720 



EARLY^FLOWERING 



GLADIOLL 



This section of the gladioli family has be- 

 < ()me immensely popular during late years, 

 and for providing a quantity of cut flowers 

 the several species and varieties are quite 

 indispensable. The old G. Colvillei alba 

 has been a great favourite for some time, 

 its pure white fiow^ers being highly appre- 

 ciated both for garden decoration and for 

 cutting, and it is grown extensively for 

 the latter purpose. A vast improvement 

 lias taken place lately among the early- 

 flowering gladioli, and there are now some 

 beautiful varieties obtainable, usually at a 

 cheap rate. The rich colouring of the 

 flowers, with the vivid blotches on the 

 lower segments, almost rivals the colouring 

 of orchids. The blotches are usually sur- 

 rounded by a shading quite distinct from 

 the ground colour, and this enhances the 

 beauty of the flowers. 



Not only on account of their beauty are 

 these plants recommendeil, but also for the 

 ease with which they may be cultivated. 

 They adapt themselves to pot culture 

 equally as well as they do to the borders, 

 and when grown in pots they are of great 

 value for conservatory decoration during 

 the spring. Their natural period of flower- 

 ing outdoors is June and July, but by grow- 

 ing them in pots and gently forcing them 

 flowers are to be obtained in May, and at 

 this season they are highly appreciated, for 

 the daffodils are practically over then, and 

 the supply of flowers for cutting is none too 

 plenteous. These early gladioli are wonder- 

 fully free in flowering, and also have great 

 lasting properties when in a cut state, for 

 every bu<l opens quite to the end of the 

 spike. It is impossible to say too much in 

 fiivour of these easily-grown and lovely 

 flowers, and they certainly deserve to be 

 (extensively cultivated. The section com- 

 prises vari(^tios of the nanus and G. 

 ramosus groups :is well as such fine sorts 

 as G. Colvillei. (i. Colvillei alba, G, byzan- 

 tinus, and (i. rardiiialis. 



Outdoor Culture. 



A well-drained border is necessary for 

 the successful cultivation of early gladioli, 

 and one that is sheltered from cutting 

 winds, and slishtlv shaded from the mid- 

 day sun. The soil s»hould be of a light, 

 friable nature, enriched with well-decaye<:l 

 manure, and should be thoroughly prepared 

 some time before l)eing planted. The 

 corms may l>e planted at any t:mo from 

 the l)eginning of September initil the end 

 of October, for preference the earlier date, 

 as growth commences soon after the foliage 

 has died down. They shouUl lie ])Iante<l 

 from four to six inches deep, in rows about 

 twelve ineluvs apart, allowin*i; ^ix inehrs' 

 space hetw*H^n oa<'-li <H)rni. During severe 

 weather the growths will nee<I some pro- 

 tection from frosts. Bracken will he 

 found to }ye a m^>st suitable protective 

 material, as it is light and airy, and does 

 not become so heavv and rotten as straw 

 litti'r. Tbi> should be lightly laid 

 over the border on the approach of sharp 

 weather, and removal altogethgr iil March. 



During dry spells in the winter it is 

 beneficial to lightly loosen the protecting 

 material to allow it to dry up. and if this 

 is occasionally attendee! to the?e will be 

 no fear of the soil becoming sour. In the 

 favoure<l districts of the south and south- 

 w^est, where the WMnters are mild, protec- 

 tion is not necessary in any shape or form, 

 and beyond the initial work of planting 

 thero is hardly any lalmur attached to their 

 cultivation. A good mulching in the late 

 Bpring will greatly improve the flowers 



and lengthen the spikes, and an occasional 

 watering with weak liquid manure during 

 dry weather will do good. 



Pot Culture. 



Five-inch pots will be found the most 

 convenient size in which to .grow these 

 gladioli, and from four to six corms may 

 be placed in each pot, according to their 

 size. The potting compost should consist 

 of two-thirds loam and one-third w^ell-de- 

 cayed manure, adding to this a sprinkling 

 of sharp sand. When the work of potting 

 is completed the pots should be placed in 

 a cold frame, withholding water until 

 growth commences. Free ventilation must 

 be allowed at every opportunity, only clos- 

 ing the frame when absolutely necessary; 

 in case of frost protect with mats. In 

 the early part of the year the plants may 

 be placed in a cool greenhouse, w^here they 

 will grow steadily. On no accoimt should 

 th^ere be any attempt at sharp foi'cing ; a 

 high temperature must be avoided at all 

 times, or there will be complete failure. 



Varieties. 



A good select'on includes Ackermanni, 

 CrinKson Queen, Delicatissima, Lord Grey, 

 Ne Plus ritra, Peach Blossom, Prince 

 Albert, Queen Victoria, Queen Wilhelmina, 

 Rosy Gem, Salmon Queen, The Queen, and 

 Zimmerman. E. C. Poolzt. 



Gnaton Gardens. 



THE AUTUMN COLOUR OF 



LEAVES. 



Although we are inclined to associate the 

 rich autumnal tints of the foliage of cer- 

 tain deciduous trees and shrubs with bright, 

 s unny wea ther, w^e a re now and then 

 Jbrought face to face with the fact that sun- 

 shine is not the only or principal factor at 

 work in the production of colour. In this 

 year of cold and rain there is every indica- 

 tion at present, mid^September, that the 

 colour of the foliage of mme subjects will 

 be superior to that of last year, which was 

 one of record sun. lliis may be due to the 

 fact that the leaves are better nourished 

 after a damp summer, for there is nothing 

 to be seen at present of the flabbiness and 

 partly dead leaves which were prevalent on 

 many trees in 1911. 



