Trees and Shrubs for English Gardens Part 27

ELaeOCARPUS CYANEUS.--Australia. An evergreen plant of shrubby growth, bearing whitish-blue flowers. Greenway.

ERCILLA (BRIDGESIA) VOLUBILIS.--Chili. A self-clinging evergreen climber, bearing inconspicuous flowers. Fairly common, but scarcely attractive.

HIBBERTIA DENTATA.--Australia. An evergreen climber, with foliage of deep bronze, bearing single bright-yellow flowers in April. Trewidden.

_H. Reidii_, also yellow-flowered. Tregothnan.

HYDRANGEA PETIOLARIS.--j.a.pan. A rampant-growing climber, bearing flat flower-heads, composed of blooms the minority of which are sterile. It clings naturally, and is displayed to best advantage when allowed to ascend a bare tree trunk. At Menabilly, Cornwall, a specimen planted twelve years ago has ascended the columnar trunk of a Turkey Oak to a height of almost 40 feet.

INGA PULCHERRIMA.--Mexico. An evergreen shrub, bearing bright-scarlet flowers in summer. A fine plant covering a large expanse of wall is at Greenway.

KENNEDYA NIGRICANS.--Australia. An evergreen climber, bearing violet-purple racemes of small pea-like blossoms. Greenway. _K. alba_ is also grown.

LAPAGERIA.--Chili. This handsome evergreen climber, producing long wax-like blossoms of white and rose, is well known under gla.s.s. In the south-west it does well in the open against a north wall, in peaty compost, often bearing its flowers as late as Christmas.

LASIANDRA (PLEROMA TIBOUCHINA) MACRANTHA.--Brazil. A beautiful evergreen shrub of climbing habit, bearing large violet flowers. It is usually cut down by frost, but breaks again strongly in the spring.

Trewidden and other gardens.

MANDEVILLA SUAVEOLENS.--Buenos Ayres. A lovely deciduous climber, bearing large, white, deliciously-fragrant flowers in August. It does well in several gardens in the south-west, in some of which it seeds freely.

MICHELIA (MAGNOLIA) FUSCATA.--China. An evergreen or sub-evergreen shrub (according to position), bearing dull-purple sweetly-scented flowers.

Tregothnan.

PHOENOCOMA PROLIFERA.--Cape of Good Hope.--An evergreen shrub, bearing large, terminal, crimson flower-heads. Trewidden.

PHYSIANTHUS ALBENS SYN. ARAUJIA ALBENS.--Brazil. An evergreen climber, bearing a profusion of white flowers, which later a.s.sume a reddish tinge. Common in the south-west. The finest specimen Mr. Fitzherbert has seen grew against a cliff-face in the public gardens at Torquay. It spread to a height and breadth of considerably over 20 feet, and one year bore over a dozen huge corrugated seed-pods, about the size of a cricket ball, but oval in shape. This strain killed the plant, but a young one has now taken its place.

PLUMBAGO CAPENSIS.--Cape of Good Hope. A climbing evergreen shrub, bearing large heads of pale-blue flowers; a favourite conservatory plant. It is grown in several gardens, and flowers well in the open. A fine example, which has been unprotected for five months, is growing in the same site as the Physianthus alluded to above.

PUERARIA THUNBERGIANA.--Khasia. An evergreen climber, with leaves 5 inches in diameter, bearing blue flowers. Fibre is obtained from the stems and starch from the roots. Tregothnan.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _PUERARIA THUNBERGIANA._]

RHODOCHITON VOLUBILE.--Mexico. A climber, bearing blood-red drooping flowers. This plant, in common with Lothospermum and Maurandya, all three of which are perennials, is almost invariably killed by the winter, but is easily raised from seed. Rosehill, Falmouth.

RHYNCHOSPERMUM (TRACHELOSPERMUM) JASMINOIDES.--Shanghai. An evergreen climber, hardy in the south-west, bearing countless starry-white flowers, most delicately perfumed in August. It is to be met with in the majority of gardens, and in one it has covered the house porch.

