84 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
seen, and at a very moderate price; the basket consisting 
chiefly of open wire-work, and the feet and legs formed 
of the same material. Such baskets, even in their 
present state, would be a great improvement on the pig¬ 
feeding-like troughs of boxes, as plants in flower might 
he set in them, the pots plunged in, and then covered 
with green moss; one advantage of which would be that 
one plant could easily he removed and replaced by 
another; and a second and greater advantage would he 
the ease with which plants could he tended and examined 
when placed upon a level with the eye, compared with 
the difficulty and uninvitingness of such an examination 
when the plants are struggling for existence upon the 
same level as our feet. The worldly-wise retail trades¬ 
man alike shuns a shop, where his customers would 
either have to rise or descend a step or two ; knowing, 
that before they would give themselves the trouble to do 
so, they would pass by to a more considerate neighbour; 
a fact—this along with many more, involving a similar 
principle—which ought to teach our friends who would 
wish to diffuse the civilizing and refining influence from 
flowers which they themselves had experienced:—the 
necessity of placing these flowers in their balconies and 
boudoirs, as near the eye and the hand as possible; as 
the mere beholding of such flowers, and the close ex¬ 
amination of their beauties and structural organization, 
will be followed by sensations and consequences vastly 
different. 
The first improvement in such, baskets would be to 
change the flaming fashionable bright green into a sober 
bronze or dull stone colour. If the stone colour should 
be adopted, the second improvement would be to make 
the main supports of a stronger material, and bind them 
together with a smaller wire, so that when well sanded, 
the whole would resemble tessellated carved stone-work. 
The third improvement would be, to make from the 
continuation of the feet and legs, the framework on which 
to fix a vase or basket of zinc or galvanized iron, in 
which, after insuring means of drainage, the plants may 
be turned out into suitable soil. It would be easy to 
form several fillets round the vase, and to give it a grace¬ 
ful curved lip at the top, so as to make it very ornamental. 
The feet and supporting pillar might be encased in 
similar material, and all might then be painted to imi¬ 
tate stone or marble. Groups of threes or fives of such 
baskets or vases might thus be placed together, and thus 
transform our balconies into miniature flower-gardens. 
'The green supporters would never be missed, for round 
the side of the vase we woidd plant running and creep¬ 
ing plants, such as Maurandyas, Lobelias, Verbenas, 
the smaller flowering Tropceolums, Lopliospermums, &c., 
but generally of a colour to contrast with the main 
colour in the basket or the vase. 
It is only for the lovers of flowers to say that they 
want such things, and our clever tradesmen will easily 
supply them; and in cheapness, in proportion to the de¬ 
mand. Mr. Savage has come forward to give an impetus 
to the forming of pretty baskets for plant houses. Will 
no one else step forward to encourage more artistic dis¬ 
play, combined with fitness for the end in view—whether 
composed of wood, iron, cement, or earthenware, as 
respects the vessels in which plants are placed in win¬ 
dows and balconies ? 
There is one purpose, however, for which wo would 
tolerate a largo square box or two in the corner of a 
balcony, and that would bo for planting somo strong 
growing creeper, to run and festoon itself among the 
I railings, where the distance is too great from the ground 
I to permit the plants being inserted below. For such a 
j purpose, nothing answers better than the common 
White jasmine, the common hedge-row Honeysiiclcle, and 
some of the stronger Clematis, or hardy climbing roses. 
For summer decoration the Cobeta scandens, Loplios- 
permum scandens, Tropetolum majus, T. peregrinum, and 
[May 9. 
T. pentaplujUum, may be used, along with masses of 
Sweet peas. For such a purpose, and also for climbing 
around and garlanding a window, few things are more 
beautiful than the T. pentaplujUum, with its thousands 
of greenish red flowers. 
Small Flower-garden.— The same correspondent who 
inquired about balconies, also inquired about the laying 
out of a small front garden of 17 feet, which we presume 
means 17 feet each way. We can only allude to this 
now. Many methods might be adopted, and much in¬ 
terest created, by vases, baskets, raising the ground, 
using edgings of flint, box, &c. One of the simplest 
methods, however, and which would look well, would he 
to have a circle of six or seven feet in diameter in the 
centre, with four clumps equal in size, and similar in 
form around it, divided from each other and from the 
circle by gravel paths, of from two to three feet in 
width. Supposing, that the longer straight lines of the 
four clumps will be a fence of some sort or other, 
there Sweet peas, Dahlias, and a few strong-growing 
and climbing plants may be placed, and the front planted 
with those of lower growth. With the exception of these 
fence plants, the whole might be grouped, either with 
common bedding plants or witli annuals, the latter 
only costing a few pence, if raised from seed. Were 
we to advise, we should say plant the centre bed with 
white, and the other beds in the order 
of colour mentioned—1, scarlet; 2, ■ Scarlet, 
blue; 3, orange or yellow; 4, purple. 2 
Each bed might have different tints of § § 
the same colour, the lowest growing Ps Orange, 
always next the path. R. Fish. 
HOTHOUSE DEPARTMENT. 
STOVE PLANTS. 
Ci.erodexdrums. —For large and noble foliage, with 
high-coloured flowers in large panicles, there are no 
plants that surpass Clerodendrums; and, therefore, we 
now remark upon them, because in selecting stove 
plants for our fortnightly essays we endeavour to choose 
such as are really showy, fine plants, undeniably worth 
every care and attention the amateur and gardener can 
bestow upon them. Any one that has seen Cleroden¬ 
drums even moderately well grown, will agree with us 
that they are of the splendid character we have described 
above, at least such of the genus as we shall recommend 
for culture. We have already mentioned one species, 
the C. splendens speciosissimum, as a splendid climber, 
suitable to cultivate in the orchid-house, and it is 
equally well adapted for the same purpose in the stove; 
it is also very effective ns a pot-plant for exhibition pur¬ 
poses. AVhen trained either upon a balloon-shaped 
trellis, or a flat trellis, it produces its large bunches of 
rich scarlet flowers in abundance, rendering it an object 
fit either to he exhibited as a single specimen of superior 
culture, or to be one of a collection, however large or 
small. Independent of being used as an exhibition 
plant, it is well worthy of cultivating in this style as an 
ornamental object amongst other stove plants. With 
the exception of requiring a trellis to tic its slender 
branches to, it requires the same culture as we shall 
give presently for the shrubby species. 
The following are the species worth cultivating; they 
stand in our list according to their merit, that is, the 
first is the best and the last the least worthy; but the 
degrees of merit are not widely different, as they are all 
good. Such persons as have the least room may try to 
obtain only the first or second, but where the cultiva- ■ 
tor’s means arc ample in respect to room every one 
should ho grown. 
Clerodendrum Betliunianum (Bethune’s Clcroden- 
