May 23, 1903. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
441 
READERS’ COMPETITION. 
For details of this competition and prize offered, please 
see page 447. Please post on Friday night. 
Hardy Herbaceous Plants, 
with some forethought in planting flowers in the open borders, 
can be had all the year round. Ushering in the new year come 
Christmas Roses and Winter Aconites, succeeded by Snowdrops, 
Crocuses, Hepaticas, and Arabis in February. With March 
come Primroses, Daffodils, Dog-tooth Violets, and Aubrietias ; 
in April Tulips, Hyacinths, Doronicums, Forget Me Nots, 
Auricula, Polyanthus, Violas, and Pansies. May is so rich in 
flowers that it is almost unnecessary to particularise. The follow¬ 
in'? are worthy of passing notice :—Alyssum saxatile, very showy 
spring-flowering plants; Anemone sylvestris, pure white, fine 
for cutting ; Aquilegias are exceedingly beautiful, and especially 
useful when cut for tilling vases ; Campanulas are very elegant 
in habit and beautiful in appearance. 
Among those worthy of notice as flowering in May are C. 
glomerata, deep violet, and C. g. alba, pure white ; Irises, few 
people are aware of the marvellous beauty of these flowers ; the 
German Irises will all do in ordinary garden soil, they delight in 
well-rotted manure; Japanese Irises (Iris Kaempferi) are very 
attractive and beautiful, individual flowers sometimes measuring 
10 inches in diameter. They are very suitable tor the sides of 
streams and ponds ; if planted in borders the soil should be 
stiff, and during dry weather liberally watered, for they delight 
to have their toes moist. Pyrethrums lead us into June. When 
either cut flowers are required, or an effective display is wanted 
in the garden in early summer, this valuable class of plants is 
well nigh indispensable. Being perfectly hardy, dwarf in 
irrowth, "and blooming when other flowers are scarce, they are 
fust what is wanted ; the varieties go into hundreds, so that the 
choice is unlimited. Of all cultivated flowers the Paeony occu¬ 
pies the premier position as the most brilliant of border plants. 
They are perfectly hardy and absolutely easy to grow; they 
abhor disturbance, and once well planted should be left alone 
for years, merely giving an annual mulch of good manure. 
There are two sections of Paeonies, the herbaceous and the tree 
orMoutan. The latter are hard-wooded, and drop their leaves 
in autumn; a good rich loam suits i hem best. Delphiniums 
are a noble class of plants ; we cannot have too many of them m 
our gardens and shrubberies. The colours include all shades of 
bluet from azure to deep indigo. A good white is Albion, a new 
variety of exquisite beauty. 
July introduces the Carnations, and many gorgeous varieties 
of Lilies, Achilieas, Alstroemerias in varieties, Scabious, Heli- 
anthus, Phloxes, Gaillardias, and Gladioli. With these we glide 
into September. The Phlox is the hardiest of all florist flowers 
yet is very often the worst treated ; if planted in deep rich soil 
splendid results are obtained. As the roots of the plants grow 
near the surface, top-dress or mulch them with well decom¬ 
posed dung, and water liberally when in flower. If spikes are 
wanted for competition they must be well thinned out, leai mg 
not more than three spikes to a plant. Michaelmas Daisies are 
with us well into November. These handsome and useful Asters 
are of useful culture in ordinary garden soil, and thrive well in 
shrubberies; for cut flowers they are invaluable The whole ol 
the Montbretias are exceedingly beautiful, and should buiK 
largely in every collection. Their season of flowering ex enc s 
from July to September. Early flowering Chrysanthemums bid 
fair to rival the Rose and the Dahlia; from July, when the 
earliest varieties begin to bloom, till the month of November it 
is possible to have these for cutting. Few flowers can boast such 
a long season of bloom. t • HINI> ' 
Tuberous-rooted Begonias. 
I think, of all the summer-flowering plants for the green- 
Duse, that there are few, if any, to equal that of the Begonia. 
