74 PRINCIPES [Vor 4l

Priwipes,4I(2), 1997, pp. 74*83 "PalmTrees Shivering in a Surrey Shrubbery"-A Historyof Subtropical Gardening

JIn,tRuvt{ot-ns Vandwen Botanical GardenAssociation, 5251 Oak Street, Varcouuer, British Columbia, Canad,a

From the earliest times, gardenershave been dition was the Historia Naturalis Palmarurn, preoccupiedwith cultivating exotic in alien which took him from lB23 to lB53 to complete climates (Huxley I97B). Henry VIII's gardener and which is described by Prof. Comer as "the successfullygrew such as figs, peaches,and most magnificenttreatment of palms that has been apricots againstthe warm, south-facingbrick walls produced" (Corner 1966). The half-hardy palms at royal palaces. Not much later, Sir Francis Brahea and, Trithrinax were included. The year Carewwas growingorange trees outdoorsin south- lB50 saw the publication of another great palm ern England. Extraordinarymeasures were needed book, Palms of British East Ind,ia by William Grif- to keep these delicate trees alive. In winter, fith (1810-1845). Other British palm pioneers of wooden huts were erected around them and they the 19th century included Alfred Wallace (1823- were heated with stoves when frosts threatened 1913), Henry Bates (1823-1892), and Richard (Rose l9B9). Howeverodespite these early begin- Spruce (lBI7-1893). A major contribution was "exotic" nings, the use of hardy palms and other made to the study of palms by the Italian botanist plants in the temperategarden really owesits ori- OdoardoBeccari (1843-1920) in the latter part of gins to eighteenth and nineteenth century Euro- the l9th century and early 20th century. pean botanical expeditions and to the Victorian In the l8th and l9th centuries, collectors voguefor botany and plant collecting. This article went on many exciting and dangerous voyages traces that history to the present-dayuse of such around the world to bring back specimens for plants in the Pacific North W'est. European collectors. One of the most famous was Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820) who went with Palm Pioneersand PlantCollectors Captain Cook on his first voyagearound the world. When he became unofficial director of Kew Gar- Interest in palms and other tropical plants grew dens, he sent out other plant collectorswho added as European nations extended their influence in many more of the plants with which we are now tropical areas of the world. In particular, the familiar. From Britain, many of the plants were Dutch presencein the Far East led to an increase then sent to other tropical regions. For example, in Europeanknowledge of palms. In the latter part the Malaysian rubber industry owes its origin to of the l7th century,Rumphius (1627-1702) com- seedlingssent to the SingaporeBotanical Gardens piled his books on the flora of Amboina in the by Kew Gardens. Kew was also important in Moluccas Islands, describing about 50 speciesof spreading the cultivation of bananas around the palms. Alexander von Humboldt added greatly to world. A major breakthrough in plant collecting this knowledge through his voyagesof scientific took place in IB27 when the Wardian case was investigation to the Spanish Colonies in South invented and plants could be more safely trans- Americaoadding, amongothers, the genusJubaea, ported (Allen 1969). Deenaugh Goold-Adams "the which is usually consideredto be the hardiest of notes that, use of the Wardian case-meant the feather palms. Humboldt's travels and publi- that the more delicate tropical plants and the won- cations stirred up interest over South Americao ders of China had a chance of surviving the jour- which led, in turn, to the expeditionin IBIT to ney. The use of the Wardian case tumed the 1820 of Carl von Martius (1794-1868), the trickle of new introductions into a flood" (Goold- ooFather of Palms." One of the results of this expe- Adams 1987). 19971 REYNOLDS:SUBTROPICAL GARDENING 75