RUSCUS ANDROGYNUS SYN. SEMELE ANDROGYNA.--Canary Islands. An evergreen climber, valuable for its striking foliage. The leaves, or rather cladodes, are over a foot in length, and are furnished with from twelve to twenty pinnate sections of a glossy green. Penjerrick, Falmouth, where it has borne its inconspicuous greenish-white flowers.

SOLANUM WENDLANDI.--Costa Rica. An evergreen climber, bearing cl.u.s.ters of large lilac-blue flowers, 2 inches in diameter. The late Rev. H.

Ewbank, in whose garden at Ryde the finest specimen we have seen was growing, considered it the best of all the tender climbers amenable to open-air culture in the south-west.

SOLLYA HETEROPHYLLA.--Australia. Bluebell Creeper. An evergreen climber, bearing drooping blue flowers. Tregothnan.

STAUNTONIA (HOLBOELLIA) LATIFOLIA.--Himalayas. An evergreen climber, with oval leathery leaves, bearing in April cl.u.s.ters of greenish-white flowers, delightfully odorous. A very common plant in the south-west.

STREPTOSOLEN JAMESONI.--Columbia. A handsome evergreen shrub, in great request for clothing conservatory pillars, &c. It bears panicles of orange-red flowers, and when in full bloom has a brilliant effect. A plant about 7 feet in height is growing against the house at Trewidden.

SWAINSONIA ALBIFLORA.--Australia. An evergreen leguminous shrub, bearing white pea-like flowers, well known in greenhouses. It is grown in several gardens, and if cut down by sharp frosts breaks strongly again in the spring.

TACSONIA EXONENSIS.--A hybrid between _T. Van Volxemii_ and _T.

mollissima_. Bearing bright rosy-pink flowers. Trewidden.

T. MOLLISSIMA.--Quito. A vigorous species, bearing pink flowers, with tubes from 4 to 5 inches in length. Though Quito is on the equator, its height above sea-level being 9600 feet, the temperature is not unduly high. There is a large plant, which has had to be kept within bounds by periodical pruning, at Rosehill.

CHAPTER XXVI

TREES AND SHRUBS IN IRELAND

It is not possible, without going beyond the limits of a volume of comfortable size, to do anything approaching justice to the trees and shrubs that are the glory of many gardens in the sister Isle. It is a favoured isle for the growth of Conifers, and trees and shrubs that in other parts of Britain, except under exceptional conditions, completely fail. The Sikkim Rhododendrons at Kilmacurragh, Co. Wicklow, the residence of Mr. Thomas Acton, D.L.; the Rhododendrons and Ghent Azaleas at Houth Castle, Co. Dublin; the n.o.ble Conifers in the gardens of Viscount Powerscourt at Enniskerry, Wicklow, and of Lord Annesley, Castlewellan, Co. Down, besides other counties, are well known to every one deeply interested in trees and shrubs; while among other notable gardens filled with rare treasures and specimens of individual development may be named, St. Annes', Clontarf, Co. Dublin; Cong, Co.

Mayo; and Muckross, Killarney, residences of Lord Ardilaun. The gardens of Mr. W. E. Gumbleton, Belgrove, Queenstown, Cork, contain interesting collections; and the same may be said of Straffan, Co. Kildare, the Duke of Leinster's famous residence; Carton, near Maynooth, in the same county; Woodstock, Kilkenny, the residence of Mrs. Tighe; Hamwood, Dunboyne, Co. Meath (Mr. R. Hamilton, D.L.); Killarney House, Killarney (the Lord Kenmare); Kylemore, Co. Mayo (Mr. Mitch.e.l.l Henry); and Narrow Water Park, Co. Down (Capt. Roger Hall). And we are not forgetful of the beautiful Fota Island near Cork (Lord Barrymore), where plants accounted tender in more northerly lat.i.tudes flourish with almost tropical luxuriance.