; is of easy culture, and not so troublesome with regard to 
isect pests as the majority of other plants. There are 
ays of starting the tubers, so that it is not at all unlike y k iu , 
lere may be differences in men’s ideas; but it is my 0 ] ec 
t this time to lay before the many readers of The Gardening 
foRLD my method of growing this favourite flower, on wlncn 
expend much care. About the end of March I commence to 
tart operations by securing all the tubers, going care u y over 
tiem to see that they are quite fresh and free from any maggo , 
Inch may be enclosed in any of the crevices, and wine i, i n" 
.estroyed, will in due course cause a complete failure in _ c 
Mure good hopes of success. After that has been carefully 
one, I procure boxes as used for bedding-out p an , 
and place the tubers there in a mixture of nice soil, chiefly leaf- 
mould and silver sand, with a good layer of sphagnum moss in 
the bottom of the box, inserting them loosely, about three inches 
apart. They are placed in the vinery and given a damping 
overhead with a fine-rosed watering-can, always watering 
sparingly until growth commences. After they have grown 
about three inches high they are hardened off by being put 
in a cooler temperature until they are ready for potting singly 
into pots, using sizes according to the size of the tuber, and 
potting on into larger jiots if large specimens are wanted. After 
they have fully taken to the shift again I pinch out the centre 
of the shoot, which makes them much stronger and dwarfer in 
growth, leading up the after-shoots, each separately staked, to 
enable air to pass freely amongst the leaves. I prefer growing 
them in a shady situation throughout the whole period of growth, 
syringing them overhead daily until they come into flower, 
when it must be withheld ; the overhead syringing keeps off 
the attacks of red spider, which are troublesome if once estab¬ 
lished. The linal potting consists of loam, decomposed manure 
passed through a half-inch sieve—or riddle, as it may be more 
familiarly known—silversand, and a dusting of fine bone dust. 
That is all the artificial manure used in a dry state throughout 
the whole season of growth, but frequent waterings of liquid 
procured from stable litter, diluted to one in three of water, 
are given twice a week. Artificial manure, I prbsume, proves 
too strong for the constitution of the Begonia, and further, in 
my estimation, causes more tubers to die in their resting period 
than when cooler feeding is resorted to. Modern. 
Tuberous Begonias v. Geraniums- 
Tuberous-rooted Begonias versus Geraniums for bedding pur¬ 
poses is a subject, no doubt, regarded by many as a time-worn 
one. Some have favoured one or the other. Some have favoured 
both. But despite all that lias been written by abler pens than 
mine on the question, the Geranium still holds the larger share 
of popularity as the favourite bedding plant. That is quite 
evident to anyone who will but glance at any flower garden, 
whether it be attached to a cottage or mansion; so that, literally 
speaking, the Geranium may be regarded’ as the universal 
bedding plant, and perhaps deservedly so, since it will grow and 
flower well in any good garden soil, provided the season is not 
excessively wet. . . 
On the other hand, the cultural requirements of the Begonia 
demand careful attention and preparation before successful cul- 
tur© is ensured. In few, if any, gardens is the natural soil suite >a 
to them ; therefore it is important that a suitable compost -be 
afforded the plants, and that they are watered as often as neces¬ 
sary ; otherwise, if allowed to get dry at the roots the leaves 
become scalded and discoloured by the hot rays of the sun 
The flower-beds should be deep and well drained. I he compost 
should be of fibrous loam, in which is incorporated a liberal 
amount of leaf mould, peat, a little dried cow-dung, and a 
sprinklin'? of sharp sand and moss litter (such as is used m 
stables). The moss litter is a distinct advantage m dry weather, 
as it retains moisture. . , , , 
It may be regarded a matter of taste, or opinion as to how 
Begonias should be arranged so as to be seen to the best advan¬ 
tage From my point of view, I think a very effective arrange¬ 
ment is to plant them in round or oblong beds of distinct colours, 
on the terrace or close by the walls of the mansion. The two 
loveliest groups of scarlet Begonias I ever saw were planted m 
huge boat-shaped stone vases, raised on pedestals 3ft. high off 
the lawn, and stood one on each side of the side door of a lai 0 e 
mansion, and were edged with Pyrethrum and blue Lobelia. 
T need scarcely dwell on the primary details m connection with 
tie sowing and » pricking off " oi Imboron, Eegomas. Much good 
advice has been given m back numbers of the G VV. on tne 
culture of this beautiful plant, but I may remark that, from 
experience, I have found that the best way to raise a stock of 
tubers for a good display of bloom m summer is, after the 
ceedlings are strong and liardy enough, to piant them out m an 
open border for the first season, m a warm but not too sunny 
Sion Some leaf soil and old cow-dung will be beneficial m 
Sin. them a start. If planted out early it is advisable to place 
*"• i a t■*-» o-nph a wav as will admit oi sasu- 
