?88 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
July 28, 1892. 
A GARDENERS’ HOLIDAY 
IN DEVONSHIRE. 
On Wednesday of last week the members of the 
Exeter Gardeners’ Association, which now ranks as 
the second best of its kind in the country though only 
established some twelve months ago, held their first 
summer meeting, which took the form of a pleasant 
outing, the places visited being Winslade, the seat of 
the Rev. A. W. Hamilton Gell ; Bystock, the seat of 
J. P. Bryce, Esq. ; and Bicton, the seat of the Hon. 
Mark Rolle. The party, which numbered about 
seventy, proceeding by way of Heavitree. first visited 
Winslade, where they were shown over the conser¬ 
vatories and pleasure-grounds by Mr. Barnes, the 
gardener. The members greatly admired the fine 
specimen plants to be seen in the conservatory, 
amongst them being half-a-dozen noble maidenhair 
Ferns suspended from the roof of the large conserva¬ 
tory, a fine specimen of the bird’s nest Fern, some 
magnificent Palms, and a very brightly-coloured flori- 
ferous Bougainvillea, which covered the roof of the 
alcove of the conservatory, and gave a rich setting to 
the Dracaenas and Palms. In the grounds, among 
other notable specimens of conifers, was a magnificent 
example of the Hemlock Spruce, a tree 22 feet high, 
and another of the maidenhair tree, Salisburia adian- 
tifolia ; some very beautiful specimens of the Thuja 
aurea dotted upon the lawn, Pinus insignis, Abies 
Douglasi, and other specimens of this class of tree 
being also much admired. 
From Winslade the party proceeded across Wood¬ 
bury Common to Bystock, where they were met by 
the gardener, Mr. Gurney. Here there was also 
much to see. In front of the house some very beautiful 
flower beds caught the eye, amongst them a particu¬ 
larly pretty circle of Pelargoniums, including a 
beautiful variety with yellow foliage and pink flowers, 
named Verona. Across from the lawn was the 
ornamental water, where lovely examples of artificial 
rockwork had been raised. Abutting upon the pond 
was a very curiously designed grotto representing in 
the most natural manner stalactites and stalagmites, 
reminding the visitors forcibly of the celebrated 
caves of Cheddar. The views from this part of the 
grounds are remarkably fine. Fringing the pond 
were double Deutzias, free growing Fuchsias in 
flower, the Acacia dealbata, generally considered too 
tender for outdoors, but here flourishing in the open 
without protection ; Andromedas, Japanese Maples. 
F'unkias, and other plants used in subtropical garden¬ 
ing were here in profusion. Altogether the gardeners 
were loud in praise of the excellent way in which the 
gardens are kept. The conservatories and greenhouses 
were also very interesting; several Bananas in full 
fruit attracting attention ; the Grenadilla bearing an 
egg-shaped fruit, and other tropical plants. At the 
front door of the mansion stood a very handsome 
Alamanda in flower, thus evidencing the mildness of 
the climate in this neighbourhood. 
Leaving Bystock, the party proceeded across another 
part of the common to Bicton, driving round to the 
main entrance to the park, so that they might walk up 
through the grand Araucaria Avenue, which is with¬ 
out doubt the most famous in England. It is 500 
yards in length, and contains twenty-five trees on 
each side planted as pairs opposite each other. This 
famous avenue was planted in 1843-44 under the 
direction of the late Mr. James Veitch, of Exeter, and is 
conceded to be the finest in the world. '1 he party 
was met by Mr. Maine, the gardener, and Mr. Muir- 
head, the superintendent cf the parks and woods, 
both of whom escorted the members over the more 
interesting portions of the estate. On reaching the 
arboretum universal admiration was expressed at the 
magnificent specimens of Conifers, many of which 
were perfectly unique, and as a collection unsurpassed 
in the country. 
Amongst a few of the handsome trees were the 
Liriodendron tulipifera in flower, the Fagus Cunning- 
hami, the evergreen Beech with pretty little serrated 
leaves like the Escalonia. Another fine specimen of 
the Abies Smithiana, sixty feet high, Abies brachy- 
philla, a Pinus Russelliania, allowed by authorities 
to be the finest tree in all England ; while the Abies 
Menziesi and Abies Douglasi were there at their 
best. 
