LIBRARY OF CONGRESS DDDD4DS74E=^ , .'.^^.v ^^^^^^^-^ .^'. ^^^^^^ .^, -^^^^ 0^ c^""-*^ ^o. • ""w" ^Mm^ \/ -'^fe'- -"^ ^^"., -^^o^^^'S >^°- \^ rr.-' ^0 ^-.9^' •^^ .* ^ '"■- "^-^^ J^ -l^fe'- "^^ SUCCESS IN GARDENING "I doe hold it in the Royall Ordering of Gardens, there ought to be gardens for all the months of the year; in which sev- erally things of beauty may be there in season." — Bacon. A ROSE ARCH, PRINCETOX. ^ SUCCESS IN GARDENING Work in the Flower Garden Week by Week BY JESSIE PEABODY FROTHINGHAM Author of "Sea-Fighters from Drake to Farragut," "Sea-Wolves of Seven Shores,'' "Running the Gauntlet, " etc. NEW YORK DUFFIELD & COMPANY 1913 c. o c>Y 2^ 3B4S3 Copyright, 191S By DUFFIELD & COMPANY ^P.l /\QdaK^^ TO MY FATHER PREAMBLE This book is full of advice. If you do not like advice do not read the book. But if you do read it, I hope you v^ill not say, as Mr. Warner did to " Polly " : " What might have become of the garden if your advice had been followed, a good Providence only knows ! " " Success is wholly in the gardener/* writes Sir William Temple. Success is not a cultivated flower. Do not fancy that by following directions, you can attain it. The secret of success is in you. Love has more to do with it than rules — love of the thing you are striving for. So-called in- tuition is a trump card, but intuition is noth- ing more subtle than swift understanding. Some would say that luck is a large element. There is no such thing as luck — it means that you have hit upon natural laws of which you were ignorant; and knowledge is surer. So the elements of success are love, under- standing, and knowledge, with the addition PREAMBLE of work and will : the determination to suc- ceed. Flowers grow for those who love them. Like children, animals, and all of Nature's creatures whose instinct is stronger than their intellect (and I do not include women in this category), they respond uncon- sciously to affection. When engaging with my publisher to gather week by week the fruits of our gar- den experience I was particularly enjoined to be practical, not literary; to offer facts, not fancies; to converse soberly on plants and fertilizers, not to sing of the intoxication of Spring; to tell, not the delights of a gar- den, but how to make a garden. And, so far as is humanly possible, this will be the plan of the book — to offer practical sug- gestions to beginners who are wholly igno- rant of gardening. Those who know about gardens will find nothing new; to the initiated, the book will serve merely as a weekly reminder. And for this week by week arrangement of the work I assume complete accountability, and am ready to bear censure and criticism. It will rarely come out right. It ought to work, and would, if we owned such a thing PREAMBLE as a climate. But with our volatile Ameri- can weather the most one can expect is to hit the mark once in five years. Still, I expect my arrangement to be exceedingly popular, because it assumes, under existing conditions, a large degree of intelligence on the part of the reader and gardener. He must use his brains. I am offering him merely an ingenious mechanism — a gauge to be moved backward or forward according to the differences of place, soil, latitude, alti- tude, rain-fall, the idiosyncrasies of the sea- son, the whims of the weather, the pranks of the mad-cap months, and of capricious spring who plays hide and seek with them. This is not a loophole to escape condemna- tion, for so great an authority as John Bur- roughs says : " From what fact or event shall one really date the beginning of Spring? The little piping frogs usually furnish a good starting point. One Spring I heard the first note on the 6th of April; the next on the 27th of February. ... In fact, all signs and phases of life in the early season are very capricious, and are earlier or later just as some local or exceptional circum- stance favours or hinders." The mean average has been set, like the EREAMBLE weather reports, to fit the latitude of New Jersey and Eastern New York. Spring be- gins in Washington four or five weeks earlier and gradually sweeps her beflowered robes northward and westward. She reaches the Middle West and New England about a month after her visit to us in New Jersey., And it takes her some weeks longer to climb the hills. The Garden Magazine, one of our safest guides, tells us to allow *' six days' difference for every hundred miles of latitude." This is a good average, although, taking New York as a pivot, I should be inclined to allow a little less than a week going towards the West and North, and somewhat more than a week moving to the South. In other words the further south you go the greater the difference, the further north and west, the smaller the difference. Going up in the air, one can allow a week for every five hun- dred feet of altitude. Even these mathe- matical calculations are subject to the intelli- gence of the gardener, and experience is the best teacher. The suggestions in this volume are based mainly on my father's day-book of the gar- den, in which he noted month by month PREAMBLE what, where, when and how to plant and transplant, changes to be made, his plans and purchases, the firms from whom he ordered, and many suggestive hints drawn from ob- servation. They are also based on our own experience in following his work, and in hearing him talk about flowers and plants. He loved flowers, and they grew for him. He was a successful gardener. My father, in fact, is the real author of this book, as he was the builder of the garden where I learned whatever I know about gardening. J. P. F. HoRTus Inclusus, Princeton, New Jersey. CONTENTS PAGE Preamble i JANUARY First Week : How to plan a garden — The garden miap 3 Second Week: The garden enclosure — ^Walls and fences — Plants for hedges, evergreens, flowering shrubs 9 Third Week: The planting near the house — Vines on porches and walls — Massing shrubs and plants around foundation . . 18 Fourth Week: Planning the boundary plant- ing — Open spaces — Flower borders — Shrub- beries .26 FEBRUARY First Week : Planning a formal garden — A rose garden — Italian gardens 35 Second Week : Planning a mid-summer gar- den—Colour arrangements — Treatment of annuals 48 Third Week: A list of garden tools— Send- ing for flower catalogues — A list of nurser- ies and seed dealers 58 Fourth Week : Ordering plants for spring planting — A suggestive list of flowering trees, shrubs, perennial plants, roses, tu- bers and bulbs, vines, aquatics .... 67 MARCH First Week: Pruning trees, roses, and fall- flowering shrubs — Root-pruning as a prep- aration for transplanting — Best way to keep manure 79 CONTENTS PAGE Second Week: Making flower beds — Prepara- tion of soil — ^Repairing and fertilizing old- established lawns 87 Third Week : Spraying for San Jose scale — Repairing drives and paths — Enriching the nursery bed 94 Fourth Week: Winter mulching taken off — Early planting of rhododendrons — Perenni- als divided — Raising seed indoors . . . lOO APRIL First Week : Uncovering borders — Poles for climbers — Planting perennials outdoors — ' Grading and preparation of new lawn . . 109 Second Week : Planting miagnolias and azal- eas — Perennials — Lilies for spring plant- ing — Two hardy biennials 119 Third Week: Roses — ^Preparation of the beds and planting — Position for roses — Pruning roses — Use of pot-plants — Spring planting of evergreens 127 Fourth Week: Sowing seeds of annuals out- doors — ^Pansies, poppies, etc. — Hardy chrys- anthemum's — Transplanting shrubs — Spray- ing roses 135 MAY First Week: Treatment and planting of irises — Flowering dogwood, crab, peach, almond — Uncovering rhododendrons — Liquid manure on tree-peonies — Planting aquatics . . . 141 Second Week: The use of vines — Annual climbers — Perennial and evergreen vines — Colour combinations for climbers . . . 152 Third Week: Perennials raised from seed- Transplanting annuals — Uncovering water garden — How to keep the garden neat . .160 Fourth ^ Week : Small pieces of garden work, liquid manure, weeds in lawn, transplanting, etc. — Spraying for the elm' bug ,.. . . .166 CONTENTS PAGE JUNE First Week: Exterminating rose bugs — Oyster shell scale — Raot-pruning trees — Raising shrubs from cuttings 173 Second Week: Planting gladioli — Varieties of gladioli — ^Annuals transplanted from seed- bed — Pruning evergreen hedges .... 180 Third Week: When and how to prune flow- ering shrubs — Second spraying of elms . 186 Fourth Week: Varieties and planting of dah- lias — Time to order Holland grown bulbs . 192 JULY First Week: Pleasures and duties of a sum- mer garden — Mulching rhododendron beds 199 Second Week: Weeding and watering — Cut- ting in and spraying roses — Maple scale — Biennials and hollyhocks 205 Third Week: Living in our garden — Use of parches as outdoor rooms — Mulching of hy- brid tea roses 211 Fourh Week: Water gardens — How to build a basin — Soil for aquatics 217 AUGUST First Week: Grafting and budding — ^Wood used for stock — Method of budding . . . 227 Second Week : Summer work in the garden — Fall catalogues of trees and plants . . . 232 Third Week: Orders for fall planting — Sug- gestive lists of bulbs, perennial plants, shrubs, evergreens 22)7 Fourth Week : How to plant evergreens — Varieties for hedges — Pruning privet . . 248 SEPTEMBER First Week : Grading and preparation of ground for new lawn — Fall flowering bulbs — Lilium candidum 255 CONTENTS PAGE Second Week: Planting perennials — Poppies, phloxes, delphinium, columbines — Sowing pansy seeds 262 Third Week: Narcissi, their varieties and where to plant — Naturalising bulbs . . . 270 Fourth Week: Peonies — Best varieties — Di- viding perennials — Hyacinths 277 OCTOBER First Week: Snowdrops and crocuses — A plea against bedding beds — Chionodoxas, scillas and other small bulbs 287 Second Week: American grown lilies — Plant- ing lilies and irises — Varieties of bulbous rooted irises 295 Third Week: Varieties and planting of flcrw- ering shruts 301 Fourth Week: Moving large trees — Varieties of deciduous and fruit trees for fall plant- ing — Lifting tubers and other fall work. . 309 NOVEMBER First and Second Weeks: Pruning, raking leaves, and winter mulch — Varieties of tu- lips 31S Third and Fourth Weeks: Foreign grown lilies — Covering beds — Fall spraying — De- scription of compost heap 320 DECEMBER Plans for future work — Window and porch boxes — Plants for rockeries and wall gar- dens — The wild flower garden .... 325 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS A Rose Arch, Princeton Frontispiece Rose Wall, "Hortus Inclusus". Facing Page 17 Terrace, Killarney House. Ireland.. " " 37 The Garden at "Prospect," the resi- dence of the President, Prince- ton University " " 5*7 Iris Walk, Fiesole " " 93 Border of Delphinium " " 119 Upper and Lower Formal Garden at Lyme, Showing Byzantine Piece " " 127 Pink Dogwood, "Hortus Inclusus".- " " 143 View from "Prospect," seen from the Terrace , " " 151 A Double Garden with Grass Walks at Lyme " " 165 Good Planting for a Narrow Space: LakeComo " " 199 Cottage Garden at Killarney " " 205 By the Wayside in Ireland " " 211 Grass Walk, Winnetka " " 213 Good Vistas for View, but Poor Group- ing and Stiff Lines " " 257 Entrance to Formal Garden, Killar- ney House " " 317 SUCCESS IN GARDENING SUCCESS IN GARDENING JANUARY First Week "I never had any other desire so strong, and so like to Covetousness, as that I might be master at last of a small house and large garden, and there dedicate the remainder of my life to the Culture of them and study of Nature." — Abraham Cowley. *'I felt a wish for one small lot Of meadow land, a garden plot, Beside a clump of wood, and near My door a rivulet running clear. This sum' of all imagined bliss The Gods have given." — Horace (The Satires). In the winter, by the fireside, we can plan our garden. Pencil, paper, a foot measure, and a little imagination are all the imple- ments we need. Gardens that grow, border by border, and develop year by year, are the most success- ful; they are individual, grow as we grow, have a meaning — they mean us. Like 3 SUCCESS IN GARDENING books and pictures, they express our person- ality, and would miss their subtlest charm if ready-made. They are an eye, a window through which the world may see our taste, love, likings — the metal of our mind, whether we are commonplace or original, imitators or creators. At the start, we may distrust our amateur knowledge, and prefer to depend on profes- sional experience. But, if we love flowers, sooner or later that first draught of a garden will be modified to suit our individual taste and to express our predilection. The smallest garden must have a plan, even if the plan is modified or developed in process of growth. And the first element in a successfully planned garden is congruity. The style of the garden must agree with the style of the house, and should be adapted to the size, situation, and surroundings of the lot, to the lay of the land, the climate and soil. It is the small lot of the country town or suburb that cries out emphatically for at- tention, that is least understood, most com- mon, most American, most neglected, and abandoned to the fatal grip of the commonplace. The neat grass yard, the 4 JANUARY narrow, straight walk to the immaculate front door, the bare walls of the frame- house, have ruined the reputation of the suburb. The word " suburb " ought to con- jure up a picture of rural loveliness, instead of ugliness, and towns like Bryn Mawr prove to us that it is possible to make a country town a place of charm and beauty. To every one living outside the brick and stone limits of a city, I would say, have a garden, and whether it covers twelve feet or twelve acres, let it be original — not in the sense of being eccentric, fantastic, or gro- tesque, but of being individual and signifi- cant. If the lot is too small for a garden, then plant the front yard and back yard, and make them as picturesque as the wayside cottages of Ireland and Wales. Any house may be made less ordinary, and any land more interesting by planting. And even the back yard of a city house may be trans- formed into a hidden garden. In planning for a garden, lay out first the main features of the place or lot. With paper and pencil, mark where the house stands, or is to stand, the walks, driveways, entrance, and boundary line; indicate where the clothes yard and loam heap are to be 5 SUCCESS IN GARDENING placed; the vegetable garden perhaps, and the stable, garage, or outhouses. It will be a help to make the map to scale. When these main points are settled, stand mentally and imaginatively on the spot that marks the house, which is the pivot or easel, so to speak, from which to work, the point- of-view from which to look at the picture. Then start from the outside lines to com- pose the picture, working inwards. Plant the boundaries, marking where to set out shrubs, trees, and vines, and note the names of the varieties, so as to make good colour combinations, and succession of bloom. The advantage of using a pencil is that the plan will be changed in process of growth, some names will be erased and others substituted. When this irregular and broken line of foliage and flowering shrubs for the back- ground has been sketched in, the next care will be the foreground. If there should chance to be a good distant view from any side of the lot, that side should be left open^ either by arranging low planting, or leaving vistas between the shrubbery. No one wants to shut himself in from a beautiful outlook, or make his horizon narrower than is neces- 6 JANUARY sary. But if neighbouring houses have al- ready limited his prospect, then he may ami- ably retaliate on promiscuous propinquity by shrouding it in green ; for privacy one must have, if not the large privacy of nature, then the restricted aloofness of one's figtree. On at least one side of the house there should be an open sward of grass; keep the centre free, and this will give a sense of space and expanse ; mass the planting around the edges of the open lawn. The flower borders will follow the back- ground of foliage or fence; then work in- wards with beds banked in green, but always keep as much as possible the idea of space and of glimpses into something beyond, if not into the open country, then into a close or cover of the garden itself. This givesi perspective. Next mark the paths, if there are to be any, and lay out the border planting for the drives and walks. Turf paths are the most harmonious ; the lawn and garden should be cut as little as possible by the hard white lines of gravel walks. Then arrange to plant out the back door, service road, garage, clothes yard, and other unses- thetic parts of the establishment which need 7 SUCCESS IN GARDENING^ to be eliminated from view. To hide them from both the house and the street will claim considerable ingenuity, so as not to make the intention too palpable, or the screen too stiff and solid. The trees, shrubs, and vines in- tended to disguise what is behind may be used as a background and framework for flowers. The last touch to be added to the garden map will be the planting close to the house; but this will be one of the first pieces of gar- den work to start when one begins to dig in March. Here then are the four main steps to be taken : first, enclose the lot ; next, plant close to the house; then around the boundary lines ; and last between the boundary and the house. This plan is adapted to the usual lot in a country town, two hundred feet deep, by fifty to two or three hundred feet wide. And if there are any old trees standing on the lot, the owner is to be congratulated. They should be cherished and protected. SECOND WEEK '*The garden is best to be square, encompassed on all the four sides with a stately arched hedge." — Bacon. "When you have discovered the best Land, and pleased yourself with the compleatest Form you can imagine for your Garden; yet without a good Fence to preserve it from several evils that usually annoy it your labour is but lost." — John Worlidge. (1675.) A garden, to be a real garden, must be en-' closed, entered by a gate, if not tangible, then imaginary, and opened by an equally mythical key. In other words a garden must have the qualities of privacy, mystery, and seclusion. On a large place or park the garden alone may be shut in — the ideal ar- rangement. But the majority of us must adapt our ideals to a small plot of ground, and enclose the whole space, including house and other buildings. Before starting a gar- den, then, we must plan our enclosure. A few years ago I should have challenged dislike, disapproval, or disfavour, by the 9 SUCCESS IN GARDENING mere mention in this democratic land of that obnoxious word *' wall," and I will not de- fine the feelings created by our own shingled enclosure when first it rose to a height of six feet. Happily those feelings have since largely, though I fear not wholly, disap- peared. The wall has proved its right to ex- ist. But there is one advantage that fences and hedges have over walls — they do not irri- tate the public by a too conspicuous and can- did desire to be private; they do not create criticism, for a transparent seclusion is less aggressive than an impenetrable aloofness, and a privacy, I had almost said a propriety, of four years' growth seems to be less offen- sive than one of four weeks. Probably the sudden appearance of an Athena, full-armed and full-grown, among us would be resented, since we were once obliged to wear swad- dling clothes. But if the public demands a dead-level, then we must renounce gardens. There is nothing that flowers love better than a wall, or a screen; it protects them from wind and cold, their blooms are larger, their colours more vivid against the dark green of the hedge, or the warm tints of the wall. 10 JANUARY What we select for our enclosure must de- pend on the extent of our ground and size of our house; congruity should decide the material. It may be stone or brick, stucco or shingles, according to the material of the house. All but the wooden wall will be covered with vines, ivy, clematis, honey- suckle. With a wooden enclosure, the vines must be trained on wire netting, or poles set close to the wall, but not on the wall itself. For this reason a stone wall may be made more picturesque on the street side, than one of shingles. Around a fifty or one hundred foot lot, a hedge or low fence is the most appropriate enclosure. Privet may be taken out of the ordinary and become almost distinguished by proper cutting and clipping. Cut it round-topped like box, or let it spread in a wide flare at the bottom, and clip it to a sharp edge on top, like a triangle standing on Its base. Four to five or even six feet is a good height. If a wall-effect is wanted, flat on the sides and top, cut the privet to the ground one or two years after planting, so that it will throw up strong shoots from the bottom; if it is afterwards trimmed flat on the sides twice a year, it will form a solid II SUCCESS IN GARDENING wall. In any case it is well to prune back a privet hedge rigorously the first two years. California privet is hardy in the middle and southern states, especially at the sea- shore, where it flourishes with unusual lux- uriance. Plants, from two and a half to three feet high, sell from five to eight dollars per hundred. They are usually planted in a double row, twelve or fifteen inches apart, but the rows should be at least fifteen to eighteen inches apart. Ibota, Japanese privet is the hardiest of the different species, and succeeds in the north and northwest. Kegel's variety of the Ibota is drooping in habit, and if left un- trimmed makes a graceful, free-growing hedge. Strong, two-year old plants, two to three feet high, sell for ten to fifteen dollars per hundred.^ They may be planted in a single row, eighteen inches apart, which makes them no more expensive, for a hedge, than the California privet. Box should be kept for edging beds and walks in a formal garden. The price varies from five dollars per hundred for small six- 1 Elliott Nursery Co., 336 Fourth Ave., Pittsburg-, Pa. ; Ellwanger & Barry, Rochester, N, Y. ; Thomas Meehan & Sons, Germantown, Philadelphia, Pa. (Meehan's Ibota Privet i=! $17.50 per hundred). 12 JANUARY inch plants, to thirty-five cents and seventy- five cents for single plants, two to three feet high. These larger bushes are effec- tive v^hen used to mark the corners and ends of formal beds or of the lower box edging. And, remember, box must never be pruned. For an evergreen hedge, the hemlock (both the Tsuga canadensis and caroliniana) is one of the most satisfactory; it makes a dense, hardy screen, feathery and graceful, and keeps its beauty longer than the Norway spruce; it is, in fact, the most beautiful of the evergreens for hedges. Trees from one and a half to two and a half feet, are quoted at twenty-five to thirty-five and fifty dollars per hundred.^ Costing half this price is the American arbor-vitse (Thuja occidentalis), slim and upright growing. It makes a thin, straight hedge, and is useful where a flat barrier or windbreak is needed, but it has a tendency to die out or grow spindling at the bottom. The white spruce makes an effectual wind- 2 Ellwanger & Barry, Mt. Hope Nurseries, Roches- ter, N. Y.; Elliott Nursery Co., Pittsburg, Pa.; Bloodgood Nurseries, Flushing, N. Y. ; Thomas Meehan & Son's, Germantown, Phila., Pa. ($75-00 per hundred). 13 SUCCESS IN GiVRDENING break, and the dwarf Austrian pine is also good for bushy, low shields, although forty years is said to be the limit of its beauty. With more of beauty than either of these as ' a background is biota orientalis, the Chinese arborvitse. In the South, Euonymus Ja- ponica (twenty dollars per hundred) is used as a hedge plant. Several varieties of retinospora, Japanese cedar, make a beautiful hedge, especially the plumosa which lends itself to clipping. It is more unusual than the hemlock and also more expensive. Uncommon, too, are the Oriental spruce and Japanese yew (Taxus cuspidata), both hardy evergreens, but at present rather expensive for a hedge. Of these many hedge plants I should favour privet, hemlock, spruce, and Japanese yew. Ornamental, flowering hedges are espe- cially adapted to country houses occupied only from May to November. The hy- drangea paniculata grandiflora makes a beautiful low-growing summer hedge, with its luxuriant foliage, and its great white heads of bloom, flowering in August and September, and looking like a premature snow bank. They should be cut back, in early April or late March, to about 14 JANUARY one-half of the new growth, and fer- tilised with bone meal; if planted in a double row (the plants in one row opposite the spaces in the second row) they will form a thick and picturesque low-growing hedge. Our hydrangea hedge in Vermont is two hundred feet long, the double row of plants being set about eighteen inches apart, and the mass of immense, pointed, drooping heads look like driven snow in the moon- light. Plants two to three feet high cost two dollars per ten, or fifteen per hundred.^ They need no mulching in winter, except a thick layer of well-rotted manure put on in the fall, Rosa rugosa makes an effective ever- green hedge, with its display of shiny, dark green foliage, red and white blooms like wild roses, flowering in July and August, and in the fall, large scarlet berries ; it is an all- round, versatile, rich-looking plant. The cost is two and a half dollars per ten or fifteen per hundred, for strong, two and a half foot plants.* Spring flowering shrubs may be used for irregular hedges, planted in groups so that 3 Elliott Nursery Co., Pittsburg, Pa. *Bloodgood Nurseries, Flushing, N. Y. 15 SUCCESS IN GARDENING part of the hedge will be in bloom from month to month. Forsythia, exochorda grandi flora, Japanese quince, Japanese bar- berry, lilacs, deutzia crenata, candidissima and gracilis, Japanese snowball or viburnum plicatum, weigela Candida, spiraea van Houttei and pruni folia, and hibiscus or althea — some or most of these will make a varied hedge that will bloom from April to September. Medium sized plants are priced at one and a half dollars to two and a half dollars per ten. This enclosing of the entire lot may not entirely satisfy one's ideal of a secluded gar- den, of a place apart for quiet pleasure and privacy. When one is loath to share the garden even with one's own front yard, a barrier may be devised of shrubs or vine cov- ered arbour — what Bacon called an " alley " and we name a " pergola " — between the garden side we turn to our friends, and the public side we turn to the world. Pergola, and shrubs massed in irregular fashion, will serve as a protection and shield, without cutting the lot into two parts with too straight a line. The inhospitable line of the arbour may be broken by a gateway wreathed in wistaria through which some i6 JANUARY may enter in person, and others, less fav- oured, in fancy. Hedges, too, may be used to cut the lot and enclose certain parts of the garden, if one is careful to leave an open expanse on one side. This hedge within a hedge should be of privet, box, or shrubs, rather than of hemlock, or other coniferous evergreens. 17 THIRD WEEK "At all time and in all ages gardens have been amongst the objects of the greatest interest to man- kind, and the gardener's art has contributed to the delight of all men in their time." — Dickens. Where shall we begin to plant in a small garden? The most obvious place to start borders, and therefore the one most to be avoided, is on either side of the straight walk leading from the street to the house. Everything we plant must form a part of the whole composition, and have a meaning. Our first thought, then, will be to make a background and framework for the house. If the garden is to be picturesque, the house may be bedded in green and in bloom. A formal garden, which would be the ad- junct to a stately stone or brick house, would naturally call for a more severe treatment around the house, close-growing vines like ivy, and little or no colour. A frame house with beauty of line — and there are not many so blest — must have restrained plant- i8 JANUARY ing of such free-growing vines as wistaria, and be accentuated with discreet massing of shrubs. But the common run of frame houses will be improved by luxurious climbers, profuse bloom, and treatment in detail. For a house standing on level ground, plan a bed along the south and west sides, five or six feet deep, sweeping around the corner, and then spreading out in a curve eight feet deep at the northwest angle. Close to the house plant vines and climbers ■ — roses, wistaria, or clematis — and ar- range to have a succession of bloom. Do not allow the climbers to grow around the columns of the porch, or on the side of the house; but attach heavy wire to iron staples, set in front of the columns and at intervals along the wall. The staples must be set three feet deep, below frost; and the upper end of the wire fastened to strong hooks in the roof of the porch, or under the eaves of the house. There are many beautiful varieties of climbing roses. The wichuraiana and its hybrids are some of the most satisfactory: Wichuraiana (white single), Jersey Beauty (pale yellow, single), Evergreen Gem (buff, 19 SUCCESS IN GARDENING double), Manda's Triumph (white, dou- ble). Gardenia, very charming (yellow buds, cream, double flowers). Any of these in strong two-year-old plants, are sold for three dollars a dozen. These may be had in pots; they are more expensive, but grow more rapidly. Dorothy Perkins is a lovely double, shell-pink rose, and the Daw- son (double-pink) is the earliest and most profuse bloomer, both at three dollars a doz- en. Other beautiful varieties are Lady Gay (cerise pink, passing to white), Tausend- schon (large soft pink, changing to car- mine), Hiawatha (single, brilliant ruby- carmine), White Dorothy, and the Ameri- can Pillar (large single pink), all at three dollars per dozen; Christine Wright (large, double, wild-rose pink) at one dollar each.^ The well-known Crimson Rambler is no longer the favourite that it once was ; other roses, of better colour and more perfect foliage, have superseded it. But if a rose of that character is wanted get the im- lEllwanger & Barry, Mount Hope Nurseries, Rochester, N. Y. (one of the most extensive and reliable rose growers, especially for field plants) ; Th. Meehan & Sons, Germantown, Phila., Pa. (fine, pot-grown plants) ; Elliott Nursery Co-, Pittsburg, Pa.; George H. Peterson, Fair Lawn, New Jersey. 20 JANUARY proved Philadelphia Rambler and plant a white rose with it, that will bloom at the same time, like White Dorothy. Wherever climbing roses are planted, at the foot of porch columns, poles, or trel- lises, have three of a kind, to ensure thick growth; or plant two of one variety and two of another, to bloom in succession. In three years they will have grown to the sec- ond story, and in five years they will reach the top of twenty-foot poles. Around the southwest angle of the house, have a low trellis of cedar poles, or iron stakes, and wire, and plant Dawson roses to bloom the first of June, Gardenia, and Dorothy Perkins, to continue the bloom into July. On the south side, against the house, plant yellow jasmine (nudiflorum), which is hardy south of New York. This low creeper will have finished blooming long be- fore the leaves of the rose vines even start to unfold, and anywhere between the mid- dle of February and the end of April the mass of its star-like blossoms will cover the bare shoots. During one unusually warm season our vines were a shower of bloom for two months, beginning in January. 21 SUCCESS IN GARDENING Later, the foliage makes a good background for bulbs and flowering plants. Continue the climbing roses around the south side, either the Gardenia and Dorothy Perkins, or any of the wichuraiana varie- ties. Instead of the rose you may prefer to have wistaria, either the Chinese sinen- sis or the beautiful Japanese multijuga, costing from 30cts. to 50cts. each. This, the most graceful, picturesque, and luscious of the climbers, is worth waiting for, even though it is the slowest grower. We have now covered the sides of the house with vines, and we will return to the northwest angle to plan the planting in front of the climbers. In the eight foot curving bed, mass rhododendrons alone; no other plant will blend with their intense colour and strong foliage; they would kill any bed- fellow. Some of the best varieties of the hybrid rhododendrons are the Album elegans. Album grandiflorum, Atrosan- guineum, Blandyanum, Lady Clermont, Delicatissimum, Grandiflorum, H. W. Sar- gent, Speciosum; all of these blend in tint. Strong plants, from eighteen inches to two feet are quoted at $1.50 to $1.75 each.^ 2 Messrs. Thomas Meehan & Sons, Germantown, 22 JANUARY Rhododendrons are one of the greatest luxuries of the garden. Less expensive massing plants are the rosa rugosa, the rose and the alba, and its hybrids, Nova Zembla, Blanc double de Coubert, Madame Georges Bruant, a dou- ble white variety, Agnes Emily Carman, Conrad F. Meyer. The usual price is $2.50 to $3.00 per ten. Another effective massing plant, not an evergreen, is the hydrangea paniculata grandiflora, at $2.50 per ten; these are more suited to a summer garden, as they bloom in August. We want to select the choicest flowers for the beds close to the house, and leave the heavier plants for distant colour effect against the hedge or fence, such as peonies, hollyhocks, golden glow, dahlias, cosmos. Near the house, on the west, we shall want to plant a magnolia stellata near the south angle, and then fill the bed with delphinium and columbines at the back, narcissus poeticus, daffodils, and gesneriana tulips, white and red, and along the front a row of low blue scillas and chionodoxas, white crocuses and snowflakes.^ Philadelphia, Pa.; Bloodgood Nurseries, Flushing, N. Y. 3 For bulbs; Henry A Dreer, 714 Chestnut St., 23 SUCCESS IN GARDENING Keep the bed on the south side for tea roses, and, at the back against the green, have a row of the beautiful pastel Darwin tulips; some of the low bulbs, too, can be planted on the front edge. Iris reticulata and lavender crocuses. None of these bulbs will flower when the roses are in bloom. On the east side of the house I would have, not a border of flowers, but flowering shrubs planted separately or in groups of three, and set in holes two or three feet in diameter prepared as carefully as a border — the earth dug out to a depth of two feet, and filled in with loam mixed with manure. Have three or four different va- rieties of shrubs that will bloom in succes- sion: a group of three forsythia, an exochorda, deutzia gracilis, hydrangea paniculata grandiflora, a choice althea, a group of bronze button chrysanthemums for fall blooming — any or all of these will make a frame for the house. The north side will be more difficult to treat, especially if it should chance to be the front of the house. Hall's Japan Philadelphia, Pa.; E. J. Krug, 110-116 Broadway, New York City (agent of Dutch firm, van Tuber- gen). JANUARY honeysuckle is a vine that will grow any- where, although it will not climb as high on the north. Against the house may be planted rhododendron maximum; these cost about one dollar each, or less in quan- tities. In southern states, the rhododen- dron catawbiense will flourish, but in the north it is not as reliable as the maximum. In front of these, mass yucca filamentosa, two dollars and a half per dozen. And if colour is wanted, the bed may be edged with German iris. A house that is placed on a slight rise, or an abrupt knoll, calls for a simpler and broader grouping; there should be less de- tail. Looking up, we see mass; looking down, we see detail. For vines, the wis- taria and the evergreen euonymus radi- cans (south of New Jersey) will be prefer- able. There should be no delicate flowers like narcissi, columbines, or the low bulbs; but iris, the German and the Japanese, will be effective, and especially the gorgeous Oriental poppies. Increase the shrubbery, and add spiraea van Houttei, and deutzia gracilis, to bloom in the spring, and altheas, double-white and double-pink to bloom in August. 25 FOURTH WEEK "A garden bower'd close With plaited alleys of the trailing rose, Long alleys falling down to twilight grots, Or opening upon level plots Of crowned lilies, standing near Purple-spiked lavender : Whither in after life retired From brawling storms, From weary wind; With youthful fancy reinspired, We may hold converse, with all forms Of the many-sided mind . . ." — Alfred Tennyson. After encircling the house with flowers and fohage, the next step, in a plan for a small lot, is to treat the boundary lines. We want to mass the planting on the out- side edges, and then work inwards. We will suppose that a hedge or fence has been planned to surround and enclose the lot. Inside the hedge have a border on two sides, and a succession of irregular beds on the other two sides. The border may be continuous, but not straight, about five feet wide in the middle, 26 JANUARY and sweeping out in curves at the extremi- ties, eight or ten feet deep at the widest part. In these deep curves, in the corners of the lot, mass shrubs and greenery at the back, against the fence, such as exochorda; hibiscus; deutzia, Pride of Rochester and crenata rosea plena; mock orange, Phila- delphus grandiflorus and coronarius; Jap- anese snowball, known as viburnum pli- catum. Of lower growth, which may be planted, here and there, in front of the taller shrubs, are deutzia gracilis; spiraea van Houttei, sorbi folia stellipeda, and Thunbergii; Japanese quince. Along the narrower part of the border, against the fence, set a row of nine to twelve feet red cedar poles, planted well below frost, with wires connecting them; and plant three climbing roses of a kind at the foot of each pole — the beautiful Lord and Lady Pen- zance sweetbriars which will grow twelve feet high, and any of the wichuraiana roses to trail over the wires and poles. In front of this background of shrubs and vines plant tall-growing perennials, al- wa3^s massed in groups, not scattered here and there. The selection is unlimited; but be sure to have a mass of the lovely blue 27 SUCCESS IN GARDENING delphiniums, the formosum and formosum cselestinum, the belladonna, King of Delphiniums, and many other varieties. Plant masses of anemone Japonica, the alba and rubra, Whirlwind, Elegantissima, Geante Blanche, Queen Charlotte, Prince Henry; you cannot have too many of these lovely fall-blooming: anemones. The dif- ferent sections may be pointed off with a yucca filamentosa, or a tree-peony. And at the furthest end have golden glow, which will grow as high as eight feet if placed against a wind-break, with tiger lilies (Triginum splendens) and yellow and white day lilies in front, and a mass of Cal- ifornia poppies. In other sections, on the front line of the border, plant different varieties of iris, the Dutch, German, English, and Japanese, which will bloom in succession from April to July. Further on have trumpet and double daffodils of different varieties, the Emperor, and Empress, Horsfeldi, Barrii Conspicuus, Maximus, Stella, Silver Phoe- nix, Incomparable. A crowd of lilies should be in the border; the candidum, longiflorum, and speciosum album will mingle well with any flowers blooming at JANUARY the same time, but few of the other varieties will combine without a shock to the optic nerve, and the speciosum roseum should be separated from the tiger lily by the whole length of the border. Edging the border may be a carpet of creeping phloxes (phlox subulata), the alba, and the model (pink) or the G. F. Wilson (blue). Another effective edging plant is the gesneriana tulip which outlines the bed in vivid scarlet — too vivid to be seen in a mass unless mixed with white. On the third side of the hedge have long sweeping beds of different shapes, following the boundary line. In one bed mass lilacs of the choice varieties, such as, Mme. Casimir Perier, Belle de Nancy, Jacques Calot, Alba grandiflora, Congo, President Grevy. In another bed have flowering! crab, peach, and almond; further on, Mag- nolias, and the beautiful white and pink dogwood. On the fourth side may be beds of the lovely azaleas, Ghent and Mollis, and white flowering shrubs such as spiraea van Houttei, magnolia stellata, and white dog- wood. Here, too, one may risk a mixed bed of Oriental poppies and white gas plant 29 SUCCESS IN GARDENING [(dictamnus alba). Any of these beds may be edg'ed with a row of spring and autumn flowering bulbs, narcissus poeticus, daffo- dils (which will bloom before the azaleas), and colchicum autumnale. In beginning to plant between the bound- ary and the house, one should be sure to keep a free stretch of lawn on at least one side of the house, to give the feeling of space, and perspective. This lawn may be surrounded with trees and flowers, as with a frame, and to avoid stiffness let the line be irregular, encroaching on the grass sward in some places, retreating in others. Never plant trees and shrubs on the lawn, scattered here and there in a meaningless manner. Beautiful " specimen " trees or shrubs may be placed in front of the main planting, and look all the more distinctive for having a background. Whether it is a bush of Kegel's privet or a Koster blue spruce, the green framework will increase, not detract from the effect. The driveway or the walk may be out- lined, not with long, straight borders, but with a number of irregular and curving beds. If the driveway is long and sweep- ing, it may be bordered with mass-planting 30 JANUARY of green shrubbery. But the ordinary short approach needs nothing more than pictur- esque beds which give an opportunity for masses of rhododendrons, anemones, and the many gorgeous varieties of peonies, the Festiva Maxima, FeHx Crousse, Rubra superba, and Delicatissima. All but the rhododendrons may be edged with early bulbs, or summer and fall annuals. If any flowering plant should stand alone it is the rhododendron, whose superb beauty bears no intimate associate. From the intense Sargent and Atrosanguineum, to the delicate Album elegans and Delica- tissimum, they belittle any close comrade; they are kings and cannot be trifled with. In this plan I have taken a small place, or large lot, of about two hundred by three to four hundred feet. In a smaller lot, the same general scheme may be followed, merely reducing the variety of flowers. There are a few general rules to keep in mind: leave open spaces; plant around the house, and chiefly around the boundary; keep the flowers in masses, and the colours in harmony; do not have ordinary flowers, like golden glow and cosmos, when you can have delphiniums and anemones; do 31 SUCCESS IN GARDENING not let the colours clash ; do not have a gar- den that looks patchy, spotty, or fussy. If the space for planting is nothing more than a twelve or twenty-five foot yard in front of the house, make it a solid mass of shrubs and vines and greenery, edge the walk with flowers against the green, and have an entrancing wayside garden that passers-by will turn to look at. If the rows of small, close-set, commonplace houses, in our country towns and suburbs, were bedded in green, our streets would be bow- ers. It is a crime against civilisation to endure ugliness, when for so little expense of money and care, we could transform it into beauty. Those who do not wish to have the care of a flower garden, may plant only vines, shrubs, and flowering trees ; these make lit- tle demand after the first outlay. The rule for planting is the same : grow vines on the house and porches, shrubs at the an- gles and steps, along the boundary line and the walks. I have seen successful shrubberies on even a moderate sized lot, that screen the house and lawn, and give the sense of privacy. If judiciously planted, there will be bloom through the 32 JANUARY spring and summer. The whole list of flowering trees and shrubs may be used; it is only a question of selection and combina- tion with reference to colour and time of bloom. If the shrubs are planted in a bed close together, and the dead wood cut out every year from the inside, there will be little need of weeding or other care, except pruning after they have bloomed. 