February. iQio 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



Xll! 



GARDEN NOTES 



CONDUCTED BY CHARLES DOWNING LAY 



TERRACE BANKS 



ARETAIXIXG wall of masonry is al- 

 ways the best way to support a ter- 

 race, but it is often too costly, and 

 a sloping bank of earth must be used m- 

 stead. The sloping bank takes up more 

 room than a wall, because an earth bank 

 should not be on a steeper slope than "two 

 to one"; that is, rising one toot in a dis- 

 tance of tw-o feet. The wall, of course, can 

 be perpendicular. 



It is a problem to plant a terrace bank. 

 Grass, of course, is the obvious thing, but 

 it is difficult to cut on such a steep slope, and 

 its direct exposure to the sun and the lack 

 of moisture makes it dry up more quickl}' 

 than the rest of the lawn in a drought. If 

 grass must be used, the soil should be care- 

 tuUy prepared. It is seldom that enough 

 good soil is put on a terrace bank ; it should 

 be at least a foot thick, and eighteen inches 

 would he better. 



It is hard to seed a terrace bank, because 

 the tirst rain will wash all the seed or the 

 young .-eedlings to the bottom, and perhaps 

 gully it so badly that the work has to be 

 done over again. 



Sometimes a steep bank can be seeded by 

 niixing the seed with fresh cow manure 

 and plastering it on the bank about an inch 

 thick. This will harden and stay on the 

 bank until the grass is started, but the grass 

 will not grow well if the soil underneath is 

 poor. 



Sodding can be done, but is expensive, 

 and the sods must be pegged to keep them 

 from slipping. Good deep soil underneath 

 is just as necessary, whether seeding or 

 sodding. 



There are other things which will grow 

 better than grass on a steep bank exposed 

 to the sun. and which are less care. The 

 memorial rose (Rosa z^'ichuriana) will 

 grow well in such a place. It seems not to 

 suffer from drought, it will grow in poor, 

 sandy soil, and is beautiful when in flower. 

 The foliage is always good, and its green 

 .stems are better to look at in winter than 

 dried grass. 



Moss pink (Phlox suhulata) is another 

 hardy plant which simulates grass more 

 closely than the memorial rose, and is just 

 as handsome when in bloom. It makes a 

 dense carpet two or three inches thick. 



Lemon thyme (Thymus serpyllum var. 

 citriodora) is good in foliage, and very 

 fragrant. It grows not over six inches 

 high, and will soon cover a dry bank. 



There are several plants with silvery or 

 grayish leaves which will do well on a 

 dry bank ; among them are the Easter bell 

 (Stellaria holostea) and Stellaria graminea. 



Another way to treat a terrace bank is 

 to slope it at an angle of forty-five degrees 

 and then to pave the slope with stones. 

 The stones should be of good size, put on 

 edge or on end in the bank, and the joints 

 filled with good top soil. Many small and 

 rare plants can be grown with little trouble 

 in the joints between the stones. The 

 drainage will be good and the stones warm 

 the soil and reduce the area where weeds 

 can grow. 



In some soils it would be possible to 



make the bank even steeper than forty-five 

 degrees, with a consecjuent saving of room, 

 rhe plants can be put in as the sloping wall 

 is being built, or seed can be sown in the 

 joints afterwards. 



STREET TREES 



THE qualities which make a tree suit- 

 able for planting on streets are free- 

 dom from insect pests and diseases, 

 hardiness, ease in transplanting when of 

 good Size, reasonably rapid growth, upright 

 habit. 



The American elm wdl always be a fa- 

 vorite street tree because of its large size 

 and noble habit. The elm beetle is a serious 

 objection, but can be kept in check by spray- 

 ing. 



The English elm is also a fine tree, more 

 like an oak in habit, and more badly injured 

 by the beetle than our elm. Both can Ije 

 moved without loss when of large size, and 

 they are easy to grow and therefore inex- 

 pensive. 



The ginkgo is an excellent street tree, 

 thoug'i little used. It is hardy, grows 

 rapidly, and has no insect enemies or dis- 

 eases. It attains a large size and becomes 

 pictiuxsque when old, though it is at first 

 stifif and awkw'ard. 



The linden is an excellent street tree. It 

 transplants readily, and grows to a large 

 size. The small leaved linden ( TUia ithiii- 

 folia) is the best variety. 



The maples, of course, must be used for 

 many streets, and no tree is handsomer 

 than the sugar maple. 1 ne Norway maple 

 is better than the sugar maple on sandy 

 soils and in exposed situations. 



