58 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ AriUL, 
Lobelias I mean to grow three kinds this year 
— L. Paxtoni, pumila, and Emperor William; 
the latter is a splendid kind, which many affirm 
to be the same as L. pumila magnifica , and I 
really now think it is so ; but be this as it may, 
it is, in my judgment, the best Lobelia we have. 
The Foliage Garden must not be planted till 
the middle of June. Here amongst the Pelar¬ 
goniums we grow Mare'chal MacMahon , Mrs. 
Pollock , Robert Burns , Black Douglas , Crystal 
Palace Gem , and Bijou. I have arranged them 
in the order of their merit. Our Flower Garden 
is 400 feet above the sea, and very much ex¬ 
posed, so that the only two Alter nanther as 
which grow well here, are A. magnifica and 
A. amabilis , and very pretty hardy kinds they 
are. The Golden Feather Pyrethrum is invalu¬ 
able ; it should not be sown too soon, or it will 
run to seed. Veronica incana is a silvery grey¬ 
leaved plant, and is very pretty and quite hardy. 
Oxalis corniculata rubra (tropseoloides) is very 
useful, with its coppery foliage, and is easily pro¬ 
pagated. The best Iresine is I. Lindeni , but 
Coleus Verschaffeltii Improved is the better of 
the two, and they are nearly of the same 
colour. Amaranthus melancholicus ruber is in 
this way, and is a nice plant, if not raised in 
too much heat. Echeverias are all very good; 
the best is E. Peacockii. We grow Sedum 
Lydium and S. glaucum, and very useful they 
are. Mentha Pulegiumgibraltaricum is a delight¬ 
ful green, easily propagated, and nearly hardy. 
Mesembryanthemum cordifolium variegatnm and 
Veronica variegata both do well, and so does 
Cerastium Biebersteini , which is much better 
than C. tomentosum. Centaurea candidissima 
is most useful. 
I have many other plants in hand, such as 
Euonymuses of sorts, Arabis, Thymus of various 
kinds, &c., of the merits of which I wnll report 
to you next autumn, if all’s well. We have 
one fine ribbon border which takes 6,000 plants, 
and which is planted in the following order, 
reading from the front backwards :— 
1. Pyrethrum Golden Feather, yellow foliage. 
2. Pelargonium Little David, scarlet flowers. 
3. Pelargonium Bijou, white foliage. 
4. Pelargonium Christine, pink flowers. 
5. Pelargonium Stella, crimson-scarlet flowers. 
6. Verbena venosa, purple flowers. 
The border is shaded by a row of Tulip-trees, 
so that I am obliged to make use of these 
strong-growing things.— Joseph Rust, Eridge 
Castle Gardens , Tunbridge Wells. 
NEW DWARF INDIAN AZALEAS. 
OME two or three years since, Mr. Car¬ 
michael exhibited at one of the Eoyal 
Botanic Society’s shows some seedling 
Azaleas of close dwarf habit, with very neat 
small foliage, and comparatively small flowers, 
one or two of which, in better condition than 
the rest—Gem and Mrs. Carmichael—were 
awarded First-class Certificates, as being likely 
to form useful decorative plants of small stature. 
They are understood to have been obtained by 
crossing A. Stella with A. amoena. We were 
much gratified the other day to see these novel¬ 
ties, under the influence of good cultivation, 
presenting a very charming appearance, and we 
feel convinced that they will prove exceedingly 
valuable as decorative plants for growing in 
small pots, and equally so for providing mate¬ 
rials for bouquets, the flowers from their size 
being better adapted for making up than those 
of the large-flowered group. 
The varieties, six in number, are in the hands 
of Mr. B. S. Williams, of Upper Holloway. The 
flowers are about D inch across, or in some 
varieties rather less, and the leaves are of the 
small oblanceolate type seen in the small- 
flowered native Chinese Azalea obtusa. The 
varieties we noticed were as follows, all having 
the same neat character and close dwarf 
habit:— 
Princess Beatrice : flowers rather small, pale rosy- 
purple. 
Mrs. Carmichael: flowers rosy-purple, rather more 
rosy-tinted than Princess Beatrice. 
Princess Maucle : clear purplish-rose, the corolla 
segments oblong blunt emarginate, medium size. 
William Carmichael : clear purplish rose, the 
flowers rather larger than in Princess Maude. 
Lady Musgrave : flowers rosy-carmine, If- inch 
across, the segments broad and slightly overlapping. 
Prime Minister : flowers small, of a deep pink or 
peach-blossom. 
Of these Mrs. Carmichael, William Car¬ 
michael, and Lady Musgrave have somewhat 
larger flowers, varying in colour; while those 
of Princess Beatrice, Princess Maude, and Prime 
Minister are smaller and more nearly resembling 
those of obtusa in form. The colours of all are 
very bright and cheerful, and for the purposes 
indicated we look on them as being very decided 
acquisitions. 
Fit associates for the above would be found 
in the little Chinese Azalea obtusa, introduced 
by Mr. Fortune many years ago, and the double- 
blossomed Azalea Rollissoni, figured at p. 35, 
and recently acquired from Japan by Messrs. 
Rollisson and Sons.—T. Moore. 
