200 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
July 7 . 
2nd. Low- geowing Plants—Haedy and Tendee. — 
Of these, we first mention the Nemophila insignia, 
atomaria, and macnlata. Sown in August, they will 
bloom from March to June, and if no seed is allowed to 
grow, and the plants are somewhat shaded, they will 
continue on during the summer. Labour, however, will 
be saved by sowing in spring. The chief care required 
in its cultivation, is never to wet the plants at their 
collar, or damp and gangrene will ensue. In watering, 
therefore, it is best to dip, but not let the water rise to J 
the surface. Atomaria should be so placed, as to be 
near the eye, so that the black dots on the white petals j 
may be noticed. A little moss had better be placed j 
between the stems of maculata, and the rim or wood- j 
rim. 
Lobelia, —The whole of the small-growing group are ! 
well fitted for this purpose. The best are those with 
a lighter or darker blue tinge. Of these, as peculiarly ! 
fit, I single out gracilis, specipsa, bellidifolia, and trims 
maxima. The last is the weakest-growing and pos- ; 
sessing a little more of an upright tendency than the : 
others. Sown in a slight hotbed in March, or pre- ; 
served a3 cuttings or young plants over the winter, they 
will bloom in baskets the whole of the summer, and, if j 
freed from seeds, the most of the winter. They will 
require rich, light soil. 
Anagallis. —Of these, the large blue, and the large 
red, are the best, and to secure them, they should be 
propagated by cuttings in spring or early summer. The 
same plants will last a considerable time in baskets 
when they are well pruned back in autumn. Light, 
rich soil suits them. They answer in beds but in few 
places; they grow too strong. In baskets they are j 
just in their element. The confinement given to the 
roots causes a profusion of bloom, and who can look j 
upon shoots some eighteen inches in length, studded i 
with bloom, in a sunny day, without admiration. 
Another advantage, or, perhaps, a disadvantage, about 
them is, that they become a sort of sun-dial, or weather¬ 
glass, as they are very shy in unfolding their beauties in 
dull weather. In a confined atmosphere the green fly 
dearly loves to feast on them, and tobacco must expel 
those marauders. 
Verbena, — Most of those with the old Malindres 
habit are suitable for this purpose. I may instance old j 
splendens, Tweediana grandiflora, and the less rampant ! 
grower, Barter'd. One of the very best for this purpose 
is one of the first introduced, with purple-lilac flowers, 
produced in great profusion, namely, pulchella; and 
another good one, next to lost, but now getting into 
notice again, is sulphurea, which makes but a poor ap¬ 
pearance in a bed, though it is elegant suspended. 
Saxifraga sannentosa. —This is the only way to show 
off this pretty plant to advantage. If any of our friends 
do not know it, or if we mistake its name, they will 
form a pretty good idea of the one we mean, by sus¬ 
pending a patriarch of a Strawberry plant in a basket, 
with ever so many generations of runners, the one pro¬ 
ceeding from, and dangling from the other, and many 
of these, as well as the parent stool, decked with little 
whitish flowers. The leaves themselves are singular i 
aud pretty. To this may be added S. cuscutceformis, ; 
another trailing plant of the same family. A little peat 
earth and rotten wood in the soil will be gratefully 
received. 
3rd. Strong - growing Herbaceous Plants. —I in- ! 
stance these for tall houses, or for situations where it is j 
desirable to have the shoots to dangle several yards, j 
instead of a couple of feet. I will merely mention them 
—Tropccolum pentaphyllum, T. pelegrinum; the first 
propagated by tubers and cuttings, the second from seed; 
and varieties of T. Lobbianum, for a warm place in 
autumn and winter. Bhodochiton volubile, by seed and 
cuttings. Lophospernum Hendersonii, crispum, and 
spectabile, variegated, best propagated from cuttings. 
Maurandya Barclayana, Hendersonii, and alba, are all 
peculiarly suitable. I shall never forget the first time 
1 saw Barclayana so used. It was in a large basket, 
some fifteen inches diameter, suspended at a height of 
twelve feet, and the shoots clothed with purple flowers 
were then dangling seven feet in length. This family, 
Lophospermnm, &c., like all the rest, will bloom more 
profusely and longer by cuttings off all the seed-vessels 
as they form. The same plants, with fresh soil, will last 
for years, by pruning back in the end of autumn, as the 
pendent position of the bulk of the shoots will cause 
young ones to be produced near the roots. 
4th. Plants of a Sfieubby Character.- —As a con¬ 
necting link between the last and these I may first 
mention 
Hibbertia grossxdaricefolia, a beautiful trailer, with 
small foliage, and pretty yellow flowers. It is easily 
propagated by divisions or cuttings. 
Hibbertia rolubilis has also large yellow flowers, 
much larger than the last, but it has rather too much of 
the twiner to hang its shoots gracefully, and though 
the flowers are beautiful, they are the very opposite of 
fragrant. 
Mahernia incisa, grandiflora, and pulchella, are small 
plants that may be used with advantage for this pur¬ 
pose, as the small flowers have a pendulous character, 
and are best seen from below. As the shoots will rarely 
grow above two or three feet, they should not be placed 
at any great height. The small flowers are yellowish- 
white, and red; it is propagated by cuttings, grown in 
sandy peat and loam. 
Soily a angustifolia, linearis, and heterophylla. —Shrubs 
of a climbing habit, with small, beautiful, blue flowers, 
that will do for baskets when the shoots are first tied 
to the rim, and then to the sides, to counteract the 
upright tendency. Easily raised from cuttings, and 
thriving in peat and loam. 
Convolvidus canariensis. —Bluish-pink in colour, and 
strong-growing, producing shoots of a pendant cha¬ 
racter, from three to eight feet in length, and blooming 
freely. The plant should be cut back in the autumn, 
or early in spring, and then, with fresh soil, it will con¬ 
tinue for several years. It is very subject to the red 
spider. I have tried the annual garden Convolvulus 
for similar purposes, but their natural habit of bind¬ 
weeds combines them so closely that they do not festoon 
freely. 
Kennedya coccinea, rubicunda, and especially pros- 
irata, may be used for this purpose, when not grown 
on rafters or trellises. They must be grown chiefly in 
sandy peat. Their general treatment has been already 
given. In baskets, watering must be carefully at¬ 
tended to. 
Bolichos lignosus, Passijlora ccerulea, P. ccerulea ra- 
cemosa, and P. Colvillii, may be so used when the house 
is lofty; and these kinds of plants are not grown from 
the rafters. They w'ould require to be cultivated in 
rich soil; to be watered at times with manure-water; 
and to be pruned back freely when done blooming at 
the approach of winter. Keep in mind that it is the 
young shoots of the present season that bloom, pro¬ 
ceeding from well-hardened buds of the previous year. 
I was going to mention Passijlora Billottii, but I find 
it rather tender for a cool greenhouse. 
Jasminum gracile. —This is a beautiful thing, with 
small, dull-white, sweet flowers, and will require similar 
treatment as Sollya, as respects tying to the basket. 
When done flowering, prune most of the flowering parts 
away, and encourage young shoots; and, in proportion 
as they are ripened, will they show bloom at every bud 
next season. 
Succulents. —Need I instance Mesembryanthemums ? 
I am not botanist enough to be able to distinguish 
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