2 
JOUmAL  OP  noRPiCttLWllP  and  COfTAOP  oardpmp. 
Jtily  2, 189(5, 
-prcxiaced  by  the  South  were  in  point  of  quality,  refinement,  and 
choiceness  in  variety,  quite  equalled,  if  not  excelled,  those  from 
the  northern  latitudes.  Size,  perhaps,  went  with  them,  but  I  could 
not  help  noticing  many  of  the  varieties  staged  were  inferior  in 
point  of  tnse  merit  as  regards  distinctness  in  colour  or  markings, 
and  in  some  instances  in  substance.”  No  doubt  our  correspondent 
is  correct  in  his  observations,  but  it  is  a  necessity  of  the  case  that 
in  extensive  collections  all  the  tiowers  included  cannot  be  of  the 
highest  standard  in  the  case  of  Violas,  any  more  than  in  Eoses  or 
Chrysanthemums.  The  northern  growers  exhibited  magnificently, 
as  they  always  do  when  they  try  ;  but  that  is  not  the  point.  What 
we  were  pleased  to  note  was  the  fact  that  southern  growers  exhi¬ 
bited  magnificently  too,  and  it  proves  beyond  all  question  that 
Violas  can  be  grown  well  in  Surrey,  Kent,  and  Essex  if  right 
methods  are  resorted  to,  and  the  requisite  cultural  attention  is 
given  to  the  plants. 
Undoubtedly  some  of  the  best  Violas  at  the  National  show 
came  from  Woking,  and  being  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
village  a  week  ago  we  called  on  Mr.  Baxter,  to  note  the  character 
-of  the  soil.  Mr,  Baxter  was  once  in  the  employment  of  Sir  Trevor 
Lawrence,  but  the  Orchid  bouses  proved  inimical  to  the  health  of 
the  attendant  on  these  plants,  and  he  resorted  to  outdoor  occupa¬ 
tion,  as  a  local  gardener  and  florist.  Ue  has  merged  into  a 
violaist,  and  his  little  garden  or  nursery,  with  its  sandy  soil,  for 
•andy  it  is,  we  found  filled  with  his  favourite  flowers,  the  plants 
AS  healthy  and  floriferous  as  could  well  be  imagined.  It  was  an 
object  lesson  of  the  most  convincing  kind  that  Violas  can  be 
grown  in  the  south. 
A  point  to  be  remembered  by  the  inexperienced  who  desire  a 
prolonged  display  of  Violas  is  that  some  of  the  most  beautiful 
flowers,  individually,  are  not  of  varietie*'  persistently  floriferous  in 
habit ;  it  is  not  safe,  therefore,  for  such  persons  to  make  selections 
from  shows  alone.  The  gardf-n  decorative  value  of  Violas  is  not 
sufiiciently  represented  at  shows,  and  classes  for  bunches,  each  to 
consist  of  a  stipulated  number  of  stems  as  cut  from  the  plants, 
would  afford  relief  to  the  formal  sprays  daintily  arranged  on 
velvet-covered  stands,  however  charming  such  arrangements  may 
be.  Messrs.  Barr  &  Son  staged  in  that  form  at  the  “  National,” 
and  those  who  inspected  Messrs.  Dobbie’s  collection,  exhibited  in 
gla8.se8,  at  Wolverhampton  last  year,  will  not  soon  forget  the 
.  beautiful  effect  produced. 
On  asking  Mr.  Baxter  to  name  a  few  of  the  best  bedding 
Violas,  he  pointed  to  a  sheet  of  flowers  with  the  remark,  “  There 
they  are,  the  four  of  them  ;  there  are  more  of  course,  but  these 
are  all  of  the  same  strain  —  Ardwell  Gem  and  its  family  by 
sporting,”  First  was  a  row  of  the  type  Ardwell  Gem,  a  fleecy 
mass  of  soft  yellow  ;  next  its  bordered  sport  Goldfinch  then  the 
sport  from  this,  the  floriferous  Duchess  of  Fife, followed  by  its  sport 
•White  Duchess,  a  perfectly  true  stock,  and  the  quartette  formed  a 
perfect  cushion  of  diversified  flowers,  but  the  habit  of  the  plants 
all  alike,  procumbent  and  floriferous. 
