For December, 1923 



307 



Foreign Exchange Department 



HYACINTHS IN POTS.— Select clean, healthy-looking bulbs, 

 not large, but well ripened, heavy bulbs. It must be borne in mind 

 that many varieties having small bulbs very often give the best 

 spikes of bloom, and must not be discarded. Procure the bulbs 

 early, and do not select from those exposed in shop windows or 

 in open baskets, as this treatment sadly detracts from the value of 

 the bulb. The best compost is well-seasoned turfy loam, well 

 broken, but not sifted, and mi.xed with plenty of well-decayed 

 manure and silver or river-sand. If this cannot be had. any good 

 garden soil with plenty of well-decayed vegetable refuse or manure 

 from an old hot-bed, to which add silver or road sand, will do. 

 .\void all soils that run together, for the more porous the soil the 

 better will the bulbs succeed. If the compost is mi.xed together 

 two months before it is used, it will be all the better. For general 

 use 6-inch pots are the best. In potting place a large crock at the 

 button! for drainage, filling up the pot with the above compost. 

 Clear the bulb of all offsets and loose pieces, and with the fingers 

 make a hole in the soil, into which put the bulb, but do not press 

 it in too much. Have previously prepared in the open air a level 

 piece of ground with a hard bottom of coal-ashes to prevent worms 

 getting into the pots. Place the pots on this and give the bulbs a 

 good watering to settle the soil. After the surface has become 

 fairly dry, cover the whole with fine ashes, old tan, sand, or leaf- 

 mould to the depth of 6 inches. Let them remain thiis for four to 

 si.K weeks, so as to get the pots well filled with roots before the 

 foliage starts into growth, as this is one of the most essential 

 points. The time of potting should be regulated according to the 

 use required, but a succession of bloom may be had from Christmas 

 to the end of April by commencing about the second week in Sep- 

 tember, and potting some bulbs every fortnight up to the end of 

 December. After the pots are removed from the ashes they should 

 be cleaned from all impurities and gradually inured to light. Give 

 them abundance of water, and keep as near the glass as possible. 

 If not required early they may be placed on shelves in a cool green- 

 house, in a frame, or on a window-sill, care being taken to protect 

 them from frost. — Gardening lUnslratcd. 



THE CREEPING ROSEMARY.— Rosmarinus prostratus, as 

 the prostrate form of the common Rosemary is called, is a most de- 

 lightful shrub for a dry wall, sunny ledge, or any other warm spot 

 where the soil is light, and there is full exposure to the south or 

 west. It is quite a fast grower, soon covering a considerable space 

 with its pretty, arching branchlets, or closely hugging the rock face, 

 and it flowers profusely. Here we can usually look forward to a 

 good show of blossom in Autumn in addition to that of Spring, 

 and the pale blue flowers are fully as large, if not often larger, 

 than those of the type. The foliage of R. prostratus is a peculiarly 

 fresh and glossy green, which looks well in the rock-garden at all 

 seasons. Though not hardy, this variety will often survive an 

 average Winter in places not noted for a mild climate, whilst in 

 the south and west it is rarely affected, .^s a matter of fact the 

 lowly, creeping habit of R. prostratus is distinctly in its favor in 

 bleak districts, for not only is it thus less liable to injury by frost 

 and cutting winds, but it may be much more easily protected than 

 the ordinary Rosemary. — Gardeners' Chronicle (British). 



GREAT BELL-FLOWER, PLATYCODON GRANDI- 

 FLORUM AND ITS VAR. MARIESL— Sometimes called the 

 Balloon flower owing to the shape of the buds when on the point 

 of bursting, this plant, allied to the Bell-flowers, is lovely. Groups 

 of its delicately colored large flowers, borne in loose clusters at the 

 extremity of the 18-inch high growths, are among the most beauti- 

 ful things in the borders. 



Of the palest mauve, with deep violet lines running down the 

 inside of the flowers, it is a choice flower. It is a native of Siberia, 

 and perfectly hardv, flourishing in any but a waterclogged soil ; 

 best of all in a friable, warm compost, where its fleshy root stocks 

 may ramble freely. The handsome var. Mariesi comes from Japan, 

 and is a much dwarfer plant, which flourishes under similar condi- 

 tions. It has the most beautiful deep violet purple flowers, each 

 3 inches across. — Gardening Illustrated. 



VIBURNUM CARLESH.— This beautiful Viburnum is a native 

 of Corea and is quite hardv, and I know of no shrub that has such 

 a delicious scent. It does not grow very tall, but spreads well and 

 the foliage is broad and somewhat rough. 



The waxy, white flowers are borne In a cluster at the top of the 

 shoots, not unlike those of a white Bouvardia. The plant prefers 

 a rich, moist soil and requires little or no pruning. It is a shrub 

 that should be in every collection, however small, and is also suit- 

 able for growing in pots. This shrub flowers in April and will do 

 equally well in sun or shade provided it has good soil to grow in. — 

 Gardeners' Chronicle (British). 



