THE CHELSEA SHOW

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 8, 10 July 1926, Page 13

THE CHELSEA SHOW

ENCHANTING FLOWERS

"SOLOMON IN ALL HIS GLORY"

RATA FROM CORNWALL.

(From Our Own Correspondent)

LONDON, sth June,

There are many functions during the London season that every one likes to attend; there is.certainly one function that every one is sorry to miss, and that is the world-famed Chelsea Flower Show, held under the auspices of the Eoyal Horticultural Society. Once upon a time its venue was the far-too-limited space afforded by the Temple Gardens on the city side of the Embankment, but for some years past it has been set in the spacious and beautiful grounds of the Chelsea Hospital, the home of war veterans, and no more suitable surroundings could be wished for thai\ this miniature park at the other end of the Embankment. This year the show was postponed for a week on account of tho incidence of the general strike. During this interval considerable anxiety was displayed by flower lovers, who kept constantly ringing up headquarters in Vincent Square asking, "Is there going to be a show?" "What a silly question to ask," laughingly said Sir William Lawrence, Bt., treasurer of the society, at a luncheon preliminary to the opening. "Of course the show would tako place, for everyone connected with the society behaved in the kindest and most helpful manner," and he predicted that it would be as good as any of its predecessors. In this forecast he proved right, for thcro are many judges who think that the 1926 show was the best that has ever been held., Thero were more entries than ever before, and the whole space was 'filled in( spite of transport difficulties. . Sir William spoke of the interesting information about gardening that was regularly dissemitoated by broadcasting, and he made humorous reference to the famous raspberry that was named after Mr. Lloyd George. The merits of this berry might thus be summed up: It was ■ a very strong grower; it was a very good fruit —a little acid perhaps —and it had a singular habit of running about underground, and of coming up in wholly unexpected places.'. (Laughter.) EXHIBITS AND THEIR EXTENT. There were . two canvas marquees 400 feet long and 100 feet broad, packed with the glory of spring and early summer, and another marquee was devoted to rare and valuable orchids. A most interesting tent for the student of horticulture was tho one filled with scientific exhibits which were sent by experimental and research stations all .over the country; another tent in which the Queen took special interest was devoted to paintings by skilled artists of^ gardens, flowering plants and cut blooms. In the grounds, of course, were the rocky gardens with plenty of running water, and there were formal gardens laid out in miniature. One, quite original and very much admired, because the weather was- distinctly warm, was designed wholly of beautiful velvety turf and bedded with fancy grasses of many varieties, so that it was entirely of greens and- restful to the eyes. rock gardens were.more numerous, more * extensive, and . more pleasing that over; and there is no doubt that they had benefited by the week's delay in the opening, for the plants, put in three weeks previously, had rooted - well, and were profuse in their Alpine flowers. If the show was a record, so was the attendance, and on the opening day there were 32,000 people present, or over 5000;mpre than on the .first day of* any previous show. Those who watched the show in the making and saw the plants being discharged singly from the vans and carried into the tents, marvelled at the perfection of the kaleidoscopic colour" scheme that gradually began .to reveal itself as, with the highest artistry, each single plant was fitted into the crevice allotted to it. One feels sure that no flower show can match the ono held at Chelsea, where the immense masses of perfect bloonis are shown with lavish profusion and in brilliant. masses .of colour, yet nothing clashes. One stands entranced before the hardy, azaleas—forty varie-

ties of them —only to pass on to an exhibit of multi-coloured begonias, each flower so perfect that it seems too good to bo true; beds and beds of iris interested the visitors, for there is great development taking place in their culture, in America.as well as here. The , '■'Ambassador" is. very handsome, a combination of rich puce and a pinkymauve. 'Hydrangeas, giant blooms, and blues and pinks and bois-dc-rose; primulas were of pink, lavender, and white, masaed Jogether in a large bed formed as a a tar, and they attracted much attention, though" it- is doubtful if this flower can ever become popular, be-, cause it has ■ a harmful effect on tht skin of. somo"of the people who have much to do with it. Nevertheless, the show it made was. delicate and beautiful. A first-class .certificate was awarded to the handsome new primula Florindae., from Messrs. Oliver and Hunter; it has a bunch of pale yellow flowers on a tall stem. Lady Abcrconway and the Hon. H. D. M'Laren had a remarkable exhibit consisting : o£ nearly 50 species of hardy primulas, many of them extremely rare, together with flvo species of meeonopsis and a similar number of hardy cypripediums. The bright blue, of Meconopsis Baileyi attracted considerable attention. It is doubtful whether'- any other could produce-so many rare species of primulas, and this fact was duly recognised by the bestowal of a silver-gilt Lindley medal. 1' PRINCESS ELIZABETH. '' Carnations were magnificent, and the quality of the blooms were excellent.

