. - s. OP THl Ea OF S. C. Mason THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN AND HOME GROUNDS. First Edition, November 1883. Second ,, February 1889. Third ,, May 1893. Fourth ,, June 1895. Fifth June 1896. Reprinted, February 1897. Sixth Edition, May 1898. Reprinted, November 1898. Seventh Edition, May 1899. Eighth ,, June 1900. Reprinted, December 1900. ,, May 1901. ,, June 1902. /* 1903. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN AND HOME GROUNDS Design and Arrangement shown by existing examples of Gardens in Great Britain and Ireland followed by a Description of the Plants Shrubs and Trees for the Open-air Garden and their Culture By W. ROBINSON J \\ Author of c The Wild Garden ' Illustrated with many Engravings on Wood Eighth Edition " You see, sweet maid, we marry A gentler scion to the wildest stock, And make conceive a bark of baser kind By bud of nobler race : this is an art Which does mend nature, change it rather, but The art itself is nature." Shakespeare. London John Murray Albemarle Street m.dcccciii Ml* RICHARD CLAY AND SONS, LIMITED, BREAD STREET HILL, B.C., AND BUNGAY, SUFFOLK. jftienb MONS. B. LATOUR-MARLIAC WHO, BY HIS PATIENT EXPERIMENTS, HAS ADDED THE CHARM OF VARIED COLOUR TO THE HARDY WATER LILIES OF THE NORTH, THIS NEW EDITION OF THE -ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN " is BeMcatefc K8743812 " Laying out grounds^ as it is called, may be considered as a liberal art, in some sort like poetry and painting; and its object, like that of all the liberal arts, is, or ought to be, to move the affections under the control of good sense. If this be so when we are merely putting together words or colours, how much more ought the feeling to prevail when we are in the midst of ttie realities of things ; of the beauty and harmony, of the j.oy and happiness of living creatures ; of men and children, of birds and beasts, of hills and streams, and trees and flowers, with the changes of night and day, evening and morning, summer and winter, and all their unwearied actions and energies" WORDSWORTH. FOREWORDS TO NEW EDITION. THIS book is the muster of various once forlorn hopes and skirmishing parties now united with better arms and larger aims, and its beginnings may have an interest for others. I came to London just when the Royal Horticultural Society's garden at Kensington was being laid out, a series of elaborate patterns set at different levels, and the Crystal Palace, in its glory, was described by the Press of the day to be the most wonderful instance of modern gardening water-temples, water-paths, vast stone basins and all the theatrical gardening of Versailles reproduced in Surrey. There was little or no reason admitted into garden design : the same poor imitation of the Italian garden being set down in all sorts of positions. If the place did not suit the style, the ground had to be bolstered up in some way so that the plan might be carried out a costly way to get an often ridiculous result. The great writers of the past had laughed the carpenter's rule out of the parks of England, and pictures arose where they were once impos- sible ; but the ugliness of the garden about the house was assumed to be an essential part of the thing itself, removing that for ever from the sympathies of artistic people. The flower garden planting was made up of a few kinds of flowers which people were proud to put out in thousands and tens of thousands, and with these, patterns, more or less elaborate, were carried out in every garden save the very poorest cottage garden. It was not easy to get away from all this false and hideous " art," but I was then in the Botanic Gardens, Regent's Park, where there was at that time a small garden of British plants, which had to be kept up, and this led me into the varied country round London, from the orchid-flecked meadows of Bucks to the tumbled down undercliffs on the Essex coast, untroubled by the plough ; and so I FOREWORDS TO NEW EDITION. began to get an idea (which should be taught to every boy at school) that there was (for gardens even) much beauty in our native flowers and trees, and then came the thought that if there was so much in our own island flora, what might we not look for from the hills and valleys of the countries of the northern and temperate world ? From thoughts of this kind if I turned to actual things, I saw the flower-gardener meanly trying to rival the tile or wall- paper men, and throwing aside with contempt all the lovely things that through their height or form did not conform to this idea (so stupid as to life), and this too the rule, not only in the villa garden, but in our great public and private gardens. There was, happily, always the beauty of the woods and lanes and the lovely cottage gardens in the country round London, and here and there, though rare, a quiet garden with things as the great mother made them and grouped them. And so I began to see clearly that the common way was a great error and the greatest obstacle to true gardening or artistic effects of any kind in the flower-garden or home landscape, and then, made up my mind to fight the thing out in any way open to me. The English Flower Garden consists of two parts : the first dealing with the question of design the aim being to make the garden a reflex of the beauty of the great garden of the world itself, and to prove that the true way to happiest design is not to have any stereotyped style for all flower gardens, but that the best kind of garden should arise out of its site and conditions as happily as a primrose out of a cool bank. The second part includes most of the trees and plants, hardy and half-hardy, for our flower gardens and pleasure grounds, and it is illustrated with a view to show the beauty of the things spoken of, as few know the many shrubs and trees worth a place in our open-air gardens, and it is of little use to discuss arrangement if the beauty of the flowers is hidden from us. No stereotyped garden of half-a-dozen kinds of plants will satisfy any one who knows that many beautiful aspects of vegetation are possible in a garden in spring, summer, and autumn. This is not a botanical book, as should be clear from its title ; but some may expect in the book technical terms which I wish to keep out of it. Although the debt of the gardener to Botany is great, the subordination of the garden to Botany has been FOREWORDS TO NEW EDITION. fruitful of the greatest evil to artistic gardening. The way of arranging a garden like a book, and a very ugly book, as in the French botanic gardens (Caen, Angers, Rouen), in which one sees a sea of showy labels, where one might look for the life and peace of a garden, is a blinding obstacle to beautiful gardening, and the Garden of Plants, in Paris, may be cited as one having had for ages a disastrous effect in the gardening of France. It is the spirit of natural beauty we should seek to win into the garden, and so get away from the set patterns on the one hand, and labelled "dots" on the other. English names are given where possible as it is best to speak of things growing about our doors in our own tongue, and the practice of using in conversation long Latin names, a growth of our own century, has done infinite harm to gardening in shutting out people who have a heart for a garden, but none for the Latin of the gardener. There is no more need to speak of the plants in our gardens by their Latin names than to speak of the dove or the rabbit by Latin names, and where we introduce plants that have no good English names we must make them as well as we may. Old English books like Gerard were rich in English names, and we should follow their ways and be ashamed to use for things in the garden a strange tongue dog Latin, or as it may be. Every plant grown in gardens should have an English name, among the many reasons for this being the frequent changes that Latin names undergo in the breaking down of the characters which are supposed to separate genera. For instance, Azalea and Rhododendron are now one genus ; such changes are even more troublesome when they occur in less well-known plants ; and one of the most beautiful plants of our gardens, the Irish Heath (Dabcecia, now Boretta), will not be found now by its hitherto recorded name in the London Catalogue of British Plants. But if we have a good English name, these ceaseless botanical changes are of less consequence. It is impossible for gardeners and nurserymen to keep up with such changes, not always indeed accepted even by botanists themselves. The fact that in speaking of plants we use English names does not in the least prevent us from using the Latin name in its right place, when we have need to do so. The systematic nomenclature followed is that of the Kew list, wherever use does not compel us to adhere to old names like Azalea. For the second part of this book the storehouse of information in The Garden has been taken advantage of, but articles have been FOREWORDS TO NEW EDITION. specially written where necessary, and the following are the names of the writers whose contributions are embodied in the second part of the book, and frequently marked by their initials : T. Allen "|. Atkins P. Barr W. J. Bean J. Birkenhead \. Britten W. Brockbank F. W. Burbidge G. A. Champion Latimer Clarke E. T. Cook J. Cornhill Mons. H. Correvon Rev. Harpur Crewe A. Dean R. Dean D. Dewar Rev. C. Wolley Dod Rev. H. H. Dombrain : Douglas Dundas .ev. Canon Ellacombe H. J. Elwes Rev. H. Ewbank W. Falconer D. T. Fish Dr. M. Foster P. Neill Fraser O. Froebel T. W. Girdlestone i\ I W. Goldring P. Grieve J. Groom W. E. Gumbleton T. Hatfield W. B. Hemsley I. Anderson- Henry A. Herrington T. H. Archer-Hind E. Hobday Rev. F. D. Homer Miss F. Hope C. M. Hovey E. Jackson Miss G. Jekyll Miss R. Kingsley A. Kingsmill Max Leichtlin H. Selfe-Leonard E. G. Loder R. I. Lynch J. M'Nab B. Latour-Marliac R. Marnock G. Maw F. W. Meyer A. B. Freeman- Mitford H. G. Moon F. Moore G. Nicholson J. C. Niven Miss C. M. Owen A. Perry J. T. Bennett- Poe R. Potter A. Rawson The Very Rev. The Dean of Rochester A. Salter C. R. Scrase-Dickens C. W. Shaw J. Sheppard J. Simpson J. Smith T. Spanswick J. Stevens Rev. Canon Swayne W. Thompson W. P. Thomson G. Van Tubergen, Junr. Rev. F. Tymons Maurice L. de Vilmorin Dr. A. Wallace W. Watson J. Weathers W. Wildsmith Miss Willmott G. F. Wilson J. Wood E. H. Woodall W. R. CONTENTS. PART I. CHAP. PAGE I. ART IN RELATION TO FLOWER-GARDENING AND GARDEN DESIGN ... 3 II. DESIGN AND POSITION; AGAINST STYLES, USELESS STONEWORK, AND STEREOTYPED PLANS ; TIME'S EFFECT ON GARDEN DESIGN ; ARCHI- TECTURE AND FLOWER GARDENS ; DESIGN NOT FORMAL ONLY ; USE IN THE GARDEN OF BUILDERS, AND OTHER DEGRADED FORMS OF THE PLASTIC ART 15 III. VARIOUS FLOWER GARDENS : MAINLY CHOSEN FOR THEIR BEAUTY ; COTTAGE GARDENS IN KENT AND SOMERSET ; MOUNT USHER ; GREENLANDS ; GOLDER'S HILL ; PENDELL COURT ; RHIANVA ; SHEEN COTTAGE; DRUMMOND CASTLE; PENSHURST; COMPTON WINYATES ; KETTON COTTAGE ; Powis ; COTEHELE ; EDGE HALL ; SHRUBLAND ; CHILLINGHAM ; BULWICK ; OFFINGTON ; WILTON ; STONELANDS, AND OTHERS 29 IV. BORDERS OF HARDY FLOWERS 73 V. THE RESERVE AND CUT-FLOWER GARDENS 89 VI. HARDY BULBOUS AND TUBEROUS FLOWERS, AND THEIR GARDEN USE . 95 VII. ANNUAL AND BIENNIAL PLANTS, HALF HARDY PLANTS ANNUALLY RAISED FROM SEED 108 VIII. FLOWERING SHRUBS AND TREES, AND THEIR ARTISTIC USE 116 IX. CLIMBERS AND THEIR ARTISTIC USE 125 X. ALPINE FLOWER-, ROCK- AND WALL-GARDENS 137 XI. THE WILD GARDEN 153 XII. SPRING GARDENS 164 THE SUMMER GARDEN BEAUTIFUL: XIII. THE NEW ROSE GARDEN 179 XIV. CARNATION, LILY, IRIS, AND THE NOBLER SUMMER FLOWERS .... 196 XV. SUMMER-BEDDING 202 XVI. PLANTS IN VASES AND TUBS IN THE OPEN AIR . 211 CONTENTS. CHAP. PAGE XVII. BEAUTY OF FORM IN THE FLOWER GARDEN, AND HEREIN ALSO OF THE SUB-TROPICAL GARDEN 222 XVIII. THE FLOWER GARDEN IN AUTUMN 2 35 XIX. THE FLOWER GARDEN IN WINTER -244 XX. WATER GARDENS BY VARIOUS WATER GARDENERS 251 XXL THE BOG GARDEN 264 XXIL THE HARDY FERN GARDEN ... 271 XXIII. COLOUR IN THE FLOWER GARDEN .280 XXIV. FRAGRANCE 287 XXV. SIMPLER FLOWER GARDEN PLANS AND THE RELATION OF THE FLOWER GARDEN TO THE HOUSE 291 XXVI. WALKS AND EDGINGS 35 XXVII. THE FLOWER GARDEN IN THE HOUSE 316 XXVIII. EVERGREEN TREES AND SHRUBS 3 2 4 XXIX. CLIPPING EVERGREEN AND OTHER TREES 335 XXX. AIR AND SHADE 345 XXXI. LAWNS AND PLAYGROUNDS 354 XXXIL FLOWER GARDEN AND PLEASURE GROUND HOUSES, BRIDGES, SEATS AND FENCES 362 XXXIIL THE ORCHARD BEAUTIFUL 374 XXXIV. LABOURS FOR GOOD OR EVIL; SOILS; WATER; DRAINING; EVAPORA- TION ; ROTATION ; WEEDS AND RUBBISH HEAPS ; MONOTONY ; STAKING : GLASS ; WASTED LABOUR IN MOVING EARTH ; WOODEN TRELLISING BEST 383 PART II. CONTAINING THE FLOWERS, FLOWERING SHRUBS AND TREES, EVERGREENS, AND HARDY FERNS FOR THE OPEN-AIR FLOWER GARDEN IN THE BRITISH ISLES, WITH THEIR CULTIVATION AND THE POSITIONS MOST SUITABLE FOR THEM IN GARDENS 403 INSECTS 877 INDEX TO PARTS I. AND II .883 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN PART I ART IN THE GARDEN. DESIGN AND PLANS IN RELATION TO THE HOUSE AND HOME LANDSCAPE. VARIOUS KINDS OF FLOWER GARDENS WITH A VIEW TO ARTISTIC EFFECT AND GOOD CULTIVATION. ARTISTIC USE OF THE GREAT GROUPS OF PLANTS FOR THE OPEN AIR GARDENS IN THE BRITISH ISLES. ALPINE, ROCK AND BORDER PLANT'S, CLIMBERS, ANNUALS AND BIENNIALS, FLOWERING TREES, SHRUBS, AND EVERGREENS; WATER AND BOG PLANTS, HARDY FERNS, FINE-LEAVED, BEDDING AND HALF-HARDY PLANTS, ROSES, SPRING, SUMMER, AUTUMN AND WINTER GARDENS, HARDY BULBS; ORCHARD BEAUTIFUL. THE WILD GARDEN, FLOWERS FOR CUTTING, COLOUR AND FRAGRANCE. LABOURS FOR GOOD OR EVIL. LAWNS AND PLEASURE GROUNDS. ILLUSTRATED FROM EXISTING EXAMPLES OF BRITISH GARDENS ENGRAVED ON WOOD. " An unerring perception told tlie Greeks that tlie beaut if id must also be tlie true, and recalled tJieui back into tJie way. As in conduct tJiey insisted on an energy which ivas rational, so in art and in literature they required of beauty that it too should be before all tilings rational" SOME ASPECTS OF THE GREEK GENIUS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. CHAPTER I. ART IN RELATION TO FLOWER-GARDENING AND GARDEN DESIGN, THERE is no reason why we should not have true art in the garden, but much why we should have it, and no reason why a garden should be ugly, bare, or conventional. The word " art " being used in its highest sense here, it may perhaps be well to justify its use, and as good a definition of the word as any perhaps is " power to see and give form to beautiful things," which we see shown in some of its finest forms in Greek sculpture and in the works of the great masters of painting. But art is of many kinds, and owing to the loose, " critical " talk of the day, it is not easy to see that true art is based on clear- eyed study of and love for Nature, rather than invention and the bringing of the "personality" of the artist into the work, of which we hear so much. The work of the artist is always marked by its fidelity to Nature, and proof of this may be seen in the greatest art galleries now open to all, so that there is little to hide evidence as to what is said here about art in its highest expression. But as a number of people write much about art in the magazines and papers, while blind as bats to its simple law, there is infinite confusion in many minds about it, and we may read essay after essay about art without being brought a bit nearer to the simple truth, but on the other hand get the false idea that it is not by observing, but by inventing and supplementing, that good work is done. The strong man must be there, but his work is to see the whole beauty of the subject, and to help us to see it, not to distort it in any way for the sake of making it " original." This is often a way to popu- larity, but in the end it means bad work. It may be the fashion for B 2 THE ENGLISH FLOWER CARD EX. a season, owing to some one quality ; but it is soon found out, and we have to return to the great masters of all ages, who are always distinguished for truth to Nature, and who show their strength by getting nearer to her. The actual beauty of a thing in all its fulness and subtlety is almost the whole of the question, but the critics of the day will not take the trouble to see this, and write essays on art in which many long words occur, but in which we do not once meet with the word truth. " Realism " and " idealism " are words freely used, and bad pictures are shown us as examples of " realism," which leave out all the refinement, subtlety, truth of tone, and perhaps even the very light and shade in which all the real things we see are set. There are men so blind to the beauty of the things set before their eyes in sky, sea, or earth, that they would seek to idealise the eyes of a beautiful child or the clouds of heaven ; while all who see natural beauty in landscape know that no imagining can come near to the beauty of things seen, art being often powerless to seize their full beauty, and the artist has often to let the brush fall in despair. There are more pictures round the year in many a parish in England than all the landscape painters of Europe could paint in a century. Only a little, indeed, of the beauty that concerns us most that of the landscape can be seized for us except by the very greatest masters. Of things visible flower, tree, landscape, sky, or sea to see the full and every varied beauty is to be saved for ever from any will-o'-the-wisp of the imaginary. But many people do not judge pictures by Nature, but by pictures, and therefore they miss her subtleties and delicate realities on which all true work depends. Some sneer at those who " copy Nature," but the answer to such critics is for ever there in the work of the great men, be they Greeks, Dutchmen, Italians, French, or English. It is part of the work of the artist to select beautiful or memorable things, not the first that come in his way. The Venus of Milo is from a noble type of woman not a mean Greek. The horses of the Parthenon show the best of Eastern breed, full of life and beauty. Great landscape painters like Crome, Corot, and Turner seek not things only because they are natural, but also beautiful ; selecting views and waiting for the light that suits the chosen subject best, they give us pictures, working always from faithful study of Nature and from stores of knowledge gathered from her, and that is the only true path for the gardener, all true art being based on her eternal laws. All deviation from the truth of Nature, whether it be at the hands of Greek, Italian, or other artist, though it may pass for a time, is in the end it may be ages after the artist is dead classed as debased art. ART IN RELATION TO FLOWER-GARDENING. Why say so much here about art? Because when we see the meaning of true " art " we cannot endure what is ugly and false in art, and we cannot have the foregrounds of beautiful English scenery daubed with flower gardens like coloured advertisements. Many see the right way from their own sense being true, but others may wish for proof of what is urged here as to the true source of lasting work in art in the work of the great artists of all time. And we may be as true artists in the garden and home landscape as anywhere else. There is no good picture which does not image for us the beauty of natural things, and why not begin with these and be artists in their growth and grouping ? for one reason among others that we are privileged to have the living things about us, and not merely representations of them. So far we have spoken of the work of the true artist, which is always marked by respect for Nature and by keen study of her. But apart from this we have a great many men who do what is called " decorative " work, useful, but still not art in the sense of delight in, and study of, things as they are the whole class of decorators, who make our carpets, tiles, curtains, and who adapt conventional or geometric forms mostly to flat surfaces. Skill in this way may be considerable without any attention whatever being paid to the greater art that is concerned with life in all its fulness. This it is well to see clearly ; as for the flower gardener it matters much on which side he stands. Unhappily, our gardeners for ages have suffered at the hands of the decorative artist, when applying his " designs " to the garden, and designs which may be quite right on a surface like a carpet or panel have been applied a thousand times to the surface of the much enduring earth. It is this adapting of absurd " knots " and patterns from old books to any surface where a flower garden has to be made that leads to bad and frivolous design wrong in plan and- hopeless for the life of plants. It is so easy for any one asked for a plan to furnish one of this sort without the slightest knowledge of the life of a garden. For ages the flower-garden has been marred by absurdities of this kind of work as regards plan, though the flowers were in simple and natural ways. But in our own time the same " decorative " idea has come to be carried out in the planting of the flowers under the name of " bedding out," " carpet bedding," or " mosaic culture." In this the beautiful forms of flowers are degraded to the level of crude colour to make a design, and without reference to the natural form or beauty of the plants, clipping being freely done to get the carpets or patterns " true." When these tracery gardens were made, often by people without any knowledge of the plants of a garden, they were found to be difficult to plant ; hence attempts to do without the A Devonshire Cottage Garden, Cockington, Torquay. Engraved from a photograph by S. W. Fitzherb/rt. ART IN RELATION TO FLOWER-GARDENING. gardener altogether, and get colour by the use of broken brick, white sand, and painted stone, as in Nesfield's work at South Kensington and Sir C. Barry's at Shrubland. All such work is wrong and degrad- ing to the art of gardening, and in its extreme expressions is ridiculous. Why are such designs bad ? The good sense of all is the final court of appeal for even artistic things, and to many people these remarks need not be made, but the stereotyped gardens that abound in many places show us that the fight against the ugly garden has only begun. The modern garden is often no more interesting than an oilcloth pattern, because instead of beautiful form and colour we see emphasis given to pattern-work and plants robbed of all their grace. But while the artist may be driven from the common bedding garden, he will perhaps go to rest his eyes on a cottage garden, and make a picture of it, as the cottage garden is itself often a picture. Why should the cottage garden be a picture when the gentleman's garden is not ? Here is an engraving of a small cottage garden in Devon- shire : an artistic garden in its simplest expression. There was very little in this beyond Roses and a few Pansies, and yet it was right and beautiful, and there are many as good in every county in England. May the large gardens be as good in proportion to the money spent upon them and their size as this little cottage garden ? Certainly : the gardens shown in this book prove it, although it is rarely now- adays that a large garden shows anything like the charm of simplicity that many cottage gardens do. The gardener should follow the true artist, however modestly, in his love for things as they are, in delight in natural form and beauty of flower and tree, if we are to be free from barren geometry, and if our gardens are ever to be pictures. The gardener has not the strenuous work of eye and hand that the artist has, but he has plenty of good work to do : to choose from ten thousand beautiful living things ; to study their nature and adapt them to his soil and climate ; to get the full expression of their beauty ; to grow and place them well and in right relation to other things, which is a life-study in itself, in view of the great numbers of the flowers and flowering trees of the world. And as the artist's work is to see and keep for us some of the beauty of landscape, tree, or flower, so the gardener's should be to keep for us as far as may be, in the fulness of their natural beauty, the living things themselves. The artist gives us the fair image : the gardener is the trustee of a world of fair living things, to be kept with care and knowledge in necessary subordination to the conditions of his work. And as there is other and higher design than that of the decorator of flat surfaces with patterns, so there is an absolute and eternal difference between conventional form as he expresses it, and the true forms of cloud or hill, vale, stream, path, oak, palm and vine, reed THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN, and lily. And the first duty of all who care for the garden as a picture is to see these noble natural forms in every part of life and nature, and once they see them they will never mistake decorative patterns for art and beauty in a garden. In some writings on garden design, it is assumed as a truism that the landscape and naturalistic view of that design was the invention of certain men, and a mere passing fashion, like many that have disfigured the garden. This is a serious error, as it was based on observation of the landscape beauty which has existed ever since the eyes of men were first opened to the beauty of the earth, whether on wild mountain woodland, or in the forest plain, apart altogether from man's efforts, as seen in the parks of England from Alnwick to Richmond ; and in either case it is too lovely a lesson to forget so long as man has any eyes to see beauty. If all the works of man in landscape planting were swept away, there would still be beautiful landscape on vast areas in many lands. There are ten thousand grassy lawns and glades among the mountain Pines of Switzerland, as there are on the mountains of California and Cashmere, and, indeed, the many other woody mountain lands of the world ; and many of these are suggestive of all that is most beautiful in planting. Apart from the planning of ground and its form, there is the question of the arrangement of all the beautiful things of earth- flower, shrub, or tree in right or wrong ways. Here there are always lessons to be learned in nature : lovely colonies of Bird's-eye Primrose in the bogs of Westmoreland ; and of Gentian by the alpine streams, islets of wild Heath, lakes of wild Hyacinth, and wood carpets of Primrose; groups of Venetian Sumach cropping out of the hot southern rocks ; and of May on the hill, the stately groves of the lowland forest, and the Grey Willows of the marsh land. In plant- ing in like ways we are simply taking a lesson from Nature, and not dabbling in a mere fashion. Even the creatures of earth and air are held together beautifully wild birds in the air, delicate brown flocks of them by the cold northern sea, as well as many groups of nobler birds on the banks of the Nile and southern rivers; the cattle on a thousand hills : in no other way could their forms or colours be so well seen. And so it must ever be in the garden where natural grouping is the true and artistic way. The expression of these ideas may seem to some to imply that the garden generally is to be a tangled wilderness. But having plants in natural forms does not in the least prevent us from making a straight walk along a straight wall, or from having the necessary wall protection for our gardens. A straight line is often the most beautiful that can be used ; but its use by no means implies that we are not to group our plants or bushes naturally alongside it. Town-Garden, The Broadway, Worcestershire. From a picture in possession of the author. io THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. As I use the word " artistic," in a book on the flower-garden, it may be well to say that as it is used it means right and true in relation to all the conditions of the case, and the necessary limita- tions of our art and all other human arts. A lovely Greek coin, a bit of canvas painted by Corot with the morning light on it, a block of stone hewn into the shape of the dying gladiator, the white moun- tain rocks built into a Parthenon these are all examples of human art, every one of which can be only fairly judged in due regard to what is possible in the material of each knowledge which it is part of the artist's essential task to possess. Often a garden may be wrong in various ways, as shown by the conifers spread in front of many a house ugly in form, not in harmony with our native or best garden vegetation ; mountain trees set out on dry plains and not even hardy ; so that the word inartistic may help us to describe many errors. And again, if we are happy enough to find a garden so true and right in its results in many ways as to form a picture that an artist would be charmed to study, we may call it an artistic garden, as a short way of saying that it is about as good as it may be, taking everything into account. THE FALLACY AS TO " MATTERS OF TASTE." The man behind the counter often tells us that " it is a matter of taste " if we say a word as to the ugliness of some of his wares, and many other people have the same false idea that obscures all issues about artistic things. If it were confined to the ignorant it would do little harm, but we hear it expressed by men of education. To take a recent instance, the author of " Pages from a Private Diary "(1898) protests against making a religion of what is purely a matter of taste. Weeds are as natural as flowers. A lawn left to Nature would soon become a meadow. A hedge left to Nature would become monstrous and useless, because pervious. A well- grown Yew tree is undoubtedly a beautiful object, but a Yew clipped intelligently is quite as beautiful ; and if a tree will clip, it is not unnatural to clip it. Here we have some common ideas written by a man of wit, but who in this instance has not thought of what he writes about ; and if we find these notions in such men, how are we to blame the many who with fewer advantages have to study the question of garden design or planting ? For this and all artistic questions are only " matters of taste" to those who have not thought of them. The merit of a portrait by Rembrandt and the first Academy daub is not a matter of taste, but of very serious fact. So also we may compare an Elizabethan house with one of the carpenter's Gothic of our century ; the sculp- tures of the Parthenon with the statues in our squares ; a symphony ART IN RELA TION TO FL WER- GARDENING. 1 1 by Beethoven with the " Maiden's Prayer ; -" an English cottage garden, quite simple in plan and full of flowers in their natural forms, with the imitations of very bad carpets (vile in colour and without form) which we now see in French and German watering places (mosaiculture) ! So far from its being true that good or bad garden design or planting are merely matters of taste, the very first thing we should teach to every one who has to think of it is that they are matters of fact, truth and observation. The assumption in the paragraph that any one advised leaving hedges, &c., to Nature does not surely need a reply ; but that a Yew clipped intelligently is quite as beautiful " as a well and naturally grown Yew tree " is a statement that could hardly be made save in jest by any one who has thought the least about tree beauty or natural form of any kind. For here it is not a difference of degree we have to deal with, but a difference in kind, because a clipped tree is a thing without any true form, light or shade, motion or voice. Vast as are the differences above named, between none of them is there so great and hideous a difference as between the divinely given form of the northern evergreen tree, whether of the tree-fringed mountain lawns of Jura, the mountains of the Pacific coast of North America, or the rocks of Scotland, and the ridiculous results of the distortion of forest trees by man. Yet the fact that garden design or planting is a matter of know- ledge of the natural forms, harmonies and colours of things does not mean that this writer or any one is not to do what he pleases in his garden. But when he tells us that the judgment which enables us to distinguish a good picture from a bad one is to abandon us before the absurdities seen in our gardens, and too often marring the foregrounds of the home landscape of our country houses, he is leading all who trust him into error. Moreover, individual likes and dislikes are wholly separate from the problem of what is best in a given situation as to design and planting. The question, like so many others, is made needlessly hard for the student by the writing without knowledge, which, unhappily, is devoted to it. To practice an art without any knowledge of it is bad enough, but when men write about an art dealing with so many living things as planting, when clearly they have given no heed to its simplest elements, they do infinite harm in spreading the false idea that it is all " a matter of taste." Of such quotations as the above, in which every phrase is an error or a false assumption, a volume might easily be put together. One of the commonest and grossest errors is to take the worst possible work, abuse it, and say nothing about the better way. Deception is a primary object of the landscape gardener. Thus to get variety \ and to deceive the eye into supposing that the garden is larger than it zs, the paths are THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. to -cind about in all directions and the la-ens tire not to be left a broad e.vpanse, but dotted about icith Pampas Grasses, foreign shrubs, or anything else that id 1 1 break up the surface. As was said by a witty Frenchman, " Nothing is easier than to lay out an English garden ; one 'has only to make one's gardener drunk and follow him about}'- THE FORMAL GARDKN. There is not a word said here of the plain fact that we may have true and artistic ways, as well as stupid ones, of forming paths and getting fine variety of surface by planting, without dotting lawns with Pampas Grass, or of the equally plain fact that we can make walks through lawn or wood or by river in lines of easiest gradation and most convenient access without going through any of the antics above described or in any way violating good sense. There is not a word in the above paragraph which is true of good work in landscape planting. That bad and ignorant work is done we can no more deny than the existence of the barrel-organ or the Victorian villa, but a man must be blind to the truth who writes thus without knowledge, as there are innumerable instances in every county of picturesque plant- ing without deception of any kind. The true work of the landscape gardener is wholly different ; it is to study the natural forms of the ground and keep to the best of them ; to have keen eyes for every charm of natural growth and to save it for the future beauty of the place ; to know also all the trees of the northern world fitted to adorn it ; to make living pictures, in fact easy to those who have eyes and hearts for the work, but impossible otherwise. Another like statement of the writer on clipping trees that wearies us by its want of knowledge of Nature is this : A clipped Yew tree is as much a part of Nature that is, subject to natural laius, as a forest Oak; but the landscapist, by appealing to associations which surround the personification of Nature, holds up the clipped Yew tree to obloquy as something against Nature. Sofar as that goes, it is no more unnatural to clip a Yew tree than to cut grass. The answer is that we mow turf to walk upon ; for the pleasure to the eye of short turf, or for the pleasure of walking on it in the hot days, or for the relief and repose it gives ; for by cutting grass short we disfigure nothing, throw no naturally beautiful things into grotesque or ugly forms offensive to the artist, and all who care for true form. Moreover, short turf is not an artificial thing, as there are many natural lawns on the mountains of Europe, short and crisp as ever lawn was seen ; set, too, with alpine flowers and guarded by outposts of stately mountain trees. LANDSCAPE PAINTING AND GARDENS, There are few pictures of gardens, because the garden beautiful is rare. Gardens around country houses, instead of forming, as they all might, graceful foregrounds to the good landscape views, disfigure all, and drive the artist away THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. in despair. Yet there may be real pictures in gardens ; it is not a mere question of patterns of a very poor sort, but one of light and shade, beauty of form, and colour. In times when gardens were made by men who did not know one tree from another, the matter was settled by the shears it was a question of green walls only. Now we are beginning to see that there is a wholly different and higher order of beauty to be found in gardens, and we are at the beginning of a period when we may hope to get much more pleasure and instruction out of this art than ever before. We have seen in Bond-street a variety of picture exhibitions devoted to gardens, generally of the trifling stippled water-colour order. The painters of these pictures, for the most part ten-minute sketches, have one main idea that the only garden worth picturing is the shorn one, and pictures of such places are repeated time after time ; a clipped line of Arbor-vitae, with a stuffed peacock stuck by t the side of it, is considered good enough for a garden picture. Work of this kind, which is almost mechanical, is so much easier than the drawing of a garden with the elements of varied beauty in it. In the work of Alfred Parsons and a few others we see the beginning of things of beauty in the painting of gardens, but it is for us gardeners to commence by first being artists ourselves, and opening our eyes to see the ugly things about us. Artists of real power would paint gardens and home landscapes if there were real pictures to draw ; but generally they are so rare that the work does not come into the artist's view at all. Through all the rage of the " bedding-out " fever, it was impossible for an artist to paint in a garden like those which disfigured the land from Blair Athol to the Crystal Palace. It is difficult to imagine Corot sitting down to paint the Grande Trianon, or the terrace patterns at Versailles, though a poor hamlet in the North of France, with a few willows near, gave him a lovely picture. Once, when trying to persuade Mr. Mark Fisher, the landscape painter, to come into a district remarkable for its natural beauty, he replied : " There are too many gentlemen's places there to suit my work," referring to the hardness and ugliness of the effects around most country seats, owing to the iron-bound pudding-clumps of trees, railings, capricious clippings and shearings, bad colours, and absence of fine and true form, with, almost certainly, an ugly house in the midst of all. But we ought to be able to do better than be makers of garden scarecrows to the very men who would enjoy our work most, and delight in painting it, rich as we are in the sources of all beauty of tree or flower, and the three illustrations in this chapter prove at least that in both cottage, to\vn ; and castle garden, we can get away from geometrical form into freedom of grace and leaf, flower and tree. CHAPTER II. DESIGN AND POSITION AGAINST STYLES, USELESS STONEWORK, AND STEREOTYPED PLANS TIME'S EFFECT ON GARDEN DE- SIGN ARCHITECTURE AND FLOWER GARDENS DESIGN NOT FORMAL ONLY USE IN THE GARDEN OF BUILDERS', AND OTHER DEGRADED FORMS OF THE PLASTIC ART. ONE aim of this book is to uproot the idea that a flower garden must always be of set pattern placed on one side of the house. The wants of flowers can be best met, and their varied loveliness best shown, in a variety of positions, and the first thing to do is to consider the effect of arraying all our flowers in one spot under the same con- ditions, as such a plan can never give us a tithe of the beauty which our gardens may afford. The settled way has too often been to regard one spot with the same soil and aspect with every condition alike, in fact as the only home for open-air flowers, though near at hand there may be positions, each favourable to different groups of flower. For all that concerns us in this artistic question there are laws which will guide us if we seek for them. The laws here meant are Nature's laws not merely landmarks set out by man for his convenience. Only they are not laws that bind with weary fetters, but as infinite in delightful change as the restless clouds on the hills. We shall never settle the most trifling question by the stupid saying that it is " a matter of taste," and if the reader will come with me through these early chapters, I hope to convince him that flower-gardening is " a matter of reason." The laws of all true art can only be based on the eternal laws of Nature, and these are the source from which all our guid- ance should come. One of the first things we have to do is to get a clear idea of the hollowness of much of the talk about " styles " that forms a great part of what has been written in books about laying out gardens, and there are many dissertations on the several styles, the authors going even to China and to Mexico for illustrations. The first thing every writer on this subject does is to puzzle his readers with 1 6 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. words about "styles," but when all is read, what is the result to anybody who looks from words to things ? That there are two styles : the one strait-laced, mechanical, with much wall and stone, with water-squirts, plaster-work, and absurd sculpture ; the other natural in most cases, once free of the house accepting the ground lines of the earth herself as the best, and getting plant beauty from its natural source the flowers and trees arranged in picturesque ways. There are positions where stonework is necessary; but the beauti- ful terrace gardens are those that are built where the nature of the ground required them ; and there is nothing more melancholy than the walls, fountain basins, clipped trees, and long canals of places like the Crystal Palace, not only because they fail to satisfy the desire for beauty, but because they tell of wasted effort, riches worse than lost. There are, from Versailles to Caserta, a great many ugly gardens in Europe, but at Sydenham we have the greatest modern example of the waste of enormous means in making hideous a fine piece of ground. This has been called a work of genius, but it is the fruit of a poor ambition to outdo another ugly extravagance Versailles. But Versailles is a relic of the past, and was the expression of such know- ledge of the gardening art as men then possessed. As Versailles has numerous tall water-squirts, the best way of glorifying ourselves was to make some taller ones at Sydenham ! Instead of confining the terrace gardening to the upper terrace, by far the greater portion of the ground was devoted to a stony extravagance of design, and nearly in the centre were placed the vast and ugly fountain basins. The contrivances to enable the water to go down-stairs, the temples, statues, dead walls, all costly rubbish, praised by the papers as the marvellous work of a genius. When a private individual indulges in such fancies, he may not injure many but himself; but in this public garden set up as an example of all that is admirable we have, in addition to wasteful outlay, what is hurtful to the public taste. Many whose lawns were, or might readily have been made, the most beautiful of gardens have spoiled them for sham terraced gardens, and there is a modern castle in Scotland where the embank- ments are piled one above another, till the whole looks as if Uncle Toby with an army of corporals had been carrying out his grandest scheme in fortification. The rude stone wall of the hill husbandman, supporting a narrow slip of soil for olive-trees or vines, became in the garden of the wealthy Roman a well-built one; but it must be remembered that, even where the wall is necessary, the beauty of the true Italian garden depends on the life of trees and flowers more than on the plan of the garden, as in the Guisti garden at Verona 1 8 . THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN whereas in our sham examples of the Italian garden all is as flat and lifeless as a bad mosaic. TERRACED GARDENS, allowing of much building (apart from the house), have been much in favour with architects who have designed gardens. The landscape gardener, too often led by custom, falls in with the notion that every house, no matter what its position, should be fortified by terraces, and he busies himself in forming them even on level ground, and large sums are spent on fountains, vases, statues, balustrades, useless walls, and stucco work, where these are out of place. By the extensive use of such materials many a noble lawn is cut up ; and often, as at Witley Court, the " architectural " gardening is pushed so far into the park as to curtail and injure the view. If the cost of the stone and stucco ornament lavished on the garden were spent on its legitimate object the house how much better it would be for architecture, as well as for gardening ! The best effect is to be got not by carrying architectural features into the usually small level town garden, but by the contrast between the garden vegetation and its built surroundings. This contrast should be got, not by the sham picturesque, with rocks, cascades, and undulations of the ground, but mainly by the simple dignity of trees and the charm of turf. It was said that none but an Italian garden would suit South Kensington, and we had an elaborate garden there carried out with the greatest care, yet the result, as everybody knows, was miserable. There are many private gardens in European cities, with as formal surroundings as those of South Kensington, which are as beautiful as it was stiff and ugly. Elaborate terraced gardens in the wrong place often prevent the formation of beautiful lawns, though a good lawn is the happiest thing in a garden. For many years past there has been so much cutting up, geometry and stonework, that it is rare to find a good lawn left, and many a site cut up would be vastly improved if changed into a large, nobly fringed lawn. A very common, poorly built house with a fine open lawn has often a better effect than a fine one with a recti- lineal garden and terraces in front of it, though there are cases where tvalls would be the way to a good result. A style of garden " design " that for a long time has had an injurious effect on many places is the "railway embankment" phase of landscape gardening madness one in which we see a series of sharply graded grass slopes, exactly like well-smoothed railway embankments. It is curious that any one should imagine that such a plan, marring the whole landscape, should give pleasure to any human being, or do anything but make the foreground of the house weari- some to the last degree. In this variety we often find several sharp banks falling one below the other without a protecting wall C 2 20 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. at the top, and the sharp green angles cutting horrible capers from various points of view, and this perhaps in the face of a beautiful landscape. Of this there was, until lately, an instance at Verdley Place, in the midst of one of the most beautiful landscapes in England, and many others might be named in almost every county. A beautiful house in a fair landscape is the most delightful scene of the cultivated earth, all the more so if there be an artistic garden the rarest thing to find ! The union between the house beautiful and the ground near it a happy marriage it should be is worthy of more thought than it has had in the past, and the best way of effecting that union artistically should interest men more and more as our cities grow larger and our lovely English landscape shrinks back from them. We have never yet got from the garden and the home landscape half the beauty which we might get by abolishing the needless patterns which disfigure so many gardens. Formality is often essential to the plan of a garden but never to the arrangement of its flowers or shrubs, and to array these in rigid lines, circles, or patterns can only be ugly wherever it may be ! After we have settled the essential approaches and levels around a house, the natural form or lines of the earth itself are in nearly all cases the best to follow, and it is often well to face any labour to get the ground back into its natural grade where it is disfigured by ugly or needless banks, lines, or angles. But in the true Italian garden on the hills we have to alter the natural line of the earth, or " terrace it," because we cannot otherwise cultivate the ground or stand at ease upon it, and in such ground the strictly formal is as right as the lawn is in a garden in the Thames valley. But the lawn is the heart of the true English garden, and as essential to it as the terrace to the gardens on the steep hills, and English lawns have been too often destroyed for plans ruinous both to the garden and the home landscape. Some- times on level ground the terrace walls cut off the landscape from the house, and, on the other hand, the house from the landscape ! We may get every charm of a garden and every use of a country place without sacrificing the picturesque or beautiful ; there is no reason, either in the working or design of gardens, why there should be a false line in them ; every charm of the flower garden may be secured by wholly avoiding the knots and scrolls which subordinate all the plants and flowers of a garden, all its joy and life, to a wretched conventional design. The true way is the opposite. With only the simplest plans to insure good working, we should see the flowers and feel the beauty of plant forms, and secure every scrap of turf wanted for play or lawn, and for every enjoyment of a garden. Time and Gardens. Time's effect on gardens is one of the main considerations. Fortress-town and castle moat are now without 22 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. further use, where in old days gardens were set within the walls. To keep all that remains of such gardens should be our first care never to imitate them now. Many are far more beautiful than the modern gardens, which by a wicked perversity have been kept bare of plants or flower life. At one time it was rash to make a garden away from protecting walls ; but when safety came from civil war, then arose the often beautiful Elizabethan house, free from all moat or trace of war. In those days the extension of the decorative work of the house into the garden had some novelty to carry it off, while the kinds of evergreens were very much fewer than now. Hence if the old gardeners wanted an evergreen hedge or bush of a certain height, they clipped a Yew tree to the form and size they wanted. Not- withstanding this, we have no evidence that anything like the flat monotony often seen in our own time existed then. To-day the ever-growing city, pushing its hard face over our once beautiful land, should make us wish more and more to keep such beauty of the earth as may be still possible to us, and the horrible railway embankments, where once were the beautiful suburbs of London, cry to us to save all we can save of the natural beauty of the earth. Architecture and Flower Gardening^ The architect is a good gardener when he makes a beautiful house. Whatever is to be done or considered afterwards, one is always helped and encouraged by its presence ; while, on the other hand, scarcely any amount of skill in gardening softens the presence of an ugly building. No one has more reason to rejoice at the presence of good architecture than the gardener and planter, and all stonework near the house, even in the garden, should be dealt with by the architect. But when architecture goes beyond the strictly necessary round the house, and seeks to replace what should be a living garden by an elaborate tracery on the ground, then error and waste are at work, and the result is ugliness. The proof of this is at Versailles, at the Crystal Palace in great part, in the old gardens in Vienna, and at Caserta, near Naples, where there is a far from beautiful stone garden. One may not so freely mention private places as public ones, but many ugly and extravagant things have been done by trying to adapt a mode of garden design essential in a country like Italy, where people often lived for health's sake on tops of the hills, to gardens in the plains and valleys of England. I know a terrace in England built right against the house, so as to exclude the light from, and make useless, what were once the reception rooms. That deplorable result came about by endeavouring to adapt Italian modes to English conditions, and was the work of Sir Charles Barry. To any one 1 Rc;ul before the Architectural Association on Friday, December 16, 1893. Hill iiiiiilllilll 24 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. deeply interested in the question, one of the best places to consider it is the upper terrace at Versailles, looking from the fine buildings there to the country beyond, and seeing how graceless and inert the whole vast design is, and how the clipped and often now dying, because mutilated, Yews thrust their ugly forms into the landscape beyond and rob it of all grace. To those who tell me this sort of work is necessary to " harmonise " with the architecture I say there are better ways, and that to rob fine buildings of all repose by a complex geometrical " pattern in the foreground is often the worst way. Cost and care of stonework in gardens. Where stone or stucco gardening is done on a large scale, its cost and maintenance are monstrous. Even with the wealth of France, the repair of elaborate stonework in gardens is a hopeless task, as any one may see at Versailles or at the Crystal Palace. Is it in the interest of archi- tecture tjiat noble means should be so wasted? As the cost and difficulties of the finest work in building increase, the more the need to keep it to its true and essential uses, especially in face of the fact that half the houses in England require to be rebuilt if our architec- ture generally is to prove worthy of its artistic aims. I delight in walls for my Roses, and build walls, provided they have any true use as dividing, protecting, or supporting lines. To take advantage of these and sunny sheltered corners in and about our old or new houses, and make delightful little gardens in and near them, as at Drayton or Powis, is quite a different thing from cutting off the landscape with vast flat " patterns " and scroll-work, as on the upper terrace at Versailles and at Windsor and many gardens made in our own day. " Design " not formal only. I find it stated by writers on this subject that " design " can only concern formality an error, as the artistic grouping and giving picturesque effect to groups and groves of Oak, Cedar, or Fir are far higher design than putting trees in lines. There is more true and subtle design in Richmond Park and other noble parks in England, where the trees are grouped in picturesque ways and allowed to take natural forms, than in a French wood with straight lines cut through it, which the first carpenter could design as well as anybody else. In our own day a wholly different order of things has arisen, because we have thousands of beautiful things coming to us from all parts of the temperate and northern world, and those who know them will not accept a book pattern design, instead of our infinitely varied garden flora. The trees of North America and Asia form a tree garden in themselves, and it is impos- sible to lay out gardens of any size or dignity without a knowledge of those and all other hardy trees, not only in a cultivated but in a wild state. If anything demands special study, it is that of garden design DESIGN AND POSITION. 25 with our present materials. If that art is to be mastered, the work of a life must be given to it more than that, a life's devotion, and no less is the sacrifice his own art requires of the architect. No one " style " right. There is no such thing as a style fitted for every situation ; only one who knows and studies the ground well will ever make the best of a garden, and any " style " may be right where the site fits it. I never see a house the ground around which does not invite plans for itself only. A garden on the slopes about Naples is impossible without much stonework to support the earth, while about London or Paris there is usually no such need. But these considera- tions never enter into the minds of men who plant an Italian garden in one of our river valleys, where in nine cases out of ten an open lawn is often the best thing before the house, as at Bristol House, Roehampton ; Greenlands, Henley-on-Thames ; and in many gardens in the Thames valley. And there are right and wrong ways where we cannot have a lawn garden : Haddon, simple, right, and charming on the one hand, and Chatsworth on the other ; Knole and Ightham and Rockingham without a yard of stonework not absolutely needed for the house and its approaches, and others with a fortune spent in vast display of costly stonework, only effective in robbing the fore- ground of a fine landscape of all repose. The idea that the old style of building in England was always accompanied by elaborate terrace gardening is proved to be erroneous by many beautiful old houses. The Elizabethan house had often an ample lawn in front or plenty of grass near, and such houses are quite as delightful in effect as the old houses and castles where terracing was necessary and right, owing to the ground, such as Berkeley, Powis, and Rockingham. The mosaic in flower-planting is a modern idea, and had nothing to do with old gardens, which, how- ever planned, had their flowers planted in simple ways. The idea that trees must be clipped to make them " harmonise " with architecture is a mere survival. In the old days of garden design, when in any northern country there were few trees in gardens, these trees were slashed into any shape that met the de- signer's view. But now that many beautiful trees and shrubs are coming to us from many countries, the aim of true gardening is, so far from mutilating them, to develop their natural forms. In by far the greater number of beautiful places in England, from Knole to Haddon, and from the fine west-country houses to the old border castles, there are many of the fairest gardens where the trees are never touched with shears. Sutton Place, near Guildford, built in 1521, is one of the most beautiful old houses in the home counties, and its architecture is none the less delightful because the trees near show their true DESIGN AND POSITION. 27 natural forms. It is also an example of a fine old house around which there is no terraced gardening. It would be as hopeless to design a building without knowing anything of its uses or inhabitants as to design a garden without full knowledge of its nobler ornaments trees and the many things that go to make our garden flora vary so much in form, habits, and hardi- ness according to soils, situations, and districts. Errors of the most serious kind arise from dealing with such things without knowledge, and any attempt to keep the gardener out of the garden must fail, as it did in our own day in the case of the broken brick and stone flower beds at South Kensington. Except for what is mostly a very small area near the house, the architect and garden-designer deal with distinct subjects and wholly distinct materials. They should work in harmony, but not seek to do that for which their training and knowledge have not fitted them. On the Flower-Garden as a Show-Ground for Builders' Sculpture and other Debased Forms of the Plastic "Art" "In the last century there was a manu- factory of garden images in Piccadilly ; in fact, there were four. Mr. John Cheece, the owner, did a splendid trade in cast lead figures gods and goddesses, nymphs and shepherds, Pan with his pipes, Actaeon with his hounds, mowers, shepherd- esses, and Father Time with his scythe ; these sweet suggestive figures still linger rarely in old-world gardens, almost living by associations of the many that have loved them." R. Blomfield (Art and Life, p. 205;. It is clear from the above that there are men who think of the garden, not as a living picture of beautiful natural forms, but as a place to show off one of the most worthless phases of human art. In a northern country like ours a statue of any high merit as a work of art deserves to be protected by a building of some kind. The effect of frost and rain in our climate on statuary out-of-doors is very destruc- tive, and the face of a statue of some merit put up only a few years ago opposite the Royal Exchange is now rotted away. The scattering of numerous statues of a low order of merit, or of no merit at all, which we see in some Italian gardens, often gives a bad effect, and the dotting of statues about both the public gardens of Paris and London is destructive of all repose. If a place be used for the exhibition of sculpture, well and good ; but let us not in that case call it a garden. In Britain statues are often of plaster material, and those who use a garden as a place to dot about such " works of art " do not think of the garden as the best of places to show the work of Nature, and as one in which we should see many fine natural forms. The earliest recollection I have of any large garden or country seat was one strewn with the remains of statues, but as my evidence as to effect and endurance might not be thought impartial, we may call as a witness Victor Cherbuliez, of the French Academy. " It was one of those classical gardens the planners of which prided themselves upon as being able to give Nature lessons in good behaviour, to teach her geometry 28 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. and the fine art of irreproachable lines ; but Nature is for geometers a reluctant pupil, and if she submits to their tyranny she does it with an ill grace, and will take her revenge The large basin no longer held any water, and the dolphins which in days gone by spouted it from their throats looked as if they asked each other to what purpose they were in this world. But the statues had suffered most ; moss and a green damp had invaded them, as if some kind of plague or leprosy had covered them with sores, and pitiless Time had inflicted on them mutilations and insults. One had lost an arm, another a leg ; almost all had lost their noses. There was in the basin a Neptune whose face was sadly damaged, and who had nothing left but his beard and half his trident, and further on a Jupiter without a head, the rain water standing in his hollowed neck." As to the artistic value of much of our sculpture, Lord Rosebery, in his speech at Edinburgh in 1896, said " If those restless spirits that possessed the Gadarene swine were to enter into the statues of Edinburgh, and if the whole stony and brazen troop were to hurry and hustle and huddle headlong down the steepest place near Edinburgh into the deepest part of the Firth of Forth, art would have sustained no serious loss." The Pall Mall Gazette, commenting on this speech, wishes for a like rush to the Thames on the part of our " London monstrosities," and yet this is the sort of rubbish that some wish us to expose in the garden, where there is rarely the means to be found to do even as good work as we see in cities. If the politician and the journalist ask to be delivered from the statues with which the squares and streets of our cities are adorned, our duty as lovers of Nature in the garden is clear. In its higher expression nothing is more precious in art than sculp- ture ; in its lower and debased forms it is less valuable than almost any form of art. The lovely Greek sculpture in the Vatican, Louvre, or British Museum is the work of great artists, and those who study it will not be led astray by either Piccadilly goddesses in lead or New Road nymphs in plaster. If we wish to see the results of sculpture in the architect's own work we have but to look at the public build- ings in London where it is used, mostly to spoil any architectural grace such buildings should possess, as in the National Portrait Gallery, the Natural History Museum, and the Home Office build- ings, and then we may better judge how far we may go in our gardens with such art. Real artists in sculpture are not concerned with garden design, and sculpture is not the business of the builder or landscape gardener. A statue or two of any artistic value may be placed in a garden with good effect, never, however, forgetting that a garden is a place for beautiful life, not death. It is not that we despise other arts than our own, they may charm and even help us, as in the case of a landscape painting by a man of genius or even serious student of the actual beauty of things. Even a drawing of a tree or flower may be a lesson in form and beauty ; but all debased " art " is as harmful in the garden as it is anywhere else. CHAPTER III. VARIOUS FLOWER GARDENS, MAINLY CHOSEN FOR THEIR BEAUTY ; COTTAGE GARDENS IN KENT AND SOMERSET ; MOUNT USHER ; GREENLANDS ; GOLDER'S HILL ; PENDELL COURT ; RHIANVA ; SHEEN COTTAGE ; DRUMMOND CASTLE ; PENSHURST ; COMPTON WINYATES ; KETTON COTTAGE ; POWIS ; COTEHELE ; EDGE HALL ; SHRUBLAND ; CHILLINGHAM ; BULWICK ; OFFINGTON ; WILTON ; STONELANDS, AND OTHERS. THESE gardens should help us to get the most precious lesson as to design that the best-laid-out garden is that which is best fitted for its situation, soil and climate, and without much considera- tion as to any " style." Once we make a rule and say, this is the best and only way, it is not only the good architect, and that still rarer being, the good landscape gardener, who will carry it out, but any- body who has any influence in building or gardening will do the same thing in all sorts of positions with any kind of material, including the " young man in the office " and other persons who have never even given the slightest thought to any kind of artistic planting, let alone any serious study of garden design. Of the expression of this inartistic ruling we see painful evidence everywhere in the terraces like railway banks out of place and rampant through the land. On these stereotyped ideas is based another leading to greater evil, which is that, once you have got your patterned plateau, you cannot have your flowers in artistic or picturesque ways on it, and so the poor gardener has to go on trying to adapt ugly patterns in flowers to the ugly plan that is given him. The second idea is false too, as flowers may be arranged in right and natural ways in any garden, but that fact has not killed the common error that we cannot throw formality overboard in arranging flowers. The really artistic way is to have no preconceived idea of any style, but in all cases to be led by the ground itself and by the many things upon it. Why should we in the plains or gentle meadows of 30 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. England not give effect to the beautiful lines of the landscape, and make our gardens harmonise with them ? The right way is, to carry no style in one's head or pocket, and then, before saying much, go over the ground and see it from every point of view, with a view to getting the best that the site, soil, and surroundings will give. If the idea of the bastard Italian garden were the truest that could be expressed by man, it must inevitably lead to monotony and to stereo- typing of the garden, and it is only by respecting the site itself and letting the plan grow out of it that we can get gardens free from monotony, and suggestive also, as they should often be, of the country in which they occur. If all our efforts only go to stereotyping the home landscape, it is hardly worth while going for a change from the Midlands into Devon. Why should we not in these islands of ours, where there are so many different kinds of landscape and character- istics of soil and climate, have gardens in harmony, as it were, with their surroundings? Also the taste of the owner ought to count. Why should he be bound to the conventional style ? As no one is so likely to know the conditions of soil and climate, and the capabilities of a district as one who has lived amidst them, if we come to the aid of such an owner with an open mind as to style, we shall be much better able to give effect to his views in the shape of artistic and distinct results. Everywhere the ugliest things are seen, especially in the larger places, but here and there one sees gardens that are beautiful, and nothing will help us so well to a clear view of what is best in the flower-garden as the consideration of such places, but we may first say something of the new and wrong way of having no flowers near the house. Those who notice the ground round country seats find now and then a house without any flower garden, and with the turf running hard into the walls the site of a flower garden without flowers. This unhappy omission we may suppose to result from the ugliness in summer, and nakedness in winter, of the common way of planting a flower garden. But it is a mistake to suppose that the only alternatives to such nakedness are coarse perennials and annuals, that flower a short time and are weedy the rest of their days, or the ordinary summer- planting. Many delightful things may be grown near a house ; fragrant plants, too, plants beautiful not only in summer but in colour even in winter. The ceaseless digging about of the beds also may prejudice people against flowers in the garden, as the bedding plants set out in June were taken away in autumn and replaced by spring-flowering things. These had a short period of bloom in spring, and were, in their turn, pulled up leaving bare beds 32 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. until the summer flowers were planted, sometimes very late ; so that in June, when we ought to have flowers or, at least, pleasant colour wholly over the ground, there was nothing but grave-like earth, but the spring flowers round a country house should be grown in a different way. They may be naturalised in multitudes, grown in borders, in special little gardens for bulbs, and in various other ways without in the least disturbing the beds near the house, which should for the most part be planted permanently, so that the greatest amount of beauty may be had throughout the fine months, without disfiguring the beds during those months. But the permanent flowers should be hardy, and of the highest order of beauty, and such as require more than a few weeks or months for development ; though here and there blanks might be filled with good, tender plants, like Heliotrope. Many of the hardy flowers, too, should be fragrant Tea Roses, Carnations, and tufted Pansies ; all those, grown in large groups, give off a grateful odour round a house. What is the soil in these gardens for ? Why do people make them ? Surely it is not to have them laid down to grass in a country like ours where grass in park, meadow, lawn, and playground is seen on all sides? The objection to the bare surface of beds in such gardens is a just one ; but it is easily got rid of by permanent planting ; and if the ground in the early state of the bed or from any other cause is bare below the flowers, it is quite easy to surface the beds with small rock and other plants of good colour nearly all the year. ENGLISH COTTAGE GARDENS are never bare and seldom ugly. Those who look at sea or sky or wood see beauty that no art can- show ; but among the things made by man nothing is prettier than an English cottage garden, and they often teach lessons that "great"' gardeners should learn, and are pretty from Snowdrop time till the Fuchsia bushes bloom nearly into winter. We do not see the same thing in other lands. The bare cottages of Belgium and North France are shocking in their ugliness ; even in Ireland and Scotland we do not see the same charming little gardens, nor are they so good in some parts of England ; as in Surrey, Kent, and the southern counties. I often pass a small cottage garden in the Weald of Sussex never without a flower for nine months in the year. It is only a square patch, but the beauty of it is far more delightful than that of the large gardens near, and it is often pretty when they are bare. What is the secret of the cottage garden's charms ? Cottage gardeners are good to their plots, and in the course of years they make them fertile, and the shelter of the little house and hedge favours the flowers. But there is something more and it is the VARIOUS FLOWER GARDENS. 33 absence of any pretentious " plan " which lets the flowers tell their story to the heart. The walks are only what are needed, and so we see only the earth and its blossoms. A COTTAGE GARDEN IN KENT. Driving on one of the sunny days of autumn through the Weald of Kent from Charing to Ashford a country strewn with pretty houses and gardens an old house set in flowers was seen to the left just after passing the pretty village of Charing and the big woods above it. We turned from the A west-country cottage with small open lawn. Engraved from a photograph sent by Mr. E. Brightman. main road, and, looking over the low garden wall, were asked in to see the pretty old house, oak-panelled, and to stroll about the small garden, little more than a cottage garden in its simplicity of planting. No pretentious plan to consider, only the yellow Sunflowers of the season massed in their own way and running about inside the little wall, and by their profusion giving an unity as well as richness of colour. One lesson of these little gardens, that are so pretty, is that one can get good effects from simple materials, and the absence of complexity and pretence of " design " aids these pictures very much. D THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. Many things are not needed for good effect, and very often we see gardens rich in plants, but not artistic because too much cut up into dots. There is no reason why gardens should not be rich in plants and pictures too, but such are rare. A precious thing in a garden is a beautiful house, and this, with its pretty, brown-tiled roof and oak- timbered walls, is an example of many in the Weald of Kent which have braved several hundred winters and are so beautiful in colour. Old mill-house garden at Mount Usher, Wicklow. If these cottage gardens are beautiful from such simple materials, how much more might we get by good hardy flower gardening round old country houses with lovely backgrounds and old walks. The Somersetshire cottage garden is in a milder climate than this, and in Somerset things seem to do so well, and in all that delightful west-country. In Kent we must trust to the hardy things of which there are so many that no cottage garden can contain half of them ; but in Somersetshire we may have many things which seldom thrive on the eastern side Myrtle, Bay, and Passion-flower, tall Fuchsias, and even things in the open air in winter which in many other districts we have to put in the greenhouse. VARIOUS FLOWER GARDENS. 35 MOUNT USHER, A WICKLOW GARDEN. A quaint creeper-laden mill-house at Ashford, with an acre or two of ground, partly wooded, through which the silvery Vartry River flows, gentle as it falls over its little rocky weirs in summer, but swollen and turbid after wintry storms. The place is really an island at the bottom of a valley ; the hilly country around is beautifully diversified, and is graced by the finest of native timber trees. The garden is quite unlike any other garden I have seen, and to see it in the time of Lilies, Roses, Paeonies, Poppies, and Delphiniums is to see much lovely colour amongst the rich greenery of the rising woodlands. In autumn the colour is less brilliant, but equally satisfying as the eye wanders from the Torch Lilies and Gladioli to the blue Agapanthus, and thence to the Pine and Fir-clad hills. An old Ivy-covered wall makes a good background for the brilliant Tropaeolum speciosum, which everywhere runs wild about the place, throwing its soft green wreaths over twig and branch, their tips scarlet with blossoms, or heavily laden with turquoise-blue berries. Here also the soft rosy Hydrangeas bloom, and may be seen the big scarlet hips on the great Apple Rose of Parkinson (Rosa pomifera), with its large glaucous leaves scented like those of the Sweet Brier. Mount Usher is a charming example of the gardens that might be made in river valleys, especially those among the mountains and hills. In such places there is often delightful shelter from violent winds, while the picturesque effect of the mountains and hills around offers a charming prospect from the gardens. There is a distinct charm about many Irish gardens, and the country also is excellent, at least in the shore districts, for the growth of many plants that soon perish out of doors in most parts of England. GREENLANDS is an example of a garden in which the river front of the house is a simple sloping lawn. Originally laid out by Mr. Marnock for Mr. Majoribanks, it has long been a garden showing good work. There are no terrace gardens, and one passes easily from the house to a pleasant lawn and the well-planted grounds around, studded with many fine trees, among which are beautiful groups of Cedars. A flower garden in front of the house is here avoided ; but at a little distance there are various flower gardens within easy reach, and this plan keeps the lawn immediately in front of the house unbroken, instead of, what it too often is, patched with brown earth or, not always happy, masses of flowers. It would not be the best plan to follow in every case ; the more variety the greater the charm, and there are ways of delightful flower-gardening in which no bare earth can be seen, while there are many cases where the sunny and secluded sides of the house afford the best of sites for the flower garden. D 2 VARIOUS FLOWER GARDENS. 37 PENDELL COURT. It will be seen here that even where it is desired to have the flower garden, in part, against the house, it is by no means always necessary that the ground should be made " architectural." It is a great pleasure to see a beautiful old house, with no impedimenta to keep one away from the door. There are three good views of it : first, that of the lawn in front of the house, which was a flowery meadow yet uncut, with no beds or other obstructions to the view of the house, and with a fine group of trees on either hand. It was a poem in building and in lawn. Quite on the other side a border of flowers and a wall of climbers ran from the house. Looking along this border to the house, a shower of white climbing Roses was seen falling from the wall, and a quaint gable and a few windows and glistening rich Ivy behind formed a lovely picture. Another view of the house from across the water, showing its west end, is also very beautiful. There is a Wild Rose bush on the right and a tuft of Flag leaves on the left ; before you, the water and its lilies ; then a smooth, gently rising lawn creeping up to the windows, which on this side are all wreathed with white climbing Roses. All these views of the same house, although distinct, show no frivolous patterns, fountains, statues, and such objects, which often destroy all repose. The view from the house to the left is also free and charming a wide meadow climbing up the hill through groups of trees, and in the woody part reminding one a little of Alpine pastures. RHIANVA. We have not only to deal with ugly gardens, made in the wrong places, but with a false idea that all the flowers must be set out as smooth and as " hard " as tin plate, and that terraced gardens are not suited for our beautiful hardy flowers. But one may here and there see a better way, and at Rhianva, the free growth of evergreens and climbers, and the delightful inter- lacements of hardy flowers, ferns, and creepers, make the garden beautiful. Again, I remember, the garden at Ockham Park in Dr. Lushington's time was formal and yet beautiful, through the freedom of the vegetation. So again in Italy, the stiffness of the stone is soon softened by the graceful forms of trees, shrubs, and trailers as at Verona and in many Italian gardens. Fifty years ago the site of Rhianva, on the banks of the Menai Straits, was a steep field, with the large gray rocks so characteristic of Anglesey, and was crossed by a small stream which lost itself in marshy ground by the shore, where stood a couple of old Apple and Thorn trees and a little white-washed cottage. The extreme steepness of the rocky ground made the site difficult to deal with, and a number of supporting walls were built to form terraces ; and, by the help of a protecting sea-w r all, the flowers were carried THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. down to the very edge of the water. Facing a little to the south-east, the garden was protected from the violence of the westerly gales, while the more tender plants were sheltered from the east winds of spring by the larger shrubs and trees. The climate is VARIOUS FLOWER GARDENS. 39 mild in winter, and the garden being on a southern slope the trees and shrubs grew with great rapidity ; so that hedges of red Fuchsias and of blue and pink Hydrangeas soon hid the stone walls. Myrtles and Camellias, and some Acacias, were found to thrive out of doors ; and at the present time the only difficulty is to prevent the shrubs from injuring each other, through their rapid growth. In summer the luxuriant abundance of the Roses, climbing from bush to bush, the Cypresses, the Tamarisk and the Vines ; and the sea, and the purple mountains in the background, seem to belong rather to the Lake of Como than to Anglesey. All the borders are mossed over with small green plants ; large, hardy exotic Ferns are spread into groups ; and a lacework of Ivy, Vine, and creepers is seen in many parts. A mixed order of planting is pursued, but in many cases the shrubs and plants are allowed to spread as they will, and the climbers take picturesque shapes. Rhianva is an example of the error of the notion that a terraced garden should only be arranged as a " bedded-out " garden. We have here a terraced garden in a position that called for it, namely, a rocky slope, in which the only way of making a garden was by terracing the ground, but it is a garden that shelters every treasure of our garden flora, from the Cyclamen to the Tea Rose. It has been said that, however valuable the more beautiful hardy flowers, their place is not the parterre, but some out-of-the-way spot. Not only may any terrace garden be embellished with hardy flowers, but it is the best place for them. The odd notion that our fairest flowers must not show themselves in the flower garden might lead one to suppose that there never was anything in the flower garden before bedding-out was invented. Is it well to devote the flower beds to one type of vegetation only, whether it be hardy or tender? We have been so long accustomed to forming flat surfaces of colour in flower beds that few think of better ways of filling them. In Nature vegetation in its most beautiful aspects is rarely a thing of one effect, but rather a union or mingling of different types of life often suc- ceeding each other in bloom. So it might often be in the garden. The most beautiful effects must be obtained by combining different forms so as to aid each other, and give us a succession of pictures. If any place asks for permanent planting it is the precious spot of ground near the house ; for no one can wish to see large, grave- like masses of soil frequently dug near the windows. It is easy to form beds that would look well in all seasons by the use of choice shrubs of many kinds Rhododendron, Azalea, Dwarf Cypress, Heath, Clematis, Honeysuckle, Weigela, Hydrangea, Skimmia, Rock Rose, Tamarix, Daphne, Yucca, Tree Peony. Why should we not use beautiful Andromedas or Kalmias or fine evergreen Barberries in the THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. flower garden in the same way as Camellias or Acacias or Tree Ferns in the winter garden to break and vary the surface ? The shrubs should be arranged in an open way, the opposite to the crowding of American shrubs common in our beds. In these all VARIOUS FLOWER GARDENS. 41 individual character and form are crushed away in the crowd ; yet there is scarcely a shrub that has not a charm of form it will show if allowed room. One good plan is to allow no crowding, and to place the finest hardy flowers in groups between the free untortured shrubs. Thoroughly prepare the beds ; put in the choicest shrubs, which, without being high enough to obscure the view, adorn the earth all the winter as well as all the summer, and give us a broken surface as well as a beautiful one, and, far from leading to monotony, this would lead to an infinite and varied succession of beauty. We should not then have any set pattern to weary the eye, but quiet grace and verdure, and little pictures, month by month. The beds, filled with shrubs and garlanded with evergreens and creepers, would everywhere afford nooks and spaces among the shrubs where we could grow some of the many fine hardy Lilies with the Gladioli, Phlox, Iris, tall 'Anemone, Peony, and Delphinium. The choice shrubs suited for such beds are not gross feeders, like trees, but on the other hand encourage the finer hardy bulbs and flowers. They also relieve the plants by their bloom or foliage 1 , and when a Lily or Cardinal Flower fades after blooming it is not noticed as it might be in a stiff border. In this way we should not need the wretched and costly plan of growing a number of low evergreens in pots, to " decorate " the flower garden in winter. To get artistic effects in such a flower garden we must not by any means adopt the usual close pattern beds, because no good effect can be got from beds crowded on each other like tarts on a tray. Repose and verdure are essential. Before making the change from the dwarf plants only, be they hardy or tender, it would be well to see that there is ample repose or room for the full expression of the beauty of each bed or group, and no complication or crowding, no complex or angular beds. The contents of the beds and not their out- lines are what we should see. By this way of planting with beautiful flowering summer or evergreen shrubs, with abundant space for flowers to grow between, we might see beauty in our terrace garden beds on the dullest day in winter. Between the low bushes we could have evergreen carpets of Alpine plants and tiny hill shrubs, and through these the autumn, winter, and spring flowering bulbs could bloom, untarnished by the soil splashing of the ordinary border. Shelter, as well as the best culture, could be thus secured for many a fair flower, which, once well planted, would there come up year after year. Among the flowering shrubs we have many lovely wild and garden Roses to help us with our plans. SHEEN COTTAGE. The late Sir Richard Owen's garden is one of the most charming and simple in the neighbourhood of London. Many a visitor to Richmond Park enjoys the view jof his cottage, THE ENGLISH FLOIVEK GARDEN. as it nestles on the margin of the sweep of ground near the Sheen gate, but it is from the other or the garden side that the picture is best. A lawn, quite unbroken, stretches from near the windows to the boundary, and is fringed with numerous hardy trees. Here /and VA RIO US FL WER GA RDENS. 43 there are masses of flowering shrubs and an odd bed of Lilies, while numerous hardy flowers are seen among the Roses and Rhododen- drons. There is in the main part of the garden only one walk, which takes one round the whole, and does not show, as it glides behind the outside of the groups which fringe the little open lawn. Instead of coming quite close to the house it is cut off from it by a deep border of evergreen shrubs, intermingled with Lilies and hardy plants, and their flowers look into the windows. Instead of looking out of the window, as usual, on a bare gravel walk, the eye is caught by Rhododendrons or Spiraeas, with here and there a Lily, a Foxglove, or a tall Evening Primrose. From the other side of the garden the effect of the border is quite charming, and the creeper- covered cottage seems to spring out of a bank of flowers. The placing of a wide border with Evergreens against the house is a pleasant change from the ordinary mode of laying out little gardens. Another agreeable feature of this garden is the grass walks, which ramble through a thick and shady plantation. Even in our coolest summers there is many a day on w r hich such shady walks, carpeted with grass, are the most enjoyable retreats one can find. And their margins form capital situations for naturalising many beautiful hardy plants Daffodils, hardy Ferns, Scillas, the tall Harebells, Snow r drops, and Snowflakes. CAWDOR CASTLE. The view of Cawdor shows the good of having some form and variety of shape in a garden, be the garden large or small. The trees, shrubs, and bushes give the light and shade and variety of form which is so often absent from our gardens. The hard effect which the ordinary garden shows results from the want of all mystery or variety of surface or form. In the case of Cawdor the beds are simple, so that we are less concerned with pattern or plan than with the flowers. This is as it should be. It is not a model to be followed everywhere, but such freedom and variety is greatly to be desired in gardens. After all considerations of plan have been settled, we ought to abolish the too common practice of excluding all things of a bushy, upright nature from our flower gardens. DRUMMOND CASTLE. A house on a rock, graced with many Ferns and Ivy, and wild flow r ers natural to the spot. It would not be easy to find a more graceful example of " natural " rock gardening. It is only, however, on going to the south side of the house, where the ground falls rapidly and is supported by terrace walls, that all gloom is dispelled by the brightest array of blossoming climbers that ever clad gray stones with beauty. To fancy one's self in some fairyland of sun-bathed flowers a thousand miles south in a lap of the mountains would be easy. No Italian gardens could probably show the same high beauty at the end of summer, whatever they 44 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. might do earlier, and the very coolness encourages and prolongs the bloom. The shelter of the terrace, with the house behind, helps many things ; but, beyond training, there is little artificial help. It is our privilege of growing so many plants from other countries that makes our open-air gardens so beautiful in the fall of the year : here, when the leaves begin to colour, and when even the Harebell is past its best on the banks, we have a very paradise of flowers. The fact that this fine plant beauty may be enjoyed by all who have a patch of ground and a wall makes it a precious gift, and the plants that here give most flowers are nearly all as easily grown as our common Honeysuckle. Loveliest of all the climbers here is the Flame Nasturtium (Tropaeolum speciosum), which* drapes these stately walls, as it does those of many a cottage in Scotland. Admirable for walls as is this fragile and brilliant plant, it is seen to even greater advantage when a delicate shoot runs over a Yew-hedge, with its arrows of colour, and near it on the walls are many flowers of the older and once better-known Tropaeolums ; showy, climbing Nasturtiums of gardens grow high on the walls, and add to the rich glow of colours. Nothing could surpass the rich purple of the Clematis here waves of colour, and flowers of great size, the cool hill air suiting them so well. In the warm or temperate south, in Madeira or the Riviera, the garden lover sometimes makes a pretty hedge of Oak-leaved Geraniums ; but, as one does not see them in the South of England, it is a surprise to see them happy on the walls here in Scotland, growing from four feet to seven feet high, with fresh foliage and many flowers. Their spicy fragrance and pretty foliage make them worth the trouble of storing in the winter, and placing in the open air in early summer. All the winter they are kept in the house on trellises, and, carefully trained in summer against the warm wall, soon make fresh growth and are in good bloom late in September. Large borders of the common river Forget-me-not remind us of its value as compared with the wood and Alpine Forget-me-nots usually grown in gardens. It is beautiful in moist borders, flowering long through summer and autumn. The charm of the place almost ceases with the terraces, for below them is one of those wonderful displays of "bedding out" in its cruder forms, which attains its greatest " glory " near large Scottish houses, plants in squares, repeated by thousands, and walks from which all interest is taken by the planting on each side being of exactly the same pattern. STEPS AND TERRACE IN THE OLD PARK, AXMINSTER. This engraving is instructive as regards the bare state of many gardens. For many years past the rule in some of the most pretentious geometrical VARIOUS FLOWER GARDENS, 45 gardens has been to allow no vegetation on the walls or balustrades, but the older and graceful way is to garland all wall surfaces with beautiful life, and not to wholly hide them in doing so. Dividing lines and walls may do their work without being as bare as if in a stonemason's yard. The idea of the terrace garden came from the steep slopes of Italy 46 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEX. and Greece. The rough wall of the peasant, which prevented the earth from being washed away, and gave a little depth on the stony hillside, became, in the garden of the wealthy man, the built terrace, structurally right, and necessary whether men gardened for pleasure or for profit. Having got their ground level through terracing, it was the rule to plant with beautiful things Olive-trees for profit, and Cypress for shade. If anybody will compare such effects with the common debased English planting of the flower-garden, where everything is hard and flat and nothing is allowed on the walls, he will at once see a vital difference. PENSHURST. There is no more essential charm for a garden than that it should be itself in character and not be a copy of gardens near it or elsewhere. This merit belongs to Penshurst, and the network of orchard trees and tall summer flowers beneath them which make up much of the flower gardening there. Much of the ground between the kitchen garden and the house is thrown into squares and strips, which shelter and divide the space, and most of this space between the hedges is planted with fruit trees, and walks very often Grass walks running between them. The remaining spaces are planted with flowers, from beds of Carnations to mixed borders of tall herbaceous plants and Lilies. Foxgloves are at home here, and in rather broad masses under the trees their effect is charming the shade and mystery of the overhead growth give them something of the look they have in woods. The lines of border after border are broken by the trees, and the effect is very soft and different from what it so often is, while the colour tells splendidly in the case of masses of Orange Lily. The growth is free, and there is no such thing as prim- ness, which greatly helps the effect. Groups of Acanthus look well here, and Delphinium, Meadow Sweet, giant Scabious, and many a hardy flower are refreshing to see. But Penshurst is an example of the many gardens (new and old) where the reaction from the hardness of bedding out and the winter bareness of it have led people to do away with flower beds near the house. It is not the old way to clear everything away but shaven Grass near a beautiful old house, nor is it the true way, but it is now a common one, and it gets rid of much of the ugliness of beds. But there are ways of putting flowers in charming modesty about a house as well as that of digging up in early summer ugly grave-like beds for them. In the old days flowers clustered round the house, and were the better for its shelter, warmth, and colour. Long before the massing system, with all its garishness, was discovered, flowers were planted for many generations in quiet ways about old English houses. It is right that the main entrance and park side of a great house should be frank and open, but to make the house bare all round for the sake 48 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. of bare Grass, and to lose all the advantage of shelter and seclusion, is not the best way by far. Bays and warm corners, and high walls and their shelter and variety of aspect, are delightful for flowers flowers such as could not injure any building ; not even a suspicion of the injury that comes from Ivy betimes could attach to borders of Fern or Iris. If we lived in a country where close turf was not seen in the park, or hills, or fields, there would be a reason for having nothing but turf under the windows. In the park the short nibbled turf is often fringed by Bracken, Foxglove, and Wild Rose ; whereas,, near the house, the way too often now is to let the turf run hard and straight into the walls, and the winds of heaven strike the house un- tempered by the breath of a Violet. The question of some degree of seclusion about country houses is bound up with this. Nothing is worse than planting that hides sun and air from a beautiful house, but dividing lines and little sheltered gardens are often needed. There are so many ways of screening off such precious spaces, too Vine, Sweet Verbena, Winter Sweet, and Jasmine for low walls ; Rose, Sweet Brier, and Honeysuckle for fragrant or blossoming hedges ; Clematis, Wistaria, and climbing Rose for arch or pergola. The very lines for shelter or privacy might be gardens of the most fragrant and beautiful things we have, from the winter Jasmine to the climbing Tea Rose. No, the Grass alone is not and never can be the artistic way on all sides of a house, and the common French way of a waste of gravel all round a house is still worse. The gray of the Carnation is welcome in winter seen from the windows, and there are many evergreen rock plants that take their deepest hues of green in winter, and they are a long way better, even for their green, than the winter- worn turf. It is often well, too, to see a glimpse from the windows of the way the Crocus opens its heart to the sun brilliant forerunner of crowds of fair blossoms. COMPTON WlNYATES. Compton Winyates is one of the dearest of the old houses jewelled over the land of England, the most charming of countries for its houses. There are graceful old climbers and trees near, but not much showy gardening almost none. There is also very little of what is called pleasure ground in the ordinary sense ; but that is too stereotyped a thing to make one regret it in the presence of such a beautiful home. None the less is it pleasant to wander over the high fields near and along the deep slopes of the coombe, especially in the autumn time with the tree leaves rich in colour, and the Barberry laden with a thousand coral boughs. Compton Winyates is one of the old houses not surrounded by terraces, but sits quietly on the turf, and tells us, as other of our finest old houses do, that each situation demands its own treatment as regards the surroundings of the house. VARIOUS FLOWER GARDENS. 