Lacock
Saturday 3d May
My Dear Wm
I arrived here very early, at ¼ before 1, after an extremely pleasant journey the country looking beautiful. I found a good many pretty things in my garden, and the gardener was very glad to have the plants I brought with me from Melbury <1>.
The pride of the garden at the present moment, is the Rhododendron Edgworthii which I never saw before – It comes from Sikkim Himalaya – The flowers, only 4 in a bunch, are of immense size. Their diameter measures from here [diagram indicating length of 4.7 ins] to here when expanded. Colour paper white: stamina with coal black tips, setting off the white corolla. Leaves clothed with ferruginous wool. Do get it. Besides, it is sweet scented, and the edge of the corolla prettily curled.
I have discovered a new and valuable quality in our old Neapolitan friend the Allium pendulinum. This plant has escaped from my botanic garden into the shrubbery, where it is flowering in profusion over a considerable space, in the shade of trees and in just the same sort of places as the English Allium ursinum delights in – But this is much handsomer and nearly free from the garlicky smell of ursinum. Its effect at a distance is like wood anemones or flowers of that size & whiteness. I would much recommend your introducing it at Melbury on shady banks where we noticed a deal of ursinum the other day. I could send you a lot of bulbs of it in the winter if you like. Few Alliums like the shade. My paper runs short, but I have some more Miscellanea Botanica <2> to recount, which I will do tomorrow.
Your affte
Henry Talbot
Notes:
1. Melbury, Dorset: one of the Fox Strangways family homes; WHFT was born there
2. Miscellaneous botanical news; botanical odds and ends.