Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-04-04
AD0RN YOUR YARDS.
How 10 Make Yonr Little Plot a Para
disc of Blooming Beauty
WHERE YOUR LABOR is NOT LOST.
Hints on the Selection and Culture Of
Ornamental Plants.
SOME OF THE VERY BEST vARIENEs


Young enthusiasm in the way of city ga
dening has much to contend with, as tn
little space at its command is often enclose
by high walls, which keep out air and sur
shine, and it takes several years of exper
ence to discover just what is suitable to one
own locality and situation, says writer i
the New York Herald.
Yet, with little thought and care, and
judicious selection of plants, even thos
yards into which the sun but slightly pene
trates can be made to assume a Cheerful
aspect.
To begin with, / want to say few word
about the soil. Most people have to put III
with it as it is as very few will care to e
to the trouble and expense, when the soil i
poor, of having it carried away and new sol
substituted.
Poor Soil Can Be Improved.
Poor soil, however, can be very much i'm
proved by the addition of various fertilizer
such as bonedust, guano. stable manure
decayed leaves, wood ashes and sometime
coal ashes. When the soil is very stiff anC
clayev sand should be mixed with it, anC
leaf mould will make it rich and pliable.
Street sweepings are also valuable for thi
purpose.
One important thing is to have the ground
we'll spaded, at least foot deep. In city
yards it is we'll not to go any deeper, as the
subsoil is sometimes brought to the top and
the fertile loan buried beneath it. After
spading the ground should be thorough y
puIverized, raked over carefully and all
large stones removed. II concentrated
fertilizers are used-such as bonedust,
guano, etc., they should now be strewn over
the ground thick enough to just nicely co vel
the soil and no more; it will then need an.
other going ever with the rake. If stable
manure is used it should be broken up as
fine as possible, thrown over the surface to
the depth of two or three inches and be
thoroughly incorporated with the soil by
spsding.
Beginning With the Harder Plants.
After it has been allowed to settle for a
day or two the ground should be made
smooth and level and then it is ready for
planting. AS the hardy plants are the ear
liest to be set out in the spring and the first
TO bloom 1 will begin with them.
1t is of course not advisable for those who
change their residence from year to year to
meddle much with hardy plants, as num-
Der of years often elapse before they give
any return for the time and care bestowed
upon them. Nevertheless the little garden
can be made resplendent by raising such
flowers as bloom the first year from seed and
with the aid of plants obtained from the
florist What makes hardy plants SO dear
to many is that they come back year after
year, and we learn to love them like old
friends and TO wait impatiently for their
coming.
One OF the handsomest of hard! shrubs is
the SNOWFALL. A welLgrown tree, ten or
twelve feet high, literally covered with its
pure white blossoms, is worth having In tn.
garden. The snowballS need but little
pruning, and that should be done after tn:
tree has bloomed. The buds form so early
in the spring ou the old wood that great
many blossoms would be lost il it were
trimmed too soon.
The Law of Artistic Balance.
If q SNOWFALL were placed on one side of
the yard, dogwood or syringa could be
planted on the other side to balance it Then
for hrighter-hued shrubs there are the scar
let Japan ounce, the yellow Forsvthia vir.-
dissima and the Weigela rosea, which has
pretty white and pink flowers and blooms
profusely. The Towering almond is a beau
ti!ul shrub. having long branches thickiy
studded with white-red or white flowers like
q miniature rose.
Do not invest in lilacs unless you have
time and patience enough to wait for them
10 bloom. L have known them TO be five or
six years old before showing single flower;
but after all, think they are worth waiting
for, as when once they begin to bloom
their sweetness can be enjoyed for many
years.
Among hardy climbing plants will first
mention the rose. Get Baltimore .belie,
train it along the fence on the sunny side of
the yard, and if it likes the situation it will
soon grow vigorously, sending up great
shoots eight to ten feet long. 1t should be
trimmed early III spring-March or April
and neatly tackled to the fence. Cut away
all shoots that grow too struggling; there
will be plenty OF others when it begins to
grow to take the place Of those that have
been removed.
Bones as Garden Fertilizers.
The only fertilizer that nv rosebush has
had for two or three years back is quantity
Of bones dug In at the roots. This seems to
be all the food it needs as year alter year it
blooms profusely. l have picked immense
bouquets from it day after day, and yet one
could hardly discover that any roses had
been removed. When setting out a new
plant, L advise giving it plenty of bone
DUST and in the spring or fall covering the
roots with stable manure.
You must have sons other roses, that is, if
you have a sunny spot for them, otherwise
DO not meddle with them at all. By all
means get one or two red jacqueminots and
La France, with its soft. satiny, pink petals,
SO deliciously fragrant. This is a monthly
rose, and will gladden. your heart all through
the summer with its bloom.
For fragrant white rose get the Ccquette
des Blanches. If you wish a greater Variety
the florists catalogues will furnish you with
the names of many others. Those that 1
have mentioned 1 know to be satisfactory.
They are all hardy, but the La France will
be grateful for a slight protection of leaves
should the winter be severe.
Some of the Enemies of Roses.
Treat them as / have directed for the
rose, and always be on the lookout
for the enemy, for nothing but eternal vigil
lance will vanquish him. When the leaves
first begin to appear in the spring examine
your bushes carefully, and whenever you
see leaf that is curled up pick it off and
you will find that it contains little worm
nicely rolled up in its blanket of green.
The little intruder must be DESTROYED at
once, otherwise it will iced on the leaves of
the plant until scarcely any are left, even
attacking the heart of the rose.
A daily search must be made for these
worms until they have all been destroyed. 1
have tried various insect exterminators, but
have found none to do the work as we'll as
my own eyes and fingers. The aphis, an
other little green insect, vulgarly called
plant louse, is a less formidable enemy,
unless it appears in great numbers. 1t can
be destroyed by sprinkling the plant with
tobacco water or soapsuds. If the presence
Of worms around the roots is suspected dis
solve a small piece of lime In a quart of
water and nour this around the nlant when