104. 



JOUENAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ August tl^ 1863. 



peared. We shall be glad to -hear how far the collections 

 in the counti-y have been affected, and if any remedy has 

 been discovered to aa-rest this threatened calamity to one of 

 our most ornamental autumnal flowers. 



KEW GAEDENS.— August 1. 



" Hast thou e'er seen a garden clad 

 In all the robes that Eden had ? 

 Or vale o'erspread with streams and trees, 

 A paradise of mvsteries '.' 

 Plains, with gri'en hills adorning them 

 Like jewels in a diadem ?" 



The entrance gates from Kew Green are worthy of notice. 

 The piers are of Portland stone, with moulded and sunk 

 panels. Those of the large piers contain elaborately carved 

 falls of flowers and fi-uit. The frieze is also enriched with 

 swags of flowers, &c., festooning on each of the four sides 

 from rams' heads projecting boldly from the angles ; and 

 the cornice is surmounted by a richly carved vase containing 

 a bouquet of flowers. 



To the right upon entering is the Grecian conser\'atory ; 

 but as my object is to describe the sununer tenants of the 

 beds, I will hurry to the fii'st turning on the left, imd at 

 once emerge upon the broad walk, on both sides of which 

 aie ranged the beds on grass. The first pair, one at each 

 side, is a circle planted with Brilliant Geranium, edged with 

 Koniga maritima variegata, more commonly known as 

 Sweet Alyssum. The opposite bed is jJanted with the same 

 to match. 2nd, Oblong bed, Calceolaiia amplexieaulis, edged 

 with Piuijle King ; the opposite to match. To obviate repe- 

 tition it is to be vmderstood that every bed to be described has 

 an opposite bed of the same to match. 3rd, A circle planted 

 with the same as first. 4th, Oblong centre. Purple King 

 Verbena, then Tropaeolum elegans, edged with Cerastium 

 tomentosum. 5th, Circle, Koniga maritima variegata, edged 

 with Lobelia speciosa. 6th, Oblong, Punch Geranium, edged 

 with Gnaphalium lanatum. 7th, Circle, the same as 5th. 

 8th, Oblong, standard and dwarf Roses. 9th, Circle, Purple 

 King Verbena, edged with Tropaeolum elegans. 10th, 

 Oblong, centre Ageratum mexicanum, then Cerise Unique 

 Geranium, edged with Piu-ple King Verbena. An incident 

 occiu-red here : As a respectably-dressed party was passing, 

 one of them stopi^ed to inquii-e of another companion the 

 name of the Ageratum mexicanmn. The young lady, with 

 the au- of the knowledge of a professor of botany, told liim, 

 •without the least hesitation, that it was a Heliotrope ! The 

 authorities at Kew and elsewhere give the public more 

 credit for theu' knowledge of the names of plants than they 

 deserre. and therefore it may be well to suggest here the 

 ■advisableness of attaching the names to the bedded-out 

 plants. 11th, Circle, the same as No. 9. 12th, Oblong, 

 ■centre Calceolaria amplexicaulis, then Perflla nankinensis, 

 edged 'nith Centaurea candidissima. 13th, Cu-cle, centre 

 Koniga maiitima variegata, then Crazania splendens, edged 

 with Lobelia speciosa. 14th, Oblong, Lord Raglan Verbena, 

 edged with Cerastium tomentosum. 15th, Circle, the same as 

 No. 13. 16th, Oblong, standard and dwarf Roses .and Mig- 

 nonette. 17th, Circle, scarlet Geranitun, edged with Stachys 

 lanata. A broad walk branches off with two pairs of beds 

 at each side ; the first, an oblong, centre three rows of 

 Flower of the Day Geranium, then three rows of Brilliant 

 Geranium, edged with Purple King Verbena ; the second, a 

 circle, Dp^hlia Pm-ple ZeKnda, edged with yellow Calceolaria. 

 20th, Circle on the main walk, the same as No. 17. 21st, 

 Oblong, standard and dv.-arf Roses. 22nd, Circle, centre 

 Koniga, then Gazania splendens, edged with Lobelia speciosa. 

 23rd, Oblong, Lord Raglan Verbena, edged with Cerastium 

 tomentosum. 24th, Cu'cle, the same as No. 22. 25th, 

 Oblong, centre three rows of Calceolaria amplexicaulis, then 

 two rows of PeriUa nankinensis, edged with Gazania splen- 

 dens. 26th, Cu'cle, Purple King Verbena, edged with 

 Tropaeolum. 27th, Oblong, centre three rows of Ageratum 

 mexicanum, then two rows of Cerise Unique Geranium, 

 edged mth two rows of Flower of the D.ay. 2Sth, Circle, the 

 same as 26. 29th, Oblong, standard and dwarf Roses. 30th, 

 Chvle, centre Koniga maritima vaaiegata, then Gazania 

 splendens, edged with Lobelia speciosa. 31st, Oblong, 

 Pianch Geranium, old plants pegged down, edged with 

 Gnaphaliimi lanatum. 32nd, Circle, the same as 30. 33rd, 



Oblong, centre: Purple King Verbena, then scarlet Tropajolum, 

 edged with Cerastium. 34tih, Circle, Brilliant Geranium, 

 edged with Koniga maritima. 35th, Oblong, Caloeolaria. 

