890 THE GABDENING WOBLD. February 22, 1890. 
A GAY CONSERVATORY: HOW 
TO MAINTAIN IT.* 
In treating of the plants best adapted to adorn the 
conservatory throughout the year, some consideration 
should, I think, at the outset, be given to the structure 
itself, because there are such things as bad conserva¬ 
tories as well as good ones ; if, indeed, the former do 
not exceed the latter. Undoubtedly, in a large number 
of cases, the conservatory is rendered subservient to 
the design of the mansion or country seat ; and thus 
the architecture of the building, which should be 
specially constructed for the accommodation and con¬ 
servation of vegetable life, is mis-direeted, so as to 
bring it more in accord with the particular features of 
the dwelling house. On the other hand, occasionally, 
eonservatories are erected with a due regard to the 
exigencies of plant life, and are so planned and pro¬ 
portioned as to fulfil the offices required of them. 
But the gardener, perhaps, more than any other 
man, is the creature of circumstances, aud be the 
conservatory good, bad, or indifferent, he will assuredly 
be expected to produce a floral picture, more or less 
permanent, throughout the year. Assuming, then, 
that a conservatory is a necessary adjunct to every well- 
ordered British house of any pretensions, and that in 
this house will be pillars which require festooning, 
walls that must be clothed with beauty, beds which 
will entail judicious planting, and nooks, corners, and 
stages which demand attention, I propose, therefore, 
without further comments on the glass structure itself 
(which must be taken for what it is worth), to proceed 
to an indication and description of the plants best 
adapted to furnish, throughout the year, the best 
possible results at a minimum of trouble. 
For grouping and for the better understanding and 
reference to the subjects here dealt with, it will be 
advisable to apportion this paper into four distinct heads 
or chapters, corresponding to the four natural seasons 
of the year, viz., spring, summer, autumn and winter, 
and this is the more necessary as then the different 
periods of the year can be exhibited in relation to the 
plants and flowers which periodically arrive to refresh 
us by their beauty, or console us by their happy 
memories. 
Spring. 
The conservatory should now be in its best attire— 
should b§ redolent with those sweet blossoms that put 
on their greatest charm in the vernal period of the 
year. The interest attaching to the wealth of beauty 
now so luxuriant in this house will chiefly centre on the 
Bulbous Flowers. —These, more especially Narcissus, 
Hyacinths, Tulips, Ixias, Triteleias, &e., to say nothing 
of those gorgeous roots from the Cape, are of the 
simplest possible culture, and no gardener, be he ever 
so stupid, need fail to produce a prolific show of the 
brightest description. Potted in the autumn in 
successional batches in good sound loam and river 
sand, with due regard to drainage, placed under ashes, 
and introduced from time to time to gentle heat, and 
thence transferred to the conservatory to expand their 
blooms, will undoubtedly give much enjoyment, not 
only at this season, but more or less all the winter. 
Soft-wooded Plants .—These will consist mainly of 
such things as Calceolarias, Cinerarias, Dielytras, or, 
more correctly speaking, Dicentras, and our never- 
failing friend the zonal Pelargonium. Of the two 
former the treatment is very similar ; that is, seed 
should be sown for succession during the months of 
May, June and July. Plants raised in this manner 
give better and cleaner results than those propagated 
by cuttings or offsets, although in the case of particular 
varieties this must be resorted to. Seed should be 
distributed on the surface of finely-pulverised soil, pots 
or pans being used, and these should be covered with 
sheets of glass, to render the conditions of the compost 
.more equable and lasting. When large enough to 
transplant they should be liberally dealt with, and 
grown on, if possible, without let or hindrance. These 
flowers, perhaps, more than any other, soon exhibit 
neglected treatment, and the sure and certain conse¬ 
quence will be, if this is not attended to, disreputable 
and pitiable objects, more fitted for the association of 
the rubbish heap than the adornment of the indoor 
garden. 
Dicentras should be potted up in September or 
October, placed in a frame for the winter, and finally 
introduced to the conservatory just as their elegant, 
drooping, heart-shaped blooms are beginning to unfold. 
Dicentras are, without question, some of the most 
* The first prize essay, read before the Ealing and District 
Gardeners’ Mutual Improvement Society, January 15th, 1S90, 
by Mr. C. B. Green, Acton, W. 
graceful of subjects, and, as such, go a very long way 
to render the conservatory gay, artistic, and attractive. 
