July 17, 1886. 
THE HARDENING WORLD. 
725 
were carried to such, extremes. In not a few instances 
the clearance was arrested before completion. Hence, 
charming morsels of the old shadows are met with at 
times in out-of-the-way places. And there have also 
been attempted revivals, more or less successful. 
Still, making due allowance for all these qualifying 
circumstances, there can be no doubt that most modern 
gardens and landscapes are deficient in shade. This 
may be proved by anyone spending the month of June 
in visiting some of the finer gardens in Britain. If his 
eyes are not glared half out of his head, and he is not 
brown as a beetle at the end of his tour, he will be more 
fortunate than the writer. Of course, in vegetable and 
fruit gardens, and to a lesser extent in flower gardens, 
direct sunshine is essential to success. Though, even 
in this, it is by no means needful always to choose a 
southern aspect. On the contrary, in most of the 
southern and warmer counties, hardy fruits and vege¬ 
tables may be as successfully grown, and with less 
majority of these are crying out for deeper shadows, 
into which one can retire for refreshment, rest, and for 
enjoying the beauty around us with the least amount 
of exhaustion and fatigue. Mural shadows and rests 
are now-a-days out of fashion. They, however, if 
skilfully placed and designed and furnished, might 
still be useful in many large gardens, affording shelter 
from rain as well as sunshine, and increasing the num¬ 
ber and area of seats all too few in most large gardens. 
Tunnels, again, through natural strata of stone or 
chalk, might often be introduced with excellent effect, 
and so disposed as to avoid steep hills, and afford per¬ 
fect shelter as well as shade. In cases where springs 
or rills of water abound, a drinking fountain and seat 
under a tunnel, furnished with a fernery at either 
entrance, provide at once a welcome rest and a refresh¬ 
ing shade. But the best and most suitable shade in 
gardens is that afforded by walls, hedges, shrubs and 
trees. It may, however, be taken for granted that 
climbers, either over walks or seats in the open air. In 
fact, the trim way in which such are too often trained 
and pruned rather adds to the heat than moderates or 
shuts it out. Where such contrivances are used, a 
wild and free rambling growth should be encouraged ; 
so that tier above tier of branchlets, whether of flower 
or foliage, should shut out the heat from the covered 
path or seat beneath. But a Beech, Lime, Chestnut, 
Oak, or Plane forms the most effective shade over a 
seat in the open air. No one should ever sit under the 
shadow of old Elms, on account of their constitutional 
liability to limb-dropping. Lebanon Cedars, the 
Douglas and other Spruces, and Yews, also furnish 
shadows at once dense and deep. But these and other 
conifers are far inferior to such deciduous trees as the 
Beech, Oak, the broader-leaved Poplars, Planes, Limes, 
Sycamores for furnishing shade and shelter in gardens. 
The circulation of air is far more constant and powerful 
under deciduous trees, while the rippling of their leaves 
Impatiens Hawkerii. 
labour of watering, &c., on cooler aspects and sites. 
The same holds good of flowers. Plants and bloom last 
far longer on cool sites and aspects than in hotter, drier 
ones. Many flowers also attain to higher colour and 
texture if partially shaded for two or three hours from 
the sun. All may be said to be more beautiful and 
enjoyable when seen under the shadow of a cloud, a 
wall, or fence, or a tree. The most enjoyable and 
brilliantly coloured ribbon border I have ever seen was 
an east border, behind a very high wall facing due 
west. In the early morning it was too dazzling, but 
after noon and all through the evening every tint 
stood out in its full freshness, distinctness, and beauty; 
anyone will readily recall similar bits of perfect colour¬ 
ing on shady sites. One of our greatest rosarians came 
suddenly on a mass of Charles Lefebvre on a north 
border, and -was so astonished at its peculiar depth and 
purity of colouring, that for a moment he was nonplussed, 
and thought it a new variety of surpassing loveliness. 
Such examples of the effects of mere shade on colouring 
might be multiplied -to any extent. 
But my purpose now is not to insist on the im¬ 
portance of shade as an aid to culture or colouring, but 
to provide a welcome means for the enjoyment of the 
existing beauty of our gardens and landscapes. The 
some shade is essential. Many years ago I visited a 
fine garden, accompanied by its owner, a lady of 
cultured taste and fond of horticulture. Her last 
words with me were, “This is called Sunnydale.” I 
ventured to reply, that “its sunniness was its chief 
fault ; to render it perfect, it wants shade and water.” 
The latter was found to be impossible, but the shade 
was provided in the form of a yew walk—nearly 300 
yards long, and 10 ft. wide ; a large fernery in a dale, 
with sunken and tunnelled walks ; and thus the new 
charm of shade and shelter at all seasons was added to 
the prevailing sunshine, and the garden became more 
perfect. This walk w'as planned and carried out from 
east to west, and the tall yews encouraged to arch over 
provided shelter and shade when most needed through¬ 
out the year. 
The question of the line of walls, hedges, and belts 
for purposes of shade is important. Not a few run 
from north to south ; such add to the heat when at its 
maximum, and increase the evils they were meant to 
remedy. Large wide-spreading Beech, Lebanon Cedars, 
and other trees have the merit of providing shade for 
all, and of sustaining a brisk circulation of air beneath 
them in the hottest weather. Trees are far more 
efficient for shade than arbours of Roses or other 
with every gentle breeze reminds one of the soft music 
of gently running water ; and this dash of sentiment 
seems to cool the shadow, and add a softness and 
sweetness to the refreshment provided by the trees. 
-- 
IMPATIENS HAWKERII. 
We have several times recently had an opportunity 
of seeing a splendid new Balsam from the South Sea 
Islands, that Mr. William Bull has included among the 
novelties which he is sending out this season, and which 
there will be a run upon immediately it becomes known, 
for few finer things have been seen of late years. It 
was discovered and sent home by Lieutenant Hawker, 
and under cultivation proves to be a good free grower, 
of neat habit, and a most profuse bloomer from spring 
till autumn, while its flowers, large and smooth, are of 
a remarkably beautiful colour—an indescribable shade 
of brilliant deep carmine, suffused with a bluish tint 
round the small white eye. The lovely Impatiens 
Sul tan ii has become a great favourite, but it is 
altogether eclipsed by the new comer, of which wc give 
an illustration, kindly placed at our service by Mr. 
Bull. The plant was exhibited at South Kensington 
on Tuesday, and was awarded a First Class Certificate. 
