October  21,  1897. 
JOURh^AL  OR  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
“  A  Youiig' Gardener’s”  troubles,  that  is  in  viewing  them  from  my 
jieriud  of  life.  They  may  be  very  real  to  him,  but  the  time  will  come 
when,  in  looking  back,  he  wdll  smile  upon  them — that  is  if  he  meet 
them  now  in  a  right  spirit.  If  he  will  turn  back  to  “An  Old 
Boy’s  ”  reminiscences  of  bothy  life  he  Avill  there  note  where  the  “  oil 
duty  ”  men  were  sent  to  unload  slack  at  a  railway  station  on  a 
Christmas  Day,  and  other  difficulties  (?)  of  young  gardeners’  lives  in 
those  days.  The  young  fellow  who  has  to  meet  them,  and  who  finds 
in  each  difficulty  his  opportunity,  is  the  one  who  succeeds,  and  we 
know  that  among'  gardeners  there  are  not  a  few  failures.  Few  of  us 
have  what  we  like  ;  most  of  us  can,  if  we  choose,  learn  to  like  what 
we  have. 
Men  there  are,  I  know,  “  dressed  in  a  little  brief  authority,”  who 
are  unapproachable  to  their  subordinates,  but  they  are  not,  happily, 
very  common  amongst  our  class.  If  “A  Youn"  Gardener”  feels 
some  little  restriction  upon  him  wlien  “  off  duty,”  let  him  remember 
that  “stone  walls  do  not  a  prison  make;”  and  respecting  these  little 
misunderstandings,  which  may  arise  in  the  best  regulated  gardens, 
both  “  head  ”  and  “  hands  ”  may  sometimes,  to  their  mutual 
advantage,  find  that  “it  is  best  for  a  servant  to  bo  sometimes  deaf, 
and  for  a  master  to  be  sometimes  blind.” — W ell-wisher. 
CROCUSES. 
The  pretty  and  modest  Crocus  is  a  favourite  spring  flower,  useful  for 
boxes  and  pots,  but  quite  indispensable  for  beds  and  borders.  Most  soils 
and  Dositions  suit  it,  and  it  graces  any  spot  where  it  is  planted  to  an  extent 
excelled  by  few  other  spring  flowers.  To  attempt  to  describe  a  flower  so 
well  known  as  the  Crocus  would  be  superfluous  ;  everybody  has  seen  it 
at  some  time  or  other  in  gardens  and  in  pots.  It  may  be  useful, 
however,  to  refer  to  the  many  modes  of  decoration  for  which  it  may 
be  employed,  and  to  describe  the  circumstances  under  which  it  thrives 
best.  We  may  begin  by  noting  that  it  is  for  outdoor  planting  that 
Crocuses  are  most  largely  employed.  They  make  pretty  masses  in  beds  by 
themselves  if  the  colours  are  judicously  blended,  and  clumps  of  half  a  dozen 
roots  planted  together  here  and  there  form  attractive  bunches  of  flowers  in 
spring.  The  earliness  of  the  Crocus  is  one  of  its  chief  recommendations. 
It  is  in  full  beauty  when  the  spikes  of  the  Hyacinths  are  only  half 
furnished  with  expanded  bells,  and  the  broad,  richly  coloured  petals  of 
the  Tulips  are  still  pressing  closely  to  each  other,  as  though  loth  to 
expose  themselves  to  the  nipping  air.  But  fortunately  they  last  a  con¬ 
siderable  time  in  flower,  and  are  thus  serviceable  for  edgings  and  bands 
to  beds  of  the  last-named  flowers  when  they  have  at  length  fully  developed 
themselves.  For  this  purpose  Crocuses  are  used  to  a  considerable  extent, 
and  they  are  never  seen  to  better  advantage  than  when  surrounding  with 
a  ring  of  pui’ple  or  gold  a  mass  of  the  more  imposing  Hyacinths  ;  and 
after  the  Crocus  flowers  fade  the  leaves  form  an  elegant  green  fringe. 
