218 THE amatetje's geeenhotjse 



witliout harm a temperature many degrees lower than that in 

 which they have attained their full development, provided 

 they are carefully prepared for it by removal in the first 

 instance to an intermediate temperature, and during the whole 

 time of their stay in the comparatively cool conservatory are 

 supplied with less moisture than they had to promote growth 

 in a higher temperature. Every season should supply new 

 flowers to the conservatory. In the spring, potted bulbs will 

 make a gay beginning, and if orchids are grown in the stoves 

 the bulbs will be followed closely by some of the most resplen- 

 dent of the family. As the season advances the greenhouse 

 will supply pelargoniums, heaths, herbaceous calceolarias, and 

 specimen petunias, and in autumn the pits will prove their 

 usefulness by providing a glorious display of chrysanthemums. 

 As a rule, however, the less we see of bedding plants in the 

 conservatory the better, for we see enough of them in the 

 open garden during the summer, and it is simply a tax on 

 one's patience — that is, on the patience of one who believes in 

 eclectic horticulture — to pass from a blaze of geraniums in 

 the parterre to another blaze of geraniums in the conserva- 

 tory. It is neither our business nor our pleasure to denounce 

 people who, in their horticultural enterprises, are content with 

 some half-dozen genera of plants ; but we are bound to say, 

 in defence of plants in general, that there are many fine 

 things adapted to the conservatory which many who profess 

 to love plants have hitherto not made acquaintance with. A 

 rabbit cooked a hundred different ways is tiresome, and the 

 cooking must be very tiresome to the rabbit. 



Above all things that contribute to make a gay conserva- 

 tory, the best of the greenhouse climbers should be thought of. 

 As a rule, it is a folly to grow any of these plants in pots ; 

 they should be planted out in borders of sufficient breadth 

 and depth to encourage a free growth, and consistently with 

 the aerial space at command for training them ; the number 

 should be few rather than many, that each may display its 

 character fully, and a succession of distinct and decisive 

 features be produced rather than a mere confusion of vegetable 

 tracery. It may suit the purposes of a botanical and experi- 

 mental cultivator to plant in a conservatory as many kinds of 

 climbers as there are rafters to aff'ord them support, but a 

 beautiful scene cannot be obtained by such practice. 



There are many fine plants, showy, hardy, easy of culture, 



