7 8 
ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS, KEW 
nearly 1,000 yards, and has the Pagoda itself as the terminal. To 
the south-west extends the Sion Vista for about 1,000 yards also ; 
_ it is then terminated by the river, but the view loses 
I rip Grcst . ** 
Vistas itself in the woods of Sion Park beyond. To the 
north-west is a short vista — the Cedar Vista — which 
is terminated by the finest cedar of Lebanon in Kew. 
On the north-east side of the Palm House is the great rectangular 
flower garden previously alluded to. The small intricate beds and 
narrow gravel paths of Nesfield have been replaced by a lawn on 
which a comparatively few simple beds have been cut out. They 
are planted in autumn with bulbs and other spring-flowering plants, 
which give in April and May a most delightful feast of colour and 
fragrance. As soon as they are out of flower they are replaced by 
pelargoniums and various other plants, beautiful in their flowers 
or their foliage, which keep up the display of colour till the frosts 
of autumn come again. 
The opposite, or south-west, side of the Palm House is also purely 
formal. The ground, which is partially sunk, is surrounded by a 
semicircular hedge of holly. For more than half a 
century this hedge was of yew, but having become 
worn out it was replaced by holly, a shrub much better 
adapted for hedges near London than yew is. Inside this hedge is 
a series of beds devoted to the finest varieties of roses — tea, hybrid 
tea, and hybrid perpetual. Between them and the terrace on which 
the Palm House stands are two depressions. These are filled with 
formally shaped beds cut out on the grass and planted with a 
selection of ornamental and interesting shrubs, mainly evergreen, and 
belonging to the heath family. This spot may also be called the 
Lily Garden of Kew, for here are grown most of the species and 
varieties. They are planted between the shrubs, a position experience 
has shown to be particularly suited for them, on account of the 
shelter afforded to the lily stems when young. 
The dominating feature of this part of the formal garden is a 
number of clipped yews and hollies. The latter were planted here 
about 1850, and now vary in height from 4 to 15 feet. 
They are kept by the knife to a severely rounded shape, 
and increase very slowly in size. The general effect, as 
is the case with all examples of this type of gardening, is at first 
striking, but monotonous when one becomes familiar with it. For 
Shrubs and 
Lilies. 
Clipped 
Hollies. 
