November 4, 1905. 
MOTTO FOR THE WEEK: 
1 In autumn tlie leaves of the Maple pave the floors of thy palace 
halls with gold.”— Longfellow. 
^ NOTICES. vvw 
To Readers and Correspondents. 
“THE GARDENING WORLD" is published by MACLAREN 
and Sons, 37 and 38, Shoe Lane, London, E.C. Telegrams 
and Cables: “Buns,” London. Telephone Number: 997 
Holborn. 
“THE GARDENING WORLD” is published every Tues¬ 
day and dated for the following Saturday. Price One Penny. 
Annual Subscription (Prepaid), post free, 6s. 6d. United 
Kingdom ; 8s. 6d. Abroad. Cheques and remittances 
generally should be made payable to Maclaren and Sons, and 
crossed London City and Midland Bank. 
Advertisement Orders should be addressed to the Pub¬ 
lishers. The insertion of advertisements cannot be guaran¬ 
teed for the following issue unless received by Saturday 
before date of publication. 
EDITORIAL.—Letters for publication, specimens for 
naming, requests for information, manuscripts, and photo- 
graphs must be addressed to the Editor. Correspondents 
should write on one side of the paper only, and give name 
and address as well as nom-de-plume. The Editor will not 
be responsible for loss of unaccepted manuscripts, photo¬ 
graphs, etc., but if stamps be enclosed ordinary care will be- 
exercised to ensure return. If payment for photographs or 
text is desired the price for reproduction must be distinctly 
stated, and it must be understood that only the actual 
photographer or owner of the copyright will be dealt with. 
All contributions of any kind in the Prize Competitions 
become the property of the Proprietors of “ The Gardening 
World." The Editor’s decision in Prize Competitions is final. 
SPECIMEN COPIES.—The Publishers will be pleased to 
send specimen copies of “ The Gardening World " for distri¬ 
bution amongst friends and will appreciate the services 
rendered by readers in this connection. 
-X><*C=—— 
AH AMATEUR’S LETTER 
TO AMATEURS. 
By the Author of “ The Garden Decorative 
etc., etc. 
XIII. 
Considerations by tbe Way. 
‘‘What would you say our English gardens 
most lack ?” was a question once put to me 
by one who had made a somewhat critical 
study of the subject. “ In the small villa 
garden undoubtedly it is lack of indivi¬ 
duality ; in the larger gardens it is often the 
same thing. In the house you get the impress 
of the character and taste of the owner; in 
the garden you very seldom get this distinc¬ 
tive touch of character,” I answered. I have 
often thought of the conversation that com¬ 
menced with these words, and it seems a 
thousand pities that those who have an en¬ 
thusiastic and ardent love of gardening should 
not have it put before them more often that 
it lies with them more especially to make the 
English garden a thing of greater beauty than 
at present it is. There are many reasons 
why this matter is so much in the hands of 
the enthusiastic amateur, more particularly 
as it concerns smell and moderate-sized 
gardens. 
Monotony in Gardens. 
To look broadly at the matter is to acknow¬ 
ledge that this monotony and sameness are 
the chief blots on the gardens of to-day. It 
is easy enough to escape them, but only 
rarely, only when the owner is aware of them, 
are they overcome, and something of distinc¬ 
tive character and individuality are shown. 
Then, and only then, do we get gardens of real 
beauty, and of what is only second to beauty, 
interest and character. The ordinary house¬ 
holder with a garden in which he is 
moderately interested seldom realises the fact 
that his garden is an almost exact replica 
of hundreds of other gardens in his neigh¬ 
bourhood. It is no excuse to say that in a 
small enclosed space there is no scope, because 
there are gardens quite small that are wonder¬ 
fully beautiful, and full of character and 
interest, and what has been achieved can 
be achieved. 
Eockwork Edgings. 
