292 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
April  13,  1899. 
Tlou^e.  No  living  man  can  remember  the  old  royal  gardens  of 
Somerset  Ilonse,  famous  in  Stuart  times,  but  from  its  terrace  we  view 
the  Embankment,  where  a  new  garden  exists  which  would  amaze 
worthy  Parkinson  and  his  friends  of  the  seventeenth  century.  The 
gardens  of  that  stately  mansion  at  Charing  Cross,  so  familiar  to  by- 
passers  with  its  lion  crowning  the  front,  was  removed  in  1874,  and 
the  gardens  also  cleared  to  form  new  streets.  There  were  some  flower 
beds,  b'rt  the  grounds  were  chiefly  remarkable  for  its  shrubs  and  trees, 
many  of  them  of  good  age,  which  I  was  sorry  to  see  cut  down.  Not 
distant  from  the  Strand,  in  sight  of  it  is  Covent  Garden  ;  that  great 
emporium  where  every  kind  of  limticuPural  produce  can  he  purchased, 
reminds  us  of  the  convent  garden,  really  ground  belonging  at  lir.'t  to 
cstminster  Abbey,  and  Avliich  came  into  the  hands  of  the  Bedford 
family  about  1552.  In  the  P.'otectorate,  the  market  began  with  a  few 
stalls  under  the  trees  outside  the  wall  of  Bedford  House. 
The  neighbourhood  of  the  Strand  is  not  likely  to  afford  many 
green  spaces  or  flowery  nooks,  what  squares  there  are,  with  one 
exception,  being  small  and  paved  ;  its  churchyards,  mostly  small, 
have  not  been  converted  into  gardens;  those  of  St.  Mary-le- Strand, 
St.  Clement  Danes,  and  St.  Paul’s,  Covent  Garden,  are  closed  to  the 
public,  nor,  if  open,  would  they  he  attractive.  Trafalgar  Square,  with 
its  4  acres,  has  only  a  few  trees  and  shrubs,  much  space  being 
occupied  by  the  fountains,  the  rest  is  paved.  At  first  some  people 
were  desirous  of  having  the  centre  open,  and  the  corners  formed  into 
shrubberies,  but  this  proposal  Avas  rejected.  The  small  ground  of  the 
Chapel  Royal,  Savoy,  is  neatly  kept ;  it  belongs  to  Her  Maiesty,  as 
Duchess  of  Ijancaster,  and  was  laid  out  by  her  some  years  ago,  the 
seats  being  given  by  Lord  Meath.  A  print  of  the  time  of  George  IV. 
shows  sheep  grazing  there. 
'1  hen  by  the  Royal  Courts  of  Justice  we  have  a  space  of  about  an 
acre  Avhich  was  laid  out  during  1889,  and  gives  a  “refresher”  to 
gentlemen  of  the  law,  also  to  others  quitting  the  buildings.  Nor  is 
it  far  from  the  Strand  to  the  Middle  and  the  Inner  Temple  Gardens, 
hut  these,  though  worth  inspection,  aa'O  cannot  enter  without  permission. 
BetAveen  the  Strand  and  Westminster  Bridge,  rising  above  the  Embank¬ 
ment,  there  yet  remains  a  fragment  of  the  old  garden  that  was  attached 
to  the  PaHce  of  Whitehall.  The  Embankment  Gardens,  Avhich  reach 
from  the  lemple  to  Chelsea,  with  the  exception  of  a  small  space  in 
V  estminster,  contain  fourteen  acres  dedicated  to  the  public,  and  show 
one  of  the  very  notable  improvements  effected  in  Victorian  London. 
All  over  the  metropolis,  through  the  agency  of  the  County  Councih 
the  Metropolitan  Public  Gardens  Association,  various  vestries,  and 
some  private  persons,  the  number  of  trees  has  increased  of  late ;  these 
havm  been  planted  along  many  roads  and  in  other  suitable  spots.  Mrs. 
Meynell,  Avho  has  recently  been  writing  about  London  localities,  is 
rather  inclined  to  pity  its  trees,  those  “  that  have  their  roots  under 
pavements,  or  stand  in  corners  left  by  the  chance  medley  of  London 
streets.”  She  thinks  it  is  hard  upon  them  to  be  in  perpetual  light 
and  never  AvithdraAv  into  the  darkness  associated  Avith  freedom  or 
repose.  On  the  whole  our  trees  do  not  seem  any  the  worse  for  this, 
but  some  there  are  that  the  gaslight  may  not  suit,  nor  perhaps  the 
electric  light.  Herein  Ave  are  returning  to  the  plan  of  our  ancestors,  for 
they  had  many  trees  in  the  old  city,  onh'^  of  a  few  species  though, 
such  as  the  Elm,  the  Poplar,  the  Ash,  the  Oak,  but  it  appears  this  does 
not  flourish  now  in  London.  The  Plane,  so  well  adapted  for  a  town 
life,  is  no  native  of  Britain;  Lord  Bacon  is  stated  to  have  planted  the 
first  Oriental  Planes  in  his  garden  at  St.  Albans;  some  of  these  are 
^aid  to  be  still  living.  For  the  American  Plane  we  have  to  thank 
John  Tradescant  of  Lambeth,  who  brought  it  over  in  1636. 
