332 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN* September G, 1859. 
thirds for all or most of the other bedding Geraniums. 
The Model Nosegay is all leaf there ; and the Imperial 
Crimson is, by many degrees, the best grower in all the 
nursery—every 1 Lower in five hundred yards of it in a 
ribbon line stands at the same height, and every inch of 
it is propagated still as much as at first. The sale being 
so large, people actually bought it last spring from seeing 
a batch in bloom through the glass. 
The first bed in the show-ground lias a row of standard 
Fuchsias down the centre, is edged on both sides with 
large Golden Chain, and the main crop is of three hinds 
of Verbena pulcliella, the original purple, and purple and 
white variegated, called Imperatrice Josephine ; and a 
new scarlet and white variegated of the same, an ex¬ 
cellent thing to match-bed the Imperatrice. 
The next bed is all of different kinds of variegated 
Geraniums, of which The Rainbow and Silver Chain were 
the bast dwarfs, and a strong-growing yellow Golden 
Chain- leaved with flowers more brilliant than those of 
Tom Thumb. The third bed was of mixed Lantanas, in 
specimen plants, edged witli all the best kinds of Helio¬ 
trope. Fourth bed, all of the best China Asters. The 
fifth of magnificent Tritoma v.varia, with an edging of 
Delphinium Hendcrsonii, in fine second bloom. If there 
are not ten thousand of these Tritomas here, there must 
be more, from seedlings to full-grown plants. Sixth bed, 
mixed bedding Geraniums, aud 3weet-scented kiuds. A 
truss of Picturatum in the centre of a Nosegay is my 
own favourite of all the Geranium tribe that way. Dia- 
dematum carminaium is the best after the old ones. 
Lindleyana is a capital masser, it is in the way of Touch¬ 
stone. A new crimson variegated Rcitatum is novel both 
ways in age and looks. Morgani is a good bedder also, 
and also floribunda and its roseum variety; while nutans 
is the best representative we have of the Geraniums of 
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. 
The scarlet breed of Geraniums I regretted much being 
not able to judge, as the collection is very unique; 
but, like the unique Geraniums, they are kept iu such 
rich soil, and so cut for cuttings, that I could not trust 
myself, and I never trust another about a bedder. Of 
the tall, strong-growing variegated, Mrs. Lenox and 
Countess of Warwick are the two first I would choose, as 
they stood there. But in the country a revolution is 
wanted in variegated G-eraniums. They must have no 
flowers in edgings, else their flowers must look different 
to those of other Geraniums in the same bed; and a whole 
bed of variegated Geraniums, with a blue edge of Lobelia, 
ought to have a more intense colour in the flower than 
any of the plain or horseshoe-leaved kind. Brilliant 
comes the nearest to what is wanted. It is like putting a 
dairymaid for a duchess into a bed to plant variegated 
Geraniums with no better flowers than the plain-leaved 
ones. 
The ninth bed was of mixed Calceolarias, of which the 
Yellow Gem was the best flowering yellow one, and 
Beauty of Montreuil the best brown; the Queen of Oude 
the second best brown. 
The tenth bed was of mixed Gladiolus, edged with the 
finest China Asters. The eleventh of mixed experimental 
plants. The twelfth of best bedding dwarf Dahlias, of 
which the White Unique was the best white bedding 
Dahlia that I have yet seen : it is thirty inches high and 
very flowery. The next best was three feet, and named 
Profusion —a most excellent bedder raised by Mr. Keynes, 
of Salisbury : it is a mottled primrose and canary colour, 
edged with lilac, and is well named Profusion, for it was 
one mass of bloom. Gloire de France is as dwarf as the 
Purple Zelinda with the very largest purple flowers, but 
not so full of bloom as tlie other two. Prince Arthur is 
a fine crimson bedder; and Royal Purple comes the 
nearest to Zelinda. There is also a collection of Pompone 
Dahlias, dwarfs, more for mixed beds. 
