October 9. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
21 
their Alba multifloras, their Uniques, ancl Priory Queens, 
and Queen of Roses, in better feather than any of us, in 
fact, there is a local competition in and all round the 
Park every May against me, and the plan which in¬ 
volved me in the contest was this:—1 gave them to 
understand, distinctly, that any one who lost the third 
lot of plants next winter should go without any, from 
me at least, and those who took care of their geraniums 
were to have some new ones to add to their stock after 
the winter was over. Nothing more was needed, and 
every one of them can now manage to keep their plants 
as well as I can ; two or three times I had dead plants 
brought to me in May, to see what killed them, and 1 
prescribed on the spot, and supplied their places, and 
1 believe there are very few plants now lost among all 
our competitors, let the winter be ever so hard. 
I believe the safest way to keep geraniums is in 
boxes, their roots being planted first in damp sand up 
to the collar, and—to keep the sand from causing damp 
to rise among the stems, or lose its own dampness for a 
long time—an inch of the finest ashes, as dry as snuff, 
to be put over the sand; the stems of the geraniums 
not to touch each other; some of the smaller roots 
might be cut away, to allow more room, and an inch of 
sand should be pressed down in the bottom of the box, 
before the plants are put in; then begin at one end of 
the box, and put in a row of plants across, leaving their 
heads against the end of the box, pack the sand in well 
among the roots, and shake the box occasionally, to get 
every crevice among the roots filled up; then another 
row, and another, till the box is filled, and then is the 
time to regulate the stems so as not to touch each other; 
after that put on the dry ashes, and leave the box open 
for some days or a week ; after that I am quite sure the 
lid, or some covering, should be put on to keep them 
quite dark, as they are to have no leaves, and hardly 
any green wood. Darkness, and a uniform temperature, 
will keep them as well as possible for a long time; but, 
still, I would have them looked over once in ten days, 
to see that no part got damp or mouldy, and if it did let 
it be cut off immediately, and leave the box open for a 
day or two. In the spring the box should be exposed 
to the light by the middle of March, and towards the 
end of the month it might bo placed out-of-doors in the 
daytime, at least, and all night, too, if there are means of 
throwing some additional coverings over it in very cold 
weather ; thus I would let the whole stand till the buds 
began to leaf, when the plants are ready to remove to 
some sheltered border, there to be planted in very light 
earth, and hoops stretched across, to sustain mats for 
protection as long as it is needed ; or the plants might 
be put into pots when the leaves appeared, but on no 
account should they be disturbed in the box till some 
of the buds opened. The boxes should not be larger 
than two people could carry about. Of course the same 
arrangement would do without the boxes, only it would 
be very inconvenient and very dangerous to move the 
plants about so early in the spring. D. Beaton. 
HARDY SPRING FLOWERING BULBS. 
[This is from the same friend who favoured us with a 
note on the Silver Plant.] 
It is time now to remind our friends about making 
arrangements for the furnishing their knots during the 
dreary months of early spring, when a few gay flowers on 
the otherwise bare ground will be so highly appreciated. 
We shall not this week say anything about spring-flowering 
herbaceous-plants, which, by-tlie-by, do not receive half so 
much attention as they deserve; but as this matter will be 
time enough some months hence, we shall confine our atten¬ 
tion for the present to our beautiful hardy early bulbs. In 
a line spring morning, I almost think a nice garden, taste¬ 
fully planted with Crocuses, Hyacinths, Tulips, and Narcissi, 
more cheering than the most gorgeous display of summer 
beauties, since the contrast between them and surrounding 
nature is then so much more striking. 