One of the earliest plant collectors was Robert Exotic plants such as palms provided a link' how- Fortune who made successful expeditions into ever weak, to wondrouslands: (Coats 1969). Although Dr' Von China and Japan Only in purple light of dreams may dwellers in temperatecli- Siebold sent seedsof the Windmill palm (Trachy- mates conjure up, perhaps, for themselues pictures of carpusforturrci) from Japan to Holland in 1830, it indescribable magni'fi'cenceof the aegetation that springs up was Robert Fortune who was responsiblefor their beneath rhe glowing sun of the tropics. The indiaid'ual plants themelues that languish imprisoneil in our hot-houes can but successfulintroduction as a staple of subtropical in faintly suggest ideas of their full and majestic d'eaelopment gardening.He first saw the palm on the islands of their natiae lands. Chusan off the coast of east China and collected S. Moody (IB@,) young plants in 1849 on a trip into the interior. The associationof palms with religion was part of China had been off-limits to European collectors their fascinationfor someVictorians.In 1864, The until the end of the Opium War in IB42 and in Palrn Tree by S. Moody was published. In it, she 1849, Europeanswere still restricted to 30 miles notes the many scriptural references to palms, from a treaty-port. Fortune wanted to collect green "it writing that has been the writer's earnest aim tea plants, which were far from the coast so, in throughout to endeavour' by unfolding the count- order to go undetected,he wore a Chinesecostume less lovely analogiessuggested by her subject, to had his head shaved in the Chinese style to and interest the reader in The Palm Tree - Servantof that he was a foreigner. On the joumey by conceal God and friend of man." Sometimesthis associa- the tea district, he came across the palm boat to tion seemsto have gone too far. One l9th century named after him. He ananged to that was to be enthusiastwrote: send some young plants via Hong Kong and Cal- cutta to William Hooker at Kew. He requested This distinguishedform of the palm, superiorto all otherplants, nour- "that he would forward one of them to the garden the noble bearing, the stemstriuing to reach the skies-its the materials clothing an'd'sheher - all these Albert at Osborne ishing , for of His Royal Highness Prince combinedto createthe senseof a higher being inherent in it, if House, Isle of Wight." It is interesting to note that' not a godhead,then surely the d'welling of the same. in 1871, William Robinson wrote that a Chusan Minter (1990) "had Her Majesty's gardens at Osborne palm in In Europe, many of the newly introduced plants for many winters and attained a consid- stood out were housedin greenhousesranging from the great (Robinson 1871). Over a hundred erable height" Palm House at Kew built between1844 and lB4B Lancaster observedthat years later in 1989, Roy to more modest suburban home conservatories introductions are still alive trees from Fortune's built for the expanding middle class created by Osborne House, and and well outside at Kew, the Industrial Revolution (Minter 1990, Warren (1989). elsewhereLancaster 1991). The developmentof those glasshouseswas the result of the repeal of Britain's Glass Tax in The VictorianPassion for Plants 1845 and the growth of new industries producing cheaper glass. Heat was provided by stoves and the plant col- The many exotic plants found by so these conservatorieswere often called stove European lectors were eagerly welcomed by the housesor stoves.One author notes that middle classes,esfecially in Britain' The Victo- rians had a passionfor plants: the Virtoians liked to heat their eonsematories. It was a metter of ambition and pridc to be able to gron and d'isplay the most exotic, rare, and tend'er plants and then to be able to t(llte tea Plants-especially exoticplarxs, found' on heroic ad'aen- fecund, amongst them. of the globe-were one of the symboLs tures in the far comers Marston (1992) of the Victorian Age. As Britain's ind'utrial bue grew mnre prosperousand her Empire spread,so the Bitish public became The design of many of these conservatorieswas It was not such a more obsessed,uith nature in all its uarieties. very elaborate and the survivors bear witness to paradoxical as it might seemat sight. Partly fascination f'rst craftsmen. it was a reaction agaimt the accelerateddrift of the population the skills of Victorian "The rowards the ind.utrial cities, partly ct sheer reuelling in Although the passionfor palms never surpassed Wond,ersof Creation". Nothing wu more encouraging to an the crazefor fems, palms had a special fascination aggressiuelyexpansiue and' optimistic people than the ceaseless for the Victorians as reflected in the growth of the its explorers parade of new resou.rcesand' natural rnamels that Kew collection. Six palm species were grown at and entrepreneurswere bringing home the colonies. It from ten by 1787, 20 in 1813, 40 in seemedlike a diuine blessingon the nation. Kew in 7768, Mabev '9g9) 1830, and 420 ii 1BB2(Minter 1990). This public 76 PRINCIPES [Vor-.41