Thirteenth bed. A row of specimen plants of Perilla 
Nankinensis, and of Calceolaria amplcxicaulis, plant for 
plant. These were edged on one side with aurea floribunda 
Calceolaria ; and on the other with ( Vnothera prostrala — 
a fine rich bed. This Perilla is a grand thing for the 
flower garden. It will train, or may be pruned to any 
size or shape, and it comes from seeds in the spring like, 
and as easily as, the blue Lobelias; but formerly the 
seeds were scarce and bad, and tlie plant without a cause 
got a bad name for rearing. 
The fourteenth bed was all of the best Gladioluses—a 
' splendid sight. The best and tallest in distinct colours 
were Brenchlyensis and Don Juana, fiery crimson; Com- 
tesse de Bresson, next shade, a rosy carmine ; next tallest 
Magnificent, the richest crimson ; Vulcan and Amabile 
tlie same. The three would make the very richest bed if 
Magnificent were in the centre, then Amabile and Vulcan 
ouside. President Dccaisne, shaded crimson ; Madame 
Thibaud, mottled crimson with violet; Comte de Morny ; 
Cerise, crimson and a white throat, a splendid flower; 
Vesta, one of the tallest whites ; Bertha Rabourdie, next 
( best white; Imperatrice, a fine blush and a branching 
spike ; Princess Louisa, blush shaded with cream; 
Princess Frederick William of Prussia, iu the same 
style ; Floribundus maximus, deeply marked with crimson 
bands on a white ground. But descriptions can give no 
idea of such varied splendour: the Gladioli are the richest 
flowers we have. 
Fifteenth bed. All of the best Phloxes, another of the 
highest nobility. The richest rotten dung, and the best 
and freshest light turfy loam, can alone enable them to 
mark then 1 places in the peerage. They also do capitally 
in fresh, moist American beds. The best crimson of 
them are— Henry de St. Cyr and Madame Prial or 
Brial; Madame Hullet, next shade of crimson; and 
Orientate, the next. As they stand here is how I would 
have them planted. The best rose-coloured are— Made¬ 
moiselle Bertha and Mademoiselle Durdam, the latter 
partly a peach-blossom colour. The best lilac were— 
Madame Picquette and Augustine Trant. French-white, 
or looking so from the richness of the eye, flushing a 
white ground, Mademoiselle Aurelia Dariez, Louis Gero-‘ 
mine and Jeane Boillard; and the best and purest white, 
Boule de Niege and Madame le Serf. Instead of large 
numbers of Phloxes, I would have large masses of one 
kind in one place, put the colours in harmony along the 
place, and repeat the same over and over again, if my 
length of space would allow. At all events, placing or 
planting such fine colours at random is enough to make 
a man scratch his head, gnash his teeth, and look as if he 
had not been in bed the night before. 
Next bed (16th), all Gladioli. Again, the next (17tli), 
a new Tom Thumb Golden Chain Geranium, in diamonds, 
the edges of the dice of Imperial Crimson, two of the 
most unique bedding plants, as there are no others like 
them. 
The next bed entirely of Gazania splendens, and to see 
it as I did in full perfection is never to forget the sight. 
The next bed was of experimental things, of which 
Stokcsia cyanea was quite new to me. This is a fine-look¬ 
ing, hardy perennial, herbaceous plant, with large heads 
of blue flowers, China Aster fashion, and it will do In 
pots, and blooms in the autumn till the Chrysanthemums 
come. There is another blue herbaceous plant called 
Asterocephalus something, which makes a good summer 
plant on a mixed border. 
The next bed was of Cloves, and of these the best was 
Life Guardsman, a kind which Mr. Barnes, of Camber¬ 
well, sent out. It is a capital thing, and blooms ever so 
long. Then no end to the numbers and kinds of border, 
rock, bank, tilo, stump, and basket plants, old and new, 
and all in regular classes as for botany itself. It would 
take me three weeks to go over them : therefore I must 
go under them, and push up one here and there. Tourne- 
fortia heliotropioides and Verbena venosa, two hardy 
bedders which come from root-cuttings faster than any 
thing. NiCttallia pedata, aforesaid. Pentstemons of all 
