OCTO B E R, I 9 I 7 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



91 



The most in- 

 teresting and 

 delicate of all 

 bog species. 



BOG ORCHIDS 



Many native 

 Orchids can 

 only be 

 g r]o w n in 

 bogs , and 

 from them 

 the following 

 have been 

 selected as 

 the most 

 noteworthy. 

 All are per- 

 ennials and 

 may be had 

 from the 

 dealers. 

 Calopogon pul- 

 chellus, pink- 

 purple flow- 

 ers about an 

 inch in diam- 

 eter, June 

 and July . 

 Leaves grass- 

 _ like: 

 Cypripedium parvifiorum, a small flowered 

 yellow Lady's-slipper. Raise up so roots are 

 not too wet. 

 Cypripedium spectabile, showy Lady's-slipper; 

 beautiful rose-purple or nearly white flowers. 

 Habenaria blephariglottis, a white-fringed 



Orchid with a showy spike, I to 2 ft. 

 Habenaria ciliaris, yellow-fringed Orchid, very 



showy spike, 12 to 18 in. 

 Arethusa bulbosa, beautiful purplish pink 



flowers, about the last of May, 3 to 6 in. 

 Spiranthes cernua, white, slender spikes. The 

 Ladies-tresses. Several others, even more 

 slender species are known, but must be 

 collected. 



The purple Calopogon. one of the 

 most beautiful native bog orchids 



Besides these there are more than forty other 

 species which may be collected by the 

 enthusiast. Nearly all of our most beauti- 

 ful native orchids are bog plants. 



INSECTIVOROUS PLANTS 



These will be grown more for their peculiar 

 habits of getting their food and for their 

 odd form than for their beauty. They are 

 of several types; some catch insects in a tube- 

 shaped leaf, drowning them at the bottom of 

 the cup, others have sticky hair to which the 

 insect becomes fastened, and the most 

 wonderful of all, Venus' fly-trap, actually 

 traps its food by a contraction of its jaw- 

 like, prickly leaves. The best insectivorous 

 bog plants are as follows: 



With Pitchers: Sarracenia purpurea, having 

 short purplish red pitchers, quite hardy 

 northward, our common northern pitcher 

 plant. Sarracenia rubra, the red trumpet 



The Sheep Laurel, with showy pink and purple flowers in 

 summer, is a useful bog shrub 



leaf with tall 

 pitchers. 

 S arracenia 

 flava, also 

 with tall 

 pitchers but 

 yellow. Sar- 

 r a c e n i a 

 Drummondii, 

 with varie- 

 gated pitch- 

 ers, the larg- 

 est and most 

 showy of all. 



The last three 

 must be 

 taken in dur- 

 ing the win- 

 ter north of 

 Washington, 

 D.C. All are 

 much more 

 showy than 

 the first. 



With Sticky 

 Hairs: _ All 

 'the species of 

 Drosera, or 

 Sundews, 

 have the curi- 

 ous habit of 

 catching and 

 digesting in- 

 sects. They 



are all small plants which should be planted 

 in masses on sphagnum moss. All are quite 

 hardy. 



With Contracting Leaves: The Venus fly- 

 trap, a low perennial with two valvelike 

 leaves that contract whenever an insect or 

 other irritation comes between them. 

 Closing up rather rapidly, they are among 

 the most interesting plants to have growing 

 in the bog garden. Not hardy north of 

 \\ ashington, D. C. 



The showy Yellow Fringed Orchid 

 is common in many wild bogs 



One Successful "War Garden" Effort 



THE WORKINGS OF AN ACTUAL CASE TAKEN AS TYPICAL IN LAYING PLANS FOR THE FUTURE ON THE LESSONS 



OF THE PAST 



WHEN the electrifying "appeal" 

 came in late spring the response to 

 the President was whole souled and 

 universal. Wonderful gardens blos- 

 somed where hitherto tin cans and weeds 

 abounded. Literally the waste lands were 

 made fruitful. All this, of course, is now 

 history. We saw with our own eyes, you and 

 I, and we marveled greatly that there was so 

 much latent garden spirit needing only the 

 proper stimulus. In large cities like New York 

 and Philadelphia municipal demonstration 

 gardens were planted in the public parks. 

 Boston appointed a special home garden ex- 

 pert. East and west, north and south, gardens 

 were started. The garden clubs turned from 

 ''pleasure" gardening to "profit" gardening 

 and lent a hand in starting local action. The 

 boy scouts were enlisted. 



Much credit is due the various local com- 

 munities that took definite action quickly and 

 produced results this year. In some places the 

 final results were not entirely successful, but 

 those communities may learn from the others 

 so that next year's efforts will count on the 

 right side. One of the decidedly successful 



centres may be taken as typical. Islip, on 

 Longlsland, is selected because it seems to illus- 

 trate the practical application of certain lines 

 of action which brought good results. 



In April three ladies as representatives of the 

 Islip Women's Suffrage Club, Mrs. Jay F. 

 Carlisle, Mrs. August Belmont, Jr., and Miss 

 Mary Smith, started the home garden move- 

 ment. V> hatever they may have lacked in 

 gardening experience was more than offset 

 by keen interest and close application, re- 

 sulting in one of the strikingly successful gar- 

 den ventures of its kind in all the country. At 

 the outset the active cooperation of a skilled 

 gardener was engaged and he gave advice and 

 supervision all through the season. Home 

 gardens were encouraged where the space was 

 available; if not, free garden plots were given 

 to those who had no opportunity at home. In 

 all, about 150 gardens w _ ere started and plant- 

 ing charts supplied as guides — these were not 

 ironclad, however, and were subject to varia- 

 tion. 



The gardens were divided into four classes, 

 girls, boys, women unaided, and family gar- 

 dens — four prizes were offered in each class. 



The children were given gardens of a uniform 

 size 15 x 25 ft., but were not confined to these 

 dimensions, for a youngster could get more 

 ground and felt able to do more according to 

 his or her size or ability, he was encouraged to 

 do more, but all were cautioned against 

 starting too large a garden and were told very 

 plainly that a garden 15 x 25 ft. well cared for 

 was better far than 30 x 50 ft. only half cared 

 for. 



Owners were notified that their gardens 

 would be visited frequently; that the best gar- 

 dens would be photographed. The cooperation 

 of the "Movie Palace" was here sought and 

 notice given that lantern slides of the prize win- 

 ners would be shown at the time of awardingthe 

 prizes. This had a wonderfully stimulating 

 effect on the younger element, any one of whom 

 would gladly have given almost anything he 

 possessed for the honor of having his garden 

 flashed on the screen as a winner. 



Before any actual work was started a lecture 

 (illustrated with lantern slides) was given. 

 This was to teach the beginners the rudiments 

 of gardening, showing hozv to do the various 

 tasks, but above all why to do them. Such 



