68 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



September, 1911 



(Editor's Note. — We want to know how suc- 

 cessful workers do things in order to put actual 

 experiences before our thousands of readers in all 

 parts of the country. Every reader is invited to con- 

 tribute a short note on some interesting experience. 

 Just state the facts about some ingenious idea that you 

 have actually worked out yourself or have seen.) 



Hardy violets in 30° below 



Double English violets that are 

 perfectly hardy in a climate where the 

 mercury goe s to thirty-six below zero 

 seems a dream, but unlike most dreams 

 it has come true. I bought one dozen 

 plants three years ago, and paid $4.00 a 

 dozen for them. I watched them and 

 tended them with as much care as one would 

 a baby, and now I have over one hundred 

 plants all in full bloom, as large, as double, 

 and as exquisite in perfume as any you can 

 buy from the florist in winter. For a 

 border, nothing could be more beautiful. 

 Has any one ever tried them? And if 

 so, has she been equally successful? — 

 Mrs. F. W. G., Pennsylvania. 



The woody nightshade 



I have always been a great admirer 

 of the common woody nightshade (Sol- 

 atium Dulcamara) in the wild; es- 

 pecially when the berries that follow the 

 bluish blossoms have turned bright red 

 and look luscious enough to eat, despite 

 their reputation of being poisonous. I 

 never realized the possibilities of this 

 nightshade under cultivation, however, 

 until last October, when I ran across a 

 plant that, I fancy, had spread to the 

 extreme fulness of expression. It covered 

 completely a space six feet square, and 

 there having been no frost, was in perfect 

 condition. No end of the berries fairly 

 glowed from the mass of foliage, and here 

 and there peeped out a thin bunch of be- 

 lated flowers. The sight suggested the 

 value of the nightshade on banks or the 

 top of sustaining walls. I have never 

 known children to eat the berries or those 

 of the black nightshade (S. nigrum), 

 which also is said to be poisonous. Neither 

 of them is the so-called deadly nightshade: 

 that is Atropa belladonna, a related 

 European perennial with bell-shaped 

 blossoms of a deep purple. It seems that 

 in Wood's day Solanum Dulcamara, and 

 not Celastrus scandens, was called "bitter- 

 sweet," which is natural enough in view 

 of the old generic name. It belongs to 

 Europe, but long ago was naturalized 

 here.— C. C. B., New York. 



An untamed rose 



Is there any way to prune rugosa rose 

 bushes and prevent them from becoming 

 straggly? I tried cutting them back, but 

 the only result was a stump, while new 

 shoots came from the roots. Nurserymen 

 have been unable to tell me how to induce 

 the plants to branch. They are good when 

 they grow naturally, but would be better 

 if thickened up a little. — K. L., Illinois. 



The blue monkey flower 



A few years ago I was agreeably sur- 

 prised to find in the hardy garden of 

 a neighbor a plant of the blue monkey 

 flower (Mimulus ringens). It had been 

 taken from the edge of a neighboring 

 ditch. With plenty of room, it had devel- 

 oped to the maximum size, and with its 

 many blue, or rather violet-purple, blossoms 

 was really handsome. I have since tried 



The blue monkey flower {Mimulus ringens) is a good 

 perennial to transplant from the wild 



the same experiment with this perennial, 

 bringing home young plants which begin 

 to flower when less than a foot high. As 

 the plant is not sightly after its summer 

 blooming, it is rather better for naturalizing 

 than for the border. One plant, I find, is 

 enough for the latter. The blue monkey 

 flower grows naturally in wet places, from 

 the Maritime Provinces to the Southwest, 

 but it does not appear to mind ordinary 

 garden conditions. — H. S. A., Connecticut. 



Figs in a cold climate 



About six years ago I planted a tiny 

 fig tree by the south wall of our 

 house. Since then, I have tried different 

 methods of winter protection, but each 

 year (with the exception of one) the tree 

 has died back to the ground. By putting 

 two headless barrels, one above the other, 

 and fastening them rigidly together we 

 saved the tree for one year, anyway. The 

 tree inside the barrels was surrounded by 



straw and manure, and a cover was put 

 on over the top. Only the ends of the 

 branches died that year. Considerable 

 growth was made the following summer 

 and the tree was full of ripe figs when frost 

 came last summer, after no winter protec- 

 tion. Had I allowed only three or four 

 of the branches to grow from the ground 

 and thinned the fruit, they would have 

 ripened. The ripe fruit is yellowish, with 

 pink flesh, and is very sweet. The tree is 

 decidedly ornamental, having immense, 

 handsomely shaped leaves of a beautif ul]rich 

 green.— Mrs. G. F. M. S., New York. 



Shrubs from seed 



Raising the althea (Hibiscus Syriacus) 

 from seed is easy. A bush with single 

 flowers will scatter its seeds widely, and 

 many plants will come up around the parent 

 stock. These altheas bloom when two 

 years old and only a foot or two high. A 

 group makes an attractive planting. I 

 now have a pretty, white-flowered, single 

 althea, a seedling from a named lavender 

 variety, which is far prettier than its 

 parent. — M. S., Illinois. 



An excellent yellow perennial 



Although the fleabane is one of the 

 oldest of cultivated plants in this country, 

 it is not at all common in gardens. 

 Nowadays there are several good varieties 

 to be had. One of the best is Inula grandi- 

 flora. It grows about two feet high, has 

 handsome foliage and the blossoms, like 

 immense orange daisies, are exceedingly 

 effective in the hardy border. They are 

 produced through the summer and into 

 September. I also grow the elecampane 

 (/. Helenium), an old-fashioned New 

 England horse remedy that occasionally 

 brightens up a roadside in our part of the 

 country. This is much taller and has 

 smaller blossoms. I rather like it in the 

 garden, but down our way I seem to be the 

 only one that does. — W. C., Massachusetts. 



Of the newer fleabanes. Inula grandiflora. Is a 

 showy perennial suitable for the hardy border 