The arboretum and pinetum and the timber 
generally were a perfect feast to those who had never 
been to Bicton before. As is well known, the place 
is unrivalled for its magnificent timber. The curiosi¬ 
ties included a grand specimen of the nettle tree, 
Celtus cordata, and also a good example of the Tree 
of Heaven, Ailanthus glandulosus, and the variegated 
Oak. Nearing the gardens the party came upon the 
fine stretch of ornamental water, adorned with black 
swans, which glided gracefully-upon the unruffled sur¬ 
face. Further on were the larger conservatories, at 
the door of one of which was a tree "of Magnolia 
fuscata in flower, the blooms bearing exactly the 
same perfume as the Pine-apple. Against the under 
wall of the conservatory were some beautiful 
Hibiscus. The Oranges and other plants were in 
keeping with the rest, and produced the most com¬ 
plete harmony. The whole place has a particularly 
well-kept air, and bespoke the fact that it is owned 
by a gentleman who is proud of his estate, which, as 
is unfortunately often the case elsewhere, is not 
allowed to get into a state of dilapidation or neglect. 
From Bicton the party drove to Budleigh Salter- 
ton, where they dined at the Rolle Arms, the chair 
being taken by Mr. Andrew Hope, who discharged 
the duties of the position with his customary 
efficiency and geniality. At the conclusion of the re¬ 
past a number of toasts were given, and the party re¬ 
turned to Exeter soon after 9 o’clock. 
-- 
BEDDING VIOLAS AT 
CHISWICK. 
The dry weather during the months of May and 
June militated strongly against the welfare of bedding 
Violas as well as Pansies. Cool and moist weather 
enables them to make the most rapid and substan¬ 
tial growth, as well as to produce the largest flowers 
in the greatest number. The recent rains, however, 
have been much to their liking, and rapid progress 
has been made during the past three weeks or so. 
The collections in the gardens of the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society at Chiswick are now pretty exten¬ 
sive, and furnish a good opportunity for making a 
selection for any given purpose. The primary object 
of these Violas is for spring and summer bedding ; 
and for this purpose it is necessary that the flowers 
be of good average size and freely produced, so as to 
give some decided effect according to colour. The 
habit and average height of the plants must also be 
taken into consideration, especially if two or more 
kinds are to be panted in a bed or in a panelled or 
ribbon border. As to the colours which are to be 
considered best in each class, much will depend upon 
the taste or likings of the cultivator ; but habit and 
floriferousness can hardly be ignored where effect is 
desired. Most of the varieties now on trial have 
been sent by Messrs. Dobbie & Co., of Rothesay, 
N.B., and Dr. Stuart, of Chirnside. 
White Varieties. 
The finest of all the white varieties is Countess of 
Hopetoun, of dwarf, erect habit, and large white 
flowers with a golden-yellow eye, and entirely with¬ 
out rays. Sylvia has large flowers of the palest 
sulphur fading to white, with an orange eye ; it is of 
dense, sub-erect habit, and floriferous. More de¬ 
cided is Sylvia White, having the faintest tint of 
sulphur on the lip, and that only in the young state. 
The habit is procumbent like that of Ardwell Gem, 
and the leaves are narrow. It appears identical with 
another named King of the Whites. Another pro¬ 
cumbent and free-flowering white kind is Springville, 
with moderate sized white flowers, having a faint 
blue edge to the upper petals and a yellow blotch on 
the base of the lip. Somewhat similar is Marginata, 
of dense, sub-erect habit, floriferous, and white with 
a slender lilac margin to all the petals, but sometimes 
wanting. The flowers of Picotee are small, and 
abundantly produced on dense-growing, erect stems ; 
they have sometimes a faint blue margin, but are 
netted with blue veins externally, which shine 
through and give the flowers the colour of milk that 
has been diluted with water. Of another type is 
Crofthouse, with large white flowers and violet rays 
on the three lower petals. It is a vigorous grower 
and profuse bloomer, but the texture of the petals is 
thin. For general purposes Blue Cloud cannot be 
overlooked, because it has the dwarf, dense, erect 
habit of Countess of Hopetoun, and blooms as freely. 
The petals when in character have a broad ultra- 
marine blue margin, especially the upper ones ; but 
the effect from a distance is that of a white variety. 
The same may be said of Lillias, which has orbi¬ 
cular flowers charmingly netted with lavender on 
the margin of the two upper petals, and less dis¬ 
tinctly so on the others. It will be seen from the 
above that Countess cf Hopstoun stands alone as 
nearest an ideal white, while Sylvia White, Blue 
Cloud, and Lillias are all very choice. 
