744 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
July 23, 1887. 
ODONTADENIA SPEOIOSA. 
This very fine climbing stove plant, which is also 
called Dipladenia Harrisi, was figured in the Botanical 
Magazine in May, 1855, and is there described as an 
inhabitant of the banks of Caroni, and to the eastward 
of Mount Tamara, Trinidad, where it was discovered 
by Mr. Purdie, the superintendent of the Botanical 
Gardens of that island. It was named D. Harrisi in 
honour of Lord Harris, then Governor of Trinidad. 
The coloured plate in the Bot. Mag., as seen now, does 
not fairly convey the proper tint of the flower, making 
it too yellow, and very much like an Allamanda. 
Messrs. James Yeitch & Sons were the first to flower 
this plant in Europe, in September, 1S54, but it is 
probable that at the present time very few, if any, 
plants are in cultivation in England. There is now in 
bloom in one of the stove houses at the Botanical 
Gardens, Birmingham, a specimen plant raised from 
seed brought by a lady from South America seventeen 
or eighteen years since ; but although the plant is 
always a vigorous grower, and flower-buds were formed 
in two or three previous years, Mr. Latham did not 
succeed in blooming it until last season. The plant 
is growing in a large pot, and is trained along the 
roof. Mr. Latham this year tried the plan of stopping 
the young growth when 2 ft. to 3 ft. in length, which 
led to the formation of blooming lateral shoots 
abundantly supplied with flowers. 
The soil used is turfy loam, and the house in which 
it is growing contains Crotons, Dracaenas, ^Nepenthes, 
and other ornamental plants. The foliage is unlike 
that of Dipladenias in general, and bears a closer 
resemblance to that of Combretum purpurenm, but is 
larger and of a lighter green. The colour of the flower 
is a creamy pale yellow, with pale orange-buff markings 
and a deeper-coloured pencilled throat —a very pleasing 
shade altogether. The blooms are of medium size, 
not so large as those of D. amabilis and its varieties, 
and are produced in profusion on large drooping 
racemes. It is a lovely warm-house climber, and easily 
grown from young wood by cuttings ; but to flower it 
well the young growth should be stopped, as Mr. Latham 
recommends. 
As we are not overdone with plants suitable for 
growing as specimens for our mid-season flower shows, 
the question arises whether this could not be made 
available. Our old Dipladenia and Allamanda culti¬ 
vators used to let these plants grow freely to rafters, 
and some days before the exhibition remove the growths 
from that position and train around the trellis. I have 
an impression that this Odontadenia will eventually 
turn out to be a good exhibition plant, and as I must 
confess to being somewhat surfeited with Clerodendron 
Balfourianum, Stephanotis, and Allamandas —not A. 
grandiflora, as I seldom see it now—I should like to 
see a few other good old plants rescued from obscurity 
and again brought to the front. — TV. D. 
--- 
A MISSION ROOM FLOWER 
SHOW. 
Manor Street, Chelsea, is, to all appearance, one 
of the most unlikely places where one would look for a 
flower show. At 4 p.m. on a hot day recently, I 
went into the Mission Booms in the above street, and 
saw a number of plants neatly arranged on tables, with 
samples of needlework, and any illustration in the way 
of ingenuity and skill that working men might have 
originated in their leisure hours. The judge had just 
made his awards, and the public were being admitted. 
I may state that in connection with the Oakley and 
St. Matthew’s Mission districts, supported by the con¬ 
gregation of St. Paul’s, Onslow Square, there is a 
Cheerful Home and Window Gardening Society, and 
this society promotes a flower show among the residents 
in the more crowded parts of this populous borough. 
The schedule of prizes is a very unpretentious one, and 
includes prizes for Fuchsias, Geraniums, and climbing 
plants ; also for miscellaneous plants, window-boxes, 
and vegetables. The last class was a surprise, for no 
one scarcely would dream that vegetables could be 
grown in the heart of Chelsea ; but an examination of 
the first prize basket showed that it contained Straw¬ 
berries, Peas, Bhubarb, Badishes, Carrots, Onions, 
Lettuce, Mustard and Cress, and Mint; and then the 
outside of the basket had been utilised, for it was 
covered with flannel, and when moistened Cress seed 
was spread over it, which, clinging to the damp flannel, 
speedily germinated, and gave a crop of edible salad. 
