The Garden Magazine, October, 1921 



103 



would be after field mice that tried to find shelter in the houses of the 

 neighborhood. She never ate mice but proudly pranced up and down 

 in the garden with her prey dangling between her teeth. Then the 

 spring brought better prey, she kept watch in our tree tops for the song 

 birds which came early this year. When she killed the third robin, 

 our family council decided that "Lady Louise" must be banished where 

 she could no longer harm song birds. Of course, we could not con- 

 demn her to death for merely following her natural feline impulse so 

 "Lady Louise" is now the pet of two children, who live in a small 

 town, where birds do not abound as in villages free from traffic. 



A garden without birds would make even the flowers lonely, and no 

 garden can shelter both birds and a cat! — Mrs. Charles Richard 

 Williams, Princeton, N. J. 



Where to Find the Caroline Marinesse Rose 



To the Editor of The Garden Magazine: 



IN JUST looking through some back numbers of The Garden 

 Magazine 1 find a query (The Open Column, June, 1920) from 

 Mary Chapman, Springfield, Mass., as to where the Caroline Marinesse 

 Rose may be procured. This Rose is listed in Vick's catalogue for the 

 spring of 1920, page 96. — C. H., Roxbury, Mass. 



A Fine American Shrub 



To the Editor of The Garden Magazine: 



OF NO end of American plants that 1 found thriving in England, the 

 Zenobia was one that seemed too much neglected at home. 

 There the shrub was styled Z. speciosa, but I fancy that a more correct 

 label would be Z. cassinifolia (Andromeda speciosa). Its natural habi- 

 tat is from Florida to North Carolina, but it has been found hardy as 

 far north as Massachusetts and Missouri. Being low, two to four 

 feet, it is easily placed where it can be well protected. Its waxen white 

 blossoms, like big bunches of Lily-of-the-valley bells, are singularly 

 beautiful in early summer and the crimson tones of the dying foliage 

 provide a second effect for autumn. Good loam, with some leaf mold, 

 is the best soil for the Zenobia. — H. S. Adams, New York. 



Supplying the Indispensable Leaf Mold 



To the Editor of The Garden Magazine: 



AS REGULARLY as summer comes my friend has perhaps the 

 most beautiful flower borders in the Iowa town in which she lives. 

 Much of her success with flowers she attributes to her "leaf-mold box." 



The choicest wild flowers grow where they are nursed and fed by 

 leaf mold; the cultivated flower responds equally to liberal doses. 

 Flower culturists generally understand this, but it is not always easy 

 to obtain leaf mold, and especially just when wanted. The best solu- 

 tion is to collect your own. My friend has made a practice of doing 

 this for several years. At the rear of the garage in the backyard out 

 of sight stands a rude bin of boards about 6 ft. long, 4 ft wide, and 

 3 ft. high. As the sides are removable the bin can be adjusted to any 

 desired dimensions. 



When leaves are raked in the autumn, they are not consumed in a 

 bonfire, but are piled in this box. In laying down the Rose bushes 



LEAF MOULD BOX 



This photograph was taken in June when the mould was being 

 spaded out and used. Home of Mrs. C. F. Kramer, McGregor, Iowa. 



two or three weeks later, the leaves are taken out and used for a cover- 

 ing. The following spring on uncovering the bushes the leaves, which 

 are now well started toward decay, are put back in the bin. Here 

 through the spring they are kept moist, the watering can doing duty 

 if there is not sufficient rain. With such treatment rotting progresses 

 so rapidly that by the last of June the leaves have changed to a rich 

 mould which can be cut with a spade and carried out to the flower 

 beds. This is done at intervals through the summer, a little at a time 

 as needed. While the box is being gradually depleted of its leaf mold, 

 a new supply is being started in the empty end, for as weeds and grass 

 are taken out of the garden they are piled in the box to make humus 

 for the next season along with the dead leaves. — Florence L. Clark, 

 McGregor, Iowa. 



Rosa Lucida as a Hedge 



To the Editor of The Garden Magazine: 



r^ AN any of the New England neighbors tell me as to the hardiness 

 ^ and general fitness of Rosa lucida as a hedge planting? Does it 

 "sucker" much? I should enjoy hearing from several who have tried 

 out this native species, believing it worthy of a wider reception in 

 this climate. — Henry C. Nye, Mass. 



— This charming native is extensively planted in the Arnold Arbor- 

 etum, Boston, as a roadside edging — the white-flowered form being used. 

 It is frequently cut down to the ground to keep it within bounds and it 

 springs up vigorously. It does not spread unduly. — Editor. 



Large Patch of Rare Box-Huckleberry Discovered 



To the Editor of The Garden Magazine: 



COR many years the Box-Huckleberry (Gaylussacia brachycera) 

 I was believed to be extinct. Records of the only place in the 

 country where it grew naturally, near New Bloomfield, Perry County, 

 Penn., had been lost for a long time, but several years ago the plants 

 were found again in flourishing condition. (See G. M., Jan., 1920, 

 page 228.) The newly discovered colony is growing near Duncannon, 

 Perry County, Penn., where it covers the northern slope of a mountain 

 ridge for a distance of a mile with a width of more than 500 feet. There 

 is a slight difference in the plants of the two colonies. The leaves of the 

 plants of the newly discovered patch are longer and narrower and the 

 berries are nearly round, while those of the New Bloomfield patch are 

 pear shaped. The Box-huckleberry grows to a height of about 12 

 inches and is one of our most beautiful native evergreen ground cover 

 plants. — X. 



Lemon Lilies That Bloom Successively 



To the Editor of The Garden Magazine: 



AMONG the Hemerocallis there is one variety not very generally 

 grown which has given me great pleasure. Everyone knows the 

 beautiful old-fashioned Lemon Lily (Hemerocallis flava) but its counter- 

 part Thunberg's Lemon Lily (H. Thunbergii) is not so often seen. It 

 has all the good points of the old favorite, perfection of color, form, 

 and fragrance, with greater height, a later and longer season of bloom. 

 I would not willingly be without it in my garden where it grows in mass, 

 one of the main features of the July show. I find the different kinds 

 of Hemerocallis vary in time of bloom somewhat in different seasons. 

 Last year (1920) Thunberg's lily or, as it is also called, the Japanese 

 Lemon Lily, opened its first flower July 10th and my group of plants 

 was still giving bloom August 15th, having been a great satisfaction 

 for more than a month. Stems are from four to four and a half feet, 

 slender but so wiry and strong that they hold the flowers erect even in 

 a storm which bent the stout Yucca. 



The new Hemerocallis citrina, a Chinese species, is even lovelier; the 

 color is paler and softer, the flower larger and more slender, and equally 

 fragrant. In 191 9 it succeeded Thunberg's, but this year it bloomed 

 with it. It is a real gem. Those who are familiar only with the two 

 common Hemerocallis, the tawny Day Lily (fulva) and the Lemon Lily 

 (flava) do not appreciate what garden pictures can be made with these 

 other, as easily grown but softer colored varieties. — Miss A. H. Bots- 

 ford, Edgemoor, Del. 



Trees That Best Resist Ice Storms 



To the Editor of The Garden Magazine: 



MY ORNAMENTAL trees having once been much damaged by a 

 sleet storm, I feel moved to warn all those who are contemplating 

 planting trees in their home grounds that it pays to consider which have 

 the greatest powers of resistance. 



