136 POT-POURRI FROM A SURREY GARDEN 



note of what survives, and even does better in these 

 very dry -years. That handsome, rather coarse-growing 

 perennial, Buphthalmum cordifolium, now called Telekia 

 speciosa as if one such name were not enough for a 

 stout-growing composite looked shrivelled and unhappy 

 last month, but it has flowered^ better than usual, and it 

 is a handsome plant. The pretty feathery Gypsophila 

 paniculata never suffers from dryness, it has such a 

 splendid big tap-root. The Gaillardias, moved from the 

 seed bed in spring, have done very well in full sun. 



The Coreopsis grandiflora blazes in the sunlight. I 

 save a little seed from the largest flowers of both of 

 these, and sow them every year, so as to have a 

 continual supply of young plants. It is not to avoid 

 buying fresh seeds that I mark the best flowers of some, 

 but because by this means, and by saving only from the 

 best flowers, I get really better plants. 



My Carnations are much less good than usual this 

 year, but I cannot blame the weather for this. I stupidly 

 followed the advice in some of the gardening papers last 

 year of leaving the layers on the old plants till April. I 

 shall never do so again ; here it does not answer at all ; 

 but I shall layer them as early as possible, take them off 

 in October, and make up the bed then. It is a very good 

 plan to plant a row of young Carnation plants in the 

 kitchen garden, some distance apart, so that they may be 

 layered earlier than in the beds. 



July^th. Not the least delightful part, in my opinion, 

 of the growing knowledge of gardening is the appreciative 

 visiting of the gardens of others. On first going into a 

 garden one knows by instinct, as a hound scents the fox, 

 if it is going to be interesting or not. One's eyes are 

 sharp, and a joyful glow of satisfaction comes over one 

 on seeing something not by any means necessarily new, 

 but unknown to oneself. When looking through old 



