I 



756 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



October 5, 1912. 



SOME CHOICE FLOWERING 



SHRUBS. 



Desfontainea spinosa. 



It is many years since I saw this lovely 

 evergreen shrub flowering so freely as it is 

 at the present time in the gardens at Wych 

 Cross Place, Sussex. The plants were 

 placed in their present position against a 

 south wall eight or nine years ago, and, 

 though of slow growth, they have made con- 

 siderable progress^ and at the present time 

 are in full bloom. The foliage somewhat 

 resembles that of a holly, though rather 

 smaller. The flowers are tubular in shape, 

 and bright red and yellow, and are veiy 

 conspicuous against the dark-green, shining 

 foliage. When well established and in full 

 bloom, no shrub that I am acquainted with 

 is more attractive. Though introduced as 

 far back as 1853, it is like a great many other 

 hard-wooded plants — r not generally cul- 

 tivated. In some places in the south, where 



had 



the winters are not too severe, this shrub 

 does well in the open. The largest plant 

 1 ever saw was growing in the open in 

 a garden in Dorsetshire; it was then a 

 good -sized bush. Some cuttings I 

 from this plant were rooted, and planted in 

 the gardens at Biixted Park, where they 

 grew well, but were killed during a severe 

 winter some few years ago. In the north, 

 where tbe winters are more severe, the 

 desfontainea is worthy of cultivation under 

 glass; in fact, it was as a greenhouse plant 

 that I first made its acquaintance. "When 

 grown out in the open it should have a 

 sheltered position, but grows best when 

 afforded the protection of a south wall. 

 At Wych Cross Place it usually needs no 

 protection. The soil most suited to its re- 

 quirements is that of a light, sandy, P^aty 

 nature ; given this, and a well-drained posi- 

 tion, it makes one of the most interesting 

 shrubs we have. Cuttings will root freely 

 under a bell glass in a mixture of peat and 

 sand. 



Caesalpinia japonica. 



I have on more than one occasion drawn 



attention to this most interesting shrub. At 

 the prcvsent tinio it is flowering most pro- 

 fusely and is very attractive, the long 

 spikes of canary.yellow flowers .standing up. 

 right, like those of the horse chestnut, well 

 above the foliage. This is a shrub of more 

 recent introduction, and deserves to be far 

 better known than is the case at the present 

 time. It is about a quarter of a century 

 ago since I first saw it. In habit the 

 foliage somewhat resembles that of the 

 thorn acacia, but the flower spikes are more 

 loose^ and stand erect. When in bloom, 

 as it is at the present time, there can be no 

 two opinions about its beauty as an orna- 

 mental flowering shrub. It needs a shel- 

 tered position to grow well. 



Ozothamnus rosmarinifolius. 



Close to the specimen of Desfontainea at 

 Wych Cross Place is an example of this 

 ozothamnus, covering a large space on a 

 terrace wall, and is now covered with its 

 small white flow 



Van Diemen's Land, therefore, is not 



This is a native of 



hardy in all parts of this country, but where 

 the situation is favourable it grows freely. 

 When planted in a warm position facing 

 south, and afi^orded a little protection dur- 

 ing severe weather from the biting winds, it 

 does well. The soil round the roots should 

 be mulched in winter to prevent the frost 

 reaching the roots. Should the plant be 

 cut back by the severity of the weather, 

 young growths will spring up again from 

 the roots. Propagation may ])e eff^ected bv 

 cuttings inserted in sandy peat under a bell 



glass or in a cold frame ; they should be reason of the attention devoted to more un- 



potted up^ and grown on for two or three 

 years in pots to have them well established 

 before planting them out. 



H. C. Prinsep. 



common subjects, for there is a herbaceous 

 border some 250 yards or thereabouts in 

 length, which has <a background of orna- 

 mental shrubs, and contains a choice collec- 



PECKHAM RYE PARK. 



This favonrite resort of South-east Lon- 

 don is, compared with most parks, of a 

 decidedly unorthodox character, as within 

 recent years a large natural wood, contain- 

 ing glades and avenues, mainly consisting of 

 elm trees, has heen added thereto. An old 

 farm, too, has been merged into the area 

 of the park, and now forms one of the most 

 delightful features to Ibe fdund there. 

 What was formerly the kitchen garden of 

 the farm house is now the site of an Old 

 English garden, so termed, for, though it 

 contains many old-world features, yet the 

 floral display is, in many cases, at least , 

 brought up to date by the addition of the 

 finest of the newer forms. The pergolas 

 there are well furnished with the choicest 

 of climbing iwes, as well as other subjects. 



What is of great importance to the visi- 

 tor is that wide-spreading umbrageous trees 



are scattered here and there, and the seats, 

 which are numerous, form a delightfully 

 cool retreat during the summer. Though 

 this desire for shade has not heen so pro- 

 nounced this year as it was last, yet many 

 of the trees are sufficiently dense to keep 

 off a good shower, and on this account thev 

 have been often appreciated. The plenti- 

 ful — one might almost say lavish — distri- 

 bution of seats, is one of the most pro- 

 nounced features of Peckham Rye Park, 



and one much appreciated by the general 

 public. 



