Gardening for Amateurs 



907 



as aurantiacum is the best. It is superior 

 to the type both as regards colour and 

 free-flowering qualities. A hybrid between 

 R. sanguineum and R. aureum is found in 

 R. gordonianum. It is quite intermediate 

 in character, even to the colour of the 

 flowers, but is no improvement on either 

 parent. 



R. speciosum directs attention to the 

 most ornamental of the Gooseberries. A 

 native of California, it grows 8 or 10 feet 

 high, the branches being bright brown in 

 colour and armed with numerous fine brown 

 spines. The pendent flowers are scarlet 

 or bright red in colour, and are curious by 

 reason of their long, slender exserted stamens. 

 They bear a great resemblance to the flowers 

 of a Fuchsia, and on that account the plant 

 is sometimes called the Fuchsia-flowered 

 Gooseberry. North of London it should be 

 grown against a wall, as it is inclined to be 

 tender. All thrive in ordinary garden soil, 

 and except when the last named is grown 

 against a wall they require no regular 

 pruning. Cuttings of ripened shoots 9 to 12 

 inches long inserted in an outdoor border 

 root during winter. 



Rosa (Rose). Several species of Rose 

 blossom during late April and early May. 

 R. sericea may often be found in flower 

 during the last week in April. Its blossoms 

 are cream-coloured and four-petalled. The 

 variety pteracantha is conspicuous by 

 reason of its large, bright red spines. R. 

 hugonis, a comparatively new Chinese plant, 

 produces its rich yellow blossoms about the 

 same time, and about mid-May the Scotch 

 Rose, R. spinosissima, and its numerous 

 varieties may be found in flower. 



Rubus (Bramble). So many additions 

 have been made to this group by the Chinese 

 introductions of recent years that it is diffi- 

 cult to decide which kinds to ignore and 

 which to include. Several of the old sorts, 

 however, still hold their own amongst the 

 new ones. Notable amongst the old "kinds 

 is R. deliciosus, the Rocky Mountain Bramble. 

 This is of bushy habit, from 4 to 6 feet high, 

 and bears white flowers 1| to 2 inches across, 

 which have a striking resemblance to the 

 flowers of a Wild Rose. Then there is the 

 brown-stemmed R. spectabilis, a Calif ornian 

 Raspberry, conspicuous by reason of its 



reddish-purple flowers during April and 

 May. R. odoratus and R. nutkanus are 

 two others belonging to the Raspberry 

 section, which are showy alike by their 

 flowers and foliage. R. biflorus is a 

 vigorous spiny Bramble conspicuous by 

 reason of its white stems. Another showy 

 white - stemmed kind is found in the 

 Chinese variety of R. biflorus, called quin- 

 queflorus, and a third one may be pro- 

 cured in R. lasiostylus, also a Chinese 

 plant. The double-flowered forms of R. 

 ulmifolius and R. thyrsoideus are excellent 

 for planting about the wilder parts of the 

 garden. The former bears pink flowers and 

 the latter white. Some distinct new kinds 

 are R. bambusarum, an evergreen, with 

 slender-lobed leaves and long scandent 

 branches ; R. innominatus, with large velvety 

 leaves and immense inflorescences which are 

 followed by orange-coloured fruits ; and R. 

 flagelliformis, a handsome climbing plant, 

 with metallic leaves and white flowers ; this 

 is suitable for planting against a trellis or 

 pergola. R. Veitchii is a pretty shrub with 

 large pinnate leaves ; the flowers are rosy- 

 purple, and the fruits red. The old Fern- 

 leaved Blackberry, R. laciniatus, is useful 

 alike by reason of its prettily-cut leaves and 

 fine fruits. It is one of the best of the 

 Blackberry section. In most cases, except 

 R. deliciosus, the old branches should be 

 cut away as soon as the fruits are over, or 

 if fruits are not required, then when the 

 flowers fade. 



Spiraea Thunbergi is the earliest of 

 the shrubby Spiraeas to blossom. It is fre- 

 quently at its best from the middle to the 

 end of March and is rarely later than early 

 April. Mature plants are about 3 feet high, 

 and are made up of light, slender branchlets, 

 clothed during summer with peculiarly 

 dainty leaves, whilst the white, star-like 

 blossoms appear with great freedom on the 

 leafless branches. It is found wild in China 

 and Japan. Mid- April finds S. arguta, which 

 is perhaps the most generally useful of all 

 the early kinds, in flower. Forming a 

 shapely bush 4 to 5 feet high, it bears its 

 white blossoms in profusion. S. conferta, 

 S. media, and S. Schinabecki are other April- 

 flowering kinds which bear white flowers 

 freely. S. Van Houttei is one of the largest- 



