334 



THE GARDENERS* MAGAZINE. 



April 27, 1912. 



one which is not at all difficult to cultivate. 

 It makes neat; flat cushions of gniall leaves, 

 and has charrning little primrose-coloured 

 blooms in early spring. It likes a sunny 

 place in gritty soil. As it blooms very 

 early, its beauty is prolonged by protect- 

 ing it from the stress of the spring showers 

 of rain and sleet by a sheet of glass. It is 

 quite hardy, hoAvever. 



Saxif raga aretioides. 



true 



S. pseudo-Haussmanni, S. scardioa, and the 



S. luteo-viridis, may he mentioned 

 among other yellow -flowered saxifrages. 

 The new and very lovely S. Paulinee should 

 not be fo-rgotten by those wishing to form 

 a good collection of these charming yello\v 

 forms, or who wish to purchase a few to 

 associate with their lovely kinsw^omen of 

 different hues. S. Arnott. 



Here we have a scarce and lovely saxi- 

 frage, which makes exquisite little silvery 

 tuftvs of dainty rosettes, sunnounted by 

 beautiful yellow^ flowers, which are wonder- 

 fully large for such a small plant. Its 

 variety primulina, with paler flowers, is 

 rare indeed now , although formerly hetter 

 know^n. These require a choice spot in 

 sun and a gritty soil with peat and 



sand or leaf-soil and sand. 



These are 



among the daintiest of our yellow saxi- 

 frages. 



Saxifrag^a Boydi and it 



Varieties. 



i 



ture, and sow; 



Saxifraga Boydi is a lovely plant, whicli 

 originated in a Scottish garden , and 

 forms beautiful little plants of grey-green, 

 surmounted by charming, bright yellow 

 flowers. It has not a good reputation iti 

 the garden, hut i^ very lovely. The raiser 

 grows it in' sun , and in a soil largely com- 

 posed of sand, and this proves as good a 

 treatment as can be suggested. There are 

 two varieties with paler flowers, the one 

 named S. Cherry trees and the other S. 

 Faldonside. 



S. cymbalaria. 



Here we have a lovely annual saxifrage, 

 w^ith glossy leaves and delightful yellow 

 flowers. It begins to flower when only 

 about an inch high, and gradually rises, 

 flowering all the time, until it is about 

 six inches high. It loves shade and mois- 



,s ii-t'H so freely that it is 

 practically a perennial. 



Saxifraga Eiizabethae. 



Queen Elizabeth's saxifrage is a delight- 

 ful plant, and a much better doer than 

 such favourites as S. Boydi, while the 

 flowers are of excellent colour, and the 

 habit of the piant capital. It makes a 

 goo<l clump of deep green leaves, sur- 

 mounted by many bright, almost saffron- 

 yellow flowers. I think it blooms more 

 freely in small plants than when large, biit 

 it is one of the best of all the yellows in 

 this glorious family of flowers. It does well 

 in gritty soil in sun. 



S. Ferdinandi-Coburg^i. 



This is a rare beauty, an ardent lover of 

 the sun, and also having a liking for lime. 

 It is a rock-loving species, and a charming 

 thing with little tufts of silvery-grey and 

 good yellow flowers. 



S. juniperifolia (or juniperina). 



Probably named the Juniper-leaved 

 Saxifrage on account of its spiny leaves, 

 this is one of the yellow^ saxifrages which 

 is rather a disappointment to many. It is 

 usually a shy bloomer, and makes big tufts 

 of foliage (for a plant of its class, I mean), 

 but bearing few of the rather dull yellow 

 flowers. I have always found it flower be^^t 

 if it had a sheet of glass or a handlight 

 over il, but it is inferior by a long way to 

 S. Elizabetha> and others ef its class. 



S. sancta. 



We may make the same remark about S. 

 sancta, which, however, seems to do better 

 in some places than in others. It makes 

 large masses of pretLy leaves, but bears few^ 

 of it6 nice yellow flowers in proportion. 



Other Species. 



S mutata. 



etted 



coppery flowers; S. Kotschyi, pale yellow; through it more 



THINNING GARDEN CROPS. 



The importance of thinning crops ^s often 

 overlooked, or neglected^ until considerable 

 damage has been done, in some instances 

 irreparably so. Most people who are in- 

 terested in a garden have no doubt noticed 

 how stion plants that stand close together 

 in the seed beds become drawn, and when 

 planted out seldom present that sturdy ap- 

 pearance one likes to see. It is, however, 

 not only seedlings that are apt to be neg- 

 lected, but even plants in the herbaceous 

 and shrubbery borders are often left far 

 too long A\ an overcrowded condition, thus 

 spoiling what might otherwise have been 



noble specimens. 



Let us first deal with the thinning of 

 vegetable crops, as that is all-important 

 at this season of the year. No doubt some 

 have made special note of the difference in 

 the cropping of early peas that were raised 

 under glass to those sown in the open 

 ground. Those raised artificially being 

 planted out at regular intervals, have ample 

 room to develop in their early stage, com- 

 mencing to make lateral growths near the 

 ground, while those that are left thickly 

 together, where they are sown, make no 

 laterals at all. Though it is advisable to 

 ahvays sow thicker than the plants are in- 

 tended to stand, thinning should be at- 

 tended to as soon as it is safe to do so, in 

 order that the plants may grow sturdy from 

 the commencement, for unless they have 

 ample room to develop their foliage, it 

 cannot be expected they will produce an 

 abundant crop of the finest fully-developed 

 pods. Some varieties require more room 

 than others, their foliage being much 



and it is advisable to allow those 

 that are sown during the summer njore 

 space than the early sowings. Thinning, 

 however, must be done with judgment, so 

 as to allow all plants the same amount of 

 space between them. 