There does not appear to be much diflPer- 

 ence between a dry and wet summer in the 

 date Mhen tlie leaves commence to colour, 

 for, although a dry time causes leaves to 

 fall before their proper time, such leaves 

 are usually minus showy colouring matter, 

 and at their best are but a dinj^y yellow 

 or brown. Perhaps the years when colour 

 ba> IxHMi niost l^rilliant are those when a 

 nnHlrriitely wet early summer has been fol- 

 io-wed by a fine late summer and an early 

 autumn, for it apjK^ars that to obtain goo<l 

 colour there must be no check to the plants 

 during tlie .season of growth. 



The effects of autumn are usually first 

 noticed on Ampelopsis Veitchi, for as early 

 as the middle of August the leaves have 

 often changed from green to scarlet^ 

 bronze, or dark red. Fortunately, the 

 leaves do not fall quickly after changing 

 colour, their brilliancy often extending over 

 a period of from four to six weeks. Vitis 

 Coignetia?, which in Japan is croditfyl with 

 being one of tlie most showy of all shrubby 

 plants in autumn, is ratlu-r disappointing in 

 this country, yet it ju-omises to be really 

 good this year, for mimv leaves ;ire already 

 bnVhtly coloured. There nvo many vines 

 that are worth planting for thesake of their 

 autumn effeet. The hirge-leav.«d species, 

 which is usually grown in gard<MLs as Vitis 



Thunbergi, is one, whilst V. Henryana V 

 armata, V. Thomsoniana, V. Romaneti 

 and V. seriansefolia are other good kindis 

 Several sorts of deciduous euonymuses are 

 very beautiful in autumn, although their 

 attractive qualities do not appear to be fully 

 appreciated, E. alata is dressed in orange 

 and scarlet, the leaves of latifolius and 

 americanus turn red, planipes changes its 

 colour from green to purple and deep red 

 and the comm.on E, europseus often colours 

 w^ell. Added to the colour of the leaves is 

 the ornamental appearance of the bright- 

 coloured fruits in most cases. This is an 

 instance of a group of plants making up in 

 autumn for the insignificance of their 

 flowers in spring. The same may be said 

 of the American Tupelo, Nyssa sylvatica, 

 for its leaves are very highly-coloured pre- 

 vious to falling. 



The leaves of some of the cornus take on 

 a good deal of colour, but perhaps the 

 most .showy of all is the Californian C. Nut- 

 talli. At its best, in September, the foliage 

 is red. Unfortunately, it is not largely 

 grown here, but from American descrip- 

 tions it has few equals for showy colour 

 ing in its particular region. Some of the 

 barberries colour very prettily^ perhaps the 

 most noticeable one ibeing Beriberis Thun- 

 bergi, the colour in this case being scarlet 

 and gold. Liquidambar styraciflua is easily 

 one of the most shoAvy of tall-growing trees, 

 for the leaves are made up of numerous 

 s<hades of red, bronze, and yellow. The 

 'hickories, as a rule^ are conspicuous by 

 reason of golden leaves in autumn. Of the 

 several species, Carya tomentosa is easily 

 the most attractive. Amongst the maples 

 are many effective kinds, for I'ich colouring 

 is observed from the dwarf-growing varie- 

 ties of Acer palmatum.and A. japonicuni 

 to such large-growing sorts as A. rubrum 

 and A. darycarpum. Perhaps the most 

 conspicuous of all is A. Ginnala, for in this 

 case the leaves are vivid scarlet. 



Ribes aureum, although usually grown 

 as a s-pring-flowering shrub, is decidedly at- 

 tractive in autumn, for the foliage assumes 

 a rich reddish-purple hue. Oxydendron ar- 

 boreum, a member of the Ericaceae, change's 

 to scarlet, whilst the enkianthuses, which 

 belong to the same order^ assume the sanie 

 eolo u r . D ec id u 0 u s r hod od end ro n s a re 

 amongst the most attractive of all shrubs 

 in autumn, for their leaves give us almost 

 as many shades of colour as their flower^ 

 do earlier in the year. The rhus family is 

 renowned for bright foliage in autumn, the 

 most beautiful of all, perhaps, being 

 cotinoides. In this case, the colour is 

 orange and scarlet, the various shades being 

 very delicately blended, 



Pyrus, both of the pear and apple gi'0»F; 

 give numerous decorative examples, whiin 

 there are lalso many showy thorns. Or 

 hitter Crataegus prunifolia is perhaps m 

 most conspicuous of all. The snowy m'^^ 

 pilus, Amelanchier canadensis, is 

 low'-growing tree, -which icolours well i 

 autumn, whilst in the allied genus Coton- 



very conspicuous. 



Such clecidm)us conifers as Pseudolari^ 

 K^mpferi, Ginkgo biloba, and Taxoduu;^ 

 distichum are very attractive, the two ^^^^ 

 mer by reason of their golden leaves a 

 the latter iby its rich Ibrown foliage. 



Amongst British trees the beech is. P^^ 

 haps, the most sliowy, for its l^^^'^^^^V 

 brown in colour. Oaks and elms tire, 

 ever, showy, whilst the birch is * 

 conspicuous. Although bright colour i^^^^^ 

 be seen in many more instances those n 

 tioned are sufficient to dirt^rt ^^^^^^^l^^^iie 

 the value of autumn tints as an aid t 

 embelli.^hmcnt of ga-den and ^vorKUanci^ 



easte r f r i a: i d u s is 



