444 
THE GARDENING WORLD, 
May 28, 1901 
Round the Nurseries. 
May Tulips at Long Ditton. 
The other week we paid a visit to the nurseries of Messrs. 
Ban and Sons, King Street, Covent Garden. These nurseries, 
as our readers are aware, are' situated at Ditton Hill in the 
parish of Long Ditton, Surrey, and very convenient of access 
from Surbiton Station on the South-Western Railway. Those 
who are in the habit of travelling on that line: are familiar 
with the bright appearance of the various flowers in season 
by the side' of the line in Messrs. Barr’s nursery. At present 
the Tulips are so overpowering that everything else for the 
time being is put in the shade. This refers to the numbers 
giowni and to* the great variety, which would include such 
sections as the single cottage Tulips, Parrot Tulips, Darwin 
Tulips, the English florists’ Tulips, and the species with their 
beautiful varieties still retained under their botanical name's. 
Most of these species, whether recently introduced or other¬ 
wise, .are' placed by Messrs. Barr amongst their May-flowering 
cottage Tulips, and these we shall first consider. 
May-Flowering Cottage Tulips. 
The number of varieties which have been got' together in thei 
Ditton Hill Nurseries is now so great that we can only deal 
with the best, of them which we picked out. in the course of .a, 
hurried inspection. During the past- fortnight, they have come 
along with extraordinary rapidity, so that notwithstanding the 
lateness of the season, when they commenced pushing up, we 
may now state that they are early, as the date of our visit 
may be placed at the middle of May. 
The weather lately has been, of such a. congenial character 
that the Tulips 1 have suffered no reverse, and in: all the fields 
of the nursery they were in full bloom by the middle of May. 
On, former occasions Messrs. Barr planted their Tulips only 
4 in. beneath the surface, but it occurred to them that, this 
was too shallow, and last autumn they planted the bulbs 9 in. 
deep, and find this to be a, great improvement in, eveiy way. 
The stems have come up strongly, the vigorous kinds amongst 
the Darwins standing in: many cases, 2-1- ft. high. The flowers 
in. many cases, according to variety, are of enormous size, either 
pitcher-shaped, bell-shaped, short or long, and some of them 
when, fully expanded resembling great broad basins. 
One of the-most handsome of thee species is T'ulipa macroa- 
peila, of a, rich crimson, with a, black blotch surrounded by 
a, distinct yellow margin. Several of tlie Tulips were agree¬ 
ably fragrant, but, this is one of the most powerfully scented. 
The visitor may imagine himself in the neighbourhood of a 
plantation of Sweet Peas or Tea Roses when near a . group of 
this Tulip.. A very fine effect, was produced by a mixture of 
two varieties—namely. Ruby and Yitellina, the former 
being maroon,-crimson, a.nd the latter soft primrose. The 
flowers were very nearly of the same height,, and thei waving 
of the flowers by the wind produced a striking and pleasing 
effect. 
Those who like striped and. flaked flowers will find sornei 
very beautiful ones' amongst the Cottage class. One of these 
was Striped Beauty, flaked with carmine, purple and white, 
with a, violet base. Gold Flake is about, evenly variegated 
with orange-scarlet and yellow, and is certainly veiy effective, 
while it is also dwarf'. A French Tulip, named: La Panaohee 
was flaked with white and red, and silvery on the edge of the 
leaf, so that both flowers and foliage in th'isi instance are 
variegated. 
A very handsome Tulip is Blushing Bride, of a. rosy-scarlet, 
wjth silvery-yellow centre, to, the segments. One of the most 
handsome of the yellow Tulips is Mrs. Moon, with long pitcher- 
shaped flowersi of a rich golden yellow. Another one that is 
similar in shape is 1 La Merveille, of a rich salmon-rose shaded 
with orange-red. Hatfield Pink is also a, lovely form, with 
pink flowers and a white base. A bed of this is very charming. 
