February 6, 1909. 
THE GARDEN I HO WORLD. 
83 
The Flower Garden. 
erbaceous Borders. 
Every day the sun gains power now, and 
j we find the soil in our borders dries more 
uickly than it did in the autumn after 
e ing turned over with the spade and garden 
ork. Of course such conditions render the 
;ork of digging and planting much more 
ileasant than when the soil adheres to both 
sols and boots, and of course one cannot 
iress it firmly around the roots of newly- 
mt-out plants as it ought to be. 
Make the very best use of every fine day 
0 push forward all work connected with 
lerbaceous borders and the plants in them, 
is very shortly a great amount of urgent 
vork will call for your attention in other 
quarters. In spring there are few opera- 
ions connected with the culture of garden 
jlants that can be safely put off until a more 
ronvenient season. The convenient season 
nay come, bnt the work done then will be 
oractically useless. 
Planting- Alpines. 
This fascinating work will now occupy 
the minds and hands of the enthusiasts. In 
the small garden as well as in the large one, 
there is some scope for the cultivation of 
alpines, and it would be well to at once take 
stock as it were, and see what renewals are 
necessary, and where new kinds may be in¬ 
troduced. 
The following are twenty-four choice al¬ 
pines which will do well in both town and 
country gardens :—Alyssum saxatile, Achil¬ 
lea umbellata, Anemone sylvestris, Arabis 
albida flore pleno, Armeria latifolia, As- 
perula suberosa, Aubrietia deltoidea Leicht- 
lini, Dianthus, callizonus, Gentiana verna, 
Iris pumila caerulea, Geum montanum, 
Hypericum polyphyllum, Linum aboreum, 
Myosotis alpestris, Ncccaea alpina, Phlox 
subulata nivalis, Saxifraga oppositifolia 
pyrenaica, Primula marginata, Sedum al¬ 
bum, Viola pedata, Veronica saxatilis, 
Tiarella cordifolia, Silene acaulis, and 
Sempervivum Laggeri. 
Brier Stocks. 
These stocks, on which lovely varieties of 
Roses are budded in the summer time, are 
generally planted in rows in the kitchen 
garden, spare ground, or reserve garden. 
They are not always well planted, and it is 
a common sight to see many dead ones 
among the number. Sometimes the stocks 
are planted in positions where it is in¬ 
tended they shall remain after the budding 
has been duly carried out. Now the stocks 
rarelv possess more than a couple of stumps 
of roots, and it is very important that they 
be well planted, with just as much care as 
if the} 7 were bearing nice branches of the 
budded Rosea. 
Put in the stocks as shown in Fig. 1, and 
place some nice gritty soil and fibrous turf 
round the few roots to induce healthy growth 
next summer. Pruning should be done in 
due course where it has not already been 
carried out. All badly placed branches 
should be cut away entirely. 
Seeds to Sow. 
Where a little bottom heat can be main¬ 
tained, such as that emanating from a hotbed 
of leaves and manure, or from hot water 
pipes .under a propagating frame, sow some 
seeds of tuberous and fibrous-rooted Be¬ 
gonias, Lobelia (blue and white), Ageratum, 
single-flowered Petunia, Zinnias, and Ver¬ 
benas. These require a long period to grow 
in, and should be brought on steadily with¬ 
out being subjected to a very strong heat at 
any time. A light, sandy compost should 
be used to sow the seeds in. In due course 
very fine plants will be available for the 
flower beds. 
The Fruit Garden. 
Bush Fruit Trees. 
The pruning of Red and White Currant 
and Gooseberry bushes should be continued 
on all favourable occasions until the whole 
are dealt with. 
Fig. 2, at A, shows the branch of a 
Red or White Currant bush unpruned. 
All young shoots with dark lines 
Fig. 2 shows at A how to -prune a 
branch of a Red or White Currant. The 
leading and side shoots should be cut ojf 
as shown by the dark lines. B, a branch 
of a Gooseberry; C, the bud to prune to: 
D. the wrong- bud to prune to. 
drawn across them, should be cut off 
at the point indicated, the leading shoot 
must be simply shortened a little, and 
all side ones cut back to within two or three 
eyes of their base. In one case, two shoot-, 
are shown as growing from one joint, or 
spur. The weakest of the two must be cut 
off close to the spur, as if left with several 
buds at its base, the new shoots made this 
year would cause overcrowding. By fol¬ 
lowing this system of pruning ample air 
space is left near the centre of the bush, and 
this is a very important matter. Some 
varieties produce branches which grow out¬ 
wards and upwards at an angle of 45 de¬ 
grees or so. Now, it is a more easy matter 
for an inexperienced person to prune such 
bushes than those whose branches have a ten¬ 
dency to. grow downwards as shown at B. 
If carelessly pruned the whole of the outer 
and lower branches would be borne to the 
ground by the weight of the fruit, and the 
latter would be soiled. Prune to a bud 
pointing upwards as shown at C, and not to 
one pointing downwards as shown at D. 
Defective Joints in Walls. 
The fruit grower should now examine the 
walls—if old ones—and while the branches 
of the trees are leafless and can be easily 
removed to one side, lose no time in making 
good any bad joints found. Insect pests 
lodge in the holes, but the lime used will 
kill the great majority of them. 
The Kitchen Garden. 
Sowing Seeds. 
The time has now come when many kinds 
of seeds must be sown, some in pots and 
boxes, others in cool frames, and also in 
the open border ; but in naturally cold soils 
Fig. 3 shows how to prepare a flower 
pot for Celery seeds. The surface of the 
soil C should be i\in. below the rim of 
the pot, then the seedlings at A will have 
space to grow in at B under the glass. 
it is not a wise plan to sow very early, nor 
on a large scale. In such cases make use 
of the flower pots, pans, and boxes to bring 
on the earliest crops. Last -week I advised 
the sowing of a pinch of Celery seed. This 
week I present a sketch of a flower pot pre¬ 
pared for the reception of the seeds. The 
seeds should be sown thinly on the surface 
of the soil C, as shown at A, leaving a space 
at B 15 in. deep for the tiny seedlings to 
grow in under a loose square of glass. 
Place the pot in a warm frame, pit or green¬ 
house. Also sow seeds of Leeks, Parsnips, 
Broad Beans and Peas for succession. 
Spinach, Lettuce, and Mustard and Cress in 
boxes. 
Plant More Potatos. 
Plant more Kidne} 7 Potatos on the shel¬ 
tered borders, but only put in a few lines 
to prevent a gap in the resultant crops, and 
continue to arrange tubers of all sections in 
thin layers to sprout. 
