io POT-POURRI FROM A SURREY GARDEN 



I have, wedged in Japanese vases in the Japanese way, 

 which is so highly decorative, 1 two branches of Physalis 

 Alkekengi (Winter Cherry) grown from seed. They last 

 much longer in a room, I find, if cut, stuck into clean 

 water, and held up by the wedge, than they do when 

 growing in a pot ; cutting the plants well back makes 

 them a better shape, and they flower and fruit more freely 

 the following year. 



In a brass Indian vase on a corner of the chimney- 

 piece there are some long branches of the Double Plum 

 (Prunus spinosaflore pleno). These branches, with their 

 bright green, bring spring into the room more effectively 

 than anything I know. The little shrub is easy of 

 cultivation, and more than most things repays potting-up 

 and forcing. We plant them out in spring in a half- 

 shady reserve border, and in August we cut with a spade 

 round the roots of those plants which we intend to pot 

 up in October. They do best if allowed to rest alternate 

 years. The charming single Deutzia gracilis is treated in 

 exactly the same way. 



Never forget, in the arranging of cut flowers, that all 

 shrubby plants and many perennials last much longer 

 in water if the stalks are peeled. The reason is obvious : 

 the thick bark prevents the absorption of enough water. 

 In the case of succulent plants, splitting up the ends of 

 the stalks is often sufficient. 



On a table below the chimney-piece is a small 

 flower-glass filled with a pretty early greenhouse flower, 



1 For a description of what this means I must refer you to 

 Mr. J. Conder's interesting book (The Floivers of Japan and the Art 

 of Floral Arrangement), and to a review of it reprinted at the end 

 of this volume, by kind permission of Mr. W. Bobinson, from The 

 Garden (37 Southampton Street, Strand) of October 6th, 1894. My 

 allusions to cut-flower decorations all the year round will not be 

 understood without a careful reading of this article. 



