TALBOT1964

Melbury ¹
Monday 1 March 1830

My dear Henry

I arrived here this evening from Lacock & am sorry to find Harry ² with so bad a cold he has been in his room ten days, but thinks himself rather better – I spent 4 or 5 hours at M^r Selwyns ³ by the way, & recommend you strongly to pay it a visit from Lacock some day: it is the prettiest specimen of practical & tasteful gardening within a small space I ever saw – The G house is particularly neat & well ordered & contains a very good selection of plants a splendid Eccremocarpus & Cistus vaginatus & more Calceolariæ than I thought existed I departed loaded with plants. His rock work is quite a pattern – Sedums & saxifrages of many uncommon sorts & all in profusion. He has canna iridiflora & edulis – Dianthus pungens, arbuscula, fruticosa & many other rare sorts – Sedum roseum, ternatum, hispanicam monregalense sow themselves –

My fritillaria cannot be lutea because it is dotted, not chequered & bell shaped like pyrenaica, not sac shaped like lutea, latifolia &c. Pray plant some Spanish chestnuts at Lacock there are two fine ones Car. ⁴ showed me – & some Cedars, in the open near the stews. Salter ⁵ at Bath sells stone pines 2 ft high at 6^s a dozen. I think oriental planes would thrive in your meadows.

I found your picture tickets after you went – you owe me £2. 5. 0 – for 10 tickets pray pay it to M^r Feilding ⁶ I owe him just that for some N^os of M^d de Genlis. ⁷ If you visit any nursery ask for Statice monopetala & speciosa – Rhodod– arboreum & chamæcistus – you will like them –

You will hear of cyclamens & [illegible] from them – a T. celsiana ⁸ is going to flower & one of your [Danni?] (apparently) is out.

Y^r Aff^te
W F S

I find here a great variety of Crocuses which I am trying to make out. C. hederæfolium in flower under the name of repandum – they are the same – I go to Abbotsbury ⁹ tomorrow – I saw a good deal of a [Rubia?] at Lacock – what is it? Pray give orders to have Hypecoum seed saved as I fear it is an annual. I consider it between Poppies & Fumitories.

There is a good deal of caucalis orientalis here do you want any – with the space you have at command you ought to have a little of every thing – Have you Patersonia longiscapa – M^r S. had his fimbriata in as fine flower as I ever saw it in Italy – I hope Hart F. ¹⁰ & you may make some botanical visits together. pray ask for a yellow flowered pittosporum new 4 or 5 years ago I forget the name –

H. Talbot Esq
31 Sackville Street