358 
JOURNAL OF Horticulture and cottage gardener. 
[ May 12, 1892. 
Messrs, de Rothschild, showed excellent bunches of Blick Hamburgh 
Grapes from pot Vines ; and Messrs. J. James & Son had a beautiful 
assortment of Cinerarias. 
The Opening Ceremony. 
After this display had been inspected the Royal party proceeded 
down the centre of the main Exhibition building, which is about a 
quarter of a mile long, very wide and lofty, to a circular platform, at 
the back of which was a huge dividing curtain. Mr. Milner read an 
address of welcome, to which the Duke of Connaught responded as 
follows :—‘‘In declaring this Exhibition open, 1 hope that every success 
may attend it, and that it will produce the results which you, Mr. Milner, 
and those gentlemen who have come forward in your support, so 
anxiously desire. I am sure this country only requires to see what 
can be done in the way of the culture of flowers—in the way of 
horticulture—o underotand what a great scope there is, n >t on y for 
beau'ifying our cities and parks and houses, but also for making money 
and benefiting the country at large. When they realise these aims they 
assuredly must appreciate the exertions made to provide an Inrernational 
Exhibi'ion such as this, and derive great benefit from its existence. I 
am happy to think tnat in this most inclement of seasons the sun has 
sh me upon us, and I hope we may regard this as an augury of success 
for the International Horticultural Exhibition.” On concluding his 
remarks the Duke pulled a cord connected with the cur ain above 
referred to, thi^ was drawn aside, and it was found that the remaining 
portion of the buildings had been laid out as a beautiful landscape 
garden, furnished with expan'^es of turf borders, banks, and groups of 
trees, shrubs, arid plants. Fuller reference to this beautiful indoor 
garden will be made later on. It was greatly admired by the Duke and 
Duchess of Connaught, both of whom are much interested in gtrdening, 
and know good work when they see it. They afterwards made a tour 
of the beautiful gardens and grounds before leaving. 
The Luncheon. 
This was held in the Restaurant Fran^ais, and that spacious building 
was filled almost t' overflowing, there bein^ about 600 ladies and gentle¬ 
men present. Mr. Milner was in the chair, supp irted by the Bishop of 
Loudon and Lord Manvers. The repast was an excellent one, and at 
its conclusion the toast list, which was commeudably small, was proceeled 
with. The first toast, “The Q teen,” was briefly propo-el by the 
Chairman, and duly honoured, the se:ond and last “ Pjoipe ity to the 
International H ircicultural Exhibition,” by the Bishop of L mdon. 
Dr. Temple spike eloqu'-ntly of the delights and nenefits of gardenmg. 
He said there could have been no more successful opening. A walk 
through the grounls proved that everything had been done with the 
greatest care and skill. It would have been difH mlt to arrange an 
exhibition of the sort wnich would give a larger amount of pleasure to a 
larger number of pe 'pL. Th's Exhibition was started in the hope that 
it w )uld be an encouragemeut, nit only to all lovers of flowers and to 
all who love! them so much as to give a gooi deal of tima and trouble 
to their cubivation, but the appeal which was made to flower growers 
everywhere was very gladly and largely responded to, and the many 
flowers they had .seen in the Exhibition had been given by the growers 
in orler to grace the opening day. It was twenty-six years since such 
an exhibi ion of this kind was held in S.)uth Kensington, and anyone 
who was present then and could compare it with what was to be seen 
now would be aole to judge of the improvement which had been made 
in the cultivati n of flowers in the interval. Toe promoters of the 
Exhibition desire 1, if possible, that the same improvement might be still 
further imoroved, and most assuredly they were doing a very great 
servi -e to humanity in promoting their beautiful art. He drew atten¬ 
tion to the series of special shows that were to be held, and asked them 
to j )in in wishing orosperiry to the lu'ernational Horticultural Exhibi¬ 
tion. Mr. Milner’s response to the toast, which was most cordially 
received, was brief but admirably expressed, in fact j .ist what such a 
reply should have been conddering toe character of the Exhibition, the 
reception of tne toast, and the fact that time was extremely limited. 
