June 22, 1901. 
691 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
gases which it contains. Powdered charcoal is an 
effectual deodoriser of manures, and is far better 
than quick lime, as instead of driving off the ammonia 
it stores it. 
C00MBE WOOD NURSERY. 
Whoever loves hardy trees and shrubs could not 
fail to be interested by a visit of inspection to the 
Coombe Wood Nursery, Kingston-on-Thames, of 
Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Ltd. It is situated on 
Kingston Hill, and is easily reached from Norbiton 
or Kingston stations, the former being the nearer. 
The entrance to the nursery is from the main road 
over the hill from Kingston to London. That part 
of the grounds is level, and occupied with various 
kinds of nursery stock. As soon as the visitor 
reaches the southern slope of the hill, he looks down 
into a valley, the opposite slopes of which are occu¬ 
pied by Coombe Wood, which at this season of the 
year is very attractive. The nearer slopes and all 
the level ground is occupied with flowering trees and 
shrubs, and Conifers in great variety. From early 
spring onwards, something or other may be found in 
bloom, while the foliage subjects are interesting at 
all times, from their varied tints at the time of 
expansion to the glories of the fading and falling 
leafage. 
By the side of a walk not far from the offices is a 
handsome specimen of Acer palmatum, about 25 ft. 
high and as far through. This, we should think, is 
one of the finest trees of this Japanese Maple in the 
country. Genista praecox, grown in the form of 
standards, makes a very interesting subject, and 
useful for conservatory work when in bloom. The 
sombre tints of the Japanese evergreen Oak (Quercus 
acuta) are striking by contrast with the light green 
of the Maple just mentioned and other subjects. 
Solanum crispum is usually trained upon a wall, but 
here it stands in the open, though more or less 
sheltered by some trees. Its mauve coloured 
flowers are produced over a long period. The May 
flowering Genista purgans is also grown in the form 
of standards, and its golden yellow flowers are very 
effective. Two other Japanese Maples arrested our 
attention, namely, the finely cut Acer palmatum 
palmatifidum, and the purple leaved A. p. dissectum 
purpureum. These Maples are hardier than they 
usually get credit for. Certainly one of the best of 
the ornamental ^Brambles is Rubus deliciosus with 
its large white flowers. Many people consider it the 
best. Maule’s Quince (Pyrus Maulei) is handsome 
when its orange-salmon flowers are open, and highly 
interesting in fruit. A fine bush of the Japanese 
Dogwood (Cornus macrophylla) stands 25 ft. high. 
Equally fine in its way is Magnolia stellata rosea, 8 
ft. high, and producing its rosy flowers during March 
and April, earlier or later according to the state of 
the weather. 
In the way of fine foliage plants, we might mention 
the cut-leaved form of the scarlet-fruited Elder, 
Sambucus racemosa serratifolia. The opening tints 
of the golden variety of it (S. r. s. foliis aureis) were 
also very fine. Very dwarf and suitable for various 
purposes, such as the front of shrubberies, or for 
planting on exposed parts of the rockery, is Ribes 
pumilum aureum. Very distinct in its way is 
Cerasus Laurocerasus schipkensis, a small leaved 
variety of the Cherry Laurel from the Schipka Pass. 
Acer palmatum roseo-marginatum has coppery- 
yellow leaves when opening, edged with rose. The 
yellow hue of A. p. flavescens is also attractive. The 
palmately divided leaves of A. japonicum vitifolium 
are also very handsome ; the tree of it is 10 ft. high 
and very handsome. Strictly speaking, Daphni- 
phyllum glaucescens is a foliage plant, the large 
leaves being nol unlike those of some of the larger 
Himalayan Rhododendrons. The flowers of the 
female plant are inconspicuous, but those of the male 
are very numerous, the red anthers being rather 
striking in the mass. 
The Japanese Cherry, Prunus Pseudo-cerasus, is 
now much used for spring forcing. There are 
several varieties of it in cultivation, some of which 
are finding their way into British establishments. The 
darkest flowered of all we have seen is P. P. James 
H. Veitch, which received a First class Certificate 
from the Royal Horticultural Society on May 16th, 
1899. Pavia macrostachya form^ a bush rather 
than a tree, and produces its racemes of white 
flowers much later in the season than the better 
known species of Horse Chestnut. Pretty and 
interesting is the hybrid Escallonia langleyensis, 
with its pink flowers, not yet open, however. An 
idea exists that Eucryphia pinnatifolia is not quite 
hardy, but the original tree here has now reached a 
height of 14 ft., and flowers grandly every year. 
