OcTOBun 2H!. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENEII. 
61 
bull) ia tlio row ai)j)oarcd to be e.Kactly of tlio same 
strcngll), for, out of tlio wliole, tbero was not a single 
stem an ineb above or below the average height; they 
all stood as upright and regular as a regiment in single 
lile, wliieb 1 took to be a high eompliment to the royal 
owner—His Majosty the King of the Belgians, to whom 
Dr. Herbert dedicated bis large work on tlio Amaryllids. 
>Mr. Malleson takes up all the roots every sixth year, in 
the montli of dune, divides them, and, after renewing 
the border with fresh earth, rojilants them in single 
line, ]dacing the bulbs six inches below the surface, and 
nine inches apart, and about fourteen inches from the 
wall ; behind them, and within three inches of the wall, 
lie has a full row of mixed Jxias now in leaf, three 
iui'hes high, and none of them receive any protection 
whatev'er, save what the leaves of the Belladona afford. 
'These Ixias are also allowed to increase and multiply for 
si.x years, then are taken ii]), divided, and the strongest 
roots put in again three inches deep, and they do as 
well as Crocuses. There was not a single gap or failure 
in either of the rows. Patches of both kinds are left in 
another border to take their chance, without being ever 
disturbed, as a lesson for the young gardeners to see 
the necessity of a regular course of culture for bulbs 
that would seem to most people to do well enough 
without any care whatever. T’here were other evidences 
in this garden of a desire to “teach the young ideas 
how to shoot,” in cases where the re(|uircments of the 
oslablishment did not seem to want such things. 
1 also saw a new plan for getting nice young flower¬ 
ing plants of the now Jasminum nwUflnriini for winter- 
flowering in small pots. 'J'his fiowers in winter on the 
young wood made during the previous summer, and 
stools of it are planted out on a rich border, from 
wliicii long shoots rise every year, and when the 
growth is nearly finished they are layered in small 
pots, whore they soon root, and are then lit for the 
purpose required. D. J.fK,\TON. 
SHOWING OPF PLANTS IN ROOMS. 
GROWJNG TLANTS IN ZINC VKSSELS. 
Afteh the article on floral boudoirs, to which myself 
and readers are indebted to the inquiries of a corres¬ 
pondent, some complaints have reached me, that I and 
others would throw cold water over the attempt to grow 
plants in windows and rooms, and thus deprive many of 
one of the sweetest pleasures that it is possible to rea¬ 
lize. Sorry should I be that such an effect should be for j 
a moment felt. The conservatory boudoir attached to j 
the mansion would yield an amount of refined interest 
which iilants in living rooms can but rarely evolve; 
still, the advantages of a floral boudoir may, in some 
measure, be realized, even in living rooms, by concen¬ 
trating in one particular part all that is blooming and 
lovely—a measure which it is ol'teii needful and advis¬ 
able to adopt, when, owing to peculiar circumstances, 
the proprietors will have their showy jilants brought for 
short periods to the house to inspect them there, even 
though the idea shoifld be felt, that the plants and their 
accompaniments are not quite in character with the 
elegant furniture surrounding them. 'To counteract this 
impression, 1 have recommended ornamental artistic 
pots for such situations, showing, from experience, with 
iron, porcelain, and china, as well as with common 
earthenware, burnt hard, or painted on the outside, that 
the popular trade error in favour of soft gi’easy pots was 
rather more than a delusion, in addition to this, it was 
recommended that, instead of having numbers of orna¬ 
mental pots of a miniature character scattered about, it 
would bo better to use common small pots for growing, 
and then to concentre a number of these into orna¬ 
mental vases or boxes, covered over the surface with 
green moss, and with a contrivance below to receive all 
the extra waterings, which otherwise might find its way 
into the room, in the case of an elegant box or basket, 
lined with zinc inside, this receptacle for water may be 
sup|flied in the shape of a drawer, waterproof, near the 
base line of the box. In vases, the lower iiedestal should 
open for a similar jmrpose. It is an easy matter to make 
such a pedestal of wood, and with paint and sand it is 
as easy to make it resemble the vase, however orna¬ 
mental. 
Still, after all this was done, cither in our own case, 
or that of our friends, there seemed to be something 
wanting to makeup a sum total of agreeableness, if 
the flowers stood near the window, the want of a reflect¬ 
ing back-ground was at once felt. If they were placed 
farther in the room—at its centre, or near its side—not 
only was the want of a suitable natural back-ground 
felt, but the colour of the paint or pajicring of the room 
often made the plants look inferiorly different from what 
they did in their more appropriate homes. Now, the 
remedy for this would seem to bo almost intuitive; very 
simple, indeed, when once named; and some of our 
clever contemporaries may have adopted various modes 
for counteracting the deficiency; but I confess I have 
63cn or heard of no method so simple, and so likely to 
))rove effective, as that practiced by Mr. Fleming, at 
'i'leutham—a place which every one fond of, or engaged 
in gardening, should, if possible, visit, whether his 
biiperintendanco extends to a few yards or an expanse 
of acres ; whether his views are mostly bounded by his 
window plants, or bis mind rather delights to revel 
among the vexed questions of luulding, heating, glass¬ 
walling, &c., so characteristic of the day. 
Well, in going round, close to the mansion we came 
on some elegant boxes, seemingly of mahogany or 
stained wood, with a teellis formed of rods of similar 
wood, fixed to one side, say the hade of the box. 'Tbo 
bo.x itself was divided into three compartments—two 
small ones, one at each end, and a larger in the middle— 
each furnished with separate vessels, shaped like the 
box, and thus easily set in and removed at pleasure. 
In the two smaller compartments, at the ends. Ivy was 
planted, and trained over the trellis, thus furnishing a 
beautiful back-ground. The largest centre division was 
reserved for flow'ering-plants, turned out of pots, or 
grown as hereafter to bo mentioned. I forget the size 
of the boxes, say somewhere from three to four feet 
long, from one to one-and-a-(juarter wide, and from 
nine to twelve inches deep, and the trellis from three 
to four feet in height, to be tall enough just to reflect 
the beauty in rooms of such gorgeous plants in winter 
as Poinsettiapulchemma, Euphorbia Jacquinijiora, itc., 
of which there seemed to be great abundance of fine, 
young, healthy plants. The size of the boxes is of less 
importance, as our amateur friends, when once they take 
the matter up, will vary the size of the boxes, and the 
height of the trellis, according to the plants they wish 
to show off. One box might thus have several trellises 
ready to put off and on at pleasure ; and even the vege¬ 
tation on the trellis might be changed, to suit the size 
and colour of the flowers, by keeping plants growing 
and trained in pots, or, better still, in vessels suited to tbo 
destined compartment. If well managed and trained 
previously, there would be little difliculty in fixing them 
to the ornamental trellis. My mind instantly reverted 
to many plants as suitable for this purpose, such as the 
Vinea luajor (the Periwinkle) for large plants, and the 
Vinca minor, in its various forms of green, white-varie¬ 
gated, and silver-variegated, for low-flowering ])lants. 
So far as I recollect, Mr. Fleming seemed to have used ■ 
the Ivy exclusively, and that he bad found it to stand 
room-treatment well, with the advantage bo gave it of 
not exposing it too much when first bringing the boxes 
