32Y 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
SOME LIVE PROBLEMS OF CEMETERY PLANTING 
More Variety Needed 
After visiting several leading ceme- 
teries the past year, I find the arrange- 
ment and variety of plants for bedding 
and the covering of graves much the 
same, few varieties being used, and in- 
congruous mixtures predominating. To 
persons of culture and aesthetic taste, 
too much mingling of definite species 
of plants in one bed is gaudy, inhar- 
monious and not so effective and sat- 
isfactory as a solid bed of one kind 
with a well-kept lawn. The public 
needs education in these matters. In 
a majority of cases the burial plot is 
the only ground held, which for senti- 
mental reasons they desire to ornament 
by the planting of flowers and grass. 
These desires should be encouraged in 
every possible wa\’, while every effort 
should be made to suit individual taste 
and ideas. It is impossible to comply 
with every whim and caprice in this 
regard, but wise suggestion may be of- 
fered and will often tend to improve 
matters. 
It is a safe rule to discourage the 
planting of a mixture of foliage and 
flowering plants in one little bed. 
Either a distinctively foliage or flower- 
ing bed should be determined upon, 
either being better than a mixture of 
lioth. Plants of separate colors, such 
as scarlet and white geraniums, are not 
as effective as if the bed is planted with 
one solid color. Coleus should not be 
planted with .geraniums ; it is more 
practical to plant them separately. A 
bed of alternanthera in any design is 
very pretty, compact, and appropriate. 
For the permanent planting of graves 
the varieties used are few, chiefly con- 
fined to English ivy, vinca, euonymus, 
and sedum. There are many sorts of 
hardy plants, often seen in obscure cem- 
eteries, very useful for this class of 
work, and should be more extensively 
employed for this purpose. When once 
planted the}" will always look good. 
They are free from diseases and insect 
pests, of neat, compact habit, offering 
a wider selection and variety, a point 
of considerable importance. Some of 
them are : 
Cerastium tomentosum, silvery foli- 
age ; Phlox sublata and others, fine. 
pretty floriferous : Iberis sempervirens, 
neat and compact flower, April and 
May; Lily of the Valley, an old favor- 
ite ; Pinks, hardy garden, sweet scented, 
some sorts flowers all season ; Spiraea 
filipendula, handsome flowers, fernlike 
foliage ; Arabis alpina, rock cress, 
flowers a long time, very pretty ; Au- 
bretia, one of the prettiest small plants, 
covered with flowers in spring ; Sapon- 
aria Calabrica, very dwarf, neat, pink 
flowers ; Gypsophila cerastinoides, an- 
other fine little plant, three inches high, 
white flowers June to August. 
W. M. Edwards. 
West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Phila. 
Cut Flowers for the Cemetery 
What is most satisfactory for this 
purpose when the renewals cannot be 
oftener than once a week, is the prob- 
lem which confronts those living at a 
distance from the cemetery. The ques- 
tion combines permanency with beauty. 
On a lot recently complimented for 
its careful attention, the bouquets were 
not replaced oftener than this, and no 
fresh water was given in the meantime. 
The secret of success was traced to the 
large rose geranium leaves which 
formed the basis of all bouquets. No 
matter how badly withered the flowers 
were, these luxuriant leaves retained 
their verdure. A single plant grown in 
the garden was the source of supply 
and served well its purpose until cut 
short by frost. 
The scarlet salvia combines beauti- 
fully with the geranium leaves, and as 
the branches root freely in water and 
continue to bloom, a durable bouquet 
results. 
The choice gladiolus are very satis- 
factory, the light colored sorts having 
the elegance and purity of its near rel- 
ative, the lily. The flowers open suc- 
cessively from the base, and as each in 
turn withers it shrinks partly into its 
sheath, leaving no unsightly marks of 
decay. Either as cut flowers or grown 
from bulbs planted in the soil, it is 
highly desirable. 
The nasturtium in mixed colors, from 
cream through the various shades of 
yellow, orange, scarlet and bronze, all 
of which harmonize well with each oth- 
er and with the pale or dark green 
leaves, makes a handsome floral setting 
for a rose bowl or low vase. As the 
stems root in water and continue to 
flower freely this is one of the most 
lasting bouquets which can be devised. 
This plant is also very satisfactory for 
cemetery planting, as it endures hot sun 
and drought without complaint and 
flowers freely through the entire sum- 
mer. 
The hardy hydrangea is one of the 
most useful shrubs for cutting, the im- 
mense trusses of snow-white turning 
finally to pink or reddish brown, yet 
changing only in color, not in texture 
or form, and remaining comely even 
in old age. 
The old fashioned calendula or pot 
marigold has much to commend it. The 
improved strains show beautiful varia- 
tions in cream and gold ; the flowers do 
not fade for a long time ; and even af- 
ter continued hard frosts which have 
cut down all other garden flowers, the 
calendula continues to bloom undis- 
mayed. 
As a late bloomer, the cosmos is 
most valuable, coming into glory after 
the last aster has faded. Though the 
frosts often prematurely cut short its 
glory, the buds can be gathered and 
placed in water in a cool room, where 
they will continue to open, and can be 
used from time to time to renew the 
vases on the graves. 
A single kind, of flowers in the vari- 
ous colors, to which may be added some 
delicately cut leaves, is . always to be 
preferred to great variety. Simplicity 
in arrangement is always pleasing. A 
handful of sweet peas in harmonizing 
shades is more beautiful than a dozen 
kinds of flowers could ever be. 
Plant Pests and Near Pests 
Even in the cemetery the importance 
of the recognition of “mine and thine’’ 
is apparent ; and the neglected grave- 
yard is a continual reproach to those 
who, usually unwittingly, planted to 
please their own taste or convenience, 
without regard for the effects upon sur- 
rounding lots. 
No objectionable plant is more com- 
mon in old cemeteries than the com- 
( Continued on page XIV) 
