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Gardening for Amateurs 



A flower for the wall garden, the pink Saponaria ocymoides. 



as the flowers, this being most noticeable 

 among those having silvery or grey-green 

 leafage, and if these are employed as foils to 

 the brighter colours and intergrouped with 

 those of a deciduous character, the wall will 

 be attractive even when out of flower, while 

 in winter it will still be of considerable 

 interest. 



Planting an Old Wall. A type of wall 

 calling for notice is that built in the usual 

 way with mortar, but upon which time and 

 weather have left their mark. Often the 

 mortar has crumbled from course and joint, 

 leaving cavities that are capable of sustaining 

 plant life. Before attempting to plant such 

 a wall the vertical joints may be further 



enlarged with the help of 

 chisel and mallet, thereby 

 removing all loose mortar ; 

 in the case of transverse 

 joints, or what are really 

 the wall courses, a certain 

 amount of judgment must 

 be exercised, so as not 

 to endanger the wall, for 

 wherever this becomes im- 

 perilled it is advisable to 

 repoint the weakest part 

 with mortar. Having pre- 

 pared the wall, it then 

 remains to fill up the 

 vacant joints and courses 

 with finely-sifted soil and 

 sow seed. This is mixed 

 with fine soil in the pro- 

 portion of six to eight 

 times its own bulk, and 

 then distributed along the 

 courses already filled with 

 soil ; it should be made 

 firm by the fingers. In 

 order to hasten germination 

 of the seeds the face of 

 the wall should be lightly 

 syringed morning and 

 evening, using a mist-like 

 spray, otherwise the seed 

 will be displaced ; until 

 the seedlings are of large 

 size only sufficient water to 

 moisten the surface should 

 be given. 



For walls built with soil 

 and furnished with plants, daily syringing 

 should be practised for the first season, 

 except in wet weather. In later years 

 little attention is called for, beyond an 

 occasional thorough soaking of water when 

 the weather is abnormally dry. 



Flowers for a Sunny Wall. The best 

 plants for a sunny rock wall include many 

 that are generally troublesome, or of ques- 

 tionable hardiness when planted on the level 

 or exposed parts of an ordinary rock garden. 

 Antirrhinum glutinosum (a Snapdragon) ; 

 Arenaria tetraquetra ; Androsaces villosa, 

 sarmentosa and lanuginosa ; Campanulas 

 pulla, pulloides, isophylla, muralis, pumila, 

 and Stansfieldi (all charming Bellflowers) 