33 FEBRUARY First Week "The garden beds are prim and square, Bt)x-bordered, scenting all the air, And fruit-trees on espaliers crawl Around the high, old-fashioned wall." — Charles Buxton Going. "Musically falls the fountain; Twilight voices chime; Evening winds from down the valley- Stir the waters cool; Break the dark, empurpled shadows In the marble pool." — Richard Watson Gilder. A GARDEN is a setting, an adornment to a house. It is integral, not alien to its style. A queen does not dress in calico, or a peas- ant in purple velvet and ermine. The dress is the symbol of the personality. In plan- ning a formal garden, we must first take into account the character of house and place. Are they adapted to formal treat- ment? Fitness is imperative. 35 SUCCESS IN GARDENING The house must be simple or severe in line, and I should like to say spacious, for space in my creed is one of the requisites of formality both in house and garden. But conceding space to those who are not of my opinion, I will merely insist that if the garden is small it must be as perfect as a sonnet, a thing of symmetry and finish — a little masterpiece. And we might set- tle this matter of size by saying that a large house requires a formal garden, but a formal garden does not inevitably demand a large house. I will go further and say that one may have, as Cowley dreamed, a large garden and a small house, but one cannot, by the rules of fitness, have a min- iature garden and a spacious house. Formality is the fit associate of a stately house with straight, strong lines ; of a house in Georgian or Colonial style, a house of poise, substance, and dignity, but not of a Queen-Ann cottage or a plain house on a village street. Let the cottage have a pic- turesque setting, the village house an old- fashioned frame — each to his style. A formal garden must have relief, back- ground, and proportion. Formality means regularity, not rigidity; balance, not stifT- 36 FEBRUARY ness; lines that are straight, but not hard. It is a help to study formal gardens that are around us, the pictures of many that we cannot see, and it is often easier to see defects at a glance, in a picture. We can notice what to avoid, and at what to aim. Objective errors are more evident than sub- jective mistakes. There are many attempts that never ar- rive — so-called formal gardens that have missed their opportunities. Some have been laid out on a slope, instead of being cut in terraces; others are agglomerations of petrified flower beds ; and some are with- out significance. The next point to remember in planning a formal garden, is that the place will com- pose better if the garden is on a lower level than the house. The garden itself will gain by being viewed from above. If the lay of the land admits of it, a few steps may lead down from a terrace court, or per- gola; this will relieve the stiffness and lack of perspective of a level surface. The house should not be so profusely bedded in vines and flowers as with a pic- turesque garden. There should be a sense of restraint; everything must be within Z7 SUCCESS IN GARDENING bounds, compact, and of a certain regular- ity. A stone or brick house covered with close-growing ivy will blend harmoniously with the formality of the garden. At the angles and by the steps, plant dwarf ever- greens, the compact Japanese cedar, cy- press and yew, box (pyramidal), and, if no further north than New Jersey, the Japan- ese euonymus; and at the entrance, on either side, standard box trees or conical box. The glossy-leaved evergreens will do well on the shady sides of the house, as the winter sun may injure the foliage. On the warm south side, one may plant, when in extravagant mood, a few trained fruit trees to grow on the wall in fan-shape or pyramidal form; apricots, peaches, and nec- tarines are the most luscious, and one may even have his fig-trees climbing at his threshold and clinging to his wall. A brick terrace with low balustrade and steps, tubs with standard box or bay trees, or vases with conical box or flowers, will make a good approach to the garden below. For a smaller and simpler place the ap- proach may be by a brick walk under a " pergola " covered with grape vines and wistaria. Or an enclosed court may sep- 38 FEBRUARY arate the house from the garden, and a few steps lead from the court to the lower level of the garden. The central point in a formal garden, from which the paths radiate, and around which the beds cluster, serves to give ac- cent and height, and to emphasise and make significant the general form scheme. It may be a fountain or statue for a large place; more appropriate to an unostenta- tious garden is the popular sundial, or a large vase of beautiful antique shape in stone or marble, standing on a broad pedes- tal, and filled with flowers and hanging vines. In a large vase there may even be dwarf evergreens which will look sightly throughout the year. The best arborvitse for this purpose are the Siberian (pyram- idal), and the globosa (globular) ; a Japan- ese yew, or taxus cuspidata, in the centre for height; Japanese retinospora plumosa for its feathery foliage; and for trailing, glossy-leaved evergreens the mitchella repans (partridge berry), and, for the Mid- dle and Southern States, the leucothoe catesbasi. Stone seats are often placed around this central circle, against the flower beds; but 39 SnCCESS IN GARDENING they are more effective, and less stiff, stand- ing at the lower end of the garden against a bank of foliage, or a rose arbour. We sometimes see turf paths in a formal garden, and our eyes rejoice. But if the paths must be of gravel, the fine, warm, red- dish-brown crushed stone is more harmoni- ous and softer in tone than the staring white gravel, which becomes a glaring line in the hot July sun. But the choice of gravel must of course depend on the colour of the house. The lower end of the formal garden, and one or both sides should be enclosed by a thick and varied plantation of shrubs and trees, evergreen and deciduous. This back- ground should be more green than flower- ing. For the evergreens, Oriental and Englemann's spruce, American juniper, Japanese yew (taxus cuspidata), retin- ospora plumosa and obtusa nana; and those with glossy foliage, all of which are lower in growth, mahonia aqui folium and Japon- ica, osmanthus aqui folium (holly-leaved olive), ilex crenata (Japanese holly), al- though none of these broad leaved ever- greens are surely hardy in the North and need protection. Among deciduous trees 40 FEBRUARY and shrubs, the Japanese maples, white dogwood, magnoHa conspicua, barberries, exochorda, Kegel's privet, rodotypos kerri- oides, viburnum tomentosum and plica- tum. Against this mass of shrubbery, v^hich may be high or low according to the land and outlook, a bank of Oriental poppies will give a magnificent splash of colour. A grouping of Mollis and Ghent azaleas also adds effectiveness to the background; and lower down a plantation of Japanese iris would continue the rich framework. If the shrubbery can be on only one side, the other side should be shut in with a high hedge of hemlock or privet. The formal beds will be edged with box or with ilex crenata; standard rose-trees, planted at intervals, are valuable for break- ing the long, straight lines; standard box and bay trees, conical cedars, and pointed Japanese cypresses will be needed to point off the corners and relieve the one-dimen- sion look of flat land. In the matter of planting, one's aim should be a massing, not a scattering of flowers and colours. Do not let the effect be spotty. Do not fall into the mistake of 41 SUCCESS IN GARDENING many professional gardeners who seem not to understand the value of colour, and its possibilities of clash or concord. Instead of massing their forces like a skilful gen- eral, they separate and disperse them into ineffective stragglers. There may be groups, at intervals, of three peonies of the rarer sorts, but groups of three irises or columbines will look futile. Plant the flowers in masses, and give character, and the emphasis of colour to the garden. Almost all of the best perennials, bulbs, biennials, and some annuals, are eligible for the beds of a formal garden, excepting the riotous ones like cosmos, or ordinary flowers like golden glow; hollyhocks, which are the hall-mark of an old-fashioned plot would be out of place in a formal gar- den. Besides peonies and the German, English and Japanese irises, all kinds of columbines look well, delphiniums, lilies, monkshood, Canterbury bells, foxgloves, larkspurs, pinks, yucca, filamentosta, snap- dragons, tritomas, phloxes if one must have them, asters, cornflowers, poppies, the California and shirley, stocks, dahlias of the cactus and single varieties, and other flowers. 42 FEBRUARY It is not necessary to mass one colour or one flower together. White lilies and blue delphiniums sprinkled together are a well- known and charming combination; almost all the columbine shades blend, and many of the off-coloured Darwin tulips, which must surely have a place. A row of gesneriana tulips or of daffodils. Em- peror and Empress, would be effective next to the box edging. Eremurus elwesianus and albus is a splendidly effective flower growing in spikes six feet high, and would be striking for pointing off the beds, or in a mass against the green background. At the lower end of the garden stone or marble seats m.ay stand against a trellis or wall covered with different varieties of the wichuraiana climbing roses. Perhaps we will have a rose arbour, or, if the place is not limited, an archway of climbing roses leading into a small rose garden, beyond the shrubbery. This hidden rose garden will be entirely concealed and surrounded by high rose walls, unless there is on one side a view onto a stretch of lawn or into the open country. Leave it open on the side of the view, but shut in the rest. Tall, red cedar 43 SUCCESS IN GARDENING poles, set well below frost, and rising ten or fifteen feet high, with wires connecting them, will form the background over which roses of every variety will climb, Dawson, Lady Gay, pink and white Dorothy Per- kins, Hiawatha, Evergreen Gem, any and all of the wichuraiana hybrids. In the centre of this rose garden will stand a small sundial or a vase of antique shape, and the beds will be bordered with box edging. It will be a small garden, and the paths that intersect in the middle may be of turf, close-cropped. There should be standard rose-trees to mark the corners of the beds, and there will be no flowers but roses. The beds will be filled with hybrid perpetuals and hybrid teas: Anne de Dies- bach, Frau Karl Druschki, Mad. Gabriel Luizet, Mrs. John Laing, Paul Neyron, J. B. Qark, Ulrich Brunner, among the perpet- uals; and of the hybrid teas, Dean Hole, Killarney, and White Killarney, La France, Belle Siebrecht, Etoile de France, Gruss an Teplitz, and many others (these cost from thirty-five to sixty cents each, or three to five and a half dollars per dozen). A beau- tiful new hybrid tea is Jonkheer J. L. Mock, seventy-five cents each. The teas 44 FEBRUARY will need a protection of manure and leaf- mould mulching in winter, but they will bloom from June until killed by frost in the late fall. At the back of these beds, against the foot of the rose wall, where the lower limbs of the climbers will be bare of bloom and foliage, have a hedge on one side of Conrad F. Meyer, a hybrid rugosa, and on an- other side of the yellow bush roses, Aus- trian yellow, Harrison's yellow, and Soleil d'Or. Keep the Soleil d'Or apart from other plants as it is liable to be attacked by black spot/ As for Italian gardens, a poor version, like a poor translation of the poets, is to be shunned. Those who have leisure, taste, wealth, climate, and a suitable setting, will do well to go to Italy, study her models, be saturated with her spirit, and would that they could bring back her antique statues, her fountains, vases, and marble balustrades, her blue skies and soft atmos- pheres, her languor and her lusciousness, her ancient bay and box trees, her citrons ^ Rose Growers : Geo. H'. Peterson, Fair Lawn, New Jersey; EUwanger & Barry, Mt. Hope Nurs- eries, Rochester, N. Y. ; S. G. Harris, 63 Hamilton Place, Tarrytown, N. Y. 45 SUCCESS IN GARDENING and her cypresses, her cactus and prickly pears, her palm trees and umbrella pines, her soil and her sun that makes May of December, her princes and peasants, her history and her hills — for it takes all of these and much more that cannot be cate- goried to make a real Italian garden! We can as twentieth century Bonapartes, transport Italy's art, but can we, except as followers of Procrustes transplant her gar- dens? The South with her tropical tem- perature and plants perhaps can, without producing a wooden image like a modem copy of a Raphael Madonna. But our true temperamental models are in England; we have reproduced her Tudor architecture for our houses, her domestic Gothic for our college buildings without a sense of incon- gruity; we can, with a comfortable con- science, reproduce her gardens. An Amer- ican Colonial house would not look out of setting in England, but, oh, ye gods! pic- ture to yourselves how it would look in Italy! Our prototypes should be English, but our imported plants must be from Japan or China, for European species (excepting 46 FEBRUARY Dutch, bulbs) are not all strictly hardy in our climate and soil, and varieties that flour- ish in England are not certain to do well in our middle, eastern, and western states. 47 SECOND WEEK "The most exquisite delights of sense are pur- sued in the contrivance and plantation of gardens; which, with fruits, flowers, shades, fountains, and the music of birds that frequent such happy places, seem to furnish all the pleasures of the several senses, and with the greatest, or at least most natural perfections. . . . For this reason Epi- curus passed his life wholly in his garden: there he studied, there he exercised, there he taught his phil- osophy." — Sir William Temple. A midsummer garden, like a midsum- mer's dream, cannot keep from being riotous — an Arabian night pageant. Perennials and annuals, vivid with many suns, intense, discordant, will wrangle and disagree unless they are kept apart. It will require generalship not to allow the riot to degenerate into civil war. A well-known writer on gardens says that it is safe to plant all kinds of annuals together, as Nature is harmonious. But Nature is essentially natural and grows each flower in its natural environment, according 48 FEBRUARY to its natural bent. She does not graft and bud and hybridise; she does not make arti- ficial soil, or carry humus from her moist woods to mix with the sand of her desert plains. She does not bring plants from forest and stream, from field and marsh, from hill and hollow, from North and South, Holland and Japan, and grow them together in a space fifty by a hundred feet. Nature needs only instinct, but woman, when she steps in, must use her brains. A summer garden should be intimate and companionable. Whether it is near the house, or at a distance, it has this quality of coming close to one, of taking one into its confidence. But it is not to be seen at a glance of the eye; it has hidden places, cool places, and draws one to them ; it has secrets and lures one to discover them. A summer garden, with its warm, strong, pulsating colours, would tire the eye if laid out in full view. Annuals when planted in open, flat beds appear staring and super- ficial. They are so vivacious, volatile, and varied that they need a background or a screen. It is not easy to find ready-made pictur- 49 SUCCESS IN GARDENING esqueness on a small country lot; we must create it by a scheme of planting. Let the garden be on one side of the house and start from the vine-covered porch or terrace ; the background of the house will be becoming to the flowers. The beds near the house should be filled with cool-tinted flowers, in lavender or blue, pink, and soft corn-colour, such as primroses (yellow), snapdragons (yellow and pink), campanula mariesii and longi- styla, and perhaps the persici folia grandi- flora (violet and light blue), also cam- panula media (single lavender), veronica amethystina and incana (amethyst blue), lavender itself, aconitum wilsoni (violet blue), a few lilium candidum, larkspur in shell-pink or salmon-rose, and different shades of pinks or dianthus, the Violet Queen, the lilac diadematis flora plena. Yellow-pinks and blue-pinks should, of course, not be mixed ; one must decide which to have and choose between the dianthus Salmon Queen and the rose-coloured East- ern Queen, If the yellowish shade of pinks is selected, then one may plant against the house shrimp-pink lavatera or annual mal- low. so FEBRUARY The front edge of these beds may be bor- dered with a thick row of violet or lavender pansies, and the charming violas, the papilis (butterfly violet), Blue Perfection, and lutea splendens (yellow). Or one may have a border of the lovely Carpathian harebell (campanula carpatica) which grows six inches high and is a hardy peren- nial, with clear blue blooms during the en- tire season. There are also good shades of lavender and pink for these colour beds, among the foxgloves (digitalis). At one side of the garden, against a wall or fence (not a red brick wall), have a double row of hollyhocks in shades of salmon-rose, shrimp-pink, maroon and white; the bright rose tints may be pre- ferred to the shrimp shades, but they should not be mixed. The Allegheny is a beauti- ful variety of the double hollyhock, but I confess to a preference for the single varie- ties, with their superb colourings and good forms. For a summer garden have turf paths; they rest the eye. And plant shrubs, espe- cially those with ornamental and perma- nent foliage like Tartarian honeysuckle and viburnum tomentosum, forming vistas and 51 SUCCESS IN GARDENING turnings, something out of view, so that one may come suddenly upon a corner glowing with yellow bloom. Have in this corner all yellow and white flowers banked in green: golden-glow at the back, sunflowers, as- phodels, white hollyhocks and dahlias, yel- low Japanese iris, monkshood (aconitum lycoctonum), lilium elegans and candidum. California poppies, yellow and white day lilies, marigolds, white and yellow snap- dragons, white asters and larkspurs, while here and there a splendid spike of yucca filamentosa gives a strong accent. The tritoma or flame-flower mixes well with bronze, orange and maroon flowers in the shrubbery. Have somewhere, perhaps across the lower end of the garden, a straight, broad turf path, long enough to give perspective, with a goal of some kind at the end, a seat, arbour, or rustic tea-house. Have hedges of shrubs on either side of the path, and wide borders of flowers built up against the green. Here one will have an opportunity for effective planting. But restraint must be used in the choice of kinds and colours. It is a case for selection: several dozen varie- 52 FEBRUARY ties must not be crowded into one border. And the main difficulty will be not to have an emphatic clashing of shades among the reds, to avoid placing close together the scarlets, salmons, and purplish reds in gro- tesque array. Few arrangements are more striking than a double row of gladioli at the back of the border, but there are few flowers that har- monise with them; try white, orange and maroon flowers, certain shades of nastur- tiums, and possibly some lilies. Especially choose some of the beautiful new shades of gladioli, the soft, off-tints, and avoid the glaring scarlets and vermilions. Far distant from this group, may be massed a profusion of Shirley poppies, and as they self-sow they are permanent, and are some of the loveliest of the summer blooms. Many flowers combine in colour with the Shirley poppy, such as stocks, pinks, cornflowers, Meehan's mallow mar- vels. It would be easy to separate the opposing camps of reds by a section in blue and white : anchusa italica, Dropmore variety, delph- inium belladonna, formosum, and caelesti- num, monkshood (under shade), canter- 53 SUCCESS IN GARDENING bury bells, veronica longifolia, platycodon mariesi, white phlox and verbenas, hibis- cus, snapdragon, the dark blue and pure white Japanese iris, yucca filamentosa and lilium candidum. Have a group of yucca and Japanese iris at one end of this section, and one of del- phinium and lilium candidum at the other end, and between them the other blue and white flowers massed together. Or bank the tall plants at the back against green, and have the lower flowers in front. Among the lower blue flowers a few delicate pink dianthus may be scattered; and along the front edge a broad border of blue and pink forget-me-nots. The most successful gardens are the result of experience. Every year some offending colour will be transplanted to another part of the garden, borders will be altered, en- larged, simplified; some plants will be up- rooted, others added. Inharmonious col- ours, if not moved, may be modified by clumps of white flowers. White is the peacemaker of the garden. We want particularly to remember, in lay- ing out a summer garden, that it is easier to produce commonplace results with an- 54 FEBRUARY nuals than with perennials; that it will re- quire more thought to be distinctive. There are two ways of showing our individuality: either by a well-thought out scheme of plant- ing, or by the selection of choice varieties of flowers. It is a good rule not to allow one's flow- ers to go to pods to any extent, for the pur- pose of using the seeds. Flowers should be picked, and seeds bought, not from a local florist, but from reliable seedmen and nur- series. Do not buy ordinary varieties of flowers. Do not, above everything else, buy packets of mixed seeds, unless they are spe- cial colour mixtures, such as white and lav- ender, or dift'erent shades of rose pink, of yellow, or of salmon. But it is better to make one's own colour combinations. So- called mixtures are cheaper and necessarily poorer. Choice varieties of all flowers are the named varieties, and the great difference in quality, especially with seeds, is more than worth the slight difference in expense. As an example, sweet peas, which are in almost every summer garden, may be unusual or they may be commonplace; the small, pur- plish-pink kinds are worse than indifferent, 55 SUCCESS IN GARDENING while the grandiflora carmine, buff, maroon, primrose and deep rose have beauty and character. We do not want to keep in ruts. Of what advantage is it for horticulturists to produce thousands of new and beautiful va- rieties of flowers, if we still fill our gardens with ordinary plants? Let us leave behind the favourites of the carpet-bed period — the portulacas and pelargoniums, the balsams, coleus, cockscomb, candytuft and fuchsias, unless we grow the improved varieties in a picturesque tangle with a profusion of green or in masses of one variety and one colour, like the shell pink petunias. The geranium has a good claim to be kept in our window and veranda boxes, but why not select the new strains with large blooms and choice shades? Why not try two or three new varieties each year, and through selection and elimination attain individ- uality? Cut flowers from our own garden are one of the pleasures of the suburban or vacation place. We must remember to plant green herbs, grasses, and plants with good foliage, to mix with cut flowers; and also cultivate delicate, feathery blooms like baby's breath 56 I^M FEBRUARY (gypsophila) which give a light effect to the other flowers. Let no one think that because he has a small plot he cannot have a garden. Noth- ing is prettier than to see a twenty-five foot yard a mass of bloom. He can plant some- thing, even on ten feet of land, and have flowers, even in a soap box. 57 THIRD WEEK '*Hang up de fiddle an' de bow Take down de shovel an' de hoe." — With apologies to ole Joe! Foresight and preparedness save time and secure better results. In February we must look ahead; not only plan, but also prepare to take advantage of the first opportunities that spring may offer. If we are ready for the unexpected — and we know that spring is unreliable — we have taken a step toward success. We cannot garden without tools, we can- not dig, water, or weed without implements. For those who are starting a new home gar- den, I will give a list of tools with approxi- mate prices. It is not necessary to begin with a full set of everything that is conven- ient for garden work. Some things belong to the imperative " must," and others to the subjunctive " may." It is often possible to borrow or hire a hose or a roller. It so hap- pened that for several years our roller was 58 FEBRUARY the only one in our neighbourhood, and it was willingly and gladly loaned to many of the gardens and gardeners in the vicinity. A garden is a very human bond of interest. Flowers make fellows of us all. To see our wheelbarrow or mower taking familiar pos- session of our neighbour's lawn, enlarges our sphere of sympathy and our sense of sister- hood, and we almost grow to feel that gar- dens are not personal property, but should be shared with our vicinage. All the same, it is really indispensable to have a wheelbarrow and a mower, and I should be inclined to include them among the necessities. I will add two lists, the first of necessary tools, the second of garden luxuries. The prices on the first list may be increased, in some cases, to secure better quality, or larger sized tools. Those quoted are in most cases, for average quality, although some- times for the best grade. A local hardware store will usually have good tools at more reasonable prices than the garden-supply firms, with the exception of sprayers which are not carried by small dealers. 59 SUCCESS IN GARDENING NECESSARY GARDEN TOOLS Spade $ -65 Shovel 65 Fork 95 Rake, steel 45 Rake, wood 45 Trcfwel, steel 15 Pruning shears .65 Common hoe 45 Watering can, galvanized iron SO Hand sprayer 25 Hand weeding fork 25 Sod cutter 50 Wheelbarrow 2.25 Jute twine, 2 lbs 30 Lawn mower, good grade 9.00 Dibber 35 $17.80 CONVENIENT GARDEN TOOLS Roller, 225 pounds $10.50 Wheel hoe 2.35 Sprayer, auto S.50 Lawn mower, high grade (15 in. Pennsylvania) 12.00 Tree-pruning shears 8$ Garden hose, 80 feet 1^.00 Gardening gloves 25 Saw 65 Flower basket 350 Rubber plant-sprinkler 50 Rush basket for small tools 35 Pruning knife 75 $49.20 60 FEBRUARY If one already has the necessary garden tools, now is the time to see that they are in good condition : the lawn mower may need repairing; spades, cutter, saws may need to be sharpened. Some implements should perhaps be replaced by new ones. There should be a clean, dry place for keeping tools ; a corner of the cellar will be the most convenient spot for those who do not have a tool house, or stable. The best way to keep tools is to hang them on racks fastened to the wall, and the small tools on shelves. If possible they should be kept in a locked closet, as few things disappear with equal ease and inno- cence. One of the most important ways to be prepared, is to order in February all plants, shrubs, trees, and bulbs for spring plant- ing. Order early and secure good stock, and delivery at a specified date, whenever the beds will be ready. Planting may begin the middle of March in favourable seasons, but April is a surer time. If the borders are not already prepared, be sure not to plant be- fore the second or third week in April, as the beds must stand at least three to four weeks after they are made. 6i SUCCESS IN GARDENING Digging can probably be begun by the middle of March, and this will give time for the earth to settle and mellow before the plants are set out. If there should be a late frost, or the ground is not ready for plant- ing when the order arrives, the trees or plants may be heeled in — a trench dug, and the roots laid horizontally in the trench, close together, then covered with earth. Order from the best and most reliable nurseries — they need not necessarily be those that quote the highest prices. I have known successful results from bargain lots bought at department stores, but this is not a practice to be advised. One will be surer of results by always buying from well-known dealers and seedsmen. In ordering, it is a help to remember that five plants may be bought at the rate per ten, six at the dozen rate, twenty-five at the price per hundred, and two hundred and fifty plants at the thousand rate, provided they are of one kind. Flower and tree catalogues should be sent for now, studied, compared with a view to prices, specialties, and varieties. All nur- series do not have the same varieties — some make specialties of certain flowers, like 62 FEBRUARY roses, peonies, pansies; others deal almost exclusively in bulbs. Some firms are not merely growers, but also importers, and buy- ers from other nurseries ; they are middle- men, but are not always more expensive, and have the advantage of knowing the best growers of special trees or plants. No one person can know all reliable firms in the different localities and states, and any list must be incomplete and narrow. As a help to beginners, I will give a short and nec- essarily meagre list of those firms that have come under my attention and have proved satisfactory through either personal experi- ence, or the recommendation of friends. I shall note only those I know, but it does not follow^ because they have given satisfaction to us and our friends, that they are infalli- ble ; neither does it follow that there are not hundreds of other firms equally good, or even better. NURSERIES AND SEED DEALERS Bobbink & Atkins, Rutherford, N. J. Evergreens, shrubs, plants. Thomas Meehan & Sons, Germantown, Philadelphia, Pa. Evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs; specialties. 63 SUCCESS IN GARDENING Ellwangcr & Barry, Mt. Hope Nurseries, Rochester, N. Y. Fruits, trees, roses, and herbaceous plants. Bloodgood Nurseries, Flushing, N. Y. Evergreens, hedge plants, shrubs. Rhododen- drons, vines, trained fruit trees. Douglas Sons Co., Waukegan, Illinois. Evergreens and deciduous trees. Andorra Nurseries, Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pa. Evergreens. Isaac Hicks & Son, Westbury Station, Long Island, N. Y. Large trees, evergreens, scientific tree-movers. Elliott Nursery Co., 336 Fourth Ave., Pittsburg, Pa. Growers of specialties, and dealers in evergreens, shrubs, herbaceous perennials, roses. Arthur Cowes, Meadowvale Farm, Berlin, N. Y. Specialist in gladioli. George H. Peterson, Fair Lawn, New Jersey. Rose and peony specialist. S. G. Harris, 63 Hamilton PL, Tarrytown, N. Y. Roses, peonies, and evergreens. B. Farr, Indianapolis, Indiana. Specialties in Iris, peonies, and dahlias. Henry A. Dreer, 714 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, Pa. Plants, bulbs, seeds, aquatics, and general sup- plies. Hoopes Bro. and Thomas Co., West Chester, Pa. Rhododendrons, flowering trees, and shrubs. F. H. Horsford, Charlotte, Vermont. Trees, shrubs, vines, perennial plants, lilies. F. & F. Nurseries, Springfield, N. J. Trees, shrubs, and hedge plants. FEBRUARY William Toole &r Sons, Pansy Heights, Baraboo, Wisconsin. Pansy specialist. E. D, Sturtevant, 1150 E. Franklin Av., Hollywood, California. Specialist in aquatic plants. Edward Gillett, Southwick, Mass. Hardy ferns and wild flowers. Vaughan Seed Co., 14 Barclay St., New York and 86 Randolph St., Chicago, 111. Plants, bulbs, seeds. Franklin Brothers, Lake Forest, Illinois. Specialty in bulbs. W. Atley Burpee & Co., 475 North Fifth St, Phila- delphia, Pa. Reliable seeds. Stumpp & Walter Co., 50 Barclay St., New York. Seeds and general supplies. Fottler, Fiske, Rawson Co., 12 Faneuil Hall Sq., Boston, Mass. Plants, seeds, bulbs, and supplies. R. & J. Farquhar, 7 South Market St., Boston, Mass. Seeds, roots, bulbs, and supplies. C. G. van Tubergen Jr., Haarlem, Holland. American agent: E. J. Krug, 112 Broad St., New York. Dutch bulbs, and roots. B. G. Pratt Co., Mfg. Chemists, 50 Church St., New York. " Scalecide " for spraying. Vreeland Chemical Co., New Brunswick, N. J. "Vreeland Mixture" for spraying. Consumers' Fertilizing Co., Lawnmakers' Bldg., 42nd St. and Broadway, New York. " Consumers' Fertilizer " for lawns. 6S SUCCESS IN GARDENING FOREIGN FIRMS John Waterer & Sons, limited, Bagshot, Surrey, England. Rhododendrons a specialty. John Russell, Richmond, Surrey, England. Azaleas a specialty. Barr & Sons, 12 King St., Covent Garden, London. Irises and peonies, specialties. Cuthbert's Nurseries, Southgate, Middlesex, Eng- land. Azaleas a specialty. 66 FOURTH WEEK " But as he that passeth by Where, in all her jollity, Florafs riches in a row Do in seemly order grow. And a thousand flowers stand Bending as to kiss his hand . . . Long he pauseth doubting whether Of those fair ones he should gather. " So I wandering but erewhile Through the garden of this Isle, Saw rich beauties I confess. And in number numberless. Yea, so differing lovely too, That I had a world to do, Ere I would set up my rest, Where to choose and choose the best." — George Wither, (1615). This is the week for ordering trees and plants to be planted in the spring. An early order has the advantage of securing ^ood stock, but the plants should not be delivered until the proper time for setting them out, so that it is well to always state the exact date when the stock is to be deliv- ered. 67 SUCCESS IN GARDENING Some of the reliable varieties of shrubs, perennials, bulbs, and vines, are given in the following partial list, from which a selection may be made. The list is given merely as a suggestion, not in the least as final, and it would be well to compare it with the cata- logues. FLOWERING TREES Amygdalus (Almond) : communis flore roseo pleno; double rose flowers. Davidiana alba; single white. Davidiana rubra; single pink. CoRNUS (Dogwood; to be planted early in May) : Florida. rubra. Magnolia (to be planted in April) : conspicua. Kobus (Japanese). Lennei. macrophylla. soulangeana. stellata (Japanese). Persica (Peach) : alba plena. camelliaeflora plena. rosea plena. Pyrus (Crab) : Bechtel; double pink flowers. coronaria odorata; single, fragrant blush. floribunda; single white. Kaido; single white, and pink. 68 FEBRUARYS SHRUBS Azalea (to be planted in April) : AmcEna. Calendulacea. Ghent ( Pontica) . Indica alba. Mollis. Rhododendron (to be planted end of March) : Catawbiense (native), for planting in masses. Hybrid. album' elegans, blush-white. album grandiflorum ; blue-white. atrosanguineum ; blood red. Blandyanum; rosy pink. Charles Bagley; cherry-red. delicatissimum; blush white, shaded pink. Flushing; rose-scarlet. grandiflorum ; deep rose. H. H. H'unnewell; dark crimson. H. W. Sargent; brilliant crimson. Lady Clermont; deep pink. Michael Waterer; bright scarlet. Mrs. Milner; deep crimson. roseum elegans; rose. speciosum; bright pink. PERENNIAL PLANTS AcoNiTUM (Monkshood) : autumnale. lycoctonum, early. napellus. napellus albus. Sparks', tall. Wilson, tall. Anchusa Italica, Dropmare variety, gentian blue. 69 SUCCESS IN GARDENING Anemone (to be planted in April) : Japonica, alba; single, snow-white. Autumn Queen; deep rose. Coupe d'Argent; double, pure white. elegantissima ; semi-double, silvery pink. Geante Blanche; single, white. Lady Ardilaun; white. Prince Henry; double, dark rose. Queen Charlotte; semi-double, La France-pink. rosea elegans; single, silvery-rose. Whirlwind; semi-double, pure white. N'arcissiflora; cream coloured. Pennsylvanica ; white. Sylvestris flore pleno; double, white. Sylvestris grandiflora (fall-blooming) ; white. Campanula : carpatica. macrostyla. muralis, trailing, persicifolia. persicifolia, Moerheimi. rotundiflora. Campanula Media (Canterbury Bell), biennial: calycanthena, cup and saucer. Chrysanthemum : Boston. Cerise Queen. Golden Pheasant. Julia Lagravere. Model of Perfection. Delphinium : Belladonna. English mixed. Formosum. Formosum caelestinum. 70 FEBRUARY Delphinium — Continued. Gold medal hybrids, grandiflora. Hybridum Moerheimi. King of Delphiniums. Lamartin. Digitalis (Foxglove) biennial: canariensis. gloximinaeflora alba; white. grandiflora; pale yellow. Helianthus (Sun-Flower): Maxim'iliana. Meteor. Miss Mellish. multiflorus maximus. Funkia : coerulia; blu^. lanceolata; lilac. subcordata grandiflora; pure white. RUDBECKIA : "golden glow.'* maxima, nitida. Tritoma (Flame-Flower). ROSES Hybrid Perpetuals (to be planted in April) Anne de Diesbach; carmine-pink. Frau Karl Druschi; snow white. J. B. Clark; brilliant crimson. John Hopper; rose-carmine. Magna Charta; bright rose. Mad. Gabriel Luizet; silvery pink. Margaret Dickson; white. Marshall P. Wilder; carmine-crimson. Mrs. John Laing; soft pink. 71 SUCCESS IN GARDENING Hybrid Perpetuals — Continued. Paul Neyron; deep rose. Prince Camille de Rohan; crimson-maroon. Suzanne Marie Rodocanachi; rosy cerise. Ulrich Brunner; cherry red. Hybrid Teas : Belle Siebrecht; deep pink. Dean Hole; silvery pink, shaded salmon. Etoile de France; crimson, cerise center. General McArthur ; scarlet-crimson. Gruss an Teplitz; crimson, scarlet center. Jonkheer J. L. Mock; carmine and white. Kaiserin Augusta Victoria; creamy white. Killarney; flesh pink. Killarney White. La France; silvery rose. Lyon-Rose; coral, chrome center. Mad. Abel Chatenay; carmine-pink. Mad. Caroline Testout; salmon-pink. Mrs. A. R. Waddell; apricot and salmon. Teas: Duchess de Brabant; rose-pink. Harry Kirk; sulphur-yellow. Marie van Houtte; lemon yellow and white. Mrs. B. R. Cant; silvery and deep rose. Souvenir de Pierre Notting; apricot to golden yel- low. Wm. R. Smith; peachy blush. Rosa Rugosa and its hybrids: Agnes Emily Carman; crimson. Blanc double de Coubert. Conrad F. Meyer; double, silvery rose. Mad. Georges Bruant; semi-double, white. Nova Zembla; double, white. Rugosa alba; single, white. Rugosa rubra; single, crimson. Rosa Spinosissima, tall bush rose, single yellovy flowers. 79 FEBRUARY Climbers (to be planted in May) : Dawson; double, pink. Dorothy Perkins; double, shell pink. Evergreen Gem; double, buflF. Gardenia ; cream. Hiawatha; ruby carmine. Jersey Beauty; single, pale yellow. Lady Gay; double, cerise-pink. Lady Penzance; single trailer, copper. Lord Penzance; single trailer, fawn. Manda's Triumph; double, white. Multiflora; double, white. Philadelphia Rambler; double, crimson. Reine Marie Henriette; cherry. Tausendschon ; double, carmine-pink. White Dorothy; double, white. Wichuraiana ; single, white. TUBERS AND BULBS Dahlia (to be planted in June) : Cactus, Aurora; pink- Dorothy; pink. Kriemhilda; pink. Mrs. Macmillan; pink. Queen Alexandra; pink. Mont Blanc; white. Schwan; white. Snowstorm; white. Crepuscule; yellow. Goliath; yellow, tinted Sainton. Mrs. de Lucca; yellow and orange. T. G. Baker; yellow. Mrs. John Hays Hammond; old gold, shaded bronze. Princess ; lilac. Advance ; scarlet. n SUCCESS IN GARDENING Dahlia, Cactus — Continued. J. H. Jackson; dark red. Souvenir de G. Douzon; bright red. The " Century " single, in different colours. Peony-flowering : Giant Edelweiss; white. Queen Wilhelmina ; white. Glory of Baarn; pink. La Riante; pink. Gladiolus (to be planted in JuneXs America ; flesh pink. Augusta; white. Blanche; white. Blue Jay; royal blue. Cracker Jack; dark red. Dawn; delicate salmon. Deuil de Camot; maroon and black. Evolution; delicate pink. Heliotrope; violet and purple. La Candeur; creamy- white, marked pink. Octaroon; salmon-pink. Peace; pure white. Rosella; light rose. "Silver Trophy Strains," in lilac, heliotrope, and clematis. Sulphur King; clear yellow. Triom'phe de Caen; white. Victory; yellow. White cloud; pure white. White Lady; white. ISMENE CaLATHINA. Iris (to be planted in May) : Germanica. Aurea; yellow. Black Knight; violet and purple-black. Ciengialti; blue. Dalmatica; light lavender. Florentina; white. 74 FEBRUARY Iris, Germanica — Continued. Gracchus; brown and yellow. Innocenza; pure white. Maori King; veined, yellow and chocolate. Mile. Almira; lavender-blue. Mme. Chereau; white, edged blue. Mme. De Baun, pale yellow. Queen of May; pale rose. Silver King. Koempferi (Japanese), double and single. Pseudacorus; yellow. Pseudacorus albus; white. Sibirica, Orientalis; dark blue. Snow Queen ; snowy white. Lily (Japanese grown) : Auratum. Browni. Excelsum. Hansoni. Henryi. Marhan. Speciosum album. Speciosum Melpomene. Speciosum rubrum. Tigrinum. MoNTBRETiA (to be planted in May). VINES Annual (to be planted in May) : Coboea Scandens; purple flowers. Cypress vine; scarlet and white. Humulus (Japanese Hop). Hyacinth Bean. Ipomoea. Evening Gloi-y; lilac. Grandiflara (Moon Flower) ; white. 