The Sun.
London, England, 1862-05-22 00:00:00

THE HORTICULTURAL GARDENS.

The first grand fete of the season at these gar-
dens yesterday had all the essentials of success but
fair weather. From the morning the sky had been
overcast, and showers had fallen in succession, but
it was not till the hour when the company began
to assemble that the aspect of the heavens assumed
any serious appearance of settled rain. At three
o'clock, however, the most sanguine began to de-
spair, and all hopes of truly enjoying the floral en-
tertainment provided by the directors of the gardens
were relinquished. With that perseverance we as
a nation possess, numbers were seen arriving at the
gates of the gardens towards four o'clock, and in a
short time the crowd was swelled by season ticket-
holders who passed the morning in the Exhibition,
and who appeared determined, notwithstanding all
obstacles, to take a glanee at the flowers collected
in the mysterious tents, which had been an eye-
sore to them from the refreshment rooms of the
building. But loud as may have been their pro-
tests against the obstruction of the view from its
windows they must yesterday have confessed that,
under the circumstances, no better arrangement
could have been made, and that if the tents had no
greater claim to their appreciation, they might
fairly demand their favourable verdict from the
fact that they enabled those assembled under them
to admire as fine a collection of flowers as has ever
been exhibited in the metropolis. In fact, so effec-
' tually did they answer the purposes intended that
the greater part of the numbers assembled iu the
gardens—and they were some thousands—ex-
amined the various specimens exhibited without
any particular inconvenience beyond a little crowd-
ing, and a feeling of 'discomfort arising from drip-
ping umbrellas and damp coats. Thanks to the
arrangements made by the superintendent of the
gardens, Mr. Eyles, the communications between
the marquees containing the choicest plants were
covered with canvas, and continued up to
the =mulcts leediug Cu the grand. euueer-
vatory. By these means the circuit of the whole
garden was rendered easy and scope afforded for the
circulation of visitors. The dampness of the atmo-
sphere appeared to lend a brilliancy to the flowers
exhibited. It would be invidious to speak of the
beauties of any among them, so choice and delicate
were all those which were exposed to view. The
specimens of oriental plants exhibited by Messrs.
Veitch and Sons, attracted great attention on account
of the rare beauty of their growth and the richness
of their foliage. A new field of floriculture promises
to be opened in that direction. Some, curious spe-
cimens from New Holland, sent by Mr. Wheeler,
gave rise to some discussion on account of their
irregularity of growth. Among the plants indi-
genous to our own soil the rhododendron might
fairly claim the prize. The roses, although equally
fine as specimens, were somewhat faded, owing in a
great measure to the sudden changes of temperature
to which they had been subjected. Severel elegant
designs for the floral decoration of drawing-rooms
were exhibited, but none of them were sufficiently
near to that for which the Ist class prize has been
awarded to make us question the judgment of the
committee. Three military bands played in the
course of the afternoon, and not a little contributed
to enliven the scene. We append a list of the
prizes :

Special prizes offered by Lady Dorothy Nevill for three
groups of flowers for drawing-room decoration. Ist prize,
Misses March, St. James's Falace, £d; 2d, Mrs. J. H.
Lermitte, Knighton, Finchley, £4.
Class 1-15 stove and greenhouse plants—lst prize, Mr.
W. May, gardener to J. Spode, Esq., Rugeley, £2O; 2d,
Mr. B. Peed, gardener to Mrs. Tredwell, Lower Norwood,
£l5.

Class 2-12 stove and greenhouse plants—Messrs. J. and
J. Fraser, Lea-bridge road, £10; 2d, Messrs T. Jackson
and Son, Kingston, V.
Class 3-9 stove and greenhouse plants—lst, Mr. H.
Chilman, gardener to Mrs. Smith, Epsom, £9, and Mr. J.
Green, gardener to Sir E. Antrobus, Bart, Lower Cheam,
£9 (equal) ; 2d, Mr. S. M. Carson, gardener to J. C. Sim,
Esq., Nonsuch-park, £7.
Class 4-6 stove and greenhouse plants-Ist, Mr. A.
Ingram, gardener to J. J. Blandy, Esq., Highgrove, Read-
ing, £6; 2d, Mr. T. Page, gardener to W. Leaf, Esq.,
Streatham, £4.