The gentleman who made the awards—one of Messrs. 
Yeitch & Sons’ assistants—told me that it is surprising 
what is grown in the way of vegetables in some of the 
small gardens at the backs of the houses in some of the 
minor streets. 
The plants exhibited consisted of Creeping Jennies, 
some of them capitally grown and flowered; zonal 
Pelargoniums, double and single (in the schedule of 
prizes the old name of Geranium is retained); Fuchsias, 
Musk, the common and Harrison’s ; Lobelias (bedding), 
a few nicely grown and flowered ; Tradescantia zebrina, 
plants that had apparently been well roasted in the sun, 
and had coloured like the leaves of a Coleus ; Chrysan¬ 
themum frutescens, African Marigolds, Indiarubber 
plants, Aspidistra, Yallota purpurea, &c. There were 
some large Fuchsias trained to comely trellises, and as 
is the case with plants grown in London for some time, 
pretty well furnished with leaves but wanting in 
bloom. It is a requirement on the part of intending 
exhibitors, that they take their plants to be registered 
and sealed, so that they can be identified if necessary, 
on the 19th and 20th of May, which is about seven 
weeks before they are exhibited. In making the 
awards the judge went for the best plants, but I fear 
that in many cases they were those which had been in 
the possession of the exhibitors for the shortest periods. 
Yery many of those that received prizes looked like 
plants that had been obtained some two or three 
months only before the show ; and such plants would 
be certain to be more highly thought of than plants 
that had been in the possession of an exhibitor for a 
year or more. I think promoters of exhibitions of this 
character should, to their very utmost, endeavour to 
encourage the growth of plants all the year round, and 
so far as they can succeed in doing this, so far will 
they succeed also in securing cheerful homes. 
I wish hearty success to movements of this kind. I 
was pleased to see well-to-do people present assisting 
the worthy vicar of St. Paul’s and his hard-working 
curates in the good work they are doing in Chelsea.— 
R. D. 
-->Xx-- 
FREE-FLOWERING SHRUBS. 
The White Broom (Cytisus albhs) is one of 
those ornamental and medium-sized shrubs that when 
seen in full flower nearly every visitor expresses 
astonishment at, and wonders why it is not more 
commonly grown. The ordinary yellow-flowered plant 
is ornamental enough, but when placed side by side 
with the present subject it attracts but little attention. 
To see this white-flowered form when in full bloom is, 
indeed, a sight that one does not often enjoy ; but the 
effect is much heightened when a clump or mass of, 
say, a dozen good-sized plants are placed in close con¬ 
tiguity, for then the united wealth of pure white flowers 
is showy in the extreme. By placing it in front of the 
Austrian Pine, or some similarly dark-foliaged tree or 
shrub, we have produced an effect which it is difficult 
to match. 
A light sandy soil would seem to suit best this pretty 
Broom ; and it is all the better, for the sake of flower- 
production at least, to plant it in a sunny, warm 
situation. Unless allowed plenty of room, and fre¬ 
quently headed down, this Broom becomes straggling 
and untidy in appearance ; but as it bears pruning 
well, the overgrown head and branches may be cut 
back without fear of harm. 
PlPTANTHUS NEPALENSIS (THE EVERGREEN La- 
bttrxum) has given great satisfaction wherever it has 
been planted ; and certainly, so far as a neat-habited, 
free-flowering shrub is concerned, it holds a high place 
in our list of hardy evergreens. Full-sized specimens 
with us have only attained to a height of 8 ft., so it 
may be considered as a medium-sized shrub that, from 
its somewhat strict habit of growth, is well suited for 
planting in small gardens or where space is limited. 
The flowers are large, of a bright yellow colour, and 
produced in bracteate racemes. Ordinary loam may be 
considered as about the best soil in which to grow the 
evergreen Laburnum ; but it prefers a sunny, warm 
situation. 