The gardens of Ireland must be seen to realise their beauty and climatic advantages. Ireland is happy in having many enthusiastic gardeners, and it will be well for those who wish for some information as to the great variety of trees and shrubs that will live unprotected in the sister Isle to read the contribution of the Earl of Annesley to the Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society, upon "Ornamental Trees and Shrubs in the Gardens at Castlewellan, Co. Down," vol. xxviii. The Earl's garden, to quote his own words, "Is on one of the foot hills of the Mourne Mountains in the county of Down, about three miles from the Irish Channel, thus benefiting by the mild influence of the Gulf Stream: it faces east and south, and is surrounded by old forest trees, so that it is well sheltered. We suffer little from frost; ten degrees is the average; once, in the hard winter of 1895, we had fifteen degrees. The rainfall is about thirty-two inches; the subsoil is gravel, and as it lies on rather a steep hill there is perfect drainage--a great advantage for tender, as indeed it is for all plants."

In a future edition of this work, if it be called for, the gardens of Ireland in relation to the trees and shrubs that are grown therein will receive greater justice than it is possible to give at present, owing to the number of rare and tender species and varieties that are at home in the sister Isle. Ireland has two interesting Botanic gardens, one attached to Trinity College, Dublin, of which Mr. F. W. Burbidge, M.A., is the well-known curator, and the other at Glasnevin. This is under the care of Mr. F. W. Moore and is exceptionally beautiful. Both contain rare trees and shrubs, but the terrific storm in the early part of 1903 wrought sad havoc.

CHAPTER XXVII

HARDY BAMBOOS

Thanks to Lord Redesdale (author of "The Bamboo Garden"), and a few other gardening enthusiasts, the Bamboo has been made a beautiful feature of many English gardens. Although a graceful shrubby gra.s.s of quite tropical aspect, the majority of species and their varieties are thoroughly hardy, so much so that they have pa.s.sed safely through the severest winters of the past twenty years. Bamboos and hybrid Water Lilies are responsible for much of the interest taken in good English gardening at the present time. Their introduction has marked a distinct era, and their popularity is wide-spread, while in the near future we shall regard the Bamboo much as we do the most common of shrubs now planted. _Arundinaria j.a.ponica_ (_B. Metake_) is, of course, an old favourite, and it is surprising that this stately species did not before remind English gardeners of the great possibilities of the Bamboos in the adornment of the pleasure-ground. As Mr. Bean says: "Fifteen or twenty years ago many of the best of the sorts now largely grown were unknown in this country; but apart from their novelty they have other qualities. No evergreens capable of withstanding our winters exceed these shrubby gra.s.ses in beauty and grace, in luxuriance of leaf.a.ge, or in their bright, fresh, green tints in winter. Very few, indeed, equal them."

[Ill.u.s.tration: _GROUPING OF YUCCAS, PAMPAS GRa.s.s, AND BAMBOOS, KEW (Winter)._]

Although fifty species and varieties of this lovely family are now grown, only about twenty need be thought of, because many of them from the ornamental point of view are valueless in the English garden. The hardy Bamboos belong to three groups or genera--_Phyllostachys_, _Arundinaria_, and _Bambusa_--and it is well to thoroughly understand these divisions. We hope those trade growers who still group everything as Bambusa will follow the now accepted cla.s.sification. The following have proved the most hardy and beautiful in the Bamboo garden at Kew: _Phyllostachys Henonis_, _P. fastuosa_, _P. viridi-glaucescens_, _P.

flexuosa_, _P. nigra_, _P. boryana_, _P. sulphurea_, _P. Marliacea_, _P.

ruscifolia_, _P. Castillonis_, _Arundinaria nitida_, _A. j.a.ponica_, _A.

auricoma_, _A. Simoni_, _A. Fortunei_, _A. anceps_, _A. Hindsii var.

graminea_, _Bambusa palmata_, _B. tessellata_, and _B. marmorea_.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _BAMBOO GARDEN AT KEW, WINTER_

(_In centre, Bambusa palmata; left, Phyllostachys Quilioi; right, Bambusa tessellata_).]

In selecting a place for the Bamboo colony, think well of position.

