186 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
November 22 , 1890. 
The Amateurs' Garden. 
-- 5 -- 
SEASONABLE WORK in the GARDEN. 
Winter-flow©:ing Plants.—Many of these are 
fast approaching the flowering stage, and ought to 
receive somewhat different treatment while they are 
coming into bloom. The plants should be stood close 
to the glass, and receive more air in order to harden 
them and give the flowers texture to enable them to 
stand the cooler atmosphere of other houses, into which 
they may be taken for decorative purposes. When 
brought into bloom in a house where plenty of air is 
admitted, they are better coloured, and last longer in 
good condition when cut. 
Camellias.—The flower buds of these are now 
swelling, and the plants must be carefully attended to 
in the matter of water to prevent them from dropping, 
which they will do if the roots are allowed to get dry 
at any time. Liquid manure in a weak state would 
also prove beneficial, and if a bag of soot is put in the 
tank from which the plants are watered, it will 
prevent the choking up of the pores of the soil, which 
would be the case if the soot were scattered over the 
pots. 
Tuberous Begonias.—Even the late plants in 
pots will now he useless in most cases for decorative 
purposes. They should be slowly, not -hastily dried 
off, leaving the tubers in the soil in which they were 
grown. If stood on the damp soil of a pit, frame or 
greenhouse from which the frost is excluded, they will 
pull through the winter without any further attention, 
as the pots will imbibe sufficient moisture from the 
ground to keep the soil moist without watering. Do 
not by any means pull off the stems or leaves till they 
die away naturally, as it weakens the tubers. 
Iiilies.—The re-potting of these should no longer be 
delayed if not already done, because the roots will soon 
be starting afresh. It is a good plan to cover the bulbs 
with clean silver sand to prevent the soil from adhering 
to and rotting them. Use good fibry hut pliable loam, 
in which there is a good admixture of sand to allow of 
the water passing freely away ; for nothing is more 
prejudicial to Lilies than stagnant moisture about the 
bulbs. Manure can be applied as a top-dressing when 
active growth is progressing. Liquid manure can also 
be given them. The pots may then be plunged in 
ashes or coco-nut fibre, to prevent the necessity of 
watering till growth is well advanced. 
Climbers in Greenhouses.—Where these are 
planted out little or no water will now be required for 
some weeks to come, as growth is at a very low ebb. 
Those that are much infested with scale should now be 
taken in hand. Thin out the useless wood and all that 
is not required to fill the allotted space. Then give 
the remaining stems a good cleaning by means of a 
brush, working well into all the joints or crevices, so as 
to reach the enemy. 
Gardenias.—Keep these well exposed to light 
near the glass, and supply them with weak liquid 
manure to assist in developing their buds. Old plants 
whose pots are well filled with roots will be more 
benefited than the younger ones by this assistance. 
Cucumbers.—Comparatively little fire-heat will 
be required in the Cucumber house if the temperature 
out-of-doors keeps as high as it has been doing for 
some time past. Atmospheric moisture should also he 
decreased with the temperature, and both increased in 
the case of a frosty night. Where the roots of recently 
planted Cucumbers are showing through the soil, add 
some fi'esh material to the mounds, and mulch with 
well-rotted manure, which will feed the plants by the 
washing down of .the food constituents at each 
successive watering. 
Strawberries.—If ripe fruits are required by the 
middle of February a batch of plants must be gently 
started into growth about the end of this month. 
Vicomtesse Hericart de Thury and Keen’s Seedling are 
good old tried sorts for early work. The plants may 
be top-dressed with horn shavings, or horse-droppings 
mixed with a little hone meal. Give plenty of air to 
plants that are now fruiting, and water sparingly. 
Figs,—The trees for the first batch should be grown 
in pots, and if ripe fruit is required in April no time 
should now be lost in getting the plants started. If 
the pit is filled with a bed of fermenting manure little 
or no fire-heat will be required for a time. The mois¬ 
ture arising from the fermenting manure will also be 
very beneficial to the development of the young buds. 
Forced Flowers.—See that a succession of plants 
are introduced from time to time to keep up a supply 
of bloom, which will be greatly needed after the great 
bulk of the Chrysanthemums are over. Spineas, 
Hyacinths, Narcissi, Lily of the Yalley, Azaleas, 
Deutzias, Lilacs and Roses are the most important 
subjects. 
