3E Gvrbenixg World, May 9, 1908. 
An Amateur’s Letter to Amateurs. 
MOTTO FOR THE WEEK: 
“ Foster the beautiful, and every hour thou 
llest new flowers to birth.”— Schiller. 
CONTENTS. 
. himenes, Growing and Propagating 
(ill us) . . 
. himenes, How to Cultivate . 
. nateur’s Letter to Amateurs, An ... 
impanulas, Beautiful . 
lrysanthemums: Work for May ... 
>mpetition Awards . 
■ mpetition, Prize Letter . 
■ ismos . 
uhlia (Cactus) Ruby Grinstud 
dlus.) ..■. 
lisy, Blue Mountain (illus.) . 
lemies of Plants . 
lquire Within . 
ower Garden, The (illus.) . 
uit Garden, The (illus.) . 
uit Growing for Amateurs (illus.) 
rnace, The Poor Man’s . 
1 eenery, etc., for Mixing with Cut 
(Flowers . 
(eenhouse. The Amateur’s . 
Itchen Garden, The (illus.) . 
. inures, Artificial . 
i rcissus Sir Watkin (illus.) 311 and 
1 chids for Amateurs . 
1 aches and Nectarines, The Culture 
if (illus.) .. 
1 loxes, Perennial . 
. unroses and Auriculas at West- 
ninster .;. 
!ges, Two Fine Blue-flowered . 
Hrk of the Week (illus.) . 
-- 
5T3 
310 
3°9 
3 G 
3 l6 
3 10 
3 12 
3*3 
3 r 5 
3 1 9 
3 16 
320 
3 M 
3 1 7 
324 
3 J 5 
310 
3 Y 7 
3 ! 7 
3 12 
3 U 
3!S 
324 
3 11 
3 2 3 
3 j 4 
3 X 7 
Spxr'vcv^, 190S. 
7 j fairest spring came shyly forth, 
ler flowerets opening to the sun 
To show their beauties just begun, 
^fgale came from the North. 
1 im land; of never-changing snow 
le came into spring’s world of green, 
’o follow where her feet had been 
3 see her flowerets blow. 
3 plucked her yellow' Jonquils frail, 
nd blanched her King-cups ruddy 
gold; 
he Chestnut’s buds dared not unfold 
b ore the rapturous gale. 
I stilled the blackbird’s merry call, 
nd froze the gentle April ram, 
he w’oods were loud with sighs again, 
F winter ruled o’er all. 
S. D. in “Dailv Chronicle.” 
CXLII. 
Seed Sowing. 
Wallflowers, Foxgloves, Rock Roses, 
Canterbury Bells, Sweet Williams, and 
some of the best varieties of Scabious may 
well occupy our attention at the present 
time. Every one of these subjects is a 
valuable asset in furnishing the garden 
with bright and enduring colour. In 
growing them, care should be taken to se¬ 
cure really good strains. All of these 
plants have received a great deal of at¬ 
tention of late years, and wonderfully 
fine and striking strains are obtainable. 
It is W'ell to make variations frequently, 
and if we have been accustomed to grow¬ 
ing all the colours of the Canterbury 
Bells mixed together, a very beautiful 
change'may be made by growing for next 
year’s flowering the pale pink and the 
pale lavender, with a few pure white ones 
among them as high lights. These col¬ 
ours are exquisite in juxtaposition, and we 
can w'ell dispense for a season or two 
w'ith -the dark blue. With the Sweet 
■Williams, too, a grand effect can be 
achieved, as, considering the compara¬ 
tively dw'arf habit of the plants, they 
make a splendid show. The catalogue 
name, of course, is Dianthus barbatus, 
and some wonderful colourings are now 
obtainable, either self coloured or with 
crimson ring on a w'hite groundw'ork. It 
is never wise in picking out the seedlings 
to throw aw'ay the smaller ones, as these 
are often the finest coloured varieties—in 
many cases it is easy to distinguish even 
in the seedling whether it be a light or 
dark flowered variety, as the latter show 
dark stem and under side to the leaf, even 
at that early stage. Individual taste 
must determine w’hether we grow 7 single 
or double varieties, but I should like to 
call especial attention to a named pink 
variety—Pink Beauty—which is charming 
mixed with the deep D. barbatus nigri¬ 
cans. In D. barbatus magnificus w T e 
have a fine double flow'er, bright and 
glowing red and long flowering. 
