August 31, 1912. 



673 



MAY'FLOWERING TULIPS, 



The striking popularity of May-flower- 

 ing tulips at the present day provides a 

 fnlt testimony to their wonderful value 

 for garden decoration. One should 

 include in the group of tulips known as 



May-flowering the Cottage tulips, the 

 old-world favourites of English, Scotch, 

 and French cottage gardens ; the many 

 fine late-flowering tulip species ; the won- 

 derful breeder tulips, of which the Dar- 

 win and Rembrandt groups; and the Eng- 

 lish exhibition tulips, known to us best 

 in their sectional divisions of bybloemens, 

 bizarres, and roses. One will observe 

 that the May-flow^ering tulips comprise a 

 veritable host of varieties, and that thev 

 cannot all have justice done them in one 

 article; therefore, no reference will now 

 be made t-o the breeds, exhibition varieties, 

 or species. 



Of their utility for garden decoration 

 there is no question, for, in form, height, 

 and colouring these tulip groups are of 

 splendid value. They are grand in the 

 beds and the May borders, especally if one 

 arranges them to come through a carpet 

 of lowlier plants, which should provide a 

 contrast to the glow of the tulips, in ad- 

 dition to covering the bareness of the soil. 

 One can use for this purpose saxifrages 

 (preferably Avhite, mossy varieties), myoso- 

 tis^ alyssums, violas, or other suitable sub- 

 jects. For informal groupings in the wild 

 garden, or in the grass, or on sloping 

 ground above the waterways, these tulips 

 are capable of fine eflFects, while for de- 

 corative purposes when cut they are first- 

 rate, whether used in variety, or whether 

 simple colours are contrasted one with 

 another. 



To those whose taste tends to decorative 

 work, let me commend a study of the colour 

 values of the mauve, silver, maroon, and 

 pink-hued Darwins, and the w^hites, 

 yellows, and rosy colours to be found 

 amongst the Cottage tulips, some pleasing 

 contrasts and delio;htf ul effects can be 

 achieved with a little trouble. 



Intending planters of the May-flowering 

 tuhps should, if possible, do their planting 

 in October, or, failing this, the early part 

 of November. ''Earlier" or "later'' one 

 is placed at a disadvantage. A good loamy 

 soil suits the tulips well, and for the saKe 

 of the extra strength and substance of the 

 flowers I would prefer it inclining to 

 heaviness, rather than too light. A good 

 planting depth is four inches on heavy 

 land, to six or seven on light. 



If manure is necessary it should be 

 WT)rked into the soil several weeks previous 

 to planting the bulbs, for, in my opinion, 

 fresh manure is often detrimental to the 

 vigorous growth of the young rootlets. 

 Plantings should always be arranged for 

 effect, and one should' be able to obtain 

 elose proximity of the blossoms by means 

 of well-placed paths or footways. 



The tall, bold-flowering Darwins deserve 

 first place in our notes, being grand at 

 all points. In height they average^ twenty- 

 five or more inches, and, the stems being 

 strong and stiff, no supports are necessary. 



selection of varieties is a tax upon 

 the suggestive powers of any one, for who 

 can discriminate where all are so good? A 

 f^^v splendid garden forms woukl be Clara 

 Butt, a lovely soft pink; Dream, a sil- 

 very-heliotrope; Antony Roozen, 

 rose; Madame Krelage, a nice shade of 

 rose ; Duchess of Westminster, darker than 

 Clara Butt ; Claude Gillot, a brilliant ver- 

 milion-red ; Europe, a first-rate scarlet ; 

 rarncombe Sanders, a study in dark crim- 

 ; Fra Angelico, a erand maroon-black ; 

 Hciiner, a shapely crimson-maroon ; King 

 Harold, a fine ruby-crimson; La Candeur, 



a soft 



creamy-wliite ; La Tulipe Xoire, the famous 

 Black Tuhp ; Loveliness, rosy-pink and 

 white ; and Margaret, rose, with a blue 

 base. 



