186 
THE GARDENING WORLD , 
March 4, 1905. 
same time we had occasion to renew one of the Peach borders. 
The turf was removed for a distance of 20 ft. around the Pine, 
and the old material from the Peach border spread over its 
roots to a depth of 12 in. near the tree, gradually sloping to 
the normal lex r el of the lawn, the turf being afterwards replaced. 
The improvement was not very marked the first season, but 
since that time the Pine has sent up a fresh leader and 
flourished vigorously, and bids fair to outlast another genera¬ 
tion of gardeners. 
In regard to the existing arrangement and grouping of the 
shrubs, before removing any of them seek to understand the 
motive that prompted their planter. Many trees only show 
their true character as they attain age, and groups thoughtfully 
planted only produce the desired effect after a number of 
years. Life is too short to plant a garden and see the full 
effect of our work. Let- us then take care of the legacy left 
us by our forefathers, and while preserving their work add 
new beauties of our oft. 
Old shrubberies usually provide splendid sites to the planter 
on the lookout for sheltered places for tender species. But 
when shelter is not needed, and huge banks of uninteresting 
Laurels and other common varieties .have' been planted, the 
sooner a clearance is 'made .the better. To us, with our gar¬ 
dening Press persistently calling our attention to the beauties 
of hardy flowering shrubs, the apparent planting, of .so much 
Laurel-thirty years ago-seems difficult to understand. But 
was it exclusively, planted? From the'many thin drawn-up 
specimens of flowering shrubs that'exist in old shrubberies I 
have been forced to the conclusion that Laurel arid others of 
similar rapacity are' usurpers, and possess title deeds for only 
half the ground they, occupy. This shows the need for. cutting 
back the commoner kinds every few years. I hope to give 
more details as to treatment, etc.,'of old shrubberies in a 
future article if-the editor thinks it likely to be of interest, 
[riease do.—Ed.] J. C. 
Mackaya bella. 
How seldom this plant is met with in gardens. I have in 
my mind's eye a beautiful old plant from 5 to 6 ft. high, that 
I planted out in the border of a conservatory that I had charge 
of some years ago. The said plant 1 found in a large tub 
that had seen better days, and was-past doing service for the 
plant that it contained, and not being able to get another to 
take its place, I thought rather than destroy it I would plant 
it in the border of the conservatory ; so I chose a sunny corner 
due south a-nd planted the same, adding- good rough loam and 
brickbats well broken up. The results proved to be highly 
satisfactory as it flowered freely in May, and every year during 
the seven that I was there. 
The main secret in the flowering of this plant is the 
thorough ripening of the wood, and all water must be with¬ 
held during winter. The results in this case well repaid the 
little trouble given as the wealth and refinement of the beau¬ 
tiful lilac flower, so delicately and finely pencilled, were admired 
by all who had the pleasure of seeing them. 
Equally good results can be had in pots, if not better, as it 
is more under the hand of the cultivator. It requires two 
years’ attention before the flowering period is reached. Cut¬ 
tings put into a close case in early summer root readily, and 
by growing on in a compost of rough loam and some dried 
cow-manure well broken up, with due attention to watering, 
airing, and syringing, and given a light position, and pinched 
a few times, will make nice plants in 5 in. pots by autumn. 
After this water must be withheld from them all the winter. 
Cut back in April, grow on rapidly as before until an 8 in. 
or 10 in. pot, well filled with roots, is secured. Treat as 
recommended for winter, as it is necessary that the wood 
be thoroughly ripened for successful flowering. Towards 
spring gradually encourage flowers to expand in a temperature 
of from 55 to 60 deg., when, if the treatment has been carried 
out satisfactorily, the results will repay the time and labour 
incurred. By propagating it each season a healthy stock of 
plants is kept up for successive flowering. 
John R. Wilson. 
An Artistic Screen Fence. 
In the gardens here we had an oval-leaved privet hed^e 
dividing the small fruit quarters from a part of the pleasure 
grounds. The hedge was spoiling a Rose border immediately 
behind it, so we rooted out the hedge and erected a screen 
fence instead, and as the change has been much appreciated I 
send you a few notes on the erection of the fence and as to 
how we furnished it. The fence is 5 h ft- high, with five wires 
1 ft. apart. Three of the wires are the usual size for such 
trellis work, but the top and bottom ones are rather stouter. 
The standards are 6 ft. apart; each alternate one is made of 
bar iron IJ in. by \ in. The others are made of ^ in. rod 
iron, but these stand 8 ft. high, or 2| ft. higher than the 
flat ones. The whole are fixed in the ground by forks 18 in. 
across, the prongs being the same length. The whole of the 
standards are, of course, bored to pass the wires through. It 
will be understood that the bottom wire is 18 in. from the 
ground. The terminal standards are of angle iron, batted 
into rather heavy stones, with a stay of the same material. 
The whole received two coats of green paint, and I must not 
omit to say that the top and bottom wires were securely 
keyed or jammed with iron keys or wedges to keep the 
standards firmly in their place. The whole border was 
trenched and suitably enriched. The dwarf Roses were root- 
pruned and replanted, and the fence was planted as follows. 
At each 8 ft. standard, that, is, every 12 ft., a Clematis and an 
ornamental Vine were planted alternately, and between each 
of these two climbing Roses were planted. The pillars every 
12 ft. relieve the monotony and give the whole an artistic 
look. Of course there are many plants suitable for these 
pillars as well as Clematis and Vines, but that is how we 
have done it, and we are highly satisfied with the results. The 
following are the varieties of Roses employed:—Aglaia, 
Alister Stella Gray, Ards Pillar, Blairei No 2, Climbing Cap¬ 
tain Christy, Climbing La France, Climbing Mrs. W. J. Grant, 
Climbing K. A. Victoria, Climbing Souvenir de la Malmaison, 
Carmine Pillar, Euphrosyne, Electra, Longwortli Rambler, 
Papillon. The shoots of the more vigorous sorts are allowed 
to extend from I ft. to 2 ft. beypnd the topmost wire. 
Anyone inclined to make practical use of these notes can 
do so yet for the coming season, as climbing Roses and other 
climbers can always be had in pots, and can therefore be 
planted well on in the season. C. C. 
Vallota purpurea in Cottage Windows. 
This is a favourite plant with, cottagers about us. In moving 
about I have noticed how in some places cottagers take to 
some particular plant and everyone grows it. And they grow 
\ allo'tas well, far better than they are grown in the majority 
of private gardens. Some may ask, why is this? To this I 
say that I am under an impression in these gardens they get 
far too much coddling. I am aware in many instances the 
number of different things grown together make it next to 
. impossible for all to he treated right, and I have observed over 
and over again that bulbous plants suffer from this cause more 
than other things. 
Now in cottage windows’they cannot get this coddling from 
the fact that the air is generally diy, frequently with plenty 
of air. It. is evident they do not need a lot of warmth. Within 
a. quarter of a mile from me is a cottage, the window facing 
west—not a very large one. In this window a large plant- of 
V. p. exirnia in 7-in. pot has bloomed, having seven strong 
trusses as fine' as anyone could wish, each head having a large 
number of fine blooms. It continued in bloom many weeks, 
lasting till the end of December. I have been noticing this 
plant all through the year as I frequently pass. The-owners 
do not reside there constantly, and I doubt if the room had a 
fire in it half day-time during the year. The only attention 
is watering and keeping clean. I could name many others 
equally good. The best I ever saw was at Creech Grange, Pur- 
beck isle, and there was grown- in a cold airy house near the 
glass. Con. 
