The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1886-10-19
FLOWER CULTURE.
The Garden In and out of Doors.
Mrs. M. d. Welcome.

| VI. ".
1t was not very interesting walk. An
unwelcome visitor, plant and flower blight
| er, had preceded me. Limp and black the
| dahlias limp and black the heliotr0pes and
| c0leususes, shrivelled and scorehed many
| things How CHEEKY amid the widespread
desolation to ind here and there a spot OF
| brightness. The brilliant poppies were as
gay as ever Jack Frost doesn't like poppes,
not he! On second thought 1t may be be-
cause they are fayorites he spares them, anu
that his chilly, frozen and icy breath are on
ly for those he spites.
The mignonette "Machet' is as queer as
| ever; the sweet elyssum bloomson; the aSters
give no token only that here and there one
was kissed by Jack in passing; the scaoiosss
are as stately and beautiful as before the
golden flowers of the calendula "meseor
beam with undimmed beauty, and its nuner-
ous hrds know by past experience viii con-
tinue TO epen for weeks to come. 1hat me
most fragile thugs are not always the weak
est is very apparent from the fact that the
slender stems of the petunias ana the Drum
mondi phlox are laden with flowers, whlle
seemingly sturdy plants are smltteh Win
death Convolvulus Minor blooms on, ana
here and there rose with half bloom buds
gives no hint Of the visitor Jack. The deli
cate mottled autumn crocus (colchieum) lifts
itself beside the path, though looking so
frail one would think chilly breath would
blast it. These flowers are always a surprise
to me- | can never see hint OF them be-
forehand-nevera leaf nor bud The 1rst you
are aware the blossoms stand revealed, their
scape growing out of the earth with not a bit
of green about it. Mr.. Henderson says ''the
leavea do not adpear till the following
spring, and great care seould be taken OF
them, as, If they should be injured so as to
prevent them from exercising their proper
functions in maturing the sap the bulb Will
not flower the next autumn" never took
care of mine, for l never saw any that know
of, but they come up every. September most
unexpectedly and Increasingly. A clump
came up among the ilies-when they were
put there we know not. The class are, uni
Versally poisonOuS--to eat probably-cl0sely
resembles the crocus The flower is six pet
aled and more lily shaped than the crocus,
yerypretty with itsmottled blossoms.
The pansies and daisies have taken on
new beauty since the cold weather. We have
specified those hardy autumn nowers Tor
your benefit in making up your spring eollec-
tion of seeds.
THE WINTER WINDOW GARDEN.
The work of ingathering has been going
forward for several weeks. The Deg0nias
were the first to be taken up, as on them we
chiefly depend for ornamental piantS ana
we did not want them to change Dy Iate re-
moval Most of them were in pots so that
the roots were not disturbed. How glad We
ALWAYS are in taking up the plants to have
the trowel ring against pot. we were un-
wise in not bedding out all house plants IN
unglazed pots. Metalliea and Rubra are
among the very best Of begonias for both out
and indoor culture. Last spring we received
by mail novel begonia, Alba Perfecta Gran
diflora, Of which the florist said "A couple
n kos. .,.dk IL. daaf froh
begonia without any label, and am not sure
that this is the proper name, as nelther the
florists or amateurs who have seen 1t here
have ever seen 1t before but all unite in say
ing 1t Is the most beautiful plant that they
have ever seen in this fine class. The foli-
age and growth resemble the well known be-
gOnia Rubra, but are more dwarf; the ffow-
er is identical with the same plant, except
that it is pure white. When the plants were
in bloom last spring before being cut back,
they were one solid mass of these. elegant
blooms borne in immense pendant clusters.
