August 12, 1893. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
789 
VIOLAS AT CHISWICK. 
The collection of Violas now being grown upon trial 
in the gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society at 
Chiswick is very extensive. They are planted in 
beds upon the grass alongside of the middle walk, 
and some of them are grown upon a narrow border 
running along the back of a Box hedge on the same 
piece of ground The planting was accomplished in 
March and the beds mulched with coco-nut fibre. 
The Violas commenced flowering soon after, and 
have continued in a very floriferous condition ever 
since. There are blanks in some of the beds where 
the plants have died off, but this defect is entirely 
confined to those b'eds which were occupied with 
Violas last year ; and if the cause of their dying off 
is attributable to that fact, it suggests a rotation of 
crops as the remedy or else the supplying of some 
necessary constituent of plant food which the plants 
abstract from the soil 
in greater quantity than 
ordinary stable manure 
or Nature supplies in the 
course of a season. Not¬ 
withstanding this fact the 
trial has demonstrated 
that Violas will grow 
and give satisfaction even 
in the south of England 
and the neighbourhood of 
London,if cultivators only 
take a slight precaution 
with regard to their ' 
necessary requirements, 
which are not numerous. 
They can be depended 
upon for "bedding pur¬ 
poses,even on a somewhat 
extensive scale, for which 
the numerous first-class * 
varieties offer every facil¬ 
ity. Cuttings dibbled into 
cold frames in September 
will give any quantity of 
plants for putting out in 
March or later according 
to convenience, but the 
earlier the better. 
Varieties Receiving 
Three Marks. 
The committee appointed 
to examine the subjects on 
trial at Chiswick have 
given three marks to 
eleven of the varieties in 
the beds, and which were 
grown there last year. 
With two exceptions they 
have been given to va¬ 
rieties of the ordinary'type 
and two have been given 
to rayless Violas. These 
last have been consider¬ 
ably increased by a fresh 
addition, but although 
they include several splen¬ 
did varieties, no awards 
have yet been given. 
Possibly a longer acquaintance with them is desired 
before coming to any decision. The award given 
to William Neil is very deserving, for its light rosy 
flowers are very pretty and are produced in profusion. 
all through the season. The self-coloured dark blue- 
purple Mrs. C. Turner was also recognised. The 
stems are dwarf and flower very continuously. 
Bridesmaid is now getting pretty well known as a 
free flowering primrose-yellow kind with a darker 
lip. Victoria is related to Countess of Hopetoun in 
the robust stems and foliage, but is more vigorous 
than that variety, and the large somewhat wavy 
flow'ers are of a purer white with a small yellow eye 
Of all the yellow kinds, Ardwell Gem is a most 
valuable and persistent bloomer, with procumbent 
stems, and large pale yellow flow'ers, with a darker 
lip. Less refined if a more robust grower is Lord 
Elcho, with Lrgc, nearly circular, deep yellow 
flowers, and a golden lip. A large white variety 
with long blue rays on the three lower petals has 
received the same approbation as the rest, but there 
are many other varieties which we should prefer to it. 
The petals are thin and the flower is by no means 
particularly refined. Amongst particoloured flowers 
Queen of Scots is a handsome sort, but it does not 
always flower very satisfactorily. The flowers may 
be described as white, with a rich violet-purple 
centre hiding the rays. Of quite another colour is 
The Mearns, the three lower petals being deep 
purple, and the upper ones purple at the base, while 
the remainder is white suffused with pale blue. 
Amongst rayless Violas the two that received the 
distinction were Sylvia and George Muirhead. The 
latter is the most distinct, having primrose-yellow 
flowers, and a darker lip, with a golden-yellow blotch 
extending in five rays down upon it. The plant is 
dwarf, robust, and free flowering. We fail to see 
that Sylvia differs so widely from the Countess of 
Hopetoun to warrant-the retention of both, particu¬ 
larly in a limited collection. We should also have 
given the three marks to Sylvia White or King of 
Whites, for they are one and the same thing for all 
practical purposes, and a keen eye fails to distinguish 
between them. They have large, circular, pure 
white flowers, while those of Sylvia are creamy-white. 
Good Old Sorts not Certificated. 