collection was eclipsed by that of Loddiges' Nurs- ical gardening was a leading horticultural writer ery in Hackney between lB20 and 1845, which in of the period, Shirley Hibberd. He had previously the latter year had upwards of 200 types of palms. written on the merits of foliage plants in The Fern The customersfor such a nursery required consid- Garden (1869) and New and Rare Beautiful- "The erable wealth. A writer commentedin lB3B, LeaaedPlants (1870). In 1871, the first addition culture of palms-is less a matter of nicety than of The Amateur's Flower Garden was published. '"The expense. They require a powerful moist heat, a This containeda chapteron SubtropicalGar- large massof rich earth in the pot, tub or bed and den" in which Hibberd explained someof the dif- ample space for the leaves-it would require to ficulties involved as well as the attractions of thia have the roof elevated by degreesto sixty, eighty type of gardening. He notes that the subtropical or a hundred feet" (Minter 1990). The develop- garden as then understood, was ooanimportation ment of subtropical gardening,which reduced the from Paris of limited and indeed almost question- need for large conservatoriesmay have been, in able value. The nearer we go to the tropics for part, due to a desire to enjoy palms and other material, the nearer do we verge towards the exotic plants without this great expense. impossible in the endeavourto adapt them to the averageconditions of a British summer." Howevero The Beginningsof Subtropical subtropical gardening was not to be condemned Gardening on account of such difficulties. It was new and mistakeswere to be expected.The solution was to "when The use of palms and other exotics in the tem- include hardy plants, we have made some perate garden started in Germany and France. progressin the artistic disposition of palms, ferns According to one source, the first attempt to use and musas in the open ground, we shall not be Canna as subtropical bedding plants in temperate slow to discover that many hardy plants may be latitudes was made in 1846 by M. Ann6e, a former associatedwith them to the advantageof artistic French consular agent in Chile (Perry 1979). effect. Thus subtropical gardeningalways tends to Reports of the use of Canna and Maranta in out- subarctic gardening." door flower beds came from Germanyin the 1850s (Carter 1984, Elliott 1986, Stuan l98B). These The Influenceof WilliamRobinson tender plants displayed outside only during the summer and autumn were supplemented by the The subtropical garden was popularized in hardier pampas grassesand bamboos.This style England by the writings of William Robinsonwho was then developed in the public parks of Paris is sometimesknown as the Father of English gar- and began to. influence British gardeners. One dening (although he was lrish!) (Hadfield 1980, such gardener was John Gibson who was the Alan f9B2). In 1867, at the age of 29, he went superintendent of Battersea Park in London. He to Paris to cover the Paris Exhibition for The had been a plant hunter in India and had intro- Tirnes ln Gleaningsfrom French Gard,erc(1868) duced many new plants to England. By 1864, he and.The Parks, Promenad,esand Gardcns of Paris had established at Battersea Park a subtropical (f869) he gave his support to the growing trend. garden containing palms, tree fems, and foliage However, like Hibberd, he was very critical of plants, such as Solanum and Canna. In her history using the more tender plants, which failed to make of London'sparks, Mireille Galinou (1990) records much growth in the relatively cool English sum- that Gibson's experimentswere soon followed in mer. other parks and the Dell in Hyde Park came to In 1871, Robinson'sbook The SubtropicalGar- rival Battersea for its display of large and orna- den was published. In the Preface, he statesthat mental leaves. Encouraged by such examples, the book was written with a view to assist the there were gardenersbold enoughto cary out and newly awakened taste for something more than succeedwith subtropical gardeningas far north as mere color in the flower-garden,by enumerating, Scotland (Davies 1991). Nurseries and seed pur- describing, indicating the best positions for, and veyors took the opportunity to supply this new giving the culture of, all our materials for what is "subtropical interest in subtropical gardening.The firm of Barr called gardening." This was not a and Sugdencame to be associatedwith subtropi- very happy or descriptive name and was adopted cal plants (Galinou 1990). One of the earliest writ- from its popularity only. Fortunately, a number of ers to recognizethe growing influence of subtrop- plants not from subtropical climes could be 19971 REYNOLDS:SUBTROPICAL GARDENING 77

