138 



THE GARDENERS* MAGAZINE. 



February 17, 1912. 



variety, C nitida, C. waldsteiniana, C. 

 Raineri, C. barbata, and C. b. alba, a very 

 fine form of C. Hosti, C. puUoides, and 

 many more of this charming race of alpine 

 flowers. A good feature were the daphnes, 

 which thrive well under the same condi- 

 tions, among them being D. fioniana, D. 

 alpina, D. cneorum, very fine,D. Blagayana, 

 and others. We naturally expect to find 

 the dianthuses well represented, and we 

 see such good species as D. neglectus, D. 

 alpinus, D. glacialis, with a good many 

 more. Anemones are in considerable 

 variety, and, with the alpine ranunculi, 

 are of much beauty. A. alpina and A. 

 sulphurea are doing extremely well, and 

 we see the pretty ranunculus crenata and 

 E. glacialis among the ranunculi. 



Quite a host of good saxifrages of dif- 

 ferent sections flourish, but the tale is tco 

 long to permit of detail of these favourite 

 flowers as seen here. There is also an un- 

 usuaUy good collection of sempervivums, 

 while V:e<lums are cultivated in the neatest 

 and finest forms. New Zealand and other 

 veronicas are in goodly numbers, and 

 among other plants seen were Geum rep- 

 tans, CEnothera csespitosa^ Viola calaarata 

 in variety, Nigritella angustifolia, Mer- 

 tensia lanceolata^ PotentiHa nitida, Mitel- 

 las diphylla and pentranda, edelweiss, 

 Oherleria" sedeoides, several phyteumas, 

 Linnea borealis, silenes in variety, Psedo- 

 rota Bonaroti, Shortia uniflora and galaci- 

 folia^ Ga^ax aphylla, Dp'yas octopetala, 

 I r is gr a c i 1 1 i p es , A qn ile gias a Ipi ria a n<l 

 glandulosa, Hf^liopsis ibreviscapa (doing ex- 

 tremely w^ell), Anemonopsis macrophylla, 

 and a magnificent plant of Onosma taurica. 

 witih O. alba-rO'Sea. Many other plants 

 were noted, but cannot be now detailed. 



Among other good features in this gar- 

 den is the rose borders and btxls. Mi-s. 

 Saunders vshares her love for her alpines 

 with that for the rose, and the best of 

 the new varieties are added in the hybrid 

 teas; and others. 



There are also ffood Iterbaceous borders 

 in this garden, and the other departments 

 are excellently care<l for by Mr. MofFat, 

 Colonel Saunders \s gardener. He evi- 

 dently takes a thorough interest in the 

 garden under his charge, and has a great 

 pride in the alpines which Mrs. Saunders 

 herself cultivates with such sedulous and 

 successful care. Few collections of alpines 

 are more deserving of a visit than this at 

 Wennington Hall.*^ S. Arnott. 



GARDEN STEPS. 



It is a curious and hardly recognised fact 

 tbat amid the wealth of advico on adorn- 

 ments of gardens and pleasure grounds, 

 large and small, contained in the literature 

 devoted to these subjects in the present 

 day, useful or artistic suggestions on gar- 

 den steps have been either totally ignored 

 or dismissed with scant courtesy. 



Prominence is given to tbe designing of 

 terraces, lawns, pergolas, wall, rock, and 

 water gardens^ but few^ of tlie present-day 

 landscape gardeners give any help on the 

 idea suggested by our illustration. 



when w e com e to consi d er 



be said. Grass stairs are 

 adapted to roseries in some situations, but 

 clim<atic influence has always to be taken 

 into cons-ideration and sodden conditions of 

 turf in damp places and the ipathetic brown 

 in very dry sites may prevent its use in 

 either. 



In many terrace gardens no vegetation 

 is allowed to grow on the waUs and steps, 

 but the older and more beautiful way is to 

 garland all s-uch surfaces with living plants. 