49 KETTON COTTAGE. This is one of the Elizabethan farmhouses common in the villages round Stamford, with some recent additions. It stands in the village, a short distance from the beautiful church of St. Mary, a few yards from the little river Chater, which, coming down from Leicestershire, falls into the Welland a mile or two below Ketton and as far above Stamford. As the position is sheltered from rough winds, the small space of ground between the road and the river has proved a home for such of the hardy shrubs and flowers planted in it during the last thirty years as find the lime in both soil and water congenial to them. The banks of the stream are in places fringed with Royal Fern and the large American Ferns, all of which bear patiently the floods which sometimes in summer and often in winter pass over their heads, lasting now and then for several weeks. All these Ferns thrive in a bed of rough leaf-mould, 6 inches or 8 inches above and below the usual water level, partly coated in the course of years with earth from the floods, and partly denuded by the action of the water, which is prevented in the exposed portions from washing away the roots by a covering of heavy stones, between which there is just room for the crowns to appear. These conditions prevent the growth of seedling Royal Ferns, but the old plants are, after more than twenty years, as vigorous as -their kindred in the Norfolk marshes, the fronds of some in the shade being more than 6 feet in length. In a place rather more sheltered from the force of the stream the American Royal Ferns thrive equally well ; as also on a somewhat higher level a certain number of other strong Ferns which do not suffer by floods. On an open part of the bank a quantity of purple Loosestrife makes a good background for the Ferns, and a patch of Meadow Rue gives variety and a distinct autumn colour. For the rest the engraving shows the distinct and very happy effect of the garden, which is a home for many and beautiful hardy flowers. H. POWIS CASTLE. Of the many gardens I have seen, very few gave me the pleasure of Powis : first, because of its noble drive through great Oaks with breaks of Fern between, so unlike the dark mono- tonous avenue which spreads gloom over so many country seats. The light and shade and the noble forms of the trees make the picture more beautiful than any primly set-out avenue. The flower garden is beautiful, partly owing to its position, which is that of a true terrace garden i.e. the ground falls so steeply, that terracing is neces- sary. These terraces were wreathed with Clematis and beautiful with shrub, and flower, and life, a picture of what a flower garden should be. As the original name, " Castell Coch," signifies, the castle is built of red sandstone, and stands on the same rock, and the terraces are K VARIOUS FLOWER GARDENS. hewn out of. this, which forms the walls, for the most part unaided by masonry. Glancing over a balustrading from the castle level on to the terraces beneath, the scene is charming, and we are struck at once with the harmonious blending of the flowers and their surroundings. A happy idea is carried out in regard to colours by the three terraces having each its predominating colour viz. the lowest white, the middle yellow, and the highest purple ; not that other colours are excluded, but these prevailing tones are maintained. A charm of this terrace has been for years a number of trellises, 8 feet to 10 feet high, covered with Clematis. Here and there the Flame Nasturtium suspends graceful festoons of brightest colour. Pyramids, Sweet Peas, good perennials and choice annuals are used ; the stiffness of hard lines being quite broken by the Clematis, Roses > Sunflowers, Hollies, Japanese Maples, and Tree Paeonies. The walls of the terrace are covered with Roses, Clematises, Pears, Peaches, Nectarines, Pomegranate, which flowers freely every season, Magnolia, and Wistaria. COTEHELE, CORNWALL. This is one of the finest old houses in the west of England, and the quaint old terraces are laid out in old- fashioned beds and borders filled with hardy flowers. Very little masonry is seen in the formation of the terraces, and the old walls are mantled with various creepers, Vines, Myrtle, Clematis, Magnolia, Jasmines, and Ivy. The engraving gives a faithful representation of one side of the house, looking east. It is situated on the summit of a high hill on the Cornish side of the river Tamar, with views of its winding course, also of the distant ranges of hills in both Devon and Cornwall. The picturesque freedom of the planting is delightful, the house being prettily covered. SHRUBLAND PARK. Shrubland Park, in Suffolk, illustrates the recent history of English flower-gardening, as it was the great bedding- out garden, the " centre " of the system, and which provided many examples for other places in England. The great terrace garden in front of the house was laid out in scrolls and intricate beds, all filled with plants of a few decided colours, principally yellow, white, red, and blue, and edged with Box. In every spot in this garden the same rigid system of set beds was followed, and not a creeper was permitted to ramble over the masonry and stonework of the various terraces. Every bit of Ivy that tried to creep up the walls and cover the stonework had to be removed, to leave the stone in its first bareness. Where some particular colour was wanted in a certain spot, coloured stones were freely used yellow, red, and blue and in the summer, when the hedgerows and meadows are full of flowers, there were no flowers in this large garden to cut for the E 2 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. house ! A few years ago, when Shrubland passed into the hands of the Hon. James Saumarez, the elaborate designs were swept away, and the terrace-garden planted with the flowers that every one loves Roses, Lavender, and among them many of what are called common things, and climbers of many kinds clothed the walls. The self Carnation and the Tea Rose are the glory of this garden the flowers filling the air with fragrance, the silvery hue of the large groups of fragrant Lavender, the broad masses of Carnations, and the groups of monthly Roses, make a delightful picture. Powis Castle, Welshpool. Of the Tea Rose, all the finest kinds for our climate are planted. There is an idea that it succumbs to the first frost, but all the varieties -at Shrubland, and they include, we believe, every good kind in culti- vation, passed unharmed through 20 degrees of frost, and this without shelter. One of the most interesting spots of Shrubland is the Bamboo walk, a straight walk, planted at one time with smooth ribbon borders. These were swept away, and Bamboos and tall Lilies now fill their place, and we have never seen Bamboos make finer growth. There are fine hardy plants to relieve the foliage of the Bamboos, and the Plume Poppy with its feathery plumes : Lilies, Funkias, or Plantain Lilies, and Evening Primroses. VARIOUS FLOWER GARDENS. 53 CHILLINGHAM CASTLE. Chillingham is on a ridge of land nearly 1,000 feet above the sea in a rocky moorland district, intersected by deep and beautifully wooded glens. The illustration shows but a small part of the handsome terrace garden, with its beautiful retaining wall 1 20 yards in length, the wall a picture, with Clematises hanging in festoons, with Ivies, Vines, the climbing Hydrangea, and Pyracantha ; in front of the wall a long border was planted with some of the best hardy flowers. The flower beds, although somewhat too angular, are of sufficient size to permit of bold grouping, and this is so well done that the form of the beds is less seen, and the blending of the colours of the many flowers is well carried out. Many hardy plants are here well grown, wild Roses and hardy Fuchsias give height and boldness to the arrangement, and the terrace on summer and autumn days is gay with fine colour. The wall at the end of the terrace, which is partly overhung with trees, has its face in a great part hidden by a lovely veil of maiden hair spleenwort. From here, ascending a flight of rough Moss-covered steps, Grass slopes adorned with trees make pleasant shade, and we pass on to the south front of the castle, which has a broad gravel walk in the foreground and a lawn that merges into the park and the adjoining pastures. WlLTON. One of the glories of Wilton is its fine Lebanon Cedars, the tree having been extensively planted here at the time of its first introduction, and although later years have witnessed a great thinning of its ranks, enough remain to form the most prominent feature of the place. The Wilton Cedars are older than those at Goodwood or Warwick, and although mighty ones have fallen, some still remain, whilst numerous young ones are growing up to take the place of those that fall victims to the storms. Whilst the present wise policy of frequent planting is continued, there will be no break in the history of this tree at Wilton. The finest old specimen has a grand bole about 15 ft. up to the point of branching and of fairly even diameter throughout its length of main stem, which girths fully 24 ft. A stem of greater girth entirely enshrouded in Ivy stands near by, the tree having perished in a storm some years ago. A noble evergreen Oak near the Cedars has a stem that girths 19 ft, and at one time it had a head of branches spreading quite 100 yards in circumference, but a giant Cedar in its fall broke away a large portion of this Oak on one side. It is a magnificent tree in perfect health, and bids fair to grow out of its present disfigured state. Near this tree, and on the west side or library front of the house, is an Italian garden, and beyond it a long vista terminated by a stone structure called Holbein's Porch. A fine Chamaerops Fortunei stands near, this also being a plant out of the first introduced batch. It has been outside for seventy years, is not so tall as some younger specimens we have seen, but its stem is unusually thick and denotes great age. VARIOUS FLOWER GARDENS. 55 The view shown is that of the south front of the house, show- ing a little garden of stone-edged beds set in gravel. Beyond, adorned only by the grand trees on it, the lawn spreads away to the river bank, the river itself being spanned by the " Palladian Bridge," built of stone and having a roof supported by rows of columns on either side. This leads to the deer park, in which the ground rises upwards to a considerable elevation, whilst along this slope another informal avenue of Lebanon Cedars is a fine feature amid the great beauty of native trees in abundance and of large size. An interesting fact gathered in regard to the Cedars is that on an average once in ten years they ripen a batch of good seed, which is sown for future planting about the place. Looking eastwards from the house, the ground stretches away almost as flat as a table, but this flatness has been delightfully broken up by a series of well-arranged groups, chiefly of coniferous or evergreen trees and shrubs margined in a pretty way with graceful masses of Savin. A broad gravel walk at right angles to the east front of the mansion, with lawn and fine trees on either side of it, extends for 300 yards, and is terminated by a seat hedged round with Yew. This bold walk and the shrub groups that break up the flatness of and give distance to the fine expanse of lawn that extends to the waterside are from the designs of Sir Richard Westmacott, who assisted the Countess of Pembroke in planning the grounds. The second engraving shows well that portion of the house com- manding the view of this broad walk, with its lawn and distant water, whilst between the trees in the distance is seen the spire of Salisbury Cathedral. Near the river a statue of Venus on the top of a column stands in the centre of a little square formed by trees of the Italian Cypress. The red Cedar was charming in some of the groups, its branches laden with glaucous fruits, that appeared as a silvery sheen cast over the tree. Yews, Hollies, and Evergreen Oaks, numerous and fine, give perennial verdure to the grounds. Coniferous trees in sheltered breaks and nooks are equally fine, a tree of Picea cephalonica especially so, being nearly 100 ft. high, whilst many are growing with great vigour. H. OFFINGTON. Ofifington is a very instructive garden, richly stored and pretty too. Large collections are rarely in the hands of those who have any thought for general effect, and no garden is more likely to be inartistic than the one rich in plants, and it is rare to find a pretty garden which is so full of beautiful things as this is. It is one of those shore gardens in which there is much gain in point of warmth and other conditions which allow the growing of plants we have no chance of keeping in inland districts. The southern and seashore district in one gives us all the conditions we could VARIOUS FLOWER GARDENS. 57 desire for growing many more plants than are hardy in our country. In this garden Major Gaisford has gathered together a host of rare and beautiful trees, shrubs, and plants which, favoured by a genial climate, give to the garden a distinct aspect. There is here an entire absence of that conventional gardening which lays down hard, geometric patterns where we should see the free and graceful forms of shrubs and flowers. The house is nearly hidden by climbing plants, and a grand old Ivy-embowered Walnut standing on an airy lawn. BULWICK. Rambling about Northamptonshire, and delighted with its beautiful old houses, many of them, unfortunately, as bare of flower-gardening as a deserted ship, it was pleasant to come to a real garden at Bulwick, full of Carnations and many open-air flowers arranged in various pretty ways, even the house being full of large basins of Carnations some of them of one self-coloured kind a rare pleasure. The flower garden was not one of those places which astonish us by a showy display, but modest at first sight as regards flower-gardening in immediate relation to the house, and the chief charm of the place was rather in various little side gardens and long and pretty borders backed with Holly and other hedges, and giving an opportunity for growing a great number of hardy flowers which bloom in the autumn. These formed picture vistas, of which the effect is very often better than a flower garden of the usual type. But, more than this, the excellent plan was followed here by the late Lady Henry Grosvenor of having what I do not think any garden can be right without, namely, a " square " or reserve garden in which things are grown well without reference to effect. It was a large square of the kitchen garden thrown into 4-feet beds, with little beaten alleys between, in which many thousand Carnations were grown in simple masses. One sees at once how much more beauty and variety can be got in such ways than where all the effort goes to help one scheme for effect in front of one's windows. What is the secret of beauty in such a garden, and what the lesson to be learnt from it ? It is that no one plan will give us a garden beautiful for any length of time even in the fine season, as any one way is so liable to failure from the weather or other causes ; that the main source of success is to have various ways with flowers, as there were at Bulwick. Hardy plants in beds and borders apart from the flower garden proper (that, too, being pretty) are the source of the charms of this garden the variety of situation, the variety of plants, but of hand- some, well-chosen and well-grown plants, and even variety of level in the various gardens, such as occurs at Bulwick, are all good aids, and the nearness of an interesting kitchen garden with sheltering walls is a source of beauty and variety. EVERSLEY. In the late Charles Kingsley's rectory garden at THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. Eversley, we get to see a modest, and simple as charming, type of garden. The walls and borders are full of flowers, while the Grass clothes the central space. When Canon Kingsley became rector of i uu&SJi : Steps and terrace, " The Old Park," Axminster. Terrace garden not stiffly planted. a photograph by Miss Dryden, Canons Ashby. From Eversley, in 1844, he found the garden at the rectory in as unsatis- factory a state as was, in other respects, the rest of his parish ; but its capabilities he used to the utmost. On the sloping lawn between the house and the road stood, and still stands, a noble group of three VARIOUS FLOWER GARDENS. 59 Scotch Firs, planted about the time that James I. who was just then building the grand old house of Bramshill, hard by, as a hunting box for Prince Henry planted the Scotch Firs in Bramshill Park, and the clumps on Hartford Bridge Flats and Elvetham Mount. Most of the garden consisted then of a line of ponds from the glebe fields, past the house, down to the large pond behind the garden and churchyard. The rector at once became his own landscape gardener, and the ponds were drained. Plane trees, which threatened in every high gale to fall on the south end of the house, were cut down, and masses of shrubs were planted to keep out the cold draughts, which even on summer evenings streamed down from the bogs on the edge of Hartford Bridge Flats. What had been a wretched chicken yard in front of the brick-floored room used as a study was laid down in Grass, with a wide border on each side, and the wall between the house and stable was soon a mass of creeping Roses, scarlet Honey- suckles, and Virginian Creeper. Against the south side of the house a Magnolia (M. grandiflora) was trained, filling the rooms with its fragrance. Lonicera and Clematis montana, Wistaria, Gloire de Dijon and Ayrshire Roses, and variegated Ivy hid the rest of the wall with a veil of sweetness. In front of the study window, on the lawn, an immense plant of Japanese Honeysuckle grows, and next to this the pride of the study garden lay in its double yellow Brier Roses. These grew very freely, and in June the wall of the house and garden was ablaze with the golden blooms, the rooms being decorated for two or three weeks with dishes of the yellow Roses. From the low, damp situation of the rectory, none but the hardiest plants could be grown out-of-doors ; but the borders were always gay with such plants as Phloxes, Delphiniums, Saxifrages, Pinks, Pansies, and, above all, Roses and Carnations. One bay in front of the house was well covered with Pyracantha, in which a pair of white-throats built un- disturbed for many years. Rhododendrons grew in the greatest luxuriance, and the neighbours always came to see the rector's garden when two beds, on either side of the front, were in blossom. An ancient Yew tree, and a slight hedge of Laburnum, Hollies, Lilac, and Syringa divide the rectory garden from the churchyard, and here, again, the rector turned his mind to making the best of what he had. The church, a plain red brick structure, was gradually covered with Roses, Ivy, Cotoneaster, Pyracantha, &c., and, in order that his parishioners should look on beautiful objects when they assembled in the churchyard for their Sunday gossip before service, the older part of the churchyard was planted with choice trees, flower- ing shrubs, Junipers, Cypress, Berberis, and Acer Negundo, and the Grass dotted with Crocuses where it was not carpeted with wild white Violets. Wilton, looking from house. Wilton, another view. VARIOUS FLOWER GARDENS. 61 EDGE HALL garden is one of those in which the hardy flowers of the northern world are grown in numbers for the owner's delight and the good of his friends, and it is in such large collections that charming novelties for our gardens often make their appearance. Such gardens in our own day carry on the traditions, so to say, of very interesting English and Scottish gardens of the past, in which numbers of beauti- ful open air things were grown among those I have had the happi- ness to see were the late Mr. Borrer's at Henfield in Sussex, a garden museum of beautiful hardy plants and of rare British forms of plants and trees ; the Ellacombes' garden at Bitton ; Mr. Leeds' garden at Man- chester ; Stirling's at Edinburgh ; Comely Bank, a home for the rarest and most beautiful plants ; the Rev. Harpur Crewe's ; Mr. Atkins's garden at Painswick ; Sir George McLeay's at Pendell Court; Major Gaisford's at Offington, and many other delightful gardens. The riches of the collection in such gardens are a source of danger as to effect, the very number of plants often leading to a neglect of breadth and simplicity of effect ; but there is no real reason why a garden, rich in many plants, may not also be beautiful in its masses, airiness and verdure. A mile to the east the well-wooded and well-heathered range of the Broxton Hills gives shelter, whilst from the south-west to the north-west the horizon is formed by Welsh mountain ranges. A sunk fence of sandstone, easily jumped by a fox or a hare, and in other parts a line of movable hurdles, well wired against rabbits, separate three acres for house and garden from the surrounding grass fields and from a small park of eighty acres. About 200 yards from the house the sand rock comes through, forming a long terrace with an escarpment towards the west. The woods in spring are carpeted first with Prim- roses and wood Anemones, then with wild Hyacinths and Pink Campion, whilst later there is a tall growth of Campanula latifolia and large breadths of Japanese Knotwort, which have been planted to supersede Nettles, while overhead is abundance of Hawthorn, Crab and wild Cherry. The hall stands on the side of a hollow watercourse worn in the stiff clay, which in Cheshire often lies over the sand rock. Down this watercourse runs a torrent in heavy rains, but it is quite dry in summer. On the sloping banks of this, close above the house, there formerly stood ranges of cow-houses and pig-sties, which drained into a stagnant pond in the bed of the watercourse within twenty yards of the bedroom windows. Twenty-five years ago it was drained, the watercourse confined within a covered culvert ; and the whole space is now covered all summer with a dense forest of herbaceous plants every good kind which will thrive in the cold soil on which the house stands being cultivated there. STONELANDS, SUSSEX. It is pleasant to get out of the conven- tional and there are many ways of doing so but gardens are often out 62 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. of all sympathy with the surrounding country, whereas the landscape and sylvan beauty of a pretty country might often be reflected, so to say, in the home landscape. It might indeed often tell us what to do as regards grouping, and kinds of trees and the natural character of the ground even give hints as to ground work in gardens. Stonelands is characteristic of the small manor house of the woodland district of Sussex, with its groups of Scotch Firs behind the house and in intimate connection with the farm buildings near. The house, too, is of a good Sussex kind with bright sunny windows, stone, pretty in colour, big chimneys, and there is a small terrace necessary from the lie of the ground, which also cuts off the house from the road to the farm buildings near. GOLDER'S HlLL.^Places where there are simple conditions for beauty in design and planting are rare, and it is all the more pleasing to meet with an example of artistic treatment of a garden almost in London, on the western border of Hampstead Heath. As regards design and views, it is the prettiest of town gardens, and the conditions of its beauty are so simple that there is little to be said about them ; an open lawn rolling up to the house, groups of fine trees, and wide and distant views over the country, the whole suggestive of good effect from simple hardy materials both in trees and flowers, but the elevation is such that no half hardy exotics are likely to succeed, and therefore hardy things give us our best chances of success. A sunken fence separates the lawn from some park-like meadow \vith fine Oaks and Firs ; and beyond, the country north of London opens up, without any building visible on either side or in the fore- ground. From almost every other point of view these trees seem to form a picturesque group, and afford a welcome shade in summer. In front of the house is an open lawn, which one can get on to at once from any point. Being on a gentle rise, some would no doubt have urged this as a reason for making some kind of fortification in the shape of walls, which would have destroyed the repose, verdure, and the freedom of the spot. Now the only drawback if drawback it be to such perfect freedom and breadth of airy foreground is the fact that it offers a temptation to unthinking people to dot it over with shrubs, or evergreen trees, and many places, well laid out, are spoiled by this thoughtless dotting about of objects of poor form. The question of flowers is the greatest difficulty, because people are so well accustomed to have all their flowers gathered in front of the house, that if abundant provision is not made for them elsewhere, the carpet is apt, some day or other, to be dissected into a number of ugly flower- beds. The best way to guard against this in lawn gardens is to pro- vide abundance of simple beds elsewhere which, half seen peeping through the trees, or met with in groups here and there at no great VARIOUS FLOWER GARDENS. distance from the house, may afford better effects than if all the beds are under the windows. Thus where the foreground is a pleasant lawn it is often well to have another site for the flower garden ; and good large beds or groups of beds, in which fine things can be grown. To have in one spot a group of large beds, simple in outline with Roses and smaller plants surfacing the ground ; next in some isolated nook, large beds of Lilies, separated by a group of low shrubs and flowering Yuccas from a few beds of hardy flowers ; then a varied flower garden partially cut off and embowered by trees these and the like are in certain situations likely to give that variety of treatment which it is the aim of this chapter to secure. Lawn garden, Offington, Worthing. Engraved from a photograph by Miss Gaisford. TOTLEY HALL, NEAR SHEFFIELD, YORKS. This fine old country house stands beside the old coach road from Sheffield to Chatsworth and Haddon Hall, on an elevation with good and extensive views. Over the front door is the date 1623, about the time when Gerard's Herbhal was published, and six years before Parkinson's Paradisus of 1629. Built in such a flower-loving epoch it seems fitting that it should be a flowery place to-day. Inside the entrance hall there is some fine old oak carving and staircase, and there was formerly a quaint old gallery around the hall, but new additions necessi- tated its removal. The flower garden slopes rather suddenly from VARIOUS FLOWER GARDENS. 65 the fringe of the front lawn and is rich in well-grown Daffodils and other choice flowers, sheltered by winding hedges. There is a fine range of hills terminated by a bluff or headland in front of the house, and to the right are vast stretches of moorland. The elevated character and breezy freshness of the place are suggestive of the sea. Here, in spring, appear in great profusion the chaste flowers of the Daffodils, for Totley Hall is a home of the Daffodil. Standing at the lower end of the long flower borders confined within hedges of Hollies, intersected by a winding path fringed with seedling Auriculas there is seen a host of Daffodils. As one gazes upon them, with their delicate and fragile heads waving gently to and fro in the soft westerly breeze, there rush involuntarily to one's mind Wordsworth's words on his sudden view of the wild Daffodils at Ullswater then my heart with pleasure fills And dances with the Daffodils. The deep golden yellows glow with a warmth that suggests the absorption of the sun's rays at their brightest moments. The chaste and beautiful whiteness of others appears as if they had quietly appropriated, in the stillness of the night, the silvery moonbeams that softly kissed their fragile petals, whilst the paler tints of cream, sulphur and primrose are suggestive of the soft-coloured mantle spread o'er the skies by the lingering rays of the setting sun. The Daffodil fit emblem of spring is here in all its forms and colours. F. W. B. THE KEEP GARDEN AT FARNHAM CASTLE. In our own day when it has been stated that the only garden worthy the name is one within four square walls, it interests me to come upon gardens of wholly different character, which show the folly of rules about a subject which admits of so much variety of position, form, and detail as a flower garden does. One of the most interesting I have lately seen is the little flower garden on the top of the old keep at Farnham Castle, which is as picturesque in situation and informal in outline as a garden can be, while it is extremely pretty with the broken walls on all sides clad with Ivy and Clematis, and in the centre many flowers. The variety of form from the walls surrounding it and the various climbers give it a singular charm. The hardiest flowers are grown, as is most fitting for such a garden Irises in masses and evergreen perennials, which help to keep some grace in the garden towards the end of the year, and Tea and other Roses also help. Although I saw it on the verge of winter, it even then had much beauty of leaf and flower. It should be clear that in any such situation it is only possible through flower gardening of the free and picturesque kind to get a good F VARIO US FL WER GA RDENS. 67 result, and, happily, there are so many treasures in our gardens now, that while growing things for their beauty of form or flower of fragrance, we may have much variety as to contents, grouping, and succession of bloom in such a garden. ELDERFIELD. In Miss Yonge's garden we are again away from convention and free to enjoy the charm of trees and shrubs among the flowers, as in many beautiful British gardens somewhat larger than cot- tage gardens, but keeping the unstamped grace and variety of the cottage garden. One of the good points of such gardens is the freedom enjoyed to do or undo at any time of the year there is always pleasant work to do and no violent effort at any one time as is the case with gardens that depend on tender flowers only. The true flower-garden is one in which there is, as in nature and life, ceaseless change. " Elderfield has always looked an ideal home for an authoress. A little low white house nothing but a cottage she calls it herself covered with creepers, which keep up a succession of bloom to peep in at the windows There is a very old Myrtle to the right, shorn of much of its height since the very cold winter of 1895 ; and round Miss Yonge's drawing- room window (the i^pper one to the left) a Banksian and a summer Rose are ever looking in at her as she writes steadily every morning at the writing table drawn close up to the window, or tapping at the glass when the curtains are drawn and they are in danger of being forgotten. M. ACTON." ENGLISH GARDENS ABROAD AND THEIR LESSONS. Some of the most beautiful flower gardens are to be seen in the homes of English people living in Madeira, the Riviera, Algeria, and countries generally permitting of beautiful flower gardening during the winter and with a season of many flowers throughout the spring ; real gardens varied and full of beautiful colour, yet without any trace of the barren monotony characteristic of most gardens at home. The generally picturesque nature of the ground, the presence of graceful fruit and other trees, and the absence of any pretentious attempt to conform the whole to one set idea, lead to the simple and artistic garden. The garden of Mr. Arkwright at Mustapha, near Algiers, is a good example of the English garden in other lands, a garden full of beauti- ful things, and these so placed that pictures are seen at every turn. Noble Tea Roses like Chromatella are fountains of bloom, sometimes running up a* tapering Cypress, and sending out of it far overhead graceful shoots laden with flowers. Lamarque, the noblest of white Roses, grows and blooms about as freely as the Elder bush does at home. Many Tea Roses of all sizes are here ; sometimes kinds are superb that rarely open well with us at home, such as Cloth of Gold. But it is not only the climate makes the garden beautiful, as the way of planting is the main source of beauty here. F 2 VARIOUS FLOWER GARDENS. 69 Borders are thick set with the foliage of the Iris in many forms, and particularly the winter-flowering Iris, which has its home in Algeria. The Pelargoniums are in lovely bushes in light or shade, while Datura, Palm, Jasmine, Acacia, Fig, Lemon, and Magnolia are happy in the sun, with masses of Cineraria here and there in half- shade, with many Violets, and even wild flowers of the country. Bougainvilleas and handsome Bignonias grace the walls in free and pretty ways, while here and there the Algerian Ivy is seen, a noble climber, the fine qualities of which are not in the least affected by the hot sun in the summer here it ascends to high parts of the moun- tains there, which look arid enough and are terribly hot in summer. No one need despair of gracing a dry bank with a fine thing who takes the Algerian Ivy for that purpose, and it may be its long sojourn in so dry a country has prepared it better for growth in the sun than the forms of the Ivy from the cooler northern woods of our Islands. Some of the most beautiful garden effects I have seen were here, all the finer from the background of high cliffs above clad with ever- green Oak, Pine, and wild Olive, but the best lesson is not from the varied life in the garden so much as from the happy and natural way the whole is disposed. In this way also we have variety as well as pictures as much variety as may be wished, of which there is an example in Mr. Hanbury's well-stored garden at La Mortola, in the Italian Riviera. The variety is not in itself so much worth seeking as beauty, which is just what we lose when we commit ourselves to any one way of flower gardening. To be free to add or plant at almost any time of the year is a great advantage ; whereas in the pattern flower garden the whole is set out and taken up at fixed times. The result is a dreadfully fixed one too, and if any beautiful bush, or bulb, or flower happens to come in our way that does not fit into the wretched system, so much the worse for it. The fear of anything like a bush or low tree that governs the idea of many flower gardens at home at present does not exist here, so that we have light and shade, many bushes and even low trees that give chances for surprises and changes. This is partly owing to the warmth which allows of the growth of many pretty bushes that may well grace a flower garden, but, once free from the idea that a flower garden must be a flat surface seen at a glance, there would be no real difficulty in carrying out like ways of planting in our climate in which so many lovely bushes grow if we give them a chance. One minor charm of these English gardens abroad arises from the fact that any necessary stone-work is done in a simple way by the garden men. As the ground is often steep, steps and little walls or protecting corners are often wanted ; but whenever the native gardener wants VARIOUS FLOWER GARDENS. 71 anything of this kind, he does not go through a circumlocution bureau for inspiration and drawings to scale, but builds what he wants in a simple ready way with the stone nearest at hand, and the result is much better from a gardening point of view than more elaborate and costly work. The island of Madeira is very instructive too in the variety of its gardens ; every one I remember was distinct, and this was owing to the owners being free to do as the ground invited them, instead of following any fixed idea as to style, or leaving it to men who are ready with similar plans for all sorts of positions. In France, England, or Germany this could never happen, because owing to con- formity about style and the use of book plans, we can usually tell beforehand what sort of garden we are to see ! CHAPTER IV. BORDERS OF HARDY FLOWERS. WE now come to the flowers that are worthy of a place in gardens, and to consider ways of arranging them. Their number and variety being almost without limit, the question is, how the garden lover is to enjoy as many of these treasures as his conditions allow of. As during all time a simple border has been the first expression of flower garden- ing, and as there is no arrangement of flowers more graceful, varied, or capable of giving more delight, and none so easily adapted to almost every kind of garden, some ideas of the various kinds of borders of hardy flowers mainly deserve our first consideration. COST AND ENDURANCE. The difference in cost of growing hardy flowers or tender should be thought of. The sacrifice of flower gardens to plants that perish every year has often left them poor of all the nobler plants. We must take into account the hothouses, the propagation of plants by thousands at certain seasons, the planting out at the busiest and fairest time of the year in June, the digging up and storing in autumn, the care in the winter. Perhaps the most striking effects from individual plants ever seen in England were Japanese Lilies grown for years in the open air by Mr. MTntosh among his Rhododendrons at Weybridge Heath. And not only Lilies ; but many noble flowers may be grown in the same simple way. A few years ago we saw only dense masses of Rhodo- dendrons ; now the idea of growing this shrub with the finer hardy plants has spread. It means more room to show the form of the shrubs, and more light and shade ; mutual relief of shrub and plant ; colonies and groups of lovely plants among the shrubs. Good preparation and some knowledge of plants are needed, but no neces- sity whatever for any system that may not be called permanent. There are a number of things which, given thorough preparation at first, it would be wise to leave alone for some years at a time as, for example, groups or beds of the various Tritomas, Irises, Lilies, Paeonies, the free-flowering Yuccas, Narcissi these and many more, 74 'THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. either grouped with others or in families. When all these exhaust the ground or become too crowded, by all means move them and replant, but this is a very different thing from moving all the plants in the flower garden twice a year. It would be better every way if, so far as the flower garden is concerned, gardeners were to see what could be done unaided by the hothouse ; but meanwhile the wise man will reduce the expense of glass, labour, fire, repairs, paint, pipes, and boilers to something like reasonable proportions. In presence of the wealth of our hardy garden flora, the promise of which is now such as men never expected Flower-borders with grass path between. From a photograph by Mrs. Martin, Bournbrook Hall, Birmingham. a few years ago, no one need doubt of making a fair flower garden from hardy plants alone. THE TRUE WAY to make gardens yield a return of beauty for the labour and skill given them is the permanent one. Choose some beautiful class of plants and select a place that will suit them, even as to their effect in the garden landscape. Let the beds be planted as permanently and as well as possible, so that there will remain little to do for years. All plants may not lend themselves to this permanent plan, but such as do not may be grown apart for instance, the Poppy BORDERS OF HARDY FLOWERS. 75 Anemones, Turban and Persian Ranunculuses, Carnations, Stocks, Asters, and the finer annuals. But a great many delightful plants can be planted permanently, and be either allowed to arrange themselves, to group with others, or to grow among peat-loving shrubs which, in many places, are jammed into pudding-shaped masses void of form or grace, or light and shade. One of the best reforms will be to avoid the conventional pattern plans, and adopt simple beds and borders, in positions suited to the plants they are to grow. These can best be filled permanently, because the planter is free to deal with them in a bolder and more artistic way than if he has to consider their relation to a number of small beds. In this way, also, the delight of flowers is much more keenly felt as one sees them relieved, sees them at different times, and to more advantage than the flowers stereotyped under the window. Roses favourites with everybody grouped well together, and not trained as standards, would lend themselves admirably to culture with other things moss Roses growing out of a carpet of double Primroses, and Tea Roses with Carnations. Then there are many groups made by the aid of the finer perennials them- selves, such as the Delphiniums and Phloxes, by choosing things that would go well together. Other plants, such as Yuccas, of which there are now various beautiful kinds, are often best by themselves ; and noble groups they form, whether in flower or not. The kinds of Yucca that flower very freely, such as Y. recurva and Y. flaccida, lend themselves to grouping with Flame Flowers (Tritoma) and the bolder autumn plants. No plan which involves expensive yearly efforts on the same piece of ground can ever be satisfactory. All garden plants require atten- tion, but not annual attention. The true way is quite different the devotion of the skill and effort to fresh beds and effects each year. It does not exclude summer " bedding," but includes lovely and varied aspects of vegetation far beyond that attainable in summer " bedding," and attempts to make the garden artistically beautiful. It also helps to make the skill of the gardener effective for lasting good, and prevents its being thrown away in annual fireworks. There can be no garden- ing without care ; but is there not a vast difference between some of these beds and borders and those with flowers which disappear with the frosts of October, and leave us nothing but bare earth ? The main charm of bedding plants that of lasting in bloom a long time is really a drawback. It is the stereotyped kind of garden which we have to fight against ; we want beautiful and changeful gardens, and should therefore have the flowers of each season. Too short a bloom is a misfortune ; but so is too long a bloom, and numbers of hardy plants bloom quite as long as can be desired. 76 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. There is nothing whatever used in bedding out to be compared in colour, form, or fragrance with many families of hardy plants. There is no beauty among bedding plants at all comparable with that of Irises, Lilies, Delphiniums, Evening Primroses, Paeonies, Carnations, Narcissi, and a host of others. Are we to put aside or into the back- ground all this glorious beauty for the sake of a few things that merely give us flat colour ? No one who knows even to a slight extent what the plants of the northern and temperate world are can admit that this sort of gardening should have the first place. There is nothing among " carpet" plants equal to Windflowers in many kinds, flowering in spring, summer, and autumn ; Torch Lilies, superb in autumn : Columbines ; Harebells ; Delphiniums ; Day Lilies ; Everlasting Peas ; Evening Primroses ; Paeonies ; Phloxes ; Ranunculus, double and single, and the many fine species ; all the noble autumn-blooming, Daisy- like flowers ; Scabious ; plumy Spiraeas ; Globe Flowers ; Lilies, in noble variety ; Polyanthus ; Primroses ; Auriculas ; Wallflowers ; Meadow Saffrons ; Crocuses, of the spring and autumn ; Scillas ; Gladioli ; Snowflakes ; Grape Hyacinths ; Narcissi, in lovely variety ; Tulips, the old florists' kinds, and many wild species ; Yuccas ; Carna- tions and Pinks ; Dielytras ; Cornflowers ; Foxgloves ; Stocks ; Star- worts ; great Scarlet and other Poppies ; Christmas Roses, both of the winter and spring ; Forget-me-nots ; Pansies and many of the rock plants of the mountains of Europe from the Alps to the hills of Greece, cushioned with Aubrietia, and skyblue Wind-flowers all hardy as the Docks by the frozen brooks. FLOWER BORDERS FRINGING SHRUBBERIES. A frequent way in which people attempt to cultivate hardy flowers is in what is called the " mixed border," often made on the edge of a shrubbery, the roots of which leave little food or even light for the flowers. The face of a shrubbery should be broken and varied ; the shrubs should not form a hard line, but here and there they should come full to the edge and finish it. The variety of positions and places afforded by the front of a shrubbery so arranged is tempting, but it is generally best to use plants which do not depend for their beauty on high culture which, in fact, fight their way near shrubs and there are a great many of them, such as the evergreen Candy- tufts, the large-leaved Rockfoils, Acanthus, Day Lilies, Solomon's Seal, Starworts, Leopard's Banes, Moon Daisies, and hardy native Ferns. A scattered, dotty mixed border along the face of a shrubbery gives a poor effect, but a good one may be secured by grouping the plants in the open spaces between the shrubs, making a careful selection of plants, each occupying a bold space. Nothing can be more delightful than a border made thus ; but it requires knowledge BORDERS OF HARD Y FLO WERS. 7 7 of plants, and that desire to consider plants in relation to their sur- roundings which is never shown by those who make a " dotty " mixed border, which is the same all the way along and in no place pretty. The presence of tree and shrub life is a great advantage to those who know how to use it. Here is a group of shrubs over which we can throw a delicate veil of some pretty creeper that would look stiff and wretched against a wall ; there a shady recess beneath a flowering tree : instead of planting it up with shrubs in the common way, cover the ground with Woodruff, which will form a pretty carpet and flower very early in the year, and through the Woodruff a few British Ferns ; in front of this use only low plants, and we shall A flower-border at Fillingham Castle, Lincoln. thus get a pretty little vista, with shade and a pleasant relief. Next we come to a bare patch on the margin. Cover it with a strong evergreen Candytuft, and let this form the edge. Then allow a group of Japan Quince to come right into the grass edge and break the margin ; then a large group of broad-leaved Saxifrage, receding under the near bushes and trees ; and so proceed making groups and colonies, considering every aid from shrub or tree, and never using a plant of which we do not know and enjoy the effect. This plan is capable of much variety, whether we are dealing with an established and grown shrubbery, or a choice plantation of flowering Evergreens. In the last case, owing to the soil and the neat habit of the bushes, we have excellent conditions in which good culture is possible. One can have the finest things among 78 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. them if the bushes are not jammed together. The ordinary way of planting shrubs is such that they grow together, and then it is not possible to have flowers between them, nor to see the true form of the bushes, which are lost in one solid leafy mass. In growing fine things Lilies or Cardinal Flowers, or tall Evening Primroses among open bushes we may form a delightful garden, we secure sufficient space for the bushes to show their forms, and we get light and shade among them. In such plantations one might have in the back parts "secret" colonies of lovely things which it might not be well to show in the front of the border, or which required shade and shelter that the front did not afford. BORDERS BY GRASS WALKS IN SHADE OR SUN. It is not only in the flower garden where we may have much beauty of flower, but away from it there are many places better fitted for growing the more beautiful things which do not require continual attention. Unhappily, the common way of planting shrubberies has robbed many Grass walks of all charm. The great trees, which take care of themselves, are often fine, but the common mixed plantation of Evergreens means death to the variety and beauty of flower we may have by Grass walks in sun or shade. The shrubs are frequently planted in mixtures, in which the most free-growing are so thickly set as soon to cover the whole ground, Cherry Laurel, Portugal Laurel, Privet, and such common things frequently killing all the choicer shrubs and forming dark heavy walls of leaves, Some of these Evergreens, being very hungry things, overrun the ground, rob the trees, and frequently, as in the case of the Portugal Laurels, give a dark monotonous effect while keeping the walks wet, airless, and lifeless. Light and shade and the charm of colour are impossible in such cases with these heavy, dank Evergreens, often cut back, but once one is free of their slavery what delightful places there are for growing all hardy flowers in broad masses, from the handsome Oriental Hellebores of the early spring to the delicate lavenders of the Starworts in October. Not only hardy flowers, but graceful climbers like the wild Clematis, and lovely corners of light and shade may be made instead of the walls of sombre Evergreens. If we want the ground green with dwarf plants, we have no end of delightful plants at hand in the Ivies and Evergreens like Cotoneaster. There is no need for the labour and ugliness of clipping. I have seen places with acres of detestable clipped Laurels, weary and so ugly ! With all these grubbed and burnt, what places, too, for such beautiful things as the giant Fennels with their more than Fern-like grace, and all our strong, hardy Ferns which want no rocks, with Solomon's Seal and Foxgloves among them. Such walks may pass from open spaces into half-shady ones or through groves of old Fir or other trees, BORDERS OF HA RDY FLO WERS. 79 and so give us picturesque variety apart from their planting with flowers. FLOWER BORDERS AGAINST WALLS AND HOUSES. In many situations near houses, and especially old houses, there are delightful opportunities for a very beautiful kind of flower border. The stone forms fine background, and there are no thieving tree roots. Here we have conditions exactly opposite to those in the shrubbery ; here we can have the best soil, and keep it for our favourites ; we can have Delphiniums, Lilies, Pseonies, Irises, and all choice plants well grown. Walls may be adorned with climbers of graceful growth, climbing Rose, Wistaria, Vine, or Clematis, which will help out our beautiful mixed border. Those must to some extent be trained, although they may be allowed a certain degree of abandoned grace even on a wall. In this kind of border we have, as a rule, no back- Flower border against wall at Sidbury Manor. ground of shrubs, and therefore we must get the choicest variety of plant life into the border itself and we must try to have a constant succes- sion of interest. In winter this kind of border may have a bare look when seen from the windows, but the variety of good hardy plants is so great, that we can make it almost evergreen by using evergreen rock-plants. Where walls are broken with pillars, a still better effect may be obtained by training Vines and Wistaria along the top and over the pillars or the buttresses. THE FLOWER BORDER IN THE FRUIT OR KITCHEN GARDEN. We have here a frequent kind of mixed border often badly made, but which may be excellent. A good plan is to secure from about eight to ten feet of rich soil on each side of the walk, and cut the borders off from the main garden by a trellis of some kind from seven feet to nine feet high. This trellis may be of strong iron wire, or, better 8o THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. still, of simple rough wooden branches. Any kind of rough permanent trellis will do, on which we may grow Climbing Roses and Clematis and all the choicer but not rampant climbers. Moreover, we can grow them in their natural grace along the wires or rough branches, or up and across a rough wooden trellis Rose and Jasmine showing their grace uncontrolled. We fix the main branches to the supports, and leave the rest to the winds, and form a fine type of flower border in this way, as we have the graceful climbing plants in contrast with the flowers in the border. General borders may be made in various ways ; but it may be well to bear in mind the following points : Select only good plants ; throw away weedy kinds, there is no scarcity of the best. See good col- lections. Put, at first, rare kinds in lines across four-feet nursery beds, so that a stock of plants may be at hand. Make the choicest borders where they cannot be robbed by the roots of trees ; see that the ground is good and rich, and that it is at least two and a half feet deep, so deep that, in a dry season, the roots can seek their supplies far below the surface. In planting, plant in naturally dis- posed groups, never repeating the same plant along the border at intervals, as is so often done with favourites. Do not graduate the plants in height from the front to the back, as is generally done, but sometimes let a bold plant come to the edge ; and, on the other hand,, let a little carpet of a dwarf plant pass in here and there to the back, so as to give a varied instead of a monotonous surface. Have no patience with bare ground, and cover the border with dwarf plants ; do not put them along the front of the border only. Let Hepaticas and double and other Primroses, and Saxifrages, and Golden Moneywort and Stonecrops, and Forget-me-nots, and dwarf Phloxes, and many similar plants cover the ground among the tall plants betimes at the back as well as the front. Let the little ground plants form broad patches and colonies by themselves occasionally, and let them pass into and under other plants. A white Lily will be all the better for having a colony of creeping Forget-me-nots over it in the winter, and the variety that may be thus obtained is infinite. Thoroughly prepared at first, the border might remain for years without any digging in the usual sense. When a plant is old and rather too thick, never hesitate to replant it on a wet day in the middle of August any more than in the middle of winter. Take it up and put a fresh bold group in fresh ground ; the young plants will have plenty of roots by the winter, and in the following spring will flower much stronger than if they had been transplanted in spring or in winter. Do not pay much attention to labelling ; if a plant is not worth knowing, it is not worth growing ; let each good thing be so bold and so well grown as to make its presence felt. BORDERS OF HARDY FLOWERS. 81 MR. FRANK MILES ON THE FLOWER BORDER. Among the first to see the merits of effectively carpeting borders, and who made the border suggested in my Hardy Flowers, was the late Frank Flower border against house. Miles, the artist, and an excellent flower gardener. His own account of his work I give here. If we are to have mixed borders of herbaceous plants, one thing is quite certain we can never go back to the borders of our ancestors in which every G 82 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. plant had a bare space of ground round it. In the spot where once a plant had bloomed, there was an end for the year of any flowers. Now a yard of ground should have bloom on it at least eight months in the year, and this applies to every yard of ground in a really good mixed border. I am certain that, once a border is well made, it need not be dug up at all. But the question is what is a well-made border ? I think a border is not well made, or suitable for growing the most beautiful plants to perfection, unless it is as well made as a Vine border in a vinery. Why we should not take as much trouble with the garden border as the border of a conservatory I cannot imagine, seeing that Lilies will grow 1 1 feet high in the open air, not less than \o>\ inches across the flower, and Irises little less than that. The more I garden the deeper I get my drainage, and the fuller of sand and fibre my soil. I consider, first, that a border must have a bed of broken bricks or other drainage, with ashes over that, to prevent the drainage from filling up ; secondly, that that bed of drainage must have 2 feet of light soil over it ; thirdly, that that soil must have equal parts of sand, soil, and veget- able matter. A soil of these constituents and depth is never wet in winter and never dry in summer. During the dry weather I found soil like this, in which quantities of auratum Lilies were growing, to be quite moist an inch below the surface, and I know in winter it always appears dry compared with the natural garden soil. But, for all practical intents and purposes, every 6 inches of ground could contain its plant, so that no 6 inches of bare ground need obtrude on the eye. Almost any kind of bare rock has a certain beauty, but I cannot say bare ground is ever beautiful. Well, supposing the back of the border filled with Delphiniums, Phloxes, and Roses, pegged down, and other summer and autumn-blooming plants, and supposing the border to be made as I have described it, I should carpet the ground at the back with spring-blooming flowers, so that when the Roses are bare and the Delphiniums and Phloxes have not pushed above ground, the border should even then be a blaze of beauty. Crocuses, Snowdrops, Aconites, and Primroses are quite enough for that purpose. The whole space under the Roses I should cover with the Common Wood Anemone, and the golden Wood Anemone, and early Cyclamens, and the earliest Dwarf Daffodils. And among the Roses and Paeonies and other medium-sized shrubs I would put all the taller Lilies, such as require continual shade on their roots ; and such as pardalinum and the Californian Lilies generally, the Japanese, Chinese, and finer American Lilies. Now we come more to the front of the border, and here I would have com- binations, such as the great St. Bruno's Lily and the delicate hybrid Columbines, Primroses planted over hardy autumn Gladioli, so that when the Primroses are at rest the Gladioli should catch the eye : Carnations and Daffodils, planted so that the Carnations form a maze of blue-green for the delicate creams and oranges of the Daffodils. When the Daffodils are gone there are the Carnations in the autumn. A mass of Iberis correasfolia happens to have been the very best thing (possible for some Lilium Browni to grow through, for the Iberis flowered early .and then made a protection for the young growth of the Browni, and then a ; lovely dark green setting for the infinite beauty of the Lily flowers. As for say- ing that this cannot be done, I say that it is nonsense, for the Iberis flowered ;beautifully under such circumstances, and the Lilies too. If once you get it into your head that no bit of ground ought ever to be seen without flowers or immediate prospect of flowers, heaps of combinations will immediately occur to those con- versant with plants and the deep-rooting habits of most bulbs and the surface rooting of many herbaceous plants for instance, Colchicums and Daffodils, with a surface of Campanula pusilla alba. The big leaves of the Colchicum grow in spring, and there would be nothing but leaves were it not for the masses of BORDERS OF HARDY FLOWERS. Daffodils. By and by the leaves of the Colchicums and Daffodils are dry enough to pull away, and then the Campanula, be it pusilla, pusilla alba, or turbinata alba, comes into a sheet of bloom. Before the bloom has passed away the Colchicum blooms begin to push up, and as some of my Colchicums are 5 inches across, of the richest rose colour, I do not exactly feel that this is a colourless kind of gardening, and as I have a hundred different kinds of Daffodils, this little arrangement will not be without interest in spring. THE DAFFODILS and Colchicums root deeply and grow mostly in winter, requiring water then, and not in summer, when the Campanula carpet is taking it all. There are some, however, which one must be careful about the common white Lily, for instance, which wants exposing to the sun in the autumn. I do not mind the exquisite French Poppies among these candidum Lilies, because the Poppies die about August, and then the Lilies get their baking and refuse to show the bare earth, soon covering it all with their leaves. For the extreme front of the border hundreds of combinations will occur Pansies over Daffodils, Portulacas over Central Asian bulbs, Christmas Roses and Hellebores over the taller Flower border in fruit garden at Dunrobin Castle, N.B. Daffodils, with Gladioli, Tritomas, and giant Daffodils, Hepaticas, and autumn- blooming and spring-blooming Cyclamens, with Scillas and Snowdrops. When Anemone japonica is low, up come the taller Tulips, sylvestris for instance, and higher still out of the dark green leaves come the bejewelled Crown Imperials. As for the cultural advantages, I can imagine this system in the hands of a skilful gardener to be the best of all. In the first place, the plants suffer much less from drought, because there is so much less surface exposed to sun and wind. Examine, not right under the root, but under the spreading part of a Mignonette, and see if, on a broiling hot day, the ground is not much cooler and moister than on the bare ground. Irises are almost the only plants I know of that do require the soil bare about their rootstocks, but then Irises are a carpet of green always, and a few clumps of Tiger Lilies or Tiger Irises will not seriously injure their flowering prospects. And what cannot be done with an herbaceous border edge when that edge is the green Grass ? Crocuses and Crocuses all the autumn and winter and spring in the Grass. The tiniest Scillas and Hyacinths, and Daffodils, G 2 84 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. and Snowdrops are leading into the border without any break. So I believe, and I think many others will believe by and by, that every bulbous plant ought to be grown in combination with something else, as Amaryllis Belladonna, for instance, which I plant with Arum italicum pictum. In spring the Arum comes up extremely early and its leaves protect the far more delicate leaves of the Amaryllis till they are growing freely and the Arum dies down. The ground is surfaced with Violets, so that the Belladonnas are now coming into bloom, not with the bare ground but with a setting of Violet leaves in beautiful contrast with their pink blossoms. Christmas Roses of all kinds would probably be a more beautiful setting still, but the Belladonnas want a good deal of summer drying up, which the Hellebores could not stand so well. WE CAN NEVER GO BACK to the mixed border of our ancestors ; we have been spoilt for such blank, flowerless spaces as they had by the gorgeousness of bedding out. But we have now a wealth of hardy plants, especially bulbs, which they never had, and this combination of bulbous plants and herbaceous plants will certainly lead to a preparation of the borders which has been hardly dreamt of by people who do not care what they spend on tropical flowers ; for it seems to be forgotten that we have Irises as big as a plate and Lilies as tall as a tree, all hardy and requiring little attention when once they have been properly planted. The time that used to be spent year after year in digging acres of borders might now be spent in properly making or re-making a few yards of border, till the whole outdoor borders are as exactly suited for the growth of plants to the utter- most perfection as many as possible being put in the given space as the borders of a large conservatory. It is in such a border as this that we attain the utmost variety, unceasingly beautiful, every yard different, every week varying, holding on its surface at least three times the value of plant life and successional plant beauty of any ordinary garden. The chief enemy to the system is the slug \ but while the Belladonna Delphinium, which is usually half eaten by slugs in most gardens, grows 6 feet high with me, I am not going to give up my system. The way so well described by Mr. F. Miles, and which he carried out admirably in his father's garden at Bingham one of the few really lovely mixed borders I have seen is to some extent that carried out in many pretty cottage gardens, owing to the plots being stored with all sorts of hardy flowers ; those are the cottage gardens where one often sees a charming succession of flowers and no bare ground. One of the prettiest garden borders I know is against a small house. Instead of the walk coming near the windows, a bed of choice shrubs, varying from 9 feet to 15 feet in width, is against the house. Nothing in this border grows high enough to intercept the view out of the windows on the ground floor, from which were seen the flowers of the border and a green lawn beyond. Among the shrubs were tall Evening Primroses, and Lilies, and Meadow Sweets, and tall blue Larkspurs, which after the early shrubs have flowered bloom above them. The ground is always furnished, and the effect is good, even in winter. EVERGREEN BORDERS OF HARDY FLOWERS. The plants of the older kind of mixed border were like the Grasses of the meadows of the northern world stricken to the earth by winter, and the border BORDERS OF HARD^ FLOWERS. was not nearly so pretty then as the withered Grass of the plain or copse. But since the revival of interest in hardy and Alpine flowers, and the many introductions of recent years, we have a great number of beautiful plants that are evergreen in winter and that enable us to make evergreen borders. The great white blanket that covers the north and many mountain ranges in winter protects also for months many Alpine plants which do not lose their leaves in winter, such as Rockfoils, Stonecrops, Primroses, Gentians, and Christmas Roses. The most delicate of Alpine plants suffer, when exposed to our winter, from excitement of growth, to which they are not subject in their own home, but many others do not mind our winters much, and it is easy Border of hardy flowers on open margin of lawn. (Newton Don, Kelso, N.B.). by good choice of plants to make excellent borders wholly or in greater part evergreen. These are not only good as evergreens, but they are delightful in colour, many being beautiful in flower in spring, and having also the charm of assuming their most refreshing green just when other plants are dying in autumn. Along with these rock and herbaceous plants we may group a great many shrublets that come almost between the true shrub and the Alpine flower little woody evergreen creeping things like the dwarf Partridge Berry, Canadian Cornel, hardy Heaths, and Sand Myrtles, often good in colour when grouped. Among these various plants we have plenty for evergreen borders, and this is important, as, while many might object to the bare earth of the ordinary border of herbaceous plants near the house or in other BORDERS OF HARDY FLOWERS. favourite spots, it is different with borders of evergreen plants, which may be charming and natural in effect throughout the year. Of garden pictures, there are few prettier than Crocus, Snowdrops, or Scilla coming through the green, moss-like carpets in these ever- green borders, far prettier to those who love quiet and natural colour than more showy effects. Often narrow evergreen borders are the best things that can be placed at the foot of important walls, as the way of allowing Grass to go right up to the walls is a foolish one, and often leads to injury to the wall trees. A narrow border (18 inches will do), cut off with a natural stone edging from the Grass or walk, is best : even a border of this size may have many lovely things, from early Cyclamen to the rarer Meadow Saffrons in the autumn. Besides the flowers already named, we have Violets, Periwinkles, Yuccas, Carnations, Pinks, white Rock Cress, Barren- worts, charming in foliage, purple Rock Cresses, Omphalodes, Iris, Acanthus, Indian and other Strawberries, Houseleeks, Thymes, Forget-me-nots, Sandworts, Gentianella, Lavender, Rosemary, hardy Rock Roses, and many native and other hardy evergreen Ferns in all their fine variety ; Bamboos, Ruscus and Dwarf Savin, these are an essential aid in the making of evergreen borders. HARDY BORDER FLOWERS FOR BRITISH GARDENS. From this list all families not pretty hardy in Britain are ex- cluded : whatever we may do with flower beds, mixed borders should be mainly of hardy plants, and we ought to be able to plant or refresh them at any time through the autumn or winter months. Well planned mixed borders, covered as they mostly should be with rock plants forming green carpets, should have few gaps in early summer, but where these occur they may be filled up with half-hardy plants as the stock of plants may permit, or with good annuals. It is important in making borders to use the finest species in each genus. Acanthus Aubrietia Convolvulus Achillea Bartonia Coreopsis Acis Bellis Corydalis Aconitum Bocconia Crocus Adonis Brachycome Cyclamen Agapanthus Agrostemma Brodiaea in var. Calendula Cypripedium Delphinium Allium Calla Dianthus Allysum Calliopsis Dielytra Alstrcemeria in var. Calochortus Digitalis Amaryllis Caltha in var. Dodecatheon Amberboa Campanula Doronicum Anemone Anthericum Carnations Catananche Dryas Echinops Antirrhinum Centaurea Epilobium Arabis Cerastium Epimedium Arenaria Cheiranthus Eremurus Argemone Chelone Erigeron Armeria Chionodoxa Erodium Arnebia Chrysanthemum Eryngium Arum Colchicum Erythronium Aster Convallaria Eschscholtzia Eutoca Hollyhock Fritillaria Hyacinthus Fuchsia Iberis Funkia Iris Gaillardia Ixiolirion Galanthus Kniphofia Galtonia Lathyrus Gentiana Lavatera Geranium Lavendula Geum Gladiolus Leucojum Lilium Godetia Linaria Gypsophila Helenium Linum Lobelia Helianthemum Lupinus Helianthus Lychnis Helichrysum Lythospermum Helleborus Hepatica Lythrum Malorpe Hesperis Malva Heuchera Meconopsis Hieracium Megasea ss THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. Border Flowers for British Gardens continued. Michauxia Mimulus Mirabilis Monarda Montbretia Muscari Myosotis Narcissus (Enothera Onosma Orchis Ornithogalum Orobus Omphalodes Oxalis Papayer Pa^onia Pancratium Pansy Pentstemon Phlomis Phlox Physalis Portulacca Polemonium Potentilla Plumbago Primula Puschkinia Pyrethrum Ramondia Rhodanthe Rockets Rudbeckia Ranunculus Salpiglossis Salvia Sappnaria Saxifraga Scabiosa Schizostylis Scilla Sedum Sempervivum Senecio Sidalcea Sparaxis Spiraea Statice Sternbergia Stocks Sweet Pea Sweet William Symphytum Thymus Tiarella Tigridia Tradescantia Trillium Triteleia Tritonia Trollius Tropeolum Tulipa Veratrum Verbascum Veronica Viola Waldsteinia Wallflower Zephyranthes Zinnia Borders : The Grove, Wishaw. English Iris. CHAPTER V. THE RESERVE AND CUT-FLOWER GARDENS. NOTHING is worse in gardening than the way in which plants of all kinds are huddled together without regard to fitness for associa- tion in stature, in time of blooming, or in needs of culture. The common scene of confusion is the shrubbery border, into which Carnations, annuals, Alpine flowers, and rampant herbs are often thrown, to dwindle and perish. There is no shrubbery border that could not be made beautiful by carpeting it with wood and copse plants of the northern world in broad groups, but many of our favourite flowers are not wood plants, and many for example, Carnations cannot maintain the struggle against the bushes and trees. Hardy plants should be divided into two broad series at least those which thrive in and near woody growth^ and those which must perish there. Solomon's Seal and the blue Apennine Anemone are types of plants that one may grow in any shady place : Carnation, Pink, Auricula are among the flowers which must have good soil and be kept away from tree roots, and though good borders, away from shrubby growth, grow many plants well, a further division of the work will be found wise in many places. One good plan that all can follow is the growing of certain plants without heed to their place in any design, but not in any kind of " mixed border " or in other mixed arrangements. Many hardy flowers are worthy of special culture, and good results cannot often be got without it, whether we grow Carnations, Pinks, Pansies, Phjoxes, Lilies, Stocks, double Wallflowers, Cloves, or scarlet Lobelias. Even a choice annual, such as Rhodanthe, or a beautiful Grass, it is not easy to succeed with unless it has a fair chance, away from the crowding of 90 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. the ordinary mixed border. This special culture of favourite flowers may be best carried out in a plot of ground set aside for beds of the choicer flowers, in a piece of ground in or near the kitchen garden or any other open position, sheltered, but not shaded. Such ground should be treated as a market gardener would treat it well enriched, and open, and thrown into four-foot beds ; the little pathways need not be gravelled or edged, but simply marked out with the feet. With the aid of such a division of the garden, the cultivation of many fine hardy plants becomes a pleasure. When any plant gets tired of its bed, it is easy to make the Carnation bed of past years the bulb one for the next year, and so on. It would be easy to change one's favourites from bed to bed, so that deep-rooting plants should follow surface-rooting kinds, and thus the freshness of the garden would be kept up. If any edging is used, it should be of natural stone sunk in the earth, as such edgings are not ugly or costly ; but the abolition of all edgings, beyond one or two main lines, would tend to simplify the work. Such a plot is excellent for giving cut flowers in quantity, and is also a great aid as a nursery, while it would also be a help to exchanges with friends or neighbours, in the generous way of all true gardeners. The space occupied by it will depend upon the size and wants of the place ; but, wherever the room can be spared, an eighth of an acre might be devoted to the culture in simple beds of favourite flowers, and even the smallest garden should have a small plot of this kind. WHAT TO GROW IN THE RESERVE GARDEN. Among the fair flowers which in this way may be cultivated, each separately and well, are the delightful old Clove Carnations white, crimson, and scarlet, as well as many other kinds ; tall Phloxes, so fair in country gardens in the autumn ; scarlet Lobelias, splendid in colour ; Pinks of many kinds ; Persian and Turban Ranunculus ; bright old garden Anemones, and the finer species of Anemone ; Lilies, and as many as possible of the splendid kinds introduced into our gardens within the past dozen years from California and Japan ; tall perennial Delphiniums, with their spikes of blue ; double Rockets ; beautiful Irises, English, Spanish, Japanese, and German ; Pansies in great variety ; Tiger Flowers ; the Columbine, including the lovely blue Columbine of the Rocky Mountains ; Pyrethrums, Chinese Pinks, Scabious, Sweet Williams ; Stocks of many kinds ; Wall-flowers, double and single ; the annual Phloxes ; Zinnias, which, if grown as grown abroad that is to say, well and singly grown are fine in colour ; China Asters, quilled and others ; the Sweet Sultan, in two or three forms ; showy tricolour Chrysanthemums ; Grasses for cutting in winter ; Grape Hyacinths ; rare Narcissus ; Meadow Saffrons ; Lilies of the Valley ; Crocuses, the autumnal as well as the vernal kinds ; Dahlias, cactus THE RESERVE AND CUT-FLOWER GARDENS. 91 and single ; Paeonies ; Primroses, double and single ; Pentstemons ; Polyanthus ; Oxlips ; Tulips, many early and late kinds ; Sweet Violets ; American Cowslips ; Gladioli ; Christmas Roses ; and, lastly, Everlasting Flowers, which may be grown with the pretty Grasses, and, like them, be gathered for the house in winter. All these fair flowers deserve care in the gardens, and should not be trusted to the too often ill-cultivated slips called " mixed borders," and many other plants which we wish to increase or take good care of. In these special plots for hardy flowers are included the various hardy florists' flowers. The term " florists' flowers " was once applied to flowers supposed to be popular with amateurs and florists, but it had never any clear meaning. A Rose is a florist's flower ; but it is more Christmas Roses in bed in reserve garden. (Durie, Fife, N.B.)- it is everybody's flower, and we call it a Rose, having no use for any other term. The reserve garden is a good place to grow flowers for cutting for the house. The enemy in the way of plenty of cut flowers has hitherto been the gardener ; but he was limited in his cutting operations to glass-houses, which he naturally wished to keep gay. A supply equal to that of a dozen plant houses can be got from an open square in the kitchen garden or any piece of good ground. For eight months there is a procession of open-air flowers, which can easily be grown in sufficient quantity to allow the cutting of plenty for every want. A bed or a few lines of each favourite in a plot of good soil would give a great number of flowers, and these, aided by the Roses and other bush and tree flowers about the garden, would yield all the flowers that a large house would require, and many besides for hospitals and for those who have not gardens. Flowers 92 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. grown for cutting should be carefully selected as regards odour, form, and colour, and the gardener should do all he can to carry out an idea tending so much to give people pleasure at home, and the smallest country place can afford a plot of ground to grow flowers for cutting. DOUBLE CROPPING OF BEDS. We have had evidence of the good way in which inter-cropping suits plants in nursery beds, and there is reason to believe that the presence in rich ground of two plants wholly different in their nature is a good plan. A collection of Narcissi, with lines between of Delphiniums and hardy Fuchsias, that is to say, two lines of each in a 4ft. bed, will thrive. The same is true of other hardy spring bulbs, which may be alternated with the choicer peren- nials that bloom in autumn ; and this way is a good one for people who live in their gardens chiefly in spring and autumn, as it secures two distinct seasons of bloom in the same ground. This applies to store beds as distinct from the regular flower garden, though some kind of inter-cropping would give an excellent result in the flower garden also ; as, for instance, if we have beds of Roses, we might have them carpeted with early bulbs, and be none the worse for it, and so also with Paeonies and many other flowers. It wants some care to find out which go best together ; but, given that, all is easy enough. GARDENS OF ONE FLOWER. Apart from the reserve garden, with its flowers in close masses, we may have gardens of a favourite flower and its forms, for the purpose of studying a family or adding to it by collecting or cross-breeding. Such gardens now and then owe their existence to the difficulty of cultivating a flower, as was the case of a charming garden of the lovely forms of our native Primrose formed by a friend of mine, who thus describes it : " A PRIMROSE GARDEN. No flower better deserves a garden to itself than the Primrose. It is so old a favourite, and has been culti- vated into so many forms, that any one determined to have a Primrose garden may choose the kind he likes best, and set to work accordingly. There are the single-stalked Primroses, the earliest of all, flowering from the middle of March onwards, while some may be had in bloom as soon as the end of February. They range in colour from pure white to deep primrose, and from palest pinky-lilac through strong red-purples to a colour nearly approaching blue, and there are also rich reds of many shades. There is not as yet any Primrose of a true pink colour, nor, though the type colour is yellow, are there as yet any strong yellows of the orange class. There are also double Primroses in nearly all the same colourings. The Polyanthus, with its neat trusses of small flowers, though beautiful in the hand and indis- 94 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. pensable in the good garden of hardy flowers, is not a plant for the Primrose garden, as it makes no show in the mass. The grand Primroses for garden effect are the large bunch-flowered kinds, white, yellow, and orange-coloured, red, crimson, and rich brown ; of infinite variety in form, texture, habit, and colouring, easy to raise to any amount by seed, as also by division of the older plants. A Primrose garden (part of which is here illustrated), that for some years has been an ever-increasing source of pleasure and interest to its owners, was formed a few years ago by making an opening about 70 yards long, and varying from 10 yards to 15 yards wide, through a wild copse of young Birch trees. The natural soil was very poor and sandy, so it was prepared by a thorough trenching and a liberal addition of loam and manure, which has to be renewed every year. No formal walks are made, but one main track is trodden down about 2 feet wide near the middle of the space, dividing into two here and there, where a broader clearing makes it desirable to have two paths in the width. The older divided plants are put into groups of a colour together, from twenty to fifty of a sort. The groups of seedlings are of necessity more various, though they are more or less true to the parent colour, so that a patch of a hundred seedlings from yellows, for instance will give a general effect of yellow throughout the group. The whites and yellows are kept at one end of the garden, and the reds at the other ; the deepest yellows next to the reds. Seen from a little distance, the yellow and white part of the Primrose garden looks like a river of silver and gold flowing through the copse. The white stems of the Birches and the tender green of their young leaves help to form a pretty picture, which is at its best when the whole is illuminated by the evening sunlight." Some of the Plants for Reserve Garden and for Cutting Flowers. Carnations Pyrethrum Grasses, the more Campanula Polyanthus Phloxes Scarlet Lobelias Schizostylis Chinese Pinks graceful kinds Zinnias Chrysanthemums Meadow Saffrons Oxlips Tulips Pinks Scabious Sweet Sultan Roses Violets Double Rockets Blue Cornflower Ranunculus Crinum American Cowslips Iris Sweet Williams Anemone Crocus Gaillardia Pansies Stocks Lilies Dahlia Gladiolus Alstroemeria Wallflowers Delphiniums Pa^onies Everlastings Tigridia Columbines Grape Hyacinths Narcissus China Asters Pentstemon Primroses Christmas Roses Lenten Roses CHAPTER VI. HARDY BULBOUS AND TUBEROUS FLOWERS, AND THEIR GARDEN USE. AT no distant time lists of these things were mostly looked at for the sake of getting a few bulbs to force, but that day is past, at least, for all who now see the great part which hardy bulbous and tuberous plants must take in the outdoor gardens of the future. Since those days the hills of California and of Japan alone have given us a noble lily garden, and the plants of this order in cultivation now form a lovely host. We are not nearly so likely to want novelties as know- ledge of how to make effective use of the nobler plants, such as the Narcissus, the glory of the spring, as the Lily is of the summer garden. We may indeed be often tempted with Zephyr flowers, and Ixias and other plants, beautiful in warmer countries than ours, but delicate here, and only living with us as the result of care which is quite needless, but there are so many lovely things from the mountains and plains of the northern world, and from the mountains in all parts, as hardy as the wild Hyacinths of British woods, that our search will be more for the nobler materials and how to make artistic use of them than in quest of novelty as such. LILIES. It would be fair to begin with the Snowdrop, but we will take the plants in the order of their value ; and, having regard to past service and the present beauty of the Lilies, they should take the first place among hardy bulbs. Who of those who remember the Orange and White Lilies of all English and Irish gardens would have looked for the splendid Lilies that have come to us within less than a generation ? For size, and form, and lovely colour they surpass all we had ever dreamt of even among tropical flowers. The variety is so great that a volume would be required to describe them ; the catalogues give us many of their names. The main thing for all who 96 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. care for them is how to possess their beauty with the least amount of care and disappointment ; and, happily, the question has been solved for many handsome kinds by planting them in the peat beds that were made at first wholly in the interest of the American shrubs. Some of the finest Lilies thrive admirably in these, and by adding here and there deep leaf-mould, rotten cow manure, and the like, other kinds may be grown, for some Lilies thrive best in such soil. Nor need we neglect the mixed borders because we have new ways for our Lilies, as several of the European Lilies thrive perfectly in ordinary borders. They may be naturalised too, or some of them, in deep moist peat bottoms ; for example, the American swamp Lily (L. superbum). The mania for draining everything might even lead to evil in the case of some Lilies which inhabit the cold northern woods, and which do with a very different degree of moisture from that required by the Lilies of California, where the soil in summer is as road dust on a dry hill. Lilies are so varied in their nature and stature that they may adorn almost any aspect in sun or shade. The new and rare among them will have special beds or borders, and we have Lily men and even Lily maniacs who will have Lily gardens. And as these lovely flowers tumble into our lap, as it were, from the woods and hills of Western China, Japan, and California, untouched by man until he found them made to his hand a few years ago, it is reasonable to suppose that some of them would take care of themselves, if trusted in likely spots, with us. I put some of the Panther Lily deep in a leafy hollow in a Sussex wood, just to see if it would survive in such conditions. Whether owing to a series of cold wet seasons and the want of the glorious sun of the hills in Nevada County, California, where I found it, we know not, but after the first season it did not come up. I thought no more of it, but a friend going into the same wood some years afterwards found a colony of it in bloom. So that we must not always cry out if Lilies do not come up, as they have a way of resting for a year now and then. NARCISSUS. Next to the Lily in value as an outdoor flower is the Narcissus, though when we know the Iris better it may find a high place. But the wondrous development of the garden forms of Nar- cissus during recent years, and their fitness for our climate, give it great value. Mountain plants in origin, for the most part they are as hardy as riverside rushes, and those few southern forms that will only live in dry banks and at the foot of warm walls need not concern us who look for pictures of Narcissi in the open air. We have not to ask where the Narcissi will grow, as there are few places they will not grow in with the usual garden culture, and in some cool, loamy soils they take to the turf as ducks to water. Hence it is easy Group of Giant Indian Lilies in half-shady place (Surrey). II THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. on many soils to have a spring garden of these flowers, naturally grouped and massed, set in turf, and giving us many flowers for the house as well as pictures in lawn and meadow. For this purpose what is chiefly wanted is that the bulb growers should offer the best hardy sorts for the wild garden by the thousand at low rates. These precious early flowers will also have their place in the garden for cut flowers or the nursery bed, where the many new forms of Narcissi raised in England must take their place until they become plentiful. The true hardiness of the flower allows of its being enjoyed in all parts of these scattered islands, from Scilly, where it is grown in quantities for the markets, to the north of Scotland. In Ireland the Narcissus is at home, and there are excellent collections in the College Botanic Gardens at Dublin and also at Glasnevin, while there Narcissus princeps at St. Nicholas House, Scarborough. is a very well-grown one at Cork, and Miss Currie, of Lismore, grows many of the most precious kinds. In old days the white Narcissi grown in the gardens spread here and there into orchards and fields, and so it happens that now we have to seek in Ireland some of the graceful white Narcissi. IRIS. The Iris is one of the oldest of our garden flowers, in many forms too, but, like the Lily, it has come to us in greater novelty and beauty of recent years, and as districts in Central Asia and Asia Minor are opened to collectors, we must have our Iris gardens too. And what so fair as an Iris garden ? They are the Orchids of the north, many of them as hardy as reeds, and with more richness of colour than Orchids. The old Irises of our gardens are usually of the Germanica class ; there is much variety among these groups, and HARDY BULBOUS AND TUBEROUS FLOWERS, 99 they are very hardy and precious, and excellent for the adornment of gardens and even walls and thatched roofs, as we see in France, the Iris of this great group having a valuable power of thriving on such surfaces as well as on good soil. There is a group of waterside and water-loving Iris, much less seen in our gardens than the above, and some of them not yet come to us, but of great value. They are allied to the common yellow Iris of our watercourses, but are taller and richer in colour, the golden Iris (Aurea), Monnieri, and Ochroleuca being the best known so far, and very free, hardy, and beautiful plants they are, thriving, too, almost anywhere, but best in rich, moist soil. And we have the distinct gain of the splendid Japanese Iris, in its many strange forms, the Japanese surpassing all waterside Irises in its wide range of colour, though most beautiful perhaps in its simple forms, white and purple. This plant, though its beauty suggests that of the tropics, will grow side by side with our great water dock by any lake side, or even in a clay ditch, where only the coarsest weeds live. The Siberian Iris and the forms near it are very graceful beside streams or ponds, either in open or copsy places, and far more graceful and charming in such positions than in set borders. All these water-loving Irises will do for the wild garden in bold groups when we can spare them. Then there are the brilliant purple and gold Iris reticulata and its allies, little bulbous Irises, for the spring garden, early and charming things, many beautiful ; Irises that flower in winter and early spring, like the Algerian Iris ; others happy in Britain on warm soils and warm corners, and some for the rock garden, like the crested Iris ; and the many pretty forms of Iris pumila, of some of which edgings were made in old gardens. The foliage of the evergreen Iris is so graceful and usually so nice in colour that artistic use may be made of it in that way. The most novel of all the groups of Iris, however, are the Cushion Irises, which promise much beauty, but are yet too little known to see how far that beauty may be preserved in our gardens. The old Iris Susiana has been known for many years, and some of its allies, like I. Lorteti and the Wolf Iris, seem more hardy and not less beautiful. TULIPS. The old garden Tulip, a favourite for generations, grown in the so-called florist varieties, and the source once of severe mania, is but one of a large number of wild Tulipa, many of which have come to us of late years from Central Asia. The old Tulips are the forms of an Italian species (T. Gesneriana), and these varieties are worthy of all the attention they ever had; but the wild form is as good as any of its varieties for splendid effect, and a selection should be made of its simpler colours, including a good white and yellow. The bedding Tulips, which are earlier in blooming, are forms of T. scabriscapa H 2 S. C. ioo THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. though useful, are not nearly so valuable for their effect as the late tulips. The new species coming from Central Asia and other lands promise to be very valuable, too, for their effect, though our climate may not suit all of them, as it does the fine hardy Gesneriana. The colour of these tulips is too fine to be missed, and, as the bloom is too short-lived to give beds under the windows to it, the best way is to plant them in borders, and, when scarce, in the nursery ; when plenti- ful in the wild garden. I put some in new hedgerow banks a few years ago, and also the wood tulip in a meadow regularly mown, and now have a splendid bloom every spring. As wild tulips abound in the south of Europe travellers might often get many roots which could be tried in this and other ways. Some of the bedding tulips have very ugly slaty colours, and there is much waste in planting them. The Dutch bulb raisers care more for variety than beauty of colour, but the aim in our gardens should be to get more of the fine simple colours, and the wild kinds planted so far as we may in effective ways; a few trials in that way will show that it is a much more effective one than setting out the plants in tile or other patterns. The later these wild tulips come into bloom the better, as it brings their nobler colour in when the harsh changes of the spring are nearly over, and in the north they will come in with the early summer days. These ideas of the more picturesque planting of the hardier Tulips need not take from the lover of the old florist kinds his Tulip garden, which was very charming with its long beds of good soil, and at its best in some sheltered hedged in or walled garden. CROCUS. If the Crocus has any fault it is courage in coming so early that it has to face every trouble of the spring, and green winters induce it to open too early. Yet what promise it brings us of the many-blossomed spring in border and in lawn ; for, in addition to the old and good way in garden borders, the Crocus, at least all the forms and series and the hardy and vigorous European kinds, is easily naturalised in lawns or meadow turf, and others even under Beech trees as in Crowsley Park. As regards this question, it should be remem- bered that the Crocus is wild in rich meadow grass in various parts of England, at Nottingham and in Essex. The autumnal kinds may be naturalised too, but they ask perhaps for a warmer soil than the vernal kinds. Recent years have brought us many new Crocuses. The effect of the old kinds is not surpassed, but their beauty may be more fully shown than in lines and dots by scattering them in natural-looking groups in grassy places among trees or in the open turf. SNOWDROP AND SNOWFLAKE. The old Snowdrop gives as good an effect as any other, but the many new varieties give the Snowdrop more value. Whether these new forms are species or varieties matters little ; their value as garden plants is the only question that concerns Tulip garden at the Castle Dingwall. 