October, 1909 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



123 



a small root. It was promised in the spring 

 and in September I am going after it, at the 

 oldest house in the place, and when I 

 take this offshoot, that has kindly come up 

 at a convenient distance from the parent 

 plant, I shall know that I have a red "piny" 

 that has been in one family since 1800. 

 You can buy a plant sans pedigree for 

 thirty cents; ask for Paeonia officinalis, var. 

 rubra. In any event get it; your garden 

 is not complete without it and you should 

 also have the white variety {alba) unless you 

 have succumbed to the greater glory of the 

 grand P. albiflora, v ax. f estiva maxima. 



CROWN IMPERIALS 



And how about those crown imperials? 

 Very likely you saw this stately fritillary 

 in all its springtime splendor for the 

 first time this year; I know of one person 

 past fifty who did. You will be more 

 than lucky if, after searching a whole 

 town for it as I did, you are invited 

 to dig up some bulbs that trace their 

 ancestry to colonial times and back of 

 that to England. Don't make a try at 

 it even then unless you are sure of the precise 

 spot, as you are liable to cleave a fine bulb 

 with the spade; and that is nothing less than 

 murder. I know, for I did it myself, and I 

 have never been able to wash my hands of 

 the blood. Were it not for the pleasure of 

 association it would be easier by far to pur- 

 chase the bulbs. Despite their great rarity 

 in gardens nowadays — they were once quite 

 common — crown imperials {Fritillaria 

 imperialis) are not expensive. Mixed bulbs 

 are offered at a dollar and a quarter a dozen; 

 the old-fashioned red is fifteen to twenty 

 cents each and the yellow and "crown-on- 

 crown" a nickel more. They should be 

 planted about six inches deep, with a little 

 sand in the hole and the bulb slightly tilted 

 so that water may not settle in the depression 

 on top. Alice Morse Earle, who does not 

 like the odor, thinks the crown imperial 

 properly outlawed, but for my part I should 

 not feel that spring was spring among my 

 old-fashioned flowers if I should fail to see 

 it boldly piercing the ground at the very 

 earliest opportunity and hanging out its 

 circle of gay chalices, each embellished with 

 half a dozen pearls whose honey I have seen 

 a robin cleverly trying to reach. 



IRISES IN VARIETY 



The flower-de-luce {Iris Florentina and 

 Germanica) can be moved to excellent 

 advantage in September, and you never have 

 to go far to find a friend with some to pass 

 along. The old-fashioned pearl-colored iris 

 (Florentina) and the violet with purple falls 

 (Germanica type) are by far the best for the 

 old-fashioned garden. They bloom suc- 

 cessively, and the iris note may be still further 

 lengthened if you can pick up some of the 

 yellow water flag (/. pseudacorus), which 

 furnishes a beautifully clear touch of color. 

 This flag is now fairly common. Then there 

 is that old dwarf, Iris cristata, which I was 

 able to get from two old gardens, although I 

 did not know that there was any for miles 

 around. 



The bleeding heart, fragile looking but perfectly hardy, is an esteemed old-time favorite. Plant in 



a deep, moist soil if possible 



Finally, for a sixth desirable accession 

 to the old-fashioned garden I would go 

 into the wild and dig up a plant or two 

 of the New England aster, which is com- 

 mon over a wide range. Toward the 

 latter part of September it is easily recog- 

 nizable by the slightly fuzzy, light green 



leaves, the large, deep purple buds and 

 the somewhat coarse growth. If lifted 

 carefully when in bud it will not turn 

 a hair. For a fine autumn color effect 

 plant it behind a clump of yellow arte- 

 misias, preferably the kind with large 

 flowers. 



Cowslips flower so early in spring that they had best be planted now. (Primula verts, var. svperba) 



