THE GARDENING WORLD 
October 31. 1903. 
10 s 
Round the Nurseries. 
Pinkhill Nurseries. 
The Pinkhill Nurseries of Messrs. R. B. Laird and Sons are 
conveniently situated on the outskirts of Edinburgh, and easily 
leached by tramcar or rail. Since the ne-w branch railway 
has been completed the visitor is now able to book from the 
Waverley Station, Edinburgh, to Pinkhill, where he is prac¬ 
tically at the gate of the nursery. 
Some weeks 1 ago we had the pleasure of inspecting the 
various sections of the nurseries on both sides of the Great. 
Western Road, which runs through the grounds. On entering 
the old branch of the nursery we noted a line Carnation named 
Gala Day. The flowers are pure white, of good form, and not 
liable to split the calyx, while the stems are 2 ft. long, and 
make it. very suitable for cut-flower work. This portion odj 
the' nursery being largely devoted to a line collection of Conifers, 
we paid them a close inspection. 
Conifers. 
Very handsome was the blue weeping Spruce (Picea. pungens 
peindula). The species: of Cypress are very abundantly repre¬ 
sented, but particularly the very numerous varieties of Cu- 
pressus lawsooiana. That named C. 1. hollandia is a grand 
form, and very notable for the vigorous growth and stout twigs 
which it make®. The very reverse habit was exhibited by 
C. 1. filifera a,urea, with its slender whip-like growths and golden 
foliage. There is, of course, the ordinary green form of this 
same type, and both are desirable adjuncts in place® where 
Conifers are to be well represented. C. 1. Wisseli is of erect 
growth, with short, glaucous branches, and very distinct. A 
hue golden Cypress is C. 1. Westerm-anni, with much more 
colour and of more rapid growth than: C. 1. lutea. C. 1. patula 
is notable for its spreading habit, of growth. Another vigorous 
plant, is C. 1. intertexta., which makes very rapid growth of a 
dark glaucous green. That named C. 1. monumentalis is 
notable for its pyramidal habit and short ascending branches 
of a. glaucous hue. All the young" growths of C. 1. Silver Queen 
are creamy-white, and the plant, is of a pyramidal habit, of 
growth. Somewhat darker in hue is. that named C. 1. albo- 
kessen, which is variegated. The leaves and twigs of C. 1. 
versicolor are yellow in the young state and change to’ white, 
both these colours being quite conspicuous in the autumn. The 
silvery-white variegation of C. 1. argenteo-variegatai is very 
pronounced, making the plant quite conspicuous. C. 1. fili- 
coldes recalls the variety C. 1. filifera 'that we have already 
mentioned, but the slender whip-like twigs are much more 
compactly arranged. C. 1. Drummondii is of columnar habit, 
and of a light glaucous green, and therefore paler than the 
better-known C. 1. erecta, viridis. That named C. 1. Shawii is 
inclined to be of globular habit. 
A very beautiful variety is that named C. 1. eaerulea. corn- 
pa,eta, which is perfectly pyramidal, and of dense habit. The 
bluest of all the blue Cypresses of erect habit is C. 1. Allumi. 
Very similar in. growth is C. 1. Fraseri, but the plants, are more 
inclined to be flat in- the young stages of growth. C. 1. 
argenteo-picta is of a light green, with short white t.wigs. 
Somewhat similar in, its way is C. 1. alho-spica, but the general 
appearance of the bush in this instance is more decidedly of 
a creamy-white. C. 1. gracilis is bushy and globular, while C. 
1. stricta is narrowly pyramidal. 
So- varied arei the. forms of this, Cypress in cultivation that 
it, is almost impossible to give an idea, of their variations by 
description:. In another part, o*f the nursery we c-ame upon, a, 
large number of other varieties of the above species. One that 
ha,S' been fairly recently introduced to this country is Cupressus 
lawsoniana Triumph© de Boskoop, which has; a r ery dark, glau¬ 
cous leaves and a, vigorous: habit, of growth. Many creamy 
twigs are characteristic of that named C. 1. argentea, milforden- 
sis. Better known is the old golden, variegated variety C. 1. 
a urea va,negate, which produces golden portions, varying ini 
size on different parts of the plant. Another creamy and 
silvery variety is that named C. 1. daileyense. On the other 
hand, that named C. 1. Veitchi glauca is notable for its rich 
glaucous hue. Another whipcord Cypress is C. 1. Bowleri pen- 
dula, with slender drooping branches. A plant of very vigorous 
growth is that named C. 1. Youngi. 
One of the most popular species with planters is Cupressus 
nootkatensis, better known in gardens as Thuyopsis borealis. 
The former is the correct name, however. The golden form 
here is of pyramidal habit and very hardy, with yellow foliage. 
The whole bush of Retinospora, squamosa Veitchi sulphurea, is 
very much tinted with a pale sulphur yellow hue. R, pisifera 
a.urea is a, compact tree of beautiful pyramidal habit, and of a 
decided golden hue. Another beautiful golden Conifer is 
Juniperus japonica, aurea, of compact habit, of growth, with a 
long leader. The white and glaucous hue of J. sinensis varie- 
Lilium Leichtlinii. (Seep. 907.) 
gata is also very pronounced, making it a favourite with 
planters. The young twigs, of J. virginiana elegantissima are 
yellow, hut during their second year they assume a, light green, 
glaucous hue. 
Here also we. noted tire golden Dovaston Yew in, very fine 
condition. Another golden subject, of erect habit is Biota 
orientalis' elegant,issinm, which always retains a narrow and 
compact, form. A very flue tree of Sequoia sempervirens albo- 
apioa, is to be noted here about 10 ft. in height. There are 
also many smaller specimens, but we. seldom meet with this 
variety of such dimensions as that, given, at least in. nurseries. 
There is also a very fine specimen of the Umbrella Pine (Sci.v 
dopitys verticillata), 9 ft. high. This is a. veiy good size for a 
tree of such slow growth as this, is known to he. The blue 
Atlas Cedar also does well here, and looks very white amongst 
