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A Flower Garden of Herbaceous Peren¬ 
nials. —The first day of May, and my flower-garden 
is ablaze with beauty! Snowdrops, Btilboeodiums, 
Crocuses, and Scillas, have passed away and the Hya¬ 
cinths are come ! “ Red. white, aud blue,” royal pur¬ 
ple, yellow and rose, both single aud double! Added 
to them are the early Van Thol tulips, scarlet, white, 
rose, yellow, and red, aud the double Touruesol gor¬ 
geous in rich and yellow! The native Mertensia Vir¬ 
ginian is very beautiful; with its long, gracefully- | 
drooping racemes, which are rosy purple before open¬ 
ing into a lovely cerulean blue! But the most regal 
plant among them all, is a single red-brown Impe¬ 
rial, that is three feet high with ten large bells upon • 
each stalk! One must peer into its cups to realize 
all its beauty, the beautiful markings of the flower 
and the pearl lying at the base of each petal. 
A mass of blue grape Hyacinths have been in 
bloom some time, and now the dwarf blue Isis is added 
to the display. The large family of Narcissus, the 
Lily of the Valley, Snow-flakes, and the Parrot and 
late Tulips are coming on. ' The curious fall Crocus, 
that ripens its seed in spring and blooms in the fall; 
the Lily family, hardy Gladiolus, the Ornithogalum I 
tribe are all fully represented. Seven varieties of 
Peonies, and as many of German Ivies adorn my gar¬ 
den. The Hemerocallis and Funkias are also here. 
A bee Larkspur stands in one corner, and aside from 
its flowers, it is an elegant plant. 
1 have five other varieties of Delphineinns besides; 
D. Formosuui is splendid, and a double celestial blue, j 
with white centre, is especially lovely. Campanula 
graudiflora and Pentstemon grandiflora are both very 
desirable, the latter with its spikes of large lilac 
flowers renders it a conspicuous plant, and with us it 
is a biennial. Scarlet perennial Poppy is showy, but 
ephemeral. Lychnis Haageana is a favorite of mine ; 
the plant is dwarf, but has such large verniillion- 
colored blooms. 
Of Aquilegias or Columbines, I have more than a 
half dozen colors, both double and single. One curi¬ 
ous variety is entirely without nectaries, and as double 
as a rose. For several years the “ yellow birds ” have 
taken all the seed. I find the “ early bird gets” the 
seed as well as the “ worm.” Both white and rose- 
colored perennial Peas give me much satisfaction. All 
the above, from bee Larkspur, I grew from seed. 
Of trailers, the creeping Phlox, Moneywort, andi 
Vinca minor (Periwinkle, or Myrtle), and, I am sorry 
to add, ground ivy. Monkshood and Larnium varie- 
gata, have pretty foliage, hut the latter is anything 
but sweet-smelling. 
When the covering was raked off the flower-beds 
in March, the blue perennial Flax, Verbena Montana, 
white Lily, and three sorts of Sedum were fresh and 
green. White and purple perennial Phloxes, Ra¬ 
nunculus (buttercups), Blackberry Lily, (mine is from 
seed, a pretty, graceful, reflexed little lily, but not a lily, 
either), and Achillea millefolia, with its fern-like foli¬ 
age and corymbs of crimson flowers edged with white, 
closes the list of my plants. Gypsophila paniculata 
must not he excluded, for it adds to a bouquet (as a 
writer in the Cabinet said), what a hit of rare lace 
does to a dress. 
In a sheltered spot is my “ wild garden,” composed 
of Solomon’s seal, “ Jacks in the pulpit, ’ clumps of 
both crimson and white Hepatieas, the spotted-leaved 
Erythrouiuin, and last, Dodecatheou Media, the Queen 
of prairie flowers. Flower-seeds, like corn, were a 
failure in Illinois last year, as one Canterbury Bell, 
varieties of Dianthus, and my “ Hollyhock walk,” 
alone show that any were sowed the past summer. 
Did not space forbid, I should like to tell of my 
success with window-plants, tender bulbs aud Cacti. 
My plants have been collected from the east and the 
west, north and south, from seeds, bulbs, roots aud 
cuttings, all through exchanges, that have brought me 
likewise many pleasant correspondents. Many of 
them, both friends and flowers, I owe to the Floral 
Cabinet, for which I am sincerely grateful. 
Mrs. Kate Sherman. 
Rustic Baskets.—I have not seen any mention made 
of rustic baskets like mine; so I will describe them, 
as they have been very much admired. I have two, 
one in front of each front window, made of small 
branches of trees, about half as huge as a man’s wrist, 
driven into the ground and grape vines woven in and 
out until it is about two feet high and then filled with 
rich soil. Two vines twisted together form the han¬ 
dles. Of course you can make them any size you 
like ; mine are about three feet in diameter. I have 
a bed of pink Verbena in one and scarlet in the other, 
and in addition, I sow flower-seeds every spring. 
These, with my box plants, are all I can undertake to 
keep alive through the summer. Clear Lake. 
My Flower-Garden. —Last summer my flower¬ 
bed was three feet wide and reached two-thirds across 
the garden, which is a large one. In it was planted 
three rows of seed ; in the middle was planted Lon¬ 
don Pride, Zinnia, variegated Petunia, Mignonette, 
red and white Petunia, Pearl and variegated Balsam. 
