THROUGH THE GARDEN GATE 



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The morn is merry June, I trow, 

 The rose is budding fain. 



— Sir Walter Scott. 



Old Time "Pot-Pourri," for Fragrance 



Once upon a time any one who grew many 

 Roses gathered and dried the petals and com- 

 bined them with other fragrant flowers and leaves 

 and spices to make the aromatic mixture known 

 as Sweet Jar or Pot-Pourri. I very well remem- 

 ber the blue and white jars of this odorous mix- 

 ture that stood about in various rooms of my old 

 home and recall with pleasure the faint sugges- 

 tion of Roses and spices that always hung about 

 them. My mother and her friends were wont 

 to exchange recipes for the making of Pot- 

 Pourri, as we to-day for canning peas and to- 

 matoes, and there was always ^much pleasant 

 discussion at neighborhood gatherings during 

 rose-time as to the merits of various methods and 

 mixtures. 



We are to-day such busy folk, and have be- 

 come so dependent upon the shops to supply all 

 our needs, that many pleasant old-fashioned 

 tasks are no longer performed. Many, it is 

 true, would have small significance in our modern 

 life, but the home-manufacture of Pot-Pourri is 

 one that well deserves to survive. Tt is in all 

 ways a charming operation, and our modern 

 apartments would gain appreciably in charm 

 through the presence of this old-fashioned fra- 

 grance. 



In the old days Damask and Province Roses 

 were deemed the best to use in the manufacture 

 of Pot-Pourri, for these were the most highly 

 perfumed to be had and they were to be found in 

 every garden. Now-a-days these sweet old 

 favorites are little grown, but on the other hand 

 we have countless varieties of Teas and Hybrid 

 Teas that will do as well. I wish I had the recipe 

 that my mother used, but this, though I still have 

 the list of Roses that grew in her Maryland gar- 

 den, has been lost. It doubtless difFered little, 

 however, from several that I have collected from 

 other sources. 1 he following rule is taken from 

 Donald M'Donald's "Sweet-Scented Flowers and 

 Fragrant Leaves" and is reputed to hold its 

 sweetness for fifty years. 



Gather early in the day, when perfectly dry of dew, a peck of 

 Roses, pick off the petals and strew over them three quarters of a 

 pound of common salt. Let them remain two or three days, and if 

 fresh flowers are added more salt should he sprinkled over them. 

 Mix with the Roses half a pound of hay salt, the same quantity of 

 . cloves and hrown sugar, a quarter of a pound of gum 

 benzoin and two ounces of powdered orris-root. Add one gill of 

 hrandy'and any sort of fragrant flowers or leaves (Lavender, I hyme, 

 Uergamot, Citronella, Lemon Verbena, Mignonette, Clove, Pinks, 

 Marjoram). 'I hey must all be perfectly dry when used. The 

 mixture musr he kepr in a closed jar and occasionally stirred. It 

 should he opened only when it is desired to refresh the rooms. If 

 after a time the mixture seems too dry more brandy may be added. 



Of course, Eau de Cologne or lavender water 

 may be used in the place of brandy. 



When is a Plant Biennial? 



Two at least of the so-called biennials 

 known to me always require two full seasons to 

 arrive at flowering strength, blooming the third 

 year from seed. These are the Greek Mullein and 

 the Chimney Bellflower (Verbascum olympicum 

 and Campanula pyramidalis), and it is small 

 wonder that this should be so when one takes into 

 account the greatness and splendor of their 

 flower stalks. Some plants that are in truth 



perennial are so short lived that they are best 

 treated as biennials. In my garden Lupines and 

 Columbines come under this head; and one of the 

 finest of the Bellflowers, Campanula lactiflora, 

 that I have never seen designated as a biennial, 

 is quite consistently so with me. Anchusas too, 

 both the common Alkanet and the newer A. 

 myosotidiflora never flower but the one season 

 with me, though the latter self-sows so freely 

 that its preservation is taken out of my hands. 



This is the case with many flowers of this class, 

 but the seedlings may not always be relied upon 

 to bloom the second year; they will, however, the 

 third, and these seedlings are usually fine, sturdy 

 little plants most valuable for filling in about the 

 garden. If some special strain of Foxglove or 

 Sweet William is to be preserved, it will be neces- 

 sary to procure fresh seed yearly as most of these 

 plants cross easily and so deteriorate. 



Hollyhocks have always been treated as bien- 

 nials in my garden because, in this way, we are 

 able to avoid the horrid disease to which they are 

 prone, but which seldom attacks young plants. 

 In saving seed from the Hollyhocks we have 

 always been careful to gather that from per- 

 fectly healthy plants only, but to-day I came 

 across the following rather astounding suggestion 

 in the "Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture :" " A 

 German cultivator avers that one should save 

 seeds from diseased Hollyhock plants instead of 

 healthy ones, and declares that he has raised 1,500 

 such seedlings that proved immune." This has 

 something the sound of propaganda, but it might 

 be interesting to try. If a choice strain of double 

 Hollyhock is to be continued, ofFsets must be 

 detached from the parent plant and the leaves 

 kept covered with ammoniacal copper sulphate 

 or bordeaux, to kill the disease germs. The first 

 named is the least disfiguring. 



Many of the most beautiful and useful plants 

 at our disposal are biennials. The following list 

 is not exhaustive but includes the best of those 

 that we are likely to meet with. Save in the case 

 of the free self-sowers it will be necessary to raise 

 these plants from seed every year in order to keep 

 up a stock. The self-sowers are marked*. 



