70 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
January  28,  1897. 
of  January  and  February  is  the  Acacia  in  flower.  The  trees  are 
literally  a  mass  of  yellow,  and  seen  in  the  bright  sunshine  the 
effect  is  not  likely  to  be  forgotten.  Groves  of  Orange  trees  are 
usually  planted  on  terraces  formed  in  the  hill  sides,  as  unless  this 
were  done,  of  course  there  would  be  no  means  of  watering  them 
in  the  dry  weather.  Large  quantities  of  the  blossom  are  gathered 
every  spring,  and  sent  to  Grasse,  there  to  be  used  for  making 
scent,  the  fruits  being  picked  in  the  autumn  and  sent  to  market. 
There  are  two  species  of  Pine  indigenous  to  this  district,  P.  mari- 
tima  and  P.  pinea.  The  former  grows  abundantly  on  the  rocky 
ground  by  the  seashore.  The  Umbrella  Pine,  as  P.  pinea  is  called, 
from  its  resemblance  in  shape  to  that  useful  article,  is  more  rarely 
met  with.  The  gardens  of  the  Riviera  are  not  at  all  ancient,  most 
of  them  having  been  made  within  the  last  forty  or  fifty  years. 
Indeed,  before  that  time  this  shore  of  the  Mediterranean  as  a 
winter  resort  was  only  in  its  infancy,  and  the  towns  that  have  since 
Bprung  up  were  nothing  but  mere  villages. 
Although  of  comparatively  recent  formation,  these  gardens 
have  now  both  beautiful  and  varied  vegetation,  quite  tropical  in 
character.  Palms  of  various  kinds  are  the  principal  decorative 
plants  employed,  and  some  of  these  have  grown  into  veritable 
giants.  Phoenix  canariensis,  dactylifera  and  reclinata ;  Cocos 
plumosa  and  australis,  Chamerops  excelsa,  Pritchardia  filifera, 
Sabal  Blaekburneana  and  umbraculifera,  Jubea  spectabilis,  and 
Cycas  revoluta  are  found  in  most  gardens.  Bamboos  grow  freely, 
and  form  magnificent  clumps,  30  to  40  feet  high.  Aralia  Sieboldi, 
Dracaenas,  Yuccas,  Agaves,  and  Camellias  are  common  objects  in 
every  garden.  The  Agaves  are  generally  planted  in  bold  groups 
amongst  rockwork,  as  this  situation  shows  them  off  well.  The 
principal  varieties  are  A.  ferox  americana,  A.  variegata,  applanata, 
and  Salmiana.  Magnolia  grandiflora  grows  quite  60  feet  high, 
and  when  in  flower  is  a  beautiful  sight.  Acacias  dealbata,  cyano- 
phylla,  cultriformis,  and  longifolia  are  also  generally  cultivated. 
The  routine  work  in  the  Riviera  is  very  different  from  that 
followed  in  our  English  gardens.  In  April,  when  all  visitors  have 
returned  northwards,  the  lawns  are  dug  roughly  over  with  a  spade, 
in  which  state  they  are  left  all  through  the  summer  and  have 
almost  the  appearance  of  ploughed  fields.  It  is  quite  necessary, 
however,  to  treat  them  in  this  fashion,  as  the  grass  would  be 
completely  burnt  up  by  the  hot  sun.  In  October  they  are  levelled 
and  resown.  It  reminds  one  forcibly  of  spring  time  in  England  to 
see  the  green  blades  of  grass  appearing  above  ground,  and  the 
freshness  of  the  surrounding  vegetation  after  the  rains  al  o  helps  to 
convey  the  same  idea.  The  newly  sown  lawns  are  often  damaged 
and  sometimes  partly  washed  away  by  the  heavy  autumn  rains. 
Every  garden  is  provided  with  stone  gutters  by  the  sides  of  the 
walks,  but  even  these  are  often  insufficient  to  carry  off  the  water 
quickly  enough. 
From  November  to  April  the  flower  beds  are  gay  with  flowering 
plants  and  bulbs.  For  this  purpose  quantities  of  Cinerarias, 
Primulas,  Daisies,  and  Pansies  are  grown  from  seed  every  year. 
Anemones,  Hyacinths,  Tulips,  Ranunculus,  and  Freesias  are  planted 
in  beds  covered  with  white  moss,  which  is  found  on  the  neighbour¬ 
ing  hills.  The  moss  serves  as  a  background  for  the  flowers,  and 
greatly  enhances  their  beauty.  Carnations,  Violets,  Salvias,  Stocks, 
Pyrethrums,  and  Solanums  are  also  used  for  bedding  out.  Roses 
are  in  full  bloom  in  the  early  months  of  the  year.  They  are 
generally  grown  as  bushes.  Marie  Van  .Houtte,  General  Jacque¬ 
minot,  Perle  des  Jardins,  Safrano,  Paul  Nabonnand,  and  La  France 
are  well-known  varieties  here.  The  Banksian  Roses  are  generally 
covered  with  blossoms  ;  they  flower  rather  earlier  in  the  season. 
