October 4, 1894, 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
315 
some as an objection in prominent situations. Yet there is I think 
a beauty in the network of tracery revealed in its undress. The 
old Virginian Creeper in its loose and more flowing habit never 
appears to greater advantage than when hanging over the face of 
some natural rockwork, twining and depending gracefully from 
the naked arms of a decaying tree, or climbing some venerable 
ruin. Its vagabond instincts do not favour the trim neatness of 
a modern residence to which its lesser cousin is so admirably 
adapted. 
My observations lead me to the conclusion that the highest 
colour tones in autumn tints are obtained in the neighbourhood of 
water. It may be that the atmospheric conditions are conducive 
to this result. Particularly have I noted this with a group of 
Sumach planted near a lake of some extent. Horse Chestnuts, too, 
in the same locality obtained a degree of colour not so remarkable 
in other parts of the same demesne. If there are any grounds for 
this supposition, those vivid tints of Canadian forest scenery 
during the autumn may in some measure be attributed to the 
contiguity of water. 
Practical workers, with an eye to utility as well as beauty, are 
not slow to avail themselves of autumn-tinted foliage for decorative 
purposes. Possibly in the future this seasonable form of decora¬ 
tion may claim more attention than it has hitherto done. Not 
only do the brightest tints assert their claim for notice, but in the 
more subdued tones are to be found shades of colour favoured of 
late years by modern society. With a careful selection and 
judicious arrangement novel and pleasing effects are obtained, and 
a change is afforded to the floral display. The claims of various 
bright berries the season affords are not likely to be overlooked ; 
each are invaluable aids to the decorator when flowers are scarce. 
The last blooms of summer may yet linger on sufferance and 
brighten up bed or border, but for all decorative intents and 
purposes they are but poor bedraggled things at best, collapsing 
when brought into the heated rooms. With a free use of hardy 
foliage and berries our houses can be spared from heavy contribu¬ 
tions at a time when they can least afford it, and I think most of 
us are prone to stinginess when filling the flower basket at the 
approach of winter. 
Thought turns to the Chrysanthemums (if, indeed, it is ever 
absent from them), and their many good points for decoration ; 
but by reason of a long labour of love spent on them there is 
generally a desire to preserve them as long as possible, and my 
experience of employers is that they are of the same way of 
thinking, hence the best blooms are spared till decay sets in. 
Beauty there is in dying foliage, but decaying flowers are a sorry 
spectacle. I am alluding to large Chrysanthemum blooms only, 
and when occasion requires them to be sacrificed on the altar of 
necessity, a few good blooms introduced amongst sprays of Oak 
foliage is an economical and advantageous method of setting thei^ 
up. Oak foliage can be had when but little else of autumn tints 
remain, and whether it is the gold and crimson of an Edwin 
Molyneux, or sea-tinted white of a Florence Davis, the association 
with it is pleasing and effective. 
In arranging dishes of dessert a use of autumn foliage is 
appropriate, and until the latest Vines shed their last leaves a good 
article for this work is not wanting. Gros Guillaume, where 
grown, is exceptionally charming in its decay. In the lavish 
display of form and colour the season provides, so many things 
suggest their suitableness to make a little diversion in the 
decorator’s art, to which varying circumstances must ever yield a 
controlling power. 
Autumn tints run into autumn thoughts, perchance they are 
inseparably connected. ‘‘Are you busy now?” I inquired of a 
business friend whose duty lays in supplying some of the many 
wants of a gardener. “ Yes,” he replied ; “ we are stock-taking.” 
Many of us, too, are apt to indulge in a litile mental stock-taking 
at this period. Sufficient data may not yet enable us to form 
reliable estimates, but those same ever-deepening tints are forcible 
reminders that we can expect but few additions to the credit side, 
as far as growth is concerned. The staple crop. Potatoes, is as yet 
in a perilous position, the dreaded blight being sufficiently in 
evidence to give cause for anxiety ; a spell of dry weather is so far 
doing much to hold the enemy in check. At the present time 
graziers, in the abundance of grass at their command, have least 
cause for apprehension ; the verdant pastures do not as yet feel the 
ripening influence of autumn, though a warm glow from the Thorns 
in the hedges promise abundant fruit for the feathered tribe. 
Happy youngsters from the City daily troop by on Black- 
berrying expeditions to the slopes of the Dublin mountains, and 
sundry curls of blue smoke rising ever and anon amidst the 
Heather proclaim thit boys will be boys still. The popular fruit 
s scarce, yet tattered garments and besmeared visages noticeable as 
•they return show at least some results, which may also be called 
he tints and touche? of autumr.—E. K., Dahlin. 
