’he. Gardening World, April ii, 1908. 
MOTTO FOR THE WEEK: 
“Sweet is all the laud about, and all the 
owers that blow.”.— Tennyson. 
CONTENTS. 
imateur’s Letter to Amateurs, An... 241 
Sellllower, A new (illus.) . 247 
,'arnations (American) at Tangley 
Nurseries (illus.) . 248 
ihrysanthemums: Work for April 247 
iompetition Awards . 242 
Competition, Prize Letter . 244 
Cowslip, A Hybrid Cape (illus.) . 245 
inquire Within . 251 
'em, A New . 246 
lower Garden, The (illus.) . 249 
'ruit Garden, The (illus.) . 249 
ruits, Some Colonial . 243 
ienista, The Dalmatian (illus.) ... 243 
lermination of Seeds, The . 242 
Ireenhouse, The Amateur's . 250 
lemerocallis . 245 
litchen Garden, The (illus.) . 249 
Irchids foi; Amateurs . 250 
'ink, Sternberg's (illus.) . 246 
Coses, Pruning ._ 242 
Fork of the Week (illus.) . 249 
- +++ - 
A frosty winter and a dusty March, 
And a rain about Aperill.; 
And another about the Lammas time, 
When the corn begins to fill; 
Is worth a plough of gold, 
And all her pins theretill. 
hanks to the human heart, by which we 
live; 
Thanks to its tenderness, its joys and 
fears; 
'0 me the meanest flower that blows can 
give 
Thoughts that do often lie too deep for 
tears. 
■— Wordsworth. 
- ¥++ - 
Child Gardenerg. 
The efforts of Mr. A. Cameron Corbett, 
LP., to brighten the lives of South Lon¬ 
don children were exemplified by the 
lyacinth show held last month at Canon 
Ulen Edwards’ Institute, South Lambeth, 
men about 600 prizes were given to those 
dio had reared blooms from the bulbs 
presented to them in December. 
It is worth while, even with the smallest 
garden, to study it, as far as we may, with 
the eye of a landscape gardener. Few 
realise, perhaps, how helpful it is in alter¬ 
ing and re-arranging a garden to be able 
to get a view of the ground to be treated 
from some raised position. If one of the 
upstair windows of the house commands 
a view of it, by all means study it from 
there before putting a spade to the 
ground. From this point of vantage you 
get a better insight of the relationship of 
the different portions, and realise more 
truly what each portion needs to bring it 
into" more complete and happier harmony 
with the rest. In forming new beds we 
have to study the background, the prox¬ 
imity of other beds or borders, and we 
have to plan it with a due sense of pro¬ 
portion and suitability. To my idea, a 
round bed is a grievous mistake—yes, 
even in the most formal bedding scheme. 
But,, happily, these ultra formal bedding 
schemes are less popular than they were 
a few years ago, and the reason why a 
round bed displeases me lies in the fact 
that, plant it as you will, its circular 
shape is never subservient to the flowers 
that fill it—you never forget that it is a 
round bed. And, reader, do you not 
think that the mere shape of a bed should 
be quite a minor consideration in our 
minds when we look at it ? Very often on 
small lawns a single round bed will be 
cut in the middle. Well and good, but I 
think somehow that we get a far more 
artistic effect, a far more picturesque 
planting, if we turf over that round bed 
and cut a narrow border at one or both 
sides of the lawn, with a narrow verge of 
the grass beyond. 
Treatment of Forced Bulbs. 
As these cease to flower they should 
be put into the greenhouse or stood in a 
cold, frame, never out of doors if the 
weather is sharp, because they have been 
made tender, and if tried and made 
to suffer from the cold they will not be 
able to develop and grow as they should 
now that the strain of flowering is over. 
Their work at the present time is to store 
up nourishment for future flowering, 
therefore they should be watered when 
necessary until the foliage shows signs of 
diminished vitality. Then water may be 
withheld and the bulbs may be planted 
out in the borders or wild garden—they 
will be no use again for forcing next 
autumn, but will flower out of doors if 
of hardy habit. 
Growing Annuals in Pans. 
Last year, having a superfluous num¬ 
ber of Kaulfussia amelloides, one pan of 
pricked out seedlings was left to flower as 
it was. And it did flower—the pan was a 
mass of the bright blue flowers for weeks. 
I shall always be glad I knew this plant 
growing thus, for it was curiously effec¬ 
tive ; in a way much more so than were 
the plants that were growing in a border. 
The colour is a full, rich blue, and I can 
never understand why it is often listed as 
a "purple-blue” flower. Another plant 
grown in this manner was the tiny blue 
Sedum caeruleum. It is so small, so deli¬ 
cate and dainty, that we never quite ap¬ 
preciate it at the ground level, but grown 
in a pan it can be given some raised posi¬ 
tion, so that it may be seen at closer 
quarters. I do not mean to say that it 
can become a showy or striking plant, but 
at any rate it will be seen to the best ad¬ 
vantage. Both these pans were made use 
of in the outside garden, and it is really 
and truly useful to have such at hand to 
introduce, perhaps, at some point where 
there is no bed or border. And it is easy 
to contrive something to hide the pans if 
necessary. In my own case I had them in 
hollow tree stumps that had been cut to 
within a foot or two of the ground. 
Rose Prunipgs. 
Now that the pruning season has come 
round, let us see to it that the Hybrid 
Perpetuals are the first to be operated 
upon, then the Hybrid Teas, and finally 
the Teas. The first should be cut harder 
back than the others, and let me strongly 
urge the use of a knife rather than shears 
or scissors for this work. Heavy, blunt 
scissors or shears seem favourite weapons 
with the novice, and he generally chooses 
them rather than a knife; but blunt scis¬ 
sors bruise the growths in a terrible way. 
And now there are a quantity of fine, 
healthy prunings—and if we desire a 
supply of Rose trees on their own roots, 
they "need not be thrown away—they 
should be cut to about eight or nine 
inches, though shorter pieces are also use¬ 
ful, and all should be planted three-quar¬ 
ters of their length in some bit of spare 
ground with north or east aspect, so that 
they do not get the midday heat of the 
summer sun when it comes. Watering 
occasionally will be necessary later on, 
but that is about all the care to be be¬ 
stowed upon them, and at least eighty 
per cent, should strike. Another method 
is to strike them in bottles of soft rain 
water, and afterwards to plant or pot 
them. This is an interesting experiment, 
and can be put into practice during any 
of the ensuing months. 
F. Norfolk. 
-- 
The Potato Flower. 
The Potato flower, says a writer in 
“The Weekly Telegraph,” is far more 
beautiful than many treasured Orchids, 
and a few Potato flowers will improve the 
most lovely bouquet.- 
--- 
The uncertain glory of an April day, . 
Which now shows all the beautv of the 
sun. 
And by and by a cloud takes all away. 
Shakespeare (Two Gentlemen of 
Verona i., 3). 
