December 5, 1903. 
the gardening world. 
1011 
Round the Nurseries. 
Messrs. D. Prior and Sons. 
It is surely unique to find a nurseryman, or any other man 
who depends on the cultivation of the' land for his living, in a 
o-ood humour after such a season as the past, and I was there¬ 
fore very agreeably surprised to find Mr. Prior not only in a. 
o-ood humour, but apparently well pleased with the season. 
The nurseries of Messrs. Prior and Son, Colchester, are so well 
known that no gardener who has an hour or two to spend in 
this busy little town should fail to pay them a visit. Thei 
“ outer world ” who can only see beauty in flowers would not 
choose the end of October as a suitable time for visiting a 
nursery; but, as I have said before in my notes, a gardener 
sees true beauty in every well-grown plant, be it only a 
Cabbage. 
One usually associates Poses with June, but I believe Mr. 
Prior has more Roses now in bloom in his extensive grounds 
than he had in June, for the men were busy cutting blooms in 
spite of the excessive and continuous downpour of rain that wei 
have experienced. What has pleased Mr. Prior most is the 
way in which the strong growths have matured. Everyone 
who watched the vigorous growths develop during the pash 
growing season predicted disaster when the cold set in. Judg¬ 
ing by the appearance of the wood in these grounds, the frost, 
will have to be very severe indeed to injure it. Field after 
field of Roses I visited, but everywhere, the standard was. the 
same, except perhaps in the Rambler section, for here the 
plants were extra good as compared with the others. When I 
say that “maidens” have 14-ft. growths and are as thick asl 
one’s finger—a gardener’s finger—some idea of their vigour 
can be obtained. Crimson Rambler has, of course, made the 
largest, growth, but Eupbrosyne, Aglaia and Thalia are not far 
behind it. 
In reply to the question as to the best, all-round Rose for cut 
bloom, I was pointed out Mme. Abel Chatenay, which was still 
blooming most freely, and promises to do so until checked by 
frost. Those, who desire a good garden Rose for brightening 
the beds and borders during the late autumn cannot do better 
than procure, a stock of Marquis of Salisbury, for its rich glow¬ 
ing crimson is a welcome colour now that yellow rules the 
garden. It is dwarf, compact, and exceedinglv floriferous. 
Other good Roses I noted still in bloom were Mildred Grant, 
Mrs. E, Mawley, Mrs. John Lame, and Frau Karl Druschki— 
Roses that deserve to be in every collection. Marechal Niel 
and William Allen Richardson are grown in thousands, and are 
really a wonderful stock both outdoors and in pots. 
The soil in the Colchester district is evidently suited for 
Rose culture, for one sees fields of Roses in every direction, 
and one has only to watch the lifters at work to see that the 
secret of the grand tops lies, in the masses of fibrous, feeding 
roots. One sees roots here that “ stay at home,” as one of the 
men expressed it; they certainly wander but a. very short, 
distance from the base of the plant. Roses are not the only 
things worth looking at in this nursery, for the trained fruit- 
tree section shows, that all the care is by no means given in 
one direction only ; and as a high-class furnishing trade is com¬ 
manded. the collection of ornamental shrubs is an extensive 
and varied one. Under glass one may find a large collection) 
of the best zonal Pelargoniums, both for bedding and pot work, 
and a large quantity of useful decorative stove and greenhouse 
plants, all well oared for and a, picture of health. In one bouse 
one can picture himself taken back a generation, for it is filled 
with huge Camellias planted in the beds. Trusting to the 
public’s honesty, the houses have hitherto, been left unlocked, 
but just before my visit systematic robbery of the vineries was 
detected, and inquiries showed that, the thief actually went and 
took orders for the Granes and then went, and stole them. 
He cannot get to anyone’s vinery now. Kewite. 
Strawberr t es and Raspberries in November.— Tn a Pad- 
slow garden, the other week, ripe Strawberries and Baspberries 
Were picked, the fruit being in good condition. 
The Herbaceous Border. 
The border of herbaceous plants has become much more 
popular of late, and notes regarding it frequently appear in the 
gardening papers, but I am afraid the novice in gardening will 
sometimes, have been disappointed at not finding any advice 
about the preparing and planting a border of herbaceous plants 
effectively. It is with the idea of helping such novice that I 
offer the following suggestions. 
The old-fashioned herbaceous, border, which coot lined every 
plant the amateur or gardener could secure, and the same 
plants poked in wherever there happened to he a little space 
available, has not been very satisfactory, chiefly because the 
bits of colour when in flower were too much spread about to 
make a good effect in any part, and often one bright colour 
would neutralise its neighbour flowering at the same time. 
A good situation for a, -herbaceous border would be a piece 
of ground not less than 50 yards long and about 5 yards wide, 
Chrysanthemum Sunrise: size 7 in. diameter. (Seep. 1005.) 
facing south, and backed by a. high wall, buildings or shrubbery, 
sheltered,, but without large trees to shade and rob the border. 
The soil should be trenched and well manured to the depth 
of 2 ft.., if the subsoil is not bad. These plants are often deep- 
rooted and gross feeders, and need a good depth of rich soil. 
The plants which we intend to plant or divide and replant in 
the border should all he labelled correctly, with their height, 
colour, and month of flowering, before being taken up and their 
roots laid in, the soil somewhere near the border in which they 
are to he planted. Each variety of plant is. best laid in by 
itself, and if they are to. go- hack on the old border,.it should 
have all coarse weeds forked out and trenched and manured 
as described. The early autumn is the best time, for this work, 
and the plants then have, a good chance of getting established 
before severe frosts. 
Before commencing to plant it will he well to consider what 
will be the effect of the whole border when in flower, also in 
winter, and it will be found much more satisfactory to have 
