GROUPINGS OF PLANTS IN POTS
It is a common thing in Italian gardens to see a quantity of plants in
pots standing in various parts of the garden, generally in connexion
with paved terraces and steps. This is in addition to the larger pot
plants--Oranges, Lemons, Oleanders, &c., that, in their immense and
often richly decorated earthenware receptacles, form an important
part of the garden design. In our climate we cannot have these unless
there is an Orangery or some such spacious place free from frost for
housing them in winter. But good groupings of smaller plants in pots is
a form of ornament that might be made more use of in our own gardens,
especially where there are paved spaces near a house or in connexion
with a tank or fountain, so that there is convenient access to means of
daily watering. I have such a space in a cool court nearly square in
shape. A middle circle is paved, and all next the house is paved, on
a level of one shallow step higher. It is on the sides of this raised
step that the pot plants are grouped, leaving the middle space free
where there is a wooden seat, and good access to a door to the left.
[Illustration: _POT PLANTS JUST PLACED._]
[Illustration: _PLANTS IN POTS IN THE SHADED COURT: FUNKIA, LILIUM
LONGIFLORUM, FERNS AND ASPIDISTRA._]
[Illustration: _MAIDEN'S WREATH_ (_FRANCOA RAMOSA_).]
[Illustration: _MAIDEN'S WREATH BY TANK._]
The first thing is to secure good greenery. On each side three oblong
Italian terra-cotta pots full of _Funkia grandiflora_ stand on the
lower level. They serve to hide the common flower-pots that are ranged
behind. The picture shows how it looks a day or two after it is first
arranged, early in June when the _Clematis montana_ is still in bloom.
Next above the ornamental pots are common ones also with _Funkia
grandiflora_. On the inner side of the groups, next the house, are pots
of Aspidistra, and, against the wall, of Male Fern, and there are more
Ferns and Funkias for filling spaces between the flowering plants.
Of these the most important are Lilies--_longiflorum_, _candidum_
and _speciosum_--and Hydrangeas, but we also have pots of _Gladiolus
Colvillei_ The Bride, _Campanula persicifolia_ and _C. pyramidalis_ and
white and pink Cup-and-saucer Canterbury Bells. The last are taken up
from the ground and potted only just before they come into bloom.
There are seldom more than two kinds of flowering plants placed here at
a time; the two or three sorts of beautiful foliage are in themselves
delightful to the eye; often there is nothing with them but Lilies, and
one hardly desires to have more. There is an ample filling of the green
plants, so that no pots are seen.
If the place were in the sun the plants chosen would be largely
Geraniums; two-year-old plants in good-sized pots; and, in place of the
Ferns that enjoy shade and the Funkias whose leaves often burn in the
sun, there would be the large leaved _Megasea cordifolia_. Here also
would be Lilies, Hydrangeas and Cannas, and good store of the graceful
Maiden's Wreath (_Francoa ramosa_).
The Geraniums would be very carefully assorted for colour; in one
part of the scheme white and soft pink, in another the rosy scarlets,
and elsewhere the salmon-reds, now so numerous and good. The last two
groups might by degrees tone into the pure scarlets, of which the
best I know and the most delightful in colour is Paul Crampel. The
colour is pure and brilliant but not _cruel_. I can think of no other
word that so well describes some scarlets of a harsh quality that
gives discomfort rather than satisfaction to a sensitive colour-eye.
Henry Jacoby is to me one of the cruel reds and has no place among my
flowers. I have no desire to disparage a plant which is so general a
favourite, but feel sure that its popularity is a good deal owing to
the fact that the main gardening public is inclined rather to accept
what is put before it than to take the trouble to search for something
better. Although the colour of this Geranium is extremely vivid, a
whole bed of it has a heavy appearance and is wanting in pictorial
effect.
