188 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



November, 1909 



Fragrant Shrubs and Vines 



TO THE list of fragrant shrubs and fragrant vines 

 enumerated by Mr. John Williams in his able 

 and interesting article in the July number of The 

 Garden Magazine I would add two shrubs and 

 one vine. The shrubs are the Russian olive (Elasag- 

 nus angustijolin) and the silver berry {Elmagnus 

 argentea). True, their fragrance is of short dura 

 tion even as their short-lived inconspicuous flowers, 

 but while it lasts it is well worth having in the shrub- 

 bery group. It is not aggressive, but subtly sugges- 

 tive, especially that of the silver berry, which goes 

 a long way to atone for the somewhat disagreeable 

 odor of its ripe berries when these are crushed. 

 These shrubs, moreover, are hardy in the Dakotas, 

 and will serve as substitutes for other fragrant 

 shrubs that are not hardy in that region. 



The vine whose fragrance I would not like to 

 miss is a native of the Dakotas, and indeed of all 

 the Northwest, where along the river banks it flings 

 its branches from the tops of the highest trees. 

 This vine is none other than the common wild grape. 

 Its fragrance hovers about the plant during the 

 latter half of June when the tiny greenish flowers 

 open. The word "hovers" describes the nature of 

 the perfume better than any other word 1 know of, 

 for it is most distinct at a distance and seems all 

 but gone when you thrust your nose against the 

 flowers. To me its fragrance appears most com- 

 parable to that of the heliotrope, with a character 

 all its own. The two foregoing shrubs and the 

 wild grape vine will afford fragrance after the lilacs 

 are out of bloom, the shrubs taking up the scent 

 where the lilacs leave off and the grape continuing 

 the charm almost up to July. Nothing is cheaper 

 (for it abounds in almost every woodland), nothing 

 hardier and nothing will transplant more readily 

 than the wild grape. I have successfully trans- 

 planted from the woods old vines that had climbed 

 high into the treetops. There is one drawback, 

 though not a very serious one: the leaves are as 

 late as those of the ash in coming forth in spring, 

 holding on, however, fairly well in fall. 



Dakota. L. C. Meller. 



Transplanting the Butterfly Weed 



IN the September, 1909, issue of The Garden 

 Magazine, on page 74, and under the head, 

 "The Hardy Border," you speak of the hundreds 

 of attempts that have been made to introduce the 

 butterfly weed (Asclepias, tuber osa) into gardens, 

 etc., and that "no one knows how to handle it." 

 It may be that I and my neighbor have had excep- 

 tionally good fortune, for we have both succeeded 

 reasonably well in introducing the butterfly weed 

 into our gardens in Olney, Philadelphia. 



Up until several years ago I knew next to nothing 

 about plants or growing or caring for them, and 

 do not consider that I have now any more than a 

 mere smattering of knowledge in that field. For 

 the past few years I have been especially industriou? 

 in the study, search for, and introduction into* my 

 garden, of such perennial wild flowers as could be 



accommodated and made to grow and thrive in the 

 border garden in the rear of a 20 x 100 lot. Being 

 very much occupied during the day and often busy 

 during the evenings, I had but little time to devote 

 to plants, and have so far just touched the fringe 

 of the most delightful experience of gardening. 

 But early in my career I tackled the butterfly weed, 

 and in the fall of 1907 obtained several roots in 

 Gloucester County, N. J., transplanted them into 

 my garden, and was rewarded with a fair cluster 

 of the beautiful orange blossoms of Asclepias tube- 

 rosa in 1908, and a better cluster in 1909. 



My plan of action was as follows: Having located 

 a good, hardy looking plant, I spaded carefully all 

 around it and cleared as much of the very long 

 and often abruptly branched root as possible before 

 I had the misfortune to break it (the root is quite 

 brittle and will endure but little handling); then I 

 took the root I had and carefully wrapped it up in 

 newspapers to keep out the sun and air and soaked 

 the package thoroughly in water, and then, the 

 same day, or perhaps the next day or two, always 

 keeping the package containing the roots moist 

 and cool, I planted the roots in soil made light by 

 the addition of sand and leaf mold, in a situation 

 where the plant would, when growing, get plenty of 

 sun and air. I firmed the soil well around the roots 

 and put a mulch of sphagnum moss or old leaves 

 on top of the soil where the roots were planted. 

