When members of the American Rose Society met at Columbus, Ohio, in September 1953, one of the rose gardens they visited on a tour was that of Mr. and Mrs. E. M. Landry in nearby Worthington.
Instead of glancing casually at everything in the garden and pressing forward to admire the roses superbly grown in simple beds, the confirmed rose fanciers found themselves transfixed by the wide expanse of lawns around the Landry home.
For the lawn, though seeded with Merion bluegrass only the year before, was such as gardeners dream about but seldom see.
Merion Lawn
Before the Merion lawn, Mr. Landry had one of Kentucky bluegrass and bent. Although it was one of the best in the community and had won prizes in the local yard and garden contests twice, it did not quite suit him.
The bentgrass, especially, did not thrive in his soil and sunny location. So early in September 1952, he had the sod cut out and removed and the soil re-prepared with a rotary tiller to a depth of 4 inches.
As the soil was tilled, a 10-6-4 lawn fertilizer was spread on it, at the rate of 20 pounds to every 1,000 square feet, and worked in thoroughly.
Next, the soil was leveled, raked, seeded with 3 pounds of straight Merion bluegrass to every 1,000 square feet, and rolled lightly with an empty roller.
Keep The Area Moist
Then, to keep the seeded area uniformly moist, a rotary sprinkler, turned on to run day and night, was moved from one spot to another methodically at regular intervals.
Mrs. Landry even stayed up after midnight to watch over the sprinkler and move it about when her husband was away on a business trip!
The first seedling grass plant did not appear until 21 days after sowing, but a healthy, even germination was secured due to the moisture. The grass came through the winter in fine condition.
It was not necessary to re-seed any part of the lawn in spring. During March, the lawn was fed with the 10-6-4 fertilizer (10 pounds for every 1,000 square feet) and was cut for the first time toward the end of April.
Watering and Mowing Routine
Except for routine watering and mowing, the grass required nothing more the first year to become a thick, spongy turf by September when members of the American Rose Society saw it.
Now, a year later, it is even thicker and spongier on a diet of 10-6-4 (10 pounds to every 1,000 square feet applied twice annually, early in March and again during the first two weeks of September).
Difference Between Merion and Kentucky Bluegrass
To compare Merion with Kentucky bluegrass, Mr. Landry seeded a narrow strip along one side of the lawn with the latter. It is easy to see where one grass begins and one ends.
The strip is handsome but inferior to the rest of the lawn. Merion is a rich dark green and velvety thick. Kentucky is lighter and thinner.
Except for some white clover that came up from seed in the soil and which the thick Merion turf is crowding out and killing, Mr. Landry has no weeds on his lawn. He is convinced Merion is superior.
Roses in the Landscape
Many of the 300 roses, set off like jewels by the lawn, accent points in the landscape, but most of them bloom in two beds.
One bed, lying across the rear of the lawn, is long and narrow. It extends for 100’ feet and is 6’ feet wide.
The other is a smaller, curved border of Pink Bountiful roses planted to make a hedge beside a walk leading from the side drive to the front door.
More than 200 of the newer varieties are in the long, narrow bed, including most of the recent All-America roses.
Rows, spaced 2’ feet apart across the bed, containing four plants of one variety. The majority of the rows feature different varieties.
Sub-Irrigated Bed
This bed is sub-irrigated. The soil was taken out to a depth of 30” inches, and a line of 3-inch farm clay drain tile was laid at the bottom of the bed at a pitch that slopes from 24” inches at the west end to 30” inches at the east.
A French drain was then made below the east or deeper end of the bed to carry off surplus water.
An area 12’ feet long and 4’ feet below ground level was dug, filled with heavy crushed rocks, 2” to 3” inches in size, covered with tar paper (to keep the soil from working down), and then with soil.
An elbow of pipe connecting with the tile at the bottom of the bed was set at the upper end so that its opening would be flush with the surface of the ground.
When the bed needs water, a hose is run into the pipe’s opening at the west end. Water runs down the drain tile and soaks up through the soil.
A gauge at the east end indicates when the bed is soaked thoroughly. The gauge is made of a little copper oil can with a wire soldered on its spout.
They can float inside a pipe embedded in the crushed stone in the French drain.
The wire on its spout protrudes through a hole bored in a cap covering the top of the pipe. As the water level rises, the floating can lift the wire.
When the bed was made, to every 3 shovels of soil removed, 1 shovel of peat moss and 1 generous handful of 4-12-4 garden fertilizer were added. This was mixed in a small concrete mixer and put back in the bed.
The roses are fed with a 4-12-4 fertilizer three times a season. The first application goes on just as growth begins in spring.
The second, 30 days after the first, and the third, toward the end of June, after the June bloom period is over.
Beauty In The Landscape
Mr. Landry grows roses for their beauty in the landscape. He likes to take a few blooms to local shows but is not a showing specialist.
He has been a member of the Columbus Rose Club for years and has served as its president. He is the district manager for one of the major oil companies.
44659 by Donald K. O’Brien