262 
THE FLORIST. 
soil and drainage it cannot be overwatered; the more liberally it is 
supplied the better. 
The Lapageria is a native of Chili, and there are several other beau¬ 
tiful plants from the same country which succeed admirably under the 
same treatment. By-the-by, no house suits them so well as a green¬ 
house facing the north. The plants we allude to are Philesia buxifolia, 
a trailing shrub with large trumpet-shaped crimson flowers, and two 
species of Luzuriaga or Callixene. The last-mentioned plants belong 
to the natural order Liliacere, but in habit and appearance closely 
resemble those above-mentioned. I have not yet seen the flowers of 
Luzuriaga radicans, but L. erecta (or as it is now more properly called 
Callixene polifolia) is a most charming plant. In the spring every 
leaf produces a little, drooping, white. Snowdrop like flower. It is well 
worthy of general cultivation, although the plant is but seldom seen. 
These plants, like almost all those from Chili, are nearly hardy in this 
country; quite so in well-drained and favourable situations. 
Delta. 
FLORAL DECORATIONS. 
There were three persons who achieved, this season, in the flori- 
cultural world, what is considered the most desirable and most difficult 
accomplishment of modern days—the making a sensation, and each in a 
different department: Mr. Leach, in his production of the magnificent 
plants of Disa grandiflora; Mr., or rather (for shall we not give honour 
to whom honour is due) Miss March, in the successful competition for 
Mr. Wentworth Dilke’s prize for table decoration ; and Mr. Standish, 
with the wonderful collection of Japanese plants sent home by Mr. 
Fortune ;—the first, conspicuous as a notable example of a triumph 
over difficulties which had puzzled many a wise horticultural head; 
the second, as a charming result of taste and just appreciaion of 
beauty ; and the third, as a proof of that indefatigable perseverance 
which leads our Anglo-Saxon race to the utmost parts of the earth in 
the pursuit of any cherished object, and of the skill which brings them 
to our own doors as fresh as if they had only just come from a neigh¬ 
bouring nursery. Having lately had an opportunity of seeing Mr. 
March’s design, I think one may say a few words on the subject gene¬ 
rally of floral decoration indoors—for that love of nature which so 
strongly marks our race is to be seen in the constant endeavour at window 
gardening among all classes of the community, from the lordly occupant 
of the town mansion in Piccadilly and Belgravia to the toiling seamstress 
of St. Giles’ and Shoreditch. Nothing is more grateful to a regular 
occupant of the great metropolis than the vase of bright and fragrant 
flowers adorning the breakfast table, and reminding him of the sweets 
of country life ; and when fashion came to add impetus to it, and, 
instead of costly epergnes and lumbering plateaux, the diner a la 
Russe demanded stands of flowers, not only as centre pieces, but also 
in other places on the table, it was a wise thought cf Mr. Dilke to 
challenge a competition which might bring out such an examjile of taste. 
