TIIE NA.TIONA.L EMERGING FFtOM TH E JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN HORTlCUllURAL SOCIETY, INC. * January 1959 The National HORTICULTURAL Magazine *** to accumulate, increase, and disseminate horticultural information *** ' ~ OFFICERS EDITOR STUART ]'vI. ARMSTRONG, PRESIDENT B. Y. MORRISON Silver Spring, Maryland MANAGING EDITOR HENRY T. SKINNER, FIRST VICE· PRESIDENT Washington, D.C. JAMES R. HARLOW MRS. WALTER DOUGLAS, SECOND VICE· PRESIDENT EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Chauncey, New York & Phoenix, Arizona WALTER H. HODGE, Chainnan EUGENE GRIFFITH, SECRETARY JOH N L. CREECH Takoma Park, Maryland FREDERIC P. LEE MISS OLIVE E. WEATHER ELL, TREASURER CONRAD B. LINK Olean, New York & Washington, D.C. CURTIS MAY DIRECTORS The National Horticultural Maga· zine is the official publication of the Ten71s Expi?'ing 1959 American Horticultural Society and is Donovan S. Correll, Texas issued four times a year during the Frederick W. Coe, Califomia quarters commencing with January, April, July and October. It is devoted Miss Margaret C. Lancaster, Mm'yland to the dissemination of knowledge in Mrs. Francis Patteson.Knight, Vi1'ginia the science and art of growing orna· Freeman A. Weiss, District of Columbia mental plants, fruits, vegetables, and related subjects. Original papers increasing the his· Tenns Expi'ring 1960 torical, varietal, and cultural knowl· John L. Creech, l\IIaryland edges of plant materials of economic Frederic Heutte, Virginia and aesthetic importance are weI· comed and will be published as early Ralph S. Peer, Califomia as possible. The Chairman of the Edi· R. P. White, District of Columbia torial Committee should be consulted l'vlrs. Harry Wood, Pennsylvania for manuscript specifications. Reprints, saddle·stapled, will be fur· nished in accordance with the follow· Eme1'itus ing schedule of prices, plus postage, Mrs. Robert Woods Bliss, District of Columbia and should be ordered at the time the galley proof is returned by the author: Mrs. Mortimer J. Fox, New York Mrs. J. Norman Henry, Pennsylvania Copies 2 pp 4 pp 8 pp 12 pp Covers Mrs. Arthur Hoyt Scott, Pennsylvania 100 $6.60 12.10 25.30 36.30 I2.l0 Entered as second class matter in the post office at Baltimore, Maryland, in accordance with the Act of August 24, 1912. Additional entry for Washingon, D.C., was authorized July 15, 1955, in accordance with the pro· visions of Section 132.122, Postal Manual. A subscription to The National Horticulural Magazine is included as a benefit of membership in the American Horticultural Society, the dues being $5.00 a year. The National Horticultural Magazine Volume Thirty--eight Washington, D. C. 1959 COPYRIGHT THE AMERICAN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, INC., 1959 The National Horticultural Magazine VOL. 38 Copyrigh ~ , 1959, by THE AMERICAN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, I NC . No.1 JANUARY 1959 CONTENTS Designing an Environment for Man. ROGER B. THOMPSON Part 1. Selection and Arrangement of Plants in the Landscape _______ 1 Part II. Qualities of Space ________________________________________________________________________ 6 Jardin Gillet of the Belgian Congo. LOUIS O. WILLIAMS __________________ ____________ 12 Poinsettias as Landscape Plants. VIRGINIA W. GAUNT ___________________ ____ _____________ 18 The "Earth Apple." PAUL L. DOUGHTY __________________________________ __________________________ 21 The Hellebores. A. E. LEUDY _____________ ____________________________________________________________ _____ 26 Attractive Perennial Campanulas. ROBERT M. SENIOR ____________________ ____ __ _______ 32 The Philippine Jadevine. MONA LISA STEINER ________________________________________________ 42 A Book or Two ___ ___________________ ________ .__ _______ __ ____ ______ _______ __________________________________________ _ 46 The Gardeners' Pocketbook Some Thoughts on Foundation Planting ________________ ___ ___________________ __________ 50 Autumn Foliage Colors on Glenn Dale Azaleas.___ _________ ____ ___ ____________________ 52 Magnolia grandifloTa From Cuttings ____________ ____ ________ ______ __________________________ 53 Summer bloom from bulbs ________ __ _______________________ .___ ____ ___ ____ ________ __________________ 54 A First Planting of Brodiaeas ________ __ __ ___ __ _______ ______________________ ___________ _____ ________ 55 T h rya llis g la u ca ____ ________ ____________________ ___________ ___ ____ ______ _____ __ ____ _____ ____ __________________ 55 A rum pic tum, 0 h, N o! __________________________________________________________________________________ 55 Echeveria affi.nis A new succulent from Sinaloa, Mexico ____ ___ _______ _____ __ .