Besides the above there are numerous other varieties 
which have flowered well and which find numerous 
admirers amongst various classes of society, and 
some of which will be largely cultivated whether 
they are certificated or not. Amongst the edged 
varieties are Duchess of Fife and Goldfinch, both 
sports from Ardwell Gem, and have the same habit. 
They are now so well known and esteemed that 
description is unnecessary. Blue Cloud is an 
admirable white variety with a blue edge, but it 
flowers best in spring and again in the autumn. 
Columbine is a beautiful old Pansy with a banded 
edge, but that, as well as Lucy Ashton, can hardly be 
kept true to name in certain seasons, as they become 
heavily striped or else sport into a very dark shade 
of colour. Seedlings from them behave in the same 
outrageous way. Those who like striped flowers 
cannot complain of their absence this year. A 
curious mixture of colours is Moonlight, which 
some admire and others do not. All of the above 
are exceedingly floriferous. 
Variously coloured flowers are very numerous 
and a free-flowering one in the way of The Mearns 
is Neptune, the three lower petals of which are plum 
purple with a white blotch at the edge, while the 
top petals are white shaded with lavender. The top 
petals of Ariel are deep sky blue, while the rest are 
white, variously edged. It is an attractive little 
flower. Rosine has the three lower petals rosy- 
purple, and the upper petals white with a rose base 
vanishing on to the white. Even prettier is Princess 
Beatrice, which has the three lower petals of a dark 
rose with the base of all three of a blackish violet 
and the upper two of a soft rose. The combination 
is very attractive, and would no doubt be prized by 
those who like particoloured flowers. Quite of 
another type are the clouded flowers of Dawn of 
Day and Lilias. The former is rather an unsatis¬ 
factory plant to grow, but it succeeds handsomely at 
Chiswick. The flowers get to large size, and are 
clouded, veined, netted or 
splashed with pale lilac- 
blue in a varying manner 
in different flowers. There 
must be some peculiarity 
of soil here which enables 
it to appear to such advan¬ 
tage,for in other suburban 
gardens it thrives but in¬ 
differently The flowers 
of Lilias, on the other 
hand, are white, netted 
with sky blue on the upper 
petals, and on the edges 
of the rest. They are de¬ 
lightfully fragrant, and 
the plant is easy to grow. 
Marchioness of Tweed- 
dale is a free flowering 
white variety, but at some 
parts of the year it be¬ 
comes splashed with light 
blue Several good white 
and creamy white va¬ 
rieties have already been 
mentioned amongst those 
receiving three marks. A 
comparativelynew variety 
is Annie King, of a soft 
lilac w ith a bronzy orange 
blotch extending down 
from the eye. It is a free 
bloomer. Of the paler 
blue varieties, none in 
our opinion excel Duchess 
of Sutherland, which may 
be described as lavender 
with the top petals faintly 
tinted with purple. It 
is extremely floriferous all 
through the season. In 
some collections we have 
seen it for years under 
the names of Mrs. Turner 
and Bessie Clark, w-hich 
shouldj'go to prove its 
popularity. It is used to 
a considerable extent in 
the neighbourhood of 
London; at least for mixing with Pelargoniums in 
bedding designs, for which the somewhat rambling 
stems are well adapted, while the flowers offer a 
most beautiful contrast to the foliage of bicolor 
Pelargoniums. 
Amongst dark blue kinds we should mention the 
free flowering Holyrood, the rich violet blue of 
Archibald Grant, the violet purple of Archibald 
Cameron and the dark blue purple of Mrs. C. Turner 
already mentioned. From thence they graduate to’ 
the crimson purple of Crimson King and the reddish 
purple of' Trentham Purple. The rosy William Neil, 
quite indispensible, has already been mentioned. 
Amongst good yellow varieties, Ardwell Gem and 
Lord Elcho have also been noted. Wonder forms a 
beautiful contrast to Ardwell Gem in its close, erect 
habit. If not crowded by other plants, nor too' 
closely grown by itself, it is also very dwarf and 
flowers from the earliest spring till late in the 
autumn. It has gone off rather badly at Chiswick 
this year, but we are familiar with its capabilities in 
other gardens, and should not dispense with it. The 
flowers are primrose yellow with a darker lip. Many 
growers consider Bullion the best yellow for bedding. 
