December ic, 1908 
769 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
Address : The Editor, The Gardening 
World, 37 and 38, Shoe Lane, London, E.C. 
The Editor invites enquiries, which may 
cover any branch of gardening. Questions 
should be as brief as -possible and written on 
one side of the paper only; a separate sheet 
of paper should be used for each question. 
Replies cannot be sent by post. 
Garden Plans .—Gardeners who would make 
the best use of this column are invited to 
prepare and forward to us a rough outline 
drawing or plan of their gardens, indicating 
the position of beds and lawns, the charac- 
STOVE AND GREENHOUSE. 
3446. Cutting Back a Scented Gera¬ 
nium. 
I have a scented Geranium in my green¬ 
house (no heat) like the enclosed; it has 
grown to 28 in. high in a 6 in. pot and 
has done exceedingly well all summer and 
flowered very freely. The leaves all seem 
to be turning yellow now and looking badly. 
Should I cut it back, and, if so, what height 
shall I leave it? (N. E. C., Kent.) 
It is usual to prune back scented Gera¬ 
niums that require it earlier in the autumn 
than this. The best plan is to gradually 
withhold water until the shoots ripen a bit 
and then cut them back within one or two 
buds of the base, where they started to make 
the last growth. Judging by the condition 
of the leaf you sent us the shoots are now 
sufficiently ripened to be pruned back. You 
must be very careful with the watering pet 
until the shoots, bud out again and by that 
time the day will be lengthening and the 
sun getting more powerful so that it will 
gradually take more water. Like other 
Geraniums it must not be exposed to very 
much frost, but in your maritime situation 
the frost should never be very severe. In the 
event of a severe frost lasting more than a 
day, you could cover up not only that, but 
all other tender subjects with dry news¬ 
papers, at least during the night, or if it 
would be less trouble you could take them 
indoors, where they would be more easily 
protected. Some time in March when the 
plant has commenced growing again, it 
mi-dit have a shift into a larger pot if the 
roots are crowded. Most of the soil can, 
however, be shaken away from the old roc-ts 
at that time of the year, so that you could 
give it entirely fresh soil. If yen would 
make a point of cutting it back about the 
end of September every year you could keep 
U very dwarf for a great number of years. 
3447. Plants Under a Vine. 
T suppose I can still grow Geraniums in 
the same house under the Vine I mention ? 
If so, what other plants bv way of variety 
would succeed? I would like some of them 
different-flowering plants. (F. Wali.ee, 
Middlesex.) 
As you say there is 6 ft. of glass to the 
eaves all round your conservatory, there 
would be sufficient light to grow many 
things, including Geraniums. Heliotropes, 
single and double Petunias, Fuchsias and 
Hydrangeas. The two latter, but esDecially 
the Fuchsias, will take more shade than the 
ter and height of the fence or wall; posi¬ 
tion of vegetable garden, orchard, etc. The 
north side of the garden and any over¬ 
shadowing buildings should be denoted. It 
should also be stated whether the garden is 
flat or on a declivity, and all large trees 
should be marked. Particulars of the na¬ 
ture of the soil. will also help us to give 
satisfactory replies. When such plans are 
received they will be carefully filed, with 
the name and address of the sender, and 
will be consulted by the Editor whenever an 
enquiry is sent. 
others, so that when arranging the house 
you can always stand the other plants in 
situations where they will get full advan¬ 
tage of the .light available. If the staging 
comes close to the glass sides, as it should 
do, all the flowering plants could be kept 
as near to the glass as possible. Useful fo¬ 
liage plants that could be grown under those 
conditions are India-Rubber Plants, Aspi¬ 
distras, Aralia Sieboldii, Asparagus plu- 
mosus, A. Sprengeri, and many greenhouse 
Feins. These will answer very well in 
slight shade. 
3448. Growing' Cinerarias with a Vine. 
Two years ago I tried to grow some Ciner¬ 
arias and they got on well enough till Oc¬ 
tober, when they seemed to get sickly and 
yellowish. After that they did no good and 
I at last threw them out. Could you say 
how I might be more successful, or if it 
is possible to grow them in a greenhouse 
where the Vine is? <J. C., Birmingham.) 
