26 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
July  11,  1901. 
Wild  Flowers  of  Old  English  Gardens. 
“  Primrosing  ”  and  “  violettiDg  ”  being  over,  those  who  did  not 
profess  to  be  botanists,  yet  liked  searching  for  wild  flowers,  formerly 
went  to  seek  Orchises  during  May  and  June.  Many  of  them  occurred 
in  woods,  specially  on  the  chalk,  and  Londoners  often  resorted  to  woods 
on  the  east  of  the  town  of  Dartford,  or  to  others  near  Rochester.  But 
since  a  profusion  of  curious  and  beautiful  Orchids  from  other  countries 
have  become  familiar  objects,  the  enthusiasm  as  to  our  own  wildings 
has  been  rather  cooled  off.  Again,  owing  to  the  persistency  with  which 
dealers  and  greedy  collectors  have  hunted  up  rare  natives,  a  search  for 
these  is  apt  to  be  very  disappointing  in  its  results.  No  doubt,  too, 
some  plants  have  vanished,  because  their  erstwhile  wocdland  haunts 
have  been  brought  under  cultivation. 
Writing  upon  horticulture  in  the  reign  of  George  IV.,  Loudon 
had  nothing  to  say  as  to  the  management  of  exotic  Orchids ;  they 
were  almost  unknown.  Upon  the  growth  of  British  species,  he 
remarks  that  they  do  best  in  a  mixture  of  loam  and  peat,  with  a  little 
chalk  ;  and,  if  raised  from  seed,  these  should  be  sown  directly  they  are 
ripe.  It  matters  not  much,  but  we  may  speculate  as  to  which  of  our 
native  species,  not  despicable  in  number,  though  nearly  all  of  small 
size,  was  the  first  to  be  admitted  into  the  garden.  We  might  say 
something  in  behalf  of  the  early  Purple  Orchis  (0.  rrascula),  it  being 
a  common  species,  well  known  to  cur  ancestors,  and  occurring  formerly 
in  many  woods  or  copses  close  to  the  metropolis.  Very  recognisable 
was  it  by  the  shining  green,  black-spotted  leaves,  and  the  spike  of 
purplish  crimson  ;  now^  and  then  a  plant  was  discoverable  with  white 
flowers,  and  removal  did  not  alter  these.  Flowering  in  May  or  earlier, 
this  Orchis  was  one  welcome  sign  of  the  approach  of  summer;  an 
objection  to  it  was  the  unpleasant  smell  it  often  exhales  towards 
evening.  Though  some  have  disputed  the  point,  it  seems  probable 
that  the  flower  is  the  “Long  Purples”  of  Shakespeare  and  old  authors; 
also  it  is  one  of  the  many  that  have  had  the  name  of  “  Cuckoo 
Flower”  given  to  them.  Mr.  Friend  states  there  existed  in  Germany 
at  one  time  a  belief  that  wherever  the  Purple  Orchis  grew  abundantly 
the  earth  beneath  was  rich  in  meta'. 
Then  there  is  the  Spotted  Palmate  Orchis,  0.  maculata,  having  a 
paler  spike  of  crowded  blossoms  marked  with  purjle;  it  is  found 
along  pastures  and  in  wocds,  Epping  Forest  for  instance,  which  would 
attract  notice  ;  it  flowers  later  than  the  preceding.  Even  now,  a 
botanist  reports  it  as  abundant  upon  some  meadows,  as  Buttercups 
and  Daisies  ;  the  plant  occurs  more  frequently  in  modern  gardens  than 
does  O.  mascula,  and  grows  taller.  A  shady  border  suits  this  species, 
where,  if  planted  in  moist  deep  loam,  it  forms  very  handsome  tufts, 
being  best  propagated  by  division.  The  older  gardeners  took  note  o 
the  curious  fact  that  some  species  in  the  Orchis  genus  have 
two  tubers  at  the  root,  and  when  one  dies  the  other  develops  an 
offset,  the  result  being  that  a  plant  changes  its  position  slightly 
year  by  year. 
There  are  two  other  species  which,  though  now  somewhat  local* 
were  at  one  time  rather  generally  distributed,  and  which  would  be 
conspicuous  to  those  seeking  plants  of  the  family  for  garden  adorn¬ 
ment.  One  is  Orchis  militaris,  and  its  variety  0.  fusca,  popularly  the 
Military  or  Brown-winged  Orchis,  called  also  by  some  of  its  early 
admirers  the  Lady  Orchis,  on  account  of  its  elegance;  perhaps  it  is, 
on  the  whole,  our  finest  British  species.  Its  tall  stem,  topped  by  a 
dense  spike,  and  only  leafy  near  the  earth,  was  evidently  suggestive  of 
resemblance  to  a  soldier.  It  is  partial  to  chalk  hills,  and  flowers  in 
May;  dried,  it  has  a  fragrance  resembling  that  of  the  Woodruff. 
