402 



GARDEN NOTES FROM ENGLAND. 



are to be seed-grown. Seeds of the latter should be 

 sown early in summer. The bulbous sorts are to be pro- 

 cured in September, and started then in pots. 



The kinds preceded by (3) should be grown in pots 

 sunken to the rim in earth, in a spot shaded for about 

 three hours at mid-day. If no other shade is convenient, 

 Ijt the plants stand together in some spot and place a 

 canopy, made of lath nailed an inch apart on a frame 

 and raised about four feet from the ground directly over 

 them. A small empty pot should be set under the middle 

 of each pot containing a plant, to prevent the roots from 

 sticking through the drainage-hole into the soil beneath. 



The figure 4 preceding names in the list indicates that 

 such plants, while being grown in the open air in pots 

 that are plunged, may be fully exposed to the sun. To 

 set them in an angle where the sun-heat is excessive 

 would not be good treatment ; they should be in the line 

 of morning breezes, but sheltered somewhat from fierce 

 winds. 



The plants preceded by 5 are comparatively rapid 

 growers, and will summer well if knocked out of their pots 

 and planted in the open soil, where they will grow until 

 September. Such plants as are kept through the summer 

 in pots should be carefully tended. They must never 

 suffer for want of liberal watering. When water is given, 

 saturate the soil thoroughly to the very center of the 

 plants' ball of roots. In cases where root-growth is act- 

 ive the plants should be repotted into pots a size larger, 

 whenever an examination of the ball of earth shows a 



lacework of white roots surrounding it. To remove a 

 ball of roots from its pot, invert the plant with the 

 surface of the soil resting on the palm and out- 

 spread fingers of the left hand, and with the bottom of 

 the pot grasped firmly in the right hand. Strike the rim 

 of the pot sharply upon the edge of a table or bench, and 

 the ball of earth and roots will be dislodged. Rapid- 

 growing plants like chrysanthemums should be pinched 

 back at intervals until August to make them branch 

 freely. Such plants in particular must not be allowed to 

 suffer even once for lack of water, as this will cause the 

 lower leaves to turn yellow and drop. 



To provide good soil for the window plants is an essen- 

 tial point in their successful cultivation. None is better 

 for the average of plants in the list given than what flor- 

 ists call "fibrous loam." This is made by cutting sod 

 about three inches thick from an upland pasture-lot, or 

 from a country roadside, and stacking it up for some 

 months before it is used. Broken up in rough pieces the 

 size of marbles, such soil contains, with the addition of a 

 sprinkling of fine old manure or bone-dust, all the ele- 

 ments really necessary for a plant's existence. It is a 

 mistake common among window-gardeners to suppose 

 that finely-sifted soil is most congenial to plant-growth ; 

 one that is somewhat rough and fibrous is much better. 



The beauty of the winter garden is well insured by 

 such a selection of plants, cared for in the manner indi- 

 cated until autumn, when further directions will be in 

 order. 



GARDEN NOTES FROM ENGLAND. 



CARNATIONS AND CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 



\RDEN Carnations are flowers that 

 gain new friends every day, and are 

 rapidly undergoing great changes. 

 There is a revolt against the absolute 

 use of the florists' varieties — the bi- 

 zarres, flakes, rose, etc. — and much 

 attention is being given to raising a 

 set of hardy, free-blooming garden varieties that bear 

 flowers of bright, distinct self-colors, or shades of one 

 color. A good race of hardy, vigorous and sturdy plants, 

 bearing flowers of the desired character, would be a dis- 

 tinct gain ; and the most important point to be gained in 

 the flower is a calyx that will not split. It is the split- 

 calyx carnations that are too numerous, and in the gar- 

 den they have a poor effect with their petals dangling 

 about, ragged and unkempt. A good garden carnation 

 should be strong in growth, the flowers decided in color 

 — not splitting the calyx even in wet seasons — and 

 borne profusely, as in that delightful flesh-colored va- 

 riety, Comte de Paris. It is a commendable plan to plant 

 out carnation-layers before autumn has far advanced, so 

 that they may be well prepared to stand the trials of win- 

 ter. In very cold districts it is wiser to pot the layers 

 and plant them out in March ; but I advise autumn plant- 



ing if it can be done with a reasonable degree of safety. 

 In the English parks great use is now made of these car- 

 nations, and last summer in Regent's Park several beds 

 were planted with varieties of a few good colors, one 

 color in each bed. The effect was as rich in its way, and 

 infinitely more pleasing and artistic than a gaudy show 

 of pelargoniums. The carnation stands second only to 

 the rose as a flower for the garden and for cutting. 



Chrysanthemums. — Several new varieties of chrysan- 

 themums stood out conspicuously during the season of 

 i8gi, and recently we saw in a stand of the Messrs. 

 Pitcher & Manda, at Hextable, Swanley, a yellow "Mrs. 

 Alpheus Hardy" named W. A. Manda. The flower is 

 similar to that of Mrs. Hardy — rich yellow in color, and 

 the petals are hairy. Louis Boehmer, the purple-colored 

 "hairy" variety, has been largely exhibited, and is a 

 bold (not coarse), effective variety. W. H. Lincoln is a 

 glorious yellow Japanese flower ; the color is very rich, 

 and the plant is of quite dwarf growth, seldom growing 

 more than 3 or 3'2 feet in height ; the leafage is vigorous 

 and dark green. It will be grown largely for the market, 

 and some plants I saw recently had 7 or 8 flowers each — 

 a compact mass of growth and blossom. There is a great 

 tendency among growers to acquire quite dwarf varieties 