Cttisus nigricans. —Why Loudon called this plant 
the Black Cytisus is a problem that I cannot unravel, 
for certainly no part of the plant, unless, indeed, it be 
the ripe seed pods, approach that colour. It is a far 
more elegant plant than our common Broom, with 
almost every shoot terminating, in May or June, in a 
raceme of golden yellow flowers. Although introduced 
for upwards of a century and a half, this Broom is far 
from common, and why it is so would certainly be 
difficult to say, as it has every requirement that need 
be wished for in a shrub. Grafted on the common 
Laburnum, it soon forms a neat and compact-headed 
standard, and which when in flower is about as bright 
an ornament as one need care to wish for. It is quite 
hardy, and readily propagated from seeds, which are 
produced in abundance, and ripen well in most parts 
of Britain. We would advise 'everyone who is in¬ 
terested in hardy ornamental shrubs, to try a plant of 
this Broom, and I feel confident they will not be 
disappointed with the results, so far, at least, as 
blooming is concerned. 
Ceaxothcs dentattjs, although not perfectly 
hardy, is yet sufficiently so to warrant its being planted 
throughout England generally, more particularly the 
western maritime parts. It is a shrub usually about 
3 ft. in height, of rather compact growth, thickly 
covered with small deeply toothed evergreen leaves. 
The flowers are of a deep blue colour, produced in great 
abundance, and for several months together. It 
makes an excellent wall plant, and is even more 
floriferous then than when used as a standard. C. 
rigidus is a nearly allied species, with stiff wiry 
branches and purplish flowers. Another distinct and 
showy species will be found in C. Americana, which 
has slightly pubescent leaves, and produces a rich 
succession from June to August, of its pretty and 
distinct flowers. 
All the species of Ceanothus are readily raised from 
cuttings, if these be placed in a frame and kept close 
until rooted. Bather dry warm soils will suit these 
plants best, and they are not particular about situation, 
although in northern exposures they are more apt to 
get killed by severe frost.— A. D. TVebater. 
-->X<-- 
TERRESTRIAL ORCHIDS AND 
CAPE BULBS. 
Beferrixg to the remarks on this subject of a 
correspondent in The Gardening World recently, 
I can form some idea of the difficulty found at home 
in getting Cape Terrestrial Orchids and Bulbs to flower, 
as certainly our climate is so different to yours ; in 
short, I may say, that our climate in comparison with 
that of England is a perpetual spring. We find very 
little difference between winter and summer, and very 
few, indeed, of the indigenous trees and shrub bushes 
lose their leaves in winter. The greater part are 
evergreens, with thick, leathery leaves, and numbers 
are exactly like the Indian Azalea. The wild Fig is 
an exception, as it casts its leaves at the end of July, 
but breaks out into new growth in a fortnight after¬ 
wards. 
Deciduous imported trees from Europe, Australia 
and America, such as the Apple, Pear, Plum, Peach, 
Fig, Vines, &c., are shedding their leaves now (June), 
as also are the Oak, and such-like ; but imported ever¬ 
greens, such as the Gum and Willow, are growing the 
whole season round. 
As to the secret of flowering bulbs, I may say that, 
although we get very cold nights with very heavy dews, 
and have slight hoar-frosts during June and July, 
the earth is never cold, for six out of every seven days 
the whole season round we have bright sunshine. 
Were I to return home, I would undertake to flower 
the whole tribe. But, perhaps, as a precautionary 
measure, I should require a glass frame with about 1 ft. 
of rough rubble, and the same depth of soil. The frame 
I would place where some hot-water pipes are led 
across a pathway into a stove or other forcing house ; 
just such a place a3 was once given to me to strike 
Boses in, when engaged as foreman at West Hill House, 
Epsom. There would, of course, have to be a slight 
difference in the management. You must pardon my 
pride for mentioning it, but the head gardener, on 
seeing my success, promised to get me a patent for the 
plan. That head gardener was a good hand, and the 
lessons he taught me I have not yet forgotten ; slow 
in giving praise, it was all the more valued when it 
did come. It was a test for me at the time, as he said 
he had heard of people striking Boses in autumn, but 
they never put the roots on. This was thirty years 
ago. 
The fact is, many of our large bulbs (like Amaryllis 
Belladonna) are perfectly hardy in England if planted 