In one row was Verbena, Antirrhinum (Snap-Dragon), 
Sweet Alyssuin, Phlox Drummondii of different colors, 
Diadem Dianthus, Caoalia, single Portulaca, Ama- 
ranthus, and Candytuft. On the other side is Sweet 
Alyssum, Dianthus, Heddewigii, Pot Marigold, Sweet 
William, Acroclinium, German Asters, Dianthus Lac- 
cinatus, and mixed Balsam ; also a small bed along 
the grape vine, which is lengthwise of the garden; 
this is a bed of Petunia, a perfect mat of sixteen differ¬ 
ent shades, with now and then a Canterbury Bell. 
Dianthus, Sweet Alyssum, and Candytuft; it was a 
perfect beauty, covered with bloom all summer aud 
till the first of November, and even at the middle of 
the month I picked a bouquet of Petunia, Sweet 
Alyssum, Dianthus, and Chrysanthemum I gathered 
bouquets of Verbena, Sweet Alyssum, and Mignonette 
[ on the first of November. 
My friends that visited me through the summer, ad- 
mired my flowers very much, and thought it must 
take all my time to take care of them. When I tell 
them it takes only one hour a day, they are surprised^ 
the flowers look so thrifty, and the ground is so mel¬ 
low and clear of weeds. 
When I go into the garden they seem to nod their 
graceful heads in thankfulness for the care that is be¬ 
stowed on them; this pays me well for my hour’s 
I work each day. It being a damp summer, I did not 
have to carry very much water; but when I did, I 
watered them in the evening and in the morning; 
1 they look so bright and fresh, it rewards me well for 
all my trouble. 
It is better to have a few flowers well cared for; they 
make our homes seem so bright and cheerful. I can- 
nut see why all people do not love flowers, their pretty 
bright faces peeping up at us, continually thanking us 
for the few moments of cai'e we give them each day. 
1 think they are a blessing each and every home ought 
to he adorned with. X. N. Subscriber. 
Rugs. — I have made some articles recently that differ 
somewhat from any I have seen described in the Cabi¬ 
net, and may assist some farmer’s wife, like myself, 
to make home more attractive, while employing lei 
sure moments. The first I made was two pulled 
rugs, woollen rags pulled up through coarse coffee 
sacking, differing from those described in the Cabinet. 
In design, No. 1 has a large black eagle, with wings 
expanded as though flying, for a centre; the rug being 
two feet wide and three and a half feet long; three 
inches from the edge I drew a line, but instead of 
leaving square corners, as on the outside edge, I made 
each corner to form a scollop rounding toward centre 
of rug; now from this line to the eagle I filled in with 
hit or miss stripes, and from the line to the outer edge 
(for the border) I filled in with scarlet stripes. This 
rug is called pretty. 
No. 2 has a small circle for centre, in which, as 
though swimming on light blue water, streaked with 
white foam, is a white swan, with gray wing, yellow 
beak, and black eye; the circle is made distinct by 
pulling in two rows of black, then three rows of red 
rays; at a pretty distance from, the circle is an oval 
ring of purple, black and red, so this circle seems to 
lay in the oval; from one to the other is filled with 
hit or miss stripes. This rug is the same' size as the 
first, and filled from the oval to the edge with black, 
and a fringe adds much to the beauty of each. 
Next I made a card-basket composed of eight sec¬ 
tions, of pretty shape, and medium size; I hound each 
section to make it more easy to join them when cov¬ 
ered ; covered them with points made from blue tinted 
ribbon paper, in the same manner as the corn-husk 
work described in the Cabinet last year; line each 
section and the bottom with white merino, sewing in 
with each piece of lining a heavy green silk cord ; 
make the handle in the same manner, cording it the 
same, and sew quite fast to the basket; now in the 
small space in the centre of each section and handle 
sew a straw flower, if you have a pretty rose, and 
three green leaves, for each place, and embroider a rose 
and leaves on the white lining at bottom of basket, 
and for each section. Your basket will he very pretty. 
Mine is simply corded and trimmed with straw flowers. 
I have made two pretty rugs from cotton cloth. 
Braided rugs, I call them. Take three strips of cotton 
cloth; calico and muslin do nicely. Braid them the 
same as you would straws, only sew the pieces when 
joining them. Knit a strip three inches wide and one 
foot aud a half long for the centre. Knit this of one 
color; around this sew three rows of the braid, cut¬ 
ting and laying one over the other where they meet; 
these rows should be bright colors; then three rows 
of plain, or one colored, braids, and add them in this 
manner until your rug assumes the desired size. 
These make pretty oval shaped rugs and look well 
when placed beside a bed, if the carpet should be a 
“rug carpet.” 
My mind is still stored with knowledge concerning 
, numerous articles to he found in my rooms, hut this 
chat with the Cabinet readers has now grown too 
lengthy. At some future time perhaps I may tell you 
more about housekeeping in the Old Rock House. 
Mrs. Emma Treichler. 
Water for Plants. —The best for the gardener’s 
purpose is rain water, preserved in tanks sunk in the 
earth, and rendered tight either by puddling, or bricks 
covered with cement. To keep these tanks replen¬ 
ished, gutters should run round the eaves of every 
structure in the garden, and communciate with them. 
E. L. B. 
