Manual of Gardening Part 21

1. Plants for carpet-beds, p. 234;

2. The annual plants, p. 241;

3. Hardy herbaceous perennials, p. 260;

4. Bulbs and tubers, p. 281;

5. The shrubbery, p. 290;

6. Climbing plants, p. 307;

7. Trees for lawns and streets, p. 319;

8. Coniferous evergreen trees and shrubs, p. 331;

9. Window-gardens, p. 336.

And then, in Chapter VIII, the particular cultures of plants needing special care are briefly discussed.

_Planting for immediate effect._

It is always legitimate, and, in fact, desirable, to plant for immediate effect. One may plant very thickly of rapid-growing trees and shrubs for this purpose. It is a fact, however, that very rapid-growing trees usually lack strong or artistic character. Other and better trees should be planted with them and the featureless kinds be gradually removed.

(Page 41.)

The effect of a new place may be greatly heightened by a dexterous use of annuals and other herbaceous stuff in the shrub plantations. Until the shrubbery covers the ground, temporary plants may be grown among them. Subtropical beds may give a very desirable temporary finish to places that are pretentious enough to make them seem in keeping.

Very rough, hard, sterile, and stony banks may sometimes be covered with coltsfoot (_Tussilago Farfara_), sacaline, _Rubus cratoegifotius,_ comfrey, and various wild growths that persist in similar places in the neighborhood.

However much the planter may plan for immediate effects, the beauty of trees and shrubs comes with maturity and age, and this beauty is often delayed, or even obliterated, by shearing and excessive heading-back. At first, bushes are stiff and erect, but when they attain their full character, they usually droop or roll over to meet the sward. Some bushes make mounds of green much sooner than others that may even be closely related. Thus the common yellow-bell (_Forsythia virdissima_) remains stiff and hard for some years, whereas _F. suspensa_ makes a rolling heap of green in two or three years. Quick informal effects can also be secured by the use of Hall's j.a.panese honeysuckle (_Lonicera Halliana_ of nurserymen), an evergreen in the South, and holding its leaves until midwinter or later in the North. It may be used for covering a rock, a pile of rubbish, a stump (Fig. 236), to fill a corner against a foundation, or it may be trained on a porch or arbor. There is a form with yellow-veined leaves. _Rosa Wichuraiana_ and some of the dewberries are useful for covering rough places.

Many vines that are commonly used for porches and arbors may be employed also for the borders of shrub-plantations and for covering rough banks and rocks, quickly giving a finish to the cruder parts of the place.

Such vines, among others, are various kinds of clematis, Virginia creeper, actinidia, akebia, trumpet creeper, periploca, bitter-sweet (_Solanum Dulcamara_), wax-work (_Celastrus scandens_).

Of course, very good immediate effects may be secured by very close planting (page 222), but the homesteader must not neglect to thin out these plantations when the time comes.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig 236. Stump covered with j.a.panese honeysuckle.]

_The use of "foliage" trees and shrubs._

There is always a temptation to use too freely of the trees and shrubs that are characterized by abnormal or striking foliage. The subject is discussed in its artistic bearings on pages 40 and 41.

As a rule, the yellow-leaved, spotted-leaved, variegated, and other abnormal "foliage" plants are less hardy and less reliable than the green-leaved or "natural" forms. They usually require more care, if they are kept in vigorous and seemly condition. Some marked exceptions to this are noted in the lists of trees and shrubs.

There are some plants of striking foliage, however, that are perfectly reliable, but they are usually not of the "horticultural variety" cla.s.s, their characteristics being normal to the species. Some of the silver or white-leaved poplars, for example, produce the most striking contrasts of foliage, particularly if set near darker trees, and for this reason they are much desired by many planters. Bolle's poplar (_Populus Bolleana_ of the nurseries) is one of the best of these trees. Its habit is something like that of the Lombardy. The upper surface of the deeply lobed leaves is dark dull green, while the under surface is almost snowy white. Such emphatic trees as this should generally be partially obscured by planting them amongst other trees, so that they appear to mix with the other foliage; or else they should be seen at some distance. Other varieties of the common white poplar or abele are occasionally useful, although most of them sprout badly and may become a nuisance. But the planting of these immodest trees is so likely to be overdone that one scarcely dare recommend them, although, when skillfully used, they may be made to produce most excellent effects. If any reader has a particular fondness for trees of this cla.s.s (or any others with woolly-white foliage) and if he has only an ordinary city lot or farm-yard to ornament, let him reduce his desires to a single tree, and then if that tree is planted in the interior of a group of other trees, no harm can result.

