July 8, 1880. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER . 
21 
^COMING 
JULY 
8—14. 
The following Horticultural Shows will be held during the 
week :— 
8 
TH 
9 
F 
Ludlow (Roses) ; Torquay (Roses). 
10 
S 
West Kent; Alexandra Palace (Roses). 
11 
SDN 
7th Sunday after Trinity. 
12 
M 
Coventry. 
13 
Tu 
Carlisle; Diss. 
14 
W 
Maldon; Dartford. 
A GAY BORDER. 
N a former letter I said I would endeavour to 
give a description of a border which would 
for a considerable period in the year be gay 
with bright hardy flowers. It so happens that 
there is a long border about 4 feet wide which 
extends all the length of the terrace in front of 
the windows of my house, and it has been my 
labour for years to try and make this gay and bright 
& for, say, eight months in the year. Now this is very 
difficult, and requires much consideration and a rather 
large outlay for a few years. I freely own that for a great 
number of years I have failed in my endeavour, and that I am 
only just beginning to reap the reward of my labours and 
outlay. 
First I tried Roses, and they were the most satisfactory of 
all. At the back I had standard Teas and Hybrid Per- 
petuals, then vigorous-growing Perpetuals on the Manetti, then 
weak dwarf Teas. During the Rose season this border was 
beautiful, but owing to the poverty of my soil the season 
was very short, and for the rest of the year my beds were bare. 
I then became convinced that the front of a house was not 
the place for a rosery, and that some retired position was far 
more adapted to these charming plants, and gradually I began 
to weed-out my Roses. This was not difficult, as the poor soil 
proved a winding sheet for most, and the hard winters finished- 
off the others. I have only a few standard Teas left, and my 
front is devoted to herbaceous plants and bulbs, which succeed 
much better. But there are a great number of these latter which, 
though having flowers interesting in themselves, are quite un¬ 
suitable for the purpose I am speaking of. Erigerons, Pole- 
moniums, and others have such small flowers that you require 
to bend over them before you can see what they are like. It 
is obvious, then, that they are unsuitable for a prominent bed 
where gay flowers are required. 
There are, however, a great number of others which are 
highly valuable and greatly to be prized. First of all, for the 
back row I should employ Delphiniums. My idea is, that the 
plants in the back row should be the highest, the next medium¬ 
sized, and the third and fourth decreasing in size. Nothing, 
I think, is so useful for our purpose for the back row as Del¬ 
phiniums and the finer varieties of Pseonia. But there is 
such an enormous number of varieties of these plants that it 
is well to know what are the best. So far as my experience 
goes there is no Delphinium among the light blues more 
beautiful than Cantab and Cambridge,. The colour is exactly 
the same as the Cambridge blue, and the spikes are huge- 
Among the dark or Oxford blues are Formosum, Ceelestinum 
Formosum, Madam Patey, and Coronet. There are, of course, 
numbers of lilacs and lavenders, and some nearly white all 
valuable. Between these Delphiniums I should plant white 
double Hesperis or Rockets. These are grand plants, some¬ 
thing like the Stock but much larger. Also the old Cardinal 
Plant, Lobelia cardinalis, can be employed, which bears most 
showy crimson or scarlet flowers, and the still more valuable 
form Lobelia fulgens. The latter plants bloom Liter than the 
Delphiniums, which are preceded by the Rockets. So here 
we have three shades of colours—white, blue, and scarlet in 
our back row. I should now add another bright colour—viz., 
yellow, by employing Ilelianthus, the Sunflower, which is a 
late bloomer. 
We come now to the next row, and the principal flower I 
should employ there is Lilium candidum, which 1 should plant 
in front of the blue Delphiniums. In front of the Rockets I 
should plant some few of the darker-coloured Pmonies, and a 
few light-coloured forms in front of the Lobelias. A few 
vigorous-growing varieties of Phlox must also be placed in 
this line. From a large number of Pmonies, all of which are 
beautiful, I should select as darker sorts Madame Labon, 
Charles Binder, and Isabella Ivarlitzki ; and as lighter, vary¬ 
ing from light pink and primrose to pure white, Monsieur 
Roussilon, Jeanne d'Arc, Caroline Allani, and Madame Vil- 
morin. Phloxes are so exceedingly numerous that I scarcely 
like to select any, but The Bride, The Pearl, The Queen, and 
Mrs. Turner are indispensable for border decoration. 
The next line should principally consist of Bearded Irises 
and Ksempferi. The latter bloom much later than the former. 
Among the Irises I should plant such grand herbaceous plants 
as Dielytra spectabilis, the worst of this plant being that it 
requires so much space ; Lychnis chalcedonica, Gaillardia 
splendens, and here and there such charming plants as Aqui- 
legia chrysantha, the Golden Columbine ; Aquilegia glandu- 
losa, and A. cserulea, the grandest of all. Potentillas, though 
most beautiful, are too strong in habit and spread over such a 
large space of ground that they must not be employed in a 
border like this, but double Pyrethrums, Pentstemons, and 
Campanulas may be grown. 
The row nearest the walk should contain only very dwarf¬ 
growing plants. There is the very place for that useful and 
valuable florists' flower the Pansy. If I was asked to name 
the flower which repaid me more than any other for the care 
we take of it, I should say the Pansy. It continues in bloom 
so long, is so hardy, bears flowers so lovely in such countless 
varieties, and takes up such a small space, that too much 
cannot be said in its favour. For effect perhaps the fancy 
varieties are the best. The Gentian family, too, are most 
valuable for this line, as are also Alpine Auriculas, a few 
Primulas and Polyanthuses. Hepaticas, also, are well suited 
for this position, Alyssum saxatile, Arabises, and other plants 
of similar character, not forgetting the best species of Iberis 
that are so effective in spring and early summer. 
A most lovely bed and one which would be gay for 
a long period may be made wholly of bulbs, but I will reserve 
my observations on this part cf the subject for another letter. 
I am aware that I have omitted a great number of most 
beautiful decorative plants which would answer the purpose 
admirably ; but in case anyone desires a greater choice I have, 
Ko. 2.—YOL. I., Tni id Series. 
NO. 1658—VOL, LXIY., OLD SERIES. 