Fresh  and  effective  on  a  tropical  day  in  this  sandy  land  and  dry 
locality  was  Lord  Elcho,  one  of  the  brightest  of  the  bright  yellows, 
and  growing  like  Watercress.  William  Neil,  bluish  mauve,  but 
sporting  more  or  less  into  J.  B.  Riding,  was  also  effective,  but  J.  B. 
■  is  of  a  conservative  nature  and  keeps  his  charms  to  himself,  for  he 
won’t  spiort  back  again,”  Blue  Gown  was  like  a  flat  bouquet  of 
flowers  close  on  the  ground.  Vestal,  blush  ;  Border  Witch  and 
Rosea  pallida  haring  quite  a  cool  appearance  under  the  almost 
burning  sun.  Of  the  Countess  of  Kintore  type  Neptune  was 
conspicuous,  while  Mr.  Baxter  spoke  caressingly  of  the  dainty 
Cottage  Maid.  These  few  varieties  sire  cited  not  as  suggestions 
■'  that  tiey  are  better  than 'several  ihbre  ’  '^oWn  by  others,  but  simply 
•’^afffording  evidence  of 'the  most  convincing  kind  that  these  too 
generally  regarded  “  northern  flowers  ”  can  be  grown  in  the  south 
of  England.  Perhaps  some  other  good  varieties  for  beginners  may 
be  named  and  methods  of  culture  given  by  practitioners  in  time 
to  be  eerviceable. 
Reverting  for  a  moment  to  the  exhibition  of  the  N.V .S.  One 
who  knows  says  “  the  show  went  off  splendidly  ;  judging  satis¬ 
factory  ;  no  grumbling  (wbat  a  record  !) ;  capital  attendance  ; 
prizes  all  paid  on  the  spot ;  and  growers  went  home  well  satisfied.” 
Evidently  this  violaist  is  in  good  tune  among  his  flowers  in  the 
South . 
VAGARIES  IN  BEDDING  ARRANGEMENTS. 
Now^  that  the  work  of  bedding  out  is  completed  and  the  plants 
are  growing  freely  opportunities  occur  for  noting  the  composition 
of  striking  beds,  and  the  various  styles  of  arrangement  adopted  in 
the  public  parks  and  private  gardens.  It  is  fortunate  for  gardeners 
— heavily  handicapped  as  they  are  in  the  matter  of  labour— -that 
carpet  bedding  has  to  a  great  extent  gone  out  of  fashion,  although 
personally  I  have  a  great  liking  for  a  carpet  bed  well  designed, 
planted,  and  kept,  but  unless  there  is  ample  labour  at  command  for 
doing  this  it  is  far  better  not  to  attempt  it ;  and  even  when  there 
is  every  facility  for  doing  such  work  well,  it  is  nnwise  to  carry  it 
out  so  extensively  as  to  leave  but  little  room  for  other  styiee  of 
bedding. 
This  latter  point  was  strongly  pressed  a  few  years  ago  in  the 
horticultural  Press,  and  since  that  time  a  gradual  change  has  taken 
place  in  the  style  of  planting  adopted  in  the  London  parks — ^those 
leaders  of  fashion  in  the  bedding  world — from  which  provincial 
gardeners  to  a  great  extent  get  their  “  cue  ”  as  to  the  “  latest 
thing”  in  bedding  out.  In  fashion  it  seems  to  be  the  rnle  to 
favour  extremes,  and  from  the  stiff,  formal,  unvarying  styles  of 
bedding,  we  have  gradually  drifted  into  one  which  certainly  does 
not  lack  variety  in  the  matter  of  numerous  species  and  varieties  of 
plants  associated  in  a  single  bed  ;  bat  notwithstanding  all  this,  it 
•eems  to  me  that  we  have  failed  to  secure  that  most  essential  point 
in  flower  gardening — viz.,  variety  in  the  general  effect  of  the  whole 
group  of  beds.  To  do  this  bold  masses  of  colour  at  certain  points 
are  absolutely  necessary.  It  is  not  essential  that  these  patches  of 
colour  should  be  stiff  and  formal,  as  the  introduction  of  Palms, 
Oanuas,  Fuchsias,  Grevilleas,  Dracaenas,  and  such-like  plants  may 
be  so  arranged  as  to  give  the  necessary  informality  of  outline, 
without  impeding  the  view,  and  by  to  doing  detracting  from  the 
brightness  which  is  invariably  tought  for  in  flower  gardening. 