oosubtropical" employed with great advantage.Subtropical gar- all of the plants still grown today, oothe dening was defined as culture of plants with although the names may have changed in some large and graceful or remarkable foliage or habit, cases.Many palms are listed: e.g,, Chamaedorea, and the associationof them with the usually low- Chamaeropsexelsa (C. humilis), Chamaeropsfor- growing and brilliant flowering-plantsnow so com- tunei (Trachycarpu.sfortunei), Chamaeropspal- mon in our gardens." He claimed to have put nptto ( palmetto) and Jubaea spectabilis(J. together the most complete selection of such chilensis). plants that was possible from plants then in cul- In 1879, Robinson founded his magazineGar- tivation and that most of the subjects were dening lllustrated in which he advertizedThe SuA- described from personal knowledge of them, both tropical Garden and continued to write on sub- in London and Paris gardens. tropical gardening. In the January 7, lBB2 issue, Part I of the book consists of an introduction he published an engraving (subsequentlyrepro- and somegeneral considerations. He strongly crit- duced in The English Flower Garden) of a Tra- 'rude icizes the love for colour" which had led to chycarpusfortunei with a very fine crown of fronds the adoption of a few varieties of plants for culture (Fig. l). The engraving was taken from a photo- on a vast scale, to the exclusion of interest and graph taken two or three years before in the variety, and of beauty or taste. Subtropical gar- grounds of Lamoran Rectory, Probus, Cornwall. It dening had taught the beauty of form. However, was planted in the spring of 1853 (i.e., only a few the example set by Gibson at BatterseaPark was years after Robert Fortune introduced the species "The not to be completely adopted. radical fault from China) and, 19 years later, had attained a of the 'Subtropical Garden', as hitherto seen,is its height of 16 feet 6 inches, the stem 6 feet from lumpish monotonyand the almost total neglect of the ground, measuring3 feet 6 inches in circum- graceful combinations. --The subjects are not ference. It was a female plant and had several used to contrast with or relieve others of less times flowered and produced well-developed attractive part and brilliant colour, but are gen- fruits. In another part of the ground was a male erally set down in large masses."The key was to plant of the same species,about l0 feet high and "The combine foliage plants and flowers: fact is, equally well furnished. 'subtropical we do not want purely gardens'or'leaf In lBB3, Robinson's most important book was gardens' or'colour gardens' but such gardens as, published. The Engli"shFlower Gard'enbecame a by happy combinationsof the material at our dis- classic and has continued to influence gardening ooBeauty posal, shall go far to satisfy those in whom true to the present day. A chapter entitled of taste has been awakened - and. indeed. all Form in the Flower Garden" was a summary of classes." Part I of The Subtropical Garden.Included in the Robinson stressed that subtropical gardening detailed descriptions of plants were several of the was by no means limited to tender plants or the subtropical plants more fully describedin his ear- wanner parts of the country. Someplants such as lier book. dracaenas,aloes, and some of the palms could be Robinson had a strong influence on the gardens used for winter decorationin the conservatoryand of the late-Victorian and Edwardian period. planted out in the summer. But people without a According to David Otterwill, nowhere were his conseryatory or hot house could still enjoy the ideas put to more dramatic effect than in his native beauty afforded by plants of fine form such as Ireland (Otterwill l9B9). Subtropical gardening pampasgrass, ).uccas, the arundos,acanthus, and had already been practiced in that country, for "hardy "But the palm" (presumably Trachycarpusfor- instance at Fota Gardens. in places like the tunei fEig. l] then described as Chamaeropsfor- southern coast of County Kerry off the Kenmore tunei) that "has preservedits health and greenness estuary,'Robinsonian' gardens flourished beyond in sheltered positions, where its leaves could not his wildest dreams." They included Lord Lans- be torn to shredsby storms,through all our recent downe'sat Derreanoand the island garden created hard winters.o' by Samuel Heard at Rossdohanwith its tree ferns Par"tII consisting of about 170 pagesforms the and bamboos. Both gardens.were begun in the bulk of the book and is an alphabetical listing of l870s. From about 1900, the Earl of Dunraven both hardy and tender plants. It describes each transformed Garinish Island at Parknasilla into plant and gives advice on how they may be best another subtropical garden.In Yesterday'sGa.rderc arrangedand on their culture. Included are nearly published by the Royal Commissionon Historical 7B PRINCIPES [Vor-.4l

"Hardy I. The Palm," a figure from Robinson, Gard,eninglllustated, January 7, 1882.

Monuments in England, some of the photographs SubtropicalGardening Enthusiasts illustrate subtropical gardening at the turn of the century. For example, there is a photograph of a The fashion for subtropical gardeningcontinued group of tree fems at Clandon Park in Surrey (For- until the First World War. One enthusiast was svth l9B3). Henry Cooke who wrote A GloucestershireWild 19971 REYNOLDS:SUBTROPICAL GARDENINC

Garden describing his garden (Challis 19BB). The RevisionistRobinson in the Indian Cooke had been Surgeon General The Subtropical Gardcn was published when by the vegetation Army and had been influenced Robinson was 33 and the first edition of. The in India. On his retirement in England, he devel- English Flower Gard,enwhen he was 45. In 7926 oped a large gardenwith a view over the Cotswolds when the 14th edition of the latter book was pub- and the River Severn. He planted Trachycarpus, lished, Robinsonwas 88 years old, an invalid con- yuccas, bamboos, agapanthus, cannas, gingers, fined to a wheelchair and considerablymore con- phormiums, datura, ard Mwa ensete as well as servative in his views on subtropical gardening hardier foliage plants such as €Irumlilies, ligular- and the use of palms. In the Preface to that etfi- ias, hostas,and polygonums. tion, he wrote: Another enthusiast who also lived in Glouces- with m'urh about tershire was Canon Ellacombe who created a gar- Thefirst eililiow of this book were burdcned' the ways of fnwer-gardcning cunent at the time-Experience den at Britton Vicarage near Bristol during the has taught me to throw oaerboard all tender plants and d'eaote second half of the 19th century and contributed a the book to hardy things only, that may be planted in the open --Tropical series of articles to the Guard,ionnewspaper dur- air on eaeryfine day in thefall or wirrter. weed'sthat ing the years 1890-1893 (EllacombeIB95). These giae a little showy colour for a few months and' plants that do in cold, d,istrictsif at all; --palms neaerat home in delightful not fl,ower a:ticles were published in 1895 in a look in our cline. This is not a theory but a record'of uhat took book called In A Gl.oucestershireGarden. He place in my gard,enfor mny ye&rs p6t. devotes a chapter to hardy palms and bamboos, "Beauty "beautiful A chapter on of Form In the Flower Gar- which he describes as objects in any den" still appearedbut stressedthe use of hardy garden, they are easily obtained, and when once "the plants only. He claimed that sub-tropical as established are most easy of cultivation; yet it is a systemofflower gardeninghas failed throughout a most unusual thing to see a good collection of our country generally, and can only be carried out them.o'He notes that it was only in recent yeaxs well in the south of England and,thewaflner coun- that either palms or bamboos had a place in tries of Europe." Although the illustration of the English gardens.The following passageillustrates Trachycarpusfortunei from Lamoran Rectory still of palm cultivation in England at that the status appearedas did a descriptive entry on that palm, iime: Robinson discouragedthe growing of palms:

