he Gardening World, September 21, 1907 
An Amateur’s Letter to Amateurs. 
CONTENTS . 
Book of English Gardens” . 616 
•sculus parviflora. 614 
nateur's Letter to Amateurs, An... 611 
Ter, Strachey’s (illus.) . 617 
irnations in September . 618 
impetition Awards . 612 
jmpetition, Prize Letter . 614 
ihlias at Regent’s Park . 615 
aquire Within . 621 
ower Garden, The . 619 
uit Garden, The . 619 
rass, A Beautiful Ornamental ... 613 
reenhouse, The Amateur’s . 619 
itchen Garden, The. 619 
rchids for Amateurs . 620 
icket, The Scotch . 612 
oses, Among the . 617 
irub, A September Flowering 
(illus.) . 613 
reet Sultan, The Yellow (illus.)... 616 
ree Stumps, Decorating Old . 612 
lolas and Their Culture . 615 
ork of the Week. 619 
-♦++- 
“ Qriobes is Com’uuj.” 
"ey-eyed September calls to the swal¬ 
low, 
Time comes for flitting, follow me, fol¬ 
low • 
immer is over, brown bees cease your 
humming. 
ide in your hive homes, October is com¬ 
ing. 
]uirrel, come gather the nuts for your 
! store, 
gave you some, and October brings 
more. 
I :e where he comes with the south wind 
behind him— 
he east wind will follow, the north wind 
will find him ; 
i he rollicking west wind will come at his 
! call, 
hey’ll shake the big oaks, and the 
acorns will fall. 
; ood harvest, gay squirrels! Come, 
swallows, cease play, 
[ctober is coming, and we must away.” 
nd laughing September in sunshine has 
fled, 
hile up comes October in russet and 
red. 
G. M. C. 
The Streptocarpus. 
What an all round useful plant is the 
Streptocarpus in the conservatory of the 
amateur! It flourishes and flowers quite 
well in the more shady positions, and it 
was particularly for this reason that I 
called it— <! useful,” for in this respect it 
vies with the Fuchsia. Then, again, it 
is charming as a cut flower for house de¬ 
coration. Some people seem afraid of 
cutting their pot plants for this purpose, 
but I can assure them it is well worth 
while growing a few extra plants for this 
purpose, as they last a long while in 
water, and are very beautiful with a few 
sprays of Maiden Hair Fern. Some 
authorities recommend them to be treated 
as conservatory annuals, but it always 
seems to be a pity to throw away a plant 
with so much life and vigour left in it, 
and that is sure to flower prodigiously 
the next season if retained. These 
plants do not die down like Begonias, and 
of course they need a sufficiently high 
temperature to keep them going through 
the winter. I know of them being grown 
most successfully, however, in a conser¬ 
vatory in which artificial heat is only 
given when a frost threatens during win¬ 
ter, with perhaps a little more regular 
heat during early spring when growth is 
recommencing, and after that none at 
all. There are but two things that need 
especial care, the one is ample drainage 
in the pots and the second plenty of water 
during the growing period. I would call 
especial attention to the fact that it is 
this second point that makes the first of 
such vital importance. With all plants 
that require frequent watering during 
any period of their growth the soil is 
prone to become sour and unhealthy 
where drainage is insufficient. The same 
thing applies to the favourite Vallota 
Lilies, and it stands to reason that plants 
cannot be healthy in sour, water-logged 
soil. It is one of the charms of the 
Streptocarpus that it flowers during the 
summer and autumn from seed sown 
early during the previous spring. 
The Rock Garden. 
It is not merely as a suitable setting 
for alpine and other rock-loving plants 
that we must regard the rock garden. It 
is this, and a great deal more — it forms 
an important and characteristic feature in 
the garden—and undoubtedly we require 
these distinct and varied features in all 
but the smallest gardens. They do very 
much to enhance the beauty of the sur¬ 
rounding beds and borders. While in 
itself such a feature as a rock garden is 
beautiful, interesting, and thoroughly 
characteristic. It counts for much to 
get the elevation that a rock garden en¬ 
sures, and the character of the plants 
themselves — great masses of dwarf col¬ 
our, practically without foliage, as the 
flowers in many cases have the tight, soil¬ 
gripping foliage beneath them—is wonder¬ 
fully decorative. For a really small gar¬ 
den I know of no design better than a 
raised bank at the end of the lawn, 
carried through to dhe side borders with 
the break for the pathways. It matters 
little if this is at the end of the garden 
or midway, and if the latter it breaks up 
the dead level in a delightful manner. In 
larger gardens the rock garden may take 
the form of a couple of wide, low ridges, 
with a pathway between, but after all a 
writer can but be faintly suggestive on 
this subject; the general plan of the gar¬ 
den, the lie of the land, and the taste of 
the owner must be the determining fac¬ 
tors. The present is an excellent time 
to make the rock garden for autumn 
planting, and I have just one caution to 
give—peg out the pathway rather wider 
than, perhaps, seems necessary, and this 
is especially important where the path is 
dug out. The bank thus formed has to 
be faced with stone, and beyond that 
again the plants will project on either 
side, and this has all to be considered in 
determining the width of the pathway. I 
have seen a rock garden almost spoiled 
by this fault. A wide pathway gives a 
noble and bold appearance, but a path¬ 
way that is almost over-reached by the 
plants on either side that scarcely allows 
passage room gives a mean niggardly 
look, and the plants are not shown off to 
the best advantage. 
Suggestions and Plants to Grow. 
In planting a rock garden great care 
should be taken in the placing of plants 
that spread rapidly into wide masses like 
double Arabis, etc. I find the best thing 
is to put these plants on the outskirts 
as much as possible, and to let them 
have for neighbours plants of kindred 
character. Such plants can take care of 
themselves to a great extent, but wljen a 
spreading mass is in close juxtaposition 
to a small non-spreading specimen, the 
chances are if a sharp look out is not 
kept that it will disappear under the more 
rampant grower. On a really small rock 
garden it is better to dispense altogether 
with the over-rampant subjects, and have 
only those that take small or medium 
space, as in this way a much larger range 
of plants can be accommodated. A 
second point to remember is to choose a 
selection of plants that flower over a long 
period. The fault of the novice is to be 
neglectful of summer and autumn flower¬ 
ing subjects, so that a rock garden beauti¬ 
ful in April, May, and June becomes 