The sycamore maple {Acer pseudo-plat- 

 anus) is much like the Norway maple, but 

 does not thrive in poor, sandy soil. It is a 

 hardy tree to use along the coast, however. 



The scarlet maple is less often used than 

 the sugar maple, but it makes a good street 

 tree and is pleasant to have, for the sake 

 of variety. 



The oaks would be good street trees if 

 they were not so hard to transplant, and for 

 this reason the pin oak is probably the only 

 one which will ever be largely used for 

 street planting, since it is the easiest of all 

 to transplant and can be got of good size. 



The plane trees are both good street trees, 

 though the Oriental plane is probably bet- 

 ter than our native one, because it does not 

 sufi^er from the fungus disease, which often 

 attacks our native plane. It is ])erfectly 

 harfly, and will thrive near the ocean. 



The poplars are not very good street 

 trees, and should never be used where other 

 trees will do well. The Balm of Gilead. 

 however, is said to be a good street tree. 



The liquidambar is one of our finest trees. 

 and very good for street use, but it is not 

 reliably hardy north of New York City. 



TWENTY-FIVE PLANTS FOR THE 

 HARDY PERENNIAL GARDEN 



THE beginner in gardening is likclv to 

 be confused bv magazines and cata- 

 logues because they s])eak of so 

 many plants that are desirable for one rea- 

 srm r)r another, in the gfardcn. In '^eed or 



plant catalogues, all plants are good, and it 

 is hard to choose between them. Yet some 

 are bound to be a disappointment, either in 

 flower or habit or because they need special 

 care. 



The garden would probably be better if 

 the variety were not so great. Certainly it 

 would be easier to group the plants and 

 easier to plant and care for them. 



In the following list of twenty-five hardy 

 l)erennials, I have included only those which 

 are absolutely hardy, which are easy to es- 

 tablish and which need little care and fuss- 

 ing ; and they are all indispensible in any 

 garden. 



A small garden will be much more eflfec- 

 tive when restricted to these twenty-five 

 plants than it would if a hundred difTerent 

 ones were used. 



1. Achillea ptarmica — "the pearl" — 2 to 3 



feet. Small white flowers all sum- 

 mer. 



2. Alyssum saxatile — gold dust — i foot. 



Yellow flowers. April-June. 

 3. Anemone japonica; 3 to 4 feet. Large 

 white flowers. September to frost. 



4. Ac[uilegia, Columbine ; 2 to 3 feet. 



Many varieties, red, blue, yellow, 

 white. May-June. 



5. Asclepias tuberosa — butterfly weed — 2 



feet. Orange flowers. July-Septem- 

 ber. 



6. Aster Novae Angliae ; 2 to 3 feet. 



Purple or rose. September-October. 



flower — I foot 6 

 Blue or white. June- 



7. Campanula — bell 



inches to 2 feet. 

 July. 



8. Chrysanthemum; 2 to 3 feet. ^lany 



colors. October-November. 



9. Coreopsis ; 2 to 3 feet. Yellow. June- 



September. 



10. Delphinium — larkspur — 2 to 7 feet. 



Vi'hite and blue. June-September. 



11. Dianthus — jjinks — 6 to 12 inches. ]\Iany 



shades of red and white all summer. 



12. Dicentra — bleeding heart — 2 to 3 feet. 



Ma)'. 



13. i^unkia — da}' lil_\' — 3 feet. Yellow and 



orange. June- July. 



14. Gypsophila — baby's breath — 2 feet. 



\A bite. July-August. 



15. Hemerocallis — day lily — 3 feet. Yel- 



low and orange. June-July. 



16. Hollyhock; 5 to 7 feet. Yellow, red, 



blackish. July-August. 



17. Iris; 6 inches to 3 feet. ^lany vari- 



eties. ]\Iay-Jn]y. 

 t8. ]\Ionarda didyma : 2 feet. Crimson. 

 June-September. 



2 to 3 feet. White and red. 



19 



21 



Paeonies 

 June. 



20. Papaver Orientale — Oriental poppy — 2 

 feet 6 inches. Scarlet. ]\Iay. 

 Phlox : 2 feet 3 inches. ]\Ianv colors. 

 July to frost. 



22. Platycodon — Chinese bell flower — i 

 to 2 feet. Blue and white. June- 

 October. 



21 Tradescantia, Spiderwort: 2 feet. Blue 

 and white. June-September. 



24. A'eronica — sj^ieedwell — 2 feet. Blue and 



white. May-June. 



25. Yucca — S])anish bayonet — 4 to 7 feet. 



White. fune-Tulv. 



