742 
July U, 1897 
IH E GARDENING WORLD. 
many others favourites, which by far too much 
monopolised all available space. Even vegetable 
gardening had to suffer for the same reason. Early 
borders (and not a few) were year by year crowded 
with gay flowers which were often swept out of exist¬ 
ence by an early frost or rendered so shabby that 
their entire absence would have been a relief. Other 
cultivators, and proprietors too, preferred a wiser 
course, and while they did not discard their useful 
classes of hardy plants, they maintained their flower 
gardens as they should be ; and their supplies of cut 
flowers and interesting plants were not reduced. The 
increase of Carnafions, Paeonies, single and Cactus 
Dahlias, Sweet Peas, Stocks and some other flowers 
may be seen in almost every well appointed garden, 
and we think this is as it should be. 
Carpet bedding never took a leading position in 
the North. At one time it was spoken against and 
written against, and the fine designs seen in the 
carpet factories at Kidderminister, Exminster &c., 
were not in evidence in Scottish parterres. 
It is questionable if betiding has improved much 
in the North during the last thirty years. Even in 
borders some beautiful work was seen in those days. 
Take as examples—a long wide border at Dalkeith 
with many thousands of Lobelia as a ground work, 
and in the centre all along the border, placed 8 feet 
apart or thereby, were single plants of Centaurea 
candidissima ; a band of Cerastium tomentosum 
formed an edging. Everyone who saw that border 
admired it. At Archerfield there was a long border 
backed with Humea elegans, then in, a broad band of 
Verbena venosa, about every 8 feet was placed along 
the centre a seakale pot with plants in each of Cen¬ 
taurea, keeping them clear of the Verbenas. A band 
of variegated Jacob’s-ladder ran along the front, 
then an edging of dwarf, golden or bronze Pelar¬ 
goniums completed a picture as fresh in my mind 
now as it was thirty years ago. Another picture, 
out of scores, was at Dysart House, which was sim¬ 
ply a long border of snowy white Cerastium with 
circles in the centre, equidistant, in which were 
planted pink Pelargoniums, which bloomed profusely. 
A band of fine dwarf blue Lobelia edged with varie¬ 
gated Pelarg niums formed another p ; cture, which 
was in my opinion exquisite. No one attempted to 
charge the designers of these immense borders with 
taking their designs from carpets or drapery of any 
kind, as often has been the case with many pro¬ 
moters of “ carpeting ” with flowers. I could, how¬ 
ever, describe many beautiful pictures in carpet¬ 
bedding, neither formal nor unnatura 1 looking.— M. 
Temple, Canon, N.B. 
-* 1 *- 
THE BEST TWELVE ORCHIDS FOR 
BEGINNERS. 
Having arrived at the end of my task of putting 
before the readers of The Gardening World what 
I consider to be the best twelve for those intending 
taking up the culture of this most fascinating family 
of plants as a pleasing and, when well grown, a 
profitable pastime, I almost wish I had taken a wider 
scope, say twenty-four kinds. We could then have 
included others equally as easy to grow, as cheap to 
buy, and as beautiful when in flower. If, however, 
I have by the cultural hints given been the means of 
helping anyone in the slightest degree I shall be well 
pleased. 
For my final effort I shall take the Genus Zygc- 
petalum. There is a good number of this family 
worthy of a place in any collection. Some of them 
have creeping rhizomes such as Z. Gauteri and Z. 
rostratum.and should be treated as purely epiphytical 
plants by fixing them them to pieces of Tree Fern, or 
to rafts of teak wood, with some very rough fibrous 
material for the roots to run in. The one which I 
shall select for the last article is Z. Mackayi. This 
species is so accommodating that it is found growing 
very well indeed under all kinds of conditions. 
Being a native of Brazil it naturally requires a fair 
amount of heat, and is always found doing best when 
grown with a mixed collection of stove and warm 
greenhouse p’ants. Here it gets a little more light 
than is generally afforded plants when growing in 
the Orchid house proper ; and besides this it gets an 
occasional dose of manure water when the other 
occupants are being fed. 
It makes a great quantity of roots, and must 
therefore be given plenty of rooting room, and should 
be treated as a terrestrial subject. 
