1882.] 



THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 



103 



THE GLADIOLUS AS A FALL FLOWER, 



The Gladiolus is one of the most beautiful 

 and charming of all bulbous flowering plants, 

 and should be far more extensively culti- 

 vated. As a late autumn flower, there is 

 nothing to surpass it. They are of the easiest 

 culture, and succeed in almost any variety 

 of soil. I have not tried them in pure sand, 

 but my poorest soil has given me as fine 

 flowers and bulbs as I could desire. I usually 

 plant them four or five 

 inches deep, covering 

 lightly, and after they 

 have grown a few 

 inches, hoe, drawing 

 the earth to them, thus 

 completing the cover- 

 ing. I find planting 

 thus deep is a great aid 

 in keeping them erect, 

 and enables one to dis- 

 pense with the use of 

 stakes, and as the new 

 bulbs are formed on 

 top of the old ones, 

 they are sufficiently 

 below the surface to 

 obtain requisite mois- 

 ture and avoid being 

 checked in growth 

 should the surface be- 

 come dry. 



Many persons fail to 

 get the most satisfac- 

 tion, by planting too 

 early and all at one 

 time. If planted at 

 intervals of two weeks 

 or so for two or three 

 months, the flowering 

 season is much extend- 

 ed, and the later plant- 

 ings come into flower 

 when the bulk of other 

 flowers are past. I 

 know of no flower that 

 embraces so wide a 

 range and variety of 

 color and shades, from 

 the most intensely bril- 

 liant and dazzling to 

 the softest and most 

 delicate tints, with va- 

 rious blendings of the 

 same. The plants will 

 stand quite a severe 

 frost, or several of 

 them, without injury, 

 and after their more 

 tender companions that 

 helped to make up the 

 beauty of the flower 

 garden and lawn have 

 withered and faded, 

 the charming Gladiolus 

 still remains to cheer 

 our eyes and gladden 



our hearts. Even when the weather has 

 become so cold as to freeze the ground, any 

 flower-stalks near the point of blooming, if 

 cut and put in water in the house, will con- 

 tinue to develop and unfold their bloom 

 for two or three weeks, furnishing a source 

 of great admiraticn to every visitor, and 

 by their cheerful presence a welcome and 

 attractive feature to any household long 

 after their companions have " withered and 

 gone." 



After the plants have ceased flowering, and 



before the ground is frozen deep enough to 

 injure the bulbs, they should be taken up, 

 the tops removed and the young bulbs put in 

 paper bags, boxes, or something similar, 

 labeled if the varieties are named, and kept 

 in a dry cellar. The price of bulbs is now so 

 low that no one need be deterred from engag- 

 ing in their culture, in a small way at least. 

 It is not necessary to pay fifty cents to one 

 or two dollars for a single bulb ; such prices 



GROUP OF GLADIOLUS. 



belong to new and scarce varieties or novel- 

 ties, and are no index of their beauty. A 

 dozen bulbs of mixed colors can be had for a 

 dollar, and as many choice-named varieties 

 for double the amount, or less, so that for 

 a small investment the owner of the hum- 

 blest yard or garden may be able to realize, 

 and say with, equal truthfulness, as has been 

 said of the Lily, 



" That even Solomon in all his glory 

 Was not arrayed like one of these." 



— E. Williams. 



SUB-TROPICAL GARDENING. 



Many amateurs imagine that sub-troiAcal 

 plants, which make such a striking show, are 

 more difficult to manage than the ordinary 

 bedding plants, but such is not the case. 

 This class, with its handsome leaves and 

 noble habit of growth, affords a welcome 

 relief to the ordinary style of bedding plants. 



For planting out on a lawn, Yucca recur- 

 vata, or Spanish Bayonet, is very handsome, 

 while it requires no 

 special care, and stands 

 the winter in this lati- 

 tude without protec- 

 tion. 



For a sub-tropical 

 bed, Canna, or Indian 

 tShot, forms a fine cen- 

 ter-piece. There are 

 numberless varieties of 

 this plant ; some of 

 them grow to a height 

 of six or eight feet, 

 while others have a 

 dwarf habit. They 

 grow better from root 

 than from seed. They 

 should be planted about 

 the end of May, or be- 

 ginning of June. If a 

 ring of stable manure 

 is placed around the 

 plant, and a pailful of 

 water poured inside it 

 occasionally during the 

 hot months, the growth 

 is astonishing. After 

 the first frost in autumn 

 the Cannas may be dug 

 up, the tops cut off, 

 and the tuberous roots 

 laid away in a dark 

 place, protected from 

 frost, until the time of 

 planting comes round 

 again. The best of the 

 tall-growing varieties 

 is C. August Fevrier, of 

 the smaller kinds C. 

 metallica and C. flac- 

 cida. 



Several of the Dra- 

 ceenas and cool -house 

 Palms do well planted 

 out, and as they grow 

 nicely in the house 

 during the winter, are 

 a very satisfactory in- 

 vestment for amateurs. 

 A handsome variegated 

 Japanese grass, Eiilalia 

 zebrina, looks well with 

 sub-tropical plants. Its 

 seed-spike is as deli- 

 cate and feathery as an 

 ostrich tip, and with a 

 little covering it stands 

 the winter well. I am surprised not to see 

 the well-known Pampas Grass, or the Ameri- 

 can Pampas Grass (Erianthus Ravennw), 

 more generally grown. They form a hand- 

 some and striking group on a lawn, are easily 

 grown, and stand our winters well. They may 

 be propagated by root-division or from seed. 



The Banana, especially the Abyssinian 

 species (Musa JEnsete), makes a magnificent 

 lawn plant. It needs for its best development 

 a very rich, deep soil, and has to be wintered 

 in a warm house. Miss E. L. Taplin. 