I said that there were 1200 dffirent speciesof palm; but of In our flower gardere Palms can only be seenin a small state; trre this large number only three or four can be at all considered nor can they in pots and tubs giae one anry id'ea of the hardy in England.. The hardiest is without doubt the Chusan beauty of the Palm on the banl's of the Nile or the Ga'nges.But, palm, Trachycarpus fortunei, intoduced' a little oaerforty yed'rs worse than this, the system leads to the ncglect of the mnny world. which are quite as beau- ago by Fortune. It was not at first tried as a hardy plant, but shrubsand, trees of the northem Palm. the experimentwos soon madn (l belieaefrst at Osborne),and tifuI u any wu to be perfectly hardy; and' when it has beenestab- it found Robinson'sdramatic changeof mind on the merits lished eight or ten years it uill cornmencef,owering, and will subtropical gardening may have owed as much gererally fnuer eaery year. It is a aery beautifuI and graceful of plant. AII it asks is protection wind, and' it should be to his personality as to his experience.One writer for from o'in planted where it can hme some screen from the preaailing statesthat character.Robinson was as contra- winds, but it doesnot mind frost or snow. In mryown gard'enit dictory in behaviour as in his gardening" (Had- ten high, and splendid' Ieaues. The only grows about feet forms field 1980). Another writer describeshim as can- other speciesthat can be cotuid,ered'hard'y is Chamarops humr- hardy. tankerous,chauvinistic, and belligerent and notes Lis, but it will not compare with C. fonsnei and is not so oocould Jubaa spectabilis,from Chili, will grow in Cornwall, and'Pit- that he sometimesrun with the hare and chardia filifera has suraiaed' sone winters in aery faaoured hunt with the hounds" (Otterwill 1989). One biog- places. Brahea nitida ls said to be the hardiest palm in the rapher wrote: Riuiera, and, Cocos australis at Genoa,but I haue not heard of their being grown out of doors in England. and Erythaa atmata As Robireon grew older he is reported' to haae becone full of @rahea roezelii), from the Rocky Mountains, may perhaps inconsistetrcies. When he rodn round' his estate the workmen proue hard,y. The cultiaation of the hard'y palms i"sperfectly easy. neaer knen uhether they would get a rise or be dism'issed.He The Arabs say that they require to haae their feet in cold'water had been a heaay smolrcr and enjoyed good wine an'd su.d'd'enly anil, their head in a furnace, This conbination we cannot giue one night took all the dink ont inn the gard,enand threw the them, nor is it necessary;they only require to beplanted in good bottles down a well - and burnt his pipes, h is also said' that soil, to be protected,from wind, and not di:turbed, an'd when afier thi,s he rather unkind,ly serued'wine for his uisitors and once established they giae no further trouble, and they giae a ffired them cigarettes, euen proaided' thetn with ashtrays, but continual delight to the grower. that if anyone should befoolish enough to accept this part of BO PRINCIPES [Vor. 4l

"Croup 2. of house plants out for the summer, Hanow Lodge, Dorking" from The English Flower Carden (4th edition, Robinson rB93).

his hospitaLity they would, receiue a notice on their breahfast Garden,where there is an engravingfrom a pho- tray the next morning giaing them the time of the next come- o'A tograph of group of house plants planted out nient train to London Massingham (1982). for summer" at Harrow Lodge, Dorking [Fig. 2]. It representsa banana tree, a Cordylineaustralis and, In any event, his changeof mind was in tune with three palm trees shivering in a Surrey shrubbery." the times. The end of the Victorian and Edwardian (Fleming and Gore 1979) periods saw the decline of subtropical gardening, much to the pleasure of another biographer: The Declineof SubtropicalGardening And so uanishedthe preposterou Musa ensete, the Abyssinian Conservatoriesand subtropical gardening fell Banana, and other hotors. The plants that remainetl nere out of favor after the First World War. The high ind,eed the English garden. flower cost of heating and labor led to the disappearance A[an (1982) of many of the private greenhousesand conser- Other writers have noted the supposedincongruity vatories. Deenagh Goold-Adams notes, ooDuring of subtropical gardening with the English Flower the first quarter of the twentieth century the con- "it Garden. Anthony Huxley commentsthat, is a servatory was in a constant state of decline. little odd that in Robinson's famous book, The Thousandswere pulled down as the reduced gar- English Flower Garden, there should be a place dening staffs struggled to maintain the large and for an engraving of subtropical bedding, a very elaborategardens of a bygoneage" (Goold-Adams unnatural form of display enjoyed in earlier, less l9B7). Peter Marston, the designer of many mod- cost consciousdecades" (Huxley l97B). In their ern conservatories in England, notes ooBylhe book on the English garden, Laurence Flemirrg Twenties, the conservatory had almost disap- and Alan Gore refer critically to his ideas on peared;few new oneswere built and existing ones "But design: oddestof all is in The English Flower frequently fell into disrepair and were pulled 19971 REYNOLDS:SUBTROPICAL GARDENINC

