VOL. LV.— No. 3,063 



SATURDAY, JULY 13, 1912 



THE 



GARDENERS 



9 



MAGAZINE 



NOTE OF THE WEEK. 



4^ 



Beddins Roses. 



Chief among the more important of the 

 many changes that have been made within 

 recent years in connection with roses and 

 their cultivation^ are the general recogni- 

 tion of the great value of the dwarf-grow- 

 ing and continuous-flowering varieties for 

 beautifying the flower garden throughout 

 the summer, ana the appreciation of the 

 desirability of arranging them in beds and 

 masses of one variety. It will be remem- 

 bered by those who have taken an active 

 mterest in roses for any considerable 

 period that it was long the pra<'tice to pro- 

 ceed on much the same lines in the pur- 

 chase and planting of roses as were fol- 

 lowed by those who gave attention to fruit 

 growing. Until about a quarter of a cen- 

 tury ago it was a quite common practice 

 for those who were desirous of forming 

 new fruit plantations, or adding to the fruit 

 trees already established, to visit an exhi- 

 bition of fruit, and select therefrom varie- 

 ties that were remarkable for the attrac- 

 tive appearance of their fruits, and in somo 

 instances as many varieties were selected as 

 the number of tree« required. The result 

 of this unfortunate practice was to fill the 

 garden with fruit trees tliat varie<l much 

 in productiveness and in the quality of 

 their fruits, and the supplies suffertnl in 

 consequence. Jn following the same lin<\s 

 the ainatenr rosarian visited the prijicipal 

 rose shows, and with pencil and note-book 

 in hand, jotted down such of the roses that, 

 by reason of their large size, shapely form, 

 or beautiful colourinir attract<Ml his or her 

 atten;t'^)n . Tlu' \a li^^t ios were in due 

 course purchased and plantinl, and, as 

 shown by the results later on, the beds and 

 bo rde rs w^e re fill ed with r oses of ^' a r v i n t; 

 aegrees of merit. Amateur rosarians are 

 not wholly to blame for the mistakes that 

 were made in the past, for writers on 

 roses, both in books and periodic literature, 

 devoted the greater proportion of their 

 space to dealinir with the details associated 



tive of the more important cla,sses. No 

 objection could well be raised to the plant- 

 ing of a large number of varieties for the 

 purpose of studj'ing their individual cha- 

 racteristics, provided they are not planted 

 where they will form a prominent y>art of 

 the decorative aj>pects of the garden. Ar- 

 ranged in a spacious border, or indeed in a 

 series of beds in a remote part of the 

 garden, they would, throughout the season, 

 give an immense amount of pleasure to 

 those who are so keenly interested in roses 

 as to derive enjoyment from a study c f the 

 individualities of varieties. When, on the 

 other hand, roses are intended for the pro- 

 duction of colour eff"ects in the flower gar- 

 den, and especially those parts which, by 

 rea-son of their contiguity to the residence 

 are constantly under observation, such 

 collections as these are wholly inadmis- 



wholly 



It is, indeed, essential that varie- 

 tie^^ should be selected that 



sible. 



are neat 



in habit, free and continuous in flowering, 

 and attractive in colour. In other words, 

 those who would have their gardens beauti- 

 ful with roses from early in June until 

 the autumn is well advanced, must plant 

 the varieties that are commonly known as 

 be<kling roses, and devote each bed to one 

 variety. The best rose for bedding is one 

 that is between eighteen and thirty inches 

 in height, is free-branching, and blooms 

 freely and continuously throughout the 

 season. 8-omo varieties, as in the case of 

 Dupuy Jamain. are very attractive early in 

 the season^ but as the summer progresses 

 the\' produce willow-like growths that rise 

 above the blooms, and hide a considerable 

 proportion of them from view. What is 

 needed in bedding rcses is not so much a mix- 

 ture of flowers and foliage as an abundance 

 of flowers rising to a fairly uniform height 

 above tlie growths, and free from formal- 

 ism as in the case of Caroline Testout, 

 which still maintains a foremost position 

 among heckling roses. There are many 

 others that are of immense value, as for 

 example. Augustine Guinoisseau, popularly 

 known as the white La France; Comtesse 

 du Cayla, a hright red China; Eearlate. a 



variety 



semi-double 



with 



bright 



scarlet 



\vitli the prodiu-tion of blooms for exhibi- flowers; Gustave Grunerwald, a charming 



tion, and, with but few exceptions, appear 

 to have faile<l to recognise the fact that 

 some of the beautiful varieties which wei'e 

 essential to tho^e (h^sirous (if oht-nnino; 

