Part 71 (1/2)
To the east, beyond the walk, is another picture--Shasta daisies and blue cornflowers. On the north side is a brilliant hedge of red sweet peas. On the east and south of this most exquisite picture are Iceland poppies, red pyrethrums, and here and there are clumps of dark red sweet william. In the early morn, just after the ”morning stars have sung together,” and the forces of day are slowly coming into action, this is a wonderous picture.
On the north side of the cottage is a screened-in porch. Here cardinal climber gives its myriads of cheerful bloom, while blue lobelia and white anemones, with the porch boxes filled with vinca atmosphere of beauty and cheer to those who come and take the social cup that truly cheers. The broad lawn slopes north to the driveway. To the east, separating the lawn from the walk, which is west of the canna beds, is a border of dusty miller next the gra.s.s and one row each of blue anchusa and red snapdragon. The silver leaved poplars in the distance give a soft sheen to the whole picture.
Away to the west is a spruce hedge and inside the hedge red hollyhocks and phlox with a great row of crimson poppies. A simple garden made of simple things, and yet as we go through it to our peony bed, that gorgeous flower, standing alone in its regal, queenly beauty, we do not wonder that when one of old walked with G.o.d it was in the cool of the evening and in a garden.
”Where in all the dim resplendent s.p.a.ces, The mazy stars drift through To my garden lying whitely in The moonlight and the dew.”
My Experience in Grape Culture.
JOSEPH TUCKER, AUSTIN. SO. MINN. HORT. SOCIETY
During fifteen years I have had in my garden several varieties of grapes, namely, the Concord, Worden, Moore's Early and a green grape (not certain of its name). All have done remarkably well whenever the season was reasonably favorable. I mean by that the absence of the late spring and the early fall frosts, which are the greatest drawbacks to grape culture. For that reason I would not advise anyone to undertake it as a business venture on a large scale. On the other hand, where it is desired to supply the family table with fresh fruit as long as it will keep, also to add a variety of jellies and preserves for the winter, a dozen of vines will supply an ordinary family with grapes whose flavor I have never seen surpa.s.sed.
You who do not always expect money to grow on everything you touch, you who admire and love a plant or vine and feel well repaid for your labor to see it grow and bear fruit, you who have a vacant corner in your garden well adapted to that purpose, I urge you most earnestly to plant some grape vines, and I a.s.sure you that with some knowledge of their care and a determination not to fail you will succeed, and you will eventually be able to see a pretty sight--for, to my mind, nothing is handsomer than a well trimmed grape row with the ripening fruit. The soil that will grow corn will produce good grapes. My advice is to select early ripening varieties, for then you will only have the possible spring frost to contend with, and that is easy to guard against.
Do not fail to adopt some system of pruning, for that is the most essential part of the secret to grow good grapes. Other necessary information will no doubt be furnished by any reliable nurseryman with whom you are dealing. I wish to say in conclusion that so far I have had no trouble from any insects attacking the vines or fruit, and I have always been able to produce fruit that commands the first premium wherever exhibited.
Protect the Garden against Winter Weather.
U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE.
At this season many inquiries come to the United States Department of Agriculture regarding the protection of garden plants and shrubs during the winter. Such flowers as peonies and hollyhocks will come up again the following year if they are properly protected during the winter, while others, like cannas and dahlias, which are more accustomed to warm climes, must have their roots or bulbs dug up and stored in a cellar.
The department's specialists give the following suggestions for ”putting the garden to bed”:
_Hardy Perennials._--Cover hardy perennials, such as peonies, larkspur, hollyhocks, columbines, iris, platycodons and perennial poppies, with a good coating of manure or other litter to a depth of 3 or 4 inches. In more southern localities this will hold the frost in the ground and keep the plant from alternately freezing and thawing; in more northern regions the manure will protect the plant from freezing to a depth that will cut off its water supply.
_Cannas and Dahlias._--As soon as the tops of cannas, dahlias, gladiolus, caladiums and similar plants are killed by frost, dig up the roots or bulbs and store them in a cellar where the temperature will remain at 55 degrees, and should never go below 50 or above 60 degrees.
Do not shake any more earth from the clumps of cannas and dahlias than is necessary in removing them from the ground. Place the plants on racks or in slat boxes so the air may circulate freely through them. No frost must reach the roots nor must they become too warm or dry.
_Shrubs._--As a rule shrubs should not be trimmed in the fall. This process is timely immediately after the blooming period, if this is in the spring, as in the case of the s...o...b..ll. If the shrubs bloom in the fall, as do some hydrangeas, the rose of Sharon, and some lilacs, they should not be cut directly after blooming but in the spring of the following year. Lilacs, s...o...b..a.l.l.s and mock orange should be let alone during the winter, being neither trimmed nor covered with straw and manure.
_Roses._--Almost all kinds of roses are hardy in the vicinities of Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C., and St. Louis and to the south of a line drawn between these points. From Was.h.i.+ngton northward local conditions influence the successful cultivation of certain varieties. Some roses, as the brier and rugosa, need no protection, but other varieties, such as the hybrid perpetuals, teas and hybrid-teas, need special care, particularly north of the fortieth parallel. Teas and hybrid teas hardly succeed in Chicago, although the hybrid-perpetuals grow as far north as Canada. All these cla.s.ses do well on Long Island and in Boston near the sea when proper care is given them. These varieties in the vicinity of Was.h.i.+ngton need merely a little manure on the ground to prevent alternate freezing and thawing. Farther north, however, they should be treated as follows:
Cut the tops to within 30 inches of the ground. Cover the roots with coa.r.s.e manure or leaves or similar litter. Hold this in place by evergreen boughs which also acts as a protection. Brush from deciduous trees or shrubs may be subst.i.tuted for the evergreen boughs except in the most northern regions.
Mounds of earth about six or eight inches in height should be drawn about the base of the rose bushes to keep them from mice. As an added protection against mice, permit the ground to freeze slightly before winter protection is supplied. In fact, roses should not be protected until after the first light freeze, which may be expected in Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C., about the first of December, but earlier farther north. (Tops must be protected in Minnesota.--Sec.)
_Climbing Roses._--In the lat.i.tude of Philadelphia and farther south climbing roses usually need no protection during the winter unless they are a particularly tender variety. Farther north these roses need protection similar to that given to the tea and hybrid tea roses.
Where it is possible to do so, remove climbing roses from their supports, and cover the branches with a little dirt. A little fall tr.i.m.m.i.n.g might be desirable to lessen the s.p.a.ce occupied by the branches on the ground. Such side branches as are not to be needed for next season's blooming may be cut off. Such cutting off and shortening of the ends as would otherwise be done in the spring may be done in the fall before covering, merely for convenience.
Growing Asparagus.