6oo 



FORETASTES OF PARADISE. 



Before the last of the Dutch bulbs are in the ground, 

 it is well to set out irises, which follow them into 

 bloom so closely in the spring. The chances are they 

 will flower the next season. And what a royal show 

 they make ! It is quite possible to form a garden of 

 them exclusively ; indeed, a certain college professor 

 devoted his small door-yard to them alone, growing 

 sixty varieties in a plot of ground ten by fourteen feet, 

 and certainly no other garden in the town excited so 

 much admiration. Though the Japanese iris has the 



most wonder- 

 ful coloring 

 and form, the 

 German and 

 Spanish v a - 

 rieties, which 

 are smaller, 

 and for that 

 reason excel- 

 lent to fill in 

 with, should 

 not be over- 

 looked in 

 one's enthusi- 

 asm for the 

 K se m p f e r i 

 species. One 

 of the secrets 

 of artistic 

 gardening 

 lies in sur- 

 rounding tall- 

 growing 

 plants with 

 low ones, t o 

 make them 

 stand out 

 boldly and 

 effectively. 



In the bor- 

 der, where 

 there is par- 

 tial shade, yet 

 where no 

 roots from 

 the trees im- 

 poverish the 

 soil, plant the 

 hardy lilies 

 from Septem- 

 ber ist as long 

 as the soil can 

 be worked, 

 and if the day 

 b e a dismal 

 one, "the 

 saddest of 



be cheered by a vision of white and gold 

 sweet-scented bells, swaying in the breezes of the com- 

 ing summer. The magnificent auratum lily, grown 



Fjg. 



the year. 



Chimaphila maculata. 



behind some low-growing shrub or plant that will 

 partly conceal its very tall stem ; the exquisite, pure 

 white candidum, which, by the way, should be the first 



lily planted in 

 September ; the 

 brilliant little 

 turk's cap that 

 grows wild in many 

 fields, lilies-of-the- 

 valley, the o 1 d - 

 fashioned day lily, 

 the light buff ex- 

 celsum — so runs a 

 list that offers 

 glimpses of Para- 

 dise from June till 

 October. 



By far the most 

 time devoted t o 

 fall gardening i s 

 spent in putting 

 the bulbs into the 

 ground, but there 

 are many shrubs 

 and plants which 

 may be set out now 

 with advantage in 

 our northern lati- 

 tude, provided 

 they are planted 

 early enough to 

 insure new roots 

 forming before 

 hard frost. As 

 growth ceases in a 

 temperature lower 

 than 40°, the ther- 

 mometer is the 

 best guide in all 

 localities for the 



novice gardener to consult. No garden rules yet found 

 would apply equally well to Maine and Virginia, or to 

 New York state and California. A little observation 

 and experimenting on one's own account are worth more 

 than any printed advice, besides adding interest and zest 

 to one's work. 



A fernery out of doors forms one of the chief de- 

 lights in the hardy garden — a cool, delicious, retreat in 

 mid- summer, a never-failing source of supply for bou- 

 quets and the jardiniere, and not least among its many 

 virtues, it may be said to fairly take care of itself when 

 once established. For beginners the autumn is the 

 best time to collect ferns from the woods. It is then 

 near their dormant season, yet the fronds are not so 

 dry that the various species may not be easily distin- 

 guished. Notwithstanding a popular tradition to the 

 contrary, ferns are easily transplanted, provided they 

 are lifted at the proper season. When dormant, they 

 have been brought across the Atlantic in a hand-bag 

 with perfect success ; carried in the crown of a lady's 



Fig. 



Sarcodes sanguinea. 