Cinerarias.—The more important points to be 
observed with this class of plants at present are to see 
that they are properly housed and secure from frost, 
always kept in a light position near the glass, and 
attended to in the matter of watering. Fumigate 
occasionally to prevent green-fly from getting a foothold. 
Shift on late batches before they get pot-bound, other¬ 
wise they will be inclined to throw up single spindly 
flower stems. 
-- 
A PALM NURSERY. 
Tiie immense quantity of Palms grown in the nursery 
of Mr. W. Iceton, at Putney Park Lane, shows con¬ 
clusively to what an extent they are being used for 
decorative purposes at the present day. The large Palm 
house contains the largest specimens, as might be 
expected, as most of the others are generally low, span- 
roofed structures. In the former are seven fine speci¬ 
mens of Iventia Forsteriana, some of which are 22 ft. 
high, and carry twenty-five leaves about 4 ft. wide. 
The leaves of Kentia Belmoreana are more spreading or 
drooping from the seedling stage onwards, and the 
pinnules are broader. There are about 20,000 seedlings 
of this in the nursery. Kentia Mooreana has red 
petioles and midrib to the leaves. The leaves of K. 
Canterburyana also arch very markedly, and the plants 
vary from 2 ft. to 3 ft. in height. Popular also for 
decorative purposes are the species of Cocos. Of C. 
’Weddelliana there are 50,000 seedlings, or as many as 
would fill three houses. Seeds sown in May have 
developed into seedlings with three leaves ; those at 
15 months old have six leaves and make nice decora¬ 
tive plants. C. fiexuosa has plumy leaves 22 ft. long ; 
and C. plumosa differs by having the leaflets more 
decidedly in four rows. 
The well-known and popular Seaforthia elegans varies 
from 6 ft. to 18 ft. to the apex of the leaves, some of 
the large specimens being fine. The same may be said 
of Areca lutescens, which runs up to 12 ft., with smaller 
ones in all stages. Plants of Rhaphis flabelliformis 
range from 4 ft. to 7 ft. in height, with two to four 
stems in a pot. There seems to be a great run upon 
R. f. variegata, for the stock is never allowed to get 
very numerous before it finds a buyer. Of the graceful 
E. humilis we noted a considerable number of useful 
decorative plants. The favourite Phcenix rupicola is 
grown in quantity, there being something like 7,000 
seedlings with fine dark foliage. The pretty P. 
Eoebelenii has already found its way here in some 
quantity. The plants are small but very pretty, with 
narrowly linear dark green leaflets. A considerable 
number of the fan-leaved Palms are also grown, 
including Latania borbonica, Thrinax elegans, 
Chamrerops humilis, and C. stauracantha. The latter 
is similar to Chamaerops humilis, but is of freer growth 
and better adapted for table decoration. Geonoma 
gracilis, in fine condition, is also grown in quantity. 
Palms, speaking generally, are distributed about more 
or less in most of the houses, the largest specimens 
being in the Palm house. Five houses built in one 
block, and all in direct communication with one 
another internally, are also filled with large-sized 
Palms. 
Besides Palms a large number of other subjects are 
grown in market style, all of which are in healthy and 
clean condition. Aspidistra lurida and A. 1. variegata 
are grown in hundreds. About 10,000 plants, two 
years old, of Dracfena Danelli, are now in splendid 
condition. The leaves are darker than those of the old 
D. rubra, and although the plants vary from 15 ins. to 
18 ins. in height, they are leafy down to the pots. Mr. 
Iceton finds that D. Lindeni always colours best in a 
comparatively low temperature, and that plants which 
have lost their colour in a warm house produce highly 
coloured leaves when relegated to a cool house. The 
plants we noted were certainly fine. Over a thousand 
plants of Pandanus Yeitchii are also notable for their 
fine colour. And in the same category may be men¬ 
tioned Ananasa sativa variegata, Ophiopogon Jaburan 
variegatum, Ficus elastica variegata, Crotons, including 
C. angustifolium, with leaves varying from 12 ins. to 
16 ins. long, Carex variegata, Dracaena terminalis, 
Eurya latifolia variegata, and others. Of the last- 
named there is a large quantity ranging from 18 ins. to 
34 ft. in height. It is largely used for winter garden 
work and decorative purposes generally. There are 
something like 3,000 to 5,000 plants of the Ophiopogon. 
