The Flower Garden. 
Hardy Flower Combinations. —In pre¬ 
vious issues of The Gardening World I have 
pointed out the value of massing herbaceous 
perennials in beds as opposed to the usual way 
of filling these beds with more or less tender 
plants. When one considers the enormous 
number of hardy perennials (tall, dwarf, and 
creeping), embracing dowers of every hue, one 
is surprised that combinations are not more 
freely carried out. It may Be urged, of course, 
that the period of flowering with each species 
or variety is short, and that a continuous show 
for two months or more, as with Geraniums or 
Begonias, is preferable. Nevertheless, with a 
little selection and arrangement a continuous 
and effective display is possible over a long 
period. 
A delightful bed maybe formed of the grace¬ 
ful Gypsophila paniculata and Gladioli of almost 
any colour, but red or scarlet for preference. 
Quite early in summer the Gypsophila will be 
beautiful in its feathery lightness, and the 
latter will form a lovely setting to the stately 
spikes of Gladioli. 
Another pretty combination is that of the 
Swan River Daisy with Aster Thomsoni, the 
former is of course an annual, but the latter is 
one of our best perennials, flowering early and 
until cut down by frost. The blue of the Daisy 
is very close to that of the Aster, and the two 
make a pretty effect. Another effective com¬ 
bination has again Gypsophila for a ground 
work, and Lilium chalcedonicum, the scarlet 
Martagon rising amid its airy panicles ; a truly 
charming effect 
One can continue multiplying such instances 
without end : beds of Daffodils succeeded by 
Phloxes, or other showy herbaceous plants 
which will soon hide the dying leaves of the 
bulbs and so on. It seems to me that many a 
small garden, which is subjected to an upheaval 
twice yearly, would be far more interesting and 
enjoyable, and certainly quite as effective, if 
at least a number of beds, or even a border, 
were furnished with perennials after the manner 
I have suggested. B. W. J. 
The Kitchen Garden. 
Onions.— Quite the large majority of 
gardeners, both ju'ofessional and amateur, 
now pride themselves on the cultivation of 
large specimens, not only for exhibition pur¬ 
poses, but equally so for home use, and I 
venture to say when well grown and properly 
harvested these are in every way superior to 
the large importations which are annually 
made from foreign countries. But these can 
only be produced satisfactorily by sowing the 
seed early under glass. There is much 
difference of opinion even among our most 
experienced and successful cultivators as to 
dates for starting the seed, varying as much 
as from the middle of December till the middle 
of February, but very much depends on the 
district and the convenience one has at hand; 
but there is one most important point to 
observe—namely, that once the seed is sown 
no check must be allowed to impede their 
progress till the time for planting. From the 
first week till the middle of January is the 
time I recommend, but preparations should 
now be made; everything should be got in 
readiness, such as repairing and making new 
boxes, cleansing the crocks which are to be 
used for drainage, and preparing and mixing 
the soil. Most of this work can be done 
during wet days, so that everything is in 
readiness for the appointed time. A suitable 
compost will be two parts good fibrous loam, 
one of leaf soil, and one of horse droppings; 
the two latter should be passed through a 
quarter-inch mesh sieve. Add sufficient road 
grit to render it sufficiently porous for water 
to pass freely through it, as the soil at all 
times requires to be very firm for Onion 
culture. 
Leeks. —For the earliest supplies some 
seed should be sown on the same date, and 
when extra fine specimens are required the 
seed should be sown in 60-sized pots, placing 
three or four seeds in the centre; cover to 
the depth of a quarter of an inch and thin 
to one,, the strongest, when large enough. 
The same kind of compost will answer as for 
Onions, but will not require to be made so 
firm. 
Hotbeds.—Ill nearly every garden what is 
known as hotbeds, which means placing to¬ 
gether fermenting material, generally con¬ 
sisting of freshly formed leaves and stable 
litter, are made up from now onwards till the 
eDd of March for forcing early vegetables such 
as Asparagus, Carrots, Turnips, Vegetable 
Marrows, and the like, and now is perhaps 
the best time, as if properly made the heat 
will be well retained for many weeks. The 
great danger generally is getting in the crops 
in too big a hurry before the rank heat has 
escaped. E. Beckett. 
Aldenham House Gardens, Elstree. 
Hardy Trees and Shrubs. 
