838 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
August 31, 1895- 
HINTS FOR AMATEURS. 
Flower Garden Notes. 
By far the most remarkable feature of the outdoor 
garden at the present moment is the vigour with 
which the grass is growing after the long drought. 
Indeed, we should never imagine from the rich green 
hue of the sward that September’s russet tresses 
were just beginning to make their appearance, but 
rather that the month of April was with us still. 
The lovely rains which we have had of late found 
the ground hot from the scorching rays of the sun, 
and these conditions together have produced this 
state of things. The various flower beds filled with 
their different occupants appear to all the greater 
advantage, framed as they are in their surroundings 
of living green. Still, while the rich verdurous 
carpet is such a great ornament to, and so marvel¬ 
ously enhances, the beauty of the garden, we must 
not forget the fact that an increased amount of 
labour is required to keep this sward well looked 
after. Be careful, however, to remove all mowings 
to the rubbish heap at once, for, if thrown up in a 
heap and left for a day or two, the lawn will be 
utterly spoilt and disfigured for some time by the 
ugly brown blotches that will be the inevitable 
result. The grass that is thus obtained from the 
lawns may be utilised as fermenting material to 
keep up the heat of Cucumber or Melon frames, the 
temperature of which has declined too low. A good 
lining of it round a frame is often of great service in 
this way, for although there is no "last” in it, to 
use a common expression, it heats well for a little 
time. 
Tuberous Begonias. —Up to within about six 
weeks ago these had been having a terribly hard 
time of it, and plants that had been p it out at the 
end of May or the beginning of June did not 
appear to make any progress at all. In fact, 
many of them seemed to get smaller instead of 
larger, and repeated waterings only served to keep 
them alive. Now, however, things have improved 
to a wonderful extent, and the show of bloom is really 
brilliant. A nice mulching of short stable manure 
should now be given before the plants have grown 
too close together. It is very likely that we may 
get hot, dry weather during the next few weeks, and 
this mulching now will prove of great value in pre¬ 
venting the too rapid evaporation of water from the 
soil. Care must also be taken to keep the beds free 
of weeds which are springing up rapidly every¬ 
where. 
Carnations. —In the majority of instances the 
many-hued flowers of these lovely plants are now 
over, and the garden will be all the poorer for the 
lack of their bright faces. Where the old flower 
stems have been left to allow some of the smaller 
side buds to develop, they should now be cut away, 
so as to throw all the strength of the plants into the 
layers. Seed pods, as soon as they have ripened 
sufficiently, if it is desired to keep them, may be cut 
off, wrapped up carefully in paper, labelled with the 
date on which they were gathered, and the particular 
variety from which they were obtained, and removed 
to a dry room to finish the ripening process. The 
layers will also need a little attention during hot 
weather, when they should receive a good sprinkling 
overhead at night time. This freshens them up 
wonderfully and facilitates the production of roots. 
Daffodils.— These showy plants have received 
a good deal of attention at the hands of the florist 
of late years, with the result that we have now a 
host of wondrously pretty sorts from which to 
choose, in addition to the species themselves, many of 
which will compare favourably in point of excellence 
with the gorgeous production of the florist. In fact, 
in looking through a catalogue it often becomes a 
matter of difficulty for an amateur to decide for him¬ 
self which is the best to plant among a host of subjects 
which are all declared to be unsurpassable. We once 
remember hearing a story about a timber merchant 
who had no small idea of his own importance and 
the magnitude of his business, into whose office a 
small boy walked one day, and with that patronising 
air that usually distinguishes the person who buys 
when he addresses the one who sells, asked the big 
man if he was a wholesale timber merchant, and on 
receiving an affirmative, asked if he could supply 
beech wood in any quantities. "Yes,” was the 
merchant's reply, “how much do you want?” 
“ Well about enoueh to make a bridge for my 
fiddle, 1 was trie answer. The amateur gardener, 
whose order, like his purse, is on a small scale, is 
often in the same pickle as the would-be purchaser 
of beech wood with this important difference, that 
our nurserymen are always pleased to supply even 
small quantities to suit the pockets of all classes of 
purchasers. 
