THE COTTAGE GARDE NEE. 
10 
April 11. | 
bloom, and till up its place with something else brought 
forward on purpose in pots, or in the reserve garden; 
and really on paper it does seem very easy to do all this. 
But having lor the last ten years paid particular atten¬ 
tion to_this branch of gardening—as much so, indeed, as 
any gardener in this country, and having also as much 
money allowed for carrying out my plans as most gar¬ 
deners—1 can safely repeat that this is the most difficult 
branch of our art, and the least understood by all our 
writers on gardening, myself among the number. The 
most successful results at flower-gardening are to be ob¬ 
tained by the least number of plants, provided that as 
many aro used as will give all the principal colours of 
scarlet, purple, pink, blue, yellow, lilac, and white. 
The most dwarf purple-flowering plant for this kind 
. of gardening is verbena Sabina; and though not a good 
purple, it is still a very useful plant for the smallest 
bed. The host contrast to it in another shade of purple 
is Lobelia unidentata, also a very low plant for little 
beds. Lantana Sellowii is a reddish purple plant, ex¬ 
tremely rich in a bed; and the same plants may be 
taken up on the approach of frost, and used for four or 
five years in succession. It seeds freely, can be got by 
cuttings as easily as a verbena, and delights in the 
richest soil if it is light. There should he a bed or two 
of this Lantana in every good flower-garden. Phlox 
DrummonM —There are two or three good shades of 
purple to be had from this beautiful annual, which is as 
good as any perennial for the flower-garden, as it blooms 
on from the end of June until cut by the frost. Where 
great stross is laid on having the best shades of colour, 
a few of the desired tints of this phlox ought to he pre¬ 
served in pots, and propagated in the spring from cut¬ 
tings. Indeed, this is the best way to deal with all the 
best varieties of it; and some of them aro extremely 
pretty. But, in general, a packet of seeds will furnish a 
good bed. I sow this about the first week in April, in a 
little heat, for the seedlings do not rise so freely in strong 
heat. The old Verbena venosa is a good purple, but, like 
some of the purple petunias, the plant itself is coarse, 
if it is not quite hardy, it is the next thing to it, and 
that is a great recommendation. The best way to manage 
it for the flower-garden, is to fork out the roots every 
spring when the beds are being dressed; to cut them 
into six-inch lengths; and, after trenching the bod, to 
plant these pieces rather thickly. 
Combination of Colours. —This verbena exemplifies, 
in a high degree, what I said about the necessity of 
taking the tint of the leaves into account in arranging 
colours in a flower-garden, l'ew woidd believe that a 
bright scarlet and a good purple would answer well toge¬ 
ther in the same bed, because the scarlet would be so 
apt to neutralise the purple. Thus, if you plant an equal 
quantity of the best scarlet verbena with Emma or 
Heloise, the best purple ones of the same creeping habit, 
you will find that two good colours are completely 
spoiled, or, at any rate, that the scarlet will carry the 
palm. If it were possible to mix a white verbena along 
with these, so that there would be one-third more white 
flowers than of scarlet and purple ones, an extremely 
pretty bed would be the result; but such arrangements 
can only be managed with cut flowers, and that is the 
easiest way to learn how to harmonise or contrast co¬ 
lours for bods. It is ten times easier and more safe than 
studying the colours from printed arrangements; and 
the way to do it is as follows:—Take the lid of an old 
box (the larger it is the better) and lay an inch of earth 
all over it of a darkish colour. I have used sand for 
this purpose, but it is treacherous; as the white or yel¬ 
low sand gives the effect of its shade to the composition 
—dark brown loam is the best. Then, on a fine sunny 
day in summer, lay the board or lid on a plot of grass, 
or on a gravel walk, according as the flower-beds may 
be on the grass or surrounded by gravel. Take the 
flowers of two or more plants you wish to mix together, 
and some of the lea.ves of each plant; then make a 
flower-bed by sticking the flowers in the mould on the 
board, and a few leaves along with each flower or bunch 
of flowers. Now, about mid-day, step back three yards 
from your model bed, with the sun behind you, and if 
you sec no fault in your composition, walk round to the 
opposite point, and look at it against the sun; if you 
are still satisfied, leave it till four, or half-past four, in 
the afternoon, and then look at it from the same points 
as before. The sun will then be striking sideways 
against the colours, and if there is any defect in the ar¬ 
rangement, it is sure to come out now. Yet be in no 
hurry to give it up—look at it next day from the same 
points between ten and eleven o’clock in the forenoon; 
and this should bo repeated on a cloudy day before a 
final judgment is passed. It is unnecessary to observe 
that the colours may be arranged in any way one pleases 
on this board; but, in all cases , the leaves of the plants 
which produce the colours must be used, and why, 1 
shall give an example next week. D. Beaton. 
GREENHOUSE AN]) WINDOW 
GARDENING. 
Double Chinese Primrose (Primula sinensis, fore 
pleno). —Interesting as are the associations connected 
with the primrose race, and beautiful as the whole of 
them look, whether under the care of the skilful florist, 
under the protection of the forest brake, exposed upon 
the upland fell, or shedding some of the brightness of 
John Chinaman’s land over our windows and green¬ 
houses in the dull days of winter and spring, the division 
we have placed at the head of this article—though out 
shone by others in the splendour and richness of their 
colouring—is second to none in its appropriateness for 
floral adornment. 
The single white and pink Chinese primulas, when 
well grown, are very pretty objects in winter and spring, 
especially when the colours aro clear and distinct, whe¬ 
ther the varieties are somewhat whole in the edges of 
the segments of the corolla, or, as more generally 
coveted, they are nicely cut and fringed. But though 
thus making nice pot plants, one drawback connected 
with them is, that they cannot well be employed in the 
forming of bouquets, as the flowers soon drop alter 
their stem is cut; while the double varieties answer 
better than most plants for this purpose, preserving 
their freshness for a long period in water, and for a con¬ 
siderable time without any water. 
Like the single ones, the double white and pink sport 
into several sub-varieties; the white sometimes being as 
pure as driven snow, and at other times containing a 
dash of blush, and even a tinge of green, in the centre 
of the flower; some being nearly whole in the edge of 
the petals, and others again deeply fringed, but all of 
them beautiful. The red is sometimes so dull in colour 
as to render it unattractive; it being less striking in 
such circumstances than a well-grown good coloured 
pink single variety. Tartly on this account 1 have 
never done much with the red, but during this winter I 
saw some large fine coloured blooms that make me 
anxious to try such a variety, if at all presentable or 
procurable. 
All these double varieties require similar treatment. 
I look upon the white as the most desirable, and, if any¬ 
thing, it is the most easy to manage. We seldom keep 
a plant above two years. Some of those in large pots 
measured within an inch of two feet in diameter, and 
during the winter have exhibited in the conservatory a 
dense mass of flowers. The plants might have been 
better had they obtained a better position and treatment 
during summer. To have even such plants next year 
