8 THE 
GARDENING WORLD. January 5, 1907. 
they persist through the snow, and, unless 
too long continued, they may still present 
a fresh appearance after the snow has 
melted. 
The common Snowdrop is of the easiest 
cultivation, for it has indeed become 
naturalised at different times in various 
parts of the country, and is recorded in 
most British books of botany. It is there¬ 
fore the most reliable of all the Snowdrops 
for naturalising on the grass of parks or 
pleasure grounds. So far as the experi¬ 
ments at Kew are concerned, G. Elwesii 
comes next in hardiness and capability of 
naturalisation. 
The Snowdrop looks most natural in 
rather dense but irregular clumps in 
sheltered situations under a deciduous - 
tree, hedge, or at the foot of a wall. It 
is also capable of being grown in pots by 
patting up the bulbs in autumn along 
with Hvacinths, Tulips, etc. It never 
look's so natural, however, under glass, as 
the flower stems are so liable to get drawn, 
and the flowers last for a shorter period 
of time, especially the single form. At 
the same time there is nothing to hinder 
its use, and provided the bulbs are rather 
thickly placed in the pots and the latter 
kept in a cool position near the glass in 
the greenhouse, the cultivator will be re¬ 
warded for his trouble. 
- - 
Hedges for Gardens. 
This is comparatively a new subject for 
amateurs who give very little thought to 
the decorative value of a hedge, or to its 
usefulness and suitability. 
Fields, small gardens (front or back), 
public gardens, orchards, front gardens, 
all demand different. kinds of hedges, 
planted in a variety of styles, so that the 
best results may be obtained. 
Primarily, hedges are to make boun¬ 
daries to a garden, to defend its contents 
from intruders, to afford protection from 
high winds, and, in some cases, to pre¬ 
vent strangers overlooking the enclosure. 
Hedges which are evergreen, especially, 
if covered with berries, are very charming 
in the winter time, but there are many 
cases in which deciduous plants are more 
suitable, as they admit to the ground m 
winter time the beneficial sun rays. In 
choosing a hedge we must take into account 
its suitability of foliage and style, as a 
background to the contents of the gar¬ 
den ; also we must select the plants ac¬ 
cording to the thickness and he ight we 
require. Our selection may well be made 
from the following kinds, namely;: — 
Yew, with evergreen dark foliage m 
large gardens yields a dignified grandeur 
that is very’ effective. It is the densest, 
warmest, and most suitable of all hedge 
plants, and when clipped, as it can be, 
into geometric* shapes, arches, etc., is 
always neat and pleasing to look at. It 
is excellent near the house; also a warm 
shelter for kitchen gardens. 
Hedges are a rare hiding place for snails 
and other vermin, which must be routed 
out at short intervals. For seaside, town 
and country hedges, different plants will 
be required, and it would be well to con¬ 
sult the nurseryman about this matter. 
Now is the time to begin selecting plants 
for hedges, and it -would be well to con¬ 
sider the matter so that you may obtain 
the best results. 
Stephen B. Lyne, 
The Flower Garden. 
Here we are again, as Joey, the clown, 
usually exclaims. 
Of course it is quhe possible that readers 
of "G.W.,” 'being up-to-date people, will be 
asking why I cannot come forth with an 
improvement upon the above hackneyed 
phrase. But I can, and since readers de¬ 
mand it ; who said "No”? I beg to tender 
my very best respects, and wish all and 
everyone a happy and prosperous new year, 
free from all worries such as cats, birds, 
wireworms, blights, etc. To exhibitors who 
have been knocked in the past I send special 
greetings, with the hint that faint heart 
rarely wins. 
Incentives to Gardening. 
Tackle all things in real earnest, and 
grow, and grow, and grow, until rivals 
find things tco hot. There will probably be 
many who are about to alter their gardens, 
or even take over fresh ones. There is 
usually an epidemic of weddings just about 
now, and marriage means gardening. It is 
certain and irrevocable. I have seen so much 
of it. The young man who previous to be¬ 
coming a benedict, paid small heed to gar¬ 
dening, suddenly becomes fired with a de¬ 
sire to grew his own Mustard and Cress. 
Possibly it is all due to-Mary or Katie. 
Her mother grows her own Sage and 
Thyme, and is thereby enabled to make such 
'beautiful stuffing for filling the Christmas 
gcose. And so she works upon. William’s 
feelings, with the result that he seeks a 
house with a garden. Perhaps it is a new 
house. If so, then William needs com¬ 
forting. 
New Gardens. 
Builders take a positive delight in making 
gardening difficult. 
