Spiræas; these are both shrubby and herbaceous. Of the shrubby variety
Anthony Waterer is the only really good crimson, or red, variety, and is
very fine. The catalogues give it a dwarf character rarely exceeding
eighteen inches, but my own experience with the plant is, that with rich
soil it much exceeds that height. Van Houttei is the finest white sort,
and is especially valuable grown singly on the lawn, where it may
develop its beautiful form to perfection. Of the herbaceous Spiræas the
filipendula is very desirable for the border or for edging shrubbery.
The fern-like foliage, which is of itself handsome enough to gain
recognition, is surmounted in June with spikes of double daisy-like
flowers of creamy white. It is very fine for cut flowers, and for
forcing in winter. The clumps increase rapidly, and should be divided
and reset every three or four years. Then there is the old-fashioned
garden Spiræa, with its pinky-white, feathery blossoms, very
fragrant—especially when wet with the dew.
Hypericum Moserianum is a delightful little perennial, growing from one
to two feet tall; the flowers are exquisite in form and colour—a clear,
golden yellow lasting well when cut. Other hardy yellow flowers are the
California Sunflower and Rudbeckia, or Golden Glow, both too well known
and popular to need eulogy.
The Lychnis (Rose Campion) is another of our herbaceous perennials which
has not attracted the notice its good qualities deserve. L.
Chalcedonica, its trusses of scarlet rivalling the most vivid Geranium,
is the best known of the species, and combines beautifully with Clematis
flammula and Spiræa filipendula. Planted against a wall covered with the
Clematis, or contrasted in the border with S. Japonica, it is very
effective. Plant L. semperflorens plenissima with Deutzia gracilis and
Spiræa filipendula. Planted together in the border they are exquisite.
L. semperflorens is much more delicate than the other Lychnis, and
cannot be considered entirely hardy at the North. It is a very dainty
little flower with soft pink, finely toothed blossoms, and worth
considerable trouble to grow. Viscaria (Ragged Robin) has tall spikes of
double red, deliciously scented flowers, and should find a place in
every garden. Chalcedonica resembles the scarlet variety except in
colour, which is pure white. It also is quite hardy and needs little
care when once established.
Plant Iris (Fleur-de-lis) generously. They will grow in size and beauty
from year to year, and are valuable for borders along drives or walks,
for the filling of corners or low, damp spots. By planting the different
varieties a succession of bloom, from May until the latter part of July,
may be secured. The German Iris furnishes some magnificent colour
effects in purple and bronze, yellow and lavender, blue and white. The
Japanese are wonderful, both in colour and size—flowers seven inches in
diameter being quite common, while twelve inches is attained in some
instances. The flowers differ so materially in form from other Iris as
to appear a distinct class. Unlike the German Iris, they hold their
petals neither erect nor drooping, but horizontally, or flat, making a
great disc of lovely colour, ranging through all the shades of blue,
lilac, blue and white, and plum, to crimson-purple, magenta, and pink.
They are more tender and less quickly started than the German, but do
well when established. A low, damp spot suits them best, and where this
is not available they should be abundantly supplied with water. German
Iris will do well in any good garden soil and under ordinary
cultivation. Iris should be taken up and divided every three or four
years, removing all dead or exhausted growth, and setting one live toe,
or point, in a place. They will not do well the first year of dividing,
but the following year will be very fine, especially if there have been
enough roots to make several long, parallel rows.
While not troubled with any disease or insect pest, the moles seem to
have an especial liking for the roots of the Japanese Iris, and have
caused me much loss. The only preventive is to shut the moles out of the
bed by sinking a close wire netting around it to a depth of eighteen
inches, or by making early and persistent use of good mole-traps—one at
each end of the row, or at the spots where they enter and leave the bed.
By this method I caught ten moles in as many days in the Iris beds, and
was comparatively free from them the remainder of the season. Salt pork
or bacon rinds buried in their runs will sometimes drive them away for a
time, but this is not to be depended on, neither is the presence of
Castor-oil plant, which, so far as I have observed, has not the
slightest value. The only method is to trap them early in the spring,
before they begin to breed; setting the trap in the runs from the nest
and not in the shallow feeding runs they make close to the surface.