Beside' seats of the style to be met with 

 in all parks, advantage is taken wherever 



tion of flowering subjects disposed in groups 

 or masses, so that the prominent features 

 of each kind can be plainly seen. A con^ 

 tinuation of this border, which used to be 

 devoted to a miscellaneous collection of sum- 

 mer-flowering sulbjects, is this year treated 

 somewhat differently. Like the hei^baceous 

 border, this has a pronounced background 

 of shru!bs, in front of whi<;h is a broad but 

 irregular belt of Paul Crampel pelargonium, 

 with an edging of Cineraria maritima, Ire- 

 sine Henbsti, -and Koeniga maritima. ITiis 

 sounds decidedly formal, but it is not really 

 so, as the shrubs in the (background, and 

 the various liglit-tinted subjects, such as 

 Leucophyta (calocephalus) Browni, Artemi- 

 sia arborea, and Gnaphaliimi microphylluni, 

 are interspersed with the pelargoniiims, ail 

 tend to tone down the mass of colour, and 

 thus form a pleasing combination. Pro- 

 bably, owing to the fact that they are on 

 raised ground, the pelargoniums are this 

 season flowering with more freedom than 

 they are in some places. 



On the opposite side of the walk from this 

 border the principal flower heds are situ- 

 ated, and of them it may be said that the 

 reputation of former years is well main- 

 tained. Of et">urse, the w^eather has been 

 decidedly unfavoura'ble for some subjects, 

 while, on the other hand, there are others 

 much more effective than wa^ the case last 

 year. Fuchsias have, as everywhere else, 

 done remarkably well, and the collection at 

 Peckham includes some varieties rarely seen 

 planted out. Ivy-leaved pelargoniums are 

 also satisfactory, and the eff^ective arrange- 

 ment of many of the ibeds shows that the 



suitable spots exist, to erect ritstic ones of matter has been thoroughly thought out. 

 all sizes, so that the single individual in A large be<l of succulents is very attractive. 



search of solitude may he accommodated, 

 as well as the family party. Although in 

 harmony iwith their surroundings, these 

 seats are exceedingly comfortable, so much 

 so indeed that they are usually well occu- 

 pied, and tend to suggest the thought that 

 this example might be more generally fol- 

 lowed. 



In this part of the park there is a vspace 

 given up to a collection of uncommon trees 

 and shrubs, most of which are in a thriv- 

 ing state. The different conifers repre- 

 sented by some flourishing examples are, 

 considering their close proximity to a 



crowded neighbourhood, doing remarkably 

 well. 



It must not he thought that the whole of 

 this portion of the grounds is left in a state 

 of wild, untrammelled nature, as, of course, 

 walks are, in some cases, indispensable, 

 and there are many instances in which the 

 ''art that doth improve nature-' may be 

 noted. For instance, advantage has been 

 taken of a low-lying portion, kept moist by 

 a tiny streamlet, to plant hardy bamboos 

 and other moisture-loving plants. Tb 

 bamboos have not been planted 

 years, hut they have made magnificent 

 growth, so much so, indeed, that they and 

 their associates promise ere long to be one 

 of the features of the park. 



Close by, in a spot sheltered from the 

 east wind, a collection of camellias, at pre- 

 sent limited in number, has heen planted, 

 and are thriving remarkaibly well. The 

 profusion with which they bloomed, and 

 the promise of a grand display as they get 

 larger are equally remarkable.' Given such 

 a spot^ camellias are a delightful class of 

 outdoor shrubs, a fact which seems to be 

 very generally ignored. 



It mu<t not be thought that the summer 

 floral display suffers any diminution by 



while specimen hydrangeas in full bloom, 

 plunged in the turf, show their adaptahility 

 for this mode of treatment. 



A very important item in connection with 

 public parks nowadays is that provision 

 must be made to enable the puiblic to play 

 different kinds of games, a work that en- 

 tails a considerable amount of forethought 

 on those responsible for the carrying out of 

 details. At PfH^kham there is a large space 

 devote<l to cri< ket and football, and to this 



a bowlinir crri'tMi li;is been recently added. 



band 



Tiesid 



thos(^ 



attractive features a 



])lays frequently on Peckham Rye, just out- 

 side the precincts of the park. 



* W. T. 



e 



m a n v 



Gentiana asclepiadea. — The 



Willow Gentian is a valuable plant for the 

 rock garden, for it produces its lovely purple- 

 blue flower.-^ all along the stems at a time 

 wh-eii few >ubjr( ts are in flower. It succeed^ 

 in ordinary moist s^il, and can l3e naturalised 

 in favourable positions in the wild garden, 

 especially by the .stream side. The white 

 variety is oquallv W(U'tli growino^, but is not 

 quite so vip^orous in growth.— <iAKi)NER. 



Plumbago rosea. I hi- ranks as 



one of the bricrlitesi and inost l>cantifnl warm 

 house plants we liave for winter flowering, 

 and now is tlie tinn* io encourage free growth 

 by feeding the root-- ])erindically. The plants 

 require lii>era.l culture during the growing 

 season in order to ]H(idnc4^ as many strong 

 growths as pos-ihie. eaeli of which shoula 

 yield a panicle of bright scarlet flowers in 

 the winter months. Uniort nnatel v, the plant 

 is shy in "breaking" after stopping the 

 leaders but if this be done judiciously, m 

 conjunction with favourable atmospheric con- 

 ditions, strong specimens with several 

 growths will result. Admit air freely during 

 the hottest part of the day, but close the 

 house and syrinere early in the afternoon. 

 IL T. Martin. 



