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    Dahlias, Gladioli and Begonias: The Amateur Gardener's Guide to Their Cultivation
    Dahlias, Gladioli and Begonias: The Amateur Gardener's Guide to Their Cultivation
    Dahlias, Gladioli and Begonias: The Amateur Gardener's Guide to Their Cultivation
    Ebook181 pages1 hour

    Dahlias, Gladioli and Begonias: The Amateur Gardener's Guide to Their Cultivation

    By H. H. Thomas

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    About this ebook

    This 1926 gardening handbook focuses on the growing of three types of flower: Begonias, Gladioli, and Dahlias. Dahlias and Gladioli are popular summer and autumn flowering plants, whereas the Begonia is suited to summer outdoors and winter under glass. This vintage book includes a wealth of useful information related to these particular flowers, as well as step-by-step instructions and expert tips for their successful growing. Profusely illustrated throughout and written in simple language, this vintage guide is perfect for amateurs and would make for a worthy addition to collections of gardening literature. Contents include: “The Dahlia's Progress”, “How to Grow Dahlias”, “How the Dahlia is Increased”, etc. Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially-commissioned new introduction on the history of gardening.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRead Books Ltd.
    Release dateMay 31, 2013
    ISBN9781473389946
    Dahlias, Gladioli and Begonias: The Amateur Gardener's Guide to Their Cultivation

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      Book preview

      Dahlias, Gladioli and Begonias - H. H. Thomas

      A Short History of Gardening

      Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants as part of horticulture more broadly. In most domestic gardens, there are two main sets of plants; ‘ornamental plants’, grown for their flowers, foliage or overall appearance – and ‘useful plants’ such as root vegetables, leaf vegetables, fruits and herbs, grown for consumption or other uses. For many people, gardening is an incredibly relaxing and rewarding pastime, ranging from caring for large fruit orchards to residential yards including lawns, foundation plantings or flora in simple containers. Gardening is separated from farming or forestry more broadly in that it tends to be much more labour-intensive; involving active participation in the growing of plants.

      Home-gardening has an incredibly long history, rooted in the ‘forest gardening’ practices of prehistoric times. In the gradual process of families improving their immediate environment, useful tree and vine species were identified, protected and improved whilst undesirable species were eliminated. Eventually foreign species were also selected and incorporated into the ‘gardens.’ It was only after the emergence of the first civilisations that wealthy individuals began to create gardens for aesthetic purposes. Egyptian tomb paintings from around 1500 BC provide some of the earliest physical evidence of ornamental horticulture and landscape design; depicting lotus ponds surrounded by symmetrical rows of acacias and palms. A notable example of an ancient ornamental garden was the ‘Hanging Gardens of Babylon’ – one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

      Ancient Rome had dozens of great gardens, and Roman estates tended to be laid out with hedges and vines and contained a wide variety of flowers – acanthus, cornflowers, crocus, cyclamen, hyacinth, iris, ivy, lavender, lilies, myrtle, narcissus, poppy, rosemary and violets as well as statues and sculptures. Flower beds were also popular in the courtyards of rich Romans. The Middle Ages represented a period of decline for gardens with aesthetic purposes however. After the fall of Rome gardening was done with the purpose of growing medicinal herbs and/or decorating church altars. It was mostly monasteries that carried on the tradition of garden design and horticultural techniques during the medieval period in Europe. By the late thirteenth century, rich Europeans began to grow gardens for leisure as well as for medicinal herbs and vegetables. They generally surrounded them with walls – hence, the ‘walled garden.’

      These gardens advanced by the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries into symmetrical, proportioned and balanced designs with a more classical appearance. Gardens in the renaissance were adorned with sculptures (in a nod to Roman heritage), topiary and fountains. These fountains often contained ‘water jokes’ – hidden cascades which suddenly soaked visitors. The most famous fountains of this kind were found in the Villa d’Este (1550-1572) at Tivoli near Rome. By the late seventeenth century, European gardeners had started planting new flowers such as tulips, marigolds and sunflowers.

      These highly complex designs, largely created by the aristocracy slowly gave way to the individual gardener however – and this is where this book comes in! Cottage Gardens first emerged during the Elizabethan times, originally created by poorer workers to provide themselves with food and herbs, with flowers planted amongst them for decoration. Farm workers were generally provided with cottages set in a small garden—about an acre—where they could grow food, keep pigs, chickens and often bees; the latter necessitating the planting of decorative pollen flora. By Elizabethan times there was more prosperity, and thus more room to grow flowers. Most of the early cottage garden flowers would have had practical uses though —violets were spread on the floor (for their pleasant scent and keeping out vermin); calendulas and primroses were both attractive and used in cooking. Others, such as sweet william and hollyhocks were grown entirely for their beauty.

      Here lies the roots of today’s home-gardener; further influenced by the ‘new style’ in eighteenth century England which replaced the more formal, symmetrical ‘Garden à la française’. Such gardens, close to works of art, were often inspired by paintings in the classical style of landscapes by Claude Lorraine and Nicolas Poussin. The work of Lancelot 'Capability' Brown, described as ‘England’s greatest gardener’ was particularly influential. We hope that the reader is inspired by this book, and the long and varied history of gardening itself, to experiment with some home-gardening of their own. Enjoy.

      One of the latest novelties,

      the Camellia-flowered Dahlia,

      excellent for garden display

      PREFACE

      DAHLIAS AND GLADIOLI are two of the most popular summer and autumn flowering plants and the Begonia in its numerous types and varieties is valuable both in summer out of doors and in winter under glass.

      No flowering plant has made greater progress during recent years than the Dahlia. New types have been introduced, numerous new varieties have been raised, and nowadays it is a first-class garden flower, blooming from July until spoilt by the frosts, if a suitable selection of varieties is grown.

      Much the same may be said of the Gladiolus. It gives a charming display of bloom for many weeks during the late summer and early autumn months. The new small-flowered or primulinus Gladioli are splendid garden plants: they are of slender, graceful yet firm growth and need little or no staking, while their blooms are of exquisite shades of colour. No amateur can afford to dispense with the best types of Dahlia or Gladiolus; they are among the most precious flowering plants introduced to gardens in recent years.

      The value of the tuberous Begonia is known and appreciated for summer flower beds and for the small greenhouse in the summer months. Some magnificent varieties with large double flowers in rich and glowing colours have been raised. Varieties that have become very popular and deserve extended cultivation are those of drooping growth; they are suitable for planting in suspended flower pots and baskets, and add to the charm of the conservatory during summer. Those who possess a heated greenhouse may be reminded that the winter-flowering Begonias make a delightful display in the dullest period of the year, their vivid colours are then greatly appreciated.

      This volume explains how all these favourite flowers are grown and tells of the best varieties. The

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