These they may not visit again in days, if at all, but the main runs,
which usually extend in several directions from their burrows, and are
several inches below the surface, are traversed several times a day.
[Illustration: A GOOD BACKGROUND FOR LOW SHRUBS]
Peonies—what would the spring garden be without these old-time
favourites? Whatever flowers are lacking in country gardens, it is
rarely these; and yet, we seldom see them at their best. They like rich,
well-drained soil in a sunny location, and once established should
remain undisturbed for years, or until they become so crowded as to need
dividing, as they require several years to recover after being moved,
and only actual necessity should lead to their disturbance, certainly
not the requests of friends and neighbours to dig them up and divide.
Better buy a root to give away, if reluctant to refuse, than injure the
plant.
Mulch the Peony bed heavily with rough manure in the fall, removing the
coarsest in the spring and working the rest into the soil. A good mulch
of lawn clippings during July and August will keep the soil cool and
moist, and greatly benefit the plants. This should be given before they
bloom, as there is usually heavy rain about that time, which beats the
flowers down into the dirt and ruins them.
The Funkia (Plantain Lily), or Day Lily, as it is commonly called, is
another plant impatient of disturbance; and once planted it should not
be molested. It likes a good, rich, mellow soil, but is not particular
as to location, so that no other plant is near it. Though perfectly
hardy I prefer to give it a little protection in the winter. In the
spring cut away the sod from around it the width of the spade, making
the soil fine and mellow, and working in some old manure. This annual
enlarging of its boundaries is all the care it needs to make it grow
larger and finer, year by year, and bloom profusely.
The French Lilacs are to be recommended for liberal planting, as they
are free from the vice of suckering which makes the old-fashioned sort
so troublesome. They should be planted wherever they will be useful as
backgrounds for lower shrubs, or perennials, or in a row along a lane or
fence. As the blooming season of the different varieties varies, by
judicious selection they may be had in bloom for several weeks.
Althæas (Rose of Sharon) have the happy notion of blooming when other
plants do not, so they are doubly welcome. As they bloom from the bottom
up they should have a place by themselves on the grounds, where they
will make quite tall trees in a few years. The white and light-coloured
ones are the most attractive. Young trees should be wrapped in straw
during winter, and old ones well mulched with rough litter.
Chapter _NINETEEN_
Winter protection
When the frost has cut down the flowers, and robbed the shrubs of their
leaves it is time for the fall cleaning of the garden. This should be
completed before the leaves begin to fall, as if left until then they
will greatly complicate matters.
Pull up and consign to the compost heap all annuals, weeds, stalks of
perennials, Lilies, and ornamental plants, and the litter used for mulch
during summer. This last might be left on were it not for the fact that
it is likely to harbour insects which would do mischief. It is therefore
better to remove it and work the bed over, leaving all clean and neat.
This is the time to look out for cutworms, chrysalids, and the like, and
destroy them. Much may be done in this direction. Look carefully along
the edging between the curbing and the grass where the cutworm lurks.
Look for the chrysalids of borers in the ground around the Clematis,
Cosmos, Hollyhocks, and Dahlia beds, and when found destroy them. On the
under side of boards, steps, and under the edge of the siding of the
house will be found the cocoons of the hickory tussock-moth and the
cabbage-worm, all of which should be destroyed. After removing the dead
annuals rake over the beds, leaving them clean and neat.
Beds of perennials, Roses, bulbs, and especially of Lilies and Peonies,
must be well rounded up to shed water, as all plants are injured by
water standing about their roots. If not already high enough to admit of
this, more earth must be added to raise them sufficiently. The earth
from the window-boxes may be used to advantage, especially for the
Tea-rose bed, where a foot of mellow earth, brought well up around the
plants and rounded to shed water, will so protect them that, though the
tops may freeze, all below the soil will be likely to live. Over this
should be placed several inches of rough litter or leaves and a frame of
rough boards put around the beds and covered with sash, canvas, or
boards to shed rain.
Young climbing Roses should have three or four inches of earth banked up
around them; wrap their tops with straw or sacking, or old carpet may be
drawn over them and tacked to the trellis or support on which they grow.
