Ha; 22, 18«6. ] 



TOTTRNAL OB- HOKTICULTURB AND COTTAGE GARDENEE. 



-375 



WEEKLY CALENDAR. 



Day 



OT 



21 

 28 

 24 

 25 

 26 

 27 

 28 



Day 



of 

 Week. 



Tu 



W 



Tli 



F 



S 



Son 



M 



MAY 22—23, 1860. 



Whit TrESDAT. 



E3TBER Week. 



QoEEK Victoria Bohn, 1819. 



Phincess Heleka Boun, 1816. 



Hoven iliL'if.i'.ia. 



Trinity Sunday. 



Hovea elliptica. 



AveraRe Temperature 

 near London. 



Day. 



6B.7 



67.6 



68.1 



66.5 



C6.9 



6.1.9 



67.6 



JJlRhl. I Mean. 



42.9 

 44..5 

 4.S.7 

 43.7 

 42.a 

 4=1.1 

 44.8 



64.3 



56.0 

 E5.4 

 55.1 

 54.'J 

 65.5 

 66.2 



Rain in 



last 

 30 yeare. 



Days. 

 17 

 13 

 11 

 15 

 17 

 21 

 15 



i isnl 



Sun' 

 RJseB. 



' 6im' ' 

 Sets. 



Mdbn. 

 lUsdS 



SeU: 



U*. Jl, 



52af7 



after. 



44 1 



45 2 

 51 8 

 58 4 

 64 5 

 88 .6 



li.l, 



h. 



\4 

 ■ 52 



16 



41 



138:1 1 



1 

 2 

 2 



Jloon'f 

 Age. 



Days. 



10 

 11 

 12 



Cloolk 

 after 

 Sod. 



or . 

 V*ar. . 



142 



143 

 144 

 145. 

 146 

 147 

 148 



From observations taken near London dnrinK the last thirty-nine years, the avcraiie day temperature of th» wook is 66 'C ■ and its niBb**- 

 temparature 439 . The Kreatest heat was 91', on the'2.3th, 18 17 ; and the lowest cold 26', on the 23rd and i!()th, ISliS; and 2'3rd, 1)164. TbaJ 



""""'" ' ' _ ■ ll 



greatest fall of rain was 0.97 inch. N.B. — The Calendar contains the names of plants flowering in the greenhouse*. 



PLANTING 0U1? SUB-TROPICAL AND OTHER 

 HAND SOME -FOLIAGED PL.^NTS. 



MONGST my regrets is the 

 very great one that I have 

 not had the plcasm-e of see- 

 ing tlie results accomplished 

 in this iva}' at Battersea Parlv 

 — results wliich, in their mag- 

 nitude and the harmony of their arrangement, seem to 

 have ecUpsed all that has heen done in that way formerly. 

 I trust that tliis season I may he able to admire and take 

 notes of sucli arrangements, and also learn whether I have 

 before met with Mr. Gibson, to whom the public are so 

 much indebted for bringing together such fresh combina- 

 tions of the beautiful. Perhaps I could value such com- 

 hmations all the more, though as yet depending on mental 

 ^■ision, as, though of late years I have di5ue little in this 

 way, and this year will be likely to do little or nothing, it 

 is more than thirty years since I noticed what might be 

 done by planting out greenhouse and the hardiest of stove 

 ]ilants in summer : and for a period of some tiftcen years 

 I did less or more of this every year, when such combi- 

 nations were not at all common. Then, as now. wiiat I 

 did, even on a limited scale, was much noticed by those 

 who admu-ed beauty in form as well as in brightness of 

 colouring. 



In answer to the many inquiries why I do not continue 

 a system the full value of which no one would be more 

 ready to recognise, I will not enter into the economical 

 questions involved, but -will content myself with stating 

 that our little space midcr glass began to be more occupied 

 with the useful as respects the table instead of the merely 

 beautiful : that our lawn is so open and exposed to winds, 

 that all large-leaved plants, as Canuas, Brugraansias. C'as- 

 toroil plants, &c., even \\'ith the greatest care, were liable 

 to have the foliage cut into unseemly ribbons ; and tliat 

 the position formerly appropriated chiefly to this piu'pose 

 became b3' degrees too sliaded to suit the original intention, 

 and other plai'es that would have been suitable have for 

 the present been devoted to other objects. 