USEFUL PLANTS FOR BEDS AND BORDERS. 
Pentstemons. 
Where the mixed style of bedding is highly appreciated in 
gardens very few plants are capable of producing a more pleasing 
effect than Pentstemons. When well grown they commence flower¬ 
ing fairly early in the season, and will continue to do so long after 
many plants have passed their best. Some years ago I selected a 
number of varieties and increased the stock until there were 
sufficient to fill two borders, requiring between 600 and 700 plants. 
It would be very difficult to describe the effect these plants produce 
when massed together in large numbers. They are very useful for 
large beds or borders, and are also charming when grouped with 
other plants of a suitable nature. The change which took place ia 
the gardens at Norris Green compelled me to relinquish the 
cultivation of these plants ; but one variety was so very striking 
that I retained a few plants of it, and brought some of them to my 
present charge. The variety alluded to is Morna, a strong grower, 
and when well grown will attain a height of 2 feet 6 inches, with 
very long profusely flowered spikes of bright crimson flowers with 
the throat beautifully pencilled with white. The individual flowers 
are large, and the plants branch freely. 
To grow these plants well and give them a chance of develop¬ 
ing they must be liberally treated from the first, and grown in 
beds and borders that possess rich soil, or are rendered so by deep 
digging and heavy dressings of manure. An evil in the thorough 
culture of these plants is planting them too closely together. 
The plants should not be nearer than 1 foot, and do all the 
better at this time of the year if they are placed about 16 inches 
from each other. At first the beds seem to be almost empty, but 
this is easily remedied by planting the groundwork of the bed with 
suitable Yiolas. A very good one for the purpose, and to form a 
margin to these plants, is Countess of Hopetown—a splendid white 
kind, a good flower, and a most profuse bloomer throughout the 
season. 
Cuttings of Pentstemons will be abundant now, and should 
be inserted moderately thick in a cold frame, in which there 
is 3 or 4 inches of old potting soil, leaf mould, and a little sand. 
If the frame is prepared on purpose I select a firm base, and scatter 
a thin layer of leaf mould at the bottom before placing in the soil. 
A little sand may be scattered on the surface. The cuttings 
should be shaded from bright sunshine, and will pass the winter 
safely in a cold frame. In February, when the plants show signs 
of growing, the points should be removed, which will induce them 
to branch. The earlier they can be transplanted the better. Any 
rough frame will do, where the young plants can have the protec¬ 
tion of a few old lights. This time the soil should be 6 inch.es 
deep, and may be composed of fully half leaf mould. If no better 
soil is at hand, that from the garden will do very well. Years ago 
I rarely used anything else. Temporary frames were placed on a 
portion of the garden, the leaf mould and a little river sand 
incorporated with it. The plants soon make good bushes, with 
three or four shoots each. 
Pentstemons are large-rooting plants, and will lift with good 
balls ; the roots cling freely to the leaf mould, and should be 
planted out from the middle to the end of April. These plants 
are fairly hardy, and will bear a little frost without injury 
provided they have been well hardened. The earlier they are 
planted out the sooner the plants produce their first flowers, 
branch, and the beds become a mass of bloom again early in 
August. One pinching is sufficient, and where time can be spared 
the plants amply repay for supporting their massive spikes with 
light stakes. Rough winds are liable to break them about, but 
where they have had abundance of room to grow sturdily and fill 
their allotted space the wind has not so much effect upon them. 
Rain does not appear to affect them in the least. 
Calceolaria amplexicaulis. 
This is another of those good old plants not grown to the 
extent which it deserves. It is the besc of all Calceolarias, its 
flowers being of such a pleasing shade of yellow. It is not, when 
well grown, the shy bloomer that some people might suppose, but 
is a grand companion plant for Pentstemons, and associates with 
them magnificently, either in a separate bed or mixed with them. 
A bed planted alternately looks remarkably well. This plant 
requires very similar treatment to Pentstemons, but should not be 
planted out quite so early. It is fairly hardy, and we have had it 
exposed to several degrees of frost and no harm result. 1 do not, 
however, advise such a course if it can be avoided. The soil in 
beds and borders for this plant should be made rich, then it grows 
freely and flowers profusely. In good soil this plant attains a large 
size, and should not be planted nearer than advised for Pentstemons. 
It is necessary to slake this plant upright to display it to the very 
