356 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
October  15,  1903 
next  summer’s  bedding  by  the  free  use  of  low  gi'owing, 
hardy  plants  to  eventually  hold  a  practically  permanent 
position.  In  saying  that  some  of  these  favoured  by  per¬ 
sonal  experience  are  but  of  the  common  order  of  their  kind, 
it  is  anticipated  that  the  greater  spirit  of  toleration  now  in 
evidence  will  admit  them  to  the  list,  instead  of  blackballing- 
them  out  of  it.  Some  of  the  finest  effects  in  spring  garden¬ 
ing  are  to  be  gained  by  their  use. 
The  first  consideration  may  be  given  to  long  borders, 
which  often  bound  the  formal  garden  and  bear  the  odium  of 
“  swallowing  up  a  lot  of  stuff.”  ,  These  being  of  varying 
length  and  width,  no  rigid  lines  for  filling  them  can  be  laid 
down  here.  In  plantiug  now,  the  future  must  be  kept  well 
in  view:  edging  or  divisional  lines  or  bands  of  the  perennial 
plants  employed,  being  considered. as  permanent  future  diflfi- 
culties,  will  be  avoided.  Obviously  suggestions  only  can  be 
given,  for  the  subject  is  very  elastic.  As  an  example  of 
what  may  be  done  with  a  long  border,  now  cleared  of  its 
.summer  occupants  and  prepared  to  receive  the  spring 
bedders,  this  may  be  crossed  diagonally  with  lines  of 
London  Pride  and  re-crossed  in  the  opposing  direction,  thus 
forming  square  or  diamond  shaped  panels,  according  to  the 
angle  at  which  the  lines  are  drawn.  This  pattern,  again, 
can  be  formed  inside  an  edging  of  the  same  plant,  ancl 
formed,  if  desired,  to  leave  small  triangular  marginal  spaces 
for,  say,  Violas  now  and  Lobelia  next  season.  We  thus  have 
a  number  of  central  panels  admirably  adapted  for  filling  in 
with  Forget-me-not,  Wallflowers,  or  other  spring  bloomers. 
London  Pride  and  blue  Forget-me-not  form,  when  in  flower, 
a  charming  combination  of  colour,  coming  as  a  revelation  to 
those  who  have  not  hitherto  seen  it. 
The  same  combination  can  be  carried  out  in  oval,  square, 
or  circular  patterns,  all  of  which  form  panels  eminently 
suited  for  filling  in  now,  and  with  summer  bedders  in  their 
turn.  Where  bedding  is  done  on  an  extensive  scale  bright- 
coloured,  hardy,  foliaged  shrubs,  such  as  the  gold  and  silver 
leaved  Euonymuses,  -which  can  be  kept  low  by  pegging 
down,  are  valuable  for  making  some  of  the  panels  per¬ 
manent  :  one  plant  which  commends  itself  in  particular  for 
this  purpose  is  Veronica  cupressoides,  quite  a  gem  in  its 
way.  London  Pride,  amongst  the  lowly,  only  has  been  men¬ 
tioned,  but  other  Saxifragas,  including  S.  Wallacei,  are  good 
for  the  purposes,  as  are  Campanula  pumila  in  its  blue  and 
white  varieties  ;  red  and  white  Armeria  (Sea  Pinks,  or 
Thrift)  ;  Alyssum  saxatile  ;  the  Cerastiums,  where  they  stand 
the  winter  well;  Veronica  incana,  and  some  of  the  Sedums. 
Ihe  latter,  however,  are  not  so  amenable  to  control,  and  too 
dwarf  to  give  the  bold  framework  generally  required  to  set 
off  the  legitimate  croppers,  yet  may  w-ell  find  a  place  in 
filling  some  of  the  front  panels. 
