232 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



Mat, 1914 



For sheer beauty I prefer P. Forresti, which Mr. Forrest brought 

 from the Alps of Yunnan and is not to be confused with P. For- 

 steri, a hybrid. Here is one of the loveliest yellow primulas imag- 

 inable. The blossoms, shaped like those of the cowslip and rising 

 in fine umbels on long stems, are a clear golden hue that changes 

 to a rich orange. They give out the odor of pineapple and the 

 leaves, which are nearly oval, are similarly fragrant. It is claimed 

 that the plants are perennial to the extent of even enduring upward 

 of half a century in China. 



It is the delicacy of P. Forresti that so attracts me. Certainly P. 

 Bulleyana is more remarkable as to color. This is difficult to des- 

 cribe. The first time that I saw the bloom I set it down as a rich 

 orange, but the tone varies so that buff, apricot and even scarlet 

 are applied to it. This primula, which came out of China in 1908, 

 is one of the very showiest of the race — far more so than P. Ja- 

 ponica, which it resembles closely in form. In England it has been 

 readily naturalized in a damp wood without protection. 



The fourth primrose in this remarkable quartette is P. Beesiana, 

 a very hardy species with foliage like that of P. vulgaris but with 

 blossoms in a dense head that develops into tiers of whorls. The 

 blossoms, produced abundantly, are of a pale rose color, the yellow 

 eye being edged with dull red. As the flower scapes are likely to 

 rise to from two to three feet, an established plant is a fine sight. 



Two more Chinese primroses are properly classable as new, so 

 slow has been their garden progress. One of them, P. Cockbumiana, 

 (1903) I regard as among the choicest of all. Its deep orange tone 

 is superb, fairly glowing above the rosette of narrow leaves. Un- 

 fortunately it is a biennial; but it is easily raised from seed. The 

 other species is P. pulverulenta. In form and color this is much the 

 same as P. Japonica, but the shades of light maroon and solferino 

 are far richer, while the foliage, stems and calyces are liberally 

 powdered with white. From crossing the two species have come 

 P. Unique and P. Lissadell Hybrid? — which, for the life of me, I 

 cannot tell apart, though they are listed separately. The blossoms, 

 in whorls, may be called vermilion, coral, pomegranate or cinna- 

 bar; by any of these names they furnish a wonderful bit of color. 



Quite as noteworthy in its way is a recent Himalayan contri- 

 bution, P. Winteri, which is being regarded with much interest as 

 the possible forerunner of a new race. From a good rosette of 

 roughly ear-shaped leaves, which sometimes are quite mealy, this 

 stemless primrose sends up large blossoms of a very delicate laven- 

 der, or bluish lilac, hue, with a creamy white centre. At present 

 it is very scarce; a single plant costs ten shillings in England. 



Of other hardy primulas that are more or less new the Himala- 

 yan, or Sikkim, cowslip from northern India deserves a thorough 

 trying out in the American garden. The clear sulphur yellow of 

 its velvety pendant blossoms is most attractive and it remains in 

 bloom a long time. Another Himalayan primrose, that is inex- 

 cusably neglected by our gardeners, is P. capitata. The blos- 

 soms, in heads round like a ball, are the richest violet in color 

 and in congenial environment will rise a foot or more above the 

 serrated pale green leaves. Then there is P. luteola, a dainty, but 

 strong growing, species from the Caucasus. The yellow blossoms 

 are borne on stems two to three feet high. This is among the 

 hardiest of the newer primulas. 



To return to China, P. Poissoni also has come from that fer- 

 tile field recently. This is very much like P. Japonica; but the 

 foliage is different and the plant is larger, the flower stems running 

 up to four, and even six, feet in its native haunts. I have it down 

 in my note book as two feet and the color of the blossoms as deep 

 solferino; some one else calls it "deep purple with yellow eye." 

 Of P. mahacea (China 1910) I can only say that it has small heads 

 of pink bloom with round leaves and is not very pretty. Nor do I 

 care particularly for P. Veitchi. Excepting that the muddy ma- 

 genta blossomsare in whorls, it is like a poor edition of P. cortusoides. 



In general Beesiana, Bulleyana, Lissadell Hybrid and Sikki- 

 mensis like moisture and may be given the same treatment 

 as Japonica. Moisture is craved by luteola also, but it wants 

 it with full sun whereas Sikkimensis likes the shade. Quite a wet 

 spot is agreeable to Poissoni and capitata will stand with its feet 

 in water, provided this is not stagnant. 



New York. H. S. Adams. 



Latticed Window Boxes For Flat Walls 



T 



^HE right end box illus- 

 trated is 5 feet 3 

 inches long; the other 

 box is 6 feet 3 inches 

 long. The material used is 1 x 

 10 in. clear white pine, free from 

 knots and imperfections. The 

 lattice is made of ^xf in. stops; 

 Unless the boxes are very large, 

 3-inch squares will be about the 

 right size for the lattice. Draw 

 off four or five of these squares, 

 with the lattice in between, on 

 apiece of stiff paper and use this 

 in dividing off the boxes. It is 

 a good plan to use a few angle 

 irons in the bottom and sides of 

 the boxes on the inside. At- 

 tach with brass screws to pre- 

 vent rust from rotting the wood. 

 If the boxes are more than 3 feet 

 long, have at least one partition 

 on the inside for. additional 

 support. 



Paint the lattice strips before 

 nailing them to the boxes. Give 

 the boxes at least three or four 

 coats of white lead and oil paint 

 before the lattice is attached, 

 and thus avoid having to paint 

 the boxes again in a few years. 

 To repaint properly it is nec- 

 essary to remove all the lattice. 



Window boxes made in artistic proportions and appropriately colored will 

 completely relieve the monotony of a flat wall 



The wall in the picture is white cement plaster and 

 for contrast the boxes were painted white and the 

 lattice green. For a brick wall paint the box green 

 and the lattice white. 



Illinois. R. S. KlRCHBERGER. 



