October, 1920 
Tulips. 
As the time draws near for planting 
bulbs for Spring bloom, it may not be 
out of season to send this picture to 
remind one of the joys of Tulip-time. 
This tiny four-year-old girl has just 
come down the garden path and stopped 
to look at the baskets of Tulips. The 
picture suggested these lines of Mrs. 
Browning’s : 
“ And Tulips, children love to stretch 
Their fingers, down, to feel in each 
Its beauty's secret nearer.” 
Mrs. Homan’s Tulips. 
The two baskets contained forty- 
eight Mr. Farncombe Sanders’ Darwin 
Tulips and were cut for use for Me- 
morial Day. 
Too much cannot be said in praise 
of the Tulip as a cut flower. It keeps 
in perfect condition for days and com- 
bines beautifully with many other 
flowers. A basket of the pink Darwin 
Clara Butt arranged with Persian Li- 
lacs was much admired, and wood 
Ferns are always effectively used in 
arranging Tulips either in vases or 
baskets. 
Let us all plant Tulips and lots of 
them this fall and reap a great harvest 
of joy next Spring. 
Mary Burnham Homans. 
(Iowa.) 
Hardiness of the Gladiolus. 
In the good days before the war hybrid 
Gladioli were sedulously lifted and stored 
after flowering, but that practice, and many 
others, came to an end when the drums 
sounded the point of war. The bulbs, there- 
fore (or should I call them corms?), have re- 
mained in the ground through the two sever- 
est winters in the last quarter of a century, 
yet those that have escaped mice and voles 
have sent up as fine spikes as ever they did 
when they were deliberately coddled. This 
is somewhat of a surprise, seeing that last 
winter we twice had over twenty degrees of 
frost. They did not even receive a top dress- 
ing to protect them, to which they are well 
entitled, for Gladioli areshallow-rootingthings. 
Of the species of Gladiolus, G. tristis suc- 
cumbed to cold.— -H. Maxwell in The Gar- 
den, (English). 
Z3l)e Slower (Brower 
The Glad Philosopher’s 
Musings. 
If you love fragrant Peonies,— and 
who does not ?— be sure that your col- 
lection includes Madame de Verneville 
for an early midseason white. Like 
Edulis Superba and La Perle, Madame 
de Verneville has the true Rose fra- 
grance that is so delightful, and in ad- 
dition to its being a sure and free 
bloomer, it is inexpensive in price. 
The two most fragrant Irises I know 
of are Florentina Alba, creamy white, 
and Kochii, a purple self so dark that 
when the buds are unfolding they ap- 
pear to be black. These two old Irises 
yet stand without a peer as compan- 
ions either in garden ornamentation 
or as cut flowers in the vase. Both are 
in bloom at the same time,— early, — 
being about the first of the taller va- 
rieties to bloom ; both have extremely 
large flowers of good substance, and a 
bouquet of either variety, or of both 
mixed — they harmonize perfectly to- 
gether — will fill a room with their rich 
and heavy perfume. 
Someone has made the statement that 
Kochii and Crimson King are synon- 
ymous. That is a mistake, for al- 
though these Irises are nearly similar 
in color and habit, Crimson King is 
somewhat redder than Kochii and 
seems to bloom a very little later ; it 
also appears to be slightly taller, a 
more vigorous grower and more rapid 
to make increase. Since Kochii is a 
variety over which there is consider- 
able confusion, I bought stock of it 
from several reliable sources ; and I 
obtained my Crimson King direct from 
Mrs. Dean, who, I believe, originated 
it. Crimson King, like Archevique, 
gives an occasional bloom in late au- 
tumn, but Kochii has never done this 
for me. 
