JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
June 23, 1882. ] 
509 
pruned, as Currant bushes ought to be. In the border fronting this 
enclosure a few fruit trees are dotted amongst the evergreen and 
flowering shrubs, and are beautiful alike in the spring and autumn, 
forming useful ornaments that might with advantage be seen more 
frequently in such positions. There two parallel walks, the one 
through the fruit strip and the other in the pleasure grounds, ap¬ 
proach each other again at a vinery in which are excellent Grapes, 
the rich Muscat Champion bearing heavily, and a great and healthy 
assortment of plants—Ferns, Gloxinias, a few Orchids, and various, 
what Mr. Cannell calls “ nick nacks also a group of a pure pink seed¬ 
ling Zonal Pelargonium of undoubted merit named by Mr. Weir 
Kate Greenaway. For floriferous habit, fine trusses, well-formed 
flowers, and clearness of colour this is not surpassed. If there are 
any individuals left who believe in the nearly exploded theory that 
Vines and plants cannot be grown in the same house they would be 
compelled to admit “very much the reverse” if they could spend a 
few minutes in this crowded little vinery at Weirleigh. But we 
must pass on. 
The walk now proceeds close to the boundary, and is completely 
arched over with Laurels. Two rows were planted, and permitted to 
grow into trees. The naked stems, thousands of them, are in them¬ 
selves striking, as they bend over in beautiful irregularity, forming 
the ribs of the verdant arch above. We arrive at a point where two 
walks converge—one, the principal, trending round the meadow and 
flanked with borders of fruit trees, shrubs, and flowers ; the other a 
recommencement of the evergreen tunnel that proceeds along the 
boundary, but in this there is a break, another nook, with a mass of 
Ferns, and a seat where we sit and hear the nightingales sing and 
watch the rabbits play in a green dell below us. 
The view from the seat facing the chief walk is very delightful— 
a sort of old-world view before bedding-out was invented and before 
shrubs were arranged in formal order and on mathematical principles. 
Lilacs and Mock Oranges, Guelder Roses and Cratseguses, Deutzias, 
Elders, and fruit trees are growing in the most free and pleasing 
manner imaginable, with here and there a choice deciduous tree 
such as a red or variegated Japanese Maple, a fern-leaved Beech or 
Lime, an elegant Birch, and a towering Thorn, Crataegus fastigiata ; 
also conspicuous bushes of Phlomis fruticosa, and towards the front 
are large clumps of Bachelor’s Button, glowing and fragrant masses 
of Mule and Alpine Pinks, imposing Paeonies in great and excellent 
variety, and German Irises in brilliant colours, comprising the late 
Mr. Salter’s collection of upwards of a hundred varieties and many 
beautiful seedlings. As we proceed onwards the fruit trees sensibly 
increase in number, and certainly do not detract from the beauty of 
the borders, which finish with a clump of Gooseberry bushes near 
another vinery and resting place. The Vines are again in excellent 
health, bearing well, and there are several seedlings in pots, but we 
cannot linger here. 
After a look back through the arcade of Laurels along the boundary 
we have an avenue of a different character before us—namely, of 
Apple trees. Planted along each side of the walk these form a bower 
of foliage with a charming canopy of blossom in spring and of fruit 
in the autumn. From an ornamental point of view nothing could be 
better nor more appropriate to the position, and the ground is profit¬ 
ably occupied withal, as the undergrowth of Gooseberries and Black 
Currants afford a surplus of fruit that realises several pounds annually. 
With this grove and the pyramid Pears and Plums amongst the shrubs 
fruit in a fruit year must be abundant at Weirleigh, while the trees 
are so disposed as to decidedly contribute to the attractiveness of the 
garden. 
Between the Apple grove and the meadow on the right a narrow 
strip only a few yards wide is devoted to vegetables, and an under¬ 
ground vinery from which Grapes have been cut that have been 
honoured at South Kensington. Vegetables are grown, too, in spaces 
between the trees. To the left of the walk and quite hidden from it 
is another open space corresponding to the Currant and Raspberry 
strip above mentioned ; this is the Strawberry garden—a large plan¬ 
tation of splendid plants covered with nets like a tent, under which 
the fruit can be secured in comfort, while the birds have to be con¬ 
tent, or the reverse, by reconnoitering the position, for there is no 
admittance, the nets being secured to hooks in the border of bricks 
that surround the bed ; hard bricks, it may be said, inserted on end, 
and the tops slanting from the walks form the neat and durable 
edgings to the shaded paths, grass verges fringing the open borders. 
We have now traversed the arch of the horseshoe, and have arrived 
at the garden entrance from the road, and have only to pass up from 
this to the other heel of the shoe—the residence, and the circuit is 
complete. The banks along this 100 yards are very gay. Rhodo¬ 
dendrons abound, Berberises are laden with golden blossoms, Straw¬ 
berry Trees (Arbutuses) are crowded with fruit; the Himalayan 
Lilac (Syringa Emodi) diffuse their powerful but not over-agreeable 
fragrance ; white, rose, and crimson Pseonies ; masses of a free and 
beautiful form of the Mule Pink, Pansies in variety, purple and 
white Rockets, Lychnis Viscaria flore-pleno, Trolliuses, Irises, Lilies, 
the rich blue Anchusa italica, Papaver orientale, brilliant; purple- 
topped Clary (Salvia Horminum), Pyrethrums, Campanulas, and Roses, 
including bushes of the crimson China Rose Fabvier, are repeated, 
and we arrive at the point from whence we started—the residence. 
