660 
June 13,1896. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
OLYMPIA. 
Whatever the rank that gardening holds among the 
professions, there can be no doubt that as an art it 
is entitled to a very high position, for while a garden 
well laid out and well managed is a thing of beauty 
and a joy for ever, the reverse applies to one that is 
ill made and as ill kept. One of the greatest charms 
attaching to modern horticulture is the wondrous 
variety of methods and styles that may be practiced, 
and the seemingly endless effective combinations 
that may be called into being by the skill of various 
exponents. We admire the stately grandeur of some 
private gentleman's establishment, with its stretches 
of verdant lawn, its splendid drives, describing bold 
and magnificent sweeps and curves, and the noble 
trees of various kinds that find a place therein, and 
we are fain to admire the skill of the landscape 
gardener in thus assisting Nature. We pass from 
this to one of the pleasure gardens of our great cities, 
patronised by teeming throngs of the imperious 
British public, and we are again forced to admire the 
skill which has been exercised in fixing a portion of 
the beautiful in one particular spot for the delecta¬ 
tion of visitors. 
Between the two types how much difference is 
there, and yet both are equally good examples of the 
cunning of the gardener's art. The private estab¬ 
lishment, in its fair serenity, needs no extraneous 
attractions to increase its charm ; the public institu¬ 
tion contains a more motley display, perhaps, but 
here the difficulty arises of warding off the in¬ 
congruity that may easily result from the combina¬ 
tion of the real with the artificial, and the association 
of the true with the spurious children of Flora. 
An instance of what can be effected in this way is 
afforded by that haunt of pleasure known as 
Olympia. At first thought it would appear impossible 
to reconcile the quiet beauty of flowers and shrubs 
with the painted screen, whereon those of the brush 
have represented various flowers which are well 
known, as well as others which have no existence in 
this world or in any other with which we are 
acquainted; the crack! crack! of the rifles in the 
shooting galleries, the innumerable fairy lights, and 
the scintillating hues of glass lustres, with the quiet 
and repose that characterise the domain of Flora; and 
yet something, and more than something, can be 
done when the eye of the artist and the mind of the 
gardener are found in the same individual. Mr. 
Bich, the garden superintendent at Olympia, is well 
known to many of our readers as the right man in 
the right place, and he is to be warmly congratulated 
upon the outcome of his efforts. An addition of 
nearly six acres in area, most of which is flower 
garden, has recently been made to the establishment, 
and this has been laid out in a most tasteful manner. 
Until quite recently, and from the time of the Irish 
Exhibition some eight years ago, this piece of ground 
was nothing but a rubbish heap, where Thistles and 
other interesting, but scarcely rare, plants flourished 
in peace. Now the transformation is complete. 
The feature that strikes one immediately on entering 
the garden is the presence of a large area of gravel in 
proportion to grass and flower beds, but we remember 
that this is very necessary, taking into consideration 
the myriads of feet that daily tramp over it. Stand¬ 
ing here we could scarce realise that we were still in 
the midst of smoky, dirty London, for the row of tall 
Poplars surrounding the grounds effectually obscured 
the sight of chimneys and other inartistic objects. 
Passing the cafe chantant, however, of course a French 
invention, the huge assemblage of chairs reminds us 
that a seething population is within easy distance, 
and our illusions as to country air vanish. One of 
the features of the garden is a large fountain, round 
which we see specimens of the handiwork of Messrs. 
Pulham & Son, of Broxbourne, in the shape of an 
enclosing wall of fancy rockwork, in which are 
nestling many handsome rock plants. A small rock 
garden, crossed by a rustic bridge, forms another 
pretty feature, and one which, when the plants it 
contains have had time to establish themselves, will 
certainly not lack attractiveness. 
The large new hall which leads to these lately laid 
out grounds was built under the personal supervision 
of Mr. George Taylor, who, by the way, is responsible 
for the erection of nearly the whole of Olympia. It 
is in this hall that the flower shows recently 
inaugurated by the company have been held, and an 
inspection on those occasions had convinced us that 
no better venue for a flower show could be found in 
the whole of London, for there is any amount of 
space, and, above all, plenty of light. 
