82 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
October 10, 1891. 
FLORICULTURE. 
Dwarf Striped French Marigolds. 
Mr. James Percival, Smithy Bridge, Rochdale, has 
sent for inspection a box of blooms of Dwarf French 
Marigolds, which, a fairly good strain when it first 
came into his hands, has been greatly improved by 
him by reason of careful selection, both in habit and 
quality of the bloom. The flowers sent certainly show 
a very fine strain, symmetrical, fully double and hand¬ 
somely striped, and Mr. Percival states the plants 
are only about a foot in height. By selecting from 
the most perfect flowers during the past seven or 
eight years he has brought the strain to this high 
state of perfection , and what he has accomplished is 
illustrative of what may be done by anyone who, 
taking a particular flower in hand, will resolutely set 
about perfecting it. Mr. Percival has a bed over 
20 yds. long, and several feet in width, which must 
be a great sight. The Dwarf Striped French Mari¬ 
golds are much more effective for garden decoration 
than the tall ones of old, which reach a height of 
from 3 ft. to 4 ft., and are of straggling growth. 
Very fine strains of tall Marigolds are still grown for 
exhibition, and some northern growers say they can 
procure flowers of finer quality from them than from 
the dwarf-growing section. But Mr. Percival shows 
conclusively enough that flowers of fine exhibition 
form can be had from the newer dwarf-growing 
strain, which is a matter for congratulation. I may 
add, that should fine and warm weather prevail 
during October, the Marigolds will continue in good 
bloom all through the month.— R. D. 
New Violas. 
Some of the later introduced varieties are very- 
lovely, and some new ones yet to be introduced wil 
very soon be established favourites. Some four or 
five years since a very fine white variety, Countess of 
Wharncliffe, was sent out from Wortley Hall, where 
it was raised, but somehow it never got in to many 
hands, and is not known as it so well deserves. It 
is a close free-growing snow-white variety of great 
merit, and will be very popular. William Neil, a 
variety from Scotland, is also a very fine sort of a 
soft pale pink colour, and Beauty, Duci:“«s of Fife, 
and Mrs. Grant, are three beautiful varieties, . Mch 
should be in every collection. _ Wonder is a variety 
from Scotland, of pale yellow colour and evidently a 
first rate bedder, but there is nothing of a distinctive 
character about it. Delicata is a very lovely variety 
of a pleasing pinkish-lilac colour. Hartr ; ° -is pretty 
but has a washy appearance, white bordered, with 
very pale lilac, and of little use as a bedder. Aloa, 
Dandy, Ida’s Choice, Nora, and Vernon Lee, may 
all be set down as no acquisitions whatever. 
Of my own new varieties, I, of course, should 
speak wflth bated breath, but I venture to say that in 
Bridesmaid, very soft pale primrose, Golden Gem, 
and Master of Arts, we havethree of the finest Violas 
ever seen. Violetta is a very dwarf and distinct variety 
raised by Dr. Stuart, of Chirnside, and sent to me 
by Mr. George Steel, of Heatherslaw. The blooms 
are very small, but of good form and substance, and 
of a new type compared with so very many kinds we 
are now getting, in which there is so much of the 
Pansy blood, and l&rge flowers, and with these we 
do not get earliness, floriferousness, and continuance 
of blooming. 
I have all along ridiculed the term “ tufted 
Pansies,” and suppose it was invented to deceive. 
There are no such things as “ tufted Pansies.” If 
anythiny is tufted it is the Viola, but in what way 
“ tufted ” ? The fact is, that the nearer we keep to 
the Viola type, of which Builion, True Blue, Ard- 
well Gem, Mrs. Gray, Elegans, The Mearns, Golden 
Queen of Spring, Countess of Kintore, Mrs. Pearce, 
Mrs. Cobham, Skylark, and others are types, the 
more we ensure very early blooms, continuing 
through the summer and early autumn in full bloom 
and most floriferous. Countess of Hopetoun has 
flowers larger than those I have just named, but it still 
stands in the foremost rank of our bedding varieties, 
and is a wonderfully valuable variety of close habit. 
Some sorts, such as Mrs. Baxter and Dawn of Day, 
have too much of the Pansy breed in them, and do 
not conform to my views of what a bedding Viola 
should be, but as exhibition varieties they tell. We 
have a lot of grand varieties for the exhibition stand, 
such as Ethel Baxter, Spotted Gem, Queen of Scots, 
Hugh AjnsHe, Marchioness of Tweedale, Evelyn, 
Lady Amory, and Sunrise, which are very fine, some 
of them excellent bedders; and I think that if 
amateurs would divert their attention more to Violas 
and grow many of the varieties they would derive 
very sincere pleasure from doing so, and have much 
earlier flowers than from almost any other plant, and 
they are so easily cultivated. 