Before us we see gorgeous heads of Papaver bracteatum, a golden 
pyramid of Thuja elegantissima, and a snowy bush of the varie¬ 
gated Syringa (Philadelphus) planted where the sun cannot reach 
it, hence just in its right place. We are tired. Upwards of a mile 
of walks have been traversed, up hill and down, and some two 
miles of borders examined, rich, very rich in shrubs and flowers, 
only a few of which have been mentioned ; but one is not there 
that ought to be seen, because this is its birthplace, the distinct 
striped Forget-me-not Weirleigh Surprise. Cannot some one send 
this pretty flower “ home again ? ” 
“ Weirleigh must be a large place,” some may perhaps mentally 
observe. No it is not large, but it is so arranged that no one can fail 
being surprised, after examining the contents of the garden, to learn 
that the extent of the grounds is only four acres, and two of them 
meadow ! Mr. Weir has in addition a few acres of orchard, but of 
this we cannot speak ; his garden is, or ought to be, his pride, as it 
exemplifies in a remarkable manner how much can be done in a small 
space, and how, by the exercise of thought and taste, the surroundings 
of a residence can be rendered to the greatest extent picturesque 
without an undue sacrifice of utility. Yes, Weirleigh is utilised or¬ 
namentally, and the owner and designer must be congratulated on his 
success, and “ Thomas ” his willing gardener commended for his share 
in keeping the grounds so neat and rendering them so enjoyable.— 
A Visitor. 
LARKSPURS 
Delphinium elatum and its many varieties, with other 
species, are well known in gardens, and the following are a few 
descriptive notes upon the best of the genus. 
D. Barlowi is one of the better kinds ; it has a splendid spike, 
and is one of those which rarely, if ever, mature seed, though it 
flowers abundantly. The beauty of this variety, I think, lies in 
its production of secondary flowering stems almost from the base, 
bearing well-formed, well-arranged, dark velvety blue flowers. 
Another variety of elatum, D. Belladonna, is one of the oldest 
and best. Like D. Barlowi, it seldom produces seed. It is of 
tall stature, and carries a most magnificent spike of the loveliest 
sky-blue flowers. D. Nahamah is one of the best of the more 
easily grown varieties ; it is of good habit, and has a splendid 
spike of dark blue. One very good feature of this latter variety 
is coming true from seed. The three varieties just described are 
perhaps the best, but others are worthy of mention—namely, 
D. Wheeleri, D. Madame Thibaut, D. Madame H. Jacatct, and 
D. ranunculiflorum. 
Among distinct species it is difficult to say which rank first. 
All I shall mention I consider good, and those who have a special 
taste for Delphiniums should not be contented with a collection 
of mere varieties of D. elatum, similar to the above-mentioned, 
but have some of the following. D. nudicaule is a species mode¬ 
rately well known, having been in cultivation a long time, but 
yet scarce. I fear it never will be plentiful iu this country of 
slugs, wireworms, and unreliable winters. This dwarf scarlet Lark¬ 
spur likes a free soil, something in the way of a sandy loam with 
a little peat in it. I do not think it is tender, as far as enduring 
the severity of our climate goes, providing these conditions can be 
found it. In my experience I have neither been fairly successful 
either in raising it from seed or pieces of the root, and have 
always had considerable difficulty in keeping a small slug from 
eating the young growths in spring before they appear above 
ground. If a weedy variety of this is received from any of the 
continental nurserymen it should at once be placed on the rubbish 
heap. , 
There is another scarlet species named D. cardinale, which may 
be a little more robust than the preceding, but on account of its 
comparatively small and sparsely produced flowers it can never 
command a place in any garden where D. nudicaule (true) is 
grown. D. tricorne is a bulbous species, like D. nudicaule and 
most of the North American Larkspurs, from whence it comes, 
and of a new type. I first became acquainted with it three years 
ago by having two plants from York. The plants were about 
1 foot high, of short but robust habit, and flowers near upon 
opening. They bloomed well, and each successive year got 
stronger, but scarcely exceeded 1^ foot and did not increase the 
number of heads, so offering no opportunity of division. 
D. Menziesii is another North American bulbous species. It is 
the dwarfest, neatest, and most brilliant little Delphinium I have 
seen. During its first year with us I fear it almost exhausted 
itself in flowering and maturing seed, for I never saw much of 
it afterwards, and eventually lost it. # 
The last, and perhaps the best of all which claim specific dis¬ 
tinction, I have to recommend is D. cashmirianum. Its habit is 
quite distinct from any mentioned. It scarcely exceeds 2 feet in 
height, and one of the first things to be mentioned in connection 
with it is that it should not by any means be staked. Its beauty 
lies in its gracefully decumbent and umbellately branched flower¬ 
ing stems. The flowers individually are of good size, gracefully 
nodding, and of purple-blue colour, with a shining metallic lustre. 
