404 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 503. 



Foreign Correspondence. 

 London Letter. 



Polygonum lanigerum. — A large round bed filled with 

 this plant is a conspicuous attraction on a lawn at Kevv. 

 It has a stout main stern one and a half inches in diameter, 

 with from six to a dozen lateral stems springing from near 

 the base, and the strongest stems are six feet high. Planted 

 in mass it forms a shapely group covered with foliage 

 down to the ground. The leaves are a foot long, petiolate, 

 with a lanceolate blade from three to four inches wide, 

 wavy and elegantly curved ; the whole of the leaf is cov- 

 ered with a gray, almost silvery down, to which the plant 

 owes its chief attraction. It is easily raised from seeds, 

 which should be sown in February, and the seedlings may 

 be planted in the open air in June. It is a native of Natal, 

 and for its introduction we are indebted to Dammann 

 & Co., of Naples, in whose catalogue for 1S90 it was first 

 offered. It is also figured in the Garlenflora in 1890, page 

 224, fig. 52, where it is described as a herbaceous peren- 

 nial from six to ten feet high, with flowers in clustered 

 spikes and of a carnation-red color. It is not hardy at Kew. 



Verbascum delphicum. — Of the numerous Mulleins which 

 deserve a place in the garden on account of their large 

 handsome rosettes of leaves, this is one of the handsomest 

 and at the same time one of the least known. It is a 

 native of Greece, whence it has been introduced to Kew, 

 where it is cultivated in a border in the open. The leaves, 

 which form a bold rosette a yard or more in diameter, are 

 broadly obovate, a foot and a half long and a foot in 

 width, and are of a thick flannel-like appearance, gray- 

 green in color, almost silvery white when young. The 

 flowers are borne on a tall, branched, erect spike, and are 

 yellow in color, as are those of most of the species of 

 Verbascum. It should be raised from seed sown in spring. 



Satureia Montana. — This plant is usually consigned to 

 the kitchen garden, where it is grown among the sweet 

 herbs for seasoning in cookery, and is known as Winter 

 Savory, the whole plant being highly aromatic. It is also 

 worthy of a place in the herbaceous border, or even in the 

 rock garden, as it forms a compact, hardy, suffrutescent 

 evergreen two feet or so high, which in the autumn is 

 covered with bright lilac-purple flowers. It has a promi- 

 nent place among the rock plants at Kew, where for some 

 time it has attracted general attention. It is a native of the 

 south of France and other parts of Europe, and has been 

 cultivated as a kitchen herb for more than 300 years. It is 

 recommended to be grown near beehives, its fragrant 

 honey being much appreciated. The Summer Savory, 

 Satureia hortensis, is a hardy annual with similar proper- 

 ties, but it is not nearly so decorative as S. montana. 



Buddleia variabilis — This is a Chinese species of recent 

 introduction, and from what I have seen of it a promising 

 shrub for the garden. In the nursery of the Jardin des 

 Plantes, Paris, I saw fine examples of it eight feet high and 

 covered with attractive flowers in August this year. It has 

 also flowered against a wall at Kew, and a figure of it will 

 shortly appear in The Botanical Magazine. It was de- 

 scribed by Hemsley from specimens collected in Ichang, 

 etc., by Dr. Henry, and I believe it was introduced into 

 cultivation by way of the French gardens. It forms a 

 large freely branched shrub with quadrangular branchlets, 

 lanceolate toothed dark green leaves three to twelve inches 

 long, and dense, erect, cymose panicles of bright rosy 

 purple flowers, the individual flowers being small, with a 

 tube half an inch long and a limb quarter of an inch across. 

 It appears to be quite hardy, and the flowering season for 

 it is probably of some weeks' duration. 