75 SUCCESS IN GARDENING Annual, Ipomcesi— Continued. Imperial Japanese; all colours. Setosa; rose. Maurandia ; blue. Morning Glory; blue and pink. Thunbergia; trailing. Evergreen : Ampelopsis Lowii; Japanese Ivy. Ampelopsis Veitchi; Boston Ivy. English Ivy; plant against a North wall. Euonymous Radicans. Perennial : Actinidia Arguta; white flowers. Akebia Quinata; violet-brown. Apios Tuberosa; dark purple. Aristolochia Sipho (Dutchman's Pipe) ; brown. Bignonia grandiflora; orange-red. Bignonia radicans; red and orange. Celastrus Scandens; yellow, orange fruit. Clematis, Henryi; white. Clematis Jackmani; purple. Clematis Montana rubens; pink. Clematis paniculata; white. Jasmine nudiflorum; yellow. Jasmine officinale; white. Kudzu vine; rose-purple. Lonicera Halliana (Hall's Honeysuckle)'. Polygnonum Baldschuanicum ; white. Schizophragma Hydrangeoides, (climbing Hydrangea) ; white. Wistaria alba; white. Wistaria chinensis; lilac. AQUATICS Nymph^a (Water lily) : Aurora; copper yellow. Gladstoniana ; white. 76 FEBRUARY Nymph^a — Continued. Glorlosa ; carmine. James Brydon; rosy crimson. Laydekeri lilacea. Laydekeri rosea. Laydekeri purpurata. Marleacea carnea; pink. Marleacea chromatella; yellow. Marleacea ignea; deep carmine. Marleacea rosea; pink. Odorata Caroliniana ; white. Odorata sulphurea; yellow. Robinsoni; orange-red. Tuberosa Richardsoni; white. Tuberosa rosea; pink. iWmi. Falconer ; bright garnet. 77 MARCH First Week "When the first bright rays of March appeared, the Snowdrop, heroic daughter of the hoar-frost, sounded the reveille." — Maurice Maeterlinck, "The snowdrop and the violet, Arose from the ground with warm rain wet, And their breath was mixed with fresh odour, sent From the turf, like the voice and the instrument." — Percy B. Shelley. " Some Ignorants are against pruning, suffering their trees to run and ramble to such a head of confusion, as neither bears well nor fair." — John- Reid (1683). FLOWERS THAT BLOOM IN THE MONTH OF MARCH ARE: Snowdrops Jasmin Scillas Early crocuses Chionodoxas Bloodroot Anemone blanda Grape hyacinth (Muscari Iris reticulata azureum) Magnolia stellata March is the month for repairing the de- structive work of winter, and preparing for 79 SUCCESS IN GARDENING the productive work of spring. It is the time to cut, dig, enrich — to lay up capital for future dividends. As April is planting month, March is pruning month. Prune all your trees before the sap starts up. Magnolias, if pruned at all, should be pruned from the bottom. Apple trees should be kept free of water shoots that spring up like a straight fringe on the head of the tree and on some of the large branches. These water shoots draw the goodness from the tree and lessen the blooms and fruit. Dead branches and twigs on all trees should be carefully cut out; weak and interfering branches and suckers should also be removed, and any branches that are super- fluous to the shape or fruit-bearing qualities of the tree. They should be cut close to the limb or trunk, and the cut be parallel to it, and smooth. If it has been necessary to remove a branch larger than two inches in diameter, the wound or cut surface should be covered with a coat of oil paint the colour of the bark or as near to it as possible. I have seen trees dotted with spots of red and bright green paint that destroy the beauty of a strong trunk. Now, too, is the time to prune all the 80 MARCH hardy varieties of roses, before the sap runs up freely, but one must be sure that all dan- ger of a sharp return to freezing weather is past. Cut out all dead and weak shoots, and canes that cross, and in pruning always leave the last eye on the cane pointing out- ward, so as to prevent as much as possible the crossing and interfering of the shoots. Weak plants that have suffered much from the winter, should be pruned almost to the ground, or down to strong wood. Roses that have been recently planted, perhaps the previous fall, need severe pruning, but vigor- ous, well-established plants require less dras- tic treatment. If size and quality in the blooms are wanted, cut down all shoots to the fourth eye above the ground ; if numbers, leave five or six eyes. This rule applies to hybrid perpetuals. Rugosa roses and climbers should be pruned as little as possible, merely remov- ing dead and weak wood, and cutting off the long shoots of the climbers slightly at the ends. Rugosas and climbers bloom best on year-old wood, while the bloom of the hy- brids is on new wood. Do not prune the spring-flowering shrubs until after they have finished blooming. 8i SUCCESS IN GARDENING But, late summer and fall-flowering shrubs, may be pruned now. Hydrangea panicu- lata, if used as a hedge should be cut down one third; this will give large heads of bloom. If the hydrangea is in bush form, cut off the tops; there is not much danger that it will grow too dense. Standard hy- drangea may be pruned from the bottom, and also magnolia soulangeana which sprawls near the ground; but do not prune magnolia stellata. Altheas are also late flowering shrubs and should be pruned now. Some of the following vines may be trimmed early in the spring, but do not re- quire as drastic pruning as the shrubs. Climbing hydrangea needs heavier pruning than the rest; clematis and bignonia kadi- cans moderate cutting: honeysuckle light trimming. Actinidia arguta should also be pruned now. If one intends to transplant native shrubs from the woods, they should be root-pruned on a mild day in March when the frost is sufficiently out of the ground for digging. It is not usual to root-prune shrubs, but the process would add to the success of trans- planting them. At best this matter of mov- 82 MARCH ing shrubs from the wild is of doubtful economy and feasibility. Wild shrubs are accustomed to wild conditions, to moist woods and thickets, bogs, and swampy mead- ows. Take them out of their usual environ- ment, and they not only do not flourish so well, but they do not look so well. They have lost their setting. Nursery grown shrubs have been raised under the same general conditions that will surround them when transplanted, and the change will not be so great a shock. They will not look or feel out of place. But it is pleasant to try experiments, and there is a fascination about going to the woods and discovering the lovely wild azalea or the feathery clematis. We have brought mountain laurel from the woods of our Connecticut farm where it grows in en- trancing profusion, to our New Jersey gar- den, and its scant pale flowers make no effect outside of their haunts. But the change of climate may not have suited their New Eng- land constitution. Take the shrubs of your locality. The rhododendron catawbiense, glowing and superb in its native mountains of the South, is not hardy in the latitude of New York. 83 SUCCESS IN GARDENING The maximum from the Pennsylvania mountains is more reliably hardy in a north- ern climate. In New Jersey we have the azalea and dogwood, steeple-bush spiraea, magnolia virginiana, elderberry, and barberry, the benjamin bush with its fragrant, small yel- low flowers, and several varieties of vibur- nums, the maple-leaved (aceri folium) and the nannyberry (lentago). These shrubs of the wilds will have a bet- ter chance of fruitful life by root-pruning. If the transplanting is to be done during the last week of April, now, early in March, pre- pare them for the change, and let them get accustomed to this sudden lopping of their roots. Draw a circle four or five feet in diameter; dig out the earth around the cir- cumference to a depth of about three feet, depending on the length of the roots. Cut and bend the roots so as to keep them within the circle, and cut under part of the way. Then fill in the earth again, and let the shrub recover from its surprise. Six weeks will help it to readjust itself. A large tree needs six months. Order now the manure for spring use, from any farmer, builder, or dealer who MARCH keeps a large number of horses, and cows. Twice-turned manure is sufficiently good for the garden, and costs about two dollars and a half per ton; a two-horse load contains a little over a ton. Manure turned three times is even better, and costs somewhat more. Cow manure, at three dollars a load, will be needed for roses, and for making new rose beds. Those who have a bam or stable of their own may have the manure drawn out and piled in some convenient place for later use, but only the old manure should be taken. If this is done while the ground is still hard, the manure may be drawn by waggon, but if the thaw has set in and the earth is soft, a wheelbarrow must be used for carting. The best and most hygienic way to keep ma- nure is in a covered pit. If it is piled in a heap out of doors as late as April, it should not be left longer than ten days without be- ing spread. A pile of manure is one of the main breed- ing places of flies, but ten days are required for the eggs to mature. If the manure is spread, the air and sunlight quickly dry the moisture and the embryo flies are destroyed. So that it is safe not to draw out more ma- ss SUCCESS IN GARDENING nure than will be needed for use before the middle of April. And, after that, cart it out as it is required for fertilising the bor- ders. Another point to remember is that when manure is piled on a corner of the lawn and allowed to stand for two weeks, the grass will be entirely killed out, leaving nothing but bare earth. Unless one has a special, out- of-the-way place reserved for manure, it is well to place boards under the heap for the protection of the grass, although even this precaution will not entirely prevent the burning out of the lawn. As the fall is the time when the largest amount of fertilising and mulching will be required, it will not be necessary to draw out now, or to order from a dealer, more than a small pile for spring use^ and for making new flower beds. 86 SECOND WEEK "To dig in the mellow soil — to dig moderately, for all pleasure should be taken sparingly — is a great thing." — Charles Dudley Warner. " As soon as the frost is out of the ground," is a convenient phrase that cannot be ticketed with a definite date. It may ar- rive early in the calendar or late, the first or the last week in March, according to the season. There can be no hard and fast rule about it; I have known as extreme a varia- tion as four weeks from one season to an- other, in the same locality. Two weeks is a normal difference, and it is safe to say that no two seasons are alike, or date from the same day. As soon, then, as the frost is out of the ground, and the earth not too soft to dig, the flower beds and borders should be made for fall planting, or for spring planting if one is found unprepared. But it is well to make in the fall the beds for spring-plant- ing, and in the spring the beds for fall- 87 SUCCESS IN GARDENING planting. This gives several months for the earth to settle and mellow, and the re- sults will be better than if the plants are set out in freshly made soil. In staking out a bed or border, except for a formal garden, do not have straight lines or square shapes. Give motion, spring, and sweep to the lines — let the eye be carried along by curves. The edges may curve in, or curve out; the beds may be triangles, or half-circles, they may be round, oblong, or elliptic, they may have six sides or three, but they must not be stiff and hard. The regular, straight lines of a formal garden are softened by the border of box. After determining the size and shape of the bed, mark it out with stakes, and if the line is curving the stakes must be placed about a foot apart. Pass a string around the outside of the row of stakes, two inches from the ground and with a square spade cut a line in the sod following the string. Then cut under and lift off the sod in square sections the size of the spade, and pile them at one side to be used for filling in the bed. The preparation of the bed will depend entirely upon the kind of flowers that are MARCH to be planted. For the usual run of small plants, dig down eighteen inches ; if the soil is clayey, mix it with one-fourth sand. Pulverise the earth and mix in a good quantity of well-rotted manure; add a layer of rich garden soil or dark top soil. For larger plants, like peonies, dig down two feet, and have a rich, deep soil. Beds that are intended for rhododen- drons, azaleas, evergreens, and other plants that require underdrainage, should be dug out to the depth of four feet. The lower two feet of earth should be removed en- tirely and not used. At the bottom of the excavation put a layer two feet thick of broken stone or bricks ; on top of the stone, a layer of ashes and the sods with the grass side down, unless they are needed for sodding or repairing the lawn. Pulverise the earth and mix with it about one-fourth its bulk of well-rotted manure, broken up so that there will be no lumps in it. Fill the trench with this well-prepared soil, and on the top put a layer of rich mould or muck from the heap; the earth should be raised at least four inches above the surrounding ground. Probably, before planting, it will be necessary to add another layer of soil on 89 SUCCESS IN GARDENING top, as the rains will settle and pack down the earth. Roses do not need underdrainage unless the position is low and water collects on the ground, but they must have a thoroughly prepared, porous soil. One should dig down eighteen inches for roses, and use one-third or one- fourth of well-rotted cow manure, pulverised and mixed with the earth. The lawn now claims our attention. If we want a soft, green-sward which will not run into a brown patch, the dead grass should be raked out, a good fertiliser put on, grass seed sown, holes filled in and patched, and the lawn rolled. When the lawn is not well drained, the water frequently stands in pools after heavy rains and melting snow, and the land turns sour. This condition is easily recognised by the eaten, mothy, and mottled appearance of the lawn, showing spots of sodden brown earth and patches of fine swampy grass. A good remedy is to sweeten and disinfect it by scattering broad- cast some oyster shell lime, or water slacked hydrated lime, or any other good garden lime. Use half a ton to an acre, at eight dollars per ton. All wood ashes from the winter fires 90 MARCH should be kept; they are the best stimulant for grass or flowers. One should have some boxes placed in an unmolested corner of the cellar, and give strict orders that the ashes from the fireplaces shall be emptied into them and carefully kept. Whether our hearths are cleaned once a day, or week, or month, or once a winter, the ashes must never be thrown on the common coal ash heap. The more open fires one has, and the more wood one burns, the better and brighter will the garden be in spring. But if there is only a small quantity of ashes, reserve it for the roses. One may, of course, buy a barrel of Canada hard-wood ashes for two dollars and a half,^ but it is better to buy bone meal, which comes in hundred pound bags, at two dollars the bag. It can be obtained from local dealers or from nurseries that carry fertilisers. We have had good results from using it, and it is more reliable for the ama- teur than the ashes of commerce. Both ashes and bone meal are sown broadcast ; choose a still day, as the powder is so fine that it blows in every direction. 1 Henry A. Dreer, Philadelphia, Pa., and other nurseries. 91 SUCCESS IN GARDENING Allow about five or six hundred pounds to an acre; and watch the skies for a threat- ened rain which will wash the fertiliser into the ground. A new fertiliser recommended by a gar- den authority is the Consumers' Fertiliser, manufactured by the Consumers' Fertilising Co. It is said to be good either for work- ing into a new lawn, or for top-dressing an established lawn in the spring. For the yearly dressing, 300 to 400 pounds an acre will be sufficient. After the fertiliser has been thoroughly washed in by the rains, towards the end of March or early April, sow a good mixture of grass seed broadcast over the entire lawn. All reliable seedmen have good grass mixtures; we have used Dreer's evergreen lawn grass ; Farquhar's and the Stumpp and Walter Co.'s mixtures are also dependable. Use at least half a bushel to a lawn or plot one hundred by fifty feet; a bushel would be even better. The price is from four to five dollars a bushel. Mix with this two or three quarts of fine white clover seed. Un- der trees, and in shady nooks, use " Shady Place " grass seed, a few quarts at twenty- five cents a quart. Or one may make one's 92 MARCH own mixture of red top, Rhode Island bent, white clover, and some of the fes- cues, sheep, meadow, and herd. Sow the grass seed on a day when there is no wind, and when there are signs of a threatened shower; go over the plot twice, at right angles, so as to cover every spot. A good rain will wash it into the ground, and prevent the birds from picking it off before it has had a chance to germinate. The birds have had many a good meal off of our freshly sown seeds. The next step is to roll the lawn, not on a wet day when the little seeds might stick to the roller ; roll the plot once a week, after a rain, when the heaviest moisture has dried. Every year there will be places in an old lawn where the grass has died out. Patch all such holes and thin spots; cut out the dead grass, sprinkle fresh earth on top, fill- ing in the hole, and sow grass seed, or use sods. Beat down and tamp the place, and water it twice or three times a week, es- pecially the new sodding. If there are hol- low places where the water settles, cut and lift the sod, and fill in fresh garden soil un- derneath, enough to round up the surface and allow for tamping down. 93 THIRD WEEK "My advice is to take the greatest care and pains in preserving your trees from the worst disease . . . I can prescribe no other remedy than to prune your trees as close as you can, especially the tainted wood, and then to wash them' very clean with a wet brush, so as not to leave one shell upon them that you can discern. Without these cares and diligences, you had better root up any trees that are infected, renew all the mould in your borders, and plant new sound trees." — William Temple (1685). After the lapse of over two centuries no better advice can be given than that of Sir William Temple. Our trees suffer from the same diseases, and we use the same methods to fight them, with improvement only in our appliances and remedies. Science has not eliminated disease, but has discovered how to keep it under control, and in revenge nature invents new plagues. The San Jose scale still attacks our trees, and our advice still is to cut away as far as possible all affected parts, and to spray. The best time to spray is in the fall, but if it was omitted last November, then all 94 MARCH fruit trees and shrubs that have become in- fected must be sprayed in early spring. Select a day when the ground is sufficiently firm to allow a waggon on the lawn, when there is no wind, and the temperature is above the freezing point — not a frequent combination of conditions. Lilacs, pyrus japonica, flowering peach, crab, and al- mond, apple-trees, and purple beech, almost all shrubs and trees in a garden, except ever- greens and privet, are subject to this insid- ious pest. But it is a serious menace only to ornamental shrubs and fruit-trees. Or- dinary shade trees, like maples, are never badly infected, excepting very young trees. The notorious San Jose scale is an insect so small that it is no more, in appearance, than a black or grey speck the size of a pin- head, and only a practised eye can recognise it. But it multiplies with the rapidity of bacteria, reproducing itself at the rate of about ten million a day. It rapidly covers a branch or twig, sucks and lives on its sap, until the branch withers and dies, and gradu- ually the devastating army of specks spreads over the entire tree or shrub unless checked in time. There is but one reliable remedy, " Scale- 95 SUCCESS IN GARDENING cide," and if used as soon as the pest makes its appearance, there will be no difficulty in keeping the tree in good condition. Trees on which the scale has once fastened, should be sprayed every year, preferably in Octo- ber or November; but any time will do, be- tween October and the last of April, if not done in freezing weather. The surest way is to have the trees sprayed by a reliable gardener; almost any intelligent man, who has worked for several years in a garden, knows how to spray, and has the necessary appliances. A barrel fitted with a good hand-power pump, and a pressure gauge fitted to the air cylinder, twenty to forty feet of hose, ac- cording to the size of the trees, and an eight or ten foot extension rod with the finest nozzle — this is the sum of the outfit. If the nozzle is put on with a slanting el- bow, one can more easily reach around the branches. Spray first the outside of the tree on all sides, up to the topmost branches, working from the extreme ends of the branches to the centre of the tree. Drench the tree so that not a twig escapes the bath. Then if the tree is high or close, so that the spray 96 MARCH does not penetrate, climb into the inside and spray from the centre. Scalecide comes in barrels and cans; a five-gallon can costs $3.75 ; the price of ten gallons is $6.75. It is difficult to say how much is needed, as the quantity depends entirely on the size of the tree. We have used at the rate of about one-half gallon to a large ap- ple tree; the scalecide is diluted in the pro- portion of six or seven gallons of scalecide to one hundred gallons of water. Shake the can of scalecide well, fill the spray tank nearly full of plain water, add six or seven gallons of scalecide to every hun- dred gallon's of water. Stir thoroughly un- til once mixed; after that do not stir it. The temperature of the water should be about 70° Fahrenheit; not colder than 40°, or warmer than 100°. Pour scalecide into the water, not water into the scalecide, and if it fails to mix prop- erly, do not use it, but exchange it for a good can. Scalecide is a petroleum oil combined with vegetable oils chemically treated so as to be soluble in water, and when properly mixed it should not show any free oil floating on top, but should make a white, milky solution. 97 SUCCESS IN GARDENING For small trees or shrubs a much simpler and smaller outfit will be sufficient. There are good tank or barrel sprayers holding from three to five gallons, which cost from five to twelve dollars. Knapsack sprayers are more convenient, and cost from seven to twelve dollars. Hand atomisers and con- tinuous sprayers come as low as from fifty cents to a dollar and a half, but they re- quire a much longer time to do the work. The Auto-spray is a serviceable machine; it can be slung over the shoulder like a knap- sack spray, but is less expensive. The price, as with all of the sprayers, varies ac- cording to the number of adjustments and whether the tank is of brass or galvanised. The auto is priced from five to seven dollars. During the freezing and thawing of March days, the driveways and roads will have grown soft and full of ruts. They must be gone over ,with a fine iron rake, first with the teeth and then with the back, and should be raised slightly in the middle, making a rounding surface, so as to allow the rain water to drain off at the sides. The edges of the grass along the drive should be trimmed off evenly with a cutter. It may be found necessary to have one or MARCH more loads of fine crushed stone (at three dollars a load) added to replace what has been washed away; this should be packed down, to make a hard surface, with a hand or horse roller. The nursery bed should be spaded over and enriched at a time when it is compara- tively empty. In the fall, the larger part of the perennials were probably transferred to the border, and now would be a favourable time for the work. But if the transplant- ing to permanent beds was left until the spring, then the spading of the nursery bed, must be deferred until April or May. 99 FOURTH WEEK "And the spring arose on the garden fair, Like the spirit of Love felt everywhere; And each flower and herb on Earth's dark breast Rose from the dreams of its wintry rest." — Percy B. Shelley. "II faut cultiver notre jardin." — Voltaire. The winter mulching may be taken off the hardy borders by the end of March or early in April, if the season is normal. With a large iron fork, lift off the top layer of leaves, and then, very carefully so as not to disturb the roots or bulbs, work the lower layer of manure or mulch into the earth, using a short-handled fork if the plants are small and close, or a rake if they are far apart. A green hand should not be allowed to do this without oversight, for it needs discretion and a light touch. The top layer of leaves that is taken off the beds should be added to the loam heap ; they rot and disintegrate with the rains, and 100 MARCH make the richest garden muck, valuable to add as a top layer to old beds, or to mix with the earth in newly made borders. Turn the heap once a year to make the best kind of loam; it is the gold mine of the garden. Some of the first beds to be uncovered are the hybrid perpetual rose beds. As soon as the mulching has been removed and the earth loosened, sprinkle wood ashes over the bed; the rains will wash the fertiliser into the ground, stimulate the growth, and intensify the colour of the blooms. As each border is uncovered, and the earth lightened, the edges must be evened with a cutter so as to smooth all ragged and overgrown lines and make clean edges. Planting, too, may be begun during the last week of March, if the season is ad- vanced, so as to lighten the rush of work that comes in April. In fact planting may be done, in a favourable season, from the middle of March until June. Among the plants that may be set out early are rho- dodendrons and magnolias. Rhododendrons do not flourish in beds with other plants. They not only require different treatment, but they also dwarf and lOI SUCCESS IN GARDENING disagree with any and all flowers. They are the autocrats of the garden, and must be kept apart. The best arrangement is to mass from six to two dozen in a border, set five feet apart. Or plant them singly in holes five feet in diameter. As explained earlier, the ground should have been care- fully prepared beforehand, if not several months, at least several weeks before plant- ing, to allow the soil to mellow. If the beds are not ready, postpone planting until May. The beds must be rich and well-drained as described under the second week in March. They must be dug down four feet, filled in at the bottom with two feet of broken stone, and with ashes or sods on top. If the soil is clayey, lighten it with one- fourth sand; there should be two feet of rich soil mixed with pulverised and well- rotted manure. The top layer should be surface soil raised several inches above the ground level. Well established herbaceous perennials may be divided now, if this was omitted last September. The early fall is the best season; the last of March the second-best. Phlox, golden glow, rudbeckia, hardy chrysanthemums, and other hardy peren- 102 MARCH nials, after three seasons of bloom, may be taken up, the roots separated, and reset, after the beds have been enriched. Del- phinium should be divided or transplanted in the spring. I often recall the saying of a clever woman who is both an old-fashioned wife and a new woman, a home-maker and a suffragist, which is a combination not mu- tually exclusive : " You must have," she ex- claimed, " either money or fuss ! " This is true of almost everything. If we want things we must pay for them — either with money or with patience and work. The easiest, quickest, best, and also the most expensive way to have a garden of peren- nials is to buy the plants. The cheapest way is to raise the plants from seeds; these may be sown now, indoors, or they may be sown outdoors from April to Aug- ust, according to latitude, locality, climate, elevation — and opinion. Each one must decide for himself or her- self which method to adopt; I should choose to sow my seeds outdoors because I could not give sufficient time to rearing a healthy and numerous family of seedlings. But watching and working in the window 103 SUCCESS IN GARDENING garden has more of profit and pleasure than playing bridge or watching for bargain days; and there are some who love to fuss over and fondle their flower babies. All of these happy people, it is averred by the adept, can have better plants of both peren- nials and annuals, by starting the seed in- doors. There are some descriptions of indoor seed raising that would discourage the be- ginner from ever attempting it. I would recommend a simpler method, with patience under possible failures ; take chances on suc- cess with less outlay of worry, but be pre- pared to lose some plants. Have a table, that is past being injured, in front of a sunny window in a room that is lived in, and therefore of equable tem- perature, the kitchen, perhaps. Have pans, or flats which may be soap boxes cut down to a depth of three or four inches with holes in the bottom. Place broken earthenware or stones in the bottom for drainage, an inch, or inch and a half deep; over this put a thin layer of coarse earth. The inch and a half of top soil should be good, enriched garden earth with a little sand added. Or if one cannot take soil from the garden beds, 104 MARCH leaf mould and loam from the heap may be used and mixed with sand to make it porous. The soil should be sifted in, and then pressed down, packed firmly, and smoothed with a piece of board which has a fitted handle. Scatter the finest seed broadcast, then cover with an eighth of an inch of earth. For larger seeds, scratch a shallow trench in the earth, and plant them two inches apart in the row; and always label the rows or pans. After covering with earth, the seeds should be watered, either through a piece of cotton cloth spread over the pan, or by placing the pan in a larger receptacle or ves- sel of water. The pans may then be cov- ered with a piece of glass to prevent evapo- ration. As soon as the little plants are above ground, and large enough to be handled, they should be picked out with a small amount of soil attached. A knife is con- venient to use, as no other implement is suf- ficiently small; then carefully separate the soil from the tiny roots, and replant in other pans one or two inches apart. Until they begin to grow in their new quarters they should be shaded with newspaper; and after 105 SUCCESS IN GARDENING they have outgrown the pans, they must be transferred into pots, before they are trans- planted out-of-doors, the perennials in the nursery row, the annuals in the border. After all this trouble we must remember that species only, not varieties can be repro- duced from seed. If one wants a plant true to name, colour, shade, it must be repro- duced by cuttings. Seeds from a certain shade of purple pansies will produce pansies of every colour; seeds from yellow dahlias will produce white, red, and yellow dahlias. There is a certain charm in uncertainty and the unexpected, but if a particular colour and variety of flower is desired, one must either reproduce by cuttings, or buy the small plants. The same method serves for raising both perennials and annuals from seeds, but the seeds of perennials, and also the hard seeds of annuals like cannas, must be soaked for twenty- four hours before planting; hot water is preferable to cold, and the vessels should be placed where they will keep warm. Raising seedlings in cold frames is easier than by the indoor method. Take a pack- ing box three or four inches deep, knock out the bottom, push it firmly into the earth, io6 MARCH place a layer of clinckers, ashes, or small stones at the bottom for drainage, and fill in with good soil similar to that for the indoor pans. The sowing is done in the same way as described for indoors, and the seeds are watered through a cloth. Cover the frames with glass sashes, and in warm weather with narrow slats. The small plants will need merely to be thinned out, or trans- planted once. Always buy the best seeds ; the difference in value is double the difference in cost. If conditions are not favourable for raising seedlings in the house or in a cold frame, it will be better to wait and sow the annuals out of doors in May, the perennials in June. In selecting flowers to raise from seed, it is well to choose those that are not of many discordant colours. Dahlias, for in- stance with their clash of colour, should be raised from tubers of named varieties planted out-of-doors. But flowers of few or harmonious shades, like cosmos, delphinium, snapdragons, nico- tiana, and others that reproduce true to name, it is safe to raise from seed. 107 lAPRIL First Week " The dayes begin to lengthen apace ; the forward Gardens give many a fine Sallet; and a nose-gay of violets is a present for a Lady ; the Prim-Rose is now in his Prime, and the trees begin to bud. . . . Now is Nature as it were waking out of her sleep." —Breton (1626). ** Brave old flowers ! You Garden Primroses, Cowslips, Hyacinths, Crocuses, Lilies-of-the-Valley, Forget-me-nots, Daisies, Narcissuses, Anemones — it is through you that the months that come before the leaf-time — February, March, April — translate into smiles which men can understand the first news and the first mysterious kisses of the sun! . . ." — Maurice Maeterlinck. FLOWERS THAT BLOOM IN THE MONTH OF APRIL ARE: Daffodils Narcissus Crocuses Hyacinths Iris pumila Early tulips Pansies Grape hyacinths Forget-me-nots Phlox subulata, and stellaria. amoena Violets Anemone patens Primroses Double daisies Magnolia soulangeane Magnolia conspicua Forsythia Pyrus japonica Flowering almond Flowering plum Cornus m'ascula 109 SUCCESS IN GARDENING April is one of the fullest months of the garden year. Work of every kind crowds in to be done. If the season is late, the work allotted for March will have been pushed along into April. Many of the flower beds still have their winter protection, bulbs, peonies, and other perennial plants. These must be uncov- ered, the fine under layer of mulching forked in, and the earth lightened. The edges of the beds must be evened with the cutter, to straighten ragged lines and make a clean curve. Remove the covering from the half-hardy roses, and prune them. If any of the roses are budded or grafted be careful not to al- low suckers to grow up from the stock be- low the graft. They should be cut as far be- low the surface as possible, by pressing the shears down in the earth. When Manetti stock is used it is sometimes difficult even for an experienced gardener to detect the difference between the stock and the budded plant. Amateurs should always have roses budded on the briar, which is so different in its small, light foliage and the colour of the stem, that it can easily be detected. Budded roses are larger and more beauti- IIO APRIL ful than roses grown on their own roots, and are worth the risk of allowing one or two plants to run to the stock through inad- vertence. But it would be advisable for the beginner to have part of his roses on their own roots, and part budded stock; then if he finds he can easily handle the budded plants, he may increase that line of his roses. Leave the covering on the rhododendrons until May. They need protection from the cold of winter, the changes of spring, and the heat of mid-summer; only two months of free air at the roots are allowed them — May and June. But if properly cared for, there is no need of losing more than an occasional plant after an unusually severe winter. If one is planning to set out climbing roses, now is the time to plant the poles on which to train them. Red cedar poles are the only durable ones and they can be had from local farmers at seventy-five cents each, for twenty-five foot poles, nine inches in diameter ; shorter poles cost less, and this price includes cartage. The poles should not be trimmed close, but have a few inches of the twigs, and all the bark left on, in or- III SUCCESS IN GARDENING der to give the roses a foothold on which to dimb. Dig a hole three feet deep so as to set the pole below frost, remove the bark from the foot of the pole as far as it is to stand below ground, and paint the bare surface heavily with tar to prevent decay. These poles may be placed in the form of an ar- bour or arch, walk or wall; as a trellis or pergola; they may be low along the front of the house, or serve as a high background against the fence ; they may enclose the dry- ing ground, or surround the loam heap. Wherever they are placed roses, wistaria, clematis, trumpet creeper. Hall's honey- suckle, akebia, climbing hydrangea, will climb and riot over them, reaching twenty feet high, or spreading in a mass along the surface. Wires may be strung from pole to pole at intervals of height, and in a few years neither pole nor wire will be visible through the mass of foliage and bloom. On our rose wall of cedar poles the roses grew twenty-five feet in five years and were stopped merely by having nothing higher on which to climb. Among the flowers to be planted the first week in April are the lovely anemone jap- 112 APRIL onica, both the alba and the rosa in two shades, light and deep. This is a far more beautiful flower than the cosmos, and being a perennial, is permanent — the most charm- ing of fall-blooming flowers. From the last of September until heavy frost it blooms in profusion. By some it is considered a deli- cate plant and hard to grow, but with us it has flourished with rampant luxuriance. Plant them in well-prepared soil, in a separate bed, or in masses in the border. The usual direction is a " half -shady posi- tion," but ours have done better on the south, in full sun. In planting the rose- coloured anemones, do not place them in the same line of vision with the scarlet tritoma, but keep them on the opposite side of the house. White anemones look well with any of the scarlet, bronze and yellow fall- flowering plants. A charming anemone that blooms in the spring is the sylvestris or snowdrop anemone. It is a hardy, white, waxy, and fragrant blossom that holds itself with spirit and grace on its firm stem. There are two or three varieties, the grandiflora, and the flore pleno, which is a double variety and either the same or similar to what in "3 SUCCESS IN GARDENING the American catalogues is called Eliza Fellman. The sylvestris is not exacting as to sun or shade, and cares not whether it grows at the north or south — it is a lovely- woodsy flower that helps to give a cool ef- fect to border or thicket. They cost about two dollars and a half to four dollars a hundred; the grandiflora are seven dollars per hundred. The best time to grade is in the fall. But if there was no time or opportunity for fall grading, it should be done in April, and in some localities as early as March, when the ground is in good condition, not too soft from the quick alternation of thaw and frost, or too dry from sun and drought. In the South, grading can of course be car- ried on at any time through the winter, but the South is a winter garden. Professional grading is expensive, and is usually done by contract or on a percentage basis. It is impossible to give an idea of the average cost, as no two places are alike, in the lay of the land, soil, or cost of labour. But if one's lot is more than a hundred by two hundred feet, it will be best to have it graded by contract, unless the owner has more than ordinary intelligence and a large 114 APRIL supply of time, or chances to be an engineer. With courage, knowledge, a good eye, and the patience to stand constantly over the workmen, he will undoubtedly succeed in saving expense and doing a good piece of work. To guard against water in one's cellar, the ground should fall away slightly on all sides — a dry drain around the house is the best protection, and is indispensable with a clay soil. The lawn should also have an imperceptible rise in the middle, and slope off at the edges. Water must not be al- lowed to settle anywhere on the lot, and this matter of slope and fall is the essence of good grading. Another important point is the prepa- ration of the ground. A good lawn needs good soil. If the subsoil is hard-pan or the land is wet and springy it is advisable to trench it and lay tile drains. If this is not done, plough deeply into the subsoil several times so as to turn the earth over and loosen it. The ploughing should be at least eight- een inches deep. When the top soil is rich and black, spade it off before ploughing, and use it for the top layer. But if the land is poor, one should procure enough rich, top 115 SUCCESS IN GARDENING soil to cover the lawn with a layer at least eight inches deep. This can usually be ob- tained at the rate oi two dollars to two and a half dollars per load. Manure should be mixed with the earth and pulverised, although it is not necessary to have as well-rotted manure as for the flower borders; manure turned once is suf- ficiently old for the lawn. It will require forty two-horse loads to an acre. Pass a harrow over the surface, then even it with shovels, and tamp it thoroughly. After tamping, it may be found that another layer of dirt is required. To prepare the lawn for seeding, rake the ground several times going over the area in different directions to make it smooth and level. Allow six bushels of grass seed to an acre, or about a hundred pounds. iThere are good mixtures for sale at the best seedsmen, at five dollars a bushel, but these bushels usually weigh only fourteen pounds. It would be more satisfactory to make one's own mixtures, even though more expensive. There is no panacea mixture that will suit all lands, and the wisest way is to send a sample of soil to a reliable seedsman, or ii6 APRIL analyse the soil and send him the chemical compounds. Kentucky blue grass which grows in the limestone soils of Kentucky flourishes only in its natural element. A mixture recommended by a specialist, and the nearest approach to a panacea, is, red top, sheep's fescue, meadow fescue, hard fescue, Rhode Island bent, and white clover. Sheep's fescue is a short, close grass such as grows on the English downs. Meadow fescue is a taller, sweet grass which thrives in wet and clayey ground, and hard fescue flourishes in dry land. Rhode Island bent has a low, creeping habit, and throws down deep roots. Red top is a standard that is adaptable, hardy, and lasting, but espe- cially loves rich soils. So that in this mix- ture there are grasses that thrive in the three main varieties of soil: clayey, sandy, and moist. Add to these white clover, which is the best clover for lawns and does not turn brown, and the entire ground seems to be covered. As for proportion, leave it to the seedsman, and tell him the nature of the land. The price of grass seed varies from year to year, according to the crop, but forty ^17. SUCCESS IN GARDENING dollars would probably cover the expense per acre. A lawn, we must remember, is more expensive than a garden on its first outlay. Sow the seed broadcast, going over the ground twice at right angles, so as to cover every foot of ground. As with all sowing, select a still, cloudy day, with the promise of a shower. The rain will wash the seed into the ground and prevent it from being blown away by the wind or eaten by the birds. If the ground is dry roll it with a heavy hand roller, but not if it is moist as the seeds would then stick to the roller. Dur- ing periods of drought, through the summer the lawn should be watered with a hose. Grading that was done in the fall will have settled during the winter rains and snows, and another layer of dirt may be needed to bring the surface to the proper height. In any case it will require to be tamped, evened, raked, and seeded. SECOND WEEK " The little window looks upon the East, And far beneath, the scented garden ground Exhales its fragrance; it is wafted up — The white magnolia sends a cloud of scent Which oft in certain quarters of the wind Pours tide-like through the casement . . .'