Our wee plant set in the open ground grew
vigorously, and Is now displaying IT'S nrst
cluster of pure white flowers. We have
placed it ON the end of window bracket,
while opposite, Rubra, with its pendant elus-
ter of scarlet blossoms, forms beautiful con-
trast. We think this new claimant will
prove very popular as a companion to the ru-
BY hued. 1t came to us from Springfield,
Ohio. Our most rare and ornamental leaves
mot Rex begonias are obtained from Rich
mond, Ind. We do not find them anywhere
else. The new ones received last spring were
more unique in beauty than any Others. We
wish it we're possible to more clearly describe
Abba than the florist has done, for 1t conveys
very faint idea Of its rare elegance. The
leaves are somewhat ovate and deeply looed.
the lobes being very obtuse is shape. The
veins are sunk; the raised portions are
marked with silvery blotches. The veins
are sunk" that is what makes 1t unique, the
surface having the resemblance of Grape. The
l..
are large and borne on very long strong
stems thickly covered with hairs OF reddish
hue and grow directly from the root It's
price is Sl.00.
''Rubella'' is very ornamental Indian
species. fhe leaves Of much thicker sub.
stance than the other, are blotched with red
on pallid ground, which has fine effect.
The ribs are banded with purplish-brown;
under surface red. Belongs to the Klelnl-
folia section. Two fine winter boomers are
these:. 'Gloire de Sceaux, leaves dark me-
tallic hue, flowers Of a bright rose color,
graceful in shape, and borne in protuslon
from January to April "Hybrida Coccinea,
of dwarf compact habit, scarlet flowers
More beautiful, but more costly, is another
new variety-Semperfoens klegans. This
attains height of II to IA inches, and Is a
compact mass Of glossy olive green leaves.
at is so free in bloom as to present the ap-
pearance of a fine bouquet; the flowers are
rosy flesh color, shaded with bright rose,
and enivened with dense clusters of yellow
anthers. 1t blooms continually but is freest
in the winter.
How much more attractive every way are
begOnias than the ill formed, ill-smelling, un-
reliable blooming gerantums for the window
garden. We hope the day is at hand when
they will be relegated to the cellar during
The winter months, and the clean, bright
looking ornamental foliaged and free bloom
ing beg0nia in variety will come to the front.
No insects mar their beauty, and they en-
dure the dryness and heat of our living
hot hou oil other
Although we have such poor opinion Of
the zonale geraniums for the window garden,
we will say word in praise Of the ivy gera-
mum, so much prettier in leaf and flower
We have set two in large hanging pot, over
which they droop: "Francesque Sarcy,"
which bears trusses of double flowers, bright
salmon rose, lovely shade, and 'Prima
Donna" large double, flowers. of purest
open ground, and had numerous buds and
blossoms when transferred to their new posi-.
ton, which grew right on without hint Of
change. few leaves only falling.
As we always add few new plants to our
is, new to us--both spring
and autumn we ordered from Washington
the following: 'Schizostylis eOecinea, "a
very fine hardy greenhouse bulb, blooms
during autumn and winter" 1t belongs to
the glaaiolus family, has long, very narrow,
bright green foliage the flowers are rosy
scarlet Eranthemum Andersonii, or Ele-
5ans: "of free vigorous growth, producing
OuS leTuliudl spikes Ol pure MulIc anu llpH
AXE flowers during winter" K. Ignium, TO
age finely variegated yellow and black. L.
deep blue, winter blooming.
The name is derived from eros, love, and an
lnthos, flower
Several weeks ago we planted half dozen
)ulbs of Freesia and they are nearly all up,
Last week we planted another pot, and BY
md by we shall plant yet another, for we
wish for succession of these lovely fra
grant flowers. We have two varieties, but
The difference is very slight: f. refracta,
pure white with drop of gold on the lower
petal F. Leichtlini, creamy white. The fo-
liage Is long and grass like; the flowers are
borne on slender stalks from five to ten in
number The perfume is delightful.
We have potted hyacnths, tulips and CHI
onodoxa luci,lie, and will pot the ixios and
sparaxis soon, fer we would not miss of hav-
ing a good variety of blooming bulbs in the
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