154 



THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 



[October, 



THE FERN-GULLY OF MELBOURNE. 



Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, pos- 

 sesses a large and beautiful botanic garden, 

 which, under the management of Mr. Guil- 

 foyle, as the London Garden informs us, has 

 been so remodeled and beautified that it 

 now ranks among the most scientifically 

 arranged and most picturesquely planted 

 gardens in the world. 



Each class of plants is, so far as practi- 

 cable, grouped by itself. The place devoted 

 to Perns is a naturally fa voidable location — a 

 gully of about three hundred feet in length, 

 the average width of the Fern-ground on 

 either side being about fifty feet. A mean- 

 dering pathway, some nine hundred feet in 

 length, crosses and reerosses the gully every 

 here and there. Along this narrow pathway 

 one passes under the beautiful green fronds 

 of native Tree Perns, Dicksonia antarctica, 

 Atrophila australis, etc., the trunks of which 

 stand like so many columns on either side. 

 A large number of these and other Tree 

 Perns of various heights, from one to fifteen 

 feet, many of which are indigenous to New 

 Zealand and Norfolk Island, are planted 

 along the water-course, as well as promis- 

 cuously over the whole Pern-ground. On 

 the trunks of the Tree Ferns, and also in 

 the forks and on the stems of most of the 

 large, umbrageous trees which have been 

 placed about in order to provide shade for, 

 and protection from undue exposure of the 

 Perns, have been fixed hundreds of the 

 Queensland and New South Wales epiphytal 

 Ferns, Platycerium grande and alcicorne 

 (the Elk's-horn and Stag's-horn Ferns), and 

 Asplenium nidus (the Bird's-nest Fern) ; 

 while all over the gully some thousands of 

 hardy outdoor Perns, including Lomarias, 

 Aspleniums, Aspidiums, Blechnums, Dood- 

 dias, Polypodiums, Pteris, etc., have been 

 planted extensively as an undergrowth. A 

 perforated pipe is placed all around the edge 

 of the Fern-ground, by which the place is 

 conveniently watered by the mere turning 

 on of taps. At almost any point along the 

 narrow, meandering pathway, beautiful vistas 

 may be had, while, from either of the large 

 walks which pass across the gully, charming 

 views of Perns, with glimpses of the lake 

 and rustic bridges in the distance, serve to 

 make some of the most beautiful natural 

 pictures one could desire to look upon. 



SWEET PEAS. 



Probably no other common flower is so 

 useful in the garden during summer as the 

 Sweet Pea, and it is as indispensable to it as 

 Mignonette. Formerly we had but few vari- 

 eties ; now they have grown into something 

 like thirteen or fourteen, every one of which 

 well deserves a place in the garden. 



It is nearly two centuries ago that the 

 Sweet Pea was introduced from Sicily. In 

 all probability the original form has been 

 considerably improved upon, and it has either 

 sported into new forms or yielded them by 

 means of seed. In later years, new varieties 

 have been obtained in this way,, Among the 

 plants raised from seed of any one variety, a 

 new departure has been discovered in the 

 case of a plant or two. Those whose prac- 



tice it is to grow from seeds largely are 

 aware of the tendency in many annuals to 

 break into different characters, and when 

 one appears it is marked, the surrounding 

 plants are pulled out to give the new type 

 space in which to develop itself, and the 



1 seed is carefully gathered and sown for an- 

 other season. Sports of this kind are often 

 very difficult to fix in a permanent char- 



| aeter ; they will appear for a year or two, or 

 more, and then revert to their original form, 

 to the great disappointment of the culti- 

 vator. On the other hand, such sports can 

 be permanently fixed after a few years' se- 

 lection, and when the durability of the new 

 character is assured the variety can be sold 



! in the ordinary way. 



An enormous quantity of Sweet Peas is 

 every year grown for the trade of England. 

 One wholesale house grows, annually, from 

 twenty-five to thirty acres, producing in a 

 good season from eight hundred to one 



■ thousand bushels, and several other seed- 



I firms raise similar quantities. The greater 

 part is grown as mixed colors, separate 

 colors being required only in comparatively 

 small quantities. 



Of late years, Sweet Peas have come to be 

 much grown for supplying cut blooms for 

 market. A hedge of Sweet Peas of mixed 

 colors is a very pretty sight indeed in any 

 garden, and diffuses a most agreeable frag- 

 rance. The Scarlet Invincible, in conjunction 

 with Tropasolum Canariense, is a charming 

 combination, — as delightful as it is novel. A 

 garden without Sweet Peas is a garden with- 

 out one of the most useful of flowers that 

 can find a place in it. — /.'. ])., in the Garden- 

 er's ( 'hronicle. 



FLOWERS IN MEXICO. 