The compost we find best suited to this species 
consists of lumps of peat, fibrous loam and chopped 
Sphagnum moss in about equal parts. To this add 
some coarse river sand or, better still, some small bits 
of crocks ; this keeps everything open and porous. 
The plants being strong growers pot culture is best 
for them. Always afford a fair amount of drainage, 
but not so much but that there is room for a good 
layer of the compost for the base of the plant to be 
potted to rest on. When finished the rhizome of 
the plants should be just above the rim of the pot. 
Watering. — Newly-potted plants, no matter 
what, should always be watered with great caution ; 
for although they may appear to the eye to be dry, 
it is only just on the surface. If the plants shrivel a 
little it will do no harm. Keeping the atmosphere 
about then fairly moist will obviate this.— C. 
-- 
LOBELIA CARDINALIS. 
"What! that a Lobelia ? ” is a remark frequently, 
made by those who arefamilar with the dwarf bedding 
varieties, when their attention is drawn to it, being 
so unlike them in its habit of growth. It is one of 
the most striking and beautiful late summer and 
autumn flowering plants we have, sending up its 
spikes of flowers ranging from 2 to 3 ft. in height. 
The foliage is of a bright bronzy purple setting off 
the large rich scarlet flowers to great advantage. 
When used in a beddiDg out arrangement it should 
be planted on a carpet of other things, as for instance 
Centaurea candidissima, andMesembryanthemum cor- 
difolium variegatum. Another beautiful combination is 
made by planting it with Chrysanthemum frutescens. 
It makes a fine plant grown in pots for greenhouse and 
conservatory decoration, but should be kept outside 
till nearly in bloom. It requires good rich soil and 
abundance of water during the growing period. 
Although generally classed as a hardy plant it proves 
oftentimes anything but that ; and in order to pre¬ 
serve it through the winter the stools should be lifted 
and planted in boxes, using leaf mould principally, 
and kept just sufficiently moist through the winter. 
Early in the season they may be split up into single 
crowns, and potted into large thumbs and finally 
planted out in their summer quarters during April or 
May. A good stock by this method may be reared 
in a season or two from very small beginnings. This 
is one of those things which ought to find a place in 
every garden and is well worth the little attention 
needed to keep it ; yet from what I see of it how fre¬ 
quently it is allowed to die out.— IV. B. G. 
- - 
PLANTS RECENTLY CERTIFICATED. 
The following awards were accorded by the Royal 
Horticultural Society on the 13th inst. : —- 
Orchid Committee. 
Laeliocattleya canhamiana albida. Nov. van . — 
The sepals and petals of this variety are white and 
the flowers very large. The lip is also of great size, 
with a told, orbicular, bifid, and crisped lamina of 
an intense crimson-purple, and having a narrow, lilac 
margin. There is a small golden blotch in the throat 
lined with golden veins, and crimson towards the 
base The outer face of the tube varies from white, 
tinted with lilac, to purple and dark purple in 
different individuals. It is a very fine variety of a 
magnificent bigeneric hybrid. Award of Merit, 
Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Ltd., Chelsea. 
Fhaius ashworthianus. Nov. hyb . — The parents 
of this distinct subject were P. Mannii and P. macu- 
latus. The leaves are lanceolate and plaited with 
long petioles. The sepals and petals are golden 
yellow, slightly tinted with bronze. The middle and 
side lobes of the lip are lined and marked with a 
dark orange brown, the rest being yellow. In these 
particulars the hybrid takes largely after P. macu- 
latus. Award of Merit Messrs. F. Sander & Co. t 
St. Albans. 
Floral Committee. 
Nymphaea marliacea albida.— The flowers of 
this Water Lily are of magnificent appearance, 
measuring 9 in. in diameter. The petals are broad 
and purer white than the original N. m. alba, with 
the exception of a pink tint towards the base of the 
outer petals. A golden mass of stamens occupies 
the centre. First-class Certificate. Leopold de 
Rothschild, Esq. (gardener, Mr. J. Hudson), 
Gunnersbnry House, Acton. 
Nymphaea elliottiana. —Here the flowers are 
very much smaller, measuring only 3 J in. across ; 
but their intensity of colour makes up for size. The 
outer petals are rosy-purple, but the inner ones are 
dark purple, red or claret; and the stamens are orange 
red. Altogether it is a distinct and beautiful Water 
Lily. Award of Merit. Leopold de Rothschild, 
Esq. 