Zonal Pelargoniums should be prepared in the fall of 
the year for spring blooming. They cannot be dis¬ 
pensed with. Of all cultivated plants they and they 
alone, perhaps, contribute more largely to a continuous 
and floriferous display of colour than any other class of 
plants. The varieties are countless, but if a selection 
of Lemoine’s, Pearson’s, orCannell’sbe made the result, 
cannot be anything but satisfactory. Thrifty examples 
in 3-in. pots, say in September, will produce fine plants 
for spring work. These, if potted on as they become 
established, ultimately being transferred to 6-in. or 
8-in. pots, pinched back, and kept in a growing tem¬ 
perature of 55° to 60°, will be ready for the decoration 
of the conservatory at this period. 
In addition to zonals, which are invaluable, ivy¬ 
leaved, show, fancy and regal may also be used. These 
four classes are each in their way well adapted to 
maintain a brilliant floral display, and although not 
quite so popular as the ubiquitous zonal, they are ever 
ready to lend a helping hand towards the furnishing 
of the conservatory at this time of the year. Moreover, 
all sections of the genus are easily propagated by 
cuttings of the ripened wood. When these are well 
rooted they may be shifted into 3-in. pots, and thence, 
as progress is reported, re-potted again and again until 
the flowering size is reached. The soil used should be 
a yellow fibrous loam—if it can be obtained—some 
well-decomposed manure, and a sprinkling of coarse 
sand. With an occasional shortening of the shoots 
and a genial temperature, good results will be sure to 
follow. 
Hard-wooded Plants. —Amongst these, Azaleas, both 
the greenhouse and hardy types, will ever find a place, 
as they are of the greatest value—rich in effect, and 
profuse in the matter of bloom. No conservatory 
could be said to be complete without the aid of these 
gorgeous plants; combined with Rhododendrons, Ericas, 
Acacias, Deutzias, &c., a grand display could be made 
with these alone. 
Their culture consists, generally, in a free use of the 
syringe after the flowers have faded, with a moderate 
degree of atmospheric humidity to encourage new 
growth. Towards the end of June they may be placed 
out of doors to ripen their wood and consolidate their 
growth. Potting should be performed when necessary, 
and the compost should largely consist of sound fibrous 
peat. Water must be judiciously administered at all 
seasons. 
Climbers. — These are, in some shape or form, 
necessary adjuncts to every conservatory, whether it be 
large or small. Their elegance and their beauty are 
essential to the ornamentation of this structure, and 
they may either be planted out or occupy large pots or 
tubs. A selection may be made from the following :—- 
Oestrum elegans, with dark red flowers, and numerously 
produced in terminal cymes; Tropseolum Fireball, which 
is a perfect mass of colour ; Coboea scandens variegata, 
which, even out of bloom, is always an acquisition ; 
Roses in variety, such as Marechal Niel, Celine Forestier, 
Devoniensis, &c. 
.Foliage Plants. —Ferns, Palms, Asparagus, Grevillea 
robusta, &c., are always more or less in fine condition, 
and these disposed about amongst the following 
subjects give a good effect, and also help to tone down 
the brighter hues of their more showy congeners. 
(To be continued.) 
-->X-c-—-- 
LENTEN ROSES AT LONG 
DITTON. 
In mild, open winters like that of the present, all 
winter and early spring-flowering subjects lend a charm 
to the garden in spite of the wet and uninviting aspect 
of the surroundings ; and should they be required 
indoors, many of them are available for cutting purposes, 
and are equally gay as the more favoured stove and 
greenhouse flowers produced at much greater cost. 
The object of this article is to deal with those species 
and varieties of Helleborus, popularly known as Lenten 
Roses. 
Messrs. Barr & Sons having recently acquired 
sixteen acres of good land, consisting of three fields at 
Long Ditton, Surrey, the whole of their plants and 
other nursery stock have been transferred from Lower 
Tooting to that place, where the accommodation is much 
greater. Great part of the ground has been laid out in 
long beds about 4 ft. and 6 ft. wide. At Tooting the 
Hellebores were confined to a small piece of ground, 
but they have now been divided, and occupy a con¬ 
siderable number of beds of great length. The 
Christmas Roses are mostly past their best, but a few 
good blooms of Helleborus niger maximus ruber may 
yet be seen. The outer surface of the sepals is 
suffused all over with rose-pink, and other small 
differences may be seen between it and the white form. 
