Autumn Tints. 
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The tinted foliage of our gardens, so 
charming to the landscape pictures of 
scenery, is fast fading away, and little now 
remains but naked branches to relieve the 
dull monotony of sombre evergreen. But 
we cannot allow the beauty of this trans- 
formation scene to pass without a record. 
To this end a little excursion was made 
to the hills, where the glory of autumn 
is seen at its best. No sooner had the 
train reached the higher altitudes than a 
peep from the windows disclosed. the gol- 
den hues of orchards. These were pretty 
enough as a relief against the surround- 
ings of eucalyptus and the undergrowth, 
relieved here and there by patches of the 
red Epacris. Alighting from the train 
at Mount Lofty a peep from the road is 
obtained of the garden of “St. Vigean’s,” 
and surely no flowers could ever render a 
more artistic effect than the tints of 
autumn here. We first halt upon a zig- 
zag path leading up the hill towards the 
house, and take a record of a few settings 
vf coloring to make a picture.. Here the 
photographic artist fails to reproduce the 
beauty, and words are almost equally 
futile. But. those who may be 
familiar with the trees and shrubs 
mentioned may get some idea of what is 
to be.seen. We take for the centre of a 
group a very deep rich copper-colored 
Prunus pissardi, a shapely tree of full 
fifteen feet in height, a splendid coloring 
in itself, enhanced in its beauty by the 
setting close by of a Draecena Cunning- 
hami, with its long spreading leaves of 
green. In  contras, to this mass 
are the lighter waving leaves and 
tall grey plumes of Pampas. By this is 
yet another contrast of stately broad and 
tall leaves of Cannas, the rich green made 
more beautiful by the golden yellow 
flowers. This part of the right hand side 
of the central figure is backed by the 
thickest growth of pines. | Now looking 
to the left of the Prunus copper-color, the 
eye is caught by a most beautiful tinting 
of the Liquidamber. Here is a fascinat- 
ing variation of tints if you will. No 
artist’s brush could ever place upon can- 
vas such shades of coloring as those leaves 
produce. The prevailing color is a deep 
red varied in shadings to russets and yel- 
lows. Apart from the colorings, the form 
ef the leaves is very attractive. The 
Cupressus is strongly represented in the 
garden, and the specimen of Lawsoniana 
here shows well with its bright lemon- 
tinted green. In this little group, too, 
we make first mention of the Rhus Suc- 
ceedanea, than which there are no more 
beautiful autumn tints in the whole range 
of shrubs. Setting off this is the grace- 
fully shaped Draecena Nutans. 
Now move up to the next, path and 
take another picture in variation of color. 
The eye first catches three feet of gold 
and green immediately in front named 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
JUNE I, 1903. 
Euonymus albus latifolius elegans. The 
length of the name is only in keeping with 
the beauty of the plant. Near by a 
dense bush of Eriostemon nerifolium bud- 
ding into a mass of white stars adds grace 
to the varying tints surrounding it. 
Another Prunus Pissardi is a much lighter 
copper color than the one first mentioned, 
and the sun shining through the shimmer- 
ing leaves is exceedingly pretty. Com- 
pleting this first row is a dwarf yellowish 
green Taxus elegantissima, and as a back- 
ing of color comes in order a Rhus Suc- 
ceedanea, beautiful in its deep red and 
copper, and also one of the prettiest speci- 
mens of its kind in the garden, a beauti- 
fully shaped Cupressus Lawsoniana erecta 
viridis. The motion of this tree, answer- 
ing to the soft zephyr breeze, varying the 
shades of blueish green, is a charming 
effect. All this kind of life is lost to the 
camera, the beauty of the tree dies under 
the lens. Next comes a different class of 
coloring and foliage in a Pittosporum 
nigrescens, with its variegation of light 
green and creamy white. Peeping 
through these tintings we catch a glimpse 
of the beautiful bold purple flowers of the 
Lasiandra macrantha grandiflora. These 
flowers make a span of five to six inches 
across, and look very royal in their vel- 
vety damask of moss green foliage. We 
cannot pass another Liquidamber, a cop- 
per green Retinospera ericoides, and a 
bright green and gold Clethra alnifolia, 
with its brown tintings, and as we turn 
the corner the yellow tinted tips of a 
Retinospera nana aurea leaves its impres- 
sion of beauty. 