M any no doubt have observed how 

 quickly radishes that stand singly are ready 

 for use, and the small amount of foliage 

 they make compared with those that grow 

 thi:*kly together. If this is the case with 

 radishes, it also applies to other crops, 

 therefore those wdio are desirous of having 

 them mature quickly must pay attention 

 to thinning at the earliest possible moment. 

 Turnips that are much crowded to- 

 gether seldom make bidbs good in shape or 

 of the finest quality. To have them bulb 

 early they should be thinned to the proper 

 distance when the plants are quite small, 

 otherwise instead of having sweet, fleshy 

 roots, there will be nothing but plants with 

 thick^ leaf stalks and overgrown foliage, 

 which soon run to seed, and should a few 

 of them form bulbs such are usually tough 

 and stringy, having Ixmmi too long in arriv- 

 ing at maturity. <listance allowed be- 

 tween each must depend on the var ety 

 grown, as some make far more foliage than 

 others.' The strap-leaved kinds may be 

 gro^vn closer together than the others ; in 

 each case, if the plants are too close to- 

 gether, there will be a superabundance of 

 foliage and very poor roots. The same re- 

 mark applies to early carrots, though these 

 making but slight leaves may be allowed 

 to stand much closer together, as not bemg 

 so dense in foliage the light and air passes 



Late carrots 



largei 



■ 



should be allow^ed a greater distance be- 

 tween them, as these, making more ampl 

 foliage and larger roots, need more space 

 in which to dcA^elop, if nice clean well- 

 shaped roots are to be had. Beetroot and 

 parsnips grown on rich soil make a quan- 

 tity of foliage, the latter especially^ and 

 unless ample space be allow^ed the roots 

 are never so good. 



It is seldom that onions require much 

 thinning unless they are sown th:ckh% 

 the foliage is not overabundant, and if the 

 bulbs "touch each other it is of no con- 

 sequence unless they are required for <y- 

 hibition purposes, when, of course, they 

 must be allowed more room. It is seldom 

 that lettuce remain w^here they are sown, 

 being transplanted from the seed bed in 

 order that they may have more room to 

 develop. Bulbous or fleshy-rooted ph;jits, 

 with few exceptions, do not succeed when 

 transplanted, therefore d\ey mv.yt be 

 thinned to the proper distance where they 

 are sown. Thinning, then, is done with a 

 twofold object — -one to induce the plants 

 to develop more rapidly, therefore to arrive 

 at maturity more quickly ; the other to 

 produce finer specimens, whether of flowers, 

 fruit, or vegetables. 



It is useless to thin the crops when the 

 mischief has been done, for if one is to 

 obtain the full benefit of the operation 

 this shotdd be performed as soon as cir- 

 cumstances will permit. Advantage should 

 always be taken of showery weather for 

 thinning vegetable crops, as the plants then 

 come up much easier, and those that are 

 left soon recover themselves after having 

 the others removed. When th nning is 

 completed, run the Dutch hoe between the 

 rows to destroy any small weeds that may 



H. C. P. 



be appearing. 



SOME OF THE NEWER 



TEA'SCENTED ROSES. 



I look upon Mrs. Foley Hobbs (A. Dick- 

 son and Sons, 1910) as the best of recently- 

 introduced tea-scented roses, both for ex- 

 hibition and garden use. The bloorcs are 

 large, shapely, with thick shell-shaped 

 petals. In colour it is a delicate ivory- 

 white, faintly tinged with pink on the edge 



of the petals. 



Miss Alice de Rothschild (A. Dickon 

 and Sons, 1910) is rich citron-yellow, m 

 high, pointed flowers are freely produced 



on vigorous plants. , 

 Mrs. Herbert Stevens (McGredy and 

 Son, 1910) is a free-growing, florilerous 

 variety, with shapely flowers. The colour 

 is white, with a distinct peach shading 



towards the centre. 



Lady Hillingdon (Lowe and Shany"' 

 1910) is now so well known in the exJiiDi- 

 tion tent and for table decoration that i 



seems 



i 



Under glass this rose is simply chanrm -■ 

 and the deep apricot-yellow buds on i'"- 

 stems are all that could be desired, excn ^ 

 perhaps, that the flower-stems are a nii^ 

 weakly, and need support. As an outdoor 

 variety it is a little early to speak ox - 

 My plant last year gave flowers wej, 

 but they had the same failing--weak sten • 

 Alexander Hill Gray (A. Dickson an« 

 Sons, 1911) is said to be the ^rgest pu^ 

 yellow tea-scented rose yet "itj'^ 

 with a strong likeness to Marechal 

 perfume and colour, the latter PJ' J 

 as it develops. As a pot rose, it 

 be valuable, and as an autumn-Ho«e. . 



V 



too 



f reely 



Mrs. Hubert Taylor (A. Dickson ^^^^^ 

 Sons 1909), shell-pink, edges ot ' .^^^^ 

 ivory-white, and of vigorous gro^ ^i^ - 

 flowering. E. .AloiA 



■ 



