March 23, 1889. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
409 
HARDY HERBACEOUS PLANTS. 
Letters from a Lady to a Friend concerning 
the Best Flowers to Grow for Cutting. —II. 
“ My Dear Mary, 
“ In the very early spring let me advise you to 
gather blanches of Horse Chestnut and Larch just when 
the buds are well filled out, but get them from trees 
either out of the way, or one doomed to be cut down, 
as otherwise do not on any account to gratify a passing 
whim go and spoil good timber. Bring them into the 
house, and stand in water in a large clear crystal vase, 
in which their brown stems look to greatest advantage, 
or place in a coarse brown jar, which also suits them 
well. With the heat of the room the buds burst, and 
when the leaves appear, being so forced, they are of the 
most tender green colour. A branch lasts a long time, 
and it is both very interesting to watch the leaves 
unfolding, and when fully out is very lovely. 
“ Plants I consider that repay their price are her¬ 
baceous Pseonies, but as they are rather expensive, 
ascertain the prices before ordering any. They are now 
to be had in all colours from white through blush to 
glowing crimsons. Arranged in separate shades or all 
mixed, and placed in large brown earthenware jars, 
with a very few of their own leaves, nothing can 
produce a better effect where a mass of colour is 
required. 
“Iris germanica comes in well to use the same way, 
and any humpy heavy effect 
can be avoided by cutting 
the stalks in different 
lengths. Also they ought to 
be gathered when the first 
bud shows colour, as each 
flower lasts only one day 
and should then be cut off, 
and the other buds will open 
successionally till all have 
bloomed. A few sprays of 
very long grass, in addition 
to two or three of their own 
leaves, are a great improve¬ 
ment. English and Spanish 
Iris are equally beautiful, 
and should be gathered at 
the same stage of growth, 
but being smaller do not 
answer so well for large 
vases. 
“A good grass to grow, 
and useful to cut from in 
spring, when it is in 
flower, is Luzula sylvestris. 
Being indigenous it can 
either be transplanted from 
its native habitat or bought 
at a nurseryman’s. When 
in flower it is most lovely 
to arrange with all sorts 
of Daffodils, Yiolas, etc. 
The common old-fashioned 
striped grass (Phalaris ele- 
gantissima) is also useful to cut from when inflorescent, 
but the leaves fade and fall so quickly that they should 
always be peeled off from the flowering heads, as they 
make any arrangement in which they are used look to 
very soon shabby. 
“Another very desirable grass to grow is Carex 
pendula, but it must be procured where it is growing 
wild, as I have never been able to get it at any nursery. 
I noticed it in most of the gardens at Hastings, and 
was told it was indigenous to the neighbourhood. It 
is an extremely handsome, tall, drooping grass, accom¬ 
modating itself equally to sun or shade, and its long 
catkin-looking inflorescence makes it a very picturesque 
object, either in the garden or in large vases amongst 
cut flowers. 
“You ask me about a really good strain of Forget- 
me-nots, as you complain of yours coming so pinkish 
and purplish in colour. We grow only the large ones 
called Myosotis palustris semperflorens. It is a very 
lovely blue and very true, and the only precaution 
required to get it to flower in perfection, is to grow it 
in damp and shady places, digging it up every alternate 
year, otherwise it grows too crowded and produces 
very inferior bloom. A large, round, shallow dish filled 
with this Forget-me-not, the stalks cut 4 ins. or 5 ins. 
long, and in as great quantity as the dish will hold, to 
be quite compact, and dotted in with Luzula sylvestris 
and a few Ox-eye Daisies, makes a lovely arrangement. 
It lasts long also, the Myosotis going on growing and 
eventually rooting in the water. 
“Many people complain that although Violas are so 
beautiful in the varieties of their colouring, and grow 
so luxuriantly, admitting of cutting them freely, they 
cannot arrange them effectively. Try the following : 
Fill a large flat dish with very wet sand, and insert any 
small vase or glass right in the middle, to heighten 
the centre. Edge the dish with a row of pretty small 
Ivy leaves, then dot in the Violas all over in the sand, 
choosing the longest-stalked ones for your centre glass. 
This done, stick in amongst the flowers any small 
grasses to be found, the inflorescent heads of the 
common-striped one doing as well as any. Sometimes 
I use only one colour or two, when I keep the centre 
different, but every shade mixed is, I think, much 
prettier. An exquisite arrangement is red Ivy leaves 
for an edge, and one or two shades of yellow Violas 
dotted in with brown heads of Luzula sylvestris. 
“ With your immense rooms you often want effective 
flowers to fill up large corners. Nothing can be 
better than the Oriental Poppies, the variety P. 
bracteatum being especially good. They are herba¬ 
ceous, and their colours are most gorgeous, brightening 
up a dark corner wonderfully. Their habit of growth 
also gives great variety, the flowers of some plants 
drooping, and others having very strong erect stems. 
These latter are preferable in every way, it is therefore 
a good plan to keep only a few plants of those in which 
the flowers droop, and increase the stock of the stronger 
upright ones, they being more tidy-looking in the 
garden, and when cut they last longer and are more 
effective. 
