76 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



September, 19 09 



7 Z9F S TT 



Reinforced Dahlias 



HAVING decided to set out a bed of dahlias 

 in a sunny but somewhat exposed situation 

 in the garden, the problem confronted me of staking 

 them so as to provide the greatest possible pro- 

 tection against the wind and at the same time to 

 render the stakes as inconspicuous as possible. 

 In this dilemma I hit upon the following plan: 



It occurred to me that as the dahlia stems were 

 hollow it might be possible to utilize them in hiding 

 the stakes. I therefore cut rods of telegraph wire 

 (such as linemen use) and sharpened them with a file 

 at one end. After the roots had each produced two 

 or three stems from two to two and a half 

 feet high, the rods (which had been cut 

 about a foot longer than the stems for 

 which they were intended) were poked 

 through the hollow stalks much as one 

 might thrust a sword into its scabbard. 

 It was not a difficult matter to pierce 

 the membranous partition at the nodes 

 or joints without passing outward through 

 the side of the stem. Where necessary 

 the rod was forced into the ground with a 

 hammer regardless as to whether it pene- 

 trated the root. 



The results far exceeded my expectations. 

 The plants showed no ill effects what- 

 ever, the wire bracing them well against 

 the wind, and at the same time affording the 

 stalks a certain springiness, not obtainable in any 

 other manner. The danger of the wind cutting 

 the tying material into the plant's tissue was 

 likewise obviated. 



During the latter part of August, Fargo was 

 visited by one of the worst storms experienced in 

 years, and though many trees were uprooted, the 

 two dahlia beds passed through it unharmed. 

 The accompanying photograph shows the lux- 

 uriance of the foliage throughout the summer. 

 The blooming of the plants did not seem to be 

 affected by the unusual support. 



In the fall the roots gave no evidence of any harm- 

 ful effects where the rods had penetrated them. I 

 have also found that such stakes are the best 

 obtainable for gladiolus. 



North Dakota. C. L. Meller. 



These dahlias, supported by means of wore rods 

 thrust through their hollow stalks, withstood 

 many hard storms 



How Tile Drainage Improves the 

 Garden 



A YEAR ago having just recovered from a 

 severe illness, I was advised to "go out of 

 doors and stay there." It was the middle of 

 February and the weather was beautiful, so trans- 

 ferring my household duties to stronger shoulders 

 and hiring a man, out of doors I went. For 

 years our place had been under the care of a gen- 

 eral gardener and many things needed rearrange- 

 ment. Some weeks later, while trimming trees, I 

 noticed that my neighbor, whose garden was an old, 

 well kept place and really the show garden of the 

 neighborhood, was having his soil plowed and 

 turned. 



I have never had very much experience in garden 

 work, but I know that ground must dry out before 

 it can be plowed properly. It did not seem possible 

 that the soil in that garden could be in condition to 

 plow when the ground in ours — a stiff yellow clay — 

 was a wilderness of mud, with water standing in many 

 places. To be sure the garden next door sloped to 

 either end from the middle, while our land, lying 

 farther along the ridge, lies half on the level, and 

 drops about three feet to the back fence, the slope 

 continuing to the end of the lot, making a fall of at 

 least six feet altogether. There was a system of 

 tile drainage, and why the garden should be in 

 such a condition I could not imagine. Visiting the 

 two outlets of the back drains, however, I found that 

 the one from the garden barely showed moisture 

 and that the other was quite dry. 



The tile had been laid eighteen years ago by a 

 man who claimed to understand his business. We 

 found a lamentable state of affairs on investigation, 

 no effort apparently having been made to grade the 

 ditch. Instead, the tile had been laid up hill in 

 many places and very carelessly placed. Every 

 tile was filled full and packed hard with clay. This 

 we removed, filled the end of the ditch almost full 

 of stones for a distance of two feet, replaced the 

 tiles, filled in around and over the first few with 

 stones, and laid a flat stone over each joint that did 

 not fit properly before filling in with soil. 



This drain starts in the north corner of the garden 

 and runs diagonally to a spot twenty feet east of the 

 south corner. A new drain, beginning twenty feet 

 north of the west corner, was laid straight down the 

 garden, joining the first at the back fence. The 

 amount of water that came from these drains 

 would sound unreal to one who had not seen it. 



The second drain, upon investigation, was found 

 to be in the same condition as the first, and was 

 similarly treated. In a few days the soil was in a 

 fit condition to be plowed. 



While digging the ditches I discovered that but 

 six inches of good soil covered our clay bank at the 

 upper end of the garden, with still less at the back. 

 My Garden Magazine showed what was needed 

 here; all the dead leaves and grass on the place 

 were raked up and spread over that part of the 

 garden, ten loads of cinders scattered over them, with 

 fifteen loads of manure as a finishing touch. Each 

 furrow was plowed twice, and the improvement 

 in the condition of the ground was surprising. 



Our early vegetables were planted just a few davs 

 later than those of our neighbors'. How things did 

 grow! And not a bit of trouble did we have all 

 season with water which did not drain off. 



At the season's height, the garden was beautiful 

 and everyone who came to the house visited it and 

 wanted to know how we had managed it. The 

 answer at all times was "First laid tile drains, and 

 then broke up the clay." 



Last fall I added a 20-foot strip of land to the 

 southwest side of the garden, and transplanted my 

 berries there. We have just finished a drain along 

 the outer edge which will answer a double purpose, 

 the ditch being used as a permanent sweet pea bed 

 by renewing the soil each season. 



At no time this spring has there been mud in the 

 garden, and as soon as possible we will relay the 

 drains about the house and front yard, thereby 

 adding a new branch to the system. The amount 

 of real good derived from a system of tile drains is, 

 in our estimation, worth many, many times the 

 money value of the tiles and labor combined. A 

 single row of tile laid here and there through a garden 

 will improve the soil to a wonderful extent. 



West Virginia. Mrs. Charles C. Woods. 



A Fragrant Night Bloomer 



THE beautiful white flower here pictured which 

 looks and smeUs like a verbena is Abronia 

 fragrans, one of the most charming flowers of the 

 Rocky Mountains and one of the easiest to grow in 

 Eastern gardens. Although it is perennial it is said 

 to bloom the first year from seed sown indoors in 

 March. 



The fragrant Abronia is a trailing plant which 

 grows only a foot or so high and blooms nearly all 



The "wild four o'clock" of Colorado will bloom 

 nearly all summer in Elastem gardens. Sow seed 



now 



summer. It has the great interest of being a night- 

 bloomer and is known in Colorado as the "wild 

 four o'clock." 



As the most valuable flowers for evening effect are 

 fragrant white flowers, we hope that many of our 

 readers will give this interesting plant a trial, 

 especially as it can now be had from seed. 



July and August are good months in which to sow 

 the seed. The best plan is to sow the seeds in pots of 

 sandy soil in summer and winter the plants in the 

 coldframe. By this method we hope our readers 

 will be able to secure continuous bloom from June 

 until frost, and we hope that anyone who has success 

 with it will report the particulars to The Garden 

 Magazine. 



Peel off the husk before sowing the seed. 



If you have a bare, sandy place or wish a new kind 

 of basket plant or something now for the rockery, 

 try Abronia jragrans. 



New York. W. M. 



A Correction 



MR. GROFF informs us that the statement 

 on page 231 of the May Garden Maga- 

 zine, with reference to the naming of gladiolus 

 hybrids, is incorrect, inasmuch as, beginning with 

 this season, he has decided to name a certain number 

 of selected varieties of his particular strains. 



