March, 1 i) 1 1 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



81 



Rose bugs are best picked ofl by hand. Have a 

 bowl of kerosene in which to drop the bugs 



overpowering abundance that appeared. 

 The rugosas opened in the middle of May; 

 the hybrid perpetuals began about the 

 end of the first week in June; and the 

 hybrid teas followed close after. From 

 that time on until Thanksgiving there 

 was not a day on which we did not pick 

 roses. 



When all else failed, such wonderful 

 performers as Gruss an Teplitz, Kaiserin 

 Augusta Victoria, and Mme. Testout 

 were still producing blossoms. It was 

 interesting to see the brilliant red of 

 Gruss an Teplitz against the first snow of 

 November. 



The secret of having roses all summer con- 

 sists simply in having a liberal number of 

 the hybrid teas, and such of the hybrid per- 

 petuals as have an ever-blooming habit — 

 Frau Karl Druschki, Mrs. John Laing, 

 Ulrich Brunner, and so on. Probably the 

 most popular rose in existence is Kil- 

 larney. It makes a splendid garden rose, 

 and blooms beyond belief. 



We began at the outset cutting our 

 blossoms heavily, and with as long stems 

 as possible. This assured us other crops 

 in succeeding months. Roses are things 

 of wonderful vitality. They love to be 

 stripped of their growth in order to show 

 how readily they can put out more; They 

 will send up shoots two feet high on a 

 fortnight's notice. 



When November came, we cut the long 

 shoots back to about two feet to keep the 

 wind from tearing the bushes out of the 

 ground; and that left plenty of margin 

 for the further pruning which most of 

 them received in the spring. 



No insecticide or other spray was used 

 the first season save an occasional appli- 

 cation of tobacco water to discourage the 

 aphids. There seems to be no doubt that 

 the best preventive of pests and diseases 

 of all kinds is good health. Just as the 

 healthy human being repels germs, so the 

 healthy rose bush goes unscathed. 



Our roses were planted in the open, 



where we could watch them on all sides. 

 We inspected them carefully from time to 

 time, and many a rose-bug did we lift 

 from them. But there was never what 

 could properly have been called a plague. 



Roses grown in gardens can hardly be 

 expected to equal those produced under 

 glass. The latter, as a rule, have larger 

 leaves and longer stems, because the 

 strength has been concentrated into one 

 stalk; and they have more substantial 

 flowers, because the buds have had longer 

 to form and have been protected from the 

 softening blaze of the sun. But garden 

 roses too, can be made to develop large 

 fresh-looking leaves and substantial flowers, 

 if the right means are employed. 



The deep planting referred to above 

 is one of these means. They must not 

 be too deep, for the roots have to breathe; 

 but, if they are eight or ten inches under 

 the surface and you keep the top soil 

 stirred through the dry season, they will 

 feel little thirst and the foliage will be a 

 thing of beauty and a joy throughout 

 the summer. Then by disbudding and 

 nursing your blooms along, you can pro- 

 duce big flowers on stems which would not 

 disgrace any florist. 



Watering has not cut much of a figure 

 in our garden. We made up our minds 

 at the outset that the roses would have 

 to learn to get along without that help, 

 and they have done it. Frequently, to 

 be sure, I turn the hose on them, but more 

 to refresh the foliage and drive the aphids 

 away than to wet the ground. A cold, 

 driving spray from a hose does more to 

 discourage the insect army than any other 

 one thing. When the drought makes 

 watering imperative, I take the nozzle 

 off and apply the water in quantities 

 directly at the roots. 



If the roses produce abundant foliage, 

 they make shade about their own roots, 

 and thus preserve the water supply. 



The problem of protection for several 

 hundred bushes — if you are doing all 



the work yourself and have no money to 

 spend — is a serious one. We solved it 

 by not protecting the hardier varieties. 



Mme. Testout, Kaiserin Augusta Vic- 

 toria, La France, the Bride, and Gloire 

 de Dijon were taken care of thoroughly. 

 First I heaped the earth up three or four 

 inches high about their stems. Then I 

 took the straw jackets of champagne 

 bottles (obtained by presenting twenty- 

 five cents' worth of cigars to a barkeeper) 

 and slipped them over the tops, having 

 first tied the shoots together with raffia. 

 Then I put a coat of about six inches 

 of manure on the ground all around 

 them. 



All the other bushes, and the four 

 standards, too, had no protection what- 

 ever, except earth heaped about the stems 

 and a few leaves dumped in among them 

 loosely. 



Not a single bush died during the most 

 severe winter of some years; and all were 

 healthy and vigorous last summer. 



One could go on and give descriptions of 

 each of the varieties enumerated above, 

 for each rose has its own personality, and 

 from comparing their varied merits, one 

 comes to take as much interest in them as 

 if he were dealing with human beings. 

 But I will spare the reader that, and only 

 say that all have proved good garden roses. 

 American Beauty is a parody on the 

 florist's sort, but a fine rose nevertheless. 

 No one of the above named thirty varieties 

 has failed to give its share of pleasure. 

 If we had to limit ourselves to one single 

 white rose, we should probably choose 

 Frau Karl Druschki; although Margaret 

 Dickson, during its brief June stay, is a 

 marvel of stately beauty. For one red 

 rose, we should name Gruss an Teplitz, 

 for its rich, velvety color and its constancy, 

 although Ulrich Brunner is larger, and 

 Hugh Dickson is nobler than either. The 

 greatest pink rose is Killarney, or Mme. 

 Testout. I must confess that our affec- 

 tions are equally divided there. 



An ideal site: partial shade, but each part gets some sunshine every day 



