July 2S, 1906 



hoi^ticulturje: 



79 



British Horticulture 



THE GUNNERSBUHY G-VKDEX. 



One of the finest gardens in tlie neigliborhood of 

 I>ondon is that belonging to Mr. Leopold de Eothschild 

 at Gunnersbiiry, under the control of llr. James Hud- 

 son, v. M. H. This is an attractive "show" place which 

 will be visited by the American and continental dele- 

 gates who are attending the international conference 

 on plant linvding at the end nf July. Recently I Iiad 

 the pleasure of anticipating the rich treat which is in 

 store for the visitors when they participate in Mr. 

 Eothschild's hospitality. Under Mr. Hudson's genial 

 guidance I was able to inspect the wealth of floral treas- 

 ures which are to be fiumd after half an hour's drive 

 frciiii Central Lundim. The place is additionally inter- 

 esting from the fact that new features are continually 

 being added to the delightful grounds, whilst there is 

 an absence of that rigid uniformity which so frequently 

 nuirs the .effect of the work of the most experienced 

 landscape gardeners. Mr. Hudson has a strong objec- 

 tion to the formal designs which find favor in some 

 gardens. A new development which has added to the 

 reputation of Gunnersbury is the admirably designed 

 Japanese garden, complete in the appropriateness of the 

 setting, and containing a unique collection of Eastern 

 plants. The bamboo garden is of a notable character, 

 anumgst the subjects included being B. fastuosa, B. 

 palmata, B. Castillon, Phyllostachys aurea. P. nigra, 

 etc. These and others form a very impo'^ing 

 collection, and are seen to the best advantage in their 

 j)icture>que surroundings. 



A HEALTH GARDEN. 



Another addition to the Gunnerslnirv attractions is a 

 liealth garden. A nund>cr of mounds have been ar- 

 ranged which give a natural setting to masses of 

 autumn-flowering heather of the leading varieties, di- 

 vided by flagged stone pathways and surrounded with 

 alpine rhododendrons and other appropriate plants. 

 Water lilies are cultivated to perfection. These are 

 raised in tanks over which there is a glass span-roof. 

 The varieties include Daubenyana, which was formerly 

 extensively cultivated at the Duke of Devonshire's fa- 

 mous gardens at Chatsworth. In another part of the 

 grounds a large batch of chrysanthemums were to be 

 seen. These are chiefly of the early-flowering section, 

 and later in the season eight or ten plants are trans- 

 ferred to large tubs, and these are used for the decora- 

 tion of the lawn at the front of the mansion. In the 

 houses, the fruit trees in pots are models of skilled cul- 

 tivation. A system of successional utilisation of the 

 fruit houses for various kinds' of fruit is adopted under 

 which it is possible to get those crops during the year, 

 there being put into heat alternately during the seasons 

 figs, vines, plums, strawberries, peaches, etc. The pot 

 vines are fruited once and then discarded. Figs are ob- 

 tainable for nine months of the j'ear, the Vcirieties 

 grown including D'Agen, Grosse Violette de Bordeaux, 



Violet Sepor, Pingo de Mel, etc. A noteworthy feature 

 of fruit culture here is that the autumn-bearing straw- 

 berries are treated as annuals. These arc but a few 

 notes of a place teeming with cluirming objects of in- 

 terest. 



THE CULT OF THE SWEET PEA. 



The National Sweet Pea Society have every rea.-on to 

 be satisfied with the increasing popularity of the culti- 

 vation of the attractive flower they are seeking f^o im- 

 prove. The roll of members is steadily increasing, and 

 at the London show on July 5 the number of exhibits 

 were nearly 1000. The chief trophies were awarded to 

 Mr. Thos Jones, a Welsh enthusiast, who last year won 

 thirty-four firsts, seven seconds, and a third prize. The 

 (lay following the show the members of the society were 

 able to inspect the extensive sweet pea trials of Messrs. 

 Watkins and Simpson of Twickenham, Mr. Alfred Wat- 

 kins being the president of the society. The "sisitors 

 spent a very pleasant and instructive day. On July 7th 

 I was able to accompany the members to Eeading, al- 

 though regretfully prevented from attending the 

 Twickenham outing. A three-quarters of an hour'^ run 

 thro\ig]i the rural parts of Berkshire brought us to 

 Beading, and soon we were being cordially received by 

 members of the firm at the world-famed seed trial 

 grounds of Messrs. Sutton & Sons. Time was limited 

 so attention had to be confined to the sweet pea portion. 

 Here were to be seen 310 varieties in 550 rows, repre- 

 senting over two miles of blooms of all tints. It was 

 interesting to contrast the small blooms of a nondescript 

 tint which were in favor twenty years ago with the 

 present well developed and imposing blooms. The e.x- 

 perts present — and these came from all parts of the 

 kingdom — were unanimous in their praise of the high 

 standard of culture characterizing the trials generally. 



A TIHAL OF SYNONYMOUS SORTS. 



After partaking of the generous entertainment of 

 Messrs. Sutton we journeyed- to another part of Eeading 

 to examine the trials which had been conducted by Mr. 

 Chas. Foster at the University College gardens. The 

 existence of a number of duplicates under various 

 names has caused considerable confusion. The society 

 have now had grown 140 varieties of the type recog- 

 nized, and they were able to make some useful compari- 

 sons. It was found that there are several identical sorts 

 being distributed under different names. Of cour=e the 

 society cannot prevent a seedsman continuing to send 

 out any variety under the title selected, but they will 

 be able in their next schedule hi prizes to intimate the 

 kinds which they consider to be synonymous in the 

 respective classes. It was noticed that one new -"ariety 

 which secured a medal at the recent show had sjiorted 

 Ijadly, and it was decided to suggest to the raiser the ad- 

 visability of not placing it on the market uiitil it 

 was properly fixed. This raised the important question 

 that it will be advisable in future to have the varieties 

 tested on a trial ground before being granted an award, 

 which is usually regarded as a guarantee of a new va- 

 victy's merit and reliability. The society highly appre- 

 ciated the efforts of Mr. C. H. Curtis, the secretary, in 

 promoting the success of the outings. 



>^oC Cidit^. 