Then  there  was  the  dull-hued  Lizard  Orchis,  0.  hircina,  of  singular 
aspect,  though  not  much  like  a  lizard,  having  a  spike  of  from  twenty 
to  sixty  flowers,  of  unpleasant  odour,  which  has  been  hunted  up  till 
it  has  become  very  rare  ;  this  is  a  fine  species,  flowering  during  July. 
Considering  the  peculiarities  of  the  Orchis  tribe,  it  seems  remarkable 
that  few  of  them,  so  far  as  we  know,  had  repute  for  curative  qualities 
or  magical  powers. 
The  Marsh  Orchis,  0.  latifolia,  is  an  ornamental  species,  which  has 
been  improved  by  cultivation,  but  it  requires  a  moist  soil,  and  was 
not  much  grown  in  gardens  until  recently,  because  its  management 
was  not  understood.  It  has  a  close,  many-flowered  spike  of  purplish 
crimson,  rising  from  a  strong  stem,  which  may  nearly  reach  2  feet  in 
height ;  the  leaves  are  occasionally  spotted  with  blackish  purple ;  the 
roots  are  palmate.  Sometimes  we  see  it  in  bog  beds  beside  the  Lady’s 
Slipper,  Cypripedium  spectabile  ;  it  blooms  during  early  summer. 
I  ormerly  it  was  easily  obtained  from  marshes  or  moist  meadows  near 
London,  and  it  is  still  common  about  South  England.  Another  species 
fond  of  damp  places  is  the  green-winged  Orchis  morio,  growing 
profusely  in  some  grassy  meadows,  its  flowers  purple,  violet,  or  nearly 
colourlefs;  this  is  a  fine  species,  and  occasionally  patches  of  it  were 
planted  in  gardens,  though  not  specially  attractive. — J.  R.  S.  C. 
Tl\e  Herbaceous  Calceolaria. 
I  have  often  wondered  why  this  most  useful  old  favourite  is  not 
more  generally  grown,  especially  where  masses  of  bloom  are  required 
during  the  months  of  May  and  June,  as  I  think  during  these  two  months 
it  is  at  its  best.  To  obtain  May  plants  seed  should  be  sown  about 
the  first  week  in  July,  using  a  mixture  of  finely  sifted  loam,  leaf  soil, 
and  peat  in  equal  parts,  with  a  liberal  addition  of  sharp  silver  sand, 
merely  covering  the  seeds  after  sowing  with  a  sprinkling  of  soil  shaken 
evenly  over  them  through  a  hair  sieve.  Having  watered  the  pans  or 
pots,  tie  a  piece  of  paper  lightly  over  them  and  stand  in  a  frame,  one 
having  a  north  aspect  if  possible,  and  keep  close  until  the  seed 
germinates,  when  the  paper  must  be  removed,  and  the  seedlings 
gradually  introduced  to  the  light,  being  careful  to  avoid  bright 
sunshine,  as  a  few  minutes  of  this  will  prove  fatal. 
This  is  the  most  critical  time  for  them ;  careful  attention  must  be 
paid  to  keep  a  moist,  cool  atmosphere  in  the  frame,  and,  if  possible, 
avoid  watering  them  until  they  are  almost  large  enough  to  prick  off, 
then  do  so  by  immersing  the  pans  up  to  the  rims  in  soft  water 
until  the  water  thoroughly  soaks  the  whole  mass.  By  about  the  first 
week  in  August  the  seedlings  will  be  ready  for  pricking  off.  The  best 
plan  at  this  stage  is  to  pnt  them  at  the  rate  of  about  five  round  the 
edges  of  3-inch  pots,  using  the  same  mixture,  with  the  addition  of  a 
small  quantity  of  finely  sifted  cowdung.  After  this  they  can  be  placed 
in  a  frame  in  an  exposed  position,  where  they  can  be  shaded  from  direct 
sunshine,  but  still  have  the  advantage  of  full  light,  in  the  absence  of 
sunshine.  If  they  are  well  watered  after  pricking  off,  very  little  more 
will  be  required  until  they  are  ready  for  their  next  shift,  if  the  frame 
is  kept  moist  by  damping  once  or  twice  a  day  and  spraying  the  plants 
slightly  overhead  in  bright  weather. 