We presume that you allowed the atmo¬ 
sphere of the house to get rather dry for 
Cinerarias after October. If so, it is more 
than probable that they got affected with red 
spider and possibly other vermin which de¬ 
light in a dry atmosphere. If Cinerarias lose 
their large leaves they seldom do much good 
after that. -On another occasion you could 
grow thepi as cool as possible in a cold 
frame either slightly shaded or in a posi¬ 
tion facing north during the warmer parts 
of summer. In this they could be grown 
until it is necessary to put them into a house 
where frost will be excluded. Any house 
with a temperature of 40 degs. to 45 degs. 
at night would be admirable for them, but 
vou must make their surroundings suitable. 
The best plan is to make up a bed of clean 
ashes which can be kept moist. After they 
have been settled for some little time, there 
is usually no difficulty in keeping the ashes 
moist. A cool bottom is admirable for this 
class of plants and would prevent red spider 
fiom making much headways 
FLOWER GARDEN. 
3449. Honesty and Everlasting Pea 
Seeds. 
When is the best time to plant Honesty 
and Everlasting Pea seeds? (N. E. C., 
Kent.) 
The most suitable time for sowing seeds 
of Honesty would be about the beginning of 
April when vou could sow them in the open 
ground"; They usually grow the first year, 
flower the second and then die. After the 
seedlings have made a few leaves you should 
then thin them out, leaving sufficient room 
to make plants of some size during the 
summer. They can either flower in this 
same position or can be shifted in early 
autumn to their new position. Everlasting 
Peas take a longer time to germinate, es¬ 
pecially if allowed to get dry before sowing 
them. A good plan, therefore, would be to 
sow them in pots at the present time and 
stand the pots in the greenhouse. No arti¬ 
ficial heat is necessary, but the seeds would 
be preparing to germinate between this and 
the time when the sun is getting more power¬ 
ful. After they have made short stems and 
a few leaves harden them off and plant them 
into the positions where you intend them to 
flower and they will be getting established 
during the summer and will piobably flower 
in the year ' following—that is, during the 
second summer from the present time. If 
you cannot spare space in the greenhouse 
the seeds might be sown in the open in 
March. 
3450. Foliage Plants for a Shady Bed. 
As our front garden looks towards the 
north and most of it is laid down in grass, 
I would like to cut out a bed and plant 
something which would look fresh and 
green all the summer. It gets no sun. What 
would you suggest in the way of hardy 
foliage plants ? (E. A. Moss, Surrey.) 
Apart from London Pride and other spe¬ 
cies of Saxifrage which keep green all the 
year round, your best plan would be to 
grow Funkias, which have very bold foliage, 
and if you employ different kinds you can 
get leaves of different sizes, different colours 
and some of them are variegated. If the 
lignf is fairly good, some of them at least 
should flower. The strongest growing one is 
Funkia sieboldiana, which may be planted 
in the centre. Next to this F. subcordata, 
with light green foliage, may be planted. 
Then there are F. ovata, F. o. aurea, with 
golden foliage, and F. o. marginata, with 
a white edge. The dwarfest of this lot are 
F. lancifolia, and its varieties, F. 1 . albo- 
marginata (with a white edge), and F. L 
undulata variegata (with a broad creamy 
band). These dwarf ones should be planted 
as an edging to the bed if you have suffi¬ 
cient of them, otherwise you could employ 
the varieties of F. ovata. 
3451. Planning; a Garden. 
I shall feel obliged if you will advise me 
in planning out my garden (see enclosed 
plan). I have just entered into possession 
and am now trenching the same. There is 
solid clay underneath and I want to know 
if I am to leave this in its present state. I 
would like to have a small lawn at the end 
near the house, and fruit and vegetables ih 
the remainder. 1 think of building a per¬ 
gola from the front gate to the house. 
Would this position be suitable for it ? 
If you will also give me some hints as to 
dealing with the front garden you will con¬ 
fer a favour. (Rustic, Middlesex.) 
You could not "do better than trench the 
soil of your garden, ana if you cannot 
trench the whole of it during the present 
winter, you should first trench that portion 
which you intend to plant with fruit trees. 
The solid clay underneath should not be 
taken on to the surface, but kept where it is. 
It should, however, be taken out and broken 
up just like the rest. By keeping two 
trenches open at the same time you could 
manage to do this. Then with a fork or 
pick loosen up the material beneath the 
lowest spit that you take out. This will 
give the plants a much deeper root-run than 
if the clay were left in its present .solid 
condition. If you can put in a good quan¬ 
tity of farmyard manure, both in the lowest 
spit and the upper one, it will materially 