There are a number of species included under the 
name Lenten Rose, but the Messrs. Barr classify all 
the evergreen kinds under H. orientalis. Some of the 
garden forms of this are now very beautiful, notwith¬ 
standing the fact that the specimens are small, having 
been recently divided and planted. One of the finest 
of the dark forms is that named H. punctatus. The 
sepals are purple, freely spotted, and mottled all over 
the inner face with dark purple markings. Numerous 
large flowers are produced on each stem, and generally 
about three are open and perfect at a time. They are, 
of course, persistent, and others follow till all are 
expanded. II. o. guttatus has white flowers beautifully 
spotted with purple on the lower third of the sepals, 
while H. o. g. Leichtlinii has the sepals spotted for 
two-thirds of their length. The form named H. o. g. 
sub-punctatus has white blooms, frequently slightly 
dotted with purple at the very base of the inner seg¬ 
ments. It is a strong-growing and free-flowering kind. 
Another beautiful kind is H. o. g. roseus, with large 
pile rose blooms, mottled and reticulated with purple. 
An interesting and vigorous but less handsome sort is 
H. o. g. lividescens, with pale dull purple flowers more 
or less stained with green. H. o. antiquorum is greatly 
superior from a horticultural point of view, and has 
numerous large white flowers, tinged with pink and 
rose externally. 
There are several forms of H. caucasicus, all more or 
less worthy of extended cultivation. The typical form 
is very floriferous, with moderate-sized white flowers 
tinted with green. Other forms of it have much 
larger flowers, the segments of which spread nearly 
flat, and are white tinted with pink, especially when 
old. A very distinct and floriferous variety is that 
named H. c. angustifolius, with decidedly sulphur- 
yellow flowers, tinted with green at the base only. 
H. abchasicus has light purplish blooms; but the 
grandest of all this section is undoubtedly H. colchicus, 
the flowers of which are broadly and regularly cup¬ 
shaped, and of an intense purple, covered with a heavy 
glaucous bloom when in perfection, such as may be 
seen on Grapes and many Plums. 
Those who are making collections of this interesting 
class of plants may not consider the deciduous kinds 
beneath their notice, although their flowers cannot be 
compared to those of the evergreen sorts above men¬ 
tioned for horticultural purposes. ' The flower stems 
are produced in advance of the leaves, and not until 
after the flowering period is over do the latter appear. 
The flowers of H. purpuraseens are of a coppery purple 
externally, and paler inwardly. II. graveolens is 
somewhat similar to this species. More interesting, 
perhaps, is the Elder-scented H. Bocconi. This latter 
character of the plant is more or less discernible, 
perhaps, in the flowers ; but seems to be concentrated 
in the leaves. Besides the above mentioned there are 
numerous others in the nursery, and may be expected 
to be much finer after another summer’s growth. 
There is still plenty of room in gardens.for the culti¬ 
vation of Christmas and Lent Roses. The latter should 
be planted in friable, rich, well-drained soil, in some 
situation slightly shaded from the afternoon sun, 
which is hardest upon them in summer, when the soil 
is liable to get baked and dry from exposure. There 
are many establishments where the requisite amount of 
shade could be found, either in the garden, pleasure 
grounds, or on the margins of partly shaded woodland 
walks, where the plants would be quite at home, and 
could hardly fail to be appreciated during the early 
months of the year. Large irregular-shaped clumps 
are the most effective ; and some may be grown for the 
sake of cut flowers, and covered with handlights to 
preserve the purity of the bloom should bad weather 
prevail. 
-- 
THE GROVE OF ARAUCARIAS 
AT SNELSTON HALL. 
When visiting Osmaston Manor some short time ago, 
and expressing the pleasure I felt at seeing the many 
rare trees of fine dimensions and perfect symmetry, I 
was promised a still greater treat if willing to under¬ 
take a walk of about three miles out and the same 
distance back. Well, I have many a time undertaken 
such a task when some good plants were held out as an 
inducement, so I gladly made my way to Snelston, and 
certainly the grand specimens of Araucaria imbricate 
were well worth the journey. 
Almost immediately on entering the front gate, and 
