April  12  1900. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
303 
London  Gardens  oyer  Fifty  Years— No.  2i. 
W HEN  the  growth  of  the  metropolis  forced  many  nurserymen  to 
migrate  where  land  was  cheaper  and  smoke  less  abundant,  they  had 
■choice  of  localities  around  the  villages  or  small  towns  at  an  easy  dis¬ 
tance.  Kent,  the  garden  of  England,  might  well  have  its  attractions, 
so  might  sunny  Surrey  if  the  flats  of  Essex  are  not  inviting,  but 
Middlesex,  in  some  respects,  has  most  advantages.  Accordingly  we  find 
that  though  both  Kent  and  Surrey  have  some  nurseries  near  London, 
a  greater  number  are  located  in  West  Middlesex,  with  a  few  of  note 
are  in  the  north  of  that  county.  Entrenched  about  such  places  as 
Hampton,  Isleworth,  and  Twickenham,  adjacent  to  the  Thames, 
nurserymen  may  as  yet  defy  the  aggressive  builder  and  compete 
successfully  in  the  market  with  those  who  send  in  supplies  from  long 
distances. 
Fifty  years  ago  only  a  small  show  of  nurseries  was  observable  in 
these  localities,  and  few  orchards,  but  there  were  some  market  gardens. 
Two  or  three  nurseries,  which  dated  from  the  time  of  George  HI., 
have  gone  and  left  no  trace.  There  was  the  establishment  of 
Ronalds  &  Son  of  Brentford,  to  take  one  instance  (Scotch  folks  again, 
I  suppose),  which  Loudon  mentions  as  of  repute  for  its  fruit  trees  and 
evergreens.  Twickenham  was  famous  in  Loudon’s  time  because  of 
its  hundreds  of  acres  of  Strawberries,  but  it  has  a  less  extent  now. 
“  I  roamed  all  about  Strawberry  Hill,”  said  a  friend  sorrowfully  after 
a  summer  visit;  “the  place  is  pretty  enough  still,  but  I  never  saw 
there  even  one  Strawberry.” 
We  should  naturally  think  that  the  Thames  valley  and  its  near 
localities  would  be  well  suited  for  plants  of  the  Liliaceous  and 
allied  tribes — in  fact,  many  are  grown,  both  in  Middlesex  and  Surrey, 
along  the  river.  Ttie  cultivation  of  showy  flowers  often  pays  better 
than  that  of  vegetables,  especially  such  plants  as  are  brought  forward 
under  glass.  Therefore,  we  see  fewer  plants  now  in  the  open  than 
formerly ;  quantities  of  hardy  species  in  bloom  come  to  market  from 
districts  where  land  can  be  rented  cheaply.  Crocuses  have  been 
largely  grown  under  fruit  trees,  also  in  raised  beds,  which  sometimes 
occupy  half  an  acre  of  ground,  the  common  yellow,  blue,  and  white 
being  mostly  patronised.  Some  Lilies  are  also  set  in  open  ground, 
then  lifted  and  potted  before  they  bloom  ;  but  in  many  nurseries  it 
was  usual  to  pot  them  during  the  autumn,  in  soil  composed  of  fibrous 
loam,  cow  manure,  and  leaf  mould.  They  were  put  into  cool  pits  or 
houses,  allowed  plenty  of  light  and  air  and  not  much  water  till  the 
shoots  made  their  appearance.  Heat  was  given  after  the  buds  began 
to  show.  Narcissi  have  been  grown  largely  along  the  Thames  valley, 
finding  a  place  in  orchards,  or  sheltered  corners  near  walls.  We  have 
noticed  the  Pheasant’s-eye  Narcissus  planted  in  rows  with  Moss  Roses, 
as  being  usually  over  before  the  Roses  are  leafing.  The  Paper-white 
species,  N.  papyraceus,  with  its  small  pure  white  flowers,  is  earlier, 
blooming  naturally  about  February.  Many  o’ hers  of  the  Narcissi 
imported  from  Holland  are  forced  in  various  ways. 
The  neighbourhood  of  Twickenham  is  rather  prolific  in  bulbous 
plants.  Amongst  its  nurserymen  I  remember  Messrs.  Hawkins  and 
Bennett,  whose  establishment  bore  at  one  time  the  name  of  Lily 
Gardens.  Twenty  years  ago  they  were  large  cultivators  of  the 
Stephanotis,  and  in  1879  they  had  the  Banksian  medal  awarded  them 
for  a  group  of  Pelargoniums,  including  Vesta,  a  new  double  scarlet 
Zonal.  Some  of  the  folks  there  used  to  grow  the  Arum  Lily  by 
planting  them  out  of  doors  during  the  summer,  forcing  them  later  on. 