 The roots were obtained in August or September 

 about when the plants had finished blooming, or 

 while the pod was still green. My success is not 

 due to any superior knowledge I have of the butter- 

 fly weed, but rather to a sort of belief that most 

 anything can be moved if it is carefully handled, 

 promptly transplanted, and given a habitat some- 

 what similar to the one from which it is taken. 



Pennsylvania. Robert Mayer. 



A Garden Chart and Cabinet 



I HAVE been acting on your suggestion to make a 

 chart of one's garden in advance, but found 

 it necessary to supplement your suggestions with 

 ideas which may be valuable to others. 



I bought some paper with faint blue lines ruled 

 both ways so as to form small squares, eight to an 

 inch. I have taken each square to represent one 

 square foot of my garden, which makes it quite easy 

 to locate each row or hill for the different vegetables. 

 I draw lines with red pencil to indicate each row, 

 and each blue line is numbered consecutively also 

 with red pencil. I then make a list of the vegetables 

 and set alongside the names the number to corres- 

 pond with the line on the chart, and opposite the 

 name mark such data as I want? "when to plant," 

 " how deep," " how far apart," "date planted," etc. 



I paste the chart and list in an "every-day" file 

 same as used in offices for filing papers, and take 

 the whole in the garden for observation and such 

 notes as are necessarv. It was inconvenient, how- 



This cabinet was large enough for all purposes and 

 could be moved at will 



A home-made garden cabinet, easy to construct 

 and of the greatest convenience 



ever, to write, as usually there is nothing handy 

 to write on, so I devised a combination seed cabinet 

 and stand. This is made in two separate parts, 

 one consisting of four legs fastened by hinges 

 to a flat wood strip, on which the cabinet rests. 

 The leg section is 28 inches high and folds up to 

 make it more convenient to carry. The cabinet 

 consists of four drawers, three 3 inches high and 

 one 5 inches high; the top one holds my charts 

 and pencils, the next flower seeds, the next vegetable 

 seeds and the bottom one small tools, ball of twine, 

 wood stakes, measuring rule, etc. The whole 

 measures 15 x 15 in. and is 15 in. high. All of 

 the cabinet is made of J in. wood except the top 

 and bottom which are J in. A strong cord is fas- 

 tened at the back, which is provided with a loop 

 which slips over a screw eye on the leg and prevents 

 the cabinet tipping when the drawers are opened; 

 and when I carry the cabinet it answers for a handle, 

 being fastened to the knob of the bottom drawer. 

 This also prevents the drawers slipping out. When 

 the thing is set up it is high enough to write on. 

 New Jersey. Louis G. Beers. 



Where Dahlias Are Hardy 



DAHLIA lovers in localities where the beauties 

 come up the second spring after planting, 

 weathering severe winters with no other protection 

 than a little mulch, or a flat stone, frequently have 

 bright hopes dashed by the non-appearance of rich 

 rank shoots confidently expected in the third spring. 

 The first year's growth is a set of fine fat tubers 

 and beautiful plants. The second year brings 

 another set of tubers and still finer plants, but 

 it is probable that during the summer the first 

 set of tubers has begun to decay, and this, continuing 

 through fall and winter, forms a watery mass around 

 those that are sound. Naturally this freezes easily 

 and the life germ in the sound tubers is either 

 killed or so enfeebled that only puny, disappointing 

 plants appear. Here in Southeastern Kentucky the 

 wisest plan seems to be to clear away the stalks 

 after frost the first year, mulch thinly and lay a 

 stone or plank on the hill, cultivate, feed and water 

 plentifully through the second summer, thereby 

 insuring a magnificent reward in plants and blos- 

 soms; and in the fall dig and dry, re-setting in the 

 following spring, being careful never to set where 

 tubers have decayed. It seems to act as a poison 

 in the soil to other dahlias. 



Kentucky. L. B. M. 



