188 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ August 30, 1883 
common coal dust or even wet mould would be. With such a wilderness 
of pavement one would have thought nobody would ever have dreamed 
of anything hut a good green band to relieve the eye, and the last thing 
St. Martin’s Blue Lobelia. Next to the Lobelia comes a row of Echeverias 
in flower (an orange red), then yellow, then blue—the three primaries, 
the one combination every small boy is, in every good garden, taught to 
avoid. The body of the beds are a curious mixture of odd plants. Here 
and there are dotted nice plants of Centaurea ragusina surrounded by the 
•only colour that could make this handsome plant look ill—a slaty 
Ageratum, which hides its grace and spoils its colour. 
A few beds are planted on the carpet system, and here, as elsewhere, 
are noticeable traces of lavish care. As far as high keeping and satis¬ 
factory material are concerned there is nothing left to be desired ; but 
here also the same faults in arrangement occur. Next the stone edging a 
green band of Saxifraga is placed, and beside the green the primary from 
•which it is derived in the form of Golden Feather. IndeM, there is hardly 
a discoverable instance where correct arrangements of colour are seen. 
Cut out of the grass banks facing north and south, in conspicuous 
positions near Waveiley Bridge, are two star-shaped beds with eight 
■diamond-pointed rays. We had supposed that everybody knew that red 
was the complement of green, and that contrasts were the proper thing 
for beds which had to be viewed from a distance as these are, a pretty 
wide space intervening between them and the nearest view point. The 
powers that be in Edinburgh hold different views, or at least act as if they 
■did—though it may be doubted if any views at all are held on the matter. 
As a matter of fact these stars, which might have been made to arrest the 
attention, are as nearly in visible as possible, but that is something the public 
—or at least the portion that is not colour-blind—have to be thankful for, 
for their colours are so arranged as to pain. Of all things in the world 
fhe edgings here, as elsewhere on the grass, are Golden Feather. It is 
•not a single instance of this that occurs, it is universal; and to make 
matters worse, just inside the yellow—where it is as bad as yellow next 
the green, or St. Martin’s Lobelia next the stone—is a band of red. 
With unconscious kindness, however, the railway company by means of 
numerous engines have nearly obliterated this discord, and toned down 
the clashing colours with soot. How very difljgfrent would the effect have 
been if the red had been next the green grassland if a band of white had 
been used to separate it from the yellow, affording a contrast on the one 
hand and a harmony on the other, coupled with, in one instance at least, 
with a pleasing and attractive complement. The material was there, 
fhe rules also exist—indeed are well known, or should be by those who 
■essay to be public teachers ; but though the material was to hand every 
■rule has been broken. 
In the north Violas are favourites because they thrive. Moreover, 
fhey present shades of colour that make very pleasing complements ; 
•oranges and blues, yellows and purples. The merest tyro in colouring 
knows that any primary colour is complemented by the secondary formed 
•of other two primaries ; thus yellow is a primary and is complemented 
by purple, purple being a blending of blue and red. Again, blue is 
•complemented by orange, blue being a primary, but orange a secondary 
-formed from red and yellow. With Violas how difficult to go wrong, 
how easy to be right! At Edinburgh they have got over the difficulty. 
Nowhere in our search could we find complementary colours beside each 
other. Yellow and blue Violas we could see, the one making the other 
as bad-looking as possible; oftener blue Lobelia and yellow Violas or 
■Golden Feather ; but purple and yellow, orange and blue—never ! 
Between the Scott monument and the galleries on the Mound there is 
a long bed filled in the ribbon style. Evidently a grand attempt at 
effect has been made here. It is big enough to be a garden in itself, and 
its expense cannot have been small. And what is the result? We will 
■give the arrangement.and then ask a question. It is surrounded by turf. 
The first line on the south side next the grass is the inevitable Golden 
Feather, then blue Lobelia, then Ageratum, then variegated (white) 
Pelargonium, then scarlet ditto, then Centaureas, then pink Pelargonium, 
then scarlet Pelargonium, then yellow Violas, then Ageratum, then 
’bronze Pelargonium and red Beet, then Lobelias, then Golden Feather, 
blue Lobelia again, Cerastium as an edging, then the turf. Such is the 
arrangement. The question is ; Could any arrangement be more dis¬ 
pleasing? Those who have studied colour arrangement in flower gardens 
will mostly answer, No. But this would be too fast, for worse arrange¬ 
ments exist in the same garden. Difficult as that may seem, it is a fact. 
Gne would have thought that the example and the teaching of a Thomson 
would have been more far-reaching. At all events, in the capital city of 
the country, famous for its gardeners as well as its doctors and soldiers— 
indeed, everything else, one would have expected something better. 
Our criticism has been severe, but not too much so. We feel it our 
fluty to the public to do what in us lies to improve matters and to 
secure the best gardening possible, and hope what we have had to say 
may be regarded as the first step towards better things. It must not be 
•supposed that prejudice or personality has in any way influenced us. To 
show that national prejudice has nothing to do with the matter, it may 
be well to say that the writer is exactly what he signs himself ; and that 
personality is not the cause, by saying that he does not know a single 
member of the staff in these gardens that he is aware of. We like to see 
things right, and dislike to see them wrong ; that, and that alone, has 
impelled the penning of this paper.—A Scotsman. 