Masses o£ pink Malmaison had rivals in the Malmaison of a deeper shade, verging on red. In the centre of one carnation display was a profuse exhibit of "Laddie" about seven feet across, and on either side a large stand in which the dark red "Topsy" was mixed with the white Saffron; The remainder of the group was marie up of large vaaes and bowls of standard varieties, together with several unnamed seedlings. Messrs. Allwood Brothers, of Haywards Heath, had a bold exhibit consisting of three groups, occupying tho end of one of the tents. In the centre was a tastefully arranged display of cut blooms of perpetual carnations, while on tho flanks are numerous varieties of border carnations and hybrid pinks, each in a separate bed cut in turf. Among the border carnations was. the newly-named "Princess Elizabeth;" this is rather of the clove family, and of a good rose-pink in colour. It should flourish well out of doors, whereas all the splendid carnations which are so interesting to study have to be grown under glass. The designation was somewhat premature, as the Royal Princess had not at the time been christened! . NEW AND RARE FLOWERS. . The only now rose to gain an award of merit was tho dwarf polyantha variety named "Golden Salmon," of orangescarlet shade, ■ from Messrs. Cutbush and Son, Barnot. The orange-scarlet azalea named "Valencia," from Mr. Lionel de Rothschild, Exbury, is a brilliant novelty, and the rhododendron "Pilgrim," from the same exhibitor, is a handsome rose-pink variety. Mr. A. A. Dorrien-Smith, Tresco Abbey, Scilly Isles, has sent bomarea aeutif olia punctata, a handsome plant with foxglovelike flowers of orange-red colour. Brooms in many charming shades of colour were seen in the groups of shrubs from Mr. E. C. Notcutt, Woodbridge, and the Donard Nurseries, Newcastle, .County Down, and the favourite, rosecoloured rhododendron "Cynthia" was "conspicuous in the exhibit from Mr. T. Lewis, Dolgelly. A bush, 10ft high, of. the favourite1 rhododendron, "Pink Pearl,",was conspicuous in the exhibit from Messrs. Waterer, Sons,and Crisp^ Twyford. . : . "' The finest sweet peas were those from Messrs. Bobbie and 'Company, Edinburgh, and Boltonand Son, Birdbrook. The orange-coloured varieties, Eoyal Sovereign and •'''Colorado, were two splendid novelties.. The tulips from Messrs. Barr and Sons, Taplow, and Dobbie and Company, Edinburgh, furnished masses of glowing colour. One extraordinary specimen called the "Parrot" is a phantasy break from the "Clara Butt." The best scented tulip was lemon-yel-low in tint, and there were, several pleasing variants of delicate amber and buff half-tones. Lupins grow in tall and heavy spikes and there were uncommon colours, which included 'a bois-de-rose and a deep purple, so intense as to. be almost black. • . : The Sherwood Memorial Cup, for the most meritorious group in the show, other than of orchids, was awarded to Messrs. Sutton and Sons, Reading, for an exhibit of flowering plants grown from seeds; it provided a most brilliant • display. Cineraria, calceolaria, gloxinia, and otheif flowers were grouped in masses, which made a fascinating garden of glowing colour. Grouped calceolarias, those quaint pouch-like blooms, were like a jazz border. Carter's garden of flowers grown from seed was of dazzzling effect. It was a geo-metrically-arranged exhibit, consisting chiefly of flowering plants raised from seed. In the centre schizanthus, while at tho corners were artistically arranged stands of sweet peas, and around tho sides wero circular buds of brilliant, large-flowered gloxinias. The groundwork of the group was made up of masses of calceolarias, cinerarias, statice, rhemannias, salpiglossis, streptocarpus, ncmesias, antirrhinums, and begonias, and the whole* was^arranged very tastefully indeed, making ah exceedingly attractive ■ display. Tho huge rhododendron bushes, 'ablaze with bloom, from Messrs. Waterer, Sons, and Crisp, constituted a flower show i.i themselves. Among the floral treasures in the marquees, Messrs. Blackmore and Langdon's Bath-grown begonias were a fine feature. They were as large as paeo>nies, perfect in form as roses, and wonderful in their hues. Two fine novelties are Hilda Langdpn, of shell-pink, and Albatross,' snow-white. Delphiniums—a forest of blue- —also were remarkably fine in this Bath collection, and some extraordinarily good speci-

