222 



CASSELL'S POPULAR GARDENINa 



other plants that would need replacing for the winter 

 are Lobelia, Ageratum, and the Echeverias ; the latter, 

 however, need not he replaced, as the green ground- 

 work of Herniaria will be sufficiently bright, and in 

 place of Lobelia and Ageratum, six dwarf evergreen 

 shrubs of any kind will look well, and be in charac- 

 ter with the season. 



Arrangements and combinations of greater bril- 

 liancy than these might be given, but their season 

 would be short-lived. The first cold night of 

 autumn settles Alternanthera, Coleus, and similar 

 tender kinds, and therefore it is better to con- 

 fine the arrangements to such plants as last 

 longest, though it may be at some loss of summer 

 brilliancy. 



It is necessary to observe in reference to the fore- 

 going plans that, the patterns being of such a 

 distinctive character, as they ever should be in this 

 style of gardening, perfection of keep is of the utmost 

 importance. The lines of colour should at all times 

 be kept well defined by stopping, pegging, or pinch- 

 ing ; and the standard plants be set off to the best 

 advantage by always being maintained in an upright 

 position by supports to the stems. This matter of 

 " keep " is repeatedly quoted as derogatorj- to foliage 

 or carpet bedding ; but it is a charge which, if 

 brought to the test, and compared with other modes 

 of planting, cannot be sustained ; it simply looks 

 formidable, there being just as much labour to keep 

 all other descriptions of planting (except the perfectly 

 wild) in anything like the same degree of neatness, 

 which in all kinds of gardening is a quality that 

 should always be at the head of the list. 



List of Plants. — The following are hardy kinds 

 that may ba used either in summer or winter : — 



Antennaria tomentosa. 

 Ajrga reptans purpurea. 

 A. reptans varie^ata. 

 Artemisia, judaica. 

 Cerastium tomentosum. 



C. arvense. 



Dactylis glomerata varie- 

 gata. 



D. glomerata elegantissima. 

 Euouymus radicaus Tarie- 



gatus, 



E. flavescens. 

 Heruiaria glabra. 

 Leptinella scariosa. 

 Mentha Pulegium gibral- 



taricum. 

 Pyrethnim, Gold Feather. 



List of Tender Plants for Summer Planting 

 ONLY [contmued). 



I Mesemhrvanthemum cordi- 



Pyrethrum TchihatcheAvh. 



Stellaria graminea aurea. 



Saxifraga hirta. 



S. rosularis. 



S. aizoides. 



S. hypnoides. 



S. densa. 



Sedum Lydium. 



S. corsicum. 



S. glaueum. 



S. acre elegans variegatiim. 



S. anghcum. 



S. carueum variegatum. 



Thymiis citriodorus aureus. 



Veronica incana. 



V. repens. 



List of Tender Plants for Summer Planting 



ONLY. 



Alternanthera magnifica. 

 A. amabilis. 

 A. paronychioides. 

 A. paronychioides aurea. 

 A. versicolor grandis. 

 Amaranthus melanci.olicns. 

 Coprosma Baueriana var.e- 

 gata. 



I Coleus Verschaflfeltii. 

 I Cotyledon pulveruleuta. 



Echevf ria glauca. 



E. secunda glauca. 



E. Peacockii. 



E. glauca metallica. 



E. pumila. 



Gnaphalium lanatum. 



Iresine Lindeni. 

 I. accummata. 

 I. Herbstii. 

 Kleinia repens. 

 K. tomentosa. 

 Leucophyta Brownii. 

 Lobehas (pumila section) 



folium variegatum. 

 Pachypbytum bracteosum 

 P. roseum. 

 Eochea perfoliata. 

 E. falcata. 



Tradescantia zebrina. 



SUB-TBOPICAL BEDDING. 



As a rule, every one who is really fond of a 

 garden has some special affection, or what is called 

 *' hobby," for some branch of gardening. Perhaps, 

 if there is an exception to the general rule, " sub- 

 tropical bedding " may be credited with that excep- 

 tion, and why ? Simply by reason of the mistaken 

 notion that the term sub-tropical must mean tender 

 stove plants. This, it is true, is the most general 

 interpretation ; but, there being numbers of plants 

 quite hardy, and others nearly so, which produce 

 effects as striking and graceful as even the most 

 tender, such a view is, to say the least, a very 

 restricted one. Hindering — as such a "view must — 

 the carrjdng out of this style of ornamental garden- 

 ing, either on a large or small scale, w^e shall en- 

 deavour here to show that sub-tropical bedding is 

 formidable in name only ; and that whilst the 

 amatem-, if so disposed, may have his one bed or 

 single specimens of " sub-tropicals," the style is 

 capable of extension to any desirable length at a 

 very moderate cost of labour, and convenience for 

 raising plants; certainly as cheaply as any other 

 branch of summer bedding, and therefore worthy of 

 adoption on the ground of variety alone, though not, 

 be it understood, to the neglect of other departments. 

 As much variation in style as possible, but each part 

 well done, constitutes the great chann of a garden. 



There is, of course, no valid reason why those so 

 disposed, and who do not study cost or short dura- 

 tion of effectiveness, should not still continue their 

 practice of putting out tender stove plants — gi^and 

 Palms, Tree Ferns, and the like — except it be that 

 such a practice fosters in some other minds a yearn- 

 ing after the unattainable, which would be consider- 

 ably modified did they but know at what an enormous 

 cost such fleeting beauty had been obtained. Writing 

 more particularly for the general reader, and for the 

 owners of small as well as large gardens, the tender 

 exotic phase of sub-tropical bedding will not be 

 treated on here, except with reference to fast-gi'ow- 

 ing seedlings which can be raised in an ordinary pit 

 or green-house, and which continue in good form 

 until cut down by severe frost in October or Novem- 

 ber. Amongst such plants are Giant Hemp [Cannabis 

 gigantea) ; all the Castor -oils [Ricinus) ; some few 

 Solanums, Eucalyptus, Chilian Beet, and others to be 

 named jjresentty. 



