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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  September  9,  1897. 
unsuitable  foliage  with  certain  llowers ;  a  puerile  effect  from  the 
introduction  of  too  much  variety  ;  a  disregard  of  working  in 
harmony  with  architectural  outline  on  the  larger  scale  ;  and,  gene¬ 
rally,  a  want  of  forethought,  which  commences  the  work  with  the 
vaguest  anticipation  of  results,  and  too  often  falls  short  of  the  desired 
effect. 
Apropos  of  the  latter  may  he  mentioned  the  case  of  a  worthy  man 
and  a  good  gardener,  who  was  bidden  to  jirepare  his  decorations  for  a 
marriage  in  high  life.  The  time  was  ample  in  which  to  do  it,  and 
his  cultural  skill  as  a  gardener  left  nothing  to  be  desired  in  that 
direction,  quantity  and  quality  being  conspicuous  when,  prior  to  the 
eventful  day,  all  was  transported  to  the  village  church.  All  the 
munitions  of  war  (or  of  peace)  having  been  so  plentifully — nay,  even 
lavishly — provided,  one  would  reasonably  suppose  that  victory  lay  in 
his  own  hands;  but  a  confusion,  jierhaps  paucity,  of  ideas  of  decorative 
art  prevailed,  which  was  evidenced  at  the  start  by  “  My  Lady,”  whose 
anxiety  had  led  her  to  insjiect  the  initiatory  stage,  and  ask  for 
particulars  respecting  the  more  prominent  parts,  eliciting  the  reply^ 
“I  don’t  know  myself  what  will  be  put  there  yet.”  And  so  the  work 
proceeded,  with  endless  shifting  and  re-shifting,  doing  and  undoing, 
worry  and  confusion.  (Jood  effects  close  at  hand  were  lost  in  the 
distance ;  and  the  elaboration  of  petty  details,  well  enough  for  draping 
a  greenhouse  stage  or  furnishing  a  dinner  table,  were  lost  in  the  “  dim 
religious  light.”  Probably  no  man  ever  worked  harder  than  our  friend 
the  head  gardener,  or  received  so  few  compliments  for  his  pains. 
Again,  here  is  another  sketch  from  life — a  gardener’s  life ;  of  one 
who  bitterlj'^  conqalained  of  torments  ho  endured  over  floral  decorations 
in  the  mansion.  The  daily  filling  of  the  vases  was  a  daily  source  of 
vexation,  increasing  up  to  that  stage  where  patience  was  exhausted, 
and  the  last  complaint  hurried  him  out  into  the  grounds  to  cut  rough 
sjirays  of  haidy  tiowering  shrubs  haphazard,  with  the  remark,  “  That 
will  settle  the  matter  and  settle  me.”  lie  really  thought  he  was  to 
receive  his  coup  de  (jrncq  by  dismissal  when  the  “  mistress  ”  sent  for 
him  to  say,  “  B - ,  1  am  delighted  with  tlie  vases,  they  look  so  light 
and  natural;  always  do  them  like  that;”  and  he  did,  losing  in  one 
accidental  hit  all  the  stiffness  and  consti-aiut  which  had  tied  his  hand 
till  late  in  life.  Similar  instances  of  playing  at  cross  purposes  are 
somewhat  common,  and  although  some  of  the  happiest  effects  have 
been,  like  many  inventions  and  discoveries,  the  result  of  pure  accident, 
which  in  no  wise  minimises  their  value,  few  decorators  can  afford  to 
work  upon  lines  so  desultory. 
