April io, 1909 
THB GARDENING WORLD. 
Address : The Editor, The Gardening 
?orld, 37 and 38, Shoe Lane, London, E.C. 
The Editor invites enquiries, which mav 
over any branch of gardening. Questions 
hould be as brief as -possible and written on 
ne side of the paper only; a separate sheet 
f paper should be used for each question. 
Replies cannot be sent by post. 
Garden Plans .—Gardeners who would make 
he best use of this column are invited to 
repare and forward to us a rough outline 
rawing or plan of their gardens, indicating 
he position of beds and lawns, the charac¬ 
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. V/hen 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. 
should get good plants oi the Tobacco to 
begin with, so as to give them a good start 
in a window that gets little sun heat. After 
they are well into growth they do well 
enough in a somewhat shady position and 
flower likewise. For the front of the box 
there is no more suitable plant for a shady 
situation than Creeping Jenny to hang down 
over the edges. In the autumn you could 
plant bulbs of Daffodils, Crocuses and 
Snowdrops. 
3773. Design for Window Box. 
There is some rivalry in our town as to 
who can grow the best window box of 
flowers. I had a try last j'ear, but my flowers 
were past their best at the time of judging 
at the end of July. Would you suggest a 
good design which would still be in good 
condition about that time? The plants 
should be fairly easy to grow. (A Reader, 
Derbyshire.) 
You could plant single Petunias along the 
back, as they will grow fairly tall. You 
could then have white Marguerites alternat¬ 
ing with red or scarlet Antirrhinums. A 
pink variety of the Ivy-leaved Geranium to 
hang over the edges would complete the 
box. If these are well attended to with water 
they will grow and flower continuously till 
well into September at least. The Antirrhi¬ 
nums may come into bloom first, but if the 
early spikes are removed as soon as they go 
out of bloom the plants will throw up shorter 
side shoots which will keep up a succession 
of bloom. 
FLOWER GARDEN. 
3 7 74. What to Grow in Paraffin Tubs. 
Would you please tell me what I could 
grow in some paraffin tubs if I saw them in 
half? (Beginner, Northamptonshire.) 
You can grow a great variety of plants 
in paraffin tubs if you manage them pro¬ 
perly. If the tubs are not thoroughly 
cleaned or free from the paraffin it would be 
well to burn some paper inside them so as to 
consume the paraffin. It may set light to the 
inside of the tubs, but you can stop it be¬ 
fore it proceeds too far. You could then 
use the tubs in the form of garden vases, 
either stood on the ground or elevated on 
pedestals, or yrnu could stand them on bal¬ 
conies or the terrace walls of your garden 
if there are any. Plants that would be suit¬ 
able for this purpose are zonal Pelargoniums, 
Fuchsias, Marguerites-, Lobelia cardinalis, 
Ix>belia fulgens, and Ivy-leaved Pelargo¬ 
niums. The latter may be trained to stakes 
in the form of bushes in the centre, or, what 
would be more pleasing, they should be al¬ 
lowed to hang down over the sides of the 
tubs. The purpose to which paraffin casks 
are usually put when sawn in half is the 
culture of Water Lilies. The tubs could be 
stood on the ground, or if you object to their 
appearance y T ou can sink them to the rim in 
the soil, putting some good compost in the 
bottom and plant a Water Lily or two ac¬ 
cording to their size. 
3775. Hardy Red Flowers. 
Would you give me a list of hardy red 
flowers easy to grow, as I can always get 
plenty of white and yellow ones. Also, what 
is the best time for planting them? Many 
hardy perennials could be planted at 
the present time, I believe. (T. Herbert, 
Cambs.) 
One of the earliest red flowers to come 
into bloom is Fritillaria imperialis, which 
might be described as a dark purple-red ' or 
brick-red. Red-flowered Lilies of great 
beauty are Lilium dauricum, L. pomponium, 
L. chalcedonicum, L. tigrinum, and L.t. 
Fortunei. All of these bulbs would succeed 
best if you plant them in October or Novem¬ 
ber, so as to give them time to become well 
established before they commence flowering. 
Although they are bulbs, they are hardv her¬ 
baceous plants as well. Some of the or- 
'rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrt 
STOVE AND GREENHOUSE. 
1768. Fancy Pelargoniums. 
I have a batch of fancy Pelargoniums, 
ome of which are showing flower buds. 
