368 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



September, 1910 



the young spruce 

 is always jarring 

 when seen in such 

 company. 



Another plan 

 shows an ar- 

 rangement o f 

 broad- -leaved 

 evergreens for an 

 entrance gate. 

 This will be 

 green throughout 

 the year and in 

 May and June 

 will have many 

 beautiful flowers. 

 Such a planting is 

 better and less 

 common than the 

 ordinary rhodo- 

 dendron hybrids, 

 and is more last- 

 ing and no more 

 expensive. At the 

 back are Rhodo- 

 dendron odora- 

 tum and R. piinc- 

 latiim, both with 

 delicate pink 

 flowers. These 

 should be three 



feet high. Where the two groups meet there is an Ameri- 

 can holly {Ilex upaca) six feet high. 



The edge of the bed is a border of Andromeda flori- 

 bnnda one foot high. This has perfect foliage and delicate 

 sprays of white flowers like the lily of the valley, back of 

 this edging is Rhododendron ferrugineiim eighteen inches 

 high and a group of Andromeda Japonica thirty inches 

 high. Large plants of Azalea Kaempferi and Azalea 

 amoena are set in front of each post. 



The other side is similar, but different plants are used to 

 give the same effect. This planting could be done for a 

 hundred dollars a side. 



Many other delightful arrangements of evergreens can 

 be made, and if one is really interested in broad-leaved 

 evergreens one would probably try such difficult and inter- 

 esting things as the Andromedas {A. calycalata, for in- 

 stance), the Rhodora, Daphne and Mahonia. Leiicothoc 

 Catesbaei is a low growing shrubby evergreen, two to three 

 feet high, with white flowers at the ends of the branches. 

 It is good in large masses and might have pachysandra for 

 an edging. 



If one is far enough south, specimens of Aiiciiba 

 Japonica might be planted with the Leucothoe. South of 

 New York, of course, the possibilities are greater. There 

 many lovely evergreens can be grown which we in the north 

 know only by their reputations. 



August, as is now well known, is a good time to move 

 evergreens, especially if they be shipped with balls of earth 

 done up in burlap. The chief advantage of August planting 



A good arrangement of Junipers, Arbor vitaes and Retinospora 



is that there is 

 not much garden 

 work to be done 

 then and more 

 time can be 

 given to it than 

 in the spring 

 when so many 

 things needs 

 looking after. 



Broad-leaved 

 evergreens can 

 be planted in 

 September or Oc- 

 t o b e r with as 

 good success as 

 in the spring. In 

 fact, they can be 

 moved at any 

 time when the 

 ground is not 

 frozen. 



PERENNIALS 

 FROM 

 SEED. 



The seeds of 

 many perennials 

 can be sown now 

 and the plants 

 will be big enough to bloom next summer. 



The easiest way for most people is to sow them in boxes 

 or flats, 16x24 inches in size, and three inches deep. They 

 should have holes in the bottom for drainage, and should 

 be filled to within an inch of the top with good potting soil 

 carefully sifted. The seeds are sown broadcast or in small 

 hills, soil enough to cover them is then sifted over, watered 

 gently, and a little more earth sifted on to prevent the soil 

 from caking. 



When the seedlings are large enough to handle with the 

 blade of a knife for a trowel, they are transplanted to other 

 flats. In two or three weeks or a month they should be 

 large enough to transplant to their permanent positions in 

 the garden or to a cold frame where they can stay all 

 winter. 



Generally the best time to sow the seed of perennials is 

 as soon as it has ripened on the plant. 



Hollyhocks, larkspur, foxgloves, lychnis and many others 

 sow themselves if undisturbed. 



The seeds which stay on the plants a long time after 

 ripening are the ones which must stay in the ground a 

 season or two before germinating. 



It is a comfort to be starting next year's garden now, be- 

 cause it means so much less work next spring and so much 

 better results in the summer. 



The labor of sowing and transplanting in flats is much 

 easier than In a seed bed, because the flats are easily 

 handled, can be carried anywhere, and one can do the work 

 standing or sitting. 



