216 
JOURNAL OF HORTIGULS'URE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ September 7, 1893. 
Begonias and various Coleuses, mixed with Lobelias. Six of the coffin- 
shaped beds are planted as pairs, and have filled out extremely well. 
One pair is planted with Begonias in the centre, interspersed with a 
Nierembergia gracilis, a graceful plant that likes hot weather. They are 
flanked by lines of Golden Harry Hieover Pelargoniums and Lobelias. 
A second pair are planted with blue Violas and a silver variegated 
Zonal in mixture, with an outer line of Iresine, and a margin of what 
appeared to be variegated Thyme. Less common, but even more 
effective, are white Antirrhinums mixed with Amaranthus melancholicus 
ruber, and with an outer line of Eobert Fish Pelargonium. These are 
beautiful beds, and the combination is a very simple one. A dark 
Coleus would show up the Snapdragons as well as the Amaranthus does. 
In passing on it is impossible to help observing the admirable neat¬ 
ness and order which prevail. The turf is excellently kept, the borders 
clean and in good order all through. Naturally the leaves are giving 
a great deal of trouble just now ; they are falling early and rapidly, 
and are being raked up into heaps and burned. A very attractive 
corner is found near the refreshment room in the same drive. A broad 
border and series of beds occupy the inside of a semi-circle. If one had 
been tempted to think a visit at the end of August too late in a season 
like the present he would be undeceived by the time he had seen this 
picture, for it is difficult to imagine that it could ever have been more 
beautiful than it is now. The border is brilliant with Beet, Marguerites, 
scarlet and other Zonals, Calceolarias, white Snapdragons (beautiful 
as before), Lobelias, and Echeverias. Two or three of the beds are 
carpets, neat in design, well filled, and admirably kept; others are 
composed of hardy Fuchsias mixed with Heliotrope, and edged with 
Lobelia and Sempervivum tabulmforme. 
At this point it will be well to turn to the right and pass through the 
central walk to the sub-tropical garden, which has been for many years 
the crowning glory of the park. It is splendidly effective this season. 
There is a pleasant irregularity of level and outline about the ground, 
and both beds and material for planting them are diversified in 
character. In one there is a bold group of Cannas ; in another Begonias 
mixed with silvery Dactylis and edged with Zonals, Lobelias, and 
Echeverias ; in a third (an oblong) Eucalyptus globulus 8 to 10 feet 
high rises above the marbled foliage of Abutilon Thompsoni, and there 
is the usual margining. Another bed quite as effective in its way as any 
of the others is planted with Lobelia cardinalis rising from a mass of 
Ivy-leaved Pelargoniums, with Violas and dwarf succulents outside. 
The tall scarlet spikes of the Lobelia are very striking. Then there are 
beds of Dahlias, beds of Bamboos, beds of carpet plants, beds of 
succulents, beds of Ricinus (very effective these in their greens and 
purples), beds of Lilium speciosum mixed with Stocks and many others 
which cannot be enumerated. Go and see, that is the best advice which 
can be given. The Battersea sub-tropical garden is as fine a feature as 
any park in the kingdom can boast of possessing, and just outside it, 
leading to the lake, the Palm dell and grove are unique. 
Bearing to the right and then abruptly to the left we get the lake on 
the left hand and follow it as far as the south-east gate, near which 
there is a very large rectangular bed filled with Phloxes, Lobelia 
cardinalis. Anemone japonica and its white variety, early Chrys¬ 
anthemums, Gladioli, and a host of dwarfer plants. With the borders 
beside it, it forms a most brilliant and striking picture. A ramble up 
the side of the park to finish the inspection at the north-east gate will 
reveal many bright corners and gay borders, in fact there are few dull 
moments in the little tour. Battersea Park is a favourite resort of 
thousands of workers in the vicinity, and adds to the benefits of pure 
air the wholesome lesson of the beauty and cheerfulness of flowers. 
If the Chrysanthemums fulfil their present promise there will be a 
splendid display in a few weeks’ time, for there are about 2000 plants 
of a type which good growers admire best. They are stiff and sturdy, 
with stout, brown stems and substantial foliage, the growth ripening 
admirably. A number of buds have been taken, but it is not expected 
that the blooming will be appreciably earlier than usual. No matter, 
so long as it is good, and of that there need be little doubt. The show, 
we believe, opens about the middle of October. 
Hyde Park. 
As every Londoner and many country visitors know there is a tre¬ 
mendous difference between the surroundings of Battersea and Hyde 
Parks, the latter being in the very heart of the fashionable quarter. It 
is not my intention to form any comparison between them, because they 
vary greatly in every way ; but as a few notes have been devoted to the 
floral features of the one so brief references may be made to those of 
the other. Country gardeners often find a difficulty in arranging for a 
sufficient change in their flower beds to satisfy themselves and their 
employers season after season, and they are sometimes glad to have their 
attention called to combinations elsewhere, which, with a little re¬ 
arrangement to meet local conditions, will provide the desired variation. 
Hyde Park is extensive, and the bedding, especially near Park Lane, 
is splendidly carried out; but there is one little matter in which there 
is room for improvement, and that is in the prevailing bareness at the 
Marble Arch. There is a short border of flowers on the left, but it is 
round the corner, practically out of sight from the road, so that passers- 
by and those entering the Park here have nothing bright and cheerful 
to greet them. As a number of paths diverge just opposite the Arch 
there is a difficulty in providing for broad borders, but a little group of 
beds established on the grass just behind them might be provided, 
I think, and they would make the entrance much more attractive and 
pleasing than it is now. With a modest suggestion to that effect I pass 
to say a few words about some of the beds. 
