24 MAY 1940, Page 15

In the Purple It is sometimes interesting to decide consciously,

as they do each week at Kew, which is the loveliest thing in the garden at particular dates. In my patch I am quite sure at the moment that the prize goes to a bush of the barberry known as Prattii. The purple leaves shot with green, the yellow sprays of flower, the weeping boughs, make the variety—to my eyes—supreme in its class. The most popular of all the tribe is undoubtedly Thunbergii, which makes almost as good a purple hedge as Darwinii makes a green. Its colour is enhanced if planted next door to a Dictyophyllum, which rejoices in white stems and very light green leaves. Perhaps Stenophylla comes second in general popularity. It is now at the height of its beauty, each drooping spray as yellow as a guinea.