* — Dora Stuart-Monteith. " Along the lawns the tulip-lamps are lit, Amber, and amaranth, and ivory, Porphyry, silver and chalcedony — Filled with the sunlight and the joy of it. The tulip lamps are lit — the Spring's own gold Glows burning bright in each illumined cup . . ." — Rosamund Marriott Watson. Plant magnolias in the spring only. Every garden more than twenty-five feet square should have two or more of these beautiful, showy dwarf trees. The mac- rophylla should be trimmed to a single stem and allowed to grow as a tree ; its really gi ■ gantic white flowers and immense leaves make an effective point in the garden, or near the entrance to the place. 119 SUCCESS IN GARDENING The stellata, conspicua, soulangeana and the Lennei — beautiful varieties of shrub magnolias — bloom in succession from March to May, with occasional flowers on the Lennei through the summer. They cost from one dollar and a half to three dollars each. Plant them singly, in a well-prepared hole, three or four feet in diameter, and dug out to a depth of three feet. The stellata may be planted at the ends of a border, or the corners of a bed to give accent, and in early April before the leaves are out, the branches will be covered with a mass of glittering white stars — one of the most beautiful sights of the spring. The beautiful hardy azalea may be planted early in April, in an underdrained bed, prepared with good garden soil and loam, but without manure. The only way to use manure with azaleas is in the form of a winter mulch. The Ghent, Mollis, Amoena, are exquisite varieties, and flour- ish best under the lee of a hedge or wall. They should be massed together, with no other shrub or flower; the Ghent, being the tallest, planted at the back. The Calen- dulacea is a fine native variety. Contrary to the opinion of some high in 120 APRIL authority, azaleas and rhododendrons should not be combined, but should be planted on opposite sides of the house or garden, screened and separated from one another. As they usually bloom at the same time, and their range of tints are from opposing palettes, there results a battle royal of colours with great discord and disagree- ment. It is a case of incompatibility of tone. The strong blue pinks, reds, and purples of the rhododendrons clash em- phatically with the soft, yellow and salmon pinks of the azaleas, and they cry aloud for divorce. There is but one azalea that will com- bine with rhododendrons — the white aza- lea indica; and this is the only colour among the hot-house indicas that will bloom or live out of doors. Many plants for fall blooming may be set out during the second week in April. The flower of many aliases — tritoma, flame- flower, torch lily, red-hot poker, should be planted now. Its effective scarlet flower, blooming in a pointed spike at the end of a tall stalk, looks well singly or in groups of three, at the ends or comers of beds; or plant them in large irregular groups among 121 SUCCESS IN GARDENING shrubbery, and at the back of a border against green. Other perennial plants, beside the tri- toma, that may be set out now, are funkia; rudbeckia nitida and golden glow; all kinds of helianthus (sun flower), the multiflorus, maximus, maximiliana, meteor. Also large flowering clematis and the shrub clematis in its different varieties of davidiana, recta, and heracleaefolia. Clumps of lily-of-the- valley should be planted in good soil, and enriched with manure. Monkshood, or aconitum, of the differ- ent varieties, will bloom in succession from June to October. Plant them in half -shady places or near trees; all the varieties are good, the napellus and albus, the autum- nale, the early lycoctonum. Sparks' and Wilsoni which are the tallest and should be at the back, and on the front edge the dwarf Fischeri. Another blue perennial, the anchusa dropmore, of striking gentian colour, should be in the border. Also the blue and the white campanula carpatica and persici- folia grandifolia and the deep blue Scotch bluebell (rotundi folia), foxgloves (digi- talis) are good in all their colours. 122 APRIL As for lilies, there are a few that may be planted in the spring, although, even for these, the late fall is a better time. The auratum, the most beautiful of the lilies, will die out, but it is worth while to plant a few every year. The best of the Japa- nese auratums are not delivered until the middle of January, and must therefore be set out in the early spring. But American grown bulbs are ready in November, and should be planted even as late as December, rather than to keep the bulbs until the spring. Other species for spring planting are the speciosum album, rubrum, and Mel- pomene, and the tigrinum. Lilies like a half-shady position, and therefore it is well to plant them against a background of shrubs, or among other tall-growing plants in the hardy border. The soil should be rich, light, and porous, but not dry. Lilies need moisture, and if they are planted in the open sunlight, with- out shade, they should have a mulch of leaves, cut grass, or rotten manure. All the speciosums are Japanese varieties and should be planted at least six inches deep, in a large quantity of sand, and on their side. 123 SUCCESS IN GARDENING The Dutch firm, C. G. van Tubergen, Jr./ has a number of other varieties of Japanese grown HHes on his catalogue for spring planting. Among them are the dwarf col- chicum, the golden Hansoni, tenuifolium, Marhan, Browni, excelsum, Henryi, and others. Among other spring bulbs are the charm- ing montbretias which bloom in summer. They are delicate in shape, and should be planted in clumps of two or three dozen. Set the bulbs four or five inches apart. The colour range is yellow, orange, brown, and scarlet. For those who like calla lilies there are several varieties sold by the Holland firm that are not on American catalogues. The bulbs should be planted while dormant, and should be dug up in the fall and stored for the winter. There are two hardy biennials that are worth the care they call for — Canterbury bells and foxgloves. First sown out of doors in early April, they must be thinned out as the plants grow large, transplanted in mid-July, again transplanted in late Sep- 1 American agent: E. J. Krug, H2 Broad St., New York City. 124 APRIL tember, kept moist when young, watered in dry weather, protected in winter, and planted finally in a shady spot, and in fine soil with an under layer of manure. Campanula media (Canterbury bells) come in shades of delicate lavender, dark blue, rose, carmine, white, and striped. They look well mixed with another flower, as with " Newport Pink " Sweet William. Digitalis (foxglove) should be planted among or against shrubbery, or under the half-shade of trees. The lilac, purple, white, and spotted are the most characteris- tic. There are also yellow foxgloves, the grandiflora and canariensis, and charming pink or rose varieties which should be grouped alone, or against a white-flowering shrub. The spikes, four feet high, erect and compact, with their rose cups turned downward, are as effective in their way as the yuccas, and would look well combined and contrasted with the white filamentosa. The foxglove is one of the best invest- ments for the garden. It matches the peony. Oriental poppy, and iris in its pow- ers of reproduction. And it is one of the small number of flowers where the self- sown plants are even more robust than the 125 SUCCESS IN GARDENING man-sown plants. If the pods are left to mature they will self -sow, and one needs only to move the small plants when they grow too close together. 126 THIRD WEEK ". . . In my spirit grew Hope of Summer, love of Roses, Certainty that Sorrow closes." — Philip Bourke Marsion. "I wander'd lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host of golden daffodils, Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze, " Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the milky way, They stretch'd in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance Tossing their heads in sprightly dance . . .'* — William Wordsworth. The mass of spring planting will be done during the next two weeks. Roses may be set out at any time from the fifteenth of April to the first of May. They should be planted in separate beds, not in borders with other flowers. The soil must be rich, and the beds should have been 127 SUCCESS IN GARDENING prepared during the previous fall, or at least in early March so that they will have had four or six weeks in which to mellow. Do not plant roses in freshly made beds, if this can be avoided; it is worth while to begin well, as half of the success in rose culture is in the preparation of the bed and the planting. If the beds are not ready, pre- pare them now, and defer planting the hybrid perpetuals until next fall, although spring is the best time when all other con- ditions are favourable. Teas and hybrid teas, must in any case be planted in the spring. Dig to a depth of two feet, remove all the old soil; if the position is low or wet, fill in the bottom with a layer of broken stone for drainage. Use a rich loam, mixed with a liberal amount of well-rotted cow manure, and thoroughly pulverised. Fill the bed full, and rounding up several inches, to allow for settling. The beds or borders for roses should be narrow, not wider than five to six feet if both sides can be reached, and only four feet if the front side alone is open. Set the roses one foot from the edg^ of the bed and two feet apart. If the plants ia8 APRIL have arrived during a rain or frost, leave them unpacked in a dry place. When all is ready for planting, choose if possible a quiet, cloudy day, as it is important that the roots should not be dried by sun or v^rind. Take out only a few plants at one time, covering them with straw, branches, or moss, to protect the roots from the air; or keep them in a pail of water with the roots immersed. Cut any parts that are bruised, and any suckers that may have grown up straight from the roots; spread the roots out care- fully so that they will lie straight and flat, and not tangled. If the plants are budded place the point where the stock and the graft are united two inches below the level of the ground. This rule is for good stock, but Holland stock is often budded six or eight inches above the fork of the root, and if set two inches below the point of the graft the roots would be too deep. The best way is not to buy Holland stock. With the hand, sift in fine earth around and between the roots, then water them thoroughly — not a sprinkle, but a soak. Fill in with loam, then a layer of well-rot- ted cow manure, and a top layer of soil; 129 SUCCESS IN GARDENING or else mix the cow manure and the loam thoroughly together and fill in. Tread down the earth, and make sure that it is sufficiently high; sprinkle some loose earth over the foot marks. Then cover with a layer of straw or hay, which may be left on for a couple of weeks. Tea roses and hybrid teas flourish bet- ter if they are given a southern exposure, and some protection at the back, either the house, hedge, or other wind break ; but they must not be planted under trees. Hybrid perpetuals are wholly hardy, and flourish in almost any situation except under trees, pro- vided the soil is rich and not too moist. All roses need a mulch of dry leaves and cow manure in winter, and will be improved with a light covering, of cuttings from the lawn or straw, in the heat of mid-summer. Newly planted roses should be pruned back — the teas to within six or eight inches of the ground, the hybrid perpet- uals not so severely. All the canes should not be cut down to the same length. First cut out the dead and weak wood; then cut the smallest canes of the teas to w^ithin six inches of the ground, and the large, strong canes to eight inches. With the hybrid 130 APRIL perpetuals leave four or six eyes or buds, depending on whether it is quality or quan- tity that is wanted. The fewer the buds left, the larger and scarcer will be the blooms. It is usual to leave the last bud on the outside of the shoot, unless the cane is ir- regular and crooked; in that case leave the bud on the inside to bring the shoot back to the perpendicular. Cut about half an inch above the eye. The rule for pruning is : the weaker the plant the more it will need pruning, the stronger it is, the less it will have to be cut down. If pot-plants are used, have preferably the dormant ones, while the buds are still inactive; and these will not need as rigorous pruning. Set pot-plants an inch deeper than they stood in the pots. Field plants on their own roots should be set as low as they grew in the nursery. Grafted stock two inches below the surface. Evergreens are usually planted in April and May, or the last of August and Septem- ber. When the trees are received, if the roots are not covered with burlap, they should be '' heeled in " — laid horizontally, 131 SUCCESS IN GARDENING close together, and the roots covered with a thick layer of soil; or laid in a trench at right angles, heads out, roots in and covered with earth, so that the air will not reach them. The trees will keep in this way for several weeks, in case the weather is not favourable for planting, or the ground not ready. If the evergreens are to be used for a hedge, dig a trench three feet deep, and wide enough not to cramp the roots, and to allow them to be spread out; four to six feet wide according to the size of the tree. In clayey soil which holds the water, the trench must be dug to a depth of four feet, the lower two feet of soil carted away, and the bottom filled in with two feet of broken stone and ashes for drainage. In a trench three feet deep, one foot of broken stone will be sufficient. Evergreens need a rich soil. Have good, dark earth crumbled almost to a powder, free of stones, and mix with it very thor- oughly some well rotted manure. There should also be a quantity of rich top soil, and if one has a heap of rotted leaves and loam, some of it may be mixed with the dirt instead of manure. When the roots 132 APRIL of the trees are protected with burlap, as they should always be, do not remove the bagging until the moment they are planted. Cut off broken roots smoothly, and spread out the small roots carefully so that they will be fiat, not perpendicular in the hole. The tree should be placed at the same depth, or a little deeper than it was in the nursery. Fill in the earth slowly and carefully, and work it in among the fibrous roots, and under the butt of the tree. Pack the earth down firmly with a rammer as it is gradually filled in, pressing it among and on top of the roots as closely as possible. The trees will not need pruning, except to cut out the leader, so that the tree will throw out thick branches on the side; but the heads should not be cut off more than a few inches, if at all. Small trees, one to two feet high, may be planted one foot apart, but larger trees two to four feet high should be set at least two feet apart. After they are planted, spread a layer three or four inches thick of manure or leaf mould over the entire surface of up- turned earth; this mulch should be left on for a year, and then be forked into the ground. A few of the trees will probably 133 SUCCESS IN GARDENING die the first year and need to be replaced; this is to be expected, especially with large trees. In planting privet, set the plants deep in a trench, and do not entirely fill in the trench until the plants have begun to grow. The usual fault in planting California privet is that the double row is set too close together, preventing the light and air from reaching the inner side of the plants. There should be at least twelve or eighteen inches between the rows; often there is not more than six inches. A straggling, lanky privet hedge is not worth the trouble of planting, but a strong, dense privet hedge, solid from bottom to top, is one of the best, quickest, and cheapest boundaries that can be made. Privet should be pruned rigor- ously the first two years ; cut to within a few inches of the ground. 134 FOURTH WEEK "Ah! my heart is weary waiting, Waiting for the May — Waiting for the pleasant rambles, Where the fragrant hawthorn brambles, With the woodbine alternating, Scent the dewy way. Ah! my heart is weary waiting, Waiting for the May. "Ah! my heart is sick with longing, Longing for the May — Longing to escape from study, To the young face fair and ruddy, And the thousand charms belonging To the summer's day. Ah! my heart is sick with longing Longing for the May." — Irish Ballad — De.nis Florence MacCarthy. While " waiting " we may be practically, if not poetically, employed in sowing the seeds of all hardy annuals out-of-doors, un- less we are intending to buy small plants later. Seeds are cheaper, but many do not germinate, and it is futile to plant them by the packet; buy them by the half -ounce at 135 SUCCESS IN GARDENING least. Plants are surer, and are not ex- pensive, averaging a dollar and a half per dozen; but if one wishes to have a large number of annuals it seems hardly worth while to buy plants every year. There are two seasons for planting pansy seeds. In the North and West they may be sown now for bloom from midsummer un- til after frost. They should be transplanted in early summer, and if protected in winter with a layer of brush and then leaves or straw, the plants will bloom again in early spring until the following mid- summer. The other period for pansy planting is early in September, when the plants will winter over and start to bloom early in the spring. Pansies need a rich soil, thoroughly mixed with well-rotted manure, and the earth should be kept well stirred. They cannot bear great heat or constant sun; therefore, a half -shady position and eastern exposure are best. In dry weather pansies need watering — a good soaking at night — and still more they need to have the earth thoroughly stirred the next morning. A noted pansy grower says : " Cultivatioi^ 136 APRIL without watering, is better than watering without cultivation." The soil should be fine and the surface of the bed smooth. Draw a light furrow, a sixteenth of an inch deep, sow the seeds thinly, cover with earth evenly and press down with a board, as in sowing in a cold frame. Water, and shade the bed until the young plants appear above ground ; then re- move the shading gradually until they are accustomed to the light. Transplant later when the plants have put on five or six leaves. Annual poppies, the California and the delicate Shirley, are too frail to transplant, and should be sown in the border. Nastur- tiums also must be sown where they are to grow. Other annuals may be planted in the seed bed, and transplanted to the border in June. Try dimorpotheca ecklonis, lavatera trimestris, and the salmon-pink lupinus. Have annual larkspur, marigolds of the 'African variety, schizanthus or butterfly flower, stocks, the annual centaura cyanus, and the lovely off-toned zinnias. In the fall, chrysanthemums will be one of the delights of the garden, next to 137 SUCCESS IN GARDENING anemones in quality, but as they are antag- onistic in colour they should not be next to them in position. Chrysanthemums will blend with the true autumn colourings, with the flame-flower, barberry, and the fall foliage. They should be in the ground this week, in rich, well-drained soil. If one buys a hundred plants for six dol- lars, one can multiply them five-fold in a few years by cuttings, and by dividing the roots. Cerise Queen is one of the few pink varieties and is better planted alone. Golden Pheasant and Boston mix harmoni- ously, Model of Perfection is white and would lighten the dark garnet of Julia La- gravere. In a well-established garden, there will be transplanting that needs attention. Some of the shrubs are too crowded, perhaps; they may be interfering with each other. Take two or three out of a group that has outgrown its bed, and plant them in a bed apart, or separately. A few plants like rhododendrons may have died during the winter, and should be dug up; others from another part of the garden may be moved to replace them. There is always work of this 138 APRIL kind to do in a garden that is more than four or five years old. Do it now. Then, too, if the colour arrangement was not satisfactory last year, we may want to change the position of different plants and make new combinations. In transplanting, make first the hole where the shrub or plant is to be placed. Then dig in a circle around the small tree or shrub, leaving as large a ball of earth as possible on the roots. Have wet bagging close at hand, and, as the shrub is lifted, place it on the burlap and tie it firmly together. Carry the shrub on a wheelbarrow to its new location, hold it over the hole while someone unties and re- moves the bagging, and lower the shrub to the same depth at which it grew before. Fill in with good loam, and the plant will not know that it has been moved. Wild shrubs in the woods that were root- pruned early in March may be now moved to their new quarters. In digging, follow the same circle that was cut before, and pre- serve the entire ball of earth around the roots, or as much of it as it is possible to handle. Tie wet burlap around the ball to keep the roots moist. 139 SUCCESS IN GARDENING The planting should be done in the early morning or evening. Prune the roots carefully before planting, cutting off any damaged or broken ends. The tops should be cut down one-third or more of their height. After planting, and until the roots have taken hold in their new position, the shrubs should be thoroughly watered. As to the spraying of roses, healthy plants do not require it, but if the plants are attacked by green flies, black spot, fungous, or mildew they can be helped and probably cured by using the different sprays. Whale oil soap may be applied every three weeks until early in July, using one pound of soap to eight gallons of water. Bordeaux mixture may also be used once a month against mildew and fungous; or sulphide of potassium, a half -ounce to one gallon of water applied once a week. Ap- ply one or both of these throughout the summer, if the foliage shows mildew. Spraying with tobacco water or with arsenic of lead is also good for roses. 140 MAY ■First Week " How the lilacs, the lilacs are glowing and blowing ! And white through the delicate verdure of May The blossoming boughs of the hawthorn are show- ing, Like beautiful birds in their bridal array; "And the lilacs, the lilacs are blowing and glowing! They pluck them by handfuls and pile in a mass And the sap of Springtide is rising and flowing Through the veins of the greenwood, the blades of the grass." — Mathilde Blind. " Have ye seen the broider'd May All her scented bloom display. Breezes opening, every hour. This, and that, expecting flower. While the mingling birds prolong, From each bush the vernal song? . . ." — A. Philips. FLOWERS THAT BLOOM IN THE MONTH OF MAY ARE: Columbine (Aquilegia) Lily-of-the-valley Iris Germanica Lilies canadense Iris sibirica Arabis alpina Late tulips Phlox reptans 141 SUCCESS IN GARDENING FLOWERS THAT BLOOM IN THE MONTH OF MAY^Continued. Adonis vernalis Flowering peach Anemone silvestris Tree peonies Yellow roses Wistaria Rhododendrons Climbing roses Azaleas Flowering crab Lilacs Flcfwering almond, dwarf Dogwood Kerria Spiraeas Spring bulbs, if not already planted, should all be in the ground by this week. Bulbous-rooted irises, the English, Spanish, and other species, must be planted in the fall. But the tuberous-rooted, or rhizoma- tous, such as the German and Japanese, are planted in the spring. One cannot have too many irises. They are full of life, variety, and character. They are strong and spirited, delicate and rich; they are prolific, generous in colour, distinguished in form. With all the different species of iris one could have bloom from March to the middle of July. The first to bloom is the low, rich- coloured and spice-scented reticulata. Next comes the small persica, to be fol- lowed by the pumila in its various varieties and colours, and the sibirica. Histrio and histrioides are early; and the intermediate, 142 MAY a new strain of the German, bloom sooner than their parent stock. The German species follows in May, then the English, with several minor species be- tween. Next the delicate, airy Spanish, that look like painted butterflies poised on a stem, exquisite in form and finish. And they are as delicate in constitution as they are in character. Of the thousand bulbs we planted, only six are left. With the same tendency to die out as the Spanish, are the rich and strangely shaded iris oncocyclus. Of magnificent colouring, hardy, free, and high-priced are the iris regelio-cyclus, meant for the connoisseur and the exhibi- tion. Last in order of blooming, during the first two weeks of July, come the Japanese, the largest, most sumptuous, most sensuous in tone and texture of the whole race of irises. Out of this long list, the tuberous-rooted Germans, and Japanese are the most hardy, and are those calling for spring planting. Among the German irises. Mile. Almira is the most charming, of orchid colouring, but is now so rare as to be almost extinct; its light, lavender blue falls are not matched 143 SUCCESS IN GARDENING in any other variety. Mme. Chereau shares the second place with Mme. De Baun, pale yellow, and Queen of May, pale rose. The variegata and squalens varieties of the German, form a separate class and min- gle well, with their tawny yellows, bronze browns, and coppery reds. Gracchus is a characteristic example of these varieties. Sibirica, dark blue, a spirited flower on a slim, stiff stem, self sows and spreads to amazing numbers. It is valuable for cut- ting and should be kept in a separate bed on account of its overrunning qualities, or mixed with sibirica Snow Queen. Pseudo acorus, a golden yellow variety of the same general characteristics also mixes with the blue sibirica. Irises may be planted effectively in many different ways, except in a thin, single row, or in groups of three in a formal garden. Stiffness suits tulips, but not irises. Irises demand broad handling; they are big and lavish, and ask to be treated in the same way. They may be planted in a long, broad border against trees, vanishing into the dis- tant sky, as in the famous garden of the monks at Fiesole. Or the border may be thicker and more irregular against a hedge. 144 MAY The most evanescent, shadowy picture ©f irises that I remember to have seen, was at twilight — a long, dense line against green, seen in profile, pale blue and pale yellow, like a mysterious pageant, a procession of flower ghosts each bearing a banner. And I have seen them look like fairies in a patch of moonlight. They compose well in large masses, or in irregular clumps, and they should always be alone. The blues and whites together, Mme. Chereau, Orientalis, Ciengatti, Inno- cence, Silver King, Florentina; the pur- ples together, with white; light yellow com- bined with light rose, Queen of May and Mme. de Baun; the deep yellow, bronze, plum, brown, apart in a rich mass. The price of iris bulbs varies so widely that it is impossible to give even an average of the cost; we might say from two dollars and a half per hundred to eight and ten dol- lars. There are many that are far more expensive, but for an average of five dol- lars a hundred, one may have a beautiful display. The Japanese are somewhat more expen- sive than the German, and it is well to buy them not from a Holland firm, but from an 145 SUCCESS IN GARDENING American firm who makes a specialty of this species. They will cost from ten to fif- teen dollars per hundred. Irises will flourish in any good garden soil. Some authorities say that the soil should be moist, others that it should be dry. But the same soil will not suit all, and the truth is that they can exist successfully un- der almost any conditions. German irises prefer a dry situation, the Japanese do markedly better in a low, moist position. For mass effect plant the bulbs one foot apart. Always put a handful of sand in the hole and cover the bulb with sand so that the manure in the soil will not touch it. Planting will go on rapidly in these first days of May. , A small tree that is indispensable is the flowering dogwood, the white and the pink ' (seventy-five cents to two dollars each, ac- cording to size) . They are effective planted in a bed, from three to nine together, of the white and the pink. Also singly against a green hedge, or warm tinted wall (not a red brick wall). Flowering crabs (pyrus), both the bech- tel and the scheideckeri varieties, have ex- quisite pink blooms like miniature roses, in 146 MAY early spring. There are also other varie- ties with single crimson flowers, floribunda atrosanguinea, and the fragrant blush coronaria odorata. Even more charming is the flowering peach (persica), the double alba plena and rosea plena, and the flowering almond (amygdalus), of which the davidiana alba is the first tree to flower in the spring, and the double-flowering communis flore roseo pleno is a later variety. Plant them in groups of three, several feet apart, or in a broken row against a green background of shrubbery. Any of the magnolias, dogwood, and flowering fruit trees may be used for near effects, as they repay the closest examina- tion, and are perfect in form and colour. For distant effect, alone or with white, and separated from other colours, the Judas tree is striking against greenery. The pe- culiar purplish pink of its prolific flowers " carries " a long way. It should never be planted at short range. Now that the season is settled, and all danger of frost is passed, the Rhododen- drons may be uncovered. Lift off the mulching of dry leaves with a broad- 147 SUCCESS IN GARDENING tongued fork, pile them on a wheelbar- row and dump onto the loam heap for fu- ture use. Rake in the pulverised muck at the bottom and scratch the earth lightly, so as not to disturb or expose the roots which lie near the surface. Sprinkle bone meal broadcast over the bed; the first ra'in will wash it into the earth, and invigorate the plants. Tree peonies should have liquid manure poured around the roots. Take half a pail of sheep manure, fill with water, stir well, and let it stand over night. This gives splendid results in bloom. Those who have an established basin, tank, or half-barrels for aquatics, may set out hardy nymphseas and nelumbiums at this time. The nymphseas should be planted about three inches deep, and there should be two inches of sand over the com- post. Nelumbiums do not require sand, and the tubers should be planted six inches deep, laid horizontally with the point up. There must be a division of bricks or boards be- tween the nelumbiums and the nymphaeas, as the nelumbiums are both gross feeders, and rampant growers, and require different 14S MAY treatment.^ 'After planting, fill in with a few inches of water, and gradually increase the water as the plants grow. This, of course, is only possible in artificial tanks, where the water is under control. Two things are necessary to keep the wa- ter pure and the plants healthy — fish and submerged plants. Two or three gold fish in a tub are sufficient to keep the water sweet and free from green scum. In a small tank six gold fish will act as an effec- tual antiseptic and a basin thirty by forty feet will not need more than a dozen. In a large tank a few of the common spotted sun-fish will assist in destroying insects and snails that breed in the water. Feed the goldfish with bread crumbs at a stated place, once a week during the sum- mer. There will be no trouble with mos- quitoes when fish are kept in the water. Among the submerged plants that help to purify the water are sigittaria natans, cabomba viridi folia, and vallisneria spi- ralis. A very weak solution of sulphate of cop- 1 A description of the planning and building of a lily basin will be given under the fourth week in July. 149 SUCCESS IN GARDENING per, sprinkled on the water with a syringe, is also said to be a destroyer of green scum. Unless we are planning a gorgeous and barbaric mingling of all shades and tones in Eastern fashion, we must choose the colours of our water lilies. Shall we have a soft pink, light rose, and white water garden; or one in yellow, deep red, and white? There are many varieties of the lovely nelumbiums, but they are difficult to treat and grow successfully, and hardy nymphaeas will better reward the amateur. For half -barrels and tubs one should have the nymphsea laydekeri, var. lilacea, pur- purata, and rosea ; they are smaller and less rampant than other hybrids. Among the larger white nymphaeas are tuberosa Rich- ardsoni, Gladstoniana, and odorata Caro- liniana. In shades of pink, tuberosa rosea, marliacea carnea and rosea; in yellow, marliacea chromatella and odorata sul- phurea, and the striking orange-red Robin- soni. The marliacea hybrids bloom later in the autumn than the odorata varieties. Some of the rarer colourings are Aurora, in copper-yellow changing to orange-red; Wm. Falconer, bright garnet; Gloriosa, 150 MAY carmine; marliacea ignea, deep carmine; and James Brydon, rosy-crimson. The cost of aquatics is not high, when we consider how few plants are needed to fill a basin. Tubers vary in price according to the rarity of the varieties, from fifty cents to five dollars each. Tuberosa Richardsoni cost five dollars a dozen, and Gloriosas five dollars a piece. But as a single water-lily will spread from six to twelve feet over the surface, few plants will be needed for a moderate sized tank. In half-barrels set out only one plant in each barrel, and two or three plants of the smaller varieties in half -hogsheads. Not more than ten lilies will be needed for a small basin. ISI SECOND WEEK "A leafy portico which opens over the sea like a deep glance that suddenly discloses an infinite thought; a trellis awaiting the purple of the grapes . . . Above, all around, on the walls, in the hedges, among the arbours, along the branches, the climbing plants make merry, perform feats of gymnastics, play at swinging, at losing and recover- ing their balance, at falling, at flying, at looking up at space, at reaching beyond the treetops to kiss the sky." — Maurice Maeterlinck. This should be called vine week. Two things are indispensable for suburban homes, country houses, and vacation cot- tages — vines and bulbs. Man is a public benefactor when he plants vines. He adds to the pleasure of the community and the charm of the town. Streets in themselves are stiff. It is what borders them that gives them their character. Line them with vine covered houses, and vine covered fences, and the streets will be picturesque, cool, alluring. I cannot urge too strongly the more fre- 152 MAY quent use of vines on the porches, porticoes, and walls of our houses. I mean our every-day, non-significant, un-individual houses. Beautiful architecture is more to be desired than picturesque foliage, and if we chance to possess it, let us leave it for all to see and rejoice in. It seems a strange anomaly that in America we plant vines where we should not, and we do not plant them where we should. We sin both by commission and omission, yet it is a mat- ter that affects the beauty and symmetry of our towns. The rule should be: beautiful architec- ture, few vines; indifferent architecture, more vines; bad architecture, many vines. Our practice is often the reverse. We may chance to have a building that is beautiful in line, proportion, and design, and we hasten to plant ivy and other vines which cover the walls, submerge the archi- tecture, and destroy the effect of form and detail. It belongs to what a witty writer called, '' the ivy style of architec- ture." On the reverse of the picture we see houses of every heterogeneous shape, size, and style, without architectural interest, yet 153 SUCCESS IN GARDENING capable of picturesque charm if veiled with vines, standing stark and undraped. A frame house may be, and is, at times, broad and simple in line and good in pro- portion. Such a house should be merely pointed off with vines. But the majority of houses — it is safe to say — would be more sightly and seemly if covered with foliage, and the streets of our country towns would have more of grace and suppleness. They would be less rigid and staring. They would suggest homes instead of houses. On frame houses there should be wires and trellises for the vines to grow on. Heavy wires may be fastened to iron sta- ples set in the ground below frost, and to hooks in the roof of the porch or the main roof of the house. If the side of the house is to be covered, nail on two or three hori- zontal wooden slats or supports, and attach wire netting to them. Sometimes a wooden trellis is built onto the outer angles of the house or in recesses near the front door. But vines do not grow as well on these slatted supports, unless one also attaches two or three wires on which the small ten- drils may grip and curl. 154 MAY Vines are not expensive. Strong, small plants average twenty-five cents apiece and they last a lifetime. While we are waiting for the perennials to grow — it will take two years to produce an effect of foliage — we may plant some of the five or six kinds of satisfactory annual vines for a quick and temporary screen. Cobsea scandens with purple flowers; buy the small plants at fif- teen cents each. Cypress vine (scarlet and white flowers), the low growing thun- bergia, maurandia giant blue, a half-hardy perennial which may be treated as an an- nual, morning glory (convolvulus), hya- cinth bean, and the different varieties of ipomcea, may all be raised from seed; soak the seeds in warm water for a few hours before planting. The varieties of ipomcea include the striking Imperial Japanese, the lilac even- ing glory (Bona Nox), setosa (Brazilian morning glory) and the grandiflora (moon flower) ; buy seeds by the ounce at twenty- five cents. The Japanese hop is also a good annual vine, which it is best to raise from small plants. Of perennial vines there are many for all purposes. 155 SUCCESS IN GARDENING For low trellises, summer or tea houses, walls, and low porches, forsythia suspensa; the white clematis Henryi and the beautiful purple clematis Jackmani, which resembles a passion flower; the fine-leaved akebia quinata with its small berry-like purple blos- soms; polygonum baldschuanicum for late blooming; and south of New York the jas- mines, nudiflorum and officinale. Apios tuberosa also is a low climber, and has pur- ple flowers; its roots are tuberous and sev- eral bulbs should be planted near together to produce a mass of foliage and bloom, but it should be kept in the wild garden or tangle. For higher trellises, but not on the house, aristolochia sipho (Dutchman's pipe) with its striking but bad-scented flowers; actin- idia arguta, kudzu vine, and the cheerful and companionable celastrus scandens with its glossy leaves and brifliant scarlet fruit. Grape vines should be planted in the fall, and will be mentioned under October. For summer cottages bignonia radicans and grandiflora is a vigorous and showy climber, and clematis paniculata has feath- ery charm and is irrepressibly rampant. Hairs honeysuckle is useful everywhere, 156 MAY on porches, fences, screens, or walls; it is hardy, evergreen, a quick grower, and its sweet scented, piquant blossom has a spir- ited character that does not tire, and never runs the risk of boring us as the trumpet flower and Dutchman's pipe sometimes do. On the house, wistaria Chinensis, and alba, clematis montana grandiflora, climb- ing hydrangea, and the many beautiful Wichuraiana and other climbing roses men- tioned under the third week in January. Of the evergreen vines for stone houses and walls, English ivy south of New Jer- sey, euonymus radicans south of Philadel- phia, Boston ivy everywhere, and the new Japanese ivy, ampelopsis lowii. It is un- avoidable, also, to mention the ubiquitous Virginia creeper, commonplace but indis- pensable for some uses. Such is its amiable irony that it may transform an ugly build- ing that is a distress to the eye, into some- thing that is distinctly soothing. It is not sufficient to plant vines ; we must plant them intelligently. First, in the position where they will grow to advantage. All clematis vines need full sun, except the paniculata which will thrive in half -shade. They should also 157 SUCCESS IN GARDENING be on a side which is protected from high winds. Bignonia (trumpet creeper), and actinidia, also require a southern exposure. Wistaria grows on the south and east, and, if in a protected position, on the west. Roses will grow anywhere, but their bloom is fuller in the light. Ivy, Virginia creeper, and Hall's honeysuckle will grow on the north side of the house. Second, with reticence as to colour and variety. A house should not be covered with a multitude of indiscriminate vines, but with a few well-chosen kinds. The house must be a unit ; on every face it should show congruity, harmony, and fitness. If one has more than one species of flowering climbers, one should select a few colours that blend, either pink, white and lavender; or scarlet and white ; other combinations are light yellow and lavender, and blue and white. A green vine on one side of the house or porch will help by lowering the key. The real office of vines is not to be flaunt- ing, but to give an air of home, of peace, privacy, and protection, to unite the house with the land, to frame it in a beautiful set- ting. We do not frame a picture in a moulding that is different on its four sides, 158 MAY neither should we a house. The most charming vine-covered house I know has only one kind of vine — the wistaria — on three sides. They are ten-year-old vines, strong, luxuriant, picturesque — a magnifi- cent, characteristic setting. In June the bloom-heads hang suspended like moon- light, like a drift of foam, with an inde- scribable effect of grace and freedom. They invite one with large-hearted hospital- ity, and, when within, seem to enclose one in a serene seclusion. This is the ideal of a foliage and flower frame. 