Yellow Varieties. 
Opinion is divided as to the best yellow for bedding 
purposes, but the dwarf, procumbent habit and free- 
flowering nature of Ardwell Gem will always re¬ 
commend it to not a few. The large oblong flowers 
are sulphur-yellow deepening considerably from the 
upper petals to the lip. Somewhat allied to the 
above is Wonder, but the flowers are a shade or two 
darker, and the habit erect and dwarf. Duchess of 
Fife and Goldfinch have the procumbent habit of 
Ardwell Gem, but the former is pale, almost white, 
on the upper petals, and margined with pale blue ; 
while the latter is darker, margined with pale purple, 
often of a slaty hue. They are both very charming 
and choice in their way. Bullion is reckoned by 
some as the best yellow, as it has golden-yellow 
flowers with black rays on the three lower petals, and 
a profuse bloomer. Something in the way of Old 
Gold, but having much larger flowers is highly 
desirable ; the edges of the clear yellow petals are 
almost white, but rays are entirely absent. Sovereign 
is similar to Bullion, but the flowers are much 
smaller, and the black rays very prominent. Royalty 
is somewhat similar to the last, but paler in hue, and 
the habit is dwarf and erect. Golden Gage is com¬ 
parable to Old Gold, but has paler flowers, and the 
dull green leaves are incurved at the edges, thus 
spoiling it to some extent. A bold yellow is Lord 
Elcho with large golden-yellow flowers, but the black 
rays are too prominent. The habit is dwarf and 
partly procumbent, but the leaves are of great size, 
and flowers produced only in moderate quantity. The 
flowers of Rothes are of medium size, and clear yel¬ 
low on the upper petals deepening to gold on the lip, 
and being without rays is a step in the right direc¬ 
tion ; but as there is only one small plant of it at 
Chiswick, its value as a bedding plant cannot yet be 
determined. Of dwarf, dense, erect habit is Brides¬ 
maid, but the large flowers are pale sulphur-yellow 
fading almost to creamy white, the lip retaining its 
colour longest. In the front rank for bedding pur¬ 
poses we would place Ardwell pem, Wonder, 
Bullion, Goldfinch, Duchess of F'ife, and Old Gold. 
The latter is a gem but rather small, except for the 
iront line of a bed. 
Coloured Selfs. 
As amongst the yellows, so amongst the blue varie¬ 
ties, there is some controversy as to which is the best 
blue. The question remains whether any one sort 
can be best where there are so many excellent ) f et 
distinct types. For general purposes there are few 
to beat Hollyrood as far as the collection at Chiswick 
is concerned. The flowers are large, intense blue, 
shaded with purple, with darker blotches at the base 
of the three lo.ver petals, that on the lip being 
maroon edged with a bronzy lustre. Archibald 
Grant has much larger intense violet-purple flowers, 
but it is much less floriferous than Hollyrood. 
Crimson King so called, is no doubt the best of its 
kind, but the flowers are of a rich dark purple, not 
crimson. The flowers of Wm. Neil open of a nearly 
uniform purple, and soon fade to a clear rose. The 
variety is certainly the best in this class. Acme is in 
the way of Crimson King, but has larger deep 
purple flowers shaded with bronze on the base of the 
lip, and is scarcely so floriferous. There is only one 
little piece of Topsy which is dwarf, erect, and flori¬ 
ferous, but if its constitution is good it will be a 
highly desirable sort in the way of Acme and Crim¬ 
son King, but the flowers are darker or more 
intensely purple, and the lip is almost black when it 
first expands. Amongst the lighter coloured blues, 
that named Sweet Lavender is of great promise, be¬ 
ing very dwarf and procumbent, with large, soft blue 
flowers, and a creamy blotch on the lip. One or two 
small plants are not quite sufficient to determine the 
true value of the variety for bedding purposes. The 
Duchess of Sutherland is of rather straggling habit, 
but very floriferous, with large, soft, lavender- 
coloured flowers, slightly tinted with purple on the 
upper petals. For mixing with Pelargoniums and 
other subjects of that nature it is certainly an acqui¬ 
sition. For bedding purposes then, the well-tried 
and meritorious kinds are Hollyrood, blue ; Crimson 
King, purple ; William Neil, rose ; and Duchess of 
Sutherland, lavender, 
Parti-coloured Varieties. 
Foremost amongst this class we should place Queen 
of Scots, on account of the bold character of its 
flowers, which are larger than those of Countess of 
