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THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 



[June, 



LILAC. 



Perfume-breathing, joyous flower! 



Lilac, I would sing thy praise; 

 Gemmed by spring's soft trembling shower, 

 Sparkling in the sun's broad rays. 



Like a grateful hymn to heaven, 

 Upward thy calm incense floats ; 



Night and day to thee 'tis given, 

 Praise to pour from myriad throats. 



Praise by acts though not by voices, 

 As cool perfume thou dost shed, 



While each hungry breeze rejoices 

 O'er the banquet by thee spread. 



To my fancy thou appearest 

 Type of friendship, tried and true; 



Homely often, always dearest; 

 Old in years, yet ever new. 



Thy soft tints suggest this feeling, 



Mingled blue and rosy red; 

 Blue its constancy revealing, 



Red the hue of love, 'tis said. 



And as love is most time jealous, 



Yellow in thy depths appears, 

 Not sufficient to repel us, 

 But to waken wholesome fears. 



Flowers! living gems! I greet ye! 



Year by year, with glad surprise, 

 My fond heart goes out to meet ye, 



As I gaze with love-tranced eyes. 



But of all your spring-tide beauty, 



Summer glory, autumn sheen, 

 To thee I will pledge my duty, 



'Lilac! thou shalt be my queen. 



B. P. H., in Gardener's llagasinc. 



SEASONABLE HINTS, 



Flower-beds in Lawns should be arranged 

 more with a view to the general effect than 

 to the special culture of a great variety of 

 plants. A bed of only one or two harmoniz- 

 ing varieties, placed in a favorable position, 

 is generally more effective than a collection 

 of many kinds. A number of small beds 

 dotted over and cut out of the lawn seldom 

 give satisfaction; they mar or destroy the 

 uniformity and evenness, in which the most 

 pleasing feature of a lawn consists. Besides, 

 the amount of work necessary to keep small 

 beds in neat order — without which they be- 

 come entirely inadmissible — is very much 

 greater than is generally taken into consid- 

 eration at planting. It requires but little 

 more labor and time to take care of .a large 

 flower-bed than of one of considerably smaller 

 dimensions. 



Cut Flowers in sufficient abundance to 

 keep one's parlors and living-rooms, at least, 

 amply supplied all summer, and enough to 

 spare to give to friends and flower missions, 

 are to many the most enjoyable part of their 

 gardens. Cut flowers are their harvest and 

 object of the flower-garden, as berries and 

 other fruits are the final aim in the fruit- 

 garden. To be able to enjoy the luxury of 

 cutting flowers to heart's content, flowers 

 have to be grown like auy other crop, and 

 not in flower-beds, where frequent cutting 

 would disturb the general appearance. To 

 this end plants should be set out in rows, in 

 rich, mellow soil, far enough apart to admit 

 easy cultivation and the full development 

 of every plant. If no separate ground can 

 be devoted for this purpose, any part of the 

 kitchen-garden will answer as well. 



BEDDING PLANTS. 



WHAT TO USE, AND HOW TO CARE POE THEM. 



Annuals can be had for less money than 

 bedding plants, but where the latter can be 

 afforded they are generally more satisfactory, 

 for several reasons. They come into bloom 

 earlier and they bloom constantly. They 

 are finer in quality and generally superior in 

 fragrance to most annuals. For cut flowers 

 they are more desirable. 



Our leading florists have put the prices on 

 many kinds of bedding plants so low that 

 most lovers of choice flowers can afford 

 enough for at least one bed. 



The Geranium is our best bedder, all things 

 considered. It blooms during the entire sum- 

 mer, and for brilliance it is unsurpassed. It 

 can be had in all shades of red, in pinks, in 

 salmon, and white, and you can suit your 

 own taste about single or double flowers, as 

 we have them of both kinds in all the desir- 

 able colors. If you want a bed that will 

 fairly dazzle the eyes you can do no better 

 than to select Scarlet Geraniums. The vari- 

 ety with a pale green leaf, edged with pure 



HYBRID VERBENAS. 



white, makes an excellent border for such a 

 bed. The pink varieties are magnificent in 

 color, and I prefer them to the more brilliant 

 scarlet varieties. 