159 THIRD WEEK "The peach-trees are now no more than a rosy miracle, like the softness of a child's skin. . . . The pear and plum and apple and almond-trees make dazzling effects in drunken rivalry; and the pale hazel-trees, like Venetian chandeliers, resplen- dent with a cascade of gems, stand here and there to light the feast." -— Maurice Maeterlinck. "In your mother's apple-orchard, Just a year ago, last spring: Do you remember, Yvonne! The dear trees lavishing Rain of their starry blossoms To make you a coronet? Do you remember, Yvonne? As I remember yet." — Ernest Dowson. There are those who prefer to raise hardy perennials from seed, instead of buying the small plants, especially if economy is de- sired. An ounce of seed costs from fifty cents to tv/o dollars and a half. The price of strong plants is from twelve to eighteen dollars a hundred. A good plan would be to buy a few dozen plants of perennials the 1 60 MAY first year, so as not to be without flowers while one is waiting for the seedlings to grow. A seed bed, a nursery bed, and a garden heap are the three most useful things in a garden. Have your seed bed shaded at one end if possible, as some of the small plants will not thrive in the full heat of the sun. Spade out the bed to the depth of eighteen inches, pulverise the earth until it is very light and fine; if the soil is clayey mix it with one-fourth sand. Mix the earth with well-rotted manure, or with part manure and part muck, to make a rich soil. Make drills eighteen inches apart to al- low of cultivation with the hand or wheel hoe. The drills may be of different depths according to the seeds to be sown; a few large seeds will need to be planted an inch deep, but the majority need only half an inch of covering, and the smallest seeds need only to have a line drawn on the sur- face and a handful of earth sifted over them. Do not buy mixed seeds, and the packets are not always satisfactory. It is better to get seed by the quarter, half, or whole ounce. Soak the seeds of perennials for i6i SUCCESS IN GARDENING twenty-four hours before planting — warm water is best — and be careful to keep the different kinds separate and tagged. When ready to plant, turn off the water, and, as it would not be possible to handle the wet seeds if they are small, mix them with dry earth. After planting, smooth the surface with a board, or the back of a spade, and water every day at sun-down for about two weeks, and in dry weather throughout the summer. The date given for planting the seeds of perennials ranges from the first week in April to the last week in July. Each per- son has a different opinion, and follows his own bent. Some transplant but once and allow the plants to remain over the winter in the seed or nursery bed, moving them to the border in the following spring. Others transplant two or three times and al- ways plant them in the border early in Oc- tober. In the middle states, at sea level, seeds may be sown in April and May. In the South, in February. In high altitudes and in the North, in June and July. An aver- age date seems to be about the middle of May. This gives the plants time to make 162 MAY good growth by August, when they will need to be transplanted, and early in Oc- tober they may be transferred to the hardy border. If it is not convenient to transplant in August, the large seeds may be planted four or six inches apart so that they will have room to grow. The smiall seeds it is, of course, impossible to treat in this way, and they would, at least, need thinning out in August. Now, too, annuals from the seed-bed, that were sown out of doors in April, may be transplanted. They should be moved in the late afternoon, kept moist, and watered after being planted in the border. Those who have a water garden will want to take the winter covering from the tank, fill the tank with water and stock it with gold fish. Two fish are enough for a barrel or very small tank; six for a medium sized basin. This week is the time for the second spray- ing of roses with whale-oil soap, in case they are attacked by the green fly or other insects. Healthy outdoor roses, free of the pest, are better without a spray. Our roses have never required any treatment or appli- 163 SUCCESS IN GARDENING cations of sprays; our only pest is the im- pervious, mail-coated rose bug in June. The climbing roses have been growing with elan, and will soon be in bloom. New shoots of well-established rose-vines will need to be tied up. Have a pair of heavy gardening gloves, and a large ball of soft twine, or bunch of raffia that will not cut the stems ; loose twine wears better and lasts longer than raffia. The roses must be tied up several times during the summer, as they are rampant growers; the older the plants the oftener they will need to be brought within bounds. It is best not to train all the shoots perpendicularly; but to turn some diagonally or horizontally, and let them climb back and forth in curving zig- zag fashion. A garden, to be well-kept, must be free of all old and faded blossoms. This is even more important than weeding. If one has little time to give to garden-work, and must choose between pulling weeds, and cutting off withered flowers, the appearance of the garden and the good of the plants will de- pend more on keeping them free of pods than of weeds. There will be hundreds, not to say thou- 164 MAY •ands, of withered daffodil and tulip stalks to cut ofif, and these should be nipped close to the ground, or so low among the leaves that the ends will not show. Dead magnolia blooms look unsightly and must be removed. Old blooms of the Oriental poppy are es- pecially unpleasant and untidy. And the faded irises will need attention. 165 FOURTH WEEK "The details of fertilising are not agreeable. It is much pleasanter to fertilise with a pen, as the agricultural writers do, than with a (pail). Prac- tically, the business is hardly to the taste of a person of a poetic turn of mind . . . "A garden is an awful responsibility. You never know what you may be aiding to grow in it . . I doubt if any one has raised more 'pusley' this year than I have; and my warfare with it has been continual . . . Neither of us has slept much. If you combat it, it will grow, to use an expression that will be understood by many, like the devil." — Charles Dudley Warner. This is a week of many small pieces of work for the general welfare of the garden. Apply liquid manure to the hardy perpetual roses. Use the fluids from the barnyard or stable diluted freely with water until it is the colour of amber. Or dissolve wood ashes or bone meal in a pail of water, and soak the earth around the plants. The liquified fertiliser must be weak, or it will injure the roots. The lawn should be mowed once a week or every ten days at this fast growing sea- i66 MAY son, especially as the weeds may keep pace with, or outstrip the grass. If dandelions, plantains, and other rampant weeds have sprung up, dig them out with a knife; there is no other method of extermination. If this cannot be done with the first crop, then keep their heads chopped off and do not let them go to seed. Boys are better than men for digging up weeds; they have less far to stoop, are quicker, limberer, and not so easily bored. It requires a large capital of optimism to war against plantain. A knife is better than a trowel, as the main point is to cut out as little grass as possible with the roots of the weed. Hire two or three boys at fifteen cents an hour, and the lawn will soon be free of the pest. Stay on the ground and follow in their tracks, carrying a pail of pulverised top soil and a bag of grass seed; fill in the little holes with a handful of the earth, sow a dash of grass seed, and the lawn will be greatly improved. Gravel walks and drives should also be overhauled now that there is a lull in the planting. Dig up any grass or weeds that may have encroached on the path, and even the gravel with a fine iron rake, first with the SUCCESS IN GARDENING teeth, and then with the back, to make a smooth surface. Trim the grass edges clean and straight, but be careful not to cut off too much of the sod; only what has overgrown the edges should be removed, so as not to widen the path by the continual trimming of the sides. If plants have been raised indoors from seeds, or in cold frames, transplant them to the garden during the last days of May. Annuals may be planted in the border, but it is well to plant perennials first in the nurs- ery row, and transplant them later to their permanent quarters. The plants will be stronger for this double transplanting. Do not cut the rhododendron blooms. They are for the garden, not the house. Cutting the bloom-heads injures the plant, unless one cuts close to the flowers at the base of the heads, so close that there will be no stem, only a decapitated head. Some- times these have a gorgeous beauty if ar- ranged in a flat, low bowl; but it is better to leave them on the plants. The new shoots which will bear next year's bloom, grow out at the base of the flower-head, and if this new growth is cut there will be no blooms next year, and soon no plants. i68 MAY It is the same with azaleas. Both of these plants should be grown merely for garden decoration and composition. Watch alertly all budded plants, roses, lilacs, tree-peonies, and cut out any shoots that may have sprung up from the stock. Cut out these shoots as close to the stock as possible, pressing the shears down into the earth. The greater the beauty of flower or tree the more vicious seem to be her enemies. Among flowers the rose is the chief martyr, among trees it is the elm. The arch-antagonist of the elm, that minute insect known as the elm beetle, a pigmy in size but a giant in powers of de- struction, is fatal to the beauty of the tree, if not to her life. And it is even said, that if this insect is allowed to carry on its nefa- rious work unmolested for three successive years the fate of the tree is sealed. How far this statement is founded on authentic fact, I do not know. There is only one remedy — drastic, con- stant, and intelligent spraying. By constant I mean twice every year. The adult elm beetle is only a quarter of an inch long, and before hatching its eggs 169 SUCCESS IN GARDENING it feeds heartily on the elm leaf, boring holes from the top side until the leaf is riddled from end to end. Often there are as many as a hundred and twenty holes in a single leaf. These insects appear as soon as the first elm leaf approaches full size, but the exact date naturally varies according to the season and locality; it is safe to place the average date on the fifteenth of May. During the end of May and the first part of June, the eggs are laid on the under side of the leaf, and the larvae hatch out from the fifth to the twentieth of June. These larvae or slugs feed on the under side of the leaf, scraping off the surface instead of bor- ing through the leaf. This makes it evident why two sprayings are necessary: the first about the middle of May, against the beetle, and the second about the last week in June against the slug. The first spraying must be aimed at the top of the leaves; the second must reach the under side. Few, if any, amateurs would be able to manage this high-power spraying, unless they should have a large place, a spraying outfit, and competent workmen. The ma- jority must employ a professional who has 170 MAY his own machine and is accustomed to the work. Should there be no one in a small country town who owns such a machine, the nearest nursery will send out their men and sprayer. The usual price is four to five dollars for spraying a large, fifty to seventy foot elm, and two to three dollars for smaller trees. If the first spraying is so successful and thorough that no beetles are left to hatch out larvae, there may be no need for a second spraying, but this seldom happens outside the gardens of Arcadia. We, of plain New Jersey may render thanks if, with two yearly sprayings and the interest on two hundred dollars annually for each tree, we succeed in saving our elms. They are worth the price. Every large tree adds about two hun- dred dollars to the material value of a pri- vate property, aside from the question of beauty, comfort, and enjoyment. 171 JUNE Tirst Week "0 the rose, the first of flowers. Darling of the early bowers, Ev'n the gods for thee have places; Thee too Cytherea's boy Weaves about his locks for joy. Dancing with the Graces." — Anacreon^ " I know a little garden-close Set thick with lily and red rose, Where I would wander if I might. From dewy dawn to dewy night, And have one with me wandering." — William Morris. FLOWERS THAT BLOOM IN THE MONT^ OF JUNE ARE: ^ Roses Bellflowers (Campanula) Canterbury bells (Campanula media) Gas plant (Dictamnus albus) Heuchera sanguinea Iris, Anglica Iris, Spanish Pinks (Dianthus)' Peonies Oriental poppies Delphinium 173 SUCCESS IN GARDENING FLOWERS THAT BLOOM IN THE MONTH OF JUNE— Continued. Day lilies (Hemerocallis) Lilies, tenuifolium Achillea ptarmica, " The Pearl " St. Bruno's lily {Ligastrum giganteumy Anemones (Pennsylvanica) Flowering crab Syringa Clematis The garden is glowing with colour. The hybrid perpetual roses are in full flower: lovely Mrs. John Laing, the brilliant Ulrich Brunner, and the charming white Frau Karl Druschki would have inspired Homer and Horace to fresh outbursts of song. And if Sappho and Anacreon could have seen our climbing Lady Gay, the wild Penzances, both Lord and Lady, spreading over trellises, the wichuraianas covering walls with a sheet of bloom, the pink Dawson clambering over pergolas, and the exquisite Dorothy Perkins hanging in festoons from arbours and arches, we should have had a volume of son- nets on the rose. As for Cleopatra, she would have covered her couch a foot deep with rose leaves, and the Roman Emperors would have been tempted to still greater ex- travagances. But the poets are unpractical people. 174 JUNE How do they expect my Lady Gay to keep the soft and flawless beauty of her complex- ion without some artificial aid in the way of whale oil soap or other cosmetics. How did Ronsard exterminate the rose-bugs? If we walk by a row of roses we shall find that a host of outrageous vandals have discovered the sweetness that is in the heart of the rose, even if " Roses are fast flowers of their smells," as Francis Bacon declares, " so that you may walk by a whole row of them, and find nothing of their sweetness." It is our oflice as practical gardeners, to preserve the beauty of the rose for the poets to acclaim. The less agreeable task falls on us of fighting the devourers, who — or which — are now in full career, a countless army of rose-bugs hidden in ambush. Their hard shell makes them impervious to spray or poison, immune to every decent and distant method of destruction. A stick — if possible, a ten-foot pole — and a pail of kerosene are the only known successful instruments of attack. The only way is to knock off the enemy, by the thousands, into the kerosene — not pleasant, but ef- ficacious. Either that, or allow the roses to be eaten at their very heart. 175 SUCCESS IN GARDENING June is the time to watch for diverse in- jurious insects on trees and shrubs. The oyster shell scale attacks lilacs, euonyinous, Crataegus or thorn, and other shrubs, apple and pear trees, walnut and butternut, and even poplars and willows. The shape of the insect, as the name indicates, is that of an oyster shell, so minute that one would scarcely suspect it of the qualities of life. But shoots or branches that become covered with these insects, wither and die. It is possible, by careful watching, to keep the infested shoots trimmed out, so that the rest of the tree or shrub may remain healthy. Any branches that are badly covered should be cut down to the uninfected part, and burned. But if the scale has spread too gen- erally to be handled by trimming, a spray must be used, and the best is a whale-oil emulsion. Melt half a pound of whale-oil soap in one gallon of water, on the fire. Then add two gallons of kerosene, after removing the emulsion from the fire. Mix it thoroughly. Use one part of the mixture to ten or fif- teen parts of cold water. A single application at the time the eggs are hatching into larvae will be sufficient. 176 JUNE This usually happens early in June, but the date differs according to the season, and one must watch for the first appearance of the moving larvae. The first week of their ex- istence is the time when they are most vul- nerable, and when they should be saturated with the oil emulsion. Those who intend to move large trees, should remember to root-prune them now. This is one of the most important details, in transplanting old trees from the woods or from one place to another, and should not be omitted. It will contribute more than any- thing else to success. Draw a circle around the tree, allowing a foot in diameter for every three feet in height; a tree thirty feet high will need a circle ten feet in diameter. Dig out the earth around the outer edge of the circle, for a space the width of two spades, and to a depth of three or four feet. As you dig be careful not to injure the roots ; cut them as cleanly as possible, and bend others around to bring them within the circle. Cut under part of the way, and sever the tap root. Replace the earth and allow the tree to stand four to six growing months. It will send out a quantity of small fibrous roots, 177 SUCCESS IN GARDENING that will be of chief value in transplanting the tree later, and it will become accustomed to the changed conditions. The tree may be moved next October, or in the following April. The moving of large trees is expensive and precarious, but to many, who have new places without trees of any kind, a fine, old tree is worth the twenty to forty dollars that the labour of moving will cost. And by root-pruning well in advance, one can di- minish by half the risk of loss. Every large tree is a valuable material, as well as 3es- thetic, investment. Shrubs may be raised from cuttings, in case one is planning to have a long hedge or large plantation. It would not be worth while to take this trouble for a few individual shrubs, when small plants may be bought for twenty-five cents each. But two or three hundred bushes may be grown from cuttings in nursery rows. Take cuttings twelve or eighteen inches long, the pruning of good, strong shoots may be used. Plant them in rows about two inches deep ; water them every dry day after planting. The soil of the nursery bed, like that of the seed bed, should be rich garden 178 JUNE soil, which has had well-rotted manure worked into it. During the winter, the rows must be covered with a light leaf and mould covering. Next spring thin out the rows, or replant them about a foot apart ; they will need to be transplanted a second time, and be set fur- ther apart, after they have outgrown their narrow quarters. When they are two or three years old they may be transplanted to the hedge or shrubbery. Plants trans- planted three times will be the strongest. 179 SECOND WEEK "The pinks along my garden walks Have all shot forth their summer stalks, Thronging their buds 'mong tulips hot, And blue forget-me-nots." — Robert Bridges. "The Peonies, who have drunk their imprudent fill of the sun, burst with enthusiasm and bend forward to meet the coming apoplexy." — Maurice Maeterlinck. In order to have gladioli for late blooming plant them in June. They will be more en- joyed in September when there are few flow- ers, then now when there is a profusion of more beautiful blooms. Gladioli are effective planted in clumps at the back of a border or among shrubbery; but they prefer a sunny position, and the ideal place is in the open against green shrubs. Their colours do not blend har- moniously with many other flowers. Many plant them in the rose beds among the hy- brid perpetuals. The roots of the gladioli lie near the surface and do not interfere with i8o JUNE the roses or absorb the goodness of the soil, and the flowers come out after the perpetuals have finished blooming. I do not care for this method, but many do. They need a well-drained bed of sandy loam, mixed with well-rotted manure, but the roots must not come in contact with the manure; if the soil is stiff and hard, mix it with one-fourth sand. The best way is to put a layer of sheep manure on the bed in the fall and spade it in the following spring. There are new and rare varieties of glad- ioli that are as different from the older and more ordinary kinds as pastels are from chromos. The old-fashioned gladiolus was coarse in colouring, with flaming scar- lets and gaudy yellows. Some of the new introductions are as delicate as orchids, or as rich as pansies. But the manner of growth will always prevent the gladiolus from taking first place among flowers, al- though it will hold its place as a fad and a specialty. Colours may be improved, but the nature cannot be changed. The America is one of the finest, flesh- pink in shade, and of good growth. Blanche, Triomphe de Caen, and White Lady are beautiful white varieties and would i8i SUCCESS IN GARDENING blend in any border. One must admit that they have the saliency of an exclamation mark, and, if used as accent in a garden, would have their significance and value. Two rich velvety kinds are Deuil de Car- not, maroon shaded black, and Heliotrope, violet shaded with purple. Either of these among white flowers would be striking, but the difficulty is to get white flowers in sum- mer and fall. Of delicate colouring are Dawn, and La Candeur, which is the latest to flower. Blue Jay, a rich royal blue, is effective combined with the clear yellow of Sulphur King. These rare gladiolus bulbs cost from ten to twenty-five cents each, with a reduction for quantities. I should like to try a grouping against a warm fawn-coloured wall, of the lilac, helio- trope, and clematis shades, belonging to the hybrid " Silver Trophy strains/' planted with two varieties of white gladioli. Peace and White Cloud.* The shape of the flowers in the Silver Trophy Strains and the way they grow on the stem, is less stiff and 1 Arthur Cowee, Meadowvale Farms, Box 82, Ber- lin, N. Y., specialist in Gladioli ; Fottler, Fiske, Rawson Co., 12 Faneuil Hall Sq., Boston, Mass.; Henry A. Dreer, 714 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, Pa. 182 JUNE regular, and the prices are more popular, twenty-five bulbs for a dollar and a half. Other effective varieties, besides those al- ready mentioned are, Cracker Jack (dark red), Evolution (delicate pink), and Rosella (light rose). There are other good gladioli at ten cents each, less unusual in colouring, more vivid, startling, and splashed. Even among these, a few are of moderate tones: Octoroon, salmon pink; Jessie, velvety-red; Augusta, white; Victory, yellow, and others. Fiery scarlets there are in abundance; it is only a question of avoiding them. Buy not less than a dozen bulbs of a kind and plant in clumps of one or two varieties together. Bulbs should be bought by the hundred ; the ten cent varieties cost only five or six dollars per hundred, and twenty-five can always be had at the hundred rate. Plant the bulbs three or four inches apart ; or if two plantings are made for succession of bloom, the first lot may be set eight inches apart. Then two weeks later plant more of the same varieties between the first bulbs. Small bulbs should be set two or three inches deep; large bulbs four inches below the surface. 183 SUCCESS IN GARDENING Early in October the tops must be cut off, the bulbs lifted, and stored on shelves in an airy, cool place where the temperature will range from 50° to 60°. A charming bulbous flower to be treated in the same way is the fragrant, white is- mene calathina, with its spirited, free, and picturesque blossoms. It is also called the Peruvian daffodil, but does not resemble our Daffodil either in form or manner of growth. Being white, it is a valuable addi- tion to the summer garden. Plant the bulbs now, lift them in October and store for the winter. Almost all the annuals planted in the seedbed will be ready to be transplanted to the border. Transplant in the cool part of the day. Take them up with a good ball of earth, and stand them in a pan of water un- till ready to plant. After planting, water thoroughly. Evergreen hedges should now be pruned. June is the time to prune for new growth; September the time for clipping to keep the hedge within bounds, and of the desired shape. The plants must be given a chance to make strong growth during the summer. If the 184 JUNE hedge is of hemlock, cut off the side shoots, and cut down the leaders, so that it will make thick growth. When it has reached the desired height and density, prune it only enough to keep it within bounds and give it healthy new growth. In September it will need only a slight clipping to preserve the shape. Norway spruce should be trimmed to half of the new growth leaving four or five eyes which form new shoots at each cut end. 185 THIRD WEEK "One of the minor pleasures of life is that of controlling vegetable activity and aggressions with the pruning-knife. Vigorous and rapid growth is, however, a necessity to the sport. To prune feeble plants and shrubs is like acting the part of dry- nurse to a sickly orphan ... I desire to be surrounded only by healthy, vigorous plants and trees, which require constant cutting-in and manage- ment." — Charles Dudley Warner, When the spring-flowering shrubs have finished blooming, prune them — not be- fore. Shrubs are often pruned too much. Many gardeners and the unintelHgent hired man make the mistake of pruning them in March at the time they prune trees, roses, and fall-flowering shrubs, and frequently cut them into hard, round shapes as they would a box or bay tree. The result is di- minished bloom, and a stiff appearance that does not agree with their habit of growth. Shrubs should be allowed to grow freely and naturally, according to their bent. The only object in pruning is to cut out dead, i86 JUNE weak, and damaged branches, to remove old wood which will not bloom again, so as to let the sap and strength go to the new wood on which the flowers will bloom next year. All we want in a shrub is profuse bloom, a healthy habit, and picturesque form. Late summer and fall-flowering shrubs like hydranga paniculata and rosa rugosa are cut back in March. Hibiscus or al- thaea should be pruned in late winter, never in spring. Rhododendrons and azaleas are catalogued under shrubs, but they should not be pruned, except to cut down the dead wood. Forsythias, dentzias, spiraeas, hawthorns, exochorda, viburnums, weigelas, and all the shrubs that bloom in April and May must be pruned now. Cut out all dead shoots to the ground, cut off broken or dam- aged branches cleanly, cut down the old limbs as near the ground as possible. This will give light and air to the bush, and send all the blood to the new wood. If some of the new branches are too long, snip off a few inches from the ends — not more ; but it is safer not to touch them, and if they are left to grow naturally the bush will be more graceful in shape. 187 SUCCESS IN GARDENING Much depends on what result one wishes to attain. If large and profuse bloom, and a healthy plant, the method described above should be followed. But if one prefers to sacrifice some of the bloom and keep the light feathery effect of the shrub both in summer and winter, then he should not cut out so much of the old wood — only the dead wood. I admit that while our shrubs may not be professionally pruned and have many of the old limbs left, they not only have a light, feathery effect in winter, but are covered with a mass of bloom in the spring. An exception to this rule is the pyrus japonicus (Japanese quince), which flowers on the year-old wood, and therefore needs light pruning. Cut out any damaged and broken branches, and year-old limbs that have finished blooming. Lilacs also bloom on the old wood, and, while they need pruning, it should be done carefully. Cut off all withered heads of bloom, and thin out some of the old wood where the bush has grown too dense. All dead wood must of course be cut out, but the rest of the pruning should be moderate. Irregular shoots should also be snipped i88 JUNE back. We must study the characteristics of a shrub; a lilac bush is at its best when it is symmetrical, a forsythia bush is most sig- nificant when it is free, picturesque, and graceful. We want to cut back into shape the straggling shoots on a lilac, but we want to leave the irregular lines of a For- sythia. Our lilac bushes, of the rich double violet and dark red varieties, had grown tall and ungainly, with a fringe of bloom on top, out of sight and reach, and with bare, lanky shoots below. They had not been properly pruned. Last year the tops were cut back, and while we shall lose the flowers this sea- son, the shape of the bushes will be im- proved and the bloom next year will be more perfect. Among the vines to be pruned now are the wistaria (slightly), akebia quinata, forsythia suspensa, and jasmine. In pruning, use shears with a spring handle; they will cut the limb of any shrub unless the bush has been long neglected, and has developed heavy branches. In that case use a one-edged saw. This is the time for the second spra)nng of the elm trees. Although the first spray- 189 SUCCESS IN GARDENING ing probably killed the beetles by the thou- sand, it could not kill all. A certain num- ber of larvae will have hatched out by now, and are feeding on the under side of the leaves. They do not bore, they scrape the under surface, and after eating to their complete content, by the end of June, the larvae will begin to crawl down the trunk and hide in the crevices of the bark until they are transformed into a new crop of beetles. At first no particular harm seems to be done by this under-surface feeding; the ap- pearance of the tree is the same, but by August the leaves will curl and shrivel, and turn as brown as if a fire had passed over them, scorching and withering along its course. The tree will be permanently in- jured, unless the havoc is diminished. Now is the time, while the larvae are still on the leaves, and before they begin to crawl down the trunk, to give the trees a second spray- ing. The first time, the spraying was done from above, to reach the upper side of the leaves. Now, it must be done from below to saturate the under side of the foliage. Unless the underneath surface is covered 190 JUNE with the poison, the larvae will escape un- hurt. In the lovely June days, after the v^arm noon hours, one of our pleasures is to see that the garden is neat and shipshape. As we ramble slowly from bush to border, we carry a small basket with scissors, trowel, shears and weeder. It is fun to snip off the faded flowers, to prune a forgotten shrub, to loosen the earth around the peren- nial plants, to root up a rash and presump- tuous weed. Later this may seem like work; now it is only play. 191 FOURTH WEEK "The chub-faced Dahlia, a little round, a little stupid, carves out of soap, lard or wax his regular pompons, which will be the ornament of a village holiday." — Maurice Maeterlinck. Luxurious man, to bring his vice in use, Did after him the world seduce And from the fields the flowers and plants allure, Where Nature was most plain and pure. He first enclosed within the gardens square A dead and standing pool of air, And a more luscious earth for them did knead, Which stupefied them while it fed. The pink grew then as double as his mind; The nutriment did change the kind. With strange perfumes he did the roses taint, And flowers themselves were taught to paint. The tulip white did for complexion seek. And learned to interline its cheek." — A. Marvel. The dahlia belongs to that category of naturally commonplace flowers which have acquired a capacity for distinction. The larger part of man's garden flowers were artistic in their primitive state — the dahlia never was. Man has " vexed Nature " to 192 JUNE make the dahlia aesthetic. Her beauty is exotic, abnormal. The round, '' chub- faced," stolid, vacant dahlia of our country grandmothers, has been developed into the spirited, sensational, showy, and theatrical cactus variety, and into that open-eyed in- genue, the single dahlia. But unless one has a particular predilec- tion, or cultivated passion for dahlias, it seems as well to reserve them for September blooming when other flowers are scarce. The list of dahlias is bewildering. A grower in Boston advertises seven hundred varieties. Another nursery has a hundred cactus varieties '' true to name." Some of the " offers " in the flower catalogues are warranted to produce neurasthenia : " one hundred dahlias, each one different " ; "a hundred and seventy-five — two hundred and twenty-five varieties; each one differ- ent." We should be fit subjects for a nerve specialist, or the electric chair. It is better to buy ten of one kind, than one each of ten kinds. And, of course, the only use for " a hundred dahlias, each one different " would be to plant them in a nur- sery as an experiment, so as to decide what colour and kind we prefer. But it is suf- 193 SUCCESS IN GARDENING ficient to study the catalogues and select free-flowering varieties, long stems, and the colours and prices that appeal to us. The cactus varieties are the most distin- guished in form and tone. They have bril- liant colouring, strong stems, and are char- acterised by their narrow, curling, cleft, or crested petals, which are sometimes incurved and twisting, and always showy. Out of many hundred, the following are good vari- eties : Aurora, Dorothy, Queen Alexandra, Kriemhilda, Mrs. Macmillan (pink) ; Schwan, Mont Blanc, Snowstorm (white) ; Crepuscule, Mrs. de Lucca, T. G. Baker, Mrs. John Hays Hammond, Goliath (yel- low) ; Princess (lilac) ; Advance (scarlet) ; J. H. Jackson (dark red). I should, perhaps, have used a more en- thusiastic term than " good " in speaking of these varieties. The catalogues describe T. G. Baker as '' sublime," Mrs. John Hayes Hammond as " exquisite " ; Kriemhilda as " the Queen of the cactus dahlias." My own vocabulary seems bromidic and fatuous in comparison. Of the single varieties, which may be called charming, the century type is the best, 194 JUNE in the different colours, pink, crimson, white, maroon. Among the peony-flowered dahlias, are Giant Edelweiss (white), and Glory of Baarn (pink). La Riante (pink), and Queen Wilhelmina (white), may be planted for a hedge effect. The show, pompon, and collarette vari- eties are stiff and not suited to the home garden or the amateur gardener. Dahlias should be planted against a house or wall, at the back of a border, as a tem- porary hedge, or in a separate part of the garden. Their superabundance of leaves crowds out other plants. The soil should be light and porous, not too rich, and well-drained. If the land is heavy mix in some sand. When stable manure is used it should be worked into the ground several months before planting, and not come in contact with the tubers. At the time of planting use very little fertiliser, either bone meal and ashes, or liquid cow manure. Later, after the plants are up, they may be more freely fed at intervals, with sheep or cow manure, or bone meal. In planting set the tubers (one eye), flat, 195 SUCCESS IN GARDENING in a hill, five or six inches deep. They should be two or three feet apart according to the space one can give to them. As the small plants grow, the ground will need fre- quent cultivation, and if they are watered the soil should be loosened afterwards and not allowed to cake. As they grow, dahlias will require rigid pruning, and must be tied erect to a stake. The tall varieties should be planted at the back of the bed, and the dwarf in front, with different heights of stakes, from three to five feet above ground. In the matter of pruning, keep only one central stem at first ; as the plant grows more vigorous, allow a second stem to grow, and then another. But do not allow more than three sprouts from the roots, even when the plants are full grown. The second planting of gladiolus bulbs may be done this week, setting them be- tween the first batch of bulbs that were planted eight inches apart. Delphiniums will need to be staked and tied, as the tall stalks break and bend in the wind. The slender stems are top-heavy with their rich heads of bloom. The withered rhododendron heads should 196 JUNE be broken off at the base. It is easier to break than to cut them, as they are brittle at the neck. The eyes of the new wood are forming directly under the flower bead and one must be careful not to injure or break them. In the fall the buds of next year's bloom will already have formed on the new wood, and will remain dormant through the winter. Those who intend to order choice Holland bulbs, either from American importers, or from the Dutch firm, should send in their lists now to s.ecure a good selection. A list of good varieties will be given under the third week of August, but it is well to be forehanded and mail the order for bulbs in time for the early importations. American grown shrubs and herbaceous plants for fall planting need not be ordered until August. Bulbs should be bought by the hundred or the thousand. Only in masses, or in long, thick rows do they make their full ef- fect. Narcissi, snowdrops, tulips, crocuses, irises, hyacinths, scillas, chionodoxas, lilies, eremurus, snowflakes, fritillaria, all of these should be ordered now in order to secure the best Dutch bulbs. Some American dealers, like the Elliott 197 SUCCESS IN GARDENING Company of Pittsburg, forward one's or- der to Holland, and the bulbs are sent di- rectly to the consignee in their original pack- ages. The best Dutch firm is C. G. van Tu- bergen, Jr., of Haarlem, whose New York agent is E. J. Krug, 112 Broad Street. Be sure to send for van Tubergen's catalogue. His bulbs are in every way satisfactory, and many of the varieties are considerably lower in price than the bulbs grown here. Frequently, as with German irises, the price of the Holland bulbs per hundred is the same as the price of American bulbs per ten. This is so with the exquisite Mme. Chereau iris, Mrs. H. Darwin, Maori King and others. With some of the rarer varie- ties, such as Lohengrin and Walhalla, there is but small difference in the first cost, and with the added custom duty it would amount to about the same. On the contrary. Hyacinth bulbs can be had as cheaply by ordering through an American importer such as the Elliott Nur- sery. 198 JULY First Week " The immemorial Lily raises his ancient sceptre, august, inviolate, which creates around it a zone of chastity, silence and light." — Maurice Maeterlinck. "And the wand-like lily which lifted up, As a Maenad, its moonlight coloured cup, 2 Till the fiery star which is its eye. Gazed through the clear dew on the tender sky." — Percy B. Shelley. FLOWERS THAT BLOOM IN THE MONTH OF JULY ARE: Lilies Yucca filamentosa Delphinium Sunflowers (Helianthus) Bellflowers (Campanula) Hollyhocks Iris Japonica Nasturtiums California poppies {Eschscholtsia'i Foxgloves {Digitalis) Every good American knows that the first week in July may be, and generally is the 199. SUCCESS IN GARDENING hottest of the summer. Its perverse possi- bilities run up into three figures. We can- not claim any special moral retribution for our garden, but I have seen the heat mark 105° in the shade, and it hung fire at that point from sheer suffocation. It is a nat- ural sequence that this week should con- tain the most explosive day of the year, so that we hang between two fires — that of the Sun, and that of its rival the Fourth. Of the two, Phoebus leads the race, for we may legislate a " saner " Fourth, but there is no present indication that science can make a cooler Sun. If, then, at any time, we should expect to enjoy at ease the fruits of our labours, it is now. If ever our garden is to be a spot of soothing and somnolent influence, it is now. We have looked forward to this time of re- freshment. We have pictured ourselves lying in the shade — if not cool shade, at least shade — of our apple tree, when the shadows are long upon the grass, and the fashionable robins indulge in a late and lei- surely dinner, when the garden scent sug- gests mystery and indolence, and the flowers whisper the secrets of the twilight, the bell- flower rings its bells to announce the coming 200 JULY pageant, and the forget-me-nots spread their blue tapestry carpet, the pale yuccas hold on high their processional lanterns, the consecrated lilies follow with their sacri- ficial urns accompanied by their cup-bearers the poppies, the delphiniums march by in hoods dyed with the azure of the sky, the iris standard-bearers carry with proud grace their purple flags, waving them as they walk. Slowly the procession passes before the row of martial hollyhocks drawn up at attention, and the sunflowers stare in won- der at the sight, the nicotiana opens her heavy-lidded eyes, the moonflower stirs on her hanging stem, languidly awakening from her noonday sleep, and the evening glory waves a '' bona nox " from her bal- cony. We, too, are wakened by the silvery cry of "bona nox." Was it real? Or a mid- summer dream? Supine hope! Deluded fancy! We suddenly recall the words of our garden philosopher, ringing clear witH stern common sense and high morality: " The principal value of a private garden is not understood," the words reverberate grimly in our brain, drugged with the dan- gerous wine from the poppy cups ; " it is," 201 SUCCESS IN GARDENING says the philosopher, relentlessly, " to teach patience and philosophy, and the higher virtues, — hope deferred, and expectations blighted, leading directly to resignation, and sometimes to alienation ; the garden thus be- comes a moral agent, a test of character, as it was in the beginning." But Charles Dudley Warner, the modern Epicurus, missed his chance to improve upon the first garden philosopher, Adam, when he declared, " Woman always did, from the first, make a muss in a garden." We awake from our mid-summer dream to see the wild carrot look us defiantly in the face while it tramples the pansies, to see the burdock strangle the gentle bellflowers and usurp their place, to see chickweed saucily chumming with forget-me-nots, to see that the earth has grown stiff and crusty for want of a drink, while we were sipping that fruit cup which soothed us to a de- ceptive sleep. Our humane and social instinct, succes- sor to the now out of fashion Puritan con- science and holding in its place the chair of ethics, begins to lecture us on our selfish monopoly of the shade and lemonade. It tells us that this is the most trying season 202 JULY for the plants and flowers, that they need cooling drink as much as we do, that they are panting for shade in the shape of mulch. How should we like to be rooted to one place, dependent for our health and life on passive man, friigus consumer e natusf Then, as it were, in an illuminating flash, we remember that work was the price of the fruit that our first ancestor enjoyed for a brief moment in his garden. Work, and the *' sweat of the brow," which is a polite way to speak of the consequences of hoeing when the thermometer is at 105°. And we turn guiltily to look for watering pot, and fork and shovel. We must mulch the rhododendrons. They have had light and air during the growing season, in the two equable months of the year; but drought and heat are as fatal to them as cold. They need constant moisture. Their roots are near the surface, and must supply water to their evergreen leaves, winter and summer alike. This taxes their strength, and unless we help them, as nature does in the native forests of their genus, they will die, the weakest first, the strongest last. Cover the beds with a thick layer, at least 203 SUCCESS IN GARDENING six inches deep, of peat or of muck and* mould from the heap; peat must be bought and is not easy to obtain, but leaf-mould may be had for a minimum outlay of care and forethought. The tidy housewife often looks disapprovingly and with forbidding eye on rhododendrons because the beds ten months in the year, cannot be kept looking neat, but must be covered with muck or leaves. It is perhaps this passion of housewives for neatness that deprives many country houses of the delight of gardens. This is why we see large places where trees alone are allowed, and flowers are kept in the background to serve merely for cutting pur- poses. It may be well to keep the approach to the house — the face we turn to the street — severe and sightly in winter as well as summer. Trees and evergreen shrubs and vines can alone accomplish this decorous result; they can form the formal and in- scrutable mask we turn to the world. But away from the multitude, on the side we turn to those we love — to family and friends — we may surely plant a garden and have flowers where they can bloom un- ashamed. 