POPPY. The common garden herbaceous poppy flowers in May and June, in
sun or half-shade, rising from two to three feet. It has large flowers
and handsome divided foliage. For a Shakespeare garden select the
white. Propagate by dividing in early autumn. The poppy is a gross
feeder and likes rather moist loam enriched with cow manure.
PRIMROSE. This flower blooms from mid-April to mid-June. It has several
solitary pale yellow blossoms on naked stem. It grows from six to nine
inches high. _Protect in winter._ Propagate by seeds and offsets in
rich, light soil, not dry.
ROSE. "How to plant a rose may seem a simple matter, but many have
laid the foundation of failure through bad planting," writes a rose
cultivator. "Never plant in a very wet soil, nor allow crude manures
to come into direct contact with the roots. See that the roots are
spread out properly and naturally, not pressed into a small hole and
cramped or distorted from the first. Plant dwarf kinds two inches
deeper than the junction of the rose and stock, and standards three
inches below the original root. To place a small grower side by side
with one of three or four times the strength is a great mistake; the
weaker grower has no chance whatever. For medium growers three feet is
a good distance, while plants of greater vigor will need to be from
four feet to six feet apart. Do not plant _against_ a wall; but leave
some four or six inches between the wall and the base of the plant. It
should not be difficult to obtain the roses familiar to Shakespeare.
The old Hundred-Leaved and Damask are easy to procure. The _Rosa alba_,
or white rose, has two familiar varieties called "Maiden's Blush" and
"Madame Plantier."
[Illustration: KNOTS FROM MARKHAM]
[Illustration: SIMPLE GARDEN BEDS]
The Musk-Rose may give some trouble, but E. T. Cook gives us a good
clue as well as instructions for growing it. He says:
"These are very old roses, certainly known in England three hundred
years ago. The flowers are insignificant individually, but collectively
are pleasing and appear late in August. They require good culture,
and very little, if any, pruning. As pillar roses they are seen at
their best. 'Fringed' is very pretty and strikes freely from cuttings.
Its color is white shaded sulphur. All the Musk-Roses have a peculiar
musk-like odor, but this is distilled only on still damp mornings or
evenings. 'Eliza Verry' is white, very free, the flowers appearing
in large corymbs. 'Rivers Musk' is a pretty pink variety, well worth
cultivating. Of the Hybrid Musks the 'Garland' is of rampant growth. It
has immense corymbs of tiny white flowers with innumerable little buff
colored buds, peering out among them. 'Madame d' Arblay' is another.
'Nivea' is a beautiful kind for a pergola, or fence."
The "Noisette" is also a hybrid musk, named for a French gardener of
Charleston, South Carolina, who took the seed from the musk-rose in
1817.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account