102 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. flower-gardeners. Who would have thought a few years ago that our Snowdrop was only one of a large number taking care of them- selves in the mountains of Asia Minor and other regions ? Others are coming, and when these increase in our gardens we shall have fresh aids to make our spring gardens more beautiful. As these new kinds are mostly plants from cool regions, they will probably be easily naturalised in many soils. The snowflake must not be forgotten few spring flowers are more free than the vernal and late Snowflakes. SCILLAS, HYACINTHS, AND LIKE PLANTS. The lovely early group of plants allied to our Wood Hyacinth Scilla, Chionodoxa, and Hyacinthus (the more tiny and dwarf wild species are referred to here under this last name) ask for some thought as to their artistic use. The Scillas are well known, but the newer forms of Chionodoxa give an unlooked-for loveliness of blue very early in the spring, and show a pretty variety in their delicate colours ; and yet there is no more lovely thing among them than the Taurian Scilla, a large form of the long-neglected Scilla bifolia. It is so early and so deep a blue that one may get rich effects with it very early. The more tiny and select of all these plants are alpine, delightful for rock-gardens, and all the more so if we can use them in visible groups. The stouter kinds, such as the larger Chionodoxa, are coming in such numbers that we may try their effects in many ways ; it is impossible to omit them from what- ever kind of spring gardening we adopt. The common Hyacinth in its double forms at least is so stiff that we take little interest in it for the flower garden ; but the simpler colours of the single kinds deserve a place. Would it not be worth while growing the single Hyacinth provincialis from which these all come ? Hyacinths will come up year after year in flower beds, and throwing away the roots after once blooming is a mistake. OTHER LILIES. Apart from the true Lilies there are certain plants to which the name is also given betimes, such as the Torch Lily (Kniphofia), the Day Lily (Hemerocallis), the Peruvian Lily (Alstrcemeria), the African Lily (Agapanthus), the Belladonna Lily (Amaryllis), the Cape Lily (Crinum), the Plantain Lily (Funkia), the Wood Lily (Trillium), the Mariposa Lily (Calochortus), besides other Lilies that do not come under our present heading, or which do not ask for thought as regards their effective use. The Torch Lilies are brilliant in colour, and have been added to of recent years, but severe winters have thinned them, and they will always be best in dry soils and in sunny positions, protected in winter. They are best kept apart from flowers more refined in colour, such as the Tea Rose. The Day Lilies are a really hardy race, and most of them will grow anywhere. With their fine leaves HARDY B ULBO US AND TUBER O US FLO WERS. 1 03 and showy, well-formed flowers, they may be used with good effect in various ways. The Peruvian Lily is valuable, but far more beautiful on warm soils. If on cool soils and in cool districts it fails we must prepare beds for it, but the best way in gardening is always to grow the flowers that thrive without great labour in the soil we have. The Belladonna Lily can be grown in no more effective way than the old one of planting it under south walls. The Cape Lilies have increased of late years from hybrids and otherwise, and are worth attention in deep soil in warm corners near walls that protect them from the north. The African Lily is most important for its unrivalled blue, but, save in the warmest parts of the south, where it may live in the open air protected, it is essential to give it greenhouse or like protection in winter. It is one of the plants for which the expense of tubs or large pots is worth indulging in, and there are new and handsome kinds, which make the culture more interesting. The Wood Lilies are valuable because they give us effects both distinct and beautiful in peat borders or bog gardens. Shade is not essential, though we think the best effects are attained in half-shady spots. The Mariposa Lilies are beautiful indeed, some of them almost surpassing any flowers of the old world ; but they come from one of the best climates and warmest soils in the world, and one can hardly hope that they will thrive in our climate without special care. Yet such charming flowers will always have a place in curious gardens, where they will thrive in frames and warm corners. Such plants, however, cannot be depended on for much effect in the open garden, though new kinds are being brought from Western America which may thrive in our climate, and help to show us the beauty of these singularly lovely things. ANEMONES AND RANUNCULUS. The Poppy Anemone has been a welcome flower in our gardens for hundreds of years, and it should never be forgotten, save in cold soils where it dwindles. Many now grow it well from seed, but the old way of planting the tubers of favourite kinds and colours should be carried out in the flower garden in Rose beds or in any beds to spare. The Scarlet Anemone and its varieties is also precious ; the Star Anemone, so charming in Italy and Greece in spring, is rarely seen happy in our gardens which are too cold for it, no doubt, so it may well be left out in favour of the hardier sorts. Valuable as the brightest Anemones are, the old Turban and Persian Ranunculus, and other forms were once a great charm of the flower garden, and should not be forgotten in warm soils, where they thrive, but they perish in severe winters, and require some care. VARIOUS. The old Dog's-Tooth Violet of the mountains of Europe has been joined in our gardens of recent years by a number of 104 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. its American relations, graceful plants for peat borders, but as yet not so valuable as the European kind in its various forms, which are among the prettiest early spring flowers. They are, moreover, true wild garden plants, which thrive in turf, coming up every year even more faithfully than Crocus or Snowdrop. The Snake's-head, too (Fritillaria), is a charming wild garden plant, thriving in grass in rich or wet meadows ; where not native it may well be introduced. The new yellow Fritillaries give a greater interest to this group of plants, some of which are fitted for the wild garden, but we never could see the charms of the Crown Imperials, with their offensive odour. The Stars of Bethlehem (Ornithogalum) thrive in grass, and are pretty in it. Unfortunately the handsome Arabian kind is not hardy. The Montbretias are plants of somewhat recent appearance in our gardens, and they have a. vigour and hardiness we do not look for in Cape plants, and a tenacious way of growing and increasing even in cold poor soil, and are, therefore, valuable where we wish to have close tufts of graceful leaves and gay blossoms below flowering shrubs not set too closely on the ground. Grape Hyacinths (Muscari) are often very pretty, and nearly always hardy. I use them freely in grass, where their blue is very pretty in spring. The choicer newer kinds will find a place in the nursery beds or rock-garden till more plentiful. Among the new plants we have one of fine distinction in the Giant Asphodels (Eremurus), plants of noble port and vigour, but which, though here and there grown and flowered well, are not as yet proved for our climate, with its often open, snowless winters. We must find out the kinds really hardy and that bloom handsomely with us before we can judge of their value in the flower garden. The old tiger flowers (Tigridia) should not be forgotten, especially on limestone or other warm soils, where they are most at home. There are several new kinds, which make the family of more value. Plants that give much pleasure from their good colours are the Triteleia and Brodicea. Some new and pretty effects will be given by the best of these as soon as plentiful. So noble a plant as the Gladiolus should not, perhaps, have been left to the end, but the fact that the finest class are only half hardy, and require care, makes them less important in our country than Lilies and Narcissi, that give so much beauty with little or no care. The years pass so swiftly, and are so full of cares, that things demand- ing two important attentions yearly />., taking up and planting must take a minor place, except in the case of growers who make a special care of them. The groups known as Lemoinei and Saundersi hybrids, being hardier, give better results, but generally our climate is against the older Gladioli, and disease very often comes with any large attempt to grow them. HARDY BULBOUS AND TUBEROUS FLOWERS. 105 HARDY BULBS FOR CUT FLOWERS. The special or reserve gar- den includes beds for hardy bulbs a very good way of growing them, and for supplying flowers for the house. A curious habit of the flowers of bulbs is that, cut from the plants when just opening and put into water, they get larger than they would if left on the plants out of doors, and this should lead us to encourage many lovely flowers among hardy bulbs that are among the best for our rooms. Hitherto the horror of the gardener has been cutting flowers for the house ; but if cutting prolongs his bloom, strengthens his plants, and gives all who care for his flowers a fuller enjoyment of them, we may secure his powerful aid. Consider what one may escape in storms, frosts, and other dangers if a flower, cut just on arriving at maturity, lasts Bed of Italian Narcissus. longer indoors than out, and actually, as in the case of the Narcissus, gets larger ! Narcissi, through their hardiness and drooping heads, endure our climate better than any other flowers, and yet severe storms will beat them about and destroy flowers that might have lived for days in the house. Large showy flowers like Tulips, suffer with every heavy shower. Anything which makes it easier to have flowers in the house is a real gain ; their exquisite forms are best seen, and tell their story best when brought near to the eye. A flower of our yellow wood Tulip opening and closing, and showing its changing form in a room, gives ideas of beauty which cannot be gleaned by glancing at a bed of bulbs. A variety of hardy bulbs should therefore be grown for their value as cut flowers, apart from their use in the garden. HARDY BULBS AMONG CHOICE SHRUBS. One of the most 106 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. marked improvements is the planting of handsome bulbs in masses of Rhododendrons and like bushes. These beds, as usually planted, are interesting only when in flower, and not always then, owing to the flat surface into which the shrubs are pressed ; Lilies, therefore, and the finer bulbs may with great advantage be placed among the shrubs. In many cases where this plan has been carried out, it has almost changed the entire aspects of gardens, and given various beautiful types of life instead of only one, and many fine rare bulbs find a home in such beds, which should be sacred from the spade. In placing choice, peat-loving shrubs, give the bushes room to fully attain their natural forms, and plant the interspaces with finer bulbs. Light and shade, relief and grace, are among the merits of this mode of planting. Beds of the smaller shrubs will do admirably for the smaller and more delicate bulbs, the shelter of low shrubs being an advantage to many little bulbs whose leaves are apt to suffer from cold winds. In this way we get relief, variety, and longer bloom, and the shrubs show their forms better when they have free play of light and air about them. BULBS IN BEDS ON TURF. Bold beds of Lilies and the taller bulbs are admirable for the lawn, and for quiet corners of the pleasure- ground. The showy beds of bulbs which are to be seen in public and other gardens, and which come so largely into spring gardens, are familiar to all. The beds suggested here are of a higher and more permanent nature, and are intended to be placed where they will be let alone. At Moulton Grange some years ago I saw on the turf in a quiet corner a bed of Tiger Lilies which had no other flowers near to mar its beauty. It was a large oval bed, and the colour of the finely grown Lilies was brilliant and effective seen through the trees and glades. In point of colour alone, nothing could be better ; the mass of bloom was profuse, and the plants, about 6 feet high, told well in the garden landscape. The plants had a great advantage in habit, form, and colour over the usual dwarf type of showy "bedding" plant. Many hardy flowers of the highest beauty would have as effective colour if we took equal pains with them. Colour on a 6-foot plant is usually more effective than on a plant 6 inches or 12 inches high, and some hardy Lilies are well over 6 feet high. This Lily bed was on one of those little strips of turf which occur by most shrubberies, and within a few yards of a walk, so that it could be easily seen. Among the most lovely beds are those of the nobler Lilies, while Iris, and many beautiful Day Lily, Paeony, Gladiolus, and Cape Hyacinth may be grouped with them or near them. It may be as well to note that what is meant here is not wild gardening with bulbs, but very good cultivation of them, and surfacing and edging the beds with spring flowers. HARDY BULBOUS AND TUBEROUS FLOWERS. 107 Some Hardy Bulbous and Tuberous Plants for British Flower Gardens. Acis Agapanthus Allium Alstrcemeria Amaryllis Anemone Anthericum Arum Calla Calochortus Chionodoxa Colchicum Convallaria Crocus Cyclamen Erythronium Fritillaria Galanthus Gladiolus Galtonia Hyacinthus Iris Ixiolirion Leucojum Lilium Montbretia Muscari Narcissus Orchis Ornithogalum Oxalis Paeonia Pancratium Puschkinia Ranunculus Schizostylis Scilla Sparaxis Sternbergia Tigridia Trillium Triteleia Tritonia Tropaeolum Tulipa Iris border (at Buhvick). CHAPTER VII. ANNUAL AND BIENNIAL PLANTS, AND HALF-HARDY PLANTS ANNUALLY RAISED FROM SEED. WHATEVER we may do with perennials, shrubs, or hardy bulbs, the plants in this class must ever be of great value to the flower-gardener ; and among the most pleasant memories of flower-garden things are often those of annual or biennial plants : tall and splendid Stocks in a farmhouse garden on a chalky soil, seen on a bright day in early spring ; Wallflowers in London market gardens and in cottage gardens, when not cut down by cruel winters ; Snapdragons on old garden walls, and bright Marigolds everywhere; Hollyhock lines, Sweet Pea hedges, and Mignonette carpets ; Evening Primrose, Poppies, Sweet Scabious, and Sweet-williams. However rich a garden may be in hardy flowers or bedding plants, it is wise in our climate to depend a good deal upon annuals. Although they do not last so long in bloom, and are not so fine in quality as Lilies or Roses, yet they can generally be depended upon for a very handsome show of flower in early autumn, particularly in northern and cool districts. In some cases it would not be wise to sacrifice the summer garden for autumnal flowering plants, but where people do not much enjoy their garden except in autumn, it is essential to make good use of those treated of herein. ANNUAL AND BIENNIAL PLANTS FOR THE FLOWER GARDEN. 109 Where the choicest flowers are grown in beds near the house, or in what should be the flower garden, autumnal annuals are not so good as more enduring plants, although useful as an aid. In many cases the best way would be to grow the annuals in separate borders, even in borders in the kitchen garden, as they are very well grown at Campsey Ash. Like most other plants, they enjoy fresh ground, and where they are grown in borders by themselves it is easy to enrich the ground, and make it fitted for them, easier than when grown among perennials, Roses and the like. With this precaution the culture is very simple ; in the south some attention to watering is essential in dry years, in the north the moist cool climate gives the best results. In wet seasons and in wet northern districts annuals surprise us by their vigour and beauty. In warmer counties the effect of the heat may in the case of the hardy kinds be met by autumn-sowing in good rich ground. The autumn sowings are the best. The plants not only flower much sooner, but, where the soil and climate suit them, they are stronger and more beautiful. The reason why they are so often seen in poor condition is that they are sown on hungry soil and are crowded. Concerning crowding, " Salmoniceps " writes : "I have just measured a plant to-day (October 4) of Nemophila insignis, sown more than a year ago. It has been in flower since May, and measures now 4 feet by 3 feet 10 inches. It would take a long time to count the blossoms, although they are not so large as the earlier ones. The plant grows in a new and rich border. According to the ordinary way of sowing annuals, this single plant occupies the space which is usually allotted to a whole packet of seed." In nature, annuals are usually autumn-sown and gather strength in the winter. In growing a number of annuals from various countries, we must remember that our winters can be faced by the hardy ones only, such as the Sweet Pea, Cornflower, Silene, Nemophila, Viscaria, Limnanthes, Larkspur, Poppy, and Scabious. Annuals are best in masses or groups, and they are never perhaps so full of colour and beauty as on an old rich vine border. In considering the best kinds we will look more at the important groups of plants, as there is a great number of curious kinds that might be named here, but they are not so important for effect. Among annual and biennial flowers we have the lovely Everlastings of Australia, which have an order of beauty quite distinct from those we see in gardens into which annuals do not enter. Carefully gathered, they have the additional charm that they may adorn our houses during the winter. The Pimpernels, which with their pretty blue flowers were once made charming use of in gardens, are much neglected. The Mexican Poppy is a pretty flower and quite distinct. Among annuals no THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. \ve find plants of fine foliage or habit, such as the Hemp, Castor Oil! Tree and other Mallows, Maize and other grasses, Cotton and Blessed Thistles. The annual Chrysanthemums of Southern Europe and: Northern Africa, and indeed of our own fields, are charming in effect. The annual Convolvuli are pretty, and in southern gardens- may be used charmingly. The annual Larkspurs are so little used in gardens that it is only in seed farms that we have the pleasure of seeing them now and then in all their beauty. The annual Chinese Pinks are very charming grown in sunny beds and good soil. Our native Foxglove, which takes such good care of itself in many of our woodlands, breaks in the hands of the gardener into beautiful varieties well worth growing, if not in the garden, in shrubberies and in copses, and woods. It is a good plan, when any ground is broken up for fence-making or rough planting, to scatter a few seeds of the white and other pretty kinds and leave them to take care of themselves. There are many graceful grasses which may be treated as annuals, and their flowers, like the Everlasting flowers, be in bloom through the winter. The night-smelling Stocks will appeal to some, but are rather too strong in odour for others. The annual Hibiscus when well grown are effective plants, and the same may be said of the Hollyhock, for which probably the best way is to raise it from seed, as in that way we can fight better against the fungus which destroys it. The Single Hollyhock is worthy of much care and is often very effective. The Flaxes are very pretty annuals, red and blue, and even the common cultivated Flax is a beautiful plant The beauty of the Ice plants, of which we see so little in our country, is fairly shown by the little annual one. In our day quite a series of beautiful forms of Mignon- ette have come to add to the charms of that always welcome plant. The annual and biennial Evening Primroses are often extremely valuable and showy. The Sweet Scabious are pretty and varied in colour and so fragrant. Of Sweet Peas there is a delightful series in our own day, when so many kinds have been raised that one could easily make a garden of them. No words can exaggerate their value, either in mixed or separate colours, and they should be both autumn and spring sown, so as to get a chance of those fine tall hedges of Sweet Peas which come where we sow in autumn and get the plants safely through the winter, and they are doubly valuable owing to the many beautiful new kinds. Zinnia is extremely fine in colour, but in our country it wants warm soils and the best positions in order to do well. In Italy, Austria, and South Germany they are much more beautiful and vigorous than with us. Some annual plants, like the Cornflower, Sweet Sultan, Sweet Pea, . Scabious, are precious for cutting for the house, and may be grown . White Foxglove. Engraved from a photograph by H. Hyde of a self-sown plant in shrubbery at Gravetye Manor. ii2 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. with the hardy flowers for this purpose where there is room for it ; others are good for trellis-work, and others for surfaces we wish to adorn with pretty climbers, such as Canary Creeper, Maurandya, Adlumia, Gourds, Convolvulus. The various French and African Marigolds, and the prettier forms of the pot Marigold, are very showy plants, and, for those who love much colour, are almost essential, and the same may be said of the various annual Calliopsis. The China Aster used to be grown much better than it is generally now, and there is no doubt, where people do not get much colour from other plants, such as Roses and the finer perennials, the China Aster in its many forms is useful. But more important by far are the various kinds of Stock, which have the added charm of fragrance, and which do so well in many gardens with light and warm soils in the north and in Scotland. Cosmos are pretty plants worthy of a place, and the best of the annual kinds of Datura are picturesque and distinct. Chinese Pinks are very beautiful and charming in variety. The Gaillardias, which are such poor perennials in many soils, are in some cases better raised as annuals, and there are annual kinds of value. The Gilias are very pretty, varied, and hardy, and some very dwarf, forming a carpet for taller plants. The Godetias, allied to the Evening Primroses, are handsome when well grown, especially the white and simple coloured kinds, and where they live over the winter, from autumn sowing, they are very strong and handsome the following year. The many varieties of the annual Ipomae are graceful, there being much charming variety among the blooms, and with these may be named the various kinds of Convolvulus minor, which does not climb. Lavatera and Malope are handsome plants in the autumn garden, as are the Lupins, well grown, and the new Nemesia from the Cape is charming. The white Tobacco and the true Tobacco are handsome in warm soils. We think the various Nigellas very interesting, while every one should have the annual Phloxes, now to be had in such good colours, and the Portulacas, which are so showy on warm borders. The Salpi- glossis is a beautiful plant, especially where we take the trouble to select the simpler colours, the amber coloured one being very fine. The Sweet Scabious has charming varieties, and is often very fine in colour, though not so good on heavy and cool soils. The Sweet Sultans are pretty, and useful for cutting for the house, and Love-lies-bleeding (Amaranthus) and its allies are quaintly effective. The Snap-Dragons, which are often treated as annuals, are frequently excellent when grown in their simple colours, the striped kinds not being nearly so good in effect. The annual Poppies are essential where a good display is hoped for from annuals, also the ANNUAL AND BIENNIAL PLANTS FOR THE FLOWER GARDEN. 113 Mexican and Californian Poppies. Such handsome plants as the varieties of Tropaeolum are also many of them beautiful annuals. Among plants of, perhaps, less importance than some of the pre- ceding, the following may be mentioned : Bartonia, Brachycome, Calandrinia, Cosmidium, Nolana, Didiscus, Kaulfussia, Linum, Lobelia, Martynia, Mesembryanthemum, Nycterinia, Platystemon, Saponaria, Senecio, Stenactis,and Xeranthemum,as affording some good plants for those interested in flower gardening with annual and biennial plants. HALF-HARDY PLANTS TREATED AS ANNUALS. It is not every one who has the means to winter a large number of tender bedding Bed of " China Asters," showing effect of well-grown annual plants in garden."] plants, and the keeping of a large stock involves much work, and takes up space that might be better occupied. . But a garden may be made very gay in summer with half-hardy plants raised from seed, and without keeping a single plant over the winter in the greenhouse. In seedlings there may be differences in habit and colour, but this should be no objection. There are a few plants which come from seed true to the type through many generations, like Verbena venosa. Seedling Verbenas make a handsome bed, and usually do much better so grown than from cuttings. Balsams, again, are not half so much used for open-air decoration as they deserve to be, and those who have only seen them starving in small l 114 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. pots cannot form an idea of their beauty when planted out in good open soil, away from trees and in warm soils. Take the border Pansies in various shades of purple, yellow, and white. Varieties may be raised in the early spring for planting out the same summer, and so of the Verbena, Pelargonium, Pyrethrum, Salvia patens, S. argentea, Heliotrope, and Snapdragons, which should be sown in heat in January ; to the Petunia, Phlox Drummondi, Dianthus, Indian Pink, Ageratum, and Lobelia, which in February should be sown in pans in heat, and, if kept growing, will be ready for planting out in May. Begonias for bedding may be grown from seed in the same year, but are more effective if raised during the preceding year, selected according to colour, and stored in winter ready for bedding out early in summer. Fuchsias sown in January flower well in August. Of fine-leaved plants which can be raised from seed for use in the open-air the same year, there are Amaranthus, Celosia, Centaurea, Cineraria, Humea, Canna, Chamsepeuce, Nicotiana, Ricinus, Solanum, and Wigandia. Old plants of Verbenas and like plants kept through the winter harbour the eggs of vermin always ready to eat up the collection if it is neglected for a week, but, starting with clean houses and frames, and with seeds in early spring, the gardener makes a better fight against his many insect enemies. As regards the plants one would like to raise in this way, seedsmen should select and fix distinct colours of different races of plants. It would not be difficult to select a bluish or purple Verbena which one might count on as coming pretty true from seed. We have so much relied upon cuttings and old plants that the raising of fine seedlings has seldom had fair attention. Many raise seeds, but few give the early thinning, the light, the sturdy growth, and the unchecked culture that seedlings require ; but now, when we may raise not only the annual pure and simple, but the half-hardy flower-garden plants, and the nobler hardy plants like Carnations and Hollyhocks, seed-raising for the flower- garden deserves much attention. BIENNIAL PLANTS are usually such as make their growth in one year and flower the next, but the line between biennial and annual is not a strict one, because in their native countries annual plants often spring up in one year, and flower the next. In countries with open winters and hot summers, annuals do so naturally, and begin to grow in the first rains through the winter, and flower strongly the next year these often being kinds sown in spring in gardens. Hollyhocks, Foxgloves, Chimney Campanula, and Sweet Williams come under this head, but in some cases early raising in spring gives us a chance of blooming some of them the same year as they are sown. In any case it is better for simplicity's ANNUAL AND BIENNIAL PLANTS FOR THE FLOWER GARDEN. 115 sake to group all annual and biennial plants together, and with them the half-hardy plants raised from seed for use in the flower garden, as the work of raising all is, to a great extent, the same. Some of the more important Families of Annual and Biennial Plants, and of Half-hardy Plants raised from Seed for the Flower Garden. Acroclinium Adlumia Agathaea Ageratum Agrostemma Alonsoa Alyssum 'Amaranthus Amberboa Ammobium Anagallis Antirrhinum Arctotis Argemone Artemisia Bartonia Begonia Boerkhausia Brachycome Calandrinia Calceolaria Calendula Calliopsis Campanula Cannabis Cape Marigold Catananche Celosia Celsia Centaurea Centranthus Hedysarum Cheiranthus Helichrysum China Aster Heliophila Chrysanthemum Heliotrope Clarkia Hesperis Clintonia Hibiscus Convolvulus Hollyhock Coreopsis Iberis Cosmidium Impatiens Cosmos lonopsidium Crepis Ipomaea Cuphea Ipomopsis Datura Isotoma Delphinium Kaulfussia Dianthus Lasthenia Didiscus Lavatera Digitalis Leptc siphon Erysimum Leptosyne Erythraia Limnanthes Eschscholuia Linaria Eucharidium Linum Eutoca Loasa Fuchsia Lobelia Gaillardia Lophospermui Gilia Lupin Glaucium Maize Godetia Malope Gourds Malva Grasses Martynia Gypsophila Maurandya Mesembryan- themum Mignonette Mimulus Mirabilis Myosotis Nemesia Nemophila Nicotiana Nierembergia Nigella Nolana Nycterinia (Enothera Onopordon Oxalis rosea Oxyura Papaver Pelargonium Pentstemon Petunia Phacelia Pharbitis Phlox Platystemon Podolepis Polygonum Portulaca Pyrethrum Rhodanthe Ricinus Salpiglossis Sal via Saponaria Scabious Schizanthus Schizopetalon Senecio Silene Solanum Sorghum Specularia Sphenogyne Stenactis Stocks Sweet Peas Sweet William Tagetes Tropaeolum Verbascum Verbena Viola Virginia Stock Viscaria Waitzia Whitlavia Zea Zeranthemum Zinnia Zea: Knockdolian, Colmonell, N.B. I 2 CHAPTER VIII. FLOWERING SHRUBS AND TREES, AND THEIR ARTISTIC USE. SPRING comes to us wreathed in Honeysuckle, and summer brings the Wild Rose and the May bloom, and these are but messengers of a host of lovely shrubs and low trees of the hills and plains of northern and temperate regions, and also of the high mountains of countries like India, where there are vast alpine regions with shrubs as hardy as our own, as we see in the case of the white Clematis that covers many an English cottage wall with its fair white bloom. If we think of the pictures formed in thousands of places in England, Scotland, and Ireland, by the May alone, we may get an idea of the precious beauty there is in the American, Asiatic, and European kinds, some of which flower later than our own and make the May bloom season longer. Nothing is lovelier among flowering trees than a group of the various Thorns, beautiful also in fruit, and the foliage of some kinds is finely coloured in autumn. The Thorns are but one branch of, perhaps, the most important order of flowering trees, embracing FLOWERING SHRUBS AND TREES, AND THEIR ARTISTIC USE. 117 the Apples (a garden in their varied flowers alone) ; Pears, wild and cultivated ; Crabs, pretty in bloom and bright in fruit ; Quinces, Medlars, Snowy Mespilus, Almonds, Double Cherries, Japan Quinces, Plums (including Sloe and Bullace), not to speak of a number of less important families. Among these, the larger and more important branches of this great order of plants, there is some likeness in habit and size, which allows of similar use. The Double Peaches are among the most precious of trees of this order, but for some reason we rarely see them in any but a miserable state in England. In France they are sometimes lovely not only in the flower, but in the mass of colour from healthy growth. It may be that the failure of the shoots to ripen in our cool climate is owing to some weakness through grafting on a bad stock. There is such a great and noble variety among these trees that there is room for distinct effects. An excellent point in favour of trees like Thorns, Crabs, Almonds, and Bird Cherries is that, in their maturity, they, in groups or single specimens, stand free on the turf free, too, from all care ; and it is easy to see how important this is for all who care for English tree-fringed lawns a long way more beautiful than any other kind of tree garden. It is not only the flowers on the trees we have to think of, but also in the house as cut flowers gathered when the buds are ready to open gathering the branchlets and long twigs before the flowers are quite out and placing them in vases in rooms. In very bad weather this way will prolong the bloom for us, or even save it in the case of very hard frost, and in a cold spring it will advance the bloom a little, the warmth of the house giving a few days' gain in time of opening. As to the kinds of shrubs that may be cut for the house in this way, there are many of the same race, from the Sloe to the beautiful kinds of Apple. There is a good deal in putting them into the right sort of glass. The Japanese are very clever in fitting the flowers into vases so that each may show its form and beauty best. Mr. Alfred Parsons says he noticed that flowers seem to last longer in bronze, in which, it may be, the action of the light is less than in an ordinary vessel. While such trees as the Almond or Crab will usually be in the more distant parts of the garden picture, the variety of flowering shrubs is so great that we may choose from among them for the most precious of flower garden beds. Take an ordinary flower garden under the windows of the house, often with the beds in winter as bare as oilcloth. What beautiful groups of flowering evergreens we might plant in them ! Mountain Laurels (Kalmia), Japan and American Andromeda, Azaleas, choice Evergreen Barberries, alpine Cotoneaster, Evergreen Daphne, Desfontainea, in the south ; the taller hardy Heaths, Escallonia, Ledum, alpine and wild forms of Rhodo- THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. dendron, Sweet Gale, Star bush, and various Laurustinus, leaving out not a few which thrive only in the warmer districts. Charming gardens might be made of such bushes, not lumped together, but in open groups, with the more beautiful American hardy flowers between them, such as the Wood Lily and Mocassin flower, many rare Lilies, and beautiful bulbous flowers of all seasons. The light and shade and variety in such beds of choice evergreens and flowers mingled are charming, and the plan would be a permanent one as it would tend to abolish the never-ending digging in the flower garden. Beds of flowering shrubs in the flower garden are not always so well suited for small gardens ; but in bold ones, now naked in winter, it would make them sightly even at that season, and much easier to deal with in early summer. The Rhododendrons of the hybrid sorts are too much used, and, as they are nearly always grafted, the common stock that bears them in the end kills the plant it should support, and so we too often see the common pontic kind. Yet there are many beautiful things among these hybrids. The good colours are well worth picking out from them,. and the aim of the planter should be to show the habit and form of the plant. This does not mean that they may not be grouped or massed just as before, but openings of all sizes should be left among them for light and shade, and for handsome herbaceous plants that die down in the winter, thus allowing the full light for half the year to evergreens. In the south and west the various Arbutus are charming for lawns and ravines, and for sheltering the flower garden, as is also the sweet Bay Laurel, but the common Cherry Laurel and the Portugal should not be planted near anything precious. The hardy Azaleas are, considering their great number and variety, perhaps the most precious flowering shrubs we have ; they are fine in form of bush, even when they get little freedom, and superb in colour, the foliage in autumn, too, being rich in colour in sunny places. The Hydrangeas are noble plants in warm valleys, and on soils where they are not too often cut down by the winter ; not only the common one of the markets, which, in soils where it turns blue, is so effective in the garden, but a variety of good kinds, among which should always be the oak-leaved Hydrangea, as old plants of it are so handsome. As these are plants that cannot be grown everywhere, this is a good reason why they should be made much of where the climate suits them. There are few garden sights more interesting than groups of Hydrangeas well grown and placed, and it is one we rarely see. The Brooms have many effective plants and none more so than the common and the Spanish Brooms, which should be massed on banks, or where they will come into the picture, and some of the smaller Brooms are excellent for rock-gardens. The Furze in all its FLOWERING SHRUBS AND TREES, AND THEIR ARTISTIC USE. 119 obtainable forms is just as precious, as it blooms so early, it will grow almost anywhere, and it brightens up a landscape as no other plant does. We have only to place it in any rough spots to enjoy it without care. Native shrubs should not be neglected ; the wild single Guelder Rose is as pretty a shrub as any from across the sea, while all the hardy kinds may give us good and bold effects grouped with or near such bushes as Deutzias, Weigelas, Mock Oranges all plants of high value and much variety. From an artistic point of view nothing is better than groups of our hardy Heaths in any open place where room can be found for them, including white heather and all other strong varieties of heather, as well as all other kinds of hardy Heaths. After planting they give little trouble, and they are good in colour even in winter, being generally happiest out of the garden proper, where any other wild plants may be allowed to grow among them. No doubt, the choicest and smallest of these Heaths deserve careful garden culture, but for effect the forms of our common Heather, the Cornish and Irish Heaths, are the best, and in bold masses not primly kept, but, once well rooted, allowed to mingle with any pretty wild plants. We might even assist this idea by sowing or planting other things, such as Foxgloves, Harebells, or the small Furze, among the Heaths. When Heaths are grown in this way their bloom is charming from the first peep of spring, when the little rosy Heath of the mountains of central Europe begins to open, till the autumn days, and even the mild winter ones, when the delicately tinted Portuguese Heath (E. codonodes) blooms in the south and west of England. We take little notice of such minor things as the Fire-bush, so lovely in Cornwall, and pretty also in other seashore districts, as it may not be enjoyed in the country generally, and we also leave out some others, like the Witch and Japan Hazels, the Winter-sweet, and the Allspice bushes, which, though pretty seen near at hand, do not give us those definite effects in the garden landscape which it is well to seek if we wish to get out of the fatal jumble of the common shrub- bery. The Escallonias, though very precious in seashore gardens and in the south on warm soils, are apt to go into mourning after hard winters elsewhere. So many of our island gardens are near the sea that we must not undervalue these shrubs, but a constant source of waste is the planting of things not really hardy in districts where they perish in hard winters, such as the Arbutus about London and in the midlands. And, even where things seem hardy, some of them, like Fuchsias, never give the charming effects we get from them in the west of Ireland, in Wales, and in warm coast gardens, whatever care we take. Such facts should not discourage, because they only emphasise the lesson that the true way in a garden is for each to do 120 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. what soil and climate allow of, and in that way we arrive at the most important artistic gain of all, i.e. that each garden has its own distinct charms. A very lovely group is the Lilacs, much enriched of recent years by the introduction of new species and many charming varieties of the common old Lilac lovely plants, worthy of the finest days of our English spring. Few of the forms found in France seem to thrive in our gardens, owing to grafting on the Privet, which often, after a year or two's poor bloom, kills the plant and begins to take care of itself. How much evil has been done to English ideas of flowering shrubs by thrusting this Privet everywhere ! Lilacs, being hardy in all parts of Britain, deserve our best care, and should always be grouped together in the open sun. They should always be bought from nurserymen who raise them from layers or suckers in the good old way, and should be, once grown up, always kept a little open and free by simple pruning, so that we may get handsome trusses. With these, too, must be grouped such lovely things as the Snow- drop tree, the Stuartias, and bush Magnolias. The Magnolias have recently become more numerous, and it will be easy soon to have a Magnolia garden, at least in favoured places. The tree Mag- nolias should come among the taller flowering trees in the distant parts of our flower grove Horse Chestnuts, Buckeyes, Tulip Trees, Laburnums, Catalpa, and Yellow Wood. The Alpine Laburnum, so very beautiful in bloom, becomes a tall slender tree where not overcrowded, and the flowering Ash (Ornus) must not be forgotten among the taller flowering trees. For the Paulownia, so beautiful in France and Italy in spring, our climate is not warm enough to secure full size or health, save in the most favoured places in the south. Some shrubs of modest charm as to their flowers give very pretty effects in well-placed groups, such as the flowering Currant, Tamarix, and Ceanothus on walls. But none are more charming than the wild Roses in summer, the Sweet Briar being taken as representing our native wild Roses ; the Glossy Rose (R. lucida), the American wild Roses ; the many-flowered Rose (Polyantha), and the Japanese (R. rugosa). These and others I have planted in hedgerows and rough fences, and have never planted anything that has given a more beautiful return. The Judas Tree is neglected in England, and rarely planted in an effective way. In the Pare Monceau in Paris there is a beautiful grove of it in which trees of various ages form one family party, so to say, showing some differences in colour and earliness. Such slight but often valuable differences arise when we raise trees from seed and do not slavishly follow the habit of grafting one thing on another. This is one of the gains of following a more natural mode of THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. increasing trees than is usual in nurseries, as those raised from seed have a chance of interesting variations, whereas grafting from the same identical form shuts out all chance of it. It is curious that a tree so effective in bloom, and so distinct in habit as the Judas Tree is, should be so little planted with us, and, when planted, so often left to the scant mercy of the shrubbery border. All such trees have their o\vn ways and wants, and should not be jumbled up in the common crowded and ignorant way of planting. I have never seen anything with greater pleasure than a bush of Citrus Trifoliata which I saw in the School Garden at Versailles a sheet of large and beautiful flowers on April 19. I had previously no idea that any Citrus could have borne such a beautiful and distinct bloom in the open air, and yet this was borne by a hardy shrub standing for years among Crabs, Almonds, and trees of that degree of hardiness. Of Indian Azaleas in the open air Mr. C. R. Scrase-Dickens writes : " The hardy Azaleas of the American races are very popular, but few know the value of the white Indian Azalea for the open garden in the south of England. Few plants give so little trouble when once established, even though the late frosts may now and again spoil the beauty of the flowers. When planted out and left alone, it is not much more than three or four feet in height, dense and spreading. The engraving shows a bush over ten feet across with a shadow thrown over the upper part by a tree of Magnolia which grows at the side. It gets shelter from cold winds and from too fierce a sun on the flowers. Any one who intends to plant this Azalea should remember that it flowers naturally at a time when there may still be late frosts and cold winds hovering about, and that it would be a mistaken kindness to choose any place, such as under a south wall, which would tend to make the blossoms open earlier in the season. We have some plants under a north wall which do admirably, but they seem to like association with other things. The variety which does best here is the old typical white. Overgrown plants of other colours from the greenhouse have been turned out sometimes, but they do not seem so happy or produce so good an effect." If one-tenth the trouble wasted on "carpet-bedding" plants and other fleeting and costly rubbish had been spent on flowering shrubs, our gardens would be all the better for it. There are no plants so much neglected as flowering shrubs, and even when planted they are rarely well grown, owing to the " traditions " of what is called the shrubbery. The common way is to dig the shrubbery every winter, and this is often carried out as a matter of form without giving the soil any manure, while much harm is done by mutilating the roots of FLOWERING SHRUBS AND TREES, AND THEIR ARTISTIC USE. 123 the shrubs. The labour and time wasted in this way, if devoted to the proper culture of a portion of the ground each year, would make our gardens delightful indeed. Many shrubs, as fair as any flower requir- ing the shelter of glass, have been introduced into this country ; but for the most part they have been destroyed by the muddle " shrubbery." The idea of the murderous common shrubbery is so rooted in the popular mind that it is almost hopeless to expect much change for the better. The true way is to depart wholly from it as a mass of mixed shrubs, for beautiful families should be grouped apart. Each family or plant should have a separate place, free from the all-devouring Spiraea (Belmont, Carlow). Privet and Laurel, and each part of the shrubbery should have its own character, which may easily be given to it by grouping instead of mixing, which ends in the starvation of the choice kinds. We do not allow stove and green-house plants to be choked in this way, yet no plants are more worthy of a distinct place and of care than hardy shrubs. Low flowering trees, like Hawthorns, group admirably on the turf, but the finer kinds of flowering shrubs should be planted in beds. The shrubbery itself need no longer be a dark dreary mass, but light and shade may play in it, its varied life be well shown, and the habits 124 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. and forms of each thing may be seen. Shrubs of high quality or rare deserve to be well grown. Any one who thinks how much less trouble is given by hardy plants than by pot plants will not begrudge attention to outdoor things, and some may even consider a garden of beautiful shrubs as a conservatory in the open air, no kind of flower gardening being more delightful or enduring. We have often to re- arrange vigorous herbaceous plants, and constantly to work with the lovable Carnation, but shrubs give us little trouble. It is not only flowers that suffer from being stuck in lines and patterns ; our beautiful flowering shrubs are injured in the same way. The Rhododendron and the Azalea, and what are commonly called American plants, are often put in such close masses that their forms cannot be seen. We may get the flowers to some extent, but they are not so enjoyable as when the plants are allowed to show their individual forms. There is not the slightest reason why we should not have all the force of colour, too, because it is quite possible to have a number of beautiful Rhododendrons and other flowering shrubs together without putting them in the serried mass in which they are usually seen. So, without going into varieties or touching upon all the treasures within our reach, it is clear how much those who care to adorn their gardens in the most enduring way have to gain by planting flowering shrubs after their own tastes. Those who have given a fair chance to one half the groups of plants referred to in this chapter need not care much about garden coal bills, hot-houses, " contrasts of colour," and the many other considerations, as the beauty of the flowering trees and shrubs will come year after year as certainly as the wind through the Cherry-blooms. Some Flowering Trees and Shrubs Hardy in British Gardens. Abelia Chionanthus Exochorda ^Esculus Cladrastis Fabiana Akebia Clematis Forsythia Amelanchier Clethra Fothergilla Amygdalus Colletia Garrya Andromeda Colutea Gaultheria Aralia Comptonia Genista Arbutus Cornus Gleditschia Arctostaphylos Corylopsis Halesia Asimina Cotoneaster Hamamelis Azalea Crataegus Hibiscus Azara Cydonia Hypericum Berberidopsis Berberis Cytisus Daphne Hydrangea Illicium Bignonia Desfontainea Indigofera Buddleia Desmodium Jasminum Calycanthus Deutzia Kalmia Camellia Edwardsia Kerria Caragana Embothrium Koelreuteria Catalpa Erica Laburnum Ceanothus Escallonia Ledum Cerasus Eucryphia Leiophyllum Cercis Euonymus Lespedeza Chimonanthus Leycesteria Rhodora Liriodendron Rhodotypos Lonicera Ribes Lupinus Robinia Magnolia Rosa Mahonia Rubus Malus Sambucus Mespilus Sophora Olearia Spartium Ononis Spiraea Ornus Ozothamnus Staphylea Stauntonia Paulownia Stuartia Pavia Styrax Pernettya Syringa Philadelphus Tamarix Phlomis Ulex Piptanthus Veronica Prunus Viburnum Pterostyrax Virgilia Pyrus Raphiolepis WeTgela Wistaria Rhododendron Xanthoceras ***. Some of the evergreens, though thriving long in the southern and shore lands, may perish in severe winters in cold inland districts. CHAPTER IX. CLIMBERS AND THEIR ARTISTIC USE. THE splendid squadrons of the Pine, with crests proud in alpine storm and massed in serried armies along the northern moun- tains : the Oak kings of a thousand winters in the forest plain are lovely gifts of the earth mother, but more precious still to the gar- dener are the most fragile of all woody things that garland bush and tree with beautiful forms and blossoms, like Clematis, Jasmine and Honeysuckle, and the many lace- workers of the woods and brakes. It is delightful to. be able to turn our often ugly inheritance from the builder almost into gardens by the aid of these, from great yellow Roses to Ivy in many lovely forms ; but it is well to take a wider view of these climbing and rambling bushes and their places in the garden and in the pleasure-ground. It is for our own con- venience we go through the labour of nailing them to walls, and though it is a charming and necessary way of growing them it is well to remember that many climbers may be grown in beautiful ways without such labor- ious training. The tendency to over-pruning of the climbers on walls ends often in a kind of crucifixion, and the more freely things are trained the better. Proof of this is in the handsome masses of climbers on the high walls of the Trinity College Gardens at Dublin and in many private places where climbers have been liberally and well planted on walls. But it should never be forgotten that many of these plants will grow by themselves, like the Honeysuckles, which, while pleasant to 126 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. see on walls, are not less so on banks, or even on the level ground. Pretty fences and dividing screens may also be easily formed by hardy climbers. The wild kinds of Clematis are charming, and, apart from their use in the garden, they should be encouraged for trees and banks. The Ivy of our northern woods has broken into a number of beautiful varieties often distinct in form and even in colour ; they deserve far more attention for evergreen bowers, evergreen fences, and dividing lines, apart from their growth on walls and trees. The bush forms of these may make broken hedge-like garlands 2 feet to 3 feet high round little isolated flower gardens. Almost equally beautiful plants in form of leaf are the Green Briers (Smilax), some of which are hardy in England, but seen in few gardens, and rarely treated in an artistic way, though excellent for walls and rocks. In the eastern counties they may be seen doing well in the open ground, as in Cambridge. Of the beauty of the Jasmine of all climbers there is least need to speak, yet how rarely one sees the old white Jasmine made good use of in large gardens. It should be in bold wreaths or masses where it thrives, and so also the winter Jasmine, which is a precious thing for our country, should not be put in as a plant or two in bad conditions, but treated as a fine distinct thing in masses round cottages and outhouses. The finest of hardy climbers, the Wistaria, is much more frequently and rightly planted in France than in our gardens, though it thrives in the Thames valley as well as in the Seine valley. It should be, in addition to its use on walls and houses, made into bold covered ways and bowers and trained up trees, and even along Oak fences. VIGOROUS CLIMBERS ON TREES. It is not only that stout climbers are more beautiful and natural, and show their form better growing amongst trees, but it is the best way that many of them can be grown with safety owing to their vigour. The way the common Ivy wreaths the trees in rich woods, and the wild Clematis throws ropes up trees on the chalk hills, shows what the larger hardy climbers do over trees or rough or open copses, or even now and then in hedgerows. Some vigorous climbers would in time ascend the tallest trees, and there is nothing more beautiful than a veil of Clematis montana running over a tall tree. Besides the well-known climbers, there are species of Clematis which have never come into general cultivation, but which are beautiful for such uses, thotigh not all showy. The same may be said of the Honeysuckles, wild Vines, and various other families with which much of the northern tree and shrub world is garlanded. Occasionally one sees a climbing Rose rambling over a tree, and perhaps among our garden pictures nothing is more lovely CLIMBERS AND THEIR ARTISTIC USE. 127 than such a Rose when in flower. By a selection of the hardiest of climbing Roses very beautiful pictures might be formed in our pleasure grounds and plantations, and we might often see as the result Climbers on the Vicarage, Odiham. of design what is now mainly an accident, as a number of wild Roses grow " freely " among trees and large shrubs. CLIMBERS OF CLASSIC BEAUTY OR RARITY are often found a 1 28 THE ENGLISH FL O WER GA RDEN. home for on walls, and in our country some variety of wall surface is a great gain to botanic gardens and private gardens like Offington, in which a great variety of shrubs from all countries is grown. In the milder districts of the country and in favoured spots round the coast some of the finest exotics, such as Lapageria, and some greenhouse plants of great beauty, like Clianthus, which about London can only be enjoyed in a greenhouse, may be grown on walls in the open air. Some of the fine plants .of Chili also may be grown on walls of various aspects. Abelia, Lardizabala, Berberidopsis and Rhyncho- spermum are among the plants sometimes so grown, but there is no limit as to selection. Many who have visited our best gardens will probably have stored away in their memories some of the pictures they have seen given by noble wall plants well grown in this way as, for example, the New Zealand Edwardsia at Linton, so fine in form and colour, and the handsome Fremontia. Hard winters settle the fate of many beautiful things among these, but, happily, some of the loveliest things are hardy, like the Winter Sweet, Bignonia, Magnolia, and sometimes the splendid colour of the Pomegranate buds is seen among them. It may be noted here that among the unfortunate attempts of certain architects who designed gardens to get rid of the gardener and his troublesome plants were instructions that no climbers were to be allowed on walls. There was not a single spray of any climber allowed to grow on the house or extensive terrace walls at Shrub- land, some years ago, as if in a garden death were better than life. FRAGILE CLIMBERS ON SHRUBS. Apart from the vigorous climbers that we may trust in shrubberies, woods, and on rough banks, and which, when fairly started, take care of themselves, there are fragile things which deserve to be used in rather a new way as far as most gardens are concerned, namely, for throwing a delicate lace- work of flowers over the evergreen and other choice shrubs grown in our gardens Rhododendron, Kalmia, Andromeda, Azalea, and even taller shrubs. A group of Hollies will not look any the worse for wreaths of fragrant Clematis in autumn. Often stiff, unbroken masses of Rhododendrons and Evergreen flowering shrubs will be more varied if delicate flakes of Clematis (white, lavender, or claret- red) or the bright arrows of the Flame Nasturtium come among them here and there in autumn. The great showy hybrid Clematises of our gardens are not so good for this use as the more elegant wild Clematises of N. America, Europe, and N. Africa, such as the Hairbell and others of the less vigorous Clematis. These are so fragile in growth that many of them may be trusted among groups of choice shrubs like Azaleas, training themselves and throwing veils over the CLIMBERS AND THEIR ARTISTIC USE. 129 bushes here and there. Among these nothing is better than the various forms of Clematis Viticella, and there is also a number of not very showy plants which might be used in this way, such as Apios and even the climbing Fern of N. America, and some Bomareas and the wild Nasturtiums. Two lovely twining shrubs must never be left out in any scheme of this kind, the Atragene or Alpine Clematis of the mountains of Europe, hardy as the Oak and tender in colour as the dove, and in all the warmer districts the winter-flowering Clematis of the islands of the Mediterranean and the North African coasts, where it garlands with the Smilax millions of acres of hyena- and jackal-haunted scrub. A Trumpet Flower (Bignonia grandiflora). Engraved from a photograph by Miss Willmott. ROSES AS CLIMBERS. It would be difficult to overpraise the value of the Rose in all arrangements of climbing plants. Many of the more vigorous Wild Roses of the northern world are naturally almost climbing plants, and some of them are seen 20 ft. high or so among trees. In gardens many varieties might be mentioned which in past years were a great source of beauty and gave a very showy effect when well used, but, in our own time, and within the past generation or two, since the raising of Gloire de Dijon, a noble series of climbing Roses, wholly distinct from the old climbing kinds, has been raised in France, the most precious flowers that have ever adorned the Rose-garden. K 130 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. The old Climbers and Garland Roses were almost too vigorous for the garden, and their bloom did not last long enough to justify their getting a place there ; but now, with the great climbing Tea Roses we have for the southern parts of these islands, we may count on a bloom for months. Hence we have in these Roses, where they thrive the best, the most precious of all ornaments for walls of houses, trellis work, pergolas. In southern parts of the country we even get fine results from these Roses on the north side of walls, where some Roses flower better than on the south side. Also, we can grow them in the open on trellises or away from walls, but in the northern parts of the country, where these great climbing Tea Roses may not thrive so well, walls come in to help us more and more by their shelter and warmth, and the encouragement they give to early bloom. Apart from these great Roses of garden origin, which will long be among the most precious, some Wild Roses are of the highest impor- tance in warm districts and good soils, particularly the Indian R. Brunonis and the many-flowered Roses (R. polyantha) of Japan ; but in the presence of the need of so much wall space for the garden Roses these Wild Roses will usually be best in the shrubbery or some place apart, where they may be let alone, and no good can arise from choice, garden ground being given to Roses like R. polyantha which are even more vigorous than our own wild Dog Rose. In Europe perhaps the country that pleases one most by its fitness for Rose culture is that along the shores of the Mediterranean, where the Banksian and other more delicate Roses may be seen up trees, forming hedges, and arranging themselves in other delight- ful ways. I remember being very much struck with the beauty of the single Banksian Rose in such positions, and often wondered why it was not secured for our own gardens, even though it might not grow so freely as there. VINES FOR THEIR BEAUTY OF FORM. Going back some thousands of years to the earliest sculptured remains of some of the oldest peoples, we see evidence that the Grape Vine was in common use, and it is no doubt much older than the monuments of Assyria. Among the Kabyle villages of North Africa I passed many Vines of great age trailing over very old Olive trees in the little orchard fields. In such countries there was the value of the fruit, but even in ours, where the Grape ripens rarely out of doors, the charm of the plant is so great that we see many cottages in Surrey and Norfolk set deep in Vine leaves. The Grape Vine, however, is but one of a large family, and, though we may not see in our country its garlands from tree to tree purple with fruit, we may see much of its fine forms of leaf. The wild Vines are too vigorous for use on walls, though excellent for banks and trees and for any place outside the CLIMBERS AND THEIR ARTISTIC USE. flower garden. I have seen them clambering up forest trees, spreading into masses of fine foliage on the ground, and sending out long arms in search of the nearest trees strong and handsome climbers, hardy, vigorous, and soon covering dry banks, rocks, and trees. To the Vines (Vitis) have now been joined by the botanists Virginian Creepers (Ampelopsis), and between the two groups it need not be said what noble things they offer for garlanding trees, walls, bowers, rocks, and banks. It cannot be said that we neglect these Virginian and Japanese creepers, but the Vines are so far seldom well used with us, although easy of cultivation. Wooden Pergola, with Clematis and other hardy Climbers. PERGOLAS. Though our summer is often not sunny, there are seasons when shaded walks may be enjoyed, and numbers of free- growing climbing plants give an abundant and lovely choice of living drapery for them, Aristolochia, Wistaria, 'Virginian Creeper, rambling Roses, Honeysuckles, Jasmines and the free Clematises doing well over such. In Italy and warm countries one often sees in gardens the pergola as the creeper-shaded walk is called serving the two- fold purpose of supporting Grape Vines and giving pleasant coolness during the summer heat. As a rule, these pergolas are rude trellis- work structures of wood, sometimes supported by stone posts where K 2 132 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. these are at hand. In the gardens in the neighbourhood of Rome, Naples, and Florence there are beautiful examples of the pergola stately structures, the supports of which are massive columns of stone covered and festooned with Banksian Roses, Wistaria, Periploca, Clematises, Honeysuckles, Passion Flowers, scarlet Trumpet Flowers, and other climbers which form cool retreats in the hot days. But such pergolas seldom occurred outside the gardens of the great villas, and near humbler dwellings the pergola was usually a simple struc- ture made for the purpose of supporting the Grape Vine, and nearly always pretty. These creeper-clad covered ways should usually lead to somewhere and be over a frequented walk, and should not cut off any line of view nor be placed near big trees, especially such trees as the Elm, whose hungry roots would travel a long way to feed upon the good soil that the climbers should be planted in. A simple structure is the best. The supports, failing the Italian way of making posts of stone also seen, by the way, in gate-posts in Northern England should be Oak tree stems, about 9 inches in diameter, let into the ground about 2 feet ; the better if on a bed of concrete. The posts must be connected and firmly secured to each other by long pieces along the sides, while the top may be formed of smaller pieces to make a firm structure. On no account let the " rustic " carpenter begin to adorn it with the fantastic branchings he is so fond of. TREES SUPPORTING CLIMBERS. Instead of trusting to wire and ugly posts or the many artificial ways for supporting climbers, why should we not do as the Italians and people of south Europe do, use living trees to carry the vine or climber. Weeping trees of graceful leaf and form might be used in this way with fine effect. Abroad they take for this purpose any kind of tree which happens to be near and keep it within bounds, and those who know our garden flora may select treer which, while beautiful themselves, will not be much trouble to keep in bounds, like the weeping Cherry, weeping Aspen, some Willows even, and any light leaved veeping tree would be charming for its own sake as well as for what it might carry. Some of them might even be beautiful in flower, and there would be no trouble in getting creepers to run over them. LIGHT ARCHES OVER WALKS. When a quiet walk leads from one part of the garden to another, and that walk is spanned at intervals with slender iron or other light arches clothed with Honeysuckle, Clematis, or Jasmine, it gives an added grace to the walk. This also is a delightful way of framing, so to say, a flower border, the light arches springing up from the line of the trellis, which should be used to cut off the borders from the kitchen garden. ANNUAL AND HERBACEOUS CLIMBERS. However rich we may 134 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. be in perennial and shrubby climbers, we must not forget the climbing things among annual and like plants to help us, especially in the smaller class of gardens and those on which we depend more on annual flowers. Hedges of Sweet Peas there are few things to equal ; the fragile annual Convolvuli in many colours are pretty for low trellises, the vigorous herbaceous Bindweeds for rough places outside the flower garden. Most showy of all annual climbers are the many Gourds, which, treated in a bold way, give fine effects when trained over outhouses, sheds, or on strong stakes as columns. The showy annual climbing Tropaeolums, as well as the brilliant herbaceous and tuberous rooted kinds, are most precious, and Apios, Adlumia, Eccremo- carpus, Maurandya and Cobaea in mild districts are among the plants that help us to make walls into gardens. Nor must we forget the Hop, a vigorous, graceful, herbaceous climber, of much value where well placed. Among these climbers we may place the Passion Flower, because so often short-lived in the cold and more inland parts of our islands. It is best for sheltered and sea-coast places and is not quite hardy there in our coldest seasons ; still, if its base be sheltered with some dry Fern, it will spring up again. COVERED WAYS OF FRUIT TREES. This way of growing fruit trees and shading walks is not often seen, though few things would be prettier or more useful in gardens if fruit trees of high quality were chosen. Although in our gardens the shaded walk is not so necessary as it is in Italy and Southern France, in hot seasons shade is welcome in Britain ; and, as in many gardens we have four times as many walks as are needed, there is plenty of room for covering some of them with fruit trees which would give us flowers in spring, fruit in autumn, and light shade. The very substance of which walks are made is often good for fruit, and those who know the Apricot district of Oxfordshire and the neighbouring counties may see how well fruit trees do in hard walks. It is not only in kitchen and fruit gardens that their shade might be welcome, but in flower gardens, if we ever get out of the common notion of a flower garden which insists on everything being seen at one glance and the whole as flat and hard as oilcloth. PLASHED ALLEYS. In some old gardens there was a way of " plashing " trees over walks trees like the Lime, which grew so vigorously that they had to be cut back with an equal vigour, this leading in the end to ugliness in the excessive mutilation of the trees. One result of the frequent cutting was a vigorous summer growth of shoots, which cast a dense shade and dripped in wet weather. The purpose of such walks would be well fulfilled by training fruit trees over them, as they are trees which much more readily submit to training and give the light and airy shade which is best in our country. The fruit trellis, whatever it is formed of, need not be CLIMBERS AND THEIR ARTISTIC USE. 135 confined to fruit trees only, but here and there wreaths of Clematis or other elegant climbers might vary the lines. EVERGREENS AS CLIMBERS. Those who live in sheltered valleys on warm soils, or among pleasant hills above the line of hard frosts, may be so rich in evergreens that they will keep their walls for the fairest of true climbers. But in cold, exposed, and inland parts people are often glad to have good evergreens on walls, even bushes not naturally climbers in habit, such as Garrya elliptica, the choicer ever- green Barberries, Camellias on the north sides of walls, Azara,Escallonia, Cotoneaster, and evergreen Euo- nymus. The Laurustinus, too, is charming on many cottage walls in winter and may escape there when it would suffer in the open ; the Myrtle is happy on walls in southern districts, and even the Poet's Laurel may be glad of the shelter of a wall in the north. The evergreen Magnolia, which in warmer Europe is a standard tree, in our country must usually be grown on walls, even in the south, and there is no finer pic- ture than a good tree of Mag- nolia on a house. The beautiful Ceanothus of the Californian hills often keep company with these evergreens on walls ; but even in the warmer soils of the home countries they are tender, and their delicate sprays of flowers are much less frequently seen with us than in France, although we cannot resist trying them on sunny walls, and on chalky and sandy soils they have better chances. Apart from true shrubs used as evergreens, so frequently seen in Britain, we have some natural evergreen climbing plants for walls, first of all being our native Ivy, in all its beautiful forms, and of varied use for walls, houses, borders, screens, and even summer-houses and shelters. How much better to make bowers in the garden of Ivy, as a living roof, than of rotten timber, straw, or heath ! If we make a strong and enduring framework, and then plant the Ivy well, we soon get a living roof, which, with little care, will last for many years and always look well. Wistaria on covered way. 136 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. SOME CLIMBING, TWINING, AND WALL PLANTS FOR BRITISH GARDENS. There is scarcely any limit to the different uses that plants of a climbing or rambling habit may be put to, for many of them are extremely beautiful when employed for the draping of arbours, pergolas, or even living trees, while for hiding unsightly fences or clothing sloping banks, the more vigorous kinds are well adapted. For draping buildings or furnishing walls there is a great variety of plants, either quite hardy or sufficiently tender to need the protection of a wall in order to pass through an ordinary winter without much injury. The majority of those enumerated below are hardy enough to succeed as wall plants in any part of England, while a few are adapted only for particularly mild districts. Those plants marked with an asterisk are either half-hardy or require some slight protection in cold districts or special care in some cases. Abelia Celastrus Exochorda Abutilon Chimonanthus Exogonum Actinidia Choisya Forsythia Adlumia Clematis Fremontia Akebia Cocculus Fuchsia "Aloysia Clianthus Garrya Apios Convolvulus Grevillea Aristolochia Cotoneaster Hedera Azara Crataegus Illicium Berberis Cydonia Indigofera *Berberidopsis Desfontainea Jasminum Bignonia Eccremocarpus Kerria Buddleia Edwardsia *Lapageria Calystegia *Embothrium "Lardizabala Camellia Carpentaria Escallonia Eucryphia Leptospermum Lonicera Ceanothus Euonymus Lophospermum Lycium Magnolia *Mandevilla Maurandya Menispermum *Mitraria Muhlenbeckia Myrtus Paliurus *Passiflora Periploca Physianthus Piptanthus *Pittosporum Pueraria *Punica Rhus Ribes Rosea Rubus Schizandra Solanum Schizophragma Smilax *Sollya Stauntonia Stuartia *Thunbergia Tropaeolum Vitis (now including Ampelopsis) Wistaria Xanthoceras Akebia quinata CHAPTER X. ALPINE FLOWER- ROCK- AND WALL GARDENS. IT was a common idea that the exquisite flowers of alpine plants could not be grown in gardens in lowland regions, and it was not con- fined to the public, but propagated by writers whenever they have had to figure or describe alpine flowers. So far from its being true, how- ever, there are but few alpine flowers that ever cheered the traveller's eye that cannot be grown in these islands. Alpine plants grow naturally on high mountains, whether they spring from sub-tropical plains or green northern pastures. Above the cultivated land these flowers begin to occur on moorland and in the fringes of the hill woods ; they are seen in multitudes in the broad pastures with which many mountains are robed, enamelling their green, and where neither grass nor tall herbs exist ; where mountains are crumbled into slopes of shattered rock by the contend- ing forces of heat and cold ; even there, amidst the glaciers, they spring from the ruined ground, as if the earth-mother had sent up her loveliest children to plead with the spirits of destruction. Alpine plants fringe the fields of snow and ice of the mountains, and at such elevations often have scarcely time to flower before they are again buried deep in snow. Enormous areas of the earth, in- habited by alpine plants, are every year covered by a deep bed of snow and where tree or shrub cannot live from the intense cold, a THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. deep mass of down-like snow falls upon alpine plants, like a great cloud-borne quilt, under which they rest safe from alternations of frost and biting winds with moist and spring-like days as in our green winters. But these conditions are not always essential for their growth in a cool northern country like ours. The reason that alpine plants abound in high regions is because no taller vegetation can exist there ; were these places inhabited by trees and shrubs, we should find fewer alpine plants among them ; on the other hand, were no stronger vegetation found at a lower elevation, these plants would often there appear. Also, as there are few hard and fast lines in nature, many plants found on the high Alps are also met with in rocky or barish ground at much lower elevations. Gentiana erna, for example, often flowers very late in summer when the snow thaws on a very high mountain ; yet it is also found on much lower mountains, and occurs in England and Ireland. In the close struggle upon the plains and low tree-clad hills, the smaller species are often overrun by trees, trailers, bushes, and vigorous herbs, but, where in far northern and high mountain regions these fail from the earth, the lovely alpine flowers prevail. Alpine plants possess the charm of endless variety, and include things widely different : tiny orchids, tree-like moss, and ferns that peep from crevices of alpine cliffs, often so small that they seem to cling to the rocks for shelter, not daring to throw forth their fronds with airy grace ; bulbous plants, from Lilies to Bluebells ; evergreen shrubs, perfect in leaf and blossom and fruit, yet so small that a finger glass would make a house for them ; dwarfest creeping plants, spreading over the brows of rocks, draping them with lovely colour ; Rockfoils and Stonecrops no bigger than mosses, and, like them, mantling the earth with green carpets in winter, and embracing nearly every type of the plant-life of northern lands. In the culture of these plants, the first thing to be remembered is that much difference exists among them as regards size and vigour. We have, on the one hand, a number of plants that merely require to be sown or planted in the roughest way to flourish Arabis and Aubrietia, for example ; and, on the other, there are some kinds, like Gentians and the Primulas of the high Alps, which are rarely seen in good health in gardens and it is as to these that advice is chiefly required. And nearly all the misfortunes which these little plants have met with in our gardens are due to a false conception of what a rock-garden ought to be, and of what the alpine plant requires. It is too often thought that they will do best if merely raised on tiny heaps of stones and brick rubbish, such as we frequently see dignified with the name of " rockwork." Moun- ALPINE FLOWERS AND ROCK-GARDENS. 139 tains are often " bare," and cliffs devoid of soil ; but we must not suppose that the choice jewellery of plant-life scattered over the ribs of the mountain lives upon little more than the air and the melting snow. Where else can we find such a depth of stony soil as on the ridges of shattered stone and grit flanking some great glacier, stained with tufts of crimson Rockfoil? Can we gauge the depth of that chink from which peep tufts of the beautiful little Androsace helvetica, which for ages has gathered the crumbling grit, into which the roots enter so far that we cannot dig them out ? And if we find plants grow- ing from mere cracks without soil, even then the roots simply search farther into the heart of the flaky rock, so that they are safer from drought than on the level ground. We meet on the Alps plants not more than an inch high firmly rooted in crevices of slaty rock, and by knocking away the sides from bits of projecting rock, and laying the roots quite bare, we may find them radiating in all directions against a flat rock, some of the largest perhaps more than a yard long. Even smaller plants descend quite as deep, though it is rare to find the texture and position of the rock such as will admit of tracing them. It is true we occasionally find in fields of flat hard rock hollows in which moss and leaves have gathered, and where, in a depression of the surface, without an outlet of any kind, alpine plants grow freely ; but in droughts they are just as liable to suffer from want of water as they would be in our plains. On level or sloping spots of ground in the Alps the earth is of great depth, and, if it is not all earth in the common sense of the word, it is more suitable to the plants than what we commonly understand by that term. Stones of all sizes broken up with the soil, sand, and grit prevent evaporation ; the roots lap round them, follow them down, and in such positions they never suffer from want of moisture. It must be remembered that the continual degradation of the rocks effected by frost, snow, and heavy rains in summer serves to " earth up," so to speak, many alpine plants. In numbers of gardens an attempt at " rockwork " has been made ; but the result is often ridiculous, not because it is puny when com- pared with Nature's work, but because it is generally so arranged that rock-plants cannot exist upon it. The idea of rockwork first arose from a desire to imitate those natural croppings-out of rocks which are often half covered with dwarf mountain plants. The con- ditions which surround these are rarely taken into account by those who make rock-gardens. In moist districts, where rains keep porous stone in a humid state, this straight-sided rockwork may support a few plants, but in the larger portion of the British Isles it is useless and ugly. It is not alone because they love the mountain air 1 40 THE ENGLISH FL O WER GA RDEN. that the Gentians and such plants prefer it, but also because the great elevation is unsuitable to coarser vegetation, and the alpine plants have it all to themselves. Take a patch of Silene acaulis, by which the summits of some of our highest mountains are sheeted over, and plant it 2,000 feet lower down in suitable soil, keeping it moist and free from weeds, and it will grow well ; but leave it to Nature, and the strong herbs will soon cover it, excluding the light and killing it. Although hundreds of kinds of alpine flowers may be grown with- out a particle of rock near them, yet the slight elevation given by rocky banks is congenial to some of the rarest kinds. The effect of a well-made rock-garden is pretty in garden scenery. It furnishes a home for many native and other plants which may not safely be put in among tall flowers in borders ; and it is important that the most essential principles to be borne in mind when making it should be stated. The usual mistake is that of not providing a feeding-place for the roots of the plants. On ordinary rockwork even the coarsest British weeds cannot find a resting-place, because there is no body of soil for the roots to find nourishment sufficient to keep the plant fresh in all weathers. POSITION FOR THE ROCK-GARDEN. The rock-garden should never be near walls ; never very near a house ; never, if possible, within view of formal surroundings of any kind, and it should be in an open situation. No efforts should be spared to make all the surround- ings, and every point visible from the rock-garden, graceful and natural as they can be made. The part of the gardens around the rock-garden should be picturesque, if possible, and, in any case, be a quiet airy spot with as few jarring points as may be. No tree should be in the rock-garden ; hence a site should not be selected where it would be necessary to remove favourite trees. The roots of trees would find their way into the masses of good soil for the alpine flowers, and soon exhaust them. Besides, as these flowers are usually found on treeless wastes, it is best not to place them in shaded places. As regards the stone to be used, sandstone or millstone grit would perhaps be the best ; but it is seldom that a choice can be made, and almost any kind of stone will do, from Kentish rag to limestone : soft and slaty kinds and others liable to crumble away should be avoided, as also should magnesian limestone. The stone of the neighbourhood should be adopted, for economy's sake, if for no other reason. Wherever the natural rock crops out, it is sheer waste to create artificial rockwork instead of embellishing that which naturally occurs. In many cases nothing would be necessary but to clear the ground, and add here and there a few loads of good soil, ALPINE FLOWERS AND ROCK-GARDENS. 141 with broken stones to prevent evaporation, the natural crevices and crests being planted where possible. Cliffs or banks of chalk, as well as all kinds of rock, should be taken advantage of in this way : many plants, like the dwarf Harebells and Rock Roses, thrive in such places. No burrs, clinkers, vitrified matter, portions of old arches and pillars, broken-nosed statues, etc., should ever be seen in a garden of alpine flowers. Never let any part of the rock-garden appear as if it had been shot out of a cart. The rocks should all have their bases buried in the ground, and the seams should not be visible ; wherever a vertical or oblique seam occurs, it should be crammed with earth, and the plants put in with the earth will quickly hide the seam. Horizontal fissures should be avoided as much as possible. No vacuum should exist beneath the surface of the soil or surface-stones, and the broken stone and grit should be so disposed that there are no hollows. Myriads of alpine plants have been destroyed from the want of observing this pre- caution, the open crevices and loose soil allowing the dry air to destroy the alpine plants in a very short time, and so one often sees what was meant for a " rock-garden " covered with weeds and brambles, and forgotten ! In all cases where elevations of any kind are desired, the true way is to obtain them by a mass of soil suitable to the plants, putting a " rock " in here and there as the work proceeds; frequently it would be desirable to make these mounds of earth without any strata. The wrong and usual way is to get the elevation by piling up ugly masses of stones, vitrified bricks, and other rubbish. No very formal walk that is to say, no walk with regularly trimmed edges should come near the rock-garden. This need not prevent the presence of good walks through or near it, as by allowing the edges of the walk to be broken and stony, and by encourag- ing Stonecrops, Rockfoils, and other little plants to crawl into the Passage in rock-garden. Wrong way of forming rock-garden. Right. AJpine Plants growing at the bottom ot a sloping ridge. Alpine Plant on border surrounded by half-buried stones Corner of a ledge of natural rock with Alpine Plants. Steps from deep recess of Rock-garden, mossed over with Alpine Flowers. Ledge of Alpine Flowers (a Garden Sketch. ALPINE FLOWERS AND ROCK-GARDENS. 143 walk at will, a pretty margin will result. There is no surface of this kind that may not be thus adorned. Violets, Ferns, Forget-me- nots, will do in the shadier parts, and the Stonecrops and many others will thrive in the full sun. The whole of the surface of the alpine garden should be covered with plants as far as possible, except a few projecting points. In moist districts, Erinus and the Balearic Sand- wort will grow on the face of the rocks ; and even upright faces of rock will grow a variety of plants. Regular steps should never be in or near the rock-garden. Steps may be made quite picturesque, and even beautiful, with Violets and other small plants jutting from every crevice ; and no cement should be used. In cases where the simplest type of rock-garden only is attempted, and where there are no steps or rude walks in the rock-garden, the very fringes of the gravel walks may be graced by such plants as the dwarfer Stonecrops. The alpine Toadflax is never more beautiful than when self-sown in a gravel walk. A rock-garden so made that its miniature cliffs overhang is useless for alpine vegetation, and all but such wall-loving plants as Corydalis lutea soon die on it. The tendency to make it with overhanging " peaks " is often seen in the cement rock-gardens now common. SOIL. The great majority of alpine plants thrive best in deep soil. In it they can root deeply, and when once rooted they will not suffer from drought, from which they would quickly perish if planted in the usual way. Three feet deep is not too much for most kinds, and in nearly all cases it is a good plan to have plenty of broken sandstone or grit mixed with the soil. Any free loam, with plenty of sand and broken grit, will suit most alpine plants. But peat is required by some, as, for example, various small and brilliant rock- plants like the Menziesia, Trillium, Cypripedium, Spigelia, and a number of other mountain and bog-plants. Hence, though the body of the soil may be of loam, it is \vell to have a few masses of peat here and there. This is better than forming all the ground of good loam, and then digging holes for the reception of small masses of peat. The soil of some portions might also be chalky or calcareous, for the sake of plants that are known to thrive best on such formations, like the Milkworts, the Bee Orchis, and Rhododendron Chamaecistus. Any other varieties of soil required by particular kinds can be given as they are planted. It is not well to associate a small lakelet or pond with the rock- garden, as is frequently done. If a picturesque piece of water can be seen from the rock-garden, well and good ; but water should not, as a rule, be closely associated with it. Hence, in places of limited extent, water should not be thought of. In the planting of every kind of rock-garden, it should be 144 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. remembered that all the surface should be planted. Not alone on slopes, or favourable ledges, or chinks, should we see this exquisite plant-life, as many rare mountain species will thrive on the less trodden parts of footways ; others, like the two-flowered Violet, seem to thrive best in the fissures between steps ; many dwarf succulents delight in gravel and the hardest soil. In cultivating the very rarest and smallest alpine plants, the stony, or partially stony, surface is to be preferred. Full exposure is necessary for very minute plants, and stones are useful in preventing evaporation and protecting them in other ways. Few have much idea of the number of alpine plants that may be grown on fully exposed ordinary ground. But some kinds require care, and there are usually new kinds coming in, which, even Steps in a rock garden at Coneyhurst. if vigorous, should be kept apart for a time. Therefore, where the culture of alpine plants is entered into with zest, there ought to be a sort of nursery spot on which to grow the most delicate and rare kinds. It should be fully exposed, and sufficiently elevated to secure perfect drainage. ILL-FORMED ROCK GARDENS. The increased interest in rock gardening of recent years has led to much work of this kind being done throughout the country, and without good results from an artis- tic point of view. The rock gardens are not right in structure nor good for growing plants. If they were good for the life of plants one might pass over their other defects, but when made, as they often are, of cement, and even of natural stone so that the plants grow with great difficulty, owing chiefly to the stones overhanging so as to leave dry and dusty recesses, the result is bad. No doubt rocks do in nature often have such recesses, but they very often ALPINE FLOWERS AND ROCK-GARDENS. 145 come out of the ground in ways that the flowers and moss grow well on them. In the present state of the art of garden design, rock gardens are formed mainly by nurserymen ; these are not men who, as a rule, by the very nature of their business, can give much attention to the study of rocks in natural situations, or learn how the different strata crop out in the ways most happy for vegetation, without which study we think no good work in this way is possible. The work we see now is often done better than the ugly masses of scoria and various rubbish of the earlier " rock works," but it is still a very long way from what is artistic. Simplicity is rarely thought of, or of the rock coming out of the ground in any pretty way, of which we may see numerous examples in upland moors in England, even without going to the mountains or the Alps. On the contrary, we see pretentious rickety piles of stone on stone, with pebbles between to keep the big ones up, and forty stones where seven would be enough. A characteristic of these elaborate failures is a rocky depression, often an ugly one, in the ground. This is by no means the most likely thing in Nature to give the prettiest effects. If alpine and rock plants wanted shelter, we could see some meaning in these depres- sions, but the conditions that suit such plants are quite the opposite and a rock garden should be for the most part made on a fully exposed rocky knoll. The fact that such bad work is usual is, however, no proof that we cannot get nearer to the truth, and there is a good opening for one who would devote himself to going on the hills and seeing the ways in which rocks and flowers meet. He would not have to study only the more imposing aspects of that charming subject, but also the simpler ones, because in gardens in all that concerns the rocks we can get only simple effects, and on a small scale. One of the commonest mistakes is piling stone upon stone in such a way that there is no room for grouping anything. If one were to take five or six of the stones one sees in a rock garden, and simply lay them with the prettiest and most mossy sides showing out of the bank in the right kind of earth, one would get a better place for plants than a rock garden made, it may be, of hundreds of tons of stone could give, because then we should have room to group and mass them, without which no good effect is possible. The common " rockery," like the common mixed border, is an incoherent muddle, and can scarcely be anything else so long as the present plan is followed. The plants hate it, and in effect it is very like the rows of false teeth in the dentists' shops in St. Martin's-lane. We should seek gardens of alpine flowers, with here and there a mossy stone showing modestly among them not limiting one's efforts to L ALPINE FLOWERS AND ROCK-GARDENS. 147 any one idea, but beginning at least with simplicity of effect. Then groups and carpets of rock plants would be easy to form, and their culture would be easier in every way. REFUSE BRICK " ROCKERIES." Whoever started the idea of the use of the refuse of the brickyard to form the rock-garden was no friend of the garden, as alpine flowers do not thrive on masses of vitrified brick rubbish. And these brick rubbish horrors are put up with overhanging brows so that a drop of moisture cannot get to the plants, and a dry wind can sweep through them as easily as through a grill. If the practice were confined to cottages near brickfields it would not much astonish us ; but in Dulwich Park several thousand tons of it have been put about under the pretence of making rock- gardens, and also at Waterlow Park, Highgate, which was once a pretty and varied piece of ground. If the County Council waste money in this way, we cannot perhaps wonder so much at the owners of villas doing it, but in any case it is ugly and disgraceful in a garden, though we see it freely used in many large country gardens. No other ignoble materials should be seen in any rock garden, in which even stumps of trees are out of place. With some people any broken-nosed statue or other stony or vitrified rubbish is used in what should be the most beautiful and natural of all gardens the alpine garden. If we have not rock in its natural position, or cannot secure some pieces of natural rock to use even on a small scale, it is far better to grow the rock plants in simple ways, even on the level earth on which many of them thrive. It would be well to ask the cost of such a disfigurement in public and large gardens where it is done on as large a scale as this; the mere price of cartage would have made a model rock garden of natural stone. When these villainous banks of brick-yard refuse were first erected, anything more hideous in a public garden was not to be seen, but by piling on them common shrubs, evergreens, Tobacco, Stonecrops, China Asters, Begonias, Chrysanthemums, Beet- root, Heath, Elder, and higgledy-piggledy verdure of this nature, a sort of brick-rubbish salad was the result, and the effect of the brick is less seen. It is not only the ugliness of this in itself that is bad ; it is such an injustice to the gardener, who has to adorn at all seasons such structures, to expect him to get any good results from the kind of thing a Brentford cobbler who happens to live near a brickyard makes a little " rockwork " of in his garden. MISPLACED ARTIFICIAL ROCK. Artificial rock is formed now and then in districts where the natural rock is beautiful, as in the country round Tunbridge Wells. Though why anybody should bring the artificial rockmaker into a garden or park where there is already fine natural beautiful rock it is not easy to see. Also, in certain L 2 ALPINE FLOWERS AND ROCK-GARDENS. 149 districts, it is a mistake to place this artificial rock under conditions where rock of any kind does not occur in nature. It would be much better, as far as alpine and rock plants are concerned, to dispense with much of this ugly artificial rockwork, and take advantage of the fact that many of these plants grow perfectly well on raised borders and on fully exposed low banks. ALPINE PLANTS IN GROUPS. Many vigorous alpine flowers will do perfectly well on level ground in our cool climate, if they are not overrun by coarser plants. Where there are natural rocks or good artificial ones it is best to plant them properly ; but people who are particular would often be better without artificial " rockwork " if they wished to grow these plants in simpler ways. There is not the slightest occasion to have what is called "rockwork" for these flowers. I do not speak only of things like the beautiful Gentianella, which for many years has been grown in our gardens, but of the Rockfoils, the Stonecrops, and the true alpine plants in great numbers. Then, for the sake of securing the benefits of the refreshing rains, it would often be best, in the south of England at least, to avoid the dusty pockets hitherto built for rock flowers. In proof of what may be done in this way there is a little alpine garden, made in quite a level place in the worst possible soil for growing the plant, the hot Bagshot sand, where the soil is always fit for working after heavy rain, but in hot summer is almost like ashes. By making the soil rather deep, and by burying a few stones among the plants to prevent dryness, this flower, which naturally thrives in loamy soil, grew well, and the plan suits many alpine plants. The next point is the great superiority of natural grouping over the botanical or labelled style of little single specimens of a great number of plants. In a few yards of border, in the ordinary way, there would be fifty or more kinds, but nothing pretty for those who have ever seen the beautiful mountain gardens. Many rightly con- tend that, in a sense, Nature includes all, and that therefore the term " natural " may be misapplied, but is a perfectly just one when used in the sense of Nature's way of arranging flowers as opposed to the lines, circles, and other set patterns so commonly followed by man. Through bold and natural grouping we may get fine colour without a trace of formality. But most gardeners find it difficult to group in this natural way, because so used to setting things out in formal lines. But a little attention to natural objects will help us to get away from set patterns, and let things intermingle here and there and run into each other to form groups such as we may see among the rocks by alpine paths. After a little time the plants themselves begin to help us, and an excellent way is, if a num- ber of plants are set out too formally as in most cases they are to 150 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. pull up a number here and there replanting them on the outer fringes of the groups or elsewhere. WALL GARDENS. Those who have observed alpine plants must have noticed in what arid places many flourish, and what fine plants may spring from a chink in a boulder. They are often stunted and small in such crevices, but longer-lived than when growing upon the ground. Now, numbers of alpine plants perish if planted in the ordinary soil of our gardens from over-moisture and want of rest in winter. But if placed where their roots are dry in winter, they may be kept in health. Many plants from countries a little farther south than our own, and from alpine regions, will find on walls, rocks, and ruins that dwarf, sturdy growth which makes them at home in our climate. There are many alpine plants now cultivated with difficulty in frames that may be grown on walls with ease. The Cheddar Pink, for example, grows on walls at Oxford much better than I have ever known it do on rockwork or on level ground. A few seeds of this plant, sown in an earthy chink and covered with a dust of fine soil, soon grow, living for years on the wall and increasing. In garden formation, especially in sloping or diversified ground, what is .called a dry wall is often useful, and may answer the purpose of supporting a bank or dividing off a garden quite as well as ma- sonry. Where the stones can be got easily, men used to the work will often make gently " battered " walls which, while fulfilling their object in supporting banks, will make homes for many plants which would not live one winter on a level surface in the same place. In my Pansy on dry brick wall, own garden I built one such wall with large blocks of sandstone laid on their natural " bed," the front of the stones almost as rough as they come out, and chopped nearly level between, so that they lie firm and well. No mortar was used, and as each stone was laid slender rooted alpine and rock plants were placed along in lines between with a sprinkling of sand or fine earth enough to slightly cover the roots and aid them in getting through the stones to the back, where, as the wall was raised, the space behind it was packed with gritty earth. This the plants soon found out and rooted firmly in. Even on old walls made with mortar rock plants and small native ferns very often establish themselves, but the " dry " walls are more congenial to rock plants, and one may have any number of beautiful alpine plants in perfect health on them. ALPINE FLOWERS AND ROCK-GARDENS. One charm of this kind of wall garden is that little attention is required afterwards. Even on the best rock gardens things get over- run by others, and weeds come in ; but in a well-planted wall we may leave plants for years untouched beyond pulling out any interloping plant or weed that may happen to get in. So little soil, however, is put with the plants that there is little chance of weeds. If the stones were stuffed with much earth weeds would get in, and it is best to have the merest dusting of soil with the roots, so as not to separate the stones, but let each one rest firmly on the one beneath it. Androsace. Chaddlewood, Plympton. Among the things which do well in this way almost the whole of the beautiful rock and alpine flowers may be trusted, such things as Arabis, Aubrietia, and Iberis being among the easiest to grow ; but as these can be grown without walls it is hardly worth while to put them there, pretty as some of the newer forms of the Aubrietia are. Between these stones is the very place for mountain Pinks, which thrive better there than on level ground ; the dwarf alpine Harebells, while the alpine Wallflowers and creeping rock plants, like the Toad Flax (Linana), and the Spanish Erinus, are quite at home there. 