The place where the subtropical plants throve admirably 

 was enclosed by raised banks, running chiefly east and 

 west, though bounded also on the cast and west, the banks 

 crossing each other so as to permit of suitable entrances. 

 These banks were planted ■nitli Laurels, Pinus, &c. ; and 

 as long as they merely kept out the mnds and admitted 

 the sun, tlie plants did remarkably well. Tlie beds in the 

 centre were raised chiefly by Hints ; and a sunlf fountain 

 or cistern in tlie centre was made with flints set in cement 

 against brick. Most of the flints round the beds and roimd 

 the boundary that supported the banks were covered with 

 Mesembryanthemums, Sedums, Saxifi'ages, &c. No doubt 



No. 269.— Vr.i, X., New Series. 



1 ' iir- o '':'!;■.! ivi'l ■•■:],' to f(0J oriX 

 the flints' helped to abSb'rl) Wict' retain heat in these efc- 

 vated beds ; but to increase this heat before planting out, 

 from the middle to the end of June, we used to turn in tlie 

 soil a spit deep in the iifternoou after a sunny day ; and 

 for very tender plants, in addition to this, we used to taJte 

 out a good hole, and hll it with hot fermenting dung and 

 som.e (i inches of rotten dung over it, and then the soil, in 

 wliich we either planted at once or plunged the pot or tlib. 

 As the place gnxdnally became more sliaded these snb- 

 tropical plants were conflned to the sunniest spots. The 

 wliole cft'ect, even on a limited scale, was very good ; tLe 

 tallest and freest-growing plants being placed far enoygh 

 apart, either singly or in groups, to show themselves ofl" 

 well ; whilst those of less growth were placed in smaller 

 groups or singly between the tallest, and the ground was 

 carpeted with Rock Roses, Sedums, Cerastinnis, Cuieraria 

 marifiina, &c. But for the general flower-beds being bo 

 open, tlie iino-foliaged plants might he mixed with good 

 efi'ect in the combinations of the bedding plants : but to 

 sliow how ■O'indy the place is, Coleus VerschafTelti was 

 torn into ribbons, and Cannas and Ricinus were so nicely 

 fringed that a person would have imagined it was their 

 natural condition. ''', 



Tliat others may liave the opportunity of doing wliat ai 

 present I cannot do myself, and thus give a sub-tropical 

 appearance to a part of their grounds, I will subjoin the 

 i'ollowing list of what I have eitlu'r used myself or seen 

 successfully used, with some short hints as to their treat- 

 ment, merely premising tiiat much of the success 'will de- 

 pend on having ].ilenty of sun heat, protection from 'wind.s, 

 and the ground in a warm state, by whatever means ai;- 

 complished. before turning the plaiifs out : and .also, that 

 thougli many will do well in pots plunged, with oiitlcts far 

 the roots, the greatest vigour will be obtained, iuid less 

 trouble will he required in watering, when the plants ai"e 

 turned out into the soil, merely breaking the outsides of 

 the ball a little. 



1. Acacia. — Several of the iine-foliaged ones, as mollis, 

 pubescens, decurrens, lophantha, are very useful and 

 efl'cctive when so treated. I used to plant them out into 

 rich compost, train tliem to a single stem (i or S feet in 

 height, and let theia branoli there : in October raise them, 

 squeeze the roots into a large pot, cut in the head, water 

 well, set the plants in a shady place until tlie i-oots be- 

 gan to ruu, and then house them for (he winter in a 

 shed where there was a stokehole. I pruned-in (he head 

 prett}' closely in spring, and exposed tlie plants in a shel- 

 tered place in April. In tliis and all similar eases tU^ 

 plants should not have much artilicial heat Jjefqfcb^g 

 planted out. ' ,, • ' , f ^-.i 



2. Arama. — The lieautiful Aralia papyrifcra I had not 

 the chance of so using. It would make a line centre to a 

 group. The hardy spinosa, which grows s or 111 feot high, 

 has an effective appearance. The pretty Sieboldi is very 

 effective, and in a dry place would need onlj' a little jiro-i 

 tection in winter, _ '; 



.'i. Arcs DO. — A. donax is one of the finest Reed-loo!v-i*rj^ 

 plants, throwing up stems strong enougli for stakes. It'is 

 very shy of transplanting. This is best done just before it 



Ko. Oil.— Vol. XXX'V., OU) SULMB. 



