648 
THE GARDENING WORLD- 
June i2, 1897. 
JINTS FOR WMATEURS. 
Bedding Out.—The flower garden has lately been 
claiming more than its usual share of attention, and 
the " bedding out " has been the all-prevailing topic 
for three weeks past. In large private establish¬ 
ments the crush of the work is past, and it is only 
the tenderer and more backward plants that have yet 
to be dealt with. We are in hopes that all amateurs 
are as forward. No one can know bat those who 
have experienced it what a relief it is to get the 
whole of the plants safely transferred to their 
summer quarters ; it is just such a feeling of relief as 
that which comes when all the tender plants are safely 
housed out of harm's way in the autumn. Those 
who got their plaDts put out before the end of May 
reaped the advantage of the copious showers which 
fell during the last week of that month and the 
beginning of the present one. This advantage was 
by no means an unimportant one, for the plants 
were enabled to get a hold of the new soil, and 
recover themselves of the check consequent on 
shifting. This they naturally do much better in dull 
showery weather than they do when the hot bright 
sun is pouring down his rays relentlessly upon 
them. It is possible, of course, to give the moisture 
by artificial waterings, but the water thus applied is 
not so beneficent as that which comes from the 
clouds, and besides, shade is almost as important as 
watering. 
Ornamental Yases —There can be nodenyiog the 
effect of these when well furnished and properly 
looked after, as they seem to impart a finish to a 
garden. No time should be lost now in getting them 
filled with plants. If they have been occupied 
during the winter months by small Conifers, and 
other hardy evergreens they should be emptied, 
cleaned, the drainage put to rights, and fresh soil 
substituted. There is a wealth of variety at the dis¬ 
posal of those who care to invest in it, and there 
should be no difficulty in obtaining a fine show. In 
many cases, however, vases of this kind have their 
value from a horticultural point of view heavily 
impaired because of their shallowness, the makers 
having turned more attention to their ornamentation 
than to their practical utility. Of course, by feeding 
well it is possible to do with comparatively little 
soil, but this has its limit. Obviously it is of no 
use to fill the vases so full of soil that they will not 
hold sufficient water to wet the whole of the soil 
through. In cases where the vases go to the other 
extreme, and have too great a depth the difficulty is 
easily surmounted. 
Pot plants for Yases. —The system of simply 
using the larger ornamental vases as receptacles for 
containing pot plants has some advantages which 
it may be as well to touch upon. In the first place 
it is perhaps the best way of dealing with the very 
shallow vases which we have been discussing. It 
does not matter if the rim of the pot does overtop 
the margin of the vase as by judicious insertion of 
smaller pots around it, it can be hidden. Then 
again there is the advantage of being able to effect a 
change with little trouble should the plants become 
shabby or variety be desired. 
Chief among subjects suitable for growing is Agave 
Americana, the so-called American Aloe. This has a 
very distinguished appearance and is a great favour¬ 
ite for flower garden work. The blue African Lily, 
Agapanthus umbellatus is also admirable. The long 
drooping leaves have a graceful appearance, and 
when surmounted by the huge umbels of flower on 
the tall stout stalks, the effect is splendid. The 
white variety is not so vigorous a grower or quite so 
free a bloomer, but it is well worth growing for the 
sake of contrast. In addition to these there are 
some Palms that can be turned to account for the 
purpose during the summer months. Of these 
Phoenix canariensis, P. reclinata, and P. rupicola 
are the most useful. Kentia belmoreana, K. foster- 
iana, Latania borbonica, and even Seaforthia elegans 
will do in sheltered positions if they are carefully 
hardened off first. Naturally they must be taken 
indoors in the early part of the autumn before the 
weather gets too chilly. Chamaerops humilis is also 
a graceful little Palm. It is much hardier than any 
of the foregoing, and will succeed where they will not. 
