272 General Notices. 



may be raked over and allowed to remain till another season. By confining 

 each bed to one kind of plant, a better effect is produced, and it is more easy 

 to attend to the cultivation. However, the circumstances of gardens are 

 very various, and, if your beds are partly occupied wilii fixtures, you must 

 exercise your taste, and introduce exotics here and there, so as to harmonize 

 best with the whole, and produce the best effect. 



In my opinion, at the head of the class of plants now under consideration, 

 stands the Scarlet geranium, or, more properly, pelargonium. Nothing 

 can exceed ihe beauty of this in the open air, and nothing yields its flowers 

 more abundantly, or demands less attention. There are many varieties now 

 grown, thirteen being named in a list advertised in the Chronicle of the 22d 

 inst. These differ in height, intensity of color, and character of foliage. 

 By placing a strong plant, of a robust, tall habit, in the centre of a small 

 bed, surrounding it with a number of less stately growth, and forming the 

 border of those of a dwarf development, a pyramidal bed is produced, the 

 lustre and charming beauty of which are unsurpassed. Single plants may 

 be introduced in vacant spaces, either trained upright to a stake, or, if of a 

 dwarf kind, made to form a mass on the ground. 



Next in durability and abundance of bloom, come the shrubby, yellow 

 calceolarias, contrasting so vividly with the scarlet pelargoniums. These 

 grow rapidly, and should be planted about one foot apart every way, so as 

 to cover the bed. The herbaceous kinds look well, but are more delicate 

 than the shrubby varieties. The large flowers of the superior seedlings, 

 now grown, are only fit for days continuously warm and still ; wind and 

 rain soon rob them of their beauty. Fuchsias deserve commendation on 

 every account. They are graceful in their mode of growth, profuse bloom- 

 ers, and continue gay till the frosts of autumn set in. These are so various 

 in their heights, and in their colors, that they admit of the most charming 

 combinations. Fuchsias have also the recommendation of living through 

 the winter in open ground, if properly protected. From a bed occupied 

 with hyacinths and tulips, fuchsias may protrude without interfering with 

 them. 



The variegated pelargoniums look magnificent in a bed, if varieties are 

 selected for the purpose. They should be carefully trained in pots, and 

 stopped from flowering, until a good compact head is secured ; they will 

 then bloom beautifully in a warm summer. Cinerarias admit of tasteful 

 arrangement, and make handsome beds. I presume it is not necessary to 

 say any thing of verbenas and petunias, as they are found everywhere. 

 Small round or oval beds, surrounded with an ornamental edging of hasket- 

 work, either of wood or wire, are attractive objects when overflowing with 

 verbenas or petunias. Phloxes, antirrhinums, mesembryanthemums, &c., 

 form beds of various and durable beauty. The Phk)x Drummondi is a great 

 favorite with me, and it continues in bloom as late as any thing of a tender 

 kind in the open air. I have mentioned the above because I know how 

 easily and successfully they may be cultivated, what beauty they are capa- 

 ble of producing, and what satisfaction the amateur will derive from a gar- 

 den supplied with them. They may be all cheaply purchased. — {Gard. 

 Chron., 1848, pp. 284-285.) 