 Aurea floribujida and amplesdoaulis, edged mth Parple King 

 Verbena. .'JSith, Cu-cle, the same as 34. 



In front is, a laxge circle. It is 36 feet in diauseter, has a» 

 rich, massive, and moidd«d edging of terra cotta 15 or 18 

 inches high. The bed is raised up as a pyramid, and in th& 

 centre is a very handsofije flower-\iase with pedestal and 

 plinth. The planting of the bed reaches up to the very 

 plinth. The centre is planted mth scarlet Geraoiiums inter- 

 spersed with Perilla, Shen Centam-ea candidissima, then 

 Purple King Verbena,, the whole edged witlv Tom Thumb 

 Geranitmi. The vase in the cen-tre is filled; with scarlet 

 Geraniums. Beside the walk to the left is, a bed of some 

 length, to corresporid -with the sweep of the walk. Tha 

 centre is filled with Flower of the Day G«raniiun diirided 

 into compartments, being crossed with Perilla ; the sides 

 are filled up with Tropaeolum, edged with Koniga and blue 

 Lobelia. 



On the right to* the Palm-house the fijrst is a circle^ centre 

 Pttrple King Verbena, then Prince of Orange Geranium, 

 edged with Arabis lucida Tariegata. 2nd, Oblong, centre 

 Calceolaria asnplexicaulis, then Brilliant Geranirmi, edged 

 with Gnaphalium lanatum. 3rd, Circle, the same as No. 1. 

 4th, Circle, Ageratum, edged with TropiEoliuu. 5th, Half- 

 circle, PeriUa, edged with scarlet Geranium. 6th, Cicefe, 

 the same as No. 4. 



We now take up ottr position on the centre of the tenace 

 in front of the Palm-house, overlooking the terrace garden. 

 Two vases stand in front, and other vases at the head of 

 the lake are all filled with scailet Geraniums. The two 

 large circular beds in the middle compartment ai-e divided 

 into eight parts by rows of Perilla, two being filled with 

 Calceolaria amplexicaulis, four with Pvuple King Verbena, 

 and two with scarlet Geraniums in opposite beds. 



On each side of the oblongs, in the centre, is a gorgeous 

 pattern — the centre bed planted with Christine Geranium, 

 then Koniga maiitima, then Dandy variegated Geranium, 

 with Koniga edging. Then the fig-ure like a bishop's crosier 

 is planted near the handle with Purple King Verbena, then 

 Am-ea floribunda Calceolaria, finishing at the top with 

 C. amplexicaulis, edged with blue Lobelia. Then a pentagon 

 figure is planted with Lord Raglan Verbena, with the oppo- 

 site bed of the same to match. The long beds north and 

 south of the figm-e are composed of Brilliant Geranium, 

 edged vrith Flower of the Day. The saddle-shaped beds east 

 and west of the figure are pUmted with Nosegay Geranium 

 and Perilla. The four corner beds at the angles are planted 

 with Tom Thumb Geranium. The triangle beds in front 

 of these are planted -ivith Koniga maritima vaiiegata ; and 

 the cu-cle at each end with Golden Chain Geranium, edged 

 with Lobelia speciosa. The other half of the terrace garden 

 is a duplicate of the above. 



On the south front of the Palm-house is a broad walk 

 with chaiD borders on grass. 1st, A Yew tree in a circle 

 filled up with Tropreolum elegans. 2nd length. Purple 

 King Verbena, edged with Koniga. 3rd, An oblong with 

 Perilla in centre, then a row of Punch Geranium, and then 

 a row of Tom Thumb Geraniiun, edged with Koniga ; and 

 so with the other beds and cfrcles, each bed furnished with 

 some one of the HoUy trees of different-coloured foUage. On 

 the left is a high grass niotind, having in the centre an 

 Araucaria imbricata encu-eled at some distance with two 

 half-moon-shaped beds planted "ndth Calceolaria amplexi- 

 caidis and C. Aurea floribunda, edged with Koniga and blue 

 Lobelia, and on the inner or concave side with a row of 

 BrOliant Geranium edged with Perilla. Beside the half- 

 circular walks are oblong beds, some with Hollyhocks in the 

 centre edged with Ribbon Grass, others mth Canna indica 

 edged with Ribbon Grass ; some with Dalihas edged with 

 Ciilceolaria Aiu-ea floribunda, others with Fuchsias edged 

 with Perilla, &c. 



From the botanic department to the new eonsei-vatory is 

 a broad grass ride, planted on one side with standard mop- 

 headed Robinias — unsightly objects, liable to serious damage 

 from high winds. 



On the right after entering the pleasuTe ground is the 



Pantheon built by Sir Jeffiry Wy.atville. Its base is elevated ; 



I the entablature is supported by fotu' columns, and beara the 



