96 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



February 3, 1912 



ROSE NOTES. 



We have enjoyed a prolonged season for 

 planting, ami tliere slioiild be no more to 

 do wherever tlio ground was aAailable. 

 Plants that Mere put in early have greatly 

 benefited by the ground settling so firmly 

 around the roots, but in many cases the 

 soil is now very wet^ and should a spell of 

 severe frost set in, it may have a bad effect 

 unless some means are taken to drain the 

 base of plants. 



We are well aware of the good results 

 from earthing up the base of dwarf roses, 

 both as a protection from frost and to 

 throw off excessive wet ; but few of us use 

 the same precaution in the case of stan- 

 dards. Why not? One of the most vital 

 parts of a standard is the base, and, al- 

 though we do not protect the rose growth 

 by earthing up soil around them, we avoid 

 considerable swaying of the stems, but 

 what I feel to be of still greater impor- 

 tance is throwing off water instead of allow- 

 ing it to lie in a small lioU^ around this 

 most vital part. T^|>on more than one oc- 

 casion, I have noticed the heads of stan- 

 dards trussed up/' and yet no protection 

 was afforded to the base of the brier itself , 

 while the plants w^ere swaying sufficiently 

 to form a hole that held water all the 

 longer because of the vsmooth sides made 

 by this swaying. 



I wotdd like to say that enough care is 



not given to prote<:'ting the junctions of 



rose and br'er upon standards. It is not 



enough to put a little litter among the 



points of growth, and leave this part so 



open. Why should it not be protected as 



much as in tbe dwarfs? But. so far as 



protection is concerned, we do com])ara- 



tively little of it now. being convinced that 



it is not so ihm essarv as was once thought. 



We also have a much hardier race of 

 varieties. 



The old methods of using litter or 

 manure are not practised to anything like 

 tlie same extent as formerly. Experience 

 proves that keeping the base of the plants 

 as dry as possible is preferable to the risk 

 of wet combined with frosty which results 

 in a frozen mass all around the plants. 

 Frost-laden winds are ea>sily guarded 

 against by using branches of fir or birch, 

 which not only answer tlw i)iirpose excel- 

 lently, but stay where placed, and 

 <lo not hold ,so much moisture. Litter 

 either blows awav to some sheltered nook 



4- 



V. here it is quite useless, oi- becomes a satu- 

 rated mass in a very short time, in which 

 condition it can be of little service. 



Considering how very mild the winter 

 has been so far, our roses, more particu- 

 larly the ramblers, are kee])ing their 

 growths more quiet than miglit have been 

 anticipated. Even Dorothy Perkins, Criui- 

 SDU llambler, and Claire Jacquier are quite 

 doi"mant here. Doubtless, this is partly 

 caused by their extender! annual growths. 

 Several seasons I have noticed this class 

 of rose push out in a dangerously preco- 

 cious way by this date, but it has always 

 been after an early ripening. At present 

 many of our roses are quite -clothed with 

 foliage. More so than I remember 

 before . 



It is pleasing to note how Avell the buds 

 that Avere inserted last summer have set. 

 Of course, they have had no trials yet; 

 but I have more than once noticed how 

 nnuh better they set or Unite to the stock 

 <Uu'ing a dry season for budding, than 

 when we have a drijiping summer, and 

 <loubtless this is the san-*> as with grafted 

 plants in the propagating ciuse ; any wet 

 hf^tween scion and stock being decidedlv 

 unfavourable to tlie f<n-mati(.n of calius/ 



RoSAniAN. 



HARDY FLOWERS FOR 



ROCKWORK EDGINGS. 



A rockwork edging to a border of hardy 

 flowers forms a pretty feature of many gar- 

 dens. A free use of really good plants for 

 this purpose is also to be advocated as 

 affording to many an excellent means of 

 cultivating alpine and other dwarf sub- 

 jects without the erection of a rockery. 

