I have, wedged in Japanese vases in the Japanese way,
which is so highly decorative,1 two branches of Physalis
Alkekengi (Winter Cherry) grown from seed. They last
much longer in a room, I find, if cut, stuck into clean
water, and held up by the wedge, than they do when
growing in a pot ; cutting the plants well back makes
them a better shape, and they flower and fruit more freely
the following year.
In a brass Indian vase on a corner of the chimney-
piece there are some long branches of the Double Plum
(Prunus spinosaflore pleno). These branches, with their
bright green, bring spring into the room more effectively
than anything I know. The little shrub is easy of
cultivation, and more than most things repays potting-up
and forcing. We plant them out in spring in a half-
shady reserve border, and in August we cut with a spade
round the roots of those plants which we intend to pot
up in October. They do best if allowed to rest alternate
years. The charming single Deutzia gracilis is treated in
exactly the same way.
Never forget, in the arranging of cut flowers, that all
shrubby plants and many perennials last much longer
in water if the stalks are peeled. The reason is obvious :
the thick bark prevents the absorption of enough water.
In the case of succulent plants, splitting up the ends of
the stalks is often sufficient.
On a table below the chimney-piece is a small
flower-glass filled with a pretty early greenhouse flower,
1 For a description of what this means I must refer you to
Mr. J. Conder's interesting book (The Floivers of Japan and the Art
of Floral Arrangement), and to a review of it reprinted at the end
of this volume, by kind permission of Mr. W. Bobinson, from The
Garden (37 Southampton Street, Strand) of October 6th, 1894. My
allusions to cut-flower decorations all the year round will not be
understood without a careful reading of this article.
JANUARY ir
orange and red, called Chorozemia, which does well in
water. I have made a considerable study of the things
that last well in water, as my greenhouse room is very
limited, and it has to hold all the plants that are planted
out next summer. The usual Primula sinensis,
Cinerarias, and many other things die before they get up
to London at all. In summer the study is for the sake
of my friends, as I send away flowers in large quantities,
and I know nothing so disappointing as to receive in
London a box of flowers, none of which are capable of re-
viving when put into water. On the table, by the side of
the glass mentioned above, stands a little saucer with
precious, sweet-smelling Geranium leaves. These float
on the water, patterning the white surface of the saucer,
and supporting the delicious scented flowers, so valuable
in January, of the Chimonanthus fragrans, with its pretty
brown and yellow petals growing, as they do, on the bare
branches of the shrub. My plant of Chimonanthus is
against a wall. It flowers every year with a little care, for
it is not very old, but it does not grow in our light soil
with the strength and luxuriance it acquires in clay or
loam. In Hertfordshire, for instance, quite long branches
can be cut from it, which look very beautiful in the Japanese
wedges. Our plant gets sufficiently pruned by cutting
back the flowering branches.
Page 7
Presented as published in 1898. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
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I have, wedged in Japanese vases in the Japanese way,
which is so highly decorative,1 two branches of Physalis
Alkekengi (Winter Cherry) grown from seed. They last
much longer in a room, I find, if cut, stuck into clean
water, and held up by the wedge, than they do when
growing in a pot ; cutting the plants well back makes
them a better shape, and they flower and fruit more freely
the following year.
In a brass Indian vase on a corner of the chimney-
piece there are some long branches of the Double Plum
(Prunus spinosaflore pleno). These branches, with their
bright green, bring spring into the room more effectively
than anything I know. The little shrub is easy of
cultivation, and more than most things repays potting-up
and forcing. We plant them out in spring in a half-
shady reserve border, and in August we cut with a spade
round the roots of those plants which we intend to pot
up in October. They do best if allowed to rest alternate
years. The charming single Deutzia gracilis is treated in
exactly the same way.
Never forget, in the arranging of cut flowers, that all
shrubby plants and many perennials last much longer
in water if the stalks are peeled. The reason is obvious :
the thick bark prevents the absorption of enough water.
In the case of succulent plants, splitting up the ends of
the stalks is often sufficient.
On a table below the chimney-piece is a small
flower-glass filled with a pretty early greenhouse flower,
1 For a description of what this means I must refer you to
Mr. J. Conder's interesting book (The Floivers of Japan and the Art
of Floral Arrangement), and to a review of it reprinted at the end
of this volume, by kind permission of Mr. W. Bobinson, from The
Garden (37 Southampton Street, Strand) of October 6th, 1894. My
allusions to cut-flower decorations all the year round will not be
understood without a careful reading of this article.
JANUARY ir
orange and red, called Chorozemia, which does well in
water. I have made a considerable study of the things
that last well in water, as my greenhouse room is very
limited, and it has to hold all the plants that are planted
out next summer. The usual Primula sinensis,
Cinerarias, and many other things die before they get up
to London at all. In summer the study is for the sake
of my friends, as I send away flowers in large quantities,
and I know nothing so disappointing as to receive in
London a box of flowers, none of which are capable of re-
viving when put into water. On the table, by the side of
the glass mentioned above, stands a little saucer with
precious, sweet-smelling Geranium leaves. These float
on the water, patterning the white surface of the saucer,
and supporting the delicious scented flowers, so valuable
in January, of the Chimonanthus fragrans, with its pretty
brown and yellow petals growing, as they do, on the bare
branches of the shrub. My plant of Chimonanthus is
against a wall. It flowers every year with a little care, for
it is not very old, but it does not grow in our light soil
with the strength and luxuriance it acquires in clay or
loam. In Hertfordshire, for instance, quite long branches
can be cut from it, which look very beautiful in the Japanese
wedges. Our plant gets sufficiently pruned by cutting
back the flowering branches.