Manual of Gardening Part 30

Argemone.

Aster, China, the big kinds (or rows 2 ft. apart and plants 1 ft. in row).

Callirrhoe.

Canterbury bell (up to 3 ft.).

Celosia, large kinds (up to 30 in.).

Chrysanthemum, annual.

Cosmos, smaller kinds.

Euphorbia marginata.

Four o'clock (up to 30 in.) Hop, j.a.panese. (to 30 in.) Kochia, or summer cypress Marigold, tall kinds.

Nasturtium, tall, if allowed to spread on the ground.

Nicotiana (up to 30 in.).

oenothera, tall kinds.

Salvia coccinea (_splendens grandiflora_), about 2 ft.

Zinnia, tall kinds (up to 3 ft).

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 250. A modern peony.]

About 3 feet or more

Caladium.

Cosmos, tall kinds (2 to 3 ft.).

Dahlia.

Datura.

Martynia.

Ricinus or castor bean.

Solanums.

Sunflower, tall kinds.

Wigandia.

3. HARDY HERBACEOUS PERENNIALS

There is a rapidly growing appreciation of perennial herbs, not only as flower-garden and lawn subjects, but as parts of native landscapes.

Every locality yields its wild asters, golden-rods, columbines, iris, trilliums, lilies, anemones, pentstemons, mints, sunflowers, or other plants; and many of these also make good subjects for the home grounds.

It is important to remember that some perennial herbs begin to fail after one to three seasons of full bloom. It is a good plan to have new plants coming on to take their place; or the old roots may be taken up in the fall and divided, only the fresh and strong parts being planted again.

Perennial herbs are propagated in various ways,--by seeds, and by cuttings of the stems and roots, but mostly by the easy method of division. On the raising of these plants from seeds, William Falconer writes as follows in Dreer's "Garden Book" for 1909:--

"Hardy perennials are easily grown from seed. In many cases they are a little slower than annuals, but with intelligent care they are successfully raised, and from seed is an excellent way to get up a big stock of perennials. Many sorts, if sown in spring, bloom the first year from seeds as early as annuals; for instance: gaillardia, Iceland poppies, Chinese larkspur, platycodon, etc. Others do not bloom until the second year.

"The amateur may have more success and less bother growing perennials from seed sown in the open ground than from any other way. Prepare a bed in a nice, warm, sheltered spot in the garden, preferably not very sunny. Let the surface of the bed be raised four or five inches above the general level, and the soil be a mellow fine earth on the surface.

Draw shallow rows across the surface of the bed three or four inches apart, and here sow the seeds, keeping the varieties of one kind or nature as much together as practicable, covering the seeds thinly; press the whole surface gently, water moderately, then dust a little fine loose soil over all. If the weather is sunny or windy, shade with papers or a few branches, but remove these in the evening. When the seedlings come up, thin them out to stiffen those that are left, and when they are two or three inches high, they are fit for transplanting into permanent quarters. All this should be done in early spring, say March, April, or May. Again, in July or August perennials are very easily raised out of doors, and much in the same way as above. Or they may be sown in early spring indoors, in the window, the hotbed, the coldframe, or the greenhouse, preferably in boxes or pans, as for growing annuals. Some gardeners sow seed right in the coldframe. I have tried both ways, and find the boxes best, as the different varieties of seeds do not come up at the same time, and you can remove them from the close frame to more airy quarters as soon as the seed comes up, whereas, if sown in a frame, you would have to give them all the same treatment. When the seedlings are large enough, I transplant them into other boxes, and put them into a shady part of the garden, but not under the shade of trees, as there they will 'draw' too much. About the fifteenth of September plant them in the garden where they are to bloom, or if the garden is full of summer-flowering plants, put them in beds in the vegetable garden, to be planted out in the early spring, and give them a light covering of straw or manure to keep sudden changes of the weather away from them."

Hardy perennial herbs may be planted in September and October with excellent results; also in spring. See that they are protected with mulch in winter.

_Perennial herbs suitable for lawn and "planting" effects._

Some of the striking plants that are valuable for lawn planting in the North, chosen chiefly on account of their size, foliage, and habit, are mentioned in the following brief list. They may or may not be suitable for flower-gardens. It is impossible to give to this list any degree of completeness; but the names here printed will be suggestive of the kinds of things that may be used. The asterisk (A) denotes native plants.

Yucca, _Yucca filamentosa._(A)

Funkia, _Funkia,_ of several species.

Peltate saxifrage, _Saxifraga peltata._(A)

Rose mallow, _Hibiscus Moscheutos._(A)

Elecampane, _Inula Helenium_ (Fig. 251).

Wild sunflowers, _Helianthus_(A) of different species, especially _H.

orygalis, H. giganteus, H. grosse-serratus, H. strumosus._

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 251. Elecampane. Naturalized in old fields and along roadsides.]

Compa.s.s-plants, _Silphium_(A) of several species, especially _S.

terebinthinaceum, S. laciniatum, S. perfoliatum._

Sacaline, _Polygonum Sachalinense._

j.a.panese knotweed, _Polygonum cuspidatum._

Bocconia, _Bocconia cordata._

Wild wormwood, _Artemisia Stelleriana_(A) and others.

b.u.t.terfly-weed, _Asclepias tuberosa._(A)

Wild asters, _Aster_(A) of many species, especially _A. Novae-Anglae_ (best), _A. laevis, A. multiflorus, A. spectabilis._

Golden-rods, _Solidago_(A) of various species, especially _S. speciosa, S. nemoralis, S. juncea, S. gigantea._

Loose-strife, _Lythrum Salicaria._

Flags, _Iris_ of many species, some native.

j.a.panese wind-flower, _Anemone j.a.ponica._

Goat's beard, _Aruncus sylvester (Spiraea Aruncus_).(A)

Baptisia, _Baptisia tinctoria._(A)

Thermopsis, _Thermopsis mollis._(A)

Wild senna, _Ca.s.sia Marilandica._(A)

Wild trefoil, _Desmodium Canadense_(A) and others.

Ribbon gra.s.s, _Phalaris arundinacea_(A) var. _picta._

Zebra gra.s.s, _Eulalia_ (or _Miscanthus_) species, and varieties.