The Gardening World, September 5, 1908. 
MOTTO FOR THE WEEK: 
“ The ripest fruit first falls.”— Shake¬ 
speare. 
CONTENTS. 
imateur's Letter to Amateurs, An 576 
\ubrietia Lavender (illus.) . 573 
lelery . 5^9 
Competition Awards . 5^8 
Competition, Prize Letter . 57 ° 
)affodils in Pots . 574 
inquire Within . 577 
icus Elastica, Variegated ......... 56S 
’lower. Garden, The (illus.) . 575 
'ruit Garden, The (illus.) .. 575 
larden, A Novel (illus.) . 57 1 
leranium Paul Crampel . 57 ° 
Ireenhouse, The Amateur s . 575 
dtchen Garden, The (illus.) . 575 
irchids for Amateurs . 57 ^ 
'rimrose (Evening) as a Cut Flower 567 
oses, In the garden of . 573 
oil, Treatment of the . 568 
eronica, A popular shrubby (illus.) 571 
iola olympica (illus.) . 57 2 
iolas, The propagation of (illus.) 569 
fork of the Week . 575 
CLIX. 
Taking Cuttings of Bedding Plants. 
The time has come when we may no 
longer delay to take cuttings of bedding 
plants—Zonal Pelargoniums, Ivy-leaved 
Geraniums, Gazanias, and others — but not 
yet the Calceolaria cuttings; these are 
best not taken until the second' week in 
October. It is more important to strike 
the cuttings early where the young plants 
have not too favourable winter quarters. 
Where there is a little winter heat we 
need not be anxious about them, but 
where they have to be wintered in a room, 
or a cold greenhouse, it is necessary to 
get them well rooted and ripened. By 
this term, ripened, I mean a good deal. 
I mean that sappy soft young plants will 
succumb where hard dry sturdy specimens 
will make a real fight for life through 
hard conditions. To rine-n the wood as 
described the cuttings must be struck in 
pots and not in the open ground; they 
must be placed in the sunny position and 
must have as little water as possible, and 
compatible with health. I speak more 
especially of the Zonal Pelargoniums. But 
where there will be sufficient heat sup¬ 
plied during winter there is no reason ■why 
the cuttings should not be struck in the 
open ground and afterwards potted up 
where this method is convenient. The 
cuttings need not be housed until the end 
of September, and then more for the sake 
of escaping excessive moisture than for 
any other reason. We have to remember 
the heavy dews that often leave vegetation 
dripping for half the day, and these have 
to be reckoned with quite as much as 
rain. 
Cuttings of Perennials. 
that they must in time pass the zenith of 
their strength and beauty and grow old 
and worn out, and should, when this stage 
has clearly been reached, give place to 
younger and more vigorous specimens. 
But even here we must use our discretion, 
for there are plants that, seemingly, can¬ 
not bear to be disturbed and remain for 
years and years in good condition. I am 
thinking of an old friend's garden, in 
which there are many such subjects. 
Thus, all my life I remember the same 
clumps of Christmas Rose, the same 
patches of Gentian, and the same border 
edging of Hepatica. 
Rock Work in a Small Garden. 
Soon the time will come when we ma; 
commence constructive work in our gar¬ 
dens, and I want to draw attention to the 
effective manner in which rock work can 
be introduced into a garden of limited 
space. To my mind there is no phase of 
gardening so fascinating and absorbing 
as the cultivation of alpine and other 
rock loving plants. There is not the set 
formality of bed or border, and the setting 
of the rock has a very decorative and beau¬ 
tiful effect. Supposing the rock edging 
be planted with a view to greatest beauty 
during April, May, and June, then it 
makes so bright and radiant a display 
that it does not matter if the border be¬ 
hind be somewhat colourless, and comes 
to perfection at a later period, say when 
the rock plants have had their day. This 
is, indeed, a capital way of keeping up a 
long and gay colour effect, and I can 
strongly recommend it to all who study 
to achieve beautiful gardens. 
F. Norfolk. 
--♦++- 
-- 
Soma September 
On St. Matthee (21st) shut up the bee. 
Fair on September first, fair for the 
month. 
iptember dries up wells or breaks down 
bridges. 
St. Matthew 
Brings cold dew. 
September blows soft, 
Till the fruit's in the loft. 
If dry be the buck’s horn, 
On Holy-rood morn (14th), 
'Tis worth a kist of gold; 
But if wet it be seen, 
On Holyrood e'en, 
Bad harvest is foretold. 
He who eats goose on Michael’s Day 7 , 
Shan’t money lack, his debts to pay. 
The Michaelmas moon (harvest mv. z-' 
Rises nine nights alike soon. 
I wonder if many of my readers often 
take cuttings of various hardy perennials. 
Where just two or three extra specimens 
are required it is often the easiest and 
most convenient method. Offshoots from 
Campanulas, Pyrethrums, Sweet Wil¬ 
liams, yes, and dozens of other subjects, 
will strike readily in the open ground 
during August. Pentstemons should not be 
forgotten, and will be the better for being 
wintered in a house or frame ; the cuttings 
of these should be of half-ripened wood 
and inserted rather deeply in sandy soil. 
I find they strike quickly 7 and can be 
lifted and placed in pots, frames, or boxes 
later on. I have often struck cuttings 
from the tips of the growths of that in¬ 
valuable border plant, Anthemis tinctoria, 
sometimes known as Chamomile; also of 
the dainty little Linum perenne, and of 
Rock Roses. Phlox decussata lends itself 
to spring propagation from cuttings of 
old-established plants, and will certainly 
send up more growths than it will be ad¬ 
visable to retain, so that some of these 
may 7 with advantage be removed and used 
as cuttings. I have never tried striking 
these in the open, but either on an almost 
spent hotbed or in the greenhouse. It is 
a mistake that many of us make never to 
renew our plants. It stands to reason 
$k ?mtosa as a 
During the middle of the day 7 , when 
the sun is shining, and the air hot and 
dry, the Evening Primrose is anything 
but an attractive plant, although on dull 
day 7 s it may retain its beauty more or less 
throughout the day. The flower stems 
may 7 be cut at night or in the morning, 
and placed in water, and when the shoots 
have got accustomed to this treatment 
and absorbed the water freely, they 7 open 
their regular quota of flowers at the usual 
time in the evening, say 7 , between six and 
seven o'clock. In the garden the beauty 
of these Evening Primroses is practically 
lost during the greater portion of the 
lifetime of the flowers. The owner can 
remed- this to some extent by cutting 
stems of good length and placing them in 
vases of water, these being placed in a 
room will continue to open their flowers 
in succession for days "together, and these 
flowers are as sweetly scented as if they 
expanded in the open garden. The com¬ 
mon variety will answer the purpose, but 
the flowers of Oenothera biennis, grandi- 
flora are very much larger and behave 
similarly. D. W. 