 honours at the exhil) iti<;n^ w<M(* not suffi- 

 ciently vitrorous i?i ^row t^ to l)c (if value 

 for gni (](Mi (hn'omt iiui This w t^ one wcik 

 P^int in tlu^ i)M pr'H l i( t\ \\ hicli linppily 

 has fr'ivi^w \\:\v u- I he .\ nd anotln^r 



ponit rcriainlv not I n o f rom wc:ikn<^>s was 

 the plaiiTiMii iti tlu' sanir ixvi.s :i nniltiplicity 

 j^f \'aririirs o\ in< ini2; a wi<h' di\ ci'gi'nt*^ in 

 njiiiit. Tho diversities in liabit. in tlu^ size 

 ^'^nd iorm of the flowers, and in tht^ colours 

 afforded bv any consider :d)Io nunibrr (tf 



* ■ 



roses, possess <^o much inton'st to tho-i^ who 

 ^^i*e keenly alive to th*^ varied charms oi the 

 rose that it would not be <litticu]t to defend 

 the planting of large selections representa- 



pink rose; Joseph Hill, salmon-pink, with 

 opper-yellow centre; Lady Ashtown, deep 

 pink, a specially fine variety for bedding 

 that produces a glorious display of colour 



the season ; Madame Abel 



tliroughout 



Chatenay, a rich ro^e-pink flower, so largely 

 o-rown for the production of floweis 

 Tor nmrket : Madame Leon Pain, the flowers 

 white, tintinl with pink-fawn; Mrs. E. G. 

 Hill, pale pink: ^fadame Jule-s Grolcz, sil- 

 very-rose; Madame Ravary, yellow, with 

 orange centre; Pharisaer, pale salmon: 

 and Prince de Bulgarie, rose, suffused apri- 

 cot. Tlieso compii^c but a few^ of the goml 

 hpddin':r roses, nnd they are mentioned here 

 for the^purircse of mggesting to those who 

 ai'c intci-ested in thiis aspect of rose cul- 

 ture to study tlieir Vahit, their flower pro- 

 duction, and their colours during the season, 



a thorough acquaintance with them being 

 of assistance in determuiing their adapta- 

 bility to special positions, and also the 

 merits of other varieties of promise for 

 bedding purposes Some of the newer 

 varieties, with yellow and orange-tinted 

 flowers, have promise of proving useful for 

 bedding purposes, such as Rayon d'Or, 

 James C003', Lady Pirrie^ Melo<ly, and Mrs. 

 C. E. Allen, and, giving quite new shades 

 of colour in the bedding class, they shoidd 

 have a full share of attention. Last year 

 the weather was s-o unfavourable to the 

 full development of rotes that a proper es- 

 timate could not be forme<:l of the «uit- 

 ahility of the newer forms for the produc- 

 tion of continuous displays of flowers. It 

 is only by limiting each bed to one variety 

 that a tasteful and otherwise satisfactory 

 effect can be obtaine<l, and it will be in 

 every way better to multiply the number 

 and reduce the size of the beds than to 

 have a few" l^irge beds and use a number of 

 varieties in furnishing them. In the 

 utilisation of roses for bedding purposes it 

 is essential to sivccess that the beds be 

 prepared on generous lines previous to their 

 being planted, and that the fertility of the 

 soil be maintained by manurial applications 

 annually. Even when this is done, the roses 

 will not retain their full vigour for an in- 

 definite period. Some varieties will grow 

 freely, and bloom profusely for a longer 

 period than others, and the cultivator 

 should keep a close watch on the beds, and 

 as ^^orin as there are signs of deterioration, 

 and not before, the old plants should be 

 taken up, and the beds, after undergoing 

 the necessary preparation, be replanted 

 with young plants, early in November being 

 the best time for effecting the change. 



of 



by the Waterside 



Those who are in anv wav intereste<l in the 

 question of beautify in u tli»^ margm 

 water with roses shoid<l. as far as is prac- 

 ticable, visit the Royal Gar<lens, Kew, 

 within the next few days, and see what 

 has been accomplished there in this phase 

 of decorative rose culture. Tlie majority 

 of our readers will have seen at some time* 

 or other the large lake between tl>e prin- 

 cipal museum and the palm-house, and! 

 they will remember that it has a stone 

 bahistrade on the south, north, and wes- 

 tern sides. On the northern and southern 

 sides there is an ex])ans<^ of turf and 

 ah)ng>ide the halnstrulc n narrow Iwrder 

 was formed a few years siiue, an<l planted 

 with Dorothy Perkins and liady Gay. tlie 

 first-name<l being on the northern and the 

 other on the southern side. In Innh cases 

 the growth is trained over the balustrade, 

 nnd the effe<-t pro<luced is most attractive 

 throughout the season of growth, for the 



s]>ray< of 



present a very pleasing contrast to 

 the o;rev-white stone-work. Had the 

 roses no other attraction than the 

 glistening green leafage their use ir» 



elegant 



g lossy g rec n lea ves 



