THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 



THE HEART'S-EASE. 



(Pansy.) 



There is a little flower that's found 

 In almost every garden ground; 



'Tis lowly, hut 'tis sweet. 

 And if its namo express its power, 

 A more invaluable flower 



You'll never, never meet. 



No 1 not tlio wealth of Chili's mine, 

 Dear flowret, may compare with thi] 



For thee I'd give, it all, 

 But if the wealthy will not bear 

 Thy modest chaj-ms in their parterre 



Grow 'neath my garden wall 



I said, in ev'ry garden ground, 

 Perhaps in Eden 'twas not found, 



For there it was not wanted, 



By Mercy's angel planted. 

 Hi' took its azure from the sky j 

 It is the hue. of constancy. 



Anil constant should our faith he 

 With that he mingled splendid gold 

 To show that if our faith we hold, 



We shall be crowned with glory. 



Mary, if God, within our bower, 

 Should plant this lovely little flower, 



To tend it he our duty ; 

 Then should there he a smile or tear, 

 So it he mutual it will rear 



And maturate its beauty. 



— Villaijc .Vai/azi 



SEASONABLE HINTS, 



In laying out a new garden, the most fre- 

 quent mistake is to attempt too much. "We 

 overrate our own strength and ability, and 

 underestimate the amount of work neces- 

 sary to keep the beds trim and neat, the 

 walks free from grass, and the lawn clean 

 and smoothly mown. A single flower-bed, 

 judiciously arranged and well kept, gives 

 more pleasure and adds more to the attract- 

 ive appearance of a home than any number 

 of plants promiscuously set out and left to 

 take care of themselves. 



The Wild-Garden. — We are sure that those 

 of our readers who have had a wild-garden 

 last year will not be without one this season, 

 — in fact, they can hardly prevent it, for the 

 biennials and perennials are already nearly 

 full-grown, and many of the seeds of an- 

 nuals, which matured and dropped on the 

 ground, will germinate and grow now. For 

 the information of our new readers, we may 

 state that "wild-garden seeds" are not seeds 

 of wild flowers, but a mixture of over a hun- 

 dred varieties of cultivated flowers, among 

 them some of the choicest gems of the 

 flower-garden. These seeds are not intended 

 for stately flower-beds, but for such modest 

 locations where flowers may be grown for 

 their individual beauty. 



To make a wild-garden, the ground should 

 be enriched with decayed manure, deeply 

 spaded, mellowed, and leveled ; the seeds are 

 then sown broadcast, as evenly as possible, 

 and lightly raked in ; or fine, rich soil may be 

 scattered over the bed, so as to cover the 

 seeds lightly. If the ground is very dry, it 

 should be watered occasionally through a fine 

 rose. Our premium packages contain seeds 

 sufficient for a square rod of ground, and 

 should not be crowded into a smaller space. 



Lilies should be planted as early as the 

 ground can be worked. 



Gladiolus may be planted at the same 

 time, and if additional plantings are made 

 from time to time, flowers will be had nearly 

 all summer. 



THE WATER-LILY. 



(Nymplicea, odorata.) 



Few flowers combine perfection of shape, 

 delicacy of color, and delightful fragrance in 

 so high degree as our native Water-Lilies. 

 Everybody admires them in their wild state, 

 and the blossoms are eagerly bought when 

 offered for sale in our etreets and flower- 

 stores. That we see them so seldom in cul- 

 tivation seems to indicate that but few 

 persons are aware how easily, and with how 

 small or no expense and little trouble, they 

 may enjoy those beautiful flowers growing in 

 their gardens and lawns. 



In natural or artificial ponds with soft, 

 muddy bottoms, Water-Lilies may be planted 

 by tying a stone close to a root and dropping 

 it into the water ; they will readily strike 

 root, and need no further care. When the 

 bottom is hard, a good way, and perhaps the 

 best, is to plant the roots in large flower- 

 pots and place these in the pond. The Lilies 

 will generally bloom the first season. At the 

 approach of severe cold weather, about the 

 first of December, the pots should be taken 

 up and placed in a cool cellar where there is 

 no danger of freezing, and removed to the 

 pond again in early spring. 



