450 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



June 15, 1912. 



CERASTIUM NOTES. 



com 



mon and weedy subjects, but such is xeally 

 not the case, for weediness is often but the 

 lack of pro}>er attention, Cerastiums hsLve 

 a distinct value for present-day gardening, 

 now that the ideal is for natural effects^ 



ned freed 



tain scenery and flora, for all that speaks 

 of natural beauty without formalism. With 

 these aims in view^, there is surely a place 

 for the cerastium in almost every garden. 



A place may be found where these silvery, 

 foliaged plants can make an appealing 

 effect. It may be in roaming down from 

 the top of an old w^all, where in early 

 summer the coimtless hosts of snowy blos- 

 soms may gleam like stars from their sil- 

 vea-y cushions of leafage. The banks of the 

 wild garden, wdiere the sun has full play, 

 is ideal for cerastiums. In such a position 

 one obtains the sturdiest possible growth, 



Cerastiums are chiefly confined to C. 



tomentosum, C. Biebersteini, and C. grandi- 



florum, which are readily propagated from 



seeds or cuttings. The latter can be rooted 



in quantity during late summer by placing 

 several cuttings in sandy soil in 60-s:zed 

 pots, and giving them the shelter of a cold 

 frame until rooted. The number of pots 

 of cuttings will be, of course, regulated 

 by the requirements of the garden. If a 

 large quantity is required for edging bor- 

 ders or a like purpose, they should be con- 

 fined to one form only, for the sake of 

 ensuring a regularity of growth. All plants 

 should be cut over after flowering, as one 

 gains not only neatness but a l>etter foliage 

 growth^ and if too rampant, old plants 

 should be cut back hard, or replaced by 

 young ones. 



In addition to the cerastiums mentioned 

 there are a few others of interest and utilitv 



for the rock garden, 

 form of C. alpinum (which is 



The dwarf silvery 



itself 



THE VALUE OF SHADE. 



In the issue of the Gardeners' Magazine 

 for May 25, page 408, ''H. C. P/' has'a 

 timely note on shading plants generallv. I 

 quite agree with all the writer advances, 

 but would like to add a few words. Mam- 

 glasshouses are built with their fronts fac- 

 ing due south, or as nearly so as possible. 

 Throughout the summer months the fuUv- 

 exposed soil in pots along the front stagiv 

 must dry up quickly, and also become veiv 

 hot. Water from taps, pumps, and tui- 

 derground cisterns is poured into these 

 pots liberally, and rather freqiientlv, an^ 

 sudden chills to the roots of the'plani 

 occur. In such circumstances I favour a 

 permanent shading on the front lights high 

 enough to protect the pots. It docs nuuli 

 good, and such plants as tomatoes and 

 zonal pelargoniums receive the maximum 

 amount of light while their roots are kept 

 comparatively cool in the pots. 



VIEW IN THE ROCK GARDEN AT HOLLAND HOUSE, SOUTHCLIEF; THE 



GEANDIFLORUM. 



CENTRAL PLANT IS CERASTIUM 



and a good effect diu-ing the time of blos- 

 som. Then, again, they can be utilised in 

 the spacious parts of the rock garden, wheie 

 they will give a good account of themselves 

 if gron|)ed in exposed positions. Exposure 

 to full sun and wind is necessary to bring 

 out the fullest leaf-colouring, and it exerts 

 a dwarfing influence upon the plants. 



They are particularly valuable in the 

 rock garden for contrasting, the clear 

 white of the blossoms assisting to add to 

 the effect of coloured flowers near by, and 

 coming when the garden is aglow with blue, 

 gold, purple, and other telling colours, the 

 white of the cerastium gives an exquisite 

 ^contrasting touch. The appended illustra- 

 tion from a photograph taken in the rock 

 garden at Holland House, Southcliff, shows 

 Cerastium grandiflorum as the central part. 

 In the foreground are saxifrages of the 

 umbrosa section, at the back a grouping of 

 the pink Heuchera Eosamunde, while 

 violas, aubrietias, Nepeta Mussini, and 

 other plants are near by. 



probably but a variety of the better- 

 known C. tomentosum.), variously known as 

 C. lanatum and C. villosum, is worthy of 

 fcincliision. The dAvarf woolly foliage masses 

 are especially good, and the yellowish 

 flowers are of certain interest. A minia- 

 ture form, known as C. gracilis, is also 

 worthy of attention. This is decidedly 

 smaller in its parts than the usiial run of 

 cerastiums. 



Several others are to be obtained, but it 

 is hardly desirable to have a collection 

 of cerastiums when the above typify all 

 that is best in the group. The main thing 

 for the grower to do is to make the most 

 of his plants by planting simply for effect. 

 Put them just where the silvery foliage 

 and snowy blossoms will tell ; put them 

 where something light is required to con- 

 trast with deep-hued subjects, remembering 

 that few situations in an English garden 

 could prove too hot or dry for the success- 

 ful development of cerastiums. 



P. S. Hayvvard. 



If it be necessary to put on any perma- 

 nent shading on frame lights, a smear down 

 the centre of the squares of glass is gene- 

 rally sufficient. A good deal of light pen*^ 

 trates, while the direc^t sun's ^'^^-'^ 

 broken. 



rays 

 G. B. 



Portulacas.— Such a siunmer as 



that 



of 1911 should lead ti> the extended cultnr 

 of these brilliantly coloured annuals, 

 the intense lleat^and burning sun qiuckl> 

 destroyed the beauty of many of our a"- 

 nual flowers, the portulacas simply revellea 

 m the conditions that then prevailed, aim 

 formed for a long time a brilliant feature in 

 the garden. It is useless to attempt to 

 g-row the portulacas in a shady, moist spo ^ 

 but given a warm, well-drained border, o 

 the sunny part of a rockwork ledge, they a^ 

 most beautiful. Tliev belong to what are 

 termed half-hardy annuals, that is to sa?% 

 they do Ix^st when sown under glass, ai 

 the young plants are put out after a 

 hardening off, and when the cold weather oi 

 spring is over. — W, T. 



