for November, 1922 



319 



CUTTING AND PACKING FLOWERS 



To cut rtowers and pack them at once is a mistake, especially 

 during hot days, when much o£ their moisture will have been 

 evaporated, and they are liable to lose the rest by bleeding or 

 absorption. If the flowers are to be sent away early in the 

 morning they are best cut overnight and placed in pans or jars 

 of water, and they should be cut in the morning and similarly 

 treated if they are to be dispatched in the evening. They will 

 thus be perfectly fresh and their stems charged with moisture. 

 Roses especially should not be packed in a full-blown state; to 

 be really serviceable when thev reach their destination, they 

 ought not to be more than half-blown when cut. Most other 

 flowers should be fully expanded, and should be cut as soon as 

 that stage is reached. It is only a disappointment to send any- 

 one a quantity of single Pelargoniums, as, unless these are 

 gummed, they are certain to fall to pieces, and there are a few 

 other single flowers thai are not much better in that respect. 

 Water Lilies, which are so much prized, should be cut and 

 packed when the buds are iust bursting, and those receiving 

 tnem must open the petals with the hand. The Iris family 

 should also be packed in a bud state ; Primroses, Snowdrops. 

 Pansies, and other small flowers are best bunched, and thus 

 they will be found to preserve one another. Many err in being 

 too cautious — do not, in fact, pack the flowers close enough. 

 The lid ought always to fit down tightly, as the flowers are 

 certain to shrmk somewhat, and. being laid flat and closely, are 

 not so easily crushed as may be imagined. There is no better 

 packing material than clean fresh Moss, and no worse than 

 cotton wool, which robs the flowers of their moisture, sticks to 

 them, and spoils their appearance. — Gardening Illustrated. 



HOW TO ARRANGE CUT FLOWERS 



The art of arranging cut flowers does not seem to keep pace 

 with the rapidly-growing demand for flowers of all kinds. In 

 the maiority of decorations and bouquets far too many flowers 

 are used, quantity seeming to be thought to make up for lack 

 of arrangement. Even in establishments in which professional 

 decorators are kept, we have frequently been surprised at the 

 lack of originality shown as regards combination or arrangement, 

 while in villa residences, and even cottages, one often finds ex- 

 quisite taste displayed. To what excellent use is the common 

 Ivy put by some, who, having but few flowers, are compelled 

 to make the most of what they have. Associated with a few 

 common F'erns in hanging baskets, Ivy lasts for months in 

 ordinary windows or corridors. Such sprays, too, are useful in 

 Winter for entwining over the handles of baskets containing cut 

 flowers. Baskets, too, filled with fresh, green Moss, require 

 only a fraction of the flowers usually considered necessary to 

 fill either them or vases satisfactorily. 



There can be no doubt that overcrowding is the greatest of 

 all evils in regard to cut-flower arrangement, and unless one has 

 a firm base, such as sand covered with Moss, the flowers press 

 too closely on each other. Unless every flow'er has room to 

 stand out clear of its neighbors, the arrangement cannot pos- 

 sibly be perfect. Small vases, dishes, or baskets look most 

 striking when filled with only one variety of flower. Even in 

 mixed vases three colors are more effective than a larger num- 

 ber. The free use of foliage is one of the greatest safeguards 

 against over-crowding, and, as a rule, nothing suits a flower so 

 well as its own foliage. The old notion of garnishing everything 

 with Maiden-hair Fern has happily, to a great extent, gone out 

 of fashion. Maiden-hair is very transient, and soon gives a 

 worn-out look to the flowers, the beauty of which it is intended 

 to enhance. \'ery larg:e vases must have flowers and foliage in 

 proportion. — Gardening Illustrated. 



DRY WALL GARDENING 



One of the most interesting and fascinating forms of gardens 

 is a dry wall furnished with suitable plants. Either a terrace 

 wall, or what is often a troublesome, sloping bank may be made 

 one of the most beautiful features in a garden and also a source 

 of pleasure the greater part of the year. 



It is essential to plant the wall as it is being built; to build the 

 wall first and leave spaces for the plants to be inserted later is 

 to court trouble, as the plants more often than not in such cir- 

 cumstances prove failures. 



