THE BEST CLEMATIS. 



209 



violet purple, passing to darker tones at the 

 edges ; and Venosa violacea, a form of thejast- 

 named with smaller flowers, darker in colour ; 

 C. odorata carulea, with very sweetly-scented 

 blue flowers, would appear to be a natural hy- 

 brid ; it is a small grower but most abundant 

 in its flowers, which are much in demand at 

 Lyons for bouquets. 



This rapid review may serve to give some 

 idea of the rich selection now at the disposal of 

 growers, an assortment capable of endless com- 

 binationsaccording to the effect required. Nor 

 does this include a number of varieties still on 

 trial in our gardens, which promise ere long to 

 add to the list plants distinct in form and colour, 

 particularly in the newly-developed group of 

 hybrids of cocaneaand megalantha, of which the 

 beautifulkinds Countess of Onslow, SirTrevor 

 Lawrence, Duchess ofAlbany, Duchess of York, 

 and Grace Darling form a part. 



Franc-isque Morel, Lyon. 



A New Garden for the Horticultural 

 Society. — Sir Thomas Hanbury has made a 

 very graceful gift to the Royal Horticultural 

 Society of the late Mr. Wilson's grounds at 

 Wisley, near Woking, Surrey. This may prove 

 a precious gift to the public through the So- 

 ciety, and we hope that it will be worthily 

 used. If we may venture to offer any advice 

 it would be against the practice of such mar- 

 ket-gardening as is carried on at Chiswick. 

 We should hope also that such a garden might 

 be a beautiful one to see— the element of 

 beauty should be above all things considered, 

 and the place designed as a whole by some ex- 

 perienced landscape gardener. The collection 

 of such trees and shrubs as grow well in our 

 country should, we think, be one of the prime 

 objects of such a garden, and the things that 

 endure the climate of our country before those 

 of tropical lands. A weak point in societies is 

 the absence of individual responsibilty, and it 

 might be worth an effort on the part of the 

 Society to remedy this in part by trusting more 

 to men of proved capacity and experience ; 

 for instance, to Mr. Nicholson might be en- 

 trusted the choice of trees and shrubs to per- 

 manently adorn the garden. The gift is one 

 we must all be grateful for — its permanent 

 value will depend wholly on the way the gar- 



| den is designed and managed. In that beauti- 

 ful Surrey country any repetition of the garden 

 design known in London as "architectural" 

 would be hopelessly misplaced, and if any site 

 invites the English, or picturesque garden, it 

 is this at Wisley. The essential thing is that 

 the superintendent of such a garden should not 

 only be trustworthy, but trusted. Leaving out 

 any reference to living people, the best exam- 

 ples of good public gardening have been man- 

 aged by good gardeners — such men as the late 

 David Moore, James McNab, Robert Mar- 

 noch, or John Bain. The worst of all ways 

 to manage a garden is by a committee, and no 

 manager of a garden, who is a mere tool of 

 committees or secretaries, can ever give dis- 

 tinction or a high place to any public garden. 



Sweet-Pea, Scarlet Gem. — For many years 

 past a scarlet flowering Sweet-Pea has been 

 a cherished dream amongst raisers of this 

 popular flower, but hitherto without success, 

 though advances have been made from year 

 to year in the increasing brightness and purity 

 of colour shown. There are several kinds in 

 part red, or reddish crimson, but always too 

 much blended with half-shades to be called 

 scarlet. The new plant shown recently by 

 Messrs. Eckford fairly realises, however, the 

 desire for a self-coloured scarlet flower, being 

 nearly as brilliant as a scarlet Geranium, free 

 in flower and a good grower. If it proves as 

 fragrant as it is good in colour Scarlet Gem 

 will be welcomed by all lovers of the Sweet- 

 Pea. Amongst a perplexity of named varieties 

 the following are noticeable as showing bright 

 clear shades or effective contrasts in colour : 

 Gorgeous, a dainty blend of salmon and rosy- 

 pink ; Catherine Tracy, a pure light blush ; 

 Princess May, an equally delicate shade of 

 mauve ; and Blanche Ferry, with good con- 

 trasts of rose and white. Coming to brighter 

 tones, Firefly is a good flower of deep shaded 

 crimson ; Lady Penzance, a dainty light rose; 

 and Miss Willmott, a large bloom very bright 

 in colour ; either of these would look well un- 

 der artificial light, a table dressed with such 

 shades always showing very cheerily, Shah- 

 zada is a good crimson-purple flower, but too 

 dark to please all tastes though striking as a 

 contrast. 



Q 2 



