186 
TUB QARDBN1NG WOt?Lb. 
March 20, 1909. 
herbaceous 
= Borders. 
Hints on Making 
and Planting. 
At this period of the year, when clean¬ 
ing and digging of the borders require a 
great deal of attention, those which are 
to be renovated must be considered. To 
obtain good results, the planting or re¬ 
planting of a border necessitates careful 
lorethought. Most herbaceous plants are 
benefited by being replanted every second 
or third year. The best effect is obtained 
by grouping the plants of one colour. 
Bold massing of the groups in harmony 
with each other gives fine effects. Early- 
flowering bulbs, although very pleasing, 
are not desirable in a proper herbaceous 
border, as thdy naturally resent inter¬ 
ference at the time when the operation of 
lifting herbaceous plants is carried out, 
which is generally in February, if the 
weather is open. The ground should be 
deeply trenched and well manured. 
In making a new border, some of the 
freer flowering shrubs should be intro¬ 
duced, such as Spiraeas, Forsythias, Deut- 
zias and Kerrias, while climbing Roses 
and Honeysuckles trained on poles greatly 
add to the effect. It is necessary to have 
the tallest-growing plants at the back; at 
the same time, the height of the plants 
from the front should not furnish an even, 
unbroken slope. Those of a moderate 
height may be brought near to the front 
here and there. Such plants as Cimici- 
fuga racemosa, Echinops Ritro, Echina¬ 
cea purpurea, Anemone japonica, Salvia 
virgata, Verbascum olympicum, Cam¬ 
panula latifolia, Eryngium amethystinum 
lend themselves to this purpose. Lilium 
speciosum, L. candidum, and L. tigri- 
num, are found useful in this way. 
Here and there plants should run from 
the front to the back between those of a 
taller kind. Vigorous growers may be 
employed, such as Verbascums, Spiraea 
Aruncus, some of the Centaureas, Sym- 
phytums, Monarda didyma, and foliage 
plants, such as the elegant Thalictrum 
aquilegifolium. For bold groups from the 
centre to the back, Phloxes, Rudbeckia 
laciniata, Helenium autumnale and its 
variety, H. striatum, Doronicum plantagi- 
neum, Bocconia cordata, Helianthus ri- 
gidus, Aconitum Napellus, and many 
others. Those of shorter growth suitable 
are Heuchera sanguinea, Lobelia cardi- 
nalis, Geum coccineum fl. pi., Helenium 
pumilum, Statice latifolia, Tritonia cro- 
cosmaeflora, Sedum spectabile, Liatris 
spicata, Delphinium nudicaule, Dicentra 
spectabilis, with its handsome foliage, 
Rudbeckia speciosa, Paeonias, and hosts 
of others. Ornamental grasses, if kept in 
check, add to the effect. A few must be 
included, as Miscanthus japonicus and its 
variegated form, Holcus mollis variega- 
tus, Arundinaria Fortunei, Festuca 
glauca, and several of the Carexes are 
useful. For the front alpine plants are 
often employed. Some of the more showy 
ones are Phlox amoena, Arabis albida, 
Aivssum saxatile, Anemone fulgens, A. 
Pv. !satt 11 a,. Cheiranthus Marshalli, Aubrie- 
rms, Platvcodon grandiflorum Mariesi, 
Dianthus deltoides, D. superbus, not for¬ 
getting the old variety, Mrs. Sinkins, 
Geranium sanguineum, Polygonum affine 
(very bright), Veronica gentianoides varie- 
gata, Armeria juncea, Papaver nudicaule, 
Delphinium nudicaule, Antennaria tomen- 
tosa and many others. Irises and a cer¬ 
tain section of bulbous plants are desir¬ 
able, as Alstroemeria, Galtonia candicans 
and Gladioli. H.. 
-— 
Native Guano. 
The above useful manure for farm and 
garden has now been well tried for many 
years and found to be useful for a great 
variety of plants. The catalogue issued 
by the Native Guano Co., Ltd., 29, New 
Bridge Street, Blackfriars, London, E.C., 
runs to 106 pp. and contains testimonials 
from all parts of the British Isles as to 
the value of this manure when tried by 
numerous gardeners and farmers. 