Daffodils are splendid subjects for planting in 
grass in partially shaded positions, and no time 
should be lost in seeing them snugly ensconced in 
their new quarters. They may be easily and ex¬ 
peditiously planted as follows :—With the help of a 
crowbar a hole may be made in the turf to the 
depth of about 4 in., the bulb dropped in, and 
covered over neatly with fine soil. A hundred or 
two of bulbs may soon be planted thus. The one 
great thing to avoid in this case is planting in 
straight lines, as nothing looks uglier or more out of 
place than this rigidity of system. In naturalising 
plants of any kind the one idea should be to make 
them look as if they were growing there naturally 
without man’s intervention, and as Nature never 
plants in straight lines, those persons who do can 
scarcely obtain anything like a natural effect. The 
following will be found to be kinds that can be 
thoroughly well recommended for growing in the 
manner suggested, and the amateur whose know¬ 
ledge of Daffodils is of the limited order of things 
cannot do better than give them a trial: N. pallidus 
praecox, N. Pseudo-Narcissus, Madame de Graaff, 
Emperor, Glory of Leiden, Henry Irving among the 
singles, and Pseudo-Narcissus Plenus, and Tela- 
monius Plenus among the double sorts.— Rex. 
- -- 
THAME, OXON. 
Away on the eastern borders of Oxfordshire is the 
quiet country town of Thame, on the banks of the 
river of that name, and which is a tributary of the 
better known Thames. Here are the several 
nurseries of Mr. John Walker, who is well known at 
the London shows in spring by his fine exhibits of 
Marechal Niel Roses, and in autumn by his stands 
of show Dahlias. Every exhibitor of the latter 
knows the value of the white variety, Mr. John 
Walker. About the end of July we found ourselves 
in the nurseries at Thame, and were surprised that 
even then the Dahlias were 3 ft. to 4 ft. high, and 
had been flowering for some time, notwithstanding 
the fact that the droughty season had only just 
terminated. Other collections we had seen were 
still quite dwarf and retarded by the dryness of the 
atmosphere. Here the ground was cool, well 
mulched, and in good heart, thus explaining the 
earliness of the display. Mr. Walker had an 
exhibit of Dahlias at Oxford on the 27th July. 
Dahlias. 
On making an examination of the collection, almost 
the first variety coming under our notice was the 
finely-shaped and pure white John Walker. Near 
by was the well-known R. J. Rawlings, of a uniform 
yellow; J. T. West, with a broad red edge on a 
yellow ground ; Prince Bismarck, crimson-lake; and 
James Vick, maroon, and of beautifully neat form 
with compressed florets. Beautiful also was John 
Bennett, with a broad orange edge to a yellow 
ground. The crimson-red flowers of Willie Garrat 
are beautifully built, and well adapted for exhibition 
purposes. There are those who consider Mrs. 
Gladstone as one of the finest show flowers extant, 
and probably they are not far wrong, for the delicate 
flesh-coloured flowers are charmiDg at all times, and 
the more so by contrast with the more intensely 
coloured sorts. Valuable in its way is the neatly 
formed and red-flowered Bendigo. Many an 
exhibition stand attests the value of Flora Wyatt, 
with buff-orange blooms, and the large, dark maroon 
flowers of Shirley Hibberd are equally well known. 
A strange thing in its way is the buff-red flowers of 
Colonist, which is notorious for the fact that a large 
proportion of the florets come truly double, 
and have three to five petaloid processes inside 
larger ones. Composite flowers like the Dahlia and 
Chrysanthemum, though perfectly full, seldom come 
double from the botanist's point of view, but here is 
a case in point. Shotesham Hero is a new variety 
of asoft pink, edged with purple, and very pretty. But 
why attempt to enumerate and single out all the 
good things where so many come into that category ? 
All the leading and standard varieties, notable alike 
for colour, form and other exhibition qualities, may 
be seen in the collection that must now be in prime 
Conditior, and woithy of inspection. 
Decorative and Cactus Dahlias are as well repre¬ 
sented as the show and fancy sorts. Of the former 
class Maid of Kent is very beautiful with its long 
crimson florets and white tips. Rayon d’Or is an 
equally charming variety, belonging to the decorative 
class. The orange florets are tipped with white, 
and possess an attraction which few can command. 
