270 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ October 4, 1864. 



(Erantlus hyemalis), a third of double Snowdrop ; and this 

 walk, when the majestic arms of the trees were crusted with 

 hoar frost, and there was just a sprinkling of snow to whiten 

 the ground, had a splendid effect, especially when the sun 

 shone. The Winter Aconite flowers in the months of 

 January and February, and frequently in March. 



Neat, dwarf, compact in growth, the Crocus ranks as one 

 of the most beautiful ornaments of the flower garden. Like 

 the Snowdrop, it may be planted so near the margin of beds 

 as not to interfere in any way with the other occupants. It 

 is so varied in colour as to be charming in beds or borders, 

 either in lines of one colour in ribbon borders, or in con- 

 centric rings in beds ; and nothing can exceed the beauty 

 of a border planted in clumps of one colour, or of several 

 blended together, especially when associated with Hepaticas, 

 and particularly the pink one. 



Crocuses are usually planted in October, November, and 

 December ; but I should be guilty of misleading my readers 

 were I to say that such is the most suitable time. It is ill 

 treatment to dry Crocuses at all, for they are not improved 

 by the process, nor, as I said before, is any bulb that will 

 endure our climate, and become sufficiently ripened. To do 

 the Crocus justice, it should not be removed more frequently 

 than once in three years, and must then be planted the same 

 day. They like a rich, open soil, not necessarily dry, but 

 free from stagnant water. Planted in lines, they should be 

 inserted to a depth of 2 or 3 inches, and at a like distance 

 apart. In clumps of sis or more they are very pleasing. 

 The bulbs in this case need not be more than an inch apart. 

 The Crocus dees not grow under trees so well as either 

 the Snowdrop or Winter Aconite, owing, I think, to its 

 growth not being perfected before the shade of the trees 

 deprives the foliage of light to a great extent. It should, 

 therefore, have an open situation; but at the time of re- 

 transplanting it is desirable to plant only the largest bulbs 

 in the most prominent positions, reserving the smaller for 

 places of less importance. The most suitable time to trans- 

 plant Crocuses is immediately after the foliage decays. 



I have no wish to depreciate imported Crocuses, for I find 

 that they furnish larger blooms than those of English 

 growth ; and I wish to impress on the minds of all that 

 finely as imported Crocuses flower the first year, they will, 

 if not disturbed, improve in beauty, not for the next year 

 only, but many succeeding seasons. Imported bulbs should 

 be planted in their quarters as early in autumn as the places 

 can be got ready for them. 



The Crocus, after being grown in the same soil for a 

 number of years, becomes weaker. To obviate this, a por- 

 tion of the old soil should be removed, and its place supplied 

 by a quantity of fresh rich soil. A dressing of rotten 

 manure spiead over bulbs early in autumn is not lost on 

 the roots beneath, and such attentions should be more fre- 

 quently given than they are. 



Very fine beds may be formed by planting a double row of 

 Mont Blanc, white, 6 inches from the edge ; 6 inches from 

 that again a double row of Prince Albert, blue ; then at a 

 like distance Dutch Crocus, yellow ; a fourth of La Majes- 

 tueuse, striped ; a fifth of Othello, dark violet ; and Giant 

 Yellow in the centre. This will be splendid for a circular 

 bed 7 feet across. For a border 6 feet wide we have the 

 first row, 6 inches from the Box or other edging, a double one, 

 white, Queen Victoria; the others being — 2, Cloth of Gold, 

 yellow ; 3, General Garibaldi, purple ; 4, Aletta Wilhelmina, 

 white, flamed violet ; 5, New Large Yellow ; 6, Vulcan, deep 

 purple. The second row is 1 foot from the first, and so on, 

 early Tulips being planted between each. Again we have 

 a border 12 feet wide, which is to be gay in early spring. 

