April, 1911 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS XV 
judgment and the desperate means he must 
rely on to attain his ends. 
Few trees and those native, not many 
shrubs and those all hardy, vigorous grow- 
ers, adapted to the soil and the situation, 
will produce a far better result than a mis- 
cellaneous collection of many varieties, no 
matter how beautiful each may be in itself. 
Planting is only part of a place, and if it be 
not simple, how can the place as a whole 
be beautiful? 
WILD FLOWERS WORTH GROWING 
By NATHANIEL S. GREEN 
N YOUR rambles through the woods 
when the ground is carpeted with 
spring flowers did you ever think of 
the possibility of transplanting some of 
these flowers to your garden? There 
are many wild flowers and ferns in every 
locality that take kindly to domestica- 
tion. Planted in loose, fertile soil in a 
partly shaded spot, they grow and thrive 
wonderfully, and their blossoms rival 
our cultivated favorites in beauty and 
charm. Once well established they grow 
and blossom luxuriantly for years with 
little care. The only attention they re- 
quire is a mulch of leaves to protect them 
from cold, and an occasional watering 
during summer drought. 
The best time to secure these wild 
plants is in the early spring when they 
are just starting into growth. They may 
be a bit difficult to find to one unaccus- 
tomed to their haunts, but a little search- 
ing among the leaves along the slopes 
near a woodland rill will reveal the young 
plants pushing through the ground. They 
appear earliest on south slopes, where 
the mid-day sun has a chance to melt 
the snow and warm the soil. 
The daintiest of spring flowers are the 
wood anemones that may be found in 
great profusion along overhanging banks 
or beside fallen tree trunks. Their deli- 
cate pink and white blossoms are as 
beautiful as any greenhouse flower. The 
bulbs are small and a dozen or more may 
be placed in a six-inch pot; but they are 
more charming planted outdoors in a 
shady border. Here they become natu- 
ralized and bloom year after year without 
care. Another charming wild flower of 
early spring is Dielytra, or as the children 
call it, Dutchman’s Breeches. Its clumps 
of tiny bulbs may be found just under 
the leaves, only half covered with soil. 
Its flowers closely resemble the culti- 
vated “Bleeding Heart” in shape, but are 
smaller and white or pinkish white. The 
abundant lacy foliage is as attractive as 
the blossoms. The bulbs of Erythronium 
or Dog-tooth Violet, are difficult to obtain, 
as they are usually found six to eight 
inches deep, but they well repay the work 
of digging them out. The dark green 
leaves covered with blotches of bronze 
and purple make a charming setting for 
the lily-like blossoms. Two varieties are 
found in our woodlands: Erythronium 
Americanum, having bright, yellow flow- 
ers an inch broad, and E. Albidum, hav- 
ing bluish-white flowers. Both make 
pleasing additions to the garden, or they 
may be naturalized in the grass and 
allowed to spread at will. 
The large rose-colored flowers of Clay- 
tonia, or Spring Beauty, compare favor- 
ably with any of our garden blossoms. 
The bulbs are easily obtained and grow 
readily if given a moist, shady spot. Vio- 
lets—blue, white and yellow—give a 
most charming effect when planted in 
masses on a shady slope. Among the 
Instruction Book 
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AI rou Ee IND. 1222 EF. 24th Sirest 