In  adopting  the  mixed  style  of  bedding  which  has  lately  been 
so  much  in  evidence,  it  seems  to  me  many  have  failed  to  take  into 
account  the  8urroun(3ing8  of  their  flower  gardens  or  groups  of  beds. 
Some  gardens  are  situated  in  a  comparatively  open  space,  with  bat 
few  surrounding  trees  and  shrubs  ;  in  snch  instances  mixed  beds 
and  numbers  of  tall  growing  plants  with  neutral  coloured  foliage, 
are  an  absolute  necessity  to  create  a  scene  acceptable  to  an  artistic 
eye.  As  a  rule,  however,  in  private  places  the  surronndings  of  the 
flower  garden  are  exactly  the  reverse  of  those  just  pointed  out. 
Treet  in  plenty  are  to  be  seen  on  every  side,  and  in  far  too  many 
instances  there  are  but  few  spaces  between  the  trees  sufficiently 
large  to  give  views  of  distant  objects,  and  thus  create  a  scene  of 
breadth  and  beauty.  To  plant  a  number  of  mixed  beds  in  snch  a 
position,  and  to  use  tall  dot  plants  freely,  would,  in  my  opinion, 
bo  a  great  mistake.  Wbat  is  really  wanted  is  distinct  masses  of 
bright  colour,  for  it  matters  little  how  beautiful  individually  each 
bed  may  be  if  the  whole  gardeu  lacks  that  warmth  and  brightness 
of  colour  which  the  surroundings  render  necessary. 
I  do  not  mean  to  suggest  that  in  the  arrangement  of  the  colours 
distinct  contrasts  shonid  always  be  aimed  at,  but  that  each  bed, 
thougb  having  a  distinctive  character  of  its  own,  shonid  still  form 
a  necessary  part  of  the  whole  garden  design.  It  is  in  this  way  that 
we  obtain  variety  in  the  general  effect  instead  of  variety  in  each 
bed,  and  as  long  as  we  have  geometrical  flower  gardens  to  plant  we 
shall,  I  think,  have  some  difficulty  in  finding  a  plan  that  ans^vers 
better  than  that  of  assigning  to  each  bed  a  mass  of  one  colour,  and 
breaking  up  the  surface  by  the  introduction  of  a  few  Palms  or 
Dracaenas  of  the  Veitchi  and  australis  type,  which  have  the  merit 
of  creating  a  light  surface  without  impeding  the  view. 
There  is  one  other  reason  why  gardeners  in  private  places  should 
not  be  too  anxious  to  follow  the  lead  of  the  Lou  Ion  parks.  It  is 
this — in  many  instances  their  own  beds  are  not  nearly  large  enong h 
to  be  treated  in  the  same  way.  It  is  easy  to  be  deceived  in  such 
matters,  and  unless  gardeners  have  a  pretty  correct  idea  of  pro¬ 
portion  they  are  scon  led  into  attempting  incongruous 
arrangements.  When  anyone  has  managed  any  particular  flower 
garden  for  a  few  years  he  gradually  finds  out  the  style  of 
arrangement  most  suited  to  it,  and  when  snch  meets  with  warm 
approval  I  would  strongly  plead  against  making  any  decided 
innovations  simply  because  such  “  is  the  fashion.”  Those  who 
follow  that  fickle  goddess  too  closely  are  often  led  into  treacherous 
paths.  It  is  well  sometimes  to  be  out  of  the  fashion,  especially  when 
we  can  achieve  results  which  put  the  fashion  in  the  shade. — H.  D, 