mons, the spikes of blossom measuring 2ft to 3ft long, were shown by Messrs. Hewitt, of Solihull, Birmingham, who showed a jiovelty called Wembley, semidouble, in tones of mauve and pink. ORCHIDS AND TREE FERNS. . The orchid tent, of course, contained a great wealth of bloom, representing a great amount of monetary value as well as providing the student of this extraordinary bloom with plenty of interest. The exhibits were better shown than previously, and the vista from end to end of the tent* was broken only by a splendid group of tree ferns from Now Zealand;'and- Australia. These had been sent to Wembley, and after the Exhibition, Messrs. L. E. Bussell, of Kichmond, bought the lot,, more than a hundred of.' them. Their cool effect was as grateful as an oasis in a desert, for the tent got very hot when packed with people. Messrs. Stuart, Low, and Company, Bnfleld, made a fine display of Australian flowering plants, including psoralia, purple boronia, bottle brush, and ti-tree. Another firm made a specialty of the Chatham Island lily, which has seeded well—in support of this it may be mentionod that a few years ago the value of a plant was about £5, whereas now it is only worth as many shillings. Li the tent for novelties, the rata held pride of place. . This was in a pot, in bloom, and had been grown at Penzance, in the open, by Mr. Boscawen. The interest of the show, however, was not confined entirely to flowers, for one stood in awe before the decorative effects contained from vegetables:,

-Red radishes, cauliflowers, golden tomatoes, parsley, amber potatoes, fully exploited, Trench beans, pure white cauliflowers, and giant green peas are always arranged in wonderful pyramids, with striking result. The display of vegetables shown by the Hon. Vicary Gibbs included white cucumbers. There are always other features of interest at the show, and one that specially attracted attention was a good exhibit of all the latest ideas in garden furniture —tea tables, benches, chairs, folding seats, three-decker trolleys on wheels, etc. Perhaps even more interest attached to the origin of the ar-' tic!es than to the articles themselves. For tho wood used, best teak, became available when Beatty's flagship, H.M.S. Lion, was broken up in accordance with tho terms of the Washington Treaty. It became the property of tho Hughes-Bolckow Shipbreaking Company, Blyth, Northumberland, 'and l-.uch- of it is being put to the use described. The next ship to go will be H.M.S. Monarch, and the firm will again turn its timber to effective use. The wood is thoroughly seasoned (if it were not it could not be used in battleship construction), it requires no varnish qr paint, and it is weatherproof. Au natural, it is at its best;, and in some pieces, carved in bold relief, is the ideal verse: — The kiss of the sun for Pardon, The song of the birds for Mirth, One is jiearer God's heart in a garden Than anywhere else on earth. Designs have been well thought out,, and complete sets are compact. Exservice men have a good deal to do with its construction. At Wislcy, in Surrey, the society .enjoys the use of a large garden, in which trials of flowers, fruit, and vegetables are-conducted on scientific lines, and it trains a number of students in different branches of horticulture. In 1913 it was recognised that, if the work at Wisley was to be successfully carried On, increased laboratory accommodation must be provided, and.the contract for the new building was signed early in 1914. The new. building is now complete and equipped, in spite of the many difficulties and delays occasioned by the outbreak of the war, but, as a consequence of the rise in prices and of the decreased purchasing power of money, its maintenance absorbs alar-gely-i»icreased share of the society's income. . .