166 THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST, [July, 



backs to the general cultivation of this fine species is its rarity, and consequently, 

 its price, for at present it is " worth its weight in gold," or even more than 

 that, according to circumstances. — F. W. Burbidge, 



GARDEN WORK FOR JULY. 



FLOWERS. 



?HE beds in the flower-garden should be covered now, and it will have a 

 freshness and a beauty probably hardly attained at any other period. With 

 August we seem to see autumnal tints on the flowers, and the spirit of autumn 

 seems to hover over, almost to threaten their beauty at times. But there 

 is little or nothing of this in July. AVc have but to enjoy, to fix things in 

 the proper place, to peg, to stake, to tie, to watch for weeds and out with them, 

 and to helj) the plants by surface-stirring and thorough waterings when needed : 

 and more than all, by irequ.ent jjickings. This last is the greatest secret of con- 

 tinuous and prolonged beauty. 



In the mixed garden or border see that every plant, large or small, has its 

 modicum of free space, and a speck of blue sky wholly to itself. Overcrowding 

 is ruin and death to spring flowers or delicate herbaceous plants. How many 

 charming Hepaticas, for instance, are ruined, killed outright, by a stout Marigold 

 or fat Aster being set upon their crowns. And so of Gentians, dwarf Phloxes, 

 Saxifrages, Aubrietias, Arabises, Alyssums, Primulas, Daisies, Violets, &"c. The 

 attempt to make a mixed garden or border all flower at once, robs it of half its 

 beauty, and all its distinctiveness of character. Here we should see plants in all 

 stages of growth, each cared for, none hidden up nor smothered by fast-growing 

 annuals, nor wide-spreading bedding plants. Much tieing-up, training, hoeing, 

 raking, trimming, and thinning of shoots will be needed to keep the mixed garden 

 in order. The laws of height, distance, and proportion of growth demand due 

 consideration in its arrangement and furnishing. Carnations, Picoiees^ Pinks, &c., 

 are at home in the mixed garden, with Mignonette near to them, and should be 

 layered, or pipings struck, towards the end of the month, Paris//, Pobjanthus, and 

 Auricula seed should be gathered when ripe. Those who grow seedling Pinks, 

 Carnations, &c., should Avatch and weed out the worthless ones as they flower ; 

 many of them, though utterly worthless from the florist's point of view, ai-e 

 admirable for bouquets, even single selfs being extremely, effective at times. 



In the plant stove and orchid-house gradually begin to reduce the amount of 

 shade, and to aim at maturity rather than extension of growth. Surface-rooting 

 Orchids should be top-dressed with turfy fibry peat, chopped sphagnum, and 

 potsherds. Stove plants in full beauty, such as Clerodendrons, Dij)ladenias, and 

 fine-foliage plants, thoroughly rooted, may be much assisted by liquid manure. 

 That much neglected old plant, Qnisqualis indica, will now be in full beauty and 

 fragrance on the roof; keep this and other roof-climbers to the roof. The 

 Boiigainvillea glabra is one of the most glorious plants to clamber a pillar, cover 

 a roof or wall, or grow on a trellis in a pot. As a companion plant to the Rivina 

 humilis on a pillar, allow me to recommend the Bucelia violacea, now known, I 

 think, as Phytolacca icosandra; I have seen its bunches of black or dark 

 violet berries from 1 ft. to 18 in. long. Pot off winter-flowering stuff such as 

 Poinsettias, EupJiorbias, Begonias, &c. Pot mpst of the greenhouse plants while 

 the wood is partially matured. Camellias and Azaleas, if not potted when they 

 went out of flower may be potted now, when their growth is completed. 



See to the potting of Tea and other Poses intended for winter flowering. 

 Shift Cinerarias, Chinese Primroses^ and Herbaceous Calceolarias, as they require it, 



