IRTSH GARDENING 



27 



indeed the featvire of the Show. Hardy fruit 

 bore evidence of the dry summer, both in quality 

 and quantity, apples and ]iears not being good 

 in Scotland this year. The Seottish Department 

 of Hortitulture had an interesting exhibit of 

 bottled fruits. The type of bottle is different 

 from that recommended by our Irish Department. 

 The former use a wider-moutlied bottle. The 

 lid is of glass on a rubber ring and, while per 

 fectly air-tiglit, is easily opened. The wide 

 mouth allows whole fruits of peaches, apricots, 

 and even tomatoes to be preserved. 



While in the Edinbvirgh neiglibourhood, with 

 some friends, I paid a visit to TTo])etown House, 

 the home of the Marquis of llopetown. It is a 

 princely jilace about two miles from the famous 

 Forth Bridge and overlooking three miles of 

 river, the new Naval Base at Rosyth, where 

 9.000 men are working. Bedding at Hojietown is 

 done very extensively, but it is done mostly with 

 annuals raised in spring. A very telling border 

 was ])lanted in panels with red and blue Lark- 

 sjuirs. The back of it was seedling Hollyhocks 

 and the front a mass of Verbenas. Another long 

 border was gay with dwarf Phloxes in lines of 

 different colours, a specially good one in the front 

 line being Kegulas, a rosy salmon. A border 

 entirely of blue was something unique. It was 

 planted with blue Sweet Peas. Salvia patens and 

 Blue Beard, Verbena venosa, Ageratum, and 

 Nigel la Miss Jekyll. The Rose garden is a 

 geometrical one, the beds being cut out in grass. 

 Each bed is planted with one variety of Rose, and 

 all the beds are carpeted over with Viola Kitty 

 liell, a i)ale lavender, which gave the garden a 

 quite beautiful a])pearance. An adjoining border 

 was filled with Carnations, two varieties especi- 

 ally being the })est I have yet seen of their kind — 

 King Edward is scarlet and Duchess of Rothsay 

 is a i)ure white. Both are jjerfect in form, 

 vigorous growers and are invaluable border sorts. 

 Time did not ijermit of seeing all there was to be 

 seen in this magnilicent ))lace, but it way 

 strongly impressed upon us tliat flowers were 

 grown here to interest and give ])leasure at every 

 turn. t'ar])et designs and firework displays in 

 gardening are not attempted. 



Returning to Perthshire I noted at (JrantuUy 

 Castle (iarclens the idea again of flower btn^ders 

 in one colour. In this case it was a yellow 

 lioi'der planted entirely of Morning Star 

 ( 'lirysant lienuun. Another wide border presented 

 1 lie liritish colours of red, white and blue. It was 

 planted with a broad band each of a red 

 Antirihimim, a white Antirrhinum and as a blue. 

 Salvia patens was used. Here also I noticed a 

 grand batch of American Carnations. They were 

 the young i)lants whicli flowered under glass last 

 year. In April they were planted out. and at 

 the beginning of September were full of flower 

 and being potted up to again flower inside. 



Most of my readers have heard of Andrew 

 Carnegie and his native town of Dunfeiiiiiine. 

 lie invested a sum of money which yields C 10, 000 

 pi'r year, and this is all sjx'nt yearly in Duti- 

 i'crndine. Liln-aries, Schools, Institutes, Hat lis, 

 Tcmiis and Howling (ireeiis ai-e all jJi'i^vidcd for- 

 the people of this favoured town. I'itt eiicrieff. 

 an estate adjoining the town, was bough; up 

 some years ago and laid out as a public park for 

 the use of the inhabitants. Not a jienny of 

 taxes is levied for all this. The park has been 

 caref\illy planned to accommodate the ])ublic 

 convenience and also jireserve thenatviial 1 eauties 

 of the place. What formerly was the walled-in 

 kitchen garden had the walls removed and all 



laid out as a flower garden. To give an idea of 

 what is reciuired for a spring display alone, 

 100,000 plants are annually ])ut down in October. 

 All kinds of plants are pressed into the service 

 of nuiking a continuous disjilay of flower. 

 Masses of Pentstemons, Phloxes, Montbretias, and 

 Dahlias nuike a great show in the borders, ami 

 all suitable herbaceous plants are largely grown. 

 Roses in big beds of one sort wei'C very gay, and 

 here I was informed the rose most favoured for 

 a continuous show was La Tosca, a soft pink, 

 tinted with rosy-white and yellow. Among 

 dwarf Polyantha roses Baby Dorothy is l)eing 

 replaced by Orleans, an excellent kind for bedding 

 or masses, and of a beautiful ciimson colour. 

 Jessie is another ideal bedding rose, a free 

 bloomer which lasts well and also is crimson in 

 colour. A range of glasshouses serves to keep 

 uj) a display of flowers during winter, iind iiuleed 

 more or less all the year round. 



Hamamelis mollis. 



When with a friend visiting a garden one calm 

 afternoon in January our attention was drawn 

 towards this shrub by its sweet scent when 

 several yards away, and even before we caught 

 sight of it in the shrubbery. I'ntil then I was 

 under the impression that this Hamamelis lacked 

 the charm of fragrance peculiar to other winter 

 flowering shrubs like the Winter Sweet and 

 Stand ish's Honeysuckle. 



This soft-leaved Witch Hazel is quite the finest 

 of the family and distinct both in leaf and flower, 

 and can always be relied ui)on to flower about 

 the end of December or .January. 



The flowers are borne freely in clusters, t e 

 calyx is red, and the petals are a soft yellow, 

 strap-shai)ed and hooked at the ends, not 

 twisted like the flowers of other Witch Hazels. 



The leaves are oval, larger than those of any 

 other member of the genus, sonu'times I to ."> 

 inches long and covered with soft greyish hairs, the 

 specific name being derived from this character. 



Hamamelis mollis is said to grow 20 to ;^0 feet 

 high in China, and is quite hardy, while the 

 flowers are rarely aft'ected by frost. The soil to 

 jdant in is a good loam mixed with a. sin.iil 

 quantity o£ peat. Drm.iN. 



Tamarisks 



Thkse hardy shrubs are seen at their best wlicu 

 ]>lanted in snuill groups, where their light ;ind 

 fc.ithery growth will be an attraction through I he 

 summer and autumn. 



At seaside gardens t lu>y nuiy l)e used for 

 shelter, for their natural home is by the sea- 

 shoi'es of Hritain and other countries. 



At Llandudno the common kind Tauiarix gallii a 

 is used with good effect as an ornaiiu-nt al hedge, 

 wliili- to cover banks it i; also very s.iitable. 



As a decorative shrub Tamarix Ixispida a'sti- 

 valis, or T. I'allasi rosea, as it is souu'times called, 

 is ipiite one of the most graceful and i>relty 

 shrubs which flowers in August. The flowers are 

 |)ale i)ink on tipeniiig, tinning to a deeper i)ink. 

 When ari'anged in a vase the feathery plumes 

 remind one of the beautiful i)ink Spira-a Queen 

 Alexandra. 



The name Tamarix is taken from the Tamaris, 

 a river in Spain, on the banks of which the 

 Tamarisk abounds. 



Some species jiroduce galls which have been 

 used in medicine txs an astringent, the ashes of 

 others contain much sulphate of soda. 