At  Acton,  however.  Reeves  upheld  the  plan  of  growing  them  wholly 
in  pots  ;  this  became  the  common  method.  He  had  a  grand  show  of 
blooms  in  his  houses  a  few  weeks  before  Easter.  Richardia  maculata 
was  first  brought  out,  I  believe,  at  the  West  London  Nurseries; 
admired  for  its  spotted  leaves,  it  has  not  gained  the  popularity  of  our 
familiar  R.  sethiopica.  Then,  half  a  century  ago,  the  Roman  Hyacinth, 
much  in  request  now,  was  not  much  known.  It  does  not  seem  to 
have  come  to  us  from  Italy,  unless  by  way  of  France  or  Holland. 
Nurserymen  soon  discovered  a  succession  of  blooms  could  be  easily 
and  profitably  forced.  The  usual  London  method  has  been  to  place 
the  bulbs  thickly  in  boxes,  covered  with  spent  hops  or  cocoa-nut  fibre 
refuse ;  they  are  kept  out  of  doors  till  about  2  inches  high,  then  by 
the  aid  of  warmth  the  spikes  rapidly  appear.  A  blue  variety  of  this 
Hyacinth  has  not  been  much  patronised  yet. 
About  Christmas  some  folks  pay  5s.  or  more  for  a  pot  of  Lilies  of 
the  Valley ;  while  I  am  writing  they  are  cheaper,  and  from  farther  up 
the  Thames  clumps  of  them  go  into  the  homes  of  workers  at 
Bermondsey,  Lambeth  and  other  busy  suburbs,  where  we  sea  them 
displayed  in  windows.  But,  in  some  districts,  pots  do  not  satisfy,  the 
people  contrive  to  have,  possibly  in  a  small  front  garden,  a  little  bed 
of  the  plants  carefully  guarded  against  cats  and  children.  Sparrows 
do  not  touch  Lilies  of  the  Valley,  deterred  probably  by  the  acri  iity  of 
the  juice.  With  management  these  are  coaxed  to  put  forth  at  least 
a  few  flowers  every  season.  There  have  been  shady  nooks  along  the 
Thames  in  which  the  plants  were  raised  out  of  doors,  bunches  of  the 
flowers  being  sent  to  market  during  the  spring,  but  they  are  now 
brought  on  under  glass  from  imported  cro  '  ns.  For  the  early  dem  ind 
single  crowns  are  forced  ;  for  the  later,  clumps  of  the  plant  having  a 
dozen  buds  or  more.  The  London  growers  have  found,  as  t  leir 
Dutch  friends  pointed  out,  that  too  rapid  forcing  is  apt  to  make  some 
of  the  best  crowns  turn  blind. 
The  year  1900  will  be  remembered  as  one  in  which  the  old  con¬ 
troversy  about  the  Shamrock  was  revived,  owing  to  the  generil 
Fig.  8t.— Angr.ecum  Leonis.  (See  pagre  sot.) 
wearing  of  it  on  March  17th.  It  is  never  likely  to  be  settled,  yet 
there  is  strong  evidence  in  favour  of  some  Clover,  probably  the 
common  spotted-leaved  Trifolium  repens.  No  doubt  we  might  agree 
to  adopt  any  plant  and  say  that  henceforth  shall  be  the  Shamrock. 
Many  have  believed  in  the  Wood  Sorrel  just  because  it  is  found  about 
Irish  boggy  woods ;  also  the  plant  seems  to  have  had  sacred  associa¬ 
tions,  for  Gerarde  calls  it  not  only  Cuckoo  Nleat,  but  “  Alleluiah,  because 
it  flowered  near  the  time  when  Alleluiah  was  said  in  the  churches. 
It  seldom  opens  till  the  end  of  April.  The  plant  still  grows  freely  in 
some  parts  of  Epping  Forest.  Books  on  gardening,  not  very  ancient, 
mentioq  the  Wood  Sorrel  as  cultivated  for  salads  and  mixing  with 
boiled  greens.  It  was  propagated  by  dividing  the  bulbous  roots  ;  and 
planted  in  the  shade, by  keeping  it  from  coming  into  flower,  gardeners 
managed  to  cut  a  succession  of  fresh  leaves  till  October. 