204 SECOND WEEK " Blessed be agriculture ! if one does not have too mtich of it. , . . The pleasure of gardening in these days, when the thermometer is at ninety, is one that I fear I shall not be able to make intelligible to my readers, many of whom do not appreciate the delight of soaking in the sunshine . . ." — Charles Dudley Warner. "Weeds have this virtue: they are not easily dis- couraged; they never lose heart entirely; they die game. If they cannot have the best, they take up with the poorest ; if fortune is unkind to them to-day, they hope for better luck to-morrow; in all cases they make the most of their opportunities." — John Burroughs. Weeds have not been understood. They have been thought perversely immoral ; they are courageously moral. They have been called useless and vicious; they are useful examples of virtue. They are industrious, cheerful, resolute, alert; they are plucky, persevering, tenacious ; and they are experts at rapid transit. What an array of good qualities! Enough to spell success in man or plant, and the list might be increased. 205 SUCCESS IN GARDENING Man needs the same qualities in his fight with the weeds. It is a question of who will win in this highly moral hand-to-hand battle. Weed, weed, weed ! This is the motto for the summer. Weed and water! We may do our own watering and weeding and plant- ing in the spring, but it shows wisdom to have it done by proxy in July and August. It will be worth while to hire a man by the day or hour to work under direction. In a spring and fall garden, where the owner is away in mid-summer, it will be more satisfactory to have the work done by the job, so to speak, or by the month. Make a contract with a reliable gardener to keep the garden in good condition, cut the grass, weed, water, transplant, tie up climbers, mulch, and other necessary work, for a specified sum per month or week. It is not difficult to determine how many days a week will be required to do the work. A small yard may take only one day, a large garden may need four days. A place of an acre and a half, with a garden, can be kept in good shape, during July and August, with three days of work per week. The blooms of the hybrid perpetuals are 206 JULY disappearing, and to secure a second bloom in the fall, prune them now — not vigor- ously as in early spring, but as a moderate trimming back. This is the week for the last spraying of the roses with whale oil soap. I am grow- ing somewhat sensitive about this con- tinual mention of spraying, but we must remember that a soap douche in hot weather is as refreshing to flowers as to us. How could we exist without our morning tub? Watch for the maple scale, which attacks not only the soft maple trees, but also grape vines, Virginia creeper, and osage orange. At the beginning of July the newly hatched scale swarm by the thousand on twigs and leaves, and begin to feed ; this is the time to fight them. The scale first attack the tips of the lower branches, which makes easy the work of elimination, by cutting off the in- fested parts, without injury to the tree or shrub. Be sure to burn or cart away the cuttings to prevent the scale from crawling onto healthy trees. If the scale has spread too far for trim- ming, spray, with an oil and soap emulsion, the infested region, on the outside of the tree. It is not necessary to reach the mid- 207 SUCCESS IN GARDENING die of the tree as with other pests. The same spray used against the oyster shell scale will serve in this case: half a pound of whale oil soap melted on the fire in one gallon of water; remove from fire and add two gallons of kerosene; mix well. Use one part of the mixture to ten or fifteen parts of cold water. If whale oil soap can- not be obtained, a laundry soap that con- tains naphtha or kerosene may be substituted. If the seeds of biennials were sown in April, the small plants are now ready to be transplanted to the nursery. Biennials are nothing more than annuals that take a year to grow before they flower; like annuals they will die after their first season of bloom, and must, therefore, be raised every year and nursed through a twelvemonth. Make trenches in the nursery bed about eight inches deep, pulverise the earth until it is fine and light, and mix with manure. Set the small plants six inches apart, and water them in the dry July weather. The earth must not be allowed to cake and crack, but be kept loose, so that air and moisture will reach the roots. Hollyhocks may be treated as biennials, with good results. Sow the freshly ma- 208 JULY tured seeds in drills, at the sunny end of the seed bed; the soil should be porous so that the drainage will be good, and should be deeply dug and enriched with thoroughly decayed manure. By sowing at this time, the drought and heat of the summer will be largely avoided, and the plants will be less subject to the usual hollyhock disease. Plant the seeds one inch deep, or less, and about four inches apart. Leave a space of at least fifteen to eighteen inches between the rows. Water the seeds every evening. The plants must be protected in winter with evergreen boughs or rough straw; if leaves are used place boards over them to prevent decay and keep them dry. In case the leaves of the hollyhocks show rust, they must be sprayed with Bordeaux mixture. The plants may be transplanted the fol- lowing spring to their permanent borders, and if protected during the winters will live on as perennials. But the first year's bloom is the best, and for this reason they are more successful as biennials. Chater's strain of double hollyhocks reproduce from seed true to variety and colour. Other strains are not so dependable, and may be fickle on the ques- tion of colour, so that if special varieties 209 SUCCESS IN GARDENING and combinations of the single hollyhocks are wanted, it will be more satisfactory to buy the small plants, or reproduce from cut- tings. The chief point to remember in raising hollyhocks, is that they delight in rich feed- ing, during the growing season. 2id THIRD WEEK **Here in this sequestered close Bloom the hyacinth and rose Here beside the modest stock Flaunts the flaring hollyhock; Here, without a pang, one sees Ranks, conditions and degrees. "All the seasons run their race In this quiet resting-place." — Austin Dobson. Our garden in July should be a " quiet resting-place," and as weeds are the only enemies of our peace, there is no reason why we should not hire a boy to fight our bat- tles, while we enjoy our *' sequestered close." It is the only rational way to live. We ought to pass our time wholly out-of- doors ; like Epicurus we should study, exer- cise, and teach in our garden ; and like prag- matists we should eat and sleep in our gar- den and on our porches, although Epicurus seems to have lacked only a sleeping porch to have set the fashion for the *' passing of indoors." 211 SUCCESS IN GARDENING We want to add by every device to the comfort and enjoyment of this outdoor life. An upstairs' verandah may be used in th( morning as a breakfast room. If the ve^ randah has a roof, hang Japanese screens, oi Venetian blinds, v^^hich can be lov^ered en- tirely on the sunny side, or only enougli to cut off the glaring sky-line on the shady side. In case the verandah is uncovered^ an av^ning will serve for both roof and shade. Have a hammock hung across one end, comfortable willow chairs, a folding table that will serve for a breakfast table, am a small table for a few books, magazines, and papers. Verandah boxes, filled with flowers and vines will be cool looking am feeling. But for pure enjoyment, one mea should be taken al-fresco in the garden, under the shade of trees or shrubbery. We of the East are neither as natural, noij as modern in our ways of living as our cous- ins of the West. My cousins near Chicago have delightful outdoor sitting-rooms, sleep- ing-rooms, and dining-rooms, where they follow their regular occupations, recreations^ social intercourse, eating, and sleeping. No meal is taken indoors. One end of a long 212 GRASS WALK. WINNETKA. JULY and deep verandah is furnished with rugs, lounging chairs, Gloucester hammock, tables, screens, jardinieres, tea-table; it is not treated as a porch, but as a room. Hanging baskets and pots of flowers, and long boxes of ferns and flowers, lining the porch railing, potted plants, and cut flowers in profusion, make a garden of the outdoor room. The other end of the verandah is fur- nished as a simple dining-room, with plain but permanent mission chairs and tables. Here too, plants and flowers make it a bower. Here the family and friends dine every evening. This is the real way to live in summer. With a little trouble, thought, and as much or as little expense as one wants to devote to it, one can find health, " the enjoyment of sense and imagination, and the quiet and ease of the body and mind." Even if one does not care to afTord elabo- rate arrangements for outdoor living, it is always possible, and just as enjoyable, to make of the porch a camp, and of the meals a picnic. But however simple or elaborate the details, flowers, vines, and shade are es- sential. We want life, not existence; and 213 SUCCESS IN GARDENING beauty is one of the necessities, not one of the luxuries of real life. This plea for a scheme of outdoor living in summer, may not seem to be closely allied to gardening, but it is in the ideal and the aesthetic sense. To get the good of the gar- den, we want to live in it and near it, not merely to walk through it; we want to en- joy it, which is more than admiring it; we want to make it a part of ourselves, not only a setting for our house; we want it for in- timacy and companionship, not for show and ornament; we want to bring it to our threshold, so that the garden will be part of the home, not a mere appendage. Now for the work of the week: by the middle of July even the hybrid tea roses will rest from blooming during the great heat, and not start on their second crop un- til the end of August. It is vacation time for them. During these six weeks they will need either water or protection. Give the beds a good weeding, loosen and turn up the earth with a hand fork or hoe, and cover the surface with a layer of cow manure, turned three times, or rotten leaves and loam ; but the manure is best. Watch now for mildew and black spot, 214 JULY and spray once a week, if necessary, with sulphide of potassium (a half -ounce to one gallon of water) ; continue this until toward the last of August. This is merely to pro- tect the foliage and prevent it from falling. The plants will not be seriously injured, but will De weakened, if the mildew is allowed to attack the leaves unchecked. The stalks of the delphiniums that have finished flowering may be cut down to the ground, so as to secure continued bloom through the summer. As soon as one set of stems are cut down, another group will shoot up and there will be a succession of bloom. But in time this will weaken the plant and produce smaller blooms. Dahlias that were planted early will need staking by this time, especially if only two or three stalks were allowed to grow from the roots. In the North this is a favourable time for sowing the seeds of perennials. Use seeds of this year's blooming, and sow in the seed- bed; soak the seeds for twenty-four hours before planting, to hasten germination. The bed should be watered every evening for about two weeks. I will not repeat the directions for planting, that we^e given ^15 SUCCESS IN GARDENING under the third week of May. There is this advantage in sowing perennials now, that by the time the small plants are above ground, the worst heat of the summer will have passed, and there will still be ample time for them to grow and be transplanted, some time in September, so as to get well- rooted before heavy frosts. 216 FOURTH WEEK " In every garden, four things are necessary to be provided for, flowers, fruit, shade, and water; and whoever lays out a garden, without all these, must not pretend it in any perfection." — Sir William Temple. "And on the stream whose inconstant bosom Was prankt under boughs of embowering blossom, With golden and green light, slanting through Their heaven of many a tangled hue, ** Broad water-lilies lay tremulously, And starry river-buds glimmered by, And around them the soft stream' did glide and dance With a motion of sweet sound and radiance." — Percy B. Shelley. As an element in a landscape, natural water of any kind — brook, river, or lake — adds a charm, an individuality, and a va- riety that nothing else can give. Artificial water effects in landscape gardening, if crea- ted by an artist, may be an element of pic- turesque beauty; but in the hands of the amateur they hold many chances of failure. Still, the love of water is so general that many persons are not satisfied without a bit 217 SUCCESS IN GARDENING of water or a water garden of some kind or of any size, whether a " three-by-five " trough, a small pool, a half barrel, an arti- ficially heated tank, a nature-like pond, or a sumptuous basin. If ever our thoughts turn to water, it is in July and August. Those of us who have no water garden, may find it refreshing to plan one for next year, and a cool pond with white lilies floating on its surface seems an appropriate current of thought at this time. Work may be begun even now, if the plan is for an artificial basin. In any case the garden should be planned now, while the work of excavation and building may be done in September or October, and even the soil prepared in the autumn, so that it will mellow by the following spring. Water effects are difficult to handle. In the right place, and treated in the right way, they are distinctively decorative and give a peculiar sense of stillness and of de- tachment. They are better suited to large areas than to small lots. It is possible to have a lily basin as the central feature of a formal garden, yet a fountain, with the idea of height and of falling water, is more effective. 218 JULY In a small enclosed garden, a central cir- cular basin is almost the only method of introducing water plants. It should be kept simple in effect and design, planted only with lilies, stocked with gold-fish, and en- circled with a border or rim of narcissus poeticus, and forget-me-nots, or California poppies. The only other possible water feature in a small enclosed garden, would be a narrow basin or moat outlining the gar- den on three sides, inside the hedge. At the end opposite the entrance to the garden, the moat should be cut at right angles by a short path, with a stone seat standing at the end against green planting. This will give an opportunity for simple architectural features, such as stone vases of good design raised on bases, at the angles of the basin rim. This long moat will need a background and it will be desirable to leave a space be- tween the hedge or boundary, and the basin, to allow for a massed planting of shrubs and of certain effective flowers such as Jap- anese iris, canterbury bells, and foxgloves. In a larger, terraced formal garden, there may be a number of striking water effects evolved. In any case have the water on the 219 SUCCESS IN GARDENING lower terrace, approached by long, low stone steps with stone coping. A spectacular ar- rangement is a long basin, placed length- wise with the approach from above, with heavy plantings of trees and shrubs on each side and a turf walk between the planting and the basin. Much of the water may be left free for the play of light and shade in the reflections of leaves and branches. To complete this dramatic picture, there should be a stuccoed casino rising from the further end of the basin and mirrored in its waters. This may be a water castle that few can build in stone. Those who can have the basin minus the castle, may turn the basin transversely, and bank the further side with trees and shrubbery, making this the limit of the garden. With the trans- verse arrangement we may think less of the poetry and reflected romance, than of the water plants, and indulge in a varied min- gling of aquatics. In planning a nature-like pond, there will be large scope for picturesque planting on the banks, of moisture loving shrubs and flowers. We must remember that in na- ture, water is always on a lower level than the surrounding land, it is at the bottom, in 220 JULY valleys, depressions, hollows, or gullies. And if we imitate nature we must arrange that there shall be more or less of a slope in the ground to the pond below. If the lay of the land does not admit of a drop, it will be preferable to have a frankly artificial and conventional basin. But supposing a favourable site for a pool or pond, we can plan a charming bank, planted at the back with trees, and in front of these an irregular grouping of shrubs that love wet places: azalea viscosa at the back, ilex verticillata, the deliciously scented cephalanthus occidentalis, nemopanthes canadensis or mountain holly, the brilliant hibiscus moscheutos or swamp rose-mal- low, spiraea tomentosa, and on the front the low rhodora canadensis, and cornus canadensis. In front of the shrubs, may be planted a selection of water loving flowers, some of the lovely wild orchids, blue gentians, and lobelias, the acorus Japonica or sweet flag, marsh marigold, sagittaria Japonica, lizard's tail and cat tail, calla palustris, several varieties of the iris, especially the Japonica and pseudacorus, and many small, low blooms to edge the pond like forget-me- 221 SUCCESS IN GARDENING nots and trilliums. This planting will be on the further side of the pond; the front will be kept green, with nothing but grass or myrtle to the water's edge. Water lilies may be grown in tubs or half barrels sunk in the ground. Fill them half full with soil covered with an inch of sand, and allow about eight inches for water. Some of the tubs may be half hogsheads and tierces for the large plants. One could have a double row or circular grouping of the tubs, placed with some space between. A row of stones around each tub would hold in place the earth between, which should be good, rich loam. In these spaces, one may plant narcissus, the brilliant dwarf stone-crop, forget-me- nots, marsh marigolds, and gentians. On the North side, to protect the tubs from cold winds, plant some of the marsh shrubs, especially mallows and azalea vis- cosa, with tall Japanese irises in front. This would be the easiest form of water garden to have, and would be suited to a picturesque, or old-fashioned garden. In a formal garden we should want a regular cemented tank or basin. An artificial basin of any size should be two feet deep. After making the excava- 222 JULY tion, if the soil is hard clay to the depth of a foot, it may be tamped and pounded firmly, and covered with a thick coat of ce- ment. But it is usually preferable to pave the bottom v^ith cobble stones or old bricks laid in cement. Build the sides of the tank with brick or stone eight inches thick, and sloping inv^ard tov^ards the bottom. It is v^ell to cover the inside and outside of the wall and the bottom with a layer of cement to prevent freezing. The upper edge of the tank should be on a level with the surrounding ground, and one may have a low stone coping on top if he wishes to mark the limits of the basin for decorative effect. In a large tank, or any basin in which dif- ferent kinds of aquatics are to be grown, partitions at the ends should be built, one foot high, of bricks placed on edge and laid in cement. These compartments may meas- ure three or four feet wide by six feet long, and will hold groups of three nelumbiums or nymphseas of a kind. In this way luxu- riant growers like nyphsea tuberosa, which spread rapidly, will be confined within limits and not crowd out other kinds; and nelu- biums, which require at least eighteen inches 22Z SUCCESS IN GARDENING of soil and only six inches of water, may be separated from other aquatics. The best way to plant the main part of the basin, is to set out each lily in a separate box and sink the boxes in the tank. This method is especially suited to planting tender nym- phaeas which must be lifted in the fall. Hardy nymphaeas may be set out in the main basin if planted far apart. There should be an exit arranged for the water, at the bottom of the tank so that it may be emptied, and also a waste-pipe, or a stand-pipe near the top for the overflow. A lily basin should be in a warm location, where it will get the full heat of the sun. When the tank is ready and the cement hardened, fill in with ten inches of compost, covered with a couple of inches of sand, ex- cept in the compartments for nelumbiums in which the sand should be omitted. Water lilies require a rich, moist soil in which to grow. It may be muck and mud from the bottom of a pond or swamp, made up chiefly of humus or rotted vegetable mat- ter. But a rich, black, friable garden loam or leaf mould is fully as satisfactory. Either of these soils should be thoroughly mixed with one-third to a half of well-rot- 2^4 JULY ted cow manure, and a small quantity of bone meal, at the rate of one pound to a wheelbarrow of the compost. Gypsum, or land plaster, makes a good top-dressing to be applied to the surface of the soil, in addition to the other fertilisers. When the nymphaeas are planted, two in- ches of sand will be added on top of the gypsum.^ 1 Directions for planting Water lilies, and the named varieties will be found under the first week m May. 225 I I AUGUST First Week " Now, Meliboeus, prithee graft thy pears, And range thy vines! . . ." — Vergil. "He bids th' ill-natured Crab produce The gentler Apple's Winy Juice; He does the savage Hawthorn teach To bear the Medlar and the Pear, He bids the rustick Plum to rear A noble Trunk, and be a Peach." — Abraham Cowley. .^ "In all trees you raise, have some regard to the ' stock, as well as the graft or bud; for the first will have a share in giving taste and season to the fruits it produces, how little soever it is usually observed by our gardeners." — Sir William Temple. FLOWERS THAT BLOOM IN THE MONTH OE AUGUST ARE: Anchusa Dropmore Monkshood (Aconitum) Sunflowers {Soldi d'Or, multiUorus maximus) Funkia subcordata grandiflora Golden glow {Rudbeckia laciniata) Phlox Snapdragons {Antirrhinum) 22y SUCCESS IN GARDENING FLOWERS THAT BLOOM IN THE MONTH OF AUGUST— Continued. Cosmos Shirley poppies Sweet peas Salpiglossis Stocks Forget-me-nots Petunias Morning Glory (Ipomosa) Nicotiana Classic agriculturists and seventeenth" century garden enthusiasts seem ahke to have been fascinated by the sport of graft- ing and budding. "We nowhere Art do so triumphant see, As when it Grafts or Buds the Tree ; " declares Abraham Cowley, and after enlarg- ing on its power to " over-rule " and '* master " Nature, he exclaims: "Who would not joy to see his conqu'ring Hand O'er all the vegetable world command?" Budding, like many other things, has passed with us from poetry to plain prose, from pleasure to business, from the amateur gardener to the professional nurseryman. But why should we not amuse ourselves with it as a pastime, or study it as a matter of research? Budding is not difficult, and I 228 AUGUST agree with Cowley that there is fascination in assisting in the creation of a tree. As we all know, fruit trees are the trees most commonly budded. Roses also are budded, lilacs, tree-peonies, and other shrubs and plants. It is a large field for in- dividual experiment — perhaps for discov- ery. The most ordinary wood used for the stock of shrubs is the hawthorn, on account of its extreme hardiness. For budding roses, the briar is the best stock. With fruit trees the stock is a strong variety of the same kind of fruit, the bud being often taken from a choicer strain. Budding is done on very young stock, either on a year-old plant, or on a tree raised from seed which was planted the previous April — four months' old stock. The bud should be inserted close to the ground; in roses, as close as possible to the root, or about two inches above the fork where the branches break out from the root. It is, of course, important that the point of the bud should be below the level at which the plant will be eventually set in the ground, so as to diminish the chances of new growth from the stock. 229 SUCCESS IN GARDENING One may have a plant that he wishes to reproduce, and which cannot be propagated from seed, or which does not reproduce from seed true to colour and variety. Cut a twig from the desired plant, and with a sharp knife cut off a bud with a long, narrow piece of the bark attached. The piece of bark which holds the bud, may be from one to two inches long, and extends both above and below the small bud. Cut two slits in the bark of the stock: one lengthwise with the trunk, and the other at right angles across the top, like St. An- thony's cross, so that the bark can be peeled back. Insert the bud, or the pointed piece of bark to which the bud is attached, in the slit made in the stock; turn down the loose bark over the inserted piece, and bind them together with a soft tape. Leave on the binding until about the first week in September, which will give three weeks for the bud to unite with the stock. In the following spring the limb of the stock should be cut off about an inch above the bud. Budding requires no exertion, interests the mind, satisfies the love of experimenta- tion, kindles the fancy, and excites antici^ 230 AUGUST pations that cannot be disappointed for a whole year. These qualities make of bud- ding a pleasant occupation for the lethargic and dull days of August, when one is justi- fied in a certain impatience toward work, in- structions, preachments, advice, and all things dry. Now, reader, "prithee graft thy pears," and "bid the rustick Plum" to "be a Peach." 231 SECOND WEEK " With whatever we may choose to plant our gar- den ... it needs digging, watering, and, most of all weeding." — Vernon Lee. "Weeds are so full of expedients, and the one engrossing purpose with them is to multiply. The wild onion multiplies at both ends. Toad-flax travels under ground and above ground. Never allow a seed to ripen, and yet it will cover your- field. Cut off the head of the wild carrot, and in a week there are five heads; cut off these, and by Fall there are ten looking defiance at you from the same root . . . Weeds are great travellers; they are, in- deed, the tramps of the vegetable world. They are going east, west, north, south; they walk; they fly; they swim; they steal a ride; they travel by rail, by flood, by wind; they go under ground, and they go above, across lots, and by the highway." — John Burroughs. There is little new work to be attended to in the early part of August. The refrain is the same as for July : weed, water, spray. Keep the beds weeded, and the earth turned up ; do not allow it to cake and crack, but have the surface loose, fine and pulver- 232 MlUGUST ised, so that the moisture can pass through to the roots of the plants. Water the flowers in the late afternoon, or after sundown, not with a sprinkler, but with the open nozzle of the watering-pot; give them a thorough wetting that will soak through to the roots. It is the roots that need refreshment, and they will supply in- side moisture to the leaves and blooms, which will be more effectual than an ex- ternal sprinkle that quickly dries. Water all the growing plants. Pansies especially need moisture; after a rain they increase in size and numbers, and the colours are richer. Always water them during dry weather. Spray the roses once a week with sul- phide of potassium, for mildew or black spot. And tie up the new shoots of climb- ing roses, and other vines. If the flowers are not blooming as they should, scatter a small quantity of bone meal over the beds, but not near the roots, before a threatened rain. The blooms will improve in quantity and brilliancy. Keep the flowers picked every day. It may not be possible to gather daily all that bloom, such as the prolific poppies, and some of the plants may be intended merely 233 SUCCESS IN GARDENING for garden decoration. But the pansies and sweet peas need daily pruning, and the more they are picked, the more freely they will bloom. All annuals, in fact, flower more abundantly when they are constantly culled. Cut off the withered flowers, and any young pods that may have formed, unless one wants some of the plants, such as pop- pies and foxgloves, to self-sow, or unless it is intended to grow flowers from one's own seed. Nothing repays as well as a garden for the effort to keep up appearances. During the summer heat and drought it is well to mulch the trees and the perennial border with clippings from the lawn, to hold the moisture. The grass will need cutting less often, probably not more than once in ten days or two weeks, unless the season is unusually wet. The small perennial plants, grown from seed that was sown in May or June, are ready to be transplanted either to the nurs- ery row, for those who believe in several transplantings, or to the permanent beds. It is well for everyone concerned, to do this work in the late afternoon. As the small plants are lifted, plunge them in a 234 AUGUST pail of water, and be careful to take them up with all their roots and feelers. Water them thoroughly after they have been moved to their new quarters. To be successful with a garden, we must be foreminded. It is not too early to send for the fall catalogues of trees, shrubs, and plants. While we sit on the porch, or in the shade of the garden, we can plan for the fall planting, study varieties, and compare cost, for even the first-class nurseries differ in their prices. We can note the specialties of each nursery; one firm makes a specialty of evergreens, another of shrubs and herba- ceous perennials; there is the peony specialist, the pansy specialist, the rose specialist. We may want to change or improve the borders, make different colour combina- tions, and not merely colour but flower com- binations ; we must notice where plants need to be replaced; and if we are enthusiasts we shall want to try new varieties and species. All this requires thought, and quiet plan- ning. The fall orders should be sent by the middle of August, with exact dates when the plants are to be shipped. In this way. SUCCESS IN GARDENING the best stock will be secured, prompt de- livery, and no chance of getting left-overs. A suggestive list will be given under the following week. If the bulbs were not or- dered in July, they must be ordered now from American growers. 236 I THIRD WEEK " Perhaps, after all, it is not what you get out of a garden, but what you put into it, that is the most remunerative . . . Next to deciding when to start your garden, the most important matter is what to put in it. It is difficult to decide what to order for dinner on a given day: how much more oppressive is it to order in a lump an endless vista of dinners, so to speak! For, unless your garden is a boundless prairie, you must make a selection of what you will raise in it." — Charles Dudley Warner. The orders for plants and trees to be set out in the fall, should be sent this week. The following is a tentative list of good varieties of bulbs, plants, shrubs, and ever- greens, from which selections could be made. BULBS Chionodoxa : gigantea. Luciliae. sardensis. CoLCHicuM ( fall-flowering) : autumnale album; white. autumnale album plenum; rare, double white. 237 SUCCESS IN GARDENING CoLCHicuM (fall-flowering) — Continued. autumnale flore pleno; double rosy red. autumnale major; rosy purple, autumnale minor; rosy pink. Crocus (spring-flowering) : Hebe ; white. King of the Whites; white. Mont Blanc; white. Albion; violet striped. Grand lilac, early. Johan; lilac. Mme. Mina; violet striped. Purpurea grandiflora; purple. Antigone; soft blue. Lord Palmerston ; dark blue. Maximilian ; china blue. Cloth of gold; yellow. Crocus (fall-flowering) : iridiflorus ; purple. sativus ; saffron. speciosus; bright blue. speciosus Aitchisoni; large flowers. speciosus albus ; white. Zonatus; pale lilac. Galanthus (snowdrop) : Caucasicus. Elwesi. Fosteri. nivalis flore pleno, plicatus (Crimean). Hyacinth : La Grandesse; white. White Lady; early, white. La Franchise; early, rosy white. Mme. van der Hoop; rosy white. Enchantress; early, light blue. 238 AUGUST Hyacinth — Continued. La Peyrouse; light blue. Perle Brillante; light blue. Queen of the Blues; light blue. King of the Blues ; dark blue. Menelik; dark blue. Baron von Thuyll; early, pale rose. Cavaignac; pale rose. Gigantea; early pale rose. Jacques; pale rose. Gertrude; early, deep rose. Koh-i-nohr; early, deep rose. Etna; carmine. Roi des Beiges; carmine. General Pelissier; early, red. La Victoire; early, red. Charles Dickens; lilac. Distinction; reddish purple. Hon. Mr. Balfour; early, violet. L'Esperance; dark purple. City of Haarlem; early, yellow. Ida; early, yellow. King of the yellows; yellow. Obelisk; yellow. Iris: English; blue, violet, white. Histrio; early, bright blue. Histrioides; early, bright blue. Persica; early, dark violet, blue. Regelio-cyclus ; violet, brown, purple, veined. Reticulata, earliest; maroon, purple, gold. Spanish; yellow, white, blue. Warleyensis ; blue. Leucojum (snow-flake) : aestivum. vernum autumnale. vemum carpathicum. 239 SUCCESS IN GARDENING LiLIUM : canadense; bell-shaped, yellow, and red. candidum (Madonna lily) ; white. Grayi; orange dotted purple. longiflorum; white. superbum; turk's cap, orange dotted purple. tenuifolium'; coral-red. MuscARi (grape hyacinth) : azureum; early, bright blue. botryoides; gentian blue. botryoides album; white. conicum; black blue. elegans ; bright blue. Heavenly Blue; bright blue. paradoxum; dark blue. plumosum; feathered. polyanthum; large flowers. Narcissus : * Golden Spur; early, yellow, trumpet. Obvallaris; early, yellow, trumpet. * Henry Irving; early, yellow, trumpet. * Victoria; early, bicolor, trumpet. * Mrs. Thompson ; early, white, trumpet. Incomparabilis, * Queen Bess ; early, cup and saucer. * Sir Watkin ; early, cup and saucer. * Emperor ; middle, yellow, trumpet. * Empress ; middle, bicolor, trumpet. * Horsfieldi ; middle, bicolor, trumpet. Wm. Goldring; middle, white, trumpet. Incomparabilis, Stella Superba; middle, cup and saucer. Glory of Leiden; late, yellow, trumpet. Madame Plemp; late, bicolor, trumpet. Madame de Graaff; late, white, trumpet. * Those marked with an asterisk are the best low- priced varieties. 240 \ AUGUST 'N ARCI5SUS— Continued. Incomparabilis, Gloria Mundi; late, cup and sauceVo Grandee ; trumpet. Maximus ; yellow, trumpet. Mrs. Camm ; white, trumpet. * Barri conspicuus. * Maurice de Vilmorin. Incomparabilis, Sirius. Aureole. Leedsi, Ariadne. * Mrs. Langtry. Duchess of Westminster. Peach. Double, Incomparabilis plenus. Orange Phoenix. Sulphur Phoenix. Van Sion. Poetaz, Alsace. Aspasia. Elvira. Poeticus (pheasant's eye). Glory. grandiflora. King Edward VII. Ornatus. poetarum. PuscHKiNiA Libanotica; early, blue-white, dark stripe. SCILLA : campanulata ; blue, white, rose, sibirica ; early, bright blue, white. 241 SUCCESS IN GARDENING Snowdrop, (see galanthus) : Tulip (to be planted in November) : Single early. Cottage maid; rosy pink. Due van Tholl; violet. Due van Tholl, maximus; white. Eleonora; dark violet. Joost van Vondel; white. Koh-i-Nohr; maroon red. Mrs. Cleveland; soft rose. Pottebakker; white. President Cleveland; white, rose tipped. Queen of the Netherlands; rosy white. Double early, Blanche Hative; pure white. La Candeur; pure white. Lac van Haarlem; violet. Lord Beaconsfield; bright rose. Salvator Rosa; dark rose. Darwin, Baronne de la Tonnaye; carmine-pink. Clara Butt; rose. Dream; lilac. La Tulipe noire; black. La Candeur; white. Psyche; soft rose. Rev. H. Ewbank; soft heliotrope. Single Late, Cottage. Gesneriana spathulata; scarlet, blue eye. Innocence; white. Le Reve; old rose. Picotee; rosy white. Tulipa Greigi; choice and expensive. PERENNIAL PLANTS Aquilegia (columbine) : Canadensis; early, bright red and yellow. 242 AUGUST Aquilegia — Continued. Coerulia; early, bright blue and white. Coerulia candidissima; early, pure white. Glandulosa (Siberian) ; early, blue and white. Skinneri (Mexican) ; middle. Chrysantha alba; middle. Californica; middle. Jaetschauri; middle. Chrysantha; middle. Delicatissima ; middle, soft rose. Alpina; late, blue. Glandulosa vera; late, blue. Helenae; late, blue. Stuarti; late, blue. Nivea grandiflora; late, white. Coerulea lutea; late, yellow. Olympica; late, mauve. Haylodgensis. Oxysepala; rare. Delphinium : Belladonna. English mixed. Form'osum. Form'osum coelestinuni'. Gold Medal Hybrids. Grandiflora. Hybridum Moerheimi. King of Delphiniums. Lamartin. DiCTAMNUs (gas plant) ; white flowers. Hemerocalis (day lily) : aurantiaca major; July and August, free-flowering. Florham; June and July, golden yellow. Peony : Festiva Maxima; white. Marie Lemoine; white. 243 SUCCESS IN GARDENING Peony — Continued. Candidissima ; white. Dorchester; white. Avalanche; white. Lady Leonora Bramwell; silvery-rose. L'Esperance ; rose. Perfection; light pink. Delicatissima ; clear pink. Claire Dubois; glossy pink. Beranger; mauve-pink. Felix Crousse; brilliant red. Rubra Superba; crimson. Louis Van Houtte; violet-red. Tenuifolia; bright crimson. Japanese Dragon; dark crimson. Japanese White. La Tulipe; flesh pink, striped carmine. Philomele; yellow and soft pink. De Candolle; brilliant currant. Mad. Calot; salmon-white. Mad. Crousse; white, edged carmine. Couronne D'Or; white and yellow. Wittmanniana ; sulphur yellow. Pap AVER Orientale (Oriental Poppy) : Mahogany; crimson-maroon. Mammoth; scarlet, black center. Princess Louise; salmon-pink. Phlox Decussata: Amazone; pure white. Anna Crozy; white. Moliere; clear salmon. Subulata (creeping) ; rose pink. Subulata alba; pure white. Subulata G. F. Wilson ; light blue. Subulata Model; bright pink. Stenanthium Robustum; fleecy white bloom. 244 AUGUST SHRUBS Berberis : ilicifolia; for winter foliage. Thunbergii; fall foliage, red and ntarooru vulgaris purpurea; purple leaved. Callicarpa purpurea; purple berries in autumn. Clematis (bush) : davidiana ; blue flowers. integrifolia ; large purple flowers. recta; white flowers. Crataegus Cordata; for winter fruit. Cydonia (Japanese quince) : Japonica; brilliant red. Japonica alba; white flowers. Daphne Mezereum ; pink flowers. Deutzia : candidissima ; double, snow white. crenata rosea plena; double pink. gracilis ; low, graceful habit. Lemoinei; dwarf, white. Pride of Rochester; double white, tinged pink. ExocHORDA grandiflora; white flowers. FORSYTHIA : suspensa; drooping. viridissima; yellow flowers. Hibiscus : Syriacus; select the white and pink. moscheutas; the well-known marshmallow. Meehan's ; white and pink. Hydrangea : arborescens grandiflora; round white heads. paniculata grandiflora; large, pointed heads. Ilex verticilata; red berries in winter. Lilac (see Syringa). ^5 SUCCESS IN GARDENING LoNiCERA (bush honeysuckle) : Bella Candida; pink, and white, fragrantissima ; early, sweet-scented. Tartarica grandiflora; pink, and white. Philadelphus (mock orange) : coronarius; for screen. grandiflorus; large flowers. Lem'oinei; very sweet-scented. Rhus Typhina; for autumn foliage. Spir^a : prunifolia; double, white. Thunbergii; single,, white. Van H'outtei; graceful, full-flowered. Symphoricarpos vulgaris; red berries in autumn. Syringa (lilac) : Alba grandiflora. Belle de Nancy, Congo. Jacques Calot. Mme. Casimir Perier. President Grevy. Viburnum : opulus; white flowers, scarlet berries. tomentosum plicatum; for shrubbery. Weigela : Candida; the only good weigela. Grapes (for pergolas) : Catawba. Concord. Niagara. EVERGREENS Buxus (box) : sempervirens ; for formal effects, bears shearing, suffruticosa; for edging. 