28 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
September 14, 1895 . 
HINTS FOR AMATEURS. 
Work in the Flower Garden. 
The advent of September should remind us that the 
summer is fast slipping away from us, and that very 
soon the precursor of winter, in the shape of an early 
frost, will step in and lay its restraining hand upon 
the beauties of our flower gardens, and therefore pre¬ 
parations for the ensuing winter must be made with¬ 
out delay. It seems almost paradoxical to talk of 
frosts and winter whilst the thermometer is standing 
so high as it has been doing during the last week, 
but September is a month of surprises very often. 
Sometimes we may pass safely through it without a 
visit from the Ice King, but more often we get a 
reminder, and a none too gentle one, that summer 
cannot always last. 
Laying Turf. 
The present is a very suitable time in which to lay 
any turf that may be required. We may now ex¬ 
pect long dewy nights, and these will favour the 
making of roots, and the turf will thus be in a fair 
way to get well established in its new quarters before 
winter sets in in earnest—a very important con¬ 
sideration if it is to present a fairly passable 
appearance next spring. The lawns and grass paths 
should be kept as closely mown now as possible, other¬ 
wise the heavy dews will render getting about upon 
them rather unpleasant. 
Propagation of Bedding Plants. 
Many amateurs make no real attempt at raising 
their own bedding plants, being of the opinion per¬ 
haps that it requires a greater amount of skill than 
they possess, and thus they shirk the task of propa¬ 
gation as being rather beyond them. Others, again, 
make the excuse that they do not possess the 
necessary convenience to keep the plants through 
the winter, and that they prefer to purchase the 
necessary material at bedding-out time next season, 
as being both cheaper in the long run and decidedly 
more satisfactory. Most of those who do take a few 
cuttings in the autumn of zonal Pelargoniums, 
Calceolarias, etc., passed through a very trying ex¬ 
perience last year, and, in the face of the well-nigh 
wholesale destruction that took place, it is extremely 
problematical if it is worth while for the amateur, 
who does not possess the convenience of glass 
structures heated sufficiently to exclude even the 
severest frost, to attempt to propagate his own bed¬ 
ding plants, if all the winters were to prove as severe 
as the last. But happily this is not the case, for it 
is very unlikely that we shall soon experience 
another period of such arctic-like severity, or one so 
far reaching in its powers of destruction. To those 
who possess a small greenhouse heated by hot water 
pipes or oil or gas lamps, and one or two of those 
most useful of structures, cold frames, the rooting of 
any number of cuttings of bedding plants, and of 
carrying a goodly percentage of them through the 
winter, should offer no insurmountable difficulties. 
Zonal Pelargoniums.— The value and popularity 
of these as bedding subjects have been discounted 
considerably of late years by the tuberous Begonia, 
which is, it must be admitted, a superior subject for 
the purpose. Still, zonal Pelargoniums are great 
favourites in many quarters now, and are indeed 
looked upon by man) people as indispensible in any 
flower garden arrangement. In taking the cuttings 
it is important to observe that the base of the shoot 
is not too succulent. If it feels fairly firm and hard, 
and a tinge of brown colouring is evident, then it 
may be taken for granted that the shoot is sufficiently 
matured and that it has fair chance of rooting. The 
cuttings strike most readily when dibbled out in the 
open ground, but it is rather too late for that now, 
as they might be dropped on by frost before they 
had made sufficient roots to enable them to be lifted 
with safety. The cuttings if taken now may there¬ 
fore be dibbled into well drained pots or boxes filled 
with light soil, the whole being made nicely firm. 
It is imperative that the cutting should be fixed 
firmly in the soil or it Will be very likely to get dis¬ 
turbed during the process of carrying the pots or 
boxes to their places. Care must be taken, however, 
when firming the soil about the cutting, that the base 
of the shoot is not injured by the dibber, otherwise 
it will be almose sure to damp off. The cutting 
boxes may be stood out of doors until frost comes, 
choosing a place where the sun can have free access 
to them. As all the flowers, together with the 
incipient flower buds, will have been removed during 
the process of preparing the cuttings, it will be some 
time before others make their appearance. As the 
central stem elongates and thus begins to develop 
other flower buds, they must be removed as soon as 
seen, as it is not wise to allow the young plants to 
waste their strength in flowering. On the other 
hand, if the flower buds are allowed to develop too 
much before being pinched out, the cutting will 
almost surely be loosened during the process, and 
this, as has before been observed, must be carefully 
guarded against. 
