July  13,  1699. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
29 
for  some  produced  close  to  Vauxhall,  Mr.  Phillips  received  two  gold 
medals  from  the  Society  of  Arts.  It  is  more  than  probable  that  the 
influence  of  the  archbishops  left  an  impress  in  the  locality;  several  of 
them  were  partial  to  horticulture,  and  they  obtained  many  exotics  by 
gift  or  purchase,  some  of  which  furnished  seeds  and  cuttings  to  the 
gardeners  around.  Cardinal  Pole,  we  know,  brought  over  the  first 
Fig  trees  planted  in  England.  Occasionally  the  people  of  Lambeth 
are  granted  free  admission  to  the  Palace  lawns  and  gardens,  but  efforts 
are  now  being  made  to  have  these  more  frequently  open  to  the  public, 
if  not  every  day. 
Vauxhall  of  1899,  with  its  dust  and  din,  is  not  suggestive  of  that 
fair  flower,  the  Camellia,  yet  here  it  was  that  Chandler  succeeded  so 
well  with  the  plant  some  seasons,  even  in  the  open  air.  The  commoner 
species  flowered  fairly  well  against  a  north  wall,  except  when  the 
spring  was  very  cold.  Messrs.  Chandlers’  nursery  seems  to  have 
started  early  in  this  century,  and  flourished  till  1854  or  1855,  being  one 
of  the  best  known  South  London  establishments.  The  firm  had  a 
large  quantity  of  Camellias  growing  in  pits  and  frames,  raising  plants 
by  grafting,  also  from  seed.  One  of  Chandler’s  varieties  was  named 
after  him,  though  it  had  besides  that  of  C.  versicolor.  Two  more 
seedlings  of  his  were  C.  althaeaeflora  and  C.  concinna ;  but  most 
remarkable  was  his  obtaining  C.  Aitoni  and  four  others  from  one 
capsule  of  C.  pomponia.  At  Vauxhall  several  houses  were  appro¬ 
priated  to  the  choice  varieties  of  the  Chrysanthemum  before  the  flower 
had  attained  to  its  present  popularity.  Another  attraction  to  visitors 
was  a  length  of  wall  that  was  covered  with  Magnolia  conspicua,  and 
the  Cactus  house  contained  many  curious  species.  Along  some  of  the 
borders  climbing  Roses  were  planted  in  rows,  and  cut  to  4  feet  from 
the  ground  so  as  to  form  bushes.  A  little  book  upon  the  Camellia  was 
published  by  one  member  of  the  firm  in  1830. 
Quantities  of  Grapes  were  raised  at  Vauxhall,  under  glass,  by 
Messrs.  Chapman,  who  had  a  fine  show  of  houses,  till  it  became 
mere  profitable  to  build  dwellings  on  the  land.  But  for  a  good 
part  of  this  century,  owing  to  the  convenient  position  of  the  suburb, 
much  fruit  was  forced  by  the  above  firm,  and  other  nurserymen,  for 
Covent  Garden.  Bulbs  were  largely  cultivated  by  Griffitis ;  and 
Walworth,  not  far  off,  had  at  one  time  in  the  grounds  of  Milliken  and 
Curtis,  the  largest  collection  of  hardy  bulbs  existing  in  Britain.  But 
the  growers  of  fruit  and  flowers  had  to  migrate  further  from  the  smoke 
of  London.  The  last  of  the  Vauxhall  nurserymen  I  knew  was  Bray, 
who  left  about  twentv  years  ago.  However,  at  the  expense  of  several 
public  bodies,  £43,000  odd  was  laid  out  to  secure  sundry  vacant  spaces 
and  private  gardens  at  Vauxhall,  and  a  park,  so-named,  of  8  acres,  was 
formed  in  1890,  the  Ivyrle  Society  being  primarily  concerned.  One 
part  of  it  was  the  garden  attached  to  the  residence  of  Fawcett,  the 
blind  Postmaster-General,  and  I  had  an  opportunity  of  looking  over 
the  ground,  where  I  saw  some  of  the  largest  Artichokes  I  ever  came 
across,  also  a  row  of  white  Mulberries,  which  I  fear  have  been  cut  down 
since. 
One  of  the  tavern  signs  of  Vauxhall  was  a  Wheatsheaf,  indicating, 
I  presume,  that  crops  of  Wheat  were  grown  near,  and  indeed,  during 
the  days  of  Protection  it  paid  to  cultivate  cereals  around  London. 
