Rhododen- like what gardeners term an " open " place that is, a position 



drons at where they get abundance of both light and air; but just as 



Kew and tne 7 en j7 tne a * r better when it reaches them in gentle waves 



Saltwood than wnen it strikes them in fierce currents, so they enjoy 



a suffused light in preference to a fierce glare. The colours, 



too, hold better when the hot rays of the midday sun are 



broken than when they fall in full power. 



That these magnificent plants will thrive in districts 

 presenting different conditions from those which prevail in the 

 great Rhododendron centres Bagshot, Tregothnan, Penjerrick, 

 Carclew, Tremough we are often meeting with proof of. 

 The success of Kew is very considerable. Who would suppose 

 that on a light-land flat, close to the Thames bed, Rhodo- 

 dendrons could be grown almost as well as in the cool Cornish 

 valleys ? The Kew plants are very fine, and are particularly 

 interesting as a proof of what cultivation can do. Nor would 

 Rhododendron lovers be likely to look in East Kent, with its 

 reputation for chalk and spring gales, for anything very notable. 

 It exists, however, in the beautiful garden of Mr A. C. Leney, 

 at Saltwood, near Hythe. This is less than two miles from 

 the sea, above which it stands at an altitude of perhaps 

 250 feet. A mile or two northward lie the chalk hills. The 

 garden is formed on the sides and bed of a little valley, the 

 " rims " of which are fringed with trees. The site is open, but 

 sheltered a tiny canon, a world within a world. The soil is 

 cool and moist, but drained. The eternal gales sweep out of 

 the Channel and swoop upon the land, but they cannot disturb 

 the serenity of this favoured spot. 



Nature has done her share, and cultivation has done the 

 rest. The soil has been deepened with turfy loam, leaf mould,, 



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