— The Educational A /TOST people might gain a good deal 

 Value of Flower ■iVl f information and often a deal of 

 Shows" practical inspiration by visiting the impor- 



tant flower shows of each season, even if it 

 involves a little journey. Perhaps all the better then for something 

 of a vacation flavor may be infused. The great advantage is the 

 opportunity of seeing the novelties displayed by the introducers. 

 Standard and cultivation may also be measured — often alas to the 

 point of shattering ones self-complacency as it is realized that "ones 

 geese are not swans" usually. Of course the Dahlia is in the height 

 of its glory this month and New York City is the chosen place of the 

 meeting for the American Dahlia Society from the 23rd to 25th at 

 the Engineering Building. Dahlia enthusiasts on the Pacific coast 

 are called to San Francisco September 4th, 5th, and 6th for the ex- 

 hibition of that very much alive organization, the Dahlia Society of 

 California. Dahlias will be featured with fruits and vegetables by 

 the Massachusetts Horticultural Society at Boston, September nth 

 to 14th. The Rhode Island Society honors the flower at Providence 

 September 18th and 19th. "Dahlias and other outdoor flowers" 

 form the occasion of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society show 

 at Ardmore on the 16th and 17th; and a general fall exhibition is at 

 Hartford, Connecticut, September 9th to 1 ith. Of course there are 

 any quantity of minor and local exhibitions more or less pretentious 

 which demand the cordial cooperation of near-by gardeners. One 

 local affair with an almost national interest is that of the Short Hills, 

 New Jersey, Garden Club on September 26th and 27th to which the 

 public is cordially invited. At the opening of the show the mem- 

 bers of the Garden Club of America will be entertained by the local 

 body. 



— New Developments HpHE phrase "city gardener" has al- 

 in Urban Gardening * ways carried a sort of patronizing, tin- 

 Interests" complimentary significance, just as the 

 term "book farmer" used to; but it begins 

 to look as though e'er long the former would follow the latter into the 

 limbo of obsolete expressions. One reason for the changed attitude 

 will doubtless prove to be the City Gardens Club of New York City. 

 This is the outgrowth of an idea conceived about a year ago but vis- 

 ualized during the last winter. Its purpose is to effect the greater 

 beautification of the metropolis by planting and caring for growing 

 things, and the activities of its members — all of whom are women — 

 are directed along two general lines. The first involves the develop- 

 ment of their own city backyards and the stimulation of friends and 

 neighbors to carry on a similar work; and the second aims at the 

 beautifying of the city through the planting of parks, plazas, and all 

 available open, public spaces. The first plan is of course, not origi- 

 nal with this club, nor with its founder, Miss Frances Peters, who was 

 first attracted by the results that had been attained in many Euro- 

 pean cities and a few in the United States. Already the club has 

 held, in conjunction with one of the monthly flower shows of the New 

 York Horticultural Society, an exhibition of photographs, plans and 

 sketches showing what has been done, and suggesting what can be 

 done, in developing the inter-block areas of New York which for the 

 most part are still uninviting vistas of board fence, clothes poles, 

 unkempt yards, and, occasionally, an emaciated, spindling tree. 



To carry out the second object, a committee on open spaces is urg- 

 ing each member to take charge of one spot, such as the triangle at 

 the juncture of two avenues, the space in front of a public building, 



etc., where beautification by means of planting is possible but has 

 not been carried out. The women who brought the City Gardens 

 Club into being are well known and active in social and civic affairs 

 generally, and include Miss Peters, its president, the secretary, Mrs 

 John A. Dix of 1 19 East 79th Street, Mrs. James S. Metcalfe, Mrs. 

 James Lees Laidlaw, etc. There should also be mentioned the two 

 honorary members — Secretary of Commerce, William C. Redfield 

 and Dr. N. L. Britton of the New York Botanical Garden. 



— New Peonies 

 From Out of the 

 West" 



THAT all the good things do not neces- 

 s 



sarily come from the East has been of 

 recent years more or less definitely brought 

 before gardeners in several ways, but in 

 none more forcibly than through the work among Iris and Peony — 

 the herbaceous plants that seem to be almost ideally fitted consti- 

 tutionally to the widest distribution in our country. The North- 

 western Peony and Iris Society (Minneapolis) is doing valiant ser- 

 vice in fostering its particular culture and as was not,ed last month, 

 its recent annual exhibition conferred honors on certain novelties. 

 The names and descriptions are here appended and are official: 



Victory Chilean Thierry (Brand 1919) 1st Prize. An immense flower of a soft even shade of 

 pink. Flowers produced on stout, medium length stems which hold the great blooms rigidly 

 erect. Foliage large and clean. Petals uniform in shape, very broad and evenly rounded on 

 the edges. Type, semi-rose. A very beautiful and distinct peony. 



Myrtle Gentry (Brand 1919) 2nd Prize. Type not definitely established but probably rose. 

 A most beautiful peony resembling very much a first class bloom of L'lndispensable in shape 

 size and color but not subject to water-logging as is that wonderful variety. Large, symmetri- 

 cally formed blooms produced on long stiff stems. When cut in the bud and developed inside 

 has the wonderful coloring of Tourangelle. 



Mabel L. Franklin (Franklin 1919) Not yet exhibited. Full rose type, color two shades 

 of light pink, perfectly blended, the outer petals being of lighter color than the centre. Very 

 vigorous grower and a free flowering variety. Blooms of immense size and possessing an 

 enchanting fragrance and wonderful substance and lasting quality. Inner petals delicately 

 margined at edge with lavender. Stems long and stiff holding the immense blossoms erect. 

 In a class with Therese. 



■ — Seed Growing 

 at Home" 



ALTHOUGH "there is a general belief 

 . . that the seed obtained north 

 or south or somewhere away from home is 

 better than home grown seed," many ex- 

 periments have shown "that in nearly all cases the contrary is true," 

 says Bulletin 216 of the Maryland station. It assumes that this 

 mistaken notion is based on facts that apply to "a few crops like 

 potatoes, cabbage or spinach, that are grown extensively in regions 

 not adapted to their seed production." Viewing the moot question 

 as to whether the individual gardener should attempt to grow or 

 save any of his seed, the bulletin says with dispassionate scientific 

 conservatism, "The conditions that favor the growing of seed else- 

 where are: more favorable climatic conditions for some crops, less 

 danger of crossing where grown on a large scale, sometimes freedom 

 from diseases prevalent at home, better trained growers and more 

 economical production where seed growing is the sole interest. 



— Brown Patches 

 On the Lawn" " 



WHICH are disfiguring annoyances 

 and usually attributed to drought 

 because they come in the summer time are 

 in fact, caused by a fungus which attacks 

 the grass and finds congenial conditions in hot muggy weather on 

 ground which is kept too moist by heavy sprinkling or insufficient 

 drainage. The best cure is thorough drainage. Persistent spray- 

 ing with Bordeaux in amount just to moisten the grass without 

 wetting the ground is resistent to the disease. Our Bermuda grass 

 for the South and blue-grass of the North are immune to the 

 disease. 



70 