Mexico is the greatest flower-market in the 

 world. All the year round, the gardens bring 

 forth brilliant blossoms — the fragile, beauti- 

 ful children of this tropic zone. All histor- 

 ians who write of the Mexicans as Mexicans, 

 speak of their love of flowers as one of their 

 principal characteristics. Nor is this trait 

 diminished in the present generation. From 

 the days before the cruel conquest, all 

 through that merciless time, when the Mex- 

 I icans bore the heavy yoke under their 

 '< violent masters, the Spaniards, they re- 

 mained faithful to their love of flowers ; the 

 passion is innate. 



During even the coldest days that are 

 known in this mild climate, one may go to 

 market and find the simple Indians seated 

 on the sidewalks with their baskets of 

 flowers. I have seen them sitting thus close- 

 ly together for a whole block, offering at 

 I almost ridiculously low prices great bundles 

 of Roses, Heliotropes, Violets, Geraniums, 

 Heartsease, Pinks, and, in short, almost 

 numberless varieties. For twenty-five cents, 

 one may nearly always buy a large, elegant- 

 ly-arranged bouquet, composed of the most 

 exquisite flowers, the price of which, in New 

 York, would vary, according to the season, 

 from $3 to $5 or $6. In the full flower 

 season one may often buy, for six and a quar- 

 ter cents, as many flowers as can be disposed 

 of in a parlor of ordinary size. Many of the 

 wild flowers are of exquisite beauty, rivaling 

 the choicest garden plants ; in fact, many 

 of them are among our finest greenhouse 

 plants. — Cor. San Francisco Tribune. 



SOOT AS A MANURE FOR PLANTS. 



To strong- growing green-house plants, 

 such as Pelargoniums, Fuchsias, Azaleas, 

 Cytisus, Roses, Chrysanthemums, Solanums, 

 and Hydrangeas, soot is a valuable and 

 easily obtained stimulant. A handful of it, 

 stirred in a three-gallon can of water, has a 

 marvelous effect on all the plants just 

 named, and many others besides. It in- 

 duces vigorous growth, and adds freshness 

 and substance both to the leaf and flower. 

 It is best to use it in small quantities and 

 often, rather than charge the compost with, 

 more carbon than the plants can readily as- 

 similate. In the case of Chrysanthemums and 

 Hydrangeas, I have employed a mixture of 

 soot and freshmanure from the cow-shed, with 

 the best possible results ; but, wherever the 

 last-named ingredient is employed, it should 

 be well mixed in a tub or tank and allowed 

 to settle, otherwise the grassy particles re- 

 main on the top of the pots, and, while 

 giving them an unsightly appearance, ex- 

 clude that free aeration which all healthy 

 roots require.— B., in London Garden. 



SUBSTITUTES FOR GRASS. 



Where a great extent of lawn has to be 

 kept in order, if it be furnished with trees 

 and shrubs, as most lawns are, either in the 

 shape of groups or isolated single specimens, 

 the Grass around them often gives a good 

 deal of trouble, and, if neglected, looks 

 rough and untidy. The mowing machine 

 has been the means of saving a large 

 amount of labor ; but it must not be drawn 

 too near choice trees and shrubs, the 

 branches of which sweep the ground, or 

 their symmetry will be injured. 



I have, therefore, often thought that in 

 such cases some substitute for Grass should 

 have been employed long ago that would 

 not require trimming. The tendency now 

 is to economize labor, and this is one way 

 in which a good deal of it may be saved. 

 Whatever is employed must keep its color 

 and look thrifty ; Grass often fails to do 

 this. Even bare earth looks better than 

 dried-up herbage; but that cannot for a 

 moment be thought of, or need be, for there 

 are plenty of low-growing plants that will 

 thrive under bushes. 



A host may be found in Sedums and Saxi- 

 fragas alone. Of the latter, one of the best 

 is the common Moss-Saxifrage (Eve's Pin- 

 cushion, as it is sometimes called). It is of 

 a far brighter and more beautiful green than 

 Grass, and the little tufty irregularities of 

 growth seem to add to its beauty, and in 

 spring it is covered with myriads of pretty, 

 little, white flowers mounted on slender 

 wire-like stems, about six inches high. 

 Sedum glaucum and Lydium will also do 

 well for such work, as they are very close- 

 growing, require no trimming, and will 

 thrive anywhere. 



Nothing excels the common Ivy for form- 

 ing a green covering under large trees, if 

 watched, and its tendency to climb up the 

 trees counteracted by prompt cutting back. 

 Creeping Jenny grows naturally in the shade. 

 Then, again, how charming it would be to 



j introduce on these carpets of enduring ver- 

 dure a few Snowdrops or Primroses, or any 



j other little plant one has a fancy for. — 



| E. H., in Gardening Illustrated. 



