388 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
February 20, 1886. 
with flowers will sometimes please those whose 
tastes and habits are vulgar ; but it is neither 
art nor decorative skill. In the same way, a 
garden over-done with flowers, and specially 
where these masses are, show a perversion of 
beautiful plants to the destruction of their indi¬ 
viduality. That is not beautiful, and still less 
is not gardening. 
The bedding-out system has ran some forty 
years, and has efficiently played its part. It 
has been admired even far beyond its merits. 
It has favoured the growth largely of myriads 
of plants of the most fugitive kind; plants in 
themselves almost without nobleness and beauty, 
yet, giving some not unpleasing results in the 
mass, but still plants of only the most in¬ 
different merit. It has added largely to the 
constant labour incidental to flower gardening, 
and it has even then under some untoward 
climatical conditions sadly failed of its objects. 
Bedding out is just now upon its trial, and it 
seems as if the verdict of professional experts 
would be “ ISTo longer in accordance with exist¬ 
ing garden tastes.” One of the difficulties 
incidental to the ordinary form of “ bedding 
out,” is, the inevitable sameness which exhibits 
itself in any arrangement from year to year. 
Even where carried out with exceptional skill, 
and with all the taste which long experience in 
arrangement can furnish, the sameness is still 
painfully evident, and the lack of variety in 
the material baffles the skill and ingenuity of 
the gardener. The various combinations may 
be effected from year to year with singular ex¬ 
pertness, and the bedding kept with not less 
appreciation for neatness and order, but still 
there is satiety, and endless repetition, which 
eventually ends in weariness. 
But apart from these elements of weakness, 
which are inevitable to the constant repetition 
of any stereotyped work in garden decoration, 
there is the pressing, and perhaps distressing 
elements of greater economy in gardens, which 
now exhibits itself with increasing force, and 
is moulding gardening more and more into 
utilitarian channels. The country in the mass 
may not be growing poorer, but individuals in 
many directions are, and of those who have 
hitherto maintained extensive and perhaps 
gaudy gardens, not a few have felt the pinch of 
harder times, and are compelled to garden more 
economically. Naturally, gardening leans for 
its support upon wealth, and pinching in high 
places inevitably leads to garden reductions, 
which are now inevitable. The flower garden, 
if consisting of bedding plants, is a mere garden 
luxury without hope of recompense. Let it go! 
It has absorbed much garden space, much time 
and labour ; let it go, and the glass devoted to 
it, and the time and labour devoted to it be 
better applied. Turf down the beds, plant 
clumps of shrubs, put in some good hardy 
flowering plants that need little special care, and 
yet give much beauty in their season, and thus 
make decorative flower gardening less staid and 
formal, and, if less costly, not less pleasing. 
We find the demand for cut flowers to be 
rather increasing than diminishing ; how much 
better then to devote our beds and borders to 
plants that give flowers for cutting in abundance, 
rather than to plant those that are so far useless. 
If we must have flower gardens specially, why not 
devote to their cultivation some less prominent 
position, where in an informal way plants may 
be grown cheaply and in abundance, and where 
the cutting of a bushel or two of blossoms would 
grieve no one, or mar the bedding effects. We 
must now in gardening learn more and more to 
keep down cost, especially in the floral depart¬ 
ments. On the other hand, by providing 
cheaply a large quantity of flowers suitable for 
cutting, we shall find that much more value for 
outlay is being obtained, than can result from 
any summer bedding out display. 
GARDENING MISCELLANY. 
Royal Horticultural Society’s Liverpool 
Show. —We are pleased to be able to announce that 
arrangements have been made between the Council and 
the Mayor and Corporation of Liverpool for holding a 
grand exhibition devoted to all branches of horticulture, 
including implements and appliances connected there¬ 
with, in the Botanic Garden, and so much of the 
Wavertree Park as may be required, from June 29th 
to July 5th inclusive. 
National Chrysanthemum Society.—A 
meeting of the general committee of this society will be 
held at the “Old Four Swans,” Bishopsgate Street, 
City, on Monday evening next, at eight o’clock. 
Carnations and Picotees. —Those who grow 
a collection of choice-named varieties of each of these, 
and have kept their plants in a cool frame during the 
winter, will find they are showing indications of their 
spring start. Now is the time to go over the plants, 
and give them a thorough cleaning ; and while the 
weather keeps mild and genial, any plants showing 
dryness of soil may be carefully watered, taking care 
not to give too much in case frost should suddenly set 
in. And while it is fairly warm and sunny, the lights 
of the frames may be drawn quite back, so that the 
plants may have the full benefit of genial influences. 
By the end of the month the plants may receive gentle 
showers with advantage, if they come from the south 
or south-west ; but they should not be allowed to 
become too much saturated, or a rapid fall of temper¬ 
ature may take place unexpectedly. Then it is well 
not to permit sharp and cutting winds to blow upon 
the plants; at the same time it is not advisable that the 
lights be completely closed, but allowed to remain open 
at the point opposite to that from whence the wind 
blows. To some these directions may appear unneces¬ 
sarily precise ; but we are indicating only proper pre¬ 
cautions. The stronger and more thoroughly healthy 
the plants, the better will be the heads of bloom that 
may be looked for in July. 
The Lawn. —If a nice, level, pleasant-looking 
Grass sward is to reward the labours of the gardener, 
then as soon as drying weather enables it to be done 
the lawn should be swept and rolled, doing this three 
times a week, but taking care not to tear up any of the 
Grass by using a hard stubby broom. There is a good 
deal of knack in sweeping a lawn properly ; some gar¬ 
deners do it in an awkward and ineffective manner. 
