The Gardentnc World, December 26, 1908. 
MOTTO FOR THE WEEK: 
“ No man can gather Cherries in Kent at 
the Season of Christmas.”— Pioverb. 
CONTENTS. 
\mateurs l etter to Amateurs . 789 
Apples for a Late District . 790 
tarnations at Christmas . 79 2 
Gompetition Awards . 790 
Damson. A Valuable (illus.) .r.. 791 
inquire Within . 796 
"'lower Garden, The (illus.) ...-.. 794 
French Gardening . 795 
r ruit Garden, The (illus.) -... 794 
Greenhouse at Christmas, The . 790 
Greenhouse, The Amateur’s . 795 
xitchen Garden, The (illus.) . 794 
Drchids for Amateurs . 795 
3 eas, Six Good, for succession . 791 
/eitchling, A Little Known (illus.) 792 
/iolas as a Groundwork for Rose 
Beds and Borders . 790 
York of the Week . 794 
NOTICE TO ADVERTISERS. 
Owing to the Christmas Holidays 
;e shall have to go to press earlier 
nth the number of “THb Gardening 
forld,” dated January 2nd> 1909. 
ADVERTISEMENTS 
'hould therefore be sent as early as 
sssible to ensure insertion. No ad- 
2 rtisement for that issue can be 
:ceived, altered, or stopped after first 
post on 
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23rd. 
I can generally tell long before I have 
made the tour of a garden whether or not 
the owner of it is a real lover of flowers, 
or merely the possessor of a garden. In 
the latte-r case probably there will be 
plenty of colour and neatness, but the 
range of plant life will be exceedingly 
Limited, and within those limits will be 
principally a variety of plants that we 
may .see in every second garden we enter, 
where the owner has no deeper interest 
in it than is the case with the one in ques¬ 
tion. But go from such a garden to that 
of a true and interested flower lover, and 
there you shall see wherein lies the differ¬ 
ence. In this latter will be among the 
more familiar things plants that have 
some particular interest, but are less fre¬ 
quently grown. Let me mention some 
few plants to-day that have this particular 
interest, and are charming additions to 
the garden, lending, as they do, variety . 
and distinct character, and seem to be¬ 
speak the fact that the owner of the gar¬ 
den has sufficient knowledge of, and in¬ 
terest in, his garden to know how a wider 
range of plant life than is usual adds 
much to the enjoyment and also to the 
beauty of it. 
I do not say we -want a quantity of 
each ; sometimes a single plant seems to 
complete the need. Think, for instance, 
of a rock garden. It may be well and 
effectively planted, and yet if it lacks cer¬ 
tain typical rock plants it is not quite in 
character as it might be. Thus, Edel¬ 
weiss (Leontopodium alpinum); it is easy 
to grow, quite easy to rear from seed, and 
with ample drainage and chalky soil 
should flourish, and to get a glimpse of 
it in flower, or out of flower, seems to 
give the real spirit of place — the 
poetry of place, if I may say so. And in 
the mixed border, too, among the Cam¬ 
panulas and Delphiniums, Sunflowers, 
and other things that must be sold by 
the thousand thousand, why not add other 
things less familiar. A single plant, or 
a small group, of Liatris spicata will 
make a welcome break from the common¬ 
place. It has a distinction and character 
of its own, and it will grow as easily as 
a weed. 
Dictamnus Fraxinella. 
Another striking plant, and a plant of 
beautiful and handsome habit is Dic¬ 
tamnus Fraxinella. It is an old-fashioned 
plant, and not seen as frequently as it 
used to be, I believe, yet it always holds 
its own in splendid fashion in a border of 
mixed hardy plants. Compact growth, 
effective foliage, and beautiful flower, it 
is one of those things that help to give 
backbone to a border among the plants 
of moderate height. It reaches to two 
feet, or two feet and a half, under usual 
conditions, but among the comparative 
novelties there is a taller, sturdier variety 
that reaches well up to four feet. This is 
knotvn as D. caucasicus. 
Epimedium pinnatum. 
Another plant I like to know the garden 
contains is Epimedium pinnatum, or any 
of the otner varieties. We do not need, 
perhaps, more than a plant or two, but it 
stands for a model of delicate, - fragile- 
looking, and wondrously slender grace¬ 
fulness. In reality it is hardy, quite 
hardy. There is nothing else to take the 
place of the Epimedium. I mean to give 
you quite the particular kind of enjoy¬ 
ment it does. Showy, not at all ; only 
there is, I think, no other hardy plant 
with thin, wiry stems such as this has, 
nor foliage of such delicate and dainty 
type, and tinted red bronze. It is by no 
means difficult to grow, but is at its hap¬ 
piest in light soil, and in semi-shade. 
It flourishes best of all in soil of a peaty 
nature, but this is in no wise necessary. 
Loosestrife. 
For a border with a moist soil and a 
cold northern aspect, I remember noting 
that during the month of August there 
w r as nothing that made a better show in 
it than a great clump of purple Loose¬ 
strife (Lythrum) of the variety known as 
L. Salicaria Rose Queen. There were 
other plants in other positions in the 
garden, in what, for many plants, would 
have been choicer positions, as sunnier 
and more open, but there the plants were 
nothing like so fine and good as those in 
the cooler, moister border. 
Some Plants of Marked Character. 
Under these same moist conditions what 
was a distinct plant) is the Himalayan 
Poppy (Meconopsis Wallachii). It has 
sufficient character in itself to help 
materially to give character to the border 
as a whole, and that is a point worth con¬ 
siderable study. Stand and look down 
any long border when at its best, and 
note the plants that the eye almost uncon¬ 
sciously rests upon—picks out, as it were. 
It will by no means be always the plants 
of the most brilliant colour, but it will 
be plants that are full of distinct charac¬ 
ter. Mark those plants, and when any- 
transplanting is done, see that they oc¬ 
cupy vantage spots. Use them to their 
full value by giving them picked posi¬ 
tions, and look for them among plants 
of all heights, among the dwarf things, 
the semi-dwarf, the medium heighted, 
and the tall subjects. Here are some of 
the plants that I have found answer these 
conditions: Bocconia cordata, Buphthal- 
mum salioifolium, Commelina coelestis, 
Cimicifuga Prunella webbiana, Poten- 
tilla formosa, Senecio macrophyllus, and 
of course many- others. 
F. Norfolk. 
-- 
Spray for Gooseberry Mildew. 
Speaking at the recent conference on 
fruit growing at Wye (Kent) Agricultural 
College, Mr. E. S. Salmon said that 
liver of sulphur was the best material to 
use as a spray to get rid of Gooseberry- 
mildew. 
