May  17,  1900. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
419 
l)y  death  or  otherwise,  to  find  other  occupants  that  would  fill  the 
vacancy  with  such  entire  satisfaction. 
The  Flower  Garden  and  Pleasure  Grounds. 
Of  flower  gardening  pure  and  simple  there  is  comparatively  little, 
and’ the  beds,  which  in  the  summer  must  be  gay,  are  in  the  spring 
filled  with  deliciously  fragrant  Wallflowers  to  afford  innumerable 
bunches  for  despatch  to  London.  Later  these  will  take  on  a  more 
formal  character  no  doubt,  but  if  they  are  more  beautiful  they  will 
certainly  not  contain  any  plants  whose  flowers  will  diffuse  a  sweeter 
perfume  than  did  the  Wallflowers  a  week  or  two  back.  Flowering 
trees  and  shrubs  are  fairly  numerous  about  the  pleasure  grounds,  but 
as  vegetation  is  usually  somewhat  late  on  these  Surrey  hills,  few  plants 
were  in  flower.  A  Rhododendron  here  and  there  was  showing  colour  in 
its  trusses,  but  other  attractive  plants  had  yet  to  develop  their  buds, 
dose  to  the  mansion  is  a  rosery,  but  here  again  one  would  need  to  go 
in  the  warmer  days  of  summer  to  see  the  wealth  of  flowers  on  the 
plants  are  in  immense  masses,  and  in  others  stand  as  isolated  speci¬ 
mens,  and  the  major  portion  of  the  varieties  are  comparatively  old. 
This,  however,  in  such  circumstances  as  the  present  is  of  little 
'  moment,  as  those  sorts  that  produce  fine  trusses  of  brilliantly  bued 
flowers  are  what  are  required,  whether  they  be  new  or  old.  There 
are  thousands  of  plants,  and  wheu  one  is  seen  rising  in  the  form  of 
a  bank  to  a  height  of  20  feet  or  more,  and  carrying  trusses  on  every 
growth,  the  effect  is  literally  superb. 
A  Corner  in  Narcissi. 
When  one  commences  to  speak  of  a  corner  in  Narcissi  or  anything 
else,  the  mind  of  the  reader  will  probably  turn  to  the  gigantic  corners 
in  Wheat  and  other  commodities,  that  have  been  formed  to  force  up 
prices  and  make  the  fortune  (or  prove  the  ruin)  of  the  cornerer.  The 
particular  corner  in  Narcissi  at  Rooksnest  is,  however,  very  different 
from  this,  and  has  been  formed  with  a  much  less  questionable  object  in 
view.  As  a  matter  of  fact  it  is  a  small  space  just  without  the  walls  of 
Fig.  113.— the  LAKE,  ROOKSNEST. 
several  plants.  A  charming  stretch  of  grass,  which  in  the  summer  is 
delightfully  shaded  with  trees,  leads  to  the  margins  of  a  handsome 
piece  of  water,  which  adds  materially  to  the  charm  of  the  estate. 
On  every  hand  there  were  signs  of  life — in  some  trees  and  shrubs 
well  advanced,  and  in  others  only  observable  in  the  swelling  buds. 
Evergreen  trees  of  course  are  there  in  numbers,  and  play  a 
worthy  part  in  an  attractive  scene,  but  no  names  can  be  mentioned 
in  the  space  at  disposal. 
A  Rhododendron  Forest. 
It  is  more  than  likely  that  nine  out  of  ten  persons  visiting  Rooksnest 
in  May,  and  being  subsequently  asked  what  they  considered  the  finest 
feature  of  the  estate,  would  vote  for  the  American  garden.  This  is 
what  is  termed  at  the  head  of  the  paragraph  a  Rhododendron  forest, 
and  it  has  an  area  of  about  three  acres.  Traversing  the  winding  paths 
one  passes  beneath  the  shade  of  veritable  giants,  whose  gnarled  stems 
and  handsome  leafage  would  prove  sources  of  inexhaustible  interest 
even  when  no  single  flower  truss  could  be  found.  In  some  places  the 
one  of  the  kitchen  gardens,  and  surrounded  by  trees,  in  which  are 
thousands  of  Narcissi.  These  have  not  been  purchased  for  this  express 
purpose,  but  for  pot  culture,  and  having  done  their  duty  indoors  have 
been  called  upon  for  further  service  in  this  now  delightful  corner.  There 
are,  of  course,  many  varieties  represented,  and  the  available  space  is 
not  yet  fully  occupied,  and  they  afford  thousands  of  beautiful  flowers 
for  cutting  during  April  and  May.  Narcissi,  too,  are  found  in  beds  and 
shrubbery  borders,  with  others  on  the  grass  of  banks,  where  they  will 
thrive;  but  the  bulk  of  flowers  for  adorning  the  mansion,  both  at 
home  and  in  London,  are  drawn  from  that  corner  in  Narcissi,  of  which 
a  counterpart  might  be  formed  in  every  large  garden  iu  the  kingdom 
where  such  does  not  already  exist. 
A  Gay  Greenhouse. 
Under  glass  the  brightest  spot  on  the  day  of  this  visit ’’was  the 
greenhouse,  which  was  simply  ablaze  with  flowers.  Instead  of  having 
them  spread  throughout  the  various  structures  Mr.  Friend  had  con¬ 
centrated  the  several  flowering  ^.lants  in  one  with  the  happiest  results. 