Shelter from north and east is essential. Luxuriant leafy stems are only possible when the plants are screened from winds in these quarters, indeed from _all_ winds. Cold north and east winds are more harmful than severe frost, and this applies to all the tender evergreens. A moist and rich soil is also important. Without it luxuriant growth is impossible, and a Bamboo that is not leafy, that does not bend its tall, graceful stems to the breeze and make willowy shoots yards high, when it is natural for it so to do, is not beautiful: the garden is more interesting without it. Many of the species spread rapidly by underground stems, and for this reason must never be planted without careful thought. Each plant should tell its own tale, and not suffer partial extinction through a choke-muddle arrangement that makes a bank of leaf.a.ge perhaps, but in which all individual beauty is hopelessly lost. Some Bamboos, like _Phyllostachys viridi-glaucescens_ and _P.

Henonis_, need ample s.p.a.ce for full development. Transplant always in _late spring_, never in winter and early spring. When bamboos were first grown in this country on a large scale many deaths occurred through transplanting in winter.

With the utmost care Bamboos in the fickle British climate get sadly browned in February and May, the outcome of either a hard winter or keen east winds in spring. The stems are seldom injured, and Mr. Bean says "the underground portion of the plants never is." This scorched look is not beautiful, and is more apparent as the spring meets summer, when the whole plant world is bursting into new life and tinting the landscape with green. Therefore, Bamboos can never be planted so lavishly as Rhododendrons; and we do not desire a Bamboo plague, beautiful though the plants are in foliage and growth, so perhaps the east wind is somewhat of a blessing. Bamboos must have favoured spots. When a single group is desired, then choose some sheltered corner, and the same consideration is necessary when making a Bamboo garden or grove. A beautiful and refreshing feature of many English homes is a ravine of these lovely gra.s.ses, and the Bamboo colony at Kew is accounted one of the most delightful spots in the Royal Gardens.

In the _Garden_ of February 1, 1902, pp. 73, 74, is an interesting account of the Bamboos at Kew. As this contains much practical information, it is reproduced: "Kew was one of the first gardens in which hardy Bamboos were grown, and it is to a great extent due to this collection, and the collections of Mr. Freeman Mitford, Messrs. Verten, and a few other pioneers, that the planting of hardy Bamboos has a.s.sumed its present proportions. The creation of the Kew Bamboo garden dates back to 1892. Previous to that the cultivation of hardy Bamboos had been practised under great difficulties. The collection contained only a few species, planted in poor soil in an exposed position, and were always unsatisfactory. In addition to Bamboos, there were other monocotyledonous plants in the same plight, hence the happy idea was conceived of forming the present Bamboo garden. This garden is situated on the eastern side of the Rhododendron dell, near the north or Sion Vista end. It was originally a shallow gravel pit, and is peculiarly adapted to the requirements of Bamboos. The depression in the ground and the high bank of the Rhododendron dell give considerable shelter, whilst a wide belt of large forest trees, which surrounds the north, east, and south sides, insures almost complete protection from cold winds. The garden is pear-shaped, and can be entered by three paths on the south-east, west, and north sides. The banks round the sides are terraced, and held up by large tree roots placed roots outwards, the roots forming numerous bays and corners, each of which is given over to one species. Separated from these bays by a gravel path 9 feet wide is a central bed of about a quarter of an acre. This is filled with large clumps of various species and fine single specimens, arranged in such a way as to open a vista right through the bed here and there or into the centre. These vistas and openings, together with the paths, add greatly to the general effect, the plants and groups being well separated and showing to advantage, while the beauty of the stately upright stems of some and arching plumes of others, lining or bending over and almost meeting across the openings, is at once seen. Intermixed with the Bamboos are Yuccas, Miscanthus, Pampas Gra.s.s, and other things, all of which help to give pleasing variety. Between the back of the garden and the belt of trees a screen is formed of _Rosa multiflora_, Spiraeas, Rhododendrons, and other shrubs, interspersed with clumps of Pampas Gra.s.s, Yuccas, and some of the strongest and hardiest of the Bamboos.