I find that Phlox makes the ideal 
filler for the Peony beds, and for a 
most pleasing effect whites and white 
with a crimson eye varieties had better 
be used ; in any event it is well to avoid 
the purples and magentas. Miss Lin- 
gard, which comes into bloom early, — 
shortly after the Peonies are done, and 
Independence, a fine white with large 
florets and shapely panicles, blooming 
later, are probably two of the best 
whites for the purpose and are about 
the right height. Mrs. Jenkins, another 
fine white, noted for its extremely long 
period of bloom, is taller growing and 
more adapted for mass planting else- 
where. Henry Murger and Bridesmaid 
are two beautiful varieties, each hav- 
ing large florets of white with a crim- 
son eye, and are most useful for the 
purpose. George A. Strohlein is an at- 
tractive light scarlet that shows up 
well amongst the Peony bushes. 
The early blooming Phloxes will 
give a good second season of bloom if 
the old flower heads are cut off before 
seed has begun to form. Coming in 
so many different shades of color and 
155 
in such variable heights, the Phlox is 
one of our most valuable garden flow- 
ers. It is of the easiest culture, is per- 
fectly hardy and it has an unusually 
long blooming period. These virtues, 
together with the fact that its season 
is rather late in the year, when most of 
the garden favorities are through, 
makes the Phlox most valuable if not 
indispensable to those who wish to ob- 
tain continuance of bloom in the peren- 
nial garden. 
The Glad Philosopher. 
Cut Flowers for Easter. 
Having had in the past to furnish a quan- 
tity of cut flowers and plants in bloom for 
Easter a few notes as to the various sub- 
jects employed to meet the demand may be 
of interest at the present moment. 
Touching first of all on hardy shrubs that 
are easily forced, the following were those 
chiefly made use of, viz., Deutzia gracilis, 
Guelder Rose, Lilacs, Staphylea colchica, 
and Azalea mollis in variety. These were 
supplemented with Indian Azaleas, among 
which the double white varieties largely 
predominated. The hardy shrubs were 
potted in good time and stood on a bed of 
ashes, the only protection given being that 
accorded the pots, which were surrounded 
with litter as a protection against frost. 
After being exposed in this way to the 
elements the plants quickly responded \vhen 
taken in to be forced, and, when Easter fell 
late, required but a slight amount ot warmth 
to get them in flower. In addition to the 
foregoing a good batch of Arum Lilies was 
always held in reserve, and the same with 
regard to Lilium Harrisi. Eupatorium ver- 
nale was grown in good quantity for the 
purpose. Although not of such great value 
for cutting as many of the subjects already 
named, they were invaluable for the furnish- 
ing of rooms as well as the show-house, as 
the Heliotrope like fragrance exhaled by the 
flowers is much appreciated. 
A good number of Marguerites was also 
timed to come into bloom at the season 
specified, among them being a few old plants 
held over from the previous year. East 
Lothian Stocks and the Wallflower-leaved 
perpetual -flowering variety All the Year 
Round played an important part, the plants 
being raised from seed sown in autumn. 
Then there were Cinerarias of both the 
stellata and polyantna varieties, and Primula 
malacoides. Early-flowering Pelargoniums 
of varieties such as Kingston Beauty and 
Princess Alice, the double white Belle de Jour, 
Mme. Thibaut, and Triomphe de St. Maud 
were all invaluable, and the same with regard 
to Cyclamens, among which the giant white- 
flowered type figured very conspicuously. A 
few good plants of Schizanthus Wisetonensis 
were usually in flower at this time, and the 
same with respect to the taller and large- 
flowered hybrids. A good number of double- 
flowered Tulips, particularly white ones, was 
retarded for the purpose, and of Polyanthus 
Narcissus also. Then there were Freesias, 
Lily of the Valley, Spiraea japonica, and S. 
astilboides, and, when Easter fell early, both 
single and double Hyacinths. Narcissus 
poeticus ornatus alwavs proved u eful, and 
in some seasons N. bicolor Empress could be 
held over to enhance the display. 
For the dinner table Daffodils in variety, 
Tulips, Cyclamens, Pelargoniums, Azaleas, 
and Schizanthus were the flowers chiefly em- 
ployed, one kind of bloom only being used 
on each occasion .— Gardening Illustrated. 
Owing to crowded condition of our 
columns this month some of our reg- 
ular departments are again necessarily- 
omitted, but will do better next month. 