The winter flowering Hamamelis arborea stands 10 
ft. high ; Cornus brachypoda, 25 ft. high; and the 
rare Stuartia Pseudo-camellia, 15 ft. high, and the 
latter will presently be in full bloom. The light 
yellow flowered Abelia serrata stood out all the 
winter, and commenced blooming in May. A very 
dwarf Almond suitable for small gardens is 
Amygdalus nana, with small leaves and pink flowers. 
The Hawthorn scented Escallonia phillipiana, one of 
the parents of E. langleyensis, also does well here. 
In the bottom of the valley where the soil is 
deeper, richer and presumably moister during the 
winter months, quantities of the more common and 
useful trees for planting in streets, parks, and 
pleasure grounds are grown. Some of these to 
which we refer are Limes, Planes, Willows, Poplars, 
and Crab Apples. Salix vitellina britzensis is not¬ 
able for the peculiar red shade of the smooth and 
shining surface of the bark of last year’s shoots. 
The London Plane is grown as standards with 6 ft. 
of clear stem, and the trees range from 10 ft. to 15 
ft. in height. The variegated Negunda aceroldes 
variegatum is also grown in the form of standards. 
The myriads of flowers produced by Pyrus Malus 
floribunda range from pink to white when fully 
expanded, though the buds are darker. The variety 
P. M. f. atrosanguinea is rosy crimson and white, 
and when grown in proximity to the type the 
contrast is great. P. M. Scheideckerii has semi¬ 
double flowers, with crimson buds, changing to rosy- 
white when fully expanded. It is a handsome tree 
and as it blooms late it forms a succession to P. M. 
floribunda. The beauty and utility of these Crab 
Apples in the pleasure grounds can hardly be over¬ 
rated. They have two seasons or periods of beauty, 
namely, in May, when the trees bloom, and again in 
autumn when the fruits assume their bright colours, 
which they retain till Christmas at least, if left hang¬ 
ing on the trees. 
Standard Rhododendrons are also grown in the 
valley bottom, and the soil seems to suit them admir¬ 
ably, judging from the quantity of blossom they pro¬ 
duce. At the time of our visit some Bamboos were 
growing here also, but the intention was to plant a 
Bamboo garden with all the hardy varieties of which 
there is an admirable collection at the Coombe 
Wood Nursery in tubs. The Umbrella Pine 
(Sciadopitys verticillata) is grown in considerable 
numbers, in trees ranging from 2 ft. to 6 ft. in height. 
The purple tinted flowers of Magnolia soulangeana 
are fairly well known, but we noted another form 
with much darker flowers, namely, M. S. nigra, hav¬ 
ing long, dark purple petals. Anoiher very hand¬ 
some and comparatively new Magnolia is M. Watsoni 
with pure wh'ite flowers. A fine specimen 8 ft. high 
should now be in full bloom. A beautiful tree of the 
rare Acer carpinifolium stands 12 ft. high, and is 
clothed with leaves more like those of a Hornbeam 
than a Maple, as they are plaited and serrate, but 
otherwise undivided. Carpinus cordata is a Horn¬ 
beam with heart-shaped leaves, and serrated bracts. 
Two species of Sty rax from Japan are still rare in 
this country, namely, S. Obassia, with large leaves, 
and S. japonica, with small leaves. The former 
stands 15 ft. high, and the latter 12 ft., which should 
testify to their hardiness. Both of the species 
blossom handsomely every year and one can scarcely 
help wondering why these free flowering subjects with 
their bell-shaped white flowers like Snowdrops are 
not represented in every garden of any size. Two un¬ 
common Dogwoods are Cornus brachypoda variegata, 
and C. florida pendula, the latter having their small 
flowers surrounded by large white bracts which the 
casual observer would take to be the flowers. 
Trochodendron aralioides belongs to the Magnolia 
family and is remarkable for the flowers being with¬ 
out petals, or sepals, so that the stamens appear in 
tiers upon the floral axis. The obovate leaves are 
evergreen. A plant of Aralia crassifolia, usually 
grown in the greenhouse, stood out all winter, the 
stem being 4 ft. high, and the droopiDg, leathery, 
undivided leaves 12 in. to 18 in. long. Viburnum 
tomentosum Mariesii has plaited leaves and rayed 
trusses of blossom like the British Guelder Rose. 
