738 



THE GARDENERS* MAGAZINE. 



September 28, 1912. 



hards, as well as the niirt^eries which 



SOUTHWELL NURSERIES, 



NOTES. 



The home of the " finest apple on earth," 

 as Messrs. Merryweather and Sonis style their 

 well-known Bramley's Seedling, has for many 

 years occiipied an important place among the 

 nurseries of Britain, and the Southwell Nur- 

 series take rank to-day among the motit ex- 

 tensive, best equipped, and ably managed 

 of our horticultural establishments, a place 

 where all who love gardens and admire beau- 

 tiful trees, fruits, and flowers may take their 

 fill of pleasure, and add much to their know- 

 ledge. 



Southwell ittielf, with, ^ts fine old Norman 

 cathedral, and the many historic associations 

 with both the Norman and Roman periods 

 that are still in evidence, is a place all Eng- 

 lishmen ought to visit, and gardeners above 

 all should see both the city and its lovely 

 surroundings of well-wooded slopes and pro- 

 lific 



are the subject of thib review. 



The dictionary defines a nursery as "ground 

 for rearing trees, fruit, flowers, etc./' and 

 verily the Southwell Nurseries justify this 

 definition to the full. 



The nurseries are three in number, sepa- 

 rated a considerable distance apart, but in 

 fine weather the drive from one to the other, 

 and the ramble through each will provide a 

 full day's enjoyment for anyone who is a 

 plantsman or pomologist. The total acreage 

 under fruit and general nursery stock cannot 

 be far short of two hundred acres. Natu- 

 rally, one sought first the famous applo 

 alieady mentioned, Bramley's Seedling, and 

 truly a wonderful sight it is to see both the 

 vast " brakes " of young trees of all shapes 

 and sizes, and the extensive orchards of mag- 

 nificent trees in full bearing. The Bramley 

 Orchard, situated on the opposite side of 

 the road to the Brinkley Nursery, is indeed 

 well called an ideal orchard. It was planted 

 some twelve years ago with five and six-year- 

 old trees, and these are about three feet in 

 girth at the main trunk, and have a won- 

 derful spread, the variety being exceptionally 

 free-growing. It is characteristic of the 

 whole establishment that appearances might 

 lead one to think that the Messrs. Merry- 

 weather, by some magic charm, ks^ep all pests 

 and diseases at bay. The real secret, how- 

 ever, is that spraying with reliable fluids is 

 persistently and systematically carried out, 

 and good husbandry prevails in every detail. 

 Last year the total crop of Bramley's 



amounted to something like one hundred and 

 fifty tons, and although this year the crop 

 falls short of this high figure, there are big 

 crops on every tree. The many thousands 

 of young trees'of Bramley attaining saleable 

 size convinced us that the Messrs. Merry- 

 weather must find an extraordinary demand 

 for them. The big field of maidens, and the 

 great breadths of two to four-year-old bush 

 and standard trees were as fine as one could 

 wii^h to see. 



It must not be supposed that Bramley's 

 Seedling is the only apple grown, for 

 finds big breadths of many other sorts, both 

 , culinary and dessert. Some bush trees ot 

 Cox's Orange Pippin on paradise stock par- 

 ticularly impressed us with their fine, healthy 

 appearance. Four-year-old Charles Eoss 

 carried handsome highly-coloured fruit, and 

 there were remarkably fine two-year-old Gre- 

 nadiers and Lord Grosvenors. the latter being 

 a splendid cooking apple. Cordons, too, ar^ 

 extensive Ij grown, and also plums, with 

 gooseberries, and currants in between the 

 permanent apple trees. 



Among ornamental trees, hollies occupy an 

 important place, and it was good to see 

 plenty of fine, shapely pyramids, and healthy 

 young stock of such varieties as Hendersoni, 

 Aurea Regina, Argentea Ecgina, Fadeirien- 

 sis, Hodginsi^ and Shepherdi, for these hoIHes 

 are in great demand, as indeed they should 

 be, for nothing can be finer in the pleasure 

 grounds of a mansion than -vell-dovoloped 

 hollies. Trees for town planting, such as 



lim-v 



being well adapted to the production of good 

 growth and fine fibrous roots. 



