492 



GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



July 



3o, 1898. 



AM 



^flRiOTniaD-u- & . ... auu arOUnO Wimbledon anrl I. . 



during the past few years had cause to remember that M? s \uV have 

 a well-kept garden at Ambleside, and that Mr. French K r lay has 

 capable grower of the popular autumn flower, so capable thaM? n ? r ' isa 

 not been beaten many times of late, and last year secured ten 

 two second prizes in a close competition. 



Ambleside is not an extensive establishment, for the whni. t l 

 unds do not exceed three acres. The 



first and 



uic iuuiii-ctisiciii oiu^ vx ma lU ai nas Wimbledon fnmm " v 7 m 

 highest elevation ;at the foot of this slope is the large lake in W m 5 ," 5 

 Park, and so neatly have the lower P fence and g S tilUower^d S° n 

 concealed from the windows of the house that the extensive park see™ 

 part and parcel of the establishment. The view is a charming 

 either from the terrace walk above the lawns, or the more elLTn 

 verandah in front of the drawing room windows ; Sydenham and it. 

 Crystal Palace are plainly seen, while Mr. French says that on a cl^r 

 day he can see the tall trees of High Beeches at Sevenoaks, twenty su 

 miles away. In such a position as this the garden has a very We 

 amount of all the sunshine that is going, and, owing to the lack of 



NOTES ON ORCHIDS. 



Stanhopea Rodigasiana. 



This curious and wonderful orchid is remarkable for its size, curious markings, 

 and for the fact that the species illustrates quite a new section of this quaint genus of 

 Central and South American orchids. The honour of first flowering Stanhopea Rodi- 

 gasiana in this country belongs to Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart, ^urford I^dge Dork- ^ ar 



ins, whose extensive collection of rare orchids is so ably managed by Mr. W. H. second • s ;„ a close competition 



White An expanded flower recently exhibited measured about eight inches , ; , . t 1 f 



across 'from tip to tip of the outstretched petals, these segments being slightly con- 

 cave and wholly of a creamy colour. The upper sepal is narrower than the two 

 later'al ones, concave, creamy white, heavily speckled and spotted with rose and 

 crimson on the upper surface, and tinged with green inside. The two lower sepals 

 are also concave, broad, also creamy white, but each having an aggregation of 

 large and blackish crimson- purple spots towards the centre. The hp is excep- 

 tionally interesting, and, as in all stanhopeas, consists of three parts, known to 

 botanists as the hypochile, mesochile, and epichile. The hypochile, or base of the 

 lip is thick and fleshy, but somewhat narrow, dark crimson-purple, with a white 

 blotch in front. The middle portion or mesochile consists of a thickened waxy 

 centre with a large triangular blade or wing-like process on either side ; in each 

 case the forward angle is prolonged into a kind of bristle or hair, as will be seen m 

 the illustration : ihe colour is creamy white, tinged with pink, shining, and speckled 



with crimson. The extreme front or apex of the lip is known as the epichile ; this amount m an iuc ™.«c iuai is going, and, owing to the lack of 

 is a thick tongue-like body in S. Rodigasiana, whitish, and spotted with crimson. rainfall, Mr. French finds it difficult, in spite of heavy watering, to keep 

 The column is very long and narrow, streaked with crimson, winged at the apex, such crops as peas long in good condifon. However, the usual kitchen 



V 



STANHOPFA RODIGASIANA. 



where there are numerous crimson spots on a rosy ground colour. It may be 

 added that the flowers are produced on a pendant spike, and each on a long 

 foot stalk. The plant exhibited carried one flower and one bud, and merited 

 a first-class certificate from the Royal Horticultural Society. 



COELOr.YNE SWANIANA. 



A pretty orchid that is closely^altied to the well-known C. Dayana, but which 

 differs from it in being smaller and not having rerlexed margins to the sepals and 

 petals. It has leaves six to eight inches long, petiolate, elliptic-lanceolate, and 

 bright green. The loose, pendulous racemes are a foot or so long, and carry from 

 a dozen to twenty flowers ; each flower is two inches across, and has white 



sepals and petals, the latter being narrower than the former, but all about an inch . , - mpmai , UUiU ., 



long. The lip is three- lobed, the side lobes extending two-thirds of the length of Melons and cucumbers, vegetable marrows, ornamenuti h i0 house, 

 the whole organ ; yellowish- brown io colour, with darker brown margins and tips find a place, and in all cases fruit freely. A small ana low ' ^ the 



to the lobes ; the disk is composed of crested ridges ; column yellow. C. auite close to the resident rnntains a Rrand crop ot WMw > rnnn ^ s 

 bwamana was discovered by Mr. W. Micholitz in the Philippine Islands, and 



garden crops are looking well, and several prizes have already 

 taken this season with various produce. r app | e 



Down through the lower lawn a path runs under an avenue « 

 trees that vary somewhat in age and size, but appear t0 A ave i ' f th j s 

 fruit throughout. There are fruit trees in many other pa 

 pleasant little garden ; gooseberries, raspberries, and straw Mr y 

 the lowest point ; cherries, currants, and many otner «• ^ 

 positions against the fences, so that all the available space ^ . $ 

 The Logan-berry is on trial, and ripening some immense ^ 1 

 its first year at Ambleside, but it has done so well that it ™ ^ these 



owamana was discovered by Mr. W. Micholitz in the Philippine Islands, and fruits are solid, handsome and finely flavoured ; the variciy 

 sent by him to Messrs. F. Sander and Co., St. Albans, as notified on p. 810 of King, and one S French is thoroughly satisfied wit 



29. .1894, A double p.ge i.Lration ^^^S^^TiS^ the tomato house, and , 



quite close to the residence, contains a grand crop °» js c'onnell's 

 fruits are solid, handsome, and finely flavoured ; the variei)^ ^ ^ 



s used as a 



of this pretty orchid is given ia the Rotanual Magazine, t. 7,602. 



. ■ Eria LATIBRACTEATA. 



w 1 f 0 " 00 * j ^ ° rchld has short fusiform pseudo bulbs, and thick oblong. 

 wh£ ^v^?? • J**, tWO t0 four inch es long. The racemes droop soroe- 



iach ^ oss and °^^T 7^ six t0 ten flowers ' each about half an 

 r,ttm?rfeature o^ti ll / ell0W,sh colour » the H P * yellow, with red side lobes, 

 each ffif anTnch one Sftl 2? th , e broad,y oblon S' y^ish-green bracts, 

 hundred n, « ?3 .u eria 13 of more value horticulturally than most of the 



Kcwin July, l8 o 7 , £ is ^S^^JL^^" * 



""'61 ou " tuai ivir. r rcnuii is — »- / and is useu «« - 



greenhouse rises above and behind the tomato house, ai ^ ^ ^ , ower 

 secondary conservatory, for it adjoins the conservatory p F fuscn ias, 

 than it. This structure is at present gay with large *V? . , oxm ias, 

 fully flowered, zonal pelargoniums of the finest vanetwj, * ^ ^ 

 streptocarpus, Harrison's musk, tuberous begonias, ^ LV ^' hrvsant hemums 



house that a large proportion of the collection 01 c ^ nservatory a 

 is housed and come into flower. Up a few iron steps tne exception of 

 reached ; this is a large, almost square house, ana vm. ^ drawIn g- 

 a few plants on a small stage opposite the S ias ,f "wonias, &a Ooj 

 room, is occupied by permanently planted ferns, *e* 5 how well 



half of the house is illustrated in the present issue, ana 



