COUNTRY GENTLE]\rAN’S COJIPANION. 
November C. 
S7 
ploymont to the young men to repair and paint them for 
the ensuing campaign ; but now, every inch of glass is 
I in requisition to protect liis Tom Thumhs, his Scarlet 
' and Purple Kings, and White Queens. Even Mont 
i Blanc must he put under cover, and all the rest of the 
troops of bedding-out plants, to shelter them through 
I the winter to be ready for warfare against naked beds 
and barren borders the ensuing summer. Many an old 
gardener sighs for his old, mixed flower-borders, the only 
; care of whicli was to cut down the flower-stems as they 
■ went out of bloom, dig the borders over in the autumn, 
; place sticks to his Phloxes, Delphiniums, &c., during the 
I summer, sow a lot of annuals, and keep the flower- 
j garden neat and clear of weeds. Very beautiful these 
1 mixed borders were ; at least, I thouglit so in my 
younger days; and I confess, like many other old 
' gardeners, to a hankering after the good old method. 
I However, the fashions change even in flower-gardening, 
and to keep up to them, both old and young gardeners 
must be wide awake, up, and doing. 
It has been suggested to me, that a few notices of 
new varieties of bedding-plants that have proved to 
grow well, and flower daring a long season so as to 
be effective, would be useful to a large number of 
gardeners and amateurs. And also a notice of any 
old plant that has hitherto been grown in the green¬ 
house, or mixed border only, but has been proved useful 
for the beds in the flower-garden, either as an edging or 
a mass. In accordance with this suggestion, I shall 
ransack my note-book and memory to give a list of 
such plants as 1 have actually seen growing effectively 
during the past year in various places. 
There are no plants so much used in bedding as 
Verbenas, because they furnish so many distinct colours 
and flowers for so long a period, and mass so well, either 
as a bed, or as parts of a ribbon of flowers. The 
varieties are almost endless, and every year adds to their 
number; but what the flower-gardener requires to bo 
effective are clear, bright, distinct colours. 
In Whites, there has been but little improvement for 
I many years. The old Mont Blanc, White Perfection, 
and Brag's Queen are, as yet, as good as any for bedding. 
I I have them all now, this 12th of October, in excellent 
] bloom. 
I Scarlets arc more numerous. I have seen Mrs. 
I Woodroffe in beds, but it is more of a crimson than 
scarlet, and ai)i)ears to bo equally as strong a grower as 
Bohinsons Defiance, and not so free to bloom, yet it is 
decidedly distinct, and a fine variety. It should be 
grown in poor, strong loam, and planted thinly to keep 
it dwarf and to bloom freely. The best decided scarlet is 
Thompson's King of Scarlets. It is a moderate grower, 
with medium sized foliage, largo, even truss, and 
abundant flowers. I have had a bed of it this summer, 
and can vouch for its excellency. 
Brilliant de Faise is a line variety for bedding. It is 
something like our old favourite St. Margaret, but has 
more scarlet, and is a bettor and larger trusser. Its 
chief merit is the long season of its flowering. My bed 
was planted very eany, and was in flower before any 
! other, and is, this day, as fine in bloom as ever. Every 
^ body ought to grow this really effective and charming 
I Verbena. It certainly belongs to the scarlets, though it 
I has a shade of crimson-purple in the centre. It requires 
a strong loam to grow it well. I believe many a good 
Verbena is condemned unfairly by being grown in a 
soil too rich and light. 
A very good scarlet for a small bed, or for the front 
row of a ribbon, is one I have grown tliis summer under 
i the name of Scarlet King (mind, not Ring of Scarlets). 
' It is very dwarf, has small foliage, and rather small, 
though vcjy numerous trusses of brilliant scarlet 
: flowers. It is all scarlet, liaving very little if any 
j oyo, I think large eyes objeotiouablo for betiding 
varieties; they deteriorate the effect of a good self- 
coloured bed. 
