The Garden Magazine, March, 1922 



49 



the great spires of white bells attract every eye. Unfortunately it does 

 not last much more than two weeks unless one has a great many plants. 

 Its foliage, however, is always good, summer and winter. I wish it 

 were a freer bloomer; I never have had even half of my plants in flower 

 at the same time, but perhaps eventually I may succeed better in at- 

 taining an unbroken row of flower stems. 



A plant giving a longer season of bloom and one excellent for cutting 

 is Hemerocallis Thunbergii, a special favorite of mine. This closely 

 resembles the old-fashioned Lemon Lily which blooms in June. It 



In August nothing in my garden gives me more satisfaction than 

 the Funkia subcordata. There are great clumps of it under the north 

 windows of the bungalow and from among the luxuriant, handsome 

 foliage, stem after stem of waxen white Lilies appears and sends its de- 

 licious perfume through the dining-room windows with every breeze. 

 The blooming season covers the full month of August. 



The new giant Mallows are very fine; a pity each bloom only lasts 

 the one day. The plants are for background, growing tall as shrubs. 

 Among lower growers suitable for masses, Platycodon (Balloon- 

 flower) in blue and white, and Stokes' Aster are near the 

 head of the list. Both can be readily grown from seed, and 

 are as suitable for beds as many of the annuals. 



The shrubby Clematis, both Davidiana and recta, are fine 

 in groups, and I want to speak a good word for Helenium 

 autumnale rubrum which, surrounded with late white Phlox 

 and feathered down with white and primrose Snapdragons, 

 makes a bold and attractive feature in early September. 



But one is in danger of proving a bore if enthusiasm about 

 the garden is allowed full sway. There really is plenty of 

 material for each month among the perennials. — Amelia H. 

 Botsford, Edgemore, Del. 



Good and Bad Points of Some Yellow Perennials 



T! 



CLIMBING HELIOTROPE ROYAL HIGHNESS 



In southern California sometimes reaching as high as the second story; 

 lovely in combination with either pink or yellow Rambler Roses 



has the same color and delightful scent, but is taller in growth and 

 blooms a month later. I have many clumps and had quantities of 

 flowers all through July, cutting the last about the tenth of August. 



The Tiger Lily, especially the form splendens which grows more than 

 five feet high, is well worth a place in the border; it is so easy to grow 

 and so much more reliable than most Lilies. 



Hollyhocks are a stand-by for the July garden, and they will last 

 even into September if old stalks are cut down and some fertilizer sup- 

 plied. I am glad to see that more attention is now being paid to se- 

 curing a better color range. White and shades of red are universally 

 grown, but I am sure some wonderful combinations of color could be 

 obtained. I had in my own garden this year a plant bearing double 

 scalloped blooms of deep cream shaded to pink in centre, a unique and 

 beautiful combination. It has Newport pink for a neighbor on one side, 

 and I mean to plant double yellow and double black at the other side 

 and see what my neighbor's bees, who summer in my garden, will pre- 

 sent me with in the second generation. 



To the Editor of The Garden Magazine: 



O answer Mr. Hinckley's question in the November 

 magazine: Helianthus angustifolius has not shown the 

 slightest tendency to sucker out in my garden. It will 

 multiply by volunteer seedlings, which, of course, are easily 

 hoed up if they are not wanted. To judge by my experience 

 this year, however, I should recommend transplanting these 

 seedlings when they are 3 or 4 inches high until enough are 

 provided to give the desired display in October. Then if 

 the original plants tend to become too large they can be 

 dug up. 



Pinching back the seedling when it has grown about 18 

 inches will make a symmetrical, bushy plant by blooming 

 time, perhaps 3 or 4 feet high. It is not necessary to have 

 7-foot plants with 500 flower heads to a plant, if that would 

 be too much of a good thing. With a little practice the 

 plants can be grown to fit the space available. I agree 

 that the old-fashioned chicken-fence annual, Helianthus 

 annuus, is "oppressive," but certainly H. angustifolius has 

 nothing in common with that species beyond the generic 

 name and the fact that the ray flowers are yellow. Although 

 Mr. Hinckley has found that the perennial species give him 

 "only a few days of glory," my plants began to bloom late in 

 September, and some of the seedlings that I had trans- 

 planted twice were still carrying perfect flowers November 

 15th. 



I sympathize with Mr. Hinckley's complaint about 

 Coreopsis — it requires even more manicuring than a Privet 

 hedge. But wouldn't a continuous performance such as 

 ! Coreopsis will give, with no fading flowers to remove, be an 

 I almost impossible combination? My Helianthus comes 

 ; J pretty near it; for although, of course, the ray flowers lose 

 their freshness before they drop, the intermediate stage is 

 not so unattractive as to require cutting. I have grown 

 Helenium and admire it, but I find the same objection to it as 

 to Coreopsis — the flowers soon become dingy and need to be 

 removed. Thunberg's Day-lily (Hemerocallis Thunbergi) 

 was still blooming for me in October, 1921, and is a late yellow 

 perennial that I have grown for several years without finding a de- 

 fect. It requires a dozen plants or more to make much of a display, 

 but is easily multiplied by division of the roots in spring. A good 

 companion for it is the Wilson Monkshood (Aconitum Wilsoni), 

 described in The Garden Magazine a few years ago. This grows 

 taller than the Day-lily but blooms at about the same time and has 

 a season extending over a month or more. Its deep lavender and the 

 deep yellow of the Day-lily make a pleasing contrast, and both thrive 

 in partial shade. — Bernard H. Lane, Washington, D. C. 



How Deep Does a Mole Go? 



To the Editor o/The Garden Magazine: 



WE WANT to build a new picket fence around our garden and will 

 have a concrete wall under it instead of a base board. How deep 

 must we make this wall to keep the moles out of the garden? — W. A. 

 Shafor, Hamilton, Ohio. 



