122 VILLA GARDENING PART I 



Madame Henri Jacotot, Madame E. Geney, Mrs. Miller, Mrs. 

 James Helme, Palmerston, Protee. 



Chrysanthemums in the Open Air. — To obtain flowers of 

 the Chrysanthemum in the highest state of perfection, shelter of 

 some kind is necessary. But a very considerable amount of suc- 

 cess has been secured by many amateurs without glass. In some 

 instances the plants are grown in pots, with temporary shelter 

 erected over them when in blossom; in others, where only a 

 few plants are grown, they are moved into the house at the 

 approach of cold weather, where they fill the stands and windows 

 in a charming manner, looking bright and gay for a considerable 

 time. The Pompone varieties are best adapted for this work. 

 Another way of growing them is to plant them out in the open 

 air, pinching them occasionally in the early stages to induce a dense 

 habit ; and then in September or October, after the buds are set, 

 nui the spade round the stem, leaving a ball about as large as 

 will fill the sized pots they are to occupy when lifted. They 

 should be potted up just before frost sets in — towards the 

 20th of October is a good time. But many people grow Chry- 

 santhemums simply as border plants, leaving them to take their 

 chance without shelter or any other care or cultivation than the 

 ordinary hardy plants receive. Occasionally very good displays 

 are obtained in this way, and as the Chrysanthemum takes so 

 kindly to a smoke-laden atmosphere, it is eminently suited for 

 town gardens. In the course of my wanderings among the back 

 streets of houses and cities I have often in autumn come upon 

 pleasant little shows of Chrysanthemums, where the ciUtivators 

 have had no other place for their plants than the few square yards 

 in which they are blooming so prettily; but they make up for 

 their limited means and resources by incessant care and atten- 

 tion, — stirring the earth among them frequently, dewing over the 

 foliage after every hot day, pinching the gross robber shoots, and 

 other little attentions, which the plants appreciate and respond to 

 in the shape of glossy leaves and bright flowers. It is trae that 

 frequently all this labom- is lost by one night's killing frost in 

 November. What then 1 AU have their failures, and it is one of 

 the traits of the Anglo-Saxon character not to know when they 

 are beaten, but to plod on hopefully, now and then scoring a 

 great success which compensates for past disappointments. I have 

 already stated that the Pompones are best for border cultiu"e, 

 but where a low wall has to be covered the tall kinds may be 

 advantageously planted ; indeed, a good deal more use might be 

 made of the tall large-flowering Chrysanthemums for covering the 

 bottom of walls and clothing low walls generally. The walls might 



