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JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ September 6, 1864. 



bersteinii; second, Geranium Cloth of Gold, mixed with 

 a seedling Lobelia of a true blue colour, but weakly in habit, 

 raised by Mr. Gordon, called Blue King ; the third bed is 

 a dark Calceolaria, edged with a dwarf Fuchsia ; the fourth 

 has been altered from its first pattern, which did not answer, 

 to a mixture of Geraniums for the centre, edged with varie- 

 gated Coronilla. Between the walk just described and the 

 next are three round beds and a heart-shaped one. The first 

 is Lobelia Blue King, mixed with a Verbena which will not 

 grow ; the second, Lobelia Gordoniana, edged with Geranium 

 Flower of the Day ; the third has for centre Geranium Emily, 

 edged with Floribunda Geranium, and a curious little Gera- 

 nium which I believe goes by the name of Black Prince ; not, 

 however, to be confounded with the Hybrid Perpetual of 

 that name. The heart at the corner has Purple Nosegay for 

 centre, two rows of Crystal Palace Scarlet all round, and is 

 edged with Purple King Verbena. To this walk there are 

 two round beds on your right going up, and four on your 

 left. The first has Geranium Comte de Moray for centre, 

 edged with Cloth of Gold ; the second, a mixture of Lilac 

 Ivy-leaf and Verbena Melindres, edged with Golden Ivy -leaf. 



Returning down this walk you have on your right four 

 round beds ; the first, another mixture to correspond with 

 the bed opposite, of Crimson Ivy-leaf and Verbena Empress 

 Eugenie, edged likewise with Golden Ivy-leaf; the second 

 contains a new Geranium, a seedling of poor Beaton's, 

 which he himself thought and wrote highly of, but which 

 rather disappointed me — viz., Cybister, edged with Cloth 

 of Gold; the third is Gazania splendens, edged with 

 Alyssum ; and the fourth is a bed of Heliotrope. Between 

 this last and the next heart-shaped bed are four round beds; 

 the first is Cerise Unique Geranium, edged with a white 

 Verbena ; the second, Verbenas, centre Great Eastern, edged 

 with a darker kind (I dislike Verbenas put next each other); 

 the third, Tropseolum Triomphe de Hyeres, edged with a 

 darker Tropreoluni ; and the fourth Golden Chain and Beauty 

 of Blackheath Geraniums in alternate circles. The heart- 

 shaped bed has Perilla for centre, two rows of Gaines's Yellow 

 Calceolaria round it, then two rows of Crystal Palace Scarlet 

 Geranium, two rows of Prince of Orange Calceolaria, and 

 an edging of TropiEolum elegans. A remarkable bed, and 

 on the whole very telling. 



We are now at the fourth walk up the Mount, on the right 

 of which are two round beds and three on the opposite side. 

 The first on your right going up is Cerastium tomentosum, 

 mixed with Lobelia speciosa; the second is Geranium Lord 

 Palmerston, edged with Baron Hugel. Returning down- 

 wards, on your right is a bed of the Hybrid Perpetual Gera- 

 nium King Rufus. edged with Geranium Crimson Minimum ; 

 next stands a bed of Blue King Lobelia and Variegated 

 Alyssum mixed; while the third, at the corner, has for 

 centre Crimson Minimum Geranium, edged with Floribunda. 



There are four beds between this and the next walk ; the 

 first is planted with dark Calceolaria, edged with Geranium 

 Golden Chain ; the second has for centre Nierembergia 

 gracilis, edged with Nemophila prostrata; the third, Tro- 

 paeolum, edged with Variegated Alyssum ; and the fourth, 

 Prince of Orange Calceolaria, edged with Heliotrope Miss 

 Nightingale. The heart-shaped bed at the corner is nothing 

 particular, but going up this, the sixth walk on your right, 

 are two round beds, the first containing a scarlet Verbena, 

 edged with a white one; the second, a fancy mixture of 

 variegated Geranium Prince of Orange, and a dark Verbena, 

 edged with Golden Chain Geranium. 



Turning down again you have on your right four round 

 beds ; the first is Verbena Melindres, mixed with Geranium 

 Lady Plymouth, edged with Geranium Golden Chain ; the 

 second, Purple King Verbena, edged with a white one; the 

 third bed is Fuchsia fulgens, edged with a white one; the 

 fourth, Gazania splendens, edged with Arctotis reptans. 

 We have now only three more beds, and we come to our start- 

 ing-point. The first at the corner is a mixture of Geranium 

 Dandy and Lobelia speciosa; the second is planted with one 

 of the Hybrid Perpetual Geraniums, edged with Cineraria 

 maritima ; and the" third and last with Gaines's Yellow Cal- 

 ceolaria, but the edging I do not remember. 