With the autumn season comes the question 
what shall we do to give that touch of charac¬ 
ter to our gardens? The additions or altera¬ 
tions need not be extensive, nor need they be 
costly. A rock garden is a charming feature, 
•but it is not every garden where space for it 
can be spared; the cultivation of such 
characteristic plants as Alpines need not, on 
that account, be foregone. Let us introduce 
raised rock work' edgings to our ordinary beds 
and borders, not necessarily anything very 
extensive, raised but a foot or so (though 
fifteen inches is a better height). We then 
have a surface that can be faced with beau¬ 
tiful masses of glowing and dense colour. 
There are often long borders planted with 
a view to display, more especially for spring 
or summer effect. At other seasons these 
borders are somewhat dismal and dull, but 
give a summer border such an edging as I 
have described, and plant it with spring 
flowering subjects, and so striking is the mass 
of flowering Alpines and other rock-loving 
plants that it will quite dispel the idea 
of dulness behind. 
Border for Spring Effect. 
Or take the border that has been planted 
for spring effect, and we know how dreary 
such may become during the summer months, 
and here let us likewise construct one of the 
raised edgings, and plant it with summer¬ 
flowering subjects, and at once we have over¬ 
come the difficulty. I have written on this 
subject of raised edgings on other occasions, 
and more than one unknown reader has 
written to tell me that he has made practical 
use of the suggestion. One, the owner of a 
small suburban garden, wrote that he had 
long wished to know the pleasure of growing 
Alpine plants, and had now made raised 
edgings to his Rose beds, and found that the 
plants were flourishing and flowering in a de¬ 
lightful manner, and that the decorative 
effect was excellent. I do not think we suffi¬ 
ciently realise the value of the cushions of 
dense vivid colour, dwarf, and long-enduring. 
such as are yielded by this type of plants, 
especially when planted in the manner in¬ 
dicated. 
Aubrietias, etc. 
Even an edging but one stone deep, slightly 
banked up with earth behind the stones, 
and a little mortar, rubble and sharp grit 
mixed with the soil, and planted with plants 
of a not too rampant habit of growth, is by 
no means to be despised, and can be made 
strikingly effective. Few plantings that can 
be devised can be more brilliantly beautiful 
than one consisting of such familiar subjects 
as the mauve and crimson Aubrietias, yellow 
Alyssum, and double white Arabis; but for 
these a sufficient depth is necessary. To these 
may be added such fine varieties of Saxifraga 
as S. Camposii (syn. Wallacei), and the large, 
bold-leaved S. Megasea Stracheyi. Such a 
selection of plants as this, edging a border 
that is given over to summer-flowering sub¬ 
jects, will make it a place of beauty months 
before the border itself produces any display 
at all; and as this edging ceases to flower, 
the taller growing subjects behind—the main 
border, in fact—arrives at its full beauty. 
There is no doubt that the raised edging is 
a distinct and characteristic feature, and also 
that it is a means of adding vastly to the 
amount of colour in the garden. Often, far 
too often, no full and generous display of 
colour is attained until the bedding plants 
have arrived at their full maturity and 
luxuriance, so that for this reason also the 
raised edging should be valued. 
F. M. Wells. 
A Rare Laburnum. 
(Laburnum caramanicum.) 
A casual observer would have some difficulty 
in believing that this shrub was truly a 
Laburnum, for it differs to such an extent in 
all outward appearances from the other 
Laburnums that it could readily be mistaken 
for some other genus. In addition, its flower¬ 
ing period is quite different, for while the other 
Laburnums open their blossoms in early 
summer, this waits until late autumn. It is 
found wild in Asia Minor, and is not often met 
with in cultivation. It forms a straggling 
bush a few feet high, sparingly clothed with 
small ternate leaves. The flowers are yellow, 
and are borne during September and October 
in large, loose, upright, terminal panicles, 
each inflorescence lasting in good condition 
for several weeks- "When selecting a position 
for this shrub it is advisable to give a fairly 
sheltered one, for if exposed it is sometimes 
injured by cold, east winds being more 
destructive than frost. W . D. 
Alderman Bolton, who has accepted the 
mayoralty of Warrington for a third year, is 
an enthusiastic .Orchid grower, and has one of 
the finest collections in England. 