I have just been surveying seme new 
houses. The gardens are there right enough, 
but oh, the work that will be necessary to 
get rid of the numerous brickbats, etc. 
Somewhere beneath the surface there is gcod 
soil I am sure, but at present I can see no¬ 
thing but stones, old tins, clay and other 
rubbish that cannot be made to produce ex¬ 
hibition Roses. 
My advice to those aspiring Williams, 
who have such plots to handle, is to gather 
up -all loose stones, etc., plan out the paths 
required, and take them in hand at once. 
Make shallow trenches where the paths are 
to be, and throw in all the useless rubbish 
as it is discovered. 
Do mot be led away to believe that all the 
rubbish is on ithe surface. Builders do not 
work on those lines when dealing with new 
gardens. The best digging tool is a fork. 
It is heartbreaking to try and dig with a 
spade a piece of ground that contains stones. 
If a man can ‘be employed, so much the 
better, but get a reliable man, and pay him 
a fair wage. Have the ground dug 
thoroughly, bastard trench it for preference, 
tout do not forget that this is slow work and 
cannot be hurried. 
On clear ground free from rubbish, if the 
soil is heavy, it is worth 2s. per rod to bas¬ 
tard trench, for about 18 tons of earth have 
to be shifted. Ordinary digging on heavy 
land free from rubbish is worth c;d. or 6d. 
a rod of 305 square yards. I merely quote 
these figures to show that to cut prices means 
scamped work. Light sandy soil is, of 
course, easier to dig, and is not so costly. 
What to Grow. 
The next step is to decide what is to be 
grown. Seedsmen’s catalogues are to be had 
for asking, likewise plaint lists. Perennials 
are a necessity in a garden, and among the 
most important are Asters, Anemone ja- 
penioa, Aubrieiias, Arab is, Centaureas, 
Coreopsis, Delphiniums, Echinops, Galega. 
Geums, Phlox, Heucheras, Boltonia aster- 
oides, Chrysanthemum maximum grandi- 
florum, Geranium pratense, Gaillardias, 
Heleniums, Spiraeas, Carnations, Trollius, 
Campanulas, Irises, Lilies, Roses, etc. 
These can toe had in almost endless 
varieties, and all are quite hardy. Apart 
front these there are many things that require 
frame protection in winter. 
Biennials are raised frem seed, and flower 
the second year, whilst annuals of course 
bloom soon after .sowing, or at least the 
same season. 
Some are hardy, others tender, and all 
sorts of treatment are required by the re¬ 
spective sections. The novice must expect 
failures at times, for even the expert suf¬ 
fers in this respect. 
Seed Lists. 
I have just been perusing a newly arrived 
seed list, and for the guidance of the be¬ 
ginner quote a few things worth handling. 
By taking a careful stock of any catalogue, 
anyone may make a selection, for the modern 
seed and plant list is a veritable amateur’s 
guide. 
Height, colour, time of flowering, etc., are 
given iin practically all lists. Hardy and 
half hardy .annuals, Ageratum, Alyssum 
saxatile, Aster Comet, Balsam, Chrysanthe¬ 
mum tricolor, Clarkia rosea, Cosmos hy¬ 
brids, Dianthus hybridus, Eschscholtzia 
Mandarin and E. intus rosea, Godetia 
gloriosa, Helianthus Stella, Larkspur, Ma- 
lope grandiflora, Mignonette, Goliath, Nas¬ 
turtium, dwarf and tall iin variety, Nemesia 
strumosa, Phlox Drummondi, Petunia, Shir¬ 
ley Poppy, Ten Week Stock, Schizanthus, 
iSweet Peas in variety. Verbena and Zinnia. 
Biennials and perennials are all desirable. 
Other subjects are Wallflowers in variety. 
Carnation, Pyrethrum hybridum, Primrose, 
Pansies in variety, Iceland Poppy, Lupins, 
Aquilegias, Lobelia cardinalis, Gypsophila 
paniculata, Canterbury Bells, and Antirrhi¬ 
nums. From this brief list alone one can 
easily select enough varieties to fill any or¬ 
dinary garden, but there is absolutely no 
limit. 
One need not buy a single plant, for prac¬ 
tically every species of plant may be raised 
from seed if desired, but naturally some 
things are slow. 
Sundry Requirements. 
The Editor is at all times willing to give 
a list for any special requirement. Exist¬ 
ing stocks of perennials- may toe divided or 
re-planted whenever weather permits. Ever¬ 
green and deciduous shrubs may also be 
planted. Turf laying is quite the thing at 
this period of the year. Th# same may be 
said of turf rolling. Those who have valu¬ 
able Montbretias may increase their stock by 
taking off the shoots issuing from the eorm-s 
