038 



THE 



GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



August 17, 1912. 



Royal Horticultural Society. 



There would have >>eeii only a moderate 

 exhibition at the Royal Horticultural Hall 

 on August 13, but, as the exhibits of the 

 National Gladiolus Society filled consider- 

 able space, the hall was fairly well filled. 

 Hardy flowers, gladioli, trees and shrubs, 

 and a few orchids were the subjects chiefly 

 shown, but there were a num]>er of novelties, 

 Montbretia Star of the East, and Laelio- 

 cattleya Godmani ueing the best. 



FLORAL COMMITTEE. 



An extraordinarily fine exhibit of orna- 

 mental trees and shrubs, flowering and 

 foliage, was staged across the end of the 

 hall by Mr. E. Beckett, V.M.H., gardener to 

 the Hon. Vicary Gibbs, Aldenham House, 

 Elstree. All the*^ kinds displayed were repre- 

 ^nted by cut specimens, and in many cases 

 a large number of specimens were grouped 

 together so as to produce the same effect as 

 a g(x>dly plant or bush. We cannot find 

 space to mention other than a small 

 proiwrtion of the subjects shown, but 

 ftom e of t he m ost effective w e re B u d - 

 dleia variabilis, B. v. Veitchi. B. v. 

 auperha, B. v. lilacina, Rhamnus frangula, 

 Catalpa Kaempferi purpurescens, Spirani 

 fiilicifolia, S. callosa rubra. S. Uouglasi, 

 Hydrangea radiata, H. paniculata grandi- 

 flora, Colutea istria crowded with green blad- 

 ders, Olearia llaasti, the graceful white 

 Deutzia corvmbosa, John Downie era!) apple, 



variegata. Rubus Iruticosa fl. pi., Ceanotlnis 

 azureus Indigo, Ligustrum medium with 

 long, loose panicles of white flowers, Rhus 

 cotinus — the Burning Bush, the golden- 

 flowered Potentilla micrand_^a, Myrtus Ugni, 

 Fuchsia Thomsoni, Lavendula spicata alba, 

 flematis coccinea, and the yellow-fruited 

 Coriaria terminalis. Altogether there were 

 about three hundred distinct species or varie- 

 ties of hardv trees and shrubs on view, re- 

 presenting a wonderful collection of rare and 

 he^autiful tilings. 



Gladioli filled a very important place in 

 the large group of hardy flowers contributed 

 by Messrs, Barr and Sons, Covent Garden, 

 and over a groundwork of double gypsopliila 

 the spikes looked very well inde;^d, especially 

 thofH> of the varieties La Comite, Etincella, 

 Alice, r>edrines. and the dark plum-coloured 

 Martinique. A fire pan of Acaena micro- 

 phylla gained a Cultural Commendation. 

 Other good things were Lilium sulphureum. 

 L. nepalense, L. tigrinum splendens, and 

 white agapanthuses. Messrs. H. B. May and 

 Sons, Edmonton, showed neat pot plants of 

 such useful large-spiked veronicas as Pearl, 

 Lavinia, Reine des Blanches, Violette, Mau- 

 vena, the almost black-leaved and purple- 

 flowered Favourite, La Merveilleuse, Admira- 

 tion, fine deep blue; Mont Blanc, pure 

 white ; and Eveline, bright rose. 



Though so late in the season for the 

 southern counties, Messrs. S. Bide and Sons, 

 Farnham, put up a fine lot of sweet peas, in 

 va&es, and some of the best varieties repre- 

 sented were R. F. Felton, Mrs. C. W. Bread- 

 more, Scarlet Monarch, Clara Curtis, Edna 

 Herbert, Mrs. W. J. Unwin, Queen of Nor- 

 way, Florence Nightingale, Mrs. Hallam, 

 and Elfrida Pearson. Messrs. Aldersey and 

 Marsdeu Jones, Tilston, Malpas, were also 

 exhibitors of sweet peas. Herbaceous phloxes 

 from Messrs. W. Wells and Co. included big 

 stands of Selma, the dark purple Le Mahdi, 

 Bacchante, Iris, and Crepuscle; Linaria dal- 

 matica from this firm was well shown. 



Messrs. Ja«. Kelway and Son, Laneport, 

 put up a very fine lot of large-flowered gla- 

 dioli, some spikes having- nine or ten fine 

 opened flowers on them. Golden Measure 

 was- again in fine form, and so were the blush 

 Duchess of Wellington, the purple Le Nuit, 

 White Giant, Kelway's Purple, Melton, 

 mauve; and Edward V., red. Some wonder- 

 fully fine flowers of double tuberous l>ego- 

 nias were shown by Mr. A. L. Gwillim. Sid- 

 cup, and Marguerite Gwillim. clear soft yel- 

 low, was particularly fine among a number 

 of good varieties. 



