166 



THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 



[September, 



Replanting Perennials. — After a good soak- 

 ing rain is an excellent time to divide and 

 transplant spring-blooming plants, as Rock 

 Cress, Moss Pink, and Aubrietias ; it gives 

 them an opportunity to establish themselves 

 before winter sets in. But Bleeding Heart, 

 Spring Adonis, Paaonias, and others, with 

 thick roots, and which die down in winter, 

 may be transplanted with good enough suc- 

 cess any time before winter sets in. 



Herbaceous Perennials are much bene- 

 fited by being transplanted every second 

 year. Big masses are seldom as thrifty or 

 bloom as full as do medium-sized clumps. It 

 is therefore advisable that, in the case of 

 Phloxes, Pentstemons, Bee-Balm, Campa- 

 nulas, and the like, they be lifted, cut 

 up into four or more clumps each, and 

 planted afresh in deeply worked, enriched 

 soil. And it will often be observed how luxu- 

 riantly the shoots arising from the outer 

 parts of the clump are growing compared 

 with the impoverished condition of those 

 arising from the middle. 



Transplanting Seedlings. — Around your 

 Sweet Williams, Fox-gloves, Larkspurs, 

 and Canterbury "Bells, you will now find 

 many little seedlings. Pick up a number of 

 these and prick them off into boxes, or rather 

 closely in a well-prepared little plat, where 

 they can be shaded with branches till they 

 get started again. Seeds of most perennials 

 may still be sown, and will produce good- 

 sized plants, strong enough to stand our 

 winters. When seed is not to be saved, 

 plants should never be allowed to bear seed. 



HARDY FLOWERS, 



At this time of year our bedding plants 

 are at their best, — Dahlias, Gladioluses, 

 Tigridias, and Cannas are in blossom and 

 brighten up our yards, and China Asters, 

 Zinnias, Marigolds, Salvias, Petunias, and 

 many other annuals, contribute largely to 

 the display. And among shrubs, the White 

 Alder, Sorrel Tree, Chaste Shrub, Spiraeas, 

 Hydrangeas, and Hypericums yield lots of 

 showy flowers ; some Roses bloom again ; 

 and the Trumpet Vine, Japanese Honey- 

 suckles, and Clematises in floral beauty 

 clothe our pillars, screens, and trellises. 



But, apart from the above, we have a host 

 of hardy herbaceous perennial plants that 

 blossom full at this time, and which alone 

 would make a garden gay enough. The 

 Golden Columbine lingers with us still ; the 

 tall Phloxes, if well fed, will last until the 

 month is out; our Swamp Lily (superbum) 

 is being substituted by Tiger and speciosum 

 Lilies; Great Blue Lobelias and Cardinal 

 Flowers are lovely in moist and faintly 

 shaded places, where, too, Lyon's Shell- 

 flower delights to grow. The Western Spi- 

 derwort in endless forms has been in flower 

 for weeks, and, if in moist ground, shall last 

 in good profusion for weeks to come. The 

 single and double flowered tawny Day Lilies 

 are in full flower, and have been for some 

 time; blue Funkias are profuse enough; and 

 the white Day Lily (Finikia), so sweetly 

 fragrant, shall soon be out. Perennial Lark- 

 spurs have done blooming, except some side 

 shoots and new sprouts where the old stems 

 had been cut back. The variegated flowered 

 Aconitum is one of the prettiest flowers of its 

 season; A. Lycoctonum has yellowish flowers 

 and ferox blue ones, and both are in full 

 blossom now. Clematis Davicliana is a fine 

 herbaceous species from Northern China,with 

 a profusion of blue, hyacinth-like, deliciously 

 fragrant flowers, now in full beauty. The 

 brilliant Bee-Balm is still in good condition 

 in moist ground; so, too, are CEnothera frut- 

 icosa and its varieties. The latter have bright 

 yellow day-opening flowers, and, unlike the 

 Evening Primroses of the same genus, they 

 do not keep open at night. The Wild Senna 

 in sunny places is past its best, but in moist 

 and shady localities it is now at its showiest. 



Chinese Pinks, of one or two years' dura- 

 tion, continue to blossom brightly. Ewers' 

 Sedum has terminal heads of rose-purple 

 flowers, but Siebold's, or the spectabile Se- 

 dum s, have not opened yet. Many of the 

 tall-stemmed Speedwells are still in blossom, 

 but the very best and most showy of the set 

 now in bloom is Veronica lougifolia, var. 

 subsessiles. Its flowers are large, deep bright 

 blue, and quite showy. The late-blooming 

 form of the Broad Bell-flower (Platycoclon), 

 with blue and white, single and double flow- 

 ers, is in fine condition, and the largest and 

 best of all hardy Statices (lattfoUa) is open- 

 ing its buds. It will remain in blossom till 

 October. The deep-blue flowers of Larpent's 

 Plumbago are expanding, the Mountain Mints 

 (Pycnanthemwm) are at their best, and the 

 Japanese Skullcap is one of our prettiest 

 bluish flowers. The Meadow Beauty is pretty 

 still; so is the Pleurisy Root and red and 

 purple Prairie Clover. The double flowering 

 Sneezewort is white, pretty, profuse, and one 

 of the best and most lasting flowers for a 

 groundwork in florists' designs. 