North  Brixton,  as  it  is  called,  which  lies  close  to  Kennington  and 
Vauxhall,  had  indeed,  in  the  recollection  of  living  persons,  pasture  and 
cornfields  besides  some  orchards.  An  increasing  demand  for  flowers 
led  nurserymen  to  select  the  neighbourhood  of  Brixtcn  as  a  promising 
locality  for  growing  and  selling,  but  there  were  no  establishments 
here  of  very  old  date.  Lord  Holland  got  possession  of  a  fine  piece  of 
property  last  century,  when  he  bought  the  Loughborough  estate  of 
about  234  acres,  said  to  be  named  from  Lord  Hastings,  of  Lough¬ 
borough.  Afterwards  the  mansion  seems  for  a  time  to  have  been 
called  Cromwell  House,  and  on  its  grounds  Denyer,  who  had  been 
with  Michelson,  as  above  stated,  had  his  market  garden  and  nursery, 
probably  the  oldest  in  the  locality;  he  was  followed  by  Randal. 
Subsequently  it  was  known  as  the  Swiss  Nursery,  and  closed  about 
1877,  I  believe.  At  one  time  “Swiss”  was  rather  a  favourite  name 
for  metropolitan  nurseries  which  offered  alpine  plants  as  an  attraction. 
Fowle  had  a  nursery  situate  in  Holland  Road,  also  a  market  garden 
near,  this  existed  from  1820  till  twenty  years  ago. 
The  nursery  of  Messrs.  Ponsford,  Loughborough  Park,  has  passed 
its  jubilee,  and  through  many  years,  here  and  at  the  branch  establish¬ 
ments,  a  large  amount  of  stock  has  been  kept  ready  for  supplying  parks 
or  gardens.  Mulberries  have  been  a  speciality,  sometimes  nearly  2000 
being  sent  off  in  a  year;  there  is  a  suitableness  in  this,  from  the  long 
association  of  this  part  of  Surrey  with  the  tree.  Angel  Town,  taking 
its  curious  name  from  the  eccentric  John  ADgel,  has  its  nursery  of 
some  standing  conducted  by  Messrs.  Lane.  Near  Loughborough 
Junction  are  ^the  Fern  nurseries,  famous  for  Ferns  and  other  plants, 
and  some  open  ground  yet  remains  along  Acre  Lane. — J.  R.  S.  C. 
Richmond  Show.— Messrs.  J.  Carter  &  Co.,  High  Holborn,  write  : 
“  We  are  sorry  your  reporter  at  Richmond  seems  to  have  missed  our  fine 
exhibit,  for  which  we  were  awarded  a  silver-gilt  medal.” 
COLOUR  IN  SHRUBBERY  GARDENS. 
Leafy  June  might  also  be  termed  “  flowery  June,”  for  at  no  time 
of  the  year  are  there  so  many  beautiful  flowering  trees  in  bloom.  The 
greatest  drawback  is  that,  in  many  gardens,  there  are  by  no  means 
enough  of  them.  There  is,  unhappily,  a  dull  sameness  about  the  green 
of  the  shrubbery  portion  in  many  gardens  which  might  be  brightened 
and  diversified  by  the  presence  of  a  flowering  tree  here  and  there,  or  a 
specimen  that  is  beautiful  by  the  brightness  of  its  foliage.  Why  are 
so  many  shrubberies  dull  and  monotonous  ?  Perhaps  it  is  because  they 
are  old  institutions  that  were  planted  before  the  present  list  of  flower¬ 
ing  trees  and  variegated  shrubs  sprang  into  existence.  At  any  rate  it 
is  obvious  that  there  is  a  great  deal  too  much  conservatism  about 
pleasure  garden  management.  “  Ah  !  they  have  got  too  big  now,”  is 
an  expression  we  are  continually  hearing  in  reference  to  solid-looking 
banks  of  Laurels,  ponticum  Rhododendrons,  Evergreen  Oaks,  and  so 
on,  which  shut  out  many  delightful  views,  cramp  the  natural  aspects  of 
the  landscape,  and  give  the  garden  walks  very  much  the  same  appear¬ 
ance  as  the  pathways  in  a  puzzle  garden. 
But  perhaps  the  most  regretted  thing  of  all  about  shrubbery 
gardens  is  the  want  of  colour,  and  when  making  alterations  this  point 
should  never  be  overlooked.  Lately  1  saw  a  charming  natural  picture 
of  the  redeeming  influence  of  colour.  A  garden  pool  lay  cool  and 
sequestered  in  a  natural  valley  where  tall  shrubs  and  trees  clothed  the 
slopes  to  the  water’s  edge.  But  the  beauty  did  not  lay  altogether  in 
the  placid  water  or  in  the  slopes  of  verdure,  though  both  lent  their 
aid.  Two  or  three  splendid  Copper  Beech  grew  by  the  pool  side  and 
dipped  their  lower  branches  in  the  water,  light  coloured  Acers  were 
dotted  about  in  small  clump®,  trusses  of  hybrid  Rhododendrons  broke 
the  sameness  of  the  emerald  foliage,  and  golden  yellow  Laburnums 
could  be  doubly  seen — at  first  in  reality,  and  again  by  reflection  in  the 
water.  There  was  nothing  particularly  original  about  the  idea.  It 
was  just  a  happy  combination,  with  not  a  trace  of  glare  or 
garishuess. 
