10 



The Weekly Florists' Re vie w* 



July 21, 1010. 



I'L'istor lilies \\(M(' a\;ii';iM(' ail tlio year 

 nrouiKl, })ut, cailas still sell strailily if 

 iidl Jirislvly; it lar;,'rl\- (Iciicnds on tin' 

 size ol' tho Tiiarki't and iuiw ■well it is 

 supplied Avitli similar stuck at the time 

 (iiie "s crop is ready. 



SEASONABLE SEED SOWING. 



Paiisies. 



I'roin ,7uly 2<) \>> August ]•" pansy 

 seed slnnild be sown, the c.'irlier <lal(' 

 beini^ tor the mort' northerly states and 

 the later pei'ioil t'or the south. As a 

 .L;en(>!al laile, the fust \ve(dv in Aui;ust 

 is selerted liv .'i majority (d' the large 

 L;ro\vers as a snitalile d.ate. 'rh(>re are 

 ;i luimlier of American s|)eiialisls who 

 liamlle excellent, larj^c-llowered strains 

 of ]iaiisy seed. The hulk of this, how- 

 ever, comes from l-]urope. Trimardeau 

 (!i;int, either mixed or iu separate 

 shades, is an exc(dleiit jiaiisy. possessiufj 

 a roliust constitution. l'"ine named va- 

 rieties of this pansy are: C^ueen of tlu; 

 Blues, lavender lihu'; Snow t^ueen, ])nre 

 white: l-lmjteror William, line dark blue; 

 (Jolden C!em, clear ycdlow, and King of 

 Blacks, coal black. ('assiiM's (!iaiit is 

 a grand strain, th(> big lloweis being 

 beautifully blotidied. Where lich red 

 aiul wine shades are wanted, nothing 

 can beat Mine. I'erret. The se(>dlings, 

 however, do not grow so lustily as the 

 Trimardeau varieties. 



Seed sowing is usually done in tlie 

 opei! l)y the largo specialists, the beds 



lie sure to keep the ground moist, but 

 let ill a good current of air, top and 

 bottom, as a (dose, stiilfy atm()S|iliere 

 will (au.-~e the little seedlings to damp 

 (dV. 



Bedding Violas. 



lU'dding violas ha\e smaller flowers 

 than pausies and are minus the lilotches 

 jieculiar to the latter. They are, how- 

 e\-er. mu(di freer blooming and for dot- 

 ting among sucdi bulbs as liyacinths and 

 tulips, or making separate beds iu par- 

 tial shade, they mo well worthy of 

 more attention. Their treatment is pre- 

 (dsely the same as recommended for 

 pansies. Sow the seed broadcast, and 

 when (d' sufficient size transplant three 

 inches .ajiart each way in coldfranies 

 or outdoors in beds on well drained 

 grour.d. where water cannot lie. Such 

 sorts as Admir.ation, dark blue; Mauve 

 Queen, light blue; White I'erfcction, 

 pure white; Blue Perfection, mauve, 

 and graiidiflora lutea, golden yellow, are 

 ;ill strictly lirst-cdass. 



Myosotis. 



]\ryosotis always meets with a big 

 sale in th(> sjiring months. Like the 

 \iolas, it is splendid for tilling in be- 

 tween bulbs, and there is also a strong 

 call for it for cemetery planting. The 

 first week in August is sufficiently early 

 to sow myosotis, as the seedlings grow 

 rapidly. For spring bedding the variety 

 sylvatica, of S])reading and robust 

 habit, is the best. For pot culture or 

 jilanting along the edges of benches, M. 