Foxgloves. 
It seems worth while to me, even if we 
have as many, so far as numbers go, of 
self sowm Foxgloves in the garden, to 
procure a fresh supply of seed from time 
to time. Take, for instance, Digitalis 
purpurea gloxinioides, with its finely- 
spotted and large sized flowers. Even 
the common form, D. purpurea, is to be 
had now' in a new and improved strain 
knowrn as D. p. gigantea. Its greater 
size makes it a more striking feature w'hen 
generously planted. Mind, I am, though 
recommending these modern varieties of 
familiar and old-fashioned plants, not by 
any means implying that all modern 
enlarged strains are desirable. In some 
cases, I fear, it has been overdone, and 
coarseness has been arrived at, notably 
w'ith some strains of Hollyhocks,_ and 
also wfith some of the newer Delphiniums. 
Wallflowers in Distinct Colours. 
We all want Wallflowers, and as good 
as we can get them. They are the sweet- 
scented spring plants, and we have not a 
great number of fragrant spring flowers. 
Personally, I like to make a very re¬ 
strained use of colouring with these 
plants, and think a far more beautiful 
decorative effect is to be obtained by us¬ 
ing three colours—a bright yellow, blood 
red, and a bright mahogany tint. I 
would use to about the proportions—four- 
sevenths bright yellow, two-sevenths 
blood red, and one-seventh mahogany 
colour for a well-balanced effect. This 
restrained use makes for a good massing 
of colour, w'hereas if we admit the pale 
lemon yellow and the ruby-violet and the 
reddy salmon, we lose much richness and 
depth of colouring. But, this after all, 
is a matter for individual taste, but I 
w'ould certainly never buy a packet of 
mixed Wallflower seed. 
Scabiosa caucasica perfecta is a really 
good thing—a plant that adds to the 
beauty of any garden in which it may be 
growing, and may be raised from seed. 
The flow'ers, which are of large size, are 
of a full Cambridge blue. The plant 
is not at all particular as to soil, and 
will flourish in dry aspects far better than 
many subjects, as well as being a good 
border plant, it is useful also in the rock 
garden. 
Basket Plants. 
A very pretty effect was made in one of 
the surburban parks last year by the ex¬ 
tensive use of basket plants, hanging, if 
I remember rightly, from rose-clad 
arches. There was a wide screen of 
arches—perhaps on the north side of the 
rosary, I forget; but the many hanging 
baskets, filled with a glowing and 
brightly coloured Ivy-leaved Geranium, 
were very telling. This same idea in 
rather close proximity to the house might 
be made a good feature of the private 
garden, and it should, I think, be used 
only near the house, as the formality and 
the very evident artificial receptacles are 
not so suitable for the more natural por¬ 
tions of the garden. It goes without say¬ 
ing that the arches w'ere exceptionally 
tall ones, for there was ample room to 
w'alk beneath the baskets. This arrange¬ 
ment of arches makes for a very 
picturesque and artistic effect, and for a 
semi-screen, half hiding, half displaying, 
what lies lreyond is w'orth considering. 
I am alw'ays pleading. I fear, for dis¬ 
tinct and characteristic features in the 
garden. But I do feel that these add im¬ 
measurably to the interest as well as the 
beauty of the garden. And if this screen 
of arches were really needed as a close 
screen to shut off, say, a rubbish heap 
behind, then a narrow border of flowers 
beyond it, to be seen through the arches, 
would probably be quite effectual, especi¬ 
ally if behind the flow'ers a few shrubs 
were planted at intervals. And we must 
remember that this flower border seen in 
peeps betw'een the standards of the arches 
should be very picturesque. Tall flowers 
