THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



215 



supported by Palms, which threw their graceful lines over the specimen Camellias, 

 which were, in their turn, graced here and there by the presence of a Dracasna or 

 Dwarf Palm ; and so down to the front edge, where Cinerarias, forced bulbs, Primulas, 

 and Ferns, finished off the groups, all very closely placed, so that neither the lower 

 part of the stems, nor a particle of any of the pots, could be seen. Any interstices 

 that happened to remain between the bases of the plants were compactly filled with 

 fresh gieen moss, which was also pressed against the little gilt trellis-work which 

 enclosed the whole, so that from the uppermost point of the Cane leaves to the floor 

 nothing was seen but fresh green foliage and graceful forms, enshrouding the 

 ordinary flowers of our greenhouses, that are infinitely more attractive when thus 

 set in the verdure of which nature is so profuse, and which is always so abundant 

 where her charms of vegetation are at their highest." 



SUBTROPICAL GARDENING. 



" Are we to adopt this system in its purity ? Certainly not. All practical men 

 see that to accommodate it to private gardens an expense and a revolution of appli- 

 ances would be necessary, which are in nearly all cases quite impossible, and if 

 possible, hardly desirable. We can, however, introduce to our gardens most of its 

 better features ; we can vary their contents, and render them more interesting by a 

 cheaper and a nobler system. The use of all plants without any particular and 

 striking habit or foliage, or other distinct peculiarity, merely because they are 

 " subtropical," should be tabooed at once, as tending to make much work, and to 

 return — a lot of weeds ; for " weediness " is all that I can write of many Solanums 

 and stove plants of no real merit which have been employed under this name. 

 Selection of the most 

 beautiful and useful from 

 the great mass of plants 

 known to science, is one 

 of the most important of 

 the horticulturist's duties, 

 and in no branch must 

 he exercise it more tho- 

 roughly than in this. 

 Some plants used in it 

 are indispensable — the 

 different kinds of Ricinus, 

 Carinas in great variety, 

 Polymnia, Colocasia, 



Uhdea, Wigandia, Ferdi- 

 nanda, Palms, Yuccas, 

 Dracaenas, and fine- 

 leaved plants of coria- 

 ceous texture generally. 

 A few specimens of these 

 may be accommodated in 

 many large gardens ; 

 they will embellish the 

 houses in winter, and, 

 transferred to the open 

 garden in summer, will 

 lend interest to it when 

 we are tired of the 

 houses. Some Palms, 

 like Seaforthia, may be 

 used with the best effect 

 for the winter decoration 

 of the conservatory, and be placed out with an equal result and without 

 clanger in summer. The many fine kinds of Dracasnus, Yuccas, Agaves, etc., 

 which have been seen to some perfection at our show-* of late, are eminently 

 adapted for standing out in summer, and are in fact bent fited by it. Among the 

 noblest ornaments of a good conservatory are the Norfolk Island and other^tender 



