September 7, 1895. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
13 
pleasure garden, it is a great school of botany. 
There are, however, some agreeable conformities to 
the rage for beds of one 'single colour, and this 
occurs in a series of beds of different shapes and 
sizes—as shown by the accompanying diagram— 
opposite the entrance to No. 4. 
The subjects employed are all Begonias—species, 
hybrids and varieties. The beds markedA are filled with 
B. semperflorens, which is a most useful summer and 
autumn bedder, as the rosy-white flowers are rather 
large and very freely produced over along period .while 
the foliage is of a bright shining green. The whole 
plant is dwarf and floriferous, and therefore particu¬ 
larly adapted for our erratic clime, as the thick, 
fleshy nature of the leaves and flowers renders them 
able to resist the rain, which is so detrimental to 
many of our flowering plants. The variety B. s. 
rubra, which is also free and fine, occupies the 
circular beds marked C ; while B. s. rosea, a pleasing 
but lighter coloured variety, fills the remaining beds 
of the same shape marked B. B. Crimson Gem may 
be found in bed D, and has rich crimson flowers and 
dark bronzy foliage, which contrast well with the 
lighter tints of B. semperflorens, which fills the beds 
on either side. 
The tuberous Begonias are also very showy and 
effective, and display their beauty to advantage in 
the four large beds marked E on the plan. The 
beds themselves are surrounded by grass, which, 
after the late and copious rains, is in the very best 
condition. The cultivation of the Begonia for 
bedding purposes is simple enough, for given a light 
rich soil with ample drainage, and nice stocky little 
plants properly hardened off, and put out about the 
middle of June, the result is almost sure to be satis¬ 
factory, whether the season be wet or fine.— Le Vert. 
---»»«"- . 
SWANLEY. 
Space forbids us from entering into the history of 
the subject, but gardeners and horticulturists 
generally throughout the country are perfectly 
cognisant of the fact that Messrs. H. Cannell & 
Sons, Swanley, Kent, have been specialists in the 
matter of tuberous Begonias from a very early period 
of the career of this popular class of plants. At 
present they have ten houses devoted to their culture, 
and one acre of ground accommodating a plantation 
of 100,000 seedlings in the open air. The dry 
weather retarded the growth of these as in all other 
cases, but since the advent of the rain a marked 
improvement set in immediately and the plants are 
now flowering beautifully, and some fine new varieties 
may be expected amongst them. 
Doubles. 
The finest varieties are named and perpetuated by 
cuttings, and it is almost superfluous to say that the 
double sorts kept in stock by Messrs. Cannell have 
been in the front rank for quality for many years 
past. This has been attested in public by the 
numerous certificates awarded to meritorious 
varieties from time to time. Those noted below 
constitute a dozen of the best up to the present date. 
J. Marshall is of good habit, bearing its bright 
scarlet flowers well above the foliage. The large 
soft cerise-crimson flowers of Frank Bibby are bold 
and handsome. Those of Sergeant Bates are only 
of medium size, but admirable in form and deep 
crimson. The large and attractive flowers of 
Madame Champion are of a creamy tint with a white 
centre. A beautiful variety is Dr. Masters, of bushy 
and upright habit, with white flowers delicately 
tinted with blush in the centre. The silvery-pink 
flowers of Beauty of Belgrove are paler at the edges 
and resemble the Rose La France; they are produced 
in the greatest profusion all through the season. 
Those of R. B. Parsons are of large size and deep 
pink shaded with a silvery tint, but darker in the 
centre. Handsome and charming is that named 
Mrs. Lascelles, which has beautifully formed and 
deep rosy-pink blooms, with a lighter centre. The 
lighter shades are also well represented in Mrs. Lewis 
Castle, which is of a charming salmon colour and of 
great size. Nina comes into the same category, and 
is a pleasing shade of soft fawn, occasionally tinted 
with pink. The flowers are of largesize, handsome, 
and the. habit of the plant all that could be desired. 
The Rev. E. Lascelles is a rich but clear yellow. 
Another charming variety is that named Lady Mary 
Wood, which has bold and double flowers of great 
size, fine build, and salmon shaded with fawn. The 
blending of these tints and their refinement gives 
tone and character to the whole flower in many 
cases. 