In  about  a  month  they  will  be  ready  for  potting  off  singly,  using 
60-size  pots,  well  drained,  and  a  mixture  of  two  parts  fibrous  loam 
broken  up  finely,  one  part  peat,  one  leaf  soil,  and  one  cowdung,  with 
some  sifted  charcoal  and  sand.  This  mixture  will  be  found  good  enough 
for  all  successive  pottings,  unless  the  loam  is  light  and  fibrous,  when 
an  extra  part  can  be  added  with  advantage.  They  will  now  begin  to 
grow  freely,  and  should  be  looked  over  twice  a  day  for  watering  and 
damping ;  do  not  let  them  get  dry,  it  is  better  to  err  in  the  opposite 
direction,  but  a  happy  medium  is  best.  Keep  a  sharp  look  out  for  aphis, 
as  if  this  once  gets  established  it  will  soon  cripple  them,  getting 
under  the  leaves  close  to  the  soil,  where  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
get  at  them.  The  simplest  way  is  to  fumigate  lightly  once  a  week  or 
ten  days  with  an  approved  vaporiser  which  exper  ence  has  taught  the 
operator  that  it  is  safe  and  sure. 
So  soon  as  the  roots  have  got  sufficient  hold  of  the  soil  to  hold  the 
ball  together  when  removed  from  the  pot,  give  another  shift,  using 
4- inch  pots,  and  potting  firmer,  but  by  no  means  hard.  Shortly  after 
this  potting  it  will  be  getting  unsafe  to  trust  them  to  frames  any  longer, 
unless  of  course  you  have  pipes  in  it,  then  they  can  be  left  with 
advantage,  only  using  fire  heat  to  keep  the  temperature  falling  below 
35°.  Unless  the  weather  is  very  severe  I  should  prefer  covering  with 
mats,  &c.,  to  using  the  pipes,  as  I  know  of  no  plants  with  a  greater 
dislike  to  fire  heat,  as  it  causes  a  dryness  in  the  atmosDbere  which  is 
very  distasteful  to  them.  If  they  have  to  be  removed  to  houses  stand 
them  on  a  bed  of  ashes  or  some  other  moisture-holding  material. 
Ventilate  freely  on  all  favourable  occasions,  trying  to  avoid  cold  winds 
blowing  directly  on  the  plants,  syringing  frequently  between  the  pots 
and  overhead,  say  once  a  day,  unless  the  weather  is  very  dull.  By 
about  the  middle  of  November  they  will  be  ready  for  transferring  to 
6-inch  pots,  potting  them  up  to  the  first  pair  of  leaves,  as  the  roots 
which  they  emit  from  the  stems  are  the  main  feeders.  After  this 
watering  must  be  very  carefully  attended  to,  looking  the  plants  over 
once  a  day,  thoroughly  soaking  when  they  require  it,  not  giving  it  to 
them  in  driblets,  always  using  rain  water  if  possible.  Keep  a  light 
shading  always  handy,  as  even  at  this  time  of  the  year  we  get  bursts  of 
sunshine  which  will  soon  affect  them.  About  the  middle  of  January 
they  will  be  ready  for  their  final  shift.  The  size  of  pots  this  time  must 
be  according  to  the  size  of  plants  required,  and  the  uses  to  which  they 
are  to  be  put ;  8  and  9-inch  are,  I  think,  the  most  useful,  but  good  stuff 
can  be  grown  in  smaller  if  they  have  been  grown  more  restricted  all 
through  the  time.  Use  the  compost  at  this  potting  in  as  rough  a  state 
as  can  be  conveniently  worked  into  the  pots,  except  the  cowdung, 
which  should  be  rubbed  through  a  half-inch  sieve.  Remove  the  lower 
leaves,  and  to  firm  them  cover  the  old  ball  well. 
Once  they  become  established  in  this  pot  a  tub  of  liquid  manure, 
made  by  immersing  in  it  a  bag  of  fresh  cowdung,  should  be  always 
kept  bandy,  and  used  in  a  weak,  clear  state  every  time  they  are  watered. 
Give  plenty  of  room,  and  as  the  flower  spikes  appear  place  a  neat  stake 
to  each  main  one,  leaving  it  at  least  6  inohes  above  them  for  further 
tying,  as  they  get  up.  I  omitted  to  state  in  the  proper  place  that  about 
the  middle  of  December  they  should  have  their  points  taken  out  to 
induce  a  more  bushy  habit,  as  if  allowed  to  go  unpinched  the  plant  is  of 
a  taller  and  more  straggling  appearance.  The  principal  essentials,  then, 
we  will  say,  to  the  successful  cultivation  of  this  plant,  area  cool,  moist, 
shady  atmosphere,  a  free  yet  somewhat  firm  rooting  medium,  and 
perfect  cleanliness  ;  with  these,  and  attention  to  details,  I  am  sure  the. 
result  will  amply  repay  for  the  time  and  labour  spent  on  them. — T.  F. 
