THE FLORAL WORLD AKD GARDEN GUIDE. 



119 



beautiful selection of six plants eacli. ]Mr. George Hoe and Mr. Robert Gray- 

 obtained the second and third prizes respectively. The rhododendrons were 

 very beautiful, especially those from Sir Roger Palmer's gardens, to whom 

 the Lord Lieutenant's prize was awarded, and those sent in by Mr. Gray 

 and Mr. Bewley possessed conspicuous merit. The stove and greenhouse 

 plants exhibited by the Chief Secretary and his Excellency the Lord Lieu- 

 tenant were greatly admired. The heaths, ferns, etc., were very fine, and the 

 auriculas, for which Dr. Plant obtained the prize, were far beyond the average 

 excellence generally attained in this class. But the most interesting fact of 

 the show was the presence of forced peaches from the Viceregal Gardens. 

 These peaches were large, mellow, and ripe, and their appearance in the show 

 took most people by surprise. The cinerarias cannot be passed by without 

 a word of praise, and the vegetables, of which almost every variety was dis- 

 played, showed how favourably the fine weather of the last few weeks has 

 operated upon the kitchen garden. 



BEDDERS AND TTJRFIKG PLANTS. 



I HiNTBD last year at my intention to make 

 a fjliage ribbon, and as tbe thing is now 

 accomplished, I mny as well describe its 

 characters. The border runs along in front 

 of evergreens, symmetrically planted, and 

 as rich in good species and varieties as 

 perhaps any such border to be found on the 

 north side of London. 'ihe rear line is 

 common yew, American arbor-vit£e and 

 holly alternating. The row next in front of 

 that is AvTCuba and Thuia plicata, with 

 yellojv iris and day lily to fill ia between, 

 at the foot of each shrub ; these also alter- 

 nate. Then there is a row of Taxus ad- 

 pressa, with pairs of Juniperus Virginicum 

 erecta, Abies Kliutrow, Berberis aquifolium 

 and Fortuni, Quercus ilex, Ruscus race- 

 mosus, pyramid box, both the common 

 dark green and the silver-leaved varieties, 

 Minorca box, and Wellingtonea gigantea. 

 The plants are suited as to size, and as I 

 make nothing of moving trees of any rea- 

 sonable size all tlirough the summer, these 

 can be altered and rearranged at any time 

 if they get out of order as to their respective 

 heights, which some of them will do in 

 time, and will then be provided with other 

 places. In front of these is a strict line of 

 dwarf greeu box, as round and compact as 

 cricket balls, small arbor-vitaas, from cut- 

 tings struck three years since, Pinus 

 cembra, Juniperus fragrans and chinensis, 

 Abies Menziesii, and tufts of Festuca hetero- 

 phylla. The plants are of a size to range 

 with moderate uniformity, many of the 

 conifers are plunged in pots, being, in fact, 

 those that did service in the Jardiniere last 

 winter, and the arrangement is made sym- 

 metrical in this way : — if a box occurs at a 

 certain spot, another box occurs also with 

 a certain number of plants between, and 

 after the same number again another 



box, and so on with the rest. This 

 gives variety with order, and agrees with 

 the formal lines of colour in tlie border 

 that forms tlie ribbon in front. As the 

 effect of this planting is rich and interest- 

 ing beyond any idea that can be gathered 

 from this description of It, I will make it 

 plainer by means of a simple scheme. Let 

 each letter in the subjoined line represent 

 one kind of shrub ; then, as the letters are 

 repeated, so are the shrubs that they repre- 

 sent ; thus — 



ahcdefgaicdefgab 

 It is but right to mention tiie back- 

 grouni'i, because the simple ribbon in front 

 of it derives much of its beauty from the 

 support it has in the broad, rich, dense 

 mass of various hues of green, from the 

 very deep tone of Taxus adpressa, to the 

 cheerful light green of Abies Khutrov/, 

 passing through all intermediate shades. 

 Tlie front line for headers is four feet five 

 inches wide, a very narrow space for a rib- 

 bon ; but there are five rows to foruj, and 

 those wider than tlie bordsr itself. The 

 planting is the simplest affair imaginable, 

 and derives its effect wholly from foliage, 

 and not from flowers. Let us begin at the 

 back of the border, for a particular reason. 

 I said the foliage lines were wider than the 

 border itself, and the reason of this is, that 

 the back row is planted into the line of the 

 front low line of shrubs. It consists of the 

 common ribbon grass, or gardener's garter 

 (Phalaris). Between evei'v two of the small 

 shrubs is a tuft of this sparkling, white- 

 leaved, graceful plant, and as they alternate 

 all along with the richest imaginable 

 greens, they look far more lively and ef- 

 fective than would a clear row, unbroken 

 by any other colour. I know of nothing 

 to beat that line in all the bedding eirects 



