November 1, 1864. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAG-E GARDENER. 



345 



WEEKLY CALENDAR. 



Day 



of 



M'nth 



Day 



of 



Week. 



Tu 

 W 



Th 

 F 



S 

 Son 

 M 



NOVEMBER 1—7, 1864. 



All Saists. 



Elm leaves fall. 



Sycamore leafless. 



Lilac leafless. 



Ash and Hornbeam leafless. 



24 Sunday after Trinity. 



Cherry leafless. 



' Averace Temperature 



Rain in 



last 

 57 years. 



San 



Sun 



near London. 



Rises. 



-Sets. 



Day. 



Nisht. Mean. 



Days. 



m. h. 



m. h. 



5X4 



38.3 



46.3 



21 



56 af 6 



32af4 



54.4 



37.9 



46 2 



16 



5S 6 



30 4 



53.3 



36.3 



44 S 



IS 



7 



58 4 



51.5 



36 7 



44.1 



19 



1 7 



26 4 



53 5 



38.2 



45 9 



18 



3 7 



24 4 



53.0 



38.2 



45 6 



19 



5 7 



22 4 



52.4 



37.3 



44.8 



17 



t ( 



21 4 



Moon 

 Rises. 



Moon 

 Sets. 



Moon's 

 Age. 



m. h. 



46 8 



47 9 

 41 10 

 2J 1] 



af:er. 



44 



15 1 



m. h. 



40 5 



28 G 

 25 7 



29 8 

 3S 9 

 51 10 

 morn. 



Clock 

 alter 

 Sun. 



Dav of 

 Year. 



m. s. 





16 18 



306 



IS 19 



307 



16 IS 



308 



16 17 



309 



16 15 



310 



16 12 



311 



16 9 



312 



From observations taken near London during the last thirty-seven years, the average day temperature of the -week is 53. 2°, and its night 

 temperature 37.5". The greatest heat was 64° on the 2nd, 1S57 ; and tbe lowest cold, 19 c , on the 3rd, 1861. The greatest fall of rain was 

 1.02 inch. 



DECOEATION" OF THE FLOWER GAEDEN" 



IN WINTER AND SEEING. 



{Continued from pcige SOS.) 



FLOWERING SHRUBS. 



e@?S^ 



we have. 



F tliese the most suitable are 

 evergreen, but some of tlie 

 finer kinds of early flower- 

 ing deciduous shrubs are 

 very desirable. Few exceed the splendid 

 Herberts Ddrwinii ; its foliage is band- 

 some ; it blooms freely in April (earlier 

 against a wall and in warm situations), 

 and its fine racemes of golden drop-like 

 flowers render it one of tbe finest shrubs 

 A bed of it is unsurpassed by any yel- 

 low-flowering plant or shrub at that season. But 

 the loveliest of all yellow beds is that formed by 

 the tiny-foliaged, yet dense, dwarf, JBerberis empetrifoUa ; 

 and not less beautiful is the gorgeous 3fahonia aqwfo- 

 lium, which has handsome foliage and fine heads of 

 yellow blossoms. The Berberries are easily cultivated 

 in pots, and do well in a compost of light loam and leaf 

 mould in equal parts. The first-named forms a fine bed 

 of from 1 to 3 feet high, the Berberis empetrifolia one of 

 from 1 to 1| foot high, and the Mahonia acpxifolium beds 

 of from 2 to 3 feet. 



The early-flowering kinds of Erica or hardy Heaths 

 form admirable beds. The best low rose-coloured bed 

 that it is possible to have for sprmg-blooming is one of 

 E. carnea, and that known as E. herbacea, a flesh-coloured 

 kind, little differing from the preceding. Then there is 

 E. mediterranea, with pink flowers, which is handsome 

 in habit, and makes a fine bed from 1 foot 6 inches to 

 3 feet high. The above, though doing best in peat soil, 

 will thrive in ordinary around, and, forming close balls, 

 will move freely twice a-year — to the beds in October, and 

 to summer quarters in the last week in May, only they 

 must be kept well supplied with water after removal. 