The long promenade at the other side of the main 
building is just now ablaze with Rhododendrons in 
a great number of shades, and comprising many of 
the leading varieties. Miniature waterfalls froth and 
gurgle in various shady nooks and corners where 
rockwork has been erected. All of these were 
designed and built by Mr. Bick's own hands, and, to 
say the least of it, they do him infinite credit. The 
most prominent artificial element in this promenade 
is the myriads of glass lustres pendant from a frame¬ 
work overhead. Their somewhat garish display 
would, we were informed, be toned down consider¬ 
ably in the course of a few days, when over 400 
baskets of plants would be distributed about. Ivy¬ 
leaved Pelargoniums are great favourites here for 
basket work. We must not leave the promenade 
without mentioning the rustic seats, arbours, etc., 
which abounded, all of them fashioned by the 
cunning hands of Mr. Bick. In one or two cases 
doors that would have been unsightly were clothed 
with sheets of virgin cork, and in the various pockets 
thus created numbers of plants were flourishing. 
The walls of the building, as well as some of the 
rustic arbours, were covered with the graceful 
branches of Ampelopsis quinquefolia, than which 
there is no more accommodating or useful town 
plant. 
The Palmarium, which is nearly an acre in extent, 
is well worth a visit. The light of the sun is well 
nigh an unknown visitor here, and the place is 
illumined by numerous electric orbs scattered about. 
It is curious to note the behaviour of the Palms 
under these trying conditions. Many of them have 
been immured here for considerably over six months, 
and yet they are not dead or anything near it. Most 
of them are making growth which only appears to 
differ from that made under normal conditions by 
its being somewhat paler in hue. This can easily 
be accounted for ; indeed, the wonder is that it is so 
well coloured. As far as substance goes the fronds 
formed under the influence of the electric light are as 
good as those developed under the more cheering light 
of the sun. A large plant of Bambusa metake has 
been behaving in a similar manner, for the newly- 
formed leaves exhibit almost the normal depth of 
green colouring. There are numerous fine specimens 
of Trachycarpus excelsa, Seaforthia elegans, Latania 
borbonica, and Corypha australis, most of which 
were brought from Monte Carlo. Here also an 
element of the artificial had crept in. Some of the 
plants were made up specimens, the leaves they bore 
being real leaves chemically treated by some astute 
German. Beyond a suspicious shine and gloss these 
doctored leaves looked no different from the ones 
borne by the real plants at their sides, and it was 
extremely difficult to tell without close inspection 
which were the natural and which the artificial. 
-< 1 — — 
A LAND OF FLOWERS. 
If there is a land that more than any other deserves 
this title it is Ceylon, the “ Pearl of India,” the 
" resplendent island,” where strange and lovely 
flowers in indescribable profusion vie with the 
gorgeous humming birds, the wondrously hued 
butterflies, and the swarms of scintillating fireflies 
in splendour and brilliancy of colouring. The water 
Lillies and water birds seem made to match each 
other in colour; for the pink and white of the 
charming Lilies find a counterpart in the pink and 
white of the flamingoes and cranes that hover ever 
more around them. The fireflies find their dupli¬ 
cates in the uncanny phosphorescent light of various 
microscopic orange and yellow parasitic growths 
with which the woods abound. The Orchids, un¬ 
surpassed in mimicry, seem to have fashioned their 
forms after those of the grotesque insects that visit 
them, and whose wondrous and varied hues they 
seem to repeat. The Moth Orchids look for all the 
world like clusters of gray, spotted, downy creatures 
clinging to the boughs in the forest, to awaken after 
dusk into a carnival of beauty. Here is the home 
of the Nepenthes, and here they spread their pitchers 
to catch as food the unwary fly, whose raiment of 
tinsel and gold protects it not. In the groves of 
sweet Cinnamon the dove loves to nestle, and the 
waving plumes of stately palms abound on every 
hand. 
