196 
JOUR^^AL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
August  26,  1897. 
HARDY  FLOWER  NOTES. 
Autumn  is  with  us  as  we  write — a  time  of  grain  and  fruit  and 
flowers — Dame  Nature’s  season  of  bounty.  In  the  fields  the  ripe 
corn  is  falling  before  the  reaper.  In  the  orchards  the  Apples  wax 
ruddy  in  the  autumn  sun.  In  the  gardens  we  rejoice  in  the  colouring 
of  the  showy  flowers  of  the  time.  We  need  this  bright  colouring  now. 
The  leaves  have  put  off  the  bright  green  of  their  youth,  and  have  assumed 
a  deeper  tint ;  a  more  sober  hue.  Many  of  our  flowers  have  gone, 
but  welcome  successors  have  come.  We  miss  the  flowers  which,  from 
their  supporting  arch  behind  the  house,  reminded  us  of  the  passage  in 
“  The  Garden  That  I  Love,”  in  which  tlie  Poet  Laureate  tells  us  : — 
“  Those  clustering  Roses  fancy  hath  baptised 
Maids-of-the-Village ;  and  adown  they  hang, 
Like  to  a  waterfall  you  see  far  otf, 
That  foams,  but  moves  not.” 
Its  “daily  litter  of  fallen  jxjtals”  has  ceased,  and  we  have  lost  its 
beauty  for  the  year.  Other  and  more  frequent-flowering  Roses  we 
have  still,  but  the  “  Maids-of-the-Village  ”  will  smile  upon  the  year 
no  more.  The  Ayrshire  Roses  on  the  house  front  are  over,  too,  but 
from  among  their  leaves  the  deep  purple  flowers  of  Jackman’s 
Clematis  present  themselves  —  scentless,  but  beautiful  companions. 
The  Delphiniums  are  over  for  the  time,  but  the  Phloxes  delight  us 
with  their  bright  flowers.  Some  of  the  Sea  Hollies  are  past  their 
best,  but  Eryngium  planum  stands  conspicuous  in  the  border  pleasing 
all  with  its  blue-tinted  globes  and  stems. 
The  Orange  Lilies  no  longer  show  us  that  the  perennial  Sunflowers 
cannot  rival  the  depth  of  their  colouring,  but  the  Tiger  Lilies 
proclaim  a  combination  the  Helianthuses  do  not  possess.  Dahlias  are 
aglow ;  needing  all  the  rich  variety  shown  by  the  autumnal  annuals 
to  counterbalance  the  effect  of  their  formal  globes  or  pointed  petals. 
Besides  the  Tiger  Lilies  there  are  not  many  other  bulbous  plants  yet 
in  bloom.  ^  Chief  among  them  is  the  Gladiolus,  although,  strictly 
speaking,  its  root^stock  is  not  a  bulb  but  a  corm.  Is  there  any  flower 
more  beautiful  in  its  season  ?  Does  any  other  flower  owe  more  to  the 
hybridiser’s  art  ?  As  we  look  upon  those  stately  spikes  with  their 
noble  flowers  of  the  most  exquisite  colours,  shades,  and  markings  we 
are  more  than  pleased — are  delighted — with  the  combination  of 
beauties  they  give. 
Veronicas  with  flowers  of  blue,  purple,  white  or  pink  raise  their 
clustered  spires  among  the  other  border  flowers,  and  the  Sweet  Peas — 
dwarfer  than  usual  this  year  —  please  us  with  their  sweet-odoured 
bright  or  soft  tinted  blooms.  Tall  Globe  Thistles  lure  to  their  pearly- 
white  balls  the  honey  and  humble  bee. 
Yet  with  all  this  variety  there  is  a  warning  signal  upraised.  It 
comes  from  the  earlier  Starworts  or  perennial  Asters  whose  first 
blooms  give  us  a  feeling  of  regret.  They  tell  us  of  the  wane  of  the 
days,  though  even  now  the  little  Auomatheca  or  Lapeyrousia  cruenta 
displays  its  carmine  flowers  with  their  blood  red  spots  not  far  away, 
as  if  telling  us  to  beware  of  dwelling  too  long  ujjon  those  jjremonitom 
of  decay. 
These  Asters  have  some  allies  less  known  and  comparatively  little 
seen.  Some  of  these  ai’e  almost  or  quite  worthless  in  the  garden,  and 
others  have  merits  which  give  them  value.  Among  the  latter  is 
Boltonia  asteroides  of  L’Heritier,  a  plant  of  rather  tall,  but  not 
ungainly,  growth.  Works  of  reference  tell  us  that  it  was  introduced 
in  1758,  and  that  it  comes  from  North  America— a  vague  localisation, 
which,  unfortunately,  I  cannot  make  more  definite,  in  this  light  soil 
Boltonia  asteroides  grows  about  4^  feet  high,  but  this  height  is 
exceeded  in  some  gardens.  I  cannot  say  that  I  regret  this  Short¬ 
coming  in  height,  as  it  is  unaccompanied  by  any  loss  of  beauty. 
