Gossips and Gardeners
Competitors were asked to imagine that a newspaper editor had reshuffled his staff and to submit an extract front the gossip column written by the gardening expert or the gardening cohonn written by the gossip writer.
Robert Waterhouse sent in a good Strix and I .should also honourably mention Sir Patrick. Laird in this section. The prize- winners, however, come from the other section, and in the hope of leaving enough space to print all four, I will only add that the runners-up were Frances Collingwood and Finlay P. Murdoch plus those already named. Thirty shillings each to Howard N. Burton and Roff, and a pound each to A. W. D.cker and Guy Kendall.
PRIZES
(HOWARD N. BURTON)
. . In the paddock I saw Lord Rollingstone, whose 'attire did not suggest the truth of the proverb. He was chatting to a dainty little climber, the centre of so much male interest that she would be well advised to disbud old shoots when too many are forming.
Sir Hubert Tippler was enjoying his hobby In a sheltered corner. Care must be taken to prevent over-watering in July. Neatness, or three parts basic liquor to one part water, is ideal treatment. Miss Strapless was showing well at Porridges, a delicate flesh pink shading, strangely, into a blush. Her escort, Colonel Wallah, a hardy' perennial, thrives in shady situations. Lord Collier, new Labour peer, asks how many garden peas should b: fork d at one time. With a four-prong three rows can be safely held, if well boiled and balanecd. Care should however be taken.
(Ross) Last week's outstanding event was the dance given for Lady Rosemary Marsh, one of the Andromeda family. She is a sturdy grower but needs training and liberal culture. It was evident that, among the guests, attention was being paid to the crossing of wallflowers, but too much reliance seems to be placed on dry old sticks, and the surrounding weeds need drastic treatment. Cultivators will undoubtedly find some forking out necessary, but some sap will doubtless rise in due course. On trial at Bow Street yesterday was the Viscount Duquesne, a fresh type of rake recently sent down from Oxford for evening Out operations. Unlike many of the older varieties, the Viscount has a full set of teeth. Where difficulty is encountered in loosening up, this rake is ideal, but is acknowledged to be excessively costly. The Colonies may, however, find a use for the Viscount.
(A. W. DICKER)
1 saw many hardy annuals at the Opera, where Lady Portly's splendid form and colour were glowingly eloquent of a firm foundation and thorough preparation of the ground. I thought the Misses Gush rather forward for the time of year but with careful tending they should be at their best for the hunting season.
After showing little early promise Miss Striving has now blossomed well, and I hear that Captain Daring is being grafted into the family. The general level of gardeners-turned- gossips was far above that of the gossips- turned-gardeners. defined whitish streaks. There seems to be no cure for this trouble, and all one can do is to burn the affected growth and try again next year.
(GUY KENDALL)
Lady Foxglove has benefited by the change of soil now that she has taken permanent root in the country. I noticed the severe pruning which her conversation has suffered. Much of its extravagance has been lopped away. The Hon. Mrs. Hollyhock has planted her daughters out at boarding school. 1 noticed at Lord's the re-appearance of the broad- brimmed hat, whose shade has tended to extinguish the growth of the humbler debutantes.
In America a good deal of thinning out as occurred among all classes owing to thc spread of polio; the doctors are busy searching for a selective killer. The grafting of hardy foreign cuttings on our old aristocratic stocks still continues. The degeneration noticed in the latter may thus suffer timely arrest. There is talk of the establishment of special agencies for those who arc seeking similar hybridisations. At the outdoor exhibition at Ascot the less violent colouring of costumes is probably due to sympathy with the prevailing .drat ness of the weather..
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