COLOUR IN THE GARDENS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23637, 22 October 1938, Page 10

COLOUR IN THE GARDENS

AZALEAS AND RHODODENDRONS SWEEPING DRIFTS OF FLOWERS GOOD YEAR FOR FLOWERING SHRUBS The art shades of pink and white, salmon and cream, and a dozen Gradations of tone in between which fill the azalea corner of the BotanicGardens, provide a sweeping drift of colour at the present time which no other period of the year can outdo. Fifteen hundred azalea bushes simply blaze with beauty—every bough and twig carrying its heavy burden of bloom with scarcely a trace of green foliage to dim the brilliance of the scene. The verdure of the well-kept sward furnishes a bright green setting for the riotous blend of hues, and the delicate foliage of Japanese maples overhead adds another touch of variety to the picture, but nothing—not even the snow-like effect of cherry blossom or the wax-like perfection of magnolia blooms, can steal the stage for a single minute from the azaleas The past week has been theirs, and for about another fortnight they will continue to compel admiration. And then the flowers will fall, and their glory will have departed for another vear. But the azalea garden is never a wilderness. A rotation has been contrived there which provides some degree of beauty for the greater cart of the vear. First, the twinkling little zillas appear, and their tiny graceful heads are still giving a tinge of blue to the plots, notwithstanding that soring is now months old. Grape hyacinths, too. give a touch of brightness to the scene and then come the polyanthus in variegated shades to ring the azaleas round with colour When the azaleas •m. and iust before the autumn turns their thickening foliage to gold a variety of lilies will unfold their loveliness above the flower-strewn soil. Rhododendron Dell The celebrated Rhododendron Dell is not yet at its best, but everywhere are to be seen great stretches of colour, like pink and mauve avalanches sweeping down the mountains of green foliage which cover every square foot of the steep sides of the dell. Some of the earlier varieties, and among them many beautiful hybrids evolved in the gardens by Mr Tannock, have had their little day and gone their way But the best is vet to be. and visitors to the Gardens for some time vet will be able to feast their eyes on scenes of prodigal colour which un fortunately will not recur on the fame scale before next year. Whether the approach to the Dell is made through the Cherry Walk or down through the aza : ea garden, the effect is the same Profusion reigns on both sides. The Cherry Walk is a mass of oink and .white, and underfoot is a soft carnet of petals which heralds the early disappearance of this feature Down through the lower corner of the azalea garden is to be had a hint of the beauty that is yet to come in the lily section where thousands of -pikes are developing steadily towards the blooming stage. Marquis of Lothian In the Dell is a fine example of a locally produced rhododendron hybrid which had a peculiar interest for a recent distinguished -dsitor from overseas, Lord Lothian, who ' ’sited Dunedin last week This variety is called the Marquis of thian h name which had its origin •ii kindly recollections of the family of which Lord Lothian ’s now the head It was evolved by one of the early settlers of the district, a Mr Martin, of Fairfield and when it bloomed for the first time about 45, vears ago. Mrs Martin, who had at one time served as a housekeeper in the ancestral home of the Lothians, insisted f haf the new type should carry the name Marquis of Lothian. When Lord Lothian visited the Gardens there were some beautiful specimens of the hybrid In bloom, and after admiring them, he made arrangements with Mr Tannock for seedlings to be sent to him in Tngland. The F owering Shrubs ' All manner of flowering shrubs, native and exotic enjoyed an exceptionally good season this year and are now making a fine show vhether in bloom or foliage The erunus, the flowering apple, and other varieties of blossoming trees, although now getting past their best, adorn the hillsides with varying shades of nipk and white, and the maple garden, containing a score of varieties of maples from many countries provides a striking example of the variations of foliage *hat Nature can contrive in a single family. The native shrubberv has nade astonishing "rmvth this vear and the variety of form it displays makes a suHect of interesting study Wallflowers En Masse Nothing catches the eye on the fiat more than the masses of wallflowers that occupy a score of large plots -md fill the air with their odorous scents. The primroses, ranunculi and anemones, endeavour desper ately to hold their own. but the vellow. old gold red and maroon of the wallflowers are everywhere The rose garden give? promise of treater -dories in the summer, with its millions of buds swelling and waiting the fight time to hurst but iust now th wallflowers fill the eve Here again the flowering shrubs, md particularly the lilac, contrast strongly with the main motif of green in the targer trees The Garden «fitV> its dnii tv '-onfipunion and old-fashioned mowths. and the rock garden with its drifts of wfiiite and vellow and mauve, are other features that hold out the promise of beauty still to come. In the Vinter Garden In the Winter Garden pride of place at the moment is held by the s-hizanthus. which fill a whole fiiamber Th j mfinite variety of this graceful ttle bloom is one of its most amazmg features Then arc thousands jf snikes banked on either side of the rathway and yet it is difficult in the whole of that maze of colour to find two alike In an adjoining portion the palest of pale pink begonias have firmly established themselves, and a little further the bold strentocarpus has had its dav and is now being replaced by hydrangeas which may be expected to be at their best in a few days The water-lilies are beginning to bloom, and in the fern house the new season’s crowns are annea*fin r d 1 over the place And just for contrast, in a little room aloim-ide. with the dry air and oppressive neat f the desert for an atmosphere, the cactus house is rapidly filling up with the trr.ngest conglomeration of growths

one could imagine Thick green leaves sprout flowers from their outer edges and some of the ugliest looking growths of all are producing the most delicate of blooms. It is incredible that the dry tindering soil in vhich such things flourish ean grow anything at all.