The Garden Magazine, April, 1924 
143 
inviting subscriptions to erect to his memory a monument in 
one of the public parks of the city of Nancy. Appropriately, 
the treasurer of this fund is an amateur gardener, a member of 
the town council, Mr. Charles Marchal, to whom subscriptions 
may be sent at 60, rue Pasteur, Nancy, Meurthe-et-Moselle, 
France. Is it too much to hope that American participation 
will be generous? 
A TRAVEL COURSE in landscape architecture and garden 
design has been organized by the Institute of Interna¬ 
tional Education. An opportunity will thus be afforded to 
study the gardens and villas of Europe under the leadership 
of a qualified instructor, Prof. Edward Lawson of Cornell 
University. 
The course of instruction will begin during the voyage across 
the Atlantic in the form of daily lectures on the history of 
landscape design, to be followed-up by field lectures during the 
two months of visiting the gardens of Italy, Erance, and 
England. This course is part of a series of five overlapping 
courses dealing with painting, sculpture, architecture, and 
other applied arts. 
T HE big Spring Flower Shows of New York and Cleveland, 
opening March 17th and March 29th respectively, take 
place after this number of The Garden Magazine goes to 
press. Comment upon these events is therefore to be looked 
for in the May number. 
THE OPEPf^ QOEUMPf^ 
Readers’ Interchange of Experience and Comment 
Of Pinks and Some Spring-flowering Bulbs that are Scarce 
To the Editors of The Garden Magazine: 
R. A. ZIMMERLI’S communication to the January Garden 
Magazine has reminded me that I have not yet written an ac¬ 
count of results from some former communications of my own. It 
would seem from the letters which I have received privately and some 
that have been published in the magazine that these subjects were of 
general interest to the readers of G. M. 
About two years ago I wrote to the Open Column about the “hardy 
old-fashioned Clove Pink” which I had been trying for ten years to dis¬ 
cover. I had written to all the oldest and most reliable seedsmen— 
and the only result had been that the dealer with whom I have dealt 
1 since 1 first had a garden very courteously replied that the plant in 
question had now entirely “disappeared from commerce”; and that it 
was difficult to propagate as he remembered it. 1 also wrote to one 
of the foremost English seedsmen with no better result. This Pink, 
perhaps more than any other of the old-fashioned plants, has been de¬ 
sired and sought for years—not so much in the last few years perhaps 
’because of new introductions. But it seemed to me that the matter 
was of sufficient general interest for publication. I hoped that some 
Garden Magazine reader who possessed an old garden might have 
some record, or recollection of the proper botanical name. 
To my great surprise and delight I received a letter from a Garden 
Neighbor a few days after the magazine was published saying that she 
possessed, and was sending me, the real hardy, old-fashioned Clove 
Pink in both pink and white. Other letters came from all over the 
country, and mv garden is now much richer for several specimens for 
which I am profoundly grateful to the G. M. and its readers. 
I also received much interesting information regarding the species 
which seems to me of general interest. To begin with, the name of the 
species does not appear to be known to any of my correspondents. 
Secondly, both the pink and white varieties are well known in many 
gardens, but the red which I remembered in old gardens is less well 
known. So far 1 have only recently heard of its reappearance. 
Thirdly, in the interest of better gardens it should be said that this often 
mentioned “old-fashioned Clove Pink” is not Dianthus plumarius—- 
either double or single. Dianthus plumarius is certainly an old- 
fashioned Pink, but it has not disappeared from commerce and it is well 
known. It is not difficult to propagate as it grows from seed as easily 
as any annual. It is the old “spice” or “border” Pink of American 
gardens, but not the Border Pink of English gardens, 1 think, and 
which 1 believe is not reliably hardy in this country. [Question: Is it 
the interesting Fairchild’s Mule—the first deliberate garden hybrid— 
that you have in mind?— Editor.] 
