Part 18

When one is so fortunate as to have a little stream flowing through a corner of the grounds it can be diverted to form a pond with sufficient current to prevent stagnation, yet not enough to interfere with the growing of water-plants. By selecting a low spot beside the stream very little excavating will be necessary, and the nature of the soil and force of the water will decide what, if any, barrier may be needed. Should the stream be some distance from the house a shrubbery, hardy perennials, and an occasional tree may lead up to the pond. If this is so fortunately placed as to be on the north side of the grounds, so that the sun lies on it when seen from the house, the effect will be greatly heightened by a clump of evergreens on its northern shore, making a background to arrest the eye and focus it on the lily pond. Where the landscape is limited, a group of tall Bamboos is effective at this point, and Japanese Iris may have a place in the foreground; Sagittarias and ornamental grasses may also be used with good results.

Where one lacks the advantage of natural conditions a cement pond is a good substitute. It may be expensively constructed with piping for water, drainage, etc., or it may be made at a cost of from five to thirty dollars, according to size. Five or six by eight, or eight by ten or twelve feet, will be found convenient sizes, as they will admit of reaching the centre. The basin should be about two feet deep when completed, and if of clay the soil should be wet and made as hard and smooth as possible. If the soil is loose and sandy it will need a coat of clay before applying the cement. This may be done by mixing the clay with water to the consistency of mortar and applying in any convenient way. Allow this to dry before using the cement. A neat curbing will greatly improve the appearance of the pond.

When the cement is perfectly dry, place six inches of old, well-rotted manure in the bottom of the basin, and cover with eight or ten inches of muck. Make this smooth and level, and cover with one or two inches of clean white sand to keep the water clear and sightly and prevent the muck from rising to the surface. Fill with hose or watering-pot, letting the pond overflow until the water is clear and the sand firm and smooth, when it is ready for plants.

When a permanent bed of this kind is out of the question, a large zinc tub, or half a hogshead, will make a small water-garden. These would better be raised somewhat above the surface of the ground to protect them from decay. Three small five-inch drain-tiles laid sidewise make a good foundation, and a very pretty effect may be obtained by piling rough stones around the tank. Fill in with earth and cover with vines and plants suitable for a rockery. If a tall Bamboo, or even a fine clump of Papyrus or Umbrella-plant can be grown on the north side, so as to overtop the tank without shutting off the sunshine, it will add much to the general effect. The Lily pond should have full sunshine, but be protected from rough winds, as the leaves of large Lilies that stand well above the water are easily injured. The Egyptian Lotus is the finest of all Lilies suitable for growing in small ponds or tanks. These plants should be purchased from growers, as they do not seed in this country and the imported seed is uncertain. One plant is sufficient for a tub or tank, as they increase very rapidly and do better when not crowded.

One of these Lilies may be placed in the centre of a small pond of ten feet or more, and other Lilies grouped around the sides. Hardy Nymphæas may be planted in the soil of the pond, while the more tender Zanzibarenses should be planted in twelve-inch pots and plunged in the tank, as these are not hardy like the Nelumbiums, to which class the Lotus belongs. Both the Egyptian and the American Lotus are quite hardy in the open ground with a protection of rough litter and boards. An interesting peculiarity of the Lotus, by which it may be distinguished from other Lilies when quite small or out of bloom, is that water splashed on the leaves always rolls up into little drops like quicksilver instead of spreading over the leaves, as on Nymphæas and the like.

There are several varieties of Nymphæas suitable for amateur cultivation—the Cape Cod Water Lily, with its large, cup-shaped flowers of a lovely pink; T. Richardson, probably the finest white variety; our native Nymphæas, and the lovely Zanzibar Lilies in blue and crimson. These last are very easily raised from seed, which, if planted early in February, will give bloom by July, and may be wintered in a warm, dry cellar. In a cold, damp cellar they rot. If grown in tubs drain off the water at the approach of cold weather, remove to the cellar and keep merely moist. If grown in ponds it is better to plant them in pots, which may be lifted and brought into the cellar for the winter. Into a large bowl or crock put a few inches of rich soil, cover with clean white sand and turn on tepid water until it runs clear. Sow the lily seed on the surface of the water; it will go to the bottom when entirely wet and be more evenly distributed than would be the case were it sown on the soil and the water turned over it.