Somebody  made  a  computation  during  1877  that  there  Avere  then, 
within  what  we  should  call  the  city  limits,  about  1200  trees  (excluding 
all  mere  shrubs),  and  in  this  number  thirty  species  or  varieties  at  least, 
but  the  predominating  tree  was  the  Plane,  of  which  520  Avere  counted  ; 
chiefly,  however,  of  the  Western  species,  of  which  we  have  many  fine 
examples  in  London  and  ifs  suburbs.  But  the  Eastern  species  Avill 
flourish  in  towns,  and  its  foliage  is  denser  even  than  that  of  its  relative, 
though  the  two  nearly  resemble  each  other.  Some  Limes  have  been 
planted  lately.  I  would  like  to  see  more  of  this  tree  about ;  it  has  a 
cheerful  appearance,  and  often  displays,  in  London,  new  leaves  towards 
autumn.  Then  the  common  Sycamore,  the  Maple,  and  some  of  its 
varieties,  are  occasionally  jJanted,  also  the  Larch,  but  Pinaceous  species 
generally  do  not  tolerate  smoke.  It  is  odd  that  Horse  Chestnuts  are 
not  more  numerous  in  our  suburbs,  since  this  is  quite  a  tree  for  towns. 
Again,  there  are  exotics  which  make  themselves  at  home  among 
stre  ts,  such  as  the  Ailanthus,  or  “Tree  of  Heaven,”  which,  for  its 
handsome  foliage,  might  oftener  have  a  place  along  our  roads.  Corners 
and  slips  which  were  formerly  vacant  have  now,  in  many  London 
streets,  been  planted  with  shrubs,  evergreens  being  preferred.  There 
might  be  a  freer  use  of  climbers  to  cover  lengths  of  windoAvless  walls, 
such  as  the  Clematis,  the  Jessamine,  the  Passion  Flower,  the 
Periwinkle,  in  addition  to  the  familiar  Ivy, 
Wr  ting  about  the  Bermondsey  of  our  time,  a  journalist  comments 
on  the  fact  that  a  century  ago  the  district  was  chiefly  rows  of  marshy 
fields.  Ilahung  ^that  period,  however,  we  can  remember  its  many 
ditches,  Avfiere  Watercresses  might  have  been  grown,  and  Aveather- 
beaten  Willows.  Much  of  Bermondsey  was  forest  long  before,  and 
extensive  floods  sometimes  swept  along  the  trees  and  rushes.  It 
bad  an  abbey  of  some  renown,  and  its  abbey  garden  names  still  linger 
about  Bermondsey,  Avhich  carry  us  back  in  thought  to  the  Middle 
Ages.  But  horticulture  is  getting  a  chance  there;  gardens  are  multi¬ 
plying  in  that  unpromising  locality;  one  of  the  latest  Avas  opened 
the  last  dav  of  March  by  Dr.  Cooper,  L.C.C.  This  is  situate  near 
London  Bridge,  and  was  once  the  burial  ground  of  Guy’s  Ilospiital, 
but  is  now  becoming  partly  a  garden,  partly  a  gymnasium,  and  the 
old  trees  yet  standing  Avill  look  down  upon  a  cheerful  scene  before 
long.  There  is  in  summer  a  good  shoAv  of  flowers  in  the  gardens  of 
St.  Mary  Magdalene  and  St.  John’s,  Horseleydown  ;  SouthAvark  Park, 
too,  of  60  acres,  is  on  the  border  of  Bermondsey. — J.  R.  S.  C. 
CyMBIUIUM  DeVONI/xNUM. 
Though  not  so  large  or  showy  as  the  LoAvianum  and  giganteum 
form,  this  is  an  interesting  and  very  pretty  species,  and  generally  a 
favourite  when  properly  grown.  The  plant  is  of  dwarf  habit,  with 
pseudo-bulbs  only  an  inch  or  two  in  height,  and  large  leaves.  The 
racemes  are  p^^ndulous,  and  contain  a  large  number  of  flowers  that  are 
variable  in  colour,  but  usually  yellow  or  greenish  more  or  less  marked 
Avith  purple.  The  lasting  quality  of  the  flowers  is  not  so  great  as-that 
of  the  above  mentioned,  but  they  are  not  by  any  means  fleeting. 