 If the border can be raised about six inches 

 above the path, and then edged with 

 stoneSj however rough, firmly fixed in the 

 soil^ so as not to be easily displaced by n 

 foot coming in contact with the edging, it 

 can be made suitable for covering with 

 plants of this class. 



On such an edging many charming 

 flowers can be cultivated, and these will be 

 in perfect harmony with the taller plants 

 of the border, besides affording a succession 

 of flowers for many months in the year. 

 By a judicious selection of such alpine 



flowers there need be no monotony in the 

 border, and the bright and pleasing effect 

 can be maintained for many years with the 

 very minimum of trouble. Some will re- 

 quire clipping back to prevent them from 

 encroaching on the paths, but, as a whole, 

 they will not be troublesome in this respect. 



Acienas are excellent for the purpose, and 

 among the best of these, which are prized for 

 their foliage rather than for their flowers 

 are A. Buchaiiani and A, niicrophylla, with 

 A. argentea. Achilleas are ornamental 

 with their white or yellow flowers^ and A. 

 Clavennse, A. Jaborneggi, and A. umbel- 

 lata, all white, are among the best for 

 our purpose. A. umbellata has pretty sil- 

 very leav.es. Foi- a choice sunny part, we 

 may have ^thionenia persieum, a dainty 

 p^ant with glaucous leaves and rosy-lilac 



sonij with Bridesmaid will 



give 



flowers 



a gem for the edsina: where it 



■osea i< a neat white-leaved carpeter for 

 ow stones, and it de^glits in a fairly moist 



will not be overgrown. 



In Ajuga reptans varic^gata we have a 

 pleasing trailer with silver and green varie- 

 gated leaves, but the flowers are poor. It 

 is a nice plant, however, and is cultivated 

 in many gardens of choice flowers. Alys- 

 sum spinosum, silvery-leaved, and with 

 Vvhite blooms, looks very pretty, and A. 

 montanum, yellow, is a neat little subject, 

 though far from showy. A. saxatile is de- 

 cidedly on the big side for any but large 

 edgings. 



For a chn::e spot beside the pethionema 

 we may lun e a plant of the exquisite An- 

 drosace lanuginosa, which, however, must 

 be sh<dtered from rain in winter. Silky- 

 leaved and with lovely lilac flowers, it "^is 



a choice flower indeed. Antennaria dioica 

 I 



I 



placo With sonu^ lime about it, and in 

 full -iin. we ran grow Anthyllis niontana^ 

 with ^iivercfl silky leaves and heads of rose- 

 pink : it is a dainty little plant only six 

 inclit^s high. Arabises can be named with- 

 out any detai', n< they are so well known, 

 hut those who want one seldom seen can 

 add Arabis Sturti, a miniature with white 

 flowers. For a portion of the edging with 

 some shade, the pretty Bear-berry, a nice 

 trailing shrub, called Arctostaphylos uva- 

 ursi, is excellent avS a trailer; and in a simi- 

 lar place the tiny creeping Arenaria bale- 

 arica will cover a moist stone with green, 

 all starred with white flowers. Arenaria 

 montana^ for sun or shade, is bigger, and 

 has larger flowers, and is 'more a trailer 

 than a creeper. 



Armeria maritima laucheana is a pleas- 

 ing thrift, with almost crimson flowers, "'^^^li are very partial to the young « 

 and aubrietias will give us clioi(-(« ;uid to ^hoots when they appear above the 

 spare among tlieir manv vnr ictit s none of piece of coffriti.w^i f^«j Kv/^cf^lv i 

 which are uinvorthy. althougli some are 

 better than others. A. tauricola alba A 



Moerheimi, A. Dr. Mules, and A. Hender- 



a nu'e 



variety. Campanula,s, also^ are plentiful, 

 and we may choose from garganica and g' 

 hii'suta, both blue and white ; Portenschla- 

 giana major, pusilla, and turbinata, with- 

 out making any mistake, as all are so fine 

 in every way. 