Unless  “  cabin’d,  cribb’d,  confined”  by  undue  tying  this  Boltonia  is  a 
rather  elegant  plant.  The  entire,  lanceolate  leaves  are  of  a  pretty 
shade  of  green,  and  the  plant  possesses  a  light  and  informal  ajipear- 
ance.  This  is  heightened  by  the  character  of  the  flowers,  which 
are  what  is  called  “  flesh-coloured,”  and  are  freely  produced  in  a 
panicle. 
It  is  one  of  the  numerous  Daisy-like  autumn  flowers  so  plentiful 
later  on,  but  not  as  yet  so  numerous  as  to  make  it  unwelcome. 
B.  asteroides  is  readily  increased  by  division  in  spring  or  autumn,  and 
will  grow  well  in  almost  any  soil  or  position.  It  appears  to  take 
kindly  to  a  little  shade,  and  its  flowering  is  thus  prolonged. 
Among  the  Bellflowers  now  in  bloom  are  two  of  the  Symphy- 
andras.  These  are  allied  to  the  Campanulas,  but  differ  from  the  true 
Bellflowers  by  their  anthers  being  connate.  S.  pendula,  which  grows 
freely  on  the  rockwork  here,  is  a  troublesome  i)lant  with  many.  It 
thrives  well  with  a  little  shade,  and,  although  not  showy,  is  generally 
appreciated.  It  is  a  true  perennial  in  my  garden.  Another  species 
grown  for  some  years  is  S._  Hoffmanni,  a  native  of  Bosnia.  So 
far  as  my  observation  goes  this  is  of  biennial  habit,  but  it  produces  and 
ripens  seed  so  freely  that  there  is  never  any  w.ant  of  self-sown 
seedlings  to  keep  up  the  succession.  I  have  met  with  it  under  the 
name  of  S.  Kaufmanni,  but  this  is  an  obvious  error,  and  the  name  of 
Hofmanni  is  that  recognised  at  Kew.  Like  S.  pendula,  it  is  not  a 
showy  plant.  It  is  of  erect  habit,  and  here  only  grows  about  1  foot 
high.  It  forms  a  neat,  bushy  plant,  producing  a  considerable  number 
of  drooping,  white,  rather  fumipl-shaped  flowers.  It  can  be  raised 
from  seed,  w'hich  is  obtainable  from  some  seedsmen. 
On  former  occasions  I  have  referred  to  Olearia  stellulata,  the 
Starry  Daisy  Bush.  Less  seldom  seen,  although  scarcely  so  pretty,  is 
0.  Haasti,  which  forms  a  desirable  dwarf  shrub  for  the  rock-garden 
or  border.  Haast’s  Daisy  Bush  comes  into  bloom  later  than  the 
Starry  one,  and  looks  very  different  with  its  glossy  leaves  with  whitish 
under  surfaces,  and  its  smaller  flowers.  It  is  hardier  than  O.  stellu¬ 
lata,  and  forms  a  very  neat  bush,  freely  covered  in  the  end  of  July  and 
beginning  of  August  with  cymes  of  white  flowers.  It  is  not  difficult 
to  grow  in  light  soil  and  with  a  south  or  west  exposure,  and  is  easily 
propagated  from  cuttings. 
It  is  raining  heavily  as  these  lines  are  written,  and  the  brilliance  of 
the  flowers  is  dimmed  by  the  rain  and  chastened  by  the  clouded  skies. 
Yet  these  cannot  deprive  us  of  the  pleasures  of  the  flowers.  The 
Montbretias,  with  their  crimson  or  golden  flowers,  seem  as  oblivious  of 
the  unpropitious  elements.  The  Water  Lilies  on  the  pool  are  nearly 
all  closed,  but  a  flower  of  Nymphaea  carnea  is  open  far  enough  to 
show  its  exquisite  colouring.  With  the  flowers  mentioned  before,  and 
with  others  which  are  in  bloom,  we  can  content  ourselves  till  the  dark 
clouds  roll  away  and  the  sun  comes  out  to  give  fresh  beauty  to  the 
flowers  and  new  pleasure  to  their  owner.— S.  Arnott. 
EXHIBITING  GRAPES— The  SPLICING  SYSTEM. 
