39& 



JOURNAL OF HOBTICUtTtTBE ANi) COTtil^ QARI^BilBtk.' ^ 



[ JM«' lOi 19SK 



qnidldy b'e',<(Bt«ine4;iii'moBt gprdeps. anfl, qWtitlg, Uttle, they 

 aiie no mqre thought of after gerviog their purpose. 



Seiphig of Plants. — We are requested to say a few words on 

 Ihia subject. We have nothing to add except that our readers 

 sbonJd coDsnlt their own observation, and, if that is deficient, 

 obtaia tlie advice of the more experienced. In anything like a 

 regular flower garden, very mnoh of the efieot depends on the 

 relative heights of the plants. Some time ago we were asked to 

 see a regulaT' flower garden looked at from a height of feet 

 above the ground level of the garden, it being suflicient for our 

 purpose to describe the garden as one with a centre, and three 

 concentric rings of various-foimed beds round it. The true 

 plaa for planting such a garden would be to use plants regu- 

 lar 03 to height, and then from any point you conld see all 

 the arrangement, just as you would look down on the colours 

 of a carpet in a large room. There might be a great difiiculty 

 in thus securing the heights, especially without pruning and 

 pegging, and therefore the plants, if not all equal in height, 

 should be arranged so as to have the highest in the centre, or 

 the highest at the outside, and a gradual fall from either point. 

 The beds in the garden referred to were well filled and well 

 bloomed, but it could 3 ield but little satisfaction unless when 

 each bed was examined separately, simply from a total disre- 

 gard to the height of the plants. ' We recollect the centre bed 

 was folly 3; feet in height, and some of the next row of beds 

 were as high, whilst others were not above 18 inches in height ; 

 and so. looked at from whatever point, these high beds wholly 

 concealed the low beds from view. The same rule should apply 

 in a border or a single bed, especially when made up of several 

 kinds of plants. In such cases, as a general rule the lowest 

 planls should be next the observer, and all the rest should be 

 presented fully to the eye by rising gradually in height. We 

 recollect seeing in a largo and celebrated establishment some 

 fine large beds of three or four colours, but the centre and the 

 ontaidcs were from 9 to 15 inches higher than the different 

 oolotir between them. There were fully a score of people with 

 note-books in their hands taking down all the particulars, and 

 wa conld hear such expressions of commendation that we had 

 no doubt that the eccentricity of the arrangement would be at 

 least attempted the following year, and perhapf, if we be S3 

 monotonous, a departure of any kind may be prized, however 

 absurd it may appear to others. We had not the slightest 

 doabt then, and we have less now, after having spoken to the 

 planter, that the clever gardener for once miscalculated his 

 heights, and no one was more astonished than himself to find 

 that this eccentric mistake created more attention and was I 

 m^ire praised than what he considered his more successfal \ 

 efforts. It is just possible that we may become so oppressively 

 mouotonous, so cut and dried with this planting-out in masses, 

 that any departure from the ordinary outline may be considered 

 a decided relief, however contrary it may be to the generally 

 received maxims of taste and refinement. After this somewhat 

 stiikiug eccentricity we heard of some scores, and know of 

 mote than n dozen, of large flower beds, where an attempt was 

 nmdo to form the centre and the outsides into hills and ridges 

 and the intermediate spaces into a valley, but, unlike the 

 ocigtual mistaken planter, in most cases the valley became 

 worse than a piece of confusion. 



It is alwoy.-? well to regulate the height so as to be seen at 

 planting-time. This cannot always be done at first, as the tallest 

 plants when full grown may be the shortest at planting-out 

 time. For instance, in a border of ours, where Calceolarias suc- 

 Cfled Telargoniums, the latter will be much the taller eventually, 

 bat the Calceolarias, owing to the moist spring, are the taller 

 now. Of course we are obliged to plant according to the future 

 and not the present heights of the plants ; but then the effects 

 attbo present are not so good, as the Calceolarias are some 

 istthes higher than the Pelargoniums. It will take a month or 

 As. weeks until the latter take their right place, and until that 

 time arrive every inconsiderate passer-bv will think the planter 

 has made a mistake. If the right heights were at once secured, 

 it would be better and more pleasing to the eye all through. 