Single Varieties. 
It goes without saying that where a large collection 
of double sorts of the first water are kept the single 
ones will be equally advanced, whether named or 
otherwise, for the double strain is of more recent 
origin. The accompanying illustration of The Lady, 
obligingly lent us by Messrs. Cannell, shows what is 
aimed at in the way of singles at Swanley. The 
Lady is of dwarf habit, free flowering and white. 
Equally floriferous is the bright scarlet flowered 
Mars. A charming flower is Duchess of Westminster, 
of a fine shade of salmon and darker in the centre. 
Princess of Wales is a refined and delightful flower 
of a pleasing shade of pink passing almost to white 
in the centre. Sir Trevor Lawrence is of dwarf 
bushy habit, bearing a profusion of bold and brilliant 
crimson-scarlet flowers. For want of a better term 
we may describe Albert George as of a warm terra¬ 
cotta hue. Miss F. D. Skelding is of the purest 
white, faultless in form, and one of the recent 
acquisitions. The same may be said of Grant Allen, 
with rich crimson flowers. The blooms of Chatterton 
often measure 7 in. across, and are of a shade of rose 
which may be termed madder. Amongst buff 
coloured sorts we cannot do better than name 
Captain Kane, whose enormous flowers for this 
section are amber, tinted with clear chestnut in the 
centre. Passing from them thence to Countess 
Brownlow we have a large flower of the richest 
yellow. A free-flowering variety is Miss E. Clarke, 
white, edged with soft lake. Rowland Witherby has 
bright red flowers. All of the above are the best of 
their class, and we can only parody Messrs. Cannell’s 
words by saying to those interested to "go and see.” 
•-■*.- 
BATTERSEA PARK. 
Like Hampton Court, Battersea Park has been 
giving way to the times, and even to a greater 
extent, for several of the carpet beds have been 
planted with tuberous Begonias. Here again the 
authorities evidently consider that such plants 
require to be utilised in a different way than as solid 
beds. The so-called "coffin beds” so familiar to 
every one visiting the sub-tropical garden, have 
departed from their time-honoured tradition, and 
tuberous Begonias are made to constitute the chief 
display, with such accessories as would cover the 
ground and allow the Begonias to assert themselves 
with all the prominence they are capable of effecting. 
They consist of bushy plants, 8 in. to 12 in. high, and 
present a considerable variety of colours, such as 
scarlet, crimson, white, rose, pink and bronzy orange. 
To these colours are added those of a gold-leaved 
Fuchsia, gray Pelargoniums, blue Lobelias and 
Nierembergia gracilis pegged down. The two latter 
constitute the groundwork, and act as an admirable 
setting to the gay colours of both flowers and coloured 
foliage. A neat and double edging of Alternantheras 
and variegated Mesembryanthemum, constitutes an 
effective and definite restraining boundary to the 
whole. 
On the other side of the sub-tropical garden are 
two beds of mixed tuberous Begonias, the bright 
colours of which are toned down by the variegated 
Cock’s-foot Grass. Golden-leaved Fuchsias are also 
planted through the beds, but they are greatly 
hidden and overpowered by the Cock's-foot in ques¬ 
tion. The latter is certainly pretty, as a setting of 
light and graceful foliage of a silvery gray ; but a 
dwarfer plant would be much more suitable, if some 
one could discover a grass with the same elegance as 
this but with a dwarfer habit. It serves to tone 
down brilliant and dazzling colours admirably, and 
in many cases enhances their charm. Poa trivialis 
variegata is a much dwarfer grass, and might be 
utilised to excellent purpose in bedding designs like 
the above. If still in existence, some one might 
rescue this native grass from unmerited obscurity. 
—Fiat lux. 
Vines and Vine Culture.—The best book on Grapes. By 
Archibald F. Barron, Superintendent of the Royal Horticultural 
Society's Gardens, Chiswick ; Secretary of the Fruit Com¬ 
mittee. Demy 8vo., Handsomely bound in Cloth, Price, 5s. 
post free, 5s. 3d., from Gardening World Office, 1, 
Clement’s Inn, Strand, W.C. 
The Lady. 
