Angnst 30, 1877. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOETICOLTOBE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



179 



without a single blemish ; the huge green foliage presenting a 

 striking contrast to the battered, lacerated, forlorn, decaying 

 aspect under which this Palm is too often seen when grown in 

 tubs and afforded the shelter of a conservatory in winter. I 

 believe this to be by far the finest specimen established in the 

 open air in this country. It stands low down on the Lamorran 

 slopes, well sheltered but yet growing alone on a little eminence 

 close by the gigantic Sequoia with its huge red bole and lofty 

 symmetrical growth, affording a striking contrast, and forming 

 a worthy associate to it, although so totally diverse in charac- 

 ter. There are other smaller Palms upon different parts of 

 the slopes, all of them in good health and evidently growing 

 freely. 



Andromeda fo rmosa grows here into huge shrubs 6 feet high. 

 Erica codonodes is also perfectly wonderful, having the pro- 

 portions and air of a shrub. Many specimens of it which 



fringe a broad walk at intervals are apparently fully 10 feet 

 high; they grow upon the side of a steep bank with the 

 lower branches spreading downwards to its foot, and the top- 

 one clusters upwards erect and plume-like. A fine specimen 

 of Olea ilicifolia 8 feet high proves perfectly hardy, having 

 passed unscathed through frosts which have cut off Bays to 

 the ground. Aralia japoniea (Sieboldi) is so large that its 

 handsome foliage has a fine effect as seen in contrast with that 

 of surrounding trees. A flourishing tree of the Glastonbury 

 Thorn, raised from a graft taken from the original plant at 

 Glastonbury the year before it died, is a great curiosity, aB it 

 never fails to have flowers open on Christmas day. In ap- 

 pearance it is identical with the common Thorn. 



Rhododendrons and Azaleas are to be seen in every part of 

 the grounds ; the whole of them are choice kinds, and many of 

 the Rhododendrons are so rare as to be quite in keeping with 



Fig. 41. — LAMOBBAN — VIEW IN THE GROUNDS. 



the other treasures of this wonderful garden. Himalayan 

 kinds, such as arboreum, arboreum niveum, and arboreum 

 cinnamomeum, prove perfectly hardy here. The flowers of 

 these, with many other choice speoies and varieties, have for 

 years been subjected to such careful and skilful manipulation 

 that the place abounds with seedlings raised here by Mr. Bos- 

 cawen, who began this highly important work with a stock of 

 some 140 sorts about twenty-six years ago. The majority of 

 the kinds so raised prove very early ; so much so that the first 

 flowers are often cut off soon after they expand, to be qnickly 

 succeeded by others which are not unfrequently also destroyed 

 prematurely. The wood-growth and foliage are so hardy that 

 Mr. Boscawen considers them most worthy of cultivation in 

 every garden where a spare glass house could be had to protect 

 them when in flower ; for the flowers are so lovely, ranging 

 through such charming gradations of colour, as to well repay 

 for the work of lifting them and planting temporarily under 

 shelter for the flowering season. That the plan is practical 

 there can be no doubt, for we have no shrub that bears removal 

 so well as the Rhododendron. 



The consummate taste displayed in the grouping and blend- 

 ing of various trees and shrubs here affords a valuable lesson. 

 Deciduous trees and Conifers are alike well chosen and well 

 placed, and in no garden that I have ever seen can we so well 

 appreciate the full value and beauty of the Tulip Tree, Birch, 



Acacia, Scarlet Oak, Lime, Butter Nut (Juglans cinerea), 

 Arbutus, Sugar Maple (Aoer saccharinum) , and Copper Beech, 

 every one of which affords relief and harmonious contrast to 

 the somewhat formal aspect of the Conifers. This is a matter 

 not nearly so well understood as it ought to be, and is so im- 

 portant as to merit special attention, hence I propose to refer 

 to the subject on a future occasion. 



So many objects of interest occur at every turn in this 

 garden, and all are so good, that we hardly know what to 

 select and what to leave unmentioned. Virginian Creepers 

 climb the stems and festoon the branches of lofty trees, to 

 blend their brilliant crimson autumnal tints with the various 

 yellow shades of the trees to which they cling. Lilies abound 

 here. L. giganteum has spikes more than 10 feet high, and it 

 has sometimes exceeded 12 feet. L. auratum, of course, finds 

 a home here. There are numerous fine spikes of it, some 

 with flowers just expanding, others will be much later. Many 

 of them are planted singly in irregular semicircles of Rhodo- 

 dendrons by the margin of the paths, which thus afford shelter., 

 while the deep green foliage forms a charming foil to the 

 delicate tints of the flowers. Lilium martagon was in full 

 bloom ; its flowers though small are very striking from their 

 brilliant rich scarlet colour. Rhododendron Thompsoni is 

 wonderfully vigorous. Lapageria rosea is thoroughly established 

 on the house (fig. 40), to the right of the principal entrance; 



