HOUSE AND GARDEN 
242 
April, 1911 
of its glory. And if they are to do this in a really satisfying way 
we must plan generous masses of each. A plant or two, or a 
shrub or two, from among those we select will make but a feeble 
showing. Each must seize the stage in its turn with a blare of 
trumpets — and hold it for its appointed time. Whether there is 
to be one large group of each selection, or several groups in differ¬ 
ent points through¬ 
out the garden is a 
matter to be deter¬ 
mined by the plan 
of your own par¬ 
ticular place. Only 
let there be not the 
slightest doubt, at 
any time, as to 
which star is hold¬ 
ing the stage. 
get under way in their leaf-making. The variety Forsythia For- 
tunei is probably the best. Plant several masses of the shrubs in 
the background of your border; their foliage will set off the 
flowers that come later. Here again the groups, once planted, 
preferably in the fall, need no further attention for years to come. 
Call me inconsistent if you will, but I am going to name two 
stars to rule May. 
My plea is that the 
time has come 
when w e must 
have a border flow¬ 
er coming into the 
limelight — - we've 
had bulbs and 
shrubs, and yet we 
need more of the 
foliage - producing 
Well, let us get at this matter of select¬ 
ing those things that are to reign, each in 
its turn. I have no doubt that you will 
disagree with me on many of these; but 
do not, I beg of you, discard the principle 
of the thing if your gardening knowledge 
is small and your gardening time very lim¬ 
ited ; substitute other plants or shrubs or 
vines, if you will—this is but a personal 
choice. 
For the very first flower of 
spring to rule the month of 
March, I nominate the snow¬ 
drop—the common old-fash¬ 
ioned sort that bears the 
weighty name of Galanthus 
nivalis. It is the first sign 
of awakening Nature, appear¬ 
ing often beside patches of 
snow — the most inspiring, 
ethereal, delicate white flower 
imaginable. Plant the bulbs 
in the fall, scattered over a 
patch of lawn that is partially 
shaded—preferably by dusky 
evergreens. Plant several 
hundred of the tiny bulbs at 
least. The flower is so small 
that it simply must have the reinforcement of plenty of its fellows 
—and they cost but a dollar a hundred. Once set, they may be 
forgotten—until they overwhelm you with their cheering message 
that spring has returned. 
For April’s share in the pageant of bloom let me recommend 
the forsythia or golden bells. You know the shrub—the first and 
one of the very few yellow-flowering ones. Its drooping branches 
burst into a mass of gold from base to tip before the trees really 
element to form backgrounds for later 
effects, and to give that air of solidity and 
permanence to the garden that shrubs do 
give. So it’s to be the German iris—in 
mass, once more, and that most dazzling 
of shrubs the Spirea Van Houttei. I shall 
leave the choice of colorings in the iris to 
your own taste; there are varieties in 
white, pink, deep purple, lavender and 
yellow, with almost innumerable combina¬ 
tions of these. Whatever you 
choose, plant plenty of white 
to set the other colors off to 
best advantage. The spireas 
will need no attention after 
the first planting in a large 
deeply worked location. Af¬ 
ter setting out the irises, in 
early fall, all they will require 
will be an occasional division 
of the clumps as these grow 
too big. In dividing, do not 
make the clumps too small, 
or you will lose a season of 
bloom. 
So we come to June—the 
queen of all the months in the 
garden, and what a wealth of 
material it brings us from which to choose! At the risk — rather, 
upon the certainty — of being branded a heretic, I am going to pass 
by the rose and advise the business man to give June over to the 
peony. I haven’t a thing against the rose, but its smaller enemies 
in the animal kingdom certainly have, if we may judge by the 
viciousness of their attacks upon it. What with the rose-bug and 
the mildew and the blackspot and the greenfly and the scale and 
the slug, the “queen of flowers” would give our business man 
Hiawatha, a sturdy climbing rose for 
the July garden; petals crimson to white 
Nothing compares with the hardy hydrangea for late-summer 
bloom among the shrubs 
Peonies should rule June; if you have 
time for their care, add roses as here 
Let a row of stately hollyhocks dom¬ 
inate the garden in July 
