17 JANUARY 1947, Page 16

In My Garden

It rejoiced me the other day to read two specialists in protest against old-fashioned pruning. Both said, in .effect, "Spur-pruning, except for cordons and such, is a thing of the past." To my view, winter pruning of any severity does much more harm than no pruning ; but, of course, rotten wood or boughs that rub should be cut off ruthlessly. Most gardeners about this date are consulting catalogues, and I should say that in regard to the herbaceous border the plant that is catching up with the popularity of such standards as delphinium and lupin (though Russell has greatly enhanced the latter) is the sidalcea. Its variety has