142 



JOURNAL OF HOETICOLTDEE AND COTTAGE GARBENEB. 



[ August 25, 1870. 



tinguished in London's " Arboretum et Fruticetum," a work 

 which is still to be had at old bookstalls; I bought mine at one, 

 and it is well worth the small price the two volumes can now 

 be had for. If it were better known, our gardeners' lists would 

 be greatly improved, and better understood by accurate students, 

 who are their be3t friends. — R. H. W. 



GARDENING IN THE LONDON PARKS— No. 1. 



BATTERSEA PARK. 



The modern style of flower gardening has probably done 

 more than anything else to draw the attention of the gardening 

 world to the importance of a knowledge of the relative value of 

 colours, and to the cultivation of correct taste in the arrange- 

 ment of them. Like the painter or sculptor, we strive to 

 obtain a sight of the works of masters in the art, not altogether 

 with the view of closely imitating what we see, but rather to 

 endeavour to grasp the intention of the artist, to see what his 

 aim has been, to study the general effect of the whole, and so 

 render the lesson useful to ourselves by applying its soundest 

 principles in our future practice. 



It was with some Buch thoughts as these that I went to see 

 the flowers at Battersea Park, Hyde Park, and the Crystal 

 Palace, and it is my purpose in these notes to give some de- 

 scription of what I saw at each place, with the hope that it 

 may prove useful and interesting to those who are prevented 

 by distance and other causes from seeing and judging for 

 themselves. 



Taking them in the order in which they are named, Batter- 

 sea Park worthily occupies the first place, not simply because 

 the tropical plants are its chief feature, but because at Batter- 

 sea one sees evidence of great skill and ability in the singularly 

 appropriate manner in which the grounds have been adapted 

 for their intended purpose. The winding walks, the gently 

 sloping banks, the abrupt eminences, the sheltered nooks, and 

 the pleasant glimpses of water, all contribute to the formation I 

 of such a Bcene of beauty as is rarely to be met with ; and at 

 this season, when to all these fine permanent features are 

 added the host of fine-folisged plants from the tropics, which, 

 by the skill devoted to their arrangement, display their curious 

 growth and foliage to the greatest advantage, these gardens 

 may be said to be quite unique, so skilfully has the Super- 

 intendent availed himself of the rich variety which the grace- i 

 ful forms and varied hues of the tropical plants afford — the 

 novel effects succeeding each other so constantly that the 

 interest excited by the first glimpse is fully sustained in every 

 part of the subtropical garden. 



In designing these grounds the aim of the artist was evi- 

 dently to obtain as much shelter as possible, in order to screen 

 the large foliage of the tropical plants, which soon loses its 

 beauty if at all exposed to violent winds ; this shelter is ob- 

 tained by causing the walks to wind about in graceful curves, 

 so as to form a number of semicircular spaces, behind which 

 rise banks well clothed with a variety of trees and shrubs, the 

 growth of which, while it is void of all stiffness or formality, is 

 kept beautifully graduated downwards till it meets that of the 

 plants it is designed to protect. As an example of how well 

 this is done, I will instance one group of beds occupying the 

 space in front of a long sweeping curve. Towards the highest 

 part of the bank is a broad belt of Lilacs, next below this is a 

 row of variegated Aacuba japonica, then a fine bold line of the 

 dark-flowered Nosegay Pelargonium Waltham Seedling, next 

 this a row of Golden Pyrethrum, with a front row of Siachys 

 lanata. Close in front of this bank, at the centre and deepest 

 part of the curve, is a fine long bed having lines of Canna discolor 

 behind, then Canna expansa rubra of lower growth and with 

 dark-coloured foliage, and a row of Pelargonium Golden Fleece 

 in front. This bed has a very bold and striking appearance. 

 In front of it, near the walk, are three circular beds, the middle 

 one containing in its centre a splendid Cycas revoluta, with its 

 elegant fronds spreading gracefully over a mass of Coleus 

 Albert Victor beneath, while around the Cycas, but not near 

 enough to crowd it or affect its beauty, were smaller plants of 

 Latania borbonica and Chamsrops Martiana, with an edging 

 of the pretty grey Santolina lavandulrefolia, which gave an 

 appropriate finish to the whole. Of the other two beds, one 

 contained a compact mass of Lilium lancifolium rubrum, and 

 the other a crimson scarlet Pelargonium ; both beds had edg- 

 ings of Centaurea gymnocarpa. A few Palms springing from 

 the turf among the beds imparted grace and lightness to the 

 entire group, which is but one among many others equally 

 striking and effective. 



