February, l !> l •i 



T H E G A H I ) E N M A C. A Z I N E 



r.i 



(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.) 



Bulbs in fibre 



Having read that bulbs grown in fibre 

 produce earlier and better flowers than 

 those grown in soil I decided, last winter, 

 to try the experiment. The bulbs were 

 planted in moistened fibre in non-porous 

 bowls, put in a darkened, unheated 

 room, and the fibre kept moist. Growth 

 soon started, the root-growth being par- 

 ticularly vigorous, the roots in some cases 

 pushing up above the surface of the fibre. 

 Two Roman hyacinth bulbs decayed, prob- 

 ably owing to too much water, and two 

 Narcissus Horsfieldii bulbs were destroyed 

 by little white grubs. The rest grew finely 

 and produced many plump buds, but most 

 of the buds, when about ready to open, 

 gradually dried up and I had hardly any 

 flowers at all. I would be very glad if any- 

 one could throw any light on the causes 

 of these poor results. — H. C, New York. 



Combining anemones and abutilons 



Having some surplus roots of white 

 anemone several years ago, I filled in all 

 the space around a row of young abutilons, 

 intending to remove the plants later. The 

 latter were about six feet tall and of bushy 

 growth, so I was surprised to see the wind- 

 flower plants making a thrifty and vigorous 

 growth. They climbed right up through the 

 branches of the "trees" and several feet 

 above them, and as the anemone foliage is 

 completely hidden beautiful and rare ane- 

 mone flowered Japanese maple trees are glo- 

 rifying one corner of my garden. Even in 

 the space set apart for anemones, with then- 

 best interests catered to it in every way I 

 have never had as lavish bloomers, or as 

 perfect blooms as my tree garden shows. 

 In the spring and fall, when it is necessary 

 to fertilize the shrubs, I lift the anemones 

 and later put them back in the bed without 

 being hurt in the least. — E. S., Cal. 



Climbing cucumbers 



Our garden space was very limited last 

 year, and as we were fond of cucumbers 

 and had no place for them in the garden, 

 we planted seeds of the Japanese climbing 

 variety by the back porch, just where they 

 would catch the drip from the refrigerator. 



At first they needed strings, but soon the 

 lattice around the porch gave them the 

 necessary support, and they grew in a most 

 astonishing manner, giving us all the cu- 

 cumbers we could possibly use — and more, 

 too.— D. R., 111. 



To control spreading 



In order to control the spreading habit 

 of Achillea The Pearl and similar plants, 

 which increase by cuckers and have no 

 respect for their garden neighbors' rights, 

 plant them in a box and knock out the 

 bottom before sinking it in the border. I 

 have known this trick to be used with the 

 plume poppy (Bocconia), a similar of- 

 fender.— A. H. B., Penna. 



Making house plants comfortable 



Many people complain that they cannot 

 keep house plants through the winter on 

 account of gas. My experience has been 

 that it is not so much the gas in the house 

 as the dry, hot air. I had the usual diffi- 

 culty but now by a careful study of condi- 

 tions I have flowers all winter. In a small 

 city house — one built on the tunnel plan, 

 with windows only in front and rear — it 

 is difficult to find a suitable place for 

 plants. It was because the bathroom 

 window faced south that I first thought of 

 putting some of my favorites there. This 

 proved the best possible place, not on ac- 

 count of being a south window, but be- 

 cause the plants had a moist atmosphere. 

 In addition to the free use of water by the 

 family I made a point every day of letting 

 the hot water run until the reservoir was 

 emptied, and the steam had given the room 

 the true greenhouse atmosphere. The 

 window-sill and two shelves above it were 

 filled with plants. I had twenty plants 

 of Chinese primroses; a fine plant of Prim- 

 ula Kewensis; oxalis, begonias, and among 

 others, what was new to me but a good 

 bloomer, Eupatorium riparium. — A. H. B., 

 Penna. 