152 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. The gentianella does very well on the cool sides of such walls, and we get a different result according to the aspect. All our little pretty wall ferns, now becoming so rare where hawkers abound, do perfectly on such rough walls, and the alpine Phloxes may be used, though they are not so much in need of the comfort of a wall as the European alpine plants, the Rocky Mountain dwarf Phloxes being very hardy and enduring in our gardens on level ground. The advantage of the wall is that we can grow things that would perish on level ground, owing to excitement of growth in winter, or other causes. The Rock- foils are charming on a wall, particularly the silvery kinds, and the little stone covering sandwort (A. balearica) will run everywhere over such a wall. Stonecrops and Houseleeks would do too, but are easily grown in any open spot of ground. In many cases the rare and somewhat delicate Alpines, if care be taken in planting, would do far better on such a wall than as they are usually cultivated. Plants like Thymes are quite free in such conditions, though it may be too free for the rare kinds ; also the Alpine Violas, and any such pretty rock creepers as the blue Bindweed of North Africa. There is in fact no limit to the beauty of rock and alpine flowers we may enjoy on the rough wall so often and most easily made about gardens in rocky and hilly districts, dressed or expensive stone not being needed. In my own garden there are three wholly different kinds of walls thick set with plants ; and the easiest way to the enjoyment of the most interesting and charming of the mountain flowers of the north is by the aid of walls. ALPINE AND ROCK-PLANTS FOR BRITISH GARDENS. Where the name of a large and varied family z's given, as in Phlox, Iris^ Rhododendron, Pentstemon, Salix, Antirrhinum, it is the alpine, or dwarf mountain kinds, that are meant. Acaena Chimaphila Globular! a Myosotis Sanguinaria Acantholimon Colchicum Helianthemum Narcissus Saponaria Achillea Cornus Helleborus Nertera Saxifraga Acis Coronilla Houstonia CEnothera Scilla ./Ethiqnema Crocus Hutchinsia Omphalodes Sedum Alyssum Cyclamen Hyacinthus Ononis Sempervivum Andromeda Cypripedium Iberis Onosma Senecio Androsace Daphne Iris Ophrys Silene Anemone Dianthus Isopyrum Orchis Smilacina Antennaria Anthyllis Diapensia Dodecatheon Jasione Leiophyllum Orobus Oxalis Soldanella Spigelia Aquilegia Draba Leontopodium Papaver Statice Arabis Dracocephalum Leucojum Parnassia Thalictrum Arenaria Dryas Linaria Petrocallis Thlaspi Armeria Epigaea Linnaea Phlox Thymus Asperula Erigeron Linum Polemonium Trientalis Astralagus Aubrietia Erinus Erodium Lithospermum Loiseleuria Polygala Potentilla Trillium Triteleia Bellis Erpetion Lychnis Primula Tulipa Bryanthus Erysimum Lycopodium Puschkinia Tunica Bulbocodium Erythronium Mazus Pyrola Vaccinium Calandrinia Galanthus Meconopsis Pyxidanthera Veronica Campanula Cardamine Gaultheria Genista Menziesia Mertensia Ranunculus Rhexia Vesicaria Viola Cerastium Gentiana Muscari Rhododendron Waldsteinia Cheiranthus Geranium Poet's Narcissus in the grass at Belmont, Ireland. From a photograph sent by Mr. J. H. Thomas. CHAPTER XL THE WILD GARDEN. O universal Mother, who dost keep From everlasting thy foundations deep, Eldest of things, Great Earth, I sing of thee. IN a rational system of flower-gardening one of the first things to do is to get a clear idea of the aim of the " Wild Garden." When I began to plead the cause of the innumerable hardy flowers against the few tender ones put out in a formal way, the answer sometimes was, " We cannot go back to the mixed border " that is to say> to the old way of arranging flowers in borders. Thinking, then, much of the vast world of plant beauty shut out of our gardens by the " system " then in vogue, I was led to consider the ways in which it might be brought into them, and of the " Wild Garden " as a home for numbers of beautiful hardy plants from other countries which might be naturalised, with very little trouble, in our gardens, fields, and woods a world of delightful plant beauty that we might make happy around us, in places bare or useless. I saw that we could grow thus not only flowers more lovely than those commonly seen in what is called the flower garden, but also many which, by any other plan, we should have little chance of seeing. The term " Wild Garden " is applied to the placing of perfectly 1 54 THE ENGLISH FL IV ER GA RDEN. hardy exotic plants in places where they will take care of themselves. It has nothing to do with the " wilderness," though it may be carried out in it. It does not necessarily mean the picturesque garden, for a garden may be picturesque and yet in every part the result of ceaseless care. What it does mean is best explained by the winter Aconite flowering under a grove of naked trees in February ; by the Snowflake abundant in meadows by the Thames ; and by the Apennine Anemone staining an English grove blue. Multiply these instances by adding many different plants and hardy climbers from countries as cold as our own, or colder, and one may get some idea of the wild garden. Some have thought of it as a garden allowed to run wild, or with annuals sown promiscuously, whereas it does not meddle with the flower garden proper at all. I wish the idea to be kept distinct from the various important phases of hardy plant growth in groups, beds, and borders, in which good culture may produce many happy effects ; from the rock-garden or borders reserved for choice hardy flowers ; from growing hardy plants of fine form ; from the ordinary type of spring garden. In the smaller class of gardens there may be little room for the wild garden, but in the larger gardens, where there is often ample room on the outer fringes of the lawn, in grove, park, copse, or by woodland walks or drives, new and beautiful effects may be created by its means. Among reasons for advocating this system are the following : i. Because many hardy flowers will thrive better in rough places than ever they did in the old border. Even small ones, like the Ivy-leaved Cyclamen, are naturalised and spread all over the mossy surface of woods. 2. Because, in consequence of plant, fern and flower and climber, grass, and trailing shrub, relieving each other, they will look infinitely better than in stiff gardens. 3. Because no ugly effects will result from decay and the swift passage of the seasons. In a semi- wild state the beauty of a species will show in flowering time ; and when out of bloom they will be succeeded by other kinds, or lost among the numerous objects around. 4. Because it will enable us to grow many plants that have never yet obtained a place in our " trim gardens" multitudes that are not showy enough to be considered worthy of a place in a garden. Among the plants often thought unfit for garden cultivation are a number like the coarser American Asters and Golden Rods, which overrun the choicer border-flowers when planted among them. Such plants would be quite at home in neglected places, where their blossoms might be seen in due season. To these might be added plants like the winter Heliotrope, and many others, which, while interesting in the garden, are apt to spread so rapidly as to become a nuisance. 5. Because in this way we may settle the question of spring flowers, and the spring garden, as well THE WILD GARDEN. 155 as that of hardy flowers generally ; and many parts of the grounds may be made alive with spring flowers, without in the least interfering with the flower garden itself. The blue stars of the Apennine Anemone will be seen to greater advantage when in half-shady places, under Jtrees, or in the meadow grass, than in any flower garden, and this is but one of many of sweet spring flowers that will succeed in like ways. Group of Mullein, near Scotch Firs, in Surrey Heath. Narcissi in the Wild Garden. Perhaps an example or two of what has already been done with Daffodils and Snowdrops may serve to show the way, and explain the gains of the wild garden, and there is no more charming flower to begin with than the Narcissus, which, while fair in form as any Orchid or Lily of the tropics, is as much at home in our climate as the Kingcups in the marsh and the Primroses in the wood. And when the wild Narcissus comes with these, in the woods and orchards of Northern France and Southern England it 156 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. has also for companions the Violet and the Cowslip, hardiest children of the north, blooming in and near the still leafless woods. And this fact should lead us to see that it is not only a garden flower we have here, but one which may give glorious beauty to our woods and fields and meadows as well as to the pleasure grounds. In our country in a great many places there is plenty of room to grow them in other ways than in the garden proper, and this is not merely in country seats, but in orchards and cool meadows. To chance growth in such places we owe it already that many Narcissi or Daffodils which were lost to gardens, in the period when hardy plants were wholly set aside for bedding plants, have been preserved to us, at first probably in many cases thrown out with the garden refuse. In many places in Ireland and the west of England Narcissi lost to gardens have been found in old orchards and meadows. There is scarcely a garden in the kingdom that is not disfigured by vain attempts to grow trees, shrubs, and flowers that are not really hardy, and it would often be much wiser to devote attention to things that are absolutely hardy in our country, like most Narcissi to which the hardest winters make no difference, and, besides, we know from their distribution in Nature how fearless they are in this respect. Three months after our native kind has flowered in the weald of Sussex and in the woods or orchards of Normandy, many of its allies are beneath the snow in the mountain valleys of Europe, waiting till the summer sun melts the deep snow. On a high plateau in Auvergne I saw many acres in full bloom on July 16, 1894, and these high plateaux are much colder than our own country generally. Soils that are cool and stiff and not favourable to a great variety of plants suit Narcissi perfectly. On the cool mountain marshes and pastures, where the snow lies deep, the plant has abundance of moisture one reason why it succeeds better in our cool soils. In any case it does so, and it is mostly on dry light soils that Narcissi fail to succeed. Light, sandy or chalky soils in the south of England are useless, and Narcissus culture on a large scale should not be attempted on such soils. We must not court failure, and however freely in some soils Narcissi grow in turf, there is no law clearer than that all plants will not grow in any one soil, and it is a mercy, too, for if all soils were alike, we should find gardens far more monotonous than they are now. Gardening is an art dealing with living things, and we cannot place these with as little thought as those who arrange shells, or coins, or plates. At the same time we may be mistaken as to failures which now and then arise from other causes than the soil. I planted years ago some Bayonne Daffodils on the northern slope of a poor field, and thought the plants had perished, as so little was seen of them after the first year. Despairing of the slope, it was planted Narcissus in turf at Warley Place. [58 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. with Alder, a tree that grows in any cool soil. Years afterwards,, walking one day through the Alder, I found the Bayonne Daffodil in- perfect bloom. The roots had doubtless been weak and taken time to recover. Ten years ago I planted many thousands of Narcissi in the grass, never doubting that I should succeed with them, but not expecting I should succeed nearly so well. They have thriven admirably,, bloomed well and regularly ; the flowers are large and handsome, and in most cases have not diminished in size. In open rich, heavy bottoms, along hedgerows, banks, in quiet open loamy fields, in every position they have been tried. They are delightful seen near at hand,, and also effective in the picture. The leaves ripen, disappear before mowing time, and do not in any way interfere with the farming. The harrowing and rolling of the fields in the spring hurt the leaves a little, but the plants are free from this near wood walks, by grass walks and open copses and lawns which abound in so many English country places. As to the kinds we may naturalise with advantage, they are almost without limit, but generally it is better to take the great groups of Star Narcissi, the Poet's, and the wild Daffodil, of which there are so many handsome varieties. We can be sure that these are hardy in our soils ; and, moreover, as we have to do this kind of work in a bold and rather unsparing way, we must deal with kinds that are easiest to purchase. There is hardly any limit except the one of rarity, and we must for the most part put our rare kinds in good garden ground till they increase, though we have to count with. the fact that in some cases Narcissi that will not thrive in a garden will do so in the grass of a meadow or orchard. The fine distant effect of Narcissi in groups in the grass should not be forgotten. It is distinct from their effect in gardens, and it is most charming to see them reflect, as it were, the glory of the spring sun. It is not only their effect near at hand that charms us, but as we walk about we may see them in the distance in varying lights, sometimes through and beyond the leafless woods or copses. And there is nothing we have to fear in this charming work save the common sin overdoing. To scatter Narcissi equally over the grass everywhere is to destroy all chance of repose, of relief, and of seeing them in the ways in which they often arrange themselves. It is almost as easy to plant in pretty ways as in ugly ways if we take the trouble to think of it. There are hints to be gathered in the way wild plants arrange themselves, and even in the sky. Often a small cloud passing in the sky will give a very good form for a group, and be instructive even in being closer and more solid towards its centre, as groups of Narcissi in the grass should often be. The regular i6o THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. garden way of setting things out is very necessary in the garden, but it will not do at all if we are to get the pictures we can get from Narcissi in the turf, and it is always well to keep open turf here and there among the groups, and in a lawn or a meadow we should leave a large breadth quite free of flowers. SNOWDROPS NATURALISED. The illustration is from a photo- graph taken by Mr. John McLeish at Straffan, Co. Kildare, and from it one may gain a glimpse of the pretty and natural way in which these flowers have grouped themselves on the greensward beneath the red-twigged Limes and on the soft and mossy lawns. Originally no doubt the Snowdrops were planted, but they have seeded themselves so long that they are now thoroughly naturalised, and one of the sights to see at Straffan Gardens is the Snowdrops at their best under the leafless trees. The common single and double forms are still the best for grouping in quantity and for naturalisation everywhere. There are finer varieties, but none grow and increase so well in our gardens as do these northern kinds. The best of the eastern Snow- drops are very bold and beautiful, they are unsurpassed for vigour of leafage and size of bloom if carefully cultivated, but they do not grow and increase on the grass as do G. nivalis and all its forms. For solid green leafage and size and substance of flower, G. Ikariae when well grown is, as I believe, the finest of all Snowdrops, but it is from Asia Minor, and does not really love our soil and climate, nor is it likely to naturalise itself with us as G. nivalis has done. The best of all the really hardy and truly northern Snowdrops is a fine form of G. nivalis, leaning to the broad-leaved or G. caucasicus group, which was found in the Crimea in 1856 and introduced from the Tchernaya valley to Straffan. It is called G. nivalis grandis, or the Straffan Snowdrop, or G. caucasicus var. grandis, and to see it at its best is a great pleasure. It is really a tall, vigorous-habited, and free-flowering form of the wild Snowdrop (G. nivalis) as found in the Crimea. The flowers are very large and pure in colour, and being borne on stalks a foot or more in length they bunch better than do those of the common type. G. plicatus is also from the Crimea, but is, as I have said, quite different, having much broader plicate leaves and smaller flowers. Snowdrops generally like deep, moist soils and half shade, as their flowers wither and brown quickly on dry, light soils in full sunshine. In damp woods, copses, and hedgerows they seem most at home, and, like Narcissi and many other early-flowering bulbs, they rather enjoy flooding or occasional irrigation after root and top growth have begun. At Straffan the lawn lies low down near the river Liffey, and it is sometimes submerged for a day or two after the snow melts in early spring or after heavy rains, From May until September, however, the bulbs are dry among the tree roots with the dense canopy of Lime THE WILD GARDEN. 161 leafage overhead, as are also the roots of the sky-blue Apennine Anemone that bear them company. We are beginning to perceive that, as a broad rule, some bulbous plants enjoy growing amongst the roots of other plants, or of trees and shrubs, or in the grass of lawn or meadow. The wild Daffodil and Bluebells do this as well as the Snowdrop, and those who have tried to dig up bulbs of any kind abroad with a knife or even with a botanical trowel, will remember how tightly wedged they frequently are in roots of various kinds, or jammed tightly in both roots and stones. F. W. B. How TO PLANT. I usually plant Narcissi in grass by turning back the sod, making two cuts with the spade at right angles, and then pressing up and back the sod, laying it back on a hinge, as it were, putting in a few bulbs, mostly round the sides of the hole, turn- ing the sod back and treading firmly upon it. The question is largely one of convenience and the ground one has to plant. If one could improve the subsoil it would be better for some soils, no doubt, but if the work is done in a bold way and there is much other planting going on, it is not easy to get time to plant things in the grass with care. Sometimes in breaking new ground or carrying out changes one gets a chance of throwing in some bulbs before the surface is levelled up. Once in planting Grape Hyacinths in an uneven grassy slope they were placed on the turf in the hollows and then levelled up with earth, and both grass and bulbs soon came through. Once some bullocks passed an evening where they " didn't ought to " in a grassy enclosure near the house, and their footmarks suggested a group of the Apennine Windflower, and a few of its roots were put in and the holes filled up. A wily man will see odd ways now and then of getting bulbs or seeds in. When the men are making sod banks for the only true field fence a live one is a very good time to put in Sweet Briars in the bank. In certain soils seeds may be sown be- times seeds of Foxglove, Evening Primrose, and stout biennials. Fragile bulbs will want more care and less depth than the bolder Narcissi. Many ways are good, though far more important than any way of planting is thought as to the wants of the thing we plant, not only as to soil, but association with the things that will grow about it in grass, in hedgerows and rough places, for plants are not all garot- ters like the great Japanese Knotworts and the big Moon Daisies ; and little ducks must not be left among barn rats or we may not see them again. All planting in the grass should be in natural groups or prettily fringed colonies, growing to and fro as they like after planting. Lessons in this grouping are to be had in the woods, copses, heaths, and meadows, by those who look about them as they go. At first many will find it difficult to get out of formal masses, but they may M 1 62 THE ENGLISH FL WER GA RDEN. be got over by studying natural groupings of wild flowers. Once established, the plants soon begin to group themselves in pretty ways. The Secret of the Soil. In the cultivation of hardy plants and especially in wild gardening the important thing is to find out what things really do in the soil, without which much good way cannot be made. Many people make errors in planting things that are notoriously tender in our country and very often fail in consequence ; but apart from such risky planting perfectly hardy plants may disappear owing to some dislike of the soil. They flower feebly at first and afterwards gradually wane in spite of all our efforts. I have made attempts to establish spring Snowflakes in grass, none of which suc- ceeded, owing to the cool soil, yet one of the Snowflakes in the Thames Valley grows with the vigour of a wild plant. I have put thousands of Snowdrops in places where I could hardly see a flower a few years later, yet in some places it establishes itself in friable soil by streamlets and in many other situations. So it is with the Crocus. I find it difficult to naturalise, taking but slowly and gradually diminishing, and yet I have seen it in places cover the ground. The Narcissus, which is so free and enduring in cool damp soil does little good on warm, light or chalky soil. What will do or will not do is often a question of experience, but the point is when we see a thing doing well to take the hint. People often complain of the texture of the grass as a cause of failure, yet I have thousands of the Tenby Daffodil for ten years in rich and rank masses of Cocksfoot and other coarse grasses in coverts never mown or the old grass taken away at any time, and the Narcissus gets better year by year. So it is a question of finding out the thing the soil will grow, and we shall perhaps only arrive at that knowledge after various discouragements. Some things are so omnivorous in their appetites that they will grow anywhere, but some, the more beautiful races of bulbous and other early flowers, will only thrive and stay with us where they like the soil. It should be clearly seen therefore that what may be done with any :good result in the wild garden cannot be determined beforehand, but must depend on the nature of the soil and other circumstances which 'Can be known only to those who study the ground. Flowers beneath Trees. Where the branches of trees, both ever- green and summer-leafing, sweep the turf in pleasure-grounds many pretty spring-flowering bulbs may be naturalised beneath the branches, and will thrive without attention. It is chiefly in the case of deciduous trees that this can be done ; but even in the case of Conifers and Evergreens some graceful objects may be dotted beneath the outer- most points of their lower branches. We know that a great number of our spring flowers and hardy bulbs mature their foliage and go THE WILD GARDEN. 163 to rest early in the year. In spring they require light and sun, which they obtain abundantly under the summer-leafing tree ; they have time to flower and grow under it before the foliage of the tree appears ; then, as the summer heats approach, they are overshadowed, and go to rest ; but the leaves of the tree once fallen, they soon begin to reappear and cover the ground with beauty. Some Plants for the Wild Garden. The following are the chief families of plants that may be used in the wild garden. Where families are named which are British as well as natives of the Continent of Europe, as in the case of, say, Scilla, the foreign kinds are meant. In considering what may be done in naturalising plants in a given position, it may be well to cast the eye over the families available. Success will depend on how the plants are chosen to go in any one position, but about country seats soils are so much varied that it is not easy to generalise. Acanthus Crane's-bill Honesty Narcissus Snapdragon Aconite, Winter Crocus Honeysuckle Omphalodes Snowdrop Asphodel Cyclamen Houseleek Ox-eye Daisy Snowflake Aubrietia Daffodil Iris Paeony Solomon's Seal Barrenwort Day Lily Knotwort Pea, Everlasting Star of Bethlehem Bee Balm Dog's tooth Violet Lavender Periwinkle Starwort Bellflower Ferns, Hardy Leopard 's-bane Phlox Stonecrop Bindweed Forget-me-not Lily Plantain Lily Sun Rose Blood Root Foxglove Lily-of-the-valley Pond-flower Sun flower (Peren- Borage French Willow Loosestrife Poppy nial) Broom Giant Fennel Lungwort Primrose, Evening Thyme Christmas Rose Giant Scabious Lupine Rest Harrow Tulip Clematis Globe Flower Mallow Rocket Viola Columbine Globe Thistle Meadow Rue Rose, wild kinds Virginian Creeper Comfrey Golden Rod Meadow Saffron St. Bruno's Lily Virginian Poke Compass Plant Grape Hyacinth Meadow Sweet St. John's Wort Wallflower Cornflower Heath Mimulus Sandwort Water Lily Coronilla Heliotrope, Winter Monk's hood Scabious Windflower Cotton Thistle Hepatica Mountain Avens Scilla Wistaria Cow Parsnip Holly, Sea Mullein Snake's head Wood Lily M 2 Wreath of old Wistaria, Efford Manor. CHAPTER XII. SPRING GARDENS. I have seen foreign flowers in hothouses of the most beautiful nature, but I do not care a straw for them. The simple flowers of our spring are what I want to see again." JOHN KEATS (Letter to James Rice). IN our islands, swept by the winds of iceless seas, spring wakes early in the year, when the plains of the north and the mountains of the south and centre are cold in snow. In our green springs the flowers of northern and alpine countries open long before they do in their native homes ; hence the artistic error of any system of flower- gardening which leaves out the myriad flowers of spring. It is no longer a question of gardens being bare of the right plants ; nurseries and gardens where there are many good plants are not rare, but to make effective use of these much thought is seldom given. Gardens are often rich in plants but poor in beauty, many being stuffed with things, but in ugly effect. If we are to make good use of our spring garden flora we should avoid much annual culture, though it is not well to get rid of it altogether, as many plants depend for their beauty on rich ground and frequent cultivation. But many grow well without these, and the most delightful spring gardens can only be where we grow many spring blooming things that demand no annual care, from Globe-flowers to Hawthorns. A common kind of "spring gardening" consists of "bedding out " Forget-me-nots, Pansies, Daisies, Catchflies, and Hyacinths ; but this way is only one of many, and the meanest, most costly, and inartistic It began when we had few good spring flowers, now we SPRING GARDENS. 165 have many ; and hence this chapter must deal with other and better ways. The fashion of leaving beds of Roses and choice shrubs bare of all but one subject should be given up. The half-bare Rose and choice shrub beds should be a home for the prettiest spring flowers Pansies, Violets, early Irises, Daffodils, Scillas, and many other dwarf plants in colonies between the Roses or shrubs. Double Primroses are happy and flower well in such beds. The slight shade such plants receive in summer from the other tenants of the bed assists them. Where Rhododendrons are planted in an " open way (and these precious bushes never ought to be jammed together), a spring garden of another kind may be made, as the peat-loving plants (and there are many fair ones among them) will be quite at home there. The White Wood Lily of the American woods (Trillium), the Virginian Lungwort, the Canadian Bloodroot (Sanguinaria), the various Dog's- tooth Violets, double Primroses, and many early-flowering bulbous plants enjoy the partial shade and shelter and the soil of the beds for " American " shrubs. In the kitchen garden, in its usual free and rich soil, simple beds of favourite spring flowers, such as Polyanthuses, Bunch Primroses in their coloured forms, self-coloured Auriculas, and Pansies of various kinds, are a good way of enjoying such plants, and more easily managed than the " bedding out " of spring flowers. That may follow the fashion of the hour, and with such plants as Forget-me-nots, Daisies, Silene, Pansy, Violet, Hyacinth, Anemone, and Tulip showy effects may be formed ; but without any of these pattern beds under the windows, fair gardens of spring flowers may be made in every place, and the problem of the design for the few set beds of the " spring parterre " will not be so serious a matter as in the past, there being so many aids in other ways, as we shall see. ROCK AND ALPINE PLANTS. There are so many hardy plants among these that flower in spring (many alpine plants blooming as soon as the snow goes), that there is not room to name them all in an essay devoted to the more effective groups and their best garden use. We must omit any detailed notice of plants like Adonis, Cyclamen, Draba, Erodium, and the smaller Rockfoils and Stonecrops, Dicentra, Fumaria, Orobus, Ramondia, Silene, and many other flowers of the rocks and hills, which though beautiful individually do not tell so well in the picture as many here named. ROCK CRESSES AND WALLFLOWERS. Among rock plants the first place belongs to certain mountain plants of the northern world, which, in our country, come into bloom before the early shrubs and trees, and among the first bold plants to cheer us in spring are those of the Wallflower order the yellow Alyssum, effective and easy to 1 66 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. grow, the white Arabis, even more grown in northern France than in England (it well deserves to be spread about in sheets and effective groups), and the beautiful purple Rock Cresses (Aubrietia), lovely plants of the mountains of Greece and the countries near, which have developed a number of varieties even more beautiful in colour than the wild kinds. Nothing for gardens can be more precious than these plants, the long spring bloom being effective in almost every kind of flower gardening banks, walls, edgings, borders of evergreen, rock plants, or carpets beneath sparsely set shrubs. The white ever- green Candytufts are also effective plants in clear sheets for borders, edgings to beds, tops of walls, and the rougher flanks of the rock garden. These are among the plants that have been set out in hard lines in flower gardens, but it is easy to have better effects from them in groups, and even in broken lines and masses, or as carpets beneath bushes, thus giving softer and more beautiful, if less definite, effects. Happy always on castle wall and rocks, the Wallflower is most wel- come in the garden, where, on warm soils and in genial climates, it does well, but hard winters injure it often in cold and inland districts, and it is almost like a tender plant in such conditions. Yet it must ever be one of the flowers best worth growing in sheltered and warm gardens ; and even in cold places one may have a few under the eaves of cottages and on dry south borders. It is where large masses of it are grouped in the open and are stricken as the greens of the garden are stricken in cold winters, that we have to regret having given it labour and a place which might have been better devoted to things hardy everywhere. The various old double Wallflowers are somewhat tender too and rarely seen in good character, save in favoured soils,, which is all the more reason for making the most of them where the soil and air favour them. Certain allies of the Wallflower, moun- tain plants for the most part, such as the alpine Wallflower, also give good effects where well done and grouped on dry banks or warm borders. THE WlNDFLOWERS are a noble group among the most beautiful of the northern and eastern flowers, some being easily naturalised (like the blue Italian and Greek Anemones), while the showy Poppy Anemones are easily grown where the soils are light and warm, and in genial warm districts ; but they require some care on certain soils, and are among the plants we must cultivate and even protect on cold soils in hard winters. The same is true of the brilliant Asiatic Ranunculus and all its varied forms Persian, Turkish, and French, as they may be called, all forms of one wild North African buttercup, unhappily too tender to endure our winters in the open air, but they should be abundantly grown on the warm limestone and other soils which suit them, as about our coasts 168 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. and in Ireland. There is no more effective way of growing these than in simple 4-foot beds in the kitchen or reserve garden. The Wood Anemone is so often seen in the woods that there is rarely need to grow it ; but some of its varieties are essential, most beautiful being A. Robinsoniana, a flower of lovely blue colour, and a distinct gain in the spring garden grown in almost any way. The Hepatica is a lovely little Anemone where the soil is free, though slow in some soils, and where it grows well all its varieties should be encouraged, in borders and margins of beds of American bushes as well as in the rock garden. The Snowdrop Windflower (A. sylvestris) is most graceful in bud and bloom, but a little capricious, and not blooming well on all soils, unlike in this way our Wood Windflowers, which are as constant as the Kingcups. The Pasque-flower is lovely on the chalk downs and fields of Normandy and parts of England in spring, but never quite so pretty in a garden. It would be worth naturalising in chalky fields and woods or banks. COLUMBINE, MARSH MARIGOLD, CLEMATIS, LENTEN ROSE, AND GLOBE-FLOWER. Columbines are very beautiful in the early part of the year, and if we had nothing but the common kind (Aquilegia vulgaris) and its forms, they would be precious ; but there are many others which thrive in free soils, some of which are very graceful in form and charming in colour. The Kingcup or Marsh Mangold, so fine in wet meadows and by the riverside, should be brought into gardens wherever there is water, as it is a most effective plant when well grown, and there are several forms, double and single. The Clematis, the larger kinds, are mostly for the summer, but some (C. montana, C. alpina, C. cirrhosa) are at their best in the spring ; they should be made abundant use of on house walls and over banks, trees and shrubs. The Winter Aconite (earliest of spring flowers) naturalises itself in some soils, but on others dwindles and dies out, and it should not be grown in the garden, but in shrubberies, copses, or woods where the soil suits it. Some kinds of hardy Ranunculus, the herbaceous double kinds, are good in colour, and in bold groups pretty ; but taller and bolder and finer in effect are the Globe- flowers, easily naturalised in moist, grassy places or by water, and also free and telling among stout herbaceous plants. The most distinct addition to the spring garden of recent years is the Oriental Hellebore in its many beautiful varieties, of which some have been raised in gardens. They are handsome and stately plants, with large flowers, often delicately marked. With the usual amount of garden shelter and fairly good soil they grow bold and free, and have a stately habit and fine foliage, as well as beautiful flowers excellent for cutting. They are most effective, sturdy, impres- sive plants for opening the flower year with, often blooming abun- SPRING GARDENS. 169 dantly at the dawn of spring, and have the essential merit of not requiring annual culture, tufts remaining in vigour in the same spot for many years. DOG'S-TOOTH VIOLETS, SNOWDROP, SNOWFLAKE, CROCUS, SCILLA, FRITILLARY, AND HYACINTH. The European Dog's-tooth Violet is pretty in 'the budding grass, where it is free in growth and bloom. The Fritillary is one of the most welcome flowers for grass, and is best in moist meadows ; the rarer kinds do well in good garden soil, those with pale yellow bells being beautiful. Every plant such as these, which we can so easily grow at home in grassy places, makes our cares about the spring garden so much the less, and allows of keeping all the precious beds of the flower garden itself for the plants that require some care and rich soil always. The Hyacinth, which is often set in such stiff masses in our public gardens, gives prettier effects more naturally grouped, but it is not nearly so important for the open air as many flowers more easy to grow and better in effect, though some of the more slender wild species, like H. amethystinus, are beautiful and deserve a good place. The Snowdrop is of even greater value of late years, owing to new forms of it, some of which have been brought from Asia Minor and others raised in gardens. In some soils it is quite free and becomes easily naturalised, in others it dwindles away, and the same is true of the vernal Snowflake (Leucojum vernum), a beautiful plant. The larger Snowflakes are more free in ordinary soils, and easily naturalised in river bank soil. The Crocus, the most brilliant of spring flowers, does not always lend itself to growing naturally in every soil, but on some it is quite at home, especially those of a chalky nature, and will naturalise itself under trees, while in many garden soils it is delightful for edgings and in many ways. To the Scilla we owe much, from the wild plant of our woods to the vivid Siberian kind ; some kinds are essential in the garden, and some, like the Spanish Scilla (S. campanulata), may be naturalised in free soils. Allies of these lovely early flowers have come of recent years to our gardens the beautiful Chionodoxa from Asia Minor, of about the same stature and effect as the prettiest of the Scillas, and some of them even more precious for colour. These are among the plants which may be planted with best results in bold groups on the surface of beds planted with permanent flowers, such as Roses where Rose beds are not surfaced with manure, as all Rose-growers unwisely advise. IRIS, GRAPE HYACINTH, NARCISSUS, AND TULIP. In warm soils some of the more beautiful of the flowers of spring are the early Irises, but in gardens generally the most beautiful of Irises come in late spring with the German Iris, which is so free and hardy THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. throughout our country. Orchid-houses themselves cannot give any such array as these when in bloom, and they are often deserving of a little garden to themselves, where there is room for it, while they are useful in many ways in borders and as groups. About the same time come the precious Spanish Iris in many colours, lovely as Orchids, and very easily grown, and the English Iris. The Grape Hyacinths are pretty and early plants of Southern Europe, beautiful in colour. They increase rapidly, and some kinds do very well in the grass in free and peaty soils ; but the rarer ones are best on warm borders and groups in the rock garden. The Narcissus is worth growing in every way the rarer kinds in prepared borders or beds and the many that are plentiful in almost any cool soil in the grass. In our country, where there are so many cool and rich soils allowing of the Narcissus being naturalised and grown admirably in many ways, it is, perhaps, on the whole, the most precious of all our spring flowers. But the Tulip is the most gorgeous in colour of all the flowers of spring, and for its effectiveness is better worthy of special culture than most indeed, the florists' kinds and the various rare garden Tulips must be well grown to show their full size and beauty. Replanting now and then is almost essential with a Tulip garden if we are to keep the bulbs free from disease ; the wood Tulip and certain wild species may be naturalised, and in that state are as beautiful, if not so large, as the cultivated bulbs. The Tulip deserves a far better place among spring flowers than it has ever had, as, apart from the two great groups of early and late Tulips hitherto cultivated in European gardens, a number of handsome wild kinds are being introduced from Central Asia and other countries, many of them having early flowers of great beauty and fine colour, and if they will only take kindly to our climate the Tulip garden will soon leave all hot-house brilliancy a long way in the rear. P^EONY, POPPY AND LUPIN. Paeonies are nobly effective in many ways. Where single or other kinds are plentiful they may be well used as broad groups in new plantations, among shrubs and low trees, and as to the choice double kinds, no plants better deserve a little garden or border to themselves, while the tree kinds make superb groups on the lawn and are safer from frost on high ground. The great scarlet Poppies are showy in spring, and best grown among trees and in the wild garden, and with them may be named the Welsh Poppy, a very effective plant in spring as well as summer, and often sowing itself in all sorts of places. The various garden forms of the opium Poppy and of the field Poppy, both double and single, are very showy where any space is given to annual flowers. The common perennial Lupin is a very showy, pretty plant grown in a free way in groups and masses, and may sometimes be SPRING GARDENS. 171 naturalised, and, associated with Poppies and free-growing Columbines in the wild garden, it is very effective. PRIMROSE, TULIP, COWSLIP, POLYANTHUS AND AURICULA. The Yulan (Magnolia conspicua) at Gunnersbury House. Primroses are a lovely host for the garden, especially the garden varieties of the common Primrose, Cowslip, and Oxlip. Few things t72 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. deserve a better place, or are more worthy of good culture in visible groups and colonies or rich garden borders. Apart from the lovely races of garden forms raised from the Primrose, the Cowslip, and the Oxlip, and also the Alpine Auriculas, double Primroses should not be forgotten, as in all moist districts and in peaty and free soil they give such tender and beautiful colour in groups, borders, or slightly shaded among dwarf shrubs. Primroses and Polyanthus of native origin, are well backed up by the beautiful Indian Primrose (Primula rosea), which thrives apace in cool soils in the north of England and in Scotland, and which, when grown in bold groups, is very good in effect, as are the purplish Indian Primroses under like conditions. ROCKFOIL, GENTIAN, AND ALPINE PHLOX. The large- leaved Indian Rockfoils (Saxifraga) are in many soils very easily grown, and they are showy spring flowers in bold groups, especially some of the improved varieties. Although it is only in places where there is rocky ground or large rock gardens that one can get the beauty of the smaller Mountain Rockfoils (Saxifraga), we cannot omit to notice their beauty both the white, yellow, and crimson- flowered kind when seen in masses. The same may be said of Gentians ; beautiful as they are in the mountains, few gardens have positions where we can get their fine effect, always excepting the old Gentianella (G. acaulis), which in old Scotch and English gardens used to make such handsome broad edgings, and which is easily grown in a cool soil, and gives, perhaps, the noblest effect of blue flowers that one can enjoy in our latitudes in spring. The tall Phloxes are plants of the summer, but there is a group of American dwarf alpine Phloxes of the mountains which are among the hardiest and most cheery flowers of spring, thriving on any dry banks and in the drier parts of rock gardens, forming mossy edgings in the flower garden, and breaking into a foam of flowers early in spring. PANSIES. The Viola family is most precious, not only in the many forms of the sweet Violet, which will always deserve garden cultivation, but in the numerous varieties of the Pansy, which flower so effectively in the spring. The best of all, perhaps, for artistic use are the Tufted Pansies, which are delightfully simple in colour white, pale blue, or lavender, and various other delicate shades. Almost perennial in character, they can be increased and kept true, and they give us distinct and delicate colour in masses as wide as we wish, instead of the old " variegated " effect of Pansies. Though the separate flowers of these were often handsome, the effect of the Tufted Pansies with their pure and delicate colours is more valuable, and these also, while pretty in groups and patches, will, where there is space, often be worth growing in little nursery beds. FORGET-ME-NOTS are among the most welcome flowers of spring. SPRING GARDENS. 173 Before the common and most beautiful of all the marsh Forget-me- not comes, there are the wood Forget-me-not (M. sylvatica) and M. dissitiflora and M. alpestris, all precious early flowers. Allied to the ever- welcome Forget-me-not is the common Omphalodes, or creeping Forget-me-not, valuable for its freedom in growth in half shady or Rhododendron garden, Bidston, Cheshire. rough places in almost any soil one of the most precious of the early flowers which take care of themselves if we take a little trouble to put them in likely places. Among ANNUAL FLOWERS that bloom in spring where the soil is favour- able, excellent results are often obtained by sowing Sweet Peas in Autumn. Where this is done, and they escape the winter, they give 174 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. welcome hedges of flowers in the early year. So, too, the Cornflower, a lovely spring flower, and perhaps the finest blue we have among annual plants ; but to have it good and early it should be always sown in Autumn, and for effect it should be in broad masses, some- times among shrubs or in recently broken ground which we desire to cover. Some of the Californian annuals are handsome and vigorous when sown in autumn, always provided they escape the winter. The White Godetia is very fine in this way. In all chalky, sandy, and warm soils the Stocks for spring bloom are handsome and fragrant, but it is a waste of time to attempt to grow them on cold soils. It would be taking too narrow a view to omit from our thoughts of spring gardens the many t beautiful flowering. SHRUBS AND TREES THAT BLOOM IN SPRING, as some of the finest effects come from the early trees and shrubs. Among the most stately are the Chestnuts, particularly the red kinds, fine in all stages, but especially when old. The snowy Mespilus is a hardy, low-sized tree, blooming regularly, and well deserves a place in the pleasure garden or the fringes of shrubberies. The Almonds, more than any shrubs, perhaps, in our country and in France, light up the earliest days of Spring, and, like most southern trees, are best in warm valley soils, growing more slowly in cool heavy soils. They should be in groups to tell in the home landscape. The double Peaches are lovely in France, but as yet rarely so with us, owing, perhaps, to some defect of the stock used. Perhaps of all the hardy shrubs ever brought to our country the Azaleas are the most precious for effect. They are mostly wild on the mountains of America, and many forms have been raised in gardens which are of the highest value. Many places do not as yet show the great beauty of the different groups of hardy Azalea, particularly the late kinds raised of recent years. A neglected tree with us is the Judas-tree, which is very handsome in groups, as it ought always to be grown, and not as a starved single tree. The various double Cherries are noble flower- ing trees, being showy as well as delicate in bloom, and the Japanese kinds do quite as well as the old French and English double Cherries, though the trees are apt to perish from grafting. The American Fringe-tree (Chionanthus) is pretty, but some American flowering trees do not ripen their wood well enough in England generally to give us the handsome effects seen in their own country. Hawthorns are a host in themselves ; those of our own country make natural spring gardens of hills and rocky places, and should teach us to give a place to the many other species to be found in the mountains of Europe and America, which vary the bloom and prolong the season of early-flowering trees. There are many varieties of our native hawthorn red, pink, double, and weeping. The old Laburnum has SPAING GARDENS. 175 for many years been a joy with its golden rain, and of late we are doubly well off with improved forms, with long chains of golden flowers. These will become noble flowering trees as they get old ; hence the importance of grouping Laburnum trees to get the varieties together. Among the early charms in the spring garden are the slender wands of the Forsythia, hardy Chinese bushes, pale yellow, delightful in effect when grown in picturesque ways ; effective also on walls or grouped in the open air on banks. Another plant of refined beauty, but too little planted, is the Snowdrop-tree (Halesia). Unlike other American trees, it ripens its wood in our country, and often flowers well. The Mountain Laurel of America (Kalmia) is one of the most beautiful things ever brought to our country, and as a late spring flower is precious, thriving both in the open and in half shady places. BROOM AND FURZE. There is no more showy plant or one more beautiful in effect in masses than the common Broom and all its allies that are hardy enough, even the little Spanish Furze giving fine colour. The common Broom should be encouraged on bluffs and sandy or gravelly places, so as to save us the trouble of growing it in gardens, for in effect there is nothing better. The same may be said of the Furze, which is such a beautiful plant in England and the coast regions of France, and the double Furze deserves to be massed in the garden in picturesque groups. In country seats, especially those commanding views, its value in the foreground is very great, and it is so easily raised from seed that fine effects are very easily secured, though it may be cut down now and then in hard winters. RHODODENDRON AND MAGNOLIA. The glory of spring in our pleasure grounds is the Rhododendrons ; but they are so over- mastering in their effect on people's minds that very often they lead to neglect of other things. It would be difficult to overrate their charms ; but even amongst them we require to discriminate, and avoid the too early and tender kinds. Many of the kinds raised from R. ponticum and the Indian Rhododendron, while they thrive in mild districts in the south of England and West of France, near the sea, are not hardy in the country generally. Some of these tender hybrids certainly flower early, but we get little good from that. The essential thing, when we give space to a hardy shrub, is that we should get its bloom in perfection, and therefore we should choose the broad - leaved hardy kinds, which are mostly raised from the very hardy North American R. catawbiense, and be a little particular in grouping the prettiest colours, never using a grafted plant. For many years the Yulan Magnolia has, when well grown, been one of the finest trees in English southern gardens, and nothing is more effective than the Lily- 1 76 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. tree in gardens like Syon and others in the Thames valley ; while of late years we have seen precious additions to this, the noblest family of flowering trees. Some of these, like M. stellata, have proved to be valuable ; all are worth a trial, and, as to the kinds we are sure of, the great thing is to group them. Even in the case of the common Lily- tree (M. Yulan) it makes a great difference whether there are four or five trees or one. Amongst the most beautiful of the smaller alpine bushes ever brought to our country is the alpine forest Heath, which is cheery and bright for weeks in spring. It is one of the plants that never fails us,. and only requires to be grown in bold ways to be effective- in groups and masses fully exposed to the sun. Other Heaths, like the Medi- terranean Heath, are also beautiful in some favoured parts of the country, but not so hardy generally as the little alpine forest Heath, which has the greatest endurance and most perfect hardiness, as becomes a native of the Alps of Europe. Pyrus japonica, a handsome old shrub often planted on cottage garden walls, may in many soils be used with good effect in groups and hedges. The evergreen Barberries in various forms are beautiful early shrubs, with soft yellow flowers, and excellent when grouped in some quantity. Two very important families are the Deutzias and Syringas which are varied and beautiful, mostly in white masses. They should never be buried in the common shrubbery, but grouped in good masses of each family. The flowering Currant (Ribes) of the mountains of N.W. America is in all its forms a very cheery and early bush, which tells well in the home landscape if rightly placed ; but perhaps the most welcome and important of all early trees and shrubs is the Lilac which in Britain is often grown in a few kinds only, when there are many in France. Beautiful in almost any position, Lilacs are most effective when planted together, so as to enjoy the full sun to ripen their wood ; the danger of thick planting can be avoided by putting Irises or other hardy flowers over the ground between the shrubs,, which should never be crowded. CRAB BLOOM. Apart from the many orchard trees grown for their fruit, we have in our own day to welcome some of their allies lovely in flower, if often poor in fruit. Our country has never been without some of this kind of beauty, as the Crab itself is as handsome a flowering tree as are many of the Apples which are descended from it in all the countries in Europe, from Russia to Spain, and in our gardens there were for many years the old Chinese double Pyrus, a handsome tree which became popular, and the American Crab, which never became so. But of late years we have been enriched by the Japan Crab, a lovely tree for some weeks in spring and other handsome kinds including Parkman's Crab, which comes to us under SPRING GARDENS. i?7 more than one name, and a red form of the Japanese flowering Crab before mentioned. All these trees are as hardy as our native Crab, and differ much in colour and sometimes also in form. It is difficult to describe how much beauty they give where well grown and well placed ; they are not the kind of things we lose owing to change of fashion, and in planting them it is well to put them in groups where they will tell. Apart from these more or less wild species there are numbers of hybrid Crabs raised between the Siberian and some com- mon Apples in America and in our country that are beautiful also in flower, and remarkable too for beauty of fruit, so that a beautiful grove of flowering trees might be formed of Crabs alone. With these many fine things, and the various Honeysuckles, we are carried bravely down to the time of Rose and Lily summer flowers, though Roses often come on warm walls in spring. SPRING FLOWERS IN SUN AND SHADE AND NORTH AND SOUTH ASPECTS. It is worth while thinking of the difference in the bloom- ing of spring flowers in various aspects, as differences in that way will often give us a longer season of bloom of some of our most precious things. Daffodils do better in half shade than in full sunshine, and Scillas and other bulbs are like the Daffodils in liking half shady spots ; so also Crown Imperials, which, like the Scillas, bleach badly if fully exposed to the sun. We may see the Wood Hyacinth pass out of bloom on the southern slopes of a hill, and in fresh and fair bloom on its northern slopes. Flowering shrubs, creepers on walls, and all early plants are influenced in the same way. Such facts may be taken advantage of in many ways, especially with the nobler flowers that we make much use of. If different aspects are worth securing for hardy flowers generally, they are doubly so for those of the spring, when we often have storms of snow and sleet that may destroy an early bloom. If fortunate enough to have the same plant on the north side of the hill or wall, we have still a chance of a second bloom, and a difference of two or three weeks in the blooming of a plant. Let all who love the early flowers look at this list, not of the kinds of spring flowers (which are innumerable), but of the families ; some of these, such as Narcissus and Rockfoil, comprise many species of lovely flowers, and the story of these, too, is the story of the spring : THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. Some Spring and Early Summer Flowers Hardy in English Gardens. Adonis Alyssum Androsace Anemone Aquilegia Arabis Arenaria Armeria Asperula Asphpdelus Aubrietia Bellis Caltha Centaurae Clematis Convallaria Crocus Cyclamen Dentaria Dianthus Dicentra Dodecatheon Doronicum Draba Epimedium Eranthis Erinus Erodium Erythronium Ficaria Fritillaria Fumaria Galanthus Geum Gypsophila Helleborus Hepatica Hesperis Hyacinthus Iberis Iris Leucojum Linum Lychnis Meconopsis Muscat i Myosotis Narcissus Omphalodes Ornithogalum Orobus Paeonia Papaver Phlox Polemonium Potentilla Primula Pulmonaria Ramondia Ranunculus Sanguinaria Sappnaria Saxifraga Scilla Sedum Silene Trillium Triteleia Trollius Tulipa Uvularia Veronica Vinca Viola Spring-flowering Trees and Shrubs. jEsculus Amelanchier Amygdalus Andromeda Azalea Berberis Cerasus Cercis Crataegus Cydonia Cytisus Daphne Deutzia Erica Exochorda Forsythia Genista Halesia Kerria Laburnum Lonicera Magnolia Mahonia Malus Mespilus Philadelphus Prunus P>TUS Rhododendron Ribes Spartium Spiraea Styrax Syringa Tamarix Ulex Viburnum Weigela Wistaria Climbing Rose on cottage porch, Surrey. THE SUMMER GARDEN BEAUTIFUL CHAPTER XIII. THE NEW ROSE GARDEN. WHATEVER may be thought of the reasoning in this chapter, of one fact there can be no doubt, namely, that the nobler flowers have been rejected as unfit for the flower garden in our own day, and first among them the Rose. Since the time when people went in for patterned colour many flowers were set aside, like the Rose, the Carnation, and the Lily, that did not lend themselves to flat colour ; and thus we see ugly, bare, and at the same time costly gardens round country houses ; and therefore I begin the summer garden with the Rose, too long left out of her right place, and put in the background. There is great loss to the flower-garden from the usual way of growing the Rose as a thing apart, and its absence at present from the majority of flower gardens. It is surprising to see how poor and hard many places are to which the beauty of the Rose might add delight, and the only compensation for all this blank is what is called the rosery, which in large places is% often an ugly thing with plants that usually only blossom for a few weeks in summer. This idea of the Rose garden arose when we had a much smaller number of Roses, and a greater number of these were kinds that flowered in summer mainly. The old standard Rose had something to do with this separate growth of Roses, it being laid down in the books that N 2 i So THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. the standards did not " associate " with other shrubs, and so it came about that all the standards grafted were placed in the rosery and there held up their buds to the frost ! The nomenclature, too, in use among Rose-growers by which Roses that flower the shortest time were given the name of Hybrid Perpetuals has had some- thing to do with the absence of the Rose from the flower garden. Shows, too, have had a bad effect on the Rose in the garden, where it is many times more important than as a show flower. The whole aim of the man who shows Roses, and who is too often followed as a leader, was to get a certain number of large flowers grown on the Dog Rose, Manetti, or any stock which enabled him to get this at the least cost ; so, if we go to any Rose-showing friend, we shall probably find his plants for show grown in the kitchen garden with a deep bed of manure on the surface of the beds, and as pretty as so many broomsticks. This idea of the Rose as a show flower leads to the cultivation of Roses that have not a high value as garden flowers, and Roses that do not open their flowers well in our country in the open air, and are not really worth growing, are grown because they happen to produce flowers now and then that look well on a show bench. So altogether the influence of the shows has been against the Rose as a garden flower, and a cause why large gardens are, in the flower garden, quite bare of the grace of the queen of flowers. THE ROSE NOT A "DECORATIVE" PLANT! It is instructive to study the influence of rose books upon the Rose as well as that of the Rose exhibitions, as they brought about an idea that the Rose was not a "decorative" plant in the language of recent days. In these books it was laid down that the Rose did not associate properly with other flowers, and it was therefore better to put it in a place by itself, and, though this % false idea had less influence in the cottage garden, it did harm in all large gardens. In a recent book on the Rose, by Mr. Foster-Melliar, we read : I look upon the plant in most cases only as a means whereby I may obtain glorious Roses. I do not consider the Rose pre-eminent as a decorative plant ; several simpler flowers, much less beautiful in themselves, have, to my mind, greater value for general effect in the garden, and even the blooms are, I imagine, more difficult to arrange in water for artistic decoration than lighter, simpler, and less noble flowers. It must be remembered that the Rose is not like a bedding plant, which will keep up continual masses of colour throughout the summer, but that the flush of flowers is not for more than a month at most, after which many sorts, even of the Teas will be off bloom for a while, and the general effect will be spoiled. This is not a statement peculiar to the author as he is only em- bodying here the practice and views of the Rose exhibitors which most THE NEW ROSE GARDEN. 181 unfortunately ruled the practice of gardeners, and it is very natural many should take the prize-takers as a guide. There was some reason in the older practice, because until recent years the roses most grown were summer flowering, that is to say, like our wild roses, they had a fixed and short time of bloom, which usually did not last more than a few weeks ; but in our days, and within the last fifty years, there have been raised mainly by crossing with the Bengal Rose and some others a number of beautiful Roses, which flower for much longer periods. There are, for example, the monthly Roses and the lovely Tea Roses, which also come in some way from the Indian Rose, and which, when well grown, will flower throughout the whole summer and autumn ; not every kind, perhaps, but in a collection of the best there is scarcely a week in which we have not a variety of beautiful flowers. So that, while our forefathers might have been excused for taking the view that Roses are only fit to plant in a place apart, there is no need for the modern grower to do so, who is not tied to the show bench as his one ideal and aim, and nothing could be more untrue and harmful than this ideal from a garden point of view. THE ROSE TO COME BACK TO THE FLOWER GARDEN. The Rose is not only " decorative " but is the queen of all decorative plants, not in one sort of position or garden, but in many not in one race or sort, but in many, from Anna Olivier, Edith Gifford, and Tea Roses of that noble type in the heart of the choicest flower- garden, to the wild Rose that tosses its long arms from the hedgerows in the rich soils of midland England, and the climbing Roses in their many forms, from the somewhat tender Banksian Rose to climbing Roses of British origin. And fine as the old climbing Roses were, we have now a far nobler race finer indeed than one ever expected to see of climbing teas which, ; n addition to the highest beauty, have the great quality of flowering, like Bouquet d'Or, throughout the fine summer and late into the autumn. Of these there are various climb- ing Roses that open well on walls, and give meadows of beauty, the like of which no other plant whatever gives in our country. See, too, the monthly Roses in cottage gardens in the west and cool coast country, beautiful through the summer and far into the cool autumn, and consider the fine China Roses, such as Laurette Messimy, raised in our own day, all decorative in the highest sense of that poor word. The outcome of it all is that the Rose must go back to the flower garden its true place, not only for its own sake, but to save the garden from ugliness and hardness, and give it fragrance and dignity of leaf and flower. The idea that we cannot have prolonged bloom Irom Roses is not true, because the finer monthly and Tea Roses 1 82 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. flower longer than any bedding plants, even without the advantage of fresh soil every year which bedding plants enjoy. I have Roses growing in the same places for seven years, which have the fine quality of blooming in autumn, and even into winter. And they must come back not only in beds, but in the old ways over bower and trellis and as bushes where they are hardy enough to stand our winters, so as to break up flat surfaces, and give us light and shade where all is usually so level and hard. But the Rose must not come back in ugly ways, in Roses stuck and mostly starving on the tops of sticks or standards, or set in raw beds of manure, and pruned hard and set thin so as to develop large blooms ; but, as the bloom is beautiful in all stages and sizes, Roses should be seen closely massed, feathering to the ground, the queen of the flower garden in all ways. The Rose is not only a " decorative " plant of the highest order, but no other plant grown in European gardens in any way ap- proaches it in this quality. The practice of exhibitors of any kind is of slight value from the point of view of beauty of the garden, and not always of the very flower itself, as we see in the case of the Dahlia. Thirty years ago the florists, like the late Mr. Glenny, who had the law in their own hands as regards the Dahlia, would have knocked a man on the head who had the audacity to dissent from their lumpy standard of beauty. It was really a standard of ugliness as so many of these " florists' ' rules are. Then came the Cactus Dahlias, of free and distinct form, and the single Dahlias, and now we see proof in cottage gardens even that the Dahlia is a nobler thing by a long way than the old florist's idea of it. And so we shall find with the Rose, that, brought back to its true place in the flower garden, it will be a lovelier thing than ever it has been on the show bench, seen set in the finely coloured and graceful foliage of the " Teas," and with their many buds and charming variations as to flower and bud, from week to week, until the first days of winter. THE STANDARD ROSE. A taking novelty at first, few things have had a worse influence on gardening than the Standard Rose in all forms. Grown throughout Europe and Britain by millions, it is seen usually in a wretched state, and yet there is something about it which prevents us seeing its bad effect in the garden, and its evil influence on the cultivation of the Rose, for we now and then ..see a fine and even a picturesque Standard, when the Rose suits the stock it is grafted on, and the soil suits each ; but this does not happen often. The term grafting is used here to describe any modes of growing a Rose on any stock or kind, as the English use of the term budding, as distinct from grafting, is needless, budding being only one of the many forms of grafting. There is no reason why THE NEW ROSE GARDEN. 183 those who like the form of the Standard should not have them if they can but get them healthy and long-lived ; but in that case they should train hardy and vigorous Roses to form their own stems. While of the evil effect of the Standard Rose any one may judge in the suburbs of every town, its other defects are not so clear to all, such as the exposure high in the air to winter's cold of varieties Climbing cluster Rose at Belmont. more or less delicate. On the tops of their ugly stick supports they perish by thousands even in nurseries in the south of England (as in Kent). If these same varieties were on their own roots, even if the severest winter killed the shoots, the root would be quite safe, and the shoots come up again as fresh as ever ; so that the frost would only prune our Rose bushes instead of killing them and leaving 1 84 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. us a few dead sticks from the Dog Rose. Even if " worked " low on the " collar " of the stock, grafted Roses have a chance of rooting and keeping out of the way of frost, which they never have when stuck high in the air. Then there is the fact of certain Roses dis- liking stocks, or certainly some stocks, as all buyers of Roses may see certain varieties always " growing backwards " so to say, and soon dying. This happens even where the first year's growth and flower are all we could desire. The question for the seller is how his stocks look the year of sale no doubt, but the buyer should see whether his Roses improve or not after the first year, and it is certain that many varieties do go back when " worked " as the term is. Another element of uncertainty is the kind of stock used. Even if the propagator knows the right stock for the sort he may not for some reason use it, as many have found to their cost who have bought Tea Roses grafted on the Manetti stock a stock that in any case has no merit beyond giving a few large blooms for a show the first year. And in many cases it paralyses all growth in the kind grafted on it. There is a way to solve the question as to any kinds we are really interested in say Gloire Lyonnaise, Princess Marie d'Orleans and Bouquet d'Or, or any other hardy and good Roses we fancy, old or new. It is easy to try a few of each kind in the same soil in the natural way on own roots, and also grafted on the wild Dog Rose or any other stock that may be recommended for a given variety, using the " worked " kinds both as Standards and half Standards or dwarfs as may be preferred. The first care should be to get plants on own roots about as strong as those worked, and it is not difficult to do this with a little patience, as some gardeners and even cottagers strike Roses from cuttings very successfully. But no trial would be of any use which did not go over the first year or two, because of the dread phase of the grafting humbug above alluded to, that the things are grown to sell, and although they look well when they come to us, after a year or two they perish, and we are as much in want of Roses as ever. This may look very " good for trade," but any practice which leads to the vexation and disappointment of the grower is not good for trade, as many people give the Rose up as hopeless on their soil when they get a poor result. If we go into the Rose garden of the Luxembourg at Paris or any of the regular roseries in England, we shall find more than half the plants in a sickly, flowerless state. So sickly are the bushes, or what remains of them, that it is common to see a rosery without any Roses worth picking after the first flush of bloom is past, and this is a great waste of time and temper. When we think of the number of beautiful things which this has to do with to their harm : the THE NEW ROSE GARDEN. 185 flowers fairest of all in form, colour, and odour, from the more beau- tiful tea-scented Roses raised in our own days to the oldest Roses the Moss and Provence Roses these, too, being often seen in a Rose La Marque on south wall, July, miserable state in the rosery, though by nature vigorous and quite hardy, there is surely some reason for looking into ways of Rose growing that have led to this end. Even where the Rose thrives as a Standard, on deep, good loamy i86 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. soils, there would be other things of interest to determine length of bloom and endurance of the grafted plant, as compared with plants on their own roots my own view being that own root plants generally would give the most continuous and finest bloom in the end, good cultivation and soil being understood in each case, and that in hot seasons, of which we have had severe examples of late years, the own root plants are far the best. THE MANETTI STOCK. Often I have reason to wish that Signor Manetti of Naples had never been born or given his name to the wretched Rose stock that bears it, as among my blighted hopes is a wall of Marechal Kiel Rose, the plants on which have remained " as they were " at first for the last five years ; but this year beside one of them is in bloom the poor Manetti Rose, on which the Marechal was grafted, and, as the Tea Rose will not grow, the Manetti begins to take its place. In some soils and conditions, the Manetti may give some apparent advantages for the first year in making the plant grow rapidly, and perhaps giving one or two flowers to be cut off for a show, but afterwards it is all the other way ; the Rose fails on it, and Tea Roses do not grow on it at all. It is quite distinct in nature from them, and nurserymen who use the Manetti for Tea Roses do no good to their own art or to gardens. People ordering Tea Roses should be careful to order them never to be sent on Manetti stock. But even if they do so they may be disappointed, as the large growers have often to buy from others and so send out Tea Roses on the Manetti stock, an absolutely sure way to prevent the Roses growing or ever showing their extraordinary beauty. Why do trade-growers do this sort of thing to the injury of their own art and the loss to the buyer who supports them ? Unfortunately routine takes hold of every business and has taken deep hold of this to its real injury. Roses are not only propagated by the trade for the garden, but also for forcing, for sale, and for showing ; and it is the quickest way to make a presentable growth that is taken. In various cases the plant is only wanted for one year, as when florists want to get strong blooms and throw the plants away afterwards. In this case the life of the plant does not matter, but to the private grower the result could not be worse. ROSES AND MANURE. In most gardens where people pay any attention to Roses the ground in which they grow is in winter densely coated with manure, often raw and ugly to see in a flower-garden perhaps under the windows of the best rooms of the house. This is the regulation way of catalogues and books, but it is needless and impossible in a beautiful Rose garden. Most of our garden Roses being grafted on the Dog Rose of our hedgerows, which does best in the heavy, cool loams of the midlands, if we want the THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. ordinary grafted garden Rose to do well we must give it not less than 30 inches in depth of like soil. This is often of a rich nature, and it is very easy to add, in putting the soil in, all the manure which the Rose may want for some years, so that the surface of the bed might be planted with light-rooting rock and like plants, one of the prettiest ways being to surface it with Pansies and Violets. I have beds of Tea Roses over which the Irish mossy Rockfoil has been growing for years without the roses suffering. Beautiful groups of mossy plants of all sorts, or pretty little evergreen alpine plants associated with the earliest flowers, show that the surface of the Rose garden itself might be a charming garden of another kind, and not a manure heap. In the old way of having what is called a " rosery " it did not matter so much about covering the surface with manure, but where we put our Rose beds in the centre of the very choicest flower garden or under the windows of the house it is a very ugly practice. The Rose can be nourished for six or eight years without adding any manure to the surface, and after six, eight, or ten years most beds will probably require some change, or we may change our view as regards them. If we free our minds from the incubus of these usual teachings and practices, many beautiful things may be done with Roses for garden adornment. What is wanted mainly is that the very finest Roses, and above all long-blooming ones like Monthly Roses and such Tea Roses as George Nabonnand, Marie Van Houtte, and Anna Olivier, should be brought into the flower garden in bold masses and groups to give variety and prolonged bloom, using the choicest Tea Roses in the flower beds, with wreaths of yellow climbing Roses swinging in the air, and on walls, especially the climbing Tea Roses. Perhaps it may be worth while, to encourage others, to tell the story of MY ROSE GARDEN, as a record of a trial that succeeded may be of more use to the beginner. My idea was to get the best of the Roses into the flower garden instead of bedding plants or coarse perennials, to show at the same time the error of the common ways of growing Roses, and also the stupidity of the current idea that you cannot near the house (and in what in the needless verbiage of the day is called the " formal " garden) set flowers out in picturesque and beautiful ways. Another point was to help to get the flower garden more permanently planted instead of the eternal ups and downs of the beds in spring and autumn and the ugly bareness of the earth at these seasons, and to see if one could not make a step towards the beautiful permanent planting of beds near the house and always in view. Tea Roses only were used for the sake of their great freedom of bloom, and these were all planted in large groups, so that one might judge of their effect and character much better than by the usual way THE NEW ROSE GARDEN. 189 of mixed ineffective planting of one kind in a place. The success of the plan was remarkable both for length of bloom and beauty of flower and foliage, variety of kind and charming range of colour, and also curious and unlocked for variety in each kind. That is to say, each Tea Rose varied as the' weather varied, and the days passed on : the buds of Anna Olivier in Tune were not the same as the buds of the same rose in September, and all kinds showing ceaseless changes in the beauty of bud or bloom from week to week. No STANDARDS. It was easy to abolish the standard as hopeless and diseased in many cases and ugly in effect, but not so easy to get out of the way of grafting on something else, which is the routine in nurseries, and here I had to follow the usual way of getting all the Tea Roses grafted on the common Dog Rose, but always getting the plants " worked " low either on the base of the stock or on the root, so that it is easy in planting to cover the union of the stock with the more precious thing which is grafted on to it, and so protect the often somewhat delicate kind from intense cold. There is also a chance in this way of letting the plant so grafted free itself by rooting above the union. If we plant firmly in the earth, slightly inclining it to one side, and scrape a little off the lower part of the stems of the Rose, we may encourage the rose to root itself above the stock, and in any case we escape the ravages of frost. Certainly it is so in my garden in a cool and upland district. For ten years or so, of the many kinds we have planted we have had no losses from cold. The Tea Roses were often cut down by the frost, but they came up again, often vigorously ; some kinds undoubtedly go back or fail, but not, I think, because of cold, but rather through not liking the stock. Making all our beautiful and often tender roses grow on one wild stock only may have bad effects, just as grafting all the precious Rhododendrons on the wretched R. ponticum has bad effects. Some kinds flower, do well for a year or two, and then rapidly diminish in size and beauty ; some are very vigorous the first year but die off wholly in the second. The Wild Rose stock has the power to push the Rose into great growth the first year, and then, owing to the stock and graft being of a wholly different origin and nature, there is a conflict in the flows of the sap, and death quickly ensues. There has been such a number of beautiful Tea Roses raised and lost that it is worth while inquiring if we have not lost many of them from this cause. Some Roses that grew freely did not open their buds in our country, and others broke away into small heads and* buds which made them useless. However, out of the thousands planted some kinds did admirably, and quite enough of them to make a true garden of Roses, lasting in beauty throughout the summer and autumn. 190 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. PREPARATION OF THE ROSE BEDS. Knowing that we had to face the fact of all the Roses being grafted on the Dog Rose it was important to give them a deep, cool loam, and the beds in most cases were dug out to a depth of thirty inches below the surface. Although a somewhat rocky and impervious bottom no drainage was used, no liquid manure was ever given, and no water even in the hot summers. The beds were filled with the cool heavy loam of our best fields, mixed with the old dark soil of the beds and raised gently above the surface, say, to an average height of not less than 6 inches, so that there was about 3 feet of good rich soil. And this Summer Roses on cottage wall (Surrey). preparation was sufficient for years, the beds being in some cases quite vigorous after six and seven years' growth. ROSE BEDS AND ALPINE FLOWERS. Instead of mulching the beds in the usual way, and always vexing the surface with attentions I thought dirty and needless, we covered them with Pansies, Violets, Stonecrops, Rockfoils, Thymes, and any little rock-plants to spare. Carpeting these rose beds with life and beauty was half the battle. Every one asks us how we mulch. Well, we do not mulch except with these living plants, many of which are so fragile in their roots that they cannot have much effect in a bed of 3 feet of moist,. THE NEW ROSE GARDEN. good soil. So that instead of the bare earth in hot days, the flower shadows are thrown on to soft carpets of green Rockfoil and Thyme, or any other fragile rock or mountain plant that we think worth growing for its own sake also. It may even be that these " mossy "" plants prevent the great drying out of the soil in hot summers and autumns, such as we have had of recent years. SHELTER. The position was not at all protected in the direction of the prevailing winds, or by walls in any way, so that little was owing to the natural advantages of site The first thing that occurred to people on seeing the Roses was that they were due to some peculiar merit of the climate or the soil ; but the same things were carried out in several gardens formed by me in quite different soils and districts Shrubland Park, and Hawley, in Hants, for instance and the results were equally good in every case, in some cases better than in my own garden. It is very likely that working in the same way all should be able to grow Tea Roses that is, the best of all Roses on many warm soils which are supposed to be useless to- grow Roses now. There is a limit no doubt as to how far north one would get these Roses to open, but over a large area of the country now roseless for half the summer, and in some dry soils with few or no roses at all, we could make a change towards a real Rose- garden. All who have hot and warm soils should enrich them as much as possible, but in view of the failure of the Rose in the brier they should never try any Standard Tea Roses, but grow these on their own roots or grafted low, and the point of the graft buried in the soil so as to allow of the plant rooting itself in a soil which it may be able to enjoy perfectly well without the aid of a horrid and corrupting " middle man " in the shape of a Dog Rose, longing all the time for its home in the clay. CLIMBING ROSES. In the sketch of Rose pillars taken by Miss Willmott in her garden at Warley Place, we see some of the grace of the Rose treated as a climber, in the flower garden. There are a great number of Roses that lend themselves to this, the old climbing Roses being now backed up by a splendid series of long-blooming climbing Tea Roses which are more valuable still, and much in want of planting in simple ways to break up the level of gardens and the chessboard appearance they usually have. Wreaths and gar- lands of this sort were very much more frequent before everything was cleared away for the flatness and hardness of bedding out, and this way of treating Roses ought to be practised more than ever. They should be trained abundantly over well-formed pergolas, covered ways, trellises, and fences. In countries a little warmer than ours we see what can be done with Roses as noble climbers ; in Algeria, and in Madeira, the climbing Tea Roses running up trees in the loveliest 1 92 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. bloom, all of the finest sorts, seeming as free as the Monthly Rose is in the West of England. In our country we have to face hard winters, but we have many Roses which will stand the test of our hardest, and there is little difficulty in getting good effects from the Rose as a bold climber, and better than anything else able to break up the hardness and monotony too visible in flower-gardens. " OVER PRUNING CLIMBING ROSES. The way the unpruned Rose behaves is this : the plant, as soon as fairly established in a good soil, throws up plenty of strong shoots, and the following year these shoots break their buds freely along the stem, and each branch produces a mass of bloom, which, after a shower, weighs the branch almost down to the ground. They are often best let alone when among shrubs or in groups on the lawn, and it is the climbing Roses that show what the Rose is capable of when cultivated in this free and natural manner. One of my best rose bushes is an old double white Ayrshire Rose growing in a shrubbery for more than thirty years sending out a shoot of white flowers sometimes on this side, and sometimes on that side of the clump of bushes, and sometimes scrambling up to the tops of the tallest branches, and draping them with blossoms throughout June and July. Some time ago I measured the ground covered by the plant and found it rather over 70 feet in circumference. It is growing in a deep dry loam, and this, together with head room, seems to be all it requires. There are far too few examples of this kind, for our efforts have not been in the direction of showing what could be done with the Rose as a tree or bush. The common Dog Rose teaches us a lesson in pruning and climbing. It forms a mighty mound of branches, the older stems dying down as the young ones grow till a large bush is formed, covered with flowers, and they are never the less for the absence of all pruning ! " Climbing and strong-growing Roses make handsome bushes in a few years on pleasure-ground lawns. I have seen bushes of this kind twenty years old in which the wood had accumulated about 2 feet or more deep, and yet nowhere was any dead wood to be seen, owing to the plants throwing out annually fresh shoots which covered the old ones. The plants, in fact, grow exactly in the same manner as the wild Brier, which keeps sending up from its centre long shoots, increasing its size every year. Except against walls and in similar situations, there is no occasion to prune climbing Roses. They make the finest display when left to themselves, and it is only necessary to provide them with a deep, strong soil, and to let them have light on all sides. Whether planting be carried out with the object above described, or for the purpose of covering naked tree- . stumps or branches, or for draping any unsightly object whatever, good soil in the first instance is the main thing." J. S. THE NEW ROSE GARDEN. 193 WILD AND SINGLE ROSES. Another way of attacking the monotony and barrenness of the " rosery " of the books, is to plant many of the wild roses, from which all the garden roses come. They do not, however, appear to advantage in shows ; but on cool grass in the hot summer days there is nothing more delightful, whether they be those of our own country like the Sweet Brier, Dog and Field Roses, or those of other countries, such as the beautiful Altai Rose, the Rosa gallica and many others. As to growing wild Roses, the best way is not to put them in the flower-garden, but rather by grass walks or rough banks, or in newly made hedgerows. If their beautiful bloom does not last long, the fruit is pretty, and though they are not of the things that repay us well for garden cultivation, as the best garden Roses do, the wild Roses may often be used with good effect. Among the wild Roses, not natives of Britain, that give us most pleasure there may be named the Needle Rose of Japan (R. acicularis) ; the Carolina Rose, charming for its distinct clusters and late bloom, the alpine Rose and its Pyrenean variety, excellent for rocky banks ; the glossy Rose (R. Lucida), one of the most excellent in marshy or almost any ground, pretty in colour too in winter ; the Austrian Brier, a native of Central Europe, and thriving even among wild Roses, R. macrantha, R. brunonis and the Musk Rose and all its forms, the many-flowered Rose R. multiflora, and the Japanese Roses (R. rugosa). The creeping Rose of China and Japan (R. Wichuriana) is quite distinct from any, and excellent for running about rocky banks and as a climber. These are but a small number of the Roses with which the northern and mountain world is clothed, and of which many have yet to come to our gardens. Apart from the wild Roses of which there are so many, there are also the single and other roses of garden origin which were thrown away by raisers so long as the show standard was the only one thought of, but a few of which are now coming into use, such as the Paul's Carmine, Bardou Job, the hybrid sweet Briers and Japanese and other hybrids, and to such roses we may hope for many additions. AN ESSEX ROSE GARDEN. What causes the difference between the burnt up gardens of Sussex and Surrey and this Essex garden land ? It can surely only be the open, dark, friable soil, that gives the trees their deep verdure, the hardy plants their handsome growth, the turf its fine texture and O 194 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. good colour. In the fashionable flight to the country south of London garden lovers do not always know that they are turning their backs on the good soil ; chalky hills and sandy heaths and poor clays can never give anything like the same results, no matter how THE NEW ROSE GARDEN. 195 we labour. The difference in soil values is very great, and a vital question for those who expect to get good results in flowers or fruit, and the worst of it is that on many poor soils no money or no manurial or any other additions can ever make them as good as a naturally good soil. So here, on a good soil, we have a beautiful garden showing how Roses love the soil and air, especially the Tea and Monthly Roses, which have the precious quality of coming out again with ever so little -encouragement an hour or two of sun, or even without this in gentle rains. It may be noticed in the engraving that the border below the house at the bottom of a terraced-lawn is planted with Tea Roses of the best sorts, so that it comes into the garden-picture, and is con- venient for cutting or seeing the flowers, and not thrust away into a separate corner out of the flower garden as Roses so often are. And well the Tea Roses repay for the good place, from the ever- constant Princess de Sagan to the rain-and-storm proof G. Nabonnand. To these ever-welcome Roses, as good for the house as the open garden, the best of the wild Roses are a great aid, all the more so when we come to the adornment of walls, pergola, or the house-walls, and here in August the Macartney, Prairie, and Japanese creeping Rose (Wichuriana) come in so well after the early wild Roses are past. Drooping from a pergola the Japanese creeping Rose is graceful in the toss of its branches and the purity of its flowers. And these late wild Roses go so well with the Clematis, Vine, Passion- flower, Jasmine, and the best climbers we have for house-walls, the good use of which does so much to grace the house. And as we have seen that in this garden near the house the garden Rose occupies its true place (although a modest one compared with what it deserves), here, round the water-lilies the wild Roses are grouped. Now that the taste for these beautiful wild Roses from various countries is reviving, it is well to know what should be done with them. Their season is too short to entitle them to a place in the flower garden and a very good one is the margin of pools and small lakes which are now very rightly given up to precious water- lilies. The Roses for the flower garden are the long blooming Tea and Monthly Roses, which reward us by months of changeful flower. The wild Rose is much better placed in the more picturesque parts of grounds where we neither expect nor look for continuous bloom and all the more so because these wild Roses are hardy shrubs that want no attention for years at a time. O 2 THE SUMMER GARDEN BEAUTIFUL (continued}. CHAPTER XIV. CARNATION, LILY, IRIS, AND THE NOBLER SUMMER FLOWERS. THE flowers of our own latitudes, when they are beautiful, are entitled to the first place in our gardens, and among these flowers, after the Rose, should come the Carnation, in all its brilliancy of colour, where the soil and climate are fitted for it, as is the case over a large area of our sea-girt land. Our flower-gardens have to a great extent been void of beautiful flowers and plants ; but instead, acres of mean little sub-tropical weeds that happen to possess a coloured leaf Coleus, Alternanthera, Perilla, &c. occupy much of the ground which ought to be true flower- gardens, but which is too often set out with plants without fragrance, beauty of form, or good colour. It is not enough that the laced, flaked, and other varieties of D. Caryophyllus should be grown in frames or otherwise ; we should show the flower in all its force of colour in our flower-gardens, and this is an entirely distinct question from the growth of kinds hitherto known as "florists' flowers." Many who have not the skill, or the time, for the growth of the " florists' " flowers, would yet find the brilliant "self" Carnations delightful in their gardens- in summer and autumn, and even in winter, for the Carnation, where it does well, has a fine colour-value of foliage in winter, which makes it most useful to all who care for colour in their gardens, adorning the garden throughout the winter and spring, and full of promise for the summer and autumn. What Carnations are the best for the open air ? The kinds of Carnations popular up to the present day are well known by what is seen at the Carnation shows, and in the florists' periodicals, like the Floral Magazine, Harrison's Cabinet, and, indeed, all similar period- CARNATION, LILY, IRIS, AND THE NOBLER SUMMER FLOWERS. 