sheep manure, but use 

 it with care, for it is very strong. In the fall, I 

 mulch with small leaves, such as Elm or Per- 

 simmon, leaving it on in the spring, so the bed 

 is really covered with leaf mould most of the 

 time, which keeps their roots cool and moist. 

 In December, ten days after zero weather, I 

 gathered a dozen blooms (big heads but short 

 stems), I must add they were under six 

 inches of snow when the zero weather came, so 

 of course were protected. I give water liber- 

 ally in dry seasons, but they are usually able 

 to stand weather conditions, as well as other 

 flowers. They have only one enemy that I 

 know of and that is the cutworm, but by being 

 an "early bird," I usually catch the worm, 

 for he is not far away and always leaves signs 

 of his work. — B. N. Tomlinson, Tenn. 



