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............------....----GARDENING…

---------FLOWER BEDS: HOW…

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FLOWER BEDS: HOW TO PLANT THEM. The shape of flower-beds may not be ver; striking or original; but no matter—wonder fully new effects can be gained by plantinc ihem quaintly, or by using unfamiliar flower ing and foliage subjects. In all probability there will be a square bed somewhere in lh( garden if so, let it. be accurately marked out as shewn in Fig. 1, just with a centre round, and the remaining space divided into four. It presents a novel appearance already, does it not? One word as to pegging out a bed First, the centre 6pot shonld be found by measuring then all the lines can be drawn from that, and inaccuracy will be impossible. A sufficient number of white pegs will define even elabo- rate patterns in carpet bedding. The bed of national colours is always a popular one, I especially pleasing in a front garden, so iu the design given the space A can be filled I with scarlet Zonal Pelargoniums, double or single, with dwarf blue Cornflowers at B, golden Pyrethrum Aureum at C, goldor. I Violas at D, and white Candytuft at E. or a firill more prononneed red-white-and-Hi^ Stiow will result from omitting the gold, aiii having Cornflowers at B and E and Candy- tuft at C aud D. I This is a charming plan to carry out ui more costly plants; if Coleusee are used massed at A, rose double Begonias at B. cream Begonias at C, white Begonias at D, ( and crimson Begonias at E, the gardener will have aciple excuse for pride. It is possible to further elaborate this design by planting I -oliag« subjects where the lines are marked a I FIG. 1. SQUARE FLOWWR BED. ring of Chilian Beet, and straight rows of Pyrethrum Aureum will elegantly map out the whole. For instance At A might b-ri rich orange African Marigolds. violet Stocks at B, cream Stocks at C. cream Asters at D, and violet Asters at E. There could also be added an edging of the Pyrethrum all round. Fig. 2 has an elaborate appearance, but k Eerfectly simple to peg out, and what a num er of different plants can be used in it, or, better still, different varieties of the 6amc plant. I designed this bed to shew off a eollec tion of named Violas, the colours of which were arranged thus: A. Black. M. Lavender. B. Purple. N. Violet. c. Mauve. o. Pale-green Foliage. D. Lilac. P. Bronze Fotiape. E. White. Q. Blue-shaded Whitfe F. Cream. B. Gold Foliage. G. Lemon. S. Pale Blue. II. Gold. T. Deep Blue. L Silver Foliasre. u. White Foliage. j. Crimson Foliage. Y. Indigo Blue. K. Blush, w. Dark-green Foliage, L. Rose. x. Bright-red Foliage. The effect was lovely in the extreme. may be as well to mention that the folin subjects were varieties of Thymus. Ceraetiu ,Meo,embryantliemuni, Chilian Beet, (dwa Pyrethrum Aureum, and Irceine. This b could be admirably carried out in dwnrJ Nasturtium*. it win esijiv be recognised, on inspecting the figuw, that the design could dispense with such a immber of different A, B, G; and H might be scarlet, C, 12. D. F. all white K. L. M, N and Q. S. T, V blue, I, J, R, U. and 0, P. W, X gold or else the centre star shaped portion could be made of blue, and Pyrethrum Aureum fill the 6urrounding parts As round beda are so common in gardens it i* as well that we have hera several methods 01 I FIG. 2. ROUKD FI-OWER BED. effectively planting them. Every pleasure ground, no matter now small, should display some novelty, and there is no easier way to achieve this than by choosing 6ome unfamiliar flower to fill a bed. How excited blossom- lovers were when the eornfiower-blue Phace- lia Campanularia was introduced to favour! Well. I doubt if Delphinium "Blue Butter- fly is yet well enough known to escape being as enthusiastically admired. It is an exquisite annual. Another plant I can recommend is Lupinua Menziesii, all deep gold and orange, eighteen inches tall; the bright rosy crimson and white Lupinus Hybridus Albo-coccineus is •also beautiful: even Eschsc-holtzia Erecta, Rose Queen, which can be sown where wanted, and will foon blossom, is bound to attract attention; its colour is a rich pink. I suppose we can all remember gardens in ..hich the beds that have charmed us most hovt been the simplest. There ie, indeed, nothing much lovelier than a mass of snowy white Verbenas, or of Cream or" Peach" Stocks. There are many greenhouse plants that will thrive in the beds; Palms may be sunk in their pots, the lattor quite hidden beneath the earth, of course. So may the useful Aspidistras that have adorned the rooms all winter; indeed, they will benefit by the fresh air and rain-washing. I am annually aasur-M* that the Geranium, or, more properly speak ing, the Zonal Pelargonium, is hopelessly out of fashion. All I know is that the dear old Cloth of Gold and Mrs. Pollock shall always be honoured in my garden. The scented-leaved Geraniums are almost the best foliage plants we have, and how gratefully we gather their sprays for tlx- vases. If there is a prominent round bed on the lawn, a pleasing filling for it will consist of bushes of the tiny pink Rose named Mignon- ette, which can be kept down to eighteen inches in height, and will be a mass of blos- som until winter. The Mignonette bed is a popular if nut showy feature its deficiency may be remedied by setting crimson Salpi- glossis, or tall blue Cornflowers, at twelve- inch intervals all over it. If there are several beds upon a lawn, the gardener must avoid juxtaposing colours that clash; rather let juxtaposing colours that clash; rather let nim fill one bed all with white flowers, or with a mixture of foliage plants, that are generpJly of artistically subdued tints. And is work at an end when the beds are all filanted? Ah, no! Weeds should never grow arge enough to be observed, and unless seed- pods are removed in their babyhood the poor parents will cease to blossom; strong gales will oblige new staking and tying, and some- times a plant from greenhouse or seed-beds must replace one that a wireworm or other enemy has destroyed. All this labour is pleasant, though, to tii,,e grower who loves his flowers.

ITHE PENYCROES TRAP( 'ACCIDENT.¡

-----A WELSH COLLECE FARM.

FOREIGN TRADE IN WELSH STOCK.

; FIELD EXPERIMENTS.

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