Purples, or, as they are called. Blues. Whoever 
saw a blue) Verbena the colour of the corolla of Salvia 
patens? A really blue Verbena is as rare as a blue 
Dahlia, and would be almost as valuable to the fortunate 
raiser. We may see it some day. Bluebeard, I was 
assured, was a genuine blue. I procured a strong ]dant 
of it, and I have it now in flower, and behold it a purple, 
with a largo, white eye, very nearly like President, 
or Monsieur Paquin, and no improvement either ; yet it j 
is a desirable variety, but not for bedding in a mass. It i 
is a good pot variety. Having, then, no really blue 
Verbena, what is the best purple ? I say, without fear 
of contradiction. Purple King, a variety raised by my 
friend, Mr. Scobie, gardener at Holland House. There 
is no mistake about this variety. I have had a truly 
splendid bed of it this year, growing in strong, poor 
loam. Such a mass of colour I never saw. It has no 
large eye to reduce the colour. The trusses are large, 
and keep their colour to the last. It has small foliage, 
dwarf, compact habit, with abundance of bloom for a 
long season. Emma and Mrs. Mills are nowhere in 
merit beside it, either in habit or colour. 
I had heard a good report of Wonderful as a purj)le 
Verbena. I saw it in bloom at Mr. 'J'urner’s, at Slough, 
and, to my great surprise, it is no purple at all, but a plum 
colour, that is, a mixture of purple aud crimson, with a 
large white eye. Certainly a fine Verbena, but not for 
bedding-out, where a dense colour is required. In 
mixtures, or as a pot plant, it is a very fine variety. I 
think it will be useful in a long row, iu the ribbon style. 
It will give a desirable shade, shot-silk-like, in such a 
situation. 
I have now gone through the three fashionable colours. 
Red, White, and Blue, as nearly as this class of flowers 
approach to. It only remains to notice pink and dark. 
In Pinks, there is none superior to Beauty Siqireinc, 
unless it be a seedling raised near Leeds. I had a plant 
of it sent me in the S])ring, and I propagated it freely, 
and planted it out at the proper season. It has proved 
a very good variety in its colour, which is decidedly 
superior to its prototype, having larger trusses, and 
keeping its colour to the last. It is now in good bloom. 
In dark colours, wo have the old Louis Napoleon 
Buonaparte, a dark crimson-maroon. Whoever wishes 
for a dark Verbena for a bed should procure this. 
William Barnes is a dark Verbena, of good habit ; 
Golonv, n piuple-amaranth, difficult to describe, but very 
fine, and a good bedding variety. 
I think all stripes and spotted varieties are not 
suitable for bedding in masses. Self-colours are what 
we want for such purposes. I have lieard of a pure 
white,named C'eluie Malet, raised on the continent, which, 
I am told, is a great imj)rovement iu its class, being of a 
pure silvery white, trusses largo and compact, and of a 
good habit. I mean to try it. 
Next in importance to the Verbena as a bedding-out 
plant is the Geranium, especially scarlets and varieties 
raised therefrom ; their name is “legion.” After ail, in 
pure scarlets there is none that for general usefulness 
surpasses our old friend, 'Torn Thumb. 
Good scarlets, with dark horse shoe foliage, have a 
novel and very good effect iu beds or ribbons, l^rinccss 
Royal belongs to this class, aud is very worthy of a place 
in any flower-garden. I cannot trace its history. Its 
recommeudatious arc dwarf habit, very distinct foliage, 
and medium-sized trusses of true scarlet flowers. Bragg's 
Glory is a good variety, rather stronger in growth, and 
a larger trusser, with bettor-shaped flowers, and a higher 
colour. It was raisd by the celebrated florist, ilr. Wm. 
Bragg, of Blough, In the year 185:J, my foreman picked 
up somowlici'o a cutting of a scarlet horso-shoo Geranium, 
under tho name of Ohint King. It is a strong grower, 
