HARDY PERENNIAL PLANTS 
The following list of plants is intended to include the best 
available plants that are suitable and desirable for garden 
culture. Each year new varieties are made available, which will 
be included in future editions of this catalogue. We are con- 
stantly on the lookout for new or rare perennial plants of special 
merit, and have many varieties in our trial gardens which are 
not listed herein. We have one of the largest commercial col- 
lections of hardy plants in the country and invite inquiries for 
those rare varieties which you have been unable to secure. This 
collection now comprises more than 2000 species and varieties. 
The descriptions herein have been prepared with a great 
deal of care, but we cannot guarantee them in all cases because 
there is so much confusion in the botanical names of some spe- 
cies and varieties that it is impossible to be sure that all are 
correct. Except for such confusion, plants propagated from 
offsets, division or cuttings are true to name. Many varieties 
come 100% true from seed, while others come true in varying 
degrees, even when grown from seeds secured from the best 
sources in this and foreign countries. 
The stock offered is field grown and the best we know how 
to produce after many years of experience. Many of them are 
at least a year older than plants offered in small pots; they are 
also acclimated to outdoor conditions. They are all of a size 
and age to produce a crop of bloom the first year after plant- 
ing. It should be remembered, however, that a few plants, such 
as Lupines and Peonies, either do not blossom at all or do not 
produce normal blossoms until the second year after planting 
or until after they have had an opportunity to become estab- 
lished in their new home. 
We are always glad to welcome visitors to our gardens who 
are interested in hardy plants or alpines. Our farm is located 
on Ridge Road, Route U. S. 104, one mile west of Webster Vil- 
lage, or two miles east of West Webster. The gardens are 
always open for the convenience of the public. 
CULTURE OF PERENNIAL PLANTS 
With few exceptions, the plants mentioned herein are of easy 
culture and can be successfully grown in the eastern states in 
ordinary garden soil without special care. A few are rather 
difficult. A brief statement as to soil and cultural requirements 
is given in the descriptions of those plants which require special 
care; however, it is believed that a few general hints may prove 
valuable. 
The first consideration is soil, which should not be too rich. 
It can then be fertilized to suit the requirements of the plants. 
Its preparation should be thorough—dig it up to a depth of at 
least fifteen inches. Cow manure, particularly if well rotted, is 
perhaps the best all around fertilizer. Pulverized sheep's manure 
or bone meal can be used to advantage. Some of the alpine 
plants grow in very meager soil consisting of weathered rock 
only; some of these growing immediately below a snow cap or 
glacier have their roots washed all summer by the ice cold 
water from the melting snow above. These plants are growing 
in places where they have perfect drainage, very little or no 
overhead wet, and some of them have a constant supply of 
moisture at their roots throughout the growing season. To grow 
some of these plants in our gardens, it is necessary to imitate 
their natural conditions as nearly as possible. 
Some plants require an alkaline or limestone soil while 
others cannot endure it, but must have an acid soil. If your soil 
‘s acid or deficient in lime, limestone-loving plants can be made 
to flourish in it by adding any material containing lime, such as 
air-slacked lime, ground limestone, or even old plaster. If your 
soil naturally contains lime, it can be improved for acid loving 
plants by adding leaf mold, peat moss, broken rotted wood or 
even saw dust. Sometimes aluminum sulphate ar alum is used for 
