20 I 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
Juke 19. 
Fro in New Holland ; and another most excellent plant 
for suspending. Foliage like the Gooseberry, hut 
coloured underneath ; flowers bright yellow, and pro¬ 
duced in succession for a considerable period; grows best 
in sandy loam with about a fourth-part of sandy peat 
added. Increased readily by cuttings of the young shoots, 
in sand, under a bell-glass. 
Kennedy a M aruyaxive ( Mrs. Marryatt's). — From 
New Holland. A charming plant, with many branches, 
naturally drooping; very neat foliage, and showy, scarlet 
flowers; just the sort of plant for a basket. Requires 
sandy peat and loam in equal parts. Increased readily 
by seeds, which are produced plentifully. 
Lophospermums. —Every species of this genus will 
answer well to grow in baskets, as is well exemplified 
in the baskets at the Crystal Palace. It is wise, however, 
to renew the plants every second year, because the old 
leaves die, and the stems become naked near the baskets. 
As they produce seeds freely that is of no consequence, 
excepting the little trouble incurred. Sow them in a 
hotbed early in spring, and pot off as soon as the 
plants can be bandied; repot once or twice, and then 
put the plants in the baskets. They will flower the 
same year. Should some of the species not seed freely, 
they may be propagated easily by short, stiff, young 
cuttings, taken off in July, put in common, pure, sandy 
loam, in a cold pit, or frame; shaded from the sun, such 
plants do as equally well as those from seeds, perhaps 
better, because they flower more freely. 
Lotus Jacojreus (St. James's Island). —One of the 
Cape de Verd Islands, where this plant was first discovered. 
Branches numerous and inclined to droop. Flowers a 
rich, dark,, brownish-crimson. Well adapted for basket 
culture. Requires a rich, light soil. Increased by seeds 
and cuttings easily enough. 
Maurandya. —Like the Lopliospermum, all the species 
and varieties of this genus will answer as basket plants. 
Their culture is so easy and well-known, that I need 
only refer to the directions given for Lopliospermum, 
the same culture suiting this genus as well. 
Mesembryantiiemum. — This is a genus that will 
do well suspended in the full light of the greenhouse. 
Indeed, I am often surprised that they are not more 
cultivated even as window plants, for which they are 
admirably adapted, requiring so little attention in 
watering and repotting. Those with heavy leaves and 
pendulous branches are, of course, the best for basket 
culture. They will live and flower for several years; 
and on that account are valuable for this purpose. The 
same soil, or compost, as that I have mentioned for the 
Cactus tribe will suit them well, and also the same 
directions as to watering, &c., is proper for them. They 
are all, or nearly all, from the Cape of Good Hope. I 
shall mention the best for this purpose. 
M. AURANTioM (Orange). M. bicolorum (Two-coloured). 
M. blandum (White). M. coccineum (Scarlet). M. 
decumbens (Bent-down); pale red. M. doeabriforme 
(Hatchet-leaved); yellow. M. formosum (Beautiful). 
M. inclaudens (Never closing) ; the only one of the 
genus that never shuts up its flowers till they decay; 
droops naturally, and has beautiful, purplish-pink 
flowers. M. micans (Glittering); scarlet. M. speciosum 
(Showy) ; scarlet. M. vlolaceum (Violet). 
Nierembergia. —A genus of prostrate, herbaceous 
plants, with pretty flowers. All will do well in baskets. 
Require rich soil, plenty of water in summer, but kept 
rather dry through winter. I have seen N. calycina in a 
basket, flowering freely even so early as May this year. 
Saxifragra sarmentosa (Trailing). —This is a very 
common plant, and may be seen suspended in many a 
cottage window. It has large leaves, and pretty, pinkish 
flowers ; the branches hang down and produce, at many 
joints, young plants, which, if taken off in spring and 
planted in pots, quickly make plants. The cottagers 
call it the“ Beefsteak plant,” the underside of the leaves 
being something of the colour of that animal flesh. 
It is admirably adapted for suspending. 
Torenia Asiatica (Asiatic); purple and white.—A 
plant, from the East Indies, of great beauty. Its habit 
is straggling; some branches ascend, others shoot out 
horizontally, and some droop downwards. It will bear 
the greenhouse in summer, and flower better there than 
in the stove; but a few plants should be kept through 
winter in the stove, as they will die in the greenhouse 
in that season. It might be grown in the stove even 
j through the summer, but should have plenty of air and 
| partial shade, or the leaves will turn brown. I ought 
; to have put this amongst my list of stove suspending 
J plants. 
Trop/eolums. —Many of these answer well to put in 
i baskets, but require renewal every year. The best are 
! T. Caroline and T. Triomphe de Leige. 
1 have given rather a long list of plants to suspend in 
the greenhouse. The cultivator should read it carefully, 
and select such as suits his fancy, or that he can easily 
procure. None of them are expensive; some as low as 
one shilling each, and none more than two-shillings-and- 
sixpence, so that a large house, after the baskets are pro¬ 
cured, may bo furnished for a trifling sum. 
1 have a letter by me, from a gentleman near Liver¬ 
pool (G. C. Schwabe, Esq), in which he says, that the 
Rose Viscomtesse des Cases has grown and flowered well 
in baskets in his greenhouse. I saw many Roses in 
pots in his preparatory house, trained downwards, and 
covering the pots entirely with healthy, rich foliage. No 
doubt many of them have flowered well, but none so 
much so, it appears, as the one he mentions. He had, 
also, many plants of the Ivy-leaved Geranium, in sus¬ 
pended pots, which quite covered and concealed them. 
This method of growing the Rose opens a wide field 
for experiments. As Roses do so well, why may not 
many other shrubs do well also; and many other kinds 
of flowers. The Verbena, for instance, the blue Ana- 
ijallis, and a host of other plants. Even the grateful 
Strawberry might be cultivated in this way, and would 
yield to few other plants for beauty, in bloom and fruit, 
besides yielding a dish, now and then, of one of the 
most health-giving fruits we possess. 
Turning back to my first paper, I see my next sub¬ 
ject is 
SOIL AND PLANTING. 
Soil for the Greenhouse basket plants I have described 
I under each. The Stove species should have the usual 
compost, peat-loam and leaf-mould in equal parts, unless 
otherwise specified. The season for planting extends 
over nine months of the year, that is, from the middle 
of February to the middle of November; but, in general, 
the best season is in early spring. The plants then 
have the best season before them to grow in, and get 
established before the winter sets iu. In planting, 
great care should be taken to keep the roots uninjured; 
the balls should be kept entire. It will be found that 
the balls will slip out of pots more easily when rather 
dry. Even if the plants are to be grown in pots inside 
a basket, it will be desirable to repot them just pre¬ 
viously to placing them there. Some free-growing 
kinds would keep fresh, and grow more vigorously for 
a longer time if the pots inside the baskets were covered 
with green moss, which would also conceal the pots 
more effectually, and keep off the rays of the sun from 
their sides, and thus prevent, in a great measure, the 
j evaporation of the water. The longest kind of moss 
should be chosen for this purpose, so that it may not 
drop or hang down raggedly through the meshes of the 
baskets. Tuck it in neatly, and clip off any straggling 
particles that may escape out of the baskets. I know, 
by experience, that this moss is a groat help to preserv- 