I would commend also the crimson- 

 maroon, Millet ; Phyllis, a lovely l osy-lila 

 Pride of Haarlem, a tall scarlet-crimson; 

 Rev. H. Ewbank, one of the best helio- 

 tro])es ; Sultan, a good dark variety; Van 

 Poortvliet, rosv-salmon ; Viola, a splendid 

 violet-crimson shade; and the bronzy-gold 

 Yellow Perfection. 



May I ask the reader to note the follow- 

 ing Cottage tulips.^ They are pre-eminent 

 for beauty and garden decoration : The 

 golden-yellow Afterglow should be secured ; 

 Flame, for a touch of orange-scarlet ; 

 Eurasian is a tall, dainty straivberry-pink ; 

 Feti Ardent, a fiery-scarlet, will attract 

 greatly ; the Inglescombes, for effect and 

 a poor soil, Pink, Scarlet; and Yellow, are 

 all good; Kathleen and Mrs. Moon are 

 two grand yellows ; Marksmanj a good new 

 orange-scarlet ; Orange King is a fine 

 tall orange; Red Standard, a magnificent 

 crimson ; The Fawn is a charming fawn and 

 apricot-hued variety; Walter T. Ware, a 

 splendid orange-yellow ; Scarlet Emperor, 

 a glowing scai-let of merit ; while the coral- 

 shaded La Merveille, the fine varieties of 

 Gesneriana, together with Primrose Beauty 



and Amber Crown, are worthy of note. 

 Novelties like Norman 



UOETICULTUEAL SHOW ADVEETISE- 



ilKNTS art' in^-trted in thie column at Six- 

 pence ]M'r iine, the nnDimum charge being Two Shil- 

 Img-i and Sixpence. Ofiice;;, 14S and 149, Alder&gate 

 >treet. Londnn. K.C. 



Knight, orange- 

 s<?arlet ; Great Dane, a pale orange ; Bean 

 Brnmmel, scarlet; and Coralie. near to La 

 Merveille in colour, are, with others, 

 deserving of attention. 



The Rembrandt tulips, to give them just 

 a brief reference, are Darwin tulips wdiich, 

 instead of retaining the self colours of 

 the group, have broken into a series of 

 marked and flamed varieties, and retain 

 these markings perfectly fixed under culti- 

 vation. Thev have not the fine finish of 



^ 



the English flamed and feathered tulips, 



being marked more unevenly, but their 

 rich colours, fine stems, and general good 

 character, warrants them due notice <nt 

 the hands of English growers. One "will 

 hear more of them, but unless tulip 

 fashions change they can hardly expect the 

 same meed of public favour as the self- 

 coloured Darw'ins. 



P. S. Hayward. 



Erica cerinthoides. — While we 



have a great number of greenhouse heaths 

 that flower in the spring, there are com- 

 paratively few that bloom towards the end 

 of the summer. One of them is Erica cerin- 

 thoides, which forms an upright plant, whos? 

 shoots are thickly furnished wuth deep 

 green leaves. The flowers are borne in a ter- 

 minal head or cluster, and are tubular, 

 about an inch long, and of a bright crimson- 

 scarlet colouT. It forms a very pretty fea- 

 ture in the greenhouse. — K. 



Stenoslottis longrifolia. — Ter- 



restial orchids are at the present day 

 thought much less of than the epiphytal 

 ones, though some of them well merit more 

 attention than they now receive. Among 

 them may well be included this stenoglottis, 

 which, early in the autumn, flowers freely 

 in the cool house. From a foliage point of 

 view alone it is very pretty^ as it forms 

 a r o se 1 1 e of n a r row , 

 about six inches long, 

 lated on the margins, 

 spikes reach a height 

 inches. They are quite erect^ 

 the upper half a large number of pleasing 

 rosy-purple blossoms, dotted more or less 

 with a deeper tint. This stenoglottis grows 

 well in a mixture of loam, leaf-mould, 

 sphagnum moss, and sand, and must at no 

 time of the year be kept quite dry; while 

 during the growing season it needs a liberal 

 amount of water. It is a native of NataL 

 S. W. 



deep green leaves, 

 and prettily undu- 

 The slender flower 

 of about eighteen 



and bear on 



EXHIBITIONS AND 



MEETINGS. 



Royal Horticultural Society. 



ATGrST 27. 



