THE 



GARDENER 



JUNE 1870. 



-<*-^>^?<*-?-s-- 



A BEQUEST OP SPRING. 



HERE is lying before us as we sit down to write a bunch 

 of flowers plucked from trees growing in the Chiswick 

 Gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society. Each one 

 of them has its pleasant tale of high floral service to 



" Nature, rejoicing, shows an aspect fair," 



rehearse, as 



and spring 



" Heaps up her gifts in happy plenteousness." 



Let us take them singly, and note their qualities and appearance. 

 Here is a species of Pyrus malus, known as floribundus, the very gem 

 of our group, and a most noteworthy hardy- flowering shrub. Along 

 each branch is seen a row of glittering red buds, hanging like lines of 

 tempting cherries, which, as they expand, take the form of large deep- 

 blush-coloured flowers. This Pyrus is^ a thing of beauty that should 

 adorn every shrubbery, and be in every group where flowering trees 

 are seen to alternate with the quiet beauty of green leaves. Our sprig 

 was gathered from a spreading plant some 4 feet in height, and at 

 this stage of growth it was profusely covered with flowers. P. malus 

 spectabilis, or the double-blossoming Apple, is another, plucked from 

 a huge tree, every branch of which was lit up with a charming sheen 

 of radiant pink flowers of large size — a grand tree for woodland ways, 

 where it can be looked on with a dark background of budding 

 trees. Here, too, is the large double-blossomed Cherry of the Big- 

 arreau type, taken from a fine tree, each branch of the spreading 

 head having the under part thickly hung with large snow-white blos- 

 soms, each facing downwards, as if desirous of turning the full face of 



Q 