197 icals up to our own day, when I began to insist that all flowers should be drawn as they are. The artist should never be influenced by any " rules " or " ideals " whatever, but be allowed to draw what he sees. This all conscientious artists expect, and it is the barest justice. If we raise new forms, or what we consider "perfect" flowers, let the artist see them as they are, and draw them as he sees them, without the confusion of drawing impossible hybrids between what he sees and what he is told is perfection in a flower. It was the want of this artistic honesty which has left us so worthless a record in illustrated journals of the century, where the artist was always told to keep to the florist's " ideal " as to what the flower should be, and hence the number of plates of flowers of many kinds, all " drawn " with the compass. Behind the florists' plates of this century we have the pictures of the Dutch flower-painters contain- ing fine Carnations, well grown and admirably drawn after nature. These artists were not confused by any false ideal to which they were to make the flower approach, and so we have a true record of what the Carnation was 200 years ago. In these pictures we generally see the finer striped and flaked kinds given the first place, which is natural, as such varieties are apt to strike people the most ; and in those days little consideration had yet been given to the question of effect in open gardens, but in our own day this question has been forced upon us in very unpleasant ways by masses of crudely arranged, and not always pretty flowers. One of the aids in effect is the Carnation in its pure and lovely colours colours which no other flowers possess. It would be a pity to use these lovely colours only for " button-holes ' and for the house, when they may afford us such welcome colour in our summer and autumn gardens, in the days when people see and enjoy their gardens most. Hitherto the effect of the Carnation in masses has been mostly judged 01 from the Clove Carnation, but fine as this is, it is not so good as other varieties which are better, stronger, flower longer, and are finer in form, such as " Murillo," " Carolus Duran," ' Comte de Melbourne," " Francois Lacharme," " Madame Roland," " Paix d'Amiens," " Marquis de Dampierre," " Mdlle. Rouselle," " Alice, Aline Newmann," ''Countess of Paris," and "George Maquay." These represent the Carnation of our own day in its finest form, perfectly hardy, if layered in the summer, and planted early. Rooting well before winter in easy and bold groups, they afford pretty effects of colour from foliage alone, and even in winter time adorn the garden. Some varieties are very continuous in bloom, like the " Countess of Paris," and these should be added to as time goes on. Over a very large area of the United Kingdom Carnation culture may be carried out well, and perhaps most successfully near the sea. 198 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. The gentler warmth of the shore in some way influences this, and in any case the best results I have seen from out-door culture have been in places like Scarborough, Edinburgh, Anglesea, the shores of Dublin Bay, and in sea-shore gardens generally where the soil is warm and good. It is wonderful what one may do in such places as compared with what is possible, say, in the Weald of Kent. At Scarborough we may see Carnations almost forming a bush ; near Edinburgh I have seen tufts of the Clove Carnation 5 feet in diameter, whereas in Sussex and Kent we have to plant annually. In our island the area for shore gardens being very large, we may see how important the flower in gardens in sea-shore districts may be, valuable as it is in any place where it Happens to do well ; but some sandy and warm soils, like that of the Bagshot sands for example, are singularly adverse to the Carnation. In advocating an extension of ways of growing this noble flower, I may perhaps be permitted to state the results obtained in my own garden in Sussex, and in a garden in Suffolk, two districts widely different as regards soil and climate. In my own garden I collected all the kinds of Carnations of the self, or one colour, that could be got in France or England, and grew them in lines in a very exposed and quite unprotected situation, about five hundred feet above the sea ; and also in groups and masses in the flower-garden, generally with very happy and distinct results both as to colour and beauty of bloom, the failures being mostly from late planting. So far as hardiness is concerned, we had no trouble in proving the absolute hardiness of the plants the harder the winter, the happier the flowers. An " open," changeable winter is more against them, by exciting growth, than a hard winter. They were planted in large and simple flower-beds near the house, between groups of Tea Roses, occasionally running into the more open groups. In mixed beds where there are many Tufted Pansies and other hardy and half- hardy flowers, it is easy to get places for groups of Carnations in early autumn, and it is best to get enough of each kind to give a fair expres- sion of its colour. On the margins of mixed borders the same Carnations may be used with excellent effect, especially for those who frequent their gardens late in the summer and autumn. Beautiful effects of colour may occasionally be had in such borders by associating with the Car- nations other grey-hued plants, such as Lavender and Rosemary, also- planted in bold informal groups. The soil of my own garden was a deep unctuous loam, the rainfall of the district being rather higher than that of the surrounding country, and though successful, the ex- periment could not be said to have been made under the best condi- tions. CARNATION, LILY, IRIS, AND THE NOBLER SUMMER FLOWERS. 199 The next made was at Shrubland Park, in Suffolk, under condi- tions totally different, where Lord de Saumarez entrusted me with the remodelling of this garden, which was for long perhaps the most famous " bedding-out " garden in England. I had to consider the question of its embellishment with beautiful hardy flowers, the carpet and bedding systems, white gravel and broken coloured brick, having been given up. The soil here is a light warm friable loam, delightful for gardening ; and so I determined to plant to a great extent with the Carnation, Tea Rose, Tufted Pansy, Lavender, Rosemary, and all Carnations and Roses in front of Tudor House. the beautiful and hardy plants obtainable. Many of the self Car- nations were used, and with excellent effect. The beds were simple and bold, and we had large masses, in groups, of the finest self Carnations known. The climate, like that of the eastern counties generally, is colder than that of Sussex in winter, but brighter in summer, and a better result was obtained than in my own garden ; so that between these two very different districts we have evidence that the Carnation can 200 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. be used (not merely the Cloves, but many other handsome forms ranging through the best colours) with in every way satisfactory effects in the flower garden. The hardiness of the flower is proved by the natural habitats of the plant, which is found in rocky upland places in many countries of Europe, and finds a substitute for its native rocks on Rochester Castle, and at Chateau Gaillard, in Normandy. It never suffers from cold, though alternations of mild and hard weather will often affect it on cold soils by starting the plants into growth at a time when on the mountains they are at rest under snow. LILY AND IRIS AND THE NOBLER SUMMER FLOWERS. The Lily had to go too from the flower-garden of our own day ; it was too tall, and no doubt had other faults, but like the Rose it must come back, and one of the gains of a free way of flower-gardening is that we are able to put Lilies or any other flowers in it at any season that suits their planting, and that their bloom is welcome whenever it comes, and leaves us content with brown stems when it goes, If in the large flower-garden we get some diversity of surface through groups of the rarer flowering evergreen shrubs, we have for these the very soil that our Lilies thrive in, and we break up in pretty ways these groups by planting Lilies among them, gaining thereby two seasons of bloom, light and shade in the masses, and diversity of form. The Iris too, with its Orchid-like beauty and flower, and with a higher value of leaf than either Lily or Orchid, is in summer flowering kinds fit to grace the flower-garden with some permanent beds. Some will tell us that we may not do these things in the set flower- garden under the windows, but from an artistic point of view this is not true and very harmful. There is no flower-garden, however arid or formal in its plan, which may not be planted in picturesque ways and without robbing it of fine colour either. But to do that in the face of ugly plans we must be free to choose among all beauti- ful things of the open air, not forgetting the best of the half-hardy plants that enjoy our summer Heliotrope, great Blue Salvia, not forgetting Scarlet Geranium no more than Cardinal Flower ; annual summer flowers, too, from Sweet Pea to Stocks, Mignonette, and Pansy. A true flower-garden is one which has a place for every flower its owner cares for. There is no reason for excluding the best of the summer flowers from Hollyhocks to Sea Hollies, choosing always the best and those that give the most pleasure, and never coarse or weedy plants. For these the true place is the shrubbery and wild garden. It was the use of these coarse and weedy plants that did much harm in old mixed borders when they were allowed to eat up everything. In those days they had not the choice of fine plants we now have, many CARNATION, LILY, IRIS, AND THE NOBLER SUMMER FLOWERS. 201 of the finest we have coming in our day, like the Lilies of Japan and of Western America, and also the new Water Lilies. These last are above all flowers of the summer, and whenever there is any garden water, they add a distinct and enduring charm to the summer garden. We should not only represent them, but also the other water plants of the summer ; and as shown in the chapter on the water garden, many handsome plants can be grown in rich soil that often occurs near water, massed in picturesque groups, like Loose- strife, Meadow Sweets, and Japanese Iris. Basket of fine leaved plants in the Gardens, Regent's Park. THE SUMMER GARDEN (continued}. " Another thing also much too commonly seen, is an aberration of the human mind, which otherwise I should have been ashamed to warn you of. It is technically called carpet-gardening. Need I explain it further ? 1 had rather not, for when I think of it, even when I am quite alone, 1 blush with shame at the thought" W. MORRIS, HOPES AND FEARS FOR ART. CHAPTER XV. SUMMER-BEDDING. 1 WHEN the bedding system first came into vogue, it was no doubt its extreme brightness, or what we should now call its " gaudiness," that caused it to hold the position it did ; but it was soon done to death. Only scarlet Geraniums, yellow Calceolarias, blue Lobelias, or purple Verbenas were used ; and the following year, by way of a change, there were Verbenas, Calceolarias, and Geraniums, the constant repetition of this scarlet, yellow, and blue nauseating even those with little taste in gardening matters, whilst those with finer perceptions began to inquire for the Parsley bed, by way of relief. Such a state of things could not continue ; but yet the system could not be given up for several reasons a very good one being that the great bulk of hardy flowers had been ruthlessly swept out of the garden to make room for bedding plants, and so gardeners being, as it were, in desperate straits the development of the bedding system began, and foliage plants of various colours were mixed with the flowers. Then followed standard graceful foliage plants and hardy carpeting plants ; and now dwarf-growing shrubs are freely associated with the 1 As the aim of this book is to show in how many ways we can make a garden beautiful apart from the bedding system, that system is described by one who carries it out with great success. SUMMER-BEDDING, 203 commoner types of bedding plants. Indeed, the system improved so rapidly that its most relentless opponents admitted that it had some redeeming qualities. I think, however, that the strongest reason of all for its retention is its suitability to formal or geometrical parterres. Most people have their own notions as to what constitutes per- fection of colour in bedding arrangements. This perfection I have not attained to, nor have I, perhaps, any decided preference for one colour over another ; but I have very decided notions that the various colours should be so completely commingled that one would be puzzled to determine what tint predominates in the entire arrange- ment. This rule I have followed for years, and have had a fair amount of success in working it out. I am even still learning, my latest lesson being that, if any colour at all may predominate, it is " glaucous," that is, a light gray or whitish green. Of this colour the eye never tires, perhaps because it is in harmony with the tints of the landscape, and particularly of the lawn. To carry out my rule as to colour successfully, there are other rules which must be studied. The first is that high colours, such as scarlet and yellow, must be used in much less proportion than colours of a softer tint, for high colours overweigh all others ; the second is that there must be no violent transition from one colour to another the contrast of colours must as far as possible be avoided in favour of their gradual inter- mingling or harmonising ; the third, that the most decided or high colours, being the heaviest, ought to occupy the most central part of the beds, or be distributed in due proportion over the entire garden, so as to ensure an even balance throughout. Further, when dealing with such colours, use them in necessary proportion, and no more, and, if you err at all, err on the side of niggardliness. By close adherence to these rules, I have for years had no difficulty in pro- ducing a harmony of colour that has worn so well as to be as welcome at the end of the season as at the beginning ; for the quieter the colouring the more lasting is the enjoyment of it. And it is pleasant to observe the great advance yearly made in favour of the quieter tints gaudiness, in bedding-out, having become the exception rather than the rule. To fully carry out the ideal of colour here advocated,, a great variety of plants is needed, though not more than is generally grown where bedding-out is practised to any extent. But there is colour and colour ; and those who cannot have elaborate designs and variety in colour, may have an equivalent in graceful foliage and beautiful tinted shrubs of hues varying from deep green to bright yellow, and in habit tapering, weeping, or feathery. Cypresses, Yews, Yuccas, and many others, not only associate well with all kinds of bedding plants, but with the various kinds of hardy Sedums 204 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. Saxifrages, and Veronicas. These are all within the means of most owners of small gardens, and may be arranged in bedding-out form, the shrubs for centres and panels, and the dwarf hardy plants for massing and carpeting. SOIL AND CULTIVATION. Next to position, soil is the most important element in the formation of a garden. In selecting a soil, two things should be kept in view first, that an open or well- drained soi 1 assists climate (that is, the more porous a soil is the warmer is the ground, and the better able to withstand extreme cold are the plants) ; and secondly, that the soil should be deep. Unless there is depth, permanent things will not flourish satisfactorily. And for less permanent things, depth of soil is just as important, as it renders unnecessary frequent dressings of fresh soil to maintain fertility. Wherever these conditions of soil exist, flower-gardening is easy ; but in many cases opposite conditions have to be dealt with, and though it is hopeless to attempt to rival a naturally suitable soil, a very near approach can be made to doing so. The best soil is good loam, that is, soil of a clayey nature, but sufficiently sandy not to be sticky. Of the two states, light and heavy, the light is the better, because it is the warmer, and the more easily cultivated. In dealing with heavy soil, we must have drainage, deep tilth, and the working-in of material rendering it more porous, such as half- decayed leaves, mortar or brick rubble, charcoal, and ashes. If manure be needed, it should be used in the long straw state as it comes from the stables. One mistake frequently made with regard to soil is, that sufficient attention is not paid to the kind of plants that the soil of a given district is best suited for. Were this always remembered, we should see fewer garden failures, and the gardening in different districts would possess an interest from variety. If each possessor of a garden were to strike out a line for himself, the question of suitability of soil would soon be settled, for a man would be too observant to plant a Rhododendron in chalky soil because he had admired a friend's Rhododendrons in peaty or vegetable soil. A healthy Yew or Box is infinitely preferable to a sickly Rhodo- dendron. The annual dressing of flower-beds is needed to get the best effects ; and by all means continue it, but not to the entire neglect of hardy flowers and shrubs. These though they will do a long time without fresh food, enjoy rich top-dressings of good soil or manure ; it is only by so treating them that their best effects are developed. Flower-beds occasionally require to be deeply dug. Trenching is perhaps the proper term, but it scarcely expresses what I mean. The time to do it is when the beds are empty. I trench up my flower-beds once in two years in autumn, after the summer bedders SUMMER-BEDDING. 205 are removed, and before the spring-flowering plants are put in. Stirring flower-beds creates a wider field of action for the roots, and gives them an opportunity of getting out of the reach of drought in a dry season. COLOURED FOLIAGE. The use of coloured and fine-leaved plants in the flower garden has increased, the causes being, the introduction of a number of suitable plants ; and the weather, which has often been so wet that, no sooner have ordinary bedding plants got into full flower, than they have been dashed to pieces by the rain. Hence the desire for plants that would withstand such washings, and yet give bright effects. As regards coloured-foliaged bedding plants in particular, I do not think that if half of the bedding plants used were what are termed foliage plants, it would be out of proportion ; in such coloured foliage I would include the variegated Pelargoniums, together with hardy variegated plants, such as Japanese Honey- suckles, variegated Periwinkles, Ivies, and the hardy Sedums and Saxifrages. The effects to be had from this class of plants combined with variegated and coloured-leaved plants of the tender section, and with graceful-leaved plants, are better than any to be had from flowering plants alone, as they stand all weathers without injury. One of the brightest coloured beds I have ever seen planted in geometrical form for summer effect was composed of the following plants viz. Sedum acre elegans, creamy white ; Sedum glaucum, gray ; Herniaria glabra, green ; Mesembryanthemum cordifolium variega- tum, light yellow ; and the bright orange and scarlet Alternantheras, all dwarf plants ; the standard or central plants being Grevillea robusta and variegated Abutilons. BEDDING AND FINE-LEAVED PLANTS. There can be no doubt that the use of the freer-growing green and graceful fine-leaved plants has done a great deal of good. In the South of England one may grow a great variety of plants of this kind. A number of greenhouse and even of stove plants may be placed in the open air without injury, and even with benefit to themselves. But some plants put out look sickly all the summer and make no good growth. Others always look well, even in the face of damaging storms. Where the climate is against the tenderer plants, a very good selec- tion may be made from hardy things from shrubs, plants like the Yucca, or young trees cut down and kept in a single-stemmed state. But there are errors in the system from which these things cannot save us. A geometrical bed is little the less geometrical because we place green-leaved or graceful plants in the middle of it. A more radical alteration is required, and that is the abolition of geometry itself, of formalism and straight lines, and of all the hateful gyrations 206 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. which place the art of gardening on a level so much lower than it deserves to occupy. We can have all the variety, all the grace, all the beauty of form, all the glory of colour of the world of flowers and plants, without any of the pattern business which is now the rule. But we cannot make much progress in this direction except by suppressing the elaborate pattern beds as much as convenient, and by letting the vegetation tell its own story. The plants we must feed and the soil we must enrich ; but finicking beds, reminding one of the art on fire-shovels and such productions, are not necessary. Let us then begin by adopting a bold, large, and simple type of bed, from which the flowers will spring and make us think more of them than of the pattern. By way of variety, succu- Stone basket of flowers and fine-leaved plants (Heckfield Place). lents are desirable plants for dry positions and under the shade of trees, where other bedding plants do not flourish satisfactorily. From their power of withstanding storms of wind and rain, and even drought and cold, they are always in good form ; and they should have a place in summer flower-garden arrangements of any extent. They harmonise well with many hardy plants that may serve as cushions for them to display their quaintness on. The term " succulent " includes all plants of a fleshy character, the more common types being the Echeverias, Cotyledons, and Kleinias. Agaves and Aloes are more rare, but are none the less valuable for bedding. SUMMER-BEDDING. 207 VASES. In their proper place, and in due proportion, vases and baskets are useful in flower gardens, but they are frequently to a great extent out of all harmony with the style of the garden and its surroundings. Perhaps the tendency to over-decorate in this way is due to the geometrical plan of many gardens, when vases are placed on every pedestal and at every corner to square with many meaningless angles. Happily, this style of gardening is giving place to one in which vases and baskets can be used or not, according to the taste of the owner. When vases are used in large numbers, much may be done by planting plants of a drooping character in them ; indeed, vases look most natural when trailers or climbers droop over the sides. Basket-formed beds are well suited to almost any position in pleasure-grounds ; but the best of all spots is in an isolated recess on the turf, and next, in the central bed of a flower garden, where the surrounding beds are circles or ovals. I have one, the extreme length of which is 16 feet ; it is 8 feet wide in the middle, stands 2 feet 6 inches above the turf, and is made of Portland cement. The principal plants in it are Marguerites, Pelar- goniums, Heliotropes, Fuchsias, Marvel of Peru, Abutilons, Castor- oils, Cannas, Japanese Honeysuckles, and Tropaeolums. More rustic- looking baskets would be better suited for isolation on the turf and for distant parts of the pleasure-grounds ; and very good ones can be formed of wirework, lined inside with zinc, or made of barked Oak boughs instead of wirework. In baskets and vases of this kind permanent plants should be used, such as the variegated Ivies, Periwinkles, Japanese Honeysuckles, Clematises, and climbing Roses space being reserved for flowering plants in summer and for small shrubs in winter. SUB-TROPICAL BEDDING. There are four types of summer flower-gardening : i, the massing (the oldest) ; 2, the carpet ; 3, the neutral quiet and low in colour, mainly through use of succulents ; and 4, the sub-tropical, in which plants of noble growth and graceful foliage play the chief part. To my mind, a mixture of the four classes is the very ideal of flower-gardening. It is possible to plant a formal garden in such a manner that the severest critic could not complain of excessive formality ; for, after all, it is the abuse of carpet bedding that has brought it into dis- repute. And justly so, for when one sees bed after bed and arrange- ment after arrangement repeated without end, with no plants to relieve the monotony of flat surfaces, one has good reason to protest. I have charge of a terrace garden which has to be planted with a view to obtaining the best display Trorn June to November, arid I am therefore compelled to adopt the carpet-bedding system ; but 208 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. I supplement it by dotting over the surface, of necessarily formal arrangements, plants of noble or graceful aspect, such as Acacia, Dracaena, and Yucca. In such arrangements a judicious blending of beds of flowering plants, principally Pelargoniums, adds brightness SUMMER-BEDDING. 209 to the whole ; but, save under exceptional circumstances, flowers, and even fine-foliaged and flowering plants, should never be put in the same bed as succulents. The colour-massing or grouping style of summer-gardening is best adapted to a terrace or parterre that is well backed up or surrounded by evergreens, as these afford relief from the glare of brilliant colours, and at the same time set them off to advantage. A few plants of fine form distributed apart over the garden, and especially in beds of glaring colours, will be found to enhance the beauty of the whole. My view of sub-tropical gardening is, that it is only suitable for positions where it can be associated with water, or for sheltered nooks and dells, where the force of the wind is broken before it comes in contact with the plants. Where such positions are not at command, it is best to choose the hardier class of noble or handsome foliaged plants, many of which may be permanently planted, such as Ailantus, Rhus, Arundo, Salisburia, Yuccas, and the hardy Palm (Chamaerops humilis). Of half-hardy plants that will withstand wind there are numbers, such as Araucaria, Acacia, Ficus, Cycas, Dracaena, Aralia. In planting sub-tropical plants, care should be taken that the beds when fully furnished do not have a " bunchy " appearance. To avoid this, plant thinly, and use as undergrowth dwarfer plants, of which there are many suitable kinds. SUMMER AND WINTER BEDDING. Now that there is such a wealth of plants suited for furnishing the flower-beds in winter, there can be no excuse for their remaining empty after the summer-bedding plants are cleared away. Much labour is required to carry out both summer and winter bedding ; but I strongly recommend this kind of decoration. There are reasons why winter bedding should be en- couraged. First, winter is the season when all around us is bleak, dull and bare leaden skies, leafless trees, flowerless meadows, and silent woods, all of which have a depressing effect on most temperaments. It therefore behoves us to endeavour to neutralise this prevailing dulness by making our gardens as cheerful as possible. Another reason which to those fond of summer bedding should be the great reason for adopting winter bedding is the short period during which summer bedding continues in perfection. The thought is continually haunting one that it will fade all too soon. The adoption of winter bedding, however, in my own case obliterates such thoughts, and one looks forward to real pleasure from both systems. Nor has this been the only result. It being necessary that summer and winter bedding should meet, ingenuity had to devise means to this end. This led to my using as summer bedders many hardy plants which otherwise I should not have thought of using, but which are just as effective as P 210 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. tender exotics ; nay, in some cases, more so ; and which, when planted in the spring, serve till the following spring, when they are taken up, divided, and replanted for another year. Principal Plants used for Bedding-out. Abutilon Agathaea Ageratum Ajuga Alternanthera Alyssum Amaranthus Anagallis Anthemis Begonia Blue Marguerite Brugmansia Calceolaria Canna Centaurea Cerastium Cheiranthus Chrysanthemum Cineraria Coleus Convolvulus Cotyledon Cuphea Dahlia Daisies Dianthus Echeveria Erigeron Fuchsias Gazania Gladiolus Gnaphalium Heliotropium Hollyhock Iberis Iresine Lantana Leucophyton Lobelia Matricaria Mesembryanthemum Mimulus Myosotis Nertera Nierembergia CEnothera Oxalis Pachyphytum Pansies Pelargonium Pentstemon Petunia Phlox Plantain Lily Plumbago Polemonium Pulmonaria Pyrethrum Salvia Santolina Saponaria Sempervivum Senecio Silene Solanum Stachys Stocks Tropasolum Tussilago Verbena Veronica Viola Vittadena Garden near Loch Kishorn, Ross. From a water-colour drawing by F. Staintoi Orange-trees in tubs, Tuileries. THE SUMMER GARDEN BEAUTIFUL (continued}. CHAPTER XVI. PLANTS IN VASES AND TUBS IN THE OPEN AIR. IN old days and for ages it was not easy not always possible to many to have a garden in the open air. The need of mutual aid against the enemy threw people into closely-packed cities, and even small towns in what might seem to us now the open country. In our own country, free for many years from external enemies, we have spread our gardens over the land more than others ; but in France farmers still go home to a town at night from the open, and often homeless and barnless plain, where they work. And so it came that the land of Europe was strewn with towns and cities, often fortified, and many of those most able to enjoy gardens had to do the best they could with little terraces, walls, tubs by the door, and even windows. And often in Italy and other countries of the south of Europe and north Africa we see beautiful plants in tubs, on balconies, on flat roofs, and every imaginable spot where plants can be grown in a house in a street. Happily, in our country, there is less need nowadays for the garden in tubs ; but the custom is bound up with ways of growing plants which are still essential to us in some cases. In many gardens plants in tubs are often used without good reason,, for example, when hardy evergreen trees are grown in tubs, and in front of the Royal Exchange in London there are hardy Poplars in tubs ! But some may pursue this sort of gardening with advantage P 2 212 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. first, those who have no gardens, and, secondly, those who have and who may desire to put half-hardy bushes in the open air, for example Myrtle or Oleander or Orange, which may not be grown out-of-doors throughout the year, and which yet may have fragrance or other charms for us. Many plants can be grown in the open air in summer which will not endure our winters, but which placed in a cellar, dry room, or cool greenhouse would be quite safe, and might then be put out-of-doors in summer. This way is commonly the case abroad with large Datura, Pomegranate, and Myrtles, and a great variety Vase plants at Turvey Abbey. of plants such as we see put out in tubs in certain old palace gardens, like those of Versailles. What was called the orangery, which has almost disappeared from English gardens, was for keeping such plants alive and well through the winter, and in old times, if not now, had a very good reason to be. There are many charming plants too tender for the open altogether that are happy in tubs, and may be sheltered in an outhouse or greenhouse through the winter such as the Pomegranate, the Myrtle, and Romneya (the White Bush Poppy). The blue African Lily is often happy in tubs, its blue flowers when seen on a terrace PLANTS IN VASES AND TUBS IN THE OPEN AIR. 213 walk having a distinct charm, but in England, generally, it must be kept indoors in winter. Excellent use may be made of the great handsome oil-jars, which are used to bring olive oil from Italy to London, and the best things to put in them are half-harcly plants, which can be taken intact into the cool greenhouse or conservatory at the approach of frost. Even Seakale-pots can be rilled with half-hardy plants, as scarlet Pelar- goniums, which have a good effect in them. In some rich and moist soils the Pelargonium all grows to leaves and does not flower, and in such cases we can humour it into good bloom by growing it in pots or vases in the light soil that suits the plants. ORANGE TREES IN TUBS. One of the most curious examples of routine and waste I saw in the Tuileries gardens on the last day of September, 1896, when the Paris people were preparing for the Czar, and among their labours was the refurbishing of the old Orange trees in these gardens. There were a regiment of them set all along the gardens at regular intervals in immense and costly tubs, involving herculean labour to move in and out of the orangery. One might suppose this labour to be given for some beautiful end in perfecting the flower or fruit of the plant, but nothing of the kind ; the trees being trained into mop heads, and when the plants make any attempt to take a natural growth they are cut sharply back, and often have an uglier shape than any mop. The ground was strewn with shoots of the orange trees which had been cut back hard. When the tree was in poor health, as it was often, the dark stems were the most visible things seen against the blue sky. This costly and ugly work is a survival of the time when the " golden apples " were a novelty, and it was not so easy to go and see them growing in the open air as it now is, and so what was worth doing as a curiosity hundreds of years ago is carried out still. Since the idea of growing these trees in such an ugly fashion arose we have had a noble garden flora brought to us from all parts of the earth, and it would be easy to take our choice of different ways of adorning this garden in more artistic ways with things in the open ground, and of far greater beauty. If this thing at its best and done with great cost has such a result, what are we to think of the English imitations of it, such as those at Panshanger, in which hardy shrubs are used, like Portugal laurels, and sham tubs placed around them ? I saw the vast orangerie terrace at Sans Souci in July 1897, and was deeply struck by its " ornaments " in tubs ; the branches of the poor distorted trees like black skeletons against the summer sky showing that even with all the aids of artifice, no good result with tubbed oranges is got in northern Germany no more than in northern France. In the warmer south a little better result may be 214 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. had from trees in tubs, but a few days' journey brings us to orange trees growing as freely and gracefully as willows in Tunis and Algeria and the countries round the Mediterranean. THE POET'S LAUREL IN TUBS. The Laurel is a winter-garden The Blue African Lily {Agapanthus vnibellatus) in its summer quarters. plant over a large area of northern and central Europe, where the true Laurel (our gardeners and nurserymen erroneously give the name to the vigorous evergreen Cherry, of which we have too much in England) is a tender evergreen, requiring the protection of a house PLANTS IN VASES AND TUBS IN THE OPEN AIR. 215 in winter, it is grown to a vast extent in tubs to place in the open garden, on terrace, or in courtyard during the summer. The culti- vation of the Laurel for this purpose is carried on to such an extent that miles of handsome trees in various forms may be seen in one nursery. There is no plant more worthy of it than the true Laurel, which we usually call the Sweet Bay, and those who cannot enjoy the plant out of doors, as we may in many of the warmer districts of the British Isles, would do well to grow it in tubs, in which state they may enjoy it both in winter and summer. It would be worth while growing it in the same way in cold and northern districts, where it is killed or much hurt in winter, and this sometimes occurs in parts of southern England. Near the sea it may flourish, and twenty miles inland be cut down to the ground, or so badly hurt that it gives no pleasure to see. In gardens where one may have fine groups of the tree on sunny slopes, we should never think of it in any other way, and no evergreen tree gives us more beauty when old and untrained and undipped. Growing in tubs, the need of storing away in winter, often in a small space, and keeping the plant in health in boxes not too heavy make some training necessary, and the shapes common in Continental gardens are as good as could be obtained under the circumstances, while the health of the bush in these artificial conditions is singularly good. It is often surprising to see what fine heads arise in good health from small tubs, the soil being helped now and then by a little weak liquid manure water not oftener than once a week. Once the plants are stored for the winter, sometimes in sheds with little light, it is best to give no water during the winter months. In the same way we may also enjoy the Laurus- tinus in districts where it is killed by frost out of doors which in hard winters happens, even in the southern countries which is all the more unfortunate as this shrub and its varieties flower so prettily. If grown well in tubs, we may flower them in the cool house and place them out of doors in summer. CULTIVATION OF PLANTS IN ORANGERIES. The old way of growing plants in the orangery is still much more practised in France than with us, and a few words as to the mode of culture in use may be useful. Though the orange from which the structure gets its name is not often happy in it, other plants like the Myrtle, Pomegranate, African Lily, and Hydrangea may often be kept with safety through the winter in such a house. Among shrubs we have the Pomegranate, Oleander, Orange, Fuchsia, Myrtle, Camellia in fact, all those that are commonly placed for shelter in greenhouses during winter. For shrubs like these the year has two seasons: (i) that during which they are placed for shelter in the orangery or the cool house, or, in the absence 216 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. of these, some place where the conditions of temperature, air, light, and construction are similar ; and (2) the summer season, when they are taken out into the open air and set in variously exposed situations in order that they may mature, grow, and bloom. WINTER CULTIVATION. In October the shrubs are removed to warm corners. The shedding of the leaf in some plants gets rid of one difficulty in their cultivation, that of their preservation during the winter, as the summer-leafing kinds are so easy to store away if the frost be kept out. Half-hardy evergreen shrubs require to be kept in a well-lighted house, but shrubs, which, like Fuchsias and Pomegranates, shed their leaves in autumn, can during winter be conveniently kept in any dark place, such as a cellar or warm shed, Orangery, Holm Lacey, Hereford. and in their case watering will scarcely be required. As a general rule, for orangery shrubs, the temperature may be such as will exclude frost ; some kinds, however, will be found to withstand a hard frost like the Oleander. Although the summer-leafing shrubs scarcely need water at all during the winter, it is needed for evergreen shrubs. Yet even here we shall have to make a distinction. For instance, the Orange-tree requires more water than the Myrtle, and the Myrtle more than the Proteads. In the majority of orangeries the plants are watered every two or three weeks during winter, and daily after the month of April, and those who cultivate Orange-trees are able to tell us that want of water, which is always prejudicial to this tree, may even result in a complete loss of leaf. There are two plans for PLANTS IN VASES AND TUBS IN THE OPEN AIR. 217 avoiding the ill effects of too-abundant watering, the former of which is to plant in soils which allow the water to run away freely ; the second is to use boxes with sides that can be opened from time to time to enable the roots to be seen. SUMMER CULTIVATION. In May, and, if possible, during cloudy weather, all plants in the orangery are transferred to sunny and sheltered places outside. The pots, if small, will have to be plunged, as this keeps the roots in good condition. In this, as in other cases, where the plants are in pots or boxes, we shall have occasionally to give some manure, and weak liquid-manure gives good results. This is the Belgian method, and one of its effects is that it enables us to postpone the repotting of the plants and permits of the employment of smaller boxes and vases as compared with the size of the trees. So in the nurseries of Ghent and France, too, we often see Sweet Bays with heads more than a yard in width, whilst the tubs they are in scarcely measure twenty inches in diameter, and under such conditions the plants thrive for years without enlargement of the tubs or change of soil, thanks to feeding with liquid-manure. The same things may be said of the plants in the cool house, or any house in which we store almost half-hardy Palms, Cycads, Tree-Ferns, or other plants which may with advantage pass a few months in the open air in summer. All of these, in fact, may be treated much as the Blue African Lily is treated, allowing always for the differences between evergreen shrubs, like the Orange, Eugenia, and Myrtle ; herbaceous plants, like the sweet-scented Plantain Lily, grown in pots and in courtyards in France, and summer-leaving shrubs like Fuchsia, Justicia, and Pomegranate. AN AMATEUR ON PLANTS IN TUBS FOR THE FLOWER GARDEN. The need of the orangery strictly so-called, is now lessened by two causes; (i) our rich, hardy garden-flora with many things as lovely as any that grow in the tropics ; (2) the nearly universal adoption of the greenhouse, in which many plants find shelter in winter that in old times would have been housed in the orangery. But notwithstanding these changes there are still some plants worth while to keep over the winter in any convenient way, and the following extract from The Garden shows how a good amateur gardener manages them as an aid to her flower-gardening. " A great deal of real gardening pleasure is to be had from growing plants in pots and tubs or in vases and vessels of various kinds both in small and big gardens. I use large Seakale pots, when they are no longer wanted for the Seakale, by turning them over, putting two bits of slate in the bottom of the pot, some drainage, and a few lumps of turf, and then filling up with good garden mould. Another useful pot is one called a Rhubarb pot. If you live near a pottery they 218 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN, will turn you out almost any shaped pot you fancy. Flat ones like those used by house painters, make a pleasant change, especially for small bulbs. Petroleum casks cut in two, burnt inside, then tarred and painted, are invaluable tubs. I use butter-casks treated in the same way, and have some little Oak tubs in which bullion came from America. These are very strong, and some water-loving plants do much better in wood, since the evaporation in summer is not nearly so rapid as from the earthenware. That is an important thing to remember both as regards sun and wind. If the plants are at all Plants in Italian oil-jars, Woodlands, Surrey. delicate and brought out of a greenhouse, the pots, when standing out, ought to be either quite sunk into the earth or shaded. This cannot be done in the case of pots placed on a wall or terrace or on a stand, and so they must not be put out in the open till the end of May. Constant care about watering is also essential. Even in wet weather they often want more water if the sun comes out, as the rain wets the leaves, but hardly affects the soil at all. On the Continent, where all kinds of pot cultivation have been longer practised than in England, flower-pots are often glazed outside, which keeps the plants much moister because of less evaporation, and makes less necessity for PLANTS IN VASES AND TUBS IN THE OPEN AIR. 219 frequent watering. The large red jars in which oil is still conveyed from Italy, covered with their delightful coarse wicker-work, are use- ful ornaments in some gardens. They are glazed inside, and boring a hole in the bottom of them is not very easy work. They have to be more than half filled with drainage, and plants do not do well in them for more than one season, as the surface of the earth exposed at the top is so small. In old days the oil merchants in the suburbs of London used to cut them in two vertically, and stick them against their houses, above their shops, as an advertisement or ornament. The enthusiastic amateurs will find that they get two very nice pots by sawing them in half horizontally just below the sham handles. The top part when reversed requires the same treatment as was recom- mended for the Seakale pots." WHAT TO GROW. The first rule, I think, is to grow in them those plants which do not grow well in your own local soil. To put into a pot what is flourishing much better in a bed a few yards off is, to my mind, a mistake. I grow large old plants of Geraniums in the open ground, and they are kept on in the greenhouse from year to year, their roots tied up in Moss, and crowded into a pot or box with no earth and very little water through the winter ; they can be kept in a cellar or spare room. Early in April they are potted up and pro- tected by mats in a pit, as I have no room for them in the greenhouse. This causes them to be somewhat pot-bound, and they flower splendidly during the latter part of the summer. Marguerites, the yellow and the white with large leaves, are good pot plants early in the year, far prettier than the narrow-leaved kinds. A double Pome- granate I have had for many years in a pot, and if thinned out in the summer it flowers well ; also two small Orange trees. The large old- fashioned Oak leaved, sticky Cape Sweet Geranium, which has a handsomer flower than the other kinds, makes a very good outdoor pot plant. Fuchsias, especially the old-fashioned fulgens, are satisfactory. Carnations Raby Castle, Countess of Paris, and Mrs. Reynolds Hole I grow in pots, and they do well ; they must be layered early in July, and answer best if potted up in September and just protected from severe frosts. In fine summers, Myrtles and Oleanders flower well with me in tubs, not in the open ground. I treat Oleanders as they do in Germany cut them back moderately in October and dry them off, keep them in a coach-house, warm shed, or wherever severe frosts will not reach them. When quite dry they stand a moderate amount of frost. Then in March they are brought out, the surface is stirred and mulched, they are taken into a greenhouse and brought on a bit. In May they are thickly covered with good, strong horse manure and copiously watered. At the end of the month they are stood out in the open on a low wall. During May, June and July 220 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. they cannot have too much water ; after that they want much less, or the leaves turn yellow and drop off. Some years I grow Solanum jasminoides over bent wires in pots ; grown thus it is pretty. The American Aloe. Example of greenhouse plants set in open air in summer. Engraved from a photograph taken in Knightwick Rectory Garden, Worcestershire. variety of plants which can be tried for growing in pots out of doors in summer is almost endless. Love-lies-bleeding ( Amaranthus caudatus) is an annual, but if sown in January and very well grown on as a fine PLANTS IN VASES AND TUBS IN THE OPEN AIR. single specimen plant, it looks handsome and uncommon in a green glazed pot or small tub. Nothing I grow in pots is more satisfactory than the old-fashioned Calceolaria amplexicaulis ; it does not grow to any perfection with me in the beds, the soil being too dry, but potted, it makes a splendid show through the late summer and autumn months. The shrubby Veronica speciosa rubra, and V. imperialis, I grow in pots because they flower beautifully in the autumn, and the drowsy bumble-bees love to lie on them in the sunshine when Sedum specta- bile is passing away. They are not quite hardy with me, as they can- not withstand the long, dry, cold springs. This in itself justifies the growing them in pots ; in mild, damp districts they are large shrubs. The blue Agapanthus everybody grows in tubs. The plants have to be rather pot-bound and kept dry in the winter to flower well, and as the flower-buds form they want well watering and a weekly dose of liquid manure. Hydrangeas I find difficult to grow when planted out ; the common kinds do exceedingly well in tubs in half shady places if they get a good deal of water. Large standard Myrtles I have had covered with bloom in August in tubs. My large old plant, which I had had many years, was killed last spring by being turned out of the room it had wintered in too early, because I came from London sooner than usual. The great difficulty in small places is housing these large plants in winter. They do not want much protection, but they must have some, and the death of large old plants is grievous. Woodlands, Surrey. M. T. E. Spray of Myrtle. Sheltered dell, with tree ferns and stove plants placed out for the summer (Batlersea). CHAPTER XVII. BEAUTY OF FORM IN THE FLOWER GARDEN, AND HEREIN ALSO OF THE SUB-TROPICAL GARDEN. THE use in gardens of plants of fine form has taught us the value of grace and verdure amid masses of flowers, and how far we have diverged from artistic ways. In a wild state brilliant blossoms are often usually relieved by a setting of abundant green, and where mountain or meadow plants of one kind produce a sea of colour at one season, there is intermingled a spray of pointed grass and leaves which tone down the colour masses. We may be pleased by the wide spread of colour on a heath or mountain, but when we go near we find that it is best where the long moss cushions itself beside the ling, and the fronds of the Poly- pody come up around masses of heather. If this be so on the hills, a like state of things is more evident still in the marsh or wood. We cannot attempt to reproduce such conditions, but the more we keep- them before our eyes the nearer shall we be to success, and we may have in our gardens (without making wildernesses of them either) all the light and shade, the relief, the grace, and the beauty of natural colour and form too. A recent demand for 2,000 for the building of a glass house for Palms for the subtropical garden of Battersea Park here throws light on the costly system of flower gardening in this and other Hardy Palm in the open, Cornwall. 224 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. public gardens. It may be noted that this is only a small part of the cost of keeping the tender and half-hardy plants in a glass nursery and not a demand of money for a Palm-house which the public might enjoy ; but was to be part of the expenditure on some glass-sheds which they never see, and which were merely to grow the plants to be put out for a few months in summer. In our flower gardens Palms can only be seen in a small state ; nor can they, as shown in pots and tubs in Battersea, give one any idea of the true beauty of the Palm on the banks of the Nile or the Ganges. But, worse than this, the system leads to the neglect of the many shrubs and trees of the northern world, which are quite as beautiful as any Palm. The sum mentioned as the cost of the house for young Palms would go far to plant Battersea Park with the finest hardy shrubs and trees. The number of these public gardens that are being opened in all directions makes it all the more important that the false ideal they so often set out should be made clear. I do not say \ve should have none but hardy plants in public gardens, but the con- centration of so much attention, and of the greater part of the cost on such feeble examples of tropical plants as can be grown in this country set out for a few months in the summer has a very bad effect. The lesson all connected with gardening in any way want most to learn is that the things which may be grown to perfection in the open air in any country are always the most beautiful, and should always have the first place in their thoughts. It would be much better in all ways to place a like artistic value on everything that stands in the open air in a garden, and regard all parts of the garden as of equal importance without wholly doing away with tropical plants, at least with those that can be grown with advantage in our country. Looking round the London parks we see much waste in trying to get effects of form from Palms and various tender plants, strewn in all directions in Hyde Park, often dotted about without good judgment, and marring the foreground of scenes that might be pretty. Where this is done there is rarely any attempt to get effects of fine form from hardy trees, shrubs, and plants, which is a much simpler and easier process than building costly glasshouses to get them. For our gardens, the first thing is to look for plants that are happy in our climate, and to accustom ourselves to the idea that form may be as beautiful from hardy as from tender things. Many tropical plants, which we see in houses cut down close and kept small, would, if freely grown in the open air in their own country, be no more striking in leaf than the hardy Plane or Aliantus. Many plants that are quite hardy give fine effects, such as the Aralias, herbaceous and shrubby. Aristolochia among climbers ; Arundo, Pampas Grass in a Sussex garden (Chichester). Q 226 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. hardy and very pretty beside water ; Astilbes, rough herbaceous plants which can be put anywhere almost ; the hardy Bamboos of Japan and India, which are increasing in number, and are very distinct and charming, and often rapid growers in genial parts of the country, especially near the sea. A considerable number will probably be found hardy everywhere. The large leaved evergreen Barberries are beautiful in peat soils, and, grouped in picturesque ways, effective for their noble leaves as well as flowers. The Plume Poppy (Bocconia) is handsome for its foliage and flowers, even in ordinary soil. A great number of the larger hardy Compositae (Helianthus Silphium, Senecio, Telekia, Rudbeckia) are fine in leaf, as are some of the Cotton Thistles and plants of that family. The common Artichoke of our gardens and its allies are fine in form of leaf and flower, but apt to be cut off in hard winters in some soils. The Giant Fennels are most graceful early leafing things, thriving admirably in sandy and free soils. Plantain Lilies (Funkia) are important, and in groups their foliage is excellent. The Pampas Grass is precious where it grows well, but in many districts is gradually killed by hard winters. Where it has the least chance, it should be planted in bold masses. The great leaved Gunneras are superb near water and in rich soil. The giant cow parsnips are effective, but apt to take possession of the country side, and are not easily exterminated, and, therefore, should be put in with a sparing hand in islands and rough places only. The large Indian evergreen Rockfoils are fine in form, and in their glossy foliage are easily grown and grouped in picturesque ways, and they are very hardy. In sandy and free soils a handsome group of beautiful leaved things may be formed of Acanthus. The new water lilies will help us much to fine foliage, especially in association with the many graceful plants that grow in and near water, as are also certain hardy ferns which may be grown near water, like the Royal Fern, which in rich soil and shade makes leaves as fine as any tropical Fern. In southern districts the New Zealand Flax is effective in gardens, and the great Japan Knotworts (Poly- gonum) are handsome in rough places in the wild garden, and better kept out of the flower garden. Some of the Rhubarbs, too, are distinct and handsome, and very vigorous by the waterside, where the great water dock often comes of itself. It is a stately genus, and though we may not find room for many in the garden, it may be easy to do so by the water side or in rich ground anywhere. With our many fine-leaved plants from temperate and cool climes it is possible to have beautiful groups of hardy fine-leaved plants, for trees like the Ailantus and Paulownia make almost tropical growth if cut down close to the ground every year. We have also the hardy Palm (Chamserops), the Yuccas, and graceful Bamboos, and Siebold's BEAUTY OF FORM IN THE FLOWER GARDEN. 227 Plantain Lily (Funkia), and plants of a similar character. Amongst those annually raised from seeds, and requiring only the protection of glass to start them, we have much variety from the stately Castor- oil-plant to the silver Centaurea. Although tender plants in pots are effective- in summer in special positions, plants that cannot stand out-of-doors from the beginning of June until the end of September can hardly be called fit for summer gardening. Among the most suitable are several kinds of Palm, such as Seaforthia elegans, Chamaerops excelsa, and C. humilis ; Aralias, various ; Dracaenas, do. ; Group of house plants placed out for summer. Harrow Lodge, Dorking. Phormium tenax and its variegated form ; Yucca aloifolia variegata Ficus elastica, and some Eucalyptus. Erythrinas make fine autumn groups and are brilliant in colour, and useful for lighting up masses of foliage. The hardiest Tree Fern, Dicksonia antarctica, looks well when plunged in shady dells with overhanging foliage for shelter ; and several varieties of dwarf Ferns, such as the Bird's-nest Fern, are admirable for undergrowth to this Fern. Plants raised from seed will, however, usually form the majority, owing to the lack of Q 2 228 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. room under glass for many large plants. Of plants raised from seed the most useful are Cannas, which may be taken up and wintered under glass, or securely protected in the soil. Most of the tall light green-foliaged varieties flower freely and make excellent centres for groups, while the dwarf bronze-foliaged sorts are e good for vases. Solanums have also been effective in the south. The spiny- leaved S. robustum, the elegant cut-leaved S. laciniatum, and S. Warscewiczi make good single specimens, or edgings to groups of taller plants. Wigandias, Ferdinanda eminens, and Melianthus major are all useful ; and Acacia lophantha, Amaranthus, Cineraria maritima. Bocconias, with their tall spikes of graceful flowers and noble foliage, are very effective and permanent plants and several varieties of Rhus or Sumach have good foliage, Rhus glabra laciniata among them. As to arrangement, the best beds or sets of beds are those of the simplest design. Shelter is a great aid, and recesses in shrubberies or in banks clothed with foliage form the most fitting background for beds or groups to nestle in. Avoid Musas or Caladiums, the leaves of which tear to shreds if winds cannot be shut out, and also plants that look unhappy after a cold night or two. Make the most of plants that grow under nearly all conditions, and use any dell overhung by trees for half hardy fine-leaved plants. A garden where each plant spreads forth its delicate foliage will form a pleasant change from brilliant bedding plants, or severely geometric carpet beds. J. G. Better effects may be obtained from hardy plants only than from tender ones. There are the Yuccas, hardy, and unsurpassed by anything of like habit grown in a hothouse ; the Arundos, con- spicua and donax ; fine hardy plants like Crambe cordifolia, Rheum in variety, Ferula and umbelliferous plants, as graceful as tenderest exotics. Then we have a hardy Palm that through all our recent hard winters has preserved its health and greenness wherever its leaves could not be torn to shreds by storms. As an example of fine form from hardy plants, I cannot do better than give the New Zealand Reed ( Arundo conspicua). This handsome Grass produces its blossom-spikes earlier than the Pampas, and is more elegant in habit, the silky white tufts bending like ostrich plumes at the end of slender stalks. It is best adapted to a sheltered corner, where it is protected from rough winds, and does admirably in the cold and warmer districts, but, like the Pampas Grass, not very hardy in cool and inland districts. As to tender plants in the open air, it would be difficult to give a better illustration than the stately Musa Ensete in Berkshire. In sheltered nooks in the southern counties this plant makes a very fair growth in the summer. In 1877 I was struck with its BEAUTY OF FORM IN THE FLOWER GARDEN. 229 health and vigour at Park Place, Henley-on-Thames. Mr. Stanton, the gardener, raised a batch from seed, and it was surprising what fine plants they became in fifteen months. The plant is quite as effective in a conservatory in winter as out-of-doors in summer. In the illustration of a bold mass of fine leaved plants near Hyde Park Corner, we see some of the best features of recent fine-leaved gardening. It had a great Abyssinian Plantain in the middle, and was fringed by a few sub-tropical plants, and edged by an extra- Fine-leaved herbaceous plant (Plantain Lily). ordinary fringe of the fine hardy Siebold's Plantain Lily, long- enduring in beauty. The reason of the success of this bed is clear ; it was not a finicking angle or a wormy scrawl, but a bold circle, and presented no confusion to the observer, who simply saw the plants rising in a well-defined group from the turf. It was by itself, could be seen unopposed, and was not hedged in by a lot of other beds. Lastly, the plant forms were strong and well selected, and contrasted well with the ordinary tree vegetation near. The way in which the Plantain Lilies began early in the year to adorn the spot, and continued 230 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. to do so throughout the whole summer and autumn, was a pleasure to see. The drawing was made about the end of September, shortly after some heavy storms which tore the Musa a little, but the effect remained excellent till October. YUCCAS IN GROUPS. Wherever space can be afforded, hardy Yuccas should be grown, for few hardy plants are so distinct in foliage and manner of growth ; but they appear to best advantage arranged in bold groups, near trees and shrubs, and forming a har- monious contrast to them. Perhaps the best situation is a sloping ground fully exposed to the mid-day sun, and backed by evergreens. If allowed space for development, they will every year add beauty to the place. The handsome spikes of their large cream-coloured flowers are extremely effective, especially when relieved by a back- ground of verdure. Yuccas like a well-drained soil, and thrive on a subsoil of pure chalk, and they delight in full exposure to the sun, and enjoy shelter from rough winds. Hence the advisability of plant- ing them near trees or shrubs. In grouping Yuccas, a better effect is obtained if some of the specimens have the head of their foliage from 3 feet to 6 feet above the soil. These tall plants should not, however, be placed in a back line, but some should be allowed here and there to advance into the foreground, some of the smaller specimens nestling at their feet. The effect of a group thus arranged charms by its irregularity and quaint beauty. Among the more tender plants, we must choose such as grow healthily in sheltered places in the warmer parts of England. The kinds with stout evergreen foliage, such as the New Zealand Flax and the hardier Dracaenas, will be as effective here as they are around London and Paris, and to them the northern gardener should direct his attention. Even if it were possible in all parts to cultivate the softer-growing kinds to the same perfection as in the south of England, it would not be always desirable, as they cannot be used indoors in winter. The best are the many evergreen plants that stand out in summer without injury, and may be transferred to the con- servatory in autumn, to produce through the cold months as fine an effect as in the flower garden in summer. One kind of arrangement in particular must be guarded against. I mean the geometro-pictur- esque one, which is seen in some parts of the London parks devoted to sub-tropical gardening. The plants are often of the finest kinds and in the most robust health, and all the materials for the best results are abundant ; yet the result is not artistic, owing to the needless formality of the beds and the heaping together of many specimens of one kind in long masses straight or twisting, with high raised edges of hard-beaten soil. The first and the last word to say about form is, that we should BEAUTY OF FORM IN THE FLOWER GARDEN. 231 try and see beauty of form everywhere among plants that suit our climate. The willo'ws of Britain are as beautiful as the olives of Italy, or the gum trees as seen in Algeria and the South of France, so that, although the sub-tropical as a system of flower gardening has failed throughout our country generally, and can only be carried out well in the south of England and the warmer countries of Europe, never- theless we need not deprive ourselves of the enjoyment of the finest forms near and in our gardens. The new Water Lilies take us to the waterside, and there are many good forms even amo'ng our native flowers and weeds. The new hardy Bamboos are also very graceful and most distinct, of which several of the highest value promise to be Gunnera and Bamboo (Fota, co. Cork). hardy in our country. What can be done with them, and a few other things, we can now see in the Bamboo garden at Kew, at Batsford Park, and other places. The common hardy Japan Bamboo has thriven even in London, and it is not only waterside or herbaceous plants of all kinds we have to think of but the foliage of trees, which in many cases is quite as beautiful as that of the dwarfer plants. The hardy trees of North America are many of them beauti- ful in foliage, from the Silver Maple to the Scarlet Oak, and Acacias from the same country have broken into a number of beautiful forms ; some are as graceful as ferns. These trees, if obtained on their own roots, will afford us fine aid as backgrounds. The Aralias of Japan and China are quite hardy and almost tropical in foliage, 232 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. while the beauty that may be got from ferns is very remarkable indeed, our native Royal Fern being- of noble proportions when well- grown in half-shady and sheltered places in deep soils, as at Newick Park, and the same is true of all the bold American ferns, plants too often hidden away in obscure corners, whereas the boldest of them should be brought out in our cool British climate to form groups on the lawn and turf. This applies also to our larger native ferns, which, massed and grouped away from the old-fashioned fernery, often tell , better. In this way they are used in some German gardens. We do not illustrate them in this chapter, because the reader has simply to turn to the chapter on the Fern garden to see some of their fine forms. If any one objects that some of the plants mentioned in this chapter are coarse, such as the great leaved composite, the answer is tjiat, on the other hand, many of them are refined and delicate, such as the Acacias, Acanthus, Asparagus, Bamboos, and Ferns. Great Reed, Pampas and Bulrush evergreen, Barberry, and graceful Cypress, Cedar and Fir. Plaintain-Lily and Adams needle not forgetting the fine foliage of the Tea Rose. During recent years the most graceful things and of permanent value in our gardens are Bamboos. THE BAMBOO GARDEN AT KE\V. " The Bamboo garden formed a few years ago at Kew has proved so well adapted for the plants, that 4 few notes as to its position and soil may be of value to the numerous readers who intend to grow the Bamboos. A position was selected in the middle of a wood near the Rhododendron dell, and; taking advantage of a hollow already existing there, the ground was lowered some 5 feet or 6 feet below the surrounding level. A belt of shrubs on the north and east sides, between the trees and the Bamboos together with the low level, affords them a shelter almost as perfect as can be furnished out of doors. Even the bitterest north-easter loses a good deal of its sting before it reaches these Bamboos. What the cultivator of Bamboos has most to fear is not a low temperature merely most of the Bamboos will stand 20 or 25 of frost in a still atmosphere but the dry winds of spring. Bamboos like best a free, open, sandy loam, and the greater part of the soil at Kew is poor and sandy ; but there is, in one part, a belt of good stiff loam extending for a few hundred yards, and it is on the border of this that the Bamboo garden is situated. At the com- mencement the ground was trenched to a depth of 3 feet, and enriched with leaf-soil, and where necessary lightened with sandier soil. These plants can scarcely be over-fed, and in well-drained soil can scarcely be over-watered, and an annual mulching with rich manure is of the greatest advantage. In regard to transplanting, the best time to plant is in spring, when BEAUTY OF FORM IN THE FLOWER GARDEN. 233 growth begins. The renewal of growth is indicated by the unrolling of the young leaves, which may be in April or May,accordingto the winter. Bamboos are very difficult to kill outright, but treated improperly they are apt to get into a stunted condition, which it takes them along time to recover from. I would advise those who wish to try these plants to obtain them from the nurserymen in autumn or winter, if they have been grown in pots, and to give them greenhouse treatment till the end of May, when they can be planted out in a growing state ; but, on the other hand, if they have been planted out in the nursery ground, not to have them sent off till the end of April or later, when they can be set out at once. A yearly clearing out of the older, worn- out stems, dead leaves, &c., prevents that choked-up appearance one In Bamboo garden, Kevv. s'ees so often in ill-tended Bamboos, and whilst giving a lighter and inore graceful aspect to the plants allows freer play to the young growths. Such, briefly, has been the system of cultivation pursued at Kew, and that it is the right one is shown by the luxuriant growth of almost all the kinds so luxuriant, indeed, as to be rather embarrassing in the somewhat restricted space occupied by the collection. The Bamboo garden was made in 1892, and the following are the lengths of a few of this year's growths, exceeded, of course, by specimens in older collec- tions and in warmer parts of the country, but of some interest, perhaps, as showing the rate of growth of Bamboos in a district which has not proved particularly favourable to the growth of tender shrubs 234 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. as a rule : Arundinaria Simoni, 17 feet ; Phyllostachys viridi-glauces- cens, 17 feet; P. Henonis 15 feet; Arundinaria nitida, 13 feet; A. japonica, 12 feet; Phyllostachys aurea, 12 feet; P. nigra, 12 feet; P. fastuosa, 1 1 feet 6 inches ; Arundinaria Hindsi, 1 1 feet 6 inches ; Phyllostachys Boryana, 9 feet ; P Castillonis, 8 feet 6 inches ; Arundinaria anceps, 7 feet 3 inches A. tessellata 4 feet 6 inches ; A. Fortunei (variegated), 4 feet. Bamboos are not all of equal merit, but some of them are the most beautiful of evergreens. Just now when Christmas is at hand, and the days are at their shortest and darkest, there is nothing out of doors that equals the best Bamboos in the fresh greenness and beauty of their foliage. W. J. B." Plants hardy or half-hardy, with fine Foliage or Form, for use in British Gardens. Acacia Acanthus Agave Ailanthus Alsophila Amaranthus Andropogon Aralia Aristolochia Artemisia Arum Arundo Asparagus Asplenium Astilbe Bambusa Berberis Bocconia Bupthalmum Caladium Calla Canna Cannabis Dracaena Ligularia Ricinus Carduus Carex Equisetum Eryngium Megasea Melia Rumex Sagittaria Carlina Carludovica Eucalyptus Farfugium Melianthus Molospermum Scirpus Seaforthia Caryota Centaurea Ferdinanda Ferula Montagnasa Morina Senecio Silphium Chamaedorea Ficus Mulgedium Silybum Chamaepeuce Chamaerops Cordyline Corypha Crambe Funkia Gourds Gunnera Gynerium Gymnocladus Musa Nicotiana Nuphar Onopordon Osmunda Solanum Sorghum Struthiopteris Thalictrum Tupidanthus Cucurbita Cyathea Hedychium Helianthus Paulownia Petasites Typha Uhdea Cycas Heracleum Phoenix Veratrum Cynara Inula Phormium Verbascum Cyperus Datisca Jubaea Kochia Polygonum Polymnia Wigandia Woodwardia Dicksonia Koelreuteria Rheum Yucca Dimorphanthus Latania Rhus Zea Dipsacus Bed of fine-leaved plants in Hyde Park. From a sketch by H. G. Moon. Torch lilies (Longleat). CHAPTER XVIII. THE FLOWER GARDEN IN AUTUMN. Now who hath entered my loved woods, And touched their green with sudden change ? Who blanched my Thistle's rosy face, And gave the winds her silver hair ?; Set Golden-rod within her place, And scattered Asters everywhere ? Lo ! the change reaches high and wide, Hath toned the sky .to softer blue ; Hath crept along the river side, And trod the valleys through and through ! RECENT additions to our garden flora have made such a difference that the flower garden in th^ autumn may be even more beautiful than that of the spring, rich as that is in flowering trees and shrubs. The use of half hardy, or bedding plants, which are often showy in autumn, gives a certain amount of colour which is very precious ; and the introduction of many beautiful hardy flowers gives us the means of making the autumnal garden very fine in colour effects. It would be easy to give the names of many things that are to be found in flower in gardens in autumn, but that is not nearly so im- portant as getting an idea of many of the nobler class of plants which may be effectively used at that time, no matter almost what the season may be. Half hardy plants for the garden depend very much on the weather of the summer, and certain seasons are so much 236 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. against them that they make no show ; but this cannot be said of the hardy flowers of nobler stature and beauty, which are so well fitted for our climate, like the many Sunflowers. Certain plants may depend for success on soil and situation, or even climate, even when they are hardy as the Fuchsia, which is so much better in the coast and west country gardens ; but, when everything is left out that wants any extra culture or advantages of climate and soil, there remain for every garden many beautiful things for the garden in the fall. Of those that can generally be trusted for our country, I should say that, of all the gains of the past generation, the brilliant groups of plants of the Sunflower order were the finest, handsomest, and most generally useful for their disregard of any weather likely to occur. The masses of fine form and colour one may have with these when grouped in picturesque ways are remarkable. With the Sun- flowers are included not only the Helianthus strictly, of which there are so many good kinds now, but also other showy prairie flowers of the same natural order, which approach them in character, such as Rudbeckia, Silphium, Helenium, and other vigorous families of this numerous tribe of plants. The best character of many of these is that they thrive in any soil, and make their way in rough places and among shrubs, or in parts of gardens less precious than those we keep for our best flowers. For delicate and fine colour, however, the first place belongs to Tea and monthly Roses, of which the best kinds should always be grown in the open air. Of the kinds which open best in England, a delightful garden may be made in autumn, in fine seasons enduring right to the end. Until quite recently no one trusted the Tea Rose out in bold masses in the flower garden, and hence the ordinary red Rose, not generally flowering late, was kept by itself. A greater mistake could not be, because these most precious of all Roses (the Teas) go on blooming throughout the summer and autumn, and very often they vary in bloom ; that is to say, the flowers of September will not be the same as the flowers of June, the buds also varying. So we have not only lovely Roses throughout the fine season, but also variety every week, every shower seeming to influence the bloom. There is such great variety among them that every week seems to give us a new aspect of beauty. In my own garden were planted several thousands of Tea Roses in this way, not only for their beauty, but also with a view of testing the kinds best for our country. Some kinds which are fine abroad do not open well with us, but a number of beautiful kinds do, and we have never seen any picture of garden beauty equal to theirs in such a fine autumn as that of 1895. We had thousands of blooms open until the end of September, almost as showy as bedding plants, but far more refined in colour, fragrance, THE FLOWER GARDEN IN AUTUMN. 237 and everything that makes a plant precious. Almost the same thing may be said of the neglected monthly Roses, which have this charm of late flowering, in many cases even in cold northern districts. But the most precious, perhaps, of all flowers of autumn for all parts of the country, grouped in an artistic way, are the hardy Asters of the American woods, which lived for ages in our gardens in mean bundles tied up in mixed borders like besoms. The best of these massed and grouped among shrubs or young plantations of trees, covering the ground, give an effect new and delightful, the colour refined and charming, and the mass of bloom impressive in autumn. Some kinds come in flower in summer, but nearly all the loveliest Asters in colour flower in September and October, and no such good colours of the same shades have ever been seen in the flower garden. It is not only the Asters of America we have to consider, but the still more precious Asters of Europe, which, by their extraordinary beauty, make up for their rarity. Professor Green, of California, who knows the American Aster well, on seeing here a plant of Aster acris, said, We have none so beautiful as that." This is the Aster with the beautiful blue purple flower which is so effective when massed. Under different names this plant is grown in nearly allied forms, some having specific names, enabling us to enjoy plants of different stature but the same high beauty, flowering at slightly different times, but always at their best in autumn. With these should be grouped the handsome large Italian Aster, which also has its half-a-dozen forms, not differing much, but precious for their variety, and among the prettiest plants ever seen in our gardens. It is none the less valuable because as easily cultivated as the common Balm of the kitchen garden. For the last two years I have had several thousand plants of these European Asters beneath a group of half-grown Fir, just as they might be in their wild state, but rather thicker, as the spot is a cultivated one, and have never had the same return of beauty from anything else. Be the weather what it may, the lovely blue and purple was a picture, and landscape painters came to paint the scene. The Sunflowers and Starworts we give the first place to because they are almost independent of soil or cool climates. Hardy as the Chrysanthemum is, the same cannot be said for it, because, as an outdoor flower, it must have a sandy soil and warm positions, and cool soils, even in southern England, are against it ; whereas in warm and free soils, like that at Hazlemere, one may see delightful results from the cottage Chrysanthemums, which are very pretty where they can be grown against low walls or palings. Other plants which are of the highest value in endurance and freedom of bloom are the Heaths of our own islands. Their effect is good, summer and winter ; but in 238 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. autumn some of them flower in a pretty way, particularly the Cornish and the little Dorset Heath, and the Irish Heath in its purple and white forms. Among the half hardy plants of the garden perhaps the first place belongs to the Dahlia, which was always a showy autumn flower, but of late has become more precious through the beauty of what are called Border of Michaelmas Daisies (Munstead), Surrey. Cactus Dahlias, which are so much better in form and colour than the roundheaded Dahlias. The hardy Fuchsia is in the warmer and milder districts often very pretty in autumn, especially where it is free enough to make hedges and form large bushes ; but in cold and midland places the growth is often hindered by hard winters. Gladiolus is a splendid flower of the south, but coming more into a class of flowers requiring care, and if they do not get it soon disappearing, liable also to disease, and, on the whole, not so precious as showy. Nurserymen are raising THE FLOWER GARDEN IN AUTUMN 239 kinds of a hardier nature, but we have more precious flowers. The last few years have brought us magnificent varieties of the Cannas through the crossing of some wild species with the old hybrid kinds. Unfortunately, although in warm valleys and under special care here and there they do well, our country is not generally warm enough to show their fine form and colour as in France and Italy. Their use in pots is another matter. The addition of Lilies to our garden flora within the past generation has had a good effect on the autumn garden. Where the finer kinds are well grown, the varieties of the Japanese Lilies, with their delicate and varied colours, are splendid autumn flowers for the open air. The Anemones, usually flowers of the spring, come in some forms for the autumn garden, particularly the white and pink kinds. The handsome Bignonia, or trumpet creeper, is precious on all warm soils, but generally it has not done so well with us as in France. Several kinds of Clematis come in well in autumn, particularly the yellow and the fragrant kinds. The Pentstemons are handsome and very valuable in warm soils and districts where they may live out of doors in winter, but in London districts they are not so good. A splendid autumn flower is the Cardinal Flower, and happy should be those who can grow it well. It fails in many gardens in loamy soil, and where there is insufficiency of water, being a native of the bogs, and thriving best in moist and peaty soil. A number of fine varieties have been raised, and are brilliant in suitable soils ; but without these they are best left alone. The Torch Lilies are extremely effective in autumn, and in warm soils they are often among the handsomest things, but, not being northern plants, are unable to face a northern winter. Happily this is not so with the beautiful new Water Lilies raised by M Latour Marliac, which are hardy in the open air, even with such weather as that of the early part of 1895. Though perhaps the best bloom comes in summer, they flower through the autumn, varying, like the Tea Rose, according to the weather, but interesting always up to the end of September. We should also name the Hollyhock which is, however, so liable to accident from disease, and those who care for it will do well to use seedling plants. Seedsmen are now saving seed of different colours which come fairly true. A handsome group of vigorous perennials for the autumn are the Polygonums. Some of the large kinds, such as the Japanese and Indian, are not showy, but massed picturesquely on margins of a wide lawn, and on pieces of stiff soil which are useless in any garden sense, are effective for many weeks in autumn, as the flower is pretty, and the foliage of one kind is often fine in colour. I have three kinds of them massed together, growing like great weeds, namely, P. 240 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. cuspidatum, sachalinense, and complexum, and a very soft and good effect they gave together in a rough hollow where no garden plants less vigorous than these would have grown. Thus we have a noble array before coming to some old flowers of autumn, the Meadow Saffrons or " autumn Crocuses," many of the common kind of which fleck the meadows in autumn. There are other kinds, too, which of recent years have been added in greater numbers to our gardens, some of them pretty, and the double kinds prettier than most double flowers. As they grow naturally in meadows, in turf is a delightful way to have them in gardens, though new and rare kinds should be grown in nursery beds until they are plentiful. They are not difficult to grow, and should often be placed in moist grassy places. Then there are the true autumn Crocuses, which are very little seen in gardens, but are most delicate and lovely in colour. Coming for the most part from sunny lands, they do best in light soils ; but some, like C. speciosus, grow in any soil, and all are worth grow- ing. Among the best is C. nudiflorus, naturalised in Britain, in colour one of the most lovely flowers. To get little pictures from such plants we must have them happy in grass or among dwarf plants, and on sunny banks and grassy corners of the lawn or pleasure ground. In mid-October they have often taken away large areas of bedding plants in the London parks ; while, at the same time, there are many lovely hardy flowers in perfect bloom. No doubt severe frosts may destroy any kind of flower soon, but for those who live in the country in the autumn it is something to have bright colours and beautiful plants about them late, and these are afforded as well by the Starworts and other hardy plants in October, as the fairest flowers that come in June. When we have a severe September about London, many gardens of tender plants are shorn of their beauty, whereas, the hardy flowers go on quite untouched for a month or six weeks later, and not merely bloom as do heliotrope and geranium, in a fine autumn, ,but as the meadow flowers in summer, with vigour and perfect health. Therefore, it is clear that, whatever the charms of tender plants may be for the summer, those who live in the country in autumn are unwise to trust to anything but the finer hardy plants. Thus, without touching on rarities or things difficult to grow, we have a handsome array of beauty for the autumn garden, even leaving out of the question the many shrubs and trees which are beautiful in foliage or fruit in autumn, and there are many of these in any well- stored garden. THE FLOWER GARDEN IN AUTUMN. 241 Some Hardy and Half-hardy Plants blooming in British gardens. September October. Abutilon Aconitum Agapanthus Ageratum Amaryllis Anagallis Anemone Arnebia Aster Berberidopsis Bignonia Brugmansia Calceolaria Campanula Canna Cassia Ceanothus Celsia Centaurea Chrysanthemum Clematis Colchicum Convolvulus Coreopsis Crocus Cuphea Cyclamen Dahlia Delphinium Desmodium Dianthus Diplacus Diplopappus Eccremocarpus Erica Escallonia Fuchsia Gaillardia Geum Gladioli Godetia Gypsophila Helenium Helianthus Heliotrope Hieracium Hollyhock Honeysuckle Hyacinthus Hypericum Iberis Impatiens Lantana Lauristinus Lavender Liatris Lilium Linaria Linum Lobelia Lonicera Lupin Lychnis Lythrurn Magnolia Marigold Matthiola Mignonette Mimulus Montbretia Nicotiana Nigella CEnothera Pampas Grass Pansy Papaver Pentstemon Petunia Phlox Phygelius Physalis Physostegia Plumbago Polygonum. Prince's-feather Pyrethrum Rose Rudbeckia Salpiglossis Salvia Scabious Sedum Senecio Silene Silphium Snapdragon Solanum Solidago Statice Strawberry Sweet Peas Sweet William Telekia Trachelium Tradescantia Tritoma Tritonia Tropa^olum Tuberose Valerian Venidium Verbascum Verbena Veronica Viola Yucca Zephyranthes Zinnia Belladonna Lily and Zephyranthes, Kew. Engraved from photograph by G. Champion. R Winter Jasmine CHAPTER XIX. THE FLOWER GARDEN IN WINTER. THE idea that winter is a doleful time for gardens must not be taken seriously even by those who only grow hardy things out of doors ; because between the colour of the stems and leaves of trees, or shrubs, there is much beauty left, even in winter, and in mild winters good things venture to flower. Mr. Moore, of Dublin, wrote to me in midwinter : After a very open winter we have had a sharp snap of cold, and to-day (Jan. 20) it is blowing a bitterly cold storm from the east. To-day has opened Winter Sweet and Winter Honeysuckle ; Iris Stylosa, blue and white, Christmas Roses and Winter Heliotrope are beautiful ; in fact, I never saw them so good. But even where, owing to hard winters, we cannot enjoy our flowers in this way, there is much beauty to be had from trees and shrubs, evergreen and summer-leafing. Hitherto we have been all so busy in planting evergreens in heavy masses, that the beauty one may realise by using a far greater number of summer-leafing shrubs and fine herbaceous plants among the evergreens is not often seen. But gardens are too often bare of interest in winter, and some of the evil arises from the common error that plants are not worth seeing in winter. The old poet's wail about the dismal winter is a false one to those who have eyes for beauty. Woods are no less beautiful in winter than in summer to some, more beautiful from THE FLOWER GARDEN IN WINTER. 243 the refined colour, tree form and the fine contrast of evergreen and summer-leafing trees. In any real garden in winter there is much beauty of form and colour, and there are many shrubs and trees which are beautiful in the depth of winter, like the Red and Yellow Willow and Dogwoods, and even the stems of hardy flowers (Polygonum) ; the foliage of many alpine plants (Epimedium) are not only good in colour, but some of these plants have their freshest hues in winter, as the mossy Rockfoils of many kinds. In the country garden, where there are healthy evergreens as well as flowering shrubs and hardy plants, how much beauty we see in winter, from the foliage of the Christmas Roses (Helleborus) to the evergreen Barberries ! The flower gardener should be the first to take notice of this beauty, and show that his domain as well as the wild wood, might be interesting at this season. For the dismal state of flower-gardens in winter the extravagant practice of our public gardens is partly to blame. A walk by the flower beds in Hyde Park on Christmas Day, 1895, was not a very enlivening thing. One by the bent-bound dunes of the foam-dashed northern shore, on the same stormy day, might be more instructive for here is a large garden carried out with the very extravagance of opulence, and not one leaf, or shoot or plant, or bush in it from end to end ; giants' graves and earth puddings these and iron rails and the line of planes behind. The bare beds follow each other with irritating monotony only five feet of grass between those in line. The southern division of this garden is nearly 500 paces long, and so even that those not in the habit of seeing this costly garden may imagine its ill effect in winter. Nearly 500 yards of a garden sacrificed for its kaleidoscopic effects in summer, and barer and uglier in winter than words can tell of. A more inartistic arrangement would be impossible and there is no chance of variety, breadth, or repose even in summer. How are we to break up such an arid space as this in winter ? One of the best ways would be to group families of the choicest flowering shrubs, which would be worth having for their own sakes, and at the same time would give relief to the wintry waste of desolation. At present any relief is only to be obtained by carrying out, in early summer, Palms and Bamboos from the hot-house, which is a very expensive and poor way in a country like ours. In forming groups of the more beautiful flowering shrubs, I do not mean anything like the present brutal treatment of shrubs in the London squares, where the surface is dug, and the shrubs are trimmed like besoms, ending in frightful ugliness ; but each group of plants grown well by itself and let almost alone when once established. They would give relief in the summer ; they often flower beautifully ; and here and there R 2 244 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN, they might form dividing masses, so as to throw the unwieldy space into parts, which would help to secure variety and contrast. The result of planting and placing rightly well chosen hardy shrubs would be a good background here and there ; a smaller area to plant with summer things ; less dependence on such feeble examples of tropical plants as one can grow in Britain ; light and shade, and a variety of surface as well as more variety of plants and bushes ; in short, all the life of the garden, instead of a dead waste. And not only would the winter effect be improved, but the summer also. The objection that some shrubs do not flower long enough is not serious, as we have their beauty of form and leaf, and delicate green and other fine colour of foliage. Moreover, the tropical plants put out to relieve the flowering plants do not, many of them, flower at all, and do not give such good relief as hardy shrubs and choice trees. This is not a question of town or public gardens only, as it arises in many private places, and especially in large gardens, where much of the surface is given to half-hardy summer flowers. As to the common plan for getting rid of the winter bareness of such beds by evergreens and conifers in pots, it is impossible on a large scale, and sticking potted conifers in a flower-garden to drag them away in spring, is at best a very inartistic and very costly business. Some permanent way of breaking up the flatness is the best way ; and this way would enable us to limit the excessive area of ground to be planted with tender things, the real root of evil. KEEP THE STEMS OF HARDY PLANTS. The stems of all her- baceous plants, reeds, and tall grasses in winter, are very good in colour, and should always be allowed to stand through the winter and not be cut down in the fidgety tidy way that is so common, sweeping away the stems in autumn and leaving the surface as bare and ugly as that round a besieged city. The same applies to the stems of all waterside and herbaceous plants, stems of plants in groups often giving beautiful brown colours in many fine shades. Those who know the plants can in this way identify them in winter as well as in summer a great gain in changing one's plantings and in increasing or giving away plants. Moreover, the change to all these lovely browns and greys is a distinct gain as a lesson in colour to all who care for refined colour, and also in enabling us to get light and shade, contrasts and harmonies in colour. If these plants are grouped in a bold and at the same time picturesque way, the good of letting the stems remain will be far more evident than in the weak "dotty" way generally practised, the seed pods and dead flowers of many plants helping the picture. There is no need to remove any stem of an herbaceous plant until the spring comes and THE FLOWER GARDEN IN WINTER. 245 the growing shoots are ready to take the place of the brown and dead ones, which then may be cleared away. EVERGREEN PLANTS. Apart from our evergreen shrubs, so happy as these are in many parts of the British Isles, there are the oft- neglected evergreen rock and herbaceous plants, such as Christmas Roses, Barrenworts, Heuchera, Alexandrian Laurel, the bolder evergreen ferns, and the large Indian Rockfoils, Saxifraga or Megasea. In early winter these fine evergreen plants become a deeper green, some forms getting red. They have been in our gardens for years, but are seldom made a right use of; thrown into borders without thought as to their habits, and soon forgotten or overshadowed by other things ; so that we never get any expression of their beauty or effect in masses or groups. Yet, if grouped in effective ways, they would go on for years, giving us fine evergreen foliage in winter. In addition to the wild kinds, a number of fine forms have been raised in gardens of late years. Some thought should be given to the placing of the large Rockfoils, their mountain character telling us that they ought to be on open banks, borders, or banky places exposed to the sun, and not buried among heaps of tall herbaceous and miscellaneous vegetation. They are so easily grown and increased that a little thought in placing them in visible masses is the only thing they call for ; and the fact that they will endure and thrive under almost any conditions should not prevent us from show- ing how fine they are in effect when held together in any bold way, either as carpets, bold edgings, or large picturesque groups on banks or rocks. The Alexandrian Laurel (Ruscus racemosus) is a most graceful plant, somewhat shrubby in character, with glossy dark green leaves and Willow-like shoots. It is most free and happy on peaty and friable soils, growing 3 feet or 4 feet high ; in winter the effect is very good, and it is valuable for the house, to give a graceful and distinct foliage to accompany various flowers at this season. It grows very well in Ireland on the limestone. In clay soils it may want a little encouragement, and it thrives well in partial shade. The Christmas Rose is a noble winter flower where well grown, and is lovely in its wild state in the foot-hills of the Alps, in Italy and countries near ; and, happily, it flowers in our gardens very well also, varying a little in its ways. The stout kind (H. maximus) flowers in the early winter in front of walls and in sheltered spots, and is hardy and free in ordinary soil. The true Christmas Rose (H. niger) is a little more particular ; it thrives much better on chalky and warm soils, and grows best on a northern aspect or shaded place ; and even in its own country the finest plants are found in places where it escapes the sun. These are true winter flowers ; but hardly less so are 246 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. the Lenten Roses, or forms of the Oriental Hellebores. In the southern counties, five seasons out of six, no weather stops them from being fine in flower before the winter is past ; they often bloom in January and make a handsome show in February, and they are the finest of all flowers to end the winter. The Winter Heliotrope (Tussilago fragrans) is not to be despised, although it is a bad weed, and hard to get rid of. The way to deal with it is to put it on some rubbish heap, or gravel bank, right away from the garden, where a handful of it may be gathered when wanted. The Algerian Iris flowers in warm sandy borders in the country around London, and in mild winters is a great treasure, not merely for its beauty in warm sheltered corners, but also its precious qualities for the house, in which the flowers, if cut in the bud state, open grace- fully if placed in basins in moss. In warm and sheltered gardens, on warm soils, others of the winter blooming Iris of the East may be grown, while in such gardens, in the south at least, the good culture of the sweet Violet will often be rewarded with many flowers in winter. A beautiful Italian Crocus (Imperati) often flowers in winter in the southern counties at least, as, where people take the trouble to get them, do C. Sieberi, Dalmaticus Etruscus, Suaveoleus and others. This habit of some of the winter flowers of the south of Italy and Mediterranean region to open in our green and open winters should be taken advantage of. The fate of these Crocuses is interfered with by the common field vole, and the common rat is also a great destroyer of the Crocus. Where these enemies do not prevail, and the soil favours these charming winter and early flowers, we can grow them, not only in the garden, but on the turf of sunny meadows and lawns in which these beautiful Crocuses will come up year after year in winter and early dawn of spring. SHRUBS AND TREES IN THE WINTER GARDEN. The Winter- sweet (Chimonanthus fragrans) is in bloom often before Christmas in the country around London, and every shoot full of fragrant buds opening on the trees against south and west walls. It is invaluble both for the open garden and the house. The many bright berries which adorn our country, both in the wild land and in well-stored gardens, are rather things of the autumn ; and by mid-winter the birds are apt to clear them off Wild Roses, Briers, Barberry, and Thorns, American as well as British. The Pyracantha, however, stays with us late ; and Hollies, Aucuba, Cotoneaster, Snowberry, and the pretty little hardy Pernettya, from the Straits of Magellan, which has broken into such variety of colour in our country, are among those that stay late. But, however the cheery berries may fail us in hard winters, the colour of the trees and bushes that bear them never does ; and the red and THE FLOWER GARDEN IN WINTER. 