165 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, June 21, 1859, 
from the house you have to wind round a projecting 
hillock, and pass about a small wood ; on the right hand 
you get a peep now and then into the open country; 
whilst on the left you look down into a glen, through 
which a small rivulet wends its shining way. This 
wooded walk is quite refreshing on a hot summer’s day. 
At length a door bars the way ; when that is opened, 
the valley with its glistening glass-houses, its deep 
green grassy slope, and terraces of many hues, bursts 
upon the delighted vision. A more unique scene of ; 
beautiful English gardening I never saw. I do not say , 
too much when I assert that the whole place is admirably j 
kept. 
There are two head-gardeners, father and son. Mr. 
Sidley, sen,, is an old and respected friend of mine. ■ 
Under his charge are the fruit-houses, the kitchen garden, | 
the conservatories near the house, and the pleasure- | 
grounds outside the valley before described. His son, 
Mr. Joseph Sidley, jun., born, I believe, on the premises, 
and taken into the garden after his schooling days were 
over ; after serving under his father for some years, spend¬ 
ing some years in Messrs. Rollison’s Nursery at Tooting, 
has the whole of the plant-houses in the valley and the 
pleasure-grounds therein placed under his charge. 
Having introduced the place, its spirited owner, and 
his clever respectable gardeners, to the reader’s notice, 
I now proceed to notice briefly the plant-houses and their 
most remarkable contents. 
The orchid-house, 54 feet long by 18 feet wide, is a 
span-roof; and close to it is the Fern-house, the same 
length, but two feet narrower. These are situated on a 
platform at the lower end of the valley. They are heated 
with hot water on an efficient principle ; and the plants 
in them appear to like their habitation well. The col¬ 
lection of orchids from the East, such as Aerides, Angrse- 
eums, Saccolabiums, Vandas, Dendrobiums, Ccelogynes, 
&c., are partly grouped together on a central stage. The 
hardier orchids, such as Cattleyas, Lcelias, Lycastes, &c., 
are placed on side platforms, where, of course, the heat is 
more moderate. The following were in flower in March:— 
Cattleya bulbosa, a rare species, with deep rosy sepals 
and petals, with yellow spot on the lip; Balia Boothiana, 
very like rosea, with round, smooth, pseudo-bulbs ; 
Ccelogyne cristata, several spikes of its large pearly-white 
blossoms ; Cypripedium villosum four blooms, all covered 
with brown hairs; Bycaste Skinneri, many flowers; 
Odontoglossum pulchellum freely bloomed; Eriopsis 
bicolor, many spikes of brownish flowers, with the margins 
and the lips richly spotted with crimson; Dendrobium 
speciosum, the best variety; Dendrobium nobile, several 
large plants full of flowers ; Dendrobium clirysotoxum, a 
free-flowering variety of this species, with the w'hole 
flower of a primrose yellow. I noted an extraordinary 
Dendrobium densijlorum, which was showing upwards of 
a hundred spikes of flowers ; when it is in bloom it must 
be a truly magnificent object. 
The Fern-house is well stored with very rare species. 
The finest plants in Europe are here of Gleichenia Itibel- 
lata and G. dichotoma. They are grown in pans eighteen 
inches wude, and are each a dense mass of fronds over¬ 
hanging the pots : such plants could not be purchased for 
fifty guineas each. There are also good plants of Gleich¬ 
enia speluncce, Cibotium glaucescens, Balantium culcitum, 
Gyathea medullaris, Dictyglossum crinitum, Phegopteris 
lachnopodiifm, Davallia tenuifolia, Pteris scabriuscula, 
Spollortenia umbrosa, and many others more common in 
ordinary collections. 
I had almost to force myself away from these two most 
interesting houses, and enter the stove. This is the end 
house of the range on the upper left-hand platform of 
the valley; it is 40 feet long and 18 feet wide. There 
I saw, for the first time, the Maranta JVarsetviczii in 
flower. The bracts are curled curiously at the edges, 
and spotted. The flowers are rather large, and white, 
rising up conspicuously above the fine foliage. 
