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GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 
OF AMERICA 
Devoted to the Science of Floriculture and Horticulture 
I Vol. XXI 
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APRIL, 1917 
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No. 4. i 
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUIIIIIIIIll 
Things and Thoughts of the Garden 
By "The Onlooker" 
BEFORE me as I write there is a big, inspiring war 
cartoon and by the side of it an editorial telling 
us what our duties as citizens should be in the 
face of the struggle that our country ha? entered upon. 
These are momentous times. What changes are working 
in men's thoughts ! The editorial says we ought to go 
ahead with our individual duties until called upon by 
authority otherwise. Good advice. Our duty is to make 
the earth lovelier ; to tidy up neglected places, to adorn 
the desert, to plant sheltering belts of trees, to set out 
plants whose blossoms will refresh the weary-minded, 
which will cheer the young and aged, and which will 
make of our homes and the land in which we dwell 
brighter places, places that the warriors will reflect upon 
in their sad or lonely watches whatever they may be, and 
in reflecting, find consolation and inspiration. There will 
be some faint hearts who will leave the lawns unkempt, 
the borders unfurnished, the planting undone. There will 
be some who will tell us that ornamental gardening is 
contrary to the spirit of the moment. So then are all 
pleasures ; theatres, operas, musicales, dances, motor- 
ing, fishing, tennis, golf, baseball, boating. Possibly 
public parlts are nuisances, too. Possibly they should 
all be planted to potatoes and corn. Meanwhile, if I've 
to economize it can be on an odd cigar or two — when I 
think of it, that's about all I can give up unless I pinch 
on food and clothes. 
* * * 
The busiest season of the year ! How did you feel 
that warm Sunday, Palm Sunday, the first of April? 
With us in the southern end of New York State and 
in New Jersey the temperature climbed up to 79 de- 
grees Fahr. Think of it — summer heat out of the cold 
of Winter. But it wasn't the heat that troubled one so 
much as the thought that those new sash frames weri- 
encumbrances ; that the hotbeds were superfluous ; that 
your Spring sowings were all behind, and that hot, dry 
weather was upon us even before our orders for hardy 
plants had been filled. Yes, but it was only the very 
young and impetuous who believed that there would be 
no more cold snaps, no more need for hotbeds and cold 
fi"ames. 
* * * 
At the last of March, however, we got all our cold 
frames cleared, or nearly all. Some of the tea and finer 
hybrid tea roses were still under a goodish load of salted 
hay, and the standard roses were still, in a few instances, 
under the soil, but in the main they had been lifted, re- 
planted and were on their way to renewed growth. At 
that time we were getting in our IJ^-inch cast-iron water 
pipes over the garden for irrigation purposes so as to 
be independent of droughts and heat spells. What a 
blessing to be in this happy position. Every garden 
should have a water supply laid on. Our hose is attached 
to stand pipes which are 50 feet apart. The hose covers 
25 ft. on each side of the standpipe; thus all the land 
can be watered. We would not like to attempt to do 
gardening without this water system. In another part 
of the ground we have the Skinner overhead irrigation ; 
in other words, we can turn on the rain when we want it, 
where we want it, and keep it on as long as we wish. It's 
a cinch. 
* * * 
Looking over the rockery on March 31 it was a 
genuine surprise to find several colonies of plants bloom- 
ing as in the height of their glory. It spoke volumes for 
the mildness of the season, and despite all that has been 
said to the contrary, I think the Winter has been kind 
to us. There was that ever-handsome plant, never-to-be- 
spoken-too-highly-of, Saxifraga cordata, the Saxifrage 
with the big, leathery, heart-shaped bronzy-green leaves. 
Its pink flowers are much prized coming so early. Then 
there were several of the early bulbs — Crocuses, Snow- 
drops, Squills, the pale blue Puschkinia libanotica, the 
hairy Pasque flower or Passion Anemone, coming about 
the Easter period, and there were also the yellow Adonis- 
amurensis and its double variety, as well as Andromeda 
(Pieris) floribunda. These were all without protection 
on a rockery facing west. A friend and neighbor who 
wisely has built, or rather fitted in, sashes against the 
southeast wall of his dwelling, forming a miniature 
greenhouse and converting it into a perfect sun trap, has 
had early Daffodils, Pansies, English Daisies, Hyacinths 
and other bulbous plants since the third week in March, 
and probably by the time this is printed his double Daf- 
fodils up in the wooded glade above his house will be 
all aglow. These are followed by the poet's Narcissus, 
and these again by a good selection of Darwin Tulips in 
beds and borders. 
^ ^ ^ 
A gentleman who loves the old-fashioned roses and 
shrubs, especially those mentioned in early writings, who 
lives in northern New Jersey where the winters are pretty 
raw, asked if Southernwood, also known as Old Man, 
was hardy. Gladly I was able to say yes. So is the 
delightful Lavender Cotton and the Sweet Lavender it- 
self, always provided that a little covering over the plants 
and around their roots be given. This covering need not 
be heavy. Too many folks actually smother their plants 
by an over-plus of straw and mats. Another of the 
139 
