THE FLORIST. 
89 
THE VERBENA. 
BY MR. BARKER, GARDENER TO THE MARQUIS OF AILSA. 
The Verbena has for many years been an especial favourite of ours ; 
and we therefore hope to be excused if we exhibit some enthusiasm 
in speaking of it as an object worthy of a high place in every well- 
furnished garden. We have no wish to extol it at the expense of 
other flowers, of which we are general admirers ; but, considering its 
varied usefulness and applicability for ornament, we consider the 
Verbena has not an equal. How admirably it is adapted for bed¬ 
ding out in the parterre or cottager’s garden, or for ornamenting the 
rugged rock-work, and those pretty ornaments of our gardens, the 
vase or the rustic basket! It grows luxuriantly on the decaying 
stumps of trees, blooms in the greenhouse, and enlivens the conser¬ 
vatory—every where it is at home, and always finds a welcome. But 
it is never better located than when it is extensively planted in the 
beds of a well-laid-out geometrical garden. No flower can boast of 
a greater variety of colour, ranging from the brightest scarlet to the 
purest white, and in many instances emitting a delicate perfume. 
Its habit is also so various; in some instances a perfect creeper, in 
others of erect growth, adapted for training over wire-work of orna¬ 
mental forms. Let us add to all its other excellences, the length of 
time that well-cultivated beds of it will continue in bloom, and we 
think we have said enough to establish its claim to universal favour. 
No plant is of more easy cultivation than the Verbena. The beds 
should be prepared directly after the early frosts have destroyed the 
old plants. We give them a good dressing of manure, preferring 
for this purpose the remains of an old cucumber-bed, turning up the 
soil twelve or fifteen inches deep, and leaving it rough, to be well 
pulverised by the frost. About the second week in April, weather 
permitting, we level down the soil, and prick it over about three 
inches deep with a potato-fork, and the beds will then be ready to 
receive the plants. Place them from twelve to eighteen inches 
apart, and peg each shoot neatly and securely down, to prevent 
them being disturbed by the wind. All the attention they will 
require after planting will be, to remove the pegs from time to time 
as the shoots elongate. Should the season prove dry, supply them 
with water, using liquid manure every third time; liberally for scar¬ 
lets and all high or bright colours, but with caution for whites. 
Cuttings should be taken about the end of August, and planted 
in sand or any light soil, under a north or west wall, and covered with 
hand-glasses, where, with a little attention, they will be well-rooted 
in about a fortnight. 
When this is the case, plant them singly into pots known as 
thumbs or small sixties (3-inch), using a soil composed of equal parts 
of turfy loam and peat; place them in a frame, and keep them 
close for a few days, till rooted into the fresh soil, when they may 
be exposed by degrees to the full influence of sun and air. Stop 
every shoot at the second joint, to make the plants bushy. Allow 
them to remain in the frame till the end of October, then remove 