We must also not forget to mention Curculigo 
recurvata. This resembles a Palm in appearance, 
and it is commonly, but erroneously, spoken of as 
being one, although it really belongs to the natural 
order Amaryllidaceae. The Curculigo will do pretty 
well if it is carefully looked after, but it will be use¬ 
less to place it in wind-swept corners, for such an 
experience will quickly turn the leaves brown, and 
then the beauty of the plant will be greatly marred. 
Passing on to other plants which may be employed, 
but are better for such vases where they can be 
planted right out and not grown in pots, we find a 
good deal of variety from which to pick and choose. 
The handsome and distinct foliage of the Castor Oil 
plant (Ricinus) is excellent for large vases which 
take a good deal of filling. For smaller ones, on the 
other hand, the plants would be too large and would 
look out of place in them. There is a number of 
varieties of Ricinus communis which vary consider¬ 
ably in height. For vase work the best of these is 
R. c. Gibsonii, which is from 4 ft. to 5 ft. in height. 
Both the stems and leaves are of a rich dark purple. 
The Japanese striped maize is a wondrously pretty 
plant for any subtropical gardening, and it will do 
very well in a vase. It is about 3 ft. in height, and 
the green and white foliage is distinctly out of the 
common. 
We come now to the consideration of flowering 
plants which really constitute the bulk of the 
material. Foliage plants have many admirers it is 
true, but flowering subjects are even more popular. 
Where the vases are large enough a mixture of the 
two sections will afford excellent results. The zonal 
Pelargonium is high up on the list, both from its 
unfailing good temper in growing in almost any 
situation, and the way in which it continues to 
produce its flowers over a very loDg period. We 
alluded to the value of large old plants early in the 
season in the columns of “ Hints ” or of those that 
had been grown on for flowering last winter for vase 
filling purposes. These plants should have been 
treated to a liberal dose of the knife in the springtime 
in order to reduce them to shape, and then potted 
on. We advised this treatment at the time. Such 
plants are now in first-class fettle, and will give a 
good account of themselves. The white and yellow 
Marguerites are exceedingly popular, and although 
they are apt to become somewhat unwieldy with 
regard to size before the end of the summer, there is 
no gainsaying their fine decorative qualtities, for 
there seems to be no end to their production of 
flowers. Fuchsias are a host in themselves, and it is 
a great pity that they are not more extensively 
employed. Certainly, if they are once given a trial 
they will be always used. The great point is to use 
only very free flowering varieties. In this quality 
the single varieties are, if anything, superior to the 
doubles. The following are some of the best forms : 
—Rose of Castile, sepals blush, corolla purple, an 
old variety, but still one of the best as far as 
floriferousness goes ; Cannell’s Gem, tube and sepals 
bright red, corolla pure white ; Princess May, tube 
and sepals blush white, corolla, cherry carmine; 
Lord Beaconsfield, corolla orange-scarlet, with a 
very long tube and large flower ; Countess of Aber¬ 
deen, pure white; and General Roberts, corolla, a 
deep plum colour; sepals and tube rose, with very 
long flowers and distinct drooping habit. Wave of 
Life is another good old-fashioned sort. Its chief 
attraction is its rich golden-hued foliage, since the 
flowers are small and not very showy. It is well 
worth growing. Among the double varieties some of 
the best are White Phenomenal, pure white, extra 
large size; Rose Phenomenal, bright rosy mauve, 
the counterpart in size and construction of bloom, as 
well as habit, of the first named; Frau Emma 
Topper, tube and sepals, rosy coral; corolla, rose 
blush ; and Mrs. E. G. Hill, corolla, creamy white; 
sepals and tube deep cerise. 
Celosia pyramidalis plumosa in its several shades 
of red, purple, rose, and yellow is much valued for 
conservatory decoration, but it does not seem to be 
generally known that it will do quite well out of 
doors in the summer. Of course the plants require 
to be raised in heat, and they should be potted on 
until they are in 48-sized pots, in which they may be 
kept until they are just commencing to come into 
bloom. Then they should be gradually hardened off 
and planted out in their flowering quarters, taking 
care to disturb the roots as little as possible. 
