February 23, 1907. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
127 
HE WINTER FLOWERING 
Heath 
Erica hyemalis alba. 
The accompanying illustration repre- 
:n)ts the white variety of the Winter 
eath. In no other respect, except 
>Jour, does it differ from the typical 
ant well known in gardens, and more 
dely grown, perhaps, than any of the 
her Cape Heaths at the present day. 
> r the past twenty years the Cape Heaths 
Lve suffered a general eclipse for ordin- 
v gardening, and only a few of them are 
nv grown, and chiefly those that prove 
itable for market purposes. 
[This type belongs to what is termed the 
'ft wooded Heaths, but the softness of 
e wood in this particular case is. merely 
lative, though it is less wiry and twiggy 
an those that are termed hard wooded, 
'suallv the soft wooded kinds are 
ckoned more easy to manage. The 
■aring of these plants is mostly now ac- 
implished by nurserymen, and gardeners 
erelv get the plants when they attain 
suitable size for decorative purposes. 
Their cultivation is simple. During 
inter they should be kept steadily moist 
id as cool as possible. Then in spring, 
ter the flowers cease to be ornamental, 
ie shoots of the previous year are cut 
ick within an inch or so of the base, or 
hey may be left longer, according to the 
itentions and convenience of the grower 
ilr large plants. During thisi period 
lev must not be allowed to get dry at 
le root, though little water is necessary 
ntil they again commence growing 
reejy. Usually the plants are put in a 
omewhat warmer house and freely 
cringed every day to encourage fresh 
rowth. 
During spring and early summer they 
re kept under glass to develop this 
rowth. but when the weather becomes 
Erica hyemalis alba. 
mild and settled they are either stood out 
of doors on a bed of ashes or else plunged 
to the rims of the pots in ashes to keep 
them cool. Here they ripen up their 
wood and set the flower buds. Some 
time in September, before there is any 
danger of injury from frost, the plants 
are svringed with some inisecticide to 
destroy thrip or red spider, and then taken 
into the-greenhouse. 
-- 
The Sunflower of ancient Greece was 
the Heliotrope. 
A NOVELTY IN 
Bedding 
AT 
SYDENHAM. 
In the southern and warmer parts of 
England the Coleus has long been used for 
summer bedding purposes, but in most 
cases the plants are simply grown as small 
specimens to completely cover the ground 
with their richly coloured foliage. A 
break away from this old method has 
been accomjrlishcd by Mr. G. Dray, 
Superintendent of the Sydenham Recrea¬ 
tion Grounds, Kent, close by the Crystal 
Palace. 
The accompanying illustration will show 
the outline and general aspect of a bed 
which must be very effective yet simple in 
design during the period when Coleuses 
would be at their best. The outer edging of 
this bed consists of Ajuga reptans rubra, 
and inside of this is another edging of 
Fuchsia, then follows a very conspicuous 
line of the white-leaved Centaurea 
ragusina candidissima, thus forming a 
triple edging as is often done in London 
parks. The groundwork of the bed con¬ 
sists of Coleus, probably C. Verschaffelti, 
which is the hardiest one and that most 
commonly employed for bedding pur¬ 
poses. The feature of the whole bed con¬ 
sists of numerous varieties of Coleus, all 
grown in the form of dwarf, round-headed 
standards, so that the plants stand clear 
from one another on a groundwork of an¬ 
other variety of uniform hue. The illus¬ 
tration gives some idea that the varieties 
differ in colour by the different shades re¬ 
presented by the camera, but they were 
really handsome and very effective when 
in the condition here represented. 
The usual method of growing Coleuses 
for decorative purposes is in the form of 
flat specimens or pyramids. These two 