“ Erigeron glabellum and Scabiosa caucasica are two 
pale blue, or rather pale mauve flowers which supply 
a pleasing variety of colour, contrasting well with the 
vivid scarlet of the Poppies. Yellow flowers being at 
present so much in request, Bupthalmum salicifolium 
is very much to be recommended. It is a Composite, 
resembling in habit of growth and size of flowers the 
small white French Marguerite, only that the blooms 
are a brilliant yellow, very abundant, and last long 
after being cut. 
“ As you asked me to tell you only of flowers and 
leaves that after being gathered keep well, I am sorry 
to answer you in regard to your query about Del¬ 
phiniums and Canterbury Bells that they must be 
avoided. The blue Delphiniums and Bells lose their 
colour in one day, and the white become rusty-looking. 
It is the same with nearly all Campanulas, so where 
constant arranging is wanted to be avoided they are 
best left to bloom in the borders. If, however, for a 
special occasion you want to fill up a large corner, 
Canterbury Bells of all colours make a very effective 
large vase, arranged with a few long fronds of the 
Male Fern if you have it at hand. 
“ That reminds me also to advise you to plant in 
quantities this common Fern, as it is the best of all 
the native ones for keeping after being cut, and looks 
also very ornamental about shrubberies and drives. It 
is so convenient too, as generally it can be got in all 
sizes from quite small fronds to very large ones. Grown 
in the sun it keeps small, and in colour is a very much 
lighter and yellower green than when grown in the 
shade. This is worth trying for the variety of colour 
it gives you. Oats, Barley and Wheat ears, when 
green, are very useful for arranging with many flowers, 
but they should be used sparingly, as they very soon 
cause the water to smell disagreeably. To avoid this, 
as they are so graceful to use, I have often pulled them 
out every morning to be washed in tepid water to 
remove the sticky matter which gathers, then dried 
and replaced them again. 
“Another very useful flower is the French single 
Pyrethrum, or coloured Marguerites as they are some¬ 
times called. We bought a packet of seed from Mr. 
Ware, who has a very fine strain. We sowed in May, 
and raised a stock the first year, which flowered 
sufficiently by late autumn to show the colours of tho 
blooms. We then weeded out those not worth keeping, 
planting out the remaining ones in permanent situations, 
and the following June they flowered profusely in 
the most lovely shades, from white and blush to 
glowing crimson. 1 always arrange them with grasses 
only, as I consider that is how they show to best 
advantage. Like the Doronicum, they must be put 
into water as soon as gathered, in which case they last 
for a long time. 
“Two yellow annuals you ought to sow are Chrysan¬ 
themum segetum and Venidium calendulaceum, the 
last being half-hardy, which 
means it must be sown in 
a frame or not out of doors 
till May. The first is quite 
hardy, but both produce 
finer flowers if transplanted. 
They look best arranged 
in masses quite without 
foliage, and the Chrysanthe¬ 
mum especially, thus used, 
makes a very effective 
arrangement for a dinner- 
table, placing the flowers in 
Liberty’s small blue and 
white nankeen bowls at 9 d. 
each. I never gather the 
Venidium during summer, 
as although it is effective, it 
is not so pretty as many 
other things ; but you will 
understand my recommend¬ 
ing it when I tell you that 
late in November I have 
gathered buds off beds of it, 
which, brought into the 
house, came out quite per¬ 
fectly. By November out¬ 
door blooms are, as you 
know, not particularly plen¬ 
tiful, so that plants that 
will bloom then are ac¬ 
quisitions. During the 
summer it makes a very 
effective constant-blooming 
mass of colour, and is really very much to be recommended. 
“Believe me, yours truly, 
“Gladys Wood.” 
--»=£<-- 
CHRYSANTHEMUM NOTES. 
Stanstead White. 
I can assure “Observer” that directly I see a good 
bloom of Stanstead White I shall not be slow to admit 
its qualities, and shall have to consider that it is not 
the variety that is at fault, but the grower, as if one 
man can secure good blooms of any variety, another 
ought to do likewise. It is the outer petals that I 
object to ; they vary so much in character from the 
centre ones as to give the flower a thin ragged look. 
The florets objected to are so much longer than the 
centre ones, of a quill-like character, and are so few in 
number that they give a “ thin ” look to the bloom, 
showing a great want in “ build.” The colour, too, is 
not so white as I should like to see it; dull white 
flowers are not those most sought after.— E. Molyneux. 
The Bronze Sport from Golden Beverley. 
Your correspondent, “ Fair Play,” is in error in stating 
(p. 449), that Mr. Bunn was introduced about 1877 or 
1878, as he will see from the following quotation from 
the N. C. S. catalogue. “Mr. Bunn (Bunn), 1881, 
bright golden yellow, moderate height, sport from 
Golden Beverley, from which it differs in its brighter 
colour and finer florets. [“Fair Play ” said Mr. Bunn 
Papaver nudicaule alba. 
