January  7,  1904. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
Book  Notice. 
The  Garden  Decorative. 
plants, 
Po.s'siblv 
or  on  winclow  gardening  and  climbing  plants, 
something  could  be  said  about  vases,  urns,  terraces, 
vails,  tountains,  arbours,  Arc.,  all  of  wliich  come  under  the  title 
of  the  book.  And  (hen  an  index  would  assist  toward  the  find- 
a  reference  but  perhaps  we  are  asking  too  mucli! 
ing  of 
*  ‘‘The  Garden  Pecorativo.”  By  F.  M.  Wells.  London:  The  ,  i  ...  .  . 
Cable  Printing  and  Publishing  Company.  2s.  6cl.  A  Pot-gfOWn  Antirrhinum. 
The  title  of  tl  lis  tiny  book  would  lead  one  to  expect  an 
embrasive  treati.se.  Not  so.  The  authore.ss  concerns  henself 
with  a  few  phases  of  a  very  wide  subject.  Writing  about 
“Why  garden.s  fail  to  be  beautiful,”  on  page  13  she  ob.serves 
that:  “  We  might  visit  hundreds  of  gardens  to-day  without 
once  .seeing  such  things,  for  imstance,  as  the  handsome  trailing 
Callirrhoe  involucrata,  the  hardy  Crinums,  Spigelia,  Lewisia 
or  Arnebia,  to  mention  but  a  few  names  taken  haphazard 
from  a  catalogue  of  ‘  Hardy  Herhaceous  Plants.’  So  many 
people  seem  afraid  to  order  anything  that  they  do  not  know  or 
have  not  had  recommended  to  them.  They  do  not  seem  to 
realise  that  in  securing  for  themselves  subjects  with  which 
they  are  unfamiliar  they  are  opening  out  a  phase  of  garden¬ 
ing  pleasure  that  is  enchanting — the  Avaiting  and  Avondcring 
as  to  the  kind  of  blo.ssoms  that  .shall  appear  in  their  due  .season. 
Gardening  minus  this  experimenting  is  bereft  of  one  of  its  most 
interesting  features.  In  gardening,  at  any  rate,  it  does  not 
ansAver  to  he  indifferent  to  those  things  of  Avhich  Ave  are 
ignorant.  A  fourth  reason  for  this  frequent  lack  of  beauty 
lies  in  the  fact  that  tho.se  responsible  for  the  general  effect  are 
Avithout  that  subtle  sense  of  fitness  that  should  be  the  guiding 
factor  in  all  garden  arrangements.” 
Miss  Wells  gives  a  hint  for  arranging  a  border:  “Too  often 
borders,  Avhen  seen  from  a  short  distance,  present  merely  a 
vague  and  indefinite  ma.ss  of  foliage,  and  Ave  feel  Avhat  a  relief 
it  Avould  be  for  the  eye  to  rest  here  and  there  upon  some  clean- 
cut,  .sharp-edged  foliage  like  that  of  Irises,  Tritomas, 
Phormiums,  and  Gladioli,  Avhich  should  break  the  monotony, 
and  give  character  and  the  distinction  of  bold  outline.” 
Referring  to  the  decorative  u.se  of  bulbs,  she  says  that 
Narcissi,  Chionodoxas,  Scillas,  and  such-like  are  much  more 
beautiful  Avhen  planted  in  large  quantities,  and  we  think 
everybody  Avill  agree.  Copses  and  other  compara¬ 
tively  “  Avaste  ground,”  could  be  made  beautiful  if 
planted  Avith  spring-floAvering  bulbs. 
But  the  summer-floAvering  bulbous  and  allied 
plants  are  not  forgotten  ;  a  Avhole  chapter  is  devoted 
to  them,  Avith  here  and  there  a  cultural  hint,  as  he 
gracefully  slips  from  one  species  or  genus  to 
another.  We  are  glad  to  find  Miss  Wells  alluding 
to  the  MeadoAv  Saffrons  and  the  hardy  Cyclamens, 
together  Avith  the  Winter  Daffodil  or  Sternbergia. 
“The  hardy  Cyclamens — treasures,  indeed!  of  Avhich 
I  verily  believe  three-fourtbs  of  the  oAvners  of 
gardens  are  ignorant.” 