A  double  row  of  white,  blue,  or  yellow  Crocuses,  or  a  row  of  each 
makes  a  charming  edging  to  a  circular  bed  or  long  border,  whatever  it 
may  be  planted  with  ;  and  to  any  corner  that  would  otherwise  be  bare 
they  would  impart  warmth  and  cheerfulness.  There  is  not  much  diversit3' 
in  their  colours  ;  shades  of  purple  or  blue,  yellow  and  white  being  all 
that  are  rei)re3ented,  but  many  of  the  varieties  are  prettily  flaked  and 
striped.  A  mode  of  planting  these  flowers  not  commonly  employed  is 
practised  in  the  London  parks.  The  corms  are  dotted  about  here  and 
there  amongst  the  grass  in  irregular  order,  purple,  white,  and  yellow 
being  intermixed,  and  when  they  push  their  flowers  through  the  turf 
early  in  the  year  the  effect  they  produce  is  well  worth  ccq)ying.  This 
plan  might  be  followed  on  any  grass  plot.  The  present  is  a  good  time  for 
planting,  squares  of  turf  being  cut  out,  the  soil  beneath  well  stirred  so  that 
water  can  pass  away  freely,  the  bulbs  placed  in,  and  the  turf  placed  in 
position  again.  In  very  poor  or  heavy  ground  it  is  desirable  to  remove 
some  of  it  and  add  fresh  for  insuring  the  growth  and  increase  of  the 
corms,  but  in  many  lawns  that  is  not  necessary,  provided  the  soil  is 
stirred  and  sand  added  if  it  is  of  a  heavy  nature.  Some  persons  simply 
make  holes  in  the  grass  with  a  pointed  stick,  press  in  the  bulbs  and  tread 
the  grass  over  them,  but  that  is  not  a  good  plan,  as  they  are  then  practi¬ 
cally  suspended  in  the  pointed  cavities,  and  these  in  firm  wet  ground 
act  as  so  many  miniature  water-traps,  preventing  the  growth  and  causing 
the  decay  of  the  corms.  Lawns  in  which  bulbs  are  planted  should  not 
be  mown  in  the  spring  until  the  leaves  of  the  bulbous  plants  are  matured 
and  commencing  to  decay. 
Than  Crocuses  few  more  suitable  flowers  could  be  chosen  for  the 
decoration  of  graves,  over  which,  with  the  drooping,  pure  white  Snowdrop 
flowers,  they  will  bloom  with  a  (juiet  beauty  well  in  keeping  with  the 
associations  of  the  spot.  AYe  have  inore  than  once  been  asked  to  give 
advice  on  the  planting  of  graves,  and  may  say  that  Crocuses  and  Snow¬ 
drops  should  be  planted  now  for  their  decoration  in  spring. 
For  pots  and  boxes  Crocuses  may  also  be  used  with  advantage.  In 
the  former  they  may  be  planted  in  mixture,  or  one  sort  only  may  be 
planted  in  each  pot.  The  light  variety  with  flat  petals  shown  in  the 
front  is  a  very  early  yellow  sort  named  Cloth  of  Gold  ;  the  others  are 
the  ordinary  purple,  white,  yellow,  and  striped  varieties,  which  ai'e 
better.  Five  corms  may  be  placed  in  a  5-iuch  pot,  which  is  a  con¬ 
venient  size  for  growing  them  in.  They  may  be  placed  under  ashes  or 
fibre  for  a  time  as  advised  for  Hyacinths  and  Tulips,  and  be  subsectuently 
removed,  watered  as  they  require  it,  and  placed  in  the  greenhouse  or  on  a 
window-ledge  to  bloom.  They  are  useful  in  boxes  if  associated  with 
Hyacinths  and  Tulips  :  they  should  be  in  the  front  unless  Snowdrops  are 
emplo^'ed,  in  which  case  thej'  may  form  a  second  row. 