Cactus Dahlias. — An exhibition of Dahlias was a special 

 feature of the last meeting of the Royal Horticultural So- 

 ciety. Sixteen new varieties were awarded certificates, 

 and of these eleven were of the Cactus section. There can 

 be no doubt that for cut-flower purposes the Cactus varie- 

 ties are preferable to the others, and if they could be made 

 to show their flowers well above the foliage when on the 



plant they would be equally superior forgarden effect. At 

 present they are not seen to advantage owing to the exces- 

 sive leaf-growth above the flowers. It was noteworthy 

 that the single-flowered section, so popular a year or two 

 ago, was scarcely represented. In their attempts to breed 

 out the defect in the Cactus Dahlias above referred to grow- 

 ers are losing the quill-like character of the florets which 

 is the most pleasing peculiarity of the pure Cactus sorts. 

 Some of the new varieties which owe their origin to cross- 

 ing the Cactus and Show sections are defective for this 

 reason. I made a list of the pure Cactus sorts which I 

 thought first-class, both in form and color ; they are as 

 follows : Miss A. Jones, crimson ; Starfish, crimson ; Glo- 

 riosa, bright scarlet, by far the most effective Dahlia 

 exhibited, the color being of the most glowing hue and 

 the form large and elegant, the falcate form of the florets 

 being most pronounced : C. Woodbridge, deep maroon ; 

 Lady Penzance, sulphur yellow ; Mrs. C. Turner, bright 

 amber yellow ; Fusilier, terra cotta ; Beatrice, bright ma- 

 genta ; Delicata, flesh pink, yellow centre ; Keyne's White, 

 the purest white yet raised. With the exception of the 

 last-named the above sorts were exhibited by Messrs. C. 

 Turner & Sons, of Slough, who have held a high position 

 among Dahlia growers and breeders for the past fifty years. 

 I might add as a hint to growers of these plants that the 

 removal of all the top superfluous shoots from the plants 

 strengthens the flowers and permits of there being seen. 



Early Chrysanthemums. — Exhibitions in September this 

 year have been remarkable for the collections of flowers of 

 Chrysanthemums shown. Breeders have been paying 

 special attention to this point in recent years and as a con- 

 sequence we have now numerous large-flowered varieties 

 which bloom in September, that is to say, about two months 

 earlier than the time formerly considered as the season for 

 Chrysanthemums. At an exhibition held in the Aquarium 

 on September 7th I noted a considerable number of Japa- 

 nese sorts as well as pompons, and at the meeting of the 

 Royal Horticultural Society, held on September 21st, sev- 

 eral collections of Chrysanthemum blooms were shown. 

 Some of these were so large and delicate that I suspected 

 they had been forced, but I was assured they had been 

 grown in the open air and had never been under glass. 

 Japanese varieties, measuring six or eight inches across 

 and of the most delicate colors, are, it appears, now avail- 

 able for September effect. Here is a list of the best of those 

 I have seen so far : W. R. Prince, yellow ; Milano, ma- 

 roon ; Barbara Forbes, white ; Mytchett, white ; William 

 Laycock, pale yellow ; Mons. Hoste, blush white, with 

 wide florets ; Lady E. Smith, white, broad florets ; Lady 

 Kennaway, rosy lilac ; Miss E. Silsbury, pure white, large 

 and elegant ; Lady Fitzwygram, pure white, recommended 

 as an excellent border variety ; Madame M. Masse, rose- 

 pink. These are all Japanese varieties, remarkable for the 

 large size of their flowers compared with the early-flower- 

 ing varieties hitherto known, and they may be grown 

 either in pots in the open air, to be brought into the con- 

 servatory when in flower, or planted out in the herbaceous 

 border for outdoor effect in autumn. They are already 

 attracting the attention of growers of cut flowers for 

 market. T „ „, . 



London. W- WatSOfl. 



Cultural Department. 



Chrysanthemums in the Garden. 



MY note about autumn flowers in last week's issue of 

 Garden and Forest does some injustice to Chrysanthe- 

 mums, in the failure to mention these as the leading autumn- 

 flowering plants. But the last decade has seen the practical 

 disappearance of Chrysanthemums from the open as plants 

 grown by amateurs, and it did not occur to me to note them 

 among the hardy flowers. It is just ten years ago, at an 

 exhibition in Union Square, that the first Chrysanthemums 

 grown for the cut-flower trade were shown in this city, and 

 since that time their cultivation for that purpose has set 

 a pace which an amateur can scarcely follow. That occasion 



