110 
June, 1890. 
t ORCHARD 
AND 
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GARDE 
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Hydrangeas. 
The Hydrangea, with good reason, liasal- 
ways been a favorite inmate of the garden. 
It is true, that in the old days we had only 
Hydrangea Hortensia ; hut it had several 
places in the garden and a big one in the 
heart. On Long Island it was seldom win- 
ter-killed. and it may now be considered a 
hardy plant in the latitude of New York 
city. except in an unusually cold winter. The 
plant itself is rarely winter-killed. The 
buds on last season's growth, however, are 
sometimes either killed or so badly injured 
as to destroy the bloom: for it is on this 
growth that we depend for flowers. It was 
a more or less common practice, therefore, 
to drive stakes around the plants on the ap- 
proach of winter. and cover the plants loose- 
ly with dead leaves when the ground be- 
gan to freeze hard, but not before. Some 
covered the plants with barrels with both 
heads knocked out, and filled them with 
leaves; but the barrels were unsightly, 
and answered the purpose no bettter than 
the former plan, if so well. With a sim- 
ple protection of this kind, all the Japan- 
ese Hydrangeas might be grown in the 
border considerably north of New York. 
Otherwise they should be grown inboxes, 
which may be wintered in the cellar. 
The introduction of Hydrangea Japoni- 
ca v. "Thomas Hogg” and H. paniculata 
grandiflora gave a new interest to this 
beautiful family of plants. The latter 
is a remarkably fine hardy shrub large- 
ly grown. and has been described and fig- 
ured in Orchard and Garden. The for- 
mer belongs to the Japanese section, and 
is extensively used by florists for forcing, 
being the best and most useful for this 
purpose. It blooms profusely even when 
very small, the truss being large and the 
flowers pure white. In the border the plant 
is in flower from July to September. H. 
Japonica v. alba variegata and H. J. v. ele- 
gantixsima have variegated leaves. The 
leaves in the former are margined with 
white, while in the latter they are spotted 
with white. These are pretty plants, but 
seem to be the most tender of the family. 
They should be grown in boxes and winter- 
ed in the cellar. H. J. v speciosa, so called, 
also has variegated foliage, the white run- 
ning along Ihe center of the leaf, with occa- 
sional spots on the edge. II. J. v. Olakxa is 
a robust grower, and bears a profusion of 
rose-colored flowers in very large trusses. 
It is one of the best, and is easily forced. It 
is one of the hardiest of this section. A 
sport from “Thomas Hogg” named rosea 
resembles its parent in all respects except 
that the flowers are rose-colored. H. J y. 
ramulis coccineis is a more recent introduc- 
tion which we have only seen as forced in 
pots, but have not grown. It forces readily 
and is quite distinct, the flowers and the 
wood being red. It is a handsome plant 
and will doubtless prove a valuable addition 
to this beautiful family. 
Last, but by no means least, is our native 
Hydrangea, H. quecifolia, or Oak-leaved 
Hydrangea. It is not often seen in the gar- 
den or on the lawn; but, so far as foliage at 
least is concerned, it is the grandest plant 
of them all. It grows to be six or seven feet 
high and as many in diameter. The leaves 
are very large and deeply lobed. resembling 
those of the Oak. The color of the foliage 
is deep green above, and covered with a 
whitish furze beneath. It is a plant readily 
recognized. It flowers in June. Though 
the flower is not remarkable for beauty, the 
plant is strikingly picturesque, and deserves 
a place by itself, either in the border or on 
the lawn. — P. B. Mead. 
Ftoral Notes. 
The seed boxes or pans should by this time 
be entirely free from iheir contents. In 
pricking out the plants it is well to remeui- 
multiplication We have too few of them. 
For uniqueness and diversity of color com- 
bined with brilliance, scarcely more could 
be wished for in the annuals: but there is 
much room for more of these characteristics 
in the hardy perennials. The old Papaver 
Orientalis is a grand flower. A beautiful 
little plant for the border is P. nudicaule, 
yellow, and its white form alba. These are 
profuse and continuous bloomeTS, and thor- 
oughly hardy. The species can lie readily 
raised from seed. As with a good many 
other plants, seed pods should not be allow- 
ed to form if continuous bloom be desired. 
Hydrangea Otaksa. Fig. 213. 
ber that some kinds produce the best ef- 
fects when grown in clumps, while others 
are shorn of half their beauty when crowd- 
ed Mignonette and other annuals that are 
largely used as cut flowers sometimes run 
out before the end of the season, and it is 
therefore well to make new sowings of these 
now for late use. 
Seeds that are sown in the border or in 
beds come up too thick to remain. The 
plants should be thinned out or transplanted 
soon after they are out of the seed leaf. Do 
not be afraid to give the plants sufficient 
room for their proper development. The 
beauty and usefulness of the plants are 
greatly impaired by neglecting to do this at 
the proper time. This is especially true of 
Asters, Balsams, Phlox Drummondii, and 
plants of a similar nature. 
At least three mistakes are often made in 
growing S weet Peas They are put in scarce- 
ly an inch deep when they should be put in 
three. They are heaped in on top of each 
other when they should be two or three 
inches apart. The pods are allowed to 
form and ripen when they should be re- 
moved as soon as the flowers decay. They 
should have a neat support to grew on, and 
this should be furnished before the plants 
begin to run. Other mistakes are made, 
but these are more frequently noticed 
than all others, and theytoo often lead to 
failure. Eckford's Hybrids are very 
beautiful. They are a new strain of an- 
nuals. 
One of the first flowers to greet us in 
the early Spring is the charming little 
Forget-me-not, with its lovely blue and 
white flowers. It is only when the sum- 
mer heat approaches that it leaves us, 
and then, as it would seem, regretfully. 
It would be more commonly grown if it 
were understood that it is perfectly har- 
dy. Many of the family are not, but the 
one alluded,, to, Myosotis palustris, is 
quite so. 
There are probably some who will be 
glad to know that the seeds of many har- 
dy herbaceous perennials may still be 
sown. Prepare a bed of good light soil, 
and rake it down fine. Sow the seeds in 
drills. When well out of the seed leaf, 
prick out the plants in small nursery rows 
just after a rain, or water abundantly. Set 
the plants a foot apart, kill the weeds as 
soon as they appear, and you will have good 
blooming plants for the border next year. 
Now that Poppies arc becoming such gen- 
eral favorites, more attention should be giv- 
en to the hardy perennial kinds and their 
It is now time to remove to the open air 
all plants that are not intended to be sum- 
mered in the green-house. There are few 
plants, however, that will not be greatly 
benefited by beine- placed out of doors in 
some suitable spot. As a rule, it is not well 
to place them where they will receive the 
drip from trees. A partly shaded place 
will suit some, and lull exposure others. 
If, however, it be decided to "keep up a 
show” in the house during summer, Fuch- 
sias, Rex Begonias, Gloxinias, and similar 
plants are best tor the purpose. The house, 
I in this case, should be shaded with the light- 
est grade of “plant-protecting muslin, ’’whit- 
ing or something of that kind. — P. B. Mead, 
