April 30, 1898. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
553 
the better plan would be to grow the plants in rough 
baskets or boxes, and bring these up to the required 
height by placing them on a pedestal of bricks or 
other boxes. A depth of 2 ft. of water will be the 
maximum, and 18 in. will be a good medium. 
SPRING FLOWERS IN HYDE PARK. 
Amongst dwellers in "the country there is a very 
prevalent idea that to the teeming multitudes in 
town and city the faces of the flowers are but the 
faces of strangers, which stray into their midst inci¬ 
dentally, but which have no settled abode in the 
smoke and bustle of the busy haunts of men. To 
such people the magnificent floral effects that are, 
year by year, prepared for the benefit of the public 
in the parks and open spaces of the metropolis are 
an unknown quantity, and it is not difficult to 
imagine the astonishment that would be exhibited 
were they able to take just a peep at some of these 
Narcissi, and Tulips galore have been blooming with 
right good will for the past fortnight, and we ques¬ 
tion very much if they have ever appeared to greater 
advantage. The Hyacinths, in particular, have been 
much above the average, and this in a season when 
there has been a good deal of complaint in many 
quarters that the consignments of bulbs from 
Holland have not been so good as usual. With 
commendable foresight, however, a superior lot of 
bulbs was obtained by the authorities by paying a 
higher price than ordinary, and no one can doubt 
that the departure was a wise one. The firm who 
supplied the bulbs, Messrs. Jas. Carter & Co., of 
High Holborn, have every reason for congratulation 
upon the results, whilst the triumph of the able park 
superintendent, Mr. W. Browne, who has planned 
and arranged their disposition with such consum¬ 
mate skill is as complete. 
No elaborate associations of colours have been 
attempted, but considerable attention has been given 
Hyacinths Grand Maitre, Mirandolina, Grandeur a 
Merveille, Charles Dickens (in blue and rose 
varieties), Robert Stieger, General Havelock, and 
Queen of Hyacinths. A good deal of variety has 
thus been obtained and the general effect is good. 
Further on, between the Stanhope and Grosvenor 
Gates, the flower garden becomes considerably 
wider, a large grass area encircled by gravel walks 
having numerous beds of various sizes laid out upon 
it. Here there are to be seen some grand masses of 
Hyacinths, large beds being completely filled with 
one variety. These beds have been planted in pairs, 
one on the eastern and the other on the western side 
of the enclosed space. Such sorts as Marie Stuart, 
white; Sir H. Barkley, deep blue-black; Mdme. 
Hodson, pale rose; and Gertrude, rich rose; have 
acquitted themselves wonderfully well, the uni¬ 
formity of height, the size of the flower spikes, and 
the time of flowering, bearing unmistakeable 
evidence of careful sorting of the bulbs. Several 
Border of Tulips and Hyacinths in Hyde Park. 
displays which the true Londoner takes very much 
as a matter of course. 
The 400 acres of Hyde Park afford something 
more than a vast promenade to the ranks of fashion¬ 
able society, for flowers are distributed with great 
profusion, and, it may be added with excellent 
taste, and their bright hues add much to the gaiety 
of the scene that may be seen there on any bright 
spring day. The face of spring in the park may not 
be the modestly beautiful one that the countryman 
knows and loves, for the subtle jade has not dis¬ 
dained to add the blandishments of art to the charms 
of nature, but for all that, it is a vastly pleasurable 
experience to make her acquaintance, and to pass an 
hour amongst the hosts of floral subjects that she 
has called into being. 
As usual, the greatest effort has been made on 
that side of the park nearest to Park Lane, Adhere a 
series of rather formally shaped beds, cut out in the 
grass, run from a little above the entrance at Hyde 
Park Corner to the Marble Arch. There, Hyacinths, 
to simple and effective contrasts of two colours. 
That time-honoured association of blue and yellow is 
worked out in a variety of ways, and appears at 
almost every turn, white not unfrequently beiDg 
added, whilst the combination of red, white, and 
blue is to be met with in several places. 
Entering from Hyde Park Corner, the first bed, 
and a very pretty one, is filled with the blue 
Hyacinth Regulus, interspersed with and overtopped 
by Narcissus Sir Watkin. An edging is furnished 
by two rows of H. Mont Blanc. Another effective 
bed has an edging of two rows of H. Regulus, the 
centre block consisting of the rich rose H. Incom¬ 
parable, interspersed with Jonquil Campernelle. A 
red, white, and blue bed all of Hyacinths is 
exceedingly rich. The red is furnished by Mdme. 
Rachel, the white by Mdme. Van der Hoop, and the 
blue by Orondates. Most of the beds here are 
oblong in shape, and such handsome Daffodils as 
Golden Spur, Emperor, Empress, and Sir Watkin 
have been freely employed in conjunction with 
smaller round beds give abundant evidence of the 
effectiveness of the blue and yellow contrast. The 
blue is furnished by a groundwork of Scilla sibirica, 
and the yellow by Narcissus Sir Watkin, N. Horse- 
fieldii, N. Emperor, or N. maximus thinly planted. 
The Tulips are rather later than the Hyacinths, 
but the earlier ones are fully as good, and the later 
ones promise well. They are planted in consider¬ 
able numbers both in the beds in the enclosed area 
above referred to and on the Park Lane side. Near 
the Grosvenor Gate is a fine mass of Keizer Kroon. 
This is a warm corner, being well sheltered on the 
east and north and the Tulips have signified 
their satisfaction by especially good behaviour. 
Proserpine, also a fine Tulip, has come rather 
badly from some reason or other, but Ophir d’Or 
has made the most of its opportunities. 
Several mixed beds in which Tulips have been 
mixed with Doronicum plantagineum are to 
be seen hereabouts, and very pretty they are, 
for the Doronicum has a delightful shade of 