Then there is the host of showy flowering 

 Composites — Sunflowers, Coneflowers, As- 



ters, Eupatoriums, 'Iron-weeds, and the like, 

 whose greatest fault, is their rankness and 

 their commonness. Add to these a multi- 

 tude of odds and ends, as Mallows, Lych- 

 nises, and Scabiosus, that continue to blos- 

 som more or less after they have yielded 

 their main crop of flowers, and surely the 

 simplest garden can be gay enough. 



Wm. Falconer. 



LIFTING PLANTS FOR WINTER FLOWERING. 



Plants which have been grown for winter 

 flowering should be lifted before cold weather 

 sets in. Carnations are often almost com- 

 pletely destroyed for flowering during winter 

 by leaving them out until they have been 

 exposed to severe frosts. To insure free 

 flowering for the longest possible period, 

 they should be placed in winter quarters 

 upon the approach of the first frost. Stevias, 

 Eupatoriums, and all tender plants, should 

 be lifted and potted in good time, but kept 

 cool and exposed out-of-doors as long as 

 possible ; for, although they will not endure 

 frost, they succeed best when kept as cool 

 as possible, and plenty of air is given them 

 at all times. If kept in a close atmosphere, 

 they "draw up "with weak shoots and still 

 weaker flowers. Plenty of light and air on 

 all suitable occasions are the principal con- 

 ditions to insure success with this class of 

 plants. 



Lifting plants should be done, if possible, 

 on cloudy days. Some people prefer to lift 

 plants on wet days ; this is proper enough 

 when the plants are growing on sandy soil, 

 but if growing on soil having a good propor- 

 tion of clay in it, it is not advisable. The 

 soil around the roots is liable to get hard 

 and remain so, in consequence of which the 

 roots have considerable difficulty in making a 

 start in the hardened mass. Plants growing 

 in stiff soils should be lifted when the ground 

 is damp, but not wet. With sandy soil it is 

 different ; from such, plants may be lifted at 

 any time. If dry, the soil will fall from the 

 roots and leave them uninjured ; and if wet, 

 it will cling to them, but does not harden as 

 in clayey soils. 



Roses for flowering during winter should 

 be lifted early in the season, so that fresh 

 roots can be made before they are placed in 

 high temperature. Every grower of Roses 

 knows it is useless to expect success with 

 them without plenty of good, healthy roots. 



Large plants of Heliotrope can be lifted 

 and placed on benches without suffering 

 much from the change, if care is taken to 

 mutilate the roots as little as possible, to 

 keep them from exposure to drying winds, 

 to cut back the leading shoots in proportion 

 to the mutilation of the roots, and to keep the 

 atmosphere of the house moist until fresh 

 roots and new shoots are started. If placed 

 in a part of the house where plenty of sun- 

 light can be given them, they do not need as 

 high a temperature as most people suppose 

 necessary to insure an abundance of flowers 

 during the winter months. 



All plants intended for pot culture during 

 winter, and requiring pots over six inches in 

 diameter, should be well drained with broken 

 pots, charcoal, or any material suitable for 

 allowing the moisture to pass off freely. 

 Unless the water passes freely through the 

 soil the plants do not thrive well. 



M. Milton. 



AUTUMN TOKENS. 



By" the golden dreamful weather, 

 By the birds that fly together, 



Dark against the radiant sky, 

 By the silence growing deeper, 

 By the resting of the reaper, 



Pleasant days are drawing nigh. 



By the vagrant way-side brier, 

 Flinging far its tangled fire, 



By the forest's motley line, 

 Royal Oak and Maple splendid, 

 Holding stately court, attended 



As for pageant, rich and fine. 



By the Asters, incense bringing, 

 By the Morning-glories' swinging, 



And the spicy fragrance shed 

 From the Grape, whose purple cluster 

 Captive holds the vivid luster 

 Of the summer scarcely fled. 



Pleasant days are coining nearer, 

 Days when home will seem the dearer 



That its circle smaller grown, 

 In its happy talk and laughter, 

 Or its sighs, low stealing after, 



Narrows to enfold its own. 



Blithe, for music, work and study, 

 Then will glow the hearth-flame ruddy, 



What though wild the wind may blow; 

 Always there is golden weather 

 When true hearts are met together, 



Though without the storm be snow. 



All the autumn's wondrous shading, 

 Ripened hues, and gentle fading. 



All the birds that southward fly, 

 Speak to us, with sign and token, 

 Say, in words we hear, unspoken, 



Pleasant days are drawing nigh. 



SEASONABLE HINTS, 