Another uncommon Japanese shrub is Caesalpinia 
japonica treated as a sort of climber, being trained 
upon a trellis in the open. Its panicles of yellow 
flowers are very freely produced. The hardy Orange 
Citrus trifoliata was in full bloom about a month 
ago. 
The Lilacs are now out of bloom, but we noted a 
number of splendid varieties, all of them quite in 
the front rank of the best modern types. The 
flowers of Dr. Masters are soft lilac, double and pro¬ 
duced in large upright trusses. Arthur W. Paul is 
also double, but the flowers are crimson in bud and 
deep purple when fully expanded. Those of Leon 
Simon are double mauve ; Michael Buchner, pink 
in bud, changing to mauve, the double flowers being 
produced in huge trusses. Very choice is Madame 
Casimir Perier with double white flowers. The buds 
of Congo are red but as the blooms expand they 
change to rosy purple. Though a single variety it is 
distinct and handsome. The double lilac flowers of 
Doyen Keteleer are produced in a dense pyramidal 
truss, and like most of the above, it may be 
described as blooming later than the old early 
varieties with small trusses. The improvements in 
colour, size of truss and flower have been great. 
COLOUR IN THE FLOWER GARDEN. 
It is the gardener’s aim to devote his attention not 
merely to practical and mechanical work, but also to 
scientific study. The one is indispensable to the 
other in the ultimate mastery of the subject. This 
is but a natural conclusion when one considers what 
a glorious art gardening is, and the strides it has 
made during the long reign of our late beloved 
Queen Victoria, who, as everyone knows, evinced a 
great love for flowers. 
Plants have been discovered year after year, 
different varieties of a plant " sported," until at last 
almost every colour imaginable can now be exhibited 
in bloom or foliage. Every young gardener's am¬ 
bition should be to attain the higher grade of the 
art, and study not only the mechanical but also the 
aesthetic side. 
Walking in either country or town one frequently 
sees an inharmonious distribution of colour in the 
flower gardens and borders. The clashing of colour 
upon colour is enough to disgust the most casual 
eye. 
If a musician were to hear a succession of discords 
struck on the piano or any other instrument, he 
would naturally experience a very unenviable sensa¬ 
tion ; so it is with the gardener (worthy of the name), 
whose eye is blinded, as it were, by the confused 
mass of ill-blending colours. 
Few people pay due attention to colour harmony, 
or are imbued with the natural gift of discernment; 
let them learn by observing Nature, who is a good 
colourist, and if we trust to her guidance, we cannot 
be led far astray—her laws are the best. One never 
finds wrong colouring in wood, meadow or moun¬ 
tain. 
My intention in this little article is to put before 
the reader, in the simplest form possible, the right 
and wrong way to use colour in the flower garden. 
The most beautiful part of a garden is a well placed 
and well arranged mixed border. Its general appear¬ 
ance should be rough and natural, with no uniformity 
or exactness whatever. Harmony rather than con¬ 
trast should be aimed at as a rule. 
A progression of colour in a mixed border might 
begin with strong blues (light and dark) mingled 
with white and pale yellow and blending into pink, 
which will start the warm colours, viz., rose, crim¬ 
son, strongest scarlet and brown, and these can 
harmonise into orange and bright yellow. A paler 
yellow followed by white would distinctly combine 
the warm colours with purple and lilac, and a cojder 
white would blend them pleasantly with low growing 
plants and cool-coloured leaves. All these lovely 
colours can be thrown into relief by a background 
of shrubs. 
The following are a few of the hardy and half- 
hardy annuals, biennials and perennials most prefer¬ 
able for a mixed or herbaceous border :—Adonis 
(aestivalis), dark scarlet, 1 ft.; China Asters, various, 
2 ft., Convolvulus minor, various, 1 ft.; Helianthus 
Stella, golden yellow, 4 ft. ; Impatiens Sultani, rose 
scarlet, 2 ft.; Canterbury Bells, various, 2 ft.; Lark¬ 
spur, various, 3 ft.; Godetia Duchess of Albany, 
white, 1 ft. ; Petunias, various, ft. ; Lupines, 
various, 2 ft.; Phlox Drummondii, various, 1 ft. ; 
and Poppy Mikado, red and white, i£ ft. Shrubs 
and Ferns would look well dotted here and there, to 
remove the monotony of ceaseless bloom. 
