42 



POPULAH GARDENING. 



November, 



2,092. List of Gladioli. To name fifty of the 

 best Gladioli is by no means an easy task for the 

 reason that the number of varieties is so very 

 great that no one can be acquainted with them 

 all. I believe that could the best fifty be found, 

 fully half of them would be among the older 

 sorts; (1) Shakespeare, is still one of the very 

 best light sorts. Ground white with markings 

 of a rosy tint. In perfection of shape and wax- 

 iness of petal no other white-grounded sort sur- 

 passes or equals it ; (2) Meyerbeer. In substance 

 a little thinner than the preceeding, but it stands 

 very well. Color a ver,v brilliant vermilion 

 orange ; (3) Schiller, in shape, substance and size 

 a precise copy of Shakespeare, but its ground 

 color is light yellow ; (i) Victory, beautiful dark 

 red marked with black along the edges. 

 Its spike is very good, although the black 

 part ofthe petal does not withstand the sun- 

 shine very well ; (5) Conde, Flower flatter 

 than most; hence very pleasing in a collec- 

 tion. Color light-red with an almost white 

 blotch; (6) Colbert has a beautiful cherry- 

 colored flower, each division having a line 

 central line; (7) Didon almost white, being 

 slightly tinged with lilac; (8) Ambr. Ver- 

 schaffelt, an old cheap variety, but still good; 

 19) Lord Byron has a clear red and a pure 

 white, so strongly contrasted that " they 

 reckon ill who leave it out " of their collec- 

 tions; (10) King Ban resembles Lord Byron but 

 its shade is lighter and the flower is larger 

 and broader in the petal ; (11) Africaine, 

 bright crimson, overlaid with a sooty black. 

 This variety planted among others will com- 

 municate its sootiness to seedlings raised 

 from the latter. This peculiar color does not 

 stand the sun any better than the black 

 markings of Victory, but for cuttings nothing 

 is better than these sorts ; (12) Milton, a white 

 flower spotted and marbled with rose; (13) 

 Poussin, light red with white centre covering 

 nearly half the surface. The spike of this 

 variety has the unusual property of being 

 generally in perfect bloom from base to 

 summit at one time which gives it a fine ap- 

 pearance, though the spike is not as long as 

 in many kinds; (14) Kebecca has a flower of 

 more than ordinary size, white with broad 

 cherry feather on the lower petals. The 

 white is so pure and the outline of the blotch 

 so clearly defined that Rebecca would equal 

 Shakespeare in beauty were it not that its 

 texture is a little thin. It is a fine flower 

 notwithstanding this defect ; (15) Sir Urasidas 

 has a good spike of very pale buff, unmarked; 

 unique in color, rare and beautiul ; (16) 

 Abricote is a large and very fine color, fairly 

 well expressed by its name ; (17/ Baroness 

 Burdett-Coutts. Its flower is unusually 

 large, not quite perfect in shape but of a 

 beautiful rosy-lilac, and the spike is longer 

 than in most kinds; (18) Citrinues I re- 

 gard as the best yellow, for it has only 

 a very little of the purple which detracts 

 so much from all yellow kinds. The fact is, 

 however, that we have no flrst-rate one of 

 this color; (19) L'Unique Violet, with dark 

 lilac, violet-shaded flowers is another large- 

 flowered variety ; ('20) Jordanus frequently has 

 fifteen or sixteen flowers open at once, and im- 

 presses this valuable property on all seedlings 

 from flowers fertilized by it. Its color is a very 

 soft shade between salmon and scarlet. I wish 

 the tint was a little more decided ; (21) Kehydius, 

 certificated by the Mass. Hort. Soc, in 1890, has 

 a very long spike, open at one time from base to 

 tip. It is white flamed with more than common- 

 ly \ivid crimson lake ; (22) Arnold de Breusse is, 

 1 think, absolutely perfect in shape of flower and 

 build of spike : white delicately pencilled and 

 shaded with carmine; (23) Sir Bersules: bright 

 soft red with a bluish blotch on the lower petal ; 

