The Garden Magazine, May, 1922 



201 



Courtesy of the Robertson-Cole Co. 



PLANTING SUGGESTIONS FOR THE NEIGHBOR WHOSE GARDEN LIES ON A HILLSIDE 



Great masses of bloom like this can actually transform the utilitarian retaining wall into a feature of distinct interest and charm, and such 

 sweeping vistas fully compensate for the initial difficulty of establishing a hillside garden. The gardens of Lord Northcliffe at Cannes, France 



Then John said, "Of course, nothing will come of it. Neither of us has 

 any time to spare. The cottage isn't ours till July and then it will be 

 too late to plant for this summer." 



His skepticism was the final incentive to action. I spent my spare 

 time reading garden magazines and seedsmens' advertisements. Then 

 one Saturday, I took a day off. I invested in bulbs, having decided 

 that once in the earth, they needed less care than seedlings — my plan 

 was very simple; to buy the bulbs and a hoe, go out and plant them, 

 and leave the rest to Nature. 



I had 200 of the newest Gladiolus bulbs, both early and late blooming 

 varieties and two or three each of Liliums auratum, tigrinum, and 

 speciosum; some Hemerocallis. I wanted Iris, too, but decided they 

 would bloom too early for a July cottage. 



Toward the end of May on a day to make your heart glad we put in 

 the Gladiolus along the bank of the stream, beginning at the right with 

 the blue Baron Hulot; then yellow Schwaben, Niagara, and Dawn; 

 through whites, Peace and Rochester; pinks, Panama, Desdemona, 

 Mrs. Frank Pendleton; to end with a blaze of red, War. The Lily 

 bulbs were put in separate clumps, tigrinum at the front doorsteps; 

 Hemerocallis at the edge of the woods, opposite the dining-room window 

 and the rest near the porch facing the stream. 



Then we went away and left them. The Gladiolus became a regular 

 part of my nightly prayers, which were answered. A line of exquisite 

 color ran along our river bank from the very first day of our arrival, 

 when a Pink Beauty blossomed to greet us, through August when 

 Baron Hulot burst into rich indigo bloom. The last week of July the 

 Lilies broke into flower. Though I have great plans for the future I 

 doubt if anything will ever be lovelier than our first Gladiolus Garden! 

 — G. E. Alsop, New York. 



Why Do Tulips "Break" ? 



To the Editors of The Garden Magazine: 



IN NOVEMBER, 1919, Mr. Sherman R. Duffy had something to say 

 on various beliefs of his regarding Tulips that provokes me to reply, 

 even at this late date. 



"Why do Tulips break?" "Why it breaks and when it will do so 

 none can tell." Very reckless statements. He has not read the gov- 

 ernment bulletin on bulb-growing which says the cause is the mosaic 

 disease. I would use a less high-sounding name, and call it blue mould; 

 possibly two diseases that look alike. However, not every diseased 

 bulb "breaks" the colors of its blossom. It is my opinion that every 

 bulb that "breaks," will show blue mould on the bulb and on the under- 

 ground part of the stem if pulled up when the break appears. Still, 

 it may be that anything which interferes with the normal functions of 

 the plant may cause the break. 



I believe the break becomes evident the spring following the planting 

 of the bulb. If a bulb is left in the ground several years, and does not 

 show a break the first year, it will not in any subsequent year until after 

 the bulb is dug and reset. This is a fact of great practical value in 



keeping a commercial line true to type. " the ultimate destiny of 



any self-colored Tulip." I do not believe it. I think there are many 

 Tulips which harbor no tendency to break. I have never seen a broken 

 Bouton d'Or, La Tulipe Noire, Gesneriana, and others, and do not 

 expect to. On the other hand, there are varieties which break con- 

 stantly and in heavy quantities. 



"Why is a Parrot?" An utterly foolish question. Why is a turnip? 

 Why is a Geranium? Why is John Smith? Why is a squash bug? 



I do not believe that the Parrot Tulip is always a Bizarre, for the 

 statement that a Parrot is always striped is not true, and the kind of 

 striping that most of the striped Parrots have is not the kind of striping 

 characteristic of the Bizarre type. 



The habit of the Tulip to break is a nightmare to the commercial 

 grower. However beautiful a break may be, he does not want to see it. 

 A striped Tulip may be exquisitely beautiful as a single bloom, but a 

 mass of it does not make a desirable bouquet, as the flower form and 

 character are lost in a meaningless mass of little speckles. It is my opin- 

 ion, too, that it is the tendency of broad handsome stripes to deteiiorate 

 year by year into stripes smaller and smaller until even the individual 

 bloom has lost all character. 



I have seen the statement that a broken bulb never gives a reversion 

 to the original color. As the stripes are constantly varying, I do not 



