24 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY 
each division of the ground; hut, thus coming in the 
centre of flower-beds, they ought to be edged with some 
variegated plant, or a plant that flowers all the summer, 
otherwise they seem out of character as soon as they are 
out of bloom. For this garden the Variegated Mint is 
the most appropriate edging, but for Rose beds I would 
have a yellow Calceolaria or a scarlet Geranium edging. 
At all events a mass of evergreens quite close to flower¬ 
beds on the bedding system ought not to be without a 
flower edging of some kind. 
If this garden was mine I would have three rows 
round each of the centre Rhododendron beds, scarlet 
Geraniums next the Americans, then a row of yellow 
Calceolarias , and the outside row of some variegated or 
white-flowering plant; but, if I used the A r ariegated 
Mint, I would reverse the colours, and put the Mint 
next the Rhododendrons and the scarlet outside, because 
the Mint in a row looks best when it is fifteen or 
eighteen inches high, although it may be kept under a 
foot all the season by cutting it. 
I would have all my Gladioluses among Rhododen¬ 
drons, nothing being so thoroughly ugly as a bed of 
them just gone out of flower. All the Lilies I would 
have the same; also Commelina ccelestis, but no more, 
unless the bed was very large indeed, when a collection 
of Phloxes would give all the tints common to the Rho¬ 
dodendrons. » 
But to return to the plan before us. The beds along 
the centre walk opposite the house must be planted in 
pairs to match, the same colours in each pair, and the 
same height in the plants, but there is no objection to 
using two kinds of plants for them ; one kind in a bed, 
or two or three kinds in one bed, and two or three dif¬ 
ferent kinds of the same plant iu the opposite bed. All 
the rest of the beds may stand each on its own merits in 
such a garden as this, but not if the garden formed a 
part of an extensive place, where each bed on the left 
all round would need to have its match on the right. 
Now, when a flower-bed by itself, or in an arrangement 
like the present, or any other way, is to stand on its own 
merits, without much reference to the beds near it, it 
must be planted with more than one kind of plant 
—that rule is absolute. The body of the bed, how¬ 
ever, may be of one plant, and the edging be of a 
different kind, or two, three, four, five, or more kinds of 
plants may form the bed, with or without an edging; if 
only two kinds are used, then you can hardly escape 
without an edging kind. 
The greatest fault in gardening in modern times is 
the endless chain pattern of yellow and scarlet at the 
Crystal Palace. I made an excuse for it the first season, 
as I knew the difficulty of doing so much at once; but 
I have not the smallest hesitation in saying that it is 
the most glaring example we have in British gardens 
of “ poverty of design.” It has done some good, how¬ 
ever; for no one. with an “ eye” would plant two kinds 
of plants with strong contrasting colours in one bed, 
after studying those chains, without a relief colour in 
white or variegated flowers or foliage. If we keep from 
Geraniums and Calceolarias I do not recollect any other 
plants of which two kinds in a bed would absolutely 
require a relief edging, although there are very few 
plants of which a bed would not be improved by an 
edging, if it had to stand on its own merits, or “ tell 
for itself,” or “ stand on its own bottom,” which are 
but different ways of expressing the same thing. 
The first pair of beds, Nos. 1 and 26, should be planted 
with Flower of the Day , or any other variegated Gera¬ 
nium. The Flower of the Day , planted twelve inches 
leaf from leaf, and the rest planted with the Variegated 
Mint, make the best bed of the kind I have yet seen. 
Nos. 27 and 32, mixed Verbenas , three shades of red, or 
pink, or purple, or all three in each bed. Nos. 28 and 
31, Heliotrope. Nos, 29 and 30, purple or pink Petunia 
GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, April 14, 1857. 
in each, with a strong white edging of Virginian Stock, 
to be sown now in aflat drill; the side of the drill to be 
three inches from the side of the grass; the drill to be 
three inches broad, and half an inch deep ; the seeds to 
be sown thinly, and the seedlings to be thinned to two 
inches apart early in May, and before they just show 
flowers; the tops to be cut one uniform height; 
then by cutting them on the inside one week, on the 
outside next week, and on the top the third week, you 
may have them in full force till October. Nos. 14 
and 15, clear yellow Calceolarias, and no edging. Nos. 
12 and 13, two or three kinds, or one kind of scarlet 
Geranium in each, with or without an edging. Nos. 4 and 
23, the same. Nos. 7 and 20, clear yellow. The Ageratum 
in No. 10, and Salvia patens in No. 17; and the rest “ as 
you like.” No one can spoil this garden after those beds 
are disposed of, unless tall plants are put in the beds 
up near the house. As every one who goes to the ex¬ 
pense of arranging a garden is entitled to have a finger 
in the pie in planting or in suggesting improvements, 
it is perfect cruelty in an artist to do the whole himself, 
or begrudge the owner his share in the pleasure. It is 
quite enough if the artist insists on not sacrificing a 
principle. There may be ten ways of applying a 
principle, and if the owner’s way of applying the 
principle pleases himself best, surely there can be no 
reason why his way should not be adopted in preference 
to the views of the best artist under the sun. The 
difficulty is to meet with really sensible men as artists. 
There is no lack of clever men in all departments of art, 
who know every turn just as it ought to be; but then 
how few of them will submit to you or anybody else ! 
They must have it all their own way. I always act 
contrary to that. I never finish anything I take in 
hand in the garden way, not even my weekly articles 
to The Cottage Gardener. I leave so much for the 
Editors, and so much for the printers. The same in 
planting beds, in altering old gardens, or making new 
ones: I leave so much to be done by those who 
pay, and the consequence is, they all say I am the 
most sensible man they ever met with, and I must 
not break the rule with this pretty garden by planting 
all the beds; but I can do better, for I can tell how 
the twenty-one beds of this kind of design were planted 
at the Crystal Palace last year; the other twenty-one 
beds on the opposite side of the walk, which cuts the 
centre of the garden into two parts, were only duplicates 
of the first set. 
The row begins and ends with a circular bed, which 
is six feet in diameter; the oblong beds are eighteen 
feet long and six feet across, therefore the outsides 
correspond the whole way; the eleventh bed is the 
centre of the row, or key bed, and if you count from 
11 to 21 the planting of each bed ought to be as from 
1 to 11. In well-arranged gardens everything is done 
like this on a given system :— 
No. 1, a circle, Lobelia ramosoides in five circles round 
the bed, and a patch in the centre. The plants stood 
at nine inches in the row, and six inches row from row. 
No. 2, oblong, Tom Thumb Geranium, six rows, and 
eighteen plants in the row. 
No. 3, circle, Emma Verbena in three rows, and a 
centre patch. 
No. 4, oblong, Calceolarias , six rows, and eighteen 
plants in a row, or the same distances as Tom Thumb. 
No. 5, circle, Tom Thumb. 
No. 6, oblong, Larkspur. 
No. 7, circle, Tom Thumb. 
No. 8, oblong, Calceolarias. 
No. 9, circle, Andre Verbena (purple). 
No. 10, oblong, Tom Thumb. 
No. 11, circle, Lobelia ramosoides. 
No. 12, Tom Thumb. 
No. 13, Andre Verbena. 
