December 23, 1893. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
261 
Begoni i Sutton’s Queen of Whites. 
CYPRIPEDIUMS FROM AMERICA. 
We have received flowers of ten hybrid Cypripe- 
diums from Messrs. Pitcher & Manda, Nurserymen, 
Short Hills, New Jersey, U.S A., and they came 
to hand remarkably fresh notwithstanding their 
long journey, so that we can speak of them from 
living specimens. The gem of the collection was C. 
Niobe, a hybrid between C. Spicerianum and C. 
Fairieanum. The scapes are taller and the wine- 
purple colour of the upper sepal darker than the 
same form in this country. The yellow ground 
colour of the petals as well as the shading is also 
darker. Very handsome was C. Arthurianum pul- 
chellum, a hybrid between C. insigne and C. pul- 
chellum. The spotting on the upper sepal was 
dense and very rich, while the upper longitudinal 
half of the wavy petals was of a rich purplish-brown. 
The flower seemed as fresh as if it had newly 
been cut from the plant. The upper sepal of 
C. venusto-Spicerianum was pale, 
but the yellow petals heavily spotted 
with crimson, were very beau¬ 
tiful. A very different and rather 
pleasing flower was C. radiosum 
on account of the broad, white 
upper sepal suffused towards the 
sides with rosy-purple. A large 
flower of C. Leeanum was as fine 
as many of the forms in this country 
passing under the name of C. Leea¬ 
num superbum. 
A handsome sort was Ephialtes, a 
hybrid between C. insigne Chantini 
and C. aurosum. The upper sepal 
was richly spotted with purple on 
a greenish-white ground—the spots 
being mostly arranged in lines. 
The spotting on the shining, 
brownish-purple petals was quite 
subordinate, and the lip was of a 
dark, shining purple. Very different 
from all of the above was that 
named Beatrice, a hybrid between 
C. Boxallii and C. Lowii. The 
flower measured 6 in. across the 
horizontal petals. The latter were 
heavily spotted with brownish- 
purple on a pale ground, and of a 
uniform brownish-purple towards 
the apex. The upper sepal was 
rather narrow, though highly 
coloured, blotched and netted. On 
the whole it is a very bold flower. 
Another striking and handsome 
flower was C. pavoninum inversum, 
whose parents were C. Boxallii and 
C. venustum, the latter being the 
pollen parent. The upper sepal 
was much broader than in 
Beatrice, heavily blotched with 
sepia brown, or almost black in the 
lower half, lined and netted in the 
upper half. The upper longitudinal 
half of the petals was of a 
shining brownish-purple and the 
basal area spotted. C. Sonsovillosum 
had the upper longitudinal half of 
the petals of a rich shining brown, 
and the base of the upper sepal was 
several shades darker,running out into 
lines. The flowers had dropped from 
C. tenellum, so that we were unable to recognise the 
colours. It belongs to the C. Sedeni section, and is 
grown in quantity. Of the above we were most 
pleased with C. Niobe, C. Arthurianum pulchellum, 
C. Beatrice, and C. pavoninum inversum, the 
flowers of which were beautiful and very distinct, 
although all of them would be rightly described as 
distinct. 
-- 
BEGONIA QUEEN OF 
WHITES. 
Those who require a stock of a good white Begonia 
of the tuberous-rooted section could get it up on the 
shortest notice by sowing seeds of Sutton’s Queen 
of Whites. The flowers are pure white, moderate 
in size, and produced in the greatest profusion all 
through the summer, and indeed till cut down by 
frost in autumn if they are planted in the open 
ground. The floriferous character of the plants can 
be accounted for by the fact that foliage and flowers 
are of moderate size and the branching stems are of 
medium stoutness. If wanted for open air work no 
variety is better suited for accommodating itself to 
all seasons whether wet or dry. Of course the last 
year was unprecedented in the memory of most 
living people, and we may never experience such 
another. For outdoor work, from the beginning to 
the middle of February is the best time to sow the 
seeds. Stand the pans where they will get a good 
bottom heat, and as scon as the seedlings make their 
appearance place them close to the glass where they 
will get a maximum of the light so necessary to the 
development of the plants during the comparatively 
dull period of the year. As soon as the first batch 
of seedlings is fit to handle have them' transplanted 
into other boxes or pans containing plenty of sand 
and well-decayed leaf soil. Do not disturb the pans 
from which the first lot of seedlings was taken, for 
others will continue to germinate later on, and may 
be treated in the same way. By good treatment the 
plants will require two or three shifts before the end 
of April, and should be well hardened off for plant¬ 
ing out at the usual bedding season in June. The 
Begonias may be transferred directly from the boxes 
to the open ground, or if considered better, they may 
be put into pots at the last shift. We are indebted to 
Messrs. Sutton & Sons for an opportunity of figur¬ 
ing this fine variety. 