Through the clear water the whole process of germination may be watched. In six days a thread-like sprout will have started from the swollen seed; in six days more this thread-like shoot changes into a tiny dart-shaped leaf; in another six a true leaf comes upon the scene, a very small lily-pad, but giving promise of great performance.

When the dish becomes crowded transplant into other dishes, keeping plants out of water as short a time as possible. When the nights are warm—at least 60°—plant out in tubs or ponds. For the first year an eight by ten foot pond may have a Nelumbium in the centre, two or three Zanzibar varieties on either side, and pink and white Nymphæas at the end. If the plants have done well reduce the number the second year.

Water Hyacinths are found interesting principally because they are more or less of a novelty even at the South, having been introduced from Venezuela about fourteen years ago. This plant has already proved itself a nuisance in the Florida rivers, seriously interfering with navigation and calling for appropriations from the Government for its destruction. In house or garden cultivation the roots increase rapidly. A small plant set in a tub in full sunshine in May will fill it by August. The leaves form rosettes and expand at the stem into a sort of bladder that supports the plant on the surface of the water. The roots trail in the water until the plant is ready to bloom, when they enter the soil. The flowers are a pleasing shade of lavender with a yellow centre and form in spikes like a Hyacinth. Paris green must not be used in the water where the Hyacinths are grown, but lumps of charcoal and a small quantity of kerosene may be substituted.

A few Water Poppies holding their bright yellow cups well above the surface of the water are always attractive, and Parrot’s Feather trailing over the sides of the tub gives a bit of tender green through the summer, but the rockwork, with ferns and plants and a tall reed or two, makes a much tidier appearance. The Papyrus—the plant from which our first paper was made—is very effective and will grow wherever a Canna thrives, though it prefers a low, damp soil. It must be wintered in greenhouse or cellar. A well-developed clump will grow to a height of ten feet. Several varieties of Bamboo, to be had from South Florida nurseries, will do well in the North in summer and stand a considerable degree of cold. Bambusa arundinacea is a magnificent quick-growing sort from forty to sixty feet tall at maturity, and will stand considerable frost. B. aurea and B. Metake are hardy with good protection at the North. B. Metake is a handsome evergreen species of considerable decorative value for indoor culture, growing six feet tall with large, handsome foliage, while A. falcata is a pretty variety with the tiniest of leaves. Bamboo requires an abundant water-supply, and is therefore most suitable for the borders of natural ponds, or low, damp spots on the grounds.

The objection raised to ponds is that they breed mosquitoes and malaria and are likely to become offensive. So will anything that is neglected, but there is not the slightest reason for the lily pond becoming a nuisance in any way. A small amount of Paris green in the water—a teaspoonful to an eight-foot pond—will keep it perfectly clear and sweet and prevent the formation of green scum and moss, so offensive in stagnant water, and the breeding of mosquitoes. Or a little charcoal and kerosene will give the same results.

Chapter FIFTEEN The Care of the Summer Rose-bed

The old-fashioned June Roses, with their long season of flowerless bloom, hardly repay the trouble of raising. The hardy perpetuals and hybrid Teas may now be purchased so cheaply that, even though a large proportion of them should not survive the winter, a small outlay will replace them. The thorniness of the old hardy June Rose adds greatly to the labour of caring for them, and this alone would lead some to discard them.