Amongst the many subjects to which it 
has been applied are Potatos, Parnsips, 
Carrots, Beet, Cauliflowers, Onions, Chry¬ 
santhemums, Tomatos, fruits of all kinds, 
Roses, fruit under glass, pot plants, etc. 
Further testimony to the use of this 
manure is therefore unnecessary. 
--- G. W. - 
Prize Competitions. 
CENERAL CONDITIONS: —Competitors most 
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 namo 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 wayj any article or photo¬ 
graph sent for competition. The conditions 
applying to each competition should be oare- 
fully read. 
WEEKLY 
PRIZES. 
A PRIZE OFTEN 8HILLING8 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 “ Corn*- 
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 OF 
LAST WEEK’S 
COMPETITIONS. 
Some of the beat 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 “ R. Thatcher,” for the article 
on “ Renovating Vine Borders,” page 170. 
In the Prize Letter Competition a prize 
was awarded to ” J. M. T.,” for the article 
on “ Begonia haageana ”; and another to 
“ T- H\,” for the article on “ Statice profusa,” 
page 172. 
- Sedums - 
For Rockwork Gardening 
and the 
Herbaceous Border. 
Considering the many purposes for 
which this family can be utilised and the 
comparative ease with which they can be 
grown, should be sufficient inducement 
lor their more extended culture. 
Their utility is, of course, exemplified to 
a high degree in those gardens where rock 
and wall gardening are special features, 
but there is. no reason why the small gar¬ 
den owner generally should be content to 
be represented with, say, a few perfunc¬ 
tory patches of the common Stonecrop 
(Sedum acre) about his garden. 
Indispensable as they are for wall and 
rockwork gardening, they are equally 
suitable as edgings for the herbaceous 
border, as carpeting for taller-growing 
subjects, or as a setting for dwarf plants 
on the margin of beds used for sumnrnr 
bedding. In this latter connection S. 
glaucum, used in conjunction with Eche- 
veria glauca, makes a most beautiful 
edging. 
1 hey call for no special treatment with 
regard to soil, seeming to thrive in the 
very poorest mixtures, whilst some of the 
species revel in deep shade. 
There are, I believe, some 120 species 
cultivated in this country, or at least 
known to botanists, but the purposes of 
this article will be met, I think, with a 
short description of a few of the species 
best suited for the average garden and 
for the purposes mentioned above. 
Sedum album has somewhat fleshy, oval, 
alternate leaves, with white flowers borne 
on an erect pinkish stem, while the barren 
growths take on a tint of a beautiful olive- 
brown, and are sometimes slightly 
tubercled. 
S. dasyphyllum has tufted meally foli- 
age, with pinkish flowers almost | inch 
across, and, although lacking the freedom 
of growth of many of the species in my 
collection, is very desirable. 
S. Ewefsii produces flowers of a pink 
or pale violet colour, and has opposite 
sessile leaves ^ inch in diameter. 
S. lydium, from Asia Minor, gives us 1 
pale pink flowers, and its greenish, red- 
tipped, crowded leaves are sometimes 
covered with minute pimples. It is an 
extremely useful and beautiful evergreen 
for rockwork edgings or carpet bedding. 
S. obtusatum is a pretty Californian spe¬ 
cies, with yellow flowers and spatulate, 
glaucous leaves, which, as the season ad¬ 
vances, become reddish green. 
S. pulchellum is a very handsome spe¬ 
cies from the United States, having 
slender trailing growths, with flowers of 
rosy purple. 
S. rupestre produces flowers of a clear 
yellow, its evergreen leaves being flat on 
the surface and convex below, forming 
dense obconical rosettes. This species' 
during dry weather takes on a beautiful 
red tint. 
S. sexangulare is a very neat habited 
species having yellow flowers borne erect 
on very slender stems. 
J. W. Watson. 1 
Sheffield. 