 (24) Bernard de .lussien ; flowers of a hue diffi- 

 cult to describe ; perhaps " violet mi.\ed with 

 purple and shaded with cherry " would be an 

 approximation ; ('..'r)) Galardoune is pure white 

 except a very faint bluish stripe on the lower 

 petal. Two other cxcellant whites are (20) 

 Tauleasand (.:7I .Maledisant; the former having 

 a faint wash of salmon, the latter a thin purple 

 line on the lower division ; (2H) Hervis de la 

 Marche is intense scarlet, marked with a broad 

 white blotch; i2») rambines is deep velvet crimson 

 grained on the lower divisions with white, purple 

 and scarlet; (30l (?ol. Benton has fiery scarlet 

 flowers with brilliant golden-yellow throat. I 

 think highly of this sort, but many other persons 

 do not; l31i Vivien, white-grounded kind, flamed 

 pink and marked with purple and cherry lines ; 

 (32) i'ameliard has black edges, after the manner 

 of Victory from which it differs in having a 

 much darker ground. The black-edged sorts are 

 much better for cutting than for garden decora- 

 tion ; (31) Sir Colgrcvanoe is always conspicuous 

 from afar, not cmly from its bright rosy blossoms 

 but from its lofty vigorous stature; (34i Bedirere 

 is peculiarly marked, for the rose hue is laid up- 



on its white ground in broad irregular splashes 

 instead of proceeding from the edge as in most 

 varieties; (35) Clerf-mond, handsome spike; color 

 pink ; (36) Faranon could hardly find place in a 

 smaller list, yet, though peculiar, it is not un- 

 attractive. Color greenish-yellow, the lower 

 petal being apple-green with purple stripe ; (37) 

 Godelake; a kind with ver^' long spike and very 

 large flowers ; rose, flaked deep crimson ; (3S) 

 Tor le FIse is very remarkable from the fact that 

 its petals instead of being smooth like others is 

 crimpled like crape. It is a cream-colored flower 

 marked with rose; (39) Ironside is the most ex- 

 quisitely finished fiower I know of. I mean that 

 its petals, instead of being sharp and twisted at 

 the tips, are rounded and regular; that the ver- 

 milion of the ground is not in the least gaudy, 

 though briUiant, and that the gray of the lower 

 petal does not shade off to a different tint, but is 



shall be clear, and still all these kinds are so 

 much unlike that I can name them all as I go 

 through the rows.— iV. E. Endicittt, Masit, 



MR. BATEMAN'8 TOWN GARDEN. 



uniform and clearly defined; (40) Sir Ferant is 

 another of the whlte-and-rose group but is pe- 

 culiar from the fact that the rose is in small 

 points along the edges and very even. It looks as 

 if it had been stitched around. The remaining 

 ten of the fifty shall be chosen from the so-called 

 Lemoine strain, arising from the crossing of 

 the ordinary Gandavensis sorts with G. pur- 

 pureo-amatus. There are not many very good 

 ones, for most seedlings assume a hooded, curved- 

 over, half-open appearance which is not verv 

 pleasing; '11) Masque de Fer bright crimson witn 

 two of its lower petals black. Not large, but very 

 striking; (42) Matador much resembles the pre- 

 ceeding, but is much better, for its two black 

 petals have a narrow golden median line and 

 every petal has a fine, thin edge of white; (43) 

 M. Lereque, a recent French seedling is deep, in- 

 tense crimson throughout except a few small 

 vivid yellow points; (44) Alderman is light fawn, 

 flamed rose with bright crimson feather. A fine 

 large flower; (45) Abra Flesh slightly mottled 

 pink. Lower petal yellow, veined and shadow 

 crimson ; i40) Condesa. Flower large, round, wide 

 open. Some compare its color to that of the 

 ( 'ninese Magnolia, others, to a ripe Wafer Melon; 

 (47) Corporal is extra floe, though I cannot de- 

 scribe it in a way to make its excellence ap- 

 parent. Perhaps it is so striking because of the 

 clearness and sharpness of its colors and mark- 

 ings; rosegi'ound with maroon and yellow; (4H) 

