For July, l')23 



175 



Some Impressions of Chelsea Show 



ARTHUR T. JOHNSON, F. R. H. S. 



THE Royal Htirticultural Society's Spring Meet- 

 ing, annually held in the picturesque grounds of 

 Chelsea Hospital in the heart of London, is the 

 Mecca of all garden lovers. This year the weather 

 could hardly have been more atrocious, but not the 

 downpour which prevailed over the first two days, 

 nor yet the oceans of mud, deterred the thousands who 

 had made up their minds, come what may, to attend 

 this great event. Indeed, the gardening public fore- 

 gathen-d in the tens of thousands. They came not 

 only from the remotest parts of these isles of Britain 

 and Ireland but from the Continent of Europe and 

 even far-oif America was not unrepresented. They 

 came, these pilgrims, to see flowers and they saw them 

 in all the glory of that perfection which is the hall- 

 mark of the professional grower's and exhibitor's skill, 

 lint here were not only the choicest collections of 

 those great nurseries of the Old Country which have 

 a world-wide reputation, but the priceless gems of 

 many a private garden whose names have rarely, if 

 ever, figured in an}- trade list and whose faces the vast 

 majority of those present had never before seen. 



As indicating the trend of public interest in garden- 

 ing matters it was noteworthy that the greatest 

 crowds were those that thronged around the exhibits 

 of alpine and other rock plants, many of which were 

 tastefullv shown in a natural setting of cleverly-con- 

 structed bits of rock-\\ork erected on the staging. 

 Here one noticed how well many of the old and well- 

 tried plants are still holding their own among the neu' 

 comers, there being extensive displays of those taller 

 Encrusted Saxifrages most of us know so well, the 

 Phloxes of the alpine section, Sedums and Linarias, 

 the more familiar Gentians, the Cheiranthuses, Aubre- 

 tias, Achilleas, Dianthuses and representatives of most 

 other well-known groups. Among this bewildering 

 array of color, to mention but one or two of the 

 choicer things, there were some superb groups of that 

 exquisite Columbine, Aquilegia glandulosa, surely the 

 most precious of its race, though the Rocky Rloun- 

 tain si>ecies. A. coerulea, runs it close. Dianthus 

 "Caesar's Mantle," an old Init now rare plant, was 

 here, and on at least one stand there was a fine carpet 

 of D. Fosteri, a brilliant carmine rock Pink with a 

 lead-blue eye. D. "Spencer Bickham," a dazzling car- 

 mine, could hardly escape notice and one saw some 

 pretty patches of the true D. Freynii and sub-acaulis. 

 Here and there the vivid cerise of that little carpeting 

 plant, Heeria elegans, from Mexico, made an amazing 

 splash of color. Phlox Canadensis, Lapham's var., in 

 almost a plumbago blue, was a striking object, and 

 both the Globe Flowers (Trollius) and the double 

 forms of Meconopsis cambrica impressed one with 

 their increasing size, sulistance and depth of colors. 

 There were some admirable groupings of the lovelv 

 Roscoea cautilioides, of hardy Cypripediums and such 

 little Irises as gracilis and the tiny cristata and 

 lacustris which attracted much attention. Ourisia 

 coccinea, a bog plant in bright scarlet and several 

 Dianthus neglectus hybrids were very striking. Some 

 pretty groups of the somewhat difficult Houstonias 

 were among the more notable subjects, there were 

 several mats of the Himalayan Parochetus communis, 

 whose pea-shaped flowers are a vivid gentian blue, and 

 one noted the pure white, the pink and the golden 



leaved (var. Treherne) forms of the common Veronica 

 rupestris (prostrata) which, though not new, are still 

 uncommou. 



Among the many X'iolas, other than bedding varie- 

 ties, the lovely V'. gracilis was as supreme as ever, 

 and the white form (Clarence Elliott's var.) the yellow 

 (Perry's Yellow) lavender-blue ("Lady Crisp") and the 

 jet black ("Black Knight"), with a golden eye were 

 some of the most charming of the gracilis type. I also 

 noted some good specimens of V. bosniaca, V. cal- 

 carata, V. pedata and the curious Tree Violet, V. ar- 

 borea. That splendid Armeria, Bees' "Ruby Thrift,"' with 

 very large flowers on two-foot stems, was a conspicuous 

 object on many stands, and the fifteen-inch A. cephalotes 

 rul)ra, whose equally brilliant heads are carried on 

 rigid, upright stems, attracted considerable notice. 

 Here and there one came across the blazing crimson 

 of Pentstemon rupicola (Davidsonii) and the gentle 

 lavender of P. .Scouleri. Linum narbonnense Avas 

 shown in fine form, its sheaves of intense azure con- 

 trasting with the glacier whiteness of L. monogynum. 

 There were some splendid drifts of Dryas octopetala, 

 that first-rate Rocky Mountain Avens, and Litho- 

 spermum ])rostratum. "Heavenly Blue," petrse, gram- 

 inifolium and others were all on view in the best of 

 condition. The Ramondias were also a fine lot, there 

 being in addition to the violet type of R. pyrenaica, 

 some forms of this in white and delicate shades of rosy 

 blusli, and the very delectable, silver-leaved, R. Nathaliae. 

 Draba, "Bees" Yellow,'" was shown as a large-flowered 

 late-'olooming member of that interesting genus, and one 

 admired some excellent masses of Cotyledon simplicifolia, 

 Wehlenbergias and Lewisias and enjoyed j>erhaps the best 

 show of Oxalis enneaphylla, ( ). e. rosea and O. adeno- 

 phylla that has ever been seen. Though rather early for 

 Campanulas there were several notable specimens to be 

 seen, of which C. stevensii nana and the new C. calcicola, 

 with large blue bells drooping over a curiouslv mottled 

 and hairy foliage, were among the most striking. 



Primulas were a most enchanting lot — a show in them- 

 selves. The rare Chinese P. chrysopa, vinciflora and 

 rigida were especially lovely, the last being, despite its 

 misleading name, a dainty, pale lilac species with the 

 elegance and grace of malacoides. The great golden 

 candelabras of P. helodoxa were everywhere in evidence, 

 as were the fiery orange-scarlets and glowing crimson- 

 vermilions of "Aileen Aroon,"" "Red Hugh," Cockburn- 

 iana and others. The exquisite P. sikkimensis was shown 

 in perfect form, its fragrance and the drooping citron- 

 yellow bells on their mealy stems expressing the very 

 acme of refinement. Another ravishing beauty was P. 

 nutans, whose pendant flowers of rich violet together with 

 the stems are all powdered with silvery meal. The 

 glorious P*. Bulleyana in a warm apricot, the Beesian 

 hj'brids and a host of other good things, along with several 

 attractive groupings of American Dodecatheons, would 

 alone have made the visit to this great show a memorable 

 one. 



To many visitors to Chelsea the main objects of interest 

 are the Azaleas and Rhododendrons, and to a great extent 

 these shrul)s may be said to have dominated a large share 

 of the huge tents as well as the out-door gardens. Though 

 an inclement May had left its stain upon some of these 

 there was a truly magnificent display, the enormous 

 mounds and beds of color creating a spectacle of superb 



