September 16, 1863. ] 



JOTJSNAL OF HOKTICULTITEE AJ«) COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



213 



grandiflora ; VandaE iaaignis, tricolor, Eoxburghi, and 

 coerulea ; brides oriapum, odoratum majus, quinquevul- 

 nenim, vixens, major, and Warneri ; Oncidium Laneeanum, 

 pulchelluin, &c. ; Saccolabium Blumei, and verj- many more 

 varieties of these now -popular plants. 



In the other division I noticed the shelves or tables were 

 covered with sea gravel about the size of a horse bean, 

 which does not choke the drain-Iioles of a pot like sand, and 

 it imparts a clean aspect to the whole. Here were two 

 examples of that very odd-looking plant, Aioeasia metallica, 

 with more than a score of leaves on each, forming, mth 

 Musa vittata, the best set-off for a dinner table that I can 

 imagine. Put the Musa in the centre and relieve it \\-itli 

 Adiantimis around it. and set the Alocasias one at each end 

 of the table, and they will cause a sensation. The Alooasia, 

 though a slow grower at the best, grows here like a Colts- 

 foot, and sends up suckers like WiUows. The Musa in 

 question is the noblest-looking plant I have yet seen. It 

 has the habit of M. Cavendishii, but with a somewhat longer 

 and naiTower leaf, taring stripes of silvery whiteness cross- 

 wise on the upper surface of the leaf. The plant here is 

 6 feet high with six leaves about a yard long. Here, too, is 

 a plant for the curious, the Lattice-plant from the pools of 

 Madagascar, growing in the water of an inverted bell-glass, 

 and Sarracenia purpurea, variolaris, rubra, and Drummondi, 

 flourishing in sijhagnum, fibiy peat, and cocoa dust. How 

 happens it that these hardy plants requii-e a high tempera- 

 ture y Not less interesting for the beauty of theu- foliage 

 were Pandanus elegantissimus, with red-edged leaves, 

 charming for dinner-table decoration ; Campylobotrys reful- 

 gens, with bronzy red-coloured leaves, having a satiny 

 lustre ; Saccharum violaceum (Violet Sugar-cane), with the 

 habit of a grass, having rosy-violet stems and young spray 

 of the same colour drooping gi-acefully when mature, and 

 excellent for the dinner table ; Cyperus alternifolius varie- 

 gatus, which requires a poor soil, and is sure to come in 

 character if grown in pure sand only — green or variegated, 

 no plant excels this for ornamental purposes — nice plants of 

 Gomphia theophrasta, rightly named, as it much resembles 

 a Theophrasta ; Eriocnema marmorea, with a smooth Glox- 

 inia leaf beautifully dotted with silver; Quassia amara 

 {Bitter Quassia) ; Maranta vittata ; micans, a pretty -leaved 

 kind witli a red midrib, &c. ; Caladium regale and others, 

 not excepting C. Lowii ; and Cissus porphyrophyUus, just 

 contrary to C. discolor, which loses the beauty of its leaves 

 in proportion to their age ; but this gains in coloirr with 

 age ; the leaves have more substance, and are round instead 

 of ovate. I may add Sphcerogyne latifolia ; Hibiscus 

 Cooperi ; PhyUagathis rotundifoUa ; Cypripedium vUlosum, 

 Lowii, Hookeri, and hirsutissimum, and many more new 

 and rare plants too numerous to mention. I must not 

 omit noticing a pan of seedling Alocasias just peeping 

 from beneath the soil. There were about a dozen of them, 

 but what they wUl be when developed is another ques- 

 tion. The seeds were a cross between Aioeasia metidlica 

 and Caladium marmoratum, the former being the female 

 parent or seed-producer. — G. A. 



(To be continued.) 



NOTES ON THE BEDDING-OUT AT THE 

 CRYSTAL PALACE, BY AN AMATETJE. 



Mb. Adet has already given your readers the benefit of his 

 opinions on the l)edding-out at the Crystal Palace, but, 

 perhaps, you will not object to insert a few further notes on 

 the same subject by an amateur. 



Like Mr. Adey, I took my first look at the garden from the 

 ■doorway directly facing the Sose Mount, and the first 

 thought which entered my mind was, " Oh ! how different 

 to last year ! " accompanied by a feeling of disappointment, 

 which, perhaps, prejudiced me throughout my visit. How- 

 ever, I took out my note-book and proceeded to take down 

 the planting of the festoon-bed round the Eose Mount 

 and the beds inside, and then hurried off to examine the 

 beds round it on the outside. Here my feeling of disappoint- 

 ment was increased ; for where I last year spent a long time 

 taking notes, this year I scai'cely found a single bed which 

 attracted me or invited inspection. 



