124 



JOUBNAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAKDENER. 



[ August 15, 1865. 



customary to treat it as hardy, and to give it a chance of filling 

 its bed. I have, probably, ten plants on the same space of 

 ground that is occupied by only one of Messrs. Hooper's ; but 

 I can assure your readers that they will be well repaid their 

 outlay of an extra shilling for seed by the difference of result 

 ■which such an outlay vnil jjroduce. — Monticola. 



BATTERSEA PAPJv, 



Great credit is due to the First Commissioner of Her Ma- 

 jesty's Works, &c., for the manner in which he has beautified 

 the naturally low and swampy ground of Battersea Park. It 

 is only a few years since it was the resort of wild fowl, and 

 only celebrated as a shooting grormd, with a traj) at one end 

 of a string, and a sportsman at the other ready with his gun 

 to shoot the bewDdered pigeon when it issued from its prison. 

 Thauks to the ruling powers and to Mr. Gibson for the change 

 that has taken place, we now see more intellectual recreations 

 for all classes than the Eed House provided. 



Having entered the Park at the west gate we find seven long 

 beds like the spokes of the half of a wheel, the centre being a 

 circle representing the nut of the wheel. It is edged with 

 Stachys lanata, then come two circles of yellow Calceolarias, 

 and two circles of Moimtfordii Geranium, with a dot of Cen- 

 taurea candidissima in the centre. Two beds at opposite sides, 

 to match, are edged with Stachys lanata ; then there are two 

 rows of Scarlet Geraniums at each side ; and at the broad end, 

 in the middle, variegated Veronica Andersoni. Two beds have 

 two rows of Coleus Verschaft'elti at each side, next Flower of the 

 Day Geranium, and then Mouritfordii (ierauium ; and then 

 there are two beds edged with white Centaurea, and then comes 

 Trentham Eose Geranium. The centre bed is edged with 

 Daybreak Geranium, and consists of Coleus Verschaft'elti, then 

 Magenta Geranium, with two or three rows of variegated Ve- 

 ronica Andersoni in the centre. On the left is a spleudid circle 

 composed of Iresine Herbstii edged with white Centam-ea. 



On the south side of the refreshment-room is a fine display ; 

 standing in the centre on each side are match beds in tliis 

 crescent-shaped parterre. The first two beds are planted with 

 an edging of Golden Harkaway Geranium, then come a row of 

 Daybreak Geranium, and foru' rows of Lady Middleton Gera- 

 nium. The next are circles edged with Bijou Geraniiun, with 

 the centre of Scarlet Globe Geranium. The next are two rows 

 of Mrs. Milford Geranium, with four rows of Lord Paknerstou 

 Geranium in the centre. The circular beds have Gold-leaf Gera- 

 nium as an edging, and Lobelia speciosa in the centre. The 

 next consist of two rows of Cloth of Gold as an edging, two rows 

 of Coleus A erschaffeltii, aud foiu' rows of Cliristiue Geranium in 

 the centre. Again, we have circular beds with a row of Mrs. 

 Milford Geranium as an edging, and four rows of Madame 

 Vaucher Geranium in the centre. The end beds are edged with 

 Lady Plymouth and Oriana Cieraniums, aud have four rows of 

 Cybister Geranimn in the centre. The borders that surround 

 this crescent, and at each side of the broad waUv leading south- 

 wards, are planted ribbon-fashion with three rows of Lobelia 

 speciosa, and three rows of Daybreak Geranium iutennixed, 

 then two rows of Christine Geranium, two rows of yellow Cal- 

 ceolaria, two rows of Lady Middleton Geranium, and two rows 

 of Stella Geranium, backed by Chrysanthemum piuuatum. 

 The golden foliage of the Geraniums, the taste displayed in the 

 arrangement of the colours, and the correct Imowledge as to 

 the probable heights of the ilauts, have contributed to produce 

 a gorgeous effect. 



On the right is a bank planted with a serpentine border of 

 Cerastium tomentosum, about 2 feet wide, with small circular 

 and semicircular beds running thi-ough it in the middle planted 

 with Harkaway and Pink Geraniums, aud others. It is a new- 

 idea for bordering, which I have no doubt will be extended and 

 improved upon. Mr. Gibson, although the last to enter the 

 field, is the first to lead the fashion ; his gold and silver leaves 

 give to his beds and borders an oriental richness not to be 

 found elsewhere. I recollect having seen at Chiswick (then 

 under the superintendence of the late Mr. McEwen), a border 

 of annuals in which the circles along the centre were planted 

 with difl'ereut sorts, aud around the circles were squares of 

 other colours. Mr. Miller was carrying out the same system 

 last year on a border at Coombe Abbey. 



