THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



VIOLETTAS. 



923 



is nothing better than Bullion, Kitty Hay, 

 Mrs. Greenwood, Molly Pope, Pembroke, 

 and Stephen. Perhaps the most precious 

 of all are the lavenders and delicate 

 blues, such as Charm, Duchess of Suther- 

 land, Florizel, Formidable, J. B. Riding 

 and John Quarton. Of the blues and 

 rich dark purples we have Archie Grant, 

 Blue King, Cliveden Purple, Holyrood, 

 and Max Kolb, and in rich crimson- 

 purple Councillor Waters and Crimson 

 King. 



Although we like the colours simple and 

 pure, there are other pretty ones of a 

 different kind, such as Accushla, Blue 

 Cloud, Columbine, Countess of Kintore, 

 Duchess of Fife, Hector Macdonald, and 

 Skylark. In the south, however, they are 

 uncertain, liable to vary in colour, and not 

 so good as the selfs. Some kinds, like 



A Tufted Pansy. 



Violetta, are white, running off to delicate 

 bluish or lilac hues. These delightful 

 things are so easily raised and crossed, 

 that each garden might raise its own 

 kinds, so as to have as much variety as 

 possible. These plants love a light and 

 cool soil. In northern districts they are 

 more at home than in the south, where 

 special treatment is necessary to bring 

 them to perfection. 



For early spring-flowering the cuttings 

 should be rooted in July or August, and 

 planted out in October. They commence 

 blooming early in April. In heavy soils 

 liable to crack with drought, use abundance 

 of leaf-soil, burnt ashes from the rubbish 

 fires, and the like, to bring them into order. 

 Also select a dry time for digging, working 

 in the above with plenty of short manure 

 from an old Mushroom bed, and scattering 



an inch or so on the surface for the roots 

 at planting time. Cuttings are better than 

 divisions ; particularly if they are made of 

 the young shoots stripped from the old 

 stool with a heel attached. To yield a 

 supply of these cuttings a reserve batch 

 of plants is necessary. About the second 

 week in June, cut them back to within 2 

 in. of the soil. A month afterwards they 

 will be bristling with young shoots. As 

 soon as 3 in. long, scatter some fine soil 

 and leaf-mould among the young growths, 

 and keep well watered for a fortnight, by 

 which time the majority will be making 

 roots freely. A fortnight later they will be 

 ready for planting in nursery-beds in a 

 shady spot and in good soil. As growth 

 is renewed, pinch out the top of each to 

 encourage the quicker formation of shoots 

 at the base. By October there will be 

 some grand plants for putting into their 

 permanent quarters, full of youth and 

 vigour that will produce masses of flowers 

 by-and-by. 



VIOLETTAS OR MINIATURE 

 TUFTED PANSIES.— These originated 

 in the garden of the late Dr. Chas. Stuart, 

 who in 1887 found what he had long 

 sought — a pure-white rayless self. This 

 chance seedling he named Violetta., and 

 for this reason plants of the miniature 

 flowered type are often called " \'iolettas." 

 From this plant has arisen a series of 

 rayless flowers, several of which share 

 the dainty form of the parent. 



Interest m these Violettas is less general 

 than their beauty deserves, perhaps be- 

 cause their growth is slow as compared 

 with the ordinary Tufted Pansies. It 

 should therefore be understood that the 

 plants are specially adapted for rock 

 or alpine gardens, and that instead of 

 getting leggy as even many of the Tufted 

 Pansies do if left alone, these are best 

 left to themselves for two or three years. 

 At the end of the first year the single 

 shoot planted in the spring will be repre- 

 sented by a little tuft some six inches 

 across, and after a second season's growth 

 the tuft is large and at its best. When in 

 full beauty such tufts are charming and 

 never fail to please. Light and porous 

 soil, well enriched with old manure, is 

 essential to success ; it should also be of 

 good depth, for the Tufted Pansies are 

 deep-rooting, and during hot weather — 

 especially in the south of England — the 

 value of deep culture is soon felt. In ad- 

 dition to their beauty in the rock-garden, 

 the cut blooms make up prettily for all 

 sorts of uses, these small flowers carrying 

 well where the larger kinds flop about. 



As yet there are not many \'iolettas 