The sacred mountain of pilgrimage, Adams Peak, 
is ablaze with Rhodendrons, giants in size, and 
wonderful to behold. Ruins of ancient cities, con¬ 
temporaries of Babylon and Nineveh, with monoliths, 
statues, temples, palaces and avenues galore, splendid 
even in their decay, are now festooned by the Passion¬ 
flower, the golden Allamanda, and the Moon-flower, 
a Convolvulus that opens not its blooms until the 
night-time. Of the grand old race of men that 
reared these giant relics of masonry nothing remains, 
except it be a few savages, barely numbering two 
thousand in all, and who in their dwarfed and 
stunted bodies and minds closely resemble the 
pigmies of darkest Africa. 
Life is easy to maintain here in this land of per¬ 
petual summer, so easy in fact, that enervation and 
enfeeblement have overtaken these children of a 
glorious past. Bananas, Cocoanuts, Mangoes, 
Plantains, Bread-fruit, Tamarinds, and even the 
delicious Mangosten offer themselves in abundance; 
and literally one has but to pluck, eat, and live. 
Nature has surpassed herself in liberality in dealing 
with this gem of the Indian Ocean. It is scarcely to 
be wondered at, therefore, that Ceylon has so largely 
figured in the imaginations of Eastern story tellers 
who are fond of describing it as the land where 
precious stones and gems of every kind are to be 
had in abundance by those who seek. 
-- 
Gardening Jiscellany. 
SEDUM SIEBOLD1 VARIEGATUM. 
This is one of the most charming and distinct 
variegated Stonecrops, and, whilst quite hardy, is 
well worthy of cultivation as a pot plant for room or 
conservatory decoration. Its pretty pink blooms, 
and beautifully arranged foliage, impart to it a most 
distinct and attractive appearance. Like many other 
variegated plants it has a tendency to revert to the 
original green form, but all such growths, when 
observed, should be cut out in spring when signs of 
fresh growth are commencing. It can easily be 
divided, and should be firmly potted in a compost of 
sandy loam. Cuttings of the young growths, 2 in. in 
length, root freely under similar conditions to 
Verbenas and other soft wooded plants.-— W.B.G. 
SUTTON'S EARLY PROLIFIC PEA. 
Evidently this is a very useful, hardy, early Pea. 
Recently I saw some rows of this kind looking grand 
in the gardens of Sherborne School. As soon as I 
saw the rows I was induced to ask Mr. Dean, the 
gardener, what kind it was, as the plants looked so 
remarkably vigorous. He remarked that he found 
this kind one of the very best for early work, for 
supplying the school, as it was so very productive. 
It is an early, white, round-seeded kind. A Pea of 
this kind is just the one for those who want a 
quantity. It grows 4 ft. high.— Chard. 
A FINE COLLECTION OF SWEET PEAS. 
For some time past Sweet Peas have been held in 
high esteem at Park Place, Henley-on-Thames, both 
for their high decorative value in the flower garden 
as well as for their exceptional usefulness for cutting 
from. This year the collection includes eighty 
varieties, the cream of the collections of a number of 
specialists in the culture and improvement of this 
showy flower. Each variety is sown in a small 
clump or short row by itself, 2 ft. or 3 ft. of space 
separating the clumps. When the plants are in full 
bloom the spectacle can scarcely fail to be a magnifi¬ 
cent one. 
EPIPHYLLUM MAKOYANUM. 
The beauty of this plant is considerable, and though 
it has some affinity with E. russellianum Gaertneri, 
it is strikingly distinct from E. truncatum. The 
widely expanded flowers with their numerous lanceo¬ 
late petals remind one of a Cereus, but their orange- 
scarlet colour is very different. The plant is of 
elegantly drooping habit, and the short, oblong, 
flattened shoots bear four flowers at the tip of each 
of the terminal or end joints. Older ones bear about 
two flowers each. A well grown and flowered plant 
is therefore a telling object on account of the number 
of blooms expanded at the same time. Recently we 
noted a number of plants in excellent condition in 
the nursery of Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea. 
A house with an intermediate temperature suits this 
plant best. 
