982 



THE 



GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



December 21, 1912 



CHRISTMAS FLOWERS IN ^^^'^ continue; Ciassula lactea,, a sturdy during the ensuing year. Neither would 



THE GREENHOUSE AT KEW. 



^'lowers of various kinds are always in 

 demand during the Christmas season, and 

 complaints are by no means infrequent of 

 the limited number at that time available. 

 Still, a walk through the greenhouse at 

 Kew reveals the fact tint the choice is 

 greater than one might think, for the fol- 



suoculent, with loose clusters of starry white the judieious housewife remove the holly 

 flowers; Statioe brassicifolia, whose pleas- befoi-e Shrove Tuesday, on which day she 

 ing blue blossoms are now in many oases . « 



past their (best; and Plumbago rosea ^ with 

 good spikes of rosy-red flowers, a tone of 



colour unrepresented among its 

 associates. 



many 



The bright anci pleasing effect produced 

 by a number of small bushes of Aucuba 



lowing all combine to render an effective japonica vera, absolutely laden with scarlet 



floral display. 



berries, also claims recognition, and so does 

 the beauty of Centropogon Lucyanus when 

 grown as a basket plant. Tn this Av^ay, the 

 clusters of curved^ tubular^shaped flowers 

 of a carmine tint are seen to considerable 

 ivdvantage. Of the climbing plants the 

 mosjt notable just now are Abutilon Boule 

 de Neige, white ; A. Golden Fleece, yellow ; 

 and that distinct species, A. insiirne, w 



widely-expaiided flowers are reddish, with 

 deeper veins. Lantana salvi^efolia is also a 

 delightful climber for the greenhouse, being 

 thickly studded with its rounded clustei s of 

 lilac flowers. This is the same kind as that 



wTiidh is so o:Bnerallv bedded out durins; the 



summer as Lajitana delieatissima. 



K. 



Of these there are among the true species 

 B. Haageana^ with massive drooping clus- 

 ters of blush-coloured floi\ tM-^ ; li. metaliica 

 an old and well-known kind, with handsome 

 bronzy leafage and smaller clusters of 

 flowers than B. Haageana, but of much the 

 same tint, and B. polyantha, a freely- 

 branched, bushy growing plant, with small 

 pink flowers. 



Garden varieties include Glcnre de Lor- 

 raine, both in pots Mud snsp('iid<Hl baskets, 

 and the larger and J■iclIeI-c(^l[)ured variety 

 The King, as well as the white or pale blush 

 tinted Turnford Hall. Others are B. 

 Luzerna, a tall growt^r, with olive-grex^n 

 leaves and large chisters of pink flowers; 

 B, Corbeille de Feu, a dwai-f bushy plant, 

 whose small bright red flowers are borne in 

 great profusion ; B. Gloire de Sceaux, hand- 

 .stmie bronzy leaves and large pink flowerj^ ; 

 B. semperflorcns gigant(-ri, an almost con- 

 tinuous flowering kind, with deep rose 



<'oIoured I^io.^soms : H. eamiinata, a pretty ^ ^ 



hybrid betvve(;n B. cf;;-cin(M and 1?. Dregei, imited in attributing its nse to scenes of a 



joyous nature, wh i 1st some other ever- 

 gr(HMis, niori^ espcn-ially tlu^ yew, were re- 

 f(M'i(Ml to in i'onncftion with de])ressing 

 coiiditions. Shakespeare a])pears to have 

 followed the usual rule, for in "As You 



THE HOLLY FOR CHRISTMAS 



DECORATIONS. 



Although many kinds of evergreens are 

 used for decorative purposes at Christmas 

 time, the holly is mostly in demand, and 

 for a very h)ng period it has been associated 

 with the festive season. Earlv writers 



now^ past its best; wiili H. Winter C'lieer. 



1 • T ■ 1 



a bright-c^olouied StK-uvrana liybi'id. 



Hard-wooded Plants. 



