58 
January 25, 1908. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
The Small Garden 
AND HOW 
TO MAKE THE 
BEST OF IT. 
It should be the object of every 
amateur, no matter how small his garden, 
to have a continuous display of blossom, 
and even with the tiny space at the dis¬ 
posal of the average suburbanite this is 
possible if the following hints are care¬ 
fully carried out. In the first place it is 
necessary to select those flowers which are 
the most perpetual bloomers, discarding 
all which occupy too much space, or 
whose flowering period is of short dura¬ 
tion. 
Of course this means the elimination 
of all shrubs and many of our favourite 
old perennials, the Paeonies for instance, 
which, although making a brave show for 
a few short weeks, take up much valuable 
space and disfigure the borders with their 
dying foliage. But the Roses (undoub¬ 
tedly the most popular flower of the day) 
may, providing the soil and surroundings 
be congenial, be had in bloom through¬ 
out the entire summer and autumn. 
Perpetual Roses (despite their name) 
are not nearly such continuous bloomers 
as the Teas, Hybrid Teas, and Dijons, 
the latter varieties, therefore, should be 
grown for preference. The fences and 
walls should be covered with climbers and 
ramblers, whilst standards and half-stan¬ 
dards take up but a little space,, and if 
placed at the back of the border allow 
other things of a dwarf nature, such as 
Phloxes, Anemones, and the less ram¬ 
pant sorts of out-door Chrysanthemums 
to be grown beneath them. Of course 
when such close planting is resorted to, 
much is taken out of the soil which must 
be replaced by liberal and judicious 
manuring. It is also necessary to divide 
the roots each year to prevent undue 
spreading. 
In planting perennials they should be so 
arranged that the foliage of the late 
bloomers may show up with better effect 
the blossoms of the earlier varieties and 
vice versa; whilst between them and the 
pathways should be planted such bulbs as 
Tulips, Hyacinths, Crocuses, Scillas, and 
Narcissus to ensure a gay garden in early 
spring; and ere they have finished flower¬ 
ing, annuals, such as Stocks, Asters, 
Salpiglossis, etc., should be dibbed in be¬ 
tween them, care being taken not to in¬ 
sert too thickly, as one plant, given plenty 
of room, will grow as much blossom (and 
of better quality) than three crowded and 
spindly specimens. 
For an edging nothing can beat Violas, 
which, if carefully pinched back, will 
bloom profusely from early spring till 
winter’s frosts arrive; and as the beauti¬ 
ful and named varieties can now be pur¬ 
chased so cheaply, it is unnecessary to 
grow rubbish. 
For the beds, I would suggest standard 
Rose trees as a centre-piece, surrounded 
by a few neatly-pruned bushes, beneath 
which a fine show of Tulips in the spring, 
to be followed by Geraniums or Pansies, 
unless indeed the more expensive though 
undoubtedly picturesque' carpet-bedding 
be resorted to. 
Nearly all the seedlings necessary for a 
small garden of this description may be 
raised, and grown until large enough to 
plant out, under a couple of hand-lights, 
which, when not in use, can be stored 
away in any shed or cellar, thus obviating 
the necessity of seed-beds. 
Geo. A. Fisher. 
Acacia. — Rich vegetable soil or gravel. 
Alder.—Rich, damp soil, in proximity 
to water. 
Ash. — Alluvial deposit, or rich yellow 
loam. 
Beech.—Gravelly or chalky loam. 
Birch.—Poor upland si pes and light 
soils. 
Cherry.—Rich, dampish . egetable soil. 
Chestnut. — Deep, rich sandy or 
gravelly loam. 
Chestnut (horse). — Good firm loam; 
dampish. 
Elm (English). — Deep, dry loam. 
Elm (Scotch).—Upland rockv soils. 
Hazel. — Good loam, on chalk pi. E-t¬ 
able. 
Hornbeam.—-Poor clayey soils. 
Lime. — Firm, well-drained loam. 
Maple (English).—Loam on chalk. 
Maple (Sugar).—Deep, sandy soil. 
Mountain Ash.—Rocky soils and 
gravelly loam. 