246 AUGUST JuNiPERUS (juniper) : communis aurea; dwarf, golden foliage. Virginiana, var. glauca; compact, conical form. PiCEA (spruce) : alba; for windbreaks. excelsa (Norway) ; for massing, short lived. orientalis; specimen trees. pungens Kosteriana; bright blue. Retinospora (Japanese cedar) : obtusa; hardy south of Philadelphia. plumosa; feathery foliage. squarrosa; steel-blue foliage. Taxus (yew) : cuspidata nana; shear severely. Thuya (arborvitae) : compacta; dwarf. Hoveyi; for formal effects. occidentalis (American) ; for hedges, shear lightly. TsuGA (hemlock spruce) : canadensis; for hedges. var. macrophylla; dwarf, for formal effects. Caroliniana; for hedges, open habit. LiGU STRUM (privet) : ibota (Japanese) ; very hardy, var. Regel's ; pendant, graceful habit. ovalifolium (California) ; large leaves, habit up- right. vulgare; small leaves; habit spreading. 247 FOURTH WEEK "Here is the Marigold, who breaks up with her brightness the green of the borders. The Poppy exerts himself to fill with light his cup torn by the morning wind. The rough Larkspur, in his peas- ant's blouse, who thinks himself more beautiful than the sky. The Mallows, or Lavateras, like demure misses, feel the tenderest blushes of fugitive modesty mount to their corollas at the slightest breath. The Nasturtium paints his water colours, or screams like a parakeet climbing up the bars of its cage." — Maurice Maeterlinck. Evergreens may be planted at any time except in mid-winter and mid-summer, and even then they may be planted by experi- enced professionals. April and September are the usual months, but they are also the busiest months of the year, and the gardener has already more work than he can do well. iWhy not reserve those months for setting out deciduous trees and plants that cannot be planted in off-seasons? Why not plant evergreens at the end of August when there is little else to be done? On one condition : have as large a ball of 248 AUGUST roots and earth as possible, and at once wrap a wet bag of burlap tightly around the ball. The roots of evergreens, being full of resin, dry much more quickly than those of de- ciduous trees, and should not be left open to the air for a moment. If evergreens are to be transplanted from the woods, cut a deep trench around the tree, and dig out the earth, following the outer edge of the circle. When a good trench has been made, cut under the tree; do not lift it until the roots are cleanly and entirely cut. Trim any broken or ragged roots smoothly, and leave the large roots clean-cut at the ends. Keep all the earth that is possible, in the ball of roots, and cover immediately with a wet canvas or burlap bag. Large trees should have been root-pruned six months before, and even small trees will have a better chance of prosperity if they were root-pruned in June. Trees from the nursery should always come protected with moss and bagging to keep in the moisture. Evergreens require more moisture than deciduous plants for the reason that they give out moisture through their leaves, dur- ing the entire year, and this must be con- 249 SUCCESS IN GARDENING stantly supplied and renewed by their roots. So that the roots and trunk are a perpetual aqueduct for the transmission of water and the water must come from the ground. They must have a deep, well-drained, moist sub-soil. If a hedge is to be planted, make a trench three feet deep, and six feet wide. If single trees, dig a hole three feet in depth and six feet in diameter. Fill the bottom of the trench or hole with one foot of broken stone, flagging, or tiles, anything that will make a free drainage. In a clay or hard-pan soil, the trench should be four feet deep, the lower two feet of earth should be discarded and the space filled with stones and ashes. Place a layer of sods, top downward, on the stones, unless the sod is needed for patching the lawn or edging flower beds. Fill in with thoroughly pulverised garden soil, which has been mixed with one-fourth manure, well-rotted and broken up to a fine powder. The top layer, heaped up three or four inches above the surrounding surface, should be rich top soil. In planting a hedge, it is well to set out young stock, not so small as to make it dis- 250 AUGUST heartening to watch its slow growth, but not larger than two, to two and a half, feet high. These should be planted two feet apart. When immediate results are wanted, large trees, especially of the American ar- borvitse, may be planted with fair success, but they will never grow as dense as younger plants, and will be thin at the bottom. Large trees, or even six foot evergreens, will have formed well-established roots that have grown out in every direction, and they find it difficult to accustom themselves to their new cramped quarters, where they have free spreading room in only one direc- tion, and not more than a foot of space in the other direction. Small plants with young pliable roots, will easily adapt them- selves to a new situation; they will throw out roots on the two sides where they have free play, and not interfere with their next neighbour only two feet away. Keep all the fibrous, feeding roots; they are the m.ost important. Cut off the ends of the large roots, clean and smooth. Spread out the small roots horizontally, when planting. Fill in the earth around them with the hand pushing it under the 251 SUCCESS IN GARDENING butt of the tree so as not to leave an air space underneath, and working it in among the small roots. As the earth is filled m, pack it down firmly and tread it to a hard surface. The whole art of being success- ful with evergreens is in the planting. Do not prune the evergreens when they are planted. In a hedge, cut out part of the leaders so that the trees will spread, and cut off the ends of the branches slightly. Cover the entire surface of upturned earth with a mulch of manure or leaf mould at least four inches thick. Leave this on for a year, and then fork it in. Hemlock spruce makes the most beauti- ful, feathery, solid and permanent hedge. Taxus cuspidata divides the honours with hemlock, and may even outstrip her. Retinospara is next in beauty, and Ameri- can arborvitse is next in hardihood and service. Box suffruticosa is the best for edging. Of the privets, the California seems to be the favourite, and is especially adapted to the seashore where it flourishes in its per- fection, forming solid walls of green. Ibota privet, var. Regel, is hardy and grace- ful, and has the advantage that it can be 252 AUGUST planted in a single row, giving light and air to the whole plant. Privet should be pruned almost to the ground the first two years, so as to make strong growth at the bottom. It is indis- pensable to have privet at its best, and more depends on the planting and pruning than on the variety. If I have repeated myself in describing the planting of evergreens — a subject al- ready discussed during the third week of April — it is because the directions for set- ting out evergreens cannot be repeated too often, and also to save the reader the an- noyance of looking back through the vol- ume. So I will again emphasise the neces- sity of leaving an abundance of space be- tween the double rows of California and of common privet. There should be a foot or eighteen inches between the rows, and it has been suggested that the trench should not be entirely filled in until the plants have begun to grow, so as to prevent the leggy appearance at the bottom. '25$ SEPTEMBER First Week " But here, innumerous, disordered, many-coloured, tumultuous, drunk with dawns and noons, come the luminous dances of the daughters of Summer." — Maurice Maeterlinck. "Where even the bee has time to glide (Gathering gayly his honey's store) Right to the heart of the old-world flowers — China-asters and purple stocks, Dahlias and tall red holly-hocks, Laburnums raining their golden showers Columbines prim of the folded core. And lupins, and larkspurs, and ' London Pride ' . . ." — Violet Fane. FLOWERS THAT BLOOM IN THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER ARE; "Autumn Sun" iRndbeckia nitida) Flame Flower {Tritoma) Shasta daisy Anemone Japonica Sunflowers (Helianthus Meteor, etc.) Day lily (Fitnkia siibcordata) Dahlias Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) Salvia Hydrangea Althea 255 SnCCESS IN GARDENING Fall grading may be done at any time during the open months, from the middle of August until the middle of November. But in case any seeding or planting is to follow afterwards, it is well to have the grading finished in September. If one is willing to wait, and do things in the best way, the lawn should be ploughed and graded now, then left to settle and mellow through the wi-nter. In the spring it will need another layer of dirt, and to be tamped, evened, raked, and sown with grass seed. Under the first week in April, grading was described in detail, and it will scarcely be necessary to repeat the suggestions. There are two essential points in good grad- ing: underdrainage, and overdrainage ; the preparation of the soil, and the slope of the land. Water should be able to run through the ground, and off the surface in the right direction ; it should never be allowed to set- tle on any part of the ground. The land must slope gently away from the house, so as to carry the surface water away from the cellar, but as low-lying houses are now the fashion, this slope must I 256 SEPTEMBER be very slight. The lawn should also slope away at the edges, and have an almost im- perceptible rise in the middle. This slight crown in the centre, not only prevents the water from settling, but gives a level ap- pearance with no suggestion of mere flat- ness. As in the scientific building of gothic cathedrals, a line was often made to bend in order to appear straight to the eye, in the science of grading a line is often made to curve up in order to appear level. A perfectly flat surface will often look con- cave. If the lot has a natural and considerable slope, the style of the garden must be de- cided on, before the grading is begun. And the style of the garden wall of course de- pend on the size and general lines of the house. A formal garden near the house, on sloping land, will necessitate the cutting out and levelling of the ground in a series of terraces. Formality demands straight lines, not curves, and no one would lay out a formal garden on a slope. But if the garden is to be picturesque and informal, then the drop in the land should be treated as a gradual slope, leav- 257 SUCCESS IN GARDENING ing a level space around the house. A steep drop may have one or two curving banks, v^ith a gradual slope betv^een. After determining the grade, prepare the ground by ploughing deeply and repeatedly into the subsoil. If the land is low and springy, trenches should be dug about forty feet apart, and drains laid of tiles or flat stones at a depth of at least three feet. As the drain should be below frost it may be necessary to lay it three and a half, or four feet deep, in cold climates. Even a hard, clayey soil will be greatly improved by drainage. The tiles or stones must be covered first with sods or straw to prevent the dirt from filtering through, and then the earth may be filled in. Deep ploughing into the subsoil may take the place of trenching and drain- ing, but the lawn will not be as permanent, and after some years will have a tendency to " sour." The top soil should be rich and black, to a depth of eight inches. And the earth must be enriched with manure, and thor- oughly pulverised; the manure for lawns need not be as well-rotted as for flower 258 SEPTEMBER beds. The surface must be harrowed, evened with shovels and tamped, then left to settle during the winter. Often another layer of dirt will be needed after tamping, and in that case the final surface must be again tamped. If necessary the seeding may be done now as described under the first week of April. Few of us take the trouble to have fall- flowering bulbs, yet an autumn crocus is a charming surprise, and cheats us into thinking that spring has o'erleaped winter and arrived ahead of time. The sativus, or saffron crocus, harmonises with the fall colours, with the marigolds and the golden maples. Zonatus is a pale lilac variety; then the three speciosus varieties are all good, the bright blue, the white, albus, and the aitchisoni ; iridiflorus is a purple vari- ety with a deep bluish cast. Colchicum is another bulb that has autumn-flowering varieties, autumnale ma- jor, minor, and album; also flore pleno. All bulbs except some of the lilies are partial to a light soil. Small bulbs should be set from two to three inches deep, with a handful of sand under each bulb. These 259 SUCCESS IN GARDENING fall-flowering varieties should be planted in a permanent position and left undisturbed until they grow too thick; they will not bloom until a year from the fall they are planted. The fall season for planting lilies ex- tends over three months. Lilium can- didum, called the white Madonna lily, should be in the ground by the middle of September. All American grown lilies may be planted by the middle of October, but the European and Japanese bulbs do not arrive until the end of October and Novem- ber. Lilies may be planted in a bed prepared in the same way as the rhododendron and azalea beds, that is, dug down three feet with a foot of broken stone at the bottom for drainage. The soil should be light and rich, a mixture of good earth, well-rotted manure, leaf-mould, and sand. It is not always necessary to plant them in an under- drained bed, if the position is dry, and the soil light and rich. Some varieties even prefer a heavy soil. So that, as a rule, any well-prepared bed that has been dug down two feet may be used. Always keep the different varieties of 260 SEPTEMBER lilies separate, and plant them in groups of ten or a dozen. As with all bulbs, set them in a handful of sand, and the candidum may be placed six or eight inches deep. I 261 SECOND WEEK "To own a bit of ground, to scratch it with a hoe, to plant seeds, and watch their renewal of life,— this is the commonest delight of the race, the most satisfactory thing a man can do . . . The man who has planted a garden feels that he has done something for the good of the world." — Charles Dudley Warner. This week may be reserved for planting spring-flowering perennials. The gor- geous Oriental poppies, the most sensa- tional of garden flowers, return compound interest on the first investment. They are rapid reproducers, and not only can be di- vided, but they self-sow. Seeds should be sown in the position where they are to grow, and need not be transplanted. The small plants cost ten dollars a hundred, and if one starts with no more than a dozen, in a few years these will multiply with such rapidity as to fill several borders, with a surplus to give away. The scarlet Orientals do not mix har- moniously with other colours, except with white or light and ultramarine blue such as 262 I SEPTEMBER the iris blue. They look especially well along a winding, half -shady path among shrubbery; the masses of green modify and frame the intense colour of the poppy. Much has been said in praise of phloxes, and I will refrain from expressing any per- sonal prejudice. In their favour it can at least be said that they are reliable, and what they lack in quality, they make up in tenacity. They have the merit of cheer- fulness and of dogged perseverance — dem- ocratic to the core of their round, uniform, mediocre, tightly massed heads of bloom. If we must have them in our gardens, let us get the best, with clear, strong colours, and avoid those that bleach in the sun to a sickly purplish-pink, or that have the mon- grel magenta tinge. Select a few varieties — not more than five or six — and mass them separately, or two colours together: a group of pure white and pure lilac mixed ; a group of salmon alone; another group of different shades of cherry and carmine that blend, mixed with pure white. And I have seen a long path edged only with broad, un- broken masses of lilac phloxes against green shrubbery that moved and melted even my bigoted prejudice. 263 SUCCESS IN GARDENING The main thing to remember is that no one wants just phloxes; we want choice phloxes with clear, pure colours, and with- out the " eye." Hardy phloxes cost not more than a dollar and a half per dozen, and later they can be divided. Be sure to keep the faded heads of the phloxes cut off; this will help them in their continuous bloom. They need a rich soil; dig down two feet, put a layer of manure at the bottom, mix manure freely with the top soil, set them eighteen inches apart, and mulch with manure. They will be grate- ful, too, for frequent watering, and will want a winter protection of leaves — de- cidedly exacting, considering that they are not the aristocrats of the garden, but just plain folk. And they must be dug up in three years, divided, the dead parts cut off, and reset. It is even better to buy new plants every three years. Delphiniums may be planted now, al- though it is better to plant them in the spring — the formosum and formosum coelestinum and grandiflorum, belladonna, king of delphiniums, the white hybridum moerheimi, the Gold Medal hybrids, th^ 264 SEPTEMBER English mixed, the gentian-blue Lamartin, and some of the newer hybrids. I fail to understand why one should plant plebeian flowers when one may have royal delphini- ums. Even those who believe in democ- racy in government, may safely and wisely advocate aristocracy in the garden. Delphiniums are easy to cultivate; they are not exacting as to position, soil, or treat- ment, but respond freely to moderate care. A well-drained, friable loam is the best soil; but they will flourish in clay half mixed with sand. Dig the bed at least eighteen inches deep, and mix in a quantity of well- rotted manure. Set the plants from two to two and a half feet apart. All the vari- eties of dark and light blue, and white, may be planted together, in masses against the house or fence, at the back of borders, among shrubbery. They are picturesque and effective in any position; they are ro- bust and hardy, and have few diseases. If attacked by fungus, the plant should be cut down. Slugs or worms are their only other enemy, and these may be kept away by coal ashes strewn over and around the crowns in late autumn. Our plants have 265 SUCCESS IN GARDENING always been healthy, even without the use of coal ashes. They thrive better if wa- tered in dry weather. Seeds may be saved from the first crop of delphinium blooms, dried, and sown at once. But better returns come from cut- ting down each stalk as soon as the flowers have fallen, and the plant will immediately send up fresh stalks. One may have from two to four crops of flowers during the season, and the colour and size of the blooms will be improved by digging in a handful of bone meal around the roots when the stalk is cut down. It is the best policy to secure in this way continuous bloom from the end of June until October, and to buy the small plants which cost from one dollar and a half to four dollars a dozen. Another indispensable, spring-flowering perennial is the charming aquilegia or col- umbine. From May to August they add piquant and sprightly airiness to any bor- der. Plant them on the front edge where their delicate and dainty beauty will be seen. Look at the grace and dash with which they wear their spurs! They like sun and moisture; a sandy 266 SEPTEMBER loam is the best soil, but they will flourish in any well-made and well-drained border. One of the earliest to bloom is the can- adensis, the native American columbine, with bright red and yellow colouring; plant these in a group alone, or near some of the late tulips, and Ghent and Mollis azaleas. Another early aquilegia is the lovely coerulea, the bright blue and white colum- bine of the Rocky Mountains, which blends in colouring with some of the blue Irises. The coerulea candidissima is a pure white variety, and the Siberian glandulosa is in blue and white. Among the June flowering columbines, good combinations may be made with skin- neri, the Mexican variety and chrysantha alba; another with californica, jsetschauri, chrysantha and chrysantha alba. The delicatissima is a soft rose which must be apart with white varieties. Then, too, there are some late blues, the European alpina, glandulosa vera, Helense Stuarti, which may be massed with the various white varieties, of which the nivea grandi- flora is one, or with the light yellow coerulea lutea, or the mauve Olympica. Then there are the haylodgensis, hybrids 2^7 SUCCESS IN GARDENING of the coerulea, with unusually large flow- ers and long spurs. The oxysepala is a rare variety not often appearing on the catalogues. An effective spring-flowering perennial is dictamnus or gas plant, with tall spikes of white flowers, which may be planted with Oriental poppies and make a good offset to their flaunting scarlet. The odour of the gas plant is not agreeable and so strong that we were obliged to move them from a bed near the house to the further end of the garden. But at a distance they are inof- fensive in smell, and emphatic in form. The hemerocalis, or yellow day lily, has no strong or characteristic features to recommend it, except its large, low-lying green leaves, but it sometimes fills a gap and covers the ground. A second period for sowing pansy seeds is in early fall, in order to secure early bloom in the spring. If the small plants are protected in winter with leaves or other covering, there will be continuous bloom from the first days of spring until the mid- summer heat. This is the best time for sowing particularly in the South and on the Pacific coast. 268 SEPTEMBER Sow the seeds in shallow furrows in a seed bed. The soil should be rich, and mixed with well-rotted and pulverised manure, but as pansies are shallow rooted the bed need not be dug deep. The sur- face must be smooth and level. Draw a furrow not more than one-sixteenth of an inch deep with the end of any sharp instru- ment. After sowing, spread the earth evenly over them, and pat down with the back of a spade. The bed will need to be watered, and should be shaded from the light and heat until the young plants are up. They must then be gradually accustomed to the light, and the earth stirred frequently to admit air and moisture. Transplant the small plants from the seed-bed before they become crowded and spindling, when they have formed four leaves. 269 THIRD WEEK " Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun; Conspiring with him now to load and bless With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run; To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees, And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core; To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells With a sweet kernel; to set budding more, And still more, later flowers for the bees, Until they think warm days will never cease; For Summer has o'erbrimm'd their clammy cells." — Keats. Bulbs may be planted at any time between the first week in September and the first week in November, but if ordered from Holland they will not be delivered until about the middle of September. Among the first bulbs to be planted are narcissi; they make early growth in the spring, and it is therefore well to plant them as early as possible in the fall. The narcissus is to spring what the rose is to summer — the flower that best represents the spirit of the season. I do not intend to 270 SEPTEMBER rhapsodise over the narcissus — that is not my sphere. In fact a certain lake poet has on. that score most effectually closed the mouths of all succeeding poets or prosers. But the practical person may be allowed to say that the season of the narcissus should be in every way prolonged, and our aim is made easy by the quantity and suc- cession of varieties. If we plant generous groups of the early, middle, and late bloom- ing species, in different parts of the gar- den, we shall lengthen out the season by several weeks. In an unusually warm and protected position, the same variety will bloom two or three weeks earlier than in a shady place wath heavy soil. Of the early-blooming narcissi, good varieties are the yellow trumpets Golden Spur, Obvallaris, and Henry Irving; the bicolor, Victoria; the all-white trumpets Albicans, and Mrs. Thompson; the cup and saucer varieties, incomparabilis Queen Bess, and Sir Watkin. In the middle season come the superb yel- low trumpet Emperor, and the white and yellow Empress, one of the most beautiful of the trumpets, also the Horsfieldi; the white trumpet William Goldring; and the 271 SUCCESS IN GARDENING cup and saucer incomparabilis Stella Su- perba. In the late-blooming group there are some beautiful varieties, such as the yellow trumpet Glory of Leiden, the bicolor Mad- ame Plemp, and the all-white Madame de Graaff; also the incomparabilis Gloria Mundi. Besides these are the Barri conspicuus, Maurice de Vilmorin, the incomparabilis Sirius and Aureole; the Leedsi Ariadne, Mrs. Langtry, Duchess of Westminster, and Peach; the white trumpet Mrs. Camm, and Madame M. de Graff. Among the double narcissi, are the incomparabilis plenus, Orange Phoenix, Sulphur Phoenix, and double Van Sion. None of the varieties mentioned above are expensive, costing, with few exceptions, from two to three dollars a hundred. Some of the Leedsi group are somewhat higher in price, from four to seven dollars per hundred; the lovely Madame de Graff is ten to twelve dollars, and also Glory of Leiden. And Gloria Mundi reaches up to eighteen dollars. These are approximate prices for bulbs imported direct from Hol- land, and based on the catalogue of the 272 I SEPTEMBER Dutch firm. I have added a margin to cover duty and portage, but this depends so much on the size of the order that it can- not be estimated exactly, except by the per- son ordering. A good assortment of the best low-priced varieties would be: Golden Spur, Henry Irving, Emperor, Empress, Maximus, Horsfieldi, Victoria, Barri conspicuus, de Vilmorin; incomparabilis Queen Bess, Sir Watkin, Stella alba. Also Grandee, Mrs. Langtry, and Mrs. Thompson. Of the clustered poetaz narcissi, the Alsace, Aspasia, and Elvira are good rea- sonable varieties. Then one should have a thousand of the exquisite narcissus poet- icus (pheasant's eye) at about five dollars a thousand. Other lovely kinds of the poet's flower are the poeticus ornatus, grandiflora, poetarum. Glory, and King Ed- ward VII. A large number of the varieties I have enumerated have been grown in our gar- den, in a glory of golden yellow, and creamy white. But for the unlimited purse, and the collector of garden rarities, there are expensive novelties, such as Oriflamme, Duke of Bedford, Coronation, Lucifer, SUCCESS IN GARDENING King Alfred, Maggie May, Richard Strauss, and Tresserve. These are not often found on American catalogues, but can be obtained from Holland firms. Bulbs do not like a rich soil, but on the contrary, prefer almost a meagre soil. Our most successful border was simply spaded up, to the depth of about sixteen inches, and the bulbs planted in a handful of sand; but the earth was in itself good garden top soil. I have read the following directions given by a reliable grower : " mix one-third sand, one-third well rotted cow-manure and one-third good garden mould." The bed should be raised several inches above the surrounding level; and whatever the soil, it is safe to plant each bulb in a handful of sand. Do not use bone fer- tilisers. Plant narcissus bulbs about five inches apart, and four or five inches deep. A good implement to use in planting bulbs is what might be called a hollow dibber; it is a serviceable and simple affair which has proved the best for the purpose, and can be made at any local hardware store. It is nothing more than a large apple corer, made of galvanised iron, twelve inches long, and two and a half inches in diameter. At the 274 SEPTEMBER top, about an inch below the edge, an iron socket is run through the body of the corer and firmly soldered; the socket is four inches long and one inch in diameter, and is intended to hold a round wooden handle about twelve inches long. One can set bulbs at the rate of six a minute, with this earth corer. Have a box of sand conveniently near ; thrust down the corer to the proper depth for the bulb; with the left hand drop in some sand, with the right hand place the bulb on the sand, then fill in with soil. When all are planted, rake the surface carefully and evenly. After the first frost, cover the bed with a mulch of leaves or dry litter, four to six inches deep, but do not use manure. Keep the different varieties of narcissus separate, and plant them either along the front edge of a border, or in large and ir- regular groups against a background of green, a wall or fence. The poeticus may fill in a bed of flowering peach or crab trees, or dogwood; they may be added to almost any border, or planted along the edge of woods. It is a fad to " naturalise " narcissi and crocuses in the grass, but the effect is often 275 SUCCESS IN GARDENING to civilise them. If we naturalise, let us by all means copy Nature. Bulbs in a clipped lawn are not natural; they are arti- ficial; they lose character and lack back- ground. But blooming by the thousand in an orchard, along a brookside, or in a field where the grass is left to grow and ripen, the effect is entrancing. I remember, in the Tyrol, fields of wild anemones, blue, pink, and white, spreading down the hillsides in waves of colour, that held one spellbound with their bewildering and fairy beauty. It was in September. The first crop of grass had been harvested, and the second crop was half -grown, mak- ing a soft bed of green and brown, falling downward in undulating slopes and curves to the valley below. Masses of woods and brush broke the fields with irregular bound- aries and divisions, and the million anem- ones raced and tumbled down the slopes with the ease and irregularity that only Na- ture can give and we can never hope to copy. 276 FOURTH WEEK ". . . The garden scent Brings back some brief-winged bright sensation Of love that came and love that went." — Austin Dobson. " Nothing of beauty dies without having purified something, nor can aught of beauty be lost. Let us not be afraid of sowing it along the road." — Maurice Maeterlinck. This may be taken for peony week. Many writers on gardening and some nurs- erymen urge us to plant peonies the first week in September. But the peony spe- cialist, Mr. George H. Peterson, recom- mends waiting until after the middle of September, and backs his opinion with sound reasoning. I feel therefore inclined to accept his dictum, especially as it agrees with our own experience. We have had superb results from our plantings, which have never been made before October, and if we reserve the last week of September for planting, transplanting, dividing, and 277 { SUCCESS IN GARDENING resetting herbaceous peonies, we shall have chosen a safe middle course. There are few flowers that make so se- cure an investment, or pay such high divi- dends; few flowers that endure neglect so valiantly, or flourish under fair treatment so luxuriantly. They require little protec- tion, do not die out, rarely are attacked by disease, never stint their bloom. They are among the most sensational and reliable as- sets of the garden — an unusual combina- tion. We want peonies by the hundred, or, if our garden is small, by the dozen. And we want them massed, from six to two dozen together. It is only the tree-peony that looks well standing alone. Some of the new varieties have a rich, deep, mellow quality, or a delicate crisp tex- ture, that makes them unusual, and far removed from the ordinary and somewhat superficial character of the old-fashioned peony. Here are the names of some of the choice kinds of double peonies: Marie Le- moine, Candidissima, Festiva maxima, Dor- chester, Avalanche (all of above white, ivory, or cream). Lady Leonora Bramwell (silvery rose), L'Esperance (rose), Perfec- 278 SEPTEMBER tion (light pink), Delicatissima (clear pink), Claire Dubois (glossy pink), Be- ranger (mauve-pink), Felix Crousse (bril- liant red), Rubra Superba (crimson), Louis Van Houtte (bright violet-red). Some of the single varieties have charm and distinc- tion, the Tenuifolia (bright crimson), and the beautiful Japanese v^hite and Dragon (dark crimson). Other varieties, attractive either for their form, colouring, or fragrance, are : La Tulipe (flesh pink, striped carmine), Philo- mele (golden yellow, and soft pink), De CandoUe (brilliant currant), Mad. Calot (salmon- white). Mad. Crousse (white, edged carmine, fragrant), Couronne D'Or (white and yellow), Wittmanniana (Cau- casian, sulphur yellow). This last group of names are taken from Peterson's cata- logue, with the exception of Whittmanniana which appears on the Dutch list, and are not given from personal experience. They are also more expensive than the first group. Prices of peonies vary largely. It is to be presumed that a specialist has choicer plants, but he has also higher prices, and any large, reliable nurseryman will provide 279 SUCCESS IN GARDENING satisfactory roots. The best kinds are not cheap — ' they cost as much as the usual run of roses, but serve an entirely different pur- pose. For distant massing, brilliant bloom, and gorgeous colour effects, they have no rivals that are equally hardy and easy to cultivate. Get freshly dug roots, and have them sent by express. Strong two-year-old roots of standard varieties cost about three dol- lars per dozen, and eighteen dollars per hun- dred; these will not bloom profusely the first year. Three-year old roots are priced at from five to seven dollars per dozen. It will be found profitable to buy a few five- year old clumps that have not been divided, at an average of ten dollars a dozen. If these clumps are planted without being sep- arated, there will be a profusion of bloom the first spring ; the following fall they may be divided, and from the first dozen clumps one will get five dozen plants. This is one of the good qualities of peonies that they multiply from year to year. An open, sunny position is good for peonies, although they flourish even in a half-shady place. But they require a me- dium rich, deep soil. Dig down two feet, 280 SEPTEMBER pulverise the soil to a powder and mix with one-fourth of well-rotted manure; if the soil is not rich, get some garden muck or compost and mix with it. Plant the roots so that the tip of the crown will be covered with two inches of soil. Mulch lightly the newly planted bed. If the planting cannot be done early in September, any time before October loth will be favourable, but the earlier it is done, the better the roots will set, and the more profuse will be the bloom in the spring. Any well-established herbaceous peren- nials, phlox, hollyhocks, Oriental poppies, may be divided and reset at this time. Sep- arate the phlox into bunches of three or four stalks each; enrich the soil, or replant in new beds. It is w^ell not to be too eager in this matter of dividing roots ; wait at least three seasons of flowering before dig- ging up the plants. At this time one should watch for stock shoots on grafted lilacs and cut them as far down as possible below the level of the ground. Those who are planning to have hya- cinths in their spring garden may set them out now. But, beautiful as they are in 281 I SUCCESS IN GARDENING themselves, and for house culture, we have yet to find the ideal way to place and plant them in the garden. In round beds by themselves, of uniform size and height, they are hopelessly stiff and artificial. The best regular arrangement would be to edge a long or curving border with bulbs of differ- ent sizes, so as to make ease of line by varying the height. If planted in masses, have the groups of irregular outline, if pos- sible with a background or near higher growing plants, and keep the colours sep- arate. It would be well to choose two colours, and limit oneself to those : either the pinks, toning into reds, with white; or the laven- ders shading into purple, also with white. The hyacinth blues are not as beautiful as the wonderful shades of pink, and indeed are not so good as the blues of the smaller bulbs, but they would serve well to continue the colour scheme in a blue and white gar- den. Tastes differ, but I should select the light and dark blues, rather than the porce- lain blues. Van Tubergen's catalogue is one of the best for reference, in studying varieties of hyacinths. The early flowering kinds are 282 I SEPTEMBER clearly marked, so that one may arrange to have a succession of bloom. Among the dark blues, Menelik and King of the Blues are some of the best, and of the light blues La Peyrouse, Enchantress (early), Queen of the Blues, and Perle Brillante. Of the pure whites, to mix with the blues. La Grandesse and White Lady (early). Good rosy whites to combine with pinks are La Franchise (early), and Madame van der Hoop. Two fine carmines are Etna and Roi des Beiges; La Victoire is a good red and very early, but more expensive ; an- other early red, and lower priced is Gen- eral Pelissier. The consistency of the hyacinth petal takes a lovely tone of pink, both pale and deep. It is the characteristic colour of the flower. Gertrude is an early deep rose, and also Koh-i-nohr. In the pale rose there are Jacques, Gigantea (early), Cavaignac, Baron van Thuyll (early), and many others equally good. Hon. Mr. Balfour is an early violet, Dis- tinction an early dark reddish purple; then for late bloomers in this class of colour, there are L'Esperance, dark purple, and Charles Dickens lilac or mauve. The yel- 283 SUCCESS IN GARDENING lows are not so desirable, unless one has a yellow close in the garden, and then the hyacinth helps to carry on the succession of bloom; City of Haarlem and Ida are early yellows, and King of the yellows, and Obelisk are later varieties. Always select single hyacinths, not the double varieties. The Elliott Nursery in Pittsburg, Penn., has fine quality bulbs, and many of the varieties are no more expensive than those ordered direct from the Holland firms. But one's order must have been entered not later than the first of July, which is not al- ways convenient or feasible. Hyacinths are the most expensive of the early bulbs, but they need not be bought in such quantities as crocuses or narcissi. By ordering twenty-five of a kind, one can secure the hundred rates. The varieties that I have mentioned cost from seven and a half to eighteen dollars per hundred. Hyacinths require a sunny position, and a light soil, a good sandy loam, mixed with well-rotted manure. Do not let the manure touch the bulb, and, to avoid this, use a little sand in planting, as with other bulbs. SEPTEMBER Hyacinth bulbs should be set at least five or six inches deep according to the soil ; in light ground they may be set deeper than in heavy soil. I 285 OCTOBER First Week "In my Autumn garden I was fain To mourn among my scattered roses; Alas for that rosebud which uncloses To Autumn's languid sun and rain When all the world is on the wane! Which has not felt the sweet restraint of June, Nor heard the nightingale in tune. " Broad-faced asters by my garden walk, You are but coarse compared with roses; More choice, more dear that rosebud which un- closes, Faint-scented, pinched, upon its stock, That least and last, which cold winds balk; A rose it is though least and last of all, A rose to me though at the fall." — Christina G. Rossetti. FLOWERS THAT BLOOM IN THE MONTH OF OCTOBER ARE: Anemone Japonica Chrysanthemums Sun-Flowers {Maximiliana, giganteus, etc.) Colchicum autumnale Crocus (sativus, speciosus, iridiflorus) Marigolds Zinnias SUCCESS IN GARDENING Snowdrops, the forerunners of all other flowers in the spring, should be planted by the thousand to be effective — in the grass, under trees, in the border — a large, thick mass, set closely so as to make a white ground carpet like their namesake the snow. Costing from five to seven dollars a thou- sand, it is worth having a quantity. The elwesi is a large and reliable variety of snowdrops; nevalis flore pleno a double variety. Some of the rarer and more ex- pensive kinds are caucasicus, the beautiful fosteri, both about twelve dollars a thou- sand, and the still higher priced Crimean galanthus, called plicatus. While snowdrops are effective as a ground cover, crocuses (seven dollars and a half per thousand) are better planted in a bed or bor- der, not sparsely and scattered, but concen- trated in a mass. With the small early bulbs it is a question of colour, not of form ; they lie too close to the ground to be indi- vidualised. And as the chief point to be considered is colour, we do not want to mix the shades and make a variegated quilt ; we want to group the blues and the lilacs in separate masses. OCTOBER The Grand Lilac crocuses are the first to bloom. There are also later blooming lilac, purple, and striped violet and white varieties which would plant well together, such as Johan, Albion, Purpurea grandi- flora, Madame Mina, Xerxes, and several others. The blues and the whites, Mont Blanc, King of the Whites, Hebe, An- tigone, Lord Palmerston, Maximilian, and others, may be combined with the blue scillas and chionodoxas. Then there are the yellow crocuses to be planted alone; or with any one of the other pure colours. If all the colours are bunched together, yellow, lilac, purple, blue, striped, we unavoidably recall Joseph's coat, which does not altogether fulfil our ideal of an artistic garment. Its main service was to be cut up, a moral we might take to heart. Do not make regular, round or square bedding beds of bulbs. It is time that gar- deners should discard this antedated, stiff, inflexible and petrified method of planting. Gardening is, or should be, a profession, not mere manual labour. At least it is skilled labour. But what gardener learns his 289 I SUCCESS IN GARDENING trade, or studies up-to-date methods? It is as necessary to know how and where to plant, as to know what to plant. Let us sentence the bedding bed to a timely death, duly execute and bury it in the graveyard of failures and things for- gotten. As for bulbs — the low early ones — we shall plant them in irregular masses along the border, or in long, broad, waving lines that give the effect of billows of col- our, or in bays and inlets against shrub- bery. Set the small bulbs two to three inches deep, always using a handful of sand under the bulb. Every garden should have five hundred, if not a thousand, of the lovely chionodoxa gigantea and lucilise, and the scilla sibirica, looking as though exquisite patches of the sky had been spread over the earth. These first joys of spring should be better known and more freely grown, even though they are more expensive than their prede- cessors : eight to ten dollars per thousand. Another low growing bulb is the sol- dierly little grape hyacinth, reminding one, in colour and style of growth, of a minia- ture closed gentian. In the catalogues it figures by the name of muscari, and boasts 290 OCTOBER several varieties, with different colours. But cobalt and azure are its characteristic tints. Planted closely together it makes a carpet of blue, and continues the royal line of the scillas by two weeks of bloom. In fact the azureum variety outstrips its sis- ters and blooms with the snow in February or early March. Among the later varieties of grape hya- cinths that follow the scillas, are the blue and the white botryoides, the black blue conicum, the bright blue elegans and Heav- enly Blue; then, too, the dark blue para- doxum, and the large-flowered polyanthum. There are two carneum or rosy tinted varie- ties. The best known kinds, botryoides coeruleum and album, cost from three to five dollars a thousand. The rest vary from seven to ten dollars, except the polyanthum which is much more expensive, and is more for the virtuoso than the amateur in garden- ing. But muscari plumosum, the feathered variety, should be planted by the thousand (six dollars). Another small bulb, and one that is little known, is the snowflake, which appears on some catalogues as leucojum, and on others as iberis. Leucojum, however, is 291 SUCCESS IN GARDENING the correct botanical name. It is a charm- ing white flower that grows in picturesque and graceful fashion on a low spike or stem. The small blossom, half bell and half star, is daintier than the snowdrop, and more airy. There is the spring or vernum snowflake, and the summer or sestivum variety; also the vernum car- pathicum, and the autumnale — all of these costing from one to two dollars per hun- dred. The two groups of fritillaria present op- posite palettes of colour. The yellows, reds, and oranges of the crown imperials are strong tints of which the truest are the maximus rubra and lutea. But these are expensive, twenty-five dollars per hundred, and could well be omitted from the usual garden. The meleagris or snakeshead species, are reasonable, and in soft off- shades, such as dark violet, grey lilac, pale rose, purple, grey spotted violet, white tinged with brown. Some of the names are Calypso, Cassandra, Emperor, Orion, and Sylvanus. These can be had for two and a half dollars per hundred. Other species of fritillaria are the recurva, thunbergi, pal- 292 OCTOBER lidiflora (choice and expensive), aurea (serviceable and reasonable). Trilliums bloom early the first spring if planted in the fall, but the Holland bulbs are not delivered in time for autumn planting. But some of the varieties may be procured now from American firms: erectum album, trillium grandiflorum and roseum, sessile calif ornicum, stylosum, and others. I doubt whether it is worth while to grow trilliums in a small garden, and I should prefer to select a small list of bulbs that will give a succession of bloom, and make an effect. It is better to have a small variety of bulbs and many of a kind, than a few of many kinds. I would suggest for a small garden, crocuses, scillas and chionodoxas, narcissi of several varieties, late tulips, and lilies. One might also try an unusual bulb, such as milla uniflora and violacea, a low-growing star-like flower that makes a white or a violet ground carpet if planted closely. The cost is only five dollars a thousand at the Elliott Nursery; there is also the milla bifiora which is not sent over from Holland in time for fall planting. 