The Gardening World, November 30 , 1907 . 
MOTTO FOR 
Alieni temporis flores - 
THE WEEK: 
-Flowers of other days. 
An Amateur’s Letter to Amateurs. 
CONTENTS. 
I A,. 
' 
i 
Amateur’s Letter to Amateurs, An ... 755 
Apple Blossom, Three Sets of (illus.) 758 
Biennial, A Neglected . 760 
Bindweed and Coltsfoot, Getting Rid 
of . 7 6 ° 
Bulbs for Parks and Gardens .759 
Chrysanthemum George Mileham ... 762 
Chrysanthemum W. J. Higgs . 762 
Chrysanthemums at Edinburgh . 759 
Chrysanthemums, Exhibition of Mar¬ 
ket . 758 
Enquire Within . 763 
Flower Garden, The . 761 
I Fruit Garden, The . 761 
t Qreenhouse, The Amateur’s . 761 
Kitchen Garden, The . 761 
Nitrogen from the Atmosphere. 758 
Obituary . 766 
Orchids for Amateurs .762 
Petunias (illus.) . 757 
Roses for a Beginner . 756 
Roses, Planting and Protecting . 756 
Salvia splendens . 755 
Saxifrage, Fortune's (illus.) . 759 
Strawberries ....,... 762 
f Work of the Week . 761 
-- 
Sotuj ot KoTpa. 
Now winter, with his icy chains, 
Binds all the earth in bondage drear, 
And fills the air with gloom and cold, 
A fitting ending to the year: 
We sit around the glowing fire. 
And dream sweet dreams of joys tc 
come. 
We laugh at all his howling winds, 
Whilst berried branches deck our home. 
We sing, though all the birds are dumb, 
Our hearts are gay, our eyes are bright, 
Our souls rejoice, for well we know 
The spring returns to make things 
right. 
And so we wait, for we are sure. 
The winter soon must flee away; 
The sun will smile for us once more, 
With gladness fill each lengthening 
day. 
Thus, when life’s troubles round us press, 
We patient bear them, for we know 
That hope and faith will help us through, 
Until life’s springs of joy shall flow. 
Baynton-Taylor. 
CXIX. 
Salvia splendens. 
This is a grand plant for the amateur 
who has only a cold greenhouse, and 
wants flowering plants other than Chry¬ 
santhemums during the autumn. Last 
year I had this brilliant scarlet Salvia 
flowering almost until Christmas. It is a 
half-hardy perennial; but, if preferred, 
can be treated as an annual, as it flowers 
the first season if seeds are sown early in 
the year. 
A few words as to the present treatment 
of the cold house may not be amiss. The 
great point is to keep the house as dry 
as'possible. Top lights may be opened 
during the sunny hours of the day, but 
they, together with the door, and side win¬ 
dows, should be closed early. I often 
find it convenient to water the pots that 
may need it outside to prevent the drip, 
and consequent dampness within. Ample 
space should be allowed between the 
plants so that air circulates freely. It is 
not at all impossible to have a house full 
of bloom at this season, for Fuchsias are 
hosts in themselves, so are Chrysanthe¬ 
mums, and I have besides these, at the 
present time, Geraniums, Salvias, Dipla- 
cus glutinosus, Cinerarias rapidly advanc¬ 
ing ; also Arum Lilies almost ready to 
open their great white spathes, but these 
and the Cinerarias will need to be taken 
to warmer quarters as soon as a cold spell 
sets in, or their blossoms will not make 
much progress. 
Cinerarias in Cold Greenhouse. 
Last year I kept Cinerarias which were 
much less advanced towards flowering 
throughout the winter without heat. 
There were six degrees of frost sometimes, 
and the plants were blackened ; when this 
occurred they were watered with cold 
water and put into a dark cellar until 
thawed. Some died, some lived, and after¬ 
wards flowered well, perhaps not so well 
as others in a more congenial atmosphere, 
but still quite well enough for me to grow 
others under the same cold house condi¬ 
tions. I rejoice in making experiments 
such as these, testing plants to the 
utmost, and finding out for one’s self all 
that they can accomplish. We must 
never forget that plants, so long as they 
are gradually and carefully hardened are 
wonderfully', almost pathetically adapt¬ 
able. Many of them will struggle gal¬ 
lantly under hard conditions to the end 
and aim of their existence, i.e., to flower 
and fruit. 
Utilise your Cold Greenhouse. 
I have been astonished at the com¬ 
muted number of cold greenhouses of a 
London suburb, and too often I know 
these cold greenhouses are turned to little 
account by their possessors. What a pity, 
when they afford so excellent a field for 
interesting experiment. Beside the 
plants I have chanced to mention above. 
Camellias, Azaleas, Roses, Lilies, Ferns, 
even Heliotropes and Lantanas may be 
grown successfully. Yes, and a hundred 
and more other subjects to fill the place 
with beauty for a great portion of the 
year. Experiment, and go on experiment¬ 
ing ; there is nothing like it, and few 
things are more fascinating. Of course, 
if there are means to secure even sufficient 
heat to keep out actual frost the range of 
plants will be much larger, while with no 
heat, but careful covering and safeguard¬ 
ing much may be done. 
The Violet Frames. 
The frames are facing south; they have 
been filled with leaves, and over the. ., 
and well trodden down, several inches of 
good soil, with an admixture of sand or 
mortar rubble have been added, and the 
plants have been established, and by this 
time are looking quite settled, and pro¬ 
bably are full of buds. They ought to 
be, if we are to gather a bunch of the 
good old Parme de Toulouse, that old but 
eminently successful variety' for early 
flowering, by Christmas. But they' need 
careful and unremitting attention at this 
time. The plants should almost touch 
the glass when the lights are onj they 
should be firmly in the soil, but not too 
deeply, and they should have all the sun¬ 
shine, and plenty of air whenever the 
weather is open, yes, and even for a short 
while m the sunshine during colder 
weather, just covering during actual frost. 
I do not mean to say that the lights need 
actual removal, but they' should be raised, 
and in warm, mild weather may indeed 
be off. Condensed moisture on the glass 
should not be allowed to drip into the 
frame, as we must ward off all tendency' 
to damping. I was talking to a jobbing 
gardener the other day — “No,” he said, 
“ I never succeed with Violets in frames 
where I go only one or twice a week; 
I put the lights down at night when I go 
home, and often they' are never lifted until 
I go the next time—and Alolets will never 
succeed with this treatment! ” I could not 
help thinking that success would have 
been far more likely' if he had left the 
lights raised. Violets are hardy, we must 
not forget that. But this particular man 
had erred in another important particular, 
in his frames the soil was only slightly- 
raised, so that the plants were deep down, 
and far removed from the glass. It is 
worth while emphasising this point, be¬ 
cause it makes considerable difference in 
the successful cultivation of these plants. 