One bed, which was planted with a light pink Verbena 



edged with a white Verbena, was very tame from the entire 

 absence of contrast or shading. Another, the arrangement 

 of which consisted of alternate circles of Cerastium and 

 Gazania splendens, seemed to depend for effect more on the 

 contrast of the foliage than anything else, and the blossom 

 of the Gazania rather spoilt it than otherwise. 



There was a something which offended the eye when this 

 part of the garden was \-iewed from the Eose Mount, but 

 what it was I did not discover until I had seen the effect of 

 the garden on the terrace from the Palace. 



Judging from my experience of last year, I still felt sure 

 that I had a treat in store in the chain-border. But, alas ! 

 here again I was doomed to disappointment. That which 

 last year was the most beautiful and effective thing in the 

 way of planting that I have seen, was this year not a chain 

 at all, properly so called. Whatever can have induced the 

 designer of those beds to sever ail the links of the chain by 

 connecting them ivith Lobelia Paxtouiana, instead of making 

 the chain continuous as it was last year, by cari-ying the 

 edging of Alyssum all round, and thereby entitling it to be 

 called •' chain " ? This struck me as being the greatest mis- 

 take made in the planting in the whole garden ; for not only 

 is the beautiful effect of the continuous chain, over which 

 last year the eye never ceased to wander with delight, com- 

 pletely broken, but two lines, one of white and the other 

 of blue, running at right angles to each other, are by no 

 means caloidated to contrast well. 



When I had mounted to the Palace and viewed the 

 terrace-beds from that commanding position, I discovered 

 what it was that had offended my eye from the Eose Mount. 

 That which struck me as being the great difference between 

 the planting this year and last, is, that last year the prevail- 

 ing idea seemed to be co7itrast, whereas this year it appears 

 to be shadi'/ir). In consequence of the plan pm-sued in carry- 

 ing out this latter idea, the eye is attracted by large and 

 almost unvarying masses of scarlet shaded with pink, al- 

 most unrelieved, and the effect is very wearying to the eye. 

 This it was which sti-uofc me in some of the beds near the 

 Eose Mount, and much more strongly in the grand view of 

 the terrace garden from the Palace. 



The beds which interested me most, and the effect of 

 which I was most careful to observe, were those in which 

 appeared Amaranthus raelancholious ruber, Coleus Ver- 

 schaffelti, Centaurea oandidissima, and Centaurea gymno- 

 carpa, the first and two last of which I do not remember to 

 have seen befoi-e. 



I was some little time making up my mind which had the 

 best effect fi-om a distance : Centaurea gymnocarpa edged 

 with Coleus Verschaffelti, or Amai-anthus melanchohcus 

 raber edged with Centaiu-ea oandidissima ; but I finally de- 

 cided in favour of the latter, the Amaranthus having very 

 much the effect of an extremely handsome blossom. There 

 were other plants in the same beds, but those which were 

 not hidden by the plants I have named by no means con- 

 tributed to improve the effect. The unpleasant impression 

 left on my mind by the rest of the garden was quite effaced 

 by an inspection of these " coming favourites," though it is 

 said that the Coleus is to be aboUshed as a bedding-out 

 plant. 



I cannot conclude without expressing my opinion that 

 there is one great improvement which might be made, and 

 which would be of great assistance to those who, like myself, 

 go to the Crystal Palace to take notes of the bedding-out, 

 in order to assist then- friends in making then- plans for 

 laying-out their gardens the following year — it is to give 

 the names of the plants used. It cannot be expected 

 that an amateur who spends most of his time in work- 

 ing at a profession can know the names of all the different 

 Geraniums, Calceolarias, &c., which are used in the bed- 

 ding-out at the Crystal Palace and other large public 

 gardens, and at the same time it is of little use for him 

 to note down "Scarlet Geranium," or "yellow Calceo- 

 laria," when the former may be " Crystal Palace Scarlet," 

 " Cottage Maid," or " one of Mr. Beaton's new Geraniums," 

 and the latter may be " Aurea floribunda," or "Gaines' 

 Yellow." Surely it would not cause much extra trouble if 

 small tallies were placed in each bed showing the names of 

 the sorts used. They need not be too conspicuous, and they 

 would be a great convenience, and would add much to the 

 very great interest which all who care to have their gardens 



