COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, October 0, 1857. 
o THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND 
standard Roses, with an under crop of dark blue Del¬ 
phinium, neither good, had, gay, nor beautiful; lout 
circles in the angles of two cross walks tilled with 
Hollyhocks (see last week); another pair of new oblongs, 
planted with Roses as above; two circles, Mangles 
Variegated Geranium and dark Verbena; two oblongs, 
Frogmore Geranium ; two circles, Verbena Charles 
Dickens; two new oblongs, planted tor experiment 
which will not be repeated; two circles, Verbena Lorn 
Raglan; two oblongs, Calceolaria rugosa; two circles, 
Mrs. Woodroffe Verbena; two oblongs, standard Roses; 
two circles, Brillant de Vaise Verbena round a white 
Verbena, very good \ two oblongs, Shrub laud Rose 
Petunia; and two circles to match the last two ciicles, 
Geant des Batailles Verbena round Mont Diane \ eibena, 
also very good. 
Here I would also remark that what I said last yeai 
about Brillant de Vaise was intended to stop an evil 
spirit in London—that ol giving I rencli names to 
English seedlings with little knowledge of the French 
terms, one of my most intimate friends being the im¬ 
mediate aggressor. The Cottage Gardener stopped 
his mouth and that spirit considerably. I corresponded 
with M. Nerard at Vaise, near Lyons, nineteen years 
since, when he sent me a Rose he named after his vvite, 
and Madame Nerard is still as good as most ol our 
hybrid perpetuals. 
The next two oblongs with Belinda Dahlia pegged 
down, and the last group had the first two circles of 
Cupheaignea , same as strigillosa ; two oblongs, Ageratum, 
edged with the variegated ditto ; the last two circles, in 
the place of honour, the top of the list, were of Salvia 
porphyrata, edged with the variegated Alyssum. I he 
Salvia was planted on the authority of the “ Botanical 
Magazine,” and against the advice of The Cottage Gar¬ 
dener. Both beds failed. (See The Cottage Gardener, 
Vol. XVI., page 461.) There is a wide circle of gravel 
at the top here, which is crossed by another walk; and 
there are four large border beds, one in each division 
round the circle. Two of them are planted with Cal¬ 
ceolaria amplexicaulis , and the opposite two with Punch 
Geranium. These were in perfection when I saw 
them. There is a poverty in the design at this part 
which tells much against the beauty of the place. A 
noble walk, admirably planted on either side, ends in a 
little circle of grass in the centre of a ring of gravel, 
with the surface of the lake immediately beyond, which 
surface is first seen from an apparently lower level. 
There is a greater error of the same kind at the 
bottom of the Crystal Palace Garden, where the broad 
walk avenued with Deodars ends in nothing; but that 
was not the original design, and it may have been 
the same at Kew. The rest of the lake scenery at Kew 
is very good, well furnished, and diversified. What is 
wanting at the top of the great walk here is some object 
to hide the lake till you are at the edge of it. Fixed on 
the green circle in the centre of the gravel ring a large 
vase with flowers in it, or a flagstaff, would form a 
central object to the eye coming up to the walk, but 
neither of them would hide the lake ; therefore a raised 
flower-bed in three steps occupying the space now in 
turf would be the best, the cheapest, and the most ap¬ 
propriate for the surrounding parts. 
First raise an edging six inches high round the 
grass; then two feet or thirty inches level for flowers; 
then a rise of fifteen inches with stakes or rustic brick¬ 
work; then a level of eighteen or twenty inches for 
flowers; another rise of one foot, and the top level for 
flowers. The risers would be hid in summer with the 
flowers, and might be hid in winter with small varie¬ 
gated and evergreen shrubs. Such beds are not un¬ 
common, and they are cheaper and look better than 
rustic-basket beds in small gardens. I have made them, 
and often planted such beds. The top of the highest 
plants should be from five to six feet above the grass or 
travel. The Atro-sanguineum Nosegay aforesaid would 
make a good finish for the top, Pelissier or Richmond 
Gem the first circle from the top, and Punch a good 
bottom ring; or it might be planted with other kinds 
like a bed on the level ground. It is also the best way 
of “ setting off” a shaded bed. 
From this centre ring a walk branches off to the 
right to the conservatory, with two groups of beds as 
up the main walk, the first two circles of which are 
planted with scarlet Verbenas, edged with white 
Verbenas— Mrs. Woodroffe, with a band of Mrs. Hal¬ 
ford round it. The two oblongs following are white, 
edged with dark purple— Mrs. Holford Verbena, edged 
with Purple King Verbena. These are the best two 
beds in the garden ; and what makes them more so is, 
that the edging is in the right proportion to the body 
of the bed—fourteen inches wide of purple, and over 
four feet of the white. Beautiful edgings are too often 
mismanaged, being generally mere rings, instead of being 
in proportion in width to the size of the bed. The next 
two circles to complete the group are botanical failures, 
Venidium calendulaceum, which will not be repeated. 
The last group has the four circles with blush Ver¬ 
benas, called Hippodamie, and the two oblongs of 
Petunia Countess of Ellesmere, edged with. Mangles' 
Variegated Geraniums, the Countess lookiug capital. 
On the north side of the great conservatory there are 
eight pairs of oblong beds along the walk through the 
American ground. No. I is planted with scarlet 
Geraniums and Roses; 2 and 7 with yellow Calceo¬ 
larias; 3 and 0 with Verbenas Lord Raglan and 
Brillant de Vaise; 4 and 5, Verbenas; and 8 Cam¬ 
panula Carpatica. Beyond them are ten pairs of pin¬ 
cushion beds. 1). Beaton. 
TRANSPLANTING AND PRUNING. 
The first of these matters, as the readers of The 
Cottage Gardener know, has been a subject of much 
discussion during the last few years. Some have 
advocated the spring, and for a long period such 
opinion prevailed. In our days, however, spring 
planting lias few advocates. This arises from two 
reasons, the one founded on principle, the other on 
expediency; and when these two meet surely the con¬ 
viction as to autumn planting is complete. It is well 
known that there exists in autumn more ground heat, 
more air moisture, and a greater chance of shade, to¬ 
gether with less arid winds. In spring there are much 
greater chances of fluctuations as to sunlight and 
drought, together with driving winds and storms, 
which tell heavily occasionally on newly-planted stocks. 
But there is yet another view to be taken of the affair. 
Spring work in the main bears a singular disproportion 
to that of the months of September and October: we 
may put March as three to one in this respect. And 
even in the matter of wind it may be observed that 
such shrubs or trees as are planted in October become 
more fixed in their stations than those in spring, 
although staking may certainly obviate all such matters. 
These points settled I may proceed to preparatory affairs. 
Such may consist in deep digging for the lesser shrubs, 
in excavating and improving the staple for larger speci¬ 
mens, and in providing soils and composts where 
necessary. The selection of trees and shrubs is another 
consideration for the planter, especially if he has to 
purchase. “First in the market best served” is, as to 
nursery matters, a recognised maxim, and respectable 
nurserymen may be treated with in this respect. 
The preparation of trees of any size is deserving a 
thought. The taking out a trench around them in the 
beginning of September, and removing such trees in 