At the upper part of the Rose Mount is a bed going 

 all round outside the arches, forming a sort of collar to 

 them. It is planted this year with a zigzag pattern of Ge- 

 ranium Christine, Purple King Verbena, Geranium Flower 



of the Day, Calceolaria Aurea floribunda, and Lobelia Pax- 

 toniana. It would have been very effective. As it is, except 

 on the east side, owing to the want of rain, the plants have 

 grown smaller and smaller every day. 



The beds I now propose you to look at are those on each 

 side of the grand central walk leading from the central basins 

 to the upper terrace. They consist of round and long beds ; 

 the round are planted with Perilla for centre, a circle of 

 white Pyrethrum, and then a circle of Crystal Palace Scarlet 

 Geranium, edged with Mangles' Variegated Geranium. The 

 long beds have a stripe of Geranium Trentham Rose down 

 the centre, a stripe of Aurea floribunda Calceolaria on each 

 side, then two rows of Christine Geranium, and an edging 

 of Purple King. 



The upper terrace is very gay, though not up to its usual 

 mark. Let us begin at the west end, and we have five round 

 beds separated by beds of evergreens. The first round bed 

 at the west-end of the terrace has for centre Geranium St. 

 Clair, a circle of Beaton's Nosegay Black Dwarf, a circle of 

 Cloth of Gold Geranium, edged with Blue King Lobelia. 

 The second bed has for centre Beaton's Nosegay Geranium 

 Baron Ricasoli, a circle of Geranium Golden Chain, a second 

 circle of Geranium Beauty of Blackheath, a third circle of 

 Geranium Silver Queen, edged with Lobelia speciosa. The 

 third bed has for centre Perilla, a circle of Centaurea candi- 

 dissima, a circle of Geranium Golden Chain, edged with 

 Lobelia speciosa. The fourth bed has for centre Centaurea 

 candidissima, a circle of two rows of Amaranthus melan- 

 cholicus ruber, another circle of Geranium Cloth of Gold, 

 edged with a little pink-flowered Mesembryanthemum or 

 Seduin. The fifth bed has for centre Perilla, a circle of Cen- 

 taurea gymnocarpa, a circle of Geranium Golden Chain, 

 the whole edged with Blue Lobelia. 



These five beds, as well as the five corresponding to them 

 at the east end of the terrace, which are planted bed for bed 

 exactly alike, are trial beds, in which new Geraniums or 

 bedding plants are tested, and new combinations proved. 

 Geranium Black Dwarf is comparatively a new one, and a 

 great beauty ; very dwarf, large full trusses, and rich healthy 

 foliage. The variegated Geranium Silver Queen was brought 

 out by Messrs. Henderson some years ago. There are now 

 several improvements on it, Oriana Improved being the 

 most recent. Geranium Blackheath Beauty might be greatly 

 improved ; it is not satisfactory, though the best of the sal- 

 mon colour. It is used very effectively in a bed on the Rose 

 Mount in alternate circles with Golden Chain Geranium. 



We are now at the west end of the semicircular walk which 

 bisects the great terrace. On our right are a series of circles 

 surrounding vases and statues : these are planted chiefly 

 with Geraniums Trentham Rose, Crystal Palace Scarlet, and 

 Christine, edged with Flower of the Day. You will have no 

 difficulty in making out such well-known favourites. 



On our left, however, are some novelties. Observe, there 

 is an outer edging of Lobelia to each bed, while a string 

 course, marked by using variegated Geranium Flower of the 

 Day, divides each bed into three parts, and four little angles 

 are formed by the intersection of the string course. Well, 

 in the first bed at the corner on your left. Lobelia Paxtoniana 

 goes all round ; the two end divisions are Geranium Lucien 

 Tisserand, the centre Hybrid Perpetual Geranium Diade- 

 matum erubescens, while the little angles are filled with 

 Harkaway Geranium. The second bed at the two ends has 

 Geranium Sidonia, central division a dark Calceolaria, name 

 unknown, while the angles are Geranium Harry Hieover. 

 These two liliput Geraniums, Harkaway and Harry Hieover, 

 are used alternately in the angles of each bed ; I shall not, 

 therefore, repeat them in each case, but only give the two 

 ends and centre. The third bed has at each end Tropseolum 

 elegans, Helen Lindsay in the centre. The fourth has Gera- 

 nium Madame Vaucher at the ends, Nosegay Geranium Black 

 Dwarf in the centre. The fifth has Prince of Orange Calceo- 

 laria at the ends, Geranium Fatinitza in the centre ; and the 

 sixth bed has for ends Shrubland Rose Petunia with a centre 

 of Nosegay Geranium Stella. These six beds are repeated 

 bed for bed on the opposite side of the half circle, except the 

 one at the corner next to the grand terrace walk, which for 

 ends has Blush Minimum Geranium, with G. Diadematum 

 erubescens for the centre. 



The chain pattern in the sunk panels is remarkable chiefly 

 for the number of yards of Variegated Alyssum, They 



