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THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



May, 19 18 



as the other, but nothing that I could do 

 would inspire them to grow higher than about 

 a foot and these three plants right in a row 

 remained stunted throughout the season. If 

 memory serves me, in putting away my 

 Dahlias I marked these three "dwarfs," and 

 this season I expect to give them special 

 attention in order to determine their growing 

 qualitites. I am sure they were not dwarf- 

 like in 1914, as I feel they were among my 

 first plants. 



As I approach the 1916 planting my thought 

 goes out to the fall and I wonder what I shall 

 do toward protecting the Dahlias next fall. 

 My conclusion is that if I desire to enjoy 

 them as late in the season as possible it might 

 be better to take them up along Erie Avenue 



and let the residents there plant them in 

 order that I may see them as I go by, and 

 then instead of being robbed of their beauty 

 in September or October I might enjoy them 

 until at least the middle of November and 

 this without the expense of frame work and 

 covering. 



The spring and summer of 1916 were re- 

 markable for the quantity of rainfall, and I 

 lost many valuable Dahlia plants through 

 their being cut off by snails, all protective sub- 

 stances being quickly washed away by the 

 rain. Frost came early, the result being I had 

 less than a dozen blooms from many plants. 

 However, after my success of 1915, this fail- 

 ure of 1916 simply served as an inspiration, 

 and I welcomed the spring and summer of 



1917, with a determination to outdo my dis- 

 play of 1915. I was successful in a marked 

 degree, but I may say that imported pot grown 

 tubers either did not sprout or they failed to 

 reach maturity. I had many others, however, 

 so that when the early frost came their 

 blighted hope and beauty presented a very 

 sad sight. There were some flowers which in 

 the fullness of their bloom, made you feel you 

 wanted them to last forever. The majority of 

 these were raised from seed, and as I watched 

 them grow I wondered if professional Dahlia 

 growers had flowers of such beauty. 



The battle for the beauty of 1918 has al- 

 ready commenced, my seedlings are up nicely, 

 and I have brought to my collection a few of 

 the Mastick beauties. 



Varieties of Gladiolus for the Novice 



MONTAGUE CHAMBERLAIN 



Real Gems Are to Be Had at Low Prices and Will Give a Rich Harvest of Bloom if Planted This Month 



TO A novice in gardening a seeds- 

 man's catalogue is quite bewildering 

 and in Gladiolus alone he finds him- 

 self confronted with an array of 

 names and descriptions and a range of prices 

 that force him to pause and think. He wants 

 some of the bulbs to plant in his garden, but 

 how can he determine which to choose? We 

 shall try to help him. 



TF HE be wise, the novice will begin in a small 

 -*■ way, say by planting a half dozen bulbs 

 each of about six or eight sorts, for these will 

 yield an interesting combination of colors and 

 forms — these flowers differ widely in form — a 

 combination that will make an attractive addi- 

 tion to the garden and a delight for house de- 

 coration. Also (if he be wise), he will at the 

 start, select these varieties from the cheaper 

 sorts. He will be apt to think that these 

 cheap sorts are of poor quality, but that is 



Properly displayed in appropriate receptacles, Gladiolus 

 becomes one of the most charming and most lasting of 

 decorative cut flowers 



a mistake, for, as a rule, these bulbs are 

 cheap only because they are extremely 

 abundant. They happen to be unusually 

 prolific and have been cultivated for a number 

 of years. Among them are some that are 

 classed with the beauties of the Gladiolus 

 world — flowers that display both exquisite 

 coloring and graceful form — flowers that he 

 will want to retain in the garden long after 

 he has passed his novitiate. 



TN COMPILING such a list we can do no 

 -*■ better than head it with America — an 

 exquisite thing. The individual blossoms vary 

 somewhat in color, from a pale lavender pink 

 to a soft shell pink and melting to a pinkish 

 white. This is delicate coloring, but the 

 petals are of good substance, the spike is 

 strong and straight, the stem is tall, the 

 leaves are wide and long and the entire plant 

 shows strength and vigor. 



For a brighter pink we would choose Halley, 

 another beauty, wearing a soft but rich salmon 

 tone. Halley blooms very early and this 

 combined with its splendid color and the 

 rare grace of its lily-like blossoms, have made 

 it a prime favorite. The blossoms are large 

 and heavy and the stem being a bit slender 

 requires some support. For such support a 

 light bamboo rod does admirably, but if this 

 is not available a slight birch branch will be 

 quite as useful. 



Another early bloomer that the novice 

 should put on his list is Pink Beauty, showing 

 a rich rose pink, with a patch of deep crimson 

 in the throat. The blossoms of this variety 

 are not large but a number open together, 

 and coming before any of their fellows have 

 appeared they are delightfully cheering. 



Another rose pink, but of quite a different 

 tone, is Madame Moneret which has large 

 blossoms and blooms late in the season. 



Independence is a splendid sort for out-of- 

 door effect. The stem is tall, straight and 

 strong: the blossoms are large and of a rich 

 flame pink and the general appearance of the 

 plant in flower is brilliant and imposing. 



A rival of Independence is the splendid 

 variety named in honor of Mrs. Francis King. 

 Its color is flame pink but rather lighter than 

 that of its rival though its immense blossoms 

 produce a fine effect. The stem is rather 

 slender to hold the heavy flowers and re- 

 quires support. 



An old stand-by, that every Gladiolus 



grower wants in his garden, is Brenchleyensis, 

 vivid-scarlet. The blossoms are of medium 

 size, but as a number appear together, and are 

 well placed on the spike, the effect is striking. 



A YELLOW flower is useful to combine 

 -*■•*- with other colors in house decoration, 

 and for this we have a choice of three good 

 sorts among the low priced Gladiolus, Annie 

 Wigman, Canary Bird and Spring Song. 

 Annie Wigman has the deepest hue but wears 

 a patch of greenish yellow and red on the 

 inferior petals. The others are of lighter 

 tone but are attractive. Spring Song has 

 slight suffusion of pink which adds to its 

 daintiness, and when a few spikes are com- 

 bined with Baron Hulot, they make a rich 

 and handsome bouquet. 



Baron Joseph Hulot, to give the variety its 

 full title, is usually described in the catalogues 

 as "blue," but the hue is purplish violet, the 

 color known in England and France as 

 "Bishop's violet." The blossoms are of 



An orderly method of supporting the flower spikes in the 

 garden helps the individual flowers to appear to best 

 advantage 