A dry wall may be formed at any time of the year, and 

 furnished with plants turned out of small pots and pressed be- 

 tween the stones filled in with good soil, composed of loam and 

 leaf-mould. This will hold the moisture better than anything 

 else. Good sandstone cut to a suitable size and thickness is the 

 best rnaterial. The stones should be sli.ghtly sloping inwards as 

 this will help to retain the moisture and keep the soil in position. 

 Groups of plants from six to twelve of each kind or variety 

 give a good effect, the plants being put in from twelve to eighteen 

 inches apart. Care should be taken to intermix the early, mid- 

 season and late flowering plants judiciously to give an even dis- 

 play throughout the season the whole length of the wall. The 

 plants should be given a thorough soaking before turning them 

 out of the pots. The following will be found a useful and in- 

 teresting collection of plants for a dry wall and will flower 

 from April until September: Aubrietias in variety, Alyssum 

 sa.vatile compaeta. Arabis, single, Arab-is A. pi. Accena 

 mierophylla, Accena adsurgens, Achillea Hcrba-rota, A. tomentosa; 

 Aithionema grandiHoruni, Campanula niuralis. Campanula gar- 

 gancia. C. g. hirsuta, Diantlius cccsiiis, D. arcnarius. D. deltoides, 

 D. dependens, Erinus alpinus carmineus, Erysimum pulchellum, 

 Cheiranthus AllionH, Gypsophila prostrata. Helianthemunt in 

 variety, Hclichrysum bellidioidcs, Hcuchcra sanguinea. Hip- 

 pocrcpis comosa, Hutchinsia alpina, Iberis "Little Gem," Linaria 

 pallida. Linum flavunt, Phlox setacea in variety, Ramondia 

 pyrenaica (for shade), Saxifragas, incrusted varieties, Sedums 

 in variety. Sempervivums of sorts. Thymus serphyllum coccineum 

 and album. Veronica Bid-uillii, J', rupcstris, V. prostrata, 

 Zauschneria catifornica and Z. splcndens, Arenaria balearica, 

 Arenaria montana, Coronilla ibcrica, Dianthus graniticus, Ca)n- 

 panula carpatica. Iberis gibraltarica, Iberis corrccfolia. Plumbago 

 Larpentic, Aplopappus chrysophyllus and Androsacea lanuginosa. 



I'ulbs may be planted freely on the top of the wall, and these 

 will give a fine effect in Spring when in flower. — The Gardeners' 

 Chronicle (British). 



IS THE HOLLYHOCK DECLINING? 



Is the fungoid growth to which Hollyhocks are susceptible, 

 and which makes its presence felt more particularly on old plants, 

 by an early rusting away of the leaves, the reason why they 

 are seen less frequently in gardens than they were thirty and 

 more years ago ? Possibly this may have had a deal to do with 

 the decline of this one time popular florist's flower. The mistake 

 made by those who used to .grow Hollyhocks, and who have 

 since given them up because of failure through the prevalence 

 of fungus, seems to me was of treating them as perennials and 

 allowing all and sundry suckers to remain, the result being that 

 the origmal plant, developed into a colony of plants, filching 

 from the soil most of its nutriment very quickly and rendering 

 the plants an easy prey to the rust disease. Hollyhocks, when 

 well grown, are such noble and attractive plants for the back 

 of a border, or for grouping, that it seems a pity their popularity 

 should be on the wane. I think if we treated them more as 

 biennials and gave them fresh quarters, in medium soil, rendered 

 rich with rotted manure and decayed vegetable matter, we should 

 hear less of disease. I feel confident that the biennial treatment 

 of the Hollyhock is the only sure and safe method to overcome 

 the dreaded fungus. Hollyhocks are best planted at the back of 

 herbaceous borders, since they lose their bottom leaves when 

 attacked by this disease, which gives the plants a very untidy 

 appearance when planted alone in beds. — The Garden. 



THIS IS OUR COUNTRY 



yours and mine. 

 We 'fought for it 



NOW LET US WORK FOR IT 



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