247 yellow Willow, Dogwood, Thorns, Alders, Birch, and many Aspens and Maples, give fine colour when massed or grouped in any visible way. Still more constant are the flowering shrubs of winter, where in sheltered gardens and warm valleys any attention is given to them Winter Jasmine, Winter Sweet, Winter Honeysuckles, Wych- Hazel, Japan Quince in many forms, Laurustinus, several Heaths, Ar- butus, at least one variety of Daphne Mezereon, the pale South- ern Clematis (Calycina) happy in our warmer gardens, Eleagnus, the Nepal Barberry, a Chinese Plum (P. Davidiana), and the catkin bearing Garrya and Hazel. The Winter Honeysuckles are a bit slow in some districts, and a better result is got from them on free soils, and from walls in sheltered corners, an immense difference re- sulting if we can have them near the sea, with its always genial in- fluence in favour of things from climates a little warmer than our own. In heavy soils in the inland country and around London the Laurustinus often comes to grief or fails to flower well, but has great beauty in seashore districts, and often on sandy and gravel soils is charming, even in inland places. The hardy and beautiful Winter Jasmine, which is so free on cottage walls and wherever it gets a chance, is most precious, owing to the way it opens in the house especially if gathered in the bud state. If we have it in various aspects, such a contingency as the sun scorching the shoots after a frost and killing Winter Sweet, drawn by H. G. Moon from shoots gathered at Gravetye New Year's Day, 1895. 248 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. the flowers may be avoided, and the flowers will come later. The plant is so free that, if the shoots are allowed to hang down, they root in the ground like twitch, and therefore it can be increased very easily, and should be seen in visible groups and lines, and not only on the house or on walls, as in the milder districts it forms pretty garlands and bushes in the open. I have a little oak fence covered with it, which is usually very pretty about Christmas. In mild winters its beauty is extraordinary out of doors, and in the hardest winters the buds will open in the house. And when the Dogwood has lost all its leaves and is a deep red by the lake, and the Cardinal Willow has nearly taken its winter colour, the dwarf autumn blooming Furze flowers far into winter, and is in perfect bloom on the drier ground, telling us of its high value where dwarf vegetation not over a yard high is desired. It is seen in abundance on many hills and moors, but is hardly ever planted by design. A good plant for all who care for low foreground vegetation, it may be planted like common furze, but by far the best way is to sow it in spring in any bare or recently broken ground. The Common Furze, too, of which the season of bloom is spring and mild winters, often flowers at Christmas ; odd plants here and there in the colonies of the plant bearing quite fresh flowers; and if from the nature of these native shrubs they do not find a place in the flower garden, there are few country places where they may not be worth growing not far from the house, in covert, or by drives or rough walks, as no plants do more to adorn the late autumn and winter. The hardy Heaths are excellent for the winter garden in their brown and grey tuftiness. The forms of the common Heather and the Cornish Heath are best for rough places outside the flower-garden but some kinds of Heath are among the best plants for the choicest winter garden of the open air, particularly the Portuguese Heath (E. Codonodes), which in mild winters is of great beauty ; also a hybrid between the Alpine forest Heath (E. carnea) and the Mediter- ranean Heath, with the port and dense flowering habit of the Alpine Heath and the earlier bloom of the Mediterranean Heath. The Alpine forest Heath, the most precious of all hardy Heaths, often flowers in mild winters, and in all winters is full of its buds ready to open. So far we are speaking of districts where there are few advantages of climate ; if we include others there might be more flowers in the winter-garden, and many varied flowers are seen in gardens in the Isle of Wight, Isle of Man and many other favoured gardens not always confined to the southern parts of England and Ireland : the Cornish, Devon, South Wales or Cork Coasts being far more favour- able. From these places Roses, Indian Daphne, and many other flowers, have often been sent to me in perfect bloom in January. THE FLOWER GARDEN IN WINTER. 249 And if the snow shrouds the land, all's well, as the leaves of ever- green plants, like Carnations, are at rest in it, and some plants are all the better for the peace of the snow for a time. And even if our eyes are not open to the beauty of the winter let us make the flower-garden a real one for spring, summer and fall, as if it were true that in winter The year On the earth her deathbed, in a shroud of leaves dead, Is lying. But it is not true : there is in winter no death, every root works and every bud is active with life ; the wooded land is tender with colour : Alders by the busy wintry stream and Birch on the airy hill, Reeds fine in colour round the lake or marsh, and if even our wild marsh or rough woodland be beautiful in winter, our gardens, with the flora of three continents to gather from, should not then be poor in beauty. No ! Winter is not a time of death, but of happy strife for plants and men. Until her Azure sister of the spring shall blow Her clarion o'er the dreaming earth, and fill (Driving sweet buds like flocks to feed in air) With living hues and odours plain and hill : Hazel catkins. From a drawing by H. G. Moon. CHAPTER XX. WATER GARDENS BY VARIOUS WATER GARDENERS. IT is not only from the mountain's breast, dyed with Violet and Gentian, the Sunflower-strewn prairie of the north, or the sunny fields where Proserpine gathered flowers, that our garden flora comes. River and stream are often fringed with handsome plants, and little fleets of Water Lily silvery fleets they look as one sees them from the bank sail on the lakelets far away in North America and Asia, even where the water is solid ice in winter. One need not go so far to see beautiful plants, as our own country rivers and back-waters of rivers possess many. Our gardens are often made about towns where there are few chances of seeing our native water plants, but by the back-waters of rivers and by streams in many situations, and by lakes like the Norfolk Broads one may often see as handsome plants in these places, and also in the open marsh land, as in any garden, and some that we do not often see happy in gardens, such as the Frogbit, the Bladderwort, and Water Soldier. Where, as often is the case in artificially made ponds, the margin of the water is not the rich deep soil that we have by the Broads and by the sides of rivers, which themselves carry down deep beds of rich soil, a good way is to put the mud which we take out of the pond around its sides a little above and below the water line. This will encourage a rich growth of such Reeds as are found beside natural waters. Water with a hard, naked, beaten edge and little or no vegetation is not good to look at, and a margin of rich living plants is better for fish and game as well as for effect. The waterside plants one may establish in that way are worth having and give good cover for duck. Perhaps the most beautiful of all water gardens are the river and stream gardens, as their form is so much better than anything we can make and the vegetation is often good even without care. With a little thought we can make it much more so, and in our river- seamed land there are so many charming opportunities for water- garden pictures. 252 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. WATERSIDE PLANTS. The water-margin offers to lovers of hardy flowers a site easily made into a fair garden. Hitherto we have used in such places aquatic plants only, and of these usually a very meagre selection ; while the improvement of the waterside may be most readily effected by planting the banks near with vigorous hardy flowers, as many of the finest plants, from Irises to Globe Flowers, thrive in moist soil. Bank plants have this advantage over water plants that we can fix their position, whereas water plants spread so much that some kinds over-run others. The repeating of a favourite plant at intervals would mar all ; groups of free hardy things would be best : Day Lilies, Meadow Sweets, tall Irises, which love wet places ; Gunnera, American swamp Lilies in peaty soil, the rosy Loosestrife Golden Rods, Starworts, the Compass plants, Monkshoods, giant Knotworts, Moon Daisies, the Cardinal Flower, the common Lupine these are some of many types of hardy flowers which would grow freely near the waterside. With these hardy plants, too, a variety of the nobler hardy Ferns, such as the Royal Ferns and Feather Ferns, would associate well. WATER PLANTS of northern and temperate regions associated with our native water plants, add much beauty to a garden. If the soil be rich, we usually see the same monotonous vegetation all round the margin of the water, and where the bottom is of gravel there is often little vegetation, only an unbroken, ugly line of washed earth. A group of Water Lily is beautiful, but Water Lilies lose their charm when they spread over the whole of a piece of water, and even waterfowl cannot make their way through them. The Yellow Water Lily (Nuphar lutea), though less beautiful, is well worthy of a place, and so is the large N. advena (a native of America), which pushes its leaves above the water. The American White Water Lilies (Nymphaea odorata and N. tuberosa) are hardy and beautiful, and of recent years much beauty has been given our water plants in the hybrid hardy Water Lilies raised by M. Latour-Marliac, who has added the large and noble forms and the lovely colour of the Eastern Water Lilies to the garden waters of northern countries. The splendid beauty of these plants should lead people to think of artistic ways of planting garden waters. Our native Water Lily was always neglected and rarely effective, except in a wild state ; but when people see that they may have in Britain the soft yellow and rose and red flowers of the tropical Water Lilies throughout summer and autumn, they may take interest in water gardens, and even the wretched duck ponds which disfigure so many country seats will begin at last to have a reason to be. The change should be the means of leading us to think more of the many noble flowers and fine leaved plants of the water-side, apart from Water Lilies. The WATER GARDENS BY VARIOUS WATER GARDENERS. 253 new hybrid kinds continue blooming long after our native kind has ceased, and from the middle of May to nearly the end of October flowers are abundant. For many years, pond, streamlet, and lake to a very considerable extent were left very much to themselves, with scarce a thought bestowed upon them or the plants for beautifying their surface or margin. In a large London nursery nearly twenty-five years ago, where a very large and, perhaps, complete collection of water plants existed, I was surprised to find that so very few aquatic plants should be required year after year ; so few, indeed, that the cost of maintain- ing the whole was barely met. This was most discouraging, because even water plants, where a representative collection is grown, cannot Pond at Enys, Cornwall. From a photograph sent by Mr. F. W. Meyer, Exeter. receive the necessary space for their free growth in a nursery. This was even so in the case of that lovely and fragrant Cape Pond Flower (Aponogeton), that, seeding in such abundance, was floated hither and thither in thousands, and in consequence had to be kept in check. The rapid increase of this plant, however, is by no means common ; indeed, many instances are known where it cannot be induced to flourish in the open. But in the nursery referred to, by reason of the quantity and size of the plants, flowers of this Apono- geton were gathered the greater part of the year, in the wintry season even its flowers floating on the surface by hundreds. The water in this instance, supplied from an artesian spring, contributed to the success of the plant, as also its freedom of flowering. Gradually, 254 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. however, the aquatics are coming to the front, and an altogether fresh impetus, as well as a great one, has resulted from the introduction of the many charming new hybrid Nymphaeas which are fast making their appearance in some of the best-known gardens. As yet many of these hybrids are scarce, and care will be needed, and possibly protection required, on the larger pieces of ornamental water where water-fowl are encouraged. In planting these choicer kinds, some precaution is necessary when sinking them into their places. Very deep water is not essential, but if the pond be an artificial one, it will be found a good plan to take a few bags of heavy loamy soil to the spot by means of a punt and empty the soil over the side. Then the plant itself, well fixed by wire to the side of a basket already filled with similar soil, should be gradually lowered on to the mound of soil already deposited. In the natural lake no soil will be needed before sinking the plant in position, though similar means may be used to lower the plant, which will quickly take to the accumulation of earth and leaves that years have deposited. Many of the most lovely of aquatics may be grown with considerable success even where neither pond, lake, rivulet, nor ornamental water is found, some very good results having been derived by growing them in tanks 2 feet or 3 feet deep into which a depth of some 12 inches of clay earth has been placed. The recent hybrids are well worthy of attention in this way, and if a fair-sized tank be made and so placed that it will catch the rain water, so much the better for the plants. In this way also fountain basins on the terrace garden may be made to do some service. Besides the hybrid Nymphaeas, such places are well suited if the water be fairly deep for such things as Orontium aquaticum, the Pontederias, and Arrowheads, all of which are perfectly hardy with their crowns 8 inches or 10 inches below the surface of the water, while Thalia dealbata, a rarely seen plant from Carolina, is quite safe with similar treatment. Indeed, it is to be regretted that this handsome plant is not more frequently seen in the water where its handsome leaves and heads of purple blossoms are very showy, but our country is too cool to show its fine form and stature. FORMING THE WATER GARDEN. Fortunate indeed are those through whose grounds runs a brook or streamlet. As a great many of our most effective and most graceful hardy plants can be grown either in the water itself or in the moisture-laden margin of a pond or brook, it is surprising that more advantage is not taken of this fact when the opportunity occurs. Even where natural ponds exist it frequently happens that the banks of the pond, as well as the water itself, are either perfectly bare, or are covered only by the rankest weeds. The ponds chiefly considered here are those mostly formed WATER GARDENS BY VARIOUS WATER GARDENERS. 255 without cement, by natural flooding from a brook, streamlet or river. If the water supply is abundant and continuous, it matters little whether a portion of the water is wasted by percolating the sides of the pond, but when only a small supply can be had, the bottom and sides of the pond must be either concreted or puddled with clay. It often happens that when the excavations for a pond are completed, the bottom is found to consist of impervious clay, but the sides consist of ordinary soil, which would allow a large portion of the water to waste. In such cases the best way out of the difficulty is the cutting of a narrow trench, say 18 inches wide, to a depth a little beyond the surface of the natural clay subsoil. This trench, which should skirt the whole pond at some little distance from the actual Riverside plants in front of an old manor Levens. edge of the water, is then filled with clay " puddle " till just above the water-line and forms an effective remedy against waste, while the water-soaked soil between the trench and the actual outline of the pond forms an excellent home for all kinds of marsh plants of the bolder type. The outline of a pond is of the utmost importance. Regular curves of circles or ovals are utterly out of place and look ridiculous in a landscape with irregular and naturally undulating ground. In order to be effective, the outline of the pond must not only be irregular, but it must be also in accordance with the laws of Nature, and as in most cases the natural pond or lake is merely an expanded stream or river, we must look to the shore-lines of the latter for guidance in the forming of artificial ponds. In a natural stream the curves are mostly due to the water meeting with some 256 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. obstacle which caused a deviation in its course. We find invariably that where a promontory, a projecting rock, or some other obstacle caused an alteration in the course of the water, the latter is thrown against the opposite bank with greater force, and unless the ground be very hard a good portion of it is washed away by the force, and an extended recess is the natural result. In the same way an irregular pond to look natural should have the largest and boldest recesses opposite or nearly opposite the largest promontory on the other side. The shore-line should not terminate abruptly, but should form a slope continued below the water level. In planting the shore of a pond or lake it is the ground which projects into the water which should be furnished with the largest and boldest plants. This is not only perfectly natural, but has also the effect of partially concealing some of the recesses of the water. A pond thus treated will appear larger than it really is, and a walk around the shore-line will reveal fresh surprises with every step. AQUATICS. Of all plants suitable for the water garden, none can surpass the Nymphaeas now that we have a variety of shades of colour undreamt of a few years ago. The delicate pink Nymphaea Marliacea carnea and the yellow N. M. Chromatella seem to make the most rapid progress in English water gardens, while the white Nymphaea pygmaea alba and the yellow N. p. Helvola are the Liliputians of the race. Perhaps the most exquisite of the newer kinds are N. M. Seignoretti (which is red, shaded with orange). N. M. Robinsoni and the deep carmine N. M. ignea. A little less expensive is the large deep red N. Laydekeri lilacea, while the following are now to be got : N. Laydekeri rosea, deep rose, changing to carmine ; N. odorata exquisita, rosy carmine ; N. o. rosacea, tender rose shade ; N. o. rubra, deep rose, and N. odorata sulphurea, deep yellow. Nuphar advena should not be used except in places where there is plenty of room, when, as shown in the picture, even the leaves alone produce a bold effect. The same might be said of our native Water Lilies, Nymphaea alba and Nuphar lutea. Stratiotes aloides (popularly known as the Water Soldier) is attractive, not so much for its flowers as for its long leaves, which form a striking contrast to other aquatics. Villarsia Humboldtiana and the native Villarsia nymhpaeoides, with its small round leaves and yellow flowers, form a good contrast to plants of a bolder type. Another interesting aquatic is Vallisneria spiralis, with very long, narrow leaves and small white flowers floating on the surface of the water. AQUATICS FOR SHALLOW WATER. The common Sweet Flag ( Acorus Calamus), the Flowering Rush (Butomus umbellatus), and the Bulrush or Reed Mace (Typha latifolia) are bold as well as graceful objects in shallow water, especially in a large lake, but in ponds WATER GARDENS BY VARIOUS WATER GARDENERS. 257 of only moderate size they should be used with caution, or they would soon shut out Nymphaeas and other aquatics whose leaves and flowers float on the water. Much less robust in their growth are Typha angustifolia and T. minima. Very striking, too, are the arrow-shaped leaves and white spikes of blossom of Sagittaria sagittaefolia and the Buckbean (Menyanthes trifoliata). The flowers of the latter are very sweet-scented and arranged in racemes ; they are beautifully fringed, pure white, slightly tinged with pink outside. This also must be kept in check to prevent injury to other aquatics. A handsome American aquatic, quite hardy in shallow water, is Pontederia cordata, with handsome spikes of blue flowers and almost erect leaves on long stalks about 18 inches or more in height. The Natural grouping of waterside plants. From a photograph sent by M. Louis Kropatsch, Imperial Gardens, Vienna. Bog Arum (Calla palustris), though only about 9 inches high, when planted in groups is most effective. The well-known Arum Lily (Calla aethiopica) may in the west and south of England at all events also be used as an aquatic for shallow water. Though a severe winter will cut it down, the roots below the surface of the water will push forth new leaves and flowers in great profusion. At Trelissick, near Truro, the pond was skated on for several weeks, and 1 6 and 18 of frost were registered during the severe winter two years ago, but in the following spring many thousands of Arum Lilies were cut from the very same pond. MARGINS OF WATER. The water-soaked margins of our ponds and brooks would furnish a home for many graceful fine-foliaged and S 258 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. flowering plants. One of the noblest of our plants with large leaves delighting in such a position is Gunnera manicata. Gunnera scabra also likes a similar position, but its leaves seldom attain a diameter of more than 5 feet, while Gunnera magellanica is quite a pigmy. Rheum Emodi from the Himalayas, Rheum palmatum from Northern Asia, and the Siberian Rheum undulatum are also effective plants for the waterside. Of an entirely different type are the noble Arundo donax and its variegated variety. In the south-west of England they are, as a rule, hardy without protection, and their elegant grace is most striking. The Pampas Grass (Gynerium argenteum) and its early-flowering companion, Arundo conspicua, from New Zealand, may also be mentioned as graceful plants for the waterside. Much dwarfer, but also effective, is the deciduous grass, Elymus glauco- phyllus, with broad glaucous foliage contrasting well with the fine deep green foliage of Carex pendula or the still finer Carex riparia and its variegated form. Cyperus longus is another suitable com- panion from the same family. Juncus effusus spiralis, with its stems twisted like corkscrews, is perhaps more curious than pretty, but Acorus gramineus variegatus and Juncus zebrinus have an un- common as well as a pretty effect in consequence of their variegated leaves. The plants just mentioned as suitable for the waterside are valued mostly on account of their foliage. But among flowering plants also handsome varieties may be found that might with great advantage be used for decoration at the waterside much oftener than is at present the case. Few things are brighter than the brilliant purple flowers of Lythrum salicaria var. roseum superbum, or the large yellow flowers of Inula Helenium and Telekia speciosissima. Groups of Iris Kaempferi and the well-known Iris germanica, also look exceed- ingly well on the margin of a pond, and the "flowering" Fern (Osmunda regalis) delights in that position. Senecio japonica grows really well only when its roots can find abundance of moisture ; its large deeply-cut leaves are as handsome as its deep yellow flowers, 4 inches across, and borne on a stem 3 feet to 4 feet high. A similar position is required by Spiraea gigantea, which bears its flowers on stems 5 feet to 6 feet above the ground. Spiraea Aruncus, though not so tall, is, nevertheless, most suitable, as are also its smaller, but still more handsome companions, Spiraea palmata, S. alba, S. astil- boides, and Astilbe rivularis. Very bright and effective, too, in such a position are Chelone barbata and Lyoni, and the Globe Flowers (Trollius) show by the waterside a vigour they do not develop else- where. This might also be said of the double Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris fl.-pl.) and of several varieties of Hemerocallis. FOR A SHADY NOOK by the waterside we are by no means WATER GARDENS BY VARIOUS WATER GARDENERS. 259 limited to Ferns. It is in such a position Primula japonica and sik~ kimensis delight. Here also the blue Himalayan Poppy (Meconopsis Wallichi), the tall yellow Gentian (Gentiana lutea), and the bright blue Mertensia virginica will flourish as well as Saxifraga peltata, Sanguinaria canadensis, Podophyllum Emodi, the handsome P. pel- tatum, and Rodgersia podophylla, while Trillium grandiflorum and Solomon's Seal will be at their best. There is, no doubt, a number of other suitable plants for the water garden, especially if we include the plants generally known as bog plants, which, however, are per- haps more suitable for the bog bed of a rock garden than the bolder margins of ponds or lakes, but enough plants have been enumerated to show that we have a great variety to pick from, and that certainly there is a great future for the water garden. F. W. MEYER, Elmside Exeter. It is now some fifteen or sixteen years since I planted the common white Water Lily in the pond here. Noting how well it grew, I was induced to try the pink or rose-coloured form of it which had been introduced from Norway i.e. y Nymphaea alba var. rosea. Finding, too, that this was thriving, I further extended the Lily culture by the addition of a dozen more varieties and species. Of these I have only lost N. flava, and that occurred during the severe frost of 1894-95. All that I gave in the way of protection then was laying a few mats upon the ice when it was sufficiently strong to bear one's weight, and that small amount of protection was more in the form of a prevent- ive against any skaters running over them where the ice was none too strong, and possibly cause injury should it have given way. Dur- ing that winter the ice was unusually thick ; so much so here must it have been as to almost, if not quite, reach the Lily roots, the depth of water over them then being only about 12 inches. No better test of their hardiness is, I think, needed than this, save in the case of N. flava. Last spring I added N. Robinsoni, the present winter being of course its first test, but of its hardiness I have not the slightest doubt. In addition to the foregoing I have three of the pigmy varieties, which, with a distinct form of the common white from Norway, make in all eighteen kinds or varieties. In the spring, when I added the twelve varieties (chiefly those of M. Latour-Marliac's raising), these being small tubers, I com- menced by putting them carefully into soil in large-sized punnets, the entire dozen coming to hand in one parcel by post. I mention this so that some idea may be formed of the then size of the tubers compared with the present time. During the summer of 1894 they grew well, making steady progress, and towards the autumn a few flowers appeared on the strongest plants. The following summer (i.e., 1895) a most marked progress was made the stronger-growing S 2 260 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. kinds beginning to give some indications of their true character, whilst the flowering period was well prolonged and a considerable number of flowers produced. Seeing that more room was essential for their perfect development, I decided to provide for this by care- fully lifting the plants last spring when the first indications of growth were visible. This operation was performed about two years from the time of first planting them, but so well had they rooted in the case of the strong growing kinds, that it took three men to lift them with digging forks, several of the roots being as large as one's fingers and of considerable length. These came up with good balls, and were immediately transferred to large circular baskets which had been half- filled with good loam and leaf-soil, a few handfuls of bone-meal being allotted to each basket according to its size. When the roots were carefully spread out more soil was added to fill each basket, which was at once sunk again into the water, but at a greater distance apart than in the first ' instance. This time the strongest were placed at some 10 feet or so from each other, but I can see already, after only one more year's growth that they will require more room even than this. These plants were sunk in about 18 inches of water this time in order to be more in accord with their growth. The more moderate growers were arranged in front of these and in about 12 inches of water. No apparent check ensued even at the first, for they grew away most vigorously, and in most cases have flowered as profusely. By the autumn the strongest clumps were fully 6 feet across, and this season I shall not be surprised if they touch each other. The lake has a fair quantity of mud in it, about 6 inches perhaps where the plants are at present, the bottom being puddled with clay. The supply of water is from a spring which continuously discharges into the lake. These fine water plants as grown and bloomed here are singularly beautiful and effective ; either one or another is always producing the distinct and pleasing flowers. The flowers remain open, too, for a prolonged period each day, either one or another being in good condition from 9 a.m. to nearly dusk when the weather is bright. On more than one occasion I have also noted how beautiful they have been during showery weather ; the water then being clear added to their beauty, the flowers glistening and sparkling like diamonds when under a brilliant light. When seen in this state, scarcely any- thing in the way of flowers could be more beautiful. JAS. HUDSON, Gunnersbury House, Acton. ARUM LILIES AS AQUATICS IN BRITAIN. Whether or not the common Arum (Richardia aethiopica) is naturally an aquatic it may be taken as proved that it is at least amphibious, as a friend of mine has for years past grown Arum Lilies in a fresh water lake by the banks WATER GARDENS BY VARIOUS WATER GARDENERS. 261 of the river Fal within 20 feet of salt water, and his success has been great, as may be imagined when I say that the plants now form a broad margin to a portion of the lake about 300 yards in length and vary- ing in width from I yard to 3 yards. The flowers on this belt open, at one time in June last, were estimated at 10,000, and the annual number is not less than 50,000. After a mild winter, such as that of 1895-96, cutting commences in February; by Easter the number of flowers is immense, and theii production is continued to the end of September. The hardiness of the plants was well tested in the winter of 1894-95, when ice sufficiently thick to be skated on was formed on the lake, but this only served to check and not to destroy any of the plants, the check on those plants with crowns near the surface being sufficiently severe to prove that a good depth of water over the crowns is safest The method adopted for planting is simple enough and involves but little labour. Plants which have been forced are taken direct to the water, carried in a boat to the position selected, and then simply dropped overboard, after which they soon commence to root freely in the pond mud. A large waggon-load was treated in this way last year, and this represents about the usual rate of annual increase by new plantings. The position chosen for the Arums by the lake-side is a sunny, but well-sheltered one, and here the plants revel to such a degree as to have induced owners of other estates in Cornwall to plant largely on the same lines, with, of course, greater climatic advantages than can be found in the country at large. But does not the proved well-doing of the plants in water 2 feet deep open up possibilities for their cultivation in colder climes ? J. C. TALLACK, Livermere. ENEMIES. Many water plants will grow almost anywhere and bid defiance to game or rats, but the newer and rarer Water Lilies are worth looking after, as they will not show half their beauty if they are subjected to the attacks of certain water animals. They may, indeed, when young be easily exterminated by them, and even when old and established the common water rat destroys the flowers and, taking them to the bank, eats them at its leisure, and I have often found the remains of half a dozen fine flowers in one spot. When the plants are small, the attacks of the common moorhen and other water- fowl may mean all the difference between life and death to a Water Lily. Perhaps, therefore, the first thing to be done in establishing these plants is to put them in some small pond apart from the rougher water-side plants, and especially where they will be safe from the attacks of the water rat and other creatures which cannot be kept out of ponds fed by streamlets. By these and river banks or back-waters water rats are hard to destroy, and guns, traps, ferrets, or any other 262 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN, means must be used. The common brown rat is not so fond of these flowers as the true water rat, but it is so destructive to every- thing else, that it is essential to destroy it at the same time, as it often abounds near water. The water or moorhen is continuously destructive to all the Water Lilies, pecking at the flowers until mere shreds are left, and no one can fairly judge of the rare beauty of these plants where these birds are not kept down. PLANTING THE WATERSIDE. People are so much led by showy descriptions in catalogues, and also by their own love for ugly things, that we often see misuse by the waterside of variegated shrubs a bold lake margin almost covered with variegated bushes, like the yellow elder, the purple beech, and even down to the very margin of the water with variegated shrubs, absolutely the worst kind of vegeta- tion which could be chosen for such a place. Of all places that one has to deal with in gardening or planting, islands and the margins of water lake or river we have the clearest guidance as to the trees and shrubs that inhabit and belong to such places, and that always thrive and look best in them. The vegetation best fitted for those places is mostly of an elegant and spiry character ; willows in many forms often beautiful in colour, in summer or winter, dogwoods and aspen poplars. There is no scarcity of such trees and shrubs at all ; even the willows of Europe and Britain furnish a fine series of trees, and some form tall timber trees like the white willow, and low feathery willows like the rosemary-leaved one. There is also a superb group of weeping trees among these willows, some of them more precious and hardy even than the Babylonian willow. As regards reeds and herbaceous plants, our country and the northern world are very rich indeed, so that we need never use any grossly unsuitable plant for the waterside. These facts are worth bearing in mind in seeking true and artistic effects, as the side water properly or improperly planted is strangely different from an artistic point of view. Take for example a piece of water, good in form of margin, and right in every way as to its rela- tion to the landscape ; it is quite easy to spoil the effect of it all by the use of shrubs which have not the form or colour characteristic of the trees and shrubs of the water side. By the right use of the trees or shrubs true to the soil, so to say we may, on the other hand, make the scene beautiful in delicate colour and fine form, at all seasons, right, in a word, either as a picture, as a covert, and even for timber, for some of the willows have a high value as timber. The best materials for waterside planting are distinctly those of our own country, or of Europe and the northern world generally ; but we need not despise things that are very suitable and which come to us from other countries, and among them some of the bamboos WATER GARDEN'S BY VARIOUS WATER GARDENERS. 263 promise very well, having, to some extent, the same character of graceful, pointed leaf of the willow and the reed. WILLOWS AND THEIR COLOUR. Some say that to enjoy the colour of willows we should cut them down once a year and that the young shoots so grown are more showy. In that case they are thicker together and more level in colour ; but it is a very stupid practice to carry out, because some of the finest willows are trees, and by cutting them down we lose the form, which is very beautiful throughout the year. Colour also is bound up with form and light and shade, and we cannot see the most beautiful effects of colour without these ; so that it is wrong in every way to cut down our willows for the sake of enjoying their colour. A small patch may be treated in that way, especially if we follow the good old plan of using the twigs. If we cut these every year we have a useful aid in packing, tying the branches of trees, and for other purposes. Even in the wild willows of our own country we can notice the great error of this practice of cutting down in such places, for instance, as Brandon in Norfolk, and other eastern county places, where we see the far greater beauty of the naturally grown tree, even from the point of view of colour. Pool with Calla Lilies, Trelissick, Truro. CHAPTER XXI. THE BOG GARDEN. THE bog garden is a home for the numerous children of the wild that will not thrive on our harsh, bare, and dry garden borders, but thrive cushioned on moss or in moist peat soil. Many beautiful plants, like the Wind Gentian and Creeping Harebell, grow on our own bogs and marshes, much as these are now encroached upon. But even those who know our own bogs have, as a rule, little notion of the multitude of charming plants, natives of northern and temperate countries, whose home is the open marsh or bog. In our own country we have been so long encroaching upon the bogs and wastes that some of us come to regard bogs and wastes as exceptional tracts all over the world, but when we travel in new countries in northern climes we soon learn what a vast extent of the world's surface was once covered with bogs. In North America, even by the margins of the railways, one sees, day after day, the vivid blooms of the Cardinal-flower springing erect from the wet peaty hollows ; and far under the shady woods stretch the black bog pools, the ground between being so shaky that you move a few steps with difficulty. And where the woody vegetation disappears the Pitcher-plant (Sarracenia), Golden Club (Orontium), Water Arum (Calla palustris), and a host of other handsome bog plants cover the ground for hundreds of acres, with perhaps an occasional slender bush of Laurel Magnolia (Magnolia glauca) among them. In some parts of Canada, where the painfully long and straight roads are often made through woody swamps, and where the few scattered and poor habitations offer little to cheer the traveller, a lover of plants will find beside the road conservatories of beauty in the ditches and pools of black water fringed with a profusion of stately ferns, and bog and water bushes. Southwards and seawards, the bog flowers, like the splendid kinds of herbaceous Hibiscus, become tropical in size and brilliancy, while far north and west and south along the mountains grows the THE BOG GARDEN. 265 queen of the peat bog the beautiful and showy Mocassin-flower (Cypripedium spectabile). Then in California, all along the Sierras, a number of delicate little annual plants continue to grow in small mountain bogs long after the plains are quite parched, and annual vegetation has quite disappeared from them. But who shall record the beauty and interest of the flowers of the wide-spreading marsh- lands of this globe of ours, from those in the vast wet woods of America, dark and brown, hidden from the sunbeams, to the little bogs of the high Alps, far above the woods, where the ground often teems with Nature's most brilliant flowers ? No one worthily ; for many mountain-swamp regions are as yet little known to us. One thing, however, we may gather from our small experience that many plants commonly termed " alpine," and found on high Mocassin-flower in rocky bog. mountains, are true bog plants. This must be clear to any one who has seen our pretty Bird's-eye Primrose in the wet mountain-side bogs of Westmoreland, or the Bavarian Gentian in the spongy soil by alpine rivulets. In many country seats there are spots that with a little care can be made into pretty bog gardens. Where there are no natural sites a bog garden may be made by forming a basin of brickwork and Portland cement, about one foot in depth ; the bottom may be either concreted or paved with tiles laid in cement, and the whole must be made water-tight ; an orifice should be made in the side, at the height of 6 inches, to carry off the surplus water, and another in the bottom at the lowest point, with a cork, or, better still, with a brass plug valve to close it. Five or six inches of stones and bricks are 266 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. to be first laid in, and the whole must be filled with good peat soil, the surface being raised into uneven banks and hillocks, with large pieces of sandstone imbedded in it, so as to afford drier and wetter spots. The size and form of this garden may be varied at discretion ; it should be in an exposed situation ; the back may be raised with a rocky bank of stones imbedded in peat, and the moisture, ascending by capillary action, will make the position a charming one for Ferns and numberless other peat-loving plants. It is in every way desirable that a small trickle of water should constantly flow through the bog ; ten or twelve gallons daily will be sufficient, but if this cannot be arranged it may be kept filled by hand. Such a bog may be bordered by a very low wall of flints or stones, built with mortar, diluted with half its bulk of road-sand and leaf-mould, and having a little earth on the top ; the moisture will soon cause this to be covered with moss, and Ferns and all kinds of wall-plants will thrive on it. Where space will permit, a much larger area may be converted into bog and rockwork intermingled, the surface being raised or depressed at various parts, so as to afford stations for more or less moisture-loving plants. Large stones should be freely used on the surface, so as to form mossy stepping-stones ; and many plants will thrive better in the chinks between the stones than on the surface of the peat. It is not necessary to render water-tight the whole of such a large area. A channel of water about 6 inches deep, with drain- pipes and bricks at the bottom, may be led to and fro or branched over the surface, the bends or branches being about 3 feet apart. The whole, when covered with peat, will form an admirable bog, the spaces between the channels forming drier portions, in which various plants will thrive vigorously. Perhaps the best place for an artificial bog is on sloping ground. The water flows in at the top, and the surface must be rendered water-tight with Portland cement or concrete. Contour or level lines should then be traced on the whole surface at distances of about 3 feet apart, and a ridge, two bricks in height, should be cemented along each of the horizontal lines. These ridges, which must be perfectly level, serve to hold the water, and the surplus escapes over the top to the next lower level. Two-inch drain tiles, covered with coarse stones, should be laid along each ridge to keep the channel open, and a foot of peat should be thrown over the whole. Before adding the peat, ridges may be built on the surface, the stones being built together with peat in the interstices. These ridges need not follow the horizontal lines. The positions thus formed are adapted both to grow and to display Ferns and alpine bog plants to advantage. THE BOG GARDEN. 267 Perhaps the most charming plants to commence with are our own native bog plants Pinguicula, Drosera, Parnassia, Menyanthes, Viola palustris, Anagallis tenella, Narthecium, Osmunda, Lastrea Oreopteris, Thelypteris spinulosa, and other Ferns ; Sibthorpia europaea, Linnaea borealis, Primula farinosa, Campanula hederacea, Chrysosplenium alternifolium and oppositifolium ; Saxifraga Hirculus, aizoides, stel- laris, Caltha, and Marsh Orchises. These, and a host of plants from our marshes and the summits of our higher mountains, will flourish as freely as in their native habitats, and may all be grown in a few Cypripedium. Trillium. Sarracenia. A bog garden. Helonias. Pinguicula square feet of bog ; while Rhododendrons, Kalmias, dwarf Ferns, and Sedges will serve for the bolder features. One of the great charms of the bog garden is that everything thrives and multiplies in it, and nothing droops or dies, but the real difficulty is to prevent the stronger plants from overgrowing, and eventually destroying, the weaker. A small pool of water filled with water plants is a charming addition to the bog garden. The only precaution needed is to destroy the weeds before they gain strength a single plant of Sheep Rot (Hydrocotyle), for example, would smother and ruin the entire bog in a season. LATIMER CLARK. 268 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. In the bog garden many of our most beautiful plants, which in a summer like that of 1895 have been languishing for moisture in the borders, may be grown to perfection surpassing in beauty all our former impressions of them. Of primary importance, of course, is the position, and where this is naturally of a moist, boggy or swampy character, matters will be much simplified. We will assume there is such a spot at disposal, a swampy, treacherous, and, as we are wont to regard it, useless piece of land, under water the greater part of the year. Such a spot will be sure of its crop of naturally water-loving plants, such as Rushes, Sedges, or the like, and the first care must be to root them out one and all. In doing so, be careful that 12 inches or so of the margin be overhauled, as in all probability there will be here roots and seeds of all these wildlings. According to the nature of the boggy piece and also the depth of the water, it may be necessary for cleansing the ground to cut a deep trench and allow the water to pass away, as, without the moisture, the whole is much more convenient for preparation, and roots are more readily eradicated. The ground thoroughly cleansed at the outset, attention should next be directed to the soil. This may be variable, according to the variety of plants it is intended to introduce. For instance, strong growing subjects like the Astilbes and Meadow Sweets are all at home in a fairly stiff and moist soil. On the other hand, Iris Ksempferi, Trilliums, Cypripediums, Lilium pardalinum, L. superbum, and other such things have a decided preference for soil of a vegetable character, such as peat, leaves, and the like. These latter, again, have a preference for the drier parts of the bed, while such as the Calthas and Menyanthes trifoliata revel in wet mud. To meet the varied degrees of moisture which the plants prefer will be quite an easy matter in an artificially constructed bog by the adoption of an undulating surface throughout. Slightly raised mounds are by far the most convenient, and certainly the most economical, way of providing for the greatest number of plants. FORMATION. The shape, of course, should be irregular, and, unless a depression of the whole exists, let this receive the next attention, and in such a way that the highest part will be 9 inches below the average surrounding soil. The paths should next be dealt with, excavating these nearly a foot deep in the central parts and gradually rising at the entrances. The soil taken from the paths may, if good, be used to form the raised beds for the planting of moisture-loving plants, such as are content if their roots only reach water. The sides of these beds may need rough support, such as rude sandstone blocks, to keep the soil in its place. These, or similar things, may also form stepping-stones in the wetter parts, as by this means the plants may be viewed without inconvenience. Beds of various sizes will be needed in proportion to the kind of plants that shall hereafter occupy them. For instance, the sloping banks at the edge, which may also take the form of a slightly projecting mound, would constitute excellent positions for some of the hardy Bamboos. Similar opportunities may occur at intervals throughout the margin for planting with such things as Acanthus, Yuccas, Eulalias, Astilbe rivularis, Spiraea Aruncus, Bocconia cordata, and others of similar proportions, while the lower slopes and depressions between these would make excellent places for Osmunda regalis, Lilium giganteum, L. pardalinum, L. canadense, and L. superbum in peaty beds. The latter three of these are really swamp-loving by nature, and it is scarcely possible to see them in anything approaching perfection elsewhere. In the moisture so close at hand such things simply revel, and the owner of them may for years see them towering far above his head in their day of flowering a picture of health and beauty. With such things it should always be borne in mind that constant saturation is not absolutely essential, though, indeed, they receive it more or less in their native habitats. THE BOG GARDEN. 269 Where space for bog gardens is limited, a very charming carpet to the Lilies just named would be the Wood Lily of North America (Trillium grandiflorum). The two things may be planted or replanted at the same season when necessity arises. The Trillium, moreover, would come in spring-time and would protect the growth of the Lilium against our late spring frosts. For the Liliums a foot deep of peat, leaf-soil, and turf, with sharp river grit, would form a good bed, and with a mulch each year of leaf-soil and a little very rotten manure would serve them for many years. It may surprise many to know that under such conditions these Trilliums would in a few years, if left alone, attain to nearly 2 feet and be lovely in the size and purity of their flowers. In another of these depressions Cypripedium spectabile could easily be established, or a bed may be devoted to the more showy hardy species, giving 6 inches of peat or more, with leaf-soil added. The species named is rather late in sending up its growth, and affords plenty of time for a carpet of Trillium to flower before much headway is made. Other beautiful carpeting plants for these would be found in the American Mayflower (Epigaea repens or Pratia angulata), and if the position be shaded, as it should be for the Cypripediums, a charming, yet delicate, fringe may be found in Adiantum pedatum. Besides C. spectabile, C. pubescens and C. parviflorum are well deserving attention, together with Orchis foliosa, the beautiful " Madeira Orchis," and the Habenarias, especially H. ciliaris and fimbriata ; all delight in moisture and require but little root room. Then if a glow of rich colour was needed in such places it could be supplied in Spiraea venusta or S. palmata, both delighting in moist soil. Another fine effect may be had by grouping Lobelia fulgens, or indeed any of the scarlet Lobelias. In wet parts may be planted Osmunda regalis, Onoclea sensibilis, Struthiopteris germanica, and Astilbe rivularis, allowing room for each. Groups of the herbaceous Phloxes in their best and most distinct shades, particularly of salmon scarlet and the purest white, would find their natural wants completely satisfied in the bog garden and give fine colour. In English gardens it is only in a moist season that we see the Phlox in even fair condition, for the reason that the original species is a native of wet meadows. This condition we can best imitate by deep digging and heavy manuring, and so much the better if the beds of these be saturated with water. Only in the constant cooling moisture of the bog can Primula japonica be seen in perfection, for here will it produce rosettes of leaves 2\ feet across, and giant whorls of its crimson flowers, attaining to nearly the same height. Another charming Primrose is that from the swampy mountain meadows of the Himalayas, P. sikkimensis, essentially moisture-loving ; but to get the best results this must be treated as a biennial, grown on quickly, and planted in the bog as soon as large enough to handle. Other species of Primula suited to the higher and drier parts of the bog would be found in P. cashmeriana, capitata, denticulata, rosea, farinosa, involucrata, viscosa, and others, all alike beautiful in their way, and attaining greater vigour with the abundant moisture. Some of the smaller kinds of the viscosa type are better for slight shade, such as may be provided by Dielytra spectabilis (a really delightful plant in boggy ground) and various Spiraeas. It should be noted that many shade-loving plants delight in full sun when given abundant moisture at the root. Particularly noticeable is this with the Liliums have noted previously. In the early part of the year the bog garden should be aglow with such things as Marsh Marigolds, in single and double forms. In the wet mud in the lower parts and about the stepping stones these would appear quite natural, and in like places Ficaria grandiflora, a plant too rarely seen, with its blossoms of shining gold ; then Senecio Doronicum, with golden orange flowers, Dielytra eximia, Trollius : any of the Dentarias and Dodecatheons likewise are all well suited for the raised 2 7 o THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. parts where the roots will touch the moisture. The Dodecatheons in peat, loam, and leaf soil in equal parts, particularly D. Jeffrey anum, grow to a large size : Hepaticas, too, are greatly improved in company with these last, while the charming effects that may be produced are almost without end. Corydalis nobilis in peat and loam, C. lutea, together with the Water Mimulus (M. luteus), all pro- vide rich masses of yellow. Gentiana asclepiadea, G. Andrewsi, as well as G. verna, grow charmingly in the bog. Nor is the list of plants exhausted ; indeed, they are far too numerous to give in detail, but yet to be mentioned as among the grandest are many Irises, I. Ksempferi in particular. Meconopsis Wallichiana (the blue Poppy of the Himalayas) produces quite a unique effect in the moister parts. Saxifraga peltata, S. Fortunei, S. Hirculus, S. granulata plena, Soldanellas, Senecio pulcher, Sisyrinchium grandiflorum, and many more are all benefited by the varying degrees of moisture to be found in the bog garden. In gardens where no moist piece of ground exists, such as those with gravel or sandy subsoils, it will be necessary to select a low part and mark out an irregular outline. Next dig out the soil 18 inches or 2 feet in depth, so as to allow of at least 6 inches of clay being puddled in the bottom to retain the moisture. For bog plants clay is far better than concrete, because it supplies food for many moisture-loving plants. To keep the clay in position, sloping sides will be best, and for the soils named it will scarcely be necessary to have more than a small outlet for excessive moisture, and this at about 12 inches high from the deepest part. For this a narrow clinker or rough brick drain will suffice, so placed that the outlet may be blocked, if necessary, for affording greater moisture. By digging a shallow trench around the upper margin of the bog- bed, and using Bamboos, such as Metake or glaucescens, or Bocconia cordata the last two valuable for their rapid annual growthsuch things would give the needful shade in summer. In large gardens and cool, hilly districts the bog garden should always be found. Some years ago I had charge of just such a garden : in the flower garden was a fountain basin wherein water plants were grown ; the overflow from this went tumbling in many ways over a series of rocks into the rock garden pond containing Orontium aquaticum, Nymphasas, and Sagittarias. In turn the over- flow from the rock garden was conducted to the bog garden proper, where many masses of Cypripedium spectabile, with fully a score of spikes of its beautiful flowers to each tuft, grew in luxuriance in peat and leaves under a welcome shade. In the swampy watercourse, before the bog was entered, the Marsh Marigold in variety abounded, being very conspicuous. Here, too, Osmundas were rampant, together with Primula japonica and a variety of plants already mentioned, and Ourisia coccinea, tightly pressing the surface of a stone, flowered splendidly. E. J. CHAPTER XXII. THE HARDY FERN GARDEN. THE marriage of the fern and flower garden is worth effecting, our many hardy evergreen Ferns being so good for association with hardy flowers. There are many varieties of our native Ferns which would be excellent companions to evergreen herbaceous plants suited for sheltered, half-shady nooks, and there are hardy and vigorous exotic kinds. Graceful effects may be had in fore-grounds, in drives through glades, through the bold use of the larger hardy Ferns, whether ever- green or not. The Bracken is everywhere ; but there are Ferns of graceful form which delight in the partial shade of open woods and drives, and succeed even in the sun. Ferns have, as a rule, been stowed away in obscure corners, and have rarely come into the garden landscape, though they may give us beautiful aspects of vegetation not only in the garden, but by grassy glades, paths, and drives. In countries where hardy Ferns abound, they are often seen near water and in hollow and wet places, and it will often be best to group them in such localities, but without any of the ugly aspects of " rockwork " too often supposed to be the right thing in a hardy fernery. In the home counties there is probably not a better fernery than that at Danesbury. It is on a sloping bank in a rather deep dell, overhung with trees and Ivy, in the shade of which the Ferns delight. As regards the planting, the various families are arranged in distinct groups, and each group has a position and a soil favourable to its requirements. The best way to grow Ferns, however, is with flowers, as in Nature, and a hardy fernery may be very beautiful. As a rule, Ferns have in their natural state both soil and locality exactly suited to their requirements ; and the soil is yearly enriched by the decaying foliage of surrounding trees, which protects them in winter. In arranging a fernery, study the habits and requirements of each species, and allot to it the position most likely to give the best results. At Danesbury the most THE HARDY FERN GARDEN. 273 sheltered, moist spot is given to the evergreen Blechnums, which delight in a damp atmosphere, and to the delicate forms of Asplenium. Osmunda, which thrives amazingly, is in a low swamp. The soil used for these Royal Ferns is a mixture of good loam and fibrous peat. The better deciduous kinds of Polypodium, such as P. Phegopteris and P. Dryopteris, have sheltered positions ; and in quiet nooks may be found charming groups of the Parsley Fern, and Cystopteris fragilis, a most delicate and graceful Fern. Lastrea Filix-mas and its varieties occupy the more exposed positions in company with fine colonies of the evergreen kinds, comprising some unique varieties of the Polystichums, Scolopendriums, Polypodiums, etc. A plentiful supply of water is available. The Fern-lover will remember that not only have we our own beautiful native Ferns for adorning our gardens, but also the hardy Ferns of America, Asia, and the continent of Europe. As to the hardiness of exotic Ferns, Mr. Milne-Redhead writes from Clitheroe : Is it not strange that we so seldom see, even in good gardens, any well-grown plants of exotic Osmundas, Struthiopteris, &c. ? Here, after a long spell of hot, dry weather, we had on May 20, 1896, a sharp snap of frost which completely cut off the more than usually beautiful flowers of Azalea mollis, and seriously injured the young growths of some Japanese Pines, such as Abies firma, A. sachalinensis, and others. This frost turned the young fronds of our English Filix-mas and Filix-foemina quite black. Close by these plants, and under similar conditions of soil and exposure, the American Adiantum pedatum, i foot high, and the tender- looking Onoclea sensibilis were quite unhurt, and Osmunda interrupta and O. cinnamomea entirely escaped and are now very fine. Our English O. regalis was slightly touched, but the Brazilian O. spectabilis brought by myself from dry banks in the Organ Mountains was not even browned in its early and delicate fronds. All the Ferns I have named are great ornaments to any moist and rather shady place in the shrubbery. In a sheltered nook in the rock garden I find, to my surprise, that Gymnogramma triangularis has survived the perils not only of a frosty spring, but the still greater ones of a wet autumn and winter, and is now throwing up healthily its pretty triangular fronds, whose under surface is quite white with the powder peculiar to the genus in fact a hardy silver Fern. A visit to Mr. Sclater's Fern garden at Newick shows us the good effects that may be had by using the nobler hardy Ferns both native and foreign in a bolder way, and often in the open sun. The idea that a fernery is best in a dark corner has had unfortunate results in keeping the grace of such plants out of the garden picture. Hardy Ferns are being used in bold and simple ways at Kew, where at one time they were in an obscure fernery, and even if some Ferns require shade, many do not in our cool climate. Shade is, moreover, an elastic term ; the bold hardy Ferns one sees in the American wood- 274 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. lands would not have too much sun in the open in Britain, provided they were in the right soil. Many hardy Ferns are excellent for association with hardy flowers, and many may be grouped with evergreen rock and hill plants in Native Ferns massed by shady walk (Devon,). From a photograph by S. W. Fitzherbert. forming borders and groups of evergreen plants. Though we have enough native Ferns in these islands to give us very fine effects, as we see at Penrhyn, or wherever Ferns are boldly grouped, some of the finest Ferns we see at Newick, and also at Rhianva and other gardens, THE HARDY FERN GARDEN. 275 are natives of North America. Foremost among the strong-growing hardy exotic kinds, there are the handsome North American Osmunda cinnamomea, and O. Claytoniana, O. gracilis, a very pretty species of particularly slender habit ; the Sensitive Fern (Onoclea), Dicksonia punctiloba, the beautiful Canadian Maiden-hair, the American Ostrich Feather Fern, Lastrea Goldiana, Woodwardia virginica, all of North American origin and attaining between 2 feet and 3 feet in height. Among the smaller ferns are Aspidium nevadense, novaboracense and thelypteroides, Asplenium angustifolium, Athyrium Michauxi and Woodwardia angustifolia, all of which grow from 18 inches to 24 inches. Allosorus acrostichoides, the handsome Polypodium hexa- gonopterum, Woodsia obtusa, oregana and scopulina, and also two pretty Selaginellas, viz., oregana and Douglasi. All these are of small dimensions, varying as they do from 6 in. to 12 in. in height. The pretty Hypolepis anthriscifolia of South Africa ; the robust Lastrea atrata, from India ; the Japanese Lastrea decurrens, the massive Struthiopteris orientalis, also a native of Japan, and the pretty Davallia Mariesi are all equal in hardiness to any of our British deciduous Ferns. EVERGREEN HARDY FERNS. Some of the evergreen Ferns, whether British or exotic, which stand the severity of our climate, are as hardy as those which lose their leaves in winter, and no Fern could be hardier than the various small-growing Aspleniums, which grow in old walls exposed to severe frosts, such as the black-stemmed Spleen- wort (several), and its pretty crested and notched forms, the little Wall Rue or Rue Fern, the forked and other native Spleenworts. All these are small, seldom exceeding 8 in. in height, while the black Maiden-hair Spleenwort Blechnum and its several beautiful forms usually average from 9 in. to 12 in. in height. Polypodium also contains some handsome evergreen plants ; even the common Polypody is a fine plant in its way, and is seen at its best when growing on a wall, on the branches of a tree, or on the roof of a low house. But by far the handsomest of its numerous forms are the Welsh Polypody, the Irish and the Cornish, and its handsome, finely- cut varieties in which the fronds are of a light and feathery nature. Then there are the more or less heavily crested forms, all of larger dimensions than the species from which they are issue. The common Hart's-tongue, also perfectly hardy, supplies us with many forms giving fine effect and free growth. As regards strong-growing evergreen hardy Ferns, however, none can compare with the Prickly Shield Fern and the soft Prickly Shield Fern and its beautiful varieties which produce massive fronds 18 ins. to 24 ins. long. Then there is an extensive section of varieties in T 2 276 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. which the fronds in many instances are as finely cut as those of the Lace Fern, and infinitely finer in effect. The soft Prickly Shield Fern has also produced some remarkably crested forms, all of which are equal in vigour and in dimensions to the typical species. The Holly Fern is also perfectly hardy, and is one of those plants which are usually killed with kindness, through being grown in a temperature higher than is required. As regards EXOTIC EVERGREEN KINDS, North America supplies the greatest part of those hardy in England. The larger-growing kinds from that country are Aspidium cristatum Clintonianum, A. floridanum, Asplenium angustifolium, Lastrea marginalis, Polystichum munitum and P. acrostichoides, all of which sorts attain from 18 ins. to 24 ins. in height. Not less effective and quite as interesting as the above, though of smaller dimensions, are the North American Asplenium ebenum, Phegopteris alpestris, Pellsea atropurpurea, Woodsia alpina and W. glabella varying in height from 6 ins. to 12 ins. There are also some remarkably handsome strong-growing sorts, native of Japan, the most decorative as also the most distinct among these being Lastrea Standishi, with fronds 24 ins. to 30 ins. long, and of a lovely and cheerful green colour; Lastrea erythrosora, with fronds 18 ins. to 24 ins. long, of a beautiful bronzy red colour when young, and of a deep dark green hue when mature. Lastrea opaca is another hand- some Japanese form, broad and massive, of a fine metallic colour when young, and of a deep velvety green when mature. In Lastrea Sieboldi we have a totally distinct plant, having the general aspect of a somewhat dwarf Polypodium aureum and of the same bluish colour. This and Dictyogramma japonica, which have somewhat bold and broad fronds, are also quite hardy, and so are the Japanese Lastrea prolifica, a species with finely-cut fronds, bearing numerous small plants ; the handsome Polystichum setosum, with beautiful dark green, shining foliage ; Polystichum Tsus-simense, Lastrea corusca and L. aristata. Lomaria chilensis is a large-growing Fern with fronds 24 ins. to 30 ins. long and of a particularly deep green colour. Nipho- bolus lingua is a very distinct Fern with entire fronds of a very leathery nature, dark green above and silvery beneath, having some- what the general appearance of our common Hart's-tongue, but in this case the fronds, instead of starting from a single crown, are pro- duced along a slender rhizome of a wiry nature. Perhaps one of the prettiest of the hardy evergreen Ferns is the violet-scented Lastrea fragrans. This charming little plant, seldom more than 4 ins. in height, succeeds well when planted outside, as it is on the outside rockery in 278 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. Kew Gardens, where its crown is simply protected by a handful of dry leaves during the winter. ROCK AND SUN-LOVING FERNS. It is a mistake to consider all Ferns as plants requiring shade and moisture. There are, on the con- trary, ferns which like full sunshine and bright light. Without count- ing Cystopteris alpina and fragilis, which grow in our walls as well in sun as in shade, there is one class of Ferns which actually requires sunshine. Cheilanthes from the Old World, as well as those from the New, only do well in a sunny aspect. I could not succeed at Geneva in cultivating Cheilanthes odora, lanuginosa and vestita. In spite of every care given to them, they suffered from general weakness, ending in decay. At last I one day saw Woodsia hyperborea, that delicate and fragile plant, in full sun along an alpine road in Italy, and on re- turning I planted all my Cheilanthes in sunshine on a south wall. The result was good, and I recommend the plan to Fern growers. But it was necessary also to change the soil in which these plants were cultivated, and I set them in soft porous mould composed of Sphagnum Moss, peat and sand ; good drainage and frequent water- ing ensured an immediate and excellent result. That which proved satisfactory for Cheilanthes I then tried for Woodsia hyperborea and ilvensis (the treatment did not do for W. obtusa) ; then for Scolopen- drium Hemionitis, that pretty and curious Fern from the south so rarely met with in gardens, where it is considered difficult to grow. Then I gave the same treatment to Nothochlena Marantae ; and this lovely Fern, which formerly did not do with me, turned out marvellously well. It is, then, certain that many species of Ferns require sun and plenty of air. H. CORREVON, in Gardeners' Chronicle. The following exotic Ferns may be grown in the open air if the more tender ones are protected in winter by a covering of old fronds or soft hay pegged down over the crowns. These would be better in sheltered nooks in the rock garden in good peaty earth. Those kinds marked with an asterisk should receive protection in this form. Unless otherwise mentioned, the Ferns are natives of North America, and this list is contributed by Mr. Birkenhead, Sale, an experienced cultivator of these plants. THE HARDY FERN GARDEN. 279 Exotic hardy Ferns. Adiantum peadtum Allosorous acrosti- choides Aspidium cristatum Clintonianum fragrans nevadense novaborace n s e rigidum argutum spinulosum thelypteroides Asplenium angustifo- Hum ebenum *fontanum (Europe) thelypteroides Athyrium Filix- foemina ameri- canum Michauxi Botrychium virgini- cum *Cyrtomium caryoti- deum (E. Indies) *falcatum (Japan) *Fortunei (Japan) Cystopteris bulbifera fragilis (American var). Dennstaedtia puncti- lobula Hypolepis mille- folium (N. Zea- land) anthriscifolia (S. Africa) Lastrea (Nephro- dium) *atrata India) *decurrens (Japan) fragrans Lastrea (Nephro- dium) continued. Goldiana intermedia marginalis *opaca (China) prolifica (Jamaica) Sieboldi (Japan) *varia (China) Lomaria alpinafNew Zealand) chilensis (ChiliJ crenulata (Chili) Onoclea sensibilis Osmunda cinna- momea Osmunda Claytoni- ana gracilis japonica *Pellaea atro- purpurea *gracilis Phegopteris alpestris Dryopteris hexagonoptera poly pod ioides Polystichum acros- tichoides a. grandiceps a. incisum Brauni concavum (Japan) munitum. (Califor- nia) m. imbricans polyblepharum (Ja- pan) *proliferum (Austra- lia) *setosum (Japan) Selaginella Douglasi- denticulata (hel. vetica) Struthiopteris ger- manica (Europe) *orientalis (Japan) pennsylvanica p. recurva Woodsia glabella obtusa oregana scopulina Woodwardia angusti- folia *jappnica (Japan) orientalis (Japan) radicans S. Europe) r. americana virginica A hardy fernery at Broomneld, Caterham. CHAPTER XXIII. COLOUR IN- THE FLOWER GARDEN. ONE of the first things which all who care for gardens should learn, is the difference between true and delicate and ugly colour between the showy dyes and much glaring colour seen in gardens and the beauties and harmonies of natural colour. There are, apart from beautiful flowers, many lessons and no fees : Oak woods in winter, even the roads and paths and rocks and hedgerows ; leaves in many hues of life and death, the stems of trees : many birds are lovely studies in harmony and delicate gradation of colour ; the clouds (eternal mine of divinest colour) in many aspects of light, and the varied and infinite beauty of colour of the air itself as it comes between us and the distant view. Nature is a good colourist, and if we trust to her guidance we never find wrong colour in wood, meadow, or on mountain. " Laws " have been laid down by chemists and decorators about colours which artists laugh at, and to consider them is a waste of time. If we have to make coloured cottons, or to " garden " in coloured gravels, then it is well to think what ugly things will shock us least ; but dealing with living plants in their infinitely varied hues, and with their beautiful flowers, is a different thing ! If we grow well plants of good colour, all will be right in the end, but often raisers of flowers work against us by the raising of flowers of bad colour. The complicated pattern beds so often seen in flower gardens should be given up in favour of simpler beds, of the shapes best suiting the ground, and among various reasons for this is to get true colour. When we have little pincushion-beds where the whole " pattern " is seen at once through the use of dwarf plants, the desire comes to bring in colour in patterns and in ugly ways. For this purpose the wretched Alternanthera and other pinched plant rubbish are grown plants not worth growing at all. When dwarf flowers are associated with bushes like Roses, and with plants like Carnations and tall Irises, having pointed and grace- ful foliage, the colours are relieved against the delicate foliage of COLOUR IN THE FLOWER GARDEN. 281 the plants and by having the beds large enough we relieve the dwarfer flowers with taller plants behind. In a shrubbery, too, groups of flowers are nearly always right, and we can follow our desire in flowers without much thought of arranging for colour. But as the roots of the shrubs rob the flowers ; the best way is to put near and around shrubberies free-running plants that do not want much cultivation, like Solomon's Seal and Woodruff, and other plants that grow naturally in woods and copses, while with flowers like Pansies, Carnations, Roses, that depend for their beauty on good soil, the best way is to keep them in the open garden, away from hungry tree-roots. By having large simple beds we relieve the flowers, and enjoy their beauty of colour and the forms of the plants without " pattern " of any kind. Instead of " dotting " the plants, it is better to group them naturally, letting the groups run into each other, and varying them here and there with taller plants. A flower garden of any size could be planted in this way, without the geometry of the ordinary flower garden, and the poor effect of the " botanical " " dotty " mixed border. As, however, all may not be ready to follow this plan, the following notes on colour, by a flower gardener who has given much thought to the subject, will be useful : " One of the most important points in the arrangement of a garden is the placing of the flowers with regard to their colour-effect. Too often a garden is an assemblage of plants placed together hap- hazard, or if any intention be perceptible as is commonly the case in the bedding system, it is to obtain as great a number as possible of the most violent contrasts ; and the result is a hard, garish vulgarity. Then, in mixed borders, one usually sees lines or evenly distributed spots of colour, wearying and annoying to the eye, and proving how poor an effect can be got by the misuse of the best materials. Should it not be remembered that in setting a garden we are painting a picture, a picture of hundreds of feet or yards instead of so many inches, painted with living flowers and seen by open daylight so that to paint it rightly is a debt we owe to the beauty of the flowers and to the light of the sun ; that the colours should be placed with careful forethought and deliberation, as a painter employs them on his picture, and not dropped down in lifeless dabs. "HARMONY RATHER THAN CONTRAST. Splendid harmonies of rich and brilliant colour, and proper sequences of such har- monies, should be the rule ; there should be large effects, each well studied and well placed, varying in different portions of the garden scheme. One very common fault is a want of simplicity of in- tention ; another, an absence of any definite plan of colouring. Many people have not given any attention to colour-harmony, or have 282 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. not by nature the gift of perceiving it. Let them learn it by observing some natural examples of happily related colouring, taking separate families of plants whose members are variously coloured. Some of the best to study would be American Azaleas, Wallflowers, German and Spanish Iris, Alpine Auriculas, Polyanthus, and Alstrcemerias. "BREADTH OF MASS AND INTERGROUPING. It is important to notice that the mass of each colour should be large enough to have a certain dignity, but never so large as to be wearisome ; a certain breadth in the masses is also wanted to counteract the effect of fore- shortening when the border is seen from end to end. When a definite plan of colouring is decided on, it will save trouble if the plants whose flowers are approximately the same in colour are grouped together to follow each other in season of blooming. Thus, in a part of the border assigned to red, Oriental Poppies might be planted among or next to Tritomas, with scarlet Gladioli between both, so that there should be a succession of scarlet flowers, the places occupied by the Gladioli being filled previously with red Wallflowers. " WARM COLOURS are not difficult to place : scarlet, crimson, pink, orange, yellow, and warm white are easily arranged so as to pass agreeably from one to the other. " PURPLE and LILAC group well together, but are best kept well away from red and pink ; they do well with the colder whites, and are seen at their best when surrounded and carpeted with gray-white foliage, like that of Cerastium tomentosum or Cineraria maritima ; but if it be desired to pass from a group of warm colour to purple and lilac, a good breadth of pale yellow or warm white may be interposed. "WHITE FLOWERS. Care must be taken in placing very cold white flowers such as Iberis corresefolia, which are best used as quite a high light, led up to by whites of a softer character. Frequent repetitions of white patches catch the eye unpleasantly ; it will generally be found that one mass or group of white will be enough in any piece of border or garden arrangement that can be seen from any one point of view. " BLUE requires rather special treatment, and is best approached by delicate contrasts of warm whites and pale yellows, such as the colours of double Meadow Sweet, and QEnothera Lamarckiana, but rather avoiding the direct opposition of strong blue and full yellow. Blue flowers are also very beautiful when completely isolated and seen alone among rich dark foliage. " A PROGRESSION OF COLOUR in a mixed border might begin with strong blues, light and dark, grouped with white and pale yellow, passing on to pink ; then to rose colour, crimson, and the strongest scarlet, leading to orange and bright yellow. A paler yellow followed by white would distantly connect the warm colours with the lilacs and COLOUR IN THE FLOWER GARDEN. 283 purples, and a colder white would combine them pleasantly with low- growing plants with cool-coloured leaves. "SILVERY-LEAVED PLANTS are valuable as edgings and carpets to purple flowers, and bear the same kind of relation to them as the warm-coloured foliage of some plants does to their strong red flowers, as in the case of the Cardinal Flower and double crimson Sweet William. The bright clear blue of Forget-me-not goes best with fresh pale green, and pink flowers are beautiful with pale foliage striped with creamy white, such as the variegated forms of Jacob's-ladder or Iris pseudacorus. A useful carpeting plant, Acaena pulchella, assumes in spring a rich bronze between brown and green which is valuable with Wallflowers of the brown and orange colours. These few examples, out of many that will come under the notice of any careful observer, are enough to indicate what should be looked for in the way of accompanying foliage such foliage, if well chosen and well placed, may have the same value to the flowering plant that a worthy and appropriate setting has to a jewel. " IN SUNNY PLACES warm colours should preponderate ; the yellow colour of sunlight brings them together and adds to their glowing effect. *"A SHADY BORDER, on the other hand, seems best suited for the cooler and more delicate colours. A beautiful scheme of cool colouring might be arranged for a retired spot, out of sight of other brightly coloured flowers, such as a border near the shady side of any shrubbery or wood that would afford a good background of dark foliage. Here would be the best opportunity for using blue, cool white, palest yellow, and fresh green. A few typical plants are the great Larkspurs, Monkshoods, and Columbines, Anemones (such as japonica, sylvestris, apennina, Hepatica, and the single and double forms of nemorosa), white Lilies, Trilliums, Pyrolas, Habenarias, Primroses, white and yellow, double and single, Daffodils, white Cyclamen, Ferns and mossy Saxifrages, Lily-of-the- Valley, and Woodruff. The most appropriate background to such flowers would be shrubs and trees, giving an effect of rich sombre masses of dusky shadow rather than a positive green colour, such as Bay Phillyrea, Box, Yew, and Evergreen Oak. Such a harmony of cool colouring, in a quiet shady place, would present a delightful piece of gardening. " BEDDED-OUT PLANTS, in such parts of a garden as may require them, may be arranged on the same general principle of related, rather than of violently opposed, masses of colour.. As an example, a fine effect was obtained with half-hardy annuals, mostly kinds of Marigold Chrysanthemum, and Nasturtium, of all shades of yellow, orange, and brown. This was in a finely designed formal garden before the prin- cipal front of one of the stateliest of the great houses of England. It was a fine lesson in temperance, this employment of a simple scheme 28 4 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. A COLOUR IN THE FLOWER GARDEN. 285 of restricted colouring, yet it left nothing to be desired in the way of richness and brilliancy, and well served its purpose as a dignified ornament, and worthy accompaniment to the fine old house. " CONTRASTS How TO BE USED. The greater effects being secured, some carefully arranged contrasts may be used to strike the eye when passing ; for opposite colours in close companionship are not telling at a distance, and are still less so if interspersed, their tendency then being to neutralize each other. Here and there a charming effect may be produced by a bold contrast, such as a mass of orange Lilies against Delphiniums or Gentians against alpine Wallflowers ; but these violent contrasts should be used sparingly and as brilliant accessories rather than trustworthy principals. "CLIMBERS ON WALLS. There is often a question about the suitability of variously coloured creepers on house or garden walls. The same principle of harmonious colouring is the best guide. A vyarm-coloured wall, one of Bath stone or buff bricks, for instance, is easily dealt with. On this all the red-flowered, leaved, or berried plants look well Japan Quince, red and pink Roses, Virginian Creeper, Crataegus Pyracantha. and the more delicate harmonies of Honeysuckle, Banksian Roses, and Clematis montana, and Flammula, while C. Jackmanni and other purple and lilac kinds are suitable as occasional contrasts. The large purple and white Clematises harmonise perfectly with the cool gray of Portland stone ; and so do dark-leaved climbers, such as White Jasmine, Passion Flower, and green Ivy. Red brickwork, especially when new, is not a happy ground colour ; per- haps it is best treated with large-leaved climbers Magnolias, Vines, Aristolochia to counteract the fidgety look of the bricks and white joints. When brickwork is old and overgrown with gray Lichens, there can be no more beautiful ground for all colours of flowers from the brightest to the tenderest none seems to come amiss. " COLOUR IN BEDDING-OUT. We must here put out of mind nearly all the higher sense of the enjoyment of flowers ; the delight in their beauty individually or in natural masses ; the pleasure derived from a personal knowledge of their varied characters, appearances, and ways, which gives them so much of human interest and lovableness ; and must regard them merely as so much colouring matter, 'to fill such and such spaces for a few months. We are restricted to a kind of gardening not far removed from that in which the spaces of the design are filled in with pounded brick, slate, or shells. The best rule in the arrangement of a bedded garden is to keep the scheme of colouring as simple as possible. The truth of this is easily perceived by an ordinary observer when shown a good example, and is obvious without any showing to one who has studied colour effects ; and yet the very op- posite intention is most commonly seen, to wit, a garish display of the 286 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. greatest number of crudely contrasting colours. How often do we see combinations of scarlet Geranium, Calceolaria, and blue Lobelia three subjects that have excellent qualities as bedding plants if used in separate colour schemes, but which in combination can hardly fail to look bad? In this kind of gardening, as in any other, let us by all means have our colours in a brilliant blaze, but never in a discordant glare. One or two colours, used temperately and with careful judg- ment, will produce nobler and richer results than many colours purposely contrasted, or wantonly jumbled. The formal garden that is an architectural adjunct to an imposing building demands a dignified unity of colouring instead of the petty and frivolous effects so com- monly obtained by the misuse of many colours. As practical examples of simple harmonies, let us take a scheme of red for summer bedding. It may range from palest pink to nearly black, the flowers being Pelargoniums in many shades of pink, rose, salmon, and scarlet ; Ver- benas, red and pink ; and judicious mixtures of Iresine, Alternanthera, Amaranthus, the dark Ajuga, and red-foliaged Oxalis. Still finer is a colour scheme of yellow and orange, worked out with some eight varieties of Marigold, Zinnias, Calceolarias, and Nasturtiums a long range of bright rich colour, from the palest buff and primrose to the deepest mahogany. Such examples of strong warm colouring are ad- mirably suited for large spaces of bedded garden. Where a small space has to be dealt with it is better to have arrangements of blue, with white and the palest yellow, or of purple and lilac, with gray foliage. A satisfactory example of the latter could be worked out with beds of purple and lilac Clematis, trained over a carpet of Cineraria maritima, or one of the white-foliaged Centaureas, and Heliotropes and purple Verbenas, with silvery foliage of Cerastium, Antennaria, or Stachys lanata. These are some simple examples easily carried out. The principle once seen and understood (and the operator having a perception of colour), modifications will suggest themselves, and a correct working with two or more colours will be practicable ; but the simpler ways are the best, and will always give the noblest results. There is a peculiar form of harmony to be got even in varied colours by putting together those of nearly the same strength or depth. As an example in spring bedding, Myosotis dissitiflora, Silene pendula (not the deepest shade), and double yellow Primrose or yellow Poly- anthus, though distinctly red, blue, and yellow, yet are of such tender and equal depth of colouring, that they work together charmingly, especially if they are further connected with the gray-white foliage of Cerastium. G. J." CHAPTER XXIV. FRAGRANCE. A MAN who makes a garden should have a heart for plants that have the gift of sweetness as well as beauty of form or colour. And what a mystery as well as charm wild Roses sweet as the breath of heaven, and wild Roses of repulsive odour all born of the earth-mother, and it may be springing from the same spot. Flowers sweet at night and scentless in the day ; flowers of evil odour at one hour and fragrant at another ; plants sweet in breath of blossom, but deadly in leaf and sap ; Lilies sweet as they are fair, and Lilies that must not be let into the house ; with bushes in which all that is delightful in odour permeates to every March-daring bud. The Grant Aliens of the day, who tell us how the Dandelion sprang from the Primrose some millions of years ago, would no doubt explain all these things to us, or put long names to them what Sir Richard Owen used to call " conjectural biology," but we need not care where they leave the question, for to us is given this precious fragrance, happily almost without effort, and as free as the clouds from man's power to spoil. Every fertile country has its fragrant flowers and trees ; alpine meadows with Orchids and mountain Violets ; the Primrose-scented woods, Honeysuckle-wreathed and May-frosted hedgerows of Britain ; the Cedars of India and of the mountains of Asia Minor, with Lebanon ; trees of the same stately order, perhaps still more fragrant in the warmer Pacific breezes of the Rocky Mountains and Oregon, where the many great Pines often spring from a carpet of fragrant Ever- greens, and a thousand flowers which fade away after their early bloom, and stand withered in the heat, while the tall Pines overhead distil for ever their grateful odour in the sunny air. Myrtle, Rosemary, and Lavender, and all the aromatic bushes and herbs clothing the little capes that jut into the great sea which washes the shores of Greece, 288 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. . Italy, Sicily, and Corsica ; garden islands scattered through vast Pacific seas, as stars are scattered in the heavens ; enormous tropical forests, little entered by man, but from which he gathers on the out- skirts treasures for stove and greenhouse ; great island gardens like Java and Ceylon and Borneo, rich in spices and lovely plant life ; Australian bush, with plants strange as if from another world, but often most delicate in odour even in the distorted fragments of them we see in our gardens. It is not only from the fragile flower-vases these sweet odours flow ; they breathe through leaf and stem, and the whole being of many trees and bushes, from the stately Gum trees of Australia to the sweet Verbena of Chili. Many must have felt the charm of the strange scent of the Box bush before Oliver Wendell Holmes told us of its " breathing the fragrance of eternity." The scent of flowers is often cloying, as of the Tuberose, while that of leaves is often delicate and refreshing, as in the budding Larch, and in the leaves of Balm and Rosemary, while fragrance is often stored in the wood, as in the Cedar of Lebanon and many other trees, and even down through the roots. It is given to few to see many of these sweet plants in their native lands, but we who love our gardens may enjoy many of them about us, not merely in drawings or descriptions, but the living, breathing things themselves. The Geraniums in the cottage window bring us the spicy fragrance of the South African hills ; the Lavender bush of the sunny hills of Provence, where it is at home ; the Roses in the garden bring near us the breath of the wild Roses on a thou- sand hills ; the sweet or pot herbs of our gardens are a gift of the shore-lands of France and Italy and Greece. The Sweet Bay bush in the farmer's or cottage garden comes with its story from the streams of Greece, where it seeks moisture in a thirsty land along with the wild Olive and the Arbutus. And this Sweet Bay is the Laurel of the poets, of the first and greatest of all poet and artist nations of the earth the Laurel sacred to Apollo, and used in many ways in his worship, as we may see on coins, and in many other things that remain to us of the great peoples of the past. The Myrtle, of less fame, but also a sacred plant beloved for its leaves and blossoms, was, like the Laurel, seen near the temples of the race who built their temples as the Lily is built, whose song is deathless, and the fragments of whose art is Despair to the artist of our time. And thus the fragrant bushes of our gardens may entwine for us, apart from their gift of beauty, living associations and beautiful thoughts for ever famous in human story. It is not only odours of trees and flowers known to all we have to think of, but also many delicate ones, less known, perhaps, by reason of the blossoms that give them being without showy colour, as the wild Vine, the Sweet Vernal, Lemon, and other Grasses. And FRAGRANCE, 289 among these modest flowers there are none more delicate in odour than the blossoms of the common white Willow, the yellow-twigged and the other Willows of Britain and Northern Europe, which are all the more grateful in air coming to us O'er the northern moorland, o'er the northern oam. What is the lesson these sweet flowers have for us ? They tell us if there were no other flowers to tell us that a garden should be a living thing ; its life not only fair in form and lovely in colour, but in its breath and essence coming from the Divine. They tell us that the very common attempt to conform their fair lives into tile or other patterns, to clip or set them out as so much mere colour of the paper- stainer or carpet-maker, is to degrade them and make our gardens ugly and ridiculous, from the point of view of Nature and of true art. Yet many of these treasures for the open garden have been shut out of our thoughts owing to the exclusion of almost everything that did not make showy colour and lend itself to crude ways of setting out flowers. Of the many things that should be thought of in the making of a garden to live in, this of fragrance is one of the first. And, happily, among every class of flowers which may adorn our open-air gardens there are fragrant things to be found. Apart from the groups of plants in which all, or nearly all, are fragrant, as in Roses, the annual and biennial flowers of our gardens are rich in fragrance Stocks, Mignon- ette, Sweet Peas, Sweet Sultan, Wallflowers, double Rockets, Sweet Scabious, and many others. These, among the most easily raised of plants, may be enjoyed by the poorest cottage gardeners. The garden borders of hardy flowers bear for us odours as precious as any breath of tropical Orchid, from the Lily-of-the- Valley to the Carnation, this last yielding, perhaps, the most grateful fragrance of all the flowering host in our garden land. In these borders are things sweeter than words may tell of Woodruff, Balm, Pinks, Violets, garden Primroses, Poly- anthuses, Day and other Lilies, early Iris, Narcissus, Evening Prim- roses, Mezereon, and Pansies delicate in their sweetness. No one may be richer in fragrance than the wise man who plants hardy shrubs and flowering trees Magnolia, May, Daphne, Lilac, Wild Rose, Azalea, Honeysuckle names each telling of whole families of fragrant things. From the same regions whence come the Laurel and the Myrtle we have the Laurustinus, beautiful in our sea- coast and warmer districts, and many other lovely bushes happy in our climate ; one, the Wintersweet, pouring out delicious frag- rance in mid-winter ; Sweet Gale, Allspice, and the delightful little Mayflower that creeps about in the woodland shade in North America. So, though we cannot boast of Lemon or Orange groves, our climate is kind to many lovely and fragrant shrubs. Even our ugly walls may be sweet gardens with Magnolia, Honey- suckle Clematis, Sweet Verbena, and the delightful old Jasmine, still u 290 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. clothing many a house in London. Most precious of all, however, are the noble climbing Tea Roses raised in our own time. Among the abortions of this century these are a real gain the loveliest flowers ever raised by man. Noble in form and colour, and scented as delicately as a June morn in alpine pastures, with these most precious of garden Roses we could cover all the ugly walls in England and Ireland, and Heaven knows many of them are in want of a veil. Some Fragrant Plants for British Gardens. Abelia Abronia Allspice Almond Alyssum Apples Auricula Azalea Balm Balm of Gilead Bee Balm Belladonna Lily Blue Bells Brugmansia Burning Bush Carnation Clematis Clethra Columbine Cowslips Crinum Lupins Pondflower Sweet Scabious Cyclamen Magnolias Plantain Lily Sweet Sultan Datura Marvel of Peru Primroses Sweet Verbena Day Lily May-flower Rhododendrons Sweet William Deutzia Meadow Sweet Rock Rose Thyme Evening Primrose Mexican Orange Rockets Tuberose Forsythia Flower Rose Tulip Tree Grape Hyacinth Mezereon Rosemary Tulips Hawthorns Mignonette Scilla Twinflower Heartsease Mock Orange Stocks Vine Heliotrope Musk St. Bruno's Lily Violets Honeysuckles Myrtle Snowflake Wallflower Horse Chestnut Narcissus Southernwood Water Lilies Hyacinths Iris Night-scented Stock Paeony (some) Styrax Sweet Bay Willows Winter Green Jasmine Lavender Pancratium Pansy Sweet Cicely Sweet Fern Bush Winter Heliotrope Winter Sweet Lilac Pelargonium Sweet Flag Wistaria Lily Phlox Sweet Gale \Voodruff Lily-of-the-Valley Polyanthus Sweet Pea Yarrow Honeysuckle (Baeres, Henley-on-Thames). From a photograph by Miss Maud Grenfell. CHAPTER XXV. SIMPLER FLOWER GARDEN PLANS AND THE RELA- TION OF THE FLOWER GARDEN TO THE HOUSE. A GREAT waste is owing to frivolous and thoughtless " de- sign " as to plan and shapes of the beds in the flower-garden. What a vision opens out to any one who considers the design of the flower garden when he thinks of the curiosities and vexations in the forms of beds in almost every land where a flower garden exists ! The gardener is the heir to his great misfortune of much use- less complexity and frivolous design, born of applying con- ventional designs to the ground. These designs come to us from a remote epoch, and the design- ing of gardens being from very early times in the hands of the decorative " artist," the garden was subjected to their will, and in our own days we even see gardens laid without the slightest relation to garden use, difficult to plant, and costly to form and to keep in order. At South Kensington the elaborate tracery of sand and gravel was attractive to some when first set out, U 2 Type of complex parterre, copied out of books for all sorts of situations. 