*Anchusa myosotidiflora 



_ 



Forget-me-not Alkanet 



Anchusa italica 



= 



Italian Alkanet 



Campanula lactiflora 



= 



Milky Bellflower 



Campanula Medium 



= 



Canterbury Bells 



Campanula pyramidalis 



= 



Chimney Bellflower 



Salvia sclarea 



= 



Clary 



Salvia turkestanica 







*Cheiranthus Allionii 



= 



Alpine Wallflower 



Cheiranthus Cheiri 



= 



Wallflower 



*Dianthus barbatus 



= 



Sweet William 



*Digitahs purpurea 



=: 



Foxglove 



*Echinops sphaerocephalus 



= 



Silver Thistle 



*Eryngium giganteum 



= 



Silver Thistle 



*Glaucium luteum 



= 



Horned Poppy 



Hedysarum coronarium 



= 



French Honeysuckle 



*Hesperis matronalis 



= 



Sweet Rocket 



*Lunana biennis 



= 



Honesty 



'Lychnis Coronaria 



= 



Mullein Pink 



Michauxia campanuloides 







Meconopsis integrifolia 



= 



Thibetan Poppy 



""Oenothera biennis 



= 



Evening Primrose 



Oenothera taraxifolia 



= 



Evening Primrose 



Onopordon arabicum 



= 



Giant Thistle 



*Papaver nudicaule 



= 



Iceland Poppy 



•Papaver alpinum 



= 



Alpine Poppy 



Saxifraga Cymbalaria 







Symphyandra Hofmanni 







•Verbascum phlomoides ^ 

 •Verbascum olympicum * 







= 



Mullein 



•Verbascum pannosum ( 







Verbascum Cbaixii / 







"Viola cornuta 



= 



Horned Pansy 



•Viola tricolor 



= 



Pansy 



Does Cutting Back Injure Larkspur? 



The practice of cutting back the stalks of 

 Delphiniums after the first flowering in order to 

 secure a second, much later, display, is pretty 

 generally indulged in. Of late, however, I 

 have several times seen it stated from authorita- 

 tive sources that this practice is extremely in- 



19G 



jurious to the plants: that under this treatment 

 they become greatly weakened, are shorter-lived 

 and considerably more prone to disease. I should 

 say that my own experience rather bears out this 

 theory, though it may be some quite other cause 

 that produces casualties frequently among my 

 Delphiniums. It is true, however, that plants 

 that have come up in out of the way places 

 through self-sowing and the stalks left standing — 

 through neglect — until they are fully ripe, live 

 for years and are entirely free from any hint of 

 disease. 



Of course the fading Delphinium stalks are far 

 from ornamental in the garden and we like to get 

 rid of them; moreover the late second flowering 

 is a boon not readily to be foregone, but if the 

 practice of cutting back is really injurious, few 

 would care to risk their rare and expensive varie- 

 ties for these reasons. Will not readers of 

 The Garden Magazine write to the Garden 

 Neighbors department and let us know what their 

 experience would cause them to judge to be the 

 truth in this matter? 



June Sowing for Biennials 



So often I read or hear the advice given to 

 sow the seeds of biennial plants in August, but I 

 cannot believe the givers of this advice have ever 

 tried it out, not, at least, in the climate of the 

 middle and northern states. It has been re- 

 peatedly my experience that Foxgloves, Canter- 

 bury Bells and other plants of their class will not 

 flower the following season when sown thus late. 

 They Vio not develop sufficient strength to 

 bloom in so short a period, and this, I believe, is 

 the reason why we so frequently hear of the failure 

 of biennials to flower, particularly of Canterbury 

 Bells. To secure sturdy plants sure to bloom 

 next year, seed should be sown not later than 

 June and the young plants moved to their per- 

 manent quarters late in August or early in Sep- 

 tember so that they may become well settled 

 before cold weather. 



As with most rules there are exceptions to this 

 one. Those biennials that we treat principally 

 as bedders — Forget-me-nots, Wallflowers, Eng- 

 lish Daisies, Pansies, and the forms of Viola 

 cornuta require, for the best results, to be sown 

 in August. These plants are in such haste to 

 accomplish their mission, that if sown in the 

 spring will flower profusely in the autumn, thus 

 impairing the display the following spring. 



Flag-stone Paths, and Plants for Them 



Mr. Gott's article on Garden Paths last 

 month was full of interest and helpful advice. 

 The designs for brick paths were charming, and 

 certainly nothing lends so quaint an atmosphere 

 to a garden as a brick path unless it be one of old 

 flag-stones. But I think it is too bad to grow ■ 

 grass in the joints between the stones when one 

 may do something so much more delightful. 

 In the first place grass in such a position is very 

 difficult to take care of, and unless it is cared for 

 it looks very untidy and unsightly, growing long 

 in uneven wisps that gives the path a moth- 

 eaten, neglected appearance. It is not usually 

 possible to cut over it with the lawn mower so that 

 shearing, if done at all, must be performed by 

 hand — a slow and tedious operation. On the 

 other hand there are many small neat-habited 

 plants that will establish themselves in the joints, 

 outlining them with pleasant greenery, and 

 spreading out over the stones no more than is 

 attractive. Of course the plants for this purpose 

 must be carefully chosen, for not all merely dwarf 

 ones are suitable. The best planting of the kind 

 that I have seen was in an English herb garden 