Bold  edgings  to  large  beds  of  plain  design,  round,  oval, 
or  square,  can  be  readily  found  in  the  list  mentioned,  and 
with  plenty  of  space  and  a  little  ingenuity  crude  outlines  can 
be  broken  up  by  chain,  half  circle,  or  other  patterns,  as 
taste  may  dictate  or  material  provide  for.  For  our  largest 
round  beds  Alyssum  saxatile  is  much  esteemed  as  an  edging, 
and  the  filling  in  with  Ruby  Gem  Wallflower,  which  will 
shortly  take  place,  is  remarkably  effective  in  spring,  when 
both  are  in  bloom.  Year-old  seedling  plants  of  this  Alys¬ 
sum  are..best  for  the  piu’pose,  as  the  plant  is  a  bad  lifter, 
but  when  once  established  a  massive  permanent  edging 
results,  which  will  hold  its  OAvn  for  years,  the  silvery-grey 
compact  foliage  during  summer  forming  a  pleasing  foil  to 
the  glare  of  scarlet  Geraniums  or  tuberous  Begonias. 
Much  more  might  indeed  be  said  of  the  many  ways  in 
which  these  useful  hardy  plants  can  be  employed  as  per¬ 
manent  bedders,  but,  probably,  sufficient  has  been  shown  of 
the  all  round  benefits  to  be  clerived  from  combination  bed¬ 
ding.  Such  things  as  advocated  when  once  planted  grow 
apace,  and  ample  stock  is  always  to  hand  for  replanting, 
although  they  are  quite  amenable  to  keeping  within  bounds 
bv  annual  trimming.  Summer,  of  course,  finds  them  flower¬ 
less,  yet  there  is  a  quiet  beauty  in  the  various  greens  and 
soft  greys  which  rather  adds  to  than  detracts  from  the  short¬ 
lived  brilliance  of  the  tender  things. 
Such  doctrine,  undoubtedly,  is  rank  heresy  to  the  ortho¬ 
dox  bedder,  but  there  are  not  wanting  signs  of  the  times  to 
show  that  the  orthodox  bedder  is  likely,  sooner  or  later,  to 
become  as  extinct  as  the  Dodo,  and  all  that  is  advanced  here 
is  a  compromise  between  his  faith  and  that  free  thought 
which  -would  relegate  the  scarlet  Geranium,  tuberous 
Begonia,  and  all  the  tender  tribe  to  oblivion,  leaving  an 
opening  in  the  formal  garden  for  an  incongruous  mixture 
of  rampant  perennials  to  clash  with  classic  outlines. — Quiz. 
The  Modest  Violas. 
When  recently  at  Edinburgh  I  made  a  journey  to  Pilrig 
to  see  the  veteran  James  Grieve,  the  originator  of  the  race 
of  bedding  Violas  grown  in  the  present  day.  Here,  in  the 
occupation  of  some  ten  acres  of  the  old  Pilrig  nurseries  of 
Messrs.  Dicksons  &  Co.,  Mr.  James  Grie-ve  and  two  of  his 
sons  have  a  nursery  where  many  things  are  grown  for  sale, 
but  in  which  the  Violas  and  the  Pansies  play  a  very  important 
part,  and  where  large  quantities  of  both  are  grown. 
Viola  Hybridisation. 
It  was  in  1862  that  James  Grieve,  then  with  Messrs.  Dick¬ 
sons  and  Co. ,  commenced  the  cross  fertilisation  of  such  species 
of  Violas  as  lutea,  stricta,  stricta  alba,  cornuta  and  others, 
and  commenced  the  group  of  small-flowered,  free-blooming 
varieties  which  have  become  so  useful  in  gardens,  for  it  is 
as  a  garden  plant  that  the  Viola  has  its  widest  scope  of  use¬ 
fulness.  One  aspect  of  Viola  culture  at  this  nursery  which 
had  great  interest  for  me  as  an  old  raiser  was  the  large 
proportion  of  old  standard  varieties  being  grown  for  bedding 
purposes,  and  this  not  from  any  lack  of  novelties,  but 
because  so  many  of  the  new  varieties  which  have  been  sent 
out  in  recent  years  were  put  forward  as  exhibition  flowers, 
with  the  unfortunate  result  that  much  rubbish,  from  the 
flower  garden  point  of  view,  has  been  put  upon  the  market, 
and  some  of  the  new  Midland  varieties  in  particular  came 
in  for  condemnation  by  Mr.  Grieve,  jun.  Tlie  exhibition  of 
Violas  is  carried  on  only  in  a  very  restricted  degree,  while 
huge  quantities  are  employed  for  garden  decoration. 