For  the  benefit  of  young  gardeners  it  may  be  well  to  inquire  into 
the  essentials  which  compose  a  good  decorator.  In  the  first  place  our 
subject  is  too  elastic  to  be  confined  within  auy  hard-and-  ast  lines,  at 
the  same  time  there  are  ethics  of  harmony  and  desimi  which  may  not 
be  disregarded.  The  eye  and  hand  which  have  been  conjointly 
trained  in  but  the  simple  elements  of  geometrical  drawing,  with  some 
knowledge  of  harmony  in  colours,  will  seldom  lead  the  inventive 
faculties  astray  in  this  direction.  For  work  on  the  largest  scale  our 
ideas  should  be  as  broad  and  as  bold,  one  might  even  dare  to  say  as 
noble,  as  those  which  have  produced  some  stately  pile  we  may  be 
called  upon  to  adorn.  Work  of  this  magnitude  will,  we  may  allow, 
be  required  but  rarely  at  the  hands  of  a  gardener ;  church  festival 
decorations  being  usually  co-oj^erative  work,  the  several  sections  of  it 
are  usually  undertaken  by  parochial  volunteers ;  but  whether  a 
gardener  is  called  upon  or  not  to  j^erform,  to  direct,  or  to  advise  upon 
such  matters,  it  ought  to  be  well  within  the  scope  of  his  intelligence- 
to  be  able  to  do  so  ;  and  not  only  able  to  advise,  but  from  the  very 
nature  of  his  work  and  observation  he  should  be  better  qualified  to  do 
it  than  anyone  else. 
In  the  main  these  sentiments  will,  perhaps,  be  endorsed  by  our 
liberal-minded  readers,  and  in  that  expectation  one  may  go  so  far  as 
to  say  that  it  is  essentially  necessary  that  the  eye  should  be  trained  at 
a  glance  to  take  in  the  chief  outlines  in  order  to  form  a  ready  and 
accurate  plan.  The  ci’itical  eye  will  always  seek  for  error,  and,  more¬ 
over,  dwell  upon  it  to  the  detriment  of  otherwise  good  work  ;  in  fact, 
one  note  of  discord  is  sufficient  to  mar  the  harmony  of  the  whole 
piece. 
What  could  have  prompted  one  decorator  to  spoil  some  really  good 
work  by  hanging  surplus  wreathing  swing  fashion  across  a  noble 
Gothic  window,  which  had  been  beautifully  outlined  with  the  same 
greenery  in  conformity  with  its  requirements,  it  is  not  easy  to  imagine, 
unless  it  proceeded  from  a  weakness  which  could  not  let  well  alone. 
He  could  not  stop  when  he  had  finished.  Trivial  as  this  may  appear, 
it  is  a  very  common  fault,  and  not  less  a  fault  that  it  springs  from  the 
best  of  motives.  Much  good  work  is  spoiled  by  over-elaboration, 
particularly  in  dinner-table  decoration,  by  those  who  have  the  greatest 
Avealth  of  material  at  their  command.  A  study  of  each  form  and 
phase  of  floral  decorative  art  may  worthily,  I  think,  if  briefly,  engage 
our  attention  ;  hence  the  indulgence  of  further  space  is  asked  for. — 
Dkcoka.  (To  be  continued.) 
HARDY  FLOAVER  NOTES. 
Like  all  other  occupations,  gardening,  even  if  followed  for  pleasure 
alone,  brings  with  it  its  disappointments.  Things  do  not  always  go 
smoothly  ;  something  happens  to  upset  our  calculaiions  or  expectations, 
and  we  are,  as  a  matter  of  course,  disposed  to  look  upon  the  gloomy 
side  of  life.  At  these  limes  we  might  do  worse  than  become  followers 
of  Mai'k  Tapley,  and  seek  to  find  enjoyment  even  from  the  misfortunes 
of  the  day.  Now  and  again  we  feel  the  need  of  a  doufde  inspiration 
of  the  spirit  of  that  idiilosophy,  and  it  is  perhaps  never  more  needed 
than  when  bad  weather  brings  ruin  to  our  hopes  and  mars  or  destroys 
our  fiivourite  flowers. 