These contribute tluMr share to the floral 

 display, among them lieing Indian azaleas, 

 Er;ea hyemalis. the pretty mauv<'-tinted 

 aTid t'Xeet^dinuly floi i Terons Krica nielan- 

 tbera ; the liottle Brnsli FIo\v(M- (C 

 nion >:iiig;in>), Mliieh is iif^nrly a I ways called 

 Met residi IDS florih inula : Crowes sMlioii;i 



" }l<Mi^-h ho I -^iii^i^' 



w ith it> pr(,l nsion of rich ])i!d'; floM er.s ; 

 Polygala mvrtifolia grandiflorn, whose ear- 



Like It,'' he savs: 



lioigh ho! unto the Green 

 Holly; 



^ro?t friendslii[> ih feignini;-, most loviniir mere 

 follv: 



'i'hon. heiy^h ho ! ihi^ Holly, 

 This life is most jolly ! " 



To the yew, lie letei - in Titus AiidrDiii- 

 cus," as foll(n\ s : 



But straight tliey told me they -would bind 

 inp her-e 



Unto 1 1 J I . o ( I V of 4 d i s.n a I ve w . ' ' 



The earliest use of the holly for Christ- 

 mas decorations appears to have taken 

 i^lace during the early years of the Chris- 

 tian era, for it was the <iistom of th(^ 



4 i 



with the festiv'il of the Saturnalia which 



mine-rose flowers inimie thi:sp oF -i 'e^iunin- 

 tnis ])lanl ; Harosina hnneohita, Avitb a ])ro- 

 l usion of tiny w bite flow ers ; Tm atheca 

 thymiroliii, a litt'e iU^iut^ bush, tliickly 

 h\(h'u with (]vvp lilac-man\-e l;l()s>oms; and 

 Phylic't c-ipi usis. whose snudl i\liite flowers 



are cf;llee*ted in terminal he;uls. 



Other Flowers. 



Such \v(dl-kiu)wn flowers as <-hrysanthe- l?f>mans to use the l)rMn(-hes in connection 

 mums, carnatif))is. <-y(-iann'n. zoiimI pelargo- 

 niums, narcissi, Romnn hyacinths, stru-ks, ^x'^'yi'^'^j '^'^^^''t. the same time of the year ; 

 and primulas^ nrt^ ! reely rnprescnl i-d. whilp 

 a batch of small plants <,f bonvairlia is vcrv 

 bright and clnM'rtuI. ()i tho si^\-fMal varie- 

 ties c<>m])osino- it. tin- rich sea rh t-flowered 

 Pr(\sident Cleveland s; . out 1 rom it. 

 fellows *is the finest in us (-tlonr. 'I'ho 

 largo camellias plante<l out in om- of tht^ 



beds are also unfolding their earliest 

 blossoms. 



Uncommon Plants. 



Less common suhj-rts, wijrthy of note, 

 include Buddleia asiatica, with long, taper- 

 ings spikes of creamy-white flowers centred 

 with yellow; Buddleia ofiieinalis, a mauve 

 flower, abo w ith n ye:h;w eye : Salvia splen- 

 dens pyraniidalis, a good^ form of this 

 shoM-y autnmn-flnwering salvia ; Impatiens 

 Oliveri, a lai^e growitig imnnlrer of the 

 genus, w hn>e manve-f olnn'-od fltiw crs are 

 borne prar tieally i lironulunil t Ih^ yea r : 

 ^^pai'maunia alrioini, s-i (rslimt from any- 

 ' ' ■ 'Hid much admiriMl at this sv i- 



ou<'hiiri somi-ih eantlra ^ who-e 

 ' ' ^ i lit pod. rich purple blossoms have 

 been borne for the last thia-e months, and 



and oiwly Christians are thought to have 

 ns(Hl similar <leeorations in <'onnection with 

 their lest ivitii's, in ord<M- tliat they might 

 not a]>)fear too coiispi<"uons. That being 

 the ease, it is mort^ than likely that the 

 Romans inti'oduced the custom to thi' 

 liritish Isles, ai\d there is plenty of proof 

 that it has been userl continuously for manv 

 <<*nturies. That it was in use during the 

 reign of Heni-y VI. is evidenced by the fact 

 that it is freely mentioned in a carol which 

 was written nt that time. According to 

 that <"arol, the pro}3er place for the holly 

 was the hall, while the ivy was relegated 

 to the lujrch, for the lines occur: 



•■ Holy stond in tb(^ Hallo, fayre to behold; 

 Ivy ^>tond without the dorofshc ys full sore 

 cold.'' 