--For the next fifty years little interest was (Rohde 1932). Various subtropical gardens can - J down. taken in them. Indeed, when I startedthe company still be seen at Crarae Glen Gardens, Logan that is now Marston & Langinger in the early Botanical Gardens,and Inverewein Scotland.The 1970s, the idea of the conservatory had so far last was begun in 1862 by Osgood MacKenzie. retreated from public consciousnessthat I kept The southwestof England has several subtropical having to explain that we did not build music gardens and Tresco Abbey Garden in Cornwall, schools!" (Marston 1992). which dates from 1832 can boast a wide variety In 1970, Christopher Lloyd echoed the aged of palms such as Phoenixcanariensis, P. reclinata, Robinson'srevisionist view on the use of palms in Rhopalostylis sapida, Jubaea chilensis, and Liuip- England. In his book, The Well-TemperedGarden, tona awtralis. In her book, The Mikler Garden, "the he refers to windmill palms as dowdily pre- Jane Taylor notes that in a garden in Torquay, on tentious hardy palms one sees in holiday resorts. the south Devon coast of England, the Chilean --when young and no more than 4 or 5 ft high, pa\m, Jubaea chiLensis,has formed a splendid tall they can look pleasing and I should not be against tree (Taylor 1990). Three specimenswere planted recommending them provided you were strong in about 1900 and one was measured at 23 f.eet minded enoughto chuck them out as soon as they in 1972. In a public park in Torquay growsa good were past their first youth. Most often you seethem specimen of Phoenix canariensis, which also as gaunt treeswith hideous,thick furry trunks sur- thrives in some Cornish gardens. A specimen of mounted by bundles of old, unshed leaves and Phoenix reclinata once grew to 30 feet at Penzance finally a tuft of live ones that is quite out of scale on the Atlantic tip of Cornwall. Even the date with the obesity that has gone before" (Lloyd palm (Phoenix d,actylifera) has been found growing t97O). on a rubbish tip in Cornwall, young plants pre- Many of the subtropical gardens so carefully sumably germinated from the discarded seeds of planted in the lgth century were neglected or a box of imported dates. One of the featuresof the became the victims of vandalism. The garden of garden at Borde Hill, Sussex,began in 1893, was Henry Cooke became overgrown.When visited a the Round Dell, a steep-sided hollow in which few years ago by Myles Challis, little remained windmill palms were planted. Richard Bisgrove except some bamboo, two windmill palms, which notes that they found such a congenial home that towered almost into the tree tops, somerhododen- they still survive amongself-sown seedings ofvar- drons, and a few other things that had stood the ious ages(Bisgrove 1990). In the May 1992 issue test of time (Challis 19BB).Very little now remains of the joumal of the Pacific North West Chapter ofthe gardenat Britton Vicarage createdby Canon of the Palm Society, the Hardry Palm Intema- Ellacombe. In an article in the December 1989 tional, Iish palm enthusiast Philip McErlean issue of The Palm Quarterly, Colin Macleod describessome of the exotic plants to be found at describes the fate of the garden of an old estate Mount StewartGardens in County Down, Northern called "Glenoran" near Glasgow.The garden had Ireland. been left to run wild. Macleod found four windmill Apart from such gardens,books and individuals palms. Three palms between 15 and 20 feet in have also kept up the tradition of subtropical gar- trunk had been burnt by vandals and only charred dening. The 1951 Dictionary of Horticuhure prtb- trunks remained.The fourth was about 20 feet and lished by The Royal Horticultural Societycontains "Sub-Tropical he was successfulin moving it to his new home a fairly detailed entry under Gar- "a sixty miles away. It is thought to originate from a den," which is defined as flower garden or Himalayan plant and seed collecting expedition, pleasure ground devoted during the summer to the acquisitions of which contributed to the plant- plants with stately foliage, arrangedwith a view to ing of the garden in 1865. representtropical vegetation"(Royal Horticultural Society f951). It suggestsseveral plants that might The TraditionContinued be used to create such a garden,including a num- ber of palmso Ricinus, Nicotiana, Sola,nurn, some Of course,not all the Victorian subtropical gar- forms of Zea mays, bananas, tree ferns, cycads, dens were allowed to fall into neglect. ln 1932, bamboosofatsias, ficus, hostas,phormium, pampas Eleanour Sinclair Rohde noted that subtropical grass,and Arundn donax. It may be noted, in pass- gardening was oonowto be seen in perfection in ing, that this entry was largely based on George various parts of Cornwall, Dorset and Hampshire" Nicholson's lllustrated Dictionary of Gardening PRINCIPES [Vor. 4l gublished between 1BB4 and 1BBT and that the me, any longer, are the perpetually pitiful, partly 1992 edition of the R.H.S. Dictionary has no entry putrefying, pulp of perennially punished palms." at all on subtropical gardening. Despite his criti- In addition to numerous accounts of growing cism of tropical bedding noted above,Christopher palms in climates as severe as Ohio and Quebec Lloyd's 1973 book Foliage Plants rccommended and tips on palm protection and cultivation, The the use of several of these plants becauseof their Palrn Quarterly containedarticles on such diverse "making aptitude for summer seem summery'o topics as making palm jelly; the experiencesof a (Lloyd 1973). In 1988, The Exotic Card,en by biology professor who specialized in palm trees Myles Challis was published. I reviewedthis book but was mistaken for a fortunetelling palmist; b in the August 1994 issue of.the Hardy Palm lr*er- haunted palm tree; trips to unlikely palm growing nationaL Suffice it to say that, in my view, it rep- areas;and a palm cross-wordpuzzle. Contributors resents the bible of modern subtropical or exotic wrote from many parts of the United States,Can- gardening. The summary on the dust jacket ada, and Europe. One of them was Martin Gibbons describesit as "the first book this century to cover who went on to establish The Palm Centre in Lon- what was known in Victorian times as 'sub-tropi- don, specializing in palms for indoor and outdoor "so cal' gardening." Myles Challis noted that far use. As detailed in the November 1994 issue, the as I am awareI am the only person in this country Hardy PaIm International took on a broader role (England) indulging in it seriously.'o However, in 1990 when The Palm Quarterly stopped pub- there were others who were maintaining or reviv- lishing. Under editor Nick Parker it has proven to ing the tradition of subtropical gardening. For be a worthy successor. example,in her book Architectural Foliage (1991), oothere Jill Billington noted that is great fun to be The PacificNorth West had in combining exotic-looking foliage plants together under a temperate sky and they can be The history of palm growingin the Pacific North extremely stylish." She describes many of the West was summarizedby Nick Parker in the April plants familiar to William Robinson or Henry 1994 issue of Principes (Parker 1994). He notes Cooke. This is also evidenced by the many con- that a windmill palm was planted in Bremerton, tributions made to The Palm Quarterly, which was Washingtonin 1939 and is now more than 30 feet published between September 1983 and June high, probably the tallest palm north of Califomia. 1990. In addition to growing hardy palms, many Palms were planted in Beacon Hill Park in Vic- contributors were growing other border-line exotic toria in the 1950s but have been replaced with plants such as the Japanesefiber banana (Musa new trees. Trees planted in Stanley Park, Mani- basjoos),Cycas reaoluta, and . toba Street in Vancouver and Rumble Street in Burnaby between 1966 and 1968 may still be TamarMyers seen. Interest in palm cultivation in Vancouver has increaseddue to the efforts of dedicatedindi- In any history of the growth of palms and other viduals such as Gerard Pury, Richard Woo, Rudi exotic plants in temperate areas, a very special Pinkowski, and Nick himself. The extent of this mention must be made of The Palm Quarterly and increase can be seen in two articles by Richard Tamar Myers who was its editor for most of its Woo. In an article in the December l9B4 issue of seven-year life. (Peter Purdom was editor for a The Palrn Quarterly, he notes his recent interest time.) In the November 1994 issue of the Hardy in growing palms ouldoors on a year-round basis "the Palm Intemational, she describesherself as and the limited choice of palms in Vancouver.In irascible but lovable woman who grew palm trees his article in the November 1994 issue of the in brutal climates while longing for the balmy Hardy Palm International, he says that "it's won- shores of some tropical island." She contributed derful to see how palms and other exotic plants many of the articles herself and demonstrateda are taking hold in the Pacific Northwest.--Fifteen wide knowledge of palm cultivation in cold cli- years ago you couldn't buy a 10 gallon size Tra- mates as well as a very strong and humorousper- chycarpusfortunei in Vancouver. And now they sonality and a good writing style which makes it are coming in from California by the truckload, a pleasureto read the Quarterly. To give an exam- huge palms in woodencrates." In the same issue, ple, she describes her increasingly conservative Michael Ferguson notes that a local store had "Not approach to palm protection as follows: for recently imported Jubaeachileruis, Butia capitata, 1997) REYNOLDS:SUBTROPICAL GARDENING B3

