April 9, 1885. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
283 
COMING EVENTS 
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9 
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Quekett Club at 8 P.M. 
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Royal Botanic Society at 3.45 P.M. 
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Low Sunday. 
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Royal Horticultural Society, Fruit and Floral Committees at 11 a.m. ; 
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Newcastle on Tyne Spring Show. [Promenade Show. 
USEFUL SPRING FLOWERS. 
0 attempt to describe the floral wealth of spring 
V wou ^ k 0 only the beginning of what might 
J wwlwfcKs prove a large volume, so great are the plants in 
numbers and so much might deservedly be 
said respecting them. My chief wish, however, 
is to call attention to a few of those vernal 
beauties that from a variety of causes are said to 
be fastidious either as to soil or situation, and 
which are moreover not everyday occurrences—plants 
which should be to the fore in every garden where 
beauty i3 at all sought after. 
What is more choice, more lovely in the extreme, and, 
until the last few years, more rare than Chionodoxa Luciliae, 
or the “ Snow Glory ? ” Surely none among the numbers 
of spring flowers can surpass the innocent beauty of this 
lovely bulbous plant. The sunny days of late have afforded 
welcome assistance, and already in warm favoured soils 
flowers and bursting buds are plentiful. Many were the opinions 
at first expressed respecting this plant, caused probably in 
a measure by a number of Scilla bifolia being sent along 
with it, and of which I had a goodly share, and also from its 
being recommended as a good pot plant for conservatory and 
greenhouse decoration. No one, however, knowing the plant 
could recommend it for this purpose, for I know of no plant 
delighting more in the full sunshine than this ; under glass 
(if only in a frame) that combination of colours which makes 
up so striking a contrast is to a great extent destroyed. To 
those who would grow it well I say, Give it freedom, 
planting it in light sandy soil, to which might be added a 
little peat. Give it a position to itself, and allow it to seed 
at will. Success will be the result. Do not be surprised to 
find seedlings in abundance springing up, somewhat re¬ 
sembling a bed of spring Onions thickly sown. For natural¬ 
ising it has no equal, and should be planted on banks or 
slopes high up, and the falling seeds will in time furnish 
the whole bank with its pleasing blue and white flowers. 
This mode of planting is successfully adopted at Belvoir, 
where Mr. Ingram fully recognises its value and require¬ 
ments. I was the possessor of a single bulb a few years 
ago, which was secured for 7s. 6d., and that a3 a favour; but 
now a hundred imported bulbs may be bought for the same 
money, so that it should be in every collection of spring 
plants. 
The Creeping Forget-mo not (Omphalodes verna) is 
another lovely blue spring flower which carpets the ground 
with its leaves. It is a cool and shade-loving plant, and 
apart from these conditions is seldom seen in a thriving 
condition. When rightly placed, however, and under the 
above conditions it becomes almost rampant. I have met 
with it, however, in lovely patches several feet across studded 
with its intense blue flowers, and like that it is one of the 
most charming plants I know. To see a fine patch of it 
aglow with flowers, and unexpectedly too, fills one with 
enthusiasm. It comes long before the Forget-me-not opens 
its flowers, and is most welcome. Three weeks ago I saw 
No. 250.—Vol X., Third Ser es 
fine patches of it at Maidenhead in a garden adjoining the 
Thames. There, as in all other cases where I have seen 
it in good condition, it occupied a cool and partially shaded 
spot, and this is the chief point to be studied in connection 
with it at planting time. This is much more important than 
soil, for I have seen it in very ordinary garden soil among 
shrubs, in stiff soils on the warm sunny slopes at Belvoir, 
and in a semi-wild state in Gloucestershire high up on the 
Cotswolds, freely rambling among the magnesian limestone 
and oolitic marl of that district. It is well suited among 
other places to a position in the rock garden, choosing a cool 
shady nook which is always moist; indeed there are many 
plants, such as Erpetion reniforme and others, which delight 
in such spots, and which always repay the extra attention or 
study in selecting the most suitable position, which once 
discovered is not readily forgotten. 
The Netted Iris (Iris reticulata) is one of the most 
brilliant and welcome among the earliest flowering of the 
bulbous section in the year. Those who do not know it 
should make its acquaintance as speedily as possible. No 
one can see this spring beauty without admiring it—the 
closer the inspection the greater the beauty to be discovered; 
and it is fragrant too, which is not the least feature in connec¬ 
tion with it. The predominating colour is rich violet verging 
into purple, the richness of which is intense, the “ falls ” or 
lower petals being rendered doubly conspicuous by the deep 
orange-gold marking or blotch. Its fragrance is that of the 
Violet, and is easily detected when standing in the vicinity 
of a small colony of plants in flower. Imagine all this lovely 
colouring peering from a bed of snow! Still it is by no 
means uncommon, since it frequently expands early in 
February, though more often during March. Its cultivation 
is simple if the following rules be carried out, but do not 
attempt to grow it in pots continuously. Choose for it a 
sunny position in the border, with fairly light soil to a good 
depth ; or failing this, remove the soil and supply a mixture 
of very sandy loam, leaf soil, and peat in about equal parts. 
Be sure not to plant it in cold stiff soils, for it will soon 
perish. A well-drained position with abundance of sharp 
sand or grit among the soil will suit it well, or it does not 
object to a very peaty soil. It increases somewhat freely at 
the root, and also yields a fair amount of seeds, which 
should be carefully preserved and sown as soon as ripe. It is 
so good and choice that it is seldom seen in quantity. At 
Painswick the late Mr. James Atkins had a tine bed a few 
years ago, and to see it en masse with its lovely flowers is a 
sight always recurring to one’s mind. In the light sandy 
soil at Tooting it does well. The variety known as Krelagei 
is equally good and charming in all respects, though not so 
plentiful.—J. H. E. 
NOTES ON CELERY. 
Good Celery is always a much-valued crop, and in many 
gardens it has to be grown in large quantities ; but its culture 
is not confined to these, as there is hardly a garden in the 
country where it is not grown, and very often an amateur has 
one or two rows as fine as any which is cultivated with the 
most practical care. To produce the best Celery requires much 
attention. It is not one of those crops which can be sown 
and then left to itself until it is ready for use. It requires as 
much attention to finish it as to rear it, and all soils do not 
suit it, but it is not by any means difficult to cultivate. 
Seed-sowing is the first consideration. To secure a few 
early plants a little seed must be sown about the end of 
February, but the main crop should not be sown until the 
last week in March or the first week in April, and it will be 
found that plants from this sowing are much less liable to 
“bolt” in summer than those from the early sowing. 
The principal season for Celery is from the end of August 
until April and March. Full-grown plants will be obtained 
by the time named, and small growers, especially amateurs, 
No. 1906.— Vol. LXXII., Old Series. 
