I 



398 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



May 18, 1912. 



he tlniined as ^arly as possible, the distanc-e 

 heins: governed bv the variety ; they should 

 be fiequentlv sown after this date, as planted- 

 out specimens come thin, and are inclined 

 to run to seed prematurely. Very little 

 trouble is experienced in securing good ger- 

 mination of all small seeds during very dry 

 weather, if deeper drills are drawn than 

 usual, and these are watered, placing old 

 potting soil along the drill, then s^iwmg the 

 seeds, and finally covering with the good 

 soil before raking the beds level. Turnips 

 will be difficult to obtain under ordinary 

 treatment, so make frequent sowings on a 

 northern border, and dufit the seedlings with 

 equal part^^ of sulphur, lime, and wond- 

 ashes to ward off attacks of turnip fly. Make 

 another sowing of savoys, caulitlowers, and 

 late broccoli. 



POTATOES. — Where lliese are well for- 

 wavd and now earthed up, protecting mate- 

 rial uiuM be kept in readiness, as sudden 

 frost inav come yet. Watch for the main 

 crop varieties, and when these peep through 

 draw the soil over them, and when the whole 

 crop i.-. three inches high, well hoe the plot 

 and mould up. If any weakness in the growth 

 appears give a sprinkling of sulphate ot 

 ammonia before hoiMug, or use S(Hjt and burnt 

 gardi-n retuse. 



CAPSICUMS will now need a final potting. 

 ITsi' a i oinpost of loam with a little mush- 

 TO(yni iR'd manure, sand, and mortar rubble 

 add-ed. Place near the glass in a pit, and 

 maintain a moist atmosphere. 



MUSHROOMS.— After this date the best 

 mushrooms are obtained from outside beds 

 placed behind north walls. Provided the 

 horse droppings have be3n properly prepared 

 and well sweetened, with the temperature re- 

 ceding, place the manure on a hard ^:urf ace. 

 Make the bed three feet six inches wide at 

 the has(\ with the material made firm, and 

 sloping towards the wall, the top reaching 

 about ihrvr feet high. When completed, in- 

 sert staki - to ascertain the temperature, and 

 when tlu* latter stands from Vo t() 8i) de- 

 pawn the Wd without delay. Tiicsert 

 the piecvs of spawn eight inches apart, and 

 three inches deep, covering them firmly. A 

 little later cover the bed with two inches of 

 finely-sifted loam, beating this with a shovel, 

 and then give a good covering of long stable 

 manure. >o as to retain a steady temperature 

 and natural moisture. Future attention will 

 be governed by the weather as regards water- 

 ing and damping. When beds show signs 

 of exhaustion give a soaking of warm dilutod 

 liquid manure. — Geo. Ellwood, Swaiiniore 

 I*ark Gardens. 



s 



Blandf ordias.— The members of this 

 Australian genus of liliaceous plants are not 

 often met witli in gardens, and tl.ey are not 

 readily obtainable from nurseries. I uhke 

 many' of tlieix immediate relativ^^, thc 

 Blandfordias do not form a tuber or even 

 onounced root stock, lliey push up a 



pr 



number oi grass-like leaves froin a ^omewliat 

 thickened base, and the flower stem, wliu-li 

 reaches a height of 18in. to 2ft., bears on its 

 upper part a number of drooping be Uh aped 

 fllwers or a thi. k wax-like texture. Ihey are 



1!. 



in most ea-es .eailet, tipi>ed w th yellow. 

 The freest growing and llie one that enn lie 

 most readilv inerea-e.! hy division, 

 nobilis (or grandiflora. as it is sometinK.s 

 lied) The name of grandiflora appears to 

 be somewhat of a misnomer, as others, par- 

 ticularly B. Cunninghami and B. pnnceps, 

 have larger blossoms. The entire genus 

 appears however, to be in such a confused 

 "ta^te that one is never sure of the correct 

 nomenclature. One thing is certain, and 

 that is tliev are all well worth growing. As 

 might be expected of natives ot Australia, 

 1 greenhouse temperature just meets their 

 requirements. As far as my experience goes, 

 they succeed best in a mixture of equal parts 

 of turfy loam and peat, with a li^^-al admix- 

 ture of rough silver sand. lliev need to be 

 efteetnallv drained, and at no time must 

 the s<,il be allowed to get too <l.y as these 

 lUandfaidias are all fvi-rgreeii in character. 