--*•- 
HARDY HERBACEOUS 
PLANTS. 
At a largely-attended meeting of the Devon and 
Exeter Gardeners’ Association held on the fithinst., 
Mr. F. W. Meyer, landscape gardener to Messrs. R. 
Veitch & Sons, read a paper on " Hardy Herbaceous 
Plants.” It was, he said, now pretty well known 
that when one spoke of herbaceous plants reference 
was made to those hardy flowers which could be 
grown in ordinary soil in an open border, and would 
last at least for several years. Their merits seemed 
to be more recognised from year to year, and latterly 
their cultivation had advanced with rapid strides. 
There existed no class of plants which offered such 
an unlimited number of graceful forms, and such an 
endless variety of shape and colour. Many kinds 
would bloom continuously for several months, whilst 
others would bloom at a time of the year when 
flowers were scarce. Hardy herbaceous plants, too, 
might be used with advantage in various ways. 
They could be gathered from cut flowers, were well 
adapted for exhibition ; but, perhaps, their greatest 
value consisted in the rich material they afforded 
for the permanent embellishment of gardens, either 
in the shape of beds or borders. 
A garden which was unsuitable for herbaceous 
plants did not exist—at least, not in this country. 
There were plants which he, the lecturer, enumerated, 
that were suitable for every conceivable situation. 
Another merit was that they 
required so little labour and 
attention. When herbaceous plants 
were used in the flower garden 
the grouping must naturally be 
of the utmost importance, so as 
to ensure a succession of effective 
displays. The general cultivation 
of hardy plants was easy enough, 
but arranging them effectively was 
not so easy as it might appear. 
They must know to what size the 
plants would grow, be acquainted 
with the colours of the flowers, the 
time of blooming, and the behaviour 
of the plant after the flowering 
season is over. It was in this direc¬ 
tion that the culture and knowledge 
of herbaceous plants had of late 
years advanced so rapidly, and the 
effective grouping of hardy flowers 
had become a fine art,capable of still 
further development. It was not 
enough to arrange the herbaceous 
plants themselves so as to give the 
best possible effect; they had also to 
associate them with other suitable 
plants, such as bulbs and flower¬ 
ing shrubs into a succession of har¬ 
monious pictures, for the combina¬ 
tion would gradually change from 
week to week as the season advanced. 
They might have, for instance, a 
colony of blue flowers springing up 
in a place that bore white blossoms 
a week previous, and before the 
blue had quite faded from sight they 
might have sheets of pink and yellow 
appearing above foliage. 
He gave a few practical hints 
which might be of assistance to 
inexperienced. They should avoid 
that which was the fault with most 
borders—too much regularity—in 
the arrangement of their plants. 
Instead of leaving the soil bare 
between the latter plants they 
should carpet it with flowers and 
greenery, as Nature would clothe the 
bare soil of the woods with all kinds 
of dwarf vegetation, or as one would 
do in the case of a group of Orchids 
arranged for exhibition. They had an endless 
variety of hardy plants suitable for the purpose. 
Larger herbaceous plants should be arranged not 
singly, but in large irregular groups intermingling 
with each other. If the principal display was 
required at any particular time it could be so 
arranged that the dwarf kinds which formed the 
groundwork of each group bloomed simultaneously 
with the taller plants whose flowers should forma 
pleasing contrast to those of the smaller kinds, but 
if the display of flowers was to be regulated so as to 
last as near as possible all the year round, it would 
be best to choose kinds which would succeed each 
other, and in that case a most careful selection was 
absolutely necessary. For such successive flowering 
most valuable help was received from the bulbous 
plants. 
Having given examples of the way in which groups 
might be formed. Mr. Meyer said it would be a pity 
to cut too many flowers in a border which had been 
designed on artistic principles; if an extensive 
