_ SEPTEMBER. | 249 
TAIZOL WHT ont 
A CRYSTAL PALACE AND LONDON GARDENS. | 
THE unfavourable nature of the season for flower gardens has been felt 
everywhere; and we noticed, the other day, on visiting London and the 
Crystal Palace, that the flower-beds did not present their usual bril- 
liancy. the present wet and dull season, however, suggests many 
useful hints on flower-gardening which should: not be lost sight off 
Strange to say, Tropeolum elegans, or whatever it may be called, wore 
the brightest -colour of any of the Crystal Palace beds; next in our 
estimation was a fine bed of the purple Nosegay, which was very con- 
Spicuous ; Sidonia, an old shy-blooming variety, was this season flowering 
In perfection, as was also the variety called “ conspicuum.” These 
were much better in*bloom than the scarlet kinds, which were growing 
too much: to: leaf; By the by, the Crystal: Palace Scarlet, on which so 
much has been said in one of your contemporaries, is nothing more than 
Perfection, which itself is a synonym of Attraction, a variety found in 
nearly all good gardens, an excellent bedding variety, but 1 must yet 
prefer‘Tom Thumb for a low bed, and when planted on a suitable soil. 
There“ is nothing yet superior to Tom and Brilliant, for producing 
masses of colour; for taller beds, and vases, Attraction is grand and 
showy, as is also Punch for still larger beds. | 
There is less yellow than usual in the arrangement of colour, on the 
parallel beds on the upper terraces. I ‘think this an improvement, 
when looking at the beds’ from a short distance, but from the wings “Or 
transept'the long lines of yellow contrasted with a deep purple Verbena, 
in the way the beds were planted a year or two back, had a good effeet. 
The long beds on the upper tetrace-haye the Crystal Palace Scarlet 
Geranium for a centre, surrounded by Purple King Verbena, edged with 
Flower of the Day-Geranium. By the way, how much better Alma, 
Bijou,-or Perfection would be for this purpose ; but we suppose they 
are} not plentiful enough yet for all. requirements. These long beds 
have a round bed between each, which was planted with the Crystal 
Palace. or Tom Thumb Nasturtium. This to our:mind is not a happy 
arrangement. I should have preferred an intense white with a bright 
blue edging, or blue with white edging, as contrasting ‘better with the 
long beds. | 2 
The season has been “greatly against Verbenas of all kinds, which 
have never grown away very freely, looked starved, and are sadly 
deficient in bloom. One great feature of our flower gardens, up to the 
present time, is therefore but half developed, and as this deficiency 
enters so largely into all modern flower garden arrangements of mixed 
beds, ribbon patterns, &c., the general appearance of all the gardens we 
have seen is dull, as*compared- with other seasons. With the exception 
‘of Calceolarias :and “a few other. plants which seem. to enjoy the cool 
season, =such plants as Lantanas, —Mesembryanthemums, Gorterias, 
--Petumias, and Cannas, which require-dry warm weather to bring them 
yout, are“altogether a failure; and unless:we have a hot dry autumn, 
<will remain so. By way of compensating the eye for this absence of 
“colour; the-freshnéss of the turf and luxuriant verdure of the trees and 
“shrubs aré-delightful, and taken “altogether we never saw the grounds. 