No  one  can  help  admiring  the  beauty  of  flowering  trees  in  early  J une, 
or  admitting  their  usefulness  when  growing  in  their  proper  positions 
amid  surroundings  of  green  shrubs  and  Conifers.  Take  the  Thorns 
for  instance,  and  tell  me  what  could  be  more  charming  ?  The  common 
May  of  the  hedgerows,  the  crimson,  white,  and  pinks  of  the  double 
garden  forms.  They  are  all  beautiful  and  never  seem  out  of  place.  I 
know  an  old  rambling  low-gabled  vicarage  where  the  windows  look 
over  the  lawn,  in  the  centre  of  which  stands  a  solitary  Thorn.  It 
might  have  graced  a  hedgerow  once,  and  was  perhaps  left  when  the 
garden  was  formed.  If  so  it  was  a  happy  idea,  for  when  wreathed 
with  its  white  blossoms  as  at  the  present  time,  or  covered  with  red 
hips  in  the  winter,  it  is  alike  beautiful.  1  need  hardly  make  further 
mention  of  the  golden  Laburnum,  which  is  now  so  much  in  evidence 
in  recently  formed  villa  gardens,  except  to  say  that  it  might  with 
advantage  be  more  frequently  seen  in  shrubberies  of  older  formation. 
The  hybrid  Rhododendrons,  too,  as  were  seen  to  such  advantage 
at  the  recent  Temple  Show.  What  a  range  and  diversity  of 
colour  they  possess.  I  am  going  to  say  no  word  against  the  good 
old  R.  ponticum  that  has  served  us  so  well  in  the  past,  and  is  useful 
still;  but  we  want  variety  and  brightness  of  colour,  compactness  of 
habit,  and  a  length  of  blooming  season  which  the  old  ponticum 
cannot  give,  and  therefore  we  have  recourse  to  the  cream  of  the 
Rhododendron  family,  which  the  Waterers  and  others  have  worked  at 
so  hard  to  bring  to  perfection.  Nor  must  the  Azaleas  be  overlooked  if 
we  are  to  have  colour  in  the  shrubbery  garden,  for  nothing  could  be 
more  effective  than  clumps  of  the  sweet-scented  and  free-blooming 
Azaleas  pontica,  mollis,  and  other  forms  which  have  resulted  from  the 
species  mentioned.  If  we  want  more  there  are  the  Gueldres  Roses,  the 
graceful  Genistas,  sweet-scented  Lilacs,  Mock  Orange,  and  others  all 
well  known,  but  none  too  often  seen  in  places  where  they  ought  to  be. 
Nor  can  we  do  without  foliage  to  give  colour  and  variety,  and  I 
often  think  when  I  see  a  solitary  giant  Copper  Beech,  what  a  pity  it 
is  that  more  were  not  planted.  How  conspicuously  they  stand  out 
when  green  predominates  in  the  surroundings,  and  in  solitude  or 
company  the  tree  loses  none  of  its  boldness.  For  dotting  here  and 
there,  however,  we  want  something  smaller,  and  we  have  it  in  the 
copper-coloured  Hazels  and  Japanese  Maples.  Acer  negundo  variegata 
is  doubtless  the  most  free  form  of  the  latter  family,  and  its  white  and 
green  leaves  are  always  noticeable  when  planted  in  suitable  positions 
in  shrubberies.  We  have  nothing  else  which  gives  us  the  same  tint. 
Golden  Elders  are  very  beautiful,  and  also  useful,  as  they  succeed 
well  in  positions  unsuitable  for  trees  of  a  tenderer  nature. 
Pei  hap?  I  have  omitted  to  mention  other  useful  flowering  or 
foliage  trees,  but  these  are  only  a  few  rambling  notes,  suggested  to  me 
at  a  time  when  the  shrubbery  is  at  its  brightest,  and  the  verdure  is 
fresher  than  it  ever  will  be  again  this  year  ;  but  to  the  makers  of  new 
shrubbery  gardens  and  to  improvers  of  old  I  would  say,  Remember  the 
colour,  and  plant  freely  both  of  flowering  and  bright  loliaged  trees  and 
shrubs. — G.  H.  H. 