I  cannot  omit  to  mention  the  hardy  (in  this  district)  creepers, 
which  to  my  mind  are  a  feature  of  the  Riviera  gardens.  Almost 
all  the  villas  are  covered  with  some  of  these  plants.  Bougainvillea 
spectabilis  is,  I  think,  employed  more  than  any  other.  Its  flowers 
are  of  a  deep  red  colour,  and  open  in  January.  Our  old  favourite 
Wistaria  sinensis,  Kennedya  ovata,  Cobcea  scandens,  Tecoma  Smithi, 
Bignonia  Tweediana,  Solanum  jasminoides,  Plumbago  capensis, 
Lotus  peliorhyncus,  and  others.  All  these  flower  in  the  sunny 
south  during  our  dark  and  dreary  winter. 
I  should  like,  in  conclusion,  to  mention  a  few  of  the  most 
notable  gardens  in  this  part  of  France.  At  Grasse,  a  town  several 
miles  inland  from  Cannes,  Baroness  Alice  Rothschild  has  a  large 
well-kept  domain.  It  is  situated  on  the  side  of  a  steep,  high  hill, 
which  is  gradually  being  transformed  into  an  Alpine  garden,  and,  I 
am  sure  a  more  ideal  place  for  this  purpose  could  not  be  wished  for. 
Palms  do  not  grow  so  well  here,  perhaps  on  account  of  the  very 
cold  winds  sometimes  experienced.  Cannes  contains  many  fine 
establishments,  including  that  of  Lord  Brougham,  famous  for  its 
splendid  Rose  bushes,  one  of  which,  Marie  Van  Houtte,  is  about 
15  feet  high,  and  the  same  in  diameter.  Baron  Alp.  Rothschild’s 
winter  residence  is  also  at  Cannes.  To  furnish  the  flower  garden, 
quite  50,000  bulbs,  Hyacinths,  Tulips,  Anemones,  Ranunculus,  and 
others  are  grown.  The  garden  at  Villa  Valetta  is  one  of  the  oldest  on 
this  coast.  It  has  some  very  good  specimens  of  Palms,  and  several 
nice  Tree  Ferns,  but  these  are  often  caught  by  the  frost.  Antibes 
is  the  home  of  the  Riviera  nurserymen.  Here  Messrs.  Vilmorin 
have  large  seed  grounds  for  the  cultivation  of  such  plants  as 
Cannas,  Begonias,  and  Primulas.  The  Antibes  Botanical  Garden 
is  interesting.  It  has  good  collections  of  Palms,  Conifers, 
Eucalyptus,  Callistemons,  and  various  other  kinds.  There  is  a  tree 
of  Jubea  spectabilis  here,  believed  to  be  the  largest  in  Europe, 
but  I  do  not  know  its  measurement.  The  Casino  gardens  at 
Monte  Carlo  are  very  beautiful.  They  contain  unusually  fine  trees 
of  Ficus  macrophylla,  almost  the  size  of  our  Chestnut  trees. 
Just  across  the  Italian  frontier  is  the  well-known  garden  of  Mr. 
Hanbury.  Many  plants  do  well  here  that  will  not  thrive  farther 
west,  as  Kentias,  for  instance,  which  grow  outside  without  protec¬ 
tion.  The  Agaves  and  Aloes  are  remarkably  fine  ;  Grevillea 
robusta,  Callicarpa  purpurea,  Streptosolon  Jamesoni,  Bignonias, 
Ericas,  Acacias,  all  add  to  the  beauty  of  this  wonderful  garden. 
But  we  have  now  entered  foreign  territory,  so  my  wandering  pen 
must  be  recalled,  and  bidden  cease  its  labour*. — H.  H 
[A  pen  of  promise  as  guided  by  the  young  gardener  behind  it, 
and  should  not  rest  from  its  labours  too  long.] 
A  GARDEN  IN  THE  ISLE  OF  WIGHT. 
[An  Address  (amplified)  by  Rev.  H.  Ewbvnk  to  the  members  of  the 
Horticultural  Association  at  Newport.] 
(i Continued  from  page  58.) 
