326 



The Garden Magazine, July, 1922 



Ours is pretty much an old-fashioned garden, having been started in 

 1825 by my grandmother with the help of her father. Though many 

 of the original denizens have disappeared from the garden, it still has 

 Box-bordered beds and quantities of both white and purple English 

 Violets, Cowslips, Blue Bottles, Bouncing Bet, a slender Iris called by 

 us Fleur-de-lis or Blue Lilies (oh! so sweet), and old-time Roses — pink 

 Musk Cluster, Harrison Yellow, Pink Daily, Cabbage Roses, pink and 

 red Moss, Damask, Maiden's Blush; and a variety known to us only as 

 Hybrid Perpetual. There are such dear spots in this old garden, 

 banks of Violets and Clove Pinks; sheltered spots under the little single 

 white Spiraea devoted to the earliest Snowdrops, a double variety so 

 low growing that it hardly gets above ground with its early blooms 

 which are generally the first flowers, except the Violets which bloom all 

 winter. 



I must ask about a little Iris we used to have which was called Fair 

 Maid of February, very light colored, delicate lavender or nearly white, 

 and quite fragrant. It was one of the earliest flowers to bloom. Does 

 any reader know where it can be had? — Amy Henderson, Worry, N. C. 

 — We do not recognize the name, nor is it in the Check List of the 

 American Iris Society. — Ed. 



Making Your Own Porch Boxes 



To the Editors of The Garden Magazine: 



THE home-made Portland cement flower boxes shown in accom- 

 panying photograph have stood two winters without a crack. The 

 rmold was so made that the foot could be omitted if desired and the 

 initial letter was on a piece of tin plate and could be used or not as one 

 ■chose. They cost about $1.25 each, including the mold. — Wm. H. 

 :Singer, West Allis, Wis. 



PORCH BOXES THAT WITHSTAND THE WINTER 



Cement serves many purposes nowadays and the inge- 

 nious gardener can turn slack moments to good account 



Of Platycodon and Mignonette 



To the Editors of The Garden Magazine: 



ALWAYS interested in color effects in the garden, I have a spring 

 >■ border along the south side of the house that is very charming. 

 I call it my pastel border. The colors are white, pale yellow, lavender- 

 blue and rose. They are furnished by Arabis alpina, Primrose veris 

 superba, Phlox divaricata, and Tulip Clara Butt. The Primrose is 

 superb and was first made known to me by a letter in your Open 

 Column several years ago. 



There is one hardy flower, the Platycodon, that I would like to see 

 receive more prominence in lists of perennials. It is such a dependable 

 member of one's garden family that I always turn to it with gratitude 

 after disappointing experiences with the (for me) elusive Delphinium 

 and the Hollyhocks and Foxgloves that disappear during a wet winter. 

 Platycodon is easily raised from seed; blooms when very small; increases 

 in size from year to year until it forms a handsome bush, blooming when 

 other perennials are scarce; its leaves are glossy and seem to be ab- 

 solutely immune from the attack of insects and disease, and the plant 

 does not winter kill. I have a large number of plants all raised from 

 two packages of seed, and when they are in full bloom the garden is a 

 blue and white delight. It is true, I will admit, that the blue is not the 

 lovely pure blue we seek so diligently, and it is also true that the flowers 

 fade quickly when cut. I describe the color as delft blue and, with the 



white, it reminds me of old china and old quilts. Two of the plants 

 (a blue and a white) show a tendency to produce double flowers, the 

 white double resembling a Camellia. 



May I ask for suggestions as to the raising of Mignonette from seed? 

 I crave it in quantities; but if I start the plants indoors they refuse to 

 transplant or sulk so long after transplanting that it is late before I get 

 any bloom. If I plant the seed outdoors when the weather is warm, 

 the result is the same. I am not one of the fortunate ones who possess 

 a greenhouse. How can I get bloom reasonably early from seed? — 

 Gertrude H. Smith, Haddenfield, N. J. 



— -Start your Mignonette in pots and transplant. — Ed. 



Evergreens and Bulbs in Northwest Washington 



To the Editors of The Garden Magazine: 



1HAVE become very much interested in the letters of the Open 

 Column telling about plants of all kinds and how to grow them. Our 

 native tree, the Douglas Fir, grows here in the valleys and on the hills; 

 also on the islands of Puget Sound. The Rhododendrons, and many 

 species of Cedar, Juniper, and other evergreens including the Madrona 

 tree — which has brown bark — also grow wild on the islands and are used 

 as lawn specimens in ornamental planting. The queen of shrubs, 

 the Rose, is at her best on Puget Sound for about six months, and bulbs 

 — Tulips, Narcissus, Daffodils, etc. — are widely used. In fact, Tulips 

 have become so popular here that last year we named our city Tulip 

 Town and had a large and successful parade, and in the fall planted 

 about 100,000 new Tulips and probably as many more other bulbs of 

 various kinds. There seems to be no enemy or drawback to growing 

 bulbs here in this cool, damp climate and good clay subsoil. Darwin 

 Tulips grow 24 in. tall; and Daffodils, Hyacinths, Jonquils, and Nar- 

 cissus are wonderful in their blooming season. 



The Garden Magazine grows better every issue. I think I will try 

 to get some new subscribers. I keep all the issues on file and often re- 

 fer to the pictures, designs, and articles for suggestions in my business, 

 landscape gardening. A friend who paints is using the first page pict- 

 ures as studies. — C. R. S. Egbert, Bellingham, Wash. 



Growing the Alligator Pear 



To the Editors of The Garden Magazine: 



HAVE any of your readers ever tried raising the Alligator Pear 

 (Persea gratissima) in the house from seed? I planted two this 

 autumn in 6-inch pots. One is a great success, being now 12 inches 

 high, leaves green with a tinge of red; the other has been very slow in 

 developing, but is alive. Can they be put out-of-doors in summer 

 and what would be the best treatment? — Mrs. Edward A. Brigham, 

 North Grafton, Mass. 



— The Alligator Pear is a sub-tropical plant. It will not endure 

 frost but will thrive fairly well in about the same conditions during 

 the summertime as will an Orange. It requires a fair amount of 

 heat to carry fruit, but if grown in the North needs protection 

 each winter and good feeding, being naturally a very gross feeder. 



ALLIGATOR PEARS ON EXHIBITION 



Here are a dozen varieties of Alligator Pear (Avo- 

 cado), the highest priced fruit on the market, as exhib- 

 ited at the Los Angeles (Cal.) Chamber of Commerce 