I have great pleasure in putting together Omphale, palest salmon-pink;
Mrs. Laurence, a shade deeper; Mrs. Cannell, a salmon-scarlet
approaching the quality of colour of Phlox Coquelicot, and leading
these by degrees to the pure, good scarlet of Paul Crampel. A bed or
clump or border planted with these, or varieties equivalent in colour,
would be seen to have, in comparison with a bed of Henry Jacoby, a
quite remarkable degree of life, brilliancy, beauty and interest. The
colouring would be actually brighter and yet more kind and acceptable
to the eye.
Had I more strength I should visit the nurseries in order to see all
the excellent Geraniums that are now grown, and to group them into
colour-combinations such as could be confidently recommended. As it is,
I have to depend upon the courtesy of my friends in the horticultural
trade, when I have occasion to make such combinations, for sending me
blooms that I can choose from.
For detached vases that stand on pedestals, so that the whole of the
vase and contents becomes warmed by exposure to sunlight, a condition
specially grateful to Geraniums, I know no variety more useful than
King of Denmark. The flowers are in large trusses, half-double, of an
excellent soft salmon-pink colour; the foliage is bold and well marked;
the whole plant massive and handsome. For this and any other outdoor
pot-culture it is best if strong two-year-old plants can be kept.
There are among Geraniums some of a raw magenta-pink that I regret to
see in many gardens and that will certainly never be admitted into mine.
In designing gardens where there are flagged spaces it is well to
remember the good effect of summer flowers in slightly raised beds
with stone edges. Such beds often come happily in conjunction with
steps and paved landings and designs in which fountains occur. Summer
flowers, such as Geraniums, Lilies and Cannas, seem to revel in such
beds and are never seen to better advantage. Owing to the cottage
character of my house I have little scope for such beds--none at all
for the best kind with dwarf walls and curbs of moulded freestone,
but I have one edged with a low wall of local sandstone where there is
a square landing paved with the same stone and short flights of steps
in connexion with a tank and a lower garden level. Here Geraniums and
Cannas luxuriate in shelter and full sunshine.
Maiden's Wreath (_Francoa ramosa_) is a plant for many uses. The
foliage, though sparing in quantity, is distinct and handsome. The long
flower-stems are flung out with a kind of determination of character
that would seem to imply that the plant knows what is expected of it
and intends to fulfil its settled duty and purpose, namely, that of
being a graceful and beautiful ornament. Towards the later summer these
flower-stems become so heavy that there is danger of their weight,
swayed by a little wind, wrenching out whole portions of the plant.
Support should be given with short pieces of hazel stick tied half way
up the stem. In nurseries it is general, and even in private gardens
not unusual, to see the flowers tied straight upright. This should
never be, for it not only forces the plant into a form that is entirely
at variance with its nature, but robs it of its natural grace and
valuable individuality.
There is no end to the uses of Hydrangeas in pots; a well-bloomed plant
will give life and interest to many an uninteresting corner; the bloom
is long-enduring and stands equally well in sun and shade. If the blue
colour, which comes naturally in some soils is desired, it can be had
by mixing pounded slate and iron filings with the compost--alum is
another well-known agent for inducing the blue colour. But I have much
faith in slate, for the bluest I have ever seen came from a garden on a
slaty soil.
[Illustration: _GERANIUMS AND CANNAS IN A STONE-EDGED BED._]
[Illustration: _MAIDEN'S WREATH IN POTS ABOVE TANK._]
[Illustration: _FUNKIA, HYDRANGEA AND LILY IN THE SHADED COURT._]
[Illustration: _FUNKIA AND LILIUM SPECIOSUM._]
A few only of the many plants that can with advantage be used in pots
have been named, but in any case it would be well to bear in mind that
it is best to restrict the number of kinds shown at once and to make
sure of the good groundwork of foliage. I have therefore only dwelt
upon the few that came to mind as the best and easiest to use. But the
pretty red and white single Fuchsias of the Mme. Cornellisson type
should not be forgotten, also that the fine Comet and Ostrich Plume
Asters are capital pot-plants, for, like Canterbury Bells, they bear
lifting from the open ground just before they flower and even in full
bloom.