The  first  flower  in  the  year  about  which  I  would  say  a  word  is  a  very 
humble  one — Eranthis  hyemalis  (the  Winter  Aconite)  ;  it  might  almost 
be  called  the  last  flower,  for  where  it  is  grown  in  quantity  it  is  sure  to 
put  in  an  appearance  before  the  old  year  has  closed.  Eranthis  hyemalis 
has  a  place  for  me  in  the  garden  of  memories.  An  old  uncle  in  York¬ 
shire,  who  taught  me  to  garden  more  than  fifty  years  ago,  used  always 
to  say  that  the  Winter  Aconite  never  failed  him  on  the  last  day  of  the 
year,  and  I  say  just  the  same  thing  now  in  the  Isle  of  Wight.  This 
little  flower  carries  me  back  more  than  anything  else  I  have  to  the  days 
of  my  boyhood.  It  will  grow  anywhere — In  the  open  or  under  trees — 
and  it  soon  comes  to  make  a  veritable  cloth  of  gold,  and  is  so  bright  and 
cheerful  that  I  would  not  be  without  it  on  any  account.  There  is  a  new 
one  which  has  lately  been  introduced  from  Asia  Minor,  and  of  which  I 
have  two  or  three  good  clumpB,  owing  to  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Whittall 
of  Smyrna,  but  though  I  am  very  glad  to  possess  it  I  think  I  shall  prefer 
my  old  friend,  for  I  am  told  that  Eranthis  cililica,  which  resembles 
E.  hyemalis  in  all  respects  save  one,  blossoms  at  quite  a  different  time 
of  the  year  ;  and  this  cheery  little  plant  must  always  want  a  back¬ 
ground  of  winter,  which  it  enlivens  so  well. 
The  next  flower  is  one  which  cannot  be  too  highly  recommended,  but 
which,  so  far  as  my  experience  goes,  is  not  often  seen.  I  refer  to  Cyclamen 
Coum,  which  blossoms  in  the  dead  of  the  winter,  coming  up  very  often 
through  ice  and  snow,  and  laughing  the  cold  to  scorn.  It  may  be  either 
red,  pink,  or  white,  and  it  seems  so  lively  when  all  around  is  drear  and 
desolate  in  the  extreme.  I  have  seen  persons  jump  when  they  came 
across  the  patches  of  red  on  my  rockery  for  the  first  time,  and  found 
some  colour  in  the  garden  when  they  had  looked  for  none.  Cyclamen 
Coum  comeB  from  the  South  of  Europe,  and  is  very  easily  grown.  It  is 
not  so  large  as  Cyclamen  europseum,  and  has  round  leaves,  which  differ 
from  those  of  the  other  sorts.  In  the  earlier  stages  of  growth  they  are 
quite  red  underneath,  which  afterwards  turns  to  green.  In  the  case  of 
other  Cyclamens  the  leaves  come  from  the  centre  of  the  plant  and  bend 
gracefully  to  the  ground  at  the  side,  while  the  flowers,  each  mounted  on 
a  stout  single  rootstalk,  stand  up  above  the  foliage,  and  form  a  perfect 
bouquet  of  beauty  over  the  corm.  It  is  rather  different  from  this  with 
Cyclamen  Coum,  the  leafstalks  or  petioles  are  very  short  as  well  as 
weak,  so  that  the  leaves  often  lie  on  the  ground  rather  than  rise  up. 
The  corolla  is  also  short  and  somewhat  constricted  at  the  mouth,  where 
there  is  generally  a  white  circle  around  it.  This  Cyclamen,  like 
Eranthis  hyemalis,  will  grow  anywhere,  either  in  sun  or  shade.  It  is 
fond  of  leaf  mould  and  old  mortar,  but  it  is  by  no  means  exacting  about 
it,  and  when  once  it  has  taken  possession  of  the  ground  it  multiplies 
itself  with  extraordinary  rapidity,  and  has  a  great  progeny  of  its  own. 
The  late  Mr.  Atkins  of  Painswick  was  a  great  cultivator  of  Cyclamens, 
and  the  varieties  which  bear  his  name  are  rather  larger  than  the  type, 
and  are  an  improvement  on  it.  His  idea  was  that  the  tuber  should  in 
all  cases  be  just  buried  beneath  the  surface  of  the  earth. 
The  Cyclamen  has  a  curious  habit,  from  which  beyond  a  doubt  it 
takes  its  name,  “  of  forming  its  seed  vessel  after  flowering,  which  then 
hangs  down,  and  by  a  succession  of  coils  of  the  flower  stem  is  brought 
to  the  ground  and  there  buried.”  It  belongs  to  the  Primrose  family,  but 
this  very  strange  performance  is  quite  peculiar  to  it.  In  Parkinson’s 
“  Paradisus  ”  it  is  always  made  to  bear  the  name  of  Sowbread,  but 
why  it  should  be  so  is  not  clear.  It  can  scarcely  be  because  swine  are 
devoted  to  it,  for  Canon  Ellacombe  tells  us  in  his  “Notes  in  a 
Gloucestershire  Garden  ”  that  on  one  occasion  some  pigs  made  an 
inroad  into  his  garden,  but  they  turned  up  their  noses  at  a  large 
spread  of  Sowbread,  and  turned  them  into  other  things  by  preference  to 
it,  The  colour  of  Cyclamen  Coum  is  so  good,  the  time  of  year  at  which 
it  blossoms  is  so  drear,  it  has  such  a  nice  way  about  it,  that  if  I  had  a 
garden  which  is  no  bigger  than  a  pocket-handkerchief  I  would  grow 
these  Cyclamens  in  one  corner  of  it. 