CARYOPTERIS MASTACAXTHUS.— This deciduous shrub 

 from Qiina is sometimes called the Blue Spiraea. It is of dwarf 



habit, with silvery green foliage and blue flowers somewhat darker 

 than those of Ccanothus Gloire de Versailles. 



It is a splendid plant for a warm, sunny position, and flowers in 

 September, which makes it especially valuable. The shoots should 

 be pruned to two or three eyes during April and all weak wocxl 

 taken out. The plant is apt to become overcrowded ; therefore, to 

 ensure fine, strong spikes of bloom the growths should be thinned 

 when they commence to grow. — Gardeners' Chronicle (British). 



IRIS CRISTATA. — Few of the dwarf rhizomatous Irises are so 

 delightful and satisfactory as Iris Cristata, from the mountains of 

 Kentucky, Virginia and Carolina. Where it succeeds well, as it 

 does in most places, it increases into a spreading mass of short, 

 broad leaves and stems, four inches to six inches, or so, high, bear- 

 ing wonderfully large flowers of a charming lilac or violet shade, 

 decorated with a conspicuous crest, one of the features of the 

 Evansia section, to which it belongs. It thrives specially well in 

 some gardens and in these it is an object of great beauty. — The 

 Garden. 



IPOM.EA QUAMOCLIT.— Those who appreciate the Morning 

 Glory family will find I. Quamoclit, with its finely cut foliage, one 

 of the most interesting of them all. It is perhaps better when 

 grown as a pot plant, being rather unreliable in the open in most 

 districts. If the pots be limited in size — say, to 6 inches — very 

 neat specimens may be grown, and a few spriggy branches in- 

 serted in the soil will keep the slender, twining branches in order. 

 The blooms vary in color, but in most cases they are red, and con- 

 sist of a long, slender tube with an expanded mouth, in the form 

 of a star. I. Quamoclit is the Cypress Vine of .\merican florists' 

 catalogues. — Gardening Illustrated. 



ABUTILON GOLDEN FLEECE.— Small pieces of Abutilon 

 Golden Fleece, if plunged in their pots in vases, or in beds in 

 the open, are very ornamental and flower quite freely. The 

 variety is one of the showiest of the family, and when trained in 

 the greenhouse and established in large pots, or when planted out, 

 it blooms with the greatest freedom, and is well worthy of atten- 

 tion. — Gardening Illustrated. 



YELLOW CROCUSES AND PHEASANTS.— Those who 

 are purposing planting Crocuses in quantity in the grass will do 

 well to be aware of the fact that many birds are specially partial 

 to Yellow Crocuses and will frequently destroy the flowers. 

 Pheasants are destructive both to the flowers and corms. It is 

 rather singular that they leave the blue, white and striped va- 

 rieties alone, while the yellow sorts may be entirely eradicated 

 by these birds. I know of several places where Crocuses were 

 planted in vast numbers in the grass. In these the yellows have 

 gradually disappeared : while the blue, white, and striped sorts 

 have increased very greatly. I have in mind a broad stretch of 

 lawn in front of a large mansion where in Spring there are 

 myriads of Crocuses of all colors except yellow, which were 

 planted in the same proportion at the same time. It was found 

 that the pheasants not only destroyed the flowers but pecked the 

 corms away. As yellow Crocuses were desired these had to be 

 planted in an enclosed garden where the pheasants scarcely ever 

 entered, owing to the place being so much ivequented.—Gardeners' 

 Chronicle (British). 



CA.MASSIAS. — These attractive and graceful North .American 

 bulbous plants are very valuable for June flowering. Although 

 beautiful in the border while in flower, they are apt to become 

 untidy afterwards, and the ideal place for them is a partially- 

 shaded glade of the woodland, where they may remain undis- 

 turbed for years. C. Cusicki is a handsome species forming a 

 rosette of broad, glaucous leaves, and throwing up tall, elegant 

 spikes of large, pale lavender flowers with yellow anthers. 



C. leichtlini produces tall spikes of starry, creamy-white flow- 

 ers with pink anthers. 



Two garden forms of C. esculenta, Royal Purple and Silver 

 Queen, also produce handsome spikes of dark blue and light blue 

 flowers respectively, and are well worth growing. When left 

 in the same position for several years they should be given an an- 

 nual top-dressing of rich compost, and as soon as signs of ex- 

 haustion appear they should be lifted and divided. — Gardeners' 

 Chronicle (British). 



PHYSOSTEGIA. — This is a hardy herbaceous plant of peren- 

 nial duration, and remarkably interesting on account of the pe- 

 culiar sensitiveness of its flowers, which may at will be placed in 

 almost any position by a move of the fingers at right angles, and 

 will remain where placed for some short time. It was introduced 

 during the 17th century, and is a native of North America. When 

 exhibited at a recent meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society 

 it was described as the "Obedient Flower." and created a large 

 amount of interest and something of a sensation on account of 

 this peculiar sensitiveness of the flowers. 



The Physostegias are of the easiest culture, delighting in any 

 moderately rich soil, and may be planted with good efi^ect in al- 

 most any sunny position, producing numerous, well-branched, stout 

 spikes of pretty, tubular flowers in clustered racemes, and ar- 

 ranged in the four directions of the compass. 



