354 
April  23,  1903. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AXD  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
The  Guerdon  of  Spring. 
Notes  from  Newton  Mearns,  N.B. 
Once  more  I  am  glad  to  be  able  to  take  up  my  pen,  and  to 
write  of  the  Queen  of  Flowers.  With  .such  a  winter  as  we  have 
just  passed  through,  all  pleasant  thoughts  about  the  Rose  dis¬ 
appeared  for  some  time,  but  to-day  (March  31),  amidst  the  bright 
sunshine,  our  hearts  are  cheered,  and  as  we  have  a  stroll  around 
the  winter  of  1902-3  must  be  forgotten  and,  instead,  let  us  look 
into  the  future  for  brighter  results  than  ever.  In  this  district, 
any  alteratiorrs  necessarj^  to  be  made  in  the  rosery  during  the 
M'inter  have  been  attended  to  with  much  difficulty.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  planting  season,  November  and  December,  the 
weather  was  very  changeable,  rain  and  frost  being  experienced 
alternately.  A  few  dry  days  at  the  end  of  November  marked 
the  beginning  of  the  planting  time,  and  enabled  those  of  us  who 
had  our  orders  despatched  from  the  nursery  to  commence.  With 
the  advent  of  December  wet  weather  was  experienced,  and  about 
the  11th  of  the  month  severe  frost  came  on  and  continued 
till  the  21st,  when  the  weather  completely  broke  down,  rain, 
sleet,  and  snow  showers  followed,  and  planting  had  to  cease. 
With  the  approach  of  the  New  Year  no  better  weather  pre¬ 
vailed,  for  the  first  week  of  January  was  showery  and  mikL  On 
the  tenth  day  hard  frost  ruled  the  ground,  and  continued  till  the 
20th,  when  a  change  to  wet  weather  intervened,  and  continued 
right  on  through  the  month.  In  February  matters  were  worsen — 
rain  nearly  every  day,  and  all  outdoor  labour  was  .suspended 
during  the  month.  At  the  end,  those  rosarians  who  had  still  to 
plant  Avere  becoming  anxious,  Irut  some  of  us  had  still  a  little 
hope  of  the  Aveather  improA’ing  Avithin  the  next  day  or  tAVO'.  As 
March  came  in  boisterous  Avinds  and  heavy  rains  Avere  the-  order. 
On  every  day  there  Avas  more  or  le.ss  rain.  As  the  month  came 
on  all  hopes  for  planting  noAV  Avere  gone,  for  most  of  us  prefer  to 
have  all  planting  accoimpli.shed  by  the  middle  of  March,  that  is  to 
say,  if  Ave  Avish  any  good  results  froiu  the  stock  the  same  year. 
Those  of  us  Avho  Avere  fortunate  to  have  their  orders  in  from  the 
nursery  so  early  as  the  end  of  October  had  the  best  of  it. 
I  am  beginning  tO'  see  every  year  that  in  such  Avinters  of  rain 
as'Ave  haA'e  exjAerienced  it  is  a  Avise  plan  to  have  all  planted  Avhen 
the  Aveather  is  much  more  gentle  in  the  latter  part  of  the  autumn. 
Take,  for  example,  thi.S'  last  Avinter.  There  Avas  not  a  daj'  since 
the  middle  of  November,  and  right  on  till  the  end  of  March,  that 
any  person  cmdd  liaA’c  stood  out  in  the  garden  and  planted  in 
favourable  circuinstances.  HoAvever,  I  do  hope'  that  Avith  the 
approach  of  April  Ave  shall  be  able  to  complete  our  planting. 
[Alas!  inches  of  snoAv  have  fallen  within  the  la.st  ten  days. — Ed.] 
As  Avell  as  the  planting  being  delayed  so  also  Avas  pruning. 
The  ground  being  .so  niAich  saturated  it  AA'as  impossible  for  anyone 
to  .stand  on  it  Avifhout  leaving  an  impres.sion  on  the  soil.  Pruning 
of  Hybrid  Perpetuals  commenced  on  March  25,  fully  fifteen  days 
later  than  usual.  At  the  end  of  the  month,  hoiAvever,  all  pruning 
of  H.P.’s  and  Hybrid  Teas  Avas  completed.  Teas  have  not  yet 
been  done,  as  the  Aveather  is  still  cold  and  frost  at  nights. 
NotAvithstanding  the  Avet  Aveather  all  Ro.ses  have  escaped  in- 
jury,  more  or  les.s.  The  Perpetuals  haAm^  not  .suffered;  in  fact,  I 
haA’c  not  one  amissing.  But  among  the  Hybrid  Teas  I  notice  a 
feAv  plants  of  K.  A.  A^ictoria,  Marquis  Litta,  and  Mrs.  W.  J. 
