Lacock Abbey,
Chippenham
April 27 – Saturday
My Dear Constance
The little parrakeets are quite happy at home.
The weather is quite warm, but gloomy and rainy. I visited the houses & found them full of beautiful flowers – I especially admired Miss Gibson Craig’s Sychnis which we supposed was an annual, but has come up again and flowered finer than ever.
Tell Mlle Amélina that the pink she sowed the seed of, is now in flower. It is the little Dianthus deltoides – We have an immense number of Tulips in flower & I think they are unusually tall.
The most striking plants are the Tacsonias in the Conservatory, two kinds
John Wilkins was amazed at the beauty of the parroquets, none having ever been seen in Lacock before. We tried to purchase Millet seed & endive for them in Chippenham but we only succeeded in procuring hemp and lettuce.
Your affte
Henry