Carnations are most desirable bedders. 

 They are beautiful in form and color, frag- 

 rant, and profuse in bloom. 



Fuchsias are very fine for bedding, if they 

 can be given considerable shade from the 

 hot sun. For a northern exposure they are 

 excellent. 



The Heliotrope is not as showy as a great 

 many other flowers, but it is very beautiful 

 for all that, and it is so exquisitely fragrant 

 that no garden can be considered complete 

 without it. It is unequaled for use in bou- 

 quets. "What the Mignonette is among annu- 

 als the Heliotrope is among bedding plants. 



Lantanas are flowers of the easiest culture, 

 and they bloom during the whole season. 

 They afford a great variety of color. 



The double Petunia is a magnificent bed- 

 der. The variegated kinds are as desirable 

 as Dahlias, and much easier of cultivation. 



Verbenas that come from seed seldom have 

 the delicacy of texture and brilliancy of color 

 of those propagated by florists. If you have 

 a low bed that you want to be a showy one, 

 cover it with Verbenas. You can select 

 nothing finer. They branch rapidly and a 

 few plants will soon cover a large bed com- 

 pletely. Cut off the clusters as soon as the 

 flowers fade, and you will have all the Ver- 

 benas you want until frost comes. 



Bouvardias are excellent bedders, and I 

 prize them very highly for .use in bouquets. 



Boses are always favorite flowers, and 

 by using the Tea, Bourbon, Noisette, and 

 China varieties you can have them from 

 June to November. If I could have but 

 one bedding plant, it would be one of these 

 Roses, for in it I should be sure of having 

 in its highest degree beauty, fragrance, and, 

 properly treated, a profusion of flowers. To 

 get the best satisfaction from these Roses, 

 you must give them a soil a trifle heavier 

 than ordinary garden soil, — an admixture of 

 clay I have found beneficial where the soil 

 had considerable sand in it, — and they like 

 plenty of rich food. I prefer well-rotted 

 barn-yard manure to any other stimulant for 

 the Rose. I am always careful to go over 

 my Rose-bed daily, and cut off all faded 

 flowers. As soon as all the buds in a cluster 

 have bloomed, I cut back the branch to a 

 good, strong bud, and very soon a new shoot 

 is put forth which soon gives flowers. This 

 cutting-back process must be attended to, if 

 you would have plenty of Roses. 



If you want a brilliant bed of ' ' foliage 

 plants," use Coleus for the center and Cen- 

 i taurea for edging. The effect will be finer if 

 you use a Carina or two as a center-piece. 

 The contrast between the rich colors of the 

 Coleus and the gray of the Centaurea is very 

 striking. Several species of Achyranthes are 

 of easy culture and desirable for ribbon beds. 



There are a good many other kinds of bed- 

 ding plants that are well worthy a place in 

 any collection, but I would not advise the 

 amateur to try too many. In growing annu- 

 als and bedders, as in plants for the house 

 and conservatory, aim at quality rather than 

 quantity. You will always get more enjoy- 

 ment out of one good plant than out of half 

 a dozen passable ones. 



If you order bedding plants, and they are 

 wilted when they arrive, set them, without 

 removing them from the moss or paper in 

 which they are wrapped, in shallow pans of 

 water, moderately warm. They soon revive, 

 and you need not lose one in twenty, if you 

 will give them this treatment. If you were 

 to put them into the open ground, as soon as 

 received, such plants as had become dry, and 

 suffered in the journey, would not recover 

 their lost vitality for several days, and many 

 would perish. If you cannot have a cloudy 

 day for transplanting, take the time after 

 sunset. Make a little hole in the earth, with 

 a small trowel or knife, and place your plant 

 in it, disturbing the roots as little as possible. 

 Press the soil about it firmly, then give a 

 good watering. If the next day proves hot, 

 shade the plants. They will soon become es- 

 tablished, and they will begin to blossom as 

 soon as they get thoroughly to growing. If 

 you want plenty of flowers, remove all faded 

 ones. If you allow seed to form, you will not 

 have as great a quantity of bloom as you can 

 secure by removing promptly all flowers past 

 their prime. 



Eben E. Rexford. 