Pentstemons were largely and extensively 



shown by Messrs. T. S. Ware, Feltham, who 

 again grouped together large numbers of 

 spikes of such varieties as Salome, Ideal, 

 Dolabella, Capella, Lady Halle, Diana, 

 Sylvaine, the brilliant red and white Dia- 

 mond, Urania, and Palmira. A bank of dw arf 

 celoc^ias, set up by Mr. L. Russell, Richmond, 

 was greatly admired ; the colours represented 

 wei*e rose, yellow, scarlet, and purple. Mr. 

 Russell's collection of hardy fuchsias proved 

 interesting, but we should be inclined to 

 question the hardineen of some of the varie- 

 tieis staged; F. myrtifolia minor, F. globosa, 

 F. Riccartoni, F. Thompsoni, and F. gracilis 



were all good. 



Messrs. R. Wallace and Co., Colchester, 

 submitted some beautiful new montbretia.s, 

 notably the splendid Star of the East, Prome- 

 theus, Comet, King Edmund, Lady Hamilton 

 and Germania ; they also contributed Kni- 

 phofia Unique, a neat, somewhat small- 

 spiked coral red variety; gladioli, and 

 liliums. Mr. Davison, gardener to Colonel 

 Petre, Westwick, Norwich, showed a glori- 

 ously fine new montbretia named Star of the 

 East. This was denervedly granted a First- 

 dans Certificate. It has blooms about four 

 inches across, and of a rich yellow colour, 

 with a little orang-e shading, and the flowers 

 are borne on tall, sturdy, branching spikets. 

 It is unquestionably the finest of the many 

 beautiful varieties of montbretia with which 

 Mr. Davison has enriched our gardeuiS- 

 Coleuses and Rex begonias from Messrs. H. 

 Cannell and Sons, Swanley, showed how great 

 is the range of leaf colouring in these useful 

 plants. The Guildford Hardy Plant Com- 

 pany and Messrs. S. Low and Co., Enfield, 

 respectively brought exhibits of hardy 

 flowers and carnations. 



Messrs. Felton and Sons, Hanover Place, 

 W., had a fine exhibit of the large rose- 

 pink flower of Nehiarbium speciosum, with a 

 numl^er of the big circular leaves and curious 

 seed vessels, lliis aquatic is grown in most 

 botanical gardens, and in a few private gar- 

 dens — Mr. Hudcson has flowered it at Gun- 



sbury House, but we do not remember 

 having seen flowers imported from the Orient 

 before. We understand they are five days on 

 the journey, and on arrival the buds are 

 opened as one might open a water lily, and 

 they will then keq) well for a week or ten 

 days in water. When held up on a wire 

 frame for a day or two the big leaves become 

 more or less rigid, and they then add to the 

 beauty and interest of any bold decoration 

 made with the flowers. 



Mr. Amos Perry was a large exhibitor of 

 gladioli and delphiniums, staging these in 

 alternate groups. Tlie lovely pale-pink 

 America was one of the finest \'arieties of 

 gladioli shown, but for the most part, the 

 flowers were not labelled, and the epikee w^ere 

 a trifle crowded in the vases. 



Rhodostachys ardina, a bromeliad, with 

 spiny leaves, and a rosette of rose-pink 

 flowers, set amid silverv bracts, was shown in 

 flower % Mr. J. T. Bennett Poe, Holmwood 

 Cheshunt. Tlie pure white Cosmos, White 

 Queen, from Messrs. Dobbie and Co. Edin- 

 burgh, gained an A.M. Messrs. Felk and 

 Sons, Hitchin, contributed a small collection 

 of rock plants. 



ORCHID COMMITTEE. 

 Yery handsome was Laelio-cattleya God- 

 mani (F.C.C.) fC. Iris x L.-c. callistoglossa), 

 from F. Du Cane Godman, Esq., South 

 Lodge, Horsham : this has lovely broad, deep 

 rosy-purple sepals and petals, and a bio- 

 royal purple, ruby-shaded, yellow-throated 

 hp. Mr. H. A. Tracy, T^^^ckenham, sent a 

 few plants, including Oncidium Croesus. 



Messrs. Charletsworth and Co., Haywards 

 Heath, were rej^resented l)y Vanda Sanderi- 

 ana, Stanhopea convoluta with four fragrant, 

 ivory-white flowers: Oncidium luridum gut- 

 tatum, and the pretty Platyclinis filiformis. 

 Mr. E. H. Davidson, Borlases, Twyford, ex- 

 hibited Cattleya Venus Golden Glory with 

 yellow sepais and petals, Odontoglossum 

 Pamela, Odontioda Ruby, O. Schrod'eri 

 Davidsons var., O. Tliwaitesi, and 0. Em- 



Two handsome plants brought up by Mr. 

 H. Alexander, grower to Sir George Holford* 

 Westonbirt, Gloucester, were Lselio-cattleva 

 luminosa Mandarin (A.M.), a fine thing with 

 deep yellow sepals and petals, and dark purple 

 lip; and L.-c. -Glauciis (F.C.C.) (L. purpurata 

 X L.-c. rubens), with bright deep purple 

 sepals and petals and dark crimson-purple 

 lip. A Cultural Commendation for Cattleva 

 Tacitus with nine splendid flowers, fell to 

 Mr. Alexander. Messrs. J. and A. McBean. 

