April. 19 18 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



139 



IV Perennials for Permanency 



HpO KEEP in spiritual alignment with the 



* exigencies of the times, if you want a 

 perennial border, you should yourself start 

 it from seed. This would mean that the old 

 favorites the Iris, the Peony, the Lily and 

 the Phlox are not for you, so probably there 

 will be an adjustment of theories to prac- 

 tical needs! But a continuous and efFective 

 display can be secured from the accompany- 

 ing list. All of them are easy to grow and 

 have a long blooming season. If the seed is 

 sown early many of them will blossom the 

 first year. 



In May, as soon as the ground is sufficiently 

 warm, sow the seeds where they are to appear 

 permanently, and as soon as the plants are 

 large enough transplant them to proper 

 distances. Exceptions to this rule are the 

 Hollyhocks which should be sown in August 

 to assure bloom the following year; and if 

 you sow the English Daisies, Forgetmenots 

 and Arabis in frames or in the reserve garden, 

 they will not resent being transplanted to 

 their permanent positions in the spring. This 

 will enable you to sow in their stead Sweet 

 Alyssum and Calendulas for bloom the first 

 year. Poppies, which are over in July, can 

 be sown in the place of the Hollyhocks. 

 The advantage that accrues from moving 

 those three plants in the spring is that they 

 serve as a carpet of small bloom. Surplus 

 plants can be used to fill in gaps which show 

 in the bed. As the larger perennials grow 

 they will soon eclipse these smaller plants, 

 whose chief value lies in their early spring 

 effect. 



V. For the Ultra Patriot 



"\X7'HEN space is limited and your patriot- 



* ' ism so intense that, in duty bound, 

 you feel you ought to devote every inch to 

 useful plants try the fifth plan. Despite its 

 utilitarian character, it works out interest- 

 ingly, and in effect is really beautiful. The 

 large leaves and the white blossoms of the 

 rhubarb, and the feathery asparagus, though 

 planted mainly for their decorative qualities 



in early spring, before anything else is ready, 

 will be appreciated on the dining table. 



The permanent plants and herbs are 

 grouped at the ends of the border where they 

 need not be disturbed when the bed is 

 being spaded. On the fence the scarlet 

 runner beans are both effective and edible, 

 and the tomatoes are suggestive of the love 

 apples, as they were so-called in old-fashioned 

 gardens. These small ones are excellent 

 either as a salad or preserved, and come 

 in a variety of forms: pear, plum and 



"Alus Well 



C r flowers are messages 

 of Love sent to us 

 from the Almi&htif 



^-^ Inetf are ready to receive 

 us with open arms and yielding 

 lips. Iheir caresses are sincere 

 and natural. Their message is of 

 peace and Trancruililu^ and con- 

 fidence. Alls well-God is still 

 in His Heaven-. * ft «t, ^ 



When days are darkest, 

 when hope is faintest^^~ap 

 among the flowers ~ drink, in. 

 their message of peace- and 

 be comforted. «*l- «^. «*. «*- 



\Ve need flowers now, 

 as never before. "We are just 

 be^inninc^io realize their true 

 meaning. *-■•&*_•■ «^ «t. <*, 



Flowers! Heavenly messen- 

 gers of Peace! May God £tve us 

 more of thenv- 



cherry, and in color both red and yellow. 



One strong color note must be introduced. 

 Calendulas serve this purpose appropriately — 

 though in modern times it stretches the point 

 to call them useful for flavoring soups. These 

 are set off by the gray green sage, and the 

 silvery green of the splendid New Zealand 

 spinach, a variety that can be picked until 

 frost. The decorative qualities of parsley and 

 carrots as an edging all will admit. The 

 radishes at the back may be allowed to 

 flower, or they can be pulled and replaced 

 by gray-green late cabbages, or the taller 

 Brussels sprouts. If so many peppers prove 

 too great a concession to beauty, try the more 



prosaic beets, whose tops and roots are alike 



edible; or Swiss chard. 



If you have a bird, plant some Sunflowers 



whose seeds it will enjoy. Cucumbers might 

 share the fence with the tomatoes, or if you 

 go away, in late summer plant early peas if 

 the exposure is a sunny one. 