The Landscape Garden. 
If thee is one feature that stands out from all the others by it 
intrinsic excellence and beauty it is the delightful indoor garden, which 
oocupies trie list 150 yards of the main building. It is an admirable 
idea, admirably carried out. It is a vision of beauty as seen indistinctly 
from the mam entrmce, and on a closer inspection reveals charming 
scenes of natural effect. Its winding walks and attractive eroups tempt 
one to linger even when the sunshine is brightening the gardens without, 
while in unfavouraole weather it will form, with the remainder of the 
great bull ling, tne m ist m ignificent promenade in London. It is broad, 
spaci-ms, brilliant with blossom, and relolent with fragrance—a garden 
in the best and truest sense of the term. It is intended that it should 
form a peimaueut attraction, therefore its present occupants will be 
replaced by others when their beauty fades, and so on through 
the seas'n. In its spring guise the garden is a delightful one. 
Two long ineju'ar borders at the sides, undulating and broken 
on the rignt hand side by a rocky pool and waterfall, have been 
furnished in a mmner worthy of their reputation by Messrs. B. S. 
Williams & S m. L >fty Araucarias, handsome Aralias, Acers, Groton°, 
and Comte s harm mise with Liliums, Spirseis, Rhodolend oos. Azaleas, 
Coleuses, Ci' erarias. Fuchsias, Heaths, Boronias, Marguerites, and 
other beautiiul flowering plants. The first of the groups are a 
handsome pair on the left and right from Mr. Charles Turner, 
which are furnished with Palms, Cycads, Acers,, Liliums, and a 
beautiful display" of Roses in pots. Passing round two fine oblong 
groups are noted that have^ been formed by Messrs. Cutbush & Son. 
They comprise Palms, Cycads, Acers, Buonymuses, Aralias, Azaleas, 
Heaths, Mignonette, and Saxifraga pvramidalis. Between these is a 
heart-shaped piece of turf furnished with two small beds adapted to its 
configuration, the upper one being semicircular and the lower 
pyramidal, converging to a point at the base of the heart. The former 
has been filled with standard, bush and small Azaleas in full bloom 
by Messrs. B. S. Williams & Son, and the latter with Cdvias and 
standard Azaleas. Two large irregular groups have b^en furnished by 
Mr. G. Phippen, and he has alsa a bed of Azalea m dlis. Further on is 
anotrier handsome group by Messrs. Cutbusri & Son. bright with foliage 
and fl iwers, and near it is an oval bed of Azalea molli,-, x sinensis which 
pro luces a splendid effect. It baa been filled by Mr. M. Koi-terof B iskoop, 
Holland, end the varieties represenfe i are conspicu us by their excellence. 
Two more handsome groups by Messrs. B. S. Wil'iims &: Son comp'ete 
this p >rtion of the garden, and at the end are three beautiful banks 
from Messrs. J. Laing & Son. The central one, m which a gigantic 
Araucaria imbricata is the most conspicuous fea'ure, is very attractively 
arrange I, Acers, Aralias, Rhodolendrons, Spirre is. Hydrangeas, Azaleas, 
and other flowering and foliage plants being effectively intermingled. 
Messrs. Laing & Son have received a silver medal and certificates for 
various exhibits. 
The Gardens and Grounds. 
The gardens cover several acres, and have been laid out in a diver¬ 
sified manner. There are large groups of plan's and shrubs from 
leading nurserymen, also representations of Criinese, Japanese. Tudor, 
Roman, Egyptian, Italian, and Jacob-an gardens. On entering them 
from the landscape garden ju.st referre f to, a large and handsome 
structure is found that it is to be devoted to insectivorous plants. It 
has been erected by Messrs. Crompton & Fawkes of Che msford, and is 
spacious enough to hold a large and varied collect! m. On the opening 
day it was not finished, but will probably be furnished by the time these 
lines appear in print, or very soon after, and will he referre 1 to again. 