As we leave the zig-zag path to wander 
on the flat, the change of views of the 
tinted foliage gives additional delight, as 
does the light and shade of the sun and 
clouds. We are drawn aside on our way 
to look at a double native Erica, care- 
fully preserved because of its beauty and 
rarity. Descending to the flat the watec 
scene arrests attention. Standing on the 
footpath leading from the back entrance 
and overlooking the water, we note that 
the glorv of the Rhododendrons has de- 
parted, leaving the heavy, sombre green 
of the foliage. | But look at the row of 
Japanese maples, with their prettily 
shaped leaves scintillating in the sun, with 
their varying tints of copper, yellow, and 
brown—a pretty sight, truly. Across the 
water is the graceful willow, with its 
dying yellows, and from this © flexible 
fashion of growth the eye wanders to the 
stiff, stately flax leaves, in pale green and 
yellow, of Phormium tenax variegata. 
Turning again to the left, the magnificent 
plumage of a Pampas waves in pretty 
relief between two fine specimens of 
Draecenas. There is a long row of these, 
and between each an artistic effect is ren- 
dered by species of Rhus, Lambertiana 
and others of various tints. ; 
Turning now to the hill we get a variety 
of tints in a row of Elms, Birches, and 
Oaks, planted alternately, and the 
autumnal effect is good. Wandering up 
the paths to the rear of the house we 
this contrasts nicely with 
linger here and there to note the hues and 
tintings of the Cupressus species, and an 
infinite number of others previously des- 
rena 
cribed in our articles upon “St. Vigean’s. 
“BYTHORNE.’ 
A. hedge with a wire fence is all that 
divides “Bythorne” from “St. Vigean’s, ” 
and as we enter the grounds the first ob- 
ject of beauty that catches the eye is a 
great array of rich coloring from Ampelop- 
sis Veitchii, spreading over the white cut 
stone of the residence. The brilliant red 
on the northern aspect of the building is 
a very fine effect, but we were too late to 
catch the beauty on the southern wall. In 
these grounds there are a number of effec- 
tive trees that lend color to the surround- 
ings; but only here and there is attention 
arrested by a special setting, A moun- 
tain ash, known as a Rowan tree, has 
a lovely burden of red berries with 
crimson and golden hue in its fading, and 
the shining 
silver-leaved Lewcodendron Argentiumand 
far distant. Near the entrance on the 
left slope of the garden is a nice little pic- 
ture, containing a Prunus _pissardi, 
Cryptomeria japonica, Pittosporum crassi- 
folium, Picea Nordmaniana, a Maple, and 
a Birch. In this group we have varying 
tints of green, purple, gold, and lemon 
colours. ‘The garden contains a number of 
splendid specimens that will come into a 
general description we propose giving later 
in the season, when the flowers are in their 
glory. 
We now wander away up hill and down 
dale towards Aldgate, noting by the way 
fruit trees and willows, and a number of 
others here and there giving a picturesque- 
ness to the prevailing deep green of the 
ever abundant eucalypts. 
Traversing an up-hill road overlooking 
Messrs. Smith & Menzel’s nursery, and on 
cutting into the bush at the back of Mr. 
Michael Hawker’s residence, a beautiful 
“little panoramic view is obtained across a 
deep gully to Mr. Tom Barr Smith’s house 
and garden set on the rising slope beyond. 
It is a charming picture of autumnal tint 
ing. The distant view is, perhaps, the 
prettiest, but we needs must venture into 
closer view of the beauties, and find 4 
Splendid collection of English and 
Japanese Maples which lend the greater 
portion of the coloring, while the Elms, 
Oaks, Firs, Pines, Willows, and Poplars 
‘intermingle with the giant growths to 
complete the charm. 
From here we climb the hill to Mr. 
John Bagot’s garden, but we are too late, 
for the best colorings are gone. This 
garden carries the greatest collection of 
specialties in the State, and we reserve it 
for future notice. 
EEE EEE EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEenenmmntl 
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