The exhibition held by the Eoyal Horti- 

 cultural Society on Tuesday was extensive, 

 and reuiarkalilo for th? high order of excel- 

 lence' that was characteristic of the greater 

 proportion of tlie variout^ contributions. 

 Visitors were reminded of the fact that we 

 are now near tlie clo^e of summer by the 

 liberal c()iitiil)utions of dahlias and the re- 

 niarkaliii^ fine collections of fruit trees and 

 gathered fruit. 



FLORAL COMMITTEE. 



A splendid bank of cut flowers of Bud- 

 dleia^ cani-e from the Hon. Vicary Gibbs, 

 Ald^nliaiii House, Elstree (gardener Mr. E. 

 lieckctt, Y.M.H.). Tlie finely-developed 

 Hower spikes were arranged in huge vases^ 

 and attracted much attention. The varie- 

 ties wpre B. variabilis Heliotrope, B. v. 

 Distinction, a glorious spike ; B. v. Delight, 

 very pale lavender; B. v. gigantea, and B. 

 v . Lo ve 1 y : a Is o t he o r a n ge - fl o we re d spec ie s 

 known as B. globosa. 



Messrs. Dobbie and Co., Edinburgh, exhi- 

 1 ited dahlias of the collarette tyj^e in large 

 variety, arranged in vases and stands. The 

 most conspicuous varieties were Henri Fur- 

 man, Diadem, Balmoral, Prince de Venosa, 

 Princess Louiee, Comtesse Icy Hardegg, and 

 Antwe'rpia. 



From Messrs. "W. Fells and Son, Hitchin. 

 came a natural rock garden and a collection 

 of violas. The latter were well coloured, but 

 exhii)ited signs of the unfavouable weather 

 of late. A coll:^ction of saxifragas, sedums, 

 etc., added interest to this exhibit. 



Messrs. James Veitch and Sons, Lim., 

 Chelsea, had an exhibit of a miscellaneous 

 character, which included tall standard 

 fuchsias, comprising good examples of Thalia, 

 Eichmond Lass, Charming, and Mrs. Bundle. 

 Cannas ware included, and were remarkably 

 well grown, the most striking being J. B. 

 van der Schoot Meteore, W. Saunders, 

 Ottawa, and Fran D. Hultzsch ; while the 

 streptocarpu>es in clear, well-defined colours, 

 were much admired. 



From Mr. Amos Perry, Hardy Plant Farm, 

 Enfield, came a fine bank of delphiniums 

 backed with some well-coloured acers. The 

 most attractive delphiniums were King <>f 



Delphiniums. Persimmon, Amos Perry, Per- 

 fection. My>. Cr^ighton, and Lizzie. 



MesMs. \V. Wells and Co., Lim., Merstham, 

 exhibited liardy fiouers in ({uantity^ among 

 others bcMug dclphiniunis and some fine 

 ])hhixes, tlie best of the latter l>eing Le 

 Alahdi, Ro.^e Queen, Artliur Baane, and 



Selma ; wliile Viola corniita j)urpurea and 

 its white torni were in exc IKnt condition; 

 w hi le from Mesr-rs. G . Hun va rd and Co,, 

 Lim., Maidstone, also came a collection of 

 herbaceous flowers. The best among other 

 good features were ihor-? formed by delphi- 

 niums, autumn-flowering anemones in variety, 

 phloxes, and tritomas. 



Messrs. J. Piper and Sons, Bishops Road. 

 Bayswater, had a fine display of hliums of 

 the speciosum type interspersed with Gypso- 

 phila paniculata fl. pi., th? whole being 

 backed with palms, chiefly kentias and cocos. 



Mr. James Box, Lindfield, Sussex, occupied 

 a corner of the hall, with a large and attrac- 

 tive arrangement of hardy flowers compris- 

 ing phloxes of high quality. These were 

 arranged in tall columns, and were most 

 effective, especially the varieties Le Mahdi, 

 Selma, Mrs. J. Harkness. Gloire du Marc, 

 and Iris. A clump of Gladiolus America 

 was most pleasing, with the l>lue variety 

 Blue Jay. Other notable sul>jects were 

 liliums, pentstemons, tritomas, and gaillar- 

 dias. 