historyofpalms. Weidenfeld aqrdPhoenix species with trunk diameters of more CoRNER,E. J. 1966. The natural & Nicolson,London. a foot. Their more recent imports have added -than DAvtES,J. 1991. The victorianfldwer garden.B.B.C. Books, Brahea armata and. Sabal minor. London. ELLAcoMBE,C. f895. In a Gloucestershiregarden. Arnold, Conclusion London. Elrtorr, B. 1986. Victorian gardens. Batsford, London. I hope that the above account will demonstrate FIEMING,L. AND A. Gor.. 1979. The English garden. London. not a short-lived fad MichaelJoseph, that subtropical gardeningis FoRSYTH,A. 1983. Yesterday'sgardens. H.M.S.O., London but a style of gardeningthat goesback about 130 GlLtNou, M. (editor). 1990. London's prid-the glorious llis- years. It may have fallen generally out of favor in tory of the Capital's gardens.Anaya, London. Europe since the First World War but it appears Goot-o-Anllrs, D. 1987. A conservatorymanual. Century London. to have commenceda revival in the Pacific North Hutchinson, Gontn, R. 1975. The flower garden in England' Batsford, West. As alwaysotime will tell. One Seattlewriter, London. Arthur Lee Jacobson,is optimistic that the future HADFIELD,M. 1980. British gardeners.Zwemmer, London. will see a greater variety of palms in the area: HIBBERD,S. 187f. The amateur'sflower garden.Groombridge, London. htcal palm enthuiasts (especiallymembers of the Palm Society) Huxl-Ev, A. 1978. An illustratedhistory of gardening.Pad- haue and are planting other kinds of palms in Seattle.But it is din5on, New York. too early to write an authoritatire account of the kinds expected JACoBSoN,A. L. 1990. Treesof Seattle.Sasquatch, Seattle. to be most srccessful here. Certainly some kinds mtrch more LANcASTER,R. 1989. Travels in China. Antique Collectors handsomethan the common Windmill Palm wilL feature in our Club, London. landscapes". LLoyD, C. 1970. The well-temperedgarden. Collins, London' future -. Jacobson(1990) 1973. Foliageplants. Collins, London. Mesrv, R. l9BB. The flowers of Kew. Century Hutchinson, This optimism is shared by membersof the local London. Weidenfeld chapter of the Intemational Palm Society. MARSToN,P. 1992. The book of the conseruatory. & Nicolson,London. M,cssrNcHa[.{,B. f982. A century of gardens.Faber, London. Acknowledgments MINTER,S. 1990. The greatestglass house. H.M.S.O., London. NIcHoLSoN,G. 1884-fBB7. Dictionaryof gardening.Upcott An earlier version ofthis article appearedin the Giil, London. Hardy PaIm Intemational. the journal of the OrrERwtLL, D. 1989. The edwardian garden. Yale, New Pacific North West Chapter. Haven. Connecticut. P,qRrrR,N. 1994. Northernlimits of palmsin North America: Trachycarpus in Canada.Principes 38: 105-108. LnnRerunn Crrnl PERRY,F. 1979. Beautifulleaved plants. Scolar, London. RoBINSoN,W. l87l. The subtropicalgarden. Munay, London' ALLAN,M. 1982. William Robinson1838-1935: father ofthe RoBINSoN,tr/. 1880-fBB2. Gardening illustrated. London' english flower garden. Faber, London. RoBtNSoN,W. 1883, l4th ed 1926. The English flower gar- Alt.en, D. E. 1969. The victorian fern craze. Hutchinson, den. Munay, London. lnndon. RoHDE,E. S. f932. The storyof the garden.Medici, London. BILLINGToN,J. f991. Architectural foliage. Ward Lock, Lon- Rosa, G. 1989. The traditional garden book. Dorling Kinder- don. sley, London. BISGRoVE,R. 1990. The National Trust book of the english Rovel HonrtcuuLunESoclrtv. 1951. Dictionaryof garden- garden. Viking, London. ing. Oxford, London. an*lT.t. 1984. The victoriangarden. Bell & Hyman,Lon- SruART, D. l9BB. The garden triumphant, Harper & Row, London. CHALLIS,M. 1988. The exotic garden. Fourth Estate, London. TAYLoR,J. 1990. The milder garden. Dent, London. Coers, A. M. 1969. The plant hunters. McGraw-Hill, New WARREN,U/. 199f. The tropical garden.Thames & Hudson, York. London.

UTOPIA PALMS AND CYCADSSpecializing in RarePalms and Cycads.Seed and seedlingsfrom all around the world. Ask for Clayton. Lot 4 Ninderry SlopesRoad, Valdora Q 4561 AUSTRALIA. Int Telephone -161 7 54466205. Int Fax +61 7 54463966.