Freesia Purity, 



being covered by a light muhdi until 

 germination l.-ikes ]dace. Wher(> at most 

 a few thousand ]>l:nits only an; needed 

 a lietter ami surer jjlan is to sow in 

 coldfranies in a c<im]Mist of leaf mold 

 and loam. Some old, widl decayed hot- 

 V)ed manure can also be added with 

 benefit. After sowing, soak the soil 

 well and cover with boaril shutters, 

 mats or heavy cloth until the seedlings 

 germinate. Then let light in gradually. 



dissifillora is excellent, as is the va- 

 riety J\'oyal ]{bie, which latter carries 

 extra strong stems. Where compact 

 plants are wante<l for setting in bas- 

 kets, nothing can l)e lietter than the 

 variety Aljtestris Victoria, procurable 

 in separate shades of blue, pink and 

 ]uire white. The greatest seller is, of 

 course, blue, V)ut there are some cus- 

 tomers who are (piite carried away with 

 the pink Aari(dy. These myosotis are 



excellent for jilanting in the rock gar 

 den or Tor natur.al jilanting in any jilaci 

 wliei) they can have a little shade. 



Double Daisies. 



Double daisies need not be sown be 

 fore the beginning or middle of August 

 as iliey grow quickly. They are satis 

 factory as a groundwork in bulb beil 

 and. given some shade and water, wil 

 bloom all summer. They sell well jiu 

 uji in small baskets in sjiring and, whih 

 they will never bo disjiosed of in ans 

 sucdi (juantilics as pansies, it will pav 

 any country florist to grow a few liun 

 dreds or thousands for spring tradi 

 Seed is procurable in either mixtures oi 

 sejiixrate shades of pink and white. Tie 

 flowers come quite double from seed 

 Treated the same as pansies, they wil 

 succeed nicely. 



FREESIAS. 



The bulbs of freesias will be procur 

 able within a few d.ays and, where a 

 batch is wanted for Christmas or Xew 

 Year's, the bulbs should be placed in 

 flats or large pans at once. For com 

 jiost, two-thirds well decayed fibrous 

 loam, one-third cow manure, well dried 

 and passed through !v Jo-inch screen 

 and to which is added some flaky leaf 

 mold and a good dash of sharp sand, 

 will be found all right. Freesias do well 

 in flats containing four inches of soil. 

 or in jians ten to twelve inches in diam 

 eter, which can be set on shelves. Tie' 

 latter method of culture gives bettei 

 sjiikes than the flats. The finest of al' 

 freesias is Fischer's Purity, but a good 

 strain of refracta alba, wdien wel' 

 grown, is not to be despised. 



in Jilanting just cover the bulbs. S<'i 

 the jtans or flats on a cool cellar floor, oi 

 in coldframes. The former is best, (liv 

 a good watering and keeji shaded unti 

 growth has started, wdien light must b' 

 given. Frame culture until the end o^ 

 Sejitember is the best. 



FLOWER SHOWS IN LONDON. 



Royal Horticultural Society. 



Two great shows have .just been lud 

 in London — the summer show of tli 

 b'oyal Horticultural Society, at Iloll.'in 

 I'ark, and the summer show of the ^<.' 

 tional Rose Society, at the Royal B' 

 tanic Gardens. 



The dominant feature of the Hort 

 cultural Society's show was hardy flo\> 

 ers, set up in great profusion by tl. 

 jirincipnl growers. Tn all the colle 

 tions delj)hiniums were the leading flo\' 

 ers. Rock garden and .Tapanese gard( 

 exhibits were jKipular and there wer 

 in addition, grand banks of orchi' 

 and carnations ami fine groups of ros^ 

 aiol swi'ct peas. 



Amos Perry, Enfield, outdistanced n 

 exhibitors with d(d|ihiniums, jiutting '■' 

 huge groujis of statelv sjukes in gre 

 varifdy and obtaining awards of mer 

 for Lamartini and Belladonna sen 

 jilena. The new and popular deljdii 

 ium. Rev. E. Lascelles, was put up ' 

 excrdlent form bv the raisers, \. .' 

 Walters & Son, Bath. Frank Lille 

 (Juernsey, specialized in early flowerii 

 gladioli, showing eight or ten sjileml 

 v;iri(dies and obtaining an award ' 

 merit for King Edward VII. 



In roses the sensation of the day w. 

 .Tuliet, from W'illiam Paul & Sons, \\-> 

 tham Cross; this received a first-cla-^ 

 certificate. It is difficult to descril ' 

 the colors — pink and rose, shot ■ffi'« 