Quite of another kind is T'. retro,flexa, with, clear yellow 
flowers of large size and reflexed enter segments. It is an 
admirable subject, for bedding. T. spathulata major has huge 
bell-shaped brilliant scarlet flowers with a violet base and i- 
considered one of the wild forms of T. gesneriana. Stella In 
cerise-rose flowers, with a black blotch on a white base. * ^ 
Thei utility of T. fulgens for bedding purposes is well known 
the brilliant red flowers having a yellow base. T. straimulati 
from the Cornfields of Italy, has yellow flowers with a blue 
black blotch on the basei. T. maculata takes its place alorm 
.side of T. macro,speila by reason of the handsomely define' 
blotches on the base of the segments, hut in this instance tin 
blotches are of a different, shape. A great improvement up ) 
it is T. maculata grandiflora, having magnificent flowers, 3 in 
to 4 in. long, bell-shaped, and brilliant scarlet, with' ven 
much larger blotches at the base. This we consider one ©j 
the most handsome Tulips in cultivation. There are several 
others with similar blotches, but the blooms are in most case- 
smaller. In collections, this variety is often named T. maculata 
globcea, grandiflora, but we are not certain who is responsible 
for adding the word globosa., as it has no relation to the flower 
descriptive or otherwise, but merely serves to lengthen the 
name uselessly. 
T. Batalini is a very handsome pale yellow flower and a 
dwarf species. T 1 . linifolia is similar in many respects, but ha- 
scarlet-red flowers with a violet-black blotch at the base. T. 
mauriana. from Savoy is a handsome orange-scarlet form, and 
has a, yellow base and violet anthers, the contrast being'very 
pleasing indeed. T. planifolia ha.s red flowers with a. lozemm 
shaped black blotch. These two latter are about 18 in. high 
Many of Messrs. Barr’s cottage Tulips have been rescued 
from oblivion in, old cottage, gardens where they have been 
wasting their beauty on the desert air, so to speak, for many 
years. When again brought under cultivation it is found that 
our forefathers had discarded many really beautiful things. 
< )ne of these is Scarlet Emperor, having flowers about 3J in. 
long. Botanically this is a glorified T. Dideri mauriana, which 
must have been introduced many years ago,, and even, improved 
before it disappeared in an old cottage garden from which it 
lias been rescued. Another very beautiful Tulip is Inglescombe 
Scarlet, which lias a rounded black blotch on the. base of the 
scarlet segments. The flower is of considerable length and 
great, beauty. Pauline is primrose, with a. dusky yellow base. 
Amber Crown, may be described as huff orange-yellow, flu-lied 
with red on the back of the segments. 
Konigskroon isi a counterpart of Keizerskroon, with a nar¬ 
rower yellow edge to. the flower, and certainly distinct from 
that well-known variety and very beautiful. Another choice 
and popular Tulip is Fawn, of a, soft fawn on the back of thg, 
segments', thei rest being creamy. Quite of a different type is 
Picot.ee, with a rose edge, to its ereanry-whitei flowers. Cottage 
Pink lias bright rosy-pink flowers. Mrs. Ferrell is otherwise 
known as the Lady’s Tulip,, the flowers being of a soft salmon 
with a violet and green base. Handsome, also are the rosy- 
carmine flowers of Cassandra, giving place to a white base. 
One of tlie prettiest of the flaked cottage Tulips is that 
named Buenaventura, only 1 ft. high, and richly flaked with 
gold and scarlet. A somewhat uncommon colour is that named 
Rainbow, with purple flowers, shaded orange towards the edges. 
At, first Merry Maid is yellow and scarlet only- in. the upper 
half, but. this gradually develops downwards until the greater 
part, of the flower isi shaded or flushed with, scarlet. Another 
variety given to. variation is Torch, the yellow and orange-red 
colours varying from one to another individual. Pink Beauty 
is a very handsome cerise flower, with a, silvery hand along the 
centre of each segment. 
Darwin Tulips. 
For size of the flowers, substance of petal and general vigour 
there are few to, beat the, Darwin Tulips. They are essentially 
late May flowering Tulips, and when planted in beds or masses 
in the garden they have a splendid effect, as far as the eye 
can see them. The blooms, of Matria, are of huge size, globular, 
and rose with a violet base. About the time of the Tulip, mania 
black Tulips would have been a sensation, but there are now 
several distinct black Tulips, the best of which here is Zulu, 
with purple-black flowers shining like a nigger and of great 