 We have seen beautiful uniform beds in September formed of 

 different materials, and sloping regularly, though not mono- 

 toinuily, from the centre to the verge, and that because the 

 gwdsutr kdf w what would be the ultimate result ; but we looked 

 on these lieds as marplots in .Tune and July, and the first part 

 ot August, because, though there were lines ol plants near the 

 ootside from Ij to 18 inches in height, the plants in the centre, 

 irom the treatment adopted, were not at first above a few 

 JEchM iu height. In fact, the true design of the planter was 

 ne er seen until the beds arrived at perfection, just as frosty 



as to the ftilure, bat it't'h^'.fthow.ftt once on pljauting-'oiit,^Bl)!: 

 much the bettor. • ^~- " ' ■ - '' > -■■■ ' i 



Waterhifj. — '• Thocobtpul " kindly hints, that our advising 

 the other weei giving only a little water to fresh-planted bedding 

 plants is somewhat a discrepancy from our general rule. Give 

 a thorough watering to reach every root, and then wait until 

 your services are leqnirsd. To this we say that we adhere to 

 the general rule, but circumstances must ever modify and regu- 

 late general rules. Oar ground was too cold and wet for our 

 purpose. Hence the using dry fresh soil — hence the using 

 just a little water to settle the roots. We wanted the ground 

 to become warmer, and the more moisture we gave it the longer 

 it would continue cool. We have never used so little water at 

 planting time, even when we arrested cold from evaporation 

 by watering at the roots and covering with the dry soil on the 

 surface. If the plants have flinched at all, it is when a bright 

 day like this has followed a dull drizzly day. We gave a 

 little water to-day to the first-planted beds ; but to those re- 

 cently turned out in vases or beds, instead of drenching the 

 soil, when there was a little appearance of distress in the foliage, 

 we syringed them gently twice a-day, and thus arrested evapo- 

 ration without the trouble of shading. No harm will accrue to 

 damped foliage in bright sunshine out of doors. It is very 

 different from damp foliage iu sunshine in a confined atmo- 

 sphere. — K. F. 



COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— June !>. 



A rAiP. amonnt of basJness has been ilnini: during the past week, and 

 averaffQ prices maintained. The arrivals of foreii,'n produce fire heavy, 

 compriainR Cherries, Apricots, and Strawberries ; Peas, Dwarf Kidney 

 Leans, Artichoke*', Carrots, Tumipa, C:iuliflower3, and Tomatoes. Ex- 

 cellent Early Aahleaf Potatoes from the Channel Islands are supplied in 

 oinaiderfible quantities. Out-door Strawberries commenced to come in 

 this week. 



rilTJIT. 



Apples 3a sieve 3 



Apricota doz. 3 



Cherries lb. 1 



Chestnuts bush, 10 



Currants }-^ sieve 



Black do, 



Figs doz. 10 



Filberts lb. 



Cobs lb. 1 



Gooseberries . . quart 

 Grapes, Hothouse . lb. 4 

 Lemons 100 G 



e. d. e. d 



Melons each 5 OtolO 



Nectnrines doz. 10 15 



OranKos 100 4 12 



Poaohaa doz. 12 24 



Pears (dessert) .. doz. 



Pino Apples lb. 



Plums }i sieve 



Quinces doz. 



Raspberries lb. 



Strawberries lb. D 



Walnuts busb. 10 



do 100 1 



























8 



12 















8 



16 



2 



VEGET4BLES. 



-Aj-tichokeg doz. 



AsparagU'? 100 



Beans, Kidney .. hd. 



Beet, Red doz. 



Broccoli bundle 



Brus. Sprouts Yz sieve 



Cabbage doz. 



Capsicums 100 



Carrots bunch 



Cauliflower doz. 



Celery bundle 



Cucumbers each 



Endive doz. 



Fennel bunch 



Garlic lb. 



Herbs bunch 



Horseradish ..bundle 



d. B. d 

 to 6 

 6 





 8 

 4 



1 6 



5 

 

 I 



2 



I 



1 

 8 



2 

 1 6 

 

 

 

 



6 



Leek s bunch 



Lettuce score 1 



Mushrooms. . . . pottle 1 



Mu9td.& Cres9,punnet 



Onions bushel 10 



Parsley sieve 3 



Parsnips doz. 



Peas quart 2 



Potatoes bushel 4 



Kidney. . . . ditto 4 



Radishes doz.bunches 1 



Rhubarb bundle 



Shallots lb. 



Spinach bushel 2 



Tomatoes doz. 2 



Turnips bunch 



Veget. Marrows.. doz. 



8. d. 



4 too 6 



6 



1 6 

 

 



TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 

 •Tames Veitch & Sons. Uoyal E'cotio Nursery, King's Eoad, 

 Chelsea, Loudon, S.W. — Catalogue of Neic and Beautiful 

 Plants for lSG'i).~List of Select Hoftwoodcd and Bedding 

 Plants, ijtc. 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



••• We request that no one will wiite privately to the depart- 

 mental writers of the "Journal of Horticulture, Cottage 

 Gardener, and Country Gentleman." By so doing they 

 are subjected to unjustifiable trouble and expense. AU 

 communications should therefore be addressed solely to 

 The Editors of the Journal of Horticulture, dc, 171, Fleet 

 Street, London, B.C. 



N.B. — Many questions must remain unanswered until next 

 week. 



EiBD Chebrv as a Stock fob the Peach (Bewdley).—The Rev. W. 

 Kingsley, South Kilvington, Thirsk, has used the Prunus Padus as a 

 stock for Peaches with much success. It has been noticedin the columns 

 of this .Tonmal. 



