154 



THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



course, continuous in bloom ; it was 

 from them, no doubt, that the habit 

 was originally derived. Fabvier and 

 Cramoisie Superieure are the best for 

 beds ; Mrs. Bosanquet and Marjolin 

 as specimen flowers. 



It is too early yet to pronounce 

 upon the introductions of last year. 

 I am noting the demeanour of some 

 twenty of them. However, H. P. 

 Henriette Dubus, though not a first- 

 rate show flower, is a proper and 

 frequent bloomer of good habit, 

 worthy of trial for garden purposes ; 

 and Monte Christo and Madame 

 Clemence Joigneaux come early, and, 

 with me, promise to be first rate town 

 varieties. I have the same anticipation 

 also with respect to Charles Lefebvre, 

 Madame C. Wood, Notre Dame de 

 Fourvrieres, and Vicomte Vigier. 



The worst of writing upon any 

 special matter is, that a certain 

 amount of repetition is unavoidable. 

 Phraseology is limited, and certain 

 words will recur in elucidating the 

 subject. However, one must risk the 

 charge of tautology in pursuit of the 

 object for which these papers are 

 written, viz., to popularize the most 

 recJierclie ornament of our borders 

 and parterres, in places and among 

 those who at present are compelled 

 to be satisfied with subjects of far 

 inferior grade, such as mere bedding 

 plants or annuals ; pretty enough in 

 their places, but which ought not to 

 form the summum honum of the en- 

 thusiastic florist's tastes and aspira- 

 tions. 



W. D. Peiob. 

 Somerton, N.E., June 10. 



THE HOLLYHOCK. 



Et William Paul. 

 From the " Gardeners' Manual" 1863. 



Can we dispense with the hollyhock ? 

 The rose is a more general favourite, and 

 in its varied states of standard, climber, 

 and bnsh, a more available plant ; the 

 dahlia is still the "queen of autumn ;" 

 but for the odd nooks and corners in small 

 gardens, and for planting in masses for 

 distant effect in large gardens, there is no 

 flower so suitable as the hollyhock. As to 

 the height to which it grows, this cannot 

 be fairly urged to its disadvantage; there 

 are positions in almost every garden for 

 which this feature renders it peculiarly 

 adaptable. The best of our "bedding 

 plants" are of lowly growth ; we must 

 look down upon them to appreciate their 

 beauty. But we cannot always be look- 

 ing down, be the prospect ever so charm- 

 ing. And there is a new feature of beauty 

 in that garden where, on raising the bent 

 head and downcast eye, we meet M'ith 

 spikes of hollyhocks breaking the flatness 

 of the general surface by streaks or lines 

 of rich and varied colours rising high 

 among the leafy trees. In many beautiful 

 gardens that we have visited, we have 

 been more than disconcerted by the abrupt 

 transition from " bedding plants" to trees, 

 moderated as this has sometimes been by 

 raised baskets and pillars of summer clim- 

 bers. Beautiful as are these latter, they 

 are not sufficiently massive. The holly- 



hock, and, as far as we know, the holly- 

 hock alone, effectively fills the vacuity. 

 We know that it has been the fashion 

 with some to decry this plant, calling it 

 coarse, formal and weedj'. Admitting 

 that there is some truth in this, may we be 

 permitted to ask, is it not also bold, strik- 

 ing, and effective, and are not these ele- 

 ments worth combining, at some sacrifice, 

 with the rich, the bright, the beautiful? 



Thus far of its value in garden scenery. 

 But it has lately come to be considered as 

 a florist's flower. The busy brain and 

 hand of the cultivator have been engaged 

 in its improvement; and those who re- 

 member tlie hollyhock of twenty years ago 

 cannot fail to mark how complete has 

 been the success. Not only has it become 

 even more useful and effective for garden 

 decoration, but it has received a degree of 

 elegance and symmetry from the hands of 

 the cultivator that has fitted it to take a 

 position in company with the most distin- 

 guished of Flora's subjects. 



The hollyhock flowers naturally in Au- 

 gust, but by a little management the 

 bloom may be prolonged, and continue 

 from July to November. Old plants that 

 have bloomed the year before will bloom 

 the second j'car in Jul3' and August. Cut- 

 tings taken and rooted, or seed sown out 

 of doors the previous summer, will bloom 