Calceolarias. —In ordinary summers these are 
very gay and beautiful, and well worthy the room 
they occupy. Now and again we hear reports as to 
their being difficult to strike. No undue difficulty 
will be encountered, however, if the following 
directions are attended to. A bed of light sandy 
soil, some five or six inches in depth, and its surface 
covered with a layer of silver sand to the depth of 
about a third of an inch, should be made up in a 
vacant cold frame. In this the cuttings may be 
inserted, allowing three inches of space each way. 
If the soil is fairly moist do not water immediately, 
but give a light dewing over with the syringe morn¬ 
ing and evening, shading carefully from hot sun and 
not giving too much air. In frosty weather the frame 
will, of course, need to be protected with some light, 
dry covering material. A careful use of the water 
pot, and the admission of plenty of light and air as 
soon as the cuttings are rooted, is the surest pre¬ 
ventative of damp, the greatest enemy with which 
the Calceolaria has to contend, and the one that is 
usually responsible for most of the failures to keep 
the plants through the winter that we hear so much 
about from time to time. 
Pentstemons. —These are not grown to anything 
like the extent that they might and should be, for 
they are exceptionally gay and free flowering sub¬ 
jects, readily satisfied and easy to propagate. Cut¬ 
tings may be treated in a similar way to that 
advocated for Calceolarias, although a little extra 
space, say four inches apart each way, will be of 
advantage. 
Tender Plants.— Amongst many of the common 
subjects that are often found in the amateurs’ flower 
garden are some that require rather warmer treat¬ 
ment than those previously mentioned to root 
quickly and well, and it will be a waste of time to 
attempt to propagate them unless the required heat 
can be given. Even after they are rooted 
they are rather uncertain subjects to keep 
through the winter. Lobelias are a very good 
example. By dint of keeping the soil in which they 
were growing almost dry, we have succeeded in 
carrying the plants through the winter in an ordinary 
greenhouse, the night temperature of which through¬ 
out the winter was rarely above 40? Fahr., and 
often enough was down as low as 37 0 . Unless the ama¬ 
teur possesses a fairly well heated house that can be 
kept up above 50- by night through the winter with¬ 
out imparting too much aridity to the atmosphere we 
should certainly advise him to purchase his stock 
of the tenderer class of bedding plants, such as 
Lobelia, Alternantheras, Iresines, and Coleuses 
from the nurseryman who possesses the conveniences 
necessary to enable him to insure keeping a large 
percentage of his plants, at least, in safety through 
the winter.— Rex. 
-» » «■ — 
FLOWERS AND FRUIT IN 
SWITZERLAND. 
In the course of a hurried tour through the Grisons 
and the Engadine, I have made a few notes which 
may be of interest to some ot your readers. The 
weather, I should premise, during the last fortnight of 
August and the present first week of September, has 
been of the brightest summer type. Hot cloudless 
days and cool starlit nights, with a very occasional 
thunderstorm high up in the mountains, have been 
the rule. Dust on the roads lies 3 in. to 6in. thick. 
Between Bale and Zurich and Coire I noticed along 
the railways excellent crops of fruit, especially 
Apples and Pears, but Plums were scanty. Around 
Coire, or Chur, Pears are largely grown. 
The narrow strip of garden in front of the bishop's 
palace at Coire (there has been a bishop here since 
the fourth century, and the private chapel occupies 
a flat in an old Roman tower at one angle of the 
building) contained more pyramid Pears than 
flowers. They were not well fruited, but the few 
they bore were fine. His lordship had evidently 
got hold of some new varieties from France or Ger¬ 
many, and many still carried their labels. Against 
the house was an Apricot tree some 12 ft. high, laden 
with golden fruit, but very small. A Peach tree, 
almost as high, had very few fruit. In one corner 
were a standard Gooseberry and a standard Red 
Currant, each about 5 ft. high. There was no 
attempt at floriculture, except in the way of an 
Oleander and a Rose bush or two. Oleanders are 
great favourites in Switzerland. Magnificent 
bushes, red, pink, white, and yellow, may be seen in 
gardens, and in huge tubs outside the hotels. At 
the back of the bishop's house are more Pears and 
espalier Apples with good crops. In a field below 
are old standard Pears heavily laden. 
