682 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
October 31, 1908. 
How I Plan . . 
My Flower Garden. 
My front garden is 11ft. by 18 ft., soil 
clay and flints, subsoil chalk. A path 
leads to the door on one side, the rest 
being grass with bordering beds 2 ft. 
wide. I succeed at small cost in keeping 
it gay eight months of the-year, and 
others may like to know how I manage it. 
On the outside wall I rammed soil into 
chinks, and planted Stonecrops, the trails 
of which hang down and bloom and fur¬ 
nish the wall. Ivy covers the pilasters 
at each end, and together these make a 
good background. At the edge of the 
border I have Snowdrops and Crocuses, 
and also in the grass. In the shadiest 
corner I heaped flints. It fronts north, 
yet Primroses thrive on them, bedded in 
leaf-mould from the woods. Close by the 
graceful pale fronds of Solomon’s Seal 
come early and count as spring treasures. 
Close to the door in the morning sun 
Alyssum saxatile gleams golden, and the 
milky-green of the foliage is welcome 
after, and Daffodils continue the gold 
under the window. 
Next in time of blooming a little grove 
of white wood Hyacinths nod their heavy 
bells over a carpet of blue Forget-Me- 
Nots on the border. Simultaneously 
groups of pink Tulips have appeared be- 
tween the earlier bulbs, both there and 
opposite beneath the window. Along the 
north side at the same time there is a 
broad band-like pink foam of London 
Pride. On the window wall is a japonica 
with deep rose flowers like Apple blos¬ 
soms; it makes a fine background for a 
row of stately white Lilies planted be¬ 
hind the bulbs in front and blooming 
in June and July. Round the corner of 
the window (a square bay) and over the 
porch a Clematis flowers in early sum¬ 
mer, and is always graceful. By July an 
annual sown among the bulbs is up and 
covering their decaying leaves in front 
of the Lilies, dwarf annual Larkspur 
doing well there. On the opposite border 
I planted from pots Schizanthus, the 
Butterfly Flower, where the Crocuses and 
Snowdrops had been. These and the 
autumn perennials pushing up next con¬ 
ceal the dying foliage of the wood Hya¬ 
cinths, and there is beside a Campanula 
in bloom at the gate end, and a hand¬ 
some foliage plant in the midde. 
Behind, close to the wall, by August I 
have salmon-pink Phloxes out, and Mont- 
bretias pierce upward through the foliage 
plant. A fine clump of Goat’s-Rue 
entirely hides the Primrose rockery at 
this season. In the middle of the grass a 
bed about 18 in. across is edged with 
Daffodils in spring round a standard 
Rose, which flowers well later, and is car¬ 
peted all over with purple Violas. A 
cluster Rose is over the north fence, and 
the trellis above that. ' Thrusting up 
through the London Pride’s rosettes below 
is a great Spiraea, with large finely-divided 
leaves, and in August and September 
featherv plumes, five feet high, sway, but 
do not break, in the autumn winds. 
From the path in front of the south 
wall I “cribbed” 8 in. of border, and 
filled this with Pinks, over which self- 
sown Nasturtiums spread later, and 
above them a mass of perennial Pea, a 
full rose colour which requires restraining 
in order to keep a clear path up to the 
door. I intend to have next autumn two 
tiny beds at the path edge of the grass, 
with a clump of Dahlias and hardy Chry¬ 
santhemums to carry on the bloom well 
into November with the Nasturtiums. 
Mrs. W. Smith. 
Great Berkhamsted. 
-- 
Pompon Cactus Dahlia Minima. 
As the name implies, this is a Cactus 
Dahlia in form, but of the size of a 
Pompon and of a dark maroon-purple. 
First-class certificate by the London 
Dahlia Union on September 10th. The 
exhibitors were Messrs. J. Burrell and 
Co., Cambridge. , 
Cactus Dahlia Brigadier. 
The florets of this variety are incurved, 
whorled, and of a rich bright crimson. 
First-class certificate by the London 
Dahlia Union on September 10th. The 
R.H.S. also gave it an award of merit 
on September 15th. The exhibitors were 
Messrs. J. Burrell and Co., Cambridge. 
-- Q. W. --— 
Prize Competitions. 
