_4 THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. December 1, 193 
WHEN PLANTS DO NOT GROW. A ROSE-COLORED BORDER. ing. Ab a pot plant for cool rooms or win- 
i% ig quite a common request that “I 
svonld like so-and-so grown in a certain 
part of the garden, such as Sweet Peas at 
a certain entrance door, or on,a certain bor- 
der. They have been grown there for many 
years; they look so well there, for although 
they have not done so well as formerly, at 
the same time I like to see them there and 
would like you to bestow some attention 
apon them.” Experience, however, has 
frequently proved that, no matter how good 
the cultivation may be as regards tillage, 
manure, and after attention, it must be 
admitted that Sweet Peas and many other 
similar subjects never do so well as when 
hey are sown or planted in fresh ground. 
. Were, says one gardener, I have two door- 
ways from the flower garden into the kit- 
when garden. Sweet Peas are regularly 
grown on both sides of each door, and I 
«ould learn that they had not been a great 
success for some years previous to 1900. In 
@hat autumn I had the soil where they were 
“to grow taken out to a depth of about 20 
an., and about as much in breadth. This 
was wheeled on to a vegetable break, 
and the trenches were refilled with 
soil from the vegetable break; in 
fact, it was simply an exchange of soil. The 
result proved eminently satisfactory, and 
ats annual repetition has been attended 
with equally good results. Gonsidering the 
many disappointments with Mignonette 
and other seed not germinating freely, or 
Hoses whose crowth is not all that could 
bs desired, it well repays the labor, which. 
after all, is not a serious one, as it simply 
- gneaus loading the wheelbarrow for two 
gourneys. Mignonette is another favorite 
plant, and is frequently sown by garden en- 
érances; indeed, no finer subject could be 
«desired for such a position, and if the same 
smathod he adopted as with the Sweet Peas, 
at will be found that no plant responds 
#0 fresh soil more readily than does Mig- 
monette, Turning to plants of a perma- 
maubt nature—for example, Roses—it has 
been found advantageous to place fresh soil 
wound their roots when beating up old 
tborders, and, when replanting whole bor- 
ders of Rose trees, it is the most satisfactory 
plan to exchange the soil, if this is at all 
practicable. Here a border occupied by 
Hybrid Tea Roses was subjected to the 
treatment recommended for the Sweet Pea 
orders, and it is at the present moment 
one of the features of the garden. About 
three years ago my employers intimated 
to me that they would like Hybrid Tea 
Roses in this particular border, but they 
thad been planted twice and had refused to 
tow. ‘Accordingly a similar mode of 
treatment was adopted. The soil was wheel- 
ed away to a depth of 24 in., the bottom 
well broken up, and the trench refilled with ' 
soil from the vegetable quarters: Natur- 
ally, this was a heavier undertaking; but 
there again any extra labor has been amply. 
xecompensed by the production of many 
darge and fine rose blooms of yarious shades 
#% color. 
“very poor in color. 
All shades of rose color can be obtained 
with Shirley Poppies, Salmon Queen 
Clarkia, Phlox (different shades), Malope 
grandiflora, Pink Lavatera, and Snapdra- 
gons. At the end of a walk the color 
scheme is completed by a Crimson Rambler 
Rose, trained to cover an arch over the 
entrance gate. The Salmon Quéen Clarkia 
is one of the most useful annuals, not only 
for massing in the border, but also for cut- 
ting. I did the dinner table not long ago 
with long sprays of the Clarkia and Shirley 
Poppies of exactly the same shade. I also 
have a long bed in the same garden with 
Sweet Peas (in separate colors), in a zig- 
zag ribbon pattern, and Cactus Dahlias 
in the spaces. I wonder if the Sweet Peas 
are as fine everywhere as they are here 
this year. A great many of the flowers 
have four blooms, and I have eyen found 
five-—Constant READER. 
HARDY FLOWERS. 
By L.. 