Cerastums only require mention, and 

 any of those in the trade wiU do, but 

 they want to be cut back freely. Coroniila 

 iberica is a nice yellow trailing plant, and 

 Crucianella- or Phuopsis stylosa is good 

 with its heads of pinkish flowers. Pinks of 

 many kinds look well over the stones, and 

 we may choose among the heaths, such as 

 E. carnea and E. c. alba for winter blooms 

 and as lying nicely over the stones. 



Erodiums macradenum and guttatum 

 may be recommended to those who like 

 dainty subjects^ their bright flowers last- 

 ing well on the drier parts. Geraniums ar- 

 genteum and cinereum, allied to the last- 

 named, are lovely hardy flowers for edg- 

 ings, and Gypsophy^as prostrata and repens 

 are fine as well, trailing over the edgings. 

 Helianthemums make good sheets of bloom, 

 but need clipping back, except where there 

 is plenty of space; and Hypericums fragile 

 and reptans have delightful yellow flowers 

 on neat little plants. Iberises, or candy- 

 tufts, are attractive, with sheets of white 

 flowers, corifoMa and sempervirens being 

 among the best for general use. These, also, 

 .want to be well cut back, save in wide 

 edgings. 



Lithospermum prostratum is of a delight- 

 ful blue, and Lotus corniculatus plenus is 

 a double form of our " Lady s Fingers " of 

 much beauty. Lychnis alpina, red, and 

 Lysimachia nummularia aurea, the Golden 

 Creeping Jenny, may be added, and on a 

 dry edging Onosma taurica will supply 

 drooping yellow blooms. 



Such spring-flowering phloxes as reptans, 

 and the manv lovely varieties of P. subu- 

 lata, such as The Bride, NeLsoni, and a host 

 of others, are without rivals for beauty on 

 the edgings. Prunella grandiflora, though 

 a little coarse, is good ; and SrJponaria ocy- 

 moides on poor soil giv(^s sheets of rose 

 flowers. Almost all the .saxifrages are of 

 rare worth for our purpose, and sedunis 

 and sempervivimis may be cultivated M'ith 

 great success, but, like the saxifrages, are 

 too numerous to detail. Silenes aJpestris 

 and S. maritima plena, both white; 

 Thymuses lanuginosus, Serpyllum cocci- 

 neum and album, and vulgaris variegatus 

 may be added where there is room. 

 Tunica saxifraga and Silene Schaftse are 

 lovely for late bloom, and we may add 

 Veronica prostrata and Waldsteinia tn- 

 foliata, for a< profusion of bloom earlier in 

 the year. 



Many more alpine flowers present them- 

 selves, but a wide enouirh choice is offered 



in those named alreadv. 



S. Arnott. 



Gloriosas..— ^rhe tubers of gloriosas 

 should be potted up and started into growtli 

 early. Shake away the old soil, and repot 

 nsmg pots just large enough to '^'^ 



carnic • fTijUTi « . ii. _ J 



o r J"""-" iMAgv fii^/ugix i^'T-' hold til 



corms; then, as growth advances, shift int«> 



larger pots in which thev are to flower. 



Two or three tubers mav be placed 



at once into the flowering pot if desirable, 



but in such a case great care is necessary m 



affording water, or the soil will become sour 



and the root^ refuse to work in it. After pot- 

 — xi_ ^ . - ^ should 



Lixc luuLrt reiuse to work m it. ai 

 ting the treatment at first accorded snou^^ 

 be (Similar to that usually adopted for caUi- 

 diums. Watch should 'l>e kept for slusT''- 

 which are very partial to the young euci'j- 

 lent shoots when thev appear above tbp soil- 

 A piece of cotton-wool tied loosely - 

 oach ffrowth at the ground level ^viH 

 generally make them secure from 



depredators.— H. T. Martin, Warren 

 wardens. 



rouu 



Wood 



