318 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



x\PBiL 20, 1912. 



PELARGONIUM AMBROSIA. 



New pelargoniums of special merit for 

 summer bedUing, are not raised so fre- 

 quently now as in former years, when it was 

 more the fashion to provide the summer 

 display of flowers by means of tender sub- 

 jects than at present. The lack of special 

 demand for new l>edding varieties has 

 doubtless been largely responsible for the 

 scarcity of the supply, but there is always 

 room for a first-rate plant, and when the 

 variety Paul Crampel was introduced for 

 be<lding it raj^idly became popukir becavise 

 of its good habit, fine flowers, large trusses, 

 and rich colouring. A variety that pro- 

 mises to have a long run of popularity is 

 figured in the present issue. It is named 



CARPETING PLANTS. 



A number of phints that have a dwarf, 

 prostrate, and spreading habit are of great 

 utility in the garden. vSuch plants are 

 naturally identified with the rock garden, 

 where they fonn delightful mounds of 

 greenery and coloured foliage, to say no- 

 thing of the wealth of florescence that is 

 produced in many instances in due season. 

 Then they may be utilised to furnish banks 

 and spaces underneath large trees, it being 

 a difficult and laborious task to maintain 

 grass in good condition under stich circum- 

 stances. A few at least may find a 'home in 

 the front of the herbaceous border, and 

 thus contribute life and greenery in the 

 dull season. 



pleasing, and it is advisable to cultivate the 

 plants in pots, and plunge them in the beds 

 in autumn, returning them to the reserve 

 garden in late spring. Among the alpine 

 pinks, perha.ps Dianthus csesius and I), del- 

 toides are the best for this purpose, and 

 with regard to aren arias, A. montana and 

 A. balearica must be written down as first- 

 rate. That useful old plant, the Creeping 

 Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia) cannot be 

 ignored, while its variety aurea is a bril- 

 liant subject, and I noted 5ft. high banks 

 of it on either side of a carriage drive, 

 which presented a solid golden mass, in a 

 western garden last season, and was much 

 impressed with the effect created and the 

 capabilities of the plant in this direction. 

 It is employed in some of the London parks 

 to form a very wide belt around large 



PKLARGOXIUM AMBROSIA. 

 A fine new, pink-flowered bedding- variety. A.M., B.H.S., April 2. Mr, Philip Ladds, Swanley Junction. 



Ambrosia^ and gained an Award of Merit 

 from the Eoyal Horticultural Society on 

 April 2, when ex'hibited by Mr. Philij) 

 Ladds, of Swanley JTin<*tion. As already 

 indicated in these pages, Ambrosia bears 

 large shapely flowers in good trusses, carry- 

 ing these well above the deep green, dark- 

 zoned leaves. A basket of plants was ex- 

 hibited by Mr. Ladds, who is one of the 

 largest growers for market, and every one 

 was short jointed, freely branched, and in 

 every way perfetrt for the purpose pro- 

 posed for it. The colour is a distinct and 

 beautiful shade of rose-pink, at once pleas- 

 ing and effective. 



Vn edition of ''SWEET PEAS AND THEIR CUI/- 

 \ ATION." by C. H. CnrtLS, h«e htn^n for 

 ' and ctm^oquently thi^ m an up-to-datf work "H 

 *^ubj*»o1:. Thp prh-f^. by post, is Is. 2(1. u-Ioth, 



M ;<>n . K .C. 



Further, at this season we are reminded 

 of their value for covering mother earth 

 in the beds and borders devoted to spring- 

 flowering bulbs, and it is no longer neces- 

 sary to gaze upon bare soil in this *part of 

 the garden during the winter, while the 

 c-arj)('t p hints do much to enhance the 

 beauty of the whole when in blossom. It 

 is superfluous to dwell upon the merits of 

 such woll-known and popular plants as the 

 arabises and aubrietias, the saxifrages, 

 sedums, and stonecrops, which are well re- 

 presented in most gardens. 



The New Zealand Burrs, or Acfenas, sup- 

 ply lis with first-rate material as carpeting 

 plants, and a very attrat-tive species is A. 

 niicrophylla, with bright red buns ;uh1 di->- 

 tiiictly pretty foliage. 'S<'ar< rly h^-s ilvNir- 

 abk^ is A. argentea, and both are of wide- 

 spreading habit. The grey foliage of Thy- 

 mus serpylluni lanuginosus is soft and 



flower beds, and is, I think, unsurpassed for 

 brilliance. There are many gardens trom 

 which at present whollv absent where bo » 

 the green and gokk'H leavtMl tonus might 

 used with advantage. r 

 Alyssum serpyllitoiius gives us sbreis o 



hairy foliage, while Mentha KeqTuni is re- 

 sponsible for delicate greenery that ;S veiy 

 pleasing to the eye. Hemiaria glabra ana 

 its variety aurea, Linaria hepaticietolia 

 and pallida extend the list, not forgetting, 

 Galax aphylla, with leathery green ieove^ 

 which as>unie a <Timson shade when pta 

 in the dir(M t sunshine, or Geum montanuu , 

 Phlox prwumbiMis, and Megaseas i»^^^J^- 

 a score of kin<ls. Primroses, polvantiiijst ' 



daisies, and myosotis ako play an ^^^P^^^;.^, 

 part in the decorative s<lii^ine in ^'''['Y 

 to spring bedding, es])ecially ^v'l*'*^ 



senting g(KK! strains. ^ . 



Walter H. Aggktt. 



