22 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
October 9. 
Mixed herbaceous borders may be rendered very gay in 
spring by introducing patches of the above ; and for the 
same purpose we will add a list of other kinds, which are 
either not exactly suitable for lines and masses, or are too 
expensive to he used wholesale ; for we are sure that it is 
useless to recommend things which nobody, or not one in a 
thousand, will afford to purchase. 
Anemones, single and double, are beautiful things for 
patches, and by planting or sowing at different seasons they 
may be had in flower nearly all the year round. 
Amaryllis bella-donna and A. formosissima stand in the open 
borders in the Channel Islands and the south of England, 
but in less favourable localities they require the protection 
of a south wall. 
Anomatheca bruenla, Crinum capense, C. album , and C. revo¬ 
lution, Nerine Sarniensis (Guernsey Lily), Pancratium Illy- 
ricum, and the Yellow Amaryllis Sternbergia lutea , are all 
very beautiful, and come under the same general rule as the 
Amaryllis bclla-clonna. They are all well deserving of a place 
where they can have a little protection. Ixias, Sparaxis, 
Babianas, Ferrarias, and many other very early-flowering 
Cape bulbs, require very similar conditions of cultivation 
and protection, for which their beauty is an ample recom¬ 
pense. But after thus glancing at them, we shall leave 
this interesting part of the subject till some future oppor¬ 
tunity, when we may have leisure and space to treat it as it 
deserves. The rest of our remarks will be confined to bulbs 
which require no artificial protection. 
Bulbocodium vernum. —A very pretty little, dark-purple, 
Crocus-like plant, flowering at the same season. 
Colckicums (Autumn-flowering).—The well-known Mea¬ 
dow saffron, or Autumn Crocus. There are four varieties, 
the common, pencilled, and white single, and a double 
variety. 
Dog's-tooth Violets are more beautiful in their foliage than 
in their flowers ; the prettiest way in which we have seen 
them used, is as an edging along the inside of a stone¬ 
curbing, to which they give a very agreeable relief. 
Hyacinths. —Feathered, Grape, and Musk, are pretty for 
patches; the Feathered, or Monstrous, requires support, as 
its great head holds the moisture in damp weather, and, like 
a drunken man, becomes top-heavy. 
FrMiliarias are curious dusky-looking plants, and look 
best when they are on a level with the eye, as amongst rock- 
work. There is also a white variety. 
Iris. —These arc all very useful plants. We have included 
the best bulbous-rooted species in our arrangement above, 
and of the kinds which grow from tuber-like under-ground 
stems. They are very useful for borders on rock-work, as 
their stiff, spear-like leaves contrast agreeably with plants of 
different habits. We remember seeing a line of them along 
the top of a dead wall at the outside of a garden, where the 
soil came level with the coping; the effect of the leaves 
alone was exceedingly good, as they formed a natural 
chevaux-de-frise. We may as well mention that this was in 
the excellently-managed gardens of the Duke of Sutherland, 
at Trentham. I. tuberosa is a very pretty dwarf species from 
the Levant, which, on account of its shyness of flowering, is 
not cultivated so much as it deserves to be ; the fault, how¬ 
ever, is not in the plant, but in being taken up too often. 
Its best place is at the foot of a wall, where it should remain 
till it dowers. 
Jonquils are beautiful border dowers, of bright golden 
colour ; the large double is the most showy variety, but the 
| single one is the most fragrant. 
! . Lilies. —We have recommended the Common White for a 
line, and it is truly beautiful as such; the Bulb-bearing 
(A. bulbiferum) would make an excellent line in front of the 
| white, as it does not grow quite so tall, and retains its foliage 
bcLter. All the species and varieties are good, and as most 
of them grow very tall, they are well adapted for planting in 
open spaces amongst shrubs and in the back of mixed 
borders. 
Narcissus. —These are all excellent, and they are all suit¬ 
able for lines. We have mentioned only a few of the best. 