— K. 



SPRING BEDDING PLANTS 



FROM SEEDS. 



When the spring flower beds are at the 

 lieight of their beauty, it is usual to take 

 a survey of the general effect, and decide 

 what alterations are to be made for the 

 following scheme of arrangement. This 

 Wing carefully thought out, the work of 

 raising sufficient plants is a fairly simple 

 matter. In many cases bulbs are utilised 

 for spring bedding, crocuses, daffodils, hya- 

 cinths, tulips, etc., being relied on to pro- 

 vide the display, which is rather a costly 

 proceedi ng.^ Although magnificent effects 

 are to be obtained from a free use of bulbs, 

 vet their flowering season is short, com- 

 pared to that of the wallflowers, pansies, 

 etc. It is wonderful what a profusion of 

 blossoms can be obtained from the produce 

 of a few packets of seeds. Raising the 

 plants is comparatively easy, a cold frame 

 being all that is required, and some snb- 

 jects may 1h> sow n outside. The plants m- 

 eluded in the following list w^ill all be 

 found most useful for spring flowering. 



Alyssum saxatik compactum and A. citri- 

 nunrare two extrejuely showy varieties, the 

 former being a bright yellow colour, and 

 the latter a beautiful lemon shade. These 

 will be found valuable for edging purposes, 

 and provide a beautiful finish to a bed of 

 Blood Red Avallflowers. The seeds are best 

 s )wn in pots or boxes, in May, and placed 

 ill a cold frame to germinate. When the 

 seedlings are large enough to handle they 

 should be transplanted into other boxes, 

 and placed in the frame until established, 

 Avhen they must be graduallv hardened off. 

 The same methods of cultivation applies to 

 arabis and aubrietias. Of the former, we 

 have Arabis albida compaeta (wdiite) and 

 A. rosea (*-ose). Aubrietia grieca (soft 

 la vender) , A . Hendersoni (purple) , a nd 

 Leichtlini (rose) are useful for edei"g Pur- 

 poses, and wdien bulbs are used they form 

 excellent carpeting plants. Apart from 

 these three mentioned, .seeds can be ob- 

 tained of named varieties, but it is advis- 

 able to propagate the latter by cuttings 

 when the true colours are desired. 



