July, 1907 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



341 



cinnamon vine, morning glory, canary bird 

 flower, Cobcea scandens and Japanese hop, 

 the last named by all odds the prettiest. 



In the July Outlook, Hans Christian Ander- 

 sen tells us that a box of earth on the roof 

 between two houses, was his mother's garden ; 

 there she raised kitchen greens and flowering 

 plants. This goes to prove that there is 

 nothing new under the sun. It is said that 

 the little "Japs" have been growing flowers 

 on their concave roofs since time began, or 

 rather since their Tartar tents gained per- 

 manent coverings. Iris tectorum is so called 

 because it is grown on their roofs to safeguard 

 their homes from evil spirits. 



But with the scrub-woman, a chronic 



5 x 20 ft. He decided to utilize this space 

 for a garden, as he could not grow any plants 

 in the house because of the illuminating 

 gas. 



A number of wooden boxes were made 

 in various sizes from three to eight feet 

 long, one foot wide and eight inches deep. 

 An iron railing enclosed the garden, and 

 the view from the street was shut off by 

 training vines over the framework. The 

 boxes are arranged on both sides, allowing 

 a narrow walk in the centre. In one corner, 

 a bench was placed with an awning over- 

 head, where the greater part of the day is 

 spent watching and caring for the plants. 



A hose connection in this roof garden 



The Tabulated Results 











SEASON 





SUCCESS 







NO. OF 



WHEN AND 





COST 





COMMON NAME 



BOTANICAL NAME 







OF 



(cents) 



OR 







PLANTS 



WHERE STARTED 















BLOOM 





FAILURE 



African marigold . . 



Tagetes erecta 



4 



Apr. 10th, house 



Aug. 1st to frost . 



5 



Many flowers. 



Canary bird vine . 



Troptsolum peregrmutn 



4 



Apr. 9th, house . . 



Aug., Sept 



5 



Plants died. 



Candytuft 



Iberis amara 



clump 



Apr. 10th, house . 



June to frost .... 



5 



Many flowers. 



China aster 



Callistephus hortensis . 



IS 



Apr. 10th, house . 



Aug. 1 st to frost . 



10 



Many flowers. 



Cinnamon vine . . . 



Dioscorea divartcata . . 



2 



May 15th, roof. . 



No flowers 



20 



Beautiful foliage. 



Cobaea 



Cobaa scandens 



2 



Apr. 9th, house . . 



No flowers 



2 5 



Plants died. 





Zea Mays 























carded Aug. 1st. 



Cosmos 



Cosmos bipinnatus . . . 



3 



Apr. 9th, house . . 



Oct. 1st, Nov. 7th 



10 



Many flowers. 



Japanese hop .... 

 Mignonette 



Hamulus Japonicus . . 

 Reseda odorata 



3 

 2 S 



Apr. 10th, house . 

 May 25th, roof. . 





5 

 5 



Very decorative. 

 Too crowded never 



July 1 st, to frost 















thrifty. 



Morning glory. . . . 



Ipomota purpurea 



100 



Apr. 4th, roof. . . 



All summer 



5 



Decided success. 



Nasturtium, climb. 



Tropczolum majus .... 



100 



Apr. 4th, roof .... 



July 5th, to frost . 



10 



Many flowers. 



Nasturtium, dwarf 



Tropceolum minor .... 



100 



Mar. 14th 



June 8th to frost . 



10 



Decided success. 



Petunia 



Petunia hybrida 



5° 



Apr. 4th, house 



June 15th to frost 



10 



Better var. failure. 



Poppy 



Papaver somnijerum . . 





May 1st, roof. . . . 



No flowers 



10 



Plants died. 



Sweet alyssum .... 



Alyssum maritimum . . 



clump 



Apr. 10th, house . 



June to frost .... 



5 



Many flowers. 



Sweet Pea 



Lathyrus odoratus .... 



200 



Mar. 14th, house 



All summer 



2 5 



Flowered earlier 

 than in gardens. 





Zinnia elegans 



12 



Apr. 10th, house 



July 30th to frost 



10 



Very satisfactory. 







$1.65 





objector, I can say, "I have never did it that 

 way before." 



EXPENSES OF ROOF GARDEN 



Packing cases (five) $ .jo 



Earth i.oo 



Green paint (1 quart) .60 



Platform, 6 x 12 ft 3.00 



Chicken wire, 25 ft .60 



Seeds and bulbs 1.65 



Plants from greenhouse 1.1 j 



Total expenses for three years' maintenance $8.50 



The following were given to us: Forget- 

 me-not, tradescantia, mint, dill, flowering 

 beans and wild cucumbers. 



From the woods we brought cowslips, 

 ferns, violets and golden saxifrage. 



A Retired Gardener's Hobby 



HpHERE is a second-story roof garden 

 ■-*■ not far from the centre of the city of New 

 York, whose wealth of plants would excite 

 the envy of any lover of flowers. The 

 owner is a man eighty-seven years of age 

 and was formerly engaged in growing flowers 

 commercially; and when late in life he 

 retired to city apartments to spend the rest 

 of his days quietly, he felt that he could not 

 spend his time more pleasantly than by 

 cultivating a few of his favorites. _ In the 

 rear of his apartments is a narrow roof about 



provides for plenty of water. A good syring- 

 ing is necessary every day which controls 

 the red spider and by an occasional use of 

 flowers of sulphur, the gardener is able to 



A 6 x 12 ft. plaiform was built to protect the roof. 

 On it were placed the boxes in which (he plants 

 (mostly annuals) were grown 



keep his plants free from the aphides and other 

 insects. During the winter, the plants are 

 sent to a nearby greenhouse where they are 

 cared for. They are brought back to the 

 roof as soon as spring opens. 



The view of the garden from below pre- 

 sents a mass of Japanese morning glories 

 covering the iron railing. Growing in the 

 same box are some roses, asters and gladiolus. 

 Two or three varieties of the gladiolus fringe 

 other boxes in which more roses are growing. 

 The other boxes contain chrysanthemums, 

 begonias, dahlias, pelargoniums, heliotropes, 

 verbenas, lantanas, Easter lilies, feverfew, 

 fuchsias and a few tomatoes which were 

 mixed in with the morning glory seed. 



A good succession of bloom was obtained 

 from some boxes by planting them in the 

 earliest spring with pansies and English 

 daisies; for summer bloom these were suc- 

 ceeded by geraniums, English ivy, coleus, 

 cannas, and lobelias. These gave a contin- 

 uous bloom until frost. 



A jessamine vine {J asmimum nudiflorum) 

 clambers up the side of the house and a 

 clematis covers part of the railing. Here 

 and there are pots of the Boston fern and 

 palms. 



Pennsylvania. R. R. Raymoth. 



Many Kinds of plants were grown on this roof. The shade they cast materially lessened the heat in the rooms 



on this side of the house 