292 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. but it soon turned to dust and ashes. It was, indeed, to a great extent formed of broken brickdust, in a vain attempt to get rid of the gardener and his flowers. The colours were supplied from the building sheds, where boys were seen pounding up bricks and slates, and beds were made of silver sand, so that no gardener could dis- figure them. The Box edgings of beds a foot wide or smaller soon got out of order, and after a few years the whole thing was painful to see, while good gardeners were wasting precious time trying to plant paltry beds in almost every frivolous device known to the art of con- ventional design. Even where such extravagances were never attempted we see the evil of the same order of ideas, and in many gardens the idea of adapting the beds to the ground never occurs to the designer, but a design has been taken out of some old book. If the ground does not suit the plan, so much the worse for the ground and all who have to work on it. The results of this style of forming beds the cottage gardens escaped from, the space being small and the cottage gardener content with the paths about his door. To some people this objection on my part to intricate design is mistaken for an objection to formality altogether. Now there are bold spirits who do not mind setting their houses among rocks and heather, but we must cultivate a flower garden, and simplicity as to form of the beds should be the rule in it. There are many ways of growing flowers and all sorts of situations fit for them, but the flower garden itself near the house must be laid out with formal beds, or else we cannot cultivate the flowers or get about the ground with ease. It is a question of right and wrong formality. The beds in my own work are, as will be seen by the plans here given, as formal as any, but simpler, and are made on the ground and to the ground. Our object should be to see the flowers and not the beds, so that while we have all the advantage of mass and depth of soil, and all the good a bed can give for con- venience of working or excellence of growth, we should take little pride in its form, and plant it so that we may see the picturesque effects of the plants and flowers, and forget the form of the bed in the picture. The relation of the beds to each other is often much too complex and there is little freedom. Designs that were well enough for furniture or walls or panels when applied to the garden gave us a new set of difficulties. Carried out in wood or in the carpet they answer their purpose, if we like them ; but a flower bed is a thing for much work in cultivating, arranging and keeping it, and it is best to see that we are not hindered by needless complexities in deal- ing with the beds. In good plans there is no difficulty of access, no small points to be cut in Grass or other material, no vexatious SIMPLER FLOWER GARDEN PLANS, 293 obstruction to work, but beds as airy and simple as possible and giving us much more room for flowers than beds of the ordinary type. The plans given are those of wholly different kinds of gardens. GOLDER'S HILL. This at Hampstead, is, perhaps, the best and most interesting example of a London garden one could find for its beauty, airiness, repose, and fine distant view, in which one can scarcely see a house, although near London. This plan is also instructive in various other ways, as showing that where it is desirable to keep a lawn open and quiet for view, play, or any other like reason, it is often easy to do this without interfering with the flower-gardening or any other charm of the place. The lawn is so open and airy, that any number of people may assemble on it without inconvenience or injury to anything. The lawn falls gently from the house, so that any walled terracing is needless, and, excepting a few steps for the convenience of level, little has been done in that direction. The plan also disproves the thoughtless assertion of certain writers that landscape gardening means twisting the walks about. It is seen here that nothing of the kind is done in this most picturesque garden. The flower beds are rather few and bold, and made large for the sake of ease of cultivation and breadth of effect. The next plan is that of the gardener's house at Uffington, near Stamford ; it is an example of the older-fashioned garden not un- common before nearly all old gardens were altered for the sake of the Perilla and its few companions. At one end of the little garden is the gardener's house, and high walls surround the rest of the garden, so that there is shelter and every comfort for the plants. The garden is simply laid out to suit the ground, the plants Roses and hardy flowers in great variety, a plan which admits of delightful effect in such walled gardens. Picturesque masses of Wistaria covered one side of the wall and part of the house the whole was a picture in the best sense ; and it would be difficult to find in garden enclosures anything more delightful during more than half the year. The main drawback in gardens of this sort in the old days was the absence of grouping or any attempt to hold " things together " a fault which is easily got over. It is easy to avoid scattering things one likes all over the beds at equal distances, and, without " squaring " them in any stupid way, to keep them rather more together in natural groups, in which they are more effective, and in winter it is much easier to remember where they are. In this way, too, it is easy to give a somewhat distinct look to each part of the garden. Box edgings may be used in such a garden, and where they thrive and are well kept they are very pretty in effect, but always distinctly inferior to a stone edging because SIMPLER FLOWER GARDEN PLANS. 295 more troublesome, and also because dwarf plants cannot grow over them here and there as they can over a rough edging of natural stone, the best of all edgings. FLOWER GARDEN OF TUDOR HOUSE. This shows two flower gardens close to a Tudor house, with a garden door from the house into each. One being small (that on the south), it was thought better to devote it all to flowers and the necessary walks, all being done with a view to simplicity of culture and good effect of the plants. In the other garden, there being more space, the lawn is left open in the centre, while all round and convenient to the walk are simple, bold beds easy to deal with, and also spaced in a free and open way for people to get among them or about the lawn. The little south garden being much frequented in all weathers, and the paths among the beds rather small, it was thought best to pave them with old flagstones, and that has proved very satisfactory, because rolling and much weeding are thereby avoided and the walks are pleasant to walk or work on at all seasons. South of the house and of these gardens there is an open, airy meadow lawn, the Grass of which is studded with many bulbs that flower in the spring. The vigorous kinds of spring bulbs are grown in great quantities in this field, and only the choicer and rarer early bulbs are put among the Roses and other flowers in the flower garden proper, which is mainly devoted to the finest hardy flowers of summer and to Tea Roses. HAWLEY. This garden shows two essential things in the art of garden-design : First, the general idea of this book that it is by well studying the ground itself, rather than bringing in any conven- tional plans, we arrive at the best results. Gardening is so pleasant in many ways that almost any plan may pass for pretty and yet be far from being the most artistic result that could be got among a given set of conditions, or difficulties it may be of ground. If in such a case we adopt such plans as are sent out from offices both in France and England, it is possible that (with considerable cost) we may adapt them to the situation, but assuredly that way cannot give us the most artistic result. The second point is, that where the vegetation of a place has distinct characters of its own, these should be made the most of. If this were the case generally we should see much less of the stereo- typed in garden-design. This garden is in the charming Pine district of Hampshire the Pine, beautiful in groups and in distant effects and this was taken advantage of, and the Pine look of the place preserved in all ways, and even heightened where it could be done with good effect. These Pine groups and masses were naturally more of the framework of the garden the woods and trees surrounding it. 2 9 6 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. The next thing done was to take advantage of the natural vegetation of the ground apart from the trees, e.g., the heathy vegetation of the country, and instead of destroying it for turf or any of the usual 9 Spirea Ann s f f Q 2 1 | "I. M * r r f g S I I 1 ^ 1 i 5 T I 1 f I f i s 1 Spirea Fillpgndula ^ Old White 1'iakj J * o p o \ 1 1 \ 2 S II PioV Pinkf Uj Caruatioai STANDARD ROSES Verbascum Phoenicenm Sedums & Seniperviv Perennial Aconitum PKony Aiteri Autumntle in variety Pyrethrum Uliginosu I S g * f f $ 8 I' 3 II 3 3 E 7 5 n Sheltered little garden in front of gardener's house at Uffington, Stamford, with- simple beds of Roses and hardy flowers. The space enclosed in walls. features of a garden, preserving all its prettiest effects, its groups of Heath, wild Fern, and some Birch and Broom. Enough mown grass being left to walk upon outside the garden, it was thought the prettiest thing instead of a shaven lawn would be to leave the wild Heaths and SIMPLER FLOWER GARDEN PLANS. 297 bushes and grass of the country, here and there scattering a few bulbs on the grass, but generally leaving things as nature had left them. The walks, instead of following the French sections of eggs pattern or the conventional serpentine walks of some landscape work were made in the line of easiest grade and where they were most wanted and are not more in number or area than were necessary. There was no attempt made to make the walks conform to any preconceived idea. The grass walk under the Oaks was suggested by the Oaks them- selves, and it is very pretty in effect. Originally several terraces had been run up at all sorts of awkward angles, and the ground was consequently more difficult to deal with than can well be imagined ; these were thrown into one simple terrace round the house planned in due relation to its needs and the taste of the owner. The flower garden was laid out in simple beds as shown on the plan, and below these the necessary grass walks lead out towards the open country. Once free of the flower garden and the walk leading to it the ground took its natural disposition again. The kitchen garden had been in its present place originally ; its position could not be changed, and was therefore accepted and walled round with Oak. The whole garden is quite distinct from any other, which in itself is a great point. This garden was, as I think all gardens ought to be, marked out on the ground itself without the intervention of any plan. A plan is always a feeble substitute for the ground, and even if made with the greatest care and cost has still to be adapted to the ground. The plan shown in the engraving was made after my work was done. SHRUBLAND PARK. The plan here given is that of the new flower garden at Shrubland Park, which is situated exactly in front of the house, and tells its own story. It shows the simple form of beds adopted, planned to suit their places, in lieu of the complex pattern beds for carpet bedding, sand, coloured brick, and also the change from such gardening to true flower-gardening. The names of the plants used are printed in position, but the actual way of grouping cannot well be shown in such a plan the plants are not in little dots, but in easy, bold groups here and there running together. The flower gardening adopted is permanent, i.e., there is no moving of things in the usual wholesale way in spring and autumn. The beds are planted to stay, and that excludes spring gardening of the ordinary kind. But many early spring flowers are used in the garden, the mainstay of which is summer and autumn flowers, the period chosen for beauty being that when the house is occupied and all beautiful hardy flowers from Roses to Pansies that flower from May to November are those preferred. There is no formality or repetition in the flower planting but picturesque groups, here and there running & -r>Jgi Sip v>27 rS^r. =^ a 1 5 &3* -'>>:i *K& :f - [fl ir P .?& . r ,s 'X> ^n ] lift " r ^T =r= TI' IWT l"i V| ;,I I II I ; I ; |K |= 7*P5*j - 5=oirr-f i >^^rz ^ ^l^pf ;|^^^o HJ ^qa4^ ^ ^ SIMPLER FLOWER GARDEN PLANS. 299 together, and sometimes softened by dwarf plants running below the taller ones. The beds are set in a pleasant lawn, and there is easy access to them in all directions from the grass. The area of gravel was much greater in the old plan than in the present one, in which what is essential only for free access to the garden is given. EVERGREEN FLOWER GARDEN IN SURREY VILLA. Bearing in mind the conventional bareness and hardness of the common garden of our own day, there is no improvement greater than results from breaking into this by permanent planting of things of a bushy kind. The plan of this garden shows a choice evergreen garden instead of the usual summer planting and autumnal death. The beds are simple and planted with choice shrubs, not crowded, but leaving room for different kinds of hardy flowers so as to get the relief of flower and shrub, and the charm of beds alive and filled at all times. Most of the evergreens (like Kalmia, Japanese Andromeda, and Rhodo- dendrons of beautiful colour) are choice flowering ones, so that we have bloom in spring and summer ; and after, or with the shrubs, the flowers between. Such a garden in pure air well begun might be al- most permanent, because in such soils as these light peaty Surrey soils, the shrubs would thrive for many years ; and the same may be said of the Lilies and choice bulbs between, only slight changes and ad- ditions being required from time to time. Many large gardens, which in similar soils are bare even in early summer, might thus be made charming and graceful gardens throughout the year, and, if this way is not so loud in colour as other ways of flower-gardening, it suits certain positions well. This way of planting need not exclude some summer planting of the usual character, in fact would give zest and relief to it: it is the one evanescent system carried out everywhere that steals the varied beauty from the garden. BITTON VICARAGE GARDEN. This is one of the oldest and most richly stored with good hardy flowers of all English gardens, and, unlike many gardens where much variety is sought, it is pretty in effect and quite by itself as all gardens should be, and an example of a small garden of the highest interest, and withal of simple and sensible plan. The garden is not a large one, being about an acre and a half in area, and in shape a parallelogram, or double square. As its owner, Mr. Ellacombe, tells us : " It lies on the west side of the Cotswolds, which rise, about half a mile away, to the height of 750 feet, and about 15 miles to the south are the Mendips. These two ranges of hills do much to shelter us from the winds, both from the cold north and easterly winds, and from the ^ south-west winds, which in this part of England are sometimes Edgings of Saxifrages, Aubrietias and dwarf Veronicas Sedurn Heuchera Campanula Hawley flower garden. JBtM Mixed Shrubi Bitton : part of the plan of the garden near house for flowers and shrubs. SIMPLE R'jfLOlVER GARDEN PLANS. 301 very violent. I attach great importance to this kindly shelter from the great strength of the winds, for plants are like ourselves in many respects, and certainly in this, that they can bear a very great amount of frost, if only the air is still, far better than they can bear a less cold if accompanied by a high wind." The garden then has the advantage of shelter ; it has also the advantage of a good aspect, for though the undulations are very slight the general slope faces south ; and it has the further advantage of a rich and deep alluvial soil, which, however, is so impregnated with lime and magnesia that it is hopeless to attempt Rhododendrons, Azaleas, Kalmias, and many other things, and it has the further dis- advantage of being only about 70 feet above the sea level, which makes an insuperable difficulty in the growth of the higher alpines. On the whole, the garden is favourable for the cultivation of flowers, and especi- ally for the cultivation of shrubs, except those which dislike the lime. The garden is in many ways an ideal one, lying deep down in a happy valley and forming with the fine old church the centre of an old world village. It is a quiet, peaceful garden of grass and trees and simple borders, and every nook and corner has its appropriate flower ; in a word, it is just such a garden as one would expect a scholar to possess who has sympathy for all that lives or breathes and who has given us such a book as " The Plant Lore and Garden Craft of Shakespeare." The garden at Bitton Vicarage is no new garden, for it was famous more than half a century ago, when Haworth and Herbert, Anderson, Falconer, Sweet, Baxter and others took such an interest in bulbs and hardy flowers. By the same token it is by no means a new-fangled garden ; there is all due and proper keeping, but it is patent to any plant-lover that its owner thinks more of seeing his plants happy and healthy than he does of any unnecessary trimness. F. W. B. RESERVE GARDEN. We have an example in this plan of what is meant by a reserve garden. An oblong piece of ground having the walls of the kitchen garden for two of its boundaries, and a Yew hedge sheltering it from the east winds, while the other is screened by evergreen trees, with which are intermingled hardy plants of tall growth. The plants are set in beds without reference to the general effect, and all the borders, being edged with stone dug on the place, give no trouble after the stones are properly set ; when old and moss- grown the stones look better than anything else that could be used the dwarfer plants being allowed to run over them and break the lines. Every year the plan of such a garden may be varied as our tastes vary and as the flowers want change. A similar garden ought to be in every place where there are borders to be stocked and maintained in good condition, and particularly where there is a demand for cut flowers. SIMPLER FLOWER GARDEN PLANS. 303 Such a garden may be made in any shape which is convenient for cultivation, for access and for cutting ; but some general throwing of the ground into easily worked beds is desirable. The more free and less hampered with gravel, permanent edgings, and the like, the better it will be for future work. The gardener is often hindered by need- less impedimenta in the flower garden, but in the reserve garden, where only the cultivation of flowers has to be thought of, he should be able to get to work at any time with the least possible difficulty, Terrace Wall with vfgofous tall Tea Roses. fragrant Hardy FlowersJ^J^- '\-J\Fragrant Hardy Flowers. Evergreen Border. Wall of Sweet Verbena and Red Honeysuckle. Evergreens and Hardy Flowers. Wall of Winter Sweet and Ceanothus , Flower garden of Surrey villa on peaty soil for choice evergreen shrubs with hardy flowers between. and in dry and good soils it would not be necessary to have much more than a beaten walk for the foot. It would be possible to do without edgings ; but where edgings are used they should be of a kind that might be removed at any time, the best for this end being of natural stone. The drainage should be good, and if possible the place should be not too far to the manure heap, while the soil should in all cases be good, as very often it has to give two crops a year ; in the case of bulbs that perish early it is easy to get after crops of annuals or ornamental grasses. P/EONIES AND DAHLIAS The Dahlias preceeded by Wallflowers {SCILLAS ( HYACINTH ( MIGNONET 5 ri [, I 2 ' DAFFODILS PHLOX DRUMMONC PINKS IR'S SWEET WILLIAMS EARLY GLADIOLUS DOUBLE ROCKET SULTAN ( RANUNCULUS | ZINNIA MUSCARI TIGRIDIA NAPDRACO' 'SPRING CROCUS STOCKS 1 * I LILIES s 1 PHLOX BLUE CORNFLOWER CHIZOSTYL AMERICAN COWSLIPS TULIPS CHINA ASTERS s SALVIA PATENS | i PYRETHRUM LATE GLADIOLUS COLUMBINES DOUBLE WALLFLOWERS LILIES IFRITILLARIES ( DOUBLE PRIMROSES ; ( PO [CYCLAMENS 1 COLCHICUMS : (AU MUM PENTSTEMON ANEMONES JL.KASSEG PANSY NES DELPHINIUM | SCARLET LOBELIA {POLYANTHUS AUTUMN CROCUS DOGS TOOT 1 -" VIOLET Reserve garden for the choicer families of hardy plants, grown in beds without reference to general effect, and serving also as a garden for cut flowers and a nursery. CHAPTER XXVI. WALKS AND EDGINGS. OUR gardens are often laid out in a complex way : with so many needless walks, edgings, and impediments of many kinds that work cannot be done in a simple way, and half the time is lost in taking care of or avoiding useless or frivolous things. Efforts thus wasted should be turned tc account in the growth of flowers. In many large places there is no true flower-gardening ; wretched plants are stuck out in the parterre every year, and a few stunted things are scratched in round the choke-muddle shrubbery, but little labour or love is bestowed on the growth of flowers. In others there are miles of walks bordered by bare stretches of earth, as cheerful as Woking Cemetery in its early years. The gardener is impotent to turn such a waste into a paradise ; his time and his thoughts are often eaten up by keeping in order needless and often ugly walks. The gardeners, owing to the trouble of this wasteful system, have little time for true flower-gardening forming a real garden of Roses, or groups of choice shrubs, or beds of Lilies, or of other noble hardy plants, so that the beds may fairly nourish their tenants for a dozen years. Instead of the never-ending and wearisome hen-scratchings of autumn and spring, we ought to prepare one portion of the flower garden or pleasure ground each year, so that it will yield beauty for many years. But this cannot be done while half the gardener's time is taken up with barber's work. Our own landscape gardeners are a little more sparing of these hideous walks than the French ; but we very often have twice too many walks, which torment the poor gardener by needless and stupid labour. The planning of these walks in various elaborate ways has been supposed to have some relation to landscape gardening ; but one needless walk often bars all good effect in its vicinity. Flower- beds are often best set in Grass, and those who care to see them will approach them quite as readily on Grass as on hard walks. For the three or four months of our winter season there is little need of frequent resort to flower-beds, and for much of the rest of the year the turf is better than any walk. I do not mean that there should be no x 306 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. walk to the flower-garden, but that every walk not necessary for use should be turfed over. Few have any idea how much they would gain, not merely in labour, but in the beauty and repose of their gardens, by doing away with needless walks. GRAVEL WALKS. For hard work and general use the gravel walk is the most important of all for garden and pleasure grounds. The colour of walks is important ; that of the yellow gravels being by far the best. Of this we have examples in the country around London, in the gravels of Croydon, Farnham, and also those of Middlesex. These walks are not only good in colour but also excellent in texture, consolidating thoroughly. It is a relief to see these brownish-yellow walks after the purple pebble walks of the neighbourhoods of Dublin and Edinburgh. After the sound formation of these walks the main point is to keep them to the essen- tial needs of the place, and when this is done their effect is usually right. Even this excellent gravel is sometimes improved about London by the addition of sea shells, cockle shells mostly gathered from the coasts of Kent ; and, after the walk is formed and hardened, this is lightly scattered over the surface and rapidly breaks down and gives to the walk a clean smooth surface. In public gardens and parks large areas of gravel are sometimes necessary, and in some ways of" laying out," such as those round French chateaux, wide arid areas of gravel are supposed to have a raison d'etre ; but in English gardens they are better avoided. English roads, lanes, and pathways are often pictures, because consecrated by use and often beautiful in line, following as they often do the line of easiest grade or gentle curves round hills ; but in gardens, roads and paths are often ugly because overdone, and nothing can be worse than hot areas of gravel, not only without any relation to the needs of the place, but wasting precious ground that might be made grateful to the eye with turf, or of some human interest with plants. STONE WALKS IN SMALL FLOWER GARDENS. A walk which is much liked is the stone walk, suggested by the little stone paths to cottages. In large open gardens such walks would not be so good, but in small inclosed spaces and flower gardens, where we have to plant very closely in beds, stone walks are a gain. In some districts a pretty rough, flat stone is found, of which there is a good example at Sedgwick Park. In cities, when renewing the side-walks, it is some- times easy to get old flagstones, which are excellent for the purpose. I use such old stones and mostly set them at random, or in any way they come best. The advantages are that we get rid of the sticky surface of gravel in wet weather or after frost, avoid rolling and weeding for the most part, the stones are pleasant to walk on at all times, and we can work at the beds or borders freely in all weathers without fear of soiling gravel. The colour of the stones is good and WALKS AND EDGINGS. 307 in sunny gardens in hot summers they help to keep the ground moist, while the broken and varied incidents of the surface get rid of the hard unyielding lines of the gravel walk and help the picture. They should never be set in mortar or cement of any kind, but carefully in sand or fine sandy soil, and the work can be done by a careful man with a little practice. If in newly-formed ground there is a little sinking of the stone, it can be corrected afterwards. Small rock plants, like Thyme, the fairy Mint, and little Harebells, may be grown between the divisions of the stone, and, indeed, they often come of themselves, and their effect is very pretty in a small garden. Another point in favour of the stone walk is that it forms its own edging, and we do not need any living edging ; and if for any purpose, in a wet country or otherwise, we wish to somewhat raise the flower beds, we can use the same kind of stone for edging the beds. GRASS, HEATH, AND Moss WALKS. Once free of all necessary walks about the house of gravel or stone, which constant work and use make essential, it is often easy in country gardens to soon break into grass walks which are pleasantest of all ways of getting about the country garden or pleasure ground. Not only can we take them into the wild garden and rough places, but they lead us to flowering shrubs and beds of hardy plants and to the rock garden, or through the pleasure ground anywhere, as easily and more pleasantly than any regularly set out walks. There is much saving of labour in their formation because given sound drained ground which is to be found around most country houses, we have little to do except mark out and keep the walks regularly mown ; when this work is compared with the labour of carting, the knowledge and the annual care which are necessary to form and keep hard walks in order, the gain in favour of the grass walk is enormous. It is perhaps only in our country that the climate enables us to have the privilege of these verdant walks, which are impossible in warmer lands owing to the great heat destroying the herbage, and, therefore, in Britain we should make good use of what our climate aids us so much in doing. We have, of course, to think of the fall of the grass walk for the sake of ease in mowing and in walking too, as very much of their comfort will depend, at least in hilly ground, on the careful way these walks are studied as regards their gradation. There is really not much difference in the degree of moisture in such walks and gravel walks, and, besides, so little use is made of walks of any kind in wet weather, that generally, taking them all the year round, they serve as well as any other where there is but gentle wear. Apart from the grass walks which can be formed in so large an area of Britain we may have walks through heath and the short vegetation that grows in heathy districts, and these walks will be no less pleasant than the grass walks. The short turf of the heath, and x 2 3o8 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. often the mown heather itself forms an excellent springy walk, as in parts of Surrey. Such walks want little making, only some care in laying down their lines so as to take them into the prettiest spots and letting them edge themselves with heather, ferns and Whortleberry. But no more than any other should such walks be multiplied beyond what is necessary, and they ought to be broad enough and airy enough to take us in the pleasantest way to the most interesting parts of the garden or pleasure ground or woods. In woody or half shady places we may enjoy the mossy walk as in very sandy or light soils we may have a turf almost of Thyme. TAR WALKS. Among the curious mixture of good and bad, ugliness and beauty, we see often in country seats are tar walks, and they are a main " factor " in making many a garden ugly. They have almost every fault that a walk could have, being hideous in colour, hot in summer, and sticky, hard and unpleasant to the feet, wearing into ugly holes and an uneven and unpleasant surface. The only excuse that could ever be made for them was that they offered an escape from continual hoeing, a great labour, but now needless, owing to the weed-killers. If walks are simply made, and not one yard more is made than is required for use, the labour of cleaning is immensely reduced, and one dressing a year of an effective weed-killer often keeps them right. If there were no other objection than the colour of the tar walk, it should be sufficient to condemn it, and gravel in the home counties and about London is so good in colour, that one is surprised that anybody can tolerate a tar walk. In small, close courtyard gardens, where gravel is objected to, we may have a well- made stone walk of good colour. CONCRETE AND ASPHALT WALKS. Apart from tar walks, which on hot days may give us the idea that we are stuck in a bog, there are also well-made walks to be had from concrete and true asphalt. These walks have distinct advantages for courtyards and small spaces, or even small gardens in certain places ; they are better in colour than the tar walk, and more enduring if well made. They are clean, but they have certain disadvantages as compared with stone walks. They require a much more expensive and careful setting, and they are certainly not more enduring. Also, they do not allow us the privilege of putting plants between the joints, one of the great charms of the stone walk, which can be easily set to allow Thyme and dwarf rock-plants to come up between them ; and there- fore in all districts in which a warm- coloured stone is procurable, or rough flagstone from quarries, it is very much better to use it, as we can always have gravel for any roads that have to be traversed by carriages or carts ; the space for concrete, asphalt, or stone walks is not considerable, and the natural material should be used wherever it be possible. WALKS AND EDGINGS. 309 FLOWER GARDEN EDGINGS, LIVE AND DEAD. Even small things may mar the effect of a flower garden, however rich in its plants, and among the things that do so are cast edgings of tiles or iron, often very ugly, and as costly as ugly, some of the earthen- ware edgings perishing rapidly in frost. But if they never perished, and were as cheap as pebbles by the shore, they would be none the less offensive from the point of view of effect, with their hard patterned shapes, often bad colour, and the necessity of setting them with pre- cision in cement or mortar ; whereas the enduring and beautiful edging wants none of these costly attentions. The seeming advan- tage of these patterned and beaded tile edgings is that they appear Stone edging. From a photograph by Mr. A. Emblin, Worksop, Notts. permanent, and get rid of the labour of clipping and keeping box edgings in good order ; but these ends are met quite as well by per- fectly inoffensive edgings. Edgings may, for convenience sake, be divided into dead and permanent ones and living ones formed of plants or dwarf bushes, which involve a certain amount of care to keep in order, and which will some day wear out and require a change or replanting. The true way in all gardens of any good and simple design is to get edgings which, while quite unobtrusive in form or colour, may remain for many years without attention. In all good gardens there is so much to be done and thought of every day in the year, that THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. Edging of Foam Flower. it is important to get rid of all mere routine work with edgings of Box and other things that want frequent trimming or remaking, in which work much of the labour of gardeners has been wasted in the past. NATURAL STONE is the best of all materials for permanent edgings for the flower garden, or any garden where an edging is required, and no effort should be spared to get it. In many districts it is quite easy to do so, as in some of the home counties the refuse of quarries (in Surrey Bargate stone, and in Oxfordshire and Gloucester- shire the flaky stone used for the roofs of old time) is excellent for edgings. Much difference will occur in stone in various districts, and some will not be so good in colour and shape as the stone just mentioned, but the advan- tage of natural stone in various ways is so great that even in- ferior forms of it should be chosen before any other material. In undressed, or very roughly dressed natural stone, it does not matter in the least if the stones vary in size, as we have not to set them rigidly like the cast tiles ; sunk half-way firmly in the earth, after a little time they soon assume a good colour ; green mosses stain them in the winter, and if we wish to grace them with rock flowers they are very friendly to them, and Rockfoil, or Stonecrop, or Thyme may creep over them, and make them prettier than any edging made wholly of plants, like Box or Thrift, or Ivy. Unlike the tile, stones are none the worse if they fall a little out of line, as they are easily reset, and also easily removed by handy garden men without expensive workmen, or any aid from mortar or trowel. In large and stately gardens dressed stone may be used to frame a grass plot or handsome straight border, but in most cases this expense would be thrown away, as we get so good a result with the undressed stone. But in a flower garden like that at Shrubland Park, the dressed stone of good and simple form, and properly set as it should be in such a position quite near the house, is quite rightly used. Near cities and towns the removal of old or half-worn stone pavements, like the York stone used in London, often gives us opportunities of securing it for forming edging ; and being often got in large pieces, it requires rough dressing to allow of its being firmly and evenly set in the ground. I have used this largely for edgings, which will last as long as they are allowed to remain. The beautiful green stone of Cumberland would WALKS AND EDGINGS. 311 make as good an edging as one could desire, and many kinds of stone may be used. In districts where there is no stone to be had, and we have to use any kind of artificial stone or terra cotta, these should never have any pattern or beading, but be cast in quite simple forms, never following the patterns usually adopted by the makers of garden tiles. Certain inferior forms of dead edgings should be avoided, such as boards, that soon rot, and are wholly unfit in all ways as edgings. Iron, too, as used in continental gardens or in any shape, should never be used as an edging, ordinary bricks half set in the ground being far better than any of these. GRASS EDGINGS sometimes are used to flower borders, but are always full of labour and trouble. And they have various drawbacks, apart from the mowing and edge-cutting, chief among these being that the border flowers within cannot ramble over them as they do over the stone edgings in such pretty ways. These narrow grass margins are often used as edgings to flower borders in the kitchen garden in places where very little labour is to spare for the garden, but, little as it r is, it has to be given throughout the season to these grass' edgings, which are worse than useless as a finish to a flower border. By these I do not mean the grass margins to the garden lawns, or a carpet of turf, as these are easily attended to when the lawn is being mown, but the foot wide grass edgings c Bold evergreen edging to rough border. which require attention when time can be badly spared for them, and are often so narrow that it is not easy to use a machine for mowing them. Box. Of all the living things used as edgings in gardens, the first place belongs to Box, used for ages and deservedly liked from its neat habit and good colour. When there were many fewer plants to look after than we have now, to tend some miles of box edging was often the pride of the gardener, and even now we see it sometimes done, though the hand often fails with the ceaseless care the edging requires if it is to be kept in good order, and it gets spotty and in some soils worn out and diseased. Where cared for it must be clipped with much care and regularity every May after the danger of hard frosts is past, as these sometimes touch the young growth. By cutting in May the young growth soon hides the hard mark of the shears. Pretty as it is in certain gardens, the drawbacks to Box as a flower- 3 1 2 THE ENGLISH FL O WER GA RDEN. garden edging are serious ; it requires much labour to keep it in order, and not every garden workman can clip Box well ; it is a harbour for slugs and weeds, drying and starving the soil near ; whereas the stone edging keeps the soil moist and comforts the rock flowers that crawl over it. We cannot allow dwarf and creeping plants to crawl over the Box, or they will scald and injure it, but with the stone, we are free in all ways, and get a pretty effect when Pinks and other dwarf plants, crossing the stone edging here and there, push out into the walk itself. I like Box best as a tall, stout edging or low hedge, used in a bold way as high Rosemary edgings are used in southern gardens, about 1 8 in. high, or even a little higher, to enclose playgrounds or separate gardens or to mark an interesting site as that of the old house at Castlewellan. Sometimes old and neglected Box edgings grown into Ivy edging. low hedges are pretty in a garden, as in George Washington's old home at Mount Vernon in Virginia. And low hedges of Box are now and then a good aid near the flower garden as at Panshanger. YEW, IVY, HEATH AND VARIOUS EDGINGS. Among other edgings made of woody or shrubby things, we have the Yew, which bears clipping into edgings a foot high, and which might be worth using in some positions, though much clipping of this sort causes much labour and to me sorrow. Ivy is more precious for its shoots, which garland the earth as well as wall or tree. It is more used abroad than in Britain, the freshness of its green being more valued where good turf is less common, and Ivy is of the highest value as an edging in various ways, but better as a garland round a plot or belt of shrubs than near flower beds, and it enables us to make graceful edgings near and under trees. Like the Box, it may also be used WALKS AND EDGINGS. 313 as a bold hedge-like garland to frame a little garden or other spot which we wish to separate from the surrounding ground. The Tree Ivy is best for this, but the common Ivy, if planted as an edging in any open place, will in time assume the shrubby or tree form, and make a handsome and bold garland. Where, for any reason, we desire Ivy edgings, it is better not to slavishly follow the French way of always using the Irish Ivy for edgings. The dark masses of this in the public gardens of London, Paris, and also in the German cities are very wearisome, and help to obscure rather than demonstrate the value of the Ivy as the best of all climbers of the northern world. The common Ivy, of which the Irish form is a variety, is a plant of wide distribution throughout Europe, North Africa, and Asia, and varies very much in form. There being in Britain over fifty cul- tivated forms of it, it is in England that it is best known. The Irish variety seems to have taken the fancy of continental European gardeners, and is much more cultivated than any other but many of the other varieties less known are more graceful and varied in form, and even colour, some of them having in winter a bronzy hue, instead of the dark look of the Irish Ivy. Some, too, are fine in form, from the great Amoor and Algerian Ivies to the little cut- leaved Ivy. Even the common Ivy of our woods is prettier than the one so much used. Among the bold edgings one sees enclosing the " careless " and broad borders of Spanish or Algerian or other southern gardens, over- shaded by orange or other fruit trees, is the Rosemary, clipped into square topped bushy edges, about 1 5 ins. high. Though tender in many parts with us, it may be used in the same way on warm soils and in mild districts, and the Lavender may be used in the same way, though in its case it is best not to clip it, and there is a dwarf form, which is best for edgings to bold borders. DWARF EVERGREEN EDGINGS. Among various dwarf evergreen shrubs which may be used as edgings are the dwarf Cotoneasters, Periwinkles, smaller Vacciniums, Partridge Berry, the alpine forest Heath and some of the smaller kinds of our native Heaths, varying them after the nature of the soil and the kind of plants or shrubs we are arranging ; heaths and shrubs of a like nature being best for association with peat-loving evergreen shrubs, though they need not all be confined to these or to such soils. Such evergreen edgings of low shrubs are often very useful where we plant masses of select ever- green flowering shrubs, and they may be used in free belts or groups as well as in hard set lines, the last being in many cases a sure way to mar the effect of otherwise good planting in pleasure grounds. Where we are dealing with nursery or cut flower beds, borders 3H THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. in the kitchen garden or elsewhere, no such objection to the con- tinuous edging holds. And in such cases those who use plants have a great variety to choose from : Strawberries, wild, Quatre-saison, and any favourite larger sort ; Rockfoils of this rich and varied family the Mossy Rockfoils make soft and excellent green margins to beds of hardy flowers ; Houseleeks, Stonecrops, Gentianella, which forms such a fine evergreen edging in cool soils ; Tufted Pansies, Thrift, purple Rock-Cresses which are among the most precious of rock flowers for evergreen edgings, and bloom often throughout the spring ; dwarf Speedwells, Edelweiss in open country gardens where it thrives ; alpine Phloxes, Sun Roses, Arabis, evergreen Candytuft, excellent as White Pink edging. a permanent margin to bold mixed groups of spring flowers and shrubs ; Pinks, both white and coloured, pretty on warm and free soils, but useless where they are hurt in winter ; Daisies and Polyanthuses and garden Primroses : in Scotland and cool places, the rosy and some of the Indian Primroses make beautiful edgings. Dwarf Hare- bells, and some of the silvery or striped Grasses and Moneyworts may also be used. There is, in fact, scarcely a limit to the choice one may make from the more free and vigorous rock and alpine flowers, the choice being governed by the nature of the soil, rainfall, and elevation, or closeness to the sea, which is so often kind to plants slow or tender in inland situations, like some of the grey Rock Scabious which form such pretty marginal plants where they thrive. WALKS AND EDGINGS, 315 PLASTERED MARGINS TO FLOWER BEDS. Here is an illustration showing a wretched mud edging. These miniature ramparts, though less common than formerly, are a blot in London gardens and parks. They are made of muddy compounds, and in addition to the offensive aspect of the little walls when first plastered up, there are the cracks which come after well shown in the cut. In a hot year, or any year, it is madness to cock the beds upon a little wall like this. The proper way to make a flower bed is to let the earth slope gently down to the margin, as was the practice for ages before this ugly notion came about. Example of ugly cracked mud edging (London Park.) Rocky border with edging of dwarf plants in gioups. Tufted Pansies. CHAPTER XXVII. THE FLOWER GARDEN IN THE HOUSE ONE of the real gains in any flower garden worthy of the name is that we have in it lovely forms and delicate colours for the house, from the dawn of spring, with its noble Lenten Roses on sheltered borders, until autumn goes into winter in a mantle of Starworts. Many English and all German and French flower gardens in parterres offer us only Lobelias, and various plant rubbish of purplish or variegated hues, very few of them worth cutting, whereas our real flower garden is a store of Narcissus, Azalea, Rose, Lily, Tulip, and Carnation, and all the fairest things of earth. All we have to care about is placing them in simple ways to show their form as well as colour. Apart from the good plan of having a plot for the culture of any flowers we wish to cut for the house, a true flower garden will yield many flowers worthy of a place on an artist's or any other table, and worthy of it for their forms, colour, or fragrance. Many of these, from the Narcissus to the Tea Rose, give flowers so freely that we need not be afraid to cut ; indeed, in many cases, careful cutting prolongs the bloom (as of Roses). Many shrubs we may improve as we cut their branches for the house, for example Winter Sweet, Forsythia, and Lilac. It is not merely the first impression of flowers, good as it may be, that we have to think of, but the charms which intimacy gives to many of the nobler flowers some opening and closing before our eyes, and showing beauties of form in doing so that we never suspected when THE FLOWER GARDEN IN THE HOUSE. 317 passing them in the open air. In the changing and varied lights of a house we have many opportunities of showing flowers in a more interesting way, particularly to those who do not see them much out of doors, and now we have in gardens many new flowers of great beauty of form Californian, Central Asiatic, Japanese, even the mountains of China and India giving precious things, as well as the rich flora of North America, as yet not as much seen in our gardens as it deserves to be. So that it will be seen how good is the reason why care should be given to show the flowers in the house when we have them to spare out of doors. At first sight there may not seem much against our doing justice to flowers in the house, but our flower vases have shared the fate of most Rose in a Japanese bronze tasin. manufactured things within the past generation, i.e. t they suffer from the mania for overdoing with designs, called " decorative," which at the South Kensington schools is supposed to have some con- nection with " art." Every article in many houses, being overcharged with these wearisome patterns, it was not to be expected that the opportunity of " adorning " our flower pots would be lost, and so we may have ugly forms and glaring patterns, where all should be simple in form, and modest and good in colour. The coalscuttle, with its " decoration," does not stand in our way so much as the flower vase, as in this we have to put living things in their delicate natural colours and shapes, and to look at these, stuck in vases with hard colours and designs, is impossible to the artistic mind. 3 i8 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. And when we have seen the ugliness of much of this work, what is to be done in the way of remedy as the shops are so much against us ? The first need is a great variety of pots, basins, and jars or vases ; so that no flower that garden, wood, or hedgerow can give us, need be without a fitting vessel the moment it is brought into the house. What are known as the Munstead glasses are a great help, because their shapes are carefully made to suit various flowers, and they are very useful and good in form made, too, of plain glass. But, however good this series is, it is well to use a variety of other things in any simple ware that comes in our way, very often things on the way to the rubbish heap, such as Devonshire cream jars in brown ware. Nassau seltzer bottles, in the brown ware too, may well take a single flower or branch, while old ginger pots, quite simple shallow basins in yellow ware, and other articles made for use in trade, come in very well. There is no need to exclude finer or more costly things than these if good in shape and not out- rageous in colour, but various reasons lead us to prefer the simpler wares, in which the flowers look often quite as well as in any others, though a mass of Edith GifTord Rose looks very well china, silver, or bronze vases or occasions, though Paeonies in Munstead glass. in a good old silver bowl, and good or basins may be used for choice positions it will generally be best not to submit fine or fragile vessels of this kind to the risks of constant use. Among the finest things ever made in the shape of vases for cut flowers is the old Japanese work, which is often as lovely in form and as beautiful with true ornament as anything made by the old Greeks ; but the Japanese, like others, have taken to " potboiling " in bronze, and many of the things now seen at sales in London are coarse in workmanship. It might be worth while to have good and avowed reproductions of some of the more useful old forms the slender, uprising ones are so good for many tall flowers ; Italian bronze bowls are often useful too ; and the THE FLOWER GARDEN IN THE HOUSE. 319 darkness within the bronze vessels tends to keep the flowers longer than when they are in glass vessels exposed to the light. Japanese ways of arranging flowers are extremely interesting, and may sometimes be practised with advantage ; but, with a great variety and good shape of vessels, the Japanese way is not so necessary as a system, for the reason that, given a variety of good shapes and different materials, we can place any single flower, branch, or bunch in a way that it will look well with very slight effort and in very little time. Any way involving much labour over the arrangement of flowers is not the best for us or for the result far from it. Lenten Roses, February. Having got a good and constant supply of flowers, and variety of vessels, the question of arrangement is the only serious one that remains to be thought of, and it is not nearly so difficult if we seek unity, harmony, and simplicity of effect, rather than the complexities which we have all seen at flower shows and in " table decorations," many of them involving much wearisome labour, while a shoot of a wild rose growing out of a hedge or a wreath of honeysuckle would put the whole thing to shame from the point of view of beauty. In all such matters laying down rules leads to monotony, and yet there is much to be said for ways distinctly apart from the old nosegay masses and the 3 20 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. modern jumble, and generally it is best to show one flower at a time, especially if a noble one like the Carnation, which varies finely in colour. The baskets and basins of Carnations arranged by the late Lady Henry Grosvenor, at Bui wick, were lovely to see, and the best of them were of one Carnation of good colour. These were the flowers from her fine collection of outdoor Carnations, so useful for cutting in summer and autumn, when people are enjoying their gardens. But the improved culture of the Carnation as a plant for winter and spring bloom under glass gives us quantities of this precious flower for six months more, Mexican Orange-flower. when the outdoor supply is over. These are among the best flowers for the dinner table as well as the house generally, and on the dinner table the effect, by artificial or by natural light, of one or two flowers of the season, is often better than that given by a variety of flowers. What is just said of the Carnation applies to various noble groups of hardy flowers, such as the Tulip, Narcissus and Lily. It is not only in vases we see the good of showing one flower or group at a time ; a good result will often come through a single spray or branch of a shrub. The Japanese have taught us to see THE FLOWER GARDEN IN THE HOUSE. 321 the beauty of form and line in a single twig or branch, with its natural habit shown, apart from any beauty and form or colour its flowers may have. This is important, in view of the many shrubs that flower in our climate in spring, and of which, if flower- ing shoots are cut when in bud, the flowers open slowly and well in the house. They are best placed in Japanese bronze or other opaque jars. The taller Japanese bronze jars with narrow Foliage of Evergreen hardy plant (Epimedium.) necks are very useful for these, and it is an excellent practice to cut the bud-laden shoots of Sloe, Plum, Apple, Crab, and like plants, and put them in jars to bloom in the house. By this means we ad- vance their blooming time ; and, in the case of severe weather the beauty of early shrubs may be lost to us unless we adopt this plan. We see how well the French practice of growing Lilac in the dwelling house prolongs the beauty of this shrub, and it is not difficult to do something of the kind for the hardy shrubs and early Y 322 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. trees that come with the Daffodils, but are not so well able to brave the climate. These shoots of early shrubs are also usually best arranged each by itself, though some go well together, and graceful leaves of evergreens may be used with them. One advantage of dealing with one flower at a time is that we show and do not conceal the variety of beauty we have. For, all thrown together, that variety will be much less evident than if we make clear the colour and form of each kind. Some proof of this may be seen in the work of the best flower painters. In the work of M. Fantin- Latour, for example, his nosegays of many flowers, evidently bought at some country market stand, are painted as well as his simple subjects but these last are far the best pictures. However, there is such a wide range of plants, shrubs, and woodland and hedgerow flowers, that we must not hesitate to depart from any general idea if it tends to keep us from making the best of things in simple and ready ways. WATER LILIES AND WATER-SIDE PLANTS FOR THE HOUSE. Often the water and the water-side will give us fine things for house decoration, and the new Water Lilies of rare distinction help very much, as cut in the freshly expanded state they keep very well for some days and give us quite a new order of beauty. For this purpose we want bold and simple basins, as if we can put some of their handsome leaves in with them the effect is all the better. Although very fine in the open water, where they do admirably, the effect of the flower near at hand in the house is quite different and very beautiful, and as these plants increase their value as cut flowers for the house will be found to be great. There are also plants of the water-side which may help with foliage or flower ; one of the best being the Forget-me- not, which flowers so well in the house, and the great Buttercup. LEAVES. Many as are the flowers of the open air excellent for house, the leaves of the open air tree or shrub or plant are hardly of less use for the same end : notably the foliage of evergreen shrubs in warm and sea coast districts, from evergreen Magnolia, Poet's Laurel, Cypress, Juniper and Thuja, Cherry Laurel, and Bamboo ; even in the coldest districts we have the evergreen Barberry, and more than fifty forms of the best of all evergreen climbers, the Ivy, and the Holly with its scarlet, yellow or orange berries. The trees in autumn give us leaves rich in colour Maple, Medlar, Mespilus, Parrottia, Tulip-tree and many others. The shrubs and climbers, too, help Bramble, Wild Roses, Water Elder (Viburnum), Common Barberry, with its graceful rain of red berries ; Vines in many forms ; hardy flowers, too, help with Acanthus, Alexandrian Laurel, Solomon's Seal, Iris, Plantain Lily, Rock plants are rich in good leaves : Cyclamen, Heuchera, Christmas and Lenten Roses, the large Indian Rockfoils and the Barremvorts; and THE FLOWER GARDEN IN THE HOUSE. 323 then there are the hardy ferns of our own country and Europe, and also those of North America as hardy as our own. A great help in a house is ready access to a handy water supply in a little room, near the flower garden or usual entrance for flowers, where vessels may be stored and flowers quickly arranged, used water and flowers got rid of and so planned that the mistress of the house, or whoever arranges the flowers, may use it at all times without other aid. This greatly helps in every way, and makes the arrangement of flowers for the house more than ever a pleasure. The Chimney Campanula, Staunton Court. CHAPTER XXVIII EVERGREEN TREES AND SHRUBS. " Oh the oak and the ash and the bonny ivy tree, They flourish at home in my own country." Old Ballad. THE above lines might be worth thinking of by those bent on planting evergreens for any of these uses, as if it were borne in mind that the evergreens we plant have to face winters in an Oak and Ash land, we should have less of the frightful waste owing to the planting of rampant but not hardy evergreens which perish in numbers after hard winters. There are no background hues prettier than afforded by some evergreens like the Yew, Box, and Ilex ; but their use requires care ; we may have too many of them, and they should not take the place of flowering shrubs and flowers of many kinds. It is outside the flower garden that evergreens are most useful gene- rally, and in a cold country like ours, especially on the eastern coasts and in wind-swept districts, Holly banks and hedges of other hardy evergreens are often a necessity. In our country we have the privilege of growing more evergreen shrubs and trees than continental countries, species resisting winter here which have not the slightest chance of doing so in Central Europe. NOBLE NATIVE EVERGREENS. Into our brown and frozen northern woods come a few adventurers from southern lands that do not lose their green in winter, but take then a deeper verdure Ivy, Holly, and Yew enduring all but the very hardest frosts that visit our isles, some bright with berries as well as verdure ; giving welcome shelter to northern and wind-swept gardens, and in our own time each varying into many noble varieties. These native evergreens and their varieties are, and for ever must be, the most precious of all for the British Isles. When after a very hard winter we see the evergreen trees of the garden in mourning, and many of them dead, as happens to Laurels, Laurustinuses, and often even the Bay, it is a good time to EVERGREEN TREES AND SHRUBS. 325 consider the hardiness and other good qualities of our British ever- greens and the many forms raised from them. If we are fortunate enough to have old Yew trees near us, we do not find that a hard winter makes much difference to them, even winters that brown the 326 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. evergreen Oak. We have collected within the past 200 years ever- green trees from all parts of the northern world, but it is doubtful if any of them are better than the common Yew, which when old is often picturesque, and which lives for over a thousand years. Of this great tree we have many varieties, but none of them quite so good as the wild kind when old. In the garden little thought is given to it and it is crowded among shrubs, or in graveyards, where the roots are cut by digging, so that one seldom sees it in its true character when old, which is very beautiful. The Golden Yew is a variety of it, and there are other forms one of which, the Irish form, is well known, and too much used. After the Yew, the best of our evergreen shrubs is the Holly, which in no country attains the beauty it does in our own ; certainly no evergreen brought over the sea is so valuable not only in its native form, often attaining 40 ft. even on the hills, but in the varieties raised from it, many of them being the best of all variegated shrubs in their silver and gold variegation ; in fruit, too, it is the most beautiful of evergreens. Not merely as a garden tree is it precious, but as a most delightful shelter around fields for stock in paddocks and places which want shelter. A big wreath of old Holly undipped on the cold sides of fields is the best protection, and a grove of Holly north of any garden ground we want to shelter is the best evergreen we can plant ; the only thing we have to fear being rabbits, which when numerous make Holly difficult to establish by barking the newly-planted trees, and in hard winters even barking and killing many old trees. As to the garden, we may make beautiful evergreen gardens of the forms of Holly alone. Notwithstanding the many conifers brought from other countries within the past few generations, as regards beauty it is very doubtful if more than one or two equal our native Fir. In any case few things in our country are more picturesque than old groups and groves of the Scotch Fir ; few indeed of the conifers we treasure from other countries will ever give us anything so good as its ruddy stems and frost-proof crests. Again, the best of evergreen climbers is our native Ivy, and the many beautiful forms that have arisen from it. This in our woods arranges its own beautiful effects, but in gardens it might be made more use of, and no other evergreen climber comes near it in value. The form most commonly planted in gardens the Irish Ivy is not so graceful as some others, and there are many forms varying even in colour. These for edgings, banks, screens, covering old trees, and summer-houses, might be made far more use of. In many northern countries our Ivy will not live in the open air, and we rarely take enough advantage in such a possession in making both shelters, EVERGREEN TREES AND SHRUBS. 327 wreaths, and screens of it It requires care to keep it close on our houses and on cottage roofs or it will damage them ; but there are Evergreen trees in natural forms (Cedars : Gunnersbury). many pretty things to make of it away from buildings, and among them Ivy clad and Ivy-covered wigwams, summer-houses, and covered ways, the Ivy supported on a strong open frame-work. 328 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. Box, which is a true native in certain dry hills in the south of England, is so crowded in gardens, that one seldom sees its beauty as one may on the hills full in the sun, where the branches take a charm- ing plumy toss. To wander among natural groves of Box is pleasant, and we should plant it in colonies by itself full in the sun, so that it might show the same grace of form that it shows wild on the chalk hills. It is, I think, the best of our native evergreens for garden use, making pretty low hedges as at Panshanger, for that purpose for dividing lines near the flower-garden it is better than Yew or Holly. Also among our native evergreens is the common Juniper, a scrubby thing in some places, but on heaths in Surrey, and favoured heaths elsewhere, often growing over twenty feet high and very picturesque, especially where mingled with Holly. The upright form, called the Irish Juniper, in gardens is not nearly so good as the wild Juniper though more often grown. The Arbutus, which borders nearly all the streams in Greece, ventures into Ireland, and is abundant there in certain parts in the south. This beautiful shrub, though tender in midland counties, is very precious for the seashore and mild districts not only as an evergreen, but for the beauty of its flowers and fruit. Still, it is the one British evergreen which must not be planted where the winters are severe in inland districts, and usually perishes on the London clay. It is the best of our native evergreens that deserve the prefer- ence instead of the heavy Laurels, and various evergreens not even hardy, so that after a hard frost we often see the suburbs of country towns black with their dead. UGLY EVERGREEN TREES AND SHRUBS. One of the most baneful things ip our gardens has been the introduction of distorted and ugly conifers which often disfigure the fore-grounds of beautiful houses. These are often sports and variations raised in modern days, as is the case with the too common Irish Yew. It is not only that we have to deplore the tender trees of California, which in their own country are beautiful, though, unhappily, not so in ours, but it is the mass of distorted, unnatural, and .ugly forms the names of which disfigure even the best catalogues that is most confusing and dangerous. In one foreign catalogue there are no less than twenty-eight varieties of the Norway Spruce, in all sorts of dwarf and monstrous shapes some of them, indeed, dignified with the name monstrosa not one of which should ever be seen in a garden. The true beauty of the pine comes from its form and dignity, as we see it in old Firs that clothe the hills of Scotland, California, or Swit- zerland. It is not in distortion or in little green pincushions we EVERGREEN TREES AND SHRUBS. 329 must look for the charm of the Pine, but rather in storm-tossed head and often naked stems ; and hence all these ridiculous forms should be excluded from gardens of any pretence to beauty. Another most unfortunate tree in this way, as helping to fill out gardens with graceless things, is the western Arbor vitae (Thuja occidentalis). This, which is a very hardy tree but never a dignified one, even where it grows in the north about Lake Superior and through the Canadas, is, unhappily, also hardy in our gardens, and we may see in one catalogue no less than twenty-three forms of this tree all dignified with Latin names. There are plenty of beautiful things, new and old, worthy of the name, without filling our gardens with such monstrosities, many of which are variegated. Of all ugly things, nothing is worse than the variegated Conifer, which usually perishes as soon as its variegated parts die, the half dead tree often seeming a bush full of wisps of hay. EVERGREEN WEEDS. In many once well-planted pleasure grounds the Pontic Rhododendron almost runs over and destroys every other shrub, and hides out the most beautiful tree effects, growing often a little above the line of sight. Even where people have taken the greatest trouble to plant a good collection of trees, the monotony of it is depressing ; always the same in colour, winter or summer, except when dashed by its ill-coloured flowers. The walk from the ruins at Cowdray to the new house is an example that might be mentioned amongst a thousand others of a noble bank of trees, varied and full of beauty, but, in consequence of this shrub spreading beneath them all along the walk, showing nothing but a dank wall of evergreen. How this ugliness and monotony come about is through the use of the Pontic kind as a covert plant, and also owing to its facility of growth, the beautiful sorts of Rhododendron are usually grafted on it. In a garden where there are men to look after plants so grafted and pull away the suckers, this plan may do, but when planting is done in a bold way about woods, or even pleasure grounds, this is not attended to, nor can it always be, so that the suckers come up and in time destroy the valuable sorts ! The final result is never half so pretty as in the most ill-kept natural wood, with Bracken and Brier in fine colour and some little variety of form below the trees ; therefore everybody who cares for the beauty of undergrowth should cease this covering of the ground with this poor shrub, not so hardy as the splendid kinds of American origin often grafted on it to die. With the Cherry Laurel and the Portugal Laurel it is the main cause of the monotony and cheerless air of so many pleasure grounds. The nurseryman who grows rare trees or shrubs very often finds them left on his hands, so that many nurseries only grow a few 330 . THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. stereotyped things, mainly those that grow freely, and, owing to the over-use of weed-evergreens like Privet, which are without beauty, and offensive in odour when in flower. The presence of such things is one of the causes of the miserable aspect of the shrubberies in many gardens, which might be very beautiful and interesting with a varied life. Many shrubs of little or no beauty in themselves very often destroy by their vigour the rare and beautiful garden vegetation, so that we have not only the ugliness of a brake of Laurel, or half-evergreen Privet, or Pontic Rhododen- dron to survey, but often the fact that these shrubs have overrun and killed far more precious things. And this nursery rubbish having killed every good thing begins to eat up itself, and hence we see so many shrubberies worn out. THE NOBLER EVERGREEN FLOWERING SHRUBS. It is not only the ill-effect of these all-devouring evergreens we have to consider, but what they shut out : the evergreen flowering shrubs and trees of the highest beauty of colour as well as of foliage, and the many hardy Rhododendrons of finest colour. If we would only cease to graft them, and instead get them from layers on their own roots, we should not be overcrowded with the R. ponticum of the present system. They are not only hardy in the sense that many of our popular evergreens are hardy, i.e. in favoured districts or by the sea, so kind as it is to evergreens, but everywhere in England. I mean the many broad-leaved Rhododendrons which have mostly come to us from the wild American species, and are hardy in North and Eastern America. Apart from the use of such things, by care- fully selecting their colours we may have not merely an evergreen background of fine and varied green, but also the most precious flowering shrubs ever raised by man and in their natural forms, often varying in fine colour and form too, if we will only cease to compel them to live on one mean and too vigorous shrub. As to the kinds of Rhododendron that are raised from the Pontic kind or even from the Indian Rhododendrons, so far as tried they are not in any way so good as the varieties raised from the North American kinds, and which have the fine constitution of R. Catawbiense in them, and of which many are hardy not merely in Old England but in the much more severe winters of New England. Apart from plants of these kinds from layers we may also have them as seed- lings, though the named kinds from layers give us the means of group- ing a finely coloured kind which may often be desirable. It is also very probable that we shall, as various regions of the northern world are opened up, introduce to cultivation other fine wild species, and get precious races from them, so for many reasons the sooner we get out of the common routine of the nurseries in grafting every fine kind we EVERGREEN TREES AND SHRUBS. 331 already have on, R. ponticum, the better. And if this plan be wrong with the varieties, what are we to say to grafting any of the fine wild species that come to us on the same Pontic kind kept in every nursery for the purpose ? For however vigorous the growth at first, the stock is sure to get its head in the end, and then good-bye to the precious natural species it has borne for no sound reason. THE NOBLER EVERGREEN TREES. Apart from trees of poor forms, there are others which are stately in their own country but a doubtful gain to ours, like the Wellingtonia and other Californian trees, and the Chili Pine. Sometimes the foregrounds of even fine old houses are marred by such trees, and unfortunately people use them in the idea that they are by their use doing something old-fashioned and " Elizabethan," whereas they are marring the beauty of the landscape and of our native trees, often so fine beyond the bounds of the garden. We ought not to spoil the beauty of our home landscapes by using such things, which are so abundant in many places that the Nobler Exotic Evergreen Trees like the evergreen Oak are forgotten. This European tree from Holkham in Norfolk to the west of England and in many gardens round the coasts of our islands, is a noble evergreen tree and a fine background and shelter. Then there is the Cedar of Lebanon, which is perhaps the finest evergreen tree ever brought to our country and as hardy as our own trees. If we use evergreen trees they ought to be the noblest and hardiest. The loss of this tree by storms could not happen to anything like the same extent if people went on planting young trees. The many catalogues issued, help towards the neglect of the really precious trees by " bringing out " novelties from all parts of the world absolutely unproved trees ; whilst the planting of such grand trees as the Cedar of Lebanon and the Ilex of Europe are often forgotten. A mistake in Cedar planting is the fashion of only planting isolated trees with great branches on all sides on enormous surface exposed to strong wind. In their own country, where Cedars are naturally massed together, although the gales are severe, the trees are not destroyed by wind in anything like the same degree. The Cedar of Lebanon is beautiful in the " specimen " way, but it is at least equally beautiful massed in groups. In their own countries, in addition to being massed and grouped together, the soil is often stony and rocky, the growth is slower, and the trees take a firmer hold, whereas in our river valleys, where the Lebanon Cedar is often planted in an isolated way, the growth is softer and the resistance to wind less, and a more artistic and natural way of planting would lessen the accidents to which this noblest of evergreen trees is exposed. 332 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEX. SHELTER AND WIND SCREENS IN AND NEAR THE FLOWER GARDEN. Few countries are so rich in the means of shelter as our own, owing to the evergreens that grow freely with us and thrive in seashore and wind-swept districts. Shelter may be near flower beds and distant or wind-breaks, across the line of prevailing winds, and the north and east winds, and may be of Yew, Holly, Cedar of Lebanon (never Deodar) native Fir, and a few other hardy Firs, and the Ilex. In old times shelter was often obtained from clipped hedges of Yews and Limes, but the fine evergreen shrubs we now possess make it more easy and effective, as naturally grown shrubs soften the wind better than clipped lines, while often themselves beautiful in leaf and bloom. There is, indeed, in gardens the danger of planting too densely at first, so that after some years the place becomes dank and the very house itself is made cheerless. The pretty young conifers planted are not thought of as forest trees, and parts which should be in the sun are gradually overshadowed a great mistake in a climate like ours. Among the kinds of shelter, walls, thickly clad with climbers, evergreens and others, are often the best for close garden work, because they do not rob the ground, as almost any evergreen tree will ; and in doing their work, they themselves may bear many of our most beautiful flowers. Half-hardy evergreens, like the common Cherry, Laurel and Portugal Laurel, should never be planted to shelter the garden, because they may get cut down in hard winters. But happily, even in the most exposed places, a good many hardy flowers may be grown with success, such as Carnations, Pinks, and many rock plants which lie close to the ground, and are therefore little exposed to wind, and thrive in exposed places where soil and cultivation are not against them. English gardens are often well sheltered by the house itself and by old walls and enclosures, so that in old gardens it is easy to secure shelter for plants. PLANTING NEAR THE SEA. Some are doubtful of planting near the sea, considering the bleak look of things and the cutting winds. Yet even in places where the few trees that are planted are cut sharp off by the sea wind above the walls, as in Anglesea, we may see how soon good planting will get over difficulties that seem insurmountable. By the use near the sea of small-leaved trees like the Tamarisks, Sea Buckthorn, and small Willows, we very soon get a bit of shelter; and by backing these with the close-growing conifers like our common Juniper and some of the sea-loving Pines like Pinaster, and in mild southern and western districts the Californian Cypress and the Monterey Pine, we soon get shelter and companionship, so to say, for our trees, and fifty yards away we may soon walk in woods as stately as in any part of the country. Having got our shelter in this way EVERGREEN TREES AND SHRUBS. 333 the growth of the harcly Pines of the northern world seems as easy by the sea as anywhere ; indeed, more so, because if there is any one place where the rather tender Pines are grown well it is near the sea in places around our coast, where if the soil is good, one has not to be so careful about the hardiness of trees we select as we have to be in inland places. THE ILEX. The evergreen Oak takes a lead among the trees near the sea, and it ought to be largely used ; but as it is not very easily transplanted from nursery-bought plants, it is just as well to raise it on the place and plant it young. Seed may be scattered with some advantage in places we wish it to grow in, as it grows freely from seed. This evergreen oak withstood the great gales of 1897 in the south and west of England better than any other. At Killerton and Knightshayes, and many other places where the destruction was greatest I was glad to see that the evergreen oak was not among the many victims. It is a precious tree for the south and west, and all sea shore districts, and should never be forgotten among the crowd of novelties among trees ; not one out of fifty is worth naming beside it. Like many other trees, it suffers from indiscriminate planting with other and sometimes coarser things, and is rarely grouped in any effective way, although here and there, as at Ham House, Killerton, and St. Anns we may see the effect of holding this tree together in groups or masses. In addition to the common evergreen trees of Europe, the Scotch, Spruce and Silver Firs, we have the noble Corsican Pine, which, from its habitat in Calabria and in Corsica, can have no objection to the sea. The Pines of the Pacific coast, too, are well used to its influences, and hence we see in our country good results from planting them near the sea, as, for example, Menzies' Spruce at Hunstanton, the Monterey Pine at Bicton, the Redwood in many places near the sea. One good result of planting in such places is that we may use so many evergreen trees, from the Holly to the Cedar, and so get a certain amount of warmth as well as shelter. Though our country generally is not perhaps fitted for the growth of the Cork Oak, a fine evergreen tree, it is here and there seen in southern and sheltered parts on warm soils, as in certain parts of Devonshire and on the warm side of the Sussex Downs, even in good condition. Of this fact we have an example in the Cork Oaks at Goodwood, all that could be desired in health and beauty. This Oak naturally inhabits the southern parts of Europe and the northern parts of Africa, and it is interesting to see that it can attain the size of a stately tree in our own country in some favoured places, but the evergreen oak for our islands is the Ilex and its various forms. 334 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. Some Genera of Evergreen Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles) Abies Aralia Araucaria *Arbutus Arundinaria Aucuba Azara Ba?nbusa *Benthamia Berberis Buxus Camellia Cedrus Cryptomeria Chamcerops Choisya *Cistus Cotoneaster Cratoegus Cupressus Daphne Daphniphyllum *Desfontainea Diplopappus Elceagnus *Embothrium Ephedra Erica *Escallonia Euonymus *Fabiana Garrya Gaultheria Hedera Ilex Juniperus Kalmia Laurus Ledum Leiophyllum Leucothce Libocedrus Ligustrum Magnolia Myrica Olearia Osmanthus Pernettya Phillyrea Phlomis Phyllostachys Pieris Pinus Quercus Rhamnus Raphiolepis Retinospora Rhododendron Rosmarinus Ruscus Sequoia Skimmta Smilax Taxus Thuja Thujopsis Ulex Veronica Viburnum Vinca . Yucca 1 Some of those marked * are hardy only in seashore districts or warm soils, and in some genera named few species are evergreen. Juniper showing natural growth. CHAPTER XXIX. " Vous travaillez pour ainsi dire a cote de Dieu, vous rietes que les collaborateurs de la lot divine de la vegetation. Dieu, dans ses ccuvres inimitable, ne se prete pas a nos cJiimeres ; la nature ria pas de com- plaisance pour nos faux systemes. Elle est souveraine, absolue comme son Auteur. Elle resistea nos tentatives folles ; elle dejoue, et quelquefois rudement, nos illusions. Elle nous seconde, elle nous aide, elle nous recompense, si nous toucJions juste et si nous travaillons dans son sens vrai ; mais si nous nous trompons, si nous voulons la violent er^ la con- traindre, la fausser, elle nous donne a r instant meme des dementis eclalants en faits par la sterilite, par le deperissement, pat la mort de tout ce que nous avons voulu creer en depit d'elle et a f inverse de ses lois" LAMARTINE, DISCOURS AUX JARDINIERS. CLIPPING EVERGREEN AND OTHER TREES. THE Yew in its natural form is the most beautiful evergreen of our western world finer than the Cedar in its feathery branching, and more beautiful than any Cedar in the colour of its stem. In our own day we see trees of the same great order as the Yew gathered from a thousand hills from British Columbia, through North America and Europe to the Atlas Mountains, and not one of them has yet proved to be so beautiful as our native Yew when un- dipped root or branch. But in gardens the quest for the exotic is so active that few give a fair chance to the Yew as a tree, while in grave- yards, where it is so often seen in a very old state, the cutting of the roots hurts the growth, though there are Yews in our churchyards that have seen a thousand winters. It is not my own THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. idea only that I urge here, but that of all who have ever thought of the beauty of trees, foremost among whom we must place artists who have the happiness of always drawing natural forms. Let any one stand near the Cedar-like Yews by the Pilgrim's Way on the North Downs, and, comparing them with trees cut into fantastic shapes, consider what the difference means to the artist who seeks beauty of tree form ! What right have we to deform things so lovely in form? No cramming of Chinese feet into impossible shoes is half so foolish as the wilful and brutal distortion of the beautiful forms of trees. The cost of this mutilation alone is one reason against it, as we see where miles of trees cut into walls have to be clipped, as at Versailles and Schonbrunn, and this shearing is a mere " survival " of the day when we had very few trees, and they were clipped to fit the crude notion of " garden design " of the day. The fact that men when they had few trees made them into walls to make them serve their ways of " design " is no reason why we, rich in the trees of all the hills of the north, should go on mutilating them too. Thus, while it may be right to clip a tree to form a dividing-line or hedge, it is never so to clip trees grown for their own sakes, as by clipping such we only get ugly, unnatural forms. Men who trim with shears or knife so fine a tree as the Holly are dead to beauty of form and cannot surely have seen how fine in form old Holly trees are. To give us such ugly forms in gardens is to show one's self callous to beauty of tree form, and to prove that one cannot even see ugliness. For consider, too, the clipped Laurels by which many gardens are disfigured. Laurel in its natural shape in the woods is often fine in form ; but it is planted everywhere in gardens without thought of its fitness for each place, and as it grows apace, the shears are called in, and its fine leaves and shoots are cut into ugly banks and formless masses, spoiling many gardens. There is no place in which Laurel is clipped for which we could not get shrubs of the desired size that would not need the shears. In the old gardens, where from other motives trees were clipped when people had very few evergreens, or where they wanted an object of a certain height, they had to clip. It is well to preserve such gardens, but never to imitate them. If we want shelter, we can get it in various pleasant ways without clipping, and, while getting it, we can enjoy the natural forms of the evergreens. Hedges and wall-like lines of green living things are useful, and even may be artistically used. Occasionally we find clipped arches and bowers pretty, and these, when very old, are worth keeping. Besides, there is much difference between evergreen archways or bowers, hedges, and shelters, and the fantastic clipping of living trees into the shapes of bird or beast or CLIMBING EVERGREEN AND OTHER TREES. 337 coffee-pot, and while it may be well to keep any old specimens of the sort when we find them, clipping is better not carried out with our lovely evergreens on a large scale. Now and then we see attempts on the part of those having more knowledge of some half-mechanical grade of decorative " design " to galvanise the corpse of the topiary art. Such an idea would not occur to any one knowing the many beautiful things now within our reach, or by any one like a landscape painter who studies beautiful forms of earth or trees or flowers, or by any lover of Nature in tree or flower. Sometimes these puerilities are set into book form. For one author there is no art in gardening, but cutting a tree into the shape of a cocked hat is " art," and he says : I have no more scruple in using the scissors upon tree or shrub, where trim- ness is desirable, than I have in mowing the turf of the lawn that once represented a virgin world . . . and in the formal part of the garden my Yews should take the shape of pyramids, or peacocks, or cocked hats, or ramping lions in Lincoln green, or any other conceit I had a mind to, which vegetable sculpture can take. After reading this I thought of some of the true "vegetable sculpture " that I had seen ; Reed and Lily, models in stem and leaf ; the Grey Willows of Britain as lovely against our British skies as Olives are in the south ; many-columned Oak groves set in seas of Primroses, Cuckoo flowers and Violets ; Silver Birch woods of Northern Europe beyond all grace possible in stone ; the eternal Garland of beauty that one kind of Palm waves for hundreds of miles throughout the land of Egypt a vein of summer in a lifeless world ; the noble Pine woods of California and Oregon, like fleets of colossal masts on mountain waves thought of these and many other lovely forms in garden and wood, and then wondered that any one could be so blind to the beauty of the natural forms of plants and trees as to write as this author does. From the days of the Greeks to our own time, the delight of all great artists has been to get as near this divine beauty as what they work in permits. But this deplorable vegetable sculptor's delight is in distorting beautiful forms ; and this in the one art in which we have the happiness of possessing the living things themselves, and not merely representations of them. The old people from whom he takes his ideas were not so foolish, as when the Yew was used as a hedge or was put at a garden gate it was necessary to clip it to keep it in bounds. Apart from the ugliness of the cocked-hat tree or other pantomimic trees, the want of life and change in a garden made up of such trees, one would think, should open the eyes of any one to its drawbacks, as in it there is none of the joy of spring's life, or summer's crown of flowers, or winter's rest. The plea that such work gives variety does not hold, because z CLIMBING EVERGREEN AND OTHER TREES. 339 wherever labour and time are wasted upon such things the true work of the garden does not, and very often cannot, get the attention it needs. In few of the places where such work is done, is seen much of beauty in the garden that is, beauty of flower and form and fine colour such as an artist would put in a picture, and which is a picture in itself to begin with. THE ABUSE OF YEW HEDGES IN FLOWER GARDENS. In old days, whether in a manor house or castle garden, the use of Yew hedges had some clear motive of shelter or division, or clothing against massive walls as at Berkeley ; or at a cottage door, as a living shelter. But when we use Yew hedges from the mere desire for theml and without much thought of the ground or other reasons, we may find ourselves in trouble. At a place where Roses were earnestly sought, the Rose borders were backed up close by Yew hedges ; the Yews were not very troublesome the first year or two, but, as they grew, they became merciless robbers. There are many ways of growing Roses, but it would be difficult to invent any worse way than this, which leaves the gardener always " between the devil and the deep sea," trying to keep back the hungry Yew roots all the while, it being quite easy to secure a background which, instead of eating up the Roses, would support and shelter them beautifully ; such as walls of solid or of open work, Oak palings, Bamboo and other trellises, or espaliers of bushy climbers, like Honeysuckle and Clematis. It is surely easy to enjoy the Yew without letting it eat up the very things we wish to cherish. Another bad way is to place lines of Yew hedges so close together that the sun can hardly sweeten the ground between them, this being generally the result of carrying out some book plan, without thought of the ground or its use. More stupid still is cutting up level lawns with Yew hedges across them, or sometimes projected into them a little way, with flower beds in between, within a couple of feet of the all- devouring Yew : and all this very costly Yew planting working for ugliness, and against the health, and even life, of all the flowers near. For ugliness distinctly, as while such broad and impressive Yew hedges as we see at Holme Lacy and in the older gardens are good in effect, it is quite different with small, hard Yew hedges, set one against the other and repeated ad nauseam. It is not only the needs of our own greatly increased garden flora new races of plants never known to the old people, such as our tea Roses and the rich collections of shrubs from Japan and other countries, that will not bear mutilation or robbing at the root that should make us pause, as, even in such evidence that remains to us of old flower gardens on ancient tapestries and pictures, we may see some evidence that the lady had room in her flower garden to look around and work among her flowers, unencumbered by a maze z 2 340 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. of robbing hedges. Some, perhaps, of these close lines of yews, set with such little thought, owe their origin to the maze idea ; but the maze was for a wholly different end, and in it we have only to grow its trees and the paths are free for the roots ; while in the rose and flower garden our costs and cares to get an artistic and beautiful result are too heavy to have them eaten up before our eyes by the hungriest of tree roots. If there were no other way to enjoy these evergreen trees, clipped or otherwise, one would not, perhaps, have so much to say against them ; but we have only to step out of the flower garden to indulge in the love of many evergreens to our heart's content. CLIPPED EVERGREEN SHRUBS IN THE BEDS OF THE FLOWER GARDEN. A gardener with shears in his hand is generally doing fool's work, but there is much difference between his clipping old or sheltering Example of old topiary work. lines of Yews, or even the Peacock in box, and the clipping which goes on in some gardens where beds are filled with small evergreen bushes instead of flowers. We may see it practised in gardens laid out by Paxton and his followers, their object being no doubt to get rid of the trouble of real flower-gardening, and also to have evergreen beds in winter. This effect may be obtained in a way, but the bushes usually get far too thick, and then the shears are used to keep them in bounds, and what ought to be graceful groups of flowers or shrubs of good form becomes flat, hard, and ugly. The clipping may be designed at first, but oftener it is done to repress overgrowth. A more stupid way of filling the beds of a flower garden could hardly be imagined, because we lose all the grace and form of the shrubs, and also the chance of seeing flowers growing among them, which is one of the prettiest phases of flower gardening when Lilies, Gladioli, and other graceful plants spring from groups of choice CLIMBING EVERGREEN AND OTHER TREES. 