Some of the new varieties sent out are mongrels, 
and may find here and there an admirer, but will 
soon be amongst the forgotten—their proper place. 
I have always advocated and worked for obtaining 
more seifs without any blotch or ray of colour in 
the centre, or with as little as possible of either, and 
as a pure type of this class, I name my new 
varieties Bridesmaid and Golden Gem. Still wecannot 
but welcome also most heartily such kinds, which 
are parti-coloured, as Countess of Kintore, The 
Mearns, Queen of Scots, Ethel Baxter, and others. 
Messrs. Dobbie & Co. have taken the Viola in 
hand in a very spirited manner and have sent out 
some fine varieties, and they will send out a few 
very fine kinds this autumn, such as Countess of 
Elgin, Annie King, and Lass o’ Gowrie. These I 
have seen, and can speak confidently of their value 
and beauty. Let me add a word also as to planting 
out. If possible do it soon, so that the plants may 
be established before severe weather sets in. Late 
spring planting is by no means recommended by me. 
—IF. Dean, Spark hill, Birmingham. 
HAMPTON COURT. 
Here, as in most other public gardens and parks, the 
beds of Pelargoniums were very dull and compara¬ 
tively flowerless by the end of September, except in 
the case of the variegated or bicolor sorts, which 
were generally mixed with Abutilon Thompsoni, 
Iresine Lindeni, or blue Violas. Some beds of mixed 
Fuchsias, Ivy-leaved Pelargoniums, and Begonia 
Worthiana continued to hold out, and one of such 
plants, with the addition of Iresine Lindeni and 
Coleus edged with Stellaria graminea aurea, was 
quite bold. The floriferous character of B. Worth¬ 
iana was well marked in several other cases, thus 
demonstrating its utility for flower bedding in wet 
seasons like what the past has been. Some beds of 
flowering plants, such as Nicotiana affinis, Chry¬ 
santhemum frutescens, C. carinatum, Pentstemons, 
China Asters, Marigolds, and Stocks, mixed with 
.Wntilon Thompsoni, Eucalyptus globulus, and 
varie b Med Maize, edged with Euonymus radicans 
variegatus, demonstrated that arrangements of this 
Lind ai e superior to Pelargoniums in climates akin 
to what we have to put up with. Beds of Cannas, 
single and Pompon Dahlias were also respectable. 
Several beds of blue Ageratums were flowering 
magnificently as if they delighted in wet weather. 
Heliotropes when planted out usually flower with 
a freedom quite unknown in pot culture, and the past 
summer seems to have been particularly favourable 
to their development. This was certainly the case 
with two beds of standard Roses, on a groundwork 
of Heliotrope President Garfield, or some similar dark 
kind, forming a dense floriferous and fragrant mass, 
2 ft. to 2^ ft. high. Little attempt is here made at 
subtropical gardening, but a bold effect was produced 
in a large oblong bed of Grevillea robusta and Ficus 
elastica, 5 ft. to 6 ft. high, alternating with dwarfer 
plants of Abutilon Thompsoni, on a groundwork of 
Iresine Lindeni, Violas, and Begonias. 
The carpet beds were the chief features of 
attraction, and were greatly admired by the visitors. 
One of the finest was a large oblong bed with a 
plant of Agave Victoriae in the centre surrounded by 
Alternantheras, then an eight-rayed star, four of the 
rays of which consisted of Cotyledon Peacocki and 
the other four of Antennaria tomentosa, all edged 
with Golden Feather. At either end of the bed was 
a balloon-shaped figure consisting of alternating 
bands of Alternanthera versicolor, Cotyledon 
secunda glauca, A. paronychoides aurea, A. magnifica, 
Cotyledon adunca, A. paronychoides aurea, A. mag¬ 
nifica, and Cotyledon secunda glauca. Then 
followed a groundwork of Herniaria glabra on which 
were four large crescent-shaped patches of Calo- 
cephalus Brownii surrounded by a line of Kleinia 
tomentosa, and some circular plots of Alternanthera 
in convenient or suitable positions. The whole was 
surrounded by an edging of Alternanthera parony¬ 
choides major, with Cotyledon secunda glauca on 
tlie elevated slope on a. groundwork of Sethi ni 
giaucum 
Another bed of similar size, but altogether 
differently arranged, attracted more attention from 
the plant-loving public than the last. The design 
was a bold one and showed a considerable departure 
from the usual style of carpet bedding, and an air of 
novelty added to the striking character of the whole. 