I will now proceed on the broad walk leading south to the 

 sub-tropical garden, but lea\ing its details to other hands, my 

 remarks on this part of the grounds will be brief. There 

 you see the Banana or Plantain, the Indiaurubber, and the 



Brazilian Dragon Tree, the Eice-paper Plant of China, aud a 

 host of other plants belonging to warmer climes than oiu' own, 

 but on these I will not dwell. In a long narrow- bed I noticed 

 several of Beaton's seedhng Geraniums sent out this season by 

 Mr. W. Paul, and among others Black Dwarf, flowers crimson 

 scarlet, a true Nosegay, usefid for small beds on account of its 

 close, dwarf habit ; Duchess, flow-ers rosy lake, of dwarf habit , 

 Donald Beaton, flowers orange scarlet, a good variety ; Amy 

 Hogg, flowers bright pm-plish rose, a strong, free-growing 

 Hybrid Nosegay, the leaves slightlj' zonate, verj' distinct, and 

 attractive ; and Scarlet Gem, flowers bright orange scarlet 

 with white eye, dark horseshoe leaves, valuable for the mass 

 of colour it produces. The triangular-.shaped portions were 

 ])lanted with Queen of Queens Geranium, scarlet flowers with 

 white margin ; Sulphurea marginata. Variegated Beauty, 

 Nymph, and Glo-svworm, the latter has fiery scarlet top petals, 

 lower petals magenta, flushed with crimson. To my fancy 

 the handsomest bed in the place is a small circle planted with 

 the Dragon Tree of Australia in the centre, then Begonias, four 

 or five plants of Draca;na ferrea variegata and Cooperi, edged 

 with white Centaurea, and carpeted with Selaginella denticulata. 



It is deUghtful to see the interest the people take in the 

 plants here, many with pencil and paper noting down the 

 names. Mr. Gibson originated the happy idea of planting a 

 sub-tropical garden in the open air, and the people flock to the 

 liark to see these inhabitants of foreign climes as, for a si mil ar 

 reason, they go to the zoological gardens to see the speci- 

 mens there exlubited from all parts of the world. All tends to 

 the euhghtenment of the jirosent generation. Many tropical 

 plants, which at their first introduction were kept entirely in 

 stoves, are now- planted out w-ithout any abatement of growth 

 or diminution of beauty ; and from this we may reasonably 

 hope that some tropical fruits may in time be so far assimi- 

 lated to our climate as to ripen in om- ordinary summers. Mr. 

 Nickson, when at Pepper Harrow, tm-ned out of pots in June 

 some fruiting Pine plants into a prepared border of loam and 

 leaf mould, aud in Sejitember they were ripe. Although the 

 weather that summer was unfavourable for the experiment, the 

 flavour of the friut was pronounced by competent judges to be 

 considerably superior to any fruit grown rmdcr glass. Oiu- 

 hope now rests with Mr. Gibson, if sirfficient means be afforded 

 him, of seeing Sir- Joseph Banks's prophecy fulfilled, that " ere 

 long the Akee and the Avocado Pear of the West Indies ; the 

 Flat Peach, the Mandarine Orange, and the Litchi of China ; 

 the Mango, the Mangosteen, and the Diuion of the East Indies, 

 and possibly other valuable tropical fruits, will be frequent at 

 the tables of opulent persons, and some of them, perhaps, be 

 offered for sale on every market day in Covent Garden." 



I hojie to see the day when it will be considered safe to 

 remove the iron hurdles in the sub-tropical and other depart- 

 ments of the Park, and allow the public to saunter aronud the 

 beds and borders. To judge from what I see, I think the 

 people seem to be so grateful for what has been done for their 

 recreation, delight, aud instruction, that they would ijrotect 

 the flowers and shrubs from damage in their own parks. The 

 danger of mischief would arise more from the large circum- 

 ference and sweeping trains of the ladies' dresses than from any 

 other cause. I am glad to see the names attached to the plants 

 in the sub-tropical department, but some are so far fi'om the 

 walks that it is almost impossible to read them. — Wm. Reane. 



Although the general features of tlutsub-tropical department 

 have been ably depicted by "D., Ucal," at page 83 — so well 

 indeed that little more is left now but to describe the details ; 

 yet these may not be without a certain degree of interest as 

 showing more fully the plants which Mr. CHbson employs, and 

 the way in which they are arranged. The effect produced by 

 hundreds of Indiaurubber trees, Caladiums, and Caunas, by 

 noble-leaved AVigandias, Solauums, Aralias, and Tobaccos, 

 with tree Fei-ns, Draca-uas, and many other exotic plants, is 

 so different from that produced by ordiuary bedding, so dif- 

 ferent from the garden scenes to which an English eye is 

 accustomed, that any mere description must fail to give an 

 adequate idea of the reality. 



Starting from the entrance of the sub-tropical garden on the 

 north, or river, side, aud passing circles in which are Bambusa 

 graciUs, a plant of graceful habit and so hardy that it has stood 

 out of doors for two w-inters, and some other plants for trial ; 

 next comes a group of Cannas in a circular bed, Canna discolor, 

 a noble kind with the amjile gi-een foliage barred with a dark 

 copper colour approaching the hue of the Purple Beech, being 

 in the centre, with Canna floribunda for an edging. Adjoining 



