1879.] ROUND LONDON. 433 



ROUND LONDON. 



Continued from 'page 381. 



The next garden visited was altogether different from the general ruck. Old 

 fashioned flowers occupied borders and beds, and even encroached indoors, for 

 two houses have been built entirely for the culture of the rarer sorts. This 

 is the garden of Mr Joad, Wimbledon Park, one of the most interesting gar- 

 dens visited. There are, as a matter of course, the generally grown stove 

 and greenhouse plants, Grapes, &c, here, but the great point of attraction is 

 the splendid collection of Herbaceous and Alpine plants, a class of plants that 

 one visit fails to satisfy. This locality is extremely rich in well-kept gardens, 

 but we can only note the more important. One, a report of which appeared in 

 the 'Gardener ' some five years ago, has undergone great changes in the mean- 

 time. This is the seat of Sir Henry Peek, M.P., Wimbledon House. Since 

 Mr Ollerhead has managed these gardens, many of the specimen plants have 

 been got rid of, and fruit-growing gone into more extensively. The mode of 

 filling structures with bearing trees is somewhat differently gone about here 

 than in other gardens. Two houses are required for Fig culture : Mr Ollerhead 

 forthwith lifts a tree large enough to fill the house at once, and directly there 

 is a Fig-house in full bearing. The Grape- Vines are considered unsatisfactory : 

 a crop is cut off them, say this July, the Vines are cut down directly, the 

 house filled with young canes the same season, and twelve months after 

 Grapes are approaching the colouring process in these same vineries. Heavy 

 crops are growing in the Peach-houses, Pines are planted out in beds, pits 

 are full of Roses, Orchids are grown in housefuls, and everything being made 

 the most of. A few miles further on is Lord Londesborough's garden, at 

 Norbiton. A few years ago this was a wheat field, now there are large fruit- 

 trees of all kinds in full bearing in the open, quarters of all kinds of veget- 

 ables, hundreds of feet run of vineries in full bearing, Peach-houses, Straw- 

 berry-houses Orchid-houses, Rose, Gardenia, and Geranium houses, besides 

 pits and houses filled with numberless other plants useful for furni&hing and 

 producing cut-flowers. I may just note that the only kinds of Grape grown 

 are Black Hamburg and Muscat of Alexandria, and these are had all the year 

 round. The Vine borders are merely the top spit of a wheat field, the subsoil 

 600 feet deep of clay— so says Mr Denning. The Vines have been planted five 

 years, and are in grand condition, the bunches averaging from 2 to 3 lb. each. 

 Peaches are trained in the shape of the letter Y, one tree to two sashes. Straw- 

 berries are grown extensively— Keen's Seedling and Garibaldi the only kinds 

 grown. Fulmer's Forcing is the only French Bean grown ; Lord Kenyon's fav- 

 ourite the only Cucumber; Christine, Vesuvius, and Madame Vaucher the only 

 Geraniums to be found here. Mignonette is grown by the thousand potfuls ; 

 Hoteias, Lilacs, and other furnishing plants, in like proportion. The collection 

 of Orchids is one of the most extensive and rare in England, and the whole 

 establishment one that it is necessary to see, to fully understand. A short 

 distance along the Wimbledon Road is Coombe Cottage, Mr Baring's residence. 

 " The shades of night were falling fast " before we had seen much of the well- 

 kept gardens. Grapes and other indoor fruits are well grown here. There are 

 many fine specimen stove-plants, and amongst Orchids Mr Baker is obviously 

 quite at home. Some of the strongest grown Dendrobes we have ever seen 

 are here, grand specimen Ccelogynes, Pleiones growing in pans close to the 

 roof in robust health, and others too numerous to mention. Mr Baker has 