Crocuses  will  thrive  in  any  soil  that  will  grow  other  bu  bs  well,  and 
the  mixture  that  has  been  recommended  for  Hyacinths  will  produce 
extra  large  flowers.  But  no  trouble  need  be  taken  to  prepare  a  special 
compost,  as  any  ordinary  garden  soil,  mixed  with  sand,  will  suit  thern. 
They  may  be  covered  with  about  2  inches  of  soil.  When  planting  in 
lines  the  quickest  way  is  to  draw  a  drill  with  a  spade,  press  in  the 
Crocuses,  and  turn  the  soil  over  them.  They  may  be  planted  and  potted 
now,  and  the  earlier  this  is  done  the  better  will  be  the  growth  and  the 
finer  the  flowers. — A. 
NOTES  FROM  DUBLIN. 
A  PEEP  into  “The  People’s  Gardens”  lately  revealed  more  brightness 
than  one  could  have  expected  to  find  with  the  advent  of  October.  It  was 
a  casual  call,  but  compared  very  favouralfly  with  a  special  visit  made  some 
time  previously,  when  summer  sun  had  been  consj)icuous  ))y  its  absence 
and  results  were  disappointing.  Not  so,  however,  this  late  autumn  day 
when,  expecting  to  find  little  remaining  of  the  ephemeral  gaiety  of 
summer  bedding,  it  was  comforting  to  find  such  warm  tones  of  colour 
given  ofl!  by  Begonias  and  ‘  Geraniums,’  as  well  as  grateful  to  have 
odours  galore,  of  the  good  kind,  a  number  of  standard  bushy-headed 
Heliotropes  laden  with  flowers  and  fragrance  being  responsible  for  most 
of  the  latter  delights. 
Entering  from  the  city  side,  where  a  gentleman  with  many  bright 
buttons  and  much  gold  lace  personifies  law  and  order,  and  enforces  it  by 
a  vigilant  look-out  for  stray  dogs  (by-the-by,  our  last  visit  witnessed  a 
frolic  through  the  flower  beds  of  two  noble  specimens  of  the  Irish  red 
setter  in  defiance  of  all  conventionalities),  a  walk  through  a  shrubbery 
brings  one  to  the  piece  di  resistance  in  the  way  of  bedding.  This  is,  I 
suppose,  similar  to  what  obtains  in  most  public  gardens,  hence  calls  for 
little  comment.  One  could  not  fail  to  notice  that  charming  old  friend. 
Calceolaria  amplexicaulis,  the  most  iileasing  feature  in  a  substantial 
ribbon  border.  In  this  part  of  the  gardens  seats  are  abundantly  disposed 
in  every  available  nook  ;  not  much  in  use  to-dajq  but  sufficiently  occupied 
to  tyiiity  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  our  Dublin  folk  ;  the  well-to-do,  and 
the  not-well-to-do,  with  the  ne’er-do-well,  are  all  in  evidence.  M^e  watch 
them  all,  as  well  as  the  flowers  ;  notably  a  lady  with  a  covetous-lookmg 
handbag,  a  student  of  botany,  mayhap,  by  the  great  interest  displayed  in 
one  of  the  gardeners  who  is  dismantling  a  bed  of  choice  succulents. 
However,  to  his  credit  be  it  said,  no  specimens  are  transferred  ;  she  goes 
empty  awajq  and  we  wander  away  down  by  the  lake. 
Here,  at  the  lake,  one  enjoys  the  good  taste  displayed  by  the  planter  . 
