The Gardening World, March 16, 1907. 
MOTTO FOR THE WEEK: 
Nature, study, and practice must combine to ensure proficiency in any art.” — Arist. 
An Amateur’s Letter to Amateurs. 
LXXXII. 
Some Excellent Perennials for Spring 
Planting. 
CONTENTS. 
Alpines, The Culture of (illus.) . 191 
Amateur's Letter to Amateurs, An.... 179 
Bean. The Butterfly . 180 
Bulb Culture in Rooms . 196 
Carnations: Work for March . 188 
Celery-, Earthing Up . 192 
Chrysanthemums: Work for March 183 
Competition Awards . 180 
Competition, Name . — 
Competition, Prire Letter . 182 
Editorial . 186 
Enquire Within . 193 • 
Fern Cases, Heating . 180 
Figs, The Culture of (illus.) .. 184 
Flower Garflen, The .-. 189 
Flowers for Amateurs. 199 
Fruit Garden, The . 189 
Goat's Rue, Hartland's (illus.) 181 
Greenhouse, The Amateur's . 189 
Hepatica, Single Blue (illus.) . 181 
Honeysuckles, Fragrant . 197 
Kitchen Garden, The . 189 
Orchids for Amateurs . 190 
Pest, A Beautiful . 199 
Privet, Propagating Golden (illus.)... 192 
Rockfoils, Some Choice (illus.) . 187 
Roses: Sorts to Grow ..'.. 180 
Roses: Striking Buds (illus.) . 183 
Strawberry (Perpetual) Merveille de 
France . l 97 
Winter, The End of . 19 1 
Work of the Week . 189 
-♦+*- 
But an old-fashioned bowl, 
Filled with petals of Roses. 
How swift the years roll! 
But an old-fashioned bowl, 
What locked rooms of the soul 
Their faint perfume uncloses! 
But an old-fashioned bowl, 
Filled w-ith petals of Roses. 
Once the Roses were whole. 
Ah! those sweet garden closes 1 
Love made us pay toll 
When the Roses were whole ; 
Now he dealeth us dole. 
And this life mostly- prose is. 
Once the Roses yy-ere yvhole. 
Ah! those sweet garden closes! 
-- . 
Dwarf Trees.— We have all heard of 
the wonderful dwarf trees produced by the 
cunning arboriculturists of China and 
Japan. The most remarkable instance 
is that recorded bv President Meylan in 
1826. While in Japan he saw a Fir, a 
Bamboo, and a Plum tree, the latter 
covered yvith blossom, all enclosed in a 
boh measuring one inch square and three 
inches high. 
After a severe winter such as the pre¬ 
sent one has been, it is possible that some 
of the tenderer plants may have suc¬ 
cumbed, and empty spaces are yvaiting 
to be refilled. I should like, to-day, to 
name a ferv hardy perennials that are 
especially valuable by reason of their long 
period of flowering. For spring flow-er- 
ing the Doronicums are quite indispen¬ 
sable, and if D. austriacum, D. caucasi- 
cum, and D. Pardalianches (Miss Mason) 
be selected, the flowers will be in evi- 
dence from mid March to rvell on into 
July. Myosotis (Forget-Me-Not), unless 
established in a very dry soil, rvill remain 
in floyy-er for many yveeks, and makes one 
of the most charming of all edging plants 
for spring display. 
For summer flowering, Linum perenne, 
yy-ith its dainty foliage and upright stems 
bearing rather small blue florvers, is yet 
a veritable gem. Pale, delicate blue 
such as this is very welcome in the sum¬ 
mer garden, and I never find the plant 
does .better than in a dry, sunny spot in 
the rock garden, where, however, the 
roots can find their way doyvn to the cool 
'depths below a great slab of sandstone. 
Veronica subsessilis lomgifolia is another 
blue floyver, and rather late in flowering, 
but to my mind it is far and away the best 
Veronica ever introduced into our Eng¬ 
lish gardens, and perfectly easy to grorv 
if not allowed to suffer from lack of mois¬ 
ture during the summer. 
Anthemis tinctoria Kelwayii produces 
its bright yelloyv floyvers at the height of 
summer, and neither position, nlor 
yy^eather, nor soil, seem to affect its 
florvering. A sandy loam, and a sunny 
position, however, are rvhat it likes best, 
and causes it to produce a yvealth of long, 
lasting floyvers that are grand as cut blos¬ 
soms. When it comes to planting hardy- 
subjects in extremely' unfavourable neigh¬ 
bourhoods, yvhere, indeed, smoke does 
its rvorst, it is a good rule to choose those 
varieties that die doyvn completely during 
the yvinter season, rather than those that 
do not follow this habit. 
Water Lilies. 
Water Lilies may be groyvn even where 
there is no natural water in the garden, 
in the form of pond or lake. They may¬ 
be grown in paraffin tubs that have been 
cut in h.aly-es, each half making a recep¬ 
tacle for a plant. Before being sunk in 
the ground, some straw c|r other light 
material should be burnt in them until 
slightly- charred round the sides, in order 
to remove all trace of the oil. The many- 
beautiful hybrid forms that have been 
introduced by Monsieur Latour-Marliac 
are wonderfully effective, and make a very- 
interesting feature in the garden. 
Nymphea Marliacea Chromateila is a 
grand variety, floriferous, and bearing 
large yellow- blossoms above the exquisite¬ 
ly mottled foliage. N. Marliacea carnea 
is another good variety- with delicately- 
coloured pink blossoms. These varieties 
have the merit of being beautiful, and at 
the same time considerably less expensive 
than such varieties as N. gloriosa, N. 
Aurora, and N. atropurpurea. The pots 
containing the roots in the tubs should 
be completely submerged, in fact the 
water should be quite three inches above 
the rims. The plants must not be left 
\outside through the winter, as these 
varieties are not hardy. Where plants 
are already- in hand that have been stored 
in their tubs during winter, they may, in 
early spring, be repotted in rich loamy- 
soil, to which has been added some thor¬ 
oughly- decayed manure (on no account 
must fresh manure be used). When the 
time comes for sinking the tubs once 
again outside, a w-arm, sunny position 
should be chosen. Some varieties are, of 
course, much more robust than others— 
they range from our hardy X. alba, to 
the" tender exotic N. pulcherrima, and 
others that can only be groyvn under 
glass. It is also interesting to note the 
yyfide range in price; thus, while some 
varieties may- be purchased for one and 
sixpence each, strong flowering speci¬ 
mens of such kinds as N. gloriosa are to 
be found priced at from two to three 
guineas each. 
Strawberry for Dry Soil. 
Sometimes it is convenient to knoyv the 
name of a Strawberry that may be tried 
on soil so light and sandy that other 
varieties have been rejected in despair. 
Vicomtesse Hericart is yve'.l worth ex¬ 
perimenting with in such soil. At any 
rate, more success may be expected from 
it than from anv other variety I can name. 
F. Norfolk. 
-f+4- 
Fashionable Carnations. — Carna¬ 
tions. says a society paper, are for the 
moment the fashionable flower, supported 
bv a silver bow qn background of tulle 
yy-hen used for the adornment of the front 
of the corsage. Some of them are very- 
large. and one blossom yv'ty v. attendant 
foliage and perhaps a single bud is all 
sufficient for the ahr.-ro purpose.. 
