138 



THE GARDENEIVS MONTHLY 



[May, 



limbs wero lonj;, and the leaves far aj)iut, and 

 flowers none. Long lines, many feet in length, 

 of a strong-growing Mesenihrvanthemiun, hung 

 over high walls, and down the sides of vases ; the 

 stem that issued from the earth having the ap- 

 pearance of a dry whip-eord. Iris grew in all 

 the terraced gardens, the large hlue, and the 

 largo white, serving for borders on the edges of 

 the terrace, while the small varieties were set 

 everywhere. On the high dry hills. Mignonette 

 and Sweet Alyssum blossomed the Winter 

 through, but both scentless. 



Towards Spring, we found on banks by the sea- 

 shore, single red stock Jillies, also the young 

 leaves of a wild Gladiolus, and on the hills Wild 

 Thyme, Rosemary, <fcc., which were so beautiful 

 in the size and wealth of their flowers, as to be 

 almost unrecognized. Mallows, a sort of single 

 Chrysanthemum, resembling an Ox-eye Daisy, 

 (on a large scale.) and an Echevcria bearing a 

 plume of yellow starry flf)wers, grew wild among 

 the rocks. Beside these grew single Anemones, 

 of various tints of a purple blue, or scarlet, 

 shading into rose, or pinkish-white. Most of the 

 Anemones grew on the tops of the highest hills ; 

 but occasionally they were seen among the grass 

 of the terraces, which fronted the Mediterranean. 

 In the valleys, sweet scented blue Violets, Eng- 

 lish Primroses and Daisies " held sweet riot." 

 The meadows also were white with Daisies, or 

 golden with great disks of Dandelions. 



Very large-flowered Pansies and Chinese Prim- 

 roses bloomed beautifully in the gardens; in 

 March, Acacias, too, in several varieties, hung 

 out their long drooping clusters of yellow tassels, 

 which set on the background of their exquisitely 

 fine and gra(;eful leaves, made them a joy to see, 

 The Pepper-tree, too, with its fern-like leaves, 

 six or seven inches long, and its flowers like a 

 bunch of current-blossoms, made a pretty sight, 

 but not a pleasant companion for the sunshine, 

 which caused it to emit a powerful odor of black 

 pepper. Even the leaves could not be placed in 

 a warm room without producing a sense of dis- 

 comfort or suflbcation. Heliotrope bloomed all 

 Winter, and was injured but temporarily by the 

 few frosts of the season. Veronicas sent up long 

 plumes, and took on a grace unknown with us. 

 Laurustinus also bloomed well. The roses of the 

 gardens kept dormant till early Spring, when 

 they were closely trimmed. They soon grew 

 with great rapidity and sent up long shoots and 

 a profusion of leaves. They were said to bloom 

 with great luxuriance, but we were not at Nice 



late enough to see it become the "bower of 

 r>ses." The CJerman Ivy also flourishes so freely 

 jis to cover arbors with its golden flowers, and 

 present to the new-comer quite a novel appear- 

 ance. 



On the toj) of a high hill in the vicinity of Nice, 

 stands a singular old Chateau,approached atone 

 end by a double flight of steps. These descended 

 into a garden, so old that the plants seemed 

 veterans of a by-gone day, and the statuary so 

 grimy with dust and age, and so buflfeted by 

 storms, and the lapse of years, that here and 

 tlicre an open wound disclosed the hollowness 

 of their classic forms, and rendered the heroic 

 air and attitude into a burlesque on their ancient 

 world of pretension, or as ornaments to even 

 modern eyes. In the rear of the Chateau stood 

 an out-building, over the plain surface of which 

 grew a large Bougainvillia, which in the latter 

 part of December was covered with rosy-lilac 

 bracts. It was a magnificent sight, and drew 

 many visitors. It was slightly injured by the 

 two or three frosts of the severe Winter in 1874. 

 In front of this Chateau stood the finest Palm of 

 Nice, laden with long clusters of fruit, resembliiig 

 in size and appearance, a large Damson Plum, 

 the color a purple red. The Date-Palm does not 

 perfect its fruit at Nice, the heat not being suflB- 

 cient, nor do the leaves grow with much luxuri- 

 ance, and these palms seem, indeed, what they 

 are, exiles. Still in all gardens of much preten- 

 sion aj)pear Palms of this and other varieties. 

 The gardens of Nice are quite elaborate in plan, 

 this being as true of small gardens, as of the 

 large; and give the effect of enlarging the 

 grounds, instead of diminishing them. They 

 generally contain a <;overed arbor, a shaded walk 

 and curious cozy nooks. The walls, which are 

 high, are covered with trained vines or roses, so 

 as to be completely hidden. In the garden at- 

 tached to the chapel erected in memory of the 

 eldest son of the Czar of Russia, are a series of 

 green wire arches many feet in height dividing 

 the grounds from those adjacent. These are cov- 

 ered with vines, each arch forming a framed pic- 

 ture of the mountains and hills opposite. 



Cacti were used with much effect in the gar- 

 dens, and were often placed in the point of a bed, 

 the smallest in the front, and the others accord- 

 ing to size, till four or five feet in height were 

 reached. TJie Agave arbre was frequently 

 planted in rows, in beds approaching the house, 

 and when its offsets were allowed to increase 

 about it, and tt^wards Spring its fine plume of 