On  the  opposing  bank  a  bold  planting  of  Tritonias  is  the  right  thing  in 
the  right  place,  and  some  noble  foliaged  plants  naturally  disposed  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  water  scene  give  the  happiest  effect.  A  group  of  Bull- 
rushes,  common  as  the  plant  is,  suits  the  margin  admirably  :  one  might, 
in  fact  imagine  the  whole  thing  to  be  a  ])iece  of  Nature’s  handiwork  weie 
it  not  ’that,  what  is  doubtless  an  oversight,  the  large  earthenware  supply 
pipe  protrudes  rather  prosaicly  from  the  bank.  We  would  like  to  wade 
out  and  adorn  its  mouth  with  a  few  rocks  ;  but  some  stern  otncial  eye 
might  be  focussed  our  way,  and  trouble  would  ensue.  Here,  m  a  secluded 
nook  is  a  fine  bit  of  the  rockwork  builder’s  art ;  or  is  it  natural  rock, 
strata  upon  strata  being  so  cleverly  superimposed  ?  An  overflow  pool  is 
surrounded  and  centred  by  handsome  foliage.  Broad-leaved  Aralias, 
noble  Cordylines,  and  a  vigorous  growth  of  Osmunda  regalis  occupy  this 
sheltered  place,  which  is  variously  approached  from  the  plateau  ot  the 
flovver  grounds  by  flights  of  informal  steps. 
On  the  bold  rockeries  above,  near  the  opposite  boundary  to  the  city 
side  things  have  grown  almost  too  luxuriantly,  and  notably  so  on  the 
rock-studded  bank  which  backs  up  the  ribbon  border  previously  noticed. 
Yet  in  this  particular  place  the  dense  overlapping  growths  ot  Ivy 
could  not  but  be  admired,  being  quite  a  feature  in  its  wajL  Having 
returned  to  this  part  of  the  grounds,  the  new  circular  fenced-in  rosery 
must  not  be  overlooked.  Some  two  years  since  we  saw  it  being  formed, 
and  all  the  Boses,  including  the  Teas  at  the  pillars  and  chains,  have 
grown  apace,  and  look  remarkably  clean  and  healthy.  Ihe  entrance 
gate  to  this  sanctum  is  padlocked,  and  rightly,  too  ;  b^it  as  the  backs  ot 
Bie  labels  only  are  visible  to  interested  ones,  we  would  like  to  climb  the 
fence  and  face  them  outwards,  that  all  who  run  (outside)  might  read. 
Near  at  hand,  half  a  dozen  good  specimen  semi-hardy  i  alms,  spaced  out 
bv  the  side  of  a  walk,  are  cushioned  in  Sedum  spectabile,  now  in  all  the 
glory  of  its  autumnal  bloom.  Nothing  could  be  finer  as  an  autumn  plant 
than  this  Sedum  boldly  planted  on  the  grass. 
Back  again  to  a  far  corner,  in  a  kind  of  sub-tropical  nook  formed  by  a 
dense  background  of  evergreens,  the  most  critical  of  critics  could  not  but 
derive  unqualified  pleasure,  and  one  fairly  revels  amonproups  of  graceful 
Bamboos  and  grand  specimen  Eulalias  m  variety.  Aot  fai  i^vay,  m  a 
large  bed,  from  a  groundwork  of  smaller  tlnngs,  spring  a  numbei  of  the 
noble  IMusa  ensete,  as  yet  unscathed  by  wind  or  weather.  Iheie  is  no 
doubt  but  that  much  of  the  beauty  and  interest  pertaining  to  these 
charming  gardens  is  to  be  found  in  the  great  number  ot  evergreen  shrubs 
employed  in  the  original  planting.  Among  these  luxmiant  Hollies  m 
plentiful  variety  are  a  feature.  The  treatment  ot  this  planting  has  also 
contributed  not  a  little  to  the  good  e fleet,  deep  bays  being  formed,  and 
these  in  turn  being  utilised  for  the  cultivation  ot  flowering  plants.  One 
such  was  noticed  of  Lilium  lancifolium,  which,  although  now  past  its  best, 
must  up  till  lately  have  been  very  line.— K. 