About the time that 1 wrote my letter to the Open Column I sent off 
an order to England which included what Mrs. Wilder refers to as the 
old-fashioned fragrant double white Pink, D. fimbriatus (and her de¬ 
scription is fully justified). When the Pinks from various Garden 
Neighbors arrived, it was, of course, past the blooming season so these 
plants and the fimbriatus bloomed together the next spring. As far as 
I can tell, these old white Pinks are identical with fimbriatus. One of 
the pink varieties was Dianthus plumarius in the double variety, very 
distinct from the other varieties—but there were at least two other 
different varieties and I have not been able to identify them. 
One correspondent wrote me that her plants came from an old garden 
and that her mother was in the habit of raising a new stock from slips 
and discarding the old plants. It is her belief that they are very shy 
seeders. In some soils they succeed better than in others, and they re¬ 
sent being covered in any way. 
Another correspondent said that her plants came originally from a 
very old garden in New Jersey. 
Mrs. Sinkins is an old standard variety in England, and I saw it in 
this country years ago and do not know why it is less common here now. 
Last year I saw plants and seeds offered in one American catalogue 
at a rather fancy price, but as I already had planted seed purchased in 
England 1 did not investigate the American variety. I now have some 
thrifty plants ready to set out this year which should bloom this 
year. 1 hope to have more seed of fimbriatus, Mrs. Sinkins, t'ragrans, 
and a few others from England as I wish to grow a great many more 
Pinks. 1 hope also to have a supply of Dianthus Allwoodi. By the 
way, 1 bought a packet of this seed from Dreer last year and have some 
tiny plants in a coldframe for setting out this spring. Allwood and 
various English authorities recommend propagating this variety from 
slips, but 1 wished to experiment with seeds. Last year was a very 
poor one for gardening in this region on account of the prolonged 
drought so it is hardly fair to judge, but at least I have a few Allwoodi 
from the seeds 1 planted, and it is my impression that this variety does 
not come as readily from seed as D. plumarius, but that in view of its 
desirability it is well worth trying, and one has the hope of raising some 
other varieties than the plants that are sold, as there are a long list of 
varieties in England not yet introduced to this country. 
In the same number of The Garden Magazine 1 had a letter about 
the early spring bulbs—a matter of vital importance when they were 
still banned, but of less interest when the Quarantine was removed. 
But many questions developed in the course of investigation that are 
still of interest and importance and should perhaps be considered while 
we are still able to import bulbs. 
As in the matter of Pinks I had letters and bulbs sent me by various 
Garden Neighbors and much interesting information and new acquisi¬ 
tions to my garden resulted. One Neighbor sent Scilla bulbs generously, 
and I am indebted to her for a wholly new and delightful garden ex¬ 
perience with Scillas of different varieties and sizes and colors—a 
priceless gift. Another correspondent offered Scilla seeds for sale, and 
another Muscari bulbs. I bought everything that was offered! Later 
other correspondents sent more bulbs of Scilla, and in the fall 1 received 
a further gift of Star-of-Bethlehem bulbs and some tiny bulbs of Grape 
Hyacinth which are probably the feathered variety of Muscari. 
From this correspondent I also received the seeds that caused me to 
write later asking for identification of Snowdrops. May I correct Mr. 
Zimmerli’s statement that I was mistaken about Galanthus Elwesi 
(and bv the way it is Mrs. and not Mr. Howard)? 1 think I do not er¬ 
roneously call my bulbs Galanthus Elwesi, because I bought them from 
a leading Holland grower, and I have since identified them from English 
publications, garden dictionaries, and there have been excellent arti¬ 
cles and illustrations on the subject in American publications during the 
last year since the ban was removed. What troubled me was that the 
Garden Neighbor heretofore referred to insisted that her Giant Snow¬ 
drops and Galanthus Elwesi were two entirely different and distinct 
plants—and so they were because her “Galanthus Elwesi” was Leuco- 
jum. This was the question I asked and the Editor kindly set me 
right—also my correspondent discovered the fact for herself a few days 
before the publication of the Magazine. Moreover, my Galanthus 
Elwesi is not G. nivalis—as I possess both! 
But I did not discover the answer to my original question about these 
bulbs, and it seems to me that this question is still important. It is 
important because if the Quarantine goes into effect again in two years, 
we may need to know where or how we may get more bulbs, and in any 
