GARDENING WITH WILD 

 FLOWERS 



AMELIA LEAVITT HILL 



Bringing the Very Being of the Countryside into 



Intimate Association with the Home — Wherein 



"Wild" Gardening Differs from "Native" 



|S WE walk through the country lanes in their summer 

 glory beside which the transient beauties of our gardens 

 often fade into insignificance, who has not felt a wish 

 to transport some part of their loveliness nearer home? 



Indeed the wish, which may seem born of indolence, would be 



thought well worthy of accomplishment to those less sated 



with the charms of our summer fields than we. The wild 



flowers of one part of the world are the garden flowers of another 



— the Englishman and Frenchman cultivate our Goldenrod and 



purple Asters as assiduously as do we the Poppy of Flanders' 



fields, the Daffodil of England, or the counterpart of the Mourn- 

 ing-bride which borders the country roads of France. Let 



us not be superior to the beauty which lies nearest, and let us, 



too, save a corner of our gardens in which the glory of American 



fields and forests may be 



cultivated, and if possible 



made lovelier by the care 



and cultivation under which 



all flowers must show some 



improvement. 

 Another advantageous 



use may be made of the 



wild flower garden — to 



brighten a spot to which 



little care can be given. 



Perhaps you have an old 



homestead, or a summer 



camp, occupied only for a 



short time every season yet 



which, in the few weeks of 



its occupancy, you long to 



see embowered in blossoms, 



and wearing the aspect of 



brightness flowers alone can 



give. In such a case a bed 



of wild flowers, once planted, 



will go on almost forever. 



They are, in their native 



state, a practical example of 



the survival of the fittest; 



the result of ages of neglect, 



and of struggles with ad- 

 verse conditions, where they 



have been forced to hold 



their own, unprotected from 



winter frost and snow, 



against stalwart weeds of 



every kind. Used to such 



surroundings, therefore, 



what can be more sure to 



succeed than a garden where 



such flowers predominate? 



And when a little tending is 



awarded, they make splen- 

 did response. 



When it is part of a 



formal garden, the wild 



flower bed had best be 



LADY-SLIPPERS GROWING AT WILL AGAINST SHRUBBERY 



There are four or five species of these hardy Orchids, sometimes also called 



Moccasin-flower, available for northern gardens. Oddly individual, they 



add distinct character to any "wild" planting and flourish best in rather 



moist, cool spots. (Cypripedium reginae here shown) 



191 



separate from the rest and should under no circumstances 

 share in its prim hedges and straight-cut paths. Here is 

 an opportunity for one of the "nooks" beloved of land- 

 scape gardeners — place it against a background of woods, if 

 possible; let a winding, rustic walk lead up to it, and let no 

 civilizing note creep in. If you are fortunate enough to have 

 a brook or pool in your domain, this may be made a central 

 feature upon which to work, set deep in wild Forget-me-not 

 and Cowslip, great masses of Cardinal-flower, with touches of 

 Purple Fringed Orchis and yellow Loosestrife here and there. 

 At the back of the picture, marking the separation of garden from 

 woods, the heavy leaves and great pink heads of the Joe-Pye-weed 

 make a striking and effective screen some eight feet high. 

 Water is so valuable a feature of the wild garden that, 



if none be ready to hand, 

 let it be secured by ar- 

 tificial means whenever 

 feasible. The likeness of a 

 brook may easily be ob- 

 tained by the laying out of a 

 little waterway in the form 

 of a series of pools, inter- 

 posed with rocks and hum- 

 mocks for the appearance 

 of greater "reality," lined 

 with cement and filled by 

 means of the garden hose. 

 To be sure, the result will 

 be stagnant, but if carefully 

 done, the bottom covered 

 with white sand and a few 

 gold fish introduced to pre- 

 vent mosquito larvae, this 

 will be found not to detract 

 from the effect. As a brook 

 of this kind does not pro- 

 vide wet ground near by in 

 which to set out moisture 

 loving plants, in making it, 

 concrete compartments 

 should be built, connecting 

 with the water in a way 

 that will keep the soil in 

 them moist so such plants 

 may be grown. The open- 

 ings connecting these com- 

 partments with the brook 

 must be small and covered 

 with coarse wire netting so 

 that water may penetrate 

 without permitting the earth 

 to wash out. The clumsy 

 outline is soon concealed by 

 the plants, while any slight 

 muddiness in the water may 

 be prevented by a sprinkling 

 of sand over the earth. 

 The building of a pool is, 