In  true  Robinsonian  style.  Miss  Wells  denounce.^ 
the  geometrical  floAver  beds  that  appear  to  be  set 
into  laAvns  as  a  matter  of  course  Avith  the  great 
majority  of  gardeners.  “Another  disastrous  method 
of  dealing  Avith  a  laAvn  is  to  cut  it  up  into  a  i>er- 
plexing  number  of  complicated  and  intricate  beds 
devoted  to  the  flat  planting  of  various  dAvarf  and 
semi-dAvarf  bedding  ijlants.  That  is  gardening  on 
its  most  mechanical  and  uninteresting  lines,  and 
is  diametrically  opposed  to  the  real  laAvs  that  .sliould 
rule  the  garden  scheme.  These  geometrical  beds, 
Avhen  surrounded  by  gravel  paths,  and  edged  Avith  r' 
trimly-kept  Box,  often  have  a  quaint  and  formal 
charm  Avhen  in  keeping  and  fitness  Avith  the  re.st  of 
the  garden.  But  there  is  nothing  to  commend  them 
Avhen  cut  in  the  grass.  A  hiAvn  made  to  flaunt  a 
heart  of  yelloAv  Calceolarias,  a  crescent  of 
Ageratum,  a  diamond  of  scarlet  Geraniums,  does 
not  commend  itself  to  the  true  gardener-artist. 
Than  .such  a  display  the  unbroken  and  restful  .stretch 
of  green  lawn  is  infinitely  to  be  preferred.” 
When  discussing  Hollyhocks  under  the  chapter 
“  Plants  that  Succeed  in  a  Heavy  Soil,”  the  Avriter 
says  that  she  has  had  Condy’s  fluid  recommended  as 
a  "preventive  of  the  disease,  the  fluid  being  applied 
Avith  a  sponge  to  the  leaves  on  the  earlie.st  appear¬ 
ance  of  the  infestation.  She  has  never  tried  it. 
Other  chapters  are  deAmted  to  plants  for  hot,  dry 
borders ;  the  rock  garden ;  making  the  most  of  a 
.small  garden;  purple  floAvers ;  and  long-floAAering 
plants.  There  are  a  feAV  printer’s  errors  in  the 
pages,  and  in  naming  OUnotheras  the  lovely  speciosa 
is  overlooked;  Avhile  from  the  li.st  of  good  purple' 
floAvers  Senec,io  pulcher  is  aAvanting.  Po.ssibly  if 
another  edition  is  called  for,  the  Avriter  may  add  to 
the  value  of  the  little  Avork  Avith  a  chapter  on  dAvarf 
.shrubs  and  undershrubs,  perbaps  another  on  Avater 
Antirrhinums  as  Winter  Pot-Plants. 
A  paragraph  in  a  Noav  York  gardening  paper  recently,  sug¬ 
gesting  Antirrhinums  as  pot  plants  to  succeed  Chrysanthemums 
seems  to  us  Avorthy  of  special  notice.  Doubtless  feAv  at  first 
thought  that  the  beautiful  annual  Schizanthu.ses  Avould  become 
such  general  favourites  for  conservatories  in  early  spring  as 
they  have,  and  Koav,  among.st  other  garden.s,  can  shoAv  us 
hoAv  to  make  use  of  many  other  common  yet  beautiful  and 
.shoAvy  plants,  for  pot  u.se  and  indoor  emplovment,  at  a  .season 
when  they  can  hardly  be  expected  out  of  doors. 
Objection.s  are  rai.sed  to  the  inclmsion  in  con.s(‘rvatoi'ies  of 
subjects  of  a  hardy  character,  or  common  nature,  Avliich  are 
so  productive  of  hlo.s.som  in  due  .season  in  tlie  open  air.  But  if 
a  plant  has  merits,  and  if  it  is  entirely  absent  from  the  open 
bed  or  border,  its  value  in  another  direction  (indoor  culture) 
a.ssumes  an  entirely  different  rate.  Clematis  Jackmanni  groAvs 
luxuriantly  in  South  of  Scotland  gardens,  but  the  good  folks  at 
Balmoial  find  it  advisable  to  afford  the  protection  of  a  green¬ 
house  ;  ^and  is  it  not  Avorthy  of  the  care  ? 
A.ssumiiig  then,  that  the  common  Snapdragons  are  AA’orthy 
of  pot  culture,  if  no  pot  plants  are  at  hand,  late  soAvn  or 
rooted  iilants  from  the  open  ground  Avill  do  very  Avell.  Do  not 
attempt  to  groAV  a  promiscuous  a.ssortment  of  colours,  but  stick 
to  one  or  tAvo  good  colours,  like  Avhite,  yelloAv  and  pink,  pro- 
pagating  from  the  best  strain  each  season.  Antirrhinums  can 
be  supported  in  the  same  Avay  as  Carnations  if  it  he  that  the- 
tall-groAving  kinds  are  selected.  Nice  plants  may  also  be- 
groAvn  in  Sin  or  Gin  pots. 