Plants under the eaves of the house, where the water drips, should have
boards arranged to catch and divert it to the lawn.
Protect equally from the cold winds of winter and the sun; plants are
not injured so much by freezing as by thawing suddenly, as they must
when the sun shines directly upon them. If they thaw gradually, little
if any damage is done, but sudden thawing ruptures the plant-cells,
causing serious injury. To prevent this and the settling of water about
the roots are the points to keep in mind when giving winter protection.
For plants whose tops die, leaves offer an excellent protection—better
than manure, in that they do not scatter seeds of weeds. For plants that
form a fall crown of leaves—as the Hollyhock or Annunciation Lily—a box
with an open end filled lightly with leaves is satisfactory. Close,
air-tight covers, as boxes, tin pails, iron kettles, and the like,
should never be used to protect plants of any kind. Wooden frames
covered with wire netting, and filled loosely with leaves, allowing the
moisture to evaporate rapidly, have given the best results; next come
frames covered with thin cotton cloth, then loose boxes with one end
knocked out. The idea is to retain the dry leaves around the plant,
protect from sun and cold wind, and allow the rapid evaporation of any
moisture that may collect. Wet or frozen leaves around a plant are worse
than no protection; especially is this true in the case of Myosotis,
Pansies, Carnations, Canterbury-bells, and Foxglove, all of which do
better in the cold-frames. Where these are not available, recourse may
be had to the boxes with netting, or to evergreen boughs. When filling
in about a plant with leaves do it lightly, as a mass closely packed
becomes damp and mouldy, and kills rather than protects.
Plants too tall to be covered should be protected with straw or
corn-stalks; cover for some little distance beyond the roots with leaves
or litter, and place straw or corn fodder around them, bringing it to a
point at top, and tying firmly there and in the middle, sloping the
stalks sufficiently to shed rain. Tall Rosebushes, young Althæas, and
similar growths, are much benefited by this form of protection. Long
beds of plants—as Japanese Iris, Pansies, and the like—maybe protected
by taking narrow boards eighteen or twenty inches long, with a notch cut
in one end, the other end being pointed and driven into the ground; set
these at intervals through the centre of the beds; place the poles
lengthwise of the beds, their ends resting in the notches, and arrange
evergreen boughs across the poles on each side to shed rain. Corn fodder
may be used where the evergreens cannot be procured, or a row of pegs
may support two boards, forming a ∧-shaped roof, which will protect from
wind, sun, and water equally. Protect the Lily and Peony beds with a
foot of leaves and rough, old manure. Rhododendrons, at the North, must
have both roots and tops protected if there is to be any bloom the
following year. Muslin-covered frames and leaves will do this best.
Great care must be taken not to break off the buds, which are
exceedingly brittle. Frames with removable lids that will admit of
filling in gradually, and allow the leaves to settle before finishing,
are best. Pile leaves around the roots of Clematis, and stretch sacking
or other cloth over the trellises on which they grow. Protect in the
same way English Ivy and Ampelopsis Veitchi while young. A northwest
angle of a building affords very good protection.
Chapter _TWENTY_
Care of House-plants In Winter
Plants for winter blooming should be brought into the house before the
nights get chilly. By becoming gradually accustomed to the air of the
house before the doors are closed and the fires started, they will be
less affected by the change.
Do not crowd into the window more plants than it can conveniently hold.
Plants must have room to breathe and grow, and abundant light. No plant
should touch its neighbours. Even with this amount of room at the start
they will be badly crowded before spring, and it will probably be
necessary to remove some.
Shelves, brackets, and stands should be in place before the plants are
brought in, as changing about and handling are bad for them. Plants with
tender foliage, as Cinerarias, Primulas, and the like, do best on a
window-bracket, and the capacity of the window is greatly increased by
the use of brackets. Plants with drooping leaves should have single
brackets, to avoid contact with other plants. The Bougainvillea, also,
does better on a bracket, being of a trailing habit. It is not, however,
a good winter bloomer, usually coming in late in March and continuing
until December, but it is very reliable during that time and requires
less care than any house-plant with which I am familiar, unless it be
the Araucaria.