Ranunculus. —'1 heso are often, we may almost say always, 
grown in beds, but we think they wouid give greater satis¬ 
faction as lines or patches; they are amongst the most beau- 
tiiul of bulbs, which are all beautiful. The Turban Ranun¬ 
culuses are the hardiest and easiest of management. 
Scillas are lovely little bulbs, after the way of our common 
wild Hyacinths. S. Siberica and Pnccox arc the earliest of 
those generally cultivated. 
Tulips are too well-known to need any comment, and we j 
merely mention them that they may not be forgotten. The 
Sweet-scented Florentine is a variety we would draw atten¬ 
tion to as deserving of more general cultivation. 
Zephyranlhes Candida is as hardy as a Crocus, and not ! 
unlike a white one in flower, only that the leaves are more 
like those of a Jonquil: it flowers from May to October, pre¬ 
ferring deep sandy soil. The Argentine Republic and the 
River La l’late are so called from the silvery hue of its 
liowers on the banks of the latter. 
GREENHOUSE AND WINDOW 
GARDENING. 
Gastrolobiuji (from gcuter a belly, and lobos a pod, 
owing to the inflated appearance of the seed-vessel) is 
a beautiful genus of plants, natives of New Holland 
and the Swan River, growing to the height of from two 
to four feet, and producing yellow and orange pea-blos¬ 
somed flowers in great abundance. Previously to 1830 
we had only two species, bilobum (two-lobed), with yellow 
flowers, and retusum (retuse leaves, rounded and de¬ 
pressed at the end), with orange and scarlet flowers, but 
since then many species have been introduced, the most | 
striking of which are acutum (sharp-pointed leaves), with j 
reddish-yellow flowers ; and villosum (shaggy), with 
bright orange flowers. Others, such as conlatum, oxg- 
lobium, spinosum, trilobum, &c., mentioned in The Cot¬ 
tage Gardeners Dictionary, have pretty yellow flowers. 
I should presume they all require similar treatment, 
though some of these last-introduced species I have 
not yet seen. 
Propagation is easiest by seeds, steeping them in warm 
water, and sowing in a sweet, slight hotbed, in March 
or April, and after potting-oif, hardening them by de¬ 
grees, until fit to stand in the cold frame, or the front 
shelf of a greenhouse. By cuttings of half-ripened 
shoots, or, better still, firmish side-shoots, from two to 
three inches in length, inserted in pure white sand, 
round the sides of a pot in May, covered with a bell- 
glass, and kept close in a cold frame or pit, and shaded 
only when there is danger from flagging. These, when 
potted-off, had better be placed three or four round the 
sides of a four-inch pot for the first winter, and then 
they may be singled out into separate pots the following 
April. 
Soil. —Two parts fibry peat, one of fibry loam, with 
the smaller portions extracted, leaving chiefly the fibre, 
and one part of charcoal, broken bricks, and silver sand. 
Drainage must be particularly attended to. 
1 Catering. —This must be carefully provided, espe¬ 
cially in winter. Thoroughly dry in summer, and soaked 
in winter, so as to cause souring, will soon send the 
prettiest specimen to the rubbish-heap. Only let the 
stems of the plant come a number of times into con¬ 
tact with cold jerks from an unrosed watering pot, and 
disease and dissolution will soon approach. To keep 
the tenderer plants moist, and not sodden in winter, it is 
a good plan to place the pots inside of a larger one, tbe 
space between stuffed with moss, and that kept rather 
moist. 
Temperature. —This should seldom sink below 40° in 
winter, unless the wood had been well hardened the 
previous season: 45° may be considered a fair average, 
with ten degrees or more allowed for sunshine. 
Position. —Tbe front of a greenhouse, or a conserva- 1 
tory, in winter and spring; a rather shady place in 1 
spring and summer, when in bloom, after blooming, 
and growth is advancing; an open airy situation 
afterwards, close to the glass in the greenhouse; or 
if in the open air, whether the top be shaded from j 