Now is the time to make good any defects in it. If the 
Grass has become sunken in places, let the turf be cut 
in the shape of two doors opening outwards, lift these 
and lay them back, and then add soil so as to bring 
the Grass up to the proper level; re-lay the turf and 
beat it down firmly. It is a good plan to give some 
kind of dressing to all Grass under the scythe ; this can 
be done any time during the month of February, and 
just after a good rolling is a fitting time to apply it. 
In all circumstances a sandy compost—say, the fine 
siftings from a potting-bench—greatly-helps to keep a 
solid bottom under the scythe or mowing-machine, and 
it also serves to make the Grass soft and carpet-like to 
walk upon. An old gardening friend of ours recom¬ 
mends finely-sifted wood-ashes as a good dressing for 
poor Grass. 
-->*<-- 
THE TURNER MEMORIAL. 
The difficulty found by the promoters of this 
memorial in increasing the fund beyond its present 
amount, shows that it is wiser to close it at once than 
to further afflict the feelings of those most closely con¬ 
cerned by hawking the memorial about for some months 
hence. That a much less sum than was originally 
looked for has been obtained must be accepted as an 
indication that men’s capacities to give are not equal to 
their desires, as but for such misfortune much more 
would no doubt have been subscribed. 
I have ventured to suggest privately, and now do so 
publicly, that to meet the difficulty in which the pro¬ 
moters and trustees now T find themselves placed, that so 
far from making the proposed memorial permanent, it 
should be terminable, say, in ten years, by which time 
the major part of the late Mr. Turner’s older contem¬ 
poraries would have passed away, and another generation 
would have arisen who knew him not. If the memorial 
be made permanent there seems not the least chance of 
the annual sum given from it in prizes exceeding £6 or 
£7—a mere trifle, and unworthy the designation of 
memorial prizes. If, on the other hand, the memorial 
be made terminable in ten years, about £20 yearly may 
be given as the interest upon the principal with com¬ 
pound interest also, should produce some £200 in the 
ten years. 
Now, £20 given annually in prizes would be a re¬ 
spectable sum, and sufficient to ensure good competition. 
There would then be the combined advantages that 
these competitions might be shared in largely by the 
late Mr. Turner’s contemporaries, and the duties of the 
trustees might expire whilst yet in life. There can be 
no doubt but that memorials of this nature, commemo¬ 
rative of tradesmen, do evoke some distaste in other 
trade circles, and that feeling would be largely allayed 
were it determined to make this memorial, as all others 
of a similar kind, temporary rather than permanent. — 
ANEMONE FULGENS. 
Nothing, perhaps, among spring flowers, is more 
conspicuous than the rich glowing crimson-scarlet of 
this vivid flower ; in point of brilliancy it is surpassed 
by none, and only equalled by some of the more intense 
forms of the Crown Anemone, A. coronaria. It is one 
of those perfectly hardy gems without which the 
spring garden is incomplete, and one whose culture is 
both simple and easy. It thrives well in most soils of 
a rich vegetable nature, and deteriorates but in few. 
Where it is found to fall off after a season or two, it 
should be lifted when fully matured, and gradually 
dried off by placing in dry silver sand in any shed or 
outhouse wherein an uniform temperature is likely to 
be maintained. If preference may be given to soil 
where it may be allowed to remain undisturbed for 
several years, then that soil is light, rich, sandy 
loam of fair depth ; after the end of the first season its 
progress in such soil is very rapid, and the yield of its 
flowers in spring-time increases in the same proportion. 
It is, where soil suits it, generally at its best the 
second season after planting, by which time its tubers 
will have reached a good size ; then it is that you see 
crowns protruding from all sides of the tubers, and as 
these emerge into daylight, and the first few leaves are 
formed, the flowers will speedily follow ; a few patches 
of it in any garden in spring will amply repay for any 
trouble in bringing it to perfection. It commences 
flowering late in February, and continues to produce 
flowers till May ; this, to a great extent, however, 
depends on the planting. 
Those who Wish for a succession of its fiery scarlet 
flowers should plant at intervals of a month or six 
weeks; for spring effect, however, plant early in 
September, and for summer and autumn, from March 
to May. I have had lovely flowers of this plant during 
August and September, when it is truly welcome in the 
herbaceous border, seeing how few of its colour we have 
at that time, and especially dwarf-habited plants. It 
comes from Southern Europe and Greece, and grows 
about 1 ft. high. It should be planted about 3 ins. 
deep, always avoiding cold clayey soils, for in such it 
will not thrive. "When established it is exceedingly free 
flowering, as may be seen by the annexed woodcut, 
which well illustrates its general habit.— J. 
-- 
A GARDENERS’ DINNER. 
The recent dinner of the Koyal Horticultural Society 
proved an undoubted failure in point of numbers, 
although the council in arranging it possibly desired 
that it should be, as the council itself is, exception¬ 
ally select. But u'hat thirty sh illin gs per head cannot 
accomplish, I think the more popular crown per head 
could, and I should like to see some representative 
body following the lead of the B. H. S. council in 
the matter of an horticultural dinner, but upon a 
■wider and far more satisfactory basis. 
It is so long since gardeners have had an opportunity 
to meet together in social intercourse, that it is most 
probable that large numbers would hail the chance to 
do so could some arrangement to that end be made. I 
should like to see a committee formed to carry out this 
idea, that should as a starting point include a reper- 
sentative of each of the staffs of the horticultural 
papers, as I am sure gardeners generally would have* 
entire confidence in those gentlemen. But, in other 
respects, the promoting body should be entirely inds- 
pendent of any other organisation, and should act in 
purely independent spirit. To secure a really attractivi 