Grant  harm  succumbed.  On  lifting  the.se  favourites  I  find  the 
roots  .so  much  saturated  that  it  is  a  AA'onder  to  me  that  not  more 
of  them  have  perished.  The  Teas  pre.sent  a  dismal  appearance ; 
out  of  my  stock  I  find  I  have  lost  20  per  cent.,  the  cause,  no 
doubt,  due  to  the  dampness  at  the  roots  from  much  rain. 
Teas  out-of-doors  in  tliLs  district  are  not  Avorth  troubling 
about.  Evei-j'  year  I  am  rencAving  blanks;  not  a  Avinter  passes 
Avithout  a  big  death-rate.  The  safe.st  plan  for  Teas  Avould  be  to 
have  a  special  house  set  apart  for  them,  and  to  groAA’  in  boxes  or 
pots.  On  the  Avhole,  the  prospect  for  a  better  season  is  now  more 
promising  than  it  Avas  at  the  end  of  February,  and  aa  ith  a  display 
of  fine  Aveather  right  through  the  summer  a  Avealth  of  blooin  in 
our  gardens  may  yet  be  looked  for.  In  my  opinion  there  is  as 
much  moisture  in  the  ground  at  present  as  AAnll  satisfy  the  plants 
all  the  season. 
I  send  you  for  publication  .some  notes  on  the  Aveather  for  the 
months  of  January,  February,  and  March  kindly  supplied  to  me 
OA^  Mr.  Lvon,  gardener  to  J.  (!.  Fergus,son  Pollok,  Etsq.,  of  Pollok 
Castle,  NeAvton  Mearns,  Avhich  appear  to  me  to  be  very  interc'.st- 
nig,  and  Avill  giA'e  those  of  our  readers  an  idea  of  the  kind  of 
Aveather  Ave  ro.sarians  have  to  put  up  Avith  in  “  Bonnie  Scotland.” 
— J{.,  AeAvton  Mearns  (near  GlasgOAv). 
Tlie  rower  licit  c.vtches  out  of  chaos  charcoal,  Aj-ater,  lime,  or  what  r.ot, 
anil  fastens  them  down  into  a  given  form,  is  properly  called  “spirit;”  and  wo 
shall  not  diminish,  hut  strengthen  our  conception  of  this  creative  energy  ty 
recognising  its  presence  in  loAver  states  of  matter  than  our  OAvn.— John  Ruski.n 
It  is  in  spring  that  Ave  are  most  impressed  by  the  truth  of  the 
Avords  I  have  just  quoted  from  the  great  English  teacher,  who 
goes  on  to  remark  in  a  passage  Avhich  especially  appeals  to  gar¬ 
deners  that:  “The  most  familiar  instance  of  this  is  the  best. 
a.nd  also  the  most  Avonderful — the  blossoming  of  plants.”  It  is 
noAv  that  the  evidences  of  the  Avorking  of  this  poAver  are  ever 
before  us,  and  Ave  realise  hoAv  the  “spirit”  of  life  has  been 
brought  to  bear  on  the  “chaos”  of  the  elements  of  Nature,  and 
has  draAvn  from  them  the  Avonderful  beauty  of  the  floAvers  of 
spring,  and  is  revealing  its  Avorkings  in  the  unfolding  leaf,  the 
.SAvelling  bud,  and  in  the  many  points,  tinged  Avith  all  manner  of 
colours,  Avhich  sIioav  the  arrival  of  the  later  flowei’S  upon  the 
scene  of  their  season’s  visible  Avork. 
It  is  the  end  of  March,  and  the  month  has  not  kept  true  to  its 
unflattering  reputation.  Truly  there  has  been  considerable  bounty 
mingled  AA'ith  its  penury,  for  the  early  floAvers  have  come  on, 
eA'en  though  the  earliest  are  already  bidding  us  farcAvell.  The 
SnoAvdrops  are  no  longer  the  queen.s  of  the  garden,  and  eA^en  the 
gay  youth  Crocus  has  long  made  his  departing  boAv,  for  the  day  of 
the  Daffodils  ha.s  come,  and  Avith  it  other  flowers  groAv  more 
plentiful,  though  Ave  mourn  the  departure  of  the  Crocuses,  which 
haA'e  yielded  sO'  much  of  our  pleasure.  The  season  has  been  early, 
and  the  Daffodils  come  on.  The  little  minimus  Avas  first  in  the 
field,  and  it  Avas  followed  by  the  Saragossa  Daffodil — ahvays  early 
here. — pallidus  priecox,  scoticus,  and  minor  and  nanus,  together 
Avith  some  of  the  .seedlings  from  that  pale-coloured  Pyrenean 
Daffodil.  Noav,  Heni-y  IrA-ing,  Mrs.  H.  J.  Elwes,  and  others  of 
the  class  are  Avith  us ;  Avhile  the  dainty  little  Cyclamineus  shoAvs 
its  trumpets  and  upturned  perianths'  by  the  base  of  the  rockery 
by  Avhich  it  groAvs.  We  shall  soon  be  in  the  full  enjoyment  of 
the  Narcissus,  Avhese  beauty  enraptures  us,  and  gives  our  garden.® 
so  much  of  their  fascination  in  spring. 