If, however, one clings to the old-fashioned Roses from economy or sentiment, they should be grown to their fullest possibilities by pruning, cultivation, and liberal mulching with coarse manure in the fall, and lawn clippings in the summer. Pruning should be done late in the winter or early in the spring before the sap begins to run. Remove all weak and straggly branches, cutting back the new growth to the first strong leaf-buds on the shoot. It is well to cut out the centres, as the new growth will quickly fill the space and be stronger and better in every way for the removal of the old wood. It will also leave less wood and briers to collect and hold dead leaves and grass during winter, which must be taken out, at the expense of bleeding fingers, in the spring. Bushes which grow upright with little wood at the base are more easily cared for. Only strong, new growths should be left, which will break freely and give firm new wood, producing fine flowers. Breaking means the starting of young leaf-buds at the axils of each leaf, which sprout and form new branches. It is the new wood that bears the flowers, so that its growth should be encouraged. The fewer shoots allowed to grow the finer will be the flowers.

Cultivate thoroughly in spring and fall and give a heavy mulch of lawn clippings during summer. Mulch heavily with coarse manure in the fall, digging in the best of it in the spring. It is not necessary to give winter protection, though it is best to wrap the tops with straw when exposed to cold winds.

Hardy climbers should have all weak shoots removed, and branches that are too long shortened. Thin out a part of the canes to give room for air and growth, and remove all wood that has grown too hard to break, as it will produce no new wood and is only an incumbrance.

For the summer rose-bed nothing equals the Hybrid Teas, which bloom from June until frost. If young plants are purchased in the spring they may be bedded out at once, if sent by express with the ball of earth about their roots intact. If sent by mail it will be better to pot off in three-inch pots, and set in a cool, rather shady place for a few days, bringing gradually into the sunshine until they have become established, when they may be turned out into the open ground without disturbing their roots. If planted at once in the open ground, the more delicate ones would be likely to perish.

Give the rose-bed a sunny, protected situation, using a soil of good garden loam, clay, and old, well-rotted manure, made deep and mellow. If the plants are the small mail-order size set one foot apart each way, planting according to directions for transplanting, and make the soil very firm and hard about their roots. Cultivate frequently, or mulch with lawn clippings, working them in as they decay. Liquid manure must not be given until the plants are growing vigorously, when it may be applied once or twice a week. More plants are injured by the injudicious use of fertilisers than in any other way.

If two-year-old plants are purchased, set from eighteen inches to two feet apart each way. See that each plant has a zinc or wooden label securely fastened to it, or, what is better, make a list in their regular order, or a diagram of the bed in a note-book. This permanent memorandum will enable you to be sure of the name of any particular Rose.

Cut Roses with a liberal amount of the stem, and only enough pruning will be needed to keep them in good shape and remove any weak growth. It is a good plan to cut them down to a bud that will be likely to throw a good shoot. Hardy Perpetuals or monthly Roses often fail to give more than a few early spring flowers at the tips of the branches. If the plants are in good condition, and the branches of some length, peg the ends down to the ground with a clothes-pin or stick, as the tendency in Rose growth is for new wood to start from the highest point. Bending the end down brings the highest point at the middle of the branch, which will then break and bloom.

Roses, especially the old hardy kinds, will often refuse to bloom, though well cared for and sufficiently pruned. In such cases root-pruning may be resorted to by cutting down on two sides of the plant with the spade and severing a part of the roots. This will often induce bloom when all other methods fail. Plants occasionally run to roots as well to tops.

So many and varied are the insect enemies that a hardy Rose, with even fair foliage, is rare during the season of bloom, unless ceaseless warfare has been waged from the first swelling of the buds. Slugs, rose thrip or hopper, and rose-bugs make the life of the rose-grower a weariness. On this account alone I would recommend discarding the June Roses in favour of the Teas, which are fairly free from these pests. Their dark-green, healthy foliage is a striking contrast to the worm-eaten, rusty foliage of the hardy Rose. The only weakness they show is an occasional tendency to mildew, and this may be avoided by giving an airy, sunny situation, setting far enough apart to insure free circulation of air, and watering early that the foliage may dry before the chill of night. The remedy is flowers of sulphur dusted over the leaves.

