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, Buphthalmwri 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 26th. 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 