You seldom come across a nursery in Switzerland. 
I suppose they do not pay ; but in Coire 1 noticed a 
small one with beds of Asters, Begonias, Carnations 
of the imbricated French pattern, Gladiolus, and 
that miniature Gladiolus-like flower—for the life of 
me I cannot remember the name—[Schizostylis 
coccinea?— -Ed.] —and some other subjects. 
Phloxes are very good in places where there is some 
moisture, and Begonias are rampant in the open, 
growing like weeds. Asters and Dahlias run very 
small in flower. Zinnias make a good show where 
grown. The gardens round Zurich are especially 
gay with Pelargoniums, China Roses, and a great 
variety of flowers. In all the sunnier parts of 
Switzerland the Carnation is a favourite flower with 
all classes. They are mostly grown in boxes placed 
on window sills or over porches. The flower stems 
are never staked, but allowed to droop, and they 
seem to accommodate themselves to the circum¬ 
stances. They are mostly red, pink, and white, the 
latter the rarest. All have the fringed petal so much 
fancied by Continentals. I only saw one flower 
with a decent petal, and that was at Samadenin the 
Engadine. 
This brings me to the main point of my tale—the 
delightful but curious aspect of the few gardens one 
sees in this district. One seems to be back in the 
early days of June. In a tiny plot at a pension in 
Samaden I noticed Aquilegia, Centaurea C/anus, 
double Stocks, old-fashioned Poppies, red Linum, 
Phlox Drummondi, a long border of Violas, evidently 
the product of a packet of spring-sown seed, among 
which I noted the progeny of many old acquaintances 
like York and Lancaster, all seemingly just fresh in 
bloom; also a double white flower resembling a 
Pyrethrum, but with foliage like Larkspur or Love- 
in-a-Mist, which I could not identify. 
But the prettiest sight I saw was at Pontresina. 
Here, on the last day of August, running along a 
strip of garden at the top of a stone wall built up 
from the high road in front of an hotel, was a 
compact row of Nemophila insignis, thirty paces in 
length, in full bloom, a string of turquoise gems fit 
for a princess. In a garden on the opposite side of 
the road were quite a crowd of other annuals all just 
coming into bloom,—Centaurea Cyanus, Godetia 
Lavatera, Larkspurs, Poppies, Sweet Peas, Esch- 
scholtzias, Mignonette, Nemophila, Marigolds, Core¬ 
opsis, and others which I was not near enough to see ; 
Dahlias in bud, Violas, Carnations in pots, Poten- 
tillas, double Daisies all bright and fresh. I am told it 
is not uncommon for a garden to be thus gay one day 
and the next to be a black, withered mass, after a 
sudden frost. Here at Davas the aspect of the 
gardens is a little more advanced, but in many you 
may see rows of [ Sweet Peas and garden Peas just 
come into flower, and both evidently first crops. I 
had Peas for dinner on Saturday that were simply 
delicious, very small but sweet, juicy, crisp, just like 
the first gathering at home. 
As to floriculture and horticulture in general, the 
Swiss seems to do his best under very adverse 
circumstances. As a rule a small plot of Potatos 
forms the peasant’s garden, even in districts where 
the Vine and the Maize flourish side by side, while 
the only flowers grown are a few window plants. 
One reason for this is that there are no gardens 
attached to the rude huts in which the poor live and 
which are crowded together for protection against 
the weather ; while the shortness of the season, and 
the poverty of the soil and the difficulty of getting a 
bare subsistence out of it, give the Swiss peasant 
little opportunity for making experiments. Where- 
ever he can he sticks in a fruit tree, mostly Apples, 
Pears, and Walnuts, and you may often see such in 
the hedges by the road side, but bush fruits are very 
rare. 
I should like to add something about wild flowers, 
but fear to encroach upon your space. I was not 