Of the true Cactus types, with long, narrow, pointed 
florets, the undermentioned sorts would be difficult 
to beat :—Bertha Mawley is scarlet with magenta 
tips, and the dark velvety-marcon Matchless has 
only recently been put into commerce. The orange- 
scarlet Professor Baldwin was one of the first breaks 
from the progenitor of this section, namely, 
Juarezi. Kathleen Picta is a fine thing of a brilliant 
scarlet, and Lady Penzance is one of the finest 
bright yellow sorts in cultivation. Equally charm¬ 
ing is Countess of Radnor, with rose flowers tinted 
with salmon and shaded with yellow in the centre. 
Empress of India is a well-known maroon-coloured 
Dahlia that finds many admirers. The above con¬ 
stitute but a small percentage of the varieties 
included in this very extensive collection, and merely 
serve as a guide as to what may be found at 
Thame. 
Zonal Pelargoniums. 
A heavy downpour of rain compelled us to retreat 
into the greenhouses, where a display of Pelar¬ 
goniums, single and double, claimed our attention, 
so that no time was lost while the then welcome rain 
was saturating everything out-of-doors. The 
collection seemed equally as rich as the Dahlias, 
and amongst double varieties we noted such fine 
things as Barcnne de St. Didier, salmon-pink; 
Geoffrey St. Hilaire, red, tinted scarlet; and the 
dwarf and bushy Swanley Double White. A beautiful 
variety is Darwini, of a magenta hue, with a scarlet 
blotch on the upper petals. The free-flowering 
character of Neptune, with delicate pink or flesh- 
coloured flowers, is well marked. F. P. Raspail 
requires no recommendation, and an equally attrac¬ 
tive flower in its way is Hollyhock, the orange- 
scarlet flowers of which are attractive and con¬ 
spicuous even from a distance. La Favourite seems 
more robust in growth, and purer white than 
Swanley Double White. Other handsome varieties 
to be seen here are A. Dupre, large, salmon-rose; 
Gustave Widemann, crimson ; andBeaute Poitevine, 
semi-double and salmon. 
Single varieties of fine form are more numerous 
and varied than the doubles, and include such as 
Maud of Wales, warm pink ; Agnes, white ; Perdita, 
orange-salmon ; Nora, of a charming and delicate 
pink ; Nellie Thomas, vivid scarlet; Edith Little, 
soft pink; Miller's Favourite, large, bright orange- 
scarlet; Lady Chesterfield, salmon-buff; Mrs. 
Norman, salmon, tinted with orange; and Lady 
Brooke, white, washed with light pink. The bright 
scarlet flowers of C. N. Fraser are borne in large 
trusses on long peduncles. Charles Mason seems 
an improvement upon the old Jean Sisley. King of 
the Purples recalls Darwini amongst the doubles. 
Rev. Harris is salmon-red, clear, and bright. 
Miscellaneous. 
Other houses were devoted to a great variety of 
plants, including Carnations and Picotees, and an 
unnamed variety amongst the latter w>as notable for 
the brightness of its yellow ground and heavy crim¬ 
son edge. In one house was a collection of tuberous 
Begonias, Cyclamens, and flowering specimens of 
Rochea falcata. The stove was occupied with 
Coleus, Dracaenas, Pandanus, Crotons, Strobilan- 
thes dyerianus, Begonia picta, and others. The 
roof of the Fernery was draped with Bougainvillea 
and Stephanotis. And elsewhere we noted the 
variegated Cape Lily, the Tiger Lily, the charming 
little Fuchsia triphylla, and a named collection of 
choice hardy Ferns, mostly British, including the 
crested Male Fern, also Athyrium Filix-foemina 
plumosa cristata, and the comparatively little-known 
Lastrea Filix-mas crispa gracilis. The free-flowering 
Campanula isophylla, and C. i. alba were flowering 
as profusely as ever. In the open air was a large 
quantity of seedling Carnations, a large percentage 
of which were double; and near by we were 
attracted by the fruitful character of Magnum 
Bonum Red Currant, sent out about three or four 
years ago, and one of the largest and best. 
Roses. 
Planted round the sides of a span-roofed house a 
collection of Roses may be seen, including Pearl de 
Jardin, soft yellow; Homer, rose; Sou\enir d’Un 