The little extra trouble required to obtain a few 
Celosias will be amply repaid by the richness of the 
effect obtained. The colours they afford can be 
supplied by nothing else in the same graceful 
elegant way. It may not be beside the mark to 
mention here that Celosias will grow equally well 
when planted out in beds as they do in vases. 
Choose a warm and sheltered spot facing the west if 
possible, but slightly shaded on the south, so as to 
shield the plants from the fiercest rays of the sun.— 
Rex. 
■ 
Correspondence. 
Questions asked by amateurs on any subject pertaining 
to gardens or gardening will be answered on this page. 
A nyone may give additional or more explanatory answers 
to questions that have already appeared. Those who desire 
their commimications to appear on this page should write 
" Amateurs' Page " on the top of their letters. 
Caterpillars on Apple-trees.—I enclose a few cater¬ 
pillars ; also a fruit spur of an Apple that has been 
injured by them. Would you kindly tell me what 
they are, and also what to do to prevent them from 
making their appearance next year ? Fruit-trees. 
The caterpillars are those of the Winter Moth 
(Cheimatobia brumata) one of the worst pests with 
which the fruit-grower has to contend. These cater¬ 
pillars are now nearly full-grown and would fall 
from the trees if the latter were given a good shaking. 
Cloths may be spread beneath the trees to collect 
them or fowls may be allowed to pick them up, 
which they will do very greedily. Another plan is to 
syringe the trees with a mixture of 1 ounce of Paris 
Green, and 20 gallons of water. This must be 
kept constantly stirred whilst it is beiDg applied. 
Further remedial measures must be taken in the 
autumn, say about the beginning of November, 
when the male moths may be seen flying about 
among the branches. The females which have only 
very rudimentary wings, and cannot fly, ascend the 
trees at that time to lay their eggs among the 
crevices of the bark. The trunks of the trees should 
then be wrapped in greased bands. The bands may 
be of brown paper smeared with some sticky stuff 
Cart-grease will answer, and Davidson’s Composi¬ 
tion is also good. This is made of tar and cart- 
grease in equal proportions. 
Dwarf Mignonette. — Enquirer is puzzled to 
account for the dwarfness of the Mignonette sold in 
pots in the market. He has attempted to grow 
plants but they always look tall and straggling. He 
wonders if it is a special strain of seed that nursery¬ 
men keep for themselves, but will not sell to out¬ 
siders. 
Undoubtedly there is a good deal in the saving of 
the seed from plants of suitable habit year after year, 
that enables the nurserymen to send out such dwarf 
and stocky plants, but it is good cultivation that is 
the secret of immediate success. Specialists in the 
cultivation of the Mignonette do not coddle their 
plants, but give them plenty of air and light, and 
water them carefully, hence the vigour and dwarf¬ 
ness. It is almost impossible for an amateur with 
only a greenhouse, more or less, unsuitably filled with 
all sorts and conditions of plants to obtain such fine 
results It is sometimes astonishing that the plants 
thrive as well as they do. 
Plants round a Fountain—I have a small 
fountain in my garden which has a small ledge 
running round it. When the basin is full, this ledge 
is covered by water to the depth of 2 in. What 
plants could I stand on this ltdge? Would Fuchsias 
do ? Oxon. 
The best thing would be Agapanthus umbellatus, 
which would do well in such a situation as you 
name. As far as appearance goes you could not 
have anything finer. The huge umbels of blue 
flowers on the long stout stalks (scapes) are suffi¬ 
ciently imposing. The white form A. u. albidus is 
also well worth growing for the sake of contrast. 
The flowers are large and pure white. A. u. varie- 
gatus is a variety with variegated leaves that is a 
handsome and easily grown plant. We should 
certainly not advise you to try Fuchsias as standing 
in water would not suit them. 
Manure water for Strawberries— L. Arlington. 
You may give your Strawberries manure water with 
excellent results. It will help to produce large fruit. 
Sir Joseph Paxton is a good variety, but Royal 
Sovereign is a better. 
