September, 1907 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



IX 



ORNAMENTAL VALUE OF 

 HARDY REEDS AND GRASSES 



By Ida D. Bennett 



FOR large beds on the lawn there arc no 

 more valuable plants than the Erianthus 

 ravennae, whose tall flower spikes reach 

 an altitude of twelve feet or more. These may 

 be easily raised from seed and will bloom the 

 second summer. It is best to plant the seed 

 in the hot bed in early spring and after the 

 other plants have been removed for outdoor 

 planting to transplant the erianthus in the va- 

 cated space and grow them on there until time 

 for planting out where they are to remain the 

 following spring, or they may be transplanted 

 when large enough into a cold frame, and 

 wintered there until the next year. 



For combining with the erianthus there is 

 nothing more handsome than the Eulalia ze- 

 brina, with its foliage barred with bands of 

 white and its sprays of feathery flowers. It 

 is not as tall or robust a grower as the eran- 

 thus, but is so distinct and handsome in color 

 as to be one of the most striking of the hardy 

 grasses. The two may be combined with a 

 center of arundo donax, the tallest of our 

 hardy grasses. The arundo, however, will not 

 stand the severe winters as will the other two, 

 and requires much protection. 



Where these tall grasses are used for the 

 center of the beds such drooping grasses as 

 the pampas grass or the Eulalia gracillima 

 should be used for border, both of these hav- 

 ing a most graceful, weeping habit, the stems 

 growing upright and the leaf blades drooping 

 downward like a fountain of green. All of 

 these may be grown from seed, but the pampas 

 grass is not hardy at the north until two 

 or more years old, and requires considerable 

 protection even then, but by taking it up in 

 the fall and wintering it in a warm cellar it 

 may be grown very successfully in cold cli- 

 mates. 



Certain of the annual grasses are very beau- 

 tiful, especially when grown as a border to tne 

 taller sorts. Among these none is more beau- 

 tiful than the Pennisetum rueppelianum or 

 purple fountain grass. This has the grace- 

 ful fountain-like habit of growth and showy 

 purple plumes of flower heads ; it may be 

 raised from seed, flowering by mid-summer. 



The most effective form in which to grow 

 these ornamental grasses is in oval beds or in 

 long, hedge-like rows. As a border or hedge 

 there is nothing finer. Their culture is sim- 

 ple, the necessary conditions being a deep, 

 mellow soil of marsh muck, well decayed, and 

 a liberal quantity of old manure. They re- 

 quire an abundance of water during the grow- 

 ing season, but no water should be allowed 

 to stand about their roots in winter. A good 

 way to manage the watering of the bed of or- 

 namental grasses is to pipe water into it and 

 keep it almost a swale a considerable part 

 of the time. The plants make such a tough, 

 solid network of roots that any ordinary wa- 

 tering can not penetrate them once they have 

 dried out, so that in order that any artificial 

 watering may be helpful it must be continu- 

 ous. 



Where one does not care for the effect of 

 solid beds of grasses some of the low-growing 

 bamboos may be used in front of the taller 

 growing grasses. Bambusa Metake, which 

 rarely exceeds ten feet in height, and pre- 

 sents a more common altitude of about six 

 feet, combine very effectively with the grasses, 

 and the taller B. argentca, B. verticillata and 

 B. vulgaris are very good to use in the center 

 with the tall grasses, but do not stand the 

 wind at the north very well, and need to be 

 taken up and wintered in the greenhouse or a 

 dry, light cellar. Possibly if a sufficient pro- 

 tection could be given the tops in the way of 



Before putting up this season's screens, remember that it isn't the 

 frame that makes the screen — it's the material within the frame which 

 will spell the difference between comfort and discomfort for you this 

 summer. 



Spend this summer undisturbed by flies, mosquitoes and other insects, 

 by screening your doors and windows with Pompeiian Bronze W^ire 

 Cloth because 



it affords absolute protection against insects; 

 it can't rust; 



it offers no obstruction to light and air; 

 it is practically invisible; 

 it is indestructible; 



it will never lose its color, either by chipping, wear, fading 

 or other causes; 



it is immune against the corrosive action of salt air. 



Pompeiian Bronze H ire Cloth, of which we are the originators and sole manufacturers, is made 

 of an alloy of copper, aluminum, and other non-corrosive materials, and combines the durability of 

 these materials with the toughness and elasticity of steel. 



Pompeiian Brou%e If Ire Cloth is woven on our improved power looms, which insures accuracy 

 and uniformity of the meshes in warp and filling. 



Pompeiian Bronze Wire Cloth is in color a facsimile of the ancient Pompeiian bronzes, and is 

 so delicately shaded as to render the cloth almost invisible. The color is produced by the combination 

 of the materials entering into the wire and not by paint or lacquer. 



Pompeiian Bronze IFire Cloth is for sale by all leading hardware dealers. 



Packets containing samples of Pompeiian Bronze H ire Cloth can be secured free by writing to Department K. 

 We strongly advise sending for one before installing screens, as it may be the means of making this summer a more 

 comfortable one. 



CLINTON WIRE CLOTH COMPANY 



13 Adams Street, CLINTON, MASS. 



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