FREESIAS. 
Amongst the bulbs of recent introduction there are none more inter¬ 
esting and valuable, I think, than these. I have not grown F. refracta, 
but refracta alba and Leichtlinii major are most delightful, and apparently 
of easy culture, as they have flow r ered and seeded with me very well. 
The former I bad from Colchester, the latter from Messrs. Sutton & Sons, 
Reading, in whose catalogue it i3 figured this year. The flowers, can 
be hardly said to form a spike, as the flowering stem runs out horizon¬ 
tally, and the large flowers are produced perpendicularly on this 
horizontal stem. As many as nine blossoms from 2 to 3 inches in length 
are produced ; they last a long time, and are of a delicate French white 
with an orange throat. The odour they exhale is something very peculiar 
and most delicate ; indeed, I hardly know anything in flowers like it, 
and it is very valuable for cutting, as the unopened buds expand when 
cut and placed in water. F. Leichtlinii major is a cross probably between 
Leichtlinii and refracta alba. The bulbs which Messrs. Sutton have to 
offer are grown in the Channel Islands, that paradise for Cape bulbs, 
and everyone ought to grow it who possesses a greenhouse, however 
small it may be.—D., Deal. 
EFFECTIVE PLANTS IN SUBURBAN GARDENS. 
Campanula turbinata.— This charming species thrives and 
flowers exceedingly well with us. We employ it in many different 
ways—in groups on rock beds, and in masses on large beds. In 
whatever position it is used it succeeds, and is a decided acquisi¬ 
tion on account of its dwarf and floriferous habit. 
Primula capitata.— We have half a dozen plants of this charm¬ 
ing species of Primula growing strongly on one of our rock banks. 
Each plant carries from two to three trusses of lovely blooms. They 
are planted in a warm position, using plenty of old mortar and 
decayed Kentish ragstone in the soil. 
Dianthus glacialis. —An exquisite little gem, so dwarf and 
floriferous. It does well here planted out in shady nooks of the 
rockwork. It is now going out of flower. Similarly dwarf and 
pretty is the chaste little Erinus alpinus. This grows well in little 
corners of the rockwork with a few pieces of ragstone around it. 
Androsace villosa, Saxifraga lantoscana, Rubus arcticus, and Helian- 
themums in variety have adorned the nooks and crannies of our rock 
banks and beds for some time past. 
Liliums. —These are flowering well with us now. Auratum is 
now opening with splendid buds. A large quantity of fine bulbs were 
planted out here a couple of years ago, but their number and quality 
decrease considerably each season. We find the easiest method of 
obtaining fine plants and blooms is to take up the bulbs after flower¬ 
ing and place them in pots, growing them until April, then plant¬ 
ing out in the border. We adopt the same plan in regard to longi- 
florum, lancifolium, Fortuoi and candidum. Thunbergianum, tigrinum 
and bulbiferum grow very freely in masses in the borders. These 
were planted out some years ago. 
Dictamnus Fraxinella.— A handsome plant both in flower and 
foliage. It succeeds well with us in the centre of a small bed. 
Senecio pulcher will soon be in flower. Grown either singly or in 
clumps it is effective. The old Francoa ramosa, with its long 
graceful racemes of white flowers, plunged out in the rockwork looks 
charming. 
Small beds filled with masses of single Petunias, German Asters, 
Indian Pinks, and a very fine strain of double Tagetes are lovely. 
The latter makes a most effective and showy plant for bedding out. 
It is uniform in growth, and, given a good strain, its flowers cannot 
be surpassed for beauty and variety of colour. SStill smaller beds of 
Tuberous Begonias are flowering well, and also of Bouvardias in the 
following varieties—-jasminoides, flava, Hogarth, and longiflora. These 
succeed very well bedded out, and are flowering freely too. The 
little nooks and crannies of the rockwork contain groups of seedling 
Mimulus, Zinnias, Lobelias, and Alternantheras. 
Rock beds are far more interesting and pleasing to the eye, if 
skilfully arranged and planted with masses of showy plants, than 
endless lines and intricate designs of form and colour. Geometrical 
designs are very well if used with taste, but in many gardens this is 
often sadly wanting. Again, on the other hand, we may carry rock¬ 
work gardening too far. A skilful eye will, however, always discover 
the happy medium. 
We grow a number of small plants of Agapanthus umbellatus in 
pots. These are plunged in the rock banks and beds. They are now 
flowering and are very effective. We also use Hydrangea Thomas 
Hogg and hortensis similarly. Our blooms are deep blue in colour : 
this is attained by mixing a small quantity of sulphate of iron with 
the soil, mostly peat, when potting. An occasional watering is given 
with a weak solution of the latter too. We have had a grand show 
of Roses. Standards and half-standards will not succeed with us : 
we grow only dwarfs. In a garden like ours we have to make the 
best of everything, therefore grow most of them in borders on the 
margins of the shrubberies. A little Mignonette seed is sown broad¬ 
cast amongst these in early spring, thus affording a bright green and 
highly perfumed carpet to the Roses. Beds of Hydrangea paniculata 
are coming in flower. This is a grand plant. The mixed borders 
are gay with groups of single Dahlias, Delphiniums, Antirrhinums, 