This border is not intended to take the 

 place of the more ample vegetable plot, but to 

 supplement it in an interesting manner. A 

 younger member of the family might take 

 charge of it with profit. Seeds or plants are 

 set out as designated, but to save expense, 

 rhubarb and asparagus may be raised from 

 seed, though to do so takes two years; and 

 peppers and tomatoes started indoors in 

 boxes. 



Counting the Cost 



THE COST of the seeds suggested in the 

 tables is of course an approximation, be- 

 cause the size and price of the packets differ 

 so, it would be impossible to quote with any 

 degree of exactness. 



If, this summer, flowers will go a long way 

 in gratifying the spiritual craving for expres- 

 sion that is sure to be in evidence, the raising 

 of vegetables will, to countless thousands 

 who could not help in any other way, create 

 in their hearts the feeling that they are 

 doing their "bit," and at the call delve in the 

 fecund soil; for deep down in all of us slumbers 

 the age-old love of the earth. 



Shrubs That Keep Their Foliage Late w. h. judd 



MANY of those deciduous leaved shrubs 

 which retain their foliage in a state 

 of fairly good perfection much later 

 than the majority are worthy of being 

 made a note of and more generally planted as 

 they considerably help to shorten the long and 

 dreary months of winter. It was during the 

 third week of November that these random 

 notes were made in the Arnold Arboretum. 



Foremost among them is Evonymus Ham- 

 iltonianus variety semipersistens. This forms 

 a small, much branched, erect growing tree 

 about 15 ft. high and almost as broad; al- 

 though not known in a wild state it is pre- 

 sumed to be of Chinese origin. The foliage is 

 retained later than those of any other shrub, 

 usually remaining on in a fairly good condition 

 until close on Christmas, and the leaves do not 

 change color before falling off. This year the 

 tree has fruited very freely, but these are 

 small and unattractive. Ligustrum Prattii 

 retains its leaves quite late, which are narrow, 

 of a deep green and glossy appearance, and a 

 very suitable plant for situations south of us 

 as the young growths are often killed back 

 during the winter. 



By far the most attractive plant at the 



Arboretum last fall was Ligustrum vulgare var. 

 foliosum. This variety is more spreading in 

 habit than the type and the foliage is narrower 

 and more dense, and the whole shrub far more 

 freely fruited. The fruits are produced in 

 large, dense terminal clusters of a shiny black 

 color, and these are left alone by the birds. 

 The foliage is held on perfectly green much 

 later than the familiar Ligustium vulgare, and 

 is a plant to be highly recommended, especi- 

 ally for planting on the borders of woodlands, 

 and can be freely propagated from cuttings. 

 The common Ligustrum ovalifolium may b€ 

 included in these notes but is too well known 

 to call for further description. 



Forsythia europea is a tall upright grow- 

 ing shrub, here about 12 ft. tall and keeps its 

 foliage later than any of the other well known 

 varieties, but like those, eventually turns 

 yellow before falling cff. The "Wayfaring 

 Tree" of Europe, Viburnum Lantana, grows 

 also to a large size and has foliage densely 

 tomentose below and is now of a deep reddish 

 brown color on the upper side. A geographi- 

 cal representative of the former is Viburnum 

 citinifolium, but being of a more delicate 

 nature does not assume the same habit. The 



foliage is very similar to the above, and its 

 prominent terminal flower buds are likewise 

 formed during the fall. On the tall growing 

 Viburnum Sieboldii the older leaves have 

 turned a rusty brown but the later formed 

 ones at the apex of the branches are still deep 

 green and glossy. Viburnum Opulus nana is 

 a plant seldom seen, and a very suitable sub- 

 ject for the border of a shrubbery or for a 

 rockery. It grows about three feet tall, up- 

 right growing and very densely branched 

 and keeps its foliage very late into the fall, 

 later than any of the Opulus section, and 

 gradually changes to a brown color. 



Lonicera Xylosteum kept its foliage a good 

 green till just about the middle of November, 

 after which it turned yellow and fell off within a 

 few days. Lonicera fragrantissima is not a very 

 reliable subject here and needs more the 

 climate of Long Island to be a success. 

 The foliage is oval and of a pale green color 

 and retained very late, but where quite at 

 home is almost evergreen. These remarks 

 also apply to Lonicera Standishii. 



Cytisus scoparius Andreanus compactus 

 is a dwarf form of the well known variety, 

 having the same colored flowers and being 



