he Gardening World, March 14, 1908. 
MOTTO FOR THE WEEK: 
“ First flower of the earth, first gem of 
le sea.”— Moore. 
CONTENTS. 
mateurs Letter to Amateurs . 177 
hrysanthemums, A Bibliography of 182 
hrysanthemums : Work for March 183 
lematis, Jackman's (illus.) . 179 
livia, A Well-grown (illus.) . 181 
ompetition Awards . v 178 
ompetition, Prize Letter . 180 
delweiss, The (illus.) . 1S4 
nquire Within . 188 
lower Garden, The (illus.) . 185 
ruit Garden, The (illus.) . 185 
reenhouse, The Amateur's. 186 
erbaceous Border, The . 178 
itchen Garden, The (illus.) . 185 
awns . 
obelia, The Double (illus.) . 183 
erines, The Cultivation of . 178 
rchids for Amateurs. 186 
eas (Culinary), Which are the 
Best? . .178 
otatos in Pots, Forcing (illus.) ... 187 
alvia splendens . 180 
pring, Vagrant Thoughts on. 187 
omatos and Their Management ... 181 
T ork of the Week . 185 
-- 
-e just received a catalogue 
Fresh from the seedsman’s store, 
gorgeous book of fruits and flowers 
And vegetables galore; 
nd I can hardly wait qntil 
The winter’s ice and snow 
1 elt from my well loved, garden plot 
To spade and rake and hoe. 
or in this catalogue I find 
New Radishes and Peas, 
lx kinds of Lettuce, eight of Corn— 
I want to try all these; 
ucumbers slim, Cucumbers fat, 
And Limas short and tall, 
nd Melons, Cabbage, Beets and 
Greens— 
I want to try them all. 
omatos, ten varieties, 
And Onions white and red, 
sparagus and Celery — < 
I want of each a bed. 
nd Turnips early, Turnips late, 
Potatos by the score, 
nd Squashes, my! don't say a word, 
A dozen kinds or more. 
“American Exchange.” 
It is this sense of variety that to a great 
extent constitutes the interest and a good 
deal of the beauty of a garden. Different 
features, such as the rock garden, the 
fernery, the wild garden, and where pos¬ 
sible,' the bit of water garden, help 
materially to make up this change and 
variety and to dispel any sense of 
monotony. But I am not thinking so 
much of these important factors to-day, 
as I have written of them recently, as of 
the minor method of bringing about a 
desirable sense of variety by different col¬ 
oured foliage among the trees and shrubs. 
I look upon this, even if it be a minor 
matter, as far too important to overlook 
where we aim at achieving a beautiful 
garden. 
Where judiciously placed, for instance, 
golden-leaved evergreens, or the varie¬ 
gated foliage of certain Maples, and, 
again, the Golden Elder (both, of course, 
deciduous) give a grand sense of variety. 
I ought to add to these the deep foliage 
of Copper Beeches, and of some of the 
Prunus, as these are equally valuable. 
If we think of the effect of any one of 
these, the rich sunny glow of golden foli¬ 
age, the lightsome charm of the green 
and white Maple, or the richness of the 
deep dark crimson foliage, we feel how 
graciously they add to the deeper and 
subtler beauties of the garden; they 
stand out from their surroundings, or 
they carry the ey 7 e to a deeper back¬ 
ground ; they r make beautiful panels to 
take the eye and guide it perhaps to 
masses of lighter and more radiant colour 
than themselves. I would say never over¬ 
do this effect in any garden; but spar¬ 
ingly selected, and placed exactly 7 at the 
spot that can sustain them with good 
effect, we have valuable material indeed 
for the decoration of the garden. I 
should be inclined to place the Golden 
Yew 7 first, for it is decorative in winter 
and summer alike, while the compact and 
naturally formal habit of growth makes 
it suitable for gardens of small dimen¬ 
sions. And I could tell of a beautiful 
old-fashioned-, garden that amid many 
beauties had nothing more striking than 
a panel formed by 7 a group of trees. On 
a slight elevation stood a deep dark Pine, 
a Walnut, and a Copper Beech, and you 
come upon this group in full sight from 
a long distance. At this season we may 
still plant evergreens. 
Flower Border Round the Bases of the 
House Walls. 
In many cases, I do not say in every 7 
one, flower borders round about the house 
add much beauty to the garden. It 
brings the house and garden into very 7 
close and intimate relationship, and this 
is especially desirable, I think, where the 
house walls are covered with climbers. It 
gives a more harmonious and furnished 
look for these climbers to have other 
plants in ^proximity, and to rear them¬ 
selves from a border than from the gravel 
path. For some time I have had this sub¬ 
ject in my 7 mind, and have been carefully 
observing different houses and gardens. 
I have come to the conclusion that where 
there is space to cut a narrow border 
without unduly 7 narrowing the pathway 7 , or 
where it can otherwise be taken without 
apparent encroaching, it is really and 
truly 7 desirable, and makes for greater 
beauty. It needs, however, to be planted 
with great care and judgment, and on no 
account must plants too tall for the posi¬ 
tion be employed. I would never use 
these borders in a formal fashion such as 
planting them with an uncompromising 
row or two of Geraniums and edgings for 
instance; but, with pleasant variety in 
height, the choicest and most beautiful of 
our hardy plants should find place, not 
forgetting, the sweet-scented subjects, suit¬ 
able everywhere, but doubly suitable, 
perhaps, under the windows and close 
under the house wall. I would pay 
especial attention to choosing flowering 
plants that remained in blossom over a 
long period, and the aspect the individual 
plant enjoys best should be thought of 
before any planting is done. Thus, For¬ 
get-me-not, Wallflowers, Mimulus, Pyre- 
thrums,. Phloxes, Anemone japonica, and 
Campanulas may 7 all occupy a less sunny 
aspect than Dianthuses, Antirrhinums, 
Eulalia, Anthemis, Tritomas, Aloysia 
citriodora (sweet-scented Verbena), Al- 
stroemerias, Irises, etc. 
Edgings for Various Positions. 
Ivy 7 of a'small fine sort makes a very 7 
pretty permanent edging if kept well 
within limits, and it takes less attention 
in this respect than might be supposed. 
Charming little edgings may be made 
with the golden-leaved Thyme. White 
Pinks, the old-fashioned, double white- 
fringed variety, are capital ; the growth is 
neat and can be kept in a trim line, and 
even when not in flower the pale foliage 
is decorative. On this account it is 
greatly to be preferred to Thrift. Some 
of the dwarf Campanulas make good 
edgings, though they must be allowed to 
become rather wide — they 7 are good for 
positions in the semi shade. 
F. Norfolk. 
-- 
A Costly Tulip. 
Last year an Orchid was sold by auc¬ 
tion for 200, and the price at the time 
was stated to be without a historical 
parallel. A higher price has, however, 
been given for a Tulip, for in Chambers’ 
Encvclopaedia is the following:—“In the 
years 1636-1637 an extraordinary flower- 
mania prevailed in Holland, chiefly with 
reference to Tulips. . . . For a single 
Semper Augustus (a Tulip) 13,000 florins 
were once paid, and for' three such to¬ 
gether 30,000 florins." 