A broad, sloping, undulating bank of dwarf Conifers from Messrs. 
Cutbush & Sons is one of the first features of the grounds to be noticed, 
and further on they have planted a large group of Hollies, which pro¬ 
duce an excellent effect. Messrs. Lane & Son have arranged a large 
group of Rciododendrons that are now full of b uls, ami will mike a 
rich display later on ; also a gioup of Conifers. MeS'rs. J. Laing & Sons 
are represented by a bed consisting cniefly of dwarf alpine and other 
plants plunged in cocoa-nut fibre refuse. Saxifraga Aizoon, S. nepa- 
lense, S. ajugmfolia, Iberis Tenoreaoa, Lycrinis alpiuus, Achdlea 
umbellata, Sempervivum acuminatum, Armeria miritima Laucheana, 
Herniaria glabra, the creamy Cytisus prmcox.and Doromeum caucasicum 
were noted amongst them. Messrs. C. Lee «St Son have a group of hardy 
ornam-intal trees and shrubs, such as Buonymuses, Acers, Rh idodeudrons, 
Cupressus, and dwarf Hollies, which produce a good effecr. A group of 
Cjnifers comes from Mr. A. Waterer, Knaphili. Near the end is a large 
bed of B imboos, and as a crowning feature of this portion of the grounds 
there is a remarkable representation of the Long Walk at Windsor with 
the Castle at the end. Path, turf, and trees are admirably depicted in 
this huge painting, and the perspective is so perfect as to deceive the 
visitor until he is close to it. Mr. Halley is to be credited with this 
splendid piece of work, and also with the excellent paintings that afford 
so delightful a background to the landscape garden. A flower market 
is being erected near, and in this anl other portions of the grounds 
bright flower beds and shady nooks furnished with seats are provided, 
stands having been erected for the bands engaged, which, be it men¬ 
tioned, comprise some of the best. 
The Gardens op the World. 
Interest is added to the Exhibition by the various gardens referred to 
above, but the inclement weather has militated seriously against furnish¬ 
ing them effectively, and some of them are iucomp ete. When matters 
have se tied down and a good spell of fine weather is vouchsafe i they will 
nodoubt beimproved. To general visitors the I idian Tea Garden is iikely 
to prove the most interesting of them all. A square has been planted 
with Tea (Bohea), and plants growing in pots are also shown. Mr. 
Maegregor, an experienced Tea grower, has charge, aad it is intended 
to snow the whole process of Tea-making, from the withering and 
rubbing to the drying on charcoal fires and the preparation of the 
popular beverage. In the Japanese garlen close by we find Retino- 
sporas. Hollies, Japanese Maples, Cupressus, Aralias, Cryptomeria 
japonica, and other Japanese plants, with a temple in the backgr-mnd. 
Toe Tudor garden is furnished with appropriate scenery, and the trim 
flower beds are filled with Irises, Daisies, Doronicums, Pansies, Poly¬ 
anthuses, and other old-fashioned flowers. In the Riman garden 
colonnades and statuary are introduced as scenery, and there is not 
much in the beds except Box and patches of white s one—a combination 
that does little credit to the ideas of the beautiful entertained by our 
ancient conquerors. In the Egyptian garden we find scenery represent¬ 
ing p^iramidsand Palms, quaint animal figures, and strange hieroglyphics. 
Date Palms, Cycads, Callas, Bambors, and Acacias are the living 
occupants. The Italian garden will be a delig itful enclosure when the 
beds are filled. It is surrounded by a low wad, and seats are placed 
around, fairy lamps ligh ing up the beds at night. The same remarks 
apply to the Jacobean garden, near whicri is a splendid group of Rhodo¬ 
dendrons planted by Messrs. W. Paul & Son, Waltham CroaS. On the 
