THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



199 



clumps of Calceolaria Sparkler, filled 

 in with Calceolaria angustifolia. A 

 pair of beds of Petunia magna cocci- 

 nea are tolerably good, and the best 

 examples of petunias we have seen 

 out of doors this season. On the left 

 of this scheme is a triangular grass 

 plot, with a series of beds ; one of 

 them is of just the right kind for a 

 conspicuous position in a private gar- 

 den. It is a circle with a central 

 clump of Attraction, and round it six 

 radial divisions, two of them Chris- 

 tine, two Perilla, and two Calceolaria 

 aurantia floribunda. At Shore Place 

 are two mounds with scroll work on 

 the slopes. One has loop-lines of 

 Cerastium connecting circles of Little 

 David, on a groundwork of Blue Lobe- 

 lia, the top line all around Attraction. 

 The other mound has loops of Bril- 

 liant connecting circles of Perilla, on 

 a groundwork of Lobelia Paxtoniana. 

 Batteksea Pabk is decorated in 

 a costly style, Mrs. Pollock Gera- 

 nium and other of the choicest sub- 

 jects being used very freely, and in 

 the part called the sub-tropical garden, 

 Tree-ferns, Caladiums, Begonias, Can- 

 nas, Palms, India-rubber plants, Pa- 

 pyrus, and other subjects commonly 

 cultivated in the stove, are planted 

 out profusely, producing a rich and 

 varied scene, the artistic beauty of 

 which is quite in keeping with the 

 high character and costliness of the 

 subjects employed. The road from 

 West Lodge, leading towards Chelsea 



Bridge, is adorned with numerous 

 geometric patterns, and amongst the 

 subjects used, Coleus nigricans, with 

 nearly jet black foliage, is turned to 

 good account ; in one case a bed seven 

 yards in diameter is filled with it, 

 and edged with Centaurea ragusina, 

 affording a delightful relief to the 

 glare of colour produced by the sur- 

 rounding beds. A circular bed forming 

 the centre of a group has a centre of 

 Coleus Verschaffelti, next a circle of 

 Christine, for the sake of its dull 

 green leaves, the blossoms being all 

 removed ; next a circle of Mrs. Pol- 

 lock Geranium, and marginal band of 

 Blue Lobelia. In several parts of the 

 sub-tropical garden "foliage beds" are 

 used on a grand scale, and amongst 

 the best examples are some large bed3 

 of Coleus Verschaffelti, edged, with 

 Centaurea ragusina, and in other cases 

 C. gymnocarpa ; the result is a 

 breadth and richness of colour which 

 defies description. A bed of Canna 

 limbata, which flowered finely last 

 year, was left untouched, in order to 

 test the possibility of leaving these 

 plants in the ground all winter. The 

 bed was covered with a foot depth of 

 straw, which was changed twice after 

 heavy rains. In May the Cannas 

 grew freely, had a little protection 

 from frost, and are now blooming in a 

 very satisfactory manner. Last winter 

 was comparatively severe, and the ex- 

 periment is eminently interesting. 



HALF-AN-HOUE WITH THE PLATYCEKIUMS. 



Every man has, or ought to have, a 

 hobby. Mine is my little fernery ; 

 and many are the pleasant half hours 

 I spend there. It is quite a relief, 

 after the toil and anxiety of the hours 

 of labour, to turn into the fern-houses, 

 and, forgetting the petty trials and 

 annoyances of the day, examine the 

 pets, and see how each is progressing. 

 I am not satisfied with buying a 

 plant, and then simply watching its 

 gradual development. No, that is not 

 the way to get the greatest amount of 

 pleasure out of your plants. I must 



learn their history, trace out their 

 affinities, ascertain how and when 

 they were introduced, find out some- 

 thing about the native habitat of 

 each species — how it grows naturally, 

 what the climate and the soil of the 

 home from which it came; I must 

 seek to know the place of its home 

 and birth, its geographical range, the 

 variations 1 which are found in each 

 species. In fact, I must work out the 

 biography of each individual plant 

 which finds a foster-father in me, or 

 I am not satisfied. This is my hobby, 



