August 22, 1891. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
813 
coloured top petals; Mrs. Gray, white; Holyrood, 
rich blue, tinted violet; and Ormond, which is very 
like Archie Grant, and blooms so freely. I planted 
a patch of Countess of Kintore, but it has not done 
well being attacked so fiercely with brown Aphis. 
The others are doing well and I have had and still 
have a wonderfully gay bed, and from the sitting room 
the effect is most pleasing. Each patch of colour is 
4 ft. by from 2 ft. to 2i ft., and the colours arranged 
to be as effective as possible. 
Last year I had a mixed bed with other sorts 
added, but I find the plan adopted this year is very 
much more effective. Then to ensure an autumn 
display in this bed, I also planted between the 
Violas, Roses, White and Scarlet Dwarf Chrysan¬ 
themum Asters. These are doing well and are just 
coming into bloom, and here and there I planted 
struck a lot of Carnations from cuttings in a cold 
frame and kept them through the winter, and planted 
them out in the spring; and Violas were planted last 
autumn and planted close together on a narrow 
border under a wall facing the south-east. It was a 
terrible winter for them and I lost a good many, but 
this winter I shall afford more protection, and plant 
out the Violas as soon as I can in March. 
When I first took the garden in hand I had all the 
worst of the old soil and stones removed, and got in 
a supply of fresh turfy soil and rotten manure. 
Each spring I add some fresh soil and a little manure, 
and leave it turned up to sweeten during the winter. 
I strongly advocate early and firm planting, and 
Violas are now so cheap that a few dozens cost very 
little, and if a stock is not kept up afterwards it is 
one’s own fault. My garden is really a town garden 
the popular name, although somewhat misleading to 
the unitiated inasmuch as a more appropriate name 
would be Perennial Pea, referring to the duration of 
the plant rather than to the everlasting character of 
the flowers. The latter are not so large as the in¬ 
dividual blooms of the Sweet Pea, nor have they the 
same powerful fragrance, but they are abundantly 
produced in long racemes from the axils of the leaves 
of the upper part of the plant, developing in succes¬ 
sion over a considerable period of time. The white 
variety is particularly choice for cut flower purposes, 
independent of its use for covering trellises, fences 
and other objects. Both the rose-coloured typical 
form and the white variety are now the glory of 
many a cottage and villa garden in the suburbs of 
London and appeal to every onlooker by their con¬ 
spicuous appearance. 
The Florence Cherry. 
Dwarf Blue Ageratums and Fuchsias. My garden 
is giving so much satisfaction to my friends and my¬ 
self, and was such a wilderness when I took to it, 
that I am induced to write these few words of 
encouragement to those living in the suburbs of 
large manufacturing towns to try to do more with 
their gardens than they do. I have two side 
borders about 2J ft. wide in which there are Asters, 
Stocks, and I grow only three or four bright colours 
of each ; Tom Thumb Antirrhinums, Dwarf Scabious 
and Carnations, which do very well ; and some 
plants of Phlox Drummondii grandiflora, and mixed 
with these are Pansies and Violas, and at the top of 
some rock work which seperates my garden from 
my next door neighbour's, there is a row of the new 
race of Dwarf Single Dahlias just coming into 
bloom. 
My garden costs me very little, as with the help of 
two garden frames and a small greenhouse in the 
next garden, I raised all the plants I wanted from 
seed, excepting the Carnations and Violas. In 
gardens in smoky towns like Birmingham, one’s great 
difficulty lies'in saving plants through the winter, I 
and Daisies, Sweet Williams, and almost everything 
dies in the winter, unless it be a very mild one, for 
we suffer so much from a smoky sunless atmosphere 
in autumn and winter. Still, with care and attention 
I find that a town garden can be made to give a 
great deal of pleasure. My next door neighbour’s 
garden is now under my care, and was a scene of 
desolation last winter, but now is in shape, and the 
beds filled with Dwarf Single Dahlias, Stocks, Asters, 
and other plants, doing exceedingly well .—Amateur 
Gardener. 
EVERLASTING PEA. 
The while and the typical rose-flowered form are in 
perfection during the month of August, forming a 
succession to Lathyrus Sibthorpii, L. grandiflorus 
and L. rotundifolius. In gardens the type is known 
as L. latifolius and the white form as L. 1 . albus; 
but botanists are generally agreed that the proper 
names should be Lathyrus sylvestris platyphyllus 
and L. s. p. albus. The names may prove trouble¬ 
some to seme, biit there can be little difficulty with 
THE FLORENCE CHERRY. 
I cannot think why this old variety of Cherry is not 
more grown than it is. Except in Kent it is very 
seldom seen, yet it is a grand and certain bearer, 
especially when the trees have attained some age; 
and that the fruit is all that could be desired, the 
sample I send you will show. There are two trees on 
our Cherry wall, planted by my predecessor, and as 
the fruits come in when the early sorts, such as the 
Bigarreau are over, the Florence is most valuable to 
us for the dessert. I have read of the fine varieties 
grown in pots by Mr. Rivers, but know them only 
by name. Can any of your readers say from 
experience how they answer on outside 
walls ? Had I a Cherry house, I should not 
hesitate to try some of them, but would not like to 
plant them on walls without more information about 
them than I possess at present. Perhaps Mr. Rivers 
would give us the result of his experience.— C. Brown. 
[We only know the Florence variety in a general way 
as being a favourite in some parts of Kent, and 
especially about Maidstone. The fruits are large, 
heart-shaped, as shown in the accompanying illus¬ 
tration, pale yellow and bright red on the sunny side. 
The flesh is firm ancl exceedingly sweet.—E d.] 