HEUCHERA SANGUINEA-—As a weather- 
proof flower this has few equals. The 
*flowers seem to be quite indifferent to at- 
mospheric changes, periods of great heat 
and heavy rains not dimming their bright- 
ness. The best way to utilise this Heu- 
chera is to plant in colonies of from three 
to a score of plants, as in this way its de- 
corative worth is better realised. A top- 
dressing of leaf-mould or rotten manure 
applied in early spring will impart vigor, 
and so give strength to the flower spikes 
and color to the blooms. There are some 
inferior varieties of this plant in cultiva- 
tion. They have probably been raised 
from seeds and give no true idea of the 
worth of this Heuchera, the flowers being 
The best form of it 
is splendens, which has very bright flowers, 
and there is another form called robusta. 
which is much stronger than the type. 
Saxtrraca Haworrut.—lI am not aware 
if this Saxifrage is grown under any other 
name in this country. Up to the present 
T have failed to find it in any English cata- 
logue of hardy flowers. I got my plant 
from Holland, where this species has appa- 
rently been grown under the present name 
for a considerable period. I find, however, 
that in the case of alpines the Dutch no- 
menclature is not very reliable; one is 
apt to get the same thing under several 
different names from different firms. 
Whatever the true name of Saxifraga 
Haworthi may be, it is a gem among rock 
plants, and certainly the best of the mossy 
section. It forms cushions of rather pale 
green verdure, about 6 inches high, the 
growth being densely packed and somewhat 
rounded at the top. As is the case with 
the Saxifrages generally, the young 
growths take on a brownish tinge in sum- 
mer. The pure white flowers are produc- 
ed in such profusion as to smother the 
plants; in fact, I know of no other mem- 
ber of this large and varied family that 
can compare with it for freedom of flower- 
dow ledges it should have great value by 
reason of its delightful verdure ; it is at- 
tractive all the year round. 
Montsrerias.—N ow that the fine hybrid: 
forms raised by M. Lemoine can be had at 
prices that place them within the reach 
of flower growers generally, we shall pro- 
bably see but little of the old crocosmix- 
flora and Pottsi, from which they are de- 
rived. The newer kinds are, according to 
my experience, as free flowering as the typi- 
cal forms, and although some of them are 
dwarfer in habit, they are all sufficiently 
vigorous to give a good display in the open 
ground. Such kinds as Phare, Etoile de 
Feu, and Pottsi grandiflora are very bril- 
liant, and in Drap d’Or, Pluie d’Or, Aurea, 
Solfaterre, &e., we get very pleasing and 
uncommon, shades of chrome, orange, and 
yellow. 
beautifully spotted. By reason of their 
graceful growth and fine colors, these Mont- 
bretias are distinct from all other hardy 
flowers, and now that they are sufficiently 
cheap to be within the eompass of the mo- 
dest purse they will undoubtedly find a 
place in gardens large and small. TI should 
wish, however, to warn intending growers 
that except in the very warmest parts these 
fine hybrid forms cannot with safety be 
left in the open ground all the year through 
without protection. It is when the ground 
becomes cold to a depth of 6 in. that they 
suffer, and are either killed outright or 
are so weakened that their blooming capa- 
city is destroyed for the coming season. 
Either the bulbs should be protected in 
some way or they should be lifted and. 
stored away in some cool place. These 
Montbretias make fine pot plants, putting 
three good bulbs in a 6-in. pot. 
THE PETUNIA. AND ITS CULTIVA- 
TION. 
~~ 
By Mr. J. Beaas. 
This is one of our best florist flowers, and. 
has many points to recommend it. It is 
easily cultivated by amateur gardeners, can 
be had in flower eight or nine months of 
the year, is good for pot culture, has a nica: 
perfume, and, above all, it cam be bedded. 
out through our hottest summers, forming 
a mass of rich colors which is rarely exceed- 
ed by any other flower. 
Hyeripising. 
There is no denying this is one of the 
most important parts in the cultivation of 
florist flowers, for without the aid of the 
hybridiser it would have been impossible 
to see flowers in their present state of per- 
fection. The best time to do this is be- 
tween. nine and one on a warm day, as the 
flowers have the greatest’ amount of vigor. 
in them at that time. The flowers should 
be of nearly the same age; if not, there is 
a tendency to throw back to the original. 
The flower that is to be operated upon 
should have the anthers taken from it be- 
fore being quite open, so as to prevent self- 
fertilization. Some judgment is required 
in the selection of the plants, for very oftew 
Some kinds, such as Tigridie, are 
o 