* * * * *
Plants grown in pots lead naturally to the consideration of those
most suitable for tubs. Of these the most important are permanent
things of shrubby nature--several of the Orange and Lemon family,
Oleander, Pomegranate, Bay, Myrtle, Datura, Sweet Verbena and dwarf
Palm, also Hydrangea, Tree Heliotrope and Agapanthus. The last is of
course a bulbous plant, but from its large, solid foliage and quantity
of long-enduring bloom it is one of the best of plants for tubs. The
greater number of these need housing in winter in an Orangery or
other frost-proof building. Other bushy plants for tub use that are
hardier are some of the Veronicas, such as _Traversi_, _speciosa_ and
_hulkeana_, _Olearia Haastii_ and _O. Gunni_. Tree Peonies, though
rarely so used, are capital tub plants, and, though they are not very
long in flower, their supreme beauty makes them desirable. They should
certainly be grown in places where labour is not restricted and where
there are suitable places for standing such plants away and caring for
them in the off season.
For the same kind of use the Tree Lupines, both white and yellow, would
be excellent. _Funkia Sieboldi_ also makes a handsome tub, while for
summer filling Cannas are admirable and old Geraniums in bush form
always acceptable. I have never seen Acanthus used in this way, but can
see no reason against it. The smaller Bamboos, such as the handsome
broad-leaved _B. tessellata_, are very good in tubs. In speaking
of plants suitable for tubs, I take the word to include the larger
sizes of terra-cotta pots; but Agapanthus should never be planted in
earthenware, as the roots, which remain for many years undisturbed,
have so strong a rending power that they will burst anything less
resisting than iron-hooped wood.
It is rare to see, anywhere in England, plant-tubs painted a pleasant
colour. In nearly every garden they are painted a strong raw green
with the hoops black, whereas any green that is not bright and raw
would be much better. This matter of the colouring of all such garden
accessories as have to be painted deserves more attention than it
commonly receives. Doors in garden walls, trellises, wooden railings
and hand-gates and seats--all these and any other items of woodwork
that stand out in the garden and are seen among its flowers and foliage
should, if painted green, be of such a green as does not for brightness
come into competition with the green of leaves. In the case of tubs
especially, it is the plant that is to be considered first--not the
tub. The bright, harsh green on the woodwork makes the colour of the
foliage look dull and ineffective. It would be desirable, in the
case of solitary tub plants, to study the exact colour that would be
most becoming to the flower and foliage; but as it is needful, to
avoid a patchy appearance, to paint the whole of the tubs in any one
garden-scheme the same colour, a tint should be chosen that is quiet in
itself and that is lower in tone than the dullest of the foliage in any
of the examples. Moreover, there is no reason for painting the hoops
black; it is much better to paint the whole out of one pot.
A good quiet green can be made with black, chrome No. 1 and white
lead; enough white being mixed to give the depth or lightness desired.
A pretty colour of paint is much used in France that approximates to
the colourman's malachite green. This is not the bright colour of
malachite as we know the polished stone, but a pale, opaque bluish
green approaching the turquoise tints. In the bright, clear climate of
France, and in connexion with the higher type of French architecture,
also in more southern countries, the colour looks very well, though it
is not becoming to some foliage; but something quieter and more sober
is better suited for England.
Elsewhere I have written of the deplorable effect in the garden
landscape of the glaring white paint--still worse when tinted
blue--that emphasises the ugliness of the usual greenhouse or
conservatory. This may be mitigated, if the unsightly structure cannot
be concealed, by adding to the white a good deal of black and raw
umber, till the paint is of the quiet warm grey that for some strange
reason is known to house-painters as Portland-stone colour.
[Illustration: _LILIUM AURATUM._]
[Illustration: _A TUB HYDRANGEA._]
[Illustration: _STEPS AND HYDRANGEAS._]
[Illustration: _THE NARROW SOUTH LAWN._]