March 28, 1903. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
L7l 
Round the Nurseries. 
Messrs. R- B. Laird and Sons, Limited, Nurseries, 
Pinkhill, Edinburgh. 
The opening of the Corstorphine Branch Railway (N.B.R.) 
has brought these * 1 well-known nurseries within ten minutes of 
the centre of the city, the Pinkhill Station being situated within 
a few yards of the nursery gates. The increasing trade of the 
firm first necessitated the addition of the “ Beeehwood Mains 
Nursery,” and more recently that of “ The Glebe,” Corstorphine. 
The total area, now under stock is quite 40 acres. 
The “ Beeehwood Mains portion of the nursery is entirely 
devoted to forest and ornamental trees, fruit trees, and Roses, 
and of each of the above the firm has large and healthy stocks. 
Hy courtesy of R. Veitck and Son. 
A Striped French Marigold, showing most of the points of a °-ood 
exhibition flower. Margins of florets rich velvety brown, evenly 
defined, with the centre line golden yellow. (See pctqe 274.) 
Pinkhill, from whence has emanated many of the finest 
florist flowers in the United Kingdom (especially Pansies), is as 
attractive as ever, but, in common with horticulture in general, 
its attractions have been modified since the days of “ Downie & 
baird. ’ The Pansy—where is it? And the show and fancy 
Dahlias—are they popular as ever? But there are compensa¬ 
tions. 
A large portion of this, nursery is devoted to ornamental and 
I flowering shrubs and Coniferae, and amongst these there is 
much to interest and .attract, even on a. day in early March. A 
“ breadth ” of Rhododendron nobleanum in full bloom and 
another of well-berried Pemettyas give warmth and dolour. 
The latter included a batch of seedlings showing a very dwarf 
habit, and likely to. be useful for smaller rockeries. There are 
considerable “ breadth ” of Oleariu Ilaastii, Veronica Traversii, 
and Choisya ternata ; the last-named has proved itself hardier 
than Aucuba japonica, individual plants of this lovely shrub 
having suffered more or less from the short, sharp spell of frost. 
The firm is strong in Coniferae, as may be judged from the 
fact that their group at the September Show of the Royal 
Caledonian Horticultural Society embraced 135 distinct 
varieties. Among less-known things we noticed were Abies 
pungens Ivosterii, A. p. pendula, Cupressus lawsoniana. filifera 
! ft'lauca, C. 1. versicolor, C. 1. Wisseli, Picea nobilis glauca, P. 
Pinsapo glauca, and Retinospora filifera aurea. 
The firm is strong in Ivies, having a. stock of over 10,000 in 
j great variety. In the large-leaved section we noticed Hedera 
. al?eriensis. H. amurensis, H. dentata and H. rhomboidea 
obovata ; and among the small-leaved section we noted H. Helix 
palmata, H. H. sagittifolia, and PI. H. taurica. 
A cool house is devoted to variegated Ivies, and the collection 
includes numerous gems, embracing Mrs. Pollock and Russell’s 
Gold, both “ emeralds chased in gold,” and H. tricolor—a real 
tricolor variety. 
Although mostly asleep, or only half awake yet, there is a 
varied collection of florists’ flowers and mixed herbaceous and 
alpine plants. 
Under glass there is much to interest, at all seasons. The 
lofty cool house, where the late Mr. John. Downie used to 
“ house ” his huge specimen Rhododendrons for the spring 
show, contains some large specimen Palms and Camellias, a 
collection of Ivy-leaved Pelargoniums, and another of Japanese 
Maples. Among the latter we noted Acer polymorphum atro- 
purpureum, A. p. sanguineum, and A. p. roseo-marginatum. 
There are several houses devoted to Palms, the Ann doing a 
large business in the way of decorating for both public and 
private functions. Kentia. belmoreana, K. fosteriana, Phoenix 
reclinata, P. rupicola. and P. sylvestris are found to be about 
the most suitable for this “rough-and-tumble” life. The in¬ 
creasingly popular Bamboos are also utilised here for this work 
with much acceptance. 
We found the “show house” gay with Azaleas, Hyacinths, 
Lily of the Valley, Spiraeas, and other forced plants. A 
number of half specimens of Erica, melanthera in this house 
were of a darker purple shade than ever we have observed 
By courtesy of Daniels Bros. Ltd • 
Achillaea mongolica, a hardy perennial flower, suitable for the 
border or the rock garden, with stems 12 to 18 inches high, bearing 
corymbs of large pure white flowers. (Seepage 2/4.) 
before. Here we were also struck with some fine examples of 
Acacia leprosa in 6-in. pots and 10 ft. high. Iliis species grows 
rapidly, and has a most graceful pendulous habit—grand 
pillar plant. We also noticed A. lineata, the flowers of which 
are a deep orange. 