Rose-slugs are small green worms that feed on the foliage, lying on the under side of the leaves, which they roll around them or draw together with a slight web. The remedy is to spray the under side of the foliage with kerosene emulsion, or with hot water heated to 140°, being careful to reach every part, or to go over the plant leaf by leaf, pinching the leaves between the fingers and crushing them. The rose hopper, or thrip, is a small, yellowish-white insect feeding on the under side of the leaves, sucking their juice and causing them to turn yellow. The best remedy is the whale-oil solution sprayed on the under side. For rose bugs, or beetles, spraying with Paris green is quite effective, but it must be used promptly, as the amount of injury they can do in a short time is remarkable. After using an insecticide, the plants should be thoroughly sprayed with clear water, and if treated with Paris green label them, that no one may be poisoned by eating the rose-leaves. Roses for pillows should not be gathered from plants that have had any kind of poison used on them.

Roses kept in the house during winter are sometimes attacked with green lice. They may be treated with tobacco in some of its forms, or with hot water—dipping the entire plant in a pail of water heated to 130°. I prefer the hot-water treatment, as it leaves the plant clean and invigorated. Few, if any, plants are injured by it, and most are benefited. Where there is any question of the effect on a particular plant a single branch may be dipped as an experiment. It is difficult to make any choice of Roses where all are so beautiful. American Beauty is probably the most popular crimson Rose to-day. The Bride stands first among the whites. Kaiserin Augusta Victoria is a most desirable hardy white, and the new rose, Virginia R. Coxe—also offered under the name of Gruss an Teplitz—is one of the most desirable reds; a profuse and constant bloomer with loose-petalled, medium-sized flowers of the richest scarlet, shading to glowing velvety crimson. Among the climbers Mrs. Robert Perry is the finest, an immense, pure, creamy white, quite hardy, and a free and constant bloomer, valuable for cut flowers.

If one has room for a hundred varieties it is easy to select that number with the certainty that there need not be a poor Rose among the number.

Chapter SIXTEEN The Hardy Lily-bed

There is no better investment for the garden than a bed of hardy Lilies, which should be started in the fall as early as the bulbs may be had. This is often later than is desirable, but the matter is entirely beyond control. The best that can be done is to get orders for foreign-grown bulbs placed early in the fall. It is not necessary to wait for the new catalogue, as the old will give the varieties and approximate cost. The main thing is to get in the order early that it may be filled promptly when the bulbs arrive. Orders received last are filled last. This means not only considerable delay, but second choice in bulbs; the first-comers secure the best, the last must take the cullings.

Having ordered your bulbs, proceed at once to make your beds. Better results are obtained by planting Lilies in beds with fibrous-rooted plants, hardy shrubs, and perennials that do not need frequent disturbing. The Lily is very impatient of moisture, and water standing around the roots in winter is absolutely fatal. A raised bed of Peonies affords favourable conditions, provided there is sufficient room between the plants for the Lilies to increase from year to year, as once planted they should not be disturbed. If the Lily-bed is to be by itself an angle of a building, or a portion of the grounds protected by trees, or adjacent shrubbery, on the west and north, should be chosen. Such a site, if well drained, will give good results. The bed should be dug deep and mellow, and enriched with old, well-rotted manure. Strict attention must be paid to this point—only old, well-decomposed manure must be used. The bed should be sufficiently rounded to shed water. Lilium candidum will be ready to ship in August, and should be planted as soon as received. All Lilies are greatly injured by exposure to air, and if it is necessary to keep them out of the ground for any length of time they should be well wrapped in tissue-paper, or otherwise protected. The Japanese protect their great auratum Lily bulbs from the air by encasing them in a ball of clay before starting them on their long journey to the far West. Candidum Lilies make a fall growth of leaves, and must be planted early; no other Lily is as hardy and satisfactory with us as this. They should be planted four inches deep and a foot apart each way, that they may have room to increase, and left undisturbed for years. The soil may be made very rich with manure, but none of it should touch the Lily bulbs. Make a hole of sufficient depth and size, put an inch or more of sand on the bottom, place the bulbs on this and fill up with the sand, packing it closely all around the bulb.