802 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
October 14, 1905. 
I 
Notes on . . . 
Our Illustrations. 
ON CENTRE SHEET (pages 800 and 801). 
Rhododendron racemosum. 
Our illustration of this beautiful little 
Rhododendron scarcely does justice to the 
subject, A single plant, as a picture, would 
have been more effective than a whole bed of 
young plants. It is of comparatively recent 
introduction from western China, and flowers 
most profusely for the size of the plant. It 
is a small-growing species at its best, but 
the number and size of the flowers which each 
plant produces is remarkable and worthy of 
the attention of planters. In relation to the 
size of it the plant is admirably adapted for 
the rockery. 
The plants shown vary from 6in. to 18in. in 
height, and flower at the axil of every leaf 
on the upper part of the stem, so that they 
appear in racemes as the specific name would 
indicate. They are, however, in clusters, but 
instead of being confined to the top of the 
shoots, they are produced all along the sides. 
They are bright rosy-purple, deepening to¬ 
wards the edges, and are very pretty when a 
well-grown plant is seen. It may also be 
grown in pots or beds, but we think it can 
never look more interesting than when 
planted in a pocket of peaty soil on the 
rockery, where it will flower in the early 
part of summer. 
A Giant Sunflower. 
A reader sends us a photo of a larger Sun¬ 
flower than is usually seen in cottage and 
villa gardens, and indicates good culture. 
Usually the Sunflowers in such positions are 
only 4ft. to 5ft. in height, indicating soil that 
seldom gets much working and still less 
manuring. To get a Sunflower of the size 
of which it is capable, it requires good feed¬ 
ing to support its enormous leaves and big 
flower heads. The soil should be deeply dug 
and well-manured in the autumn. The cul¬ 
tivator, if he raises it under glass, should 
also transplant it into a box, and finally 
place it in the open ground before it gets 
stunted by overcrowding. During the grow¬ 
ing season the soil should be frequently 
stirred on the surface, and water given in dry 
weather if specimens of large size are wanted. 
The specimen under notice stands lift. lO^in. 
high, and the owner, Mr. E. Wells, of Bedford 
Street, Walworth, is quite proud of it. 
Rockery in a Villa Garden. 
The accompanying illustration is repro¬ 
duced with the object of showing that in¬ 
teresting bits of rockery may be added to any 
garden, even of small dimensions, if the 
owner takes the proper means of adopting 
this style of gardening. It is certainly an 
admirable way of getting a great amount of 
pleasure and occupation, as well as recrea¬ 
tion, out of a small piece of ground. The 
rockery in question is in the garden sur¬ 
rounding St. Andrew Cottage, St. Andrew 
Street, North Berwick. The ground behind 
the house rises with a fairly steep slope, so 
that the edge of this next the walk makes it 
doubly suitable for this style of gardening. 
The rockery practically acts as a retaining 
wall to the lawn above it, and affords nooks 
and crevices for a great variety of plants. 
Mr. A. Wright is the builder and owner of 
this rockery, and also got together the collec¬ 
tion of plants with which it is adorned. 
Having been recently constructed, the 
rocks are not yet fully covered by the plants, 
which will finally grow over the ledges, drap¬ 
ing them to some extent. In the more shady 
angles and nooks many ; interesting British 
Ferns have been planted, including the Holly 
Fern and the H ay -scented F e r n. The flower¬ 
ing plants include a large variety of sub¬ 
jects, which we need not mention in detail, as 
the plants actually grown on any rockery 
depend upon the taste of the owner and his 
opportunities for getting a collection to¬ 
gether. There are, however, numerous spring¬ 
flowering plants in the way of Primroses, 
Polyanthuses, and later on the Saxifrages, 
Bellflowers, Thrift, Pinks, Foam Flower, 
Himalayan Primroses, and many other things, 
all interesting and doubly ornamental from 
their being grown in a natural way in connec¬ 
tion with the rocks. The border away at the 
top of the picture is occupied with Sweet 
Peas and Nasturtiums in front of them. Mr. 
Wright is an adept at this kind of work. 
SolomonVSeal (Polygonatum multiflorum). 
The spray of this old-fashioned plant intro¬ 
duced here is to remind our readers how use¬ 
ful it is for forcing. The waxy-looking, 
creamy-white flowers are quaint in their way, 
and their association with the foliage on 
the under side of a beautiful arrangement 
of the leaves makes the plant highly interest¬ 
ing. When forced the leaves maintain a 
tender green colour for a long time, and that 
adds to the beauty of the flowers. Indeed, 
we think that the foliage in this case is quite 
as attractive as the flowers. 