Various  methods  are  resorted  to  in  growing  Grapes,  in  these  days 
of  keen  rivalry,  with  the  object  of  producing  the  best  and  most  imposing 
results.  There  is  the  extension  system,  the  spur  system,  the  grafting 
system,  the  express  system,  but  there  is  nothing  like  the  splicing  system 
for  producing  “big”  bunches  quickly.  Talk  about  the  decadence  of 
gardening,  your  “  Traveller”  is  quite  behind  the  times.  We  have  in  these 
days  youths  so  ai’dent  that  they  can  do  in  an  hour  or  two  what  the  “old” 
gardeners  took  years  to  accomplish— *.e.,  get  a  first  prize  card  attached 
to  their  exhibits  at  a  great  national  show,  but  only  by  recourse  to  this 
system.  This  feat  was  accomplished  last  week  at  the  Crystal  Palace, 
and  in  a  manner  that  surpassed  most  previous  efforts.  The  artist,  how¬ 
ever,  unlike  most  artists  who  accomplish  something  out  of  the  ordinary 
way,  did  not  seem  anxious  to  receive  credit  for  his  skill.  He  not  only 
made  no  complaint  about  his  work  being  imperfectly  displayed,  but  his 
modesty  was  so  great  as  to  impel  him  to  hide  it.  Its  true  character  had 
to  be  “  dragged  out,”  so  to  say,  and  so  far  as  can  be  learned  the  honour 
of  the  discovery  rests  with  Mr.  James  Hudson  of  Gunnersbury. 
Mr.  Hudson  is  a  very  observant  man,  and  if  he  find  anything  unusual 
he  generally  also  finds  a  way  of  getting  to  the  bottom  of  it.  During  a 
quiet  stroll  round,  and  with  more  time  at  his  disposal  than  the  judges  had, 
he  observed  a  barrel-shaped  bunch  of  Grapes  in  the  Palace  Show.  This 
striking  him  as  abnormal,  his  curiosity  was  so  far  incited  as  to  tempt  him 
to  look  behind  the  curtain.  This  was  formed  of  a  little  wadding  for  the 
preservation  of  the  stem  of  the  bunch,  and  a  covering  of  tissue  paper 
for  the  sake  of  appearance. 
Drawing  aside  the  curtain  with  a  tenderness  that  may  be  imagined, 
he  found  the  stem  well  secured  to  the  stand  — a  bit  of  thoroughly  good 
workmanship  in  that  respect.  There  was  no  loose  looping  about  it,  such 
as  a  coil  or  two  of  tape,  but  it  was  more  after  the  binding  of  the  handle 
of  a  cricket  bat  or  a  fractured  limb.  It  almost  suggested,  in  fact,  that 
the  operator  might  have  been  attending  ambulance  classes  conducted 
under  the  auspices  of  some  technical  education  committee. 
But  the  bandages  did  not  look  quite  right  to  the  inspector,  and  he 
seems  to  have  fingered  them  till  he  found  an  “end.”  Pursuing  his 
investigations  he  discovered  another,  and  still  another.  These  proved  to 
be  the  stalk  ends  ot  “  shoulders,”  which  in  the  course  of  nature  had  issued 
from  other  bunches  of  Grapes,  and  hence,  from  the  operator’s  point  of 
view,  had  grown  in  the  wrong  place.  A  transference  was  therefore 
effected,  with  the  result  that  the  bunches  on  the  Vines  were  made 
smaller,  while  those  off  them,  and  for  the  “  boards  were  made  larger. 
One  little  addition  appeared  to  suffice  for  one  bunch,  but  another  needed 
two,  and  a  third  even  three,  extra  shoulders  to  give  it  the  desired  size. 
The  judges,  upright  honourable  men,  thinking  no  evil,  and  pressed  for 
time,  attached  to  the  collection  which  contained  these  imposing  Grapes 
the  “  first  prize.” 
So  well  had  the  splicing  been  accomplished  that  even  the  exhibitor  of 
the  collection  did  not  discover  what  his  young  man  had  done  till  the 
mechanism  was  pointed  out  to  him  in  the  show  the  next  morning.  He 
was  naturally  much  annoyed.  If  all  had  gone  well  with  the  Grapes  he 
would,  no  doubt,  have  found  out  the  handiwork  on  their  arrival  home, 
when,  it  may  be  expected,  he  would  have  returned  the  prize,  which,  under 
the  circumstances,  he  did  not  receive. 
Such  instances  as  this  are  rare.  It  is  a  case  of  zeal  overcoming  dis¬ 
cretion,  and  it  is  hoped  that  the  ardent  youth  will  have  gained  a  lesson 
that  will  deter  him  from  again  indulging  in  the  splicing  system  for  the 
quick  production  of  barrelled  shap*((l  bunches  of  prize  Grapes. — 
On-lookur. 