Delightful,  too,  are  the  Chionodoxas  Avith  their  floAvers  of 
blue.  There  are  many  of  them  about.  Here,  the  blue  and 
Avhite  blossom.s  of  C.  Lucilise  spangle  these  tufts  of  Saxifrage 
and  Maiden  Pinks  thi’ough  Avhich  they  spring.  There,  they  are 
in  clumps  in  the  borders,  on  the  rockeries,  or  in  the  grass.  There 
is  a  patch  of  the  Avhite  variety,  and  the  eye  cannot  go  far  without 
its  glance  alighting  on  the  bright  colours  of  the  clumps  of 
C.  grandiflora,  and  of  C.  sardensis ;  AA’hile  one  or  tAvo  floAvers 
begin  to  appear  on  the  spikes  of  the  plants  of  C.  Tmolusi,  Avhqse 
dark,  purple-blue  margins  contrast  so  effectively  Avith  the  white 
centre  it  shares  Avith  its  allied  form,  C.  Lucilise.  I  have  here, 
as  AAoll,  a  set  of  pretty  pale  seedlings  I  selected  from  seedlings 
of  C.  Lucilise  alba.  They  are  not  .so  effective  at  a  distance,  as 
the  ordinary  forms,  but  one  likes  to  study  their  soft  colouring 
and  chaste  tints  of  pearl-blue  and  Avhite. 
Here  and  there,  also,  are  the  fine  spikes  of  a  feAV  of  the 
C'hionoscillas,  these  useful  hybrids  betAveen  the  Glories  of  the 
SnoAv  and  the  Scillas.  Such  as  Sphinx,  Reformer,  and  Gertrude 
are  all  to  be  looked  for  Avhen  they  find  their  Avay  into  tlie  hands 
of  the  trade.  There  is,  besides,  a  Avonderful  fascination  in  study¬ 
ing  the  Scillas  themselves.  Here  are  the  dark  blue  floAvers  of 
S.  sibirica,  as  seen  in  its  ordinary  form  ;  the  pure  Avhite  ones  of 
S.  .®.  alba;  the  pretty  light-coloured  blooms  of  S.  s.  marginata, 
and  the  dark,  almost  black-blue  ones  of  Dr.  Paul’s  dark  form. 
Then  Ave  have  yet  floAvers  of  S.  bifolia  in  Avhite,  blue,  flesh,  rosy 
pink,  and  pale  blue.  There  are  also  some  floAvens  on 
S.  puschkinoides,  come  in  time  to  show  us  that  the  Puschkinias, 
now  in  floAver,  haA^e  their  counterpart  among  the  Squills. 
The  Iris  season  has  been  Avitli  us  for  a  while,  and  Ave  ha,A'e 
rejoiced  in  the  loA^ely  floAA'ers  of  I.  Heldreichi,  as  Ave  noAv  rejoice 
in  those  of  I.  sindjarensis  and  of  I.  reticulata,  and  as  we  look 
forward  to  enjoying  in  like  measure  those  of  I.  Willmottiana,  and 
a  succes.sion  of  others  Avhich  Avill  follow  Avith  almost  unbroken 
succes.sion  for  months  to-  come.  I.  sindjarensis  is  very  beautiful, 
Avith  its  arching,  broad,  pointed  leaves  and  its  Spanish  Iris-like 
blooms  of  pale  blue  and  Avhite.  It  is  one  of  my  latest  acquisition.s 
of  last  autumn,  and  I  rejoice  to  find  that  it  lias  stood  our  Avinter 
unscathed  and  unprotected. 
The  day  of  the  WindfloAver  daAvned  long  ago  Avith  the  bloom¬ 
ing  of  Anemone  blanda.  The  variety  c^priana,  Avhich  blooins 
later  here,  is  now  in  flower,  and  scythinica,  Avhich  I  dreaded  I 
had  lost,  as  it  Avas  so  long  of  making  its  appearance,  is  aboA'e  the 
ground,  and  Avill  give  me  pleasure  AA'hen  April  comes  in.  The 
bur.sting  buds  of  Anemone  fulgens,  Avith  its  forms  bicolor, 
aldboroensis,  grseca,  and  the  doubles,  tell  of  the  scarlet  bl^soms 
Avhich  a  feAv  days  of  Avarmer  Aveather  Avould  bring ;  while  Poppy 
Anemones  come  on  Avith  equal  haste  to  give  us  their  colours  and 
tints  of  greater  A’ariety  still. 
CroAvded  yet  Avith  Avax-like  bloom  are  the  bushes  of  Erica 
carnea,  to  Avhich  the  bees  from  a  neighbour’s  liiA'es  hie  Avith  hasty 
