Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1885-02-22
"oUR GARDEN FLOWERS"
An Essay Delivered by Mrs. i. l.. Nelson
Before the Massachusetts horticultural
Society.

Society.
At the weekly meeting of the Massach1-
| sets Historical Society to-day, Mr.. 3. &.
| Smith presiding, Mrs. 7. L. Nelson read q
paper on "Our Garden Flowers" She said
that With the awakening Of spring comes the
first flowers, alike pale and delicate IN the
| native and cultivated species. AS the
season advances, brighter colors sp-
pear. Crocuses, hyacinths, crown imPeri-
| ale, TULIPS. narcissus and many other flower
ing bulbs make our gardens gay. These
have all been planted in the sutuInn. n
garden must necessarily be almost without
lowers in the early spriEg unless we have
spring bulbs. None that | have mentioned
need be renewed or transplan:ed every year
except h~yacints, which are best the hrst
year. ,
Flowers have multiplied in number and
species, so that it is impossible to speak OF
more than a few in one address. Possibly
our ancestors thought that there could have
been no Improvement in the rose but the
roses that were familiar to them are now
priced only az souvenirs. Tie dahia ls an
example OF q flower that has undergone
great changes since the single dahlia was
brought into this country.
Helianthus multiaoris, the perennial sun
flower, is not as extensively cultivated rs 1t
should be. 1 fud quite cid people know 1t
better than Younger ones, for 1t had been
lost 10 cultivation until some one found 1t
urobsblyi in some old garden. There are many
hardy plants ard shrubs worthy Of cultlva'
ton which require no special care, and there
is growing tendency toward hardy flowers,
especially herbaCeOuS and dubious sorts.
What is more beautiful IN late GUNNER and
autumn than Japoaica? The
white variety IIouorine JoNbert, Is the best.
| Often it grows four feet in height.
Early in autumn CJGe pyony tirnliohan',
with its dc!icately cut foliage aud double
flowers, the color and size of a ia 'quemiuot
rose. This is herOaccous plant. The new
hardy amarylis hallii is very beautiful. II
makes itsfoliage eariviH the spring aud after
| maturing it dies down. Late in the sum
mer the flower stalks spring up almoS; Ike
magic, so rapid is its growth, aud produces
n number OF pink blossoms which are I'M
| ike anv other umarylis or lily With which !
am acquainted. | consider it a great &C
ouisition to our list Of hardy bulbs. Eq-
phobia c~orolata is an exceedingly valuable
plant. The flowers are white, quite small
in panloles, and keep q long time after be-
ing cut, making it very useful for cut flow
ers. 1t is also a Nember ofthe herbaceous
{ nifty.
Tue oriental poppy is a very SNOWY flower
and deserves a place in the garden; The
hollyhock is a great favorite. People who
have grown h~ollyhocks in old times remeT-
bec them as purely single flowers, or at most
semidouble, and they look on the hollyhock
to-day as entirely disconnected with the old
fa,hioGed flower. Their plants we're hardy
and came up year after year; ours must DC
protected or the place where they were will
be vacant in the spring. The Clematis is
considered hardy. but many complain that
a blight has fallen on many of their plants.
Msuy times they flourish in the same lOCa-
ton tor years. There is q great range OF
bedding plants; some are desirable Tor cut
flowers, scme C9lg fer the garden dccOta-
ton, ard some answer other purposes
Among the last named are the semi double
geraneums, and ,hcy arc 81 beautiful and
useful VIC nigh, discard the single in thor
favor and gain by il.
Gisdioli wc must have, and any one who
will may grow them. One eau hardly go
sstcay in selecting varieties with descriptive
catalogues sent out by retail dealers, but rs
a rule it would be better 10 select from ex-
hibitiou flowers, from which one can Judge
better than by description. A great many
new varieties do not satisfy our expectations,
aud there are SO many comparatively new
ones, which are really fine and reasonably
cheap, that it does not pay to invest much
in experiment. Gladioli are grown in almost
any soil except it is wet and heavy.
Tubesous rooted begonias ought to be
grown in every garden. l prize them more
highly than any other bedding plant, for,
with me they are tru y bedderS. They stand
the rain much better than any bedding plant
that l have grown, from the fact that their
bios oms have thick, waxy petals.
II SCENES as though some new plague in
the way of disease, worm or bug made it's
appearance every year. The last two yerss
have been no exception. 1t seemed to me
last year / had every worm or insect in,
furious to plant life, known or unknown, in
my garden.
1t is time to think Of sowing seed. An,
uuals must be sOwn soon in order to have
then bloom early, for the time between
seed time and harvest IS short and We must
10 up and doing. Biennials il sown early
will many of them bloom the first wear, and
those that do not will by being started early
make Stronger plants and better able to
withstand the winter. Truly the spring is
a busy time to all growers Of flowers.
Dame Nature has been storing her forces,
and spring flowers are only awaiting her
orders to appear. The snowdrop aud
croCus will soon be here, and the thought
Of the dainty blossoms fills us with gladneSs
and delight.
Bret remarks were added BY Rev. 4. Il.
Muazy Of Cambridge and Messrs. r. l.
Beard, +. W. Wood. j. W. WoodEord and
others. In the library apartment Mrs +. B
Hays exhibited csmeliias aud rhubarb,
Mr.. c. NJ. Hoyey tea roses, and Isaac L..
Colburn and Il. G. Smith rLubarb.
Long Distance T~eIePhnnlnG.