While, howt^ver, i^ has always been con- 

 sid<M(ul the right and |>ro|)or tlmig for holly 

 hi l)o nstnl foi- dirivfm do{(!rations, \ ari- 

 cns rostri<ti<)ns woro |>^ )(od upon its use. 

 Thus th(^ sujxM'stitifMis ufuild not upon any 

 < onsideration introiluce hoMv branches into 

 the hniiso before Christmas" Kve. else they 



would be subjected to all sorts of disasters 



would use it to fry pancakes over. Were 

 anything else done with the Christmas holly 

 she would be liable to various pains and 

 injuries for a year. 



These are not the only superstitious ideas 

 con niec t e d w i t h th e h ol 1 y , for one wise 

 person has decreed that Candlemas Eve 

 is the correct time to remove holly from a 

 house, and if any is left after that time, 

 the w o me n f o 1 k Vho h a v e ne g le ct ed t h e 

 work will be visited by ghosts and goblins 

 for an indefinite period. It is also fatal 

 to a husband's supremacy in the household 

 if he allows holly with spineless leaves to 

 be taken into the house at Christmas. 



There is 



old Border tale to the effect 



that if a maiden gathers nine holly leaves 

 on a Friday 'night at midnight and ties 

 them in a three-cornered handkerchief with 

 nine knots, and places them under her 

 pillow she will dream of her future hus- 

 band. Anothei' means is open to her of 

 attaining the same object, for if she places 

 three pails of water on her bedroom floor 

 and pins three hoU}' leaves to her night- 

 dress, immediately over her heart, before 

 retiring to bed on Christmas Eve, she will 

 *be aroused from .sleep to see the form of 

 her future husband glide through the room. 



Whatever the sujierstitions are which 

 attach themselves to it, the holly occu- 

 pies a very important position in the 

 commercial world, for very large quantities 

 change hands about Christnnis time, and 

 growers aiid market salesmen mak*^ it a 

 con>:iderahle source of profit. The 1a<*L of 

 sonic t rees prod uein g berr ies freely and 

 others failing to bear lany is often a source 

 of Ixnvilderment to ownei's. But wht^n the 

 matter is carefully considered, there is a very 

 good reason for it. It is vei-y seldom that 

 flowers <'ontaining perfect male and female 

 oTsrans arc productMl bv the sani)e tree, 

 ami usually the flowers on one tret^ have 

 ])erfe( t male and rudiinentarv ftMuale or- 

 gans, whih^ on other trees tlu' reverse is 

 th(^ cas(\ Good fruiting yeais do not al- 

 wayso(*eni\ and (Men when fruits are most 

 ef)n)nion. fertile s( erls may not be abun- 

 dant, especially w hen tlu^ fi uit-bearing trees 

 are some distance frnm the nearest male. 



Anyone who contemplates planting hollies 

 for the production of berries for Ciiristnias 

 decoration caiinot do better than rely en- 

 tirely upon the common kind, for it is 

 much better suited for the purpose than 

 the majority of the garden varieties, many 

 of which never bear a fruit, and those 

 which do^ often fruit less freely than the 

 type. Plants should be selected and planted 

 at th(^ rat(^ of on(* male bush to ten or 

 twelve female bushes to <Mrsure the most 

 satisfactory i-rop. A good ])lat'e to planu 

 hollies for th<^ puri)ose is a thin plantation. 

 Most kind^ of soil suit the holly, but that 

 which suits the oak is peculiarly adapted 

 for holly. 



a fine lot of well- 

 grow!i and well-li-uited bushes, which had 

 originated as natural seedlings, were noted 

 in a thin oak wood in Berkshire, while the 

 New Forest is a well-knoAvn place for well- 

 developed trees. As a contrast to the rca- 

 fruited tree, that Avith yellow fruits might 

 be grown, while for gardens the female form 

 of the American Ilex o])aca is well wortn 

 ))lanting, for it fruits fre(dy. its fruits art 

 very brig^htly cohmred, arid the bnsh is 



ni'aL in ap[)earance. Several ol' the varie- 

 gated kincls are sometinu's con-idored 

 connection with the production et berries, 

 but the varie^tifs with large heaves com- 

 mand little respe<-t for indoor decoration- 



Kew. W. DAI.LIMOBE. 



Quito rerentlv 