Some Ornamental Conifers. —Although 
these are not nearly so popular in gardens 
to-day as they were a few years ago, yet many 
are unquestionably of great beauty, and in a 
well-arranged shrubbery they are very effec¬ 
tive, or for single specimens on grass many are 
well adapted. They also add much to the 
appearance of a garden in winter, when they 
are perhaps most noticeable and most admired, 
as they come before us more prominently when 
deciduous trees and shrubs are bare. There is 
a very great variety of Conifers, and much 
difference is to be seen both in the form of 
growth and in the colour, and while some of 
them assume almost gigantic proportions when 
allotted sufficient space, others are of medium 
or small growth and well suited for some of 
the best positions in a w r ell kept shrubbery. 
Conifers will succeed in the majority of soils, 
but it must be w'ell drained, as stagnation at 
the roots is fatal to them, and though some 
appreciate hard pruning, and can be clipped 
into a variety of shapes, it must be remembered 
that once they have lost a limb it cannot be 
replaced. 
The Cupressus section include many of the 
most ornamental and suitable for general culti¬ 
vation, and those mentioned can be relied on to 
succeed well if the conditions noted above are 
considered. Cupressus lawsoniana makes a 
handsome specimen of splendid shape, and is a 
most intense green colour. Its variety lutea is, 
December 23, 1905. 
perhaps, one of the finest Conifers we hav e 
being a beautiful golden-yellow colour through¬ 
out, which it retains in excellent condition all 
through the year. C. macrocarpa lutea makes 
an upright small tree, also a fine golden colour. 
Several Conifers possess a remarkable blue 
colouring not seen in any other shrub, and one 
of the best is C. Triomphe de Boskoop. C 
Allumii also possesses the same marked feature. 
Another beautiful shrub which has glaucous- 
blue coloured tips to the shoots is Abies 
pungens glauca. This is quite one of the most 
ornamental. Cedrus Deodora is also a most 
pleasing colour, and in addition has a graceful 
semi-pendulus habit. Juniperus chinensis 
aurea is golden in colour and of upright growth, 
well suited for small gardens. A pleasing 
variegated kind is Juniperus Sabina variegata, 
which colours well in shady places, and is 
useful for pegging idown. Cupressus nutka- 
tensis variegata makes a beautiful specimen, 
the colouring and habit being especially good. 
Others that would give an increased variety 
are Retinospora plumosa and the golden form, 
R. squarrosa, R. filifera, and R. f. aurea, Thuya 
occidentalis lutea, Torreya grandis, Sciadopitys 
verticillata, of excellent habit, and Crypto- 
meria elegans. A. E. Thatcher. 
Aldenham House Gardens, Elstree. 
Hardy Herbaceous Border. 1 , 
We have now' arrived at a time of year w'hen 
there is but little of interest in the hardy fiow'er 
borders, but the enthusiastic cultivator who is 
on the look out for desirable new cr rare plants 
to add to his collection another year will have 
an opportunity of looking through the various 
lists and noting anything special that they 
contain. To the amateur and to the expert 
this selecting of new subjects is one of the most 
interesting phases, though he may, perhaps, be 
somew'hat disappointed with the results after 
some have grown and flowered, but this only 
adds to the value of those w'hich have proved 
worthy. Now some lists of hardy plants may 
give very glowing descriptions to rarities, but 
it must not be assumed that these are ahvays 
going to make good border plants, so that by 
giving a few of the very best that have come 
under my notice I shall hope to be of service to 
some readers who may not have seen them. 
I have before mentioned Anchusa italica 
superba, and have no hesitation in saying that 
there is no finer hardy plant. It grows from 
4 ft. to 7 ft. in height and as far through, and the 
striking rich blue flowers are produced with 
great profusion from spring till autumn. It is 
easily propagated by cutting up the roots into 
lengths of 2 or 3 in. and inserting in good soil. 
Senecio clivorum is a striking plant from 
China with large heads of golden-yellow'flowers^ 
about 5 ft. in height, and is well suited for the 
back of the border or by the waterside. For 
the front of the border or the rock garden 
Adonis amurensis plena is excellent, having 
very ornamental foliage and large double 
yellow flowers. 
Aconitum Wilsonii is a fine addition, with 
large deep blue flowers on steins 5 ft. high. 
Thalictrum Delavayi is a charming plant grow¬ 
ing 4 ft. high, and has reddish foliage in a 
young state and a profusion of purplish-rose 
flowers. 
Astilbe Davidii is another handsome Chinese 
plant, growing 5 ft. high, with long reddish- 
purple panicles of flowers. A group in the 
border of Betonica spicata robusta produces a 
good effect as it grow's about 18 in. high and 
has large spikes of rosy-pink flowers. Aster 
sub-caeruleus, with bright mauve flowers, 2 in. 
across and 20 in. in height; Chrysanthemum 
maximum, King Edward VII., the largest of its 
kind ; Iucarvillea grandiflora with very beauti 
ful flowers ; and Campanula versicolor with 
