104 



CASSELL'S POPULAB GARDENINa. 



patterns are tlie most effective, and as to their requir- 

 ing less labour to plant and keep, that goes without 

 saying. It is sometimes difficult to give a reason wJiy 

 ceitain designs and arrangements, which are neaily 

 allied in every particular, have very different effects 

 when placed in juxtaposition with other beds ; but 

 this and the preceding design shall illustrate our 

 meaning. Both of them have been used in the posi- 

 tions mentioned as best for Fig. 3, and also as 

 *' breaks " between the most formal carpet patterns, 

 and both answered their intended purpose very well. 

 But every one was struck with the superiority of 

 effect which Fig. 4 had over Fig. 3, when in close 



done by the late Mr. Beaton, which simply consisted 

 of the old but still valuable Verbena venosa and 

 variegated Pelargonium Manglesii. The light pm^ple 

 flower of the Verbena, the white and green foliage 

 and light pink flower of the Pelargonium, mixed in 

 about equal proportions, in a bed some twelve feet 

 long and eight wide, produced a picture which, for 

 softness and chasteness of colouring, may have been 

 equalled but has never yet been excelled. Great 

 advances have been made in other directions ; but 

 this piece of colouring was perfect at first, and could 

 never be improved. Viola Blue Bell, and Pelargo- 

 nium Flower of Spring ; Purple King Verbena, and 



2 



SCALE OF FEET 



2 4 6 8 



Fig. 2.— 1, Eaised edging of Sempervivum Californicum and Sedum glaucum ; 2, band of Veronica 

 repens (green) ; 3, Alternantliera magnifica, or, iu cold district, Ajuga reptans purpurea; 

 4, ground-work of Sedum acre elegans variegata ; 5, dwarf Ageratum ; 6, dark blue Lobelia ; 

 7, Gnapbalium lanatum (pegged); 8, a central plant of Yucca recurva, and the bed filled out 

 witb pink Pelargoniums and Agatbea caslestis ; and, in alternate beds, a central plant of 

 Eetinospera plumosa aurea, and the bed filled out with dark red tuberous Begonias and rose- 

 coloured Pelargoniums. 



proximity to the carpet-beds. One can only surmise 

 that this was owing to the simpler lines of Fig. 4 

 being in greater contrast to the more intricate lines 

 of the "carpet" patterns. Such an occurrence only 

 shows how much has yet to be learnt before the per- 

 fection of flower gardening is attained. 



Any other illustrative plans are unnecessary for 

 this section of bedding-out. The four examj^les 

 given, and the hints as to colour, particularly with 

 respect to the garden as a whole, ought to be a suffi- 

 cient guide for any one that knows anything at all 

 about flower gardening. 



Shot- silk Beds. — We will, however, note one 

 or two mixtures, or what the late Mr. Donald Beaton 

 christened " shot-silk beds;" not a bad name either, 

 for if well done, the coloui's, when seen from a 

 distance, present the characteristic of changeable- 

 ness, as do those of a shot-silk dress. Fortune 

 favoured the writer to see the very bed, and indeed 

 to plant it once, in the same way as it used to be 



yellow Calceolaria ; Centaur ea candidissima (white), 

 and pink Pelargonium, all make excellent " shot- 

 silk " arrangements. For a very large bed or border, 

 the following mixture is grand in the extreme: 

 — pink Pelargonium, Coleus Verschaffeltii (dark 

 brown), Crystal Palace Gem Pelargonium (golden 

 variegated, with rose-coloured flowers), and Agera- 

 tum Imperial Dwarf (light lavender), with standard 

 plants of light-flowered Fuchsias a yard apart. 



The same plants are also very telling arranged 

 after " the ribbon border style." These mixtures 

 are every way to be preferred to large masses of one 

 coloui' together, no matter whether they be high 

 colours or the reverse. 



In closing our remarks as to arrangements, that 

 the injunctions as to variety and interest to be 

 derived fi'om a free use of standard plants through- 

 out the garden may not be forgotten, we add a list 

 of plants which may be used for that purpose: — 

 Abutilons, Acacia lophantha (seedlings), Cannas, 

 Dracaena Australis, Fuchsias (tall), Grevillea robusta, 



