Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1884-04-02
Boston City Flowers.
From the Boston Globe.J


Itsounds like afairy tale to beinformed
that 500, 900 pansies will soon be planted
IN the Public Garden. These delicate
| flowers, which upon close inspection sug-
gest the features of the human face, are
now sprouting in the lighthouses in Deer
Park. There are $4,000 other plants,
prominent among which are daisies, red
and white, intended for border to the
pansy beds. Then there is q wonderful
profusion of Canterbury bells, foxglove,
| forget-me-nots, hollyhocks and other va
rieties of biennials. Contemporaneous-
ly with these bloom the tulip, upon
whose departure the beds are refur-
nished.
William Doogue, the city forester,
plants the best seed that can be obtained
in Europe and this country. The first
floral display will continue through
| April, May and June. The stock of
summer-fowering plants is raised in the
greenhouse, for carpet work, mostly.
When the weather gets hot the pansies
become small and tawDy, while the
plants become long and ragged, those
considered worthy being replanted in
the shrubbery. MIR. Doogue, however,
prefers to throw away the old ones alto
gether, and plant new ones the succeed
ing years. The entire cost of the seed
did not exceed S13, the other expense be-
ing in labor. Herein lies a suggestive
fact as to what amateurs could do In TO-
riculture by simply reasoning from cause
to effect. 1t the space occupied by one
hotbed sash were sown with any of these
varieties, it would yield plants enough
to make a handsome show in private
gardens.
In the regular summer show, the best
varieties of geranium bedders will de-
light the eyes. Before the Superintend-
ent commenced to propagate them be
had ia his greenhouse SO, 900 of various
kinds. The "Emile Girardin," named
after the famous French author, is COM
paratively new kind, but one of the
most desirable. It stands the rains, and
does not blacken up as do many of this
genus. The "Crystal Palace Gem" is
used great deal in carpet bedding, and
also the Mountain of Snow" which
has white leaves with green zone.
They form rich symphony of color In
foliage scenes. The Gillian Smith" is,
without exception, the finest single scar
let known, SURPRISING the "Gen. Grant, "
which had no peer before its introduc-
ton. It is local variety, and bears
the name of a young lady who lives in
one of the suburban towns. Then
there is superior variety known as the
MADAME Gertrude" They all have
their own peculiar tints, and are planted
en- masse, the object being to blend the
colors so that there will be soft, rest
full effect to the eye. A subdued COM
bination rather than raw, gaudy, over
wrought one is always kept in mind by
the true gardener. OF the blue lobelia
there are $4,000 plants to be used for
edging the plants in the garden this sea-
son, and about the same amount of gold
en- feverfew.
The sympathy between the mass and
the border is established by system of
''reliefs," or alternating edgings that
contrast in color with each other. To
carry out this principle of bedding Mr..
Doogue has grown some 800. 1000 dress
plants. He will have the Madagascar
vincas, star-shaped, with delicate white
petals and a small pink dot in the center.
They flower necessarily throughout the
summer. The cactus family is to be well
represented; also are the alternamtheras,
a dwarf plant for foliage, and the agera-
tum, a sort of tassel flower, which is
effective for patchwork. Then there is
good showing of century plants and
rubber trees.
The location of the beds is changed
every year. The style six years ago, be-
fore Mr.. Doogue's administration, was
known as ribbon bedding; now the work
is entirely geometrical, and requires the
direction of one who is an experienced
artist in design as well as practical
horticuIturist.