Home › Fourteen Favorites Among the Perennials › Fourteen Favorites Among the Perennials: Canterbury
Fourteen Favorites Among the Perennials: Canterbury
Canterbury Bells (Campanula Medium) Although Canterbury bells are classed among the biennials, that group of plants for whose bloom one waits so long and whose beauty is so fleeting, they are more than worth all the effort that is expended upon them. Their very name is reminiscent of the beauty of Old World gardens. They belong to the Campanula family, which is a very large one, some members being diminutive in size and particularly well suited to rock-garden plantings, such as the little Campanula carpatica, and other members reaching considerable height, such as the Campanula pyramidalis.
The seeds of Canterbury bells should be sown in late June or early July and the young plants transplanted twice during the summer. By autumn they should be vigorous, stocky little plants, ready to set in their permanent position in the garden or to be planted in the frames. They are none too hardy, and in the vicinity of Philadelphia and northward they need the protection of frames during the winter months. In very early spring they should be planted out where they are to flower and by June they should be a mass of bloom. Their period of flowering will be considerably prolonged if the individual bells are picked off as they fade.
Canterbury bells respond unusually well to pot culture and may be used for porch or house decoration very successfully.
Hardy Chrysanthemums No garden which is planned and planted with a thought for autumn bloom is complete without hardy chrysanthemums. How welcome their rich colorings are as the October days come on--deep coppery reds, bright yellows, and dull russets, echoing all the warm tones of the autumn foliage of oak and maple and elm! Even if they were less beautiful in form and coloring they would probably be cherished for their very hardiness and for the fact that they linger on after all other flowers are gone.
Many gardeners encounter difficulties in growing hardy chrysanthemums add lack of success may usually be attributed to two causes, the failure to select varieties that are suited to one's locality and reasonably certain to bloom before being overtaken by heavy frosts, and the failure to divide old clumps. An increasing number of nurserymen list their hardy chrysanthemums in several groups, early-flowering, midseason, and late varieties, and the gardener is therefore better able to make wise selections. In northern sections of the country it is useless to attempt to grow late-flowering varieties, as they will invariably be cut down by frosts. In more southerly climates one may satisfy every desire and have both early and late varieties. There are flowers of various types: some are single, some are double, such as the old-fashioned pompons, and some aster-flowered, with petals more loosely arranged. Some of the little button pompons are particularly jaunty and charming. The aster-flowered types, being a cross between the pompons and the more delicate Japanese varieties, are not so hardy and vigorous as are some of the others.
The hardy chrysanthemums possess hearty appetites and require liberal feeding if best results are to be secured. The plants should be divided and reset every spring, as the old clumps deteriorate rapidly and young, vigorous plants give the best bloom. The plants are very easily increased by cuttings as well as by division. The cuttings should be taken from the tender shoots in early spring soon after growth has started. Extra large blooms may be procured by liberal feeding and by vigorous disbudding, leaving only the terminal bud, but where mass effect is desired in the garden the flowers should be allowed to grow in their natural, graceful profusion. During a dry spell liberal quantities of water should be given to the growing plants. It frequently happens that in a small garden one rather begrudges the space that must be allotted to the chrysanthemums during their long, slow period of growth. One wishes that some way might be devised whereby one could enjoy all the beauty of their autumn bloom without having to give up precious space to them the whole season through. This can be accomplished by growing the plants in pots outside the confines of the garden and bringing them in when they are about ready to flower. Chrysanthemums respond extraordinarily well to pot culture, although it must be remembered that the soil should be rich and that frequent applications of liquid manure should be given. The pots may be sunk in the ground wherever their bloom is wanted or the plants may be carefully shifted on a dull, cloudy day.
Where one has experienced difficulty in successfully wintering hardy chrysanthemums, plants may be lifted in the autumn after they have been cut down by heavy frosts and may be placed in frames, where some light protection can be given them.
Hardy Single Chrysanthemums. Hardy chrysanthemums can often be very disappointing, either failing to bloom or delaying their period of bloom until they are overtaken by frost. The Department of Agriculture at Washington has developed, however, within the past few years some delightful single chrysanthemums of extreme hardiness. Five named varieties of this group are now on the market: Arlington, bright pink; Columbia, clear pure yellow; Mount Vernon, deep garnet-red; Potomac, wild-rose pink; Washington, cherry-pink. The flowers are single, daisy-like in form. They are borne in profusion and come into the full glory of their bloom rather late in the autumn. The plants are strong and vigorous growers and are able to withstand severe winter cold with very little protection.
A Hardy Dwarf Chrysanthemum. One of the most delightful and most useful of all the hardy chrysanthemums is the dwarf variety known as Chrysanthemum arcticum. It comes into flower in mid-September and usually blooms most generously until cut down by severe frosts. The flowers are white with just an occasional tint of rose. This little chrysanthemum seems happily at home in either the perennial border or the rock garden, and as low-growing perennials are none too plentiful late in the year it is a welcome addition to any autumn garden. Columbines (Aquilegia) No spring garden is complete without the columbine. Its delicate, finely cut foliage and the graceful flowers of soft coloring lend a welcome touch to any garden picture.
Plants of blooming age may be purchased from almost any nursery or one may raise one's own plants from seed if a year of waiting is not objectionable. The seeds, which germinate rather slowly, may be sown in the spring and the young plants, if kept growing vigorously through the season, will be ready to set out in their permanent place in the garden in early autumn. Some gardeners prefer to sow in midsummer as soon as the new crop of seed is available but where this practice is followed the seedlings have little chance to make much growth before autumn and should be wintered in a cold frame, where some protection can be afforded them.
Columbines are of easy culture, preferring a deep, mellow soil, but adapting themselves contentedly to any ordinary garden conditions. They are classed among the short-lived perennials, as after a few years of apparently healthy and happy existence they will suddenly die off--for no reason at all that one can discover. In view of this fact it is well to have young plants coming on. Columbines may be had in a variety of forms and colorings. The long-spurred types are probably the most widely planted of all the columbines. Beyond any doubt they are the most satisfactory type for the average garden, both from the standpoint of beauty and from that of ease of culture. There are several distinct strains of long-spurred hybrids on the market, the Mrs. Scott Elliott strain being one of the best. Long-spurred varieties may also be purchased in separate colors--shades of blue and lavender, shades of pink and rose, and pure white.