208 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, August 9, 1859. 
i 
because they understand them, and flower-beds for the 
women, for the very same reason. The vast variety of 
the styles and colours of dresses, and the perpetual and 
periodical changes in the fashions, have so worked up the 
female tastes and fancies, that you can hardly meet with 
a woman in her own garden, or by the side of her ward¬ 
robe, who cannot give a better idea of putting colours 
together in such and such quantities, or balance their 
powers, than a Prime Minister. 
Then, when blue forms its own share in a balance of 
colours in a flower garden, that blue must run on to the 
end of the season; but should it fail, or be over in mid- 
season, it is far better for the balance of power that the 
space should be empty for the rest of the season than 
that plants of any other colour should be put in place of 
the blue ones. Therefore, Delphinium formosum is not, 
and never will be, more a bedding plant than one of the 
common annuals. It makes a glorious bed, nevertheless, 
while it lasts, and it brings to our minds just now the 
value of the promenade style of flower gardening for all 
amateurs who possess less than four or five acres of a 
flower garden. Kew is the best place to see examples of 
this modern style of planting along the great walks ; and 
there is a very good specimen of composition-planting in 
front of the large conservatory there. 
There is not a yard of composition-planting at the 
Crystal Palace, or in any public garden I know about 
London, except the terrace garden at Kew. In that 
terrace garden such a plant as Delphinium formosum can 
never be used, because there is nothing else in existence 
which, gives the same style of growth and colour to 
succeed it. But, in promenade-planting you are not 
tied to composition ; if every pair of beds are of the same 
size, shape, and colour, it is all that is wanted, even if the 
walk is a mile long. Two beds of the Delphinium for¬ 
mosum could stand at regular distances the whole way ; 
and when they were over you might use just as many 
kinds of any other plant, or plants, to succeed them, 
without any derangement of your colours. Take up the 
Delphinium formosum as soon as it is over for bloom. I 
merely mention it as a key plant which is very likely to 
be in extensive use, and going out of bloom just now, and 
all manner of herbaceous plants ought to be treated 
like the key plant as soon as they are out of bloom. Cut 
them down first, and take them up carefully ; shake all 
the soil from their roots, and see and judge if it is safe to 
divide them. Though without a good practical eye there 
is some difficulty in judging such things. 
The key plant—this Delphinium—is to be cut down 
quite close to the surface of the ground the moment it is 
past its best; and that is the best way to do all the 
perennial Larkspurs when they stand up and down on 
the mixed border. Then, if the autumn is fine, or if the 
weather is very hot at the time of cutting down, and 
good seasonable rain comes soon after, they start into 
a fresh growth, as they did last March, and go at double 
the speed—more of an “ express ” style of growth—than 
in the spring, and many of them will bloom a second crop 
late in the autumn. But, out of regular flower-beds, 
they ought to be lifted the moment they are cut down, 
and be treated so as to come in just as well, if not better, 
Another year. Shake every particle of the soil from 
the roots of those plants you intend to bed out next year. 
To have them transplanted into the kitchen garden, or in 
the reserve ground, with balls of earth to the roots, would 
be ruination to their effect next year in the beds,—too 
tall already—and half as tall again next year by that plan. 
It is true we could train them down as some people do ; 
but it is only here and there, and in large establishments, 
that one can spare much time in training down plants. I 
like to train all plants which have a natural bent for 
training; but I must confess my dislike to universal 
training, and more especially to such as are of the same 
rigid, upright style of growth as our key plant,—the 
Delphinium. After getting every particle of the soil from 
among the roots, you will find a rootstock—a thick neck 
with fang roots at the bottom, and fibry roots all round ! 
the sides ; cut in all the fibry roots to one inch of the 
rootstock, and cut back the fang roots to two inches from 
where they fork out from the rootstock—then your plants, 
or roots, will be something after the manner of old Dahlia 
roots, full of eyes at the top part, and fleshy enough to 
be parted into halves and quarters.. The first year that 
a Delphinium formosum flowers after being raised from 
seeds it can only be divided into halves, or two parts. 
The second, or third flowering, leaves the roots so strong, 
that they ought to be cut into four parts, or quartered. 
Then these pieces are to be planted six inches apart, in 
rows, out of sight, and they will be ready to come back 
to the same, or to other beds, as soon as the bedding 
plants are housed for the winter, or not till the end of 
next February, if the beds are not fit for them. In 
November they could be planted in the same bed with 
spring bulbs, such as Crocuses, Hyacinths, Tulips, and 
Narcissuses; and any of these bulbs might remain 
without being disturbed till this time next year, when all 
could come up at the same time. 
Flower of the Day makes, perhaps, the best edging to 
a bed of Delphinium formosum that could be planted just 
inside the ring of Crocus, so that the Crocus need not be 
removed oftener than once in three or four years ;—all the 
rest of the bulbs would come up with the Delphinium. 
Every syllable up to this point has been practically tested 
and substantially proved with my own hands, so there 
need be no fear or any hesitation about doing it all over 
the three kingdoms. 
The next part of the story is from the common stock of 
general garden experience, beginning with “ What shall 
we plant to succeed the Delphinium P ” and the question 
will be answered in five hundred ways, and each way will 
be the best of its kind, according to the fancy of the owner. 
Whatever you fancy will be the best for you. I have my 
fancy too, but it is not worth one farthing" more than 
your fancy. It is only the best for me because I like it 
best; and the reason why I like it best is simply that it 
is very easy to do, and very little trouble in doing it. 
I have done it, and others have also done the same 
thing exactly, but did it quite contrary to the laws 
of the effect of flowers in a mass. Is it not curious that 
one man can do a thing right, and another man do exactly 
the same thing and still be wrong P Now I shall explain 
how this was ; but first I must say, that it is hardly worth 
talking about, were it not for the principle involved. The 
planting of acres depends on the same rule as that for 
one bed, which is a circle and only six feet in diameter. 
The two beds I am now going to describe were edged 
with a ring of Flower of the Day, which was not dis¬ 
turbed ; and the inside of both was planted with mixed 
China Asters just showing the colours. In the one, tbe 
tallest plants were put in the middle ; and the dwarfest 
ones on the outside, next to tbe Flower of the Day. 
All the tall Asters were shades of blue; and the darkest 
were put in the second ring next the centre. The five 
centre plants were of a greyish-blue colour; then a dark 
and a lighter blue ; and the ring of dwarf ones were 
all but white-flowered, but being the dwarfest they were 
put on the outside of the rest of the Asters in that one 
bed. Now read the colours from the outside of all to 
the centre of the bed and say what you think of them. 
All variegated Geraniums in edgings, except the Golden 
Chain, tell for white ; Brilliant does not make an edge, 
and its variegation does not make a white: all the rest of 
them that I know, ace whites. Then this bed was :—first 
row, white ; second row, another kind of white—awfully 
bad; the third ring, a greyish blue—more awful still; 
next the white; the fourth, dark blue—very good ; and 
the centre a lighter blue. Whoever saw Arcturus in the 
tail of the comet last autnmn must see, easily enough, 
how much more easy it is to murder colours and ruin the 
effect which even the simplest colours, or the weakest 