Platanus orientalis acerifolia argenteo- 
variegata —The older leaves of this boldly varie¬ 
gated variety of the London Plane are splashed and 
blotched with silvery white ; but m any of the youDg 
leaves of the growing shoots are mostly or wholly 
white giving the tree a striking appearance at least 
while the leaves are young and fresh. First-class 
Certificate. Mr. John Russell, Richmond, Surrey, 
Haverstock Hill, N.W., and Brentwood, Essex. 
Salvia bicolor. —The stems of this Salvia attain 
a height of 4 ft. and produce branching stems, 
terminating in long racemes of large, bold and 
bicoloured flowers. The upper lip is light blue as 
well as the side lobes of the lower lip ; the middle 
lobe of the latter is deeply concave, forming a pouch, 
and white. The leaves are large, irregularly pin- 
natifid and dark green. Altogether it is a very 
showy, hardy plant, and comes from Morocco. 
Award of Merit. Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart, 
(gardener, Mr. W. Bain). 
Begonia Miss Griffiths. —The flowers of this 
tuberous variety are of huge size, with regularly 
imbricate, and beautifully goffered and crimped 
petals, that are white and more or less decidedly 
tinted with flesh. The flowers are borne on short, 
stout, upright stalks, and when well grown have a 
magnificent appearance. It was raised by the Rev. 
Edwin Lascelles, Newton St. Loe, but was exhibited 
by Mr. B. R. Davis, Yeovil. Award of Merit. 
Calochortus Plummerae aureus. — The outer 
segments are usually large and yellow, with two 
brown blotches on the face. The inner segments are 
golden yellow, obovate, covered across the middle 
with a heavy beard of club-shaped hairs, culminating 
in a dense mass of the same in the centre. They 
also have a brown band across the centre. The 
plant grows 2^ ft. to 3 ft. high, and is very handsome. 
Award of Merit. Messrs. R. Wallace & Co., Col¬ 
chester. 
Carnation Miss Violet Douglas (Douglas). — 
This is a fancy yellow ground, of a soft yeliow, closely 
and finely lined and striped with scarlet and rose. 
Award of Merit. Mr. J. Douglas, Eden Side, Great 
Bookham, Surrey 
Carnation Badminton (Martin R. Smith).— 
Here also we have a fancy yellow ground, with a 
narrow edge of soft and short red lines, and a few 
longer ones. The petals are entire, and the flowers 
of great size. Award of Merit. Mr. J. Douglas. 
Carnation Pelegia (Douglas).—The large 
flowers of this fancy Carnation are heliotrope, 
striped and flaked with soft scarlet. The petals are 
entire at the edges. Award of Merit. Mr. J. 
Douglas. 
Carnation Sir Henry Irving (Douglas).—In 
this we have a dark, velvety, maroon self. The 
petals are entire, but more or less incurved at the 
edges. This, as well as the previous three, are 
border varieties. Award of Merit. Mr. James 
Douglas. 
Rose Sylph. —The flowers of this Tea Rose are 
of a soft rosy-pink overlying cream, and ultimately, 
the outer petals at least, fade to cream. The buds 
are conical with a few spreading and revolute 
petals, and gradually become very much expanded. 
The flowers are deliciously fragrant. Messrs. 
William Paul & Son, Waltham Cross. 
Lobelia tenuior grandiflora . — The leaves on 
the lower part of the stem of this plant are tripar¬ 
tite, with the segments trifid. The stems are about 
15 ins. to 18 ins. high, hairy, and terminate in a 
raceme of large blue flowers with a white eye. The 
lower lip is large and the upper one remarkably 
small for such a large flower. Award of Merit. Mr, 
B. Ladhams, The Shirley Nurseri es, Southampton. 
Aristolochia brasiliensis. — The huge inflated 
tube of this species is marbled with blackish-purple 
on a white ground. The lip is of great size, bifid, 
silvery-gray, marbled and netted with dull purple. 
The plant is a climber, suitable for a tall Palm stove 
or a warm conservatory. Botanical Certificate. A. 
Kingsmith, Esq., Harrow Weald. 