The most interesting plants in this house are the 
Anoectochilus tribe. Mr. Sidley grows them successfully 
in a sloping wooden box in pots. The box stands upon 
a warm flue, and is covered .with long plates of thick 
glass fitting close to each other. When the moisture 
condenses on these plates of glass they are easily turned 
over, so that no drops fall upon the foliage. This is the 
best habitation for these beautiful foliaged plants that I 
have yet seen used. The plants were very nealthy, and 
the collection is a very fine one. Two species were new 
to me. The first was Anoectochilus rubro-veno. This 
has a central clearly distinct vein, and one on each side 
of it curving towards the margin and meeting the central 
vein at the apex. These veins are of a glowing red 
colour, the rest of the leaf being of a dark olive-green. 
It is a most beautiful variety even amongst this richly- 
leaved tribe. The other is named Anoectochilus Rox- 
burghii, introduced from Borneo in 1857. It has oval 
leaves with red netted veins on a dark velvety-green 
ground, very distinct and beautiful. It is apparently a 
strong-growing variety like A. Lowii, but the veins are 
broader and more clearly defined. Whoever grows 
these plants should adopt this excellent mode of culti¬ 
vation. 
The house adjoining this stove, and devoted to the Azalea 
tribe, is 42 feet by 16 feet. It w'as filled with very fine 
specimens, all well set with bloom. In it I noticed a very 
rare variegated plant named Yucca pilifera. It is a very 
stiff-growing species, with a white stripe running dowu 
near the margin of each leaf. On the margin itself there 
are numerous thread-like stripes tipped with brown. It 
is quite distinct both in habit and character from Y.jili- 
mentosa. 
Then follows the Heath-house, 48 feet by 16 feet, and 
a very fine house it is. The floors and stages are all 
flagged with polished stone, kept as clean as a dinner- 
plate. Here 1 saw, as might be expected in such a sweet 
pure atmosphere. Heaths as green as Leeks, and formed 
into handsome specimens. They must be very handsome 
when in bloom. 
Next to the Heath-house is the finest house of them 
all: it is called the winter garden, though it will be 
handsome all the year round. It is 100 feet long and 20 
feet wide, with a double span-roof. A broad flagged path 
runs round a central bed, on which I saw large specimens 
of Heaths, Boronias, Polygalas, Eriostemons, &c. On a 
border near the front glass w r ere placed plants in flower; 
such as Camellias, forced Azaleas, tree Carnations, Hya¬ 
cinths, Cyclamens, Epacrises, &c. This is a noble house, 
and particularly enjoyable, especially in in clement weather. 
This finished the tour of the houses, and I was very much 
gratified by the inspection. 
One or two points I noted in the pleasure-grounds that 
I must mention. The sides of the walks are formed with 
earthen tiles, and the turf just covers the top of them. 
This prevents any couch grass or other bad weeds running 
into the gravel, and the grass is more easily kept in order 
It gives, also, an air of neatness and finish to the walks 
very commendable. On the sides of the carriage-road 
there is a long line of 'Rhododendrons, which thrive here 
in the common soil: no other evergreen thrives so well 
in this part of the country, hence it has been facetiously 
called the Manchester I,aurel. I saw them last summer 
when in full flower, and a most splendid appearance they 
made. The flowers were set oft’ by a background of 
evergreen Hollies. I was glad to observe that my good 
friend the elder Mr. Sidley was cutting down the deci¬ 
duous forest trees near these fine evergreens: that measure 
will keep them in bushy form and good health. Nothing 
can be more absurd than the common practice of mixing 
Elms, Limes, Oaks, and Beeches with choice evergreen 
shrubs. With this protest against such a practice I 
conclude my remarks on this interesting and beautiful 
place, assuring opr readers that it is well worthy of a 
visit. T. Appeepy. 
