FLORA AND SYLVA, 



large yellow flowers with bright red stamens. The 

 finest specimen I have seen was in the late Rev. 

 H. Ewbank's garden at Ryde, but I know of smaller 

 ones in the south-west. 



Pseudopanax crassifolium. — New Zealand. An 

 evergreen shrub with dark green thick leaves 2 feet 

 in length with orange midribs. Ludgvan Rectory. 



Rhapithamnus cyanocarpus. — Chili. An ever- 

 green tree, bearing pale blue flowers, followed by 

 violet-blue berries. A fine specimen 20 feet in 

 height is at Menabilly. 



Westringia triphylla. — Australia. Evergreen 

 shrub, bearing blue flowers in summer. Tregoth- 

 nan. 



SOME KEW NOTES. 



Kew Gardens are just now very fresh and en- 

 joyable. Azaleas, Rhododendrons, Brooms and 

 Genistas, Bamboos, Rock Garden and borders 

 now very interesting. Rhododendron Beauty 

 of Tremough and Pink Pearl are noble addi- 

 tions, the first in great Temperate house, the 

 second also in Cool house, but both will be fine 

 in the South and West of England and Ire- 

 land outside. The colour of the yellow, white, 

 orange, salmon-rose and fiery orange-scarlet 

 Ghent, Japanese and American Azaleas is 

 wonderful in the evening sunshine as seen with 

 a background of fine trees and green grass. I 

 never saw the old semi-double blue-purple 

 Rhododendron so good anywhere before. The 

 Alpine house is full of nice little Alpine and 

 rock plants; but to me all the glass gardening, 

 good as it is in its own way, seemed poor and 

 overcrowded, compared with the open-air pic- 

 tures. 



Iris siberica, growing in shallow water 

 on the fringe of the lake, is one of the finest 

 things I ever saw at Kew. Just now — fresh 

 and beautiful — the big beds of Flag Iris on 

 drier ground near the lake are also good, and 

 this is far more often the case than with the 

 Siberian Iris. A large bed of the low-growing, 

 sulphur-coloured Broom looks fine down near 

 the Pagoda; in the mass it is very distinct in 

 effect. A broad belt of Papaver umbrosum — 

 scarlet-crimson with black spot — on the bor- 

 der of fine-leaved Vines opposite the North 

 Gallery, is also striking just now. The trees 

 at Kew alone are a satisfying study. Corsi- 

 can Pine near the entrance, Elm, Oak, Beech, 

 Sweet Chestnut everywhere; Poplars andWil- 

 low near the lake, and the fine old Cedars 

 and Scots Pines near the Pagoda. I should 

 like to have Mr. Champion and his-camera 

 there on a fine still day (or two), and I think 

 he would get a few good studies. Justice to 



Kew has, so far, never been done by any forms 

 of pictorial art — as you are aware, the usual 

 camera man does not see the best effects, and 

 wastes his force, as a rule, on colour effects or 

 small things. The best of things at Kew are 

 outside the glasshouses, even outside theTem- 

 perate house, which is the best of any. I pity 

 visitors who swelter through the tropical Or- 

 chids, Palms, and Ferns this hot and genial 

 weather, when there is so much that is better 

 to be seen outside in the fresh air. Magnolia 

 Fraseri was beautifully in flower with its great 

 soft leafage and flowers of tender green and 

 cream colour, that are as delicately perfumed 

 as some of the finest tropical fruits. Lilacs this 

 year have been very nearly a total failure, as 

 also some Magnolias, owing to the late frosts. 

 Tulip La Merveille (of Vilmorin) has been, and 

 is still, glorious in the sun. It has a stately 

 habit and great long-petalled flowers of a fiery 

 or flamed terra-cotta colour. In long grass it 

 would rival even the great Oriental Poppies 

 in splendour. Another very effective long grass 

 flower would be Ornithogalum arcuatum, 4 to 

 5 feet in height, with spikes of pure white 

 starry flowers. The giant Asphodel-like Ere- 

 murus are now stately and handsome in the 

 Azalea bed, the kinds being E. robustus, E. r. 

 E/wesiamis, with their enormous spikes of soft 

 rosy flowers, and E. himalaicus^ with pure 

 white flowers, of a tender green hue when in 

 the bud. The coloured Hawthorns, Pavias, and 

 Horse Chestnuts, Laburnum, British Guelder 

 Roses, and Japan Viburnums are all now at- 

 tractive, and the hardy Orchids, Primulas, 

 Rockfoils, Meconopsis, Globe Flowers, and 

 Sun Roses in the Rock Garden are just now 

 at their best and well worth seeing. 



F. W. B. 



June $th^ 1903. 