 With the large number of subjects that we 

 liave it should be easy to find some hand- 

 some and (really effective climbers to drape 

 our walls and steps witb. Stone steps are 

 often an ugly blot in the garden^ not 

 always owing to their position, but their 

 bald aspect, but they may be made attrac- 

 tive to look at if the surroundings are care- 

 fully planted. Steps without a .margin of 

 fern and flower are by no means pleasing to 

 the eye, but, with a setting of hardy plants, 

 tliey have a very changed aspect. To ob- 

 tain such an effect is very simple, as, if 

 the steps are iu the sJiade, it is easy to grow 

 ferns by the side or shadedoving .plants. 

 Cotoneaster microphylla is a delightful 

 plant for such a position. It sends its wiry, 

 crimson -berried Shoots over the facings, 



Prim- 



eminenth^ 



Hardy Fuchsias. — Are the value of 



these in the garden realised to the extent that 

 they might beP I think not; for when sum- 

 mer is on the wane they are mo^t beautiful. 

 This refers even in districts wher^ they arc 

 cut down to the ground during the winter, 

 as with a little protection from leaves or 

 something in that way they will push up 

 again vigorously in the spring, and bloom 

 as the tv?ason advances. Au is well known, 

 in many parts of the country they are little, 

 if at all. injured by frosts, and are then con- 

 s^equently regarded as permanent shrubs. In 

 a selection of hardy fuchsias the two com- 

 mon:ot forms, namely. Fuchsia gracilis and 

 F. Riccartoni, must on no account be 

 omitted, as they are so beautiful and trust- 

 worthy in Gverv way. Of those with white 

 corollas, Madame Comellison is the only one 

 to l>e considered as hardy. An autumn cx- 

 habit of the^ fuchsias at the Horticultural 

 Hail contained, among others, Elysee, a 

 plant of upright growth with fair sized dark 

 coloured flowers; Enfant Prodigue, of looser 

 growth, with semi-double bkssoms; Thomp- 

 son!, lik? a small gracilis; Briglitoniensis, a 

 little global ar bu^h with dark coloured 

 flow.?r.s, tho corolla being crinoline-shaped; 

 Globosa, remarkable for its globular buds; 

 and pumila, a bu.-hy grower. — W. T. 



Yet, 



the 



matter seriously w^e realise that much of 

 our pleasure in <a country house or villa 

 I'esidence is boiuid up in its stair and 

 stepways." Whether it be the grand sweep 

 of some 



rble approach to one of the 

 stately homes of England, fro-m the rose 

 garden, or the severe stone or brick as- 

 cent, leading from the yew-tree walk to 

 the peaioock-haunted balustrade, verging 

 the paved alley under the southern win- 

 dows of some ancient manorial mansion, 

 that affords delightj or the moss-grown 

 flight of steps in a more secluded woodland 

 paradise, or hidden garden way, that thrills 

 us with pleasure as we near the breadth of 

 still water or old-time well to which they 

 conduct us, the fact of enjoj^ment remains, 

 and we sometimes realise that in former 

 days garden steps evoked a keener interest 

 than is the case in our prosaic twentieth 

 century life. 



i i 



The long^ low grass stairs that led me 

 from the allee verte to my lady's fantasie, 

 and following through her rose pleasaunce, 

 I do find .myself above the mossy steps that 

 bring her little feet down to her dipping 

 well J " is a fitting appreciation fix>m an old- 

 world lover, and we see in fancy the lichens 

 and the ferns that lovingly clothe the steps 

 to-day. 



Bacon, in bus Essay on Gardens,'* ad- 

 vises " for a fountaine that tliere be also 

 same steps up to it and some fine pavement 

 about it." In the Avork just completed on 

 the Sussex home of the Master of English 

 flow e r-g a rde n i n g , t h er e is an i nt e rest in g 

 entry. ^' Formed in the spring of tlie year 

 19 — , the steps laid in earth with rock 

 plovers beneath them and the pathway," 

 and no one who has had the privilege of 

 visiting Gravetye Manor at any season can 

 forget the enchantments of all Mr. Romin- 

 son's stairways. 