The best arrangement for planting these bulbs -will depend 
on the shape and size of the beds, and their connection one 
with another; but we will give a few hints as to the cheapest 
and most useful kinds, with their heights, colours, and times 
of flowering, so that every one may cut his own coat accord¬ 
ing to his cloth. We would, however, in particular, wage war 
against indiscriminate mixtures, unless in mixed herbaceous 
borders, when the various sorts may be planted in patches 
wherever there is room for them, observing always, however, 
to keep the dwarf kinds to the front of the beds, and the 
taller kinds nearer to the back. In a geometrical garden, 
where the beds are numerous and comparatively small, it 
will be better, in a general way, not to introduce more than 
two kinds into any one of them ; that is to say, one dwarf 
kind round the edge of the bed, and a mass of some taller 
species in the middle; these two should contrast in colour, 
but should accord in season of flowering. When it is 
desired to prolong the beauty of the beds, two pairs, or sets, 
of flowers should be planted, one to succeed the other; in 
this case the two dwarfer things may be mixed together 
round the edge, and the taller ones mingled in like manner 
in the central mass. 
When very large geometrical clumps are to be planted, we 
would adopt our favourite way of arranging them in zones, 
or belts, one within another, taking care, of course, to dis¬ 
pose them with good taste as regards colour, height, and 
season. But by far the most effective display we have ever 
seen made, has been on long borders by walk sides, the 
different kinds being planted in longitudinal stripes or 
bands. We will this week confine ourselves to a few hints 
as to the best sorts for growing in quantity, and give 
their heights, colours, and average season of flowering; 
so that those who intend to do anything in this way may 
make up their minds what will best please them: and we 
would particularly recommend them to procure the required 
quantity immediately; for they will thus secure better bulbs 
than by deferring it to a later period, as all respectable trades¬ 
men practice the system of “ first come, best served.” Next 
week we will tell our readers all about preparing the soil, 
and planting. 
We will suppose a border, by a walk-side, some eight or 
ten feet wide, as this would include a very complete series, 
which will be found in the following list of fifteen sorts. 
They may be planted in as many single or double lines, or 
those sorts which are connected with a bracket may be 
mixed together, thereby reducing the number of stripes to 
six. This list will enable every one to make a selection 
according to the size and arrangement of their beds or bor¬ 
ders, and, at the same time, please themselves both in 
appearance and cost. 
No. of Line 
Name. 
Colour. 
jU. 
’ey 
W 
Season. 
Distance apart 
to be planted. 
Price 
per 100 
l 1 
Tall late Tulips — 
-4-J 
crj 
<U 
Tournesol, Rex Ru- 
<y 
A 
s. s. 
brorum, and Mar- 
a 
riage de mu Fille 
red, yellow li 
medium. Apr., May 
8 
20 to 25 
Tall mixtures .. 
10 
1 2 
Lilium candidum (the 
common White 
Lily) . 
white 
3 
late. June, July 
18 
20 to 25 
3 
Hyacinth. 
red 
1 
medium. April 
8 
20 to 25 
4 
Crocus . 
white 
i 
early. Feb., March 
3 
Is (id, 2s 
5 
Narcissus (tall mix- 
tures) . 
cream, yel. If 
medium. Apr., May 
6 
15 to 25 
6 
Iris Xiphium (mixed) blue, white li 
late. April, May 
12 
15 
- 
7 
Hyacinth. 
white 
1 
medium. April 
8 
20 to 25 
8 
Crocus . 
yellow 
i 
early. Feb,, May 
3 
ls6d, 2s 
9 
Tulips — Gold Stand- 
f 
ard, Royal Standard, 
& Yellow Gottebaker 
red, yellow 1 
medium.Apr.,May 
8 
25 
- 
Medium mixtures .. 
. . 
10 
10 
Snowdrop. 
white 
\ 
early. Jan.,March 
2 
10 
rfl 
Narcissus (dwarf mix- 
turcs) . 
yel. white 
1 
medium. Mar.,Apr 
6 
15 to 25 
1 
12 
Hyacinth. 
blue 
1 
medium. April 
8 
20 to 25 
1 
13 
Crocus . 
yellow 
i 
early. Feb., March 
3 
ls6d, 2s 
14 
Tulip—Double Van 
i 
Thol . 
red, yellow 
i 
medium. April 
8 
/s. fid. 
.15 
Winter Aconite 
yellow 
\ 
4 
early. Jan., March 
2 
3s. 6d. 
l 