The ordinary green-leaved Ficus elastica is also grown 
in quantity. Above 1,000 plants of Cordyline indivisa 
of all sizes are kept in stock, and C. lineata also finds a 
place. About 20,000 to 30,000 plants of Euonymns 
japonicus, green, variegated and broad-leaved forms, are 
planted in the open ground as well as in frames. The 
yellow variegated form of the type is the most popular 
for winter garden decoration, as it is much hardier than 
E. j. latifolius aureus marginatus. 
Climbers are represented by several large specimens 
of Stephanotis floribunda, trained over the roof of two 
or more houses. Lapageria rosea and L. r. alba are 
grown in the same way. It may seem out of place to 
speak of Asparagus plumosus nanus as a climber, but 
such it is when in its true form. D warf plants are 
grown in quantity, but the tall ones prove serviceable 
in furnishing large quantities of seeds, of which 25,000 
were recently sent to America. A. tenuissimus is also 
useful for decorative work, and a new one of the same 
habit as the last, but less graceful, has been added to 
the number. This is named A. scandens deflexa. 
Ficus falcata, of the same habit as F. repens, is also 
new. The leaves are, however, altogether different, 
being oblong, falcate, dimidiate or cut away on one 
side, and deep green. Arundinaria falcata is a beauti¬ 
fully graceful Bamboo, and plants here range from IS 
ins. to 10 ft. in height. There is also an unnamed 
species with broader variegated leaves, which are of a 
silvery glaucous hue underneath. A few kinds of 
Ferns are also grown in quantity, including beautiful 
pieces of Adiantum Farleyense, in 32 and 24-size pots ; 
the fronds are finely coloured and healthy. A. macro- 
phyllum has also beautifully coloured foliage, and A. 
cuneatum is grown in quantity, \oung specimens of 
Alsophila australis have healthy fronds, from 2 ft. to 
3 ft. long. 
Flowering plants for forcing and otherwise are repre¬ 
sented by large quantities of a few kinds. There are 
something like 100,000 Roman Hyacinths, the earliest 
of which are now in bloom. Lilium longiflorum 
numbers 7,000 bulbs, and L. 1. Harrisi 2,300, many of 
which are planted in the open ground for late flowering. 
About 1,500,000 crowns of Lily of the Yalley are 
imported for forcing, and those we saw, not yet re¬ 
moved from the boxes in which they were packed, 
looked plump and full. Hymenocallis macrostephana 
and Pancratium fragrans are largely grown for cut 
flowers. Several late batches of the Tuberose are now 
in bloom, or throwing up their flower stems. Bouvar- 
dias are also in flower. Indian Azaleas are grown 
in various sizes for decorative purposes ; and about 
4,000 Azalea mollis have been imported for forcing. 
A house, here termed the hospital, is utilised for 
recruiting the health and renewing the vigour of valu¬ 
able plants such as Palms, Ferns, Draesnas, &c., 
which have lost their foliage through some cause or 
other. The floor of the house is covered with slowly 
fermenting tan, in which the pots are plunged, aud 
which keeps up a gentle heat, encouraging the roots into 
fresh action. 
Fan-trained Peaches are grown on the walls of the 
garden, as well as on the brick sides of the hothouses. 
In the latter case the plants are young but very vig¬ 
orous, and the well-ripened wood was thickly studded 
with wood buds. The varieties we noticed were Sea 
Eagle, Hale’s Early, Dymond, Noblesse, Alexander 
Noblesse, Royal George, and others. 
-- 
HILDON PARK, STOCKBRIDG-E. 
Vert pleasantly situated in a quaint nook and out of 
the world’s way is Hildon Park, the residence of 
Lady Webster, of Battle Abbey. Fortunately for her 
successors, the ownerisone, we may say, of the few whose 
almost sole and whole idea is the improvement of their 
estates ; and that great taste and skill has been brought 
to bear upon this work is plainly evident wherever 
one likes to turn in the park, the lawn, or the garden. 
Tree planting is unquestionably her ladyship’s forte, 
ample evidence of which can be seen in the numerous 
well-arranged clumps and single specimens that dot the 
park and lawn, both of which have been laid out under 
the owner’s personal supervision, and in such a way as 
to leave nothing to he wished for. 
That great care and foreknowledge is required in 
planting the Hildon grounds will be seen when I state 
that the soil is composed principally of chalk, and every 
arboriculturist well knows that, in dealing with such, 
a more than ordinary amount of care in preparing and 
planting the ground, but particularly in choosing 
trees and shrubs, is all important if the work is to turn 