Another very long graceful curve, having, like the rest, its 

 sloping bank of shrubs, had all round the curve at the base of 

 the bank, but raised 2 or 3 feet from the actual level, a number 

 of small semicircles cut into the bank, on each of which was 

 enthroned a noble Musa Ensete, surrounded by other tropical 

 plants. On the level surface of the turf, at the foot of the bank, 

 were some fine groups of Cannas and various other fine-foliaged 

 plants, interspersed with good specimens of Seaforthia elegans, 

 Cordyline indivisa, a fine Latania borbonica, and a beautiful 

 plant of Areca sapida. In front of thi3 group, on the turf 

 beyond the walk, were a number of beds, some containing 

 varieties of Cannas, and all interspersed with handsome speci- 

 mens of Palms. A novel effect was here produced by a long 

 narrow bed, the curves of which were so close to each other as 

 to form a number of small semicircles, each of which embraced 

 a neat circle of green Ivy ; the sides of the bed were faced with 

 a thick compact hedge of Euonymus radicans variegatus nearly 

 a foot high ; the soil of the bed was almost level with the top 

 of this hedge. A broad line of Pelargonium Cybister ran along 

 the centre of the bed, with a row of Pelargonium Golden Fleece 

 on each side. This bold mass of colour lost all its harshness 

 by the proximity of so much green foliage. 



At another part of the garden is a fine group of Acer Ne- 

 gundo variegatum, occupying an elevated and commanding 

 position in front of a belt of dark-foliaged shrubs. Passing 

 round one of the numerous curves one cannot fail to admire 

 the fine effect produced by this mass of silvery foliage, which 

 is so placed that a walk leads Btraight to its centre, where the 

 tallest plants are placed, the whole group being so arranged as 

 to slope gently downwards from its centre to the outer row. A 

 short distance from this group a striking contrast presents 

 itself in a number of Yuccas clothing a steep bank. 



A fine effect, different in character, and certainly as novel in 

 design as any group to be found in the entire garden, is pro- 

 duced by four beds on the turf, in a line parallel to the walk ; 

 two of these beds are parallelograms, and two are circles ; all 

 of them are planted with the same kind of plants, but with 

 the colours arranged in different designs. The soil of these 

 beds, in common with that of most others here, rises abruptly 

 from the turf, and thus a miniature ramp having a sharp slope 

 is formed all round the beds. On the face of all the beds is a 

 neat row of Echeveria secunda glauca, and in each of the long 

 beds a band of Alternanthera paronyehioides runB all round 

 next the Echeveria. Along the centre of each bed are three 

 separate small scrolls of Golden Pyrethrum, with a small star 

 of Santolina incana on each side of the central scroll. Closely 

 surrounding these, and entirely covering the remaining surface 

 of the beds, is a compact mass of the splendid Alternanthera 

 amceaa, with foliage of a deep pink or crimson shade. In the 

 circles a band of Alternanthera amceaa is outside next the 

 Echeveria, then comes a band of Santolina, then A. amoena 

 again, then Golden Pyrethrum, then more of A. amcena, with 

 centres of Santolina, the Pyrethrum forming a number of 

 Vandykes, the spaces of which are filled on each side by the 

 colours given above. Behind these charming beds are two 

 masses of Cannas, with an edging of the dull grey Veronica 

 incana, the quiet tone of which acts as a capital foil to the 

 bright colours in the front beds. I have described this group 

 fully, because the plants themselves, and the pretty designs 

 into which their colours are interwoven, are such as are suit- 

 able for any flower garden however small. 



Passing from this bright scene round one or two curves we 

 come upon another equally striking, and far more uncommon 

 — the miniature Alps, with their summits clothed with Anten- 

 naria tomentosa, which really conveys a very good idea of the 

 perpetual snow it is intended to represent. From the "snow 

 line " downwards to the ravine and lower slopes of the " moun- 

 tains " are a host of alpine plants, the majority of which are 

 of such diminutive growth that the plants of Echeveria metal- 

 lica, which are interspersed among them, tower above them 

 like giants. The quaint forms and the dwarf, compact growth 

 of this rich collection of alpine plants offer an interesting 

 study of a class of plants but too little known ; the agreeable 

 and natural manner in which they are here seen growing, and 

 the novel effect of the whole scene, are also well calculated to 

 fix the visitor's attention. 



Turn we now to a very different scene, but quite as effective 

 in its way, at another part of the gardeD, in a quiet nook, shut 

 iu and overshadowed by the spreading branches of trees. On 

 one side of the walk is a group of Tree Ferns, so disposed as 

 to exhibit the full beauty of their graceful proportions, and on 

 the other side a narrow glade stretches away till it is lost among 



