8 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
MARCH 2, 1903 
to the left which leads to No. 1 shadehouse, 
and a peep into this reveals a beautiful 
lot of Begonias, and some newly imported 
Rhododendrons. Among the Begonias 
are some lovely blooms of varying shades. 
There is something about the richness of 
coloring, the well-formed character of the 
Begonia flower, and the splendid foliage 
that gives a distinct impression that it be- 
longs to the aristocracy of plant life. It 
is a little surprising that more of the en- 
thusiasts in floriculture do not pay more 
attention to them. 
Leaving the shadehouse, we note the 
border on. to the boundary fence has some 
specimens of Cordyline nutans, Japanese 
maples, , birches, and coippar’ beeches fo 
adorn the surroundings. Close at hand, 
between the two shadehouses, is the pond. 
A nice sheet of water abouttwo chains long 
by half a chain wide, at a rough guess. 
This part of the garden has some claim to 
picturesqueness, and our artist has succeed- 
luxuriance of foliage and beauty of flower 
is the Agapanthus, whose dainty sprays of 
pure white or of blue flowers stand up 
on their long stems to catch admiration. 
These beauties are singularly attractive, 
and their value also lies in the power of 
vitality they posses to defy the withering 
elements of weather and sun. As cut 
flowers for buttonholes or decorative pur- 
poses they have few equals. Then there 
are the great Daisy bushes, with their pro- 
fusion of clear white, looking charmingly 
cheerful amidst the wealth of green. In 
all this variety of foliage there surely would 
be something missing if the Pampas (Gyne- 
rium) Grass were not in evidence. But 
there it is, like a final touch of beauty, 
with the fine waving plumes of elegance, 
than which few things could look superior 
in such surroundings. It is difficult to 
turn one’s back upon. this place, and though 
wo did not see ponies in flower, the pretty 
water scene ‘irresistibly recalled’ Shakes 
Thomsoni; and the native of Burma, 
Veitchianum, which seems to make itself 
quite at home. Varieties of the Hima- 
layan species are Sesterianum, Countess of 
Haddington, and Sesterianum. <A. splen- 
did collection, all looking well. Before 
passing out we notice a Tasmanian Laurel, 
Anopteris glandulosa, doing well, and that 
very handsome climber, Lapageria rosea. 
Before leaving the Rhododendrons we 
must not forget to note the compliment 
paid to Dr. Stirling by the famous 
Waterers, who have named a variety Mrs. 
Stirling, and the beauty is worthy of 
attention. 
On the outside of the house that pretty 
delicate white Clematis, Mrs. Bateman, 
challenges attention, as does the luxuriant 
bed of Lilies of the Valley. The flower beds 
adjoining the house are tastefully laid out 
with Shirley Poppies, Asters, Pansies, 
Stocks, Cannas, Cornflowers , Gladioli, 
Dahlias, and others, with copper beeches, 
ed in catching a nice view of it. Here the 
Nympheas spread their broad leaves, lazily 
floating on the still water, and the wax- 
like blooms hold their pretty heads up to 
the sunlight. The evaporation from a 
sheet of water like this is considerable, and 
to regulate. the immersion of the plants 
they are placed in pots suspended on wires. 
which can be lowered to the required 
depth, and otherwise receive attention.” 
While the water lilies lie undisturbed upon 
the surface the grasses grow high above 
them and waive their nodding heads to the 
breeze that rustles the foliage of the stately 
bamboos and the stiffly growing New 
Zealand flax. Here, too, the Irises 
(Kaempferi and Aurea), with a luxu 
riant growth, dip their leaves in 
the refreshing pool, while the Cannas 
luxuriate in their splendid foliage 
and rich reds and yellows. Vieing with 
these are the great green leaves of the 
~Arums and their snow-white spathes. 
Holding its own amongst the others for 
St. Vigeans.—Rhododendrons in Bloom. 
peare’s description by Iris in “The Teim- 
pest,” of the lurking, sequestrated nook, 
where Ceres makes “cold nymphs chaste 
crowns’ by “banks with peonied and lilied 
brims.” Some authorities dispute the ren- 
dering of this passage, but the idea suits 
the poetic fancy of the moment here, and 
we care not to question the translation. 
We now take a turn into shadehouse No. 
2, and here again the favored Rhododen- 
drons prevail. Here is a list of some of 
the Himalayan beauties, to which the 
house is devoted, as the variety will not 
stand exposure to the summer sun. 
Griffithianum, syn. Aucklandi. This 
variety attains in its natural state in Sik- 
kim, Him., 20 to 30 ft. Its magnificent 
blooms are 54 in. in diameter. Maddeni, 
syn. calophyllum. This also carries itself 
ati home to a height of 30 ft., and throws 
lovely white trusses of bloom. We note, 
too, Fulgens; Campylocarpum; Grande, 
syn. Wilsoni; Cinnamomeum ; Arboreum ; 
Falconeri (very handsome in foliage) ; 
surrounded by a laurel hedge. 
We now begin the ascent of a zig-zag 
pathway up the side of the hill to eastern 
side of the house, and on the way we note 
the care with which the planting of trees, 
shrubs, and flowers has been done. One or 
two turns of the path are enough to agitate 
one’s breathing apparatus, and is worth 
waiting a moment to take a long breath, 
and from the elevated position get a bird’s- 
eye view of what we have just been describ- 
ing. The only bit of landscape picture 
in the garden, and what it lacks in artistic 
design is compensated by its general 
beauty. During the course of this journey, 
which will take a long time if everything 
worth seeing is to be noted, we found that 
our genial host had a personal interest in 
every growing thing there. He was most 
patient in questionings, even to the sim- 
plest query, and brimful of historical and 
botanical knowledge of his favorites. What 
we heard would fill a book, and an interest- 
ing and instructive book, too, but we can 
