2(58 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, Jrr.Y 31, I860. 
proved a new rule in flower gardening, without attempt¬ 
ing it. 
There is a capital rule and a good lesson in flower 
gardening proved this spring by the experience of many, 
without their wish or intention. The spring flowers 
were so late in coming, and the weather was so cold, that 
bedding plants either lost their spring movements al¬ 
together, from being exposed as much as in former years, 
or were forced to make the spring growth by being kept 
close longer than usual; and gardeners well know that 
forced growth in the spring, made from stinted roots in 
old exhausted soil during a long period, is not the right 
kind of growth to form the basement for the build and 
growth of a summer season. And all this has been just 
proved by the force of circumstances, by the lateness of 
the spring, and the coldness of the early summer months. 
Those who have been thus compelled to keep their bedders 
longer on hand, in order to run out the last of the spring 
flowers before removing them to make room for the 
bedders, have had their plants—that is, their bedders—on 
the starving system much longer than usual, or on the 
false forcing mode, which never fails to tell unfavourably 
at the moment you expected success. Either from too 
much spring exposure, or from too much coddling over a 
longer period than is usual, bedding plants were never in 
a worse condition to turn out against adverse circum¬ 
stances than they have been this spring in nine places 
out of ten. But does every tenth place provide accom¬ 
modation for a different order of things, for the right 
gardening of bedding plants in the spring—that right 
being fouuded on the best practice of one generation at 
least? This style of flower gardening being yet within 
the period alloted to a generation, of gardeners. 
If you believe gardeners, or if you even believe me, 
there is not one place in a thousand where there is the 
suitable accommodations for the ordinary spring work of 
that place, and much less so for any extraordinary turn 
which may happen from the turn of the season, or from 
any other circumstance. All of a sudden, a man or 
woman who has to do the bedders for the time being is 
thrown on his own head resources, or on her mental per¬ 
ception—I make this distinction, for a man flies to his 
head to get him out of a fix—the consequence of a sudden 
turn in the weather, as in this instance ; and if his head 
is soft, like some heads which some of us would punch 
if we could, his plants will be as those in one of the nine 
places aforesaid; but let a woman suppose herself, or 
her plants, to be in difliculties, and her whole heart is in 
her way of fixing them how she would. Then, if a man 
happens to get into a fix about bedding plants, he should 
never attempt to get out of it without first asking advice 
in the right quarter. That was just my own lot and 
resolve this very spring. 
All through the spring every day was alike, with the 
difference that each succeeding day was colder than the 
preceding one. What was to be done ? A new Experi¬ 
mental was coming into form and fashion on the usual 
model under my nose. “New brooms sweep clean,” if 
they do not pick up broken thread and the like, and to be 
broomed out or picked up by “ mother dear ” was more 
than I could brae or brook; so I took council, followed 
the advice, and did the thing as clean as a pincushion. 
We hardly lost a day in flowers this spring at the Experi¬ 
mental. There was no spring, so to speak; and I was 
advised to make a spring—not to “ loup o’er a linn,” 
however, which means a spring over a precipice with a 
waterfall, but to make spring weather. That weather 
was instantly ordered at the weatlier-oflice we had, and 
we did as I say. 
Towards the end of March our spring began in earnest. 
All the bedding-plant frames were shut down and kept 
warm by glazed flue-pipes, with flower-pot saucers full of 
water over them for “ evaporating-pans.” The new 
greenhouse and the “ old laundry ” behind it, were also 
both heated by hot-water pipes; and they were set to run 
up the weather to 60° at noon, and more or less, earlier 
and later in the day, as each day seemed to require from 
the amount of sun heat and light which it promised to 
furnish and perform. Every plant was shaken out abso¬ 
lutely and entirely from all the soil about the roots, and 
was placed in fresh soil and a good-sized pot under that 
spring weather so made and managed. The whole stock 
in the Experimental, except the Verbenas, was spring- 
reared and set in motion, also continued on to the second 
week in May. Then, the spring flowers being still as 
good as they had been, it was determined to give them 
another week or ten day3 longer than usual, and in that 
time to air and cool down the bedders to the point at 
which it is safe to trust them in their summer quarters. 
By that time every plant was firmly established at the 
roots with good, fresh, loose balls, and the balls had no 
need of being shaken or much broken for the planting. 
Erom that day to this those plants have not lost a single 
day from check or change ; and there was more bloom on 
them in June than could be seen in nine places out of ten 
in July. Indeed, the gentleman from New York who, I 
said, bought up all my “ Good Gracious ” things at the 
Wellington Road Nursery, and the Metalicas, and all the 
old and new world of things from Mr. Low, of Clapton, 
and Mr. Frenchman Chantin, of Baris, insisted upon it 
that there were more flowers then in the Experimental, 
according to its size, than in any other he visited here 
and on the Continent. But he was not more than fifty 
miles out of London when he was here. The next day he 
went to Shrubland Bark and then home to New Y ork ; 
and 1 had a letter from Mr. Taylor, at Shrubland Bark, 
to explain the cause why he could not spare more time 
with the gentleman who paid him the compliment of 
going so far out of his way to see perhaps the first place 
of its kind in Europe to an American eye. Well, our 
joint apology must go in this number of The Cottage 
Gardener to Now York, where all the numbers are, 
seemingly, just as well known as they are in London. 
The planting out this season in most parts of England, 
was more safe for the plants than that of any since the 
beginning of this system, owing to continuous rains and 
the absence of sun. But the w r ant of stimulus to fresh 
growth was just in the same proportion from the same 
causes ; and when plants in their winter condition, as one 
may say, had to be subjected to these causes without first 
passing through the spring movement, their condition 
must have been sad indeed, and their tale to this day is 
only some degree more or less aggravated of that condition. 
After being in it so long, or from the very first Verbena 
that was ever bedded, I cannot determine or say if it be 
their natural way, or from having been kept more open 
than other plants, and consequently more exposed to the 
inclemency of spring weather ; but certain it is that Ver¬ 
benas were the most behind this season everywhere about 
London. They were not worse or better than elsewhere 
at the Experimental; but they did not receive the strength 
and stimulus of the artificial spring weather which all 
but themselves enjoyed, as just stated, and which all have 
so fairly paid with compound interest. I never saw the 
variegated Geraniums so good as they have been there in 
June and July.—the Golden Chains among the rest. YVe 
often bring up Mr. Fish’s words—" going along side of 
the ribbon-border,” he said, and the saying was just like 
him, that " the variegated pink or cup-leaf Ivy-leaved 
Geranium did not mind how near the pump it stood or 
was planted. And we could add that if it rained on from 
May to October this Geranium would look all the better ; 
and the rains we had, have proved what the said gentle¬ 
man from New York told me—namely, that none of our 
variegated Geraniums do any good out of doors at New 
Y ork: it is too hot and too dry for them there, and it is 
so on chalk and thin soils in England with them occa¬ 
sionally. But this has been the season for all variegated 
and minimum Geraniums which went out in good working 
order; and cuttings of the smallest minimum, to give a 