 Such will hold twenty-four rows, and we can have it first-rate 

 by planting, beginning at the edge — 1, Queen Victoria, 

 white; 2, Captain Cook, purple; 3, Cloth of Gold, yellow; 

 4, Argus, violet, white margin : 5, David Rizzio. dark purple ; 

 6, Sulphureus, brimstone yellow; 7, Mont Blanc, white; 

 Prince Albert, purple; 8, Large Yellow; 9, Cloth of Silver, 

 white, purple stripes ; 10, Ne Plus Ultra, blue, tipped with 

 white ; 11, Yellow Dutch ; 12, Princess of Wales, dark 

 purple; 13, Caroline Chisholm, white; 14, New Large Yellow ; 

 15, Albion, blue, white and blue striped; 16, Van Speyk, 

 feathered blue and white ; 17, Saffron ; 18, Lord Raglan, dark 



blue; 19, Diana, white; 20, Cloth of Gold ; 21, Lilaceus 

 superbus, light violet, white margin ; 22, Versicolor, white, 

 with purplish veins ; 23, Large Yellow ; 24, Grande Vidette. 

 Planted in this way, a border of Crocuses is not to be 

 rivalled ; and to a true lover of nature there is no finer sight 

 on a bright spring day. 



Now as Crocuses are only temporary, or destined to give 

 place to other flowers at a more advanced period of the year, 

 it becomes necessary to remove them with balls in the last 

 week in May, planting them again in an open situation in 

 the reserve garden, giving a good watering, but none after- 

 wards. In autumn they may be retransplanted to the places 

 previously occupied, at latest by the beginning of November. 

 They will bear this treatment better than might be expected ; 

 but a system which I have adopted with more success, is to 

 plant the Crocuses in double rows (I do not like single), the 

 first 6 inches from the edge of the bed or border, and the 

 next a foot from it, and so on, which leaves space between 

 for planting early Tulips, and these come off in time for 

 bedding plants to be put in their places, without disturbing 

 the Crocuses. The Tulips look no worse for having a line of 

 the loveliest foliage between the rows, but are improved ; 

 and thus we do justice to the Crocuses, and have a bloom 

 from early spring until a late period, when they are replaced 

 by other plants not more beautiful than their predecessors. 

 (To le continued.) G. Abbey. 



TEITOJIA UVAEIA— GLADIOLUS. 



Feojt remarks made by gardeners who visited various 

 places in the latter part of the past summer, coupled with 

 what little observations I have been enabled to make my- 

 self, I should certainly think that very ornamental plant, 

 Tritoma uvaria, has lost the high position it held in the 

 last and preceding years. The expectation then formed of 

 it was, that it would take a place amongst the tall bedding 

 plants, or, perchance, a row of it would be found occupying 

 a site where Dahlias, Sweet Peas, or the taller Tropaw- 

 lums had previously done duty ; but, whether from the dry 

 summer, or from some other cause not sufficiently under- 

 stood or accounted for, the flowers of this plant in most 

 places seem to have been few indeed up to the middle of 

 September, and the condition of the plants such as to leave 

 little hopes of their making much display this autumn. 

 That this is in a great measure to be attributed to the dry 

 weather I fully admit, but I am far from certain that such 

 is the only cause, as in my own case the plants in spring 

 seemed to be in anything but a promising condition ; many 

 of them had died during the winter, and I find on inquiry 

 that other growers had in a like manner lost a great portion 

 of their stock, and as this could not be from the lack of 

 moisture at that season, some other-reason must be assigned 

 for the failure of this popular plant, which, whatever may be 

 its merits, is certainly not an early bloomer. 



It would, however, be premature to condemn it for not 

 succeeding better in a dry season like the present, but its 

 failing during the past winter can hardly be attributed to 

 the same cause, especially as we are told that the plant is 

 one of the hardiest we have. Be this, however, as it may, 

 the Tritoma uvaria of 1864, seems to have lost the position 

 it occupied in the preceding years, and the quantity of 

 flowers is likely to be much less than we have had for 

 several seasons. 



I believe it is admitted that this Tritoma likes a damp 

 situation, possibly the side of a brook or ditch, where the 

 soil is open, or, perhaps, inclined to peaty sand. A stiff 

 clayey soil is too likely to produce slugs, which prey upon 

 this plant, and I expect that last autumn, which was unu- 

 sually mild, favoured these destructive vermin, and to their 

 voracious appetites I fear some of our winter losses are to 

 be attributed. One thing at all events is certain, the 

 plants did disappear, and as severe weather did not set in 

 until the first week in January, these marauders may be 

 fairly charged with a part of the blame; but if, on the 

 other hand, this plant has suffered from any of the other 

 causes by which other classes of plants are affected, some 

 further inquiry ought to be made into the matter. Perhaps 

 other growers who have been more fortunate will kindly 

 record the circumstances to which their success is attribut- 