Those who want to see the best of them should turn to the left inside 
the Marble Arch, and walk down parallel with Park Lane, past Gros- 
venor Gate, towards Hyde Park Corner, or vice versa. Here magnificent 
stretches will be found, varying in shape, size, and design in a degree 
sufficient to satisfy the most exacting critic. One of the first to be seen 
is composed of Fuchsias rising above early Chrysanthemums and 
Asters, with outer lines of Iresine Wallsi and Alternanthera aurea nana. 
This would be a beautiful bed were the Fuchsias good, but unfortunately 
they are somewhat thin, and this is the case in most of the other beds 
in which they are planted, although there are one or two noteworthy 
exceptions, of which more later. A second bed is composed of Abutilons, 
Celosias, and Dracaena rubra in mixture, carpeted with Alternanthera 
aurea nana, and lined with Coleus splendens. Lobelia Snowball, and 
L. Omen in three separate bands. This is effective, and would be more 
so if the Abutilons were better bloomed. 
There are several examples of the Pelargonium-Viola mixtures. One 
is composed of Mrs. Pollock and Blue King, with Lobelia and Pyrethrum 
aureum laciniatum. Another is a combination of Pelargonium Princess 
Alexandra and Viola Lilacina, with Swanley Blue Lobelia and the 
Pyrethrum ; but this group is nearly surrounded by trees, and it is evident 
that they have told against the beds considerably. They have spoiled a 
well-designed bed that ought to have been very attractive. It is 
composed of Grevillea robusta, mixed with Carnations on a groundwork 
of True Blue Viola, but the last named has done very badly. The outer 
lines are Lobelia Omen and Lysimachia Nummularia aurea. A passing 
tribute ought to be paid to the admirable system of naming the plants 
which is adopted. It must be instructive to the public and useful to 
those horticulturists who, not being Kew experts, are unable to recognise 
every plant in the world at a glance. 
The main block of beds is just by the Grosvenor Gate on the Piccadilly 
side. There is a wide oblong stretch of greensward with a path on each 
side of it, and the beds are arranged in pairs, one at the side of each 
walk. It is well to keep the oblong on the right, going in the direction 
of the Corner, as then the long line of beds near the park railings may 
be inspected at the same time. All have done much better than the first 
group ; with hardly an exception they have filled out well, and the 
designs are both varied and beautiful, so that it is a true delight to 
study them. All of course are not equally pleasing to one pair of eyes, 
but tastes differ, and what one visitor condemns another would approve. 
Attracting attention is a very beautiful bed formed by the simple 
admixture of scarlet Tuberous Begonias and Acacia lophantha, with a 
groundwork of Lysimachia Nummularia aurea and an edging of Lobelia 
Snowball. There is nothing elaborate or difficult to imitate about this, 
but it would not be easy to excel it. Another that is strikingly effective 
is made up of splendid pyramids of Heliotrope General Garfield 4 to 
6 feet high, to 3 feet through and full of bloom, mixed with Lilium 
speciosum and Nicotiana affinis, the carpet being Alternanthera aurea 
nana, the outer lines A. paronychioides major and A. amcena. It is 
rich, bold, and imposing. __ 
Two delightful beds have been formed by associating Tuberous 
Begonias with Grevillea robusta.' One is the crimson variety Chas. 
Baltet, its flowers being well set off by the foliage plant, and the bed is 
carpeted with Harrison’s Musk, a broad band of Viola Snowflake com¬ 
pleting it. In the other the pink Begonia Lady Stanhope is used. 
These are two of the most successful mixtures in the park. There is 
one bed in which Fuchsias are growing and blooming beautifully. The 
tall plants, with their pendant flower-laden shoots, droop gracefully 
over a mixture of Abutilons, double Petunias, and Begonias, a border 
of Mesembryanthemum cordifolium variegatum completing an effective 
arrangement. _ 
A simple combination that is likely to please most persons is a 
scarlet Zonal mixed with the lilac Viola Bessie Clark, these being 
surrounded by a band of the dwarf yellow Fuchsia Cloth of Gold half 
a yard across. Scarlet Begonias rising from a carpet of the golden 
Creeping Jenny, and margined with the bronzy Fuchsia Meteor, also 
look extremely well. Between and amongst these beds are huge Palms, 
groups of Eucalyptus globulus, hardy Fuchsias, pyramidal Heliotropes, 
and eolumnar masses of Plumbago capensis 8 feet high, all of which 
serve a useful purpose in breaking up the lines and imparting diversity. 
Shortly after this grand group is quitted another is reached on the 
left, and in it a few of the best mixtures are (1) hardy Fuchsias, Lilium 
speciosum and Celosias, with a groundwork of blue Lobelia ; (2) Ivy¬ 
leaved Pelargonium Mdme. Crousse in fine masses, with early Chrysan¬ 
themums and Violas; (3) dwarf Cannas, with Acacia lophantha, 
Grevillea robusta, and Indiarubber plants, carpeted with Alternanthera; 
(4) a rose Begonia on a groundwork of Mesembryanthemum cordifolium 
variegatum, edged with Coleuses and white Lobelia. Soon after 
these beds are passed a sharp turn to the right will lead to the dell near 
