157 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, June 0, 1857. 
disposed of by the artificers in every available space all 
over the garden, even from the planting of the most chaste 
and classical vases to thesetting” of flower-pots in 
fragile and fairy-like wirework “ stands.” The “effect” 
of the planting of the “furniture,” however, was the 
most ludicrously comical of all the garden landscapes I 
ever dreamed of; and, with the exception of love dreams, 
there are no dreams so delightful as fine landscape 
dreams. 
When a flower-bed or a flower-basket is made or put 
on a lawn it may be done anyhow, without much 
violence to taste or the law of perspective ; but to place 
two beds, or two baskets, or two anythings on a lawn, 
requires a little judgment. How much judgment, there¬ 
fore, would be necessary to place two hundred things on 
a lawn no one knows, because judgment has never been 
stretched so far as that. To save the judgment they 
made certain laws, and the different clauses of the acts 
explain the different ways of placing everything in 
every hind of garden, and there are lawyers and magis¬ 
trates to put these laws in force and motion; there are 
courts of appeal, also, just as in civil law. From the 
ludicrousness of the planting referred to I could very 
well conceive how a Lord Chancellor would be tickled 
if the Judges at Chiswick were to sketch out, landscape 
fashion, how they would codify the statute law; but 
no one could appreciate the effects of the planting I 
mean from description, if it could be described; the eye 
must have seen it; nothing else could give a true picture 
of it to the mind. 
Every one showed off his vase or vases, stands or 
baskets, by planting in them such flowers as he could 
find, without onc'e thinking how his planting would 
correspond with the planting of the one before him, or 
those behind aud on either side of him, and the effect 
was simply indescribable, but certainly, in a good many 
instances, the most comical in the extreme. I never 
was so much amused, and yet every one instance 
was done tastefully and thoroughly well. Until that 
day I never could understand the real meaning of 
“ unity of expression,” but I could then see it meant 
the opposite of unity of inexpressibility; but on a 
show day there are so many things to attend to that the 
“ gentlefolks ” cannot attend to business. The business 
part of the Show will not begin in earnest till all the, 
plants are removed. The new dress and furniture, down 
to the forks and spoons, will be left on view a certain 
length of time, and those who really want to buy will go 
down or up to Chiswick “ by themselves; ” and I promise 
such of them as have not already seen the sight that it 
is indeed well worth seeing, and that good bargains can 
be made on the spot, from a nice and elegant conserva¬ 
tory to step out into from the drawing room to the 
trowel for transplanting spring flowers from beds to 
borders, and borders to beds. Not only that, but hun¬ 
dreds of things which one never thought of before, but 
without which no garden can ever be complete. 
Those who are fortunate enough to be able to get 
into the country from large towns, and to have large 
gardens of their own, have so many things to learn all 
at once, that, without such opportunities as are now 
offered, they could never expect to be “ up ” to so much 
in gardening for many years to come; but go to the 
shows, see all the contrivances of the craft, and read 
the current literature of the “ profession,” and it is 
wonderful how soon nature is reversed. Nature is green 
at Chiswick; and the natural man is green, and jolly 
green he is in London; but turn him out. to the country 
air, aud how soon he becomes, from his natural green¬ 
ness, a healthy “stout brown,” and as knowing as a 
native. Why, I see it every season. Our very last batch 
to Surbiton are casting their town teeth at this moment, 
and looking at this page for “ victuals and drink.” We 
will therefore begin with 
The Great Conservatory, where the Orchids, the 
variegated and fine-leaved plants, the Ferns, the new 
plants, and the gems of Ancectochilids were arranged 
most tastefully all round the sides on three stages, 
rising one above the other, and covered with green 
baize; and at the furthest end, amphitheatre fashion, the 
entrance was by the east-end door ; the centre was 
gravelled and partitioned off, for go and return, with 
an iron rail; the sides of the gravel were verged with 
green turf; in front of the stages aud in the middle of 
the building stood a large handsome vase, and in it 
was placed the finest specimen of horticultural skill at 
the Show, a huge Gesnera Cooperi from Mr. Veitch, 
with no less than forty-four flowering shoots drooping 
elegantly and evenly all round, and a ring of variegated 
and fine-leaved plants were set on the gravel all round 
the majestic vase. Here, in the middle passage, was a 
break in the plant stages, to accommodate, on the right 
and left, a beautiful set of drawing-room elegancies aud 
conveniences for plants, nosegays, miniature fountains 
at play, and a variety of styles of aquariums, which 
were alive with fishes and water tinyworts in great and 
most curious variety. From the curvilinear roof hung 
three rows of hanging baskets filled with gracefully- 
suspended plants; and beyond the great vase in the 
centre stood the most gracefully drooping of all the 
Acacias, which is called Riceana, after Lord Mounteagle. 
This and a tall, naked, Pzq/a-lookiug plant near it are 
all that remain of the “ glories” of this house. 
On entering the first most striking object was a 
splendid group of Mr. Glendinning’s Farfugium grande, 
a hardy relative of the Japan Coltsfoot, if the Japanese 
have a Coltsfoot, which 1 first described last autumn 
from Regent Street. In addition to its fellows at the 
Crystal Palace were Lemonia trifoliata, and others of j 
equal rarity; and Mr. Yeitch stood beside him with the i 
following additions to his novelties at Sydenham, namely, 
CeanothusLobbianus, a stiff, upright bush, with racemes of 
the usual blue flowers of the genus, a very distinct kind; 
Thujiopsis dolabrata; anew stiff Thibaudia , with shining 
rose-coloured flowers; and a kind of Cyclobothra with 
yellow flowers, very much in the way of C. barbata. 
These are rare little bulbs, natives of Mexico and Cali¬ 
fornia. Theoplvrasta macrophylla, and another like it, 
but serrated on the edges of the leaf: both are, like the 
rest of the family, splendid-leaved plants. Also, a fine 
rose-coloured hybrid Rhododendron and some others. 
From the Wellington Road Nursery the Messrs. Hen¬ 
derson sent the Variegated Dahlia, which will be as 
useful as the Flower of the Day ; a very beautiful Gesnera 
Miellezi, which has a crimson ring in the throat aud 
pure white below; Maranta regalis, finely marked; Fhyl- 
locladus Cunninghami, the newest name and the most 
curious plant of all the Conifers ; Aralia elliptica; and 
Stadmannia Jonghii, a fine RopalaJooking plant. 
Orchids. —Mr. Yeitch took the first prize for them. 
He had a noble set of plants, the newest of which was 
another new Lcclia, differing from the new one; Brysiana, 
from' Mr. Jackson, at the Crystal Palace, but of that 
breed represented by Lcelia purpurata; Cattleya Mossice, 
nearly five feet across; Lcelia purpurata, with seven 
flowers; Aerides Veitchii, with five branched spikes; a 
fine Cattleya Sltinneri, Cypripedium barbatum, and the 
usual quantities of Phaleenopses, Vandas, Aerides, and 
Saccolabiums. 
The Messrs. Jackson took the second prize with 
another fine lot, beautifully flowered, such as Cattleya 
Mossice, and Mossice aurantia, having a dash of yellow 
across the centre of the lip; Burlingtonia fragrans, 
Dendrobium Devonianum, a huge plant of Calanthe vera- 
trifolia, Aerides Fieldingii, Teichopilia tortilis, Oncidium 
leucochilum, Epidendrum primuloides , with Vandas, 
Aerides, Saccolabiums, &o. 
The first prize in the amateur class was won hand- 