 Cooksbridge, showed Odontoglossum nigre- 

 scens, with small black-maroon sepals and 

 petals, each of the latter having a tinv 

 white base : a golden crest on the triangu- 

 lar lip was very conspicuous. 



Mr. ^Vhite, grower to Sir Trevor Lawrence, 

 Bart., Dorking, put up capital plants of the 

 lovely Laelia monophylla, Bulbophyllum 

 odon'tissimum, Brasso-cattleya Joan, and a 

 curious bulbophyllum with flattened 

 racemes, allied to B. lupulinum. 



FRUIT AND VEGETABLE COMMITTEE. 



Some early fruits from Messrs. S. Spooner 

 and Sons, Hounslow, included attractive 

 dishes of Langley Pippin, Early Strawberry, 

 Worcester Pearmain, White Transparent, 

 Beauty of Bath, Cellini, Williams* Favou- 

 rite, Lady Sudeley, Jas. Grieve, Cardinal, 

 Red Quarrenden, and Red Astrachan apples. 



Numerous melons and marrows were 

 brought from the Wisley Gardens, and 

 awards granted to them after trial were con. 

 firmed at this meeting, as shown below. 



CERTIFICATES AND AWARDS. 



First-class 

 Star of the 



Certificate. — 

 East, from Mr. 



To Montbretia 

 Davison, gar- 



pre^s Eugenie (A.M.), white, 

 heliotrope markings. 



with dainty 



dener to Colonel Petre, Westwicli, Norwich; 

 to Lgelio-cattleya Godmani, from F. Du Cave 

 Godman, Esq., South Lodge, Horsham; to 

 Laelio-cattleya Glaucus^ from Lieut. -Colonel 

 Sir George Holford (grower, Mr. H. Alexan- 

 der), Westonbirt, Tetbury ; to melons Hero 

 of Lockinge and Frogmore Prolific, from 

 Messrs. Jas. Yeitch and Sons, Chelsea. 



Award of Merit. — To Kniphofia Unique, 

 from Messrs. R. Wallace and Co., Colchester; 

 to Cosmos White Queen, from Messrs. 

 Dobbie and Co., Rothesav: to Rhodostachv^ 

 andina, from J. T. Bennett Poe, Esq., dies- 

 hunt ; to Odontoglossum Empress Eugenie, 

 from Mr. Davidson, Borlases, Twvford; to 

 Laelio-cattleya luminosa Mandarin, from 

 Lieut.-Colonel Sir G. Holford, Westonbirt; 

 to melon Royal Favourite, from Messrs. Sut- 

 ton and Sons Readin'Sr; to marrow Bush 

 Green, from Messrs. Barr and Sons, Covent 

 Garden; to marrow Moore^s Cream, from 

 Messrs. R. Veiteli and Sons, Exeter; to 

 marrow White Bush, from Messrs. W. Nut- 

 ting and Sons, Southwark Street, S.E. 



Awards of Merit were confirmed in the 

 case of the following flowers tested at Wisley. 

 but not shown on this occasion : Hollyhock 

 New]:iort Pink, from the Messrs. Dreer, Phila- 

 delphia ; to sweet peas Isobel Malcolm, Mrs. 

 Routzahn, and Tennant Spencer, from 

 Messrs. Dobbie and Co., Edinburgh; to 

 sweet peas Hercules and Premier, from 

 Messrs. G. Stark and Son, Great Ryburgh; 

 to violas Jubilee, Lavender Queen, Mrs. 

 Chichester, and Snowftake, from Mr. 31 

 Cuthbertson, Rothesay ; to violas Edina. 

 Maggie Mott, and Walter Walsh, from 

 Messrs. Dobbie and Co., Edinburgh: to 

 violas Bessie and Kingcup, from Messrs. A. 

 Dickson and Sons, Newtownards; to viola? 

 John Quarton, Mrs. Davidson, and W. H- 

 Highgate, from Messrs. J. Forbes, Lim., 

 Hawick; and to viola Palmer\s White, from 

 Mr. Palmer, Derbv. 



MEDALS. 



Silvei^-gilt Flora.— To Hon. Vicary Gibbs 

 (gardener, Mr. E. Beckett, V.M.H,), Alden- 

 ham House, Elstree, for cut hardy trees and 

 shrubs. 



Silver Flora.— To Messrs. Felton and Son, 

 Hanover Square, W., for nelumbiums; to 

 Messrs. R. Wallace and Co., Colchester, for 

 montbretias, etc.; to Messrs. T. S. Ware, 

 Feltham, for pentstemons. etc. ; to Mr. L. B- 

 Russell, Richmond, for celosias and fuchsias. 