Such  a  time  has  come  as  these  lines  are  written.  Ilain,  not  in 
showers,  but  in  torrents,  batters  down  the  flowers  and  defaces  or  utterly 
ruins  tlioir  beauty.  AVhat  though  the  Sunflowers  shine  as  gold 
through  the  driving  rain  !  others  there  are  which  look  weary  of  the 
element  they  at  other  times  long  for.  The  Gladiolus  would  fain  have 
le.'ss  now  that  it  has  reared  its  spike  clad  with  beauly  among  the  other 
flowers.  The  Sw>  et  Peas  “  winged  for  flight,”  as  Keats  says,  look  as 
if  th(‘y  longed  to  fly  to  sunnier  lands  where  their  soft  or  gay-tinted 
blooms  would  enjoy  a  brighter  time.  The  autumnal  Poses  look 
draggled  and  forlorn  as  they  struggle  against  the  st<)rm,  and  other 
flowers  are  in  no  better  ]  (light.  But  this  talk  is  profitless,  and  hardly 
in  keeping  with  the  Tapleian  philosophy.  Let  us  then  see  the  flowers 
of  the  time  through  glass  of  brighter  hue. 
Much  of  the  garden’s  attraction  comes  now  from  the  Composites — 
from  the  Helianthuses,  the  Heleniums,  Inulas,  Coreopsis,  and  allied 
flowers,  with  the  chastetung  coloured  Asters.  We  must  admit  that 
the  annuals,  less  enduring  so  far  as  regards  duration  of  life,  are  price¬ 
less  at  this  time,  as  are  Dahlias,  Gladioli,  and  other  half-hardy  flowers. 
The  Cannas  themselves  are  delightful  in  many  gardens,  with  their 
handsome  leaves  and  brilliant  flowers.  Let  us  not  despise  any  of 
these.  Let  us  draw  from  their  ranks  some  to  grow  beside  and 
associate  Avith  the  perennials,  which  are  the  main  subject  of  these 
notes.  Others  who  make  a  special  study  of  these  half- hard v  and 
annual  plams  can  better  tell  of  their  respective  merits  than  1.  To 
them  the  duty  of  telling  of  these  ttowe-s  in  detail  must  be  left,  but  it 
is  surely  itermissible  to  speak  favourably  of  them  in  general  terms 
here.  This  said,  we  may  turn  once  more  to  the  perennial  flowers 
which  are,  and  must  ever  be,  our  jirincipal  topic. 
Among  these  yelloAV-llowering  composite  flowers  there  are  some 
with  stiff  and  ungraceful  habit,  or  with  heavy,  lumpy  blooms.  Fine 
llowers  do  not  always  go  Avith  graceful  foliage,  any  more  than  are 
talent  and  beauty  always  combined  in  individuals  of  the  human  race. 
There  are,  hoAvever,  among  the  Coreopsis  some  plants  combining 
elegant  folirge  and  pretty,  if  not  handsome,  flowers.  None  of  these 
is  prettier  or  more  elegant  than  Coreopsis  verticillata,  a  compara¬ 
tively  old  plant,  consiucuously  absent  from  many  gardens. 
My  first  acquaintauce  with  it  Avas  made  a  good  many  years  ago  at 
a  flower  show  held  at  Carnforth,  in  Lancashire,  where  it  was  exhibited 
in  a  class  for  herbaceous  plants.  I  was  struck  with  its  grace  as  shown, 
and  this  admiration  Avas  heightened  Avhen  it  Avas  seen  in  the  border. 
Some  woodcuts  give  a  very  imperfect  idea  of  its  habit  when  it  has 
formed  a  good-sized  plant,  and  would  give  anyone  a  poor  impression 
of  its  merits.  It  is  vaguely  defined  as  coming  from  the  “  United 
States”  and  has  been  in  cultivation  for  nearly  120  years,  ff’he  bright, 
golden  yellow  llowers  are  very  jffeasing,  and  from  being  held  erect  on 
their  wiry  stems  are  all  the  more  effective.  Much  of  the  charm  of 
the  plant  is  undeniably  due  to  the  leaves.  These  are  in  Avhorls,  and 
are  very  finely  divided,  so  as  to  give  them  a  very  light  and  attractive 
appearance.  It  grows  from  1  to  2^  feet  high.  0.  tenuifolia  is  a 
synonym.  C.  verticillata  likes  a  light  soil,  with  a  fair  supply  of 
moisture  in  summer.  In  some  gardens  it  appears  to  die  out 
occasionally,  but  this  seems  to  be  only  in  exceptional  cases,  and  it  is 
difficult  to  suggest  a  cause  for  this,  as  it  is  quite  hardy  in  even  colder 
districts. 