Vould they flower in July and August if 
hey were pinched back now, or is it too 
ate? An answer will oblige. (Anxious, 
Iristol.) 
We are afraid they are now tco far ad- 
anced to get them in flower in July and 
iugust, as plants should be in their flower- 
ng pots now and the soil would be getting 
xhausted, so that if pinched back now they 
vould scarcely be capable of flowering 
trongly. They are not like the zonal Pelar- 
;oniums, as they only flower once a year. 
In the other hand, you might have repotted 
hem in February and pinched them scon 
.fter to encourage them to make fresh 
;rowth. In any case, we think it is not very 
.dvisable to treat fancy Pelargoniums in 
hat fashion, as they are rather difficult sub- 
ects to deal with, and if you throw them 
iack till late in the season before they flower 
hey would not have the advantage of bright 
veather to ripen them off thoroughly before 
utting them down. They really require to 
>e repotted and well started into fresh 
'rowth before the short days of autumn close 
n. If you have plenty of plants you might 
ry the experiment with a few of the less 
-aluable ones and note their behaviour. 
1769. Planting Camellia Outside. 
We have a large Camellia in a tub that 
nakes a fair amount of growth every year 
.nd sets its flower .buds, but most of these 
all off every winter before they open, al- 
hough the greenhouse is heated. We want 
he space In the greenhouse badly, and I 
vould like to clear P. out. I have heard it 
,s hardy, and if so I would plant it out in 
he garden. What sort of situation and soil 
loes it like best, sunny or shady? (H. B. 
f odd, Kent.) 
The probability is that you allow the plant 
iccasionally to get dry, while the heat of 
he greenhouse may start the flower buds 
nto fresh growth too hurriedly and they 
drop. The plant would be quite hardy in 
Four district, and no doubt it would succeed 
; letter planted in the open, where its roots 
(vould not be subjected to the fluctuations of 
emperature which it gets in a tub in a 
greenhouse. The soil should be fairly deep 
md well drained. You can add to its fer¬ 
tility by using leafmould and some well- 
lecaved cow manure, if necessary'. A shady 
•ituationwill answer the purpose admirably. 
It would grow well enough in a sunny situa¬ 
tion, but in the spring when it comes into 
bloom the flowers are liable to be injured 
by frosts striking upon them in the early 
morning. In a shady situation no sun would 
strike upon it to do any harm. 
3770. Treatment of Cinerarias. 
I have a batch of Cinerarias I sowed last 
August, and they are now in 3 in. pots. 
Will they require another shift before flower¬ 
ing? What compost should I use, and what 
size pots? Will they flower in May? It is 
the first time I have tried them in the green¬ 
house heated only on frosty nights. (C. W. 
Gardner. Surrey.) 
Your Cinerarias are very late, but they 
would not make very good plants in 3 in. 
pots. If they are not throwing up their 
flower stems we should advise you to give 
them a shift into 5 in. pots, which will cause 
them to make a good deal more growth and 
be altogether finer when they do come into 
bloom. If not too far advanced now they 
would scarcely flower in May, owing to the 
shifting, but they should flower well soon 
after. A suitable compost would be two 
parts fibrous loam, one of leafmould, one of 
well-decayed cow manure, and half part of 
sand. Pot moderately firmly. 
COLD FRAMES. 
3771. Lobelia cardinalis in a Cold 
Frame. 
T have in my greenhouse some Lobelia car¬ 
dinalis. Could I put it outside in a frame, 
as my greenhouse is very small and I want 
the room? (Beginner, Northamptonshire.) 
The Lobelia you mention is so nearly'' 
hardv that if the crowns are now well started 
it would really do better in a cold frame 
than in a greenhouse. You are not likely to 
get frost severe enough to do them any harm 
now in a cold frame. 
WINDOW BOXES. 
377 2. Plants for Shady Windows. 
I should be much obliged if y'ou would 
say' whether I could grow anything in a 
window box facing the east, where it gets 
sun only' for a short time in the morning. 
The light is fairly good, but the sun goes 
quite off that part of the house after ten 
o’clock. (M. I. L., Middlesex.) 
Plants that would succeed in a window 
facing the east are Fuchsias, Calceolarias, 
Musk, and Night-scented Tobacco. You 