Making a planting soil 



I have a little scheme for preparing the 

 soil in which seed is to be planted, and I 

 seldom fail to get a good stand of plants if 

 the seed is all right. I make a hand sieve 

 of convenient size about 14 x 24 X3I in. 

 using wire mosquito netting for the screen. 

 Through this sieve I pass sufficient garden 

 soil to give me three or four pails of sifted 

 soil. I also pass through the sieve the same 

 quantity of builders' sand. I then thor- 

 oughly mix together the sifted soil and 

 sand. Passing it through a coal sieve a 

 few times will do the trick, although it can 

 be done with a shovel. The above quantity 

 is sufficient for an ordinary garden for one 

 season. After sowing the seed in a drill, 

 I cover with the soil-sand mixture and 

 thoroughly firm covering on the seeds, 

 usually by standing on a narrow board 

 placed over the planting. No matter how 

 hard it rains or how hot the sun shines, 

 the sand keeps the covering friable and the 

 seed-sprouts easily break through. If the 

 covering is dry it will run from the hand 



the same as timothy seed does when a 

 handful is held up with thumb uppermost. 

 This facilitates equal distribution of the 

 covering. My plan takes less time in the 

 aggregate than the old way of picking out 

 the stones and pulverizing the soil by hand 

 as the seeds are covered. I use the mixture 

 on all seeds smaller than corn, beans and 

 peas. A heavy clay soil may need a larger 

 proportion of sand. — G. E. S., New York. 



Wild cucumber as a fence 



Desiring to cover an unsightly wire fence. 

 I sowed the seed of the wild cucumber 

 {Echinocystis lobata) late in October. The 

 first of June when the vines were up and 

 growing well, I set out in front of them 

 plants of the early-flowering pink cosmos, 

 which had been started in the house. The 

 cosmos commenced to bloom in July, and 

 the effect of the dainty pink blossoms 

 against the background of light green 

 leaves, was very pretty. But in August, 

 when the vines were a mass of feathery 

 white bloom, and the cosmos also blooming 

 abundantly the effect was charming. The 

 cosmos served to conceal the bare stalks 

 of the vines for the wild cucumber sheds 

 its lower leaves early. — R. V. S., Maine. 



Flowers for a shady border 



If one wants to have a border of flowers 

 in a shady place, it is very hard to find 

 bright colored flowers that bloom well. 

 But any of the following plants will make 

 pretty a shady place from the middle of 

 May until frost. For May bloom put to 

 the front of the border a lot of wake robin 

 {Trillium grandiflorum) and Spanish blue- 

 bells (Scilla Hispanica). The former are 

 white but turn pink before they fade. They 

 need no care after once started but it is 

 best to put leaf mold around the roots 

 when planting. The scillas come in blue, 

 white and pink. At the back of the border 

 a few bushes of Azalea Hinodegiri would 

 be a mass of red flowers in May — this is 

 a better color than the commoner amcena — 

 it is very hardy ; but if too expensive bleed- 

 ing heart {Dicentra spectabilis) does well 

 in the shade and produces its pretty pink 

 flowers during May and part of June. It 

 grows two and a half feet high but dies 

 down later so should be put back of 

 plants that will bloom late in the summer. 

 For June dark red and white sweet 

 William planted in masses toward the 

 front of the border is very bright all the 

 month and into July, when the bee balm 

 (Monarda didyma) comes into bloom and 

 lasts till the end of August. Plant this 

 in masses also. Clumps of cardinal flower 

 {Lobelia cardinalis) are lovely for the end 

 of August and part of September. From 

 then till frost the Japanese anemones in 

 deep and light pink, and white are beauti- 

 ful. All these plants are perennial and 

 need little care. To fill any vacant places 

 in the border, tuberous begonias bloom all 

 summer and do well in shade, but the bulbs 

 have to be taken up in the fall. They are 

 low-growing, so are best at the front of the 

 border. — M. N., Penna. 