I  was  at  Redbraes  early  in  May,  and  the  most  precocious 
flowering  Violas  were  Redbraes  Yellow,  a  very  dwarf,  com¬ 
pact  growing,  rayless  variety,  excellent  in  colour,  and  re¬ 
markably  free  ;  White  Perfection,  an  old  variety,  with  long 
footstalks  to  the  blooms,  Avhich  makes  it  extremely  useful 
for, cutting  purposes  ;  William  Niel,  the  best  of  its  peculiar 
shade  of  rose  colour  here  ;  Walter  Welsh,  a  fine  yellow,  with 
rather  dark  rays,  good  growler,  a  little  tall  in  growTh,  makes 
a  good  back  row  to  a  ribbon  border  of  Violas  ;  Lark,  creamy 
white,  edged  with  heliotrope  ;  Lizzie  Paul,  a  good  bright 
yellow-,  very  like  Bullion  ;  Mrs.  Charles  Douglas,  a  some- 
Avhat  large  but  useful  yellow  self  ;  Pembroke,  a  soft  yellow 
of  good  habit ;  Primrose  Dame,  in  the  same  way,  but  of  a 
rather  paler  shade  ;  Sunset,  a  pretty  Viola,  top  petals  rosy 
lilac,  low-er  primrose  yellow ;  William  Haig,  w'hich  is  re¬ 
garded  as  a  slight  improvement  upon  Archie  Grant ; 
Canary,  pale  yellow-  flowers  of  good  quality,  but  a  strong 
grower,  has  a  Picotee  edge  of  white  in  summer ;  and 
Marchioness,  which  is  considered  by  Mr.  Grieve  as  the  best 
white  Viola.  The  foregoing  represented  the  earliest  to 
bloom  in  the  collection,,  and  that  in  a  somewhat  cold 
district,  and  they  may  be  accepted  as  being  valuable 
for  spring  bedding. 
The  Newer  Violas. 
Among  the  newer  Violas  was  Royal  Scot ;  this  is  a  seed¬ 
ling  of  Mr.  Grieve’s,  and  it  is  an  improvement  upon  True 
Blue,  and  the  latter,  though  raised  many  years  ago,  is  still 
one  of  the  best  blue  bedding  Violas  in  cultivation.  The 
flowers  are  rather  larger  than  those  of  True  Blue,  of  a  clear 
colour,  with  a  white  and  yellow  eye.  Grievei  Improved  is, 
as  its  name  implies,  an  improvement  upon  Grievei,  raised 
some  forty  years  ago,  the  old  form  still  a  most  useful 
bedder.  Sulphurea  makes  a  good  bedder,  being  dwarf  and 
very  free  of  bloom,  it  is  thin  in  substance,  and  suffers  in 
wet  weather.  Pilrig  Park,  white,  has  a  fine  constitution, 
though  it  is  quite  thirty  years  old  ;  Pencaitland  is  also  an 
excellent  bedding  white,  very  free,  and  pleasantly  sweet 
scented  ;  Mrs.  J.  B.  Stew-art  is  a  light  variety  edged  with 
blue  ;  Councillor  Watters  is  a  deep  blue  purple  with  a  flush 
of  crimson,  good  shape  and  stiff  flower  stems ;  J.  B. 
Riding  still  stands  somewhat  alone  for  its  peculiar 
shade  of  colour ;  King  of  Crimsons  is  in  the 
same  way.  The  old  Lilacina  is  an  old  variety  with  some 
individuality  of  character,  and  makes  an  excellent  bedder.. 
Duchess  of  Sutherland  is  of  a  very  pleasing  pale  lilac  tint, 
and  is  found  very  useful  for  bouquet  work;  Blue  Gown  is 
acceptable  in  colour,  but  its  constitution  being  feeble  it 
cannot  be  depended  upon  as  a  bedder  ;  Blue  Duchess,  pale 
blue,  is  thought  to  be  a  sport  from  White  Duchess,  which 
it  greatly  resembles  in  habit ;  Acushla  is  distinct  in  cha¬ 
racter,  and  desirable  as  a  bedder ;  Countess  of  Kintore  is 
still  one  of  the  best  of  the  blotched  varieties,  but.  in  this, 
moist  part  of  the  country  stands  badly  during  summer. 