_Windbreaks and screens._

A shelter-belt for the home grounds is often placed at the extreme edge of the home yard, toward the heaviest or prevailing wind. It may be a dense plantation of evergreens. If so, the Norway spruce is one of the best for general purposes in the northeastern states. For a lower belt the arbor vitae is excellent. Some of the pines, as the Scotch or Austrian, and the native white pine, are also to be advised, particularly if the belt is at some distance from the residence. As a rule, the coa.r.s.er the tree the farther it should be placed from the house.

The common deciduous trees of the region (as elm, maple, box-elder) may be planted in a row or rows for windbreaks. Good temporary shelter belts are secured by poplars and large willows. On the prairies and far north the laurel willow _(Salix laurifolia_ of the trade) is excellent. Where snow blows very badly, two lines of breaks may be planted three to six rods apart, so that the inclosed lane may catch the drift; this method is employed in prairie regions.

Persons may desire to use the break as a screen to hide undesirable objects. If these objects are of a permanent character, as a barn or an unkempt property, evergreen trees should be used. For temporary screens, any of the very large-growing herbaceous plants may be employed. Very excellent subjects are sunflowers, the large-growing nicotianas, castor beans, large varieties of Indian corn, and plants of like growth.

Excellent screens are sometimes made with vines on a trellis.

Very efficient summer screens may be made with ailanthus, paulownia, ba.s.swood, sumac, and other plants that tend to throw up very vigorous shoots from the base. After these plants have been set a year or two, they are cut back nearly to the ground in winter or spring, and strong shoots are thrown up with great luxuriance during the summer, giving a dense screen and presenting a semi-tropical effect. For such purposes, the roots should be planted only two or three feet apart. If, after a time, the roots become so crowded that the shoots are weak, some of the plants may be removed. Top-dressing the area every fall with manure will tend to make the ground rich enough to afford a very heavy summer growth. (See Fig. 50.)

_The making of hedges._

Hedges are much less used in this country than in Europe, and for several reasons. Our climate is dry, and most hedges do not thrive so well here as there; labor is high-priced, and the tr.i.m.m.i.n.g is therefore likely to be neglected; our farms are so large that much fencing is required; timber and wire are cheaper than live hedges.

However, hedges are used with good effect about the home grounds. In order to secure a good ornamental hedge, it is necessary to have a thoroughly well-prepared deep soil, to set the plants close, and to shear them at least twice every year. For evergreen hedges the most serviceable plant in general is the arbor vitae. The plants may be set at distances of 1 to 2-1/2 feet apart. For coa.r.s.er hedges, the Norway spruce is used; and for still coa.r.s.er ones, the Scotch and Austrian pines. In California the staple conifer hedge is made of Monterey cypress. For choice evergreen hedges about the grounds, particularly outside the northern states, some of the retinosporas are very useful.

One of the most satisfactory of all coniferous plants for hedges is the common hemlock, which stands shearing well and makes a very soft and pleasing ma.s.s. The plants may be set from 2 to 4 feet apart.

Other plants that hold their leaves and are good for hedges are the common box and the privets. Box hedges are the best for very low borders about walks and flower-beds. The dwarf variety can be kept down to a height of 6 inches to a foot for any number of years. The larger-growing varieties make excellent hedges 3, 4, and 5 feet high.

The ordinary privet or prim holds its leaves well into winter in the North. The so-called Californian privet holds its leaves rather longer and stands better along the seash.o.r.e. The mahonia makes a low, loose hedge or edging in locations where it will thrive. Pyracantha is also to be recommended where hardy. In the southern states, nothing is better than _Citrus trifoliata._ This is hardy even farther north than Washington in very favored localities. In the South, _Prunus Caroliniana_ is also used for hedges. Saltbush hedges are frequent in California.

For hedges of deciduous plants, the most common species are the buckthorn, j.a.pan quince, the European hawthorn and other thorns, tamarix, osage orange, honey locust, and various kinds of roses. Osage orange has been the most used for farm hedges. For home grounds, _Berberis Thunbergii_ makes an excellent free hedge; also _Spiraea Thunbergii_ and other spireas. The common _Rosa rugosa_ makes an attractive free hedge.

Hedges should be trimmed the year after they are set, although they should not be sheared very closely until they reach the desired or permanent height. Thereafter they should be cut into the desired form in spring or fall, or both. If the plants are allowed to grow for a year or two without tr.i.m.m.i.n.g, they lose their lower leaves and become open and straggly. Osage orange and some other plants are plashed; that is, the plants are set at an angle rather than perpendicularly, and they are wired together obliquely in such a way that they make an impenetrable barrier just above the surface of the ground.