Oak.—Deep, rich and rather stiff 1 nun. 
Poplar.—Preferably a moist rich s .iL 
Sycamore.—Rich, open loamy soils ai.d 
alluvial deposit. 
Walnut.—Rich, wheat soil. 
Willow.—Dampish and fairly good 
soils. 
Coniferous Trees. 
Douglas Fir. — Rich gravel or sandy 
soil. 
Larch. — Fairly rich loam, in upland or 
rocky situations. 
Pine (Scotch). — Light and poor gravelly 
soils. 
Pine (Austrian). — Calcareous forma¬ 
tion. 
Pine (Corsican). — Loam on deep gra¬ 
vel. 
Pine (Cluster or Pinaster).—Deep sand 
on the sea coast. 
Silver Fir.—Good, rich loam. 
Thuja gigantea.—Fairly rich soil of al¬ 
most every description. 
Thujopsis borealis.—Gravelly or sandy 
loam ; in sheltered situations. 
Amongst coniferous trees the above are 
the only species that can at present be 
considered sufficiently valuable for 
afforesting purposes. Of course it must 
be distinctly borne in mind that perhaps 
every species above enumerated will suc¬ 
ceed in other soils than those recom¬ 
mended, but with a wide and intimaie 
knowledge of the individual kinds and 
their requirements we may conclude that 
for general planting the above instruc¬ 
tions' as to soil are well worthy of atten¬ 
tion. 
A. D. Webster. 
-- 
Floral Fancy Dresses. 
On January 10th over one thousand 
happy children attended the annual fancy 
dress ball at the Mansion House, London. 
There were hundreds of pretty costumes, 
and the scene was a particularly brilliant 
one. Among the charming dresses, 
flowers supplied numerous suggestions. 
Dorothy Lambourn appeared as “Pop¬ 
pies,” E. S. Gordon as “a basket of Snow¬ 
drops,” Sylvia Powell as “Field 
Flowers,” and a “Crimson Rambler,” 
“Blue Columbine,” “Forget-me-not,” and 
“English Rose” had their charming pro¬ 
totypes. 
- - Trees and Soil. - - 
There cannot be a doubt that many of 
the failures in tree planting can be 
directly attributed to errors in judgment 
in the selection of particular species to 
the wrong classes of soil. We have good 
examples of how certain trees and shrubs 
affect particular classes of soil in the 
common Rhododendron, and most of the 
so-called American peat plants, none of 
which can for long survive in that of a 
chalky or calcareous formation, while the 
cluster and Aleppo Pines (Pinus Pinaster 
and P. halepensis) succeed best in almost 
pure sand on the sea coast. 
Again, we generally associate the 
Scotch Pine, Larch, and Mountain Ash 
with poor, gravelly soils or rocky ground, 
the Ash with that of the best quality, 
which may also be said of the Walnut 
and the Beech with that of a calcareous 
formation The Willow and Alder do 
best in rather damp soil; in fact, that of a 
water-logged character does not come 
amiss to either, while the various species 
of Poplar revel in that of almost a simi¬ 
lar, perhaps drier nature. 
Amongst the later introduced Conifers 
the same law with reference to soil holds 
good, and many failures by not planting 
the Umbrella Pine (Sciadopitys verticil- 
lata) in dampish peat, and Menzie’s Fir 
(Picea Menziesii) on dry gravelly soils 
have been brought about. These are only 
a few of the many instances that could 
be pointed out in which trees have be¬ 
come unhealthy, or died out altogether 
when planted in unsuitable soils and 
situations. The Larch will not remain 
long healthy when planted in gravelly 
soils — heart rot or “pumping” being 
brought about at an early age, as many 
examples of such could be pointed out 
in almost every part of the country where 
the tree is extensively cultivated. But 
it would only be superfluous to multiply 
examples, and it is wise on the part of the 
planter to consider well the species of 
trees that have been found to succeed 
best when planted in particular classes 
of soil. 
The following is a brief summary of the 
trees that have been found best suited for 
the soils with which they are associated 
in the list : — 