 Sceptre rt'or presents a brighter yellow ground 

 than 1 have seen in any other Gladiolus ; on this 

 is a broad carmine blotch. A very beautiful 

 thing; (49) Admiral, bright carnation with fiery 

 crimson throat; one of the strongest growers I 

 have seen ; (.50) Prince Kegent. Bright iiink. On 

 the lower petal is a snow-white V enclosing a 

 carmine blotch. I have given these descriptions 

 from my garden book so that they are not hear- 

 say or second hand, yet 1 fear they are not \ery 

 clear. It is difficult to describe several flowers 

 which arc much alike so that their differences 



The Town Garden of Mr. James 



Bateman, Worthing, England. 

 In a recent issue of the London Gardeners' 

 Chronicle was given an engraving of the 

 garden named In the heading, together with 

 some descriptive notes. Mr. Bateman was 

 an enthusiastic collector of plants, extend- 

 ing his explorations as far as Mexico and 

 Gautamala. This garden at Worthing is, 

 indeed, a small villa garden of six years 

 growth only, closely hedged in by neigh- 

 boring gardeners on three sides, open to 

 southwest winds from the sea, and in 

 size, shape, situation, natural surface, 

 like scores of others in the same town. 

 And yet such have been the taste and 

 skill displayed that the little parallelo- 

 gram stands out unique in its way. There 

 has been a degree of taste, a playfulness 

 of fancy, a degree of judgment in the 

 selection of plants that is rare indeed in 

 such work. 



Emerging from the house (a) one steps 

 out upon a terrace walk (d), a little 

 raised above the lawn (c), the difference 

 in level giving an impression that the 

 lawn is larger than it is in reality. On 

 one side (to the left), as a flat "spring 

 garden," where Lilies and other bulbs 

 thrive amid choice shrubs and herba- 

 ceous plants. On the other sides of the 

 lawn rise in a semi-circle undulating 

 mounds with winding walks between, 

 rustic bridges vaulting over cavernous 

 valleys, and picturesque gorges, while 

 above all tower Ivy-covered rocks, whose 

 jagged, weather-worn peaks do not in- 

 deed reach the "snow-line," but extend 

 well above the region of the "forests." 

 The rock strata arranged through- 

 out the garden are of igneous origin, that 

 is to say, they are of bricks and clinkers, 

 resting in part on an ordinary wall, 

 which, like the subjacent rock, is com- 

 pletely hidden by a superficial calcareous 

 and silicious drift; in other words, 

 cement, which gives an appearance of 

 " weathering " to the rock, and which 

 the six years that have elapsed since its 

 deposit have already toned down to a 

 soft grey tint, relieved by deeper shadows. 

 Ii is a, " Mountain " border the " sub- 

 alpine range " forms an excellent shelter 

 from the wind, and its varied surface 

 affords endless places for suitable plants, 

 which in this mild climate, are by no 

 means few. 



Chinese Pasonies or Moutans, and Sikkim 

 and Himalayan Rhododendrons are favorite 

 plants of Mr. Bateman, and he has a few 

 very choice forms in each section. A mere 

 cursory glance around this garden serves to 

 show how great a number of plants may be 

 grown in a small space. Choisya ternata, 

 Buddleia globosa, Azalea rossefiora, Hydran- 

 gea manchurica (with its black petioles), H. 

 roseo-alba. Eucalyptus Gunnii, Phormium 

 tenax, Escallonia macrantha, Andryala 

 lanata, Polemonium himalaicum, various 

 Bamboos, and very many other plants 

 flourish here all the year round without 

 protection. Three plants of Draesena indi- 

 visa, 10 feet high ; and a fine bush of Car- 

 penteria californica, several beautiful single 

 Japanese Roses in full bloom, and a few 

 species of Liliuui, including L. Bateman- 

 nise, also deserve mention. 



There can hardly be any question about 

 the uniqueness of Mr. Batemau's garden, 

 and the more one looks at it the more sur- 

 prising does it appear that a flat and deso- 

 late wilderness could be transformed into 

 such a little paradise in six years. It is 

 another ilUustration of the fact that the 

 possibilities of gardening are truly infinite. 