C.  Devonianum  likes  a  moist  and  shady  position  in  an  inter¬ 
mediate  house,  but  is  best  grown  in  baskets  suspended  from  the  roof, 
both  on  account  of  the  flowers  and  the  liking  it  has  for  light.  These 
baskets  must  not  be  unduly  large  ;  nor  must  the  plant  be  frequently 
disturbed,  as  it  is  always  more  free  flowering  when  Avell  esiablished 
and  a  bit  pinched  for  pot  room.  The  compost  will  be  substantial,  and 
may  consist  of  equal  parts  peat,  loam  fibre,  and  chopped  sphagnum 
moss,  enough  charcoal  and  crocks  being  added  to  insure  porosity. 
C.  Devonianum  is  a  natiAm  of  the  Khasia  mountains,  and  is  one  of  the 
many  plants  sent  home  to  enrich  the  Chatsworth  collection  by  Mr. 
Gibson,  Avho  found  it  growing  in  vegetable  refuse  in  tree  forks. 
Dendkobium  micans. 
Though  raised  as  far  back  as  1879,  this  pretty'  hybrid  is  still  far 
from  plentiful.  In  its  better  forms — i.e,  those  raised  from  the  Assam 
form  of  D.  Wardianum  instead  of  the  :longer  stemmed  Burmese  kind, 
the  plant  is  dwarf,  and  the  flower  of  splendid  colour  and  substance, 
indeed  there  are  few  to  rival  it  for  colour  even  now.  The  sepals  are  a 
pretty  rosy  mauve,  and  the  lip  comes  nearer  D.  Wardianum  than  its 
other  parent,  D.  lituiflorum.  D.  micans  has  the  merit  of  being  one  of 
the  most  free  flowering  of  hybrids-,  and  may  be  grown  under  the  con¬ 
ditions  usually  advised  for  this  section. 
L.ebia  lobata. 
With  the  rush  for  new  hybrids  and  species  among  Orchids  it  is 
pleasant  to  note  an  old  friend  that  is  seen  flowering  only  too  rarely’. 
L.  lobata  has  long  been  in  cultivation,  more  or  less,  but  probably  quite 
half  of  the  present  day  Orchid  groAvers  have  never  seen  it  in  flower. 
A  plant  in  flower  here  has  very  distinct  looking  blossoms,  the  sidelobes 
of  the  lip  being  a  very  deep  crimson  purple  tint,  the  front  being  much 
lighter  and  overlaid  Avith  lines  of  a  deeper  tint.  Lselia  lobata  is  by  no 
means  free  flowerine,  but  as  a  matter  of  fact  in  many  collections  plants 
that  are  at  all  shy  lloAvering  are  never  left  alone  long  enough  to  bloom. 
The  plant  in  question  is  flowering  upon  pseudo-bulbs  that  are 
hanging  quite  out  of  the  pot,  which  it  has  sadly  outgroAvn.  But 
this  is  better  than  a  prim  ])lant  and  a  flowerless  one.  Its  habit  is 
to  floAver  upon  the  last  year’s  pseudo-bulbs  that  rest  in  sheath,  like 
those  of  a  Cattleya  Trianas.  Any  undue  excitement,  however,  Avill 
cause  the  plants  to  groAv  out  of  season,  starting  aAvry  at  the  base 
before  the  neAV  bulb  is  finished,  and  from  such  plants  it  is  useless  to 
expect  floAA’er  sheaths  even,  let  alone  floAvers. 
The  plant  likes  heat,  and  may,  in  fact,  be  grouped  for  purposes  of 
culture  Avith  Cattleya  superba  or  Laelia  grandis.  It  also  likes  abundant 
light,  being  found  groAving  naturally  on  high  cliffs  and  rocks  quite 
exposed  to  sun  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Rio.  To  place  a  plant  of  this 
kind  in  a  shady  house  and  Avater  it  regularly  all  the  year  round  is  to 
court  failure  quite  as  much  as  to  be  always  pulling  the  roots  about. 
There  is  no  doubt  it  is  often  severely  dried  in  its  native  place,  and 
under  cultivation  rciiuires  a  good  rest.  This  plant  is  sometimes  met 
with  under  the  name  of  Lselia  Boothiana,  this  having  been  given  by 
Reichenbach,  but  Dr.  Bindley  first  named  it  as  above  in  1847. 
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