See that all shelves are securely fastened, and strong enough to sustain
the weight to be placed upon them. The additional protection of a small
brass chain fastening the outer edge of the shelf to the window-casing
above it will ease the strain on the brackets and give greater security.
See that all hanging-baskets are securely hung with copper wire, and
that there is no danger of the hooks from which they are suspended
pulling out.
Do not start in with a number of plants the requirements of which are
entirely unknown. Where conditions for their proper care are not
obtainable it will be wiser to content one’s self with familiar plants
offering a reasonable hope of success, as Geraniums, Hyacinths, or
Primroses. A healthy, vigorous plant, however common, is preferable to a
sickly one, be it ever so rare.
A fair degree of atmospheric moisture should be maintained by keeping a
dish of water on stove, register, or radiator. Where bulbs are grown a
healthy degree of humidity is secured by evaporation and transpiration
as shown by moisture gathering on the glass when the temperature falls.
Moisture in the soil is a more difficult matter, and greater harm is
done through ignorance in this particular than in any other way. Either
plants are allowed to suffer for water, or they are drenched
indiscriminately. All are watered alike, irrespective of individual
need, whereas the requirements of each should be studied. A few plants,
natives of bogs—as the Calla—require constant moisture when growing.
Heliotrope, on the other hand, turns yellow when over-watered. Water
should be applied thoroughly when given and then withheld until the
plant is nearly dry again. This induces a stocky growth, with
well-ripened wood, capable of producing healthy bloom. To keep a plant
constantly wet may produce a quick growth, but it will be a soft one,
incapable of the best results.
Flower-pots should not be filled to the brim with earth, but sufficient
space should be left to hold enough water to thoroughly saturate the
soil in each pot—a full inch or more in the case of six-inch pots, and
at least half an inch for small pots. The soil must be sufficiently open
to take the water quickly. Heliotrope, and some other plants, form a
thick network of roots, which the water cannot penetrate readily, and
channels should be opened through them with a pencil or stick. See that
the water really penetrates the soil instead of merely passing between
the ball of earth and the pot. Hanging-baskets of wire and moss are best
watered by setting in a large pail until thoroughly soaked. One such
watering will last a week, unless the room is very hot and dry.
[Illustration: PLANTS FOR LATE WINTER BLOOMING SHOULD BE BROUGHT INTO
THE HOUSE BEFORE FALL]
Give sun-loving plants all the sunshine possible. Geraniums especially
love to be close to the glass, and the difference is quickly seen in the
quality of the blossoms. Shower every day, if possible, especially such
plants as Heliotropes, Cinerarias, Cyclamen, Lantanas, and, if not once
a day, at least once a week. Dipping the entire plant in a tub of quite
warm water is a great benefit, as in that way every part of the plant is
reached.
I do not especially approve of the advice so constantly given to “keep
an old fork handy to stir the soil, that the roots may have air.” The
leaves are the lungs of the plants, and if these are kept clean there
will be no trouble about their breathing. Moreover, if necessary to get
air to the roots, stirring the soil would be a very poor way to do it,
as cultivation of the surface is intended to keep air out and moisture
in. To this end we make a dry mulch over flower-beds and the farmer
cultivates his corn in a “dry spell,” knowing that the formation of a
dry crust will result in the rapid evaporation of the moisture in the
soil, the dry air shrinking the soil and opening up its pores, as it
were, letting the hot air in and the moisture out. This advantage the
practice has: it counteracts any tendency to sourness in the soil, and
should be resorted to whenever there is any suspicion of this, or when
the earth in which tender or succulent-stemmed plants are growing seems
hard and will not take water readily. The Amaryllis objects to this
disturbance, and hard-wooded plants, which require firm potting, should
not be disturbed by more than the merest scratching of the surface.
Give support to such plants as need it, promptly; failure in this
respect may result in the loss of a cherished blossom, or the
disfigurement of a plant.
Pinch back all weak and straggling growths, trimming the plants to grow
stocky and symmetrical.
