Pennsylvania School of Horticulture for Women - Wise Acres Yearbook (Ambler, PA)

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School of Horticulture Something oAbout Delphiniums Anne Jelinek DELPHINIUMS, to most of us at least, immediately take us back to an old-fashioned or an English garden. The picture comes up before us of a rather sheltered, secluded garden, with soft grassy paths, corners of it deliciously shady, parts of it in the full blaze of the sun -combining a great wealth of color with a sweet and delicate fragrance—and then in these wide herbaceous borders one sees with joy great masses of tall, magnificent, blue Delphinium. And after all, who can resist the beauty of those handsome spikes of flowers which have such a range of different tones— blue, mauve, purple, pink, and white? And the soft green of the ornamental foliage makes such a splendid background for the smaller growing border plants. What a delight they are, too, when cut and arranged in a vase and mixed with some flowers of a contrasting color such as yellow snapdragons or pink primulinus gladioli, both of which flower at the same time of the year as the Delphinium. Moreover we are furnished with Delphinium spikes for quite a long period, usually from June until October and it is only with feeding in midsummer and removing the flower-spikes before seeding that one prevents the Delphinium from exhausting itself. We read in various books and magazines that the Delphinium is not particular as to its soil requirements or its situation, but like other perennials it benefits greatly if given proper attention. Delphiniums belong to Ranunculaceae or Buttercup family, to which belong many of our garden plants, e. g., Paeony and Aquilegia. The types of Delphiniums usually grown are Delphinium Belladonna, Delphinium chinense, and D. formosum, but in recent years great progress has been made in hybridization and most of the Delphiniums in our garden now arc hybrids. Before planting Delphiniums, the soil should be dug and well-rotted manure should be added to it. If the top soil is shallow, double digging should be done. T werityfivc

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W'tse-oAcres hard task—who would want feet if he could fly like that? There are so many swal-lows and each kind has a different and interesting way of nesting. It will always be a miracle to me to witness the sure dive of a bank swallow into her nest-hole in a bank honeycombed with nest-holes. Flickers and purple martins are too rollicking to possess a temperament, but they possess personality--and humor. 1 think Kildeers have no humor, but they have temperament and are easily a prey to “nerves. In the night you will hear them start up crying from some alarm. But just-outof-thc-shell Kildeers are the sight to see! They are so fluffy and so temptingly pretty, but they can run!- -as fast as they will later fly, it seems, if you try to follow them. It's ungrateful to say no word for the little usual birds but- they are so many. Nuthatches are droll. Maryland Yellowthroats are fairy birds: and Goldfinches— well, they should be irresistible. Indigo Buntings would be worth the most patient search but they always take you unexpectedly. Orioles in a blossoming apple-tree— oh, it’s a consuming hobby, this one. May it straightway consume you, too! qA Letter from Totn” Hall ALTHOUGH, at present, a librarian by trade, my horticultural foundation is standing me in good stead. For the past two years, I have conducted a Junior and a Senior Nature Club in connection with my library work with children. These clubs meet weekly with an occasional Nature hike along Riverside Drive or in Central Park. Florist windows are resorted to as a means of learning the names of flowers, then back we go to the library and find books telling the mysterious legends of these same flowers. On a Friday afternoon in January, if Mr. Kaiser were to be our guest (and I hope he will be) he would feel as if he were back in the Ambler classroom surrounded with winter bouquets of dried up goldcnrod, sumac, and what not. And the little city urchins clamor for more. They know what “H “A “M stands for and they woudn't if it had not been for Ambler. A majority belong to the Liberty Bell Club which has its headquarters in Philadelphia. So you see what a Pennsylvania atmosphere pervades even little old New York. Last spring I took the course in Spring Flowers and Ferns consisting of weekly hikes led by Dr. Gunderson of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. This year I am again taking a course in Trees and Shrubs lead by Dr. Graves of the same institution. This winter I was a member of the twenty-first class directed by the Woodcraft League of America. This course was intensely interesting, helping to fit one for Nature Lore Work. For three days over Memorial Day I am planning to be at the Woodcraft Camp at Greenwich, Connecticut, where one sleeps, works, plays, and eats out of doors with bird, fern, mushroom, flower, astronomy, and many more daily hikes. Here, Ernest Thompson Seton offers his Indian Village to his fellow Woodcrafters. From the seventeenth to the thirtieth of June I am. enrolled in the Nature Lore School at Camp Andree at Briar Cliff, New York, under the direction of Dr. William Vinal. And there you are. I really am a librarian but you see what Ambler did for me. T wentyfour

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Wise-oAcres removing the top soil and forking well-decayed manure into the sub-soil and then placing the top soil on its previous place. When the soil is prepared, the Delphiniums, which are usually one-year-old plants, are planted. This is usually done in spring when the plants begin to grow, but if the garden is well sheltered and the soil well drained, they may be planted in the autumn and that gives them enough time to settle before the frost comes. If arranged in beds, they should be planted about three feet apart, as they grow into quite large plants, but if used among other per' ennials they should be planted in groups and at least a space eight feet square allowed for each group. The best position for Delphiniums when planted in a wide herbaceous border is from the middle to the back. The position of the border where the Delphiniums are to be planted should be airy and sunny but not windswept. If the soil is of a light nature a top dressing of organic manure with bone meal, meat meal, or dried blood produces better results than a combination of sulphates, nitrates and so forth which have no organic substances in them. On a heavy soil, chemical manure gives the best results, if some humus forming material has been dug in before planting. The best method of application is to sprinkle the fertilizer in a ring around each plant about twelve inches from the crown of the plant. The fertilizers should be applied in small doses at intervals of ten days or two weeks. They should be applied after rain and worked into the soil the following day. There are three methods of propagating Delphiniums, the most common way being by seed, but division of old plants is often practiced. Cuttings, if taken in spring or after the plant has finished flowering, root readily if inserted in sand and kept well shaded. If propagated in this way, they should not, however, have any bottom heat; they benefit by being frequently syringed with water during the hot summer says. Cuttings should be three to four inches in length and they should be cut immediately below a node. After they are rooted, they should be potted on or planted out into nursery rows. Seed of the perennial Delphinium should be sown in February' or March in the greenhouse or in a hot bed. The seed usually germinates very slowly. When the seedlings have two or three true leaves they should be pricked out into boxes or potted on into small pots so as to give them enough room to grow, and also to prevent damping off. Later on, about May, the plants may be planted out in nursery rows, provided it is done carefully and the plants are looked after for several days until they are properly established. The seedlings should, in late summer, produce one or more spikes of lovely flowers. If seed is sown out-of-doors during spring, the plants should be well looked after during dry weather, and these seedlings should flower in the following season. If Delphinium plants are rather large in a perennial border, they may be taken up and divided and then transplanted. This is usually done in spring when the new shoots appear, or in summer after their first flowering is over. If done in summer, the plants should be cut down and allowed to start fresh growth and after that the plant may be dug up, divided, and transplanted again. Summer division should be done in wet weather, otherwise great care must be taken in watering and shading the plants until they get established. Delphiniums can be kept flowering for several months by continually cutting the spikes after they have flowered and thus preventing them from seeding. If the central spike is removed, the lateral and the new basal shoots begin to flower and so quite a succession of bloom may be obtained. But if this constant blooming goes on, care must be taken to provide the plants with nourishment in the form of a dressing of decayed manure or an application of liquid manure. A top dressing keeps the soil moist and cool and produces healthy growth and vigorous blooms. T wenty'Six