THE GARDENING WORLD. 
641 
June 1, 1901. 
Gladioli.— R- S. : It is time they were out now 
and started rooting in their flowering quarters. If 
you have a small greenhouse or frame you can hurry 
on your bulbs in small pots of light soil, but by no 
means force them. When they are well started 
harden them off and plant out in a rich loamy soil. 
Planting them in the Rose beds, as you ask for 
advice about, is one of the best plans, for they 
fill up the usually bare space round the stocks and 
do not rob the Roses to any great extent. They 
flower early in the autumn. As they produce lengthy 
flower stalks they require attention at that period to 
see that they are properly secured. 
READING GARDENERS AT BUCKLE- 
BURY PLACE. 
Last year the members of the Reading Gardeners' 
Mutual Improvement Association, by way of experi¬ 
ment, initiated a series of half-day outings, independ- 
magnificent ; while in the nearer distance the many 
spring tints of the unfolding leaves in the woods, 
copses and spinneys, were simply charming, the 
effect being greatly heightened by the bright sun¬ 
shine, notwithstanding the haze in the distance. 
Taking a stand by the house and looking towards 
the entrance of the eastern carriage drive, the 
brightest feature was the many varieties of Wall¬ 
flower with which the large beds of shrubbery were 
edged in double lines. The old notion that yellow 
and iron-brown Wallflow ers summarised the whole 
question of this popular, old-fashioned favourite was 
instantly quashed by the sight of the numerous 
varieties here grown. On the left, towards the gate, 
Dwarf Yellow Bedder, a golden yellow variety, and 
Phoenix, crimson-brown, made a fine belt. On the 
right were two lines of Sutton’s Faerie Queene, a 
very handsome and distinct light yellow or lemon 
variety, with large flowers and very true to colour. 
In the nearer distance, on the right, was a line of 
Kroon on a groundwork of Myosotis Sutton’s 
Perfection, very free flowering and blue. A white 
flowered seedling was notable for its purity. Another 
bed was edged with Dwarf Brown Bedder and Cloth 
of Gold Wallflowers. The centre was filled with 
yellow, orange, and lemon double German Wall¬ 
flowers, which carried splendid spikes where the 
plant? had stood the winter; but even on this 
gravelly soil many of the plants had succumbed, so 
that no dependence will be placed upon them again. 
Late double yellow Tulips in another bed were not 
expanded, though the Myosotis above mentioned 
was at its best. Red Tulips on a groundwork of 
Polyanthuses, edged with Primroses, were also fine; 
and the same may be said of double purple Tulips on 
a setting of seedling Primroses. Sutton’s Giant 
Wallflower consisted of several colours mixed, and 
together with Blood Red, both interspersed with 
double crimson and white, striped pink Tulips, 
formed an outer bounding border to the design. 
ently of the annual outing, to different places in 
order to inspect notab'e gardens, and the venture 
proved so successful that they resolved to continue 
the same this year. The May meeting was fixed for 
Bucklebury Place, Woolbampton, Berks, the private 
residence of A. W. Sutton, Esq.; and, accordingly, 
on the afternoon of May 14th, a large party journeyed 
by train from Reading to Midgham ; while others 
journeyed by different routes till the party numbered 
over 100. 
On the lawns of Bucklebury Place they were met 
by A. W. Sutton, Esq., and his gardener, Mr. A. 
Wright. After being hospitably entertained, they 
proceeded to inspect the various gardens. The 
mansion stands on a high plateau on a level with 
Bucklebury Common, towards which one face looks, 
while the other front looks away to the south and 
south-east over the wooded valley of the Kennet, in 
Berkshire, till the vision is arrested by the Hamp¬ 
shire hills on the horizon. The prospect is certainly 
Sutton’s Purple Queen, another remarkably distinct 
type, with dark purple flowers. This being a dwarf 
sort, was backed by Cloth of Gold, with larger 
golden-yellow flowers than those of Dwarf Yellow 
Bedder, but the flowers of this variety are inclined 
to curl, possibly owing to the great breadth of the 
petals. The same arrangement was observable on 
the left of the same vista. Near the mansion was a 
bank of shrubbery, edged with the silvery gray 
Cineraria maritima, which succeeds admirably on 
the gravelly soil here ; this was backed by Faerie 
Queene, making a beautiful contrast. On the right, 
Dwarf Yellow Bedder was backed by Blood Red, a 
maroon-crimson Wallflower. Elsewhere, Sutton’s 
Eastern Queen, a very distinct apricot colour, 
changing to creamy white, was noted 
At one end of the mansion is a formal garden 
enclosed by Yew hedges, and representing the old 
English style, laid out in beds and filled with various 
spring flowers. One was occupied with Tulip Keizer 
Another section of the rectangular border was filled 
with Cloth of Gold Wallflower, edged on either side 
by the dwarfer Purple Queen Wallflower, and that 
again by Saxifraga hypnoides. Faerie Queene Wall¬ 
flower occupied a third section of this border, and 
looked so decidedly distinct that the visitors were 
greatly interested in it. 
A sunk area, towards the southern edge of the 
plateau, contained several beds filled with Wall¬ 
flowers and interspersed with red and crimson Tulips, 
which gave the whole a peculiarly rich and spark¬ 
ling appearance. Berberis stenophylla was remark¬ 
ably floriferous in some of the beds on the lawns, 
the long, arching sprays being unusually laden with 
orange yellow blossom. 
The Dell Garden. 
Though it is only the second seascn of this new 
feature of the place, it already looks as if it bad long 
been established. Originally it consisted of a deep 
hollow on the edge of the tableland, cohered with 
