Leaves from a Madeira Garden 



a beautiful blue-grey colour, according well 

 with the rocks or walls over which it loves to 

 hang. Grown In a mass on a bank in full sun, 

 it is a very handsome object, and it owns the 

 sentimental attraction of an indigenous plant. 



Freesias are now in full blossom, and the air 

 is sweet with their delicious perfume. Violets 

 do not grow well with us, but they are brought 

 from the hill-gardens of unrivalled size and 

 scent, the " Princess of Wales " being perhaps 

 the most noteworthy. The yellow blossom of 

 the mimosa trees has about it a very strong 

 suggestion of spring. 



Among climbers the Bougainvillea is now in 

 its fullest perfection, and compensates us for 

 the fading of the Bignonia venuUa. The mag- 

 nificent rose-coloured Bignonia chirere is in 

 flower in some sheltered gardens ; for ours we 

 must wait a little longer. And shortly we shall 

 enjoy what is perhaps the noblest of our flowers, 

 the upstanding cream-white bells of Solandra 

 grandifiora, I find that this is usually a novelty 

 to English visitors, perhaps because its rampant 

 growth renders it unsuitable for all but the 

 largest houses. Here it will fling itself along 

 a wall, or over a roof, in unrivalled luxuriance. 



i66 