A simple and pretty way of growing 

 W r ater-Lilies is in tubs. Any half -barrel free 

 from oil, salt, or tar will do ; in this put six 



TUBEROUS-ROOTED BEGONIA. 



inches of sandy loam, — equal parts of garden 

 soil and sand,— and plant the roots by press- 

 ing them gently into the surface and cover- 

 ing with two to three inches of soil ; then fill 

 the tub slowly with water, taking care not to 

 wash the roots out in so doing, and keep full 

 during the season. The tub may be set on 

 the ground and surrounded with rock-work, 

 over which Ivies and other climbers are 

 trained, producing a most pleasing effect. 

 At the end of the season the water should be 

 poured off, and the tub treated in the same 

 manner as recommended for pots. 



Another, and in some eases more desirable, 

 way is to sink the tubs to their entire depth 

 in the lawn, where they soon simulate the 

 presence of miniature lakes. During winter 

 these sunken tubs should be covered with 

 boards, and then with leaves or any coarse 

 material. The roots, although hardy in their 

 natural habitat, should, under cultivation, 

 not be left without sufficient protection to 

 preserve them against any peradventure. 



TUBEROUS-HOOTED BEGONIAS, 



These are a comparatively new class of 

 plants, the parents of which originally came 

 from Bolivia and Peru. The many fine 

 varieties are hybrids of the original species, 

 and are of the most gorgeous colors and most 

 prolific bloomers. They bid fair to make 

 most beautiful bedding-plants for the garden, 

 and their graceful foliage and brilliant flow- 

 ers make them invaluable for cut-flowers. 



How to Sow the Seed. — This can be done 

 either in ordinary flower-pots or shallow 

 seed-pans. In either case, be careful to fill 

 half full of broken pots, and over this place 

 a layer of moss or very rough soil. Then fill 

 up with finely sifted soil, free from manure, 

 to within one inch of the top. The best soil 

 is well-decayed leaves and sandy loam, equal 

 parts. If no sandy soil is at hand, add about 

 one-fourth of either river, lake, or white 

 sand ; wet the whole thoroughly with tepid 

 water, then sow the seed, but do not cover 

 the seed with soil. Place over the pot or 

 pan a square of glass; over this lay a piece 

 of paper, or darken it by a light layer of moss ; 

 place in a temperature of sixty-five to seventy- 

 five degrees of heat. Be careful not to allow 

 the seed to become either too dry or too wet. 

 In watering, stand the pot in tepid water for 

 a few minutes, and allow the water to soak 

 upward; by no means disturb the surface. 

 If too wet, give a little air by removing the 

 glass for an hour or two. The seedlings will 

 begin to show in a week or ten days, when 

 the covering should be removed gradually. 



rrieMng- out the Seedlings. — This should be 

 done as soon as the young plants have four 

 leaves, in five-inch pots, well-drained, and 

 using the same kind of soil as for the seed. Fill 

 the pots even full of soil ; then with a sharp- 

 pointed stick prick out the plants and place 

 them an inch apart, pressing carefully around 

 each with the stick. When the pot is full, 

 rap it carefully on the bench and give a 

 sprinkling of tepid water through a fine rose. 

 Shade a few days and keep from bright sun- 

 shine. After a month the plants will re- 

 quire replanting into separate pots. 



Potting the Seedlings. — This should be done 

 as soon as the plants touch each other, 

 using two-inch pots and the same kind of 

 soil as before, following the same rules as to 

 watering and shading. When the pots 

 become filled with roots, the plants should 

 be transferred into larger pots, or may be 

 planted out-of-doors in the open ground, in a 

 partially shaded place, and treated as other 

 ordinary summer plants. In the fall of the 

 year, and before hard frost, they should be 

 taken up and stored away in moderately dry 

 earth, in a temperature not below forty-five 

 degrees or above sixty degrees. In the fol- 

 lowing spring they can either be planted out- 

 of-doors in May, or grown in pots for window 

 decoration during the summer and fall 

 months. 