293 SUCCESS IN GARDENING Either the milla or the grape hyacinth makes a novelty that gives the stamp of the unusual. And every garden should have a few of the salient, superb eremurus, so seldom seen, and of such rare value for strength, height, and character. 294 SECOND WEEK '* Brave flowers — that I could gallant it like you, And be as little vain! You come abroad, and make a harmless show, And to your beds of earth again. You are not proud : you know your birth : For your embroider'd garments are from' earth. ** You do obey your months and times, but I Would have it ever Spring; My fate would know no Winter, never die Nor think of such a thing. O that I could my bed of earth but view And smile, and look as cheerfully as you ! " — Henry King. The bulbs of American grown lilies will now be ready for delivery, and such vari- eties as longiflorum, elegans, superbum, philadelphicum, tenui folium, canadense, wallacei, may be put into the ground this week. It is said that lilies have no " poor rela- tions." This is perhaps true, but they have relations that are less innocuous and more objectionable — some are of the vaudeville 295 SUCCESS IN GARDENING stripe, others belong to the harem type, and still others to the nouveau riche va- riety, and the acquaintance of these with- out-the-pale relations we need not seek. Lilies should not be planted promiscu- ously. We must use our faculty of selec- tion. In a large garden we may have space for many varieties, but in a small yard, we shall limit ourselves to a few. There are two classes of colour, the delicate, and the strong: white, rose, and gold in one group, orange, red, and vermilion in the opposite group. The two palettes do not mix har- moniously. Then there is the question of form. I confess to a prejudice against the extreme turk's-cap type, where the petals roll back until they meet, and when this shape is com- bined with spotted orange, the effect is of decadent rococco. If we are planning to have some of the Japanese varieties, to be set out in Novem- ber, we shall want only one or two of the native varieties. The canadense is a grace- ful, bell-shaped, low-growing lily, in both yellow and red. The superbum is our na- tive turk's-cap lily, orange spotted with crimson. Lilium grayi is a rare native 296 OCTOBER species, small and of marked colouring — orange dotted with purple. All of these varieties require shallow planting, about four inches deep. All lilies should be set with a handful of sand below and above the bulb, to keep wa- ter, manure, and rich soil from the bulb. But the earth should be rich and well- drained. If the ground is not porous, dig the hole three inches deeper than needed, and drop into the bottom pieces of broken brick and stones for drainage. The soil must be pulverised and mixed with manure, but great care must be taken that no manure or enriched soil touches the bulb. Plain stable manure, well-rotted and turned two or three times is the best; bone meal or other artificial fertilisers should never be used. Lilium elegans and the wallacei variety need deep planting, as they are Japanese lilies, and form roots both above and below the bulb. They should be set at least six inches below the surface. If American grown bulbs are used, they will be ready for planting now. The same may be said of the beautiful white longiflorum and the coral-red Siberian lily, tenui folium which 297 SUCCESS IN GARDENING dies out every two or three years, but can be easily raised from seed. In the fall should be planted the different species of bulbous rooted irises: the very early and lovely reticulata which is per- fectly hardy, in shades of rich maroon, pur- ple and gold, as low-growing and blooming at the same time as the crocus ; the persica, next to bloom, and of the same deep order of colouring, dark violet and blackish blue. Histrio and histrioides are other early flowering species, in brighter and lighter colours, principally blue. Warleyensis is another beautiful blue iris. The oncocyclus group is not hardy, and quickly dies out, but the regelio-cyclus race is said to be hardy and free-flowering. The form of these irises resembles the Ger- man species, but is of greater perfection and distinction. The flowers are veined on a soft ground of violet, brown, or purple. This is an expensive iris, costing as much per ten, as the others do per hundred. The two most important species of the bulbous irises, the Spanish and the English, bloom in succession, and have in common a certain delicacy of shape and of growth. They are not free-bloomers, or of long life, 29S OCTOBER and need greater care than their sturdy Ger- man and Japanese cousins. They should be lifted and reset every two or three years. The Spanish require a somewhat moist sit- uation, and the English a dry one. None of these bulbous irises are as sturdily hardy as the rhizomatous rooted species that are planted in the spring. As a compensation they are more beautiful and aristocratic. Only the orchid can match the Spanish iris in spirited delicacy and charm. The colourings are rich and clear, with good yellows, pure whites, and fine blues; they also have effective shades of bronze tend- ing to violet and brown. Plant the irises two or three inches deep, and six inches apart, always with a handful of sand above and below the bulb. Noi commercial fertiliser should be used, but a good quantity of well-rotted manure mixed with the soil. Irises should be planted in masses or bor- ders of twenty-five to five hundred bulbs; the Spanish and English may be bought for three dollars and a half to twelve dollars per thousand. Reticulata, persica, histrio, and histrioides are as much by the hundred. One should avoid ordering the " mixtures ^99 SUCCESS IN GARDENING of all colours," or the " superfine mixtures of choicest varieties " ; these bulbs are al^ ways inferior and of less price. Order th( named varieties, selecting colours that will blend. 300 THIRD WEEK "In the other gardens And all up the vale, From the Autumn bonfirei See the smoke trail! ** Pleasant Summer over And all the Summer flowers, The red fire blazes, The grey smoke towers. " Sing a song of seasons. Something bright in all! Flowers in the summer Fires in the Fall ! " — Robert Louis Stevenson. Fall is the best time for planting the ma- jority of flowering shrubs, and deciduous trees, at any time from the middle of Oc- tober until the end of November. But there are a few exceptions : rhododendrons, laurel, and azaleas, magnolias, tulips, and sweet-gum trees should be kept for spring planting, and the beds prepared now. It is also well not to plant in the fall, either birch and beech, or the flowering fruit-trees such as peach and plum. 301 SUCCESS IN GARDENING For the rest we may now set out the long list of flowering shrubs that make our gardens a mass of feathery bloom in the spring. There is nothing that gives so large a return in display for so small an ex- penditure of money and care as the flower- ing shrub. With shrubs and bulbs we n-eed little else in our spring garden. One of the earliest shrubs to bloom is the feathery forsythia. Plant this either in masses of eight to a dozen, or singly. The individual plant will need a background of some kind, such as evergreens, which make a strong and vivid contrast to the yellow blossoms. Our forsythia look well against the soft tinted wall that encloses the garden. But they miss their effect when dotted sin- gly on the lawn, or at intervals along a path. Barberries, on the contrary, may be placed in an irregular line, or singly, with no stage setting. They are a background unto themselves. As a hedge, they are somewhat sprangly and difficult to keep within bounds without too rigorous prun- ing. But, in the round, to borrow a term from sculpture, they take a good contour; the thunbergii or Japanese is symmetrical, 302 OCTOBER and the vulgaris purpurea is picturesque and rich in colour. Of the deutzias, the gracilis, with its graceful, bending sprays, makes a charm- ing effect as an individual, and needs little to emphasise its beauty. While the cre- nata should stand at the back of the border or in the shrubbery. Growing six feet high it makes a strong, vigorous back- ground for lower shrubs or plants. Exochorda grandiflora can effectively stand alone, as well as the spiraeas, but althaeas should be used in rows or among shrubbery. Lilacs are better in groups, viburnum in masses, and weigela nowhere, except the Candida which may be admitted to the shrubbery. As for hydrangeas, the paniculata can hold its own anywhere, either as a hedge, as a solitary flower-fountain, or as a stand- ard. Put mock orange in the shrub border, and plant rosa rugosas in masses. Privet makes a good so-called " specimen " bush, especially Kegel's variety, and is also useful for foliage effect and for backgrounds. Chionanthus, the white fringe, has been out of fashion in the past decade, but the grace of its drooping flowers, and the rich 303 SUCCESS IN GARDENING tints of its fruit are an addition to the shrubbery; as a "specimen" shrub its sen- timental quality may be too enfeebling, re- sembling overmuch a person who exudes honey, but with a background and sturdy companions it ceases to be enervating. Daphne mezereum is an early-flowering shrub with pink blossoms — one of the few pink blooming bushes of early spring. We must not forget " Meehan's Mallow Marvels," or even the well-known marsh- mallow, hibiscus moscheutos. Also the bush and the upright honeysuckle which are attractive singly or in the shrub border; the lonicera tartarica grandiflora being well- known, and the lonicera bella Candida a newer and beautiful addition. I know nothing of baccharis halinifolia except that it grows near the seashore. Another seaside shrub, which blooms in its different varieties from May to August, is the tamarisk. The high-bush, wild cran- berry is a striking shrub, and in the fall the red berries cover it with brilliant blotches of colour. It should be oftener planted in our gardens. In planting shrubs we must not alone plan for spring bloom, but remember also the 304 OCTOBER autumn tints when few flowers are in blos- som, and the long winter months, when every glow of colour in the garden is as warming to the eyes as is a fire on the hearth. Several of the species already mentioned hold their foliage late in the autumn and are covered with brilliant ber- ries, such as berberis thunbergii and vul- garis purpurea, rosa rugosa with its ever- green glossy leaves and vivid red pips. But to these we must add berberis ilici- folia which holds its holly-like foliage far into the winter. Of course those who live in the South are fortunate in being able to grow holly, but there is another ilex that we of the North may have, ilex ver- ticillata, the black alder, which is covered with bright red berries in winter. Then, too, there is rhus typhina, a variety of the sumac, and the pretty s)ariphoricarpus vulgaris with its coral berries. Dogwoods are beautiful in the fall, and the thorn, Crataegus cordata, which is a small tree rather than a shrub, holds its red fruit until after Christmas. In con- trast to the scarlet berry of the thorn, is the beautiful violet purple fruit of calli- carpa purpurea. 305 SUCCESS IN GARDENING These shrubs for winter colour will be planted here and there among the shrubbery, against the hedge or fence, and in places that may be seen from the house. A few of the lower winter bushes may even be planted near the house, among the masses around the base and at the angles of the verandahs. The rugosa hybrids, and some of the barberries may be chosen for this pur- pose, together with the choice species of spring flowering shrubs, like deutzia gracilis, exochorda grandiflora, spiraea, hydrangea, and Kegel's privet for evergreen effect. The first planting of the shrub is the only care required, besides the yearly pruning. Unless the soil is rich and light, it is indis- pensable to prepare it; whether the shrubs are to be planted in a bed or singly, the earth should be dug out to a depth of three feet. Keep the top soil, and if the under soil is poor cart it away; but a hard pan may need only a mixture of sand to make it the right texture. Have some well-rot- ted manure, about one-third manure to two- thirds soil, pulverise and mix thoroughly to- gether. The hole for a single shrub should be 306 I OCTOBER fully five feet in diameter, and if the posi- tion is low or springy, put a few pieces of broken stone in the bottom. Fill in with enough earth to bring the shrub, when planted, to the same level as it was in the nursery or the woods. 1 Shrubs should arrive with a large ball of earth around their roots, firmly tied in bag- ging. If the wxather is not favourable for planting when the shrubs are delivered, they may be heeled in until they are needed. But if everything is ready, prune the roots carefully by cutting off the broken or bruised root-ends; cut down the tops about a third of their height. Lower the shrub with the ball of earth, and if any of the roots protrude spread them out so that they will lie flat. Fill in the soil with the hand so as to cover and surround the small fibrous roots, and work some of the earth under the centre of the shrub to prevent leaving a hollow place which would accu- mulate water. When the hole is full, pack the earth down firmly to make a solid sur- face ; do this with the hands or feet, not by tamping. Newly planted shrubs may need water- 307 SUCCESS IN GARDENING ing if the earth is dry, but usually in the fall the soil is sufficiently moist not to re- quire additional water. But a mulch of leaves or straw, with manure on top, is es- sential. FOURTH WEEK " Happy the man whom bounteous Gods allow With his own Hand Paternal Grounds to plow! . . . Sometimes the beautqous, marriageable Vine He to the lusty Bridegroom Elm does join; Sometimes he lops the barren Trees around, And grafts new Life into the fruitful Wound. And when the Season, rich as well as gay. All her Autumnal Bounty does display, How is he pleas'd the ' increasing use to see Of his well-trusted Labours bend the Tree/" — Abraham Cowley. The same method may be employed for planting trees as for setting out shrubs. But trees are harder to handle and less cer- tain to succeed. Moving a large tree is a difficult opera- tion and should be done by an expert. But if an amateur wishes to take his chances and risk the loss of his labour, there are three things to remember: root-prune the tree several months before it is to be moved, so that it may slowly adjust itself, and be prepared for new conditions; preserve a large ball of earth around the roots; and 309 SUCCESS IN GARDENING tie the ball in wet bagging. A special wag- gon will be needed for hauling the tree, and five or six competent workmen. It is especially necessary to preserve all the fine fibrous roots that grow out of the ball of earth, after the root-pruning; and to cut smoothly any of the damaged ends of the larger roots. Small trees may be moved by the amateur without difficulty, if he will take the same precautions. In planting a tree in its new quarters, one of the most necessary things is to fill in the earth around the roots by hand, so as to leave no cavity underneath, and make sure that the earth touches all the fine feeding roots. When the hole is partly filled, several buckets of water may be poured down, and then the rest of the soil thrown in. As was said in the preceding chapter it is not advisable to plant birch or beech trees, or fruit trees that grow from stones, such as peach, plum, or almond. Remem- ber also not to set out magnolias, tulips, and sweet-gum trees until the spring. But the majority of deciduous shade and show trees are to be planted in the fall. Some of the best trees for the street are 310 OCTOBER catalpas, especially the speciosa, and sev- eral varieties of oaks, such as quercus coccinea, rubra, tinctoria; also the Ori- ental plane, and English horse chestnut. The poplar is valuable not so much for its rapid growth as for its specialised dec- orative effect. Unfortunately its lesser vir- tue has been given the first place, and our towns are overplanted with poplars in gro- tesque positions, merely because a tree of quick effect is wanted. They are too strik- ing in character to be used promiscuously, and require careful treatment. On a small lot, avoid them, unless the house and the lay of the land lend themselves to scenic effect, and one, or at most two, points of dramatic value are needed. Rows of pop- lars for street planting are striking, and they are also useful in masses for screens, but they need distance to bring out their sig- nificance, as on the plains of Lombardy, and may best be left for large estates. The elm should be chosen for our na- tional tree, and despite its enemies should be more freely planted. It is not so slow a grower as is often represented, and springs up with characteristic American spirit and vigour. We have as many as 3" SUCCESS IN GARDENING fifty small elms in our garden, self-sown, and growing in every unexpected corner; some of these seedlings are thirty feet high, vigorous and graceful young trees. Fruit trees that grow from seed, such as apple and pear, may be planted now, and also all the small fruits. Grape vines for the arbour, trellis, or pergola, should be put into the ground this month. Concord, Ni- agara, and other strong growing kinds are the best for this purpose, and the most reli- able and noted firm for all fruits is EU- wanger and Barry, Rochester, N. Y. Ten vines of one variety will cost from one dol- lar to a dollar and a half, and a hundred vines of both the Concord and Niagara are priced at six dollars. All bulbs and tubers that will not winter in the ground must be taken up and stored in a warm, dry place. Among these are callas and ismene bulbs ; gladioli also should be lifted, the stems cut off, and kept on trays in a place that ranges from 50 to 60 degrees. In the same way the tubers of dahlias must be taken out of the ground and stored in the cellar. The last transplanting of perennial seed- lings will be done now, and the small plants 312 OCTOBER carefully covered with a mulch of leaves and boughs. In the water garden, if plant lice gather on the leaves of the lilies, use a weak dilu- tion of kerosene emulsion on the nym- phaeas applied only in the evening. The nelumbiums will not bear the kerosene, but tobacco water is a good substitute, applied with a syringe. 313 ! NOVEMBER First and Second Weeks " Vestured and veiled with twilight, Lulled in the Winter's ease, Dim, and happy, and silent, My garden dreams by its trees . . . "Here is no stir of Summer, Here is no pulse of spring; Never a bud to burgeon, Never a bird to sing. "Dreams — and the kingdom of quiet! Only the dead leaves lie Over the fallen roses Under the shrouded sky." — Rosamund Marriott Watson. Hybrid perpetual roses may be planted in the late fall, but not teas or hybrid teas, excepting in the South. The beds should have been made in the spring; do not plant in freshly made beds. Detailed suggestions for planting roses were given under the third week in April, and it will not be neces- sary to repeat them here. 315 SUCCESS IN GARDENING Well established roses will have thrown up long, lanky canes, and these should be cut down to within eight or twelve inches of the ground, so that they will not be lashed by the winter's winds and the plants weak- ened. During the first week of November the fallen leaves should be raked from the lawn and thrown lightly over all flower borders. The seed bed should be protected with straw, leaves, and boards. A good way is to cover the bed lightly with leaves, then place boards raised slightly in the middle like a roof, and spread over it straw and boughs. Rhododendrons must have their warm winter coat added to the summer mulch that was put on. in July. A line of boards placed on edge around the bed will keep the covering in place and show the depth of the mulch which should be entirely of leaves. In the rose bed pile up the earth around the plants and fill in the bed with cow ma- nure and leaves. It is an advantage to add the leaves in instalments; we usually make from two to four rakings of the lawn, throwing the leaves onto the beds at each 316 NOVEMBER raking. This accustoms the plants gradu- ally to their warm covering. The only bulbs left to plant are tulips and the European and Japanese grown lilies, and these may be set out after the rush of fall planting is over — tulips dur- ing the first half of November, lilies during the second half. There is greater scope for individual taste in these two genuses of bulbs than in all the rest, and greater chance, also, for dis- turbing colour effects. The optic nerve is often driven to neurasthenia by the scarlets, crimsons, and yellows of the early-flowering tulip, which seem intensified by the stiffness and shortness of the stems, allowing no re- lief of picturesque form or grace of line. Yet there are early tulips of charming colour, and the effect should be good if they are planted, not in round beds, but in ir- regular masses in the perennial border, or near evergreen shrubs that will serve for background. The pinks, whites-, and violets are the best and the most unusual colours among the early tulips, and one could make some charming combinations in pale and dark violet, some edged with white, always mix- 317 SUCCESS IN GARDENING ing pure white with them. Among the vio- lets are President Lincoln, Mrs. Elwes, Grand due de Russie, and Wouverman ; and there are many whites such as Due van Tholl maximus, Pottebakker white, Mil- thiades, Joost van Vondel and White Hawk. Then the pinks and the white with rosy tips are lovely together : Mrs. Cleveland and President Cleveland, Cottage Maid, La Matelot, Pink Beauty, Queen of the Nether- lands. Do not try to have flowers of the same height or that bloom together; a little irregularity would be a relief. As for " mixtures," avoid them as one would the smallpox. For those who like double tulips there is the same opportunity for selection: Lord Beaconsfield, Murillo, Salvator Rosa in pink. Rose Blanche, La Candeur, Blanche Hative in white. There are a few violets, too. And anyone with a reliable colour sense could be trusted to make a good selec- tion among the more vivid shades, but as to scarlet and vermilion, I cry mercy. Far more satisfactory than the short stemmed early tulips, are the single late cottage tulips with long, swaying stems, among which the gorgeous gesneriana 318 NOVEMBER spathulata are the most striking, and should be planted in quantities. Le Reve in smoke and old rose is a flower of distinction, and there are several whites, Innocence, Picotee, La Candeur, Royal White. Tulips, like the majority of bulbs prefer a sandy loam, and each bulb should be planted in a handful of sand below and above. Set the bulbs four inches deep, and six inches apart. Rembrandt and parrot tulips are bizarre species for the few, but the Darwin tulip is one that all should have. There are many shades and colours among the Darwins, but the characteristic tones are the soft off- shades, brown violet, and violet blue, rose lilac, soft salmon, and flesh colour, mauve, and heliotrope, violet black, and dark pur- ple, and a dozen other half-tones on the lower scale, like the minor key in music. 319 THIRD AND FOURTH WEEKS " Summer is gone on swallows* wings, And earth has buried all her flowers; No more the lark, or linnet sings, But Silence sits in faded bowers. There is a shadow on the plain Of Winter ere he comes again." If the foreign grown lilies have arrived from Europe or Japan they should be in the ground before it freezes. Remember that the soil must be moist, but light and porous, that each bulb is to be set in sand, and that the Japanese lilies need deep planting, while the European require more shallow plant- ing. The reason for this is that the Japa- nese send out roots above as well as below the bulb. Keep the tiger lilies for the shrubbery or a hidden close reserved for yellow, brown, and orange effects. Auratums should be in the choicest garden beds, and also the Brownii, which likes a sandy soil, and the excelsum varieties. Lilium rubel- lum and Krameri are two lovely kinds, and 320 NOVEMBER speciosum album mixes well in any environ- ment; it is picturesque and spirited. Sometimes the delivery of foreign lilies is very late, but it is possible to cover the prepared bed with three inches of manure to keep out the frost, and on a warm day in December to put in the late arrivals. This is preferable to keeping the bulbs until the spring. But if the shipments do not reach this side until the middle of January as sometimes happens, there is no choice but an early spring planting. In the second half of November the last raking of leaves may be made, and the beds finally covered in for the winter. The dried flower stalks, cut and laid on the leaves make a good loose covering, admitting the air and keeping the leaves in place. The stalks of pompon chrysanthemums, pe- onies, and other stiff perennials are useful in this way. We are told by some authorities not to mulch the beds with manure, that it is over- heating, and the cause of many plants " dy- ing out " during severe winters. But we have always used large quantities of manure with good results — cow manure on roses, horse manure turned three times on all 321 SUCCESS IN GARDENING perennial borders — but never any on rho- dodendrons. The manure is spread with the leaves evenly over the surface and about an inch and a half thick. Unless one's love of order is stronger than one's liking to do things in the best v^ay, a thin sprinkling of leaves may be left on the lawn to serve as winter protection. Al- ways leave five or six inches of grass after the last cutting, so that the roots will not be left bare to the cold. And now is the time to manure the lawn at least once in three years; a dressing of about five loads (two- horse loads) to the acre is recommended. The fall spraying of trees for the San Jose scale may be done in November or December on a day when the temperature is above freezing. Use " scalecide " as de- scribed under the third week in March, and for a motto take " thoroughness." As the scale is killed only when individually bathed in scalecide, and as every pair of scale reproduce to the number of several billion, the inference is inevitable that thor- oughness is indispensable to the life of the tree. I have been asked to describe the making of a compost heap. It may be begun at any 322 NOVEMBER time in the year when the ground is not freezing, and may be added to at all seasons. Possibly the most practical way will be to describe the making of our heap which now covers a space fifteen feet in diameter and is embowered in an enclosure of wistaria. The foundation was a quantity of clay which had been dug out of the garden when preparing flower beds. With the clay was mixed one-third to a half of sand. On this foundation has been thrown every kind of material that will gradually decay and be- come humus: leaves, grass cuttings from the lawn, faded cut flowers, dried stalks, ex- celsior from express packages, ever)rthing is grist to the compost mill. All the winter mulch that is lifted in the spring is put onto the heap, making the richest kind of muck. If one has not enough leaves to start with, it is thoroughly worth while to pay a dollar and a quarter a load for carting a couple of loads from the street where they would be burned and thrown to the winds. When I see bonfires of autumn leaves I feel that it is as reckless as to kindle a fire with dollar bills. To burn leaves and buy man- ure is a compound felony! Leaves are Na- ture's plant manna. 323 SUCCESS IN GARDENING A heap should be — I do not say that ours is — turned twice a year. And for the sake of appearances surround it either with a wire trellis covered with honeysuckle, or with poles for wistaria and climbing roses. The wistaria vines that enclose our heap shut out all visible signs of the useful but uncomely contents. 324 DECEMBER "Arrayed in a purple garment, Phoebus was seated on a throne sparkling with brilliant emeralds. On his right hand, and on his left, the Days, the Months, the Years, the Ages, and the Hours were arranged, at corresponding distances, and the fresh Spring was standing, crowned with a chaplet of blossoms; Summer was standing, wearing garlands made of ears of com; Autumn, too, was standing besmeared with the trodden-out grapes ; and icy Winter, rough with his hoary hair." — Ovid. Even in December, when there is no work in the garden, when the flowers are buried, and our thoughts are centred on the hearth fire and the new books, we even now unconsciously bring the gar- den and the woods within doors, as though w^e could not be separated from them. The Christmas tree, the holly wreaths and mistle- toe are the proof that for not a month in the year do we entirely put aside the fruits of the out-of-doors. As the godfather of modern gardening, wise old Bacon, said, *' you may have ver 325 SUCCESS IN GARDENING perpetum, as the place affords; for Decem- ber .... you must take such things as are green all Winter, holly, ivy, juniper, yew, fir, and periwinkle." But this is not all. We can make new plans for the future, plan out-of-the-way effects that we did not, at first, think to have — • window boxes, a wall garden, and a wild flower garden. The main point in window and porch boxes is to make them picturesque and va- ried — not, for instance, all geraniums. The box itself should be plain, a wooden box painted green, with holes in the bottom. The soil should be particularly rich and porous, and may be prepared like a minia- ture rhododendron bed; pebbles or clinck- ers in the bottom, with a layer of reversed sods on top to keep the drainage free. Fill in with rich garden loam mixed with well rotted manure. Along the outside edge plant trailing vines, such as tropaeolum canariensis which blooms all summer, Kenilworth ivy a ten- der perennial that will live out-of-doors in the summer, maurandya, thumbergia, nas- turtiums, trailing vinca or periwinkle, anitchella reptans. The evergreen trailing 326 DECEMBER plants such as vinca, Kenilworth ivy, and mitchella reptans need a shady exposure, and to these may be added wild ferns. Back of the drooping plants, have helio- trope, daisies, verbenas and petunias, or geraniums. Do not plant geraniums and petunias together as the colours clash; and of the geraniums select either the scarlet or the pink, adding a white variety in each case. Some of the dwarf phloxes are pretty for boxes, and also forget-me-nots. There is good reason for making upper- story window boxes gay with red gerani- ums ; they must be emphatic in order to pro- duce distant effect. But intimate porch boxes, especially if they line an outdoor liv- ing room, may be on a lower and soft- er scale of colour, and we may study tone schemes here as well as in our garden beds. Supposing that we have a sitting porch furnished with blue denim coverings and cushions for wicker chairs and lounge, and a note of blue in the rug, why should we not carry out the scheme in the porch boxes ? I have not seen blue and white flowers used in this way, but I can imagine them as looking cool and restful. White geraniums, and 327 SUCCESS IN GARDENING daisies, the blue phlox reptans, forget-me- nots, pansies, heliotrope, sweet alyssum, lobelias of the erinus gracilis, albus, and Crystal Palace compacta varieties, arabis alpina, the dwarf larkspur, and bell-flowers. On a porch furnished in green, have pink and white flowers, and for this nothing serves better than petunias — not the " ruf- fled and fluted " or the " striped and blotched, fringed and mottled," but a simple, clear, bright pink of dwarf habit, and single blooms. There are also the pink dwarf phlox subulata, and the white subu- lata. Pink geraniums do not mix with pink petunias or any other pink that I remember suitable for flower boxes. There should al- ways be a heavier planting of green in porch boxes than in window boxes. Rocks in a garden will look like patches of flame, when covered with the brilliant stone crops. Moss pink or phlox subulata, and phlox douglasii make a compact cover- ing, and the hare bell (campanula rotundi- folia), mountain sandwort (arenaria gro- enlandica), and white baneberry (actsea alba) grow well in rockeries. There is a native blue iris, the cristata variety, that thrives among rocks. 328 DECEMBER Stone walls, especially those built of rough, loose stones, where earth may be packed in the crevices, are made picturesque with little clinging plants, trailing vines, and Alpine flowers. The main care needed is in the planting, to fill the pockets with good earth, and brace the little plant with pieces of stone. Ferns and flowers abound for these wall gardens: purple cliff brake (pel- Isea atropurpurea) , and the white and pur- ple rock cress (aubrietia albida and deltoi- dea), Kenil worth ivy, Carpathian hare- bells, columbine (aquilegia canadensis), polypodium vulgare, an evergreen fern. Here we can plant candytuft without a pang, and the blue veronica the many var- ieties of stone crop will colour the grey wall with red and yellow, and all the varie- ties of dwarf hardy Asters — Alpinus, albus, acris, nanus — add colour and spirit. Such a wall of wild and picturesque beauty would make an effective boundary to a wild garden. Mr. Edward Gillett, whose nurseries are at South wick, Mass., has for many years made a specialty of wild flowers. One can- not do better than to send for his catalogue. He tells the correct soil for the different 329 SUCCESS IN GARDENING species, whether to plant in the shade or the open, and the idiosyncrasies of the plants. In a summer garden, or on a large ram- bling park, nothing could be more charming than a wild close, apart from the cultivated, finished garden, and seen only when looked for. Wild flowers should not be mixed with gardenesque plants; their chief charm is in their picturesque, independent, illusive, and semi-savage qualities, their inadapta- bility to civilisation, their wild, piquant grace as of the fawn. We would not tame a doe, or domesticate a deer; their individu- ality would vanish in the process, and with it their characteristic loveliness. If we have a wild garden, let it be all wild. We must not admit any hybrids. First have a shrubbery, and for this select the dif- ferent kinds of native azaleas, the calendu- lacea, nudiflora, vaseyi, and viscosa. They are all beautiful and effective. Then there are the native dogwoods, the purple and the common barberry, magnolia glauca, the wild hydrangeas, and American euony- mus. There are the wild laurels, and the beautiful native rhododendron (catawbi- ense) ; the lovely wild roses, blanda and lucida. Many other flowering shrubs are 330 DECEMBER to be found in the native species, and for autumn colouring we may have the dwarf chestnut, oak, and black alder. Wild ferns will add to the nature-like ef- fect, and there are many from which to choose, such as aspidum lonchitis and mar- ginale, and cheilanthes vestata. Among the wild flowers it is difficult to choose — there are so many. The Carolin- ian and Pennsylvanian anemones, and three varieties of columbines (aquilegia), coerulea, canadensis, and chrysantha, we shall be sure to want. There are many va- rieties of wild asters, and the hare bell (campanula rotundi folia) is too graceful to be omitted. It is unnecessary to go through the list, and each amateur must select his own to accord with his soil, whether it is dry and sandy, moist and shady, or rocky. But we must, if possible, have some of the many beautiful orchids. These will grow if placed in a shady position and planted in rich leaf-mould mixed with loam; they should also have a mulch of leaf-mould, which will keep them moist. Arethusa bul- bosa is a beautiful native orchid with one or two large purple flowers on a single stem. Moccason Flower and Purple 331 SUCCESS IN GARDENING Fringed Orchis are two varieties that we often pick in the woods (cypripedium acaule and habenaria fimbrata) and both bear a stalk of rose purple flowers. Ladies' tresses (spiranthes cernua and gracilis) are delicate white varieties, and there is also a white fringed orchid. Then, too, we must have the lovely violets, the long- spurred violet, the bird's foot, the dog violet, and the sweet white violet. At the end of the year, at the close of the book, in a wild garden, may I plead forgive- ness for giving to the flowers their folk names — " the names they received when they were loved." The spirits of the field flowers would rise and flee, and leave the world barren, if we should speak in learned parlance of xerophyllum asphodeloides. Sweet Asphodel and Nightshade, meek Meadow Rue and fair Rose Mallow, if we transplant you to our garden, let us call you by the names that we know and love. " These names show all that they were to man," writes Maurice Maeterlinck ; " all his gratitude, his studious fondness, all that he owed them, all that they gave him, are there contained . . . Our language, I think, contains nothing that is better, more daint- 332 DECEMBER ily, more affectionately named than these homely flowers. Here the word clothes the idea always with care, with light precision, with admirable happiness; it represents all their ingenuous and visible soul. . . . To tell their names is to recite a poem of grace and light. We have reserved for them the most charming, the purest, the clearest sounds and all the musical gladness of the language." THE END 333 H 17 88 ^ 3=' ^/•o^ ^■1°^ ^v sV^.'fc^ ^%.'' ' * *^'^'^t^^'''^^^^ ' * ' ^^^'^jH^^^^^ '^ ,H°,^ ^'*.^''ao' v^--';v i'^ »«.••- <; i9' f. V ..j:^'., ^^ A* ''^IKst*. •^<. c-?^* ' .V^^^ '^ ? '^^ ^ ^sm^.^ J^ ^^ ^^^V^* . ^^ "^ o*. ♦•- ^O. * J-*..-^'. "^Ci :- «^ ^* -'^m^'- >. c-v • -^^^^^^ ''^^^''^ '^^ '"'' <^ •h. *. %^^^ .• .5.^"-, 14.1 V^.- ^-^C!^^ o^^Sl"^ ^-?^.<^ ^^^ :;kman ERY INC. |§ k AUG 88 o > •; '^0^ .^ ,^o^ ; ^''\o'5 V ^^-^^ .y ^q.. '• . vo V-. > _ • • • . *>v