GENERAL CONDITIONS:— Competitors must 
write on one side of the paper only. Regular 
paid contributors to THE GARDENING 
WORLD or other gardening journals are de¬ 
barred from entering, but occasional con¬ 
tributors may compete. The name and ad¬ 
dress of the competitor must appear on each 
article sent for competition. The Editor’s 
decision is final, and he reserves the right 
to reproduce, in any wayjl any article or photo¬ 
graph sent for competition. The conditions 
applying to each competition should be oare- 
fully read. 
- 6 - 
WEEKLY 
PRIZES. 
A PRIZE OFTEN SHILLINGS will be given 
for the best paragraph or short article on any 
gardening subject, such as hints of practical 
interest to gardeners, notes on the propaga¬ 
tion or cultivation of flowers, fruits or vege¬ 
tables, eradication of pests, etc. The para¬ 
graph or article must not exceed a column, but 
value rather than length will be considered in 
making the award. Mark envelopes “ Com*- 
petition,” and post not later than the Monday 
following date of issue. Entries received later 
than Tuesday (first post) will be left over until 
the following week. 
Two prizes of 2s. 6d. will be awarded each 
week for the two best letters, not exceeding 
150 words, on any interesting gardening sub¬ 
ject. 
RESULTS OP 
LAST WEEK’S 
COMPETITIONS. 
Some-of the best papers in this competition 
are too long, and we desire readers to keep 
within a column. 
A prize in the Readers’ Competition was 
awarded to •’ J. Botley,” for the article on 
“Preparing Winter Flowering Plants,” page 
G70. 
Owing to pressure on space the Prize Letter 
Competition has been crowded out this week. 
The Cause of 
Shanking m 
- - Grapes 
This has been a great puzzle for mam 
years to both professional and amateu: 
gardeners. Some attribute it to an ex 
cessive amount of moisture at the roots' 
others to too much dryness, whilst other 
again are of opinion that too heavy crop 
ping will produce it. But, strangi 
though it may appear, I have never heart 
of its being known out-of-doors, which ii 
a sense gives the idea that certain condi 
tions, if looked into, will supply a solu 
tion of this vexed problem of shanking 
To my mind, one of the chief causes o 
it lies in the neglect to thoroughly ripe, 
the bearing wood of the Vine. 
In the large majority of cases (I an 
writing more especially now in the in 
terests of amateur growers under glass 
where a mixed collection of plants i 
grown with the Vines, the conditions an 
certainly difficult to contend with. Wi.tl 
many, as soon as the Grapes are ripe, am 
the crop is cleared away, the autumn 
season has arrived, and plants of all kind 
are stored away in their winter quarters 
and the Vines are thought of onf 
secondary importance. This occurs jus} 
at the time when they should receive care, 
ful and judicious attention. To giv 
plants growing beneath them more ligh 
the Vines are often ruthlessly cut back 
and in many instances nearly stripped o 
their leaves weeks before they wouh 
naturally shed them. The ventilators 
too, are closed at night, when at the fal 
of the year the Vines should be allows 
all the air and ventilation, day and night 
that can possibly be given them. 
Flerein lies one of the secrets of the cur 
for shanking, namely, the thoroug 
hardening of the tissues of young wood 
the retention of the foliage, until it natui 
ally fades and drops off when their worl 
is done. 
It is a wrong practice to allow Vine 
to carry a crop of Grapes out of propot 
tion to the strength of the wood. Th 
fruiting spurs should be quite a foe 
apart, and not be trained closer tha 
12 in to 15 in. from the glass, thus pre, 
venting scorching of the leaves where th 
Vines are in an unsatisfactory state. Dur 
ing the early part of October about thre 1 
inches of the top soil should be remove 
from the border where the Vines ar 
planted, and replaced by the same quai 
tity of new soil made up as follows: For 
to five barrow loads of good turfy loai 
cut up with the spade into lumps the si/ 
of an egg, half a barrow load of bon 
meal, one barrow load of wood ashes, 
Peck of superphosphate of lime, and 
bushel of soot. Thoroughly mix these ii 
gredients together, and top-dress the bo: 
der with it. The quantities may be ii 
creased according to the size of the Vim 
border to be dressed. I can thoroughl 
recommend this treatment. Some thre 
years ago I gave this recipe to an amateu 
whose Vines shanked badly, and it gav. 
them a new lease of life, they havin, 
carried capital crops of Grapes ever since 
J. SCAMMELL. 
Wilton. 