Class 6-20 orchids, exotic species—lst, Mr, G. Baker,
gardonor to A. Basset, Esq., Stamford-hill, £2O ; 2d, Mr.
W. Milford, g,az Qvuv.
hill, £l6.
Class 6-12 orchids, exotic species-Ist, Messrs, Veitch
and Son, Royal Exotic Nursery, Chelsea, £10; 2d, Mr. B.
S. Williams, Paradise Nuisery, Holloway, £7.
Class 7-10 orchids, exotic species-Ist, Mr. C. Penny,
gardener to H. H. Gibbs, Esq., Regent's-park, £10; Mr.
T. Page, gardener to W. Leaf, Esq., Streatham, £7.
Class 8-6 orchids, exotic species—Mr. John Green,gar.-
dener to Sir A. Antrobus, Bart., Lower Cheam, £6; 2d,
Mr. W. Lakeman, gardener to J. Campbell, Esq., Hen-
don, £4. _

Class 9—Single specimen of any exotic orchid—prizes
withheld.

Class 10-9 greenhouse azaleas, distinct kinds-Ist, Mr.
S. M. Carson, gardener to J. C. Sim, Esq., Nonsuch Park,
£l2 ; 2d, Mr. Thomas Page, gardener to W. Leaf, Esq., £9.
Class 11-9 greenhouse azaleas, distinct kinds-Ist, Mr.
C. Turner, Royal Nurseries, Slough, £9; 2d, Messrs.
Veitch and Son, nurserymen, Chelsea, £7.
Class 12-6 greenhouse azaleas, distinct kinds-Ist, Mr.
C. Penny, gardener to H. H. Gibbs, Esq., Regent's-park,
£6; 2d, Mr. A. Ingram, gardener to J. J. Blandy, Esq.,
Highgrove, Reading, £4.
Class 13-6 rhododendrons, distinct kinds—lst, Mr. C.
Noble, nurseryman, Bagshot, £4 ; 2d, Mr. J. Standish,
nurseryman, Ascot and Bagshot, £3.
Class 14--Rhododendron, single specimen Sikkim or
Bhotan-Ist and 2d withheld ; 3d, Mr. A. Bousie, Stoke
Park, Slough, £l.
Class 15-6 roses in pots,-distinct kinds-Ist, Mr. Thos.
Terry, gardener to C. W. G. Puller, Esq., Youngsbury,
near Ware, £5.
Class 16-12 roses in pots, distinct kinds-Ist, Messrs.
11. Lane and Son, nurserymen, Great Berkhampstead,
£lO ; 2d, Mr. W. Paul, Cheshunt Nurseries, Waltham
Cross, £7.

Class 17-6 Cape heaths, distinct kinds-Ist, Mr. A.
Ingram, gardener to J. J. Blandy, Esq., Highgrove,Read.
ing, ; 2d, Mr. T. Page, gardener to W. Leaf, Esq.,
Streatham, £3.
Class 18-9 pelargoniums, distinct kinds--lat,Mr.Thos.
Bailey, gardener to T. T. Drake, Esq., Shardcloes, Amer-
sham, £8 ; 2d, Mr. Wm. Rye, gardener to Miss Foster,
Clewer Manor, Windsor, £6.
Class 19-12 pelargoniums (distinct kinds),-16t,
Mr.
Charles Turner, Royal Nurseries, Slough, £8; 2d, Messrs.
Dobson and Sons, nurserymen, Isleworth, £6.
Class 20-6 pelargoniurns.(fancies, distinct kinds,)-Ist