Kalmia glauca, a free-flowering dwarf shrub, with 

 reddish blooms appearing in April and May, makes a 

 nice bed. It likes peat, and so do all the American 

 plants, and these are admirably adapted for planting in 

 groups, the foliage being as effective as the flowers, 

 which, as is well known, are amongst the handsomest 

 we have. They all form close balls, and. on this account 

 may be transplanted with as much certainty in May or 

 June, immediately after flowering, as at any other period 

 of the year, it being desirable at that time to plant them 

 in prepared beds of peat soil ; but in autumn they may 

 be removed to the flower-beds with as much soil adhering 

 to the roots as possible, and planted in their winter 

 quarters in ordinary soil, where they will bloom nearly 

 (I think quite), as well without as with peat soil. They 

 certainly are grown more safely in pots in sandy peat 

 soil. Ledum thymifolium and L. buxifolium are dwarf 

 and dense in habit, and form admirable edgings. They 

 No. 188.— Vol.. YII.. New Series. 



are very pretty when in bloom, the blossoms being pink 

 in bud, and expanding of a clear white. The variegated 

 form of L. thymifohum makes a handsome edging, little 

 more than 6 inches high. L. latifolium is a fine shrub 

 from 1| to 2 feet high, and its balls of white bloom are 

 remarkably pretty in April and May. 



Andromeda floribunda is by far the best of the Andro- 

 meda family, producing its pretty, wax-like, delicately- 

 scented blossoms in great profusion in March and April. 

 It is one of the best plants we possess, and is both hand- 

 some in foliage and habit. The flowers are white. A 

 nice match-bed for this lovely shrub may be formed of 

 JPernettya mucrona'.a. which has handsome foliage, and 

 rather small, drop-like, white flowers. Some^of the 

 early-Jlowering Rhododendrons might also be employed, 

 E. eaucasicum album blooming early, and being of dwarf 

 habit is admirably adapted for the purpose. Rhododen- 

 dron Nobleanum and R. atrovirens are also very suit- 

 able. Rhododendron ponticum variegatum also makes 

 a nice bed on account of its foliage. Coronilla glauca, 

 with fine yellow flowers borne in great profusion, though 

 usually found in greenhouses, is hardy enough to do well 

 in sheltered situations, where it makes a' bed of the 

 loveliest description, and its variegated form (C. glauca 

 yariegata), is indeed fine. They will, however, only do 

 in some localities. What is more curious and effective 

 in its way than a bed of Ruscas hypoglossum or Double- 

 leaved Butcher's Broom? Examine its bloom, and 

 though the flowers are green, it is both singular and 

 attractive : then, for forming a really gorgeous golden 

 bed, TJlex europcea (Furze), single and double, will com- 

 pete with anything of the same colour. They should be 

 grown in pots in rather poor sandy soil. 



For the beauty, as well as fragrance of their flowers, 

 Daphnes may be planted, and of these any of the follow- 

 ing are suitable : — Bontica rubra ; and the striped form of 

 the species (variegata), D. cneorum, with pink flowers, 

 and its variegated form, which has pink flowers in addi- 

 tion to variegated foliage. The Daphnes should be grown 

 in pots of sandy loam and peat, in equal parts, with free 

 drainage. To these may be added several Cotoneasters, 

 as Simmondsi, with the finest of scarlet berries in autumn 

 and winter, and C. microphylla, by no means despicable 

 as a plant for surfacing beds, and for edging others,, 

 affording berries in winter and flowers in sprint; as 

 standards on four-feet stems they are also ornamental.. 

 C. rotundifoha or C. buxifolia (I could never see any 

 difference between the two), is suitable for a bed, and 

 a standard or two will look well if judiciously placed. 

 Laurustimis (Viburnum tinus), is another evergreen 

 flowering plant that must not be overlooked, a bed or 

 two of it will have a handsome appearance. 



After these come deciduous-flowering shrubs, and when 

 we have Jasminum nudifiortim, which is sure to flower at 

 Christmas before the leaves are produced, and give a 

 golden mass for some time, we have a fitting companion 

 for the Christmas Rose, which I will note ere long. This 

 Jasmine succeeds aclmii-ably in a pot of loam and leaf 

 No. 840.— Vol. XXXII., Old Series. 



