The Gardening WoRi.b, March 23, 1907. , 
MOTTO FOR THE WEEK: 
In the morning sow thv seed, and in theevening withhold not thine hand: lor thou knowest not 
_—a, -' ^nr ivhpthpr thp.v hnth <shnll he alike £00d. — JJiblc . 
CONTENTS . 
Amateur's Letter to Amateurs, An 201 
Bouvardias . 20 5 
Clock, The Miniature Floral (illus- ) 205 
Competition Awards . 202 
Competition, Name . v. 
Competition, Prize Letter . 204 
Coneflower, A Showy (illus.) .... 2 °7 
Enquire Within . 212 
Flower Garden, The . 209 
Freesia refracta (illus.) . 203 
Fruit Garden, The . 210 
Greenhouse, The Amateur's . 210 
Kitchen Garden, The . 210 
Onions, The Culture of . 209 
Orchids for Amateurs . 210 
Orchids, Hybrid (Editorial) . 207 
Roses, Planting .••••■•. 202 
Squill, The Siberian (illus) . 203 
Sweet Peas: Work for March ...... 208 
Watering in Summer and M inter ... 202 
- 
* * MARCH. 
A Greeting to the Spring. 
A time of healthful winds, tho' keen 
And treacherous in the shade, 
Of mingled storm and pleasant calm, 
When spring's wealth is displayed. 
We welcome March — its glorious sun, 
Its dust, its cold, its heat; 
For spring then pours her treasures forth 
At happy mortals’ feet. 
March clads the earth in mantles green, 
Bespangled o’er with flowers; 
It tells us winter’s gloom is past, 
And heralds summer's hours. 
The flaunting Tulip greets the sun, 
Narcissus hangs his head. 
The Primrose sings her modest song, 
And birds begin to wed. 
The Daffodil perfumes the air, 
The buds begin to peer, 
The very earth begins to throb, 
All know the spring is near. 
Oh. happy, blusterous, glorious March, 
I love to sing thy praise ; 
Thou cailest earth to life again 
Through all thy lengthening days. 
Baynton-Taylor. 
LXXXIII. 
Seed Sowing Out-of-Doors. 
There are always some seeds that we do 
not think it worth while to sow in pans 
under glass, and some that always flourish 
the better for being sown where they are 
to flower. Now, I am quite sure that 
hardy varieties benefit greatly by being 
sown as early as possible, for one thing 
because they have a longer period of 
growth before their flowering season; but 
the chief reason, to my thinking, lies in 
the fact that at present the soil does not 
become unduly parched, and the seeds 
germinate more surely than if the sowing 
is postponed until April; when, in spite 
of the proverbial April showers, the soil 
dries very quickly, and the sun parches 
the surfaces. Poppies—and these include 
the beautiful Shirley—should always be 
sown where thev are to flower, and above 
all things they should be thinly sown. 
Mignonette is another annual that makes 
a better and finer plant when not trans¬ 
planted. 
Self-sown Seedlings. 
I always go round the garden about this 
time to discover any stray plants of self- 
sown seedlings, for, all said and done, no 
plants of annuals are so good as these. 
More than likely they were in evidence 
last autumn; they have had a winter s 
growth upon them, and are as robust as 
they well can be. Many varieties will 
grow denser and more compact if the tips 
be pinched out at this stage, and if re¬ 
quired to be moved this may be effected 
during the latter end of the month. 
Perennials for Spring Planting. 
I mentioned last week some perennials 
for spring planting that should be re¬ 
garded as quite indispensable in even- 
garden. To those may be added the Del¬ 
phiniums and Phlox decussata ; yes. and 
most certainly the early flowering Chry¬ 
santhemums of Japanese varieties. 
Delphiniums. 
There are some people who have a 
fancy for growing named varieties of 
plants: there is a certain satisfaction in so 
doing. For the benefit of these I should 
like to call attention to a few of the best 
Delphiniums. G. B. Powell is .grand, 
the bright blue flowers, that aie semi¬ 
double. tone to a paler shade. I am 
rather hard to please in the mattei of 
Delphiniums, and never choose a variety 
with a suspicion of brown in it; neither 
do I care for those that tone to purple, 
and if such result from seedling plants 
I throw them away after their first flower¬ 
ing. For those having a white eye, how¬ 
ever, I have a great liking. They are so 
boldly and distinctly decorative; they 
stand out with striking character, and of 
these Captain Lambton, Sir George 
Newnes, The Duke of Teck, Electra, and 
Julia are all particularly fine. 
Phlox decussata. 
When it comes to Phlox decussata in¬ 
variably I choose self colours ; it may be 
a mere fancy, but I cannot help thinking 
that as these Phloxes are among the most 
showy plants during their season of flower¬ 
ing we require of them the bold grand 
backbone of colour, if I may so term it, 
that they are capable of yielding us, and 
surely parti-coloured flowers, red with 
white eye, or white with red eye can 
never vield the massive effect of bold 
colour that self-coloured varieties are cer¬ 
tain to give. Of course a darker eye of 
the same colour is often an addition and 
generally intensifies the decorative value. 
Among the most brilliant varieties must 
be mentioned Avenir, Jocelyn, Selma, 
Roger Marx, G. A. Strohlein, Etna, 
Coquelicot, and Goethe, and among the 
entirely white flowered varieties Mrs. Jen¬ 
kins, 'Tapis Blanc, Diadem, and La 
Svlphide, all of which are good. 
The novice frequently fails with this 
grand perennial because he tries to grow 
'it in some hot and parched position. 
The truth is, if that is all we have to give 
it, we had better leave it alone. But, 
having some cooler position, with a deep 
moist soil, and at the same time a fair 
amount of sunshine—though the Phloxes 
will do with far less than many people 
imagine—then, by all means let the Phlox 
decussata become a beautiful feature of 
the late summer garden. Even in a north 
border many varieties will flower well and 
over a far longer period than in a hotter 
aspect. These plants, as plants go, are 
shallow rooted, and they cannot stand 
prolonged drought; the foliage gets limp, 
droops, dies, the blossom is small and 
brief. But put them where they do not 
suffer for lack of moisture and they are 
among our invaluable perennials. A 
mulch of well rotted manure, leaves, or 
even half-made leaf mould is of great 
assistance to them if put on in early 
June. F. Norfolk. 
-4~M>- 
The Gentian. 
Gentian 
Blue thou art, intensely blue ! 
Flower whence came thy dazzling hue ? 
When I opened first mine eye. 
Upward glanc.ing to the sky. 
Straightway from the firmament 
Was the sapphire brilliance sent. 
—Montgomery. 