The rhizomes should be lifted from the 
open ground after the foliage dies down and 
sorted into sizes suitable for potting up to 
be forced later on. New plantations can also 
be made in the autumn, as the rhizomes will 
get well established earlier than if planting 
was deferred till spring. The old crowns, 
after having been forced, may be grown again 
to forcing size, but it takes some time and 
trouble. If sufficient crowns are at hand to 
make a plantation without being forced they 
will soon get established, and reach a good 
flowering size sooner than if they had pre¬ 
viously been subjected to that operation. 
Adiantum farleyense. 
The picture of this shows a splendid piece of 
the popular and handsome Fern which was 
grown by Mr. Adams, gardener to Sir George 
Shiffner, C’oombe, Lewes. The specimen was 
exhibited amongst a group which won the 
first prize at the Brighton Flower Show dur¬ 
ing the past season. 
More people attempt the cultivation of this 
plant than succeed with it, although gardeners 
have learned much since it was first brought 
into cultivation. In those early days peat- 
was largely recommended, if, indeed, it did 
not form the entire compost for the potting of 
Adiantums. Since then, however, they have 
discovered that good fibrous loam should form 
the staple of the Compost, and that A. farley¬ 
ense may be grown with remarkable success. 
Plants do ultimately overgrow themselves, 
and, the older portions being in the centre, 
are liable to die away. This, of course, is 
perfectly natural, and when it happens the 
best plan is to break up the plant into con¬ 
venient piieces and put each in a separate 
pot, growing them on again to large size if 
needed. None of the Adiantums or Maiden¬ 
hair Ferns are more effective than this 
plumose variety of A. tenerum when well 
grown. 
The Mexican Butterwort (Pinguicnla 
caudata). 
The Butterworts are so seldom seen in 
gardens that many persons would be entirely 
unacquainted with them were it not for the 
fact of our native species, Pinguieula vulgaris, 
being fairly abundant in many localities. On 
marshy commons and in the drier portions of 
bogs this “ Bullen Root ” (as the local cottage 
folk call it) may frequently be observed in 
company with the Sundew and many other 
of our native moisture-loving plants. Those 
who admire this quaint little herb, with its 
purplish blossoms and greasy succulent 
leaves, would be charmed with the species 
illustrated to-day, the Mexican Butterwort, 
which is quite the queen of the genus. A 
native of Mexico and the mountainous regions 
of Central America, it is found in moist and 
shady spots at altitudes reaching to 8,000ft. 
or 9,000ft., and appears to have been intro¬ 
duced by Messrs. Sander and Co. about the 
year 1880. 
The blossoms, which are solitary, are borne 
on the end of very hairy scapes 5in. to lOin. 
in height. The form of the flowers can be 
seen in the illustration, and it will suffice to 
mention that they are about lin. across, and 
of the brightest magenta hue, with a con¬ 
spicuous white eye. The projecting tail-like 
spur behind reminds one somewhat of a long- 
spurred Columbine, and gives the plant its 
specific name. The leaves form a dense little 
rosette closely resembling an Echeveria during 
the spring, while in summer the foliage 
broadens out and undergoes a considerable 
change in appearance. The leaves, as with 
other members of the genus, are fleshy and 
greasy, and before the plant ceases growing 
it forms a peculiar tufted mass of thick fleshy 
scales. These, if taken off and inserted in 
live 'Sphagnum moss, soon root and form 
plants, which should be potted in peat and 
loam, and never allowed to become dry. Un¬ 
fortunately for our bog gardens, this species 
is not hardy, and must be kept indoors in a 
cool or intermediate temperature. Consider¬ 
ing the freedom with which' it blooms, and 
also the long period over which it continues 
to produce its exquisite blossoms, it is rather 
singular that it should not be more often met 
with, especially when its culture presents so 
few difficulties. 
A very beautiful and improved form of this 
plant under the name of P. caudata superba 
was exhibited at the R.H.S. meeting on 
March 10th, 1903, by Mr. J. T. Bennett-Poe, 
when it received an Award of Merit. This 
variety, which was raised from seed, has a 
larger and brighter flower than the type, and 
is considerably superior to it. A. R. G. 
The Bird’s-foot Violet (Viola pedata). 
Few plants of the Viola tribe are more in¬ 
teresting than this dwarf and beautiful sub¬ 
ject for the rock garden. The specific name 
refers to the manner in which the leaves are 
cut into five or seven linear pieces, entirely 
