JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
161 
e fmdeni, and Verbena venosa, edged with Iresine Lindeni ; the 
Mr r™b/ m P i ante t W ^ Tuhe r ous Begonia Worthiana, recommended to 
Ur. Graham from Swanley, and tried for the first time. It is a beautiful 
scarlet variety, laden with bloom, and worth a place in all gardens where 
latter being very full of flower, in fact more beautiful than they are 
generally seen, while the Violas have not grown too strongly to crowd 
the Pelargoniums amongst which they are planted. 
Of all the beds in the garden it is clear that the public most appreciate 
Fig. 29.—Lord Beaconsfield Raspberry. (See page 162.) 
these beautiful plants do satisfactorily. The beauty of this bed was 
greatly enhanced by the groundwork of Viola lutea grandiflora major, a 
bright large yellow-flowered variety. Considering the dryness of the 
season it is surprising how well the Violas and Begonias are doing, the 
those carpeted, for ’where one stops to examine any of 
the other beds hundreds surround and admire the carpet 
beds. It is not necessary to stay long to be certain of this, 
for the condition of the grass shows at a glance the effects 
of the traffic round these charmingly tasteful arrangements. 
Whatever may be said against carpet bedding by the ad¬ 
vocates of hardy plants these will never replace it, and 
even if an attempt was made to employ them under the 
best arranged plan they could never produce the same 
beautiful effect as carpet beds when well done. The 
public enjoy and admire these carpet beds, and it would 
be simply madness to dispense with them for the pur¬ 
pose of employing hardy plants, however useful and beauti¬ 
ful they may be in their way. Certain positions are very 
useful for these plants, as can be seen by their adoption in 
these gardens, but the beds cut out in the turf as at Hamp¬ 
ton Court are not suitable for them. One of the most 
beautiful carpet beds was planted with a raised oval bed 
of Ecbeveria Peacocki in the centre, at each end were 
groups of Pachyphytum roseum, and between these and 
the oval Alternanthera aurea nana, a beautiful bright, 
yellow narrow-leaved variety, much superior to A. aurea 
both in colour and appearance. This is perfectly new, and 
was sent to Mr. Graham by Messrs. Cannell & Sons. At 
each end were a small circle filled with Kleinia Haworthi, 
a beautiful silvery variety that does not wash green by rain, 
but retains its distinct silvery colour, and very effective 
it is for carpet beds. The four central panels, two on 
each side the oval, were planted with Alternanthera ama- 
bilis. In the panel between these and the outer edge Leu- 
cophyton Browni was conspicuous, while the four corners 
were formed with Abutilon vexillarium variegatum, the lines 
of the panels of succulents and Leucophyton being formed 
with Alternanthera grandis, Mesembryanthemum cordifo- 
lium variegatum forming the groundwork of the bed, which- 
was edged with Echeveria secunda glauca and Sedum 
glaucum. It would be very difficult to determine whether 
the bed just detailed or the one to be described was the 
most attractive, both having beautiful designs and being, 
so admirably finished ; we came away undecided which 
really was the premier bed. The centre of this bed formed 
a Maltese cross planted with Sempervivum montanum, 
slightly raised, with an edge of Echeveria Peacocki, sur¬ 
rounded with Alternanthera grandis. Two small circles 
half way between the centre and end of the bed were filled with “ Cotyledon 
schaphyllus ” margined with a narrow band of Alternanthera aurea. The 
panel between the c’rcle and cross were planted with Pachyphytum 
roseum, the line being formed with Alternanthera amoena, while the one 
at each end of the circle was planted with Leucophyton Browni. On each 
side of the circle at both ends were angular figures with circular ends 
pointing towards the centre filled with Alternanthera amabilis. The cor- 