In our ever-abused climate we cannot ex- 

 pect to attain to the glorious effects of the 

 Italian garden stops so aptly described by 

 Sir George Sitwell in his book on Making 

 of Gardens," or to adapt the broad, 

 statol y steps and open-a i r sta i rca ses of 

 cold-blooded mai^ble leading to sombre con- 

 claves of silent cypresses in tragic gardens," 

 ever present at the water approaches to 

 villas and ohatovaux in warmer climes, but 

 in every oountiy and on every estate, even 

 in the humblest suburban garden, w^ayife 

 may be beautified by the artistic arrange- 

 ment of ascent and descent where practical 

 and artistic help is desired. 



As with entrances and gates, the primary 

 object to he considered is the meaning of 

 the steps with regard to their situation and 

 practical use. The material to be employed 

 Jests with the owner or occupier of the 

 property, and should be decided by local 

 surroundings and quarries, though there 

 can be no veto on the omp'oymont of 

 foreign stone and marbles. Y<^ll(>w and re<l 

 sandstone are picturesque in their own 

 localities, and of Ham Hill and Bath stone, 

 grey granite and red bi-ick, the same may 



roses 



little 

 be 



and produces a charming picture. 



saxifrages, sedums, and the 

 sandwoi-t, Arenaria balearica, may 

 grown in a simple w^ay against steps and 

 in the crevices and chinks. 



Much care and taste is needed in build- 

 ing rustic steps in gardens. The mason's 

 art should be concea^.ed, aud the work made 

 to look as if it grew out of the ground. 

 Any nt<3esfiary cement joints sliould: be 

 kept out of sight, and the stones laid ui 

 natural-looking courses, much as they cccur 

 in the quarry. In building a chink £houkl 

 be left here and there for some tiny plant 

 to grow in, the better to connect the steps 

 with the masses of plants hard by, and 



the stones of the wall. 



Flights of steps, ahvays beautiful if easy 

 and well-:proportioned, are of the gi*eates. 

 value in terraces. There is no reason or 

 excuse for the steep, ugly and often dan- 

 gerous steps one so often sees. Kver} 

 sitep in the garden should be nearly two 

 feet broad, and never more than five inches 

 high, no matter how steep the mclmo. 

 Where the stairway cuts through the bauA 

 and is lined on both ^ides by dry-wallmg, 

 the whole stonework may become a garden 

 of delightful small things. lattle ferns 

 may be -plauted in the joints on the shadier 

 side as the wall ascends, as wcill as n™^' 

 hers of small plants. Then there will oc 

 drooping veils of arabis and aubrietia, 

 iberis and cerastium tliat wi^ find a happy 

 home in the cool shelter of the rocK> 

 pocket. Wallflowers, thrift, and antirrlu- 

 nums may often be established, and, as 

 they ripen their seed, it lodges ni "t^^^^^^' 

 vices of the wall f.nd forms plants ct robus^^^ 

 vigour that are longer-lived than the so t - 

 grown plants in the rich flower borders. 



In making steps to go with <1»T-^^''^^''"S^^^ 

 is not neci^-snrv that they should be entirei.> 

 paved. If tlie front edge is formeHil or 

 carefully-fitted stone, the rest can 

 levelled up with eai-th, and the ^ides ami 

 angles furnished with small plants. ^ 

 steps themselves wiU then become Ho^vl^ 

 gardens, aud if the stones are large anu 

 heavy enough to be quite firm there nee 

 be no cement." 



WyNDIIAM FlTZHERBEKT. 



GRAPE CULTUKE.-An illustratecl S'^'^^^^J^e^ 

 culture and manag<?ment of vines in g^^p^yRg' 

 and in the open ,iir ifi published at GaudENEi^ 

 Magazine Office, 148, Alderscrate Stroet. , 

 pri 



varieties to grow. 



rice. le. net (by post la. 2d.), or bound ^ 

 3. Gd. (by post l6. 8d.). Full particuUus ^^rc ^^^^ 

 iven fie to renovating old vines, nr.a 



loth 

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