At Micklebarrow, the other branch nur- 

 sery, it was very noticeable that all the 

 golden and variegated shrubs and conifers 

 attain .axceptional brilliance, Cupressus Law- 

 soniana iutea, for instance, being brighter 

 in colour and more elegant in appearance 

 than usually seen. C. Lawsoniana argentea, 

 the exceedingly handsome C. Lawsoniana 

 Westermanni, with its distinct gold-tipped 

 growths, and C. Lawsoniana alba spica, of 

 conical habit were all beautifully coloured. 



It is at Micklebarrow that the bulk of the 

 roses are grown. Walking between the vast 

 broadths of maidens in all the latest and best 

 varieties, the first point that impressed one 

 was that the average in budding successes 

 was extremely high, there being row after 

 row with scarcely a failure. Space limits 

 forbid mention of many varieties, but a few 

 that have proved themselves so particularly 

 successful during this cold, wet season de- 

 serve notice. Edu Meyer, with its amber 



and coppery-red tints, was one of the fivst 

 to be noticed, its colour being so charming, 

 and its habit so free. Most people love a 

 crimson rose, and several of very deep 



glowing shades, included Chateau de 

 Vougeot, a beautiful variety despite the 

 unhandv name; and Florence Haswell Veitch, 

 vivid crimson shaded with scarlet. This is 

 one of the newer roses, and has rendered a 



rich 

 and 



Clos 



J. B. 



older, 

 . rose, 

 make 



how- 



good account of itself this season. 

 Clarke is more widely known because 

 and it has proved itself a capital tow] 

 A few other roses were noted which 

 excellent bedders in town gardens, among 

 which probably none can excel La Tosca, 

 with its abundance of flesh and shell-pink 

 flowers. Mrs. Wakefield Christie Miller, is 

 another that Mr. Merryweather speaks of 

 as deserving of inclusion in every col- 

 lection ; Rayon d'Or is also one of his special 

 favourites, as indeed it must be with all who 

 see it growing and flowering as it does in the 

 Micklebarrow Nurseries. Charlotte Klemm, 

 one of the best and most brilliant of the 

 China section, flowered as though in competi- 

 tion for the production of the greatest quan- 

 tity of blooms, and that is the kind of rose 

 we want for bedding purposes. It has 

 ever, a serious rival in the charming' little 

 polyantha named Jessie, which is one of 

 Messrs. Merryweather s own introductions, 

 and is grown in thousands, producing 

 a truly glorious effect in the mass. We 

 might easily go on naming roses that are de- 

 serving of the highest praise, but there 

 remains so much elsa to write of. The pears, 

 for instance, at Micklebarrow were, even on 

 quite young trees, hanging in great quanti- 

 ties, and there were loganberries, plums, and 

 bush fruits in thousands. A very choicei col- 

 lection of the finest lilacs and also of thorns 

 will doubtless be largely drawn upon during 

 the coming season, and another important 

 feature of this nursery is the big collection 

 of choice rhododendrons, which do extremely 

 well in the natural soil, as also do the hardy 

 heaths. 



There is still the Home Nursery to deal 

 with, and this alone would provide material 

 for a very long article, although it may be 

 said that a good deal of the same classes of 

 stock was seen here as in the outlying 

 branches. It is, however, in the Home Nur- 

 sery that most of the pot plants are grown 

 and an important item is the collection of 

 ivies. These have been worked up for years 

 and almost every variety worth having may 



be 

 and 



found at Southwell. 



Silver Gem. Dentata 



handsome foliage, and the 

 Raegneriana are but a few 

 firest varieties. Wistarias, 



d sycamores, are grown on a big scale, 

 the situation and -'^'i Ti^.;«v — at ' 



soil of Brinkley Nursery the Pernetianas 



Lee's Silver, 

 aurea, with its 



immense-leaved 

 and perhaps the 



J n ' largely 



and well grown, . multijuga being highly 

 esteemed and strongly recommended; There 

 IS a good general collection of herbaceous 

 and aipine plants, not consisting of the rari- 

 ties that appeal only to specialists, but the 

 most serviceable- for the borders and rock- 

 eries in gardens where a good display of 

 bloom IS aimed at. One ought to dilate upon 

 the r^seshere also for there are the climl>^rs 



hybrid rugosas, and indeed 



the good old H.P.'s, to say nothing of the 

 novelties as yet grown under glass. Along 

 the roadside, too, there is a capital series of 

 beds cut out in well-kept grass, each filled 

 with one variety, and every bed a delight. 