__________ ______________ 56 Rosa m uta b i Iis _____________________ _____ ___________ __ ___ __ __ ______________ _____ ____ _________ __ ________________ 57 The Native Cross-Vine ----------------------------------r------------------- ___________ ________ __ __ _____ 57 Firm iana si mp Ie x _____ _______________________ ______ ________________________________ ________________ ____ ______ 58 A Note on Early History of Saintpaulia _______________________________________ ____ ____ _____ 60 C,-inum, Ellen Bosanquet ________ ____ ________________________________________________________________ 60 Strongylodon macrobotrys A close-up view of the foliage and pendent in{101'escence (See Page 42, The Philippine ]adevine) Designing an Environment for Man ROGER B. THOMPSON'" PART I Selection and Arrangement of Plants in the Landscape Man is continuously changing the a preoccupation with one (and this ap­ form and use of vast areas of the earth's plies to either) may lead to some neglect surface with the hope of reaping some of the other. The ability to use plants benefit, but expending only a minute in the landscape may be limited by a fraction of this labor with the intention tendency to view plants as ends in them­ of increasing his own pleasure in its selves. When a plant is considered to appearance. The number of people in­ have intrinsic merit, when it has become terested and actively engaged in its an end sufficient unto itself, as may any visual improvement, however, is very blue ribbon winner, the gardener may large, particularly in the United States have great difficulty in appraising its and those other countries where space, value in the landscape. He even may be money and leisure permit more than quite disturbed if told it has little to token activity. none. Ability to design is to a consider­ The effectiveness of this group, the able degree dependent upon ability to gardeners, is quite generally reduced by abstract, to see a landscape not as made a preoccupation with plants. Horticul­ up of a list of plants but rather as an tural perfection does not assure land­ organization of forms, textures, colors. scape beauty. This was forcibly im­ To the landscape designer, a plant is pressed upon me more than twenty-five a material which he uses to produce a years ago when I watched a British desired effect. He makes a relatively landscape architect build, for one of the objective appraisal of its qualities in larger flower shows, one of the most much the same way that a building de­ beautiful rock gardens I have ever seen, signer appraises his brick and wood and, although the quality of plant material if it meets with his approval, makes use available to him was no better than of it. If, in his estimation, it does not mediocre. have the qualities required for its posi­ This is not to suggest that quality of tion in the design, he is undeterred by material is in any way inimical to quali­ any factor of name, rarity, nostalgia, or ty of design; it is merely to indicate that price. He feels no qualms at disregard­ ing plants that win show prizes in favor • Roger B. Thompson, a landscape architect, is Assist· of those as common as cabbages, or for­ ant Professor of Horticulture in the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Under the titled subject, Pro· going the "better" varieties of the spe­ fessor Thompson will discuss the elements of landscape design in four papers. The first two: art structure and cialist as less useful than the old. principles of organization, and spatial development or This process of selection seems to be the organization of space, are presented now. Indoor and outdoor relationships, and the reconciliation of something of a mystery to those who man. plants, ~f1d grou nds, will appear in a later issue of the magazine during the year. have seen their scrubbed and laundered [1] 2 THE NATIONAL HORTICULTURAL MAGAZINE pecimens passed by. ''''hen it is re­ matures it will increase its occup:mcy of membered that plants are b.eing sel~c~ed space from that portion below eye lev~l for their structural and design qualIties, to that directly at eye level (and at thiS exactly as a building designer selects his stage may constitute a complete block­ wood and stone, the question becomes age) and may pass on upward to occupy less mysterious. very largely only space above eye l~vel, The noted analogy between plant and the effect of these changes upon the visual structural materials should be more appearance of the .entire landscaped area fully explored. In each, strength and is often underestimated. For 1I1stance, camellia fanciers who were much pleased durability adequate to the pur p 0 s e with the layout of their plantations would seem to be prime requisites. To when young, when it was possible to make the application specific: a. plant look over them without interruption must grow. It must grow welJ 111 th~ of the view, have sometimes been seized climate of the area, in the speCIfic habi­