THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 



7 



HARDY HERBACEOUS PLANTS. 



However attractive a garden may be made 

 during the summer and autumn months by 

 the use of so-called " bedding " plants, such 

 as Heliotropes, Coleus, Geraniums, Cannas, 

 and other tender plants used for that purpose, 

 yet they do not fill up the gap of the spring 

 months when the season is not warm enough 

 to expose them, or the early summer before 

 they have filled up their allotted spaces. Dur- 

 ing this period, when after a dreary winter a 

 garden is singularly attractive, nothing takes 

 the place of hardy herbaceous plants. When 

 once planted, it may be said, they remain 

 without further trouble, but still some care 

 and labor is necessary in order that they 

 should exhibit their beauties season after sea- 

 son to the greatest advantage. After remain- 

 ing in the same spot year after year, they de- 

 teriorate by the ex- 

 haustion of the soil 

 in which they are 

 placed, and, be- 

 coming weakened, 

 they present but a 

 poor apology of 

 what they are in 

 their best estate. 

 The remedy for this 

 is division of their 

 roots and renewing 

 of the borders by 

 digging and the 

 application of ma- 

 nure. This opera- 

 tion may be per- 

 formed with suc- 

 cess on many plants 

 the latter part of 

 August, but at that 

 season few care 

 to disturb then' 

 borders, so that, 

 on the whole, the 

 spring is not only 

 the most conven- 

 ient time, but less 

 risk of losing your 

 plants is incurred 

 from drought, 

 which so often 

 accompanies late 

 summer and ear- 

 ly autumn. For 

 Pasonias, however, 

 the latter is the 

 preferable season. 

 To begin : the first 

 thing to do is to lift 



all the plant s you wish to divide, and then give 

 the border a good coating of stable-manure 

 and dig it thoroughly, pulverizing the soil as 

 finely as possible. For this purpose a digging- 

 fork is better than a spade, as by its use you 

 are less liable to injure any plants that 

 remain in the border. When the plants are 

 first removed, it is desirable that they should 

 retain a portion of the soil about their roots 

 and be removed to a sheltered, shady spot 

 to prevent their drying up. But when pre- 

 paring to replant them, shake all the soil 

 from their roots and tear them apart with 

 your hands, removing all roots of grass or 

 weeds which frequently find a resting-place 

 in close contact with those of the plant, 

 removing also all decayed and exhausted 

 portions of the plant. When planting in 

 their proper places, be careful to press the 

 soil firmly about their roots, and if it be dry, 



a thorough watering will be of advantage 

 before finally smoothing off the border. 



The earlier in the spring the work is per- 

 formed, after the ground is sufficiently dry, 

 the better, as the plants will suffer less injury 

 from the operation than if left later in the sea- 

 son -.vhen they have obtained a fuller growth. 



All fibrous-rooted herbaceous plants, as 

 Delphiniums, Spiraeas, Campanulas, Phloxes, 

 Pyrethrums, Iris, Valerian, etc., are especial- 

 ly benefited by this treatment. Some fleshy 

 and tuberous-rooted plants, as Campanula 

 grandiflora, Dictamnus fraxinella, Aselepias 

 tuberosa, and (Euothera maeroearpa, which 

 it is inexpedient to divide in this manner, are 

 nevertheless also benefited by an occasional 

 removal and replanting. 



As a rule, every two or three years will be 

 found sufficient to perform this operation, 



PETUNIA GRAND I FLO 



BR I ATA (DOUBLE). 



and the results obtained in a stronger and 

 more vigorous growth and bloom will amply 

 repay the trouble and labor involved. 



PETUNIAS. 



Petunias, like many other flowers, have, 

 in the march of progress and at the hands 

 of persevering and experienced cultivators, 

 been greatly improved, so that those who 

 think them old-fashioned and not worthy of 

 a place in the flower-garden can hardly be 

 aware of the valuable and beautiful strains 

 recently introduced. Instead of the old, 

 dull, colorless, flimsy Petunias, we have now 

 large, double, delicately fringed flowers of 

 most brilliant shades, from pure white and 

 delicate rose to the richest purple and vel- 

 vety crimson, and with delicious fragrance. 



Both the double and single varieties are 

 easily propagated from seed. To have fine 



flowers, only the best seed must be used, 

 which, though more expensive, will be found 

 cheaper in the end. To have plants in bloom 

 in early summer, the seed should be sown 

 during March or April, in shallow boxes, not 

 more than two inches in depth. Fill them 

 firmly with soil, composed one-third each of 

 decayed leaves or barn-yard manure, rubbed 

 fine, sifted garden soil and road sand, well 

 mixed together. Make the surface of the 

 soil smooth, then sprinkle in the seed, and 

 give the box a jar which will imbed the seed 

 in the soil without covering ; in watering, a 

 very fine spray should be given to avoid 

 washing out the seed. Place the box in a 

 warm, light position, shaded from the direct 

 rays of the sun ; protect the seedlings, as they 

 appear, from cold currents of air, and when 

 ( they are about an inch in height transplant 

 singly in small pots 

 or boxes, giving 

 them plenty of 

 sunshine and air, 

 and about the mid- 

 dle of June remove 

 to a well-prepared 

 flower-bor d e r, o r 

 change to large 

 pots, if intended 

 for house culture. 

 Little care is need- 

 ed in summer, ex- 

 cept occasionally 

 hoeing or loosening 

 the soil to free it 

 from insects. No 

 plants thrive so 

 well on neglect, or 

 so quickly respond 

 to good culture, as 

 the Petunias. 



WHEN TO CUT 

 FLOWERS. 



The article in 

 your January num- 

 berupon " Preserv- 

 ing Flowers," sug- 

 gests the thought 

 that something 

 might be said upon 

 the best time for 

 picking them. 



Miss Warner, in 

 a book written for 

 children called 

 "The Three Little 

 Spades," states as 

 a fact that flowers picked with the dew on 

 them will keep their freshness longer than 

 when picked at any other time. 



Practical experience proves the statement 

 untrue. Flowers picked at any hour before 

 the sun reaches the meridian wither quickly, 

 and need care in their after treatment. If 

 you are botanizing, you must have a tin box 

 to hold the specimens, or must put the stems 

 in boiling water to revive them, unless you 

 have a Wardian ease. Placed in a Wardian 

 case, flowers will revive quickly when thor- 

 oughly wilted. But picked in the afternoon, 

 even delicate ferns will bear quite severe 

 treatment, and all flowers will keep their 

 freshness longer. — Mrs. ParMs, It. I. 



[Our correspondent is correct in her state- 

 ment, and botanists and florists are well aware 

 that flowers cut when wet from dew or rain do 

 not keep as well as when gathered dry. — Ed.] 



