The Gardening World, March 9, 1907. 
CONTENTS. 
Amateur's Letter to Amateurs, An ... 163 
Annuals, Growing .. 164 
China Aster Ostrich Plume (illus.)... 167 
Chinese Lantern Flower, The. 167 
Chrysanthemums: Work for March 177 
Competition Awards . 164 
Competition, Name . — 
Competition, Prize Letter. 166 ■ 
Enquire Within . 173 
Figs, The Culture of (illus.) . 172 
Flower Garden, The . 170 
Front Gardens, Suburban . 165 
Fruit Garden, The . 17° 
Greenhouse, The Amateur’s . 170 
Kitchen Garden, The . 170 
Orange Blossom, The Mock (illus.) 169 
Orchids for Amateurs . 171 
Pasque Flower, The (illus.) . 165 
Prince’s Feather (illus.) . 167 
Roses: Work for March . 171 
Shrubs, Propagating . 164 
-- 
Quaew YioUt. 
Of all the flowers that greet the spring, 
When winds are cold and keen, 
When cloud and sunshine fight to reign, 
The Violet is the queen. 
She holds her court ’midst Primroses, 
Which round her stand and wad; 
The gaudy Tulips bow to her, 
And Daisies guard her gate. 
Whilst Daffodils must hang their heads, 
Their sweets may not compare 
With perfume from the Violet, 
So delicate and rare. 
Her modesty attracts the world 
To seek her out alone; 
They pass the flaunting Tulips by, 
To worship at her throne. 
When crushed and broken most then she 
Her greatest blessing yields, 
To teach us men that we may learn 
A sermon from the fields. 
Beloved by all, worn o’er our hearts, 
We keep her mem'ry green ; 
When she is dead, her perfume lives, 
And she remains our queen. 
Baynton-Taylor. 
LXXXI. 
Annuals for Informal Positions. 
Some excellent annuals for the informal 
positions in the garden—and certainly' 
they are among those from which the true 
flower-lover will get the most pleasure. 
It is altogether a different pleasure from 
that derived from seeing a gay bed 
planted entirely with one particular 
variety of plant. In these less formal 
borders and beds we have no thought of 
the bedding-out effect. We find space 
for the things we like—the things we want 
—and each clump or group in the border 
has its own particular interest. This 
manner of planting also allows us toi 
grow a much greater variety of plants, 
and every year it is growing in favour. 
A border of annuals may be very beau¬ 
tiful for the summer display; or the an¬ 
nuals may share the space with perennial 
nlants with equally good effect. We 
must remember what a number of annual 
plants have been introduced into England 
within the last ten years or sto, many from 
California, some very beautiful varieties 
from South Africa, and from Japan, and 
also,' of course, from other regions. It is 
rather an interesting phase of gardening 
to grow one year the annuals of Cali¬ 
fornia, another those of South Africa, and 
so on, and especially those with which 
we are unfamiliar. Last year, through 
the kindness of a reader of The Garden¬ 
ing world living in the Transvaal, I 
was able to grow some of the annual and 
other plants of this region, and found it 
most interesting, as many of the seeds 
were not included in our English cata¬ 
logues. 
But, to-day, I must name some annual 
plants for border work, and other infor¬ 
mal positions, the seeds of which are 
more easily secured. 
The Browallia is a charming annual of 
some foot and a-half, and, in B. speciosa 
major, we achieve a grand bit of vivid, 
and valuable colour—deep violet-blue. It 
is only half hardy, and should, therefore, 
be sown under glass if taken in hand be¬ 
fore April. When put into their flowering 
quarters, the plants should have a warm 
sunny aspect, as they are natives of South 
America. Not onily are they effective, 
but they last in flower over a long period, 
especially when the seed vessels are not 
allowed to form. B. elata is another 
good variety, somewhat after the colour 
of the foregoing, and, as this colour is 
so distinct and characteristic, it seems to 
me worth while to grow only these, as 
other varieties are very much paler in 
colour, or white. 
Some of the annual Statices arc excel¬ 
lent for the purpose under consideration. 
They are easy to grow even in rather poor 
soil. S. sinuata hybrida gives a charming 
variety of colour, but if a more uniform 
patch is desired, S. sinuata or S. superba 
are equally good. 
For late flowering, some of the annual 
Rudbeckias are splendid stand-bys. I 
had some seed last year of R. bicoior 
superba, and found it flowered better than 
anything I had yet tried in a very dry, 
sunny spot. Indeed, it was in flower until 
December. It is not exactly a high type 
of plant, but it must be remembered that 
a good deal 'of licence may be allowed in 
the informal positions in the garden, and 
a mass of this plant certainly is wonder¬ 
fully effective. I hear, too, that Rud- 
beckia fulgida hybrida makes a capital 
border subject; it reaches two feet in 
height, whereas the former is considerably 
dwarfer. 
I often think that the beauty of the 
dwarf Convolvulus is not appreciated 
nearly so much as it deserves to be. 
Such varieties as C. tricolor kermesimus 
and C. tricolor splendens are as striking 
as they are beautiful, while the more 
familiar C. tricolor gives us a grand tone 
of blue. The Eutoca and 1 one or two 
other annuals that have been much writ¬ 
ten up during the last few years, on ac¬ 
count of the deep, rich tone of their blue 
colour, are no whit more effective than 
this. I should say they are of consider- 
ablv less value, "taking the size of the 
flowers into consideration. 
Chrysanthemum Dunnettii aureum 
plenum is without doubt one of the best 
annuals for the mixed border. I prefer 
to sow early under glass, as that gives 
time to pinch back the young phants when 
they have made four or five inches of 
growth, in order to induce a bushy habit. 
With good cultivation these plants remain 
in flower for months. Even if sown out 
of doors, they should be lifted and planted 
singly, as it is good material spoiled to 
let them mature crowded together. They 
must have ample space. 
F. Norfolk. 
-f+4- 
The U.H.B.P.S. 
Mr. W. Collins (9, Martindale Road, Bal- 
ham, London), secretary of the United Horti¬ 
cultural Benefit and Provident Society, asks 
us to state that the annual general meeting 
of the society wifi be held at the Roj'al 
Horticultural’ Hall, Westminster, on Mon¬ 
day, nth March, at 8 p.m. Three trustees, 
under the new rules, will be appointed ; also 
a treasurer. Mr. Charles H. Curtis, Chair¬ 
man of the Committee, will preside. 