 This notice may well conclude with a word 

 about the remarkabl-d new damson known as 

 The Merryweather. This invaluable fruit 

 has already been illustrated and described in 

 these columns, and the good opinion formed 

 upon first acquaintance was confirmed by tli€ 

 excellent crop of large, handsome fruit not 

 only on the original tree, now some yearg 

 old, but even on tw^o-year-old trees in the 

 nursery lin-as, where tree after tree was 

 cropped in the most remarkable manner- 

 remarkable because with the ordinary dam- 

 son one never expects or hopes to see fruit 

 until the tree is a p-ood manv vears old. 



SOME GOOD ROSES FOR 



STANDARDS. 



In the past w^e had but few roses really 

 suited for culture in standard lorm, as 

 compared with the number now available. 



It is not only the grand heads that can 

 be readily formed by the climbing polyan- 

 tha and Wichuraiana sections that have so 

 vastly improved our standards, but we have 

 a number of f ree-growang hybrid teas that 

 soon form capital heads, and have the ad- 

 ditional merit of being free and continuous 

 in flowering. 



To take a few of the Wichuraianas first. 

 All of us know what beautiful heads 

 Dorothy Perkins and its sports make, carry- 

 ing long festoons of blossoms upon the 

 lengthy rods formed the previous season, 

 and UQver failing us if these growths are 

 well matured. But grand as are the weep- 

 ing standards, especially when grown upon 

 extra tall stems, they have the great de- 

 fect of only presenting us with one really 

 good crop of blossoms during the season. 

 The exceptions to this rule are Miss Ali^e 

 Garnier and tlie original species, mostly 

 spoken of as the type, which remain in 

 bloom until severe frost stops flower pro- 

 duction. 



In such varieties as Gruss an Tephtz, 

 Papillon. Trier, Allister Stella Gray, Per- 

 petual Thalia, William Allen Eichardson, 

 Perle des Neiges Madame Hector Leuillot. 

 Madame Alfred Carriere, Gruss an Zabern- 

 Celine Forestier, and Billiard et Barre 

 produce good-sized heads that are full ot 

 flowers from early in July until frosts set 

 in, and it is these which, except where 

 weepers are wanted, afford us the most 

 satisfying of standards. .1 



A few of the best teas and their hybna^ 

 may also be mentioned. General MJ*^' 

 Arthur, Lady Ashtown, Viscountess 1 olKe- 

 stone, Madame Ravary, Nance Christy, 

 Tosca, Gustave Griinerwald, and -^"§'1?^^"^ 

 Guinoisseau being some of the best, i 

 do not make quite such large heads as tn 

 last-named set, but are so free in S^.^"^ 

 and flowering as to retain the vitality ^ 

 necessary among roses that are g'"''^'". 

 standard form. I would limit a selectio" 

 from the tea-scented section to the loUO 

 ing : Corallina, Mrs. B. R. Cant, Madan* 

 Jean Dupuy, Marie Van Houtte, MO' 

 Sharman Crawford, and Souvenir de i^ie 

 Notting. Of the hybrid perpetuals, 

 Cant, Duke of Edinburgh, General Jacq 

 minot, Mrs. John Laing, Ulrich Bruniie ^ 

 Tom \Vood, Dupuy Jamain, Frau M 

 Druschki, and Mrs. R. G. Sharinan tra 

 ford are the most reliable. ■,. 



I trust this list may be a „a- 

 tending planters, and will close witn 

 vising a more thorough preparation o 

 soil than is generally given for s^^"". „iv 

 more especially when planting them si«b- 

 by carriage drives or upon the ''^"" p 



