Jcs* 21 , 1913. 
THE GARDENERS’ MAGAZINE. 
YORK FLORAL FETE AND GALA. 
❖ 
K* 
York the city of many attractiane, is very 
proud this week because its great annual 
flower show, held on June 18, 19, and 20, in 
Bootham Park, has been a very great success. 
A large portion of the great tent used for 
the Royal International Horticultural Ex¬ 
hibition at Chelsea in. 1912, and at the Chel¬ 
sea Show held in May of this year, was used 
at York in place of several large marquees, 
and its use met with general approval from 
exhibitors and from visitors. The airiness of 
the structure and the wider spac^ for pro¬ 
menading were greatly appreciated, for, 
though the opening day was a hot one, an 
extei^ed inspection of the vast number of 
exhibits was by no means an uncomfortable 
petition in the principal group class, where 
a space of 300 square feet is allowed, and the 
premier award is .£20, the whole amount 
offered in prizes being £70. This year there 
were five competitors, and first prize fell to 
Mr. J. Donoghue, gardener to T. Pickere- 
gill, Esq., Bardon Hill, Weetwood, Leeds, 
who once more staged a beautiful exhibit. 
Tall and graceful palms, with Dorothy Per¬ 
kins, Crimson Rambler, and Hiawatha roses 
formed a light background for tall, finely- 
grown crotons, perfectly coloured, set over 
a groundwork of moss, marantas, dwarf cro¬ 
tons, caladiums, bertolonias, and bromeliads. 
Here and there specimen cattleyas, milto- 
nias, phalaenopsis, and odontoglossums lent 
mark of excellence achieved in some seasons, 
but this criticism must not be taken to sug¬ 
gest that the displays were poor. 
HARDY FLOWER DISPLAYS. 
The £15 first prize for a rock and water 
garden exhibit, arranged on a space 30ft. by 
12ft., was won by Messrs. Jas. Backhouse 
and Sons, Lim., York, with a display con¬ 
sisting of bold rockwork, a background of 
bamboos, purple beech, and Acer negundo 
variegata, and a narrow lily-studded pool 
just behind a rocky foreground. There was 
a cool effect about this exliibit which was de¬ 
lightful. Among the rocks were colonies of 
Campanula Portenschlagiana, Primula Bul- 
leyana, P. pulverulenta, Orchis folioea, cis- 
tuses, edelweiss, thrift, saxifrages, dian- 
thuses in variety, and Ramondia pyrenaica, 
with small ferns in a shady corner, and al¬ 
pine conifers occupying points of vanta^. 
Messrs. W. Artindale and Sons, Sheffield, 
came second, and, though theirs was a good 
exhibit, the plants were a trifle crowded. Pri¬ 
mula Bulleyana and P. sikkimensis. Iris Her- 
HARDY FLOWERS AT YORK FLORAL FETE AND GALA. 
Messrs. Harkness and Sons’ first prize oolleotion on the left; Messrs. Gibson and Co.’s second prize collection on the right; and 
Messrs. G. Massey and Sons’ third prize collection in the centre. 
splendid 
and^bcauti 
dressed in, the light 
d gayest of summer costumes, 
tradp ^ array 
aJid as thil occash 
Plavs whole, the quality of these d 
^eeLr^itf believe we have sc 
classes many of the oompetit 
better respec 
Week- than, wag displayed tj 
sivelv seldom been so exb 
W tei were a fine f. 
tke plentiful, a 
tent ® necesaty in this gr« 
fnl glorioudy bean 
'^as organisation of the sb 
tl»e onoe again we acknowled 
Mr. Arey. t 
^ttshell^’ ^ ^^ffson, and Mr. 
DECOEATITE GEOTTP CLASSES. 
««n interest always attaches to the ooi 
further colour and importance to the group. 
It was interesting to notice that Mr. Dono¬ 
ghue had almost entirely dispensed with the 
use of ferns in his groundwork and margin. 
To Mr. W. A. Holmes, Chesterfield, was 
awarded the second prize; he had a fine lot 
of crotons, but his flowering plants were con¬ 
fined to a few roses and lilies in the back¬ 
ground. Messrs. R. Simpson and Son, 30, 
Brook Street, Selby, were placed third for a 
rather heavy exhibit, in which tuberous be¬ 
gonias were the leading flowering subjects. 
Mr. Councillor T. M. Petch, Bridlington, 
came fourth; and Mr. F. H. Ward, Scar- 
croft Nursery, York, was awarded the fifth 
prize. 
For a smaller group, 200 sq. feet of space 
allowed, Mr. W. A. Holmes, Chesterfield, se¬ 
cured the leading award with a pleasing ar¬ 
rangement of crotons, oncidiums, roses, 
liliums, and Statice Suworowi. Second prize 
fell to Mr. J. Donoghue, whose arrangement 
here was a trifle heavy; while third prize was 
taken by Messrs. R. Simpson and Son, Selby. 
On the whole we thought the two great group 
classes were scarcely up to the high-water 
mione, paeonies, and white thrift were among 
the most imposing subjects. The third 
award was made in favour of Mr. S. Picker¬ 
ing, Rosslyn Street, Clifton, York, and 
running water here added to the attractions 
of spiraeas, astilbes, dianthuses, alpine 
phloxes, saxifrages, etc., backed by acers, 
bamboos, and hydrangeas, and a rustic 
bridge. 
The classes for hardy flowers together 
formed one of the most pleasing and most 
brilliant sections of the great show. The 
chief class was for a display of hardy flowers 
arranged in a natural manner on a space of 
300 sq. ft. There were three competitors for 
the prizes of £15, £10, and £5 respectively. 
First prize was awarded to Messrs. Harkness 
and Sons, Bedale, Yorks, who had a low, 
rather flat display, and, though it was bril¬ 
liant in the extreme, and the flowers were 
excellent, the disposal of the flowers was 
too close and regular to be natural. How¬ 
ever, we are, in these classes, getting steadily 
nearer to the ideal method of displaying 
lui.rdy flowers. The Messrs. Harkness had a 
beautiful lot of Oriental poppies, Spanish 
