1 883.] 



147 



IPQMffiAS. 



The genera Conrolrnlux and Ipomwa com- 

 prise many of our most popular animal 

 climbers. The most familiar example is the 

 Morning Glory, which is emphatically a 

 flower of the people, and than which to-day, 

 in spite of "novelties," no better plant can 

 be found for covering a trellis, or clothing 

 fences, stumps, or rustic work where line 

 foliage and showy flowers are required. The 

 culture is only to plant the seeds, which will 

 usually sow themselves, and come up year 

 after year. 



Beautiful as are the Morning Glories, the 

 Mite of the family is found in the genus 

 Ipomcea, the large-flowered species of which 

 are also commonly known as Morning Glo- 

 ries, the difference between the two genera 

 being very little. 



The delicate climber known as Cypress 

 Vine is botanically Ipomcea Qna- 

 mocUt. It is a native of tropical 

 America, loves heat and moist- 

 ure, grows rapidly, and produces 

 an abundance of flowers. In 

 Brazil, the red-flowered variety 

 covers the fences with its deli- 

 cate foliage, brilliant with the 

 starry flowers, and though the 

 plant is an annual there, it is 

 perpetually renewed from self- 

 sown seed, and thus is virtually, 

 in effect, a perennial. The seed 

 is very hard, and, if planted on 

 the border dry, is slow to vege- 

 tate ; it should first be scalded, 

 by allowing it to soak in a cup of 

 hot water. When the water be- 

 comes cold, plant the seed, but 

 never sow until the soil becomes 

 warm ; the last of May is early 

 enough for the latitude of New- 

 York. We have been most suc- 

 cessful in sowing the seed on the 

 evening of a warm day ; then till 

 a water-pot with almost boiling 

 water, and give the earth a gen- 

 tle but thorough drenching; the 

 plants will often appear in thirty- 

 six hours. The growth is very 

 rapid, and by midsummer the 

 graceful foliage will be a mass of 

 flowers, red, white, or rose, ac- 

 cording to the variety sown, and 

 the plants will continue to bloom 

 until killed by the frost. 



Of large day-flowering Lpo- 

 moeas, one of the best is /. Lca- 

 rii, which has very large rich bin 

 It is a perennial, and until large 

 bloom freely, and thus otir norther 

 is too short for it. There are oth 

 same class which are well worth growing at 

 the South or in a conservatory, and /. Hors- 

 faliae, which has great clusters of red flowers 

 and palmate leaves, is one of the most brill- 

 iant of stove climbers. 



The large night-flowering Ipomoeas of the 

 tropics are very beautiful, the effect of hun- 

 dreds of these flowers, which are pure white, 

 deliciousiy fragrant, and often a foot in 

 circumference, opening in the soft radiance 

 of the tropic moonlight, can be better im- 

 agined than described. These species, if 

 brought forward in pots and planted in a 

 warm situation, would doubtless give flower 

 before frost even in northern climes, as they 

 are rapid growers and flower freely. 



One of the prettiest of the family is /. 



foliage, 

 profusl 



coccinea, commonly called scarlet Morning 

 Glory. It is a rampant climber, with smooth 



starry orange-scarlet flowers. 

 The plant known as Ivy-leaved Cypress 

 Vine is a variety of /. coccinea, with delicate, 

 ivy-like foliage. There is also a plant, proba- 

 bly nearly allied, with larger foliage and 

 orange-scarlet flowers an inch in diameter, 

 which we have seen in Brazil. 



/. leptophyUa is a hardy perennial species, 

 introduced, a few years ago, from the South- 

 west. It has an immense tuberous root, half 

 climbing stems, and rose-purple flowers. 



There are also species with blue flowers 

 and white margins, some with ivy-leaved 

 foliage, and some have the leaves marbled 

 with white. All are good, and Ipomoeas 

 should always find a place in the garden. 



E. S. Kan-d. Jr. 



The early flowers need not displace the 

 bedding-plants that make so grand a display 

 in summer, as they only occupy the ground 

 until the tender plants can be trusted out- 

 doors. Tulips and many other bulbs may 

 lie taken up when the leaves are ripened, or 

 they may be left in'the ground, and the bed- 

 ding-plants set among them, removing the 

 leaves as they wither, thus securing a suc- 

 cession of bloom from April until frost 

 comes. 



For me, the spring garden has more attrac- 

 tions than any other. It is so delightful, after 

 the long dreary winter, to see the tiny green 

 shoots piercing the brown mold, to welcome 

 each little adventurer as it gets its head above 

 ground, to watch and wait for each old 

 friend. Dearer than any others are the 

 special favorites grown from seed: the Sweet 

 Williams, Delphiniums, Aquilegias, Canter- 

 bury Bells, Pinks, and Pansies, 

 that we are Longing to see in 

 bloom once more as we long for 

 the return of an absent friend. 



He knows nothing about the 

 true delight of the gardener who 

 lias not raised flowers from seed. 

 If you have never tasted this ex- 

 quisite enjoyment, try it imme- 

 diately; it is not yet too late to 

 sow seeds of perennials for next 

 year's blooming. Begin now to 

 prepare for the spring garden. 

 Get some Sweet William, peren- 

 nial Delphinium, Aquilegia, and 

 Hollyhock seeds; sow them, and 

 take care of them . through the 

 r. 



In October, set out a few hardy 

 bulbs, such as Narcissus, Snow- 

 drop, Crocus, Tulips and Hya- 

 cinths. But preparation for the 

 beds should be made now, for al- 

 though these bulbs will grow un- 

 der various conditions, to show 

 to their best advantage they 

 should be planted in deep, light, 

 rich, and naturally or artificially 

 drained soil, well manured and 



dug over sevi 



sral 



planting. 





Send for a c 



-atalo 



bulbs, and you 



will 



at the variety 



and 



flowers, 

 does not 



summer 

 PS of the 



IPOMCEA COCCINEA. 



PREPARING FOR SPRING FLOWERS. 



None of rayneighbors have a springflower 



garden. Several of them have line slimmer 

 ami autumn gardens, lint during all the spring 

 months these grounds — that are a mass of 

 bloom at midsummer — are quite bare or, 

 worse, made unsightly by heaps of rubbish. 



Now a little foresight and a small outlay 

 of time and money at the proper season 

 would insure as tine a display of flowers dur- 

 ing the spring months as throughout the 

 summer and autumn. And what flowers are 

 so welcome, so beloved, as the firstlings of 

 the year;' The delicate Snowdrop that 

 braves the winds of March ; the cheery 

 Crocus and modest Violet, that come with 

 April; and the gorgeous Tulips that illumine 

 the garden in May. Then there are the old- 

 time favorites, the hardy herbaceous peren- 

 nials; these, like the hardy bulbs, once estab- 

 lished, will last for years. 



>e surprised 

 heapness of 

 these beautiful flowers. Then, 

 next spring, when you are in the 

 midst of youi floral treasures and 

 triumphs, take up your pen and 

 write a few lines to The American Garden, 

 that others may he induced to do likewise. 



Jenny Dare. 



VALUABLE HELP. 



I have a journeyman gardener who at- 

 tends to the insect department. He is an 

 enthusiastic entomological collector. The 

 amount of " bugs " he can take in during a 

 day is surprising, and I think he devours 

 very nearly his bulk in twelve working 



He works for nothing and finds himself, and 

 I am never troubled with a strike. My fellow- 

 is quite familiar, ami pays no attention to 



him, and he. possibly thinking it a new kind of 

 garter-snake, hops oft' as vigorously as though 

 he were a member of some toad's athletic 

 society. T. D. E. 



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