For closely clipped or sheared hedges, the best plants are arbor vitae, retinospora, hemlock, Norway spruce, privet, buckthorn, box, osage orange, pyracantha, _Citrus trifoliata._ The pyracantha _(Pyracantha coccinea_) is an evergreen shrub allied to crataegus, of which it is sometimes considered to be a species. It is also sometimes referred to cotoneaster. Although hardy in protected places in the North, it is essentially a bush of the middle and southern lat.i.tudes, and of California. It has persistent foliage and red berries. Var. _Lalandi_ has orange-red berries.

_The borders._

The word "border" is used to designate the heavy or continuous planting about the boundaries of a place, or along the walks and drives, or against the buildings, in distinction from planting on the lawn or in the interior s.p.a.ces. A border receives different designations, depending on the kinds of plants that are grown therein: it may be a shrub-border, a flower-border, a hardy border for native and other plants, a vine-border, and the like.

There are three rules for the choosing of plants for a hardy border: choose (1) those that you like best, (2) those that are adapted to the climate and soil, (3) those that are in place or in keeping with that part of the grounds.

The earth for the border should be fertile. The whole ground should be plowed or spaded and the plants set irregularly in the s.p.a.ce; or the back row may be set in a line. If the border is composed of shrubs, and is large, a horse cultivator may be run in and out between the plants for the first two or three years, since the shrubs will be set 2 to 4 feet apart. Ordinarily, however, the tilling is done with hand tools.

After the plants are once established and the border is filled, it is best to dig up as little as possible, for the digging disturbs the roots and breaks the crowns. It is usually best to pull out the weeds and give the border a top-dressing each fall of well-rotted manure. If the ground is not very rich, an application of ashes or some commercial fertilizer may be given from time to time.

The border should be planted so thick as to allow the plants to run together, thereby giving one continuous effect. Most shrubs should be set 3 feet apart. Things as large as lilacs may go 4 feet and sometimes even more. Common herbaceous perennials, as bleeding heart, delphiniums, hollyhocks, and the like, should go from 12 to 18 inches. On the front edge of the border is a very excellent place for annual and tender flowering plants. Here, for example, one may make a fringe of asters, geraniums, coleus, or anything else he may choose. (Chap. II.)

Into the heavy borders about the boundaries of the place the autumn leaves will drift and afford an excellent mulch. If these borders are planted with shrubs, the leaves may be left there to decay, and not be raked off in the spring.

The general outline of the border facing the lawn should be more or less wavy or irregular, particularly if it is on the boundary of the place.

Alongside a walk or drive the margins may follow the general directions of the walk or drive.

In making borders of perennial flowers the most satisfactory results are secured if a large clump of each kind or variety is grown. The herbaceous border is one of the most flexible parts of grounds, since it has no regular or formal design. Allow ample s.p.a.ce for each perennial root,--often as much as three or four square feet,--and then if the s.p.a.ce is not filled the first year or two, scatter over the area seeds of poppies, sweet peas, asters, gilias, alyssum, or other annuals.

Figures 237-239, from Long ("Popular Gardening," i., 17, 18), suggest methods of making such borders. They are on a scale of ten feet to the inch. The entire surface is tilled, and the irregular diagrams designate the sizes of the clumps. The diagrams containing no names are to be filled with bulbs, annuals, and tender plants, if desired.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 237. Suggestions for a border of spring flowers.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 238. A border of summer-flowering herbs.]

It must not be supposed, however, that one cannot have a border unless he has wide marginal s.p.a.ces about his grounds. It is surprising how many things one can grow in an old fence. Perennials that grow in fence-rows in fields ought also to grow in similar boundaries on the home grounds. Some of garden annuals will thrive alongside a fence, particularly if the fence does not shut off too much light; and many vines (both perennial and annual) will cover it effectively. Among annuals, the large-seeded, quick-germinating, rapid-growing kinds will do best. Sunflower, sweet pea, morning glory, j.a.panese hop, zinnia, marigold, amaranths, four o'clock, are some of the kinds that will hold their own. If the effort is made to grow plants in such places, it is important to give them all the advantage possible early in the season, so that they will get well ahead of the gra.s.s and weeds. Spade up the ground all you can. Add a little quick-acting fertilizer. It is best to start the plants in pots or small boxes, so that they will be in advance of the weeds when they are set out.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 239. An autumn-flowering border.]