A large oval figure of Cotyledon Peacocki occupied 
the centre, while there was a somewhat smaller patch 
of Kleinia repens at either end. In each of the four 
corners was a patch of Fuchsia Golden Fleece 
pegged down and kept dwarf, and between these on 
either of the two sides w-as a patch of Calocephalus 
Brownii with its cottony-white stems. Follow ing the 
larger patches in the centre, and surrounding them, 
w-as an intricate scrollwork of Alternantheras, 
Mesembryanthemum cordifolium variegatum and 
Cotyledon secunda glauca. The latter greatly pre¬ 
dominated in bold lines and constituted a marked 
feature of the design. At either end of the bed was a 
large plant of Cotyledon metallica surrounded by a 
patch of Sempervivum calcareum. The edging on 
the slope was the same as in the last case. 
Less novel but still very neat and attactive in its 
way was a long oval bed with a plant of the varie¬ 
gated American Aloe in the centre, surrounded 
successively by Sempervivum montanum, Cotyledon 
Peacocki, Kleinia repens, and Mesembryanthemum. 
On a groundwork of the dark green Herniaria 
glabra w-ere two heart-shaped patches of the dark 
purple-leaved Alternanthera grandis, and six patches 
of the cottony-white Calocephalus Brownii, with 
some bands of Alternanthera, and the usual edging. 
Distinct in its way but rather formal was another 
large square bed, laid out in lozenge-shaped figures 
of moderate size, each filled with one kind of plant. 
The design, if for no other purpose, would serve to 
show what a large number of plants there is at com¬ 
mand for carpet bedding purposes. There were 
patches of each of the different kinds of Alternan¬ 
thera, Cotyledon secunda glauca, Kleinia repens, 
Mesembryanthemum cordifolium variegatum, Calo¬ 
cephalus Brownii, Fuchsia Golden Fleece, Anten¬ 
naria tomentosa, Sempervivum calcareum, S. 
montanum, Coleus Verschaffeltii, and Iresine Ver- 
schaffeltii. Besides being formal there was another 
objection to the design, namely, the unequal growth 
of the different subjects grown, giving the bed an 
unsymmetrical appearance. If the Coleus, Iresines, 
and Calocephalus had been confined to the central 
patches a more balanced appearance would have 
been given to the whole. 
A side border in front of a low wall was gay with 
a number of tall flowering and other subjects in 
mixture, such as Phloxes, Single Dahlias, the Night- 
scented Virginian and Turkish Tobaccos—some of 
which were 6 ft. to 8 ft. high—also Lilium auratum, 
Abutilon Thompsoni, Cannas, Dahlia Juarezi, and 
fine foliaged subjects, such as Eucalyptus globulus, 
Wigandia cordata, Solanum robustum, and 
Allan thus glandulosa. Young plants of the latter 
with single stems and planted at regular intervals 
had leaves between 2 ft. and 3 ft. in length. 
At the end of the grounds nearest the Thames is 
a broad herbaceous border occupied with a variety 
of subjects, the autumn-flowering subjects being of 
course in season, including the Sunflowers, Michael¬ 
mas Daisies, Rudbeckia speciosa, Japan Anemones, 
Chrysanthemum uliginosum, and others. A large 
square of Chrysanthemum Madame Desgranges and 
G. Wermig was bounded by a massive line of the 
Italian Starwort (Aster Amellus). Bright and 
charming was another broad line of the dwarf Aster 
Novi-Belgii lsevigatus, with a profusion of rose- 
coloured heads. 
SALVIA COCCINEA. 
If this Salvia were perfectly hardy it would take a 
high rank amongst herbaceous plants for the open 
border ; but being a native of Central and South 
America it requires the protection of a greenhouse in 
winter. It is, however, amenable for culture in the 
open during the summer season, and keeps up a dis¬ 
play for months in succession. The stems are of 
moderate stature, being only from 12 in. to iS in. 
high, bearing whorl-like clusters of flowers all along 
the upper part. The flowers are of medium size, 
but of a bright scarlet such as we fail to find amongst 
Salvias from Europe or other temperate countries, 
and the lower lip is the larger and more prominent 
portion of the flower as is the case with many other 
species. The leaves are ovate, and not unlike those 
of S. nitilans, but smaller. Cuttings of it may be 
rooted in the same way as various bedding plants, 
and a stock of if got up in this way for preservation 
through the winter months. A bed or two might be 
filled with it to advantage in preference to Pelar¬ 
goniums, which behave so indifferently during cold, 
wet summers, 