The giant forms of the double Daisy 

 (Bellis perennis) produce an abundance of 

 large blossoms, on stiff stems. The seeds 

 should be mwn early in June, in pots or 

 boxes, and placed in a cold frame to ger- 

 minate. Transplant the seedlings when 

 large enough to handle into boxes, .md 

 allow them to remain in frames until 

 i^stabiished. when they should be gradually 

 hardened off. and eventually planted out 

 into n ui sery beds, until required. The 

 ervsiuMim- aie similar to the wallflowers, 

 ]>otb in h;iliit and growth. For dry sunny 

 spots tliev prove a valuable addition to 

 the list of spring bedders. The variety 

 (Jolden Cem is the best to grow, and the 

 seeds should be sown in June, and the 

 plants afforded the same treatment as wall- 

 floweis. K. Arkansanum and E. T*erof- 

 .^kianum should be sown in the earlv 

 autumn for the spring display. Myosotis 

 (forget-me-nots) are indispensable plants, 

 and easily raised from seeds. The various 

 forms of' M. dissitiflora are the most suit- 

 able, but there are also some very fine 

 forms of alpestris. Sow the seeds in boxes, 

 and give cold frame treatment until the 

 young plants are large enough to trans- 

 plant into nurserv bcnls. Seeds sown in 

 the latter part of Mav prodnce fine mate- 

 rial for autumn planting. Tbe seeds may 

 also be sown outside, in shallow drills, on 

 a shady border during May with good 



I'csnlts. , • t c 



Although it is usual to raise violas from 

 cuttings, there are many beautiful vane- 

 ties which come true to c<dour from seeds 



if a good strain is obtained. These, with 

 the pansies, prove of great value for the 

 spring beds. The seeds should be sown in 

 June to obtain good-sized plants by the 

 autumn. Pans or boxes, filled with light 

 soil, will be found most useful for sowing 

 the seeds in, and cold frame treatment 

 should be afforded until the plants are 

 large enough to plant out into nursery 

 beds. Among the pansies we have Em- 

 peror William, a large-flowered blue 

 variety, and one of the most valuable for 

 bedding purposes. Lord Beaconsfield is of 

 a purple-violet colour, shading off in the 

 top petals to pale lavender. The Peacock 

 and Victoria strains are excellent, as are 

 also the English, or Show varieties. The 

 flowers of the frilled forms contain a won- 



combination of colours and the 



The 



derful 



French and German strains are good, 

 dainty flow^ers of Viola cornuta and its 

 varieties are highly appreciated, and are 

 borne in such profusion as to literally hide 

 the foliage; alba, lutea, Perfection, and 

 Papilio are splendid examples of this 

 miniature form. V. floriarensis is a very 

 pretty variety, sent out by M. Correvon, of 

 Geneva. This comes true from seeds, and 

 is highly effective w^hen massed. 



During late years the polyanthus and 

 primroses have been greatly improved, and 

 there are now some fine forms obtainable. 

 Apart from the usefulness of these plants 

 for bedding purposes, magnificent results 

 are to "be had by liberally planting them 

 in woodland glades and shady walks, ine 

 seeds must be sown early t<i secure a stock 

 good plants for planting out in the 



of 



following autumn. In common 

 manv of the members of the primiila 

 family, the seeds of polyanthuses and prim- 

 roses are slow and irregular m germina- 

 ting hence the necessity of allowing them 

 a good season to grow. The seeds are best 

 sown in pans or boxes, and placed m a com 

 frame. Great care must be exercised witn 

 the seeds untd they have germinated, ana 



the plants have liecome a fair size, 

 soil should not at any time be a 



flowed 



to become dry, or the seeds will tail w 

 eerminate. To prevent a too rapid eva- 

 poration, a sheet of glass should be plawd 

 over the seed box, and sliaded with paper. 

 When the seedlings have made two wr 

 sized leaves, they should 1«> ^ransplaiitea 

 into boxes, and still afforded cold tiafflj 

 treatment. Here thev should be shadea 

 until established, and then be sraduaiiy 

 exposed to open-air treatment. \V 

 seedlings attain a good size m ^le 

 transplant them to shady and cool nnisei 

 beds. Polyanthuses and priniro.ses » 

 light in a rich moist soil, and m hen pre- 

 paring the nursery beds it is a^^''"^'*"' jp 

 incoriiorate a lilieral quantity ot 

 <le( ;ivc(l nuuinre w ith the staple. 



The i^endula varieties of the ^'^^^'^^IJ, J' 

 vide a useful class of plants for e g."g 

 beds. The colours are of varying sna 



Snow King. 



of ro.se. but there is a ^vhite form ca 



The seed« are '„ 

 August, either in boxes or . ^lie i-^ 

 border. Transplant the seedlings 

 thev are of sufficient size to ^aiuHP- . 



Wallflowers may be reckoned amni^^^^ 

 the very best of all spring bedding P'^.^^^^ 

 The numbers of plants which can "^"^ j^,.. 

 with a very small outlay is really ^oi 

 ful. and such masses of colour ".^ion 

 such little cost. There f ,nav 



abroad than because a , i|,.,t it 



thriA'e on the top of an old wall, '^ .^^ 

 is anite the thing to afford it P"' , 

 and little attention. This treatmeni^^^^ 

 .suits ill poor plants, which often s"^^^^^ 

 to the first sharp frost. Ka rlv s<.^^ h 



- nlturc all tlu"^ 



a liberal treatment of c 



■ 



the u;r()wim2; stetson, is 

 obtain good plants. 



the surest \v 



j.v to 