Avoid, as far as possible, a sudden change of temperature, as a sudden
chill will greatly injure some plants, though they may not be actually
frozen. Plants may be left in the window as long as the glass is not
frosted, but at the slightest appearance of frost they must be moved
back out of actual contact with the glass. The thermometer drops
suddenly at times, and plants that were considered quite safe at night
may be found frozen in the morning. When the thermometer in the window
indicates a safe temperature and that outside a stationary one, though
very low, the plants may be left where they are; but beware of falling
temperature, and protect with several thicknesses of newspaper between
the plants and the window, bringing it well out beyond the
window-frames. All cracks between the sash and casing should be
carefully sealed with strips of cloth or paper, the colour of the
woodwork, neatly pasted over, effectually shutting out draughts. This
alone will help immensely in protecting plants, and storm-windows are
safe and save much trouble.
Fresh air, which plants must have, should be supplied through another
room, where it will be warmed before reaching them. A screen, so placed
as to cut off draughts when a door is opened to air the room, will be
found a great convenience.
When plants are frozen they should be thawed very gradually. Darken the
room and keep the temperature low, raising it gradually. If, however,
the plants are in a living-room, where the temperature cannot
conveniently be kept low for any length of time, remove them to the
cellar until the frost is drawn out of them, when, if not too badly
damaged, they may be returned to the window and encouraged to grow.
Geraniums are rarely injured by one freezing, the loss of the leaves
being the chief damage, and if the plants are returned at once to the
window this may prove an advantage, as wherever a leaf falls a new shoot
will usually be forced, making the plant much more stocky and thrifty.
During an unusually severe storm, a Geranium left in the window of a
room away from direct heat was badly frosted. As it was not a very
choice variety no effort was made to save it. The room was closed, and a
temperature of 12° below zero reigned for several days. When the weather
moderated and the temperature rose to 32° the room was opened and
warmed, the Geranium remaining on its shelf. In a few days, seemingly,
the axil of every vanished leaf had bourgeoned into tender green, and in
a short time the Geranium was as thrifty as ever, blossoming better the
following summer than at any time before. Favourable growing conditions
should be given as soon after freezing as possible, that all the
vitality may be utilised and not wasted to sustain life in the
unfavourable conditions existing in cellars.
Showering with, and dipping in, cold water slightly above freezing are
also good for frosted plants; 33° is about right, as a higher
temperature will be apt to precipitate the evil it is desired to
avoid—the rupture of the plant-cells.
The freezing of the soil in pots, which often happens with bulbs or
plants kept quite wet, does no particular harm, and no attention need be
paid to it as long as the tops are not frozen.
Remember that heat rises, and that the upper sash of a window is many
degrees warmer than the lower, so that by having an upper shelf you can
grow plants requiring a much higher temperature than those on the lower
shelf. For the same reason hanging-baskets require much more water than
plants on low shelves, and should be showered frequently to counteract
the dryer atmosphere. A rubber sprinkler is indispensable for this
purpose; by its use flowers may be sufficiently showered every day to
keep back red spiders and materially change the atmosphere.
Compost, sand, old manure, and drainage material should be prepared in
the fall and put in a frost-proof place ready for any repotting that may
be necessary during the winter, and for the early sowing of seeds in the
house.
In another chapter will be found formulas for the various insecticides
required for the extermination of the pests likely to attack plants in
the close, dry air of the living-room. If attention is paid to the
supply of fresh air and moisture little, if any, trouble will be
experienced on this score.
Plants coming into bloom will require some fertiliser, and as there are
objections to the use of manure-water in the house the following formula
will be found very satisfactory: Get at the druggist’s one and a half
pounds (or ounces) nitrate of soda, one-half pound (or ounce) phosphate
of soda, and one pound (or ounce) sulphate of potash. Mix and pulverise
the material thoroughly. When required for use put a rounding
tablespoonful of this mixture in a gallon of hot water. To fertilise the
plants put a teacupful of the water, when cool, on a six-inch pot, and
more in proportion on larger pots. Do not use oftener than once in two
weeks, and do not let it touch the foliage.
All the Asparagus group are benefited by the use of a good fertiliser,
especially is this the case with A. Sprengeri, which makes a root growth
so vigorous that it would be unmanageable were it not for the use of
fertilisers, which make it possible to keep it within reasonable bounds.
Begonias, on the other hand, are usually injured by the use of
fertilisers.
Chapter _TWENTY-ONE_
Common and English Names of Flowers