341 evergreens. The end of all this laborious mutilation is to cause disease and overcrowding, and the best thing is to clear the deformed things away and plant in more natural ways. If we want flower beds, .et us have them ; by doing so we can have varied life for more than half the year. If we want beds of choice evergreens we can have them without destroying their forms by the shears. There is a wide choice of beautiful things like Rhododendrons and Azaleas, and if we set these in open ways we can have flowers among them, thus doubling the variety of bloom obtainable from the surface, getting light and shade and the true forms of shrub or flower. THE DISFIGUREMENT OF FOREST TREES BY CLIPPING. Recently magazines and illustrated journals, in the great chase after subjects have dealt with the clipped gardens of England, and some of the most ridiculous work ever perpetrated in this way has been chosen for illustration. Of English counties, Derbyshire is the most notorious for examples of disfigured trees. The Dutch, who painted like nature, and built like sane men, left their plantations to the shears, but they always cut to lines or had some kind of plan, judging from their old engraved books. British clipping, however, has one phase which has no relation to any plan, and so far it exceeds in extravagance the methods of the Dutch, Austrian, and French, and that is the clipping single, and often forest, trees into the shape of green bolsters. The late Mr. McNab, of the Edinburgh garden, excellent planter though he was, had an idea that he kept his conifers in shape by clipping. A false idea runs through all growers of trees of the pine tribe, the most frequent victims of the practice, that these 4 trees should be kept in a conical shape, the truth being that all the pine trees in the world in their state of highest beauty lose their lower branches, and show the beauty of their stem and form when growing in their natural way. With a few exceptions, it is the way of these trees to shed their lower branches as other trees shed their leaves. Even in countries where pines often stand alone, as on the foothills of California, I have often seen them with 100 feet or more of clean stem. Articles on this subject are usually of the see-saw sort, the writer praising and blaming alternately, and wabbling about like a blind man in a fair. We are told that Elvaston, in Derbyshire, is not remarkable for natural beauty, and that the grounds there are so flat that landscape gardeners, in despair of any other planting, are com- pelled to have recourse to topiary work ; that " even that man of fame, ' Capability ' Brown, seems to have shrunk from the work of laying out the grounds. Whereupon the earl demanded his reason, and Brown replied, ' Because the place is so flat,' &c." Instead of there being any truth in the assertion that we cannot 342 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. make level ground beautiful by planting in natural ways, level ground has a great deal in it that is favourable to artistic ways of planting. That is to say, with such ground we may more easily secure breadth, simplicity, and dignity, get dividing lines in the easiest way, richer soil and finer and more stately growth and nobler shelter. Many of the most beautiful gardens of Europe are on perfectly level ground, as Laxenberg in Vienna, the English garden in Munich, not to speak of many in our own river valleys and in counties like Lincolnshire. What would be said of planting in all the flat countries of Northern Europe if this assertion were true, to say nothing of the absurdity of assuming that the only way out of the difficulty is in the stupid disfigurement of trees ? I shall not imitate the example of these writers in leaving the matter in doubt, but give some reasons against the wasting of precious labour in order to rob trees of their natural charm. The old poets and satirists, who laughed at it, did not go into the reasons against clipping big trees, which are serious never- theless. LOSS OF FORM. First of all is the loss of tree form a wonderful and beautiful gift, so wonderful and beautiful, indeed, that the marvel is that we should have to allude to it at all, as in nearly every parish in England one has only to walk one hundred yards or so to come /ace to face with fine examples of good tree form. There is more strength and beauty of line in many an ash tree by a farmhouse yard than in all the clipped forest trees in Britain. Some protest against the cropping and docking of animals' ears and tails, but, when the worst is done in that way, the dog or the horse remains in full beauty of form in all essential parts, but if we clip a noble tree, which in natural conditions is a lesson in lovely form in all its parts, we reduce it at once to a shapeless absurdity. LIGHT AND SHADE. The second great loss is that of light and shade, which are very important elements of beauty. These are entirely neutralised by shaving trees to a level surface, whether the trees take the form of a line, or we clip them singly, as in the British phase of tree clipping. If we see old examples of the natural yew, a forest tree, and the commonest victim of -the shears among evergreen forest trees, and if we look at them in almost any light, we may soon see how much we lose by destroying light and shade, as the play of these enhances the force and beauty of all the rest. COLOUR. The third objection is the loss of refined colour. In gardens we are so much concerned with garish colour that we often fail to consider the more delicate colours of nature, and such fine tone as we see in a grove of old Yews, bronzed by the winter, or in Ilex with the beautiful silver of the leaf, or a grove of coral-bearing Hollies. Even the smallest things clipped, such as juniper, have in a natural CLIMBING EVERGREEN AND OTHER TREES. 343 way much beauty of colour if left alone. All the favourite trees for clipping are far more beautiful in colour in a natural state ; the loss of the stem colour alone is a great one, as we may see wherever old Yews show their finely-coloured stems. MOTION. In the movement of these trees stirred by the wind, and the gentle sighing of their branches, we have some most welcome aspects of tree life. In groves of Ilex, as at Ham House, and masses of the same tree, as at St. Ann's, the effect of the motion of the branches is to many a beautiful one. This movement is also of great beauty in groves of old Yew trees, and is seen in every cedar and Pine that pillars the hills. The voice of the wind in these trees is one of the most grateful sounds in nature, and has often inspired the poet. " I see the branches downward bent, Like keys of some great instrument." And even when the storm is past we hear delicate music in the free pine tips. " What voice is this ? what low and solemn tone, Which, though all wings of all the winds seem furled, Nor even the zephyr's fairy flute is blown, Makes thus for ever its mysterious moan From out the whispering Pine-tops' shadowy world ? Ah, can it be the antique tales are true ? Doth some lone Dryad haunt the breezeless air, Fronting yon bright immitigable blue, And wildly breathing all her wild soul through That strange unearthly music of despair ? Or, can it be that ages since, storm-tossed, And driven far inland from the roaring lea, Some baffled ocean-spirit, worn and lost, Here, through dry summer's dearth and winter's frost, Yearns for the sharp sweet kisses of the sea ? " DEATH AND DISEASE OF THE TREES. The fifth objection is that the constant mutilation of trees leads to death and disease not unfre- quently, as may be seen constantly at Versailles. In the Derbyshire examples, recently so much illustrated, the stems of dead Pines are shown in the pictures ! It is simply an end one might expect from the annual mutilation of a forest tree, which the Yew certainly is, as we see it among the cedars on the mountains of North Africa, as well as in our own country and in Western Europe. Other trees of the same great Pine order are yet more impatient of the shears, and some of them, like the cedar, escape solely because of their dignity. How- ever, we distort the Yew, which is in nature sometimes as fine as a Cedar. ANNUAL COST. The sixth objection is that of cost. Few 344 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. begrudge it if it gives a good result, but merely to use the labour of scores of men with shears is to miserably waste both time and money where there is so much of the country to be planted with beautiful trees. Where, as often in the French towns, there is much clipping, the waste of labour is as appalling as the result is hideous. THE MAZE is an inheritance from a past time, but not a precious one, being one of the notions about gardening which arose when people had very little idea of the dignity and infinite beauty of the garden flora as we now know it. Some people may be wealthy enough to show us all the beauty of a garden and at the same time such ugly frivolities as this, but they must be few. The maze is not pretty as part of a home landscape or garden, and should be left for the most part to places of the public tea-garden kind. One of its drawbacks is the death and distortion of the evergreens that go to form its close lines, owing to the frequent clipping ; if clipping be neglected the end is still worse, and the whole thing is soon ready for the fire. Plan of Ma/e CHAPTER XXX. AIR AND SHADE. THE glorious sun of heaven, giver of life and joy to the earth, gives, too, the green fountains of life we call trees to shade her, and this beautiful provision might often be borne in mind in thinking of our often hard and bare gardens ! Air and shade, as we cannot, near houses in hot weather, enjoy the shade without free air, and shade may be often misused to cultivate mouldiness and keep the breeze away from a house, though it is very easy to have air and shade in a healthy way. To overshade the house itself with trees is always a mistake, and sometimes a danger, though even against a house, by the use of climbers, like Vines, pretty creeper-clad pergola, and by the wise use of rooms open to the air, creeper-shaded, flat spots on roofs, so often seen in Italy and France, it is easy to have welcome shade even forming part, as it were, of the house. We have the gain, too, of the grace and bloom of the climbers, from climbing Tea Roses to Wistaria, and we get rid of the bald effect of such houses as Syon and the excruciating effect of the newer French chateaux, often on the warm side without gardens or shade of any kind, and hard as a new bandbox. A little away from the house, shade of a bolder kind is always worth planning for. In planting for shade it is well to select with some care and avoid things that have a bad odour when in flower, like the Ailantus and the Manna Ash and ill-smelling undergrowth like Privet. In many places there is a fine field for cutting groups of pleasant shade trees out of the crammed shrubbery, neglected as that so often is, with dark barriers of Laurel, Privet, and Portugal Laurel. Nothing is easier than sweeping off and burning much of this evergreen rubbish, and getting instead shade over cool walks, or over paths leading through Ferns and Foxgloves ; such woodland plants allow us to get light and shade and do not weaken the trees. Vain attempts are often made in our gardens, public and private, to get grass to grow under certain trees which it would be much better to frankly accept as they are and gravel the spaces beneath 346 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. them for use as playground or for seats. In dealing with such trees we must be unsparing in cutting off the lower boughs, which are rarely of much use to the tree and often impede the air and movement underneath ; they should be cut carefully to an airy but not hard line. Wych Elm on Lawn at Oak Lodge, Kensington. Where the flower garden is small we may rightly object to much shade in it, and must get as much as we can outside it. In many cases in open lawn gardens, where we may pass easily from the flower beds into grassy, open ground near, we may have delightful groups of shade trees not far from the flowers, and this sort of garden, of which AIR AND S&ADE. 347 there are so many in the level country, is that which is perhaps the most easy of all to keep cool, airy and sunny too. But in large open flower gardens, which are often bare and hard, it is better to have some light shade. Great areas of gravel and flat beds everywhere are most tiresome to the eye, and in many large flower gardens, it would be an improvement to have covered ways of Rose and Jasmine or wreaths of Clematis and alleys of graceful trees such as the Mimosa-leaved Acacia, or other light and graceful trees. In that way we should get some of the light and shade which are so much wanted in these large chessboard gardens, and in getting the shade we might also get trees beautiful in themselves, or carrying wreaths of Wistaria or other climbers. Among the most beautiful shade-giving trees are the weeping ones, which in our own day are many and beautiful, among them, the Weeping Ash, of which we see many trees even in the London squares. We are all so busy with exotics from many parts of the world, that the native tree does not always get a fair chance, and yet no deciduous tree ever brought to our country is for form and dignity finer than the mountain or Wych Elm. Trees over twenty feet round are not rare, and, being a native of the mountains of Northern England, its hardiness need never be in doubt. This tree is the parent of the large-leaved Weeping Elm (of which there are so many good trees to be seen), and the wild tree itself in its old age has also a weeping habit. But the weeping garden form is quite distinct and a tree of remarkable character and value, and like other weeping trees, it increases in beauty with age, like the grand old Weeping Beeches at Knaphill. The various Weeping Willows afford a welcome shade, and the White Willow and any of its forms give a pleasant light shade. A fine kind of shade is that given by a group of Yews on a lawn near the house on a hot day a living tent without cost, and this is almost true of any spreading tree giving noble shade, as the great Oak in the pleasure ground at Shrubland. There are many noble Horse Chestnuts which give great shade, as at Busbridge, and the Plane tree in Southern England gives noble shade. There is no more beautiful lawn tree than the Tulip tree, and nothing happier in our country on an English lawn, in which its delightful shade and dignity are very welcome in hot weather, as at Esher Place and Woolbeding. Petworth also has a fine tree, but rather closed in by others. Owing partly to the attractive catalogues of conifers and other trees not of half the value of this from any point of view, young trees of these fine deciduous things are not so often planted as they used to be ; and why should not a tree like this be grouped now and then, instead of being left in solitary state ? 348 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. Trees with light shade might be welcome in certain districts, among the last being various Acacias, of which the common old American is good, while several beautiful varieties have been raised in France, light, elegant trees, especially the Mimosa-leaved one. In warm soils this would grow well and give very light shade. There are so many rapid-growing trees that in places devoid of shade trees it would not be difficult to establish some soon. Those who have small gardens, and cannot have them robbed by the roots of trees, may get shade from climbers and often great beauty of flower from the climbers that give the shade. It is curious how little use is made of the Vine, with its beauty of leaf and form, for covered ways, loggias, and garden houses, not only in the country, but in town also. It is one of the best of plants for covering the fronts of houses, and good Vines spring out of London areas far below the level of the street, where it would be difficult to imagine worse conditions for the aeration of the soil or its fertility. These remarks apply not only to the common Vine, valuable though it is with all its innumerable varieties, but to the wild Vines of America and Japan, some of which are fine in foliage and colour. The last few years we have seen so many hot seasons that one turns to the Continental idea of shade in the garden with more interest ; and why should we not have outdoor loggia and Vine- covered garden rooms ? We do not only neglect the outdoor shaded structures, but the even more essential loggia forming part of the house. A garden room entered from the house, and part of it, is a great comfort, and may be made in a variety of pretty ways, though never without provision for a few light graceful climbers. After all is said about shade, the most essential thing about it in British gardens is not to have too much of it. Most of us plant too thickly to begin with ; the trees get too close and we neglect to thin them, the result being mouldy, close avenues, dripping, sunless groves, and dismal shrubberies, more depressing than usual in a wet season. It is only when we get the change from sun to shade with plenty of movement for air that we enjoy shade. We cannot feel the air move in an over-planted place, and there are in such no broad breadths of sunlight to give the airy look that is so welcome. Over- planting is the rule ; the regular shrubbery is a mixture fatal to the play of light and shade and air, and not only the sun is shut out, but often many beautiful views also. Very harmful in its effect on the home landscape is the common objection to cutting down, or ill-placed trees crowded to the detriment of the landscape and often to the air and light about a house. The majority of the trees that are planted in and near gardens are planted in ignorance of their mature effects, the landscape beauty of half the Air and shade : Type of weeping native lawn tree 35 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. country seats in England being marred by unmeaning trees and trees out of place. I have known people who wanted to remove a solid Georgian house rather than take down a tree of moderate dimensions which made the house dark and mouldy and obscured the view of far finer trees beyond it, and it is not long since a man wrote to the Times after a storm to say that one of his Elm trees had fallen through the dining-room ceiling when he was at luncheon, and that Elms were not good trees to put over the house ! Where without the limits of the garden there are drives through old mixed or evergreen woods, like the Long Cover at Shrubland or the drive at Eastnor, it is important not to let the undergrowth close in on each side, as trees are very apt to do. It is difficult to give an idea of the difference in the effect of such a drive when " light and shade " are let into it, and when, as is commonly the case, the Yew, Box, and other things are clipped back to hard walls, good views, fine trees, and groups being all shut out by this neglect It is better never to clip in such cases, but always to work back to a good tree or group, cutting encroachers clean out of the way, and so getting room for the air to move, the shade of the trees above being sufficient in each case. The pleasure of driving or walking is much greater when the air is moving, and when one can see here and there into the wood on each side, with perhaps groups of wild flowers and beautiful views into the country beyond. The old fashion of having plashed alleys near the garden, of which there are good examples at Hatfield, Drayton, and other old gardens, was a pretty one, but as done with vigorous Lime trees it was troublesome and laborious work to keep down the vigour of such forest trees which, in point of looks, were not in any way the best to use for the purpose. However charming those old covered walks are it is well to remember that we have much nobler things for forming them now, that do not want cutting back, and that are beautiful in foliage and bloom. It is also well in planting such things to see that the shaded alley is sufficiently high and airy. There is no reason why it should not be made reasonably big, especi- ally as we have noble climbers to cover it that do not keep rushing up in the air like the Lime and other forest trees which were used for this purpose in old times, when there were few trees to select from, and when probably the quick growth of the Lime was the cause of its selection. Its shade in this cut-down form is not so pleasant as the nobler climbers, which will cause no trouble in springing above the surfaces we wish them to cover. PLANTING IN LIGHT AND SHADE. This helps to get us out of the hard ways in which flowers are set in gardens. There is too sharp a line between the open parterre and the shady grove. AIR AND SHADE. 351 There are no gardens surrounded by more pleasant groves than English gardens generally, even small gardens having their belt of Air and shade : Shaded walk, Belvoir. trees, with opportunities for flower grouping in light and shade, but now for the most part occupied bye heavy vergreens, massed together 352 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. and preventing all chance of light and shade, and even shutting out air and beauty. We cannot do much good, in such cases, unless we first destroy the Privet and facile evergreens, like Laurels, which overrun every- thing, and then comes the question of the plants which will grow best in such places, as shade in gardens varies whether it comes from light-leaved or heavy-leaved trees, and there are so many different degrees of shade. We should think of the plants that grow in woody places naturally, as in our woods we may see handsome tall Grasses,. Foxgloves, large Ferns, herbaceous plants like the French Willow and the Ragwort, tall Harebells, and many ground plants like Primroses and Bluebells. There is not any hard and fast line between plants that grow in shady places and other herbaceous plants, although some difference exists, and there are so many varieties of climate, elevation, and conditions of soil that the plants often vary in their ways. Foxgloves and Bracken, which are seen happy in the woods of the south, thrive on sunny rocky places in the north, so that there is an interplay among these things which helps us in making our gardens more varied. Not only we have to consider wood plants, but the fact that a great many plants of the northern world grow in partial shade, and we could arrange our borders, if we get out of stiff ways, so as to let the plants often run from the light into the shade. In making borders through groves or shrubberies, it would be easy to have no hard line at the back of the border, but simply let the plants run in and enjoy the shade here and there. Where there might be some doubt of choice herbaceous plants thriving in shade there need be no doubt as to the larger woodland ferns and such plants as Solomon's Seal. Among the interesting plants that thrive in shade are alpine and mountain plants. Many of these, being shrouded in clouds and enduring much rain in cool gorges, very often rejoice in shady places,, as the varieties of the Irish Rockfoil (Saxifraga Geum), which carpet the ground in places that the sun never touches. Other Rockfoils have the same habit, including the large Indian kinds and their varieties. The Irises are often very beautiful in half-shady places,. German Irises especially. By planting, too, in various aspects, shade and open, we get a succession of favourite flowers, that under a hot sun last but a short time. In the cooler light their colours have a greater charm the blues more tender, the deeper colours still richer. Paeonies are never handsomer than in subdued light, their colours richer and longer lasting than when bleached by the sun. This is true especially of the frailer single forms, which open out quickly under a hot sun and are gone all too soon. Many beautiful plants are happiest in the shade not too dense but where the sun's rays filter AIR AND SHADE. 353 through the tree-leaves. Gardens of great beauty may be made in the shade gardens of greater charm than those who know not the store of plants for this purpose little dream of, and not confined to the hardy plant alone, but including also shrubs as well as the hardy Azaleas. These are never so fine as when seen in shady or half shady places in a wood, as at Dropmore and Coolhurst, their colours more intense from the subdued light, and the flowers more lasting in the shade. Air, shade, and light are a trinity essential about a country house, and we cannot enjoy any one of them unless some thought is given to all. Sun and Shade. (The Hoo, Wehvyn). A A CHAPTER XXXI LAWNS AND PLAYGROUNDS. THE lawn is the heart of the true British garden, and of all forms of garden the freest and, may be, the most varied and charming, adapted as it is to all sorts of areas from that around the smallest house. It is above all things the English form of garden made best in the rich level valley land, and, with the least amount of trouble and labour to make or keep it, certainly gives the best result in effect. The terrace garden we have seen, in its origin and best meaning, arises from wholly different sort of ground from that on which we make a lawn. If the Italians and others who built on hills to avoid malaria had had healthy and level ground they would have been very glad of it, and thought it beautiful. With the lawn there is little or no trouble in securing fine background effects, variety, pretty dividing lines, recesses for any favourites we may have in the way of flowers, freedom, relief, air and breadth. There is room on the lawn for every flower and tree, from the cedar, and the group of fruit trees planted for the beauty of their flowers and fruit, down to rich beds of lilies or smaller flowers. One of the most foolish dogmas ever laid down about a garden is that made in a recent book by an architect, in which we are told emphat- ically that there is no such thing as a garden to be made except within four walls. Many of the most beautiful gardens in the British Isles are without any aid but a background of trees and evergreens, and no trace of walls, which are absolutely needless in many situa- tions to get the most artistic results in a garden. And lovely gardens may be made around lawns without marring the breadth and airiness which is the charm of a lawn, or in the least interfering with the use of its open parts as a playground. CLIMBER-COVERED ALLEYS AROUND PLAY LAWNS. Where there is space enough there are reasons in country places for LAWNS AND PLAYGROUNDS. 355 cutting off by a hedge a playground from the garden or pleasure ground, as is done at Madresfield and Campsey Ash and many of the older gardens ; and what is used generally is the yew or holly, but clipped hedges give little shade and no flowers. Now, in the like position, if we adopt the pergola, we get shade, and many graceful flowers. Clematis, tall roses, wistaria, and almost every beautiful climber could be grown thereon, some better than on walls, because we can allow more abandon than on walls, and it is not at all so easy to crucify vine or climber on a pergola. We can have evergreens too if we wish, with garlands of handsome ivies among them, and players Chambers Court, Tewkesbury. From a photograph sent by Mrs. Ward, Tewkesbury. might rest in the shade and lookers on sit there to see the play. Various bold openings should be made on the play lawn side, and the whole so arranged as to be a sort of living cloister. Well done, the structure might be, apart from its shade and coolness and use as a dividing line, a garden of a very graceful kind, while the recent hot seasons lead one to think that the Italian way of putting a roof of vine leaves between one's self and the sun is worth carrying out in our own country. Pergolas have various uses in covering paths which are too much exposed to the sun, and are a great aid in the garden, and there is no better way of growing beautiful climbing plants than a green covered A A 2 356 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. way, whether supported by oak posts, or brick or stone pillars as in Italy. The ordinary covered ways made in England of plants are often too narrow and " pokey." In forming all such things a certain amount of freedom is essential ; and we cannot enjoy the air in the usual narrow covered way, which, apart from its own error as to size, is also soon narrowed by growth. It should always be made at least wide enough for two people to be able to walk abreast. Where oak is not distinctly preferred, 14 in. brick pillars are best, and the plants take to them very soon. Common brown or rough stock bricks are far better for this use than showy red bricks : the last being often too the most costly. In stone districts stone would do as well or better, and it needs no fine dressing or designing after any pattern. It is better in fact done in the free way the Italians do it ; but then in Italy every man is a mason, or knows what to do with stone, and also the stone there comes out in long posts or flakes, which serve as posts. This is also the case in the north of England, where beautiful posts of the green stone may be seen in use on the farms. In Cornwall, too, it would be easy to have stone pillars. We are in the iron age and many resort to iron, ugliest of all materials ; but if simply done and not disfigured with galvanised wire, even iron may help our purpose if painted carnation green or some other quiet colour. If we use iron, we may take from its hardness by tying wooden trellis work over it, which is better for tying the climbers to than iron or wire, using the most enduring wood we have for this purpose. For this an excellent aid will be found in the bamboo stakes which now come in quantities to our ports as underpacking for sugar cargoes. These are sold in quantity at a reasonable rate, and are an excellent aid in making the iron pergola wired across and along the iron supports. Thus we get an enduring material, good in colour and excellent to tie the shoots of rose, clematis, or vine to. The beautiful climbing shrubs and other plants that would find a good congenial home on such a pergola are a good reason for its use. Among them various graceful forms of our grape vine, as well as the Japanese and American wild vines, a group which now includes the Virginian creepers of our gardens, which are also useful, but not so good as the true vines ; the lovely Wistaria, and not only the old Chinese kind, the best of all, but the beautiful Japanese long-racemed kind ( W. multijuga) ; and various others too, though we think none come near to these in beauty ; the brilliant flame Nasturtium in cool districts, and where light shade is desired ; the green briar (Smilax) of America, and also the South of Europe, for warm soils ; handsome LA WNS AND PL A YGRO UNDS. 357 double and white-stemmed brambles ; wild and single roses ; box thorn, with its brilliant showers of berries ; European, American and Japanese honeysuckles ; jasmines ; over fifty kinds of ivy, the noblest of northern and evergreen climbers ; evergreen thorn, with its bright berries ; cotoneasters of graceful habit ; clematises, especially the graceful wild kinds of America, Europe, and North Africa. In mild districts particularly, the winter blooming clematis of North Africa and the Mediterranean Islands, which flowers in winter or early spring, would be very pretty and give light shade. The showy trumpet flowers (Bignonia}, quite hardy in southern and midland counties ; and the Dutchman's pipe (Aristolochia), with its large leaves, would also be useful. The fine-leaved Lardizabala of Chili, the brilliant coral barberry of the same country (Berberidopsis) ; the graceful, if not showy silk vine (Periploca) of Southern Europe ; the Chinese Akebia, the use of the rarer climbers depending much on the climate, elevation, soil, and nearness to the sea. THE PLASHED ALLEY is an alternative to the yew hedge and the covered way, but in some Elizabethan gardens it was often planted with trees of too vigorous growth, such as the lime, which led to excessive mutilation and eventual distortion of the tree. Now, with our present great variety of trees some of them very graceful and light in foliage it is by no means necessary to resort to such ugly muti- lation ; and it would be easy, as an alternative to the pergola, the clipped hedge or the plashed alley, to have a shaded walk of medium- sized or low trees only. These might even be fruit trees ; but the best would be such elegant-leaved trees as the acacias, which preserve their leaves for a long time in summer. One drawback of the lime, in addition to its excessive vigour, is the fact that it sheds its leaves very early in the autumn, and, indeed, we have often seen the leaves tumble off in St. James's Park at the end of July, and in Paris also. It is most unpleasant to have in an alley a tree which is liable to such an early loss of its leaves. The common lime is a tree of the mountains and cool hills of Europe, and it cannot endure great heats and hot autumns ; whereas some of the trees of North America and other countries are quite fresh in the hottest days. Among these none is better than the acacia, of which, in France especially, a number of elegant varieties have been raised, as hardy as the parent species which charmed William Cobett, but more graceful in foliage. Among the best of these is the mimosa-leaved acacia, an elegant tree, which gives us a pleasantly shaded walk, and yet is not likely ever to become too coarse in habit. FINE TURF IN AND NEAR THE FLOWER GARDEN. Fine turf is essential in and near the house and garden turf wholly apart from 358 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. the open park or playground. Flower beds are often set in turf, or there are small grassy spaces near the house or the garden, on the good effect of which depends very much the beauty of the home landscape, as coming so much into the foreground of what should be pictures. One reason why we should take care to get the best turf which the conditions of soil or climate allow is that no other country but ours can have such -good turf. In many countries, even in Europe, they cannot have it at all, but grass seed has to be sown every year to get some semblance of turf. Where, however, our natural advantages are so great, our care should be to get the full benefit of them ; and though in many places the turf, through the goodness of the soil, is all that could be desired even in Britain, in others a very poor turf is often seen, and much effort is often given in vain attempts to get a turf worthy of a flower garden. Many people think that any rough preparation will secure them a good sward, and merely trench and turf the ground ; even experienced ground workmen fail to get a fine turf for the flower garden, though they may lay turf well enough for a cricket ground. Others think that turf will come of itself, but are often rudely disappointed ; and therefore some instructions as to the best way of laying down turf, where the work has to be done from the beginning, and also for repairing it when out of order, may be useful to some readers. The following is written by Mr. James Burnham, who has made for me some of the most beautiful garden lawns I have seen, some of them laid in hot spring weather. "FORMATION OF GOOD TURF. Should the spot chosen be on heavy soil, such as clay, take the levels and fix them 16 feet apart around the outside of the piece intended for a lawn Take some levels across the piece, then take 12 inches of earth out below the levels. Should any of these 12 inches contain good soil, wheel that on to the outside of the piece, removing all the clay to a place near and burning it into ballast, using slack coal. Find the natural fall of the ground, and place pegs 16 feet apart in lines from top to bottom the way it falls, then dig out the soil in line of pegs with a draining tool, 12 inches deep at top end, bottom end 18 inches deep. This will give a fall of 6 inches. Then lay in 2-inch drain pipes, with a 3-inch pipe at the bottom end for a main to take the water that drains from the sub-soil. See that this main is taken to some outlet. Cover the pipes with 3 inches of burnt ballast, and spread 3 inches of burnt ballast all over the piece of ground. Dig the ground over 12 inches deep, at the same time mixing the 3 inches of burnt ballast with the clay, taking care not to disturb the pipes or dig below them. After treading all over firmly, place on the surface 2 inches of burnt ballast, filling to the level with loam mixed with LAWNS AND PLAYGROUNDS. 359 the good soil you have laid on one side from the surface. If you have no good soil, fill up with loam mixed with coarse gravel, brick rubbish, and burnt ballast. Tread all over again as before, making it level with a spade, pressing in any lump or stone that appears level with the ground. No rake should be used. You have now 2 feet of trenched earth. Do not dig down deeper in one place than another. A stick cut 2 feet long by the worker's side is the best. He can, with the stick, test his depth from time to time. In laying the turf keep the joints of each piece half-an-inch apart. When it is all laid down pat it gently all over with a turf-beater. It is better to take up the turf that is a little higher than the rest and take out a little of the soil than to beat it down to the level. Then spread some burnt ballast, ashes from the burnt refuse of the garden, and the top 2 inches of soil from the wood, sifted through a half- inch mesh sieve, mixed well together, all over the grass. Move it about until all the joints in the turf are level. Wait for rain, then go over the lawn and take out all weeds. Give another dressing of the soil as before, adding to this a little road grit and old mortar. If no old mortar is available, slaked lime will answer. Move this about until all is level again. In the month of March or the first week in April, if the weather is fine, sow all over the lawn some of the best lawn grass seed. Get some fine Thorn bushes and lace them together in the shape of a fan heavy enough for two men to drag about the lawn in various ways. Roll with a light roller, and keep off the lawn until the grass has grown 3 inches, then cut it with a scythe. Roll with a light roller the first season, and when mowing with the machine is commenced, see that the knives are not set too close to the ground. Should the ground selected for turf not contain clay, so much the better. Dig holes here and there 2 feet deep in the winter months. If no water lies at the bottom of the holes, this shows it will not want artificial draining ; if there is water drain as on heavy soil. In trenching the ground, if the subsoil be bad, take 3 inches of this away, filling up to the level with good soil, to which have been added half-inch crushed bones in the proportion of four tons to the acre, fine brick rubbish and burnt ballast in the same proportions as for the heavy soil. Turf and treat as on heavy soil. If you have a good grass field, take the turf for your lawn, also top spit away, replace with rough soil, and place 3 inches of the loam that has been dug out upon the rough soil you have put in, then sow, bush harrow, and lightly roll. TREATMENT OF OLD LAWNS. Weeds, moss, and bare places on lawns show that they are worn out. To remedy this, take off the turf in rolls 3 feet long, i foot wide, and I inch thick. If the turf cannot 360 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. be rolled, take 6 inches of the surface away, then trench 2 feet deep, keeping the good soil on the top as you proceed. Tread firmly all over and fill up to the level with good soil ; mix with the loam, burnt ballast, old brick rubbish, half-inch crushed bones, and road sidings or sweepings. Then turf and treat as in the case of new lawns. On old lawns there are very often handsome deciduous trees too close to which it would be dangerous to trench. To get grass to grow under these, take away 2 inches of the exhausted soil, replace with good, and sow thereon grass seed thickly. Rake the seed in gently, roll it lightly, and water when necessary. This may be re- peated in the same way as often as the soil under the trees becomes bare. In some cases where turf is scarce, a roll of turf 3 feet long and i foot wide may be taken and cut in half lengthways. With this form the outlines of the beds, which have been staked out pre- viously, beat down to the level required, and bring up the interven- ing spaces to the level of the turf with good soil. Make this firm, rake it level, and on this sow some good grass seed. Bush harrow it over, roll lightly, and protect from birds where these are troublesome. Cut the grass when 6 inches high with a scythe, and keep it well watered during the summer if the weather is dry. In this way a beautiful lawn may be had at little expense as compared with turfing it completely over. LAWNS ON PEATY AND SANDY SOILS. In some parts of Hamp- shire and Surrey, where peat and sand abound, seeds are by far the best to use to form a good turf. Remove all peat from the site you wish for a lawn, pile it on the outside of the work and cast plenty of water upon it. Then take out 2 or 3 inches of the dark sand that lies under the peat, and cast this also over the pile of peat. Take out 12 inches of the sand, dig all over 12 inches deep and tread it firmly. Get all the road scrapings and road trimmings to be had with a little clay and stiff loam, and cast upon the peat pile. Having got together the quantity you think will fill up to your level, cut up small the peat you have in the pile and mix all well together with this, fill up to the level, tread firmly all over, then give everywhere a good coating of cow manure, turned 3 inches under the surface, and tread firmly all over. In the month of March sow thickly. Do not let the surface get dry the first summer, and cut the grass when 6 inches high with a scythe. Attention should be paid to keeping all lawns free from weeds. Dress lawns once a year with one bushel of salt mixed with fourteen bushels of wood ashes not too much burnt, using for this purpose LAWNS AND PLAYGROUNDS. refuse, underwood, waste faggots, old laurels or other condemned shrubs. When you see the wood is consumed spread the ashes abroad and cover them with good soil. Break the charred wood small, mix all well together, do not sift, spread upon the lawn, and roll it in." Lawn Garden, Herts. Engraved from a photograph by Mr. Newman, Berkhampstead. Stone bench (Dropmore). CHAPTER XXXII. FLOWER GARDEN AND PLEASURE GROUND HOUSES, BRIDGES, SEATS AND FENCES. THE first thing to be thought of in all building, apart from the house itself, is the absolute need of the structure, as there has been much effort lost in useless garden buildings, and no way of garden over-doing is so full of waste and ugliness. Recently we have seen attempts to revive the old garden houses, but the result has not often been happy. In old houses like Hatfield and Montacute, the little houses near the gate often had a true use at the entrance side, but now we see such things revived for the mere sake of carrying out a drawing, and as soon as built we see the aimlessness of the work, and then comes the difficult question of " planting it out " from different points of view. Isolated building in a garden is difficult to do with any good result, though at one period the building of temples was very common in pleasure gardens, and many of them are still to be seen. It is best, when these are of good form and structure, to keep them with care and make some simple use of them, by removing at once all suggestion of the grotto and having simple oak benches or other good seats. The interior also should be made simple in colour and free from covert for woodlice FLOWER GARDEN AND PLEASURE GROUND HOUSES, ETC. 363 or earwigs. It is in connection with the house, or part of its lower storeys, that garden shelters, loggias and the like may be most effectively made ; of this we see examples at North Mymms and Bramshill, and where they give shade or a " garden room ' as part of the house they are a real gain. BRIDGES. Few things about country houses and gardens are worse in effect and construction than the so-called "rustic work." It is complex and ugly as a rule, its only merit being that it rots away in a few years. It is probably at its worst in garden chairs, "summer" houses, and rustic bridges. An important rule for bridges is never to make them where they are not really needed, though the opposite course is followed almost in every place of any size where there is water. On rustic bridges over streams, natural or otherwise, there is much wasted labour. A really pretty bridge of a wholly different sort I saw once with the late James Backhouse near Cader Idris on a Tree bridge over streamlet. From a photograph by M. Philippe de Vilmorin. farm which had a swift stream running through it, to cross which some one had cut down a tree that grew near, and had chopped the upper side flat and put a handrail along it. Time had helped it with Fern, Lichen, and Moss, and the result was far more beautiful than is ever seen in more pretentiously " designed " rustic bridges. It is not, however, the far prettier effects we have to note, but the advantage which comes from strength and endurance. It looked very old and Moss-grown, and no doubt it is there now, as the heart-wood of stout trees does not perish like the sap-wood of the " rustic "- work maker. The sound oak tree bridge was the earliest footway across a stream, and it will always be one of the best if the sap wood is carefully adzed off. It would not please those, perhaps, for whom there is nothing good unless it has a pattern upon it, but it is a strong and beautiful way. Foot-bridges these should be called, as they are, of course, too narrow for any other 364 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN, purpose, but with a good oak rail at one side the tree bridge is distinctly better than a bridge of planks. Where stones are plenti- ful, stone put up in a strong, simple way is the best to make a lasting bridge, and a simple structure in brick or stone is better in effect than any rustic bridge. Where stream beds are rocky and shallow, stepping stones are often better than a bridge, though they cannot be used where the streams cut through alluvial soils and the banks are high. Some of the worst work ever done in gardens has been in the construction of needless bridges, often over wretched duck-ponds A garden room, by Harold Peto, Bridge House, Weybridge. of small extent. Even people who have some knowledge of country life, and who ought to possess taste, come to grief over bridge building, and pretty sheets of water are disfigured by bridges ugly in form and material. For the most frivolous reasons these ugly things are constructed, though often by going ten yards further one could have crept round the head of the pond by a pretty path, aided, perhaps, by a few stepping stones. EARTH-BANK BRIDGES. But there are many cases where some kind of bridge is necessary in pleasure grounds or woodlands where there might be more excuse for the rustic worker's bridge. The difficulty of the light woodwork bridge is that it begins to rot as soon as it is put FLOWER GARDEN AND PLEASURE GROUND HOUSES, ETC. 365 up, and we find that, even when done in the best way, with larch or oak, and by old-fashioned workmen, who get as much simplicity of form and endurance out of it as they can, the years pass so rapidly and British rain is so constant, that rot and decay are all we get out of it, and very often such bridges fall into such a dangerous state before we have time to repair them, that animals often get into danger from them. A much better way is the earth bank, with a drain pipe through, and this suffices where there is a slight, steady, or an occasional flow of water, and also to cross gorges or depressions. We can find the earth to make it on the spot, and by punning, and in the case of larger work of this kind, carting over it, we can get it to settle down in one winter to the level we want it, and soon have an excellent and permanent way across. Such banks will support any weight, and are as free from decay as the best stone bridge. One of their best points Oak-pale fencing, Surrey. is that the sides and approaches and slope of the earth bank can be made pretty at once by planting with Honeysuckle, Broom, Sweetbrier, or any other hardy things. Another advantage of the bank is, that the simplest willing workman can form it. The materials being on the spot, it is foolish to cart things a long way. Even when we have stone or brick at hand the labour has to be considered. By making a culvert of bricks and cement, the earth-bank is equally good to cross constantly running streamlets. THE SUMMER-HOUSE is generally a failure and often a heap of decay. To make such a structure of wood that soon decays is labour wasted. It may be possible, by using the best woods and good oak slabs, to make a summer-house which will be picturesque and endur- ing, but it is better to build it of stone or some lasting material and cover it with vines and quick-growing climbers. 366 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. One can make an enduring and charming summer-house out of liv- ing trees. An old Yew or a group of old Yews, or a low-spreading Oak (there is a fine example of this kind of living summer-house at Shrub- land), an old Beech or a group of evergreen Oaks will make a pleasant summer-house, and with a little care for effect, and by pruning away old and worn-out branches, so as to get air and room without injuring the beauty of the trees, it is easy to form cool tents for hot days. FENCES AND DIVIDING LINES. The iron fence destroys the beauty of half the country seats in England, and the evil is growing every day. There are various serious objections to iron fencing, but we will only deal here with its effect on the landscape. Any picture is out of the question with an iron fence in the foreground. Where an open fence is wanted, nothing is so fine in form and colour as a split Oak fence and rails made of heart of Oak with stout posts. A sawn wood fence is not so good. As Oak is so plentiful on many estates, good examples of split Oak post and rail fences should be KO9 Simple form of garden seat, Warley Place. more often seen. Oak palings are often used, and sometimes where a good live fence of Holly, Quick and wild Rose on a good bank would be far better ; but Oak paling is often a precious aid in a garden as a dividing line where the colour of brick or other walls would be against their use, or where for various reasons walls would not be desirable or a live fence suitable. SUNK FENCES AND RETAINING WALLS. Sunk fences of stone or brick are often of the highest value in the pleasure ground, and sometimes near the flower garden, as they help us to avoid the hideous mechanical fences of our day, and they are often the best way of keeping open views, especially if planted with a gar- land of creeping plants or wild roses above. They should be strongly if roughly built, without mortar, and they may be a home for beauti- ful plants. They should be made on a " batter " or slightly sloping back, the stones packed close together, i.e. without much earth and layers of alpine plants should be put between them. Retain- FLOWER GARDEN AND PLEASURE GROUND HOUSES, ETC. 367 ing walls or sunk fences could be made admirably in this way, and where they permit of it may be made into beautiful alpine gardens. Apart from the sunk fence, there is often need for low retaining walls, especially in places of diversified surface. These walls also may be made the home of delightful plant beauty in the simplest way. Particulars of these things will be found in fuller detail in the chapter on Rock Gardens. SEATS. It is rare to see a garden seat that is not an eyesore. Few make them well and simply in wood, and there is always decay to be considered. Of our own woods, Oak is the best. Stout heart of Oak laths screwed into a simple iron frame without ornament make a good seat. They are best without paint and in the natural colour of the Log seat, Tresserve. Oak wood. No seat is so good as one of good stone simply designed and strongly made, and in our country one objection to stone is met by the use of a mat or a light trellis of Bamboo or split laths of Oak held together by cross pieces and placed on top of the stone. In Italy and France one often sees good stone seats, and there they are not expensive. I have made good stone seats out of steps and other stones which had been displaced in buildings. Stone seats should always be set on stone supports bedded in concrete. A good oak seat is one with strong stone supports, the top being a slab of Oak laid with two bars across its lower side to keep it in place. The top in this form being so easily removed, may be stored away for the winter, as wooden seats should always be. Tree stems of some size and little value may also be cut into the form of seats, and make very good ones for a time, but they soon decay. The common iron seats 368 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. with cast patterns on them are ugly, but iron seats need not be so, and some old iron seats quite simply made of lath or rod iron were fairly good, and it is not difficult to cover the seat with bamboo trellis-work or matting for the summer season. Some of the French wooden seats are simple and good in form, and, painted a nice carna- tion-leaf green, they look very well. Bamboos, which come in such quantities now in the sugar ships, might be more used for making pretty garden seats. Sometimes old tree stumps help to make useful seats, and the bole of the tree, if cut, makes a very good rustic seat. Where stone is plentiful, as in many hill and other parts, it is often easy to make useful seats out of blocks of stone in rocky places. Of this sort I saw some pretty examples at Castlewellan and the rocky district around. THE COVERED WAY may be a charming thing in a garden and make a home for climbers, as well as a shady way, and also form a Marble slab seat with Oak lattice cover. valuable screen. Shade is more essential in other countries than in ours, and the Italian covered way is often a very picturesque object. The best material to make the supports of is rough stone or brick. On an enduring support like this the woodwork is more easily con- structed afterwards. Simple rough stone posts may be had in certain quarries in the north of England, in the lake country, but in the absence of these it will be better to build columns of brick or stone than to trust to any wood. In all open-air work the enduring way is true economy, and though we cannot all readily get the hard green stone gate posts stained with yellow Lichen of the farms about Keswick, or the everlasting granite fence posts that one sees in Italy, we should make a stand against work which has to be done over and over again. Of woods, Oak free of sapwood makes the best supports ; Larch is good, but best of all, perhaps, is the common Locust tree, which, however, is seldom plentiful in a mature state. For all the other parts of covered ways nothing is better than old FLOWER GARDEN AND PLEASURE GROUND HOUSES, ETC. 369 Oak branches or the stems of stunted Oaks, or of old stub Oaks that are often found about a country place, and are of very little value as timber. Larch lasts well in the absence of Oak, but is not nearly so good in effect. By using Oak with stone or brick supports, a covered way may be made which will last for years without falling into decay, as is the case with this kind of work when done with more perishable woods and without lasting supports. It would be far better to employ strong iron wire than wood of this sort. An advantage which woodwork has over iron lies in its good effect. Carefully done, a covered way made as above described may be picturesque even before there is a plant on it. LIVING SUPPORTS. A pretty way of supporting plants and forming covered ways is to use certain trees of a light and graceful Bower with stone table at end of garden. From a photo sent by the Marquis de Fontreira. character for supporting climbers, just as the Italians often support their Vines on living trees kept within bounds. Such trees as the weeping Aspen, weeping Birch, and fruit trees of graceful, drooping forms, like some Apples, would do well, and would be worth having for their own sakes, while through the trees hardy climbers could freely run. BOATHOUSES. Among the things which are least beautiful in many gardens and pleasure grounds is the boathouse. Our builders are not simple in their ways, and are seldom satisfied with any one good colour or material to make a house with, or even a boathouse, but every kind of ugly variegation is tried, so that harshness in effect is the usual result, where all should be simple and quiet in colour, as it is in boathouses on the Norfolk Broads made of reeds and rough posts. The simpler the better in all such work, using local material like Oak, B B 370 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. which comes in so well for the posts, and reeds for the roof ; but the simplest brickwork and brown tiles would be far better than the con- trast of ugly colours which the modern builder both in France and England delights in. The place, too, should be carefully chosen and the building not conspicuous. It is well to avoid the cost of railway carriage in the making of simple structures like boat-houses, and also carting, which is such a costly matter in many districts. It is best to use materials of the estate or country. Ivy and living creepers may help to protect the sides of airy sheds. Larch comes in well where Oak is not to be spared, and Larch shingling for the roof might be used, A thatched su as is commonly done in farm-houses in Northern Europe and America. Little shelters for mowing machines, tools and the like can be made with wood covered with Larch bark, as at Coolhurst, and a very pretty effect they have, besides being less troublesome to make than the heather or thatched roofs, especially in districts where the good thatcher is getting rare. The chip roof, also, of the wooded country around London is an excellent one, lasting for half a century or so if well made, but the men who made it so well are now less and less easy to meet with. And on the whole the best roof for any structure that has to last is of tiles of good colour : tiles made and tested in the locality being often the best. FLOWER GARDEN AND PLEASURE GROUND HOUSES, ETC. 371 FOUNTAINS IN GARDENS. In this moist climate of ours water needs to be used with great discretion. Above all things it must flow and not stagnate. Bacon, who said so many things about gardens well, summed up the case with his usual felicity: "For fountains, they are a great beauty and refreshment ; but pools mar all." No doubt we can all of us recall some pool of great beauty, some moat with little broken reflections that made almost all the charm of the garden wherein it lay, but as a general rule Bacon is right. As nothing is drearier than a dry fountain except the exasperat- ing trickle of one that refuses to be drowned out by the continuous drip of the eaves, it is better to place your fountain in a part of the garden which you are only likely to visit on a fine day, and if possible it should be set where its tossing spray will catch the sunbeams while you repose in the cool shade ; then the supply of water may be as it should unfailing. Fountains on such an extensive scale as those of Versailles or Chatsworth are only to be excused, when, as at Caserta, they run day and night from one year's end to the other. It is only in such great places too that large and monumental fountains, basin above basin, adorned with sculpture and connected by cascades, have any fitness, and even where they are fit they are apt, here in England, to cease very soon to be fine. Lead is the best material for such foun- tain sculpture in our damp-laden atmosphere, as it discolours more becomingly than stone or marble. This tendency to discolour in blotches and afford a foothold for mosses and lichens, though a blemish on statues, is an added charm to the necessary basins and copings which should confine the waters of our fountain. A fountain is a work of art and as such should always be placed in the more formal portions of the grounds. The feathery spray of a jet is always a beautiful thing but can be ill-placed as for instance, in the centre of a large and informal " piece of ornamental water." The fountain in the Temple is one of the most charming examples of the single jet, rising from the centre of a circular basin and falling oack with a melodious splash. It has lost some of its charm since B B 2 Entrance to Bishop's Garden (Chichester). 372 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. it was surrounded by a clinker-built rockery in which nothing will grow. This sort of fountain should be set in a grass plot, and a few moisture-loving plants allowed to break the severity of its outline. I remember one such, only about 5 feet in diameter, in a lawn near London ; a simple brick and concrete basin with a jet in the centre, which threw its spray up to the overhanging boughs of a stately elm, and nourished one of the most splendid clumps of Osmunda regalis I ever saw ; Flowering Rush too throve in its friendly neighbourhood. There is a very attractive little fountain against the wall of the fruit garden at Penshurst. If the fountain be on a larger Vine-shaded bower. scale than these the basin may be made lovely in the summer with many varieties of aquatic plants, which being planted in boxes or pots can be removed to the greenhouse before the frosts set in. One of the great merits of a fountain in a garden to the true lover of nature is the attraction it forms for the birds ; they will haunt its neighbourhood with delightful persistency, bathing and drinking at all hours of the day. A fountain for the exclusive benefit of the birds was made in a garden in New England by sinking a saucer-shaped hollow, about 6 inches deep, in the lawn, which was allowed to become grass-grown FLOWER GARDEN AND PLEASURE GROUND HOUSES, ETC. 373 like the rest of the turf; in the centre stood up a jet which threw up a very fine spray. For an hour or two every morning and evening this was turned on, soon filling the hollow to the brim; the effect was very pretty with the grass at the bottom of the water, and the birds soon learned to know the hours of the bath and came in flocks to enjoy it. G. H. B. Loggia Dropmore. Engraved from a photograph by Mr. J. James. CHAPTER XXXIII. THE ORCHARD BEAUTIFUL. THE spirit of beauty must have been at the birth of the trees that give us the hardy fruits of the northern world Crab, wild Plum, Pear and Cherry yielding back for us in their bloom the delicate colours of the clouds, and lovelier far in their flowers than Fig or Vine of the south. The old way of having an orchard near the house was a good one. Planted for use, it was precious for its beauty, and not only when the spring winds bore the breath of the blossoms of Cherry, Plum, Apple, and Pear, as there were the fruit odours, too, and the early Daffodils and Snowdrops, and overhead the lovely trees that bear our orchard fruits Apples, Pears, Cherries, Plums, Medlars, Damsons, Bullaces, and Quinces. To make pictures to last round the year, I should ask for many of these orchard trees on a few acres of fair ground, none the worse if too hilly for the plough ; a belt of Hollies, Yew, and Scotch Fir on the cold sides to comfort trees and men ; with careless garlands of Honeysuckle, Rose, and fragrant Clematis among them here and there, and in the fence bank plenty of Sweet Brier and Hawthorn. If we see fine effects where orchards are poorly planted with one kind of tree, as the Apple (in many country places in our islands there are no orchards worthy the name), what might not be looked for of an orchard in which the beauty of all our hardy fruit trees would be visible? If we consider the number of distinct species of fruit trees and the many varieties of each, we may get some idea of the pictures one might have in an orchard, beginning with the bloom of the Sloe and Bullace in the fence. The various Plums and Damsons are beautiful in bloom, as in the Thames valley and about Evesham. The Apple varies much in bloom, as may be seen in Kentish and Normandy orchards, where the flowers of some are of extraordinary beauty. The Pear, less showy in colour, the Medlar, so beautiful in flower and in foliage, and the Quince, so pretty in bloom in Tulip time, must not be forgotten. The Cherry is often a beautiful tree in its cultivated as well as wild forms, and the Cherry 376 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. orchards in parts of Kent, as near Sittingbourne, are pictures when in bloom. There is no better work in a country place than choosing a piece of good ground to form an orchard ; and, considering the number of trees that are worth a place for their beauty as well as their fruit, a dozen acres are not too much in a country place where there is land to spare. POOR SOIL SHOULD NOT HINDER. In planting some may be deterred by the fear that their soil is too poor, and no doubt it is a much simpler matter on the good fruit tree soils of Devon, Hereford, and Kent than in other districts ; but the difference in soils is no reason why some counties and districts should be bare of orchards, and in many the soil is as good as need be. Indeed, in the country south of London, as in Kent, where much of the land is taken up with orchards, we may notice the trees suffering much more from drought in dry years than they do in the good sandstone soil of Cheshire or in Ireland and Scotland, where there is a heavier rainfall. Few of our orchard trees require a very special soil, and where chalky or very warm soil occurs, the best way is to keep to the kinds of fruit it favours most. But though the orchard beautiful must be of trees in all their natural vigour, and of forms lovely in winter as in spring and summer, the trees must not be neglected, allowed to perish from drought, or become decayed from bug, scale or other pests, and it should be the care of those who enjoy their beauty to protect them from all such dangers. The idea that certain counties only are suited for fruit growing is erroneous, and even if it were true, the fact need not deter us from planting orchards of the hardier trees and of good local kinds. Much of Ireland is as bare of orchards as the back of a stranded whale, but who could say this was the fault of the country ? THE TREES TO TAKE THEIR NATURAL FORMS. Where we plant for beauty we can have no choice for any but the natural form of the tree. Owing to the use of what are called dwarfing stocks and like contrivances, fruit gardens and orchards are now beginning to show shapes of trees that are not beautiful compared with the grand old orchard tree. However much these dwarf and pinched shapes may appeal to the gardener in his own domain, in the orchard beautiful they have no place. For the form of all our fruit trees is very good indeed, winter or summer, and that is a great point if we seek beauty. We know what the effect in flower-time is in the orchard pictures of such painters as Mark Fisher and Alfred Parsons, if we have not taken the trouble to see the finer pictures of the orchards themselves, seen best, perhaps, on dark and wet days in flower-time. Lastly, the effect of finely-coloured fruit on high trees is one of the best in our gardens. Therefore, in every case, whatever pruning we do, let the tree take its natural form, not only for its own sake or the greater beauty of natural THE ORCHARD BEAUTIFUL. 377 form generally, but also for the variety of form we get even among the varieties sprung from the same species. Clearly if we prune to any one ideal type of tree we can never see the interesting variety of form shown by the varieties of one species, as the Apple and Pear. Keeping to the natural form of each tree, moreover does not in the least prevent thinning of the branches where overcrowded the best way of pruning. ROOT PRUNING IN THE ORCHARD. We have not only to avoid ugly and constrained forms of training and pruning, but never in the orchard where the true way is to let the tree take its natural free and mature form, should the practice of root pruning be allowed. Our orchard trees especially the trees native of Britain like the Apple and the Pear are almost forest trees in nature and take some years first of all to make their growth and then mature it, which in gardens for various reasons make men try to get in artificial ways the fruit that nature gives best at the time of maturity : so root pruning was invented in our own day, and it may have some use in certain soils and in limited gardens, but we may well doubt its value taken all in all, and we have to pay too dearly for it. One would hardly think it would enter into people's heads to practice root pruning in the orchard ; but the word is a catching one and leads people astray. I have several times had the question seriously put to me as to how to root prune forest trees a case where all pruning is absurd in any proper sense save in the way effected by the forest itself. The trees in the orchard should be allowed to come freely to maturity, and in the way the years fly this is not a long wait. By planting a few well chosen young trees every year the whole gradually comes into noble bearing, and the difference between the naturally grown and laden tree and one of the pinched root-pruned ones is great in beauty. CIDER ORCHARDS are often picturesque in the west of England and in Normandy, and so long as men think any kind of fermented stuff good enough for their blood, cider has on northern men the first claim from the beauty of the trees in flower and fruit, and indeed throughout the year. The cider orchard also will allow us to grow naturally-grown trees and those raised from seed. These cider orchards are extremely beautiful, and the trees in them often take fine natural forms. They have a charm, too, in the brightness of the fruit, and also a peculiar one in the lateness of the blooms of some, many of the cider Apples flowering later than the orchard Apples. In some cider orchards near Rouen (Lyons-la-Foret) I saw the finest, tallest, and cleanest trees were raised from seed. The owner, a far-famed cider grower, told me they were his best trees, and raised from seed of good cider Apples. If he found on their fruiting that they were what he wanted as cider Apples he kept them and was glad of them ; 378 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. if not, he cut their heads off and regrafted them with sorts he wanted. These were free and handsome trees with good grass below them, just like the Cherry orchards in the best parts of Kent, where the lambs pick the early grass. But however beautiful such an orchard, clearly it will not give us the variety of form and beauty found in the mixed orchard, in which Cherry, Apple, Plum, Pear, Medlar, Quince, Walnut, and Mulberry take a place ; there also the various interesting trees allied to our fruit trees might come in, such as the true and common Service tree, Almond, Cornelian Cherry, Hickory, and Crab. GRAFTING. Where we make use of grafted trees and generally there is no choice in the matter we should always in the orchard use the most natural stock that can be obtained. It is much better, for instance, to graft Pear trees on the wild Pear than on the Quince, a union harmful to the Pear on many soils. If we could get the trees on their own roots without any grafting it would often be much better, but we are slaves to the routine of the trade, and in our day he who asks for a fruit tree on its natural roots is regarded as a wandering lunatic. The history of grafting is as old as the oldest civilisations its best reason, the rapid increase of a given variety. In every country one or two fruit trees predominate, and are usually natives of the country, like the Apple in Northern Europe and the Olive in the South. When men found a good variety of a native fruit they sought to increase it in the quickest way, and so having learned the art of grafting, they put the best varieties on wild stems in hedgerows, or dug up young trees and grafted them in their gardens. The practice eventually became stereotyped into the production of the nursery practice of grafting many varieties of fruit trees on the same stock, often without the least regard to the lasting health and duration of the trees so grafted. In some cases when we use the wild form of the tree as a stock for the orchard tree we succeed ; but grafting is the cause of a great deal of the disease and barrenness of our orchards. It is now possible to get some Apple trees on their own roots, and in France, and here and there in England also, some kinds of Plums in that way. Where we graft, it is well to graft low ; that is to say, in the case of Cider Apples^ for example, it is much safer and better to take a tree grafted close to the ground than grafted standard high, as the high graft is more liable to accident and does not make so fine a tree. In the orchard the good old practice of sowing the stone or pip of a fine fruit now and then may also be followed with interest. STARVED ORCHARDS. Even in the good fruit counties like Kent one may see in dry years orchards starved from want of water, and the turf beneath almost brown as the desert. Where manure is plentiful it is well to use it as a mulch for such trees, but where it is not, we may employ various other materials for keeping the roots safe from the THE ORCHARD BEAUTIFUL. 379 effects of drought. Not only the tree roots want the water, but the roots of the competing grass suck the moisture out of the soil. The competition of the grass could be put an end to at once, and the trees very much nourished, by the use of any easily found mulching from materials which are often abundant in a country place. Among the best of these, where plentiful, is the common Furze, if cut down in spring and placed over the ground round the base of young or poor orchard trees. It prevents the grass from robbing the trees and lets the water fall through to the ground, helping to keep it there, too, by pre- venting direct evaporation ; moreover, the small leaves falling off nourish the ground. So again the sweepings of drives and of farm or garden yards are useful, and also any small faggots often allowed to rot in the woods after the underwood is cleared. They fetch such a low price that they are not worth selling, but if placed round the roots of fruit trees they often do good. Then also there are the weeds and refuse of gardens of all kinds which form detestable rubbish heaps that would be much better abolished, and all cleanings from the garden placed directly over the roots of young poor orchard trees. Even rank weeds, which swarm about yards and shrubberies, would help, and one of the best ways to weaken them and help towards their destruction is by mowing them down in the pride of their growth in the middle of summer nettles and docks, as the case may be and instead of burning them or taking them to the rubbish heap, use them over the tree roots. Even the weeds and long grass grow- ing round the base of the trees, if mown and left on the ground, will make a difference in the growth and health of fruit trees. Such care is all the more needed if our orchard is upon poor or shaly soils in the southern or home counties, where the rainfall is less than in the western counties or in Ireland or Scotland : in naturally rich and deep soil we do not need it. FENCING THE ORCHARD BEAUTIFUL. All fences should be of living things at once the most enduring, effective, and in the end the best. We see the hideous result of the ironmonger's fence in marring the foregrounds of many landscape pictures. Holly, Quick, or Cock- spur Thorn, with a sprinkling of Sloe or Bullace here and there, give us the best orchard fence ; once well made, far easier to keep up than the iron fence. Yew is a danger, and a Yew hedge should never be planted where animals come near as they usually do, the orchard, and if the Yew comes by itself, as it often will, 't should be cut clean out and burnt as soon as cut down. Holly is the best evergreen orchard fence for our country, and we should be careful about getting the plants direct from a good nursery clean seedling plants not much over a yard high. The best time to plant Hollies is in May if growing in the place, but on light soil plant in autumn ; all the more need to 38o THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. do this if we bring the plants by rail. ? Unless the soil is very light I should make the fence on a bank, because a turf bank is itself such a good fence to begin with, and a free Holly hedge on a good bank, with, perhaps, a Sloe here and there through it, is one of the prettiest sights of the land, and forms the best of shelters for an orchard in our country. Where shelter is much sought the hedge should not be clipped, and is much handsomer free grown. The orchard fence should not be cut in every year to a hard line, but Sloe, and May, and Sweet Brier, and wild Rose left to bloom and berry, the hedge to be a shelter as well as a fence, and not trimmed oftener than every ten years or so. Then it should be cut down and woven together in the strong way seen in parts of Kent on the hills. KINDS TO PLANT. The English fruit garden is often a museum of varieties, many of them worthless and not even known to its owner. This is wrong in the garden, and doubly so in the orchard, where the fruit trees should be trees in stature and none of poor quality. Too many varieties is partly the result of the seeking after new kinds in the nurseries. In orchard culture we should be chary of planting any new kind, and with the immense number of Apples grown in our own country already, it is always possible to select kinds of enduring fame, and it is the more necessary to do this now when good Apples are coming from various countries, where people do not plant a collection when they want a crop of a few first-rate kinds which they know will be precious in the market. So we should in our orchards never plant single trees, but always, if possible, having chosen a good kind, plant enough to make it worth gathering. It would be better here not to mention any particular kinds, because local kinds and local circum- stances often deserve the first attention, and some local kinds of fruit are among the best. When in doubt always end it by choosing kinds of proved quality like Blenheim, Wellington, and Kentish Filbasket to any novelties that may be offered. Any fruit requiring the protection of walls or in the least tender should never be put in the orchard. It is probable that some of the fruit trees of Northern and Central Europe, and particularly Russia, would be well suited for our climate, but as yet little is known of these except that they are interesting and many of them distinct. The vigour of the tree should be considered and its fertility. Kinds rarely fertile are not worth having, always bearing in mind, however, that a good kind is often spoiled by a bad stock or by conditions unsuited to it. The beauty of flower of certain varieties may well influence in their choice. Once when talking with Mr. Ruskin of the beauty of the fruit as compared with the flower of our northern fruit trees, he said in reply to my praise of the fruit : " Give me the flower and spare me the stomach-ache ! " THE ORCHARD BEAUTIFUL. 381 In view of the confusion brought about by fat catalogues, new varieties of doubtful value, the number of early kinds worthless for winter and spring use, and the planting of untried kinds, a good rule would be to put any kind we propose to plant under separate study as to its merits in all ways, and only plant one kind a year. The kind chosen for orchard culture should be of undoubted merit and distinction, and of high quality when cooked, without which apples to keep are worthless, so many which quickly fall into a mawkish state being without table or market value if there be any crisp-fleshed apples to be had. In fixing but one kind a year, the first consideration should be its quality, and the second its constancy in bearing, as to which there is a great difference in apples. Perfect hardiness and vigour are essential, and the judgment as regards orchard planting should never be based on the produce of bush trees or trees grafted on the paradise or other stocks which limit the natural growth of the tree. Apples known for many years, such as the Blenheim, Kentish Filbasket, Wellington, French Crab, Keswick and Alfriston should never be left out of our consideration n this respect, as, however they may be affected by local situation or soil, their character and value has been long proved, and that is a great point, as in the case of new varieties chosen for some one minor -quality, such as colour, it is only after they have been grown for years we begin to find out their bad qualities. STAKING ORCHARD TREES. Fruit trees grown in any way are fair to see in the time of flower and fruit, but our beautiful orchard must be in turf if we are to have the best expression of its beauty. In fruit gardens where the whole surface is cultivated with small fruits below and taller trees overhead we may get as good, or, it may be, better fruit, but we miss the finer light and shade and verdure of the orchard in turf, the pretty incidents of the ground, and the animal life among the trees in spring, as sheep in Kent, and the interest of the wild gardening in the grass. Also the orchard turf, by its shade or shelter, or in some way, becomes most welcome nib- bling for lambs and calves in the spring. A gain of the orchard in turf is that we can plant it on any ground, however broken or steep, and in many parts of the country there is much ground of this sort to be planted. Now, while we may in the garden or the fruit garden plant trees without stakes, we cannot do so in the grass orchard, because of the incursions of animals ; therefore staking is needed, not only to support the tall and strong young trees which we ought to plant, but also to guard against various injuries. The best way is to use very strong stakes and make them protect and support the trees, and also carry the wire netting which is essential wherever rabbits, 382 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. hares, goats, or other browsing animals exist. The best way to do this is to have a very stout stake Larch or old Oak. Sometimes in the debris of old sheds a number of rafters are turned out which are of no use for building, and are excellent for staking strong young trees in orchards, first digging the hole and putting the stake firmly in to a depth of 3 feet below the surface. Cradles of Oak and iron are much in use ; the first is very well in an Oak country where labour is plentiful ; iron is costly and ugly, and not so good as the single stout stake, which is easy to get of Larch or stub Oak in many country places. The common way of tying a faggot of Quicks or any thorny shrub is often good when done by a good fencer. The trees should be tied with care with soft ropes of straw or other material, and when planted be loosely but carefully wired with netting well out of the reach of browsing animals. This wiring is supported well by the strong stake, and, well done, it keeps rabbits and hares, as well as cattle, at bay, and, worse than all for trees, young horses. A usual way in Kent is to drive in three stout stakes, 6 feet or more in height, round the tree, and fasten cross-bars to them. This can be done at a total cost of about lod. a tree, and should last twelve to fifteen years. THE ORCHARD WILD GARDEN. One of the reasons for a good orchard, from the point of view of all who care for beauty, is its value for wild gardening. It is so well fitted for this, that many times Narcissi and other bulbs from the garden have even established them- selves in its turf, so that long years after the culture of flowers has been given up in the garden, owing to changes of fashion, people have been able in old orchards to find naturalised some of the most beautiful kinds of Narcissi. Where the soil is cool and deep, these flowers are easily grown, and in warm soils many of our hardiest and most beautiful spring flowers might easily be naturalised. Those who care for beauty as much as fruit may throw careless garlands of the hardier Clematis over the trees here and there. They do not rob the ground much and add a careless grace which is always welcome. On the cool side of the orchard bank, Primrose and Oxlip would bloom long and well, and on all sides of it Daffodils, Snowflakes, Snowdrops, wild Tulips, or any like bulbs to spare from the garden ; and from the garden trimmings, too, tufts of Balm and Myrrh to live for ever among the grass of the bank. The robin would build in the moss of the bank, the goldfinch in the silvery lichen of the trees, and the thrush, near the winter's end, herald the buds with noble song. CHAPTER XXXIV. LABOURS FOR GOOD OR EVIL : SOILS : WATER : DRAINING : EVAPORA- TION : ROTATION : WEEDS AND RUBBISH HEAPS : MONOTONY : STAKING : GLASS : WASTED LABOUR IN MOVING EARTH : WOODEN TRELLISING BEST. THE cost of the making and keeping of the gardens and pleasure grounds of the British Isles is too vast to realise ; no other people in the world spending so generously on their gardens and plantations not a selfish end either, as all noble planting and gardening add to the beauty of the land. In every case it is therefore worth asking, does the labour so freely given work for good ends : for ugliness or beauty ; waste in stereotyped monotony ; or days well spent in adding to the treasures of our gardens and plantings, both in enduring variety and in picturesque effects ; pictures, in fact, all round the year? In any case there is immense and hideous waste in misapplied labour and bad art, and therefore some of these enemies of good work deserve a little thought. SOILS GOOD AND BAD. Most garden lovers strive for an ideal soil, but this does not always lead to happy results, and, even if we could have it, would only lead to monotony in vegetation. No doubt many will seek at all costs for the soil called the best, but the wisest way is rather to rejoice in and improve the soil fate has planted us on. A good deep and free loam is best for many things, and from the view of high cultivation or market work, deep valley soils are almost essential, but we often see poor peats giving excellent results, from a flower gardening point of view, in enabling us to grow with ease many more kinds of plants than could be grown on heavy soil. How fertile sand may become with good cultivation is shown by the fact that some of the very best soils for hardy plants are those that have been poor sea sand, but improved by cultivation, and sometimes such soils are drought-resisting, as on reclaimed seashore lands. Yet now and then we see certain sandy soils absolutely refuse to grow Roses and Carnations, and in such cases it is often better to give up the struggle. Chalky hills are wretched for trees and some shrubs, but there are few soils more congenial to garden vegetation than some chalky soils, and chalk tumbling into a valley soil is often excellent. In limestone THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. soils people often take much trouble to get peat, in the vain hope of growing a few Rhododendrons, labour which would be better bestowed on improving the staple of the natural soil of the place. The most hopeless soils are the true clays, but the word " clay " is used in a loose way by many who have never seen a real clay. In the east of England and in Ireland, for example, the term is often used for dark free soil. The true clay which occurs in the northern suburbs of London and near Horsham, Sussex, is not a soil on which a man could get a living, or if he does so he will get one anywhere ! With such a soil our only hope is to cart good earth on to the ground. Whatever the nature of the soil in a given garden, it should to a large extent govern what we grow. If happy enough to have a sandy peat, how easy it is to grow all the lovely evergreens of the northern moun- tains, which rejoice in such soil things which, if they live on loamy and heavy soils, are never really happy thereon. On such soil, too, all the most beautiful kinds of hardy shrubs may be grown without trouble, and planted among these shrubs the Lilies and hardy bulbous flowers of Japan and America. If a deep and at the same time poor sea sand comes in our way, we can make perfect bulb gardens on it, and also grow trees and flowering shrubs very well after a time. LOCAL AND NATURAL SOILS. Soil must not always be blamed for failure with certain plants, because rainfall, elevation, and, very often, nearness to the sea will affect plants very much. Thus shrubs that do well near the sea will, on the same kind of soil, perish far inland. It is essential to study the secret of the soil and find out the plants that thrive best on it. Once free from the limits and needs of the flower garden proper, the best way will often be to use any local peculiarities of soil instead of doing away with them : A bog ? Instead of draining it keep it and adorn it with some of the often beautiful things that grow in bogs ; A sandy knoll ? Plant with Rose- mary or Rock Roses ; A peaty, sheltered hollow ? Make it into a beautiful Rhododendron glade, and so get variety of plant life in various conditions. Then, as regards the soil and the natural habitats of plants, there is no doubt that it is useful to know where they come from, whether plains, valleys, or rocks, and what soil they grow on ; but it is a know- ledge that may sometimes mislead, because rainfall and elevation and other causes may lead us to suppose results due to soil which are really owing to accident of position. Many of the beautiful plants of the mountains of the East, such as Aubrietia, and a number of rock plants which grow in any soil, would do no better if we tried to imitate their actual conditions of life in their native habitats, which are often absolutely different from the soils of our lowland gardens in which many rock plants thrive and endure for years. SOILS AND CULTIVATION IN THE FLOWER GARDEN. 385 CULTIVATION AND WATER. Many think that heavy watering is necessary in seasons of drought, and it may be worth while showing how such heavy labour may be avoided. There are soils which are so thirsty, like the hot sandy soils of Surrey, that watering is essential, and some chalky soils, too, are almost hopeless with- out heavy watering, while water is often extremely difficult to get enough of on dry hills. But under general conditions there is not much trouble in getting rid of this labour and its attendant ugliness. The essential thing is to make the beds deep enough. Even with the best intentions, many people fail to do this, and workmen in forming gardens are sometimes misled as to the depth of soil in beds, made when gardens are being laid out, the soil when it settles being really much less than it seems in the making. The best way for those who care for their flowers is to dig the beds right out to a depth of 30 inches below the surface before any of the good soil is put in. Then, if for general garden use such beds are rilled in with good, rich, loamy soil and are gently raised, as all beds should be in wet countries, 4 inches or 6 inches above the surface, they will rarely be found to fail in any drought. Much depends on the size of the bed ; the little, angular, frivolous beds which have too often been the rule in gardens cannot resist drought so long as broad simple beds. With these pre- cautions, and also autumn and winter planting, we ought, in the British Isles, to free ourselves from much of the heavy labour and cost of watering, and it would be better to have half the space we give to flowers well prepared, than always be at work with the water barrel. To be busy planting in autumn and early winter is a great gain too, because the plants get rooted before the hot time comes, and the kind of plants we grow is important as regards the water question. If it is merely the mass of bedding plants with which many places are adorned in summer, these being all put out in early June, in the event of a hot summer there is nothing else to do but water all the time, or we lose them, as of course the roots are all at the surface in June. But where we have deep beds of Roses, Lilies, Carnations, Irises, Delphiniums, and all the noble flowers that can be planted in autumn or winter, we may save ourselves the labour of watering often. Well prepared beds of choice evergreen or other flowering shrubs, with Lilies and the choicest hardy flowers among them, also resist drought well. Thus it will be seen how much we gain in this way alone by the use of right open-air gardening. What is here said, although true of the south of England and dry soils generally, is not so as to soil on cool hills, and in the west country where the rainfall is heavier. In such cases it is not nearly so import- ant to have the soil so deep, and a good fertile soil half the depth, with copious rain, may do. But, taking the country generally, there C C 386 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. is no doubt that such deep culture well repays the doing. The farmer is often unable to alter the staple of his ground owing to its extent, but the flower gardener, dealing with a much smaller area, should never rest until he has got a deep as well as a good soil. This is given to many by Nature in rich valley lands, and on such happy soil the flower gardener's main work as regards the labours of the soil is changing the crop now and then, with some modification of the soil to suit certain plants. SOFT WATER BEST. Where, however, owing to the dryness of the soil or subsoil or to shortness of the rainfall, we have to resort to much artificial watering, it is a great point to save the rain water as the best of all water not only for household uses, but for plants. Next to it comes river water, but to the gardens that want most water, rivers, unfortunately, do not come, so that for garden use it would often be very wise to do what people do more in other countries than ours, and that is, save all the rain water we can instead of letting it run to waste, as it does so often. DRAINAGE. In our country too much thought and labour are given to drainage in the flower garden, to the neglect of change of plants and deep cultivation, and during our hot summers some way to keep water in the beds is more important than getting rid of it. Some soils, too, are in little need of artificial drainage, such as free sands, sandy loams, chalky and limestone soils, and much ground lying high, and much alluvial land. Houses are not usually built on bogs or marshy land, and in the course of years the ground round most houses has been made dry enough for use, and hence elaborate work in drains, bottoming with brick-rubbish or concrete, is often wasted labour. In some years even in the west country we may see plants lying half-dead on the ground for want of water, and the same plants in deep soil, and where no thought was given to drainage, in perfect health at the same time. There are places where, owing to excessive rainfall and the wet nature of the soil, we may have to drain, but it is often overdone. Apart from the over-draining for ordinary garden things, it may be well to remember that flower garden plants in our country are often half starved through drainage, like Phlox and scarlet Lobelia, which in their own country are marsh plants, or inhabit the edges of pools. In the southern country they simply refuse to show their true character where the ground is drained in the usual way. The men who began the crusade about draining land in this century found its effects so good on sour, peaty clay and saturated land, and talked so well and so much about it, that some harm has been done draining where it does more harm than good not being uncommon. Gardeners' land and farmers' land are usually wholly different. SOILS AND CULTIVATION IN THE FLOWER GARDEN. 387 Drainage is often the simplest and best way for the farmer to alter the tilth and texture of saturated and cold or sour land, whereas the flower gardener, dealing with a small space for his beds, has the power of altering the tilth and texture of his land in a thorough way, and so making it open to the influence of rain and air. The position of the flower garden also is usually wholly different from that of agricultural land. The flower garden itself is frequently raised, and in a terraced or at all events often dry position, where the main drainage is long settled, and gently raising the surfaces of flower beds, to a height say of 4 inches to 6 inches, enables us to get rid in our flower beds of the surface water, which very often troubles the farmer, and which he can best get rid of by drainage. By raising our beds slightly not in the ugly way practised in the London parks we free the surface of any water lying on it, and this is a good plan to follow, except in hot and shallow soils, where it would be better not to raise the surface above the level. ROTATION IN THE FLOWER GARDEN. Flower gardeners do not think enough of change of crop, or what in farming is called rotation. A farmer soon comes to grief if he does not change his crops, but in gardens one may see the same plants grown in the same beds for many years. A cause of the poor growth of hardy flowers is want of change of soil, and in addition the soils in which they grow are often robbed by a network of hungry tree roots. There are botanic gardens in Europe where the same wretched plants have been starving in the same soil for fifty years, and little ever done to help them. So, again, there are favourite borders in gardens which are almost as much in want of a change, but, owing to their position sometimes being a favourite one, people hesitate to give it to them. In such cases we should prepare a new border for the plants and remove them, and trench, renew and improve the soil of the old beds or borders, after- wards taking a crop as different as possible for a year or two. If we take a crop of annual flowers, the annuals rejoice in the fresh ground, and they might be followed by a year of Carnations, after which a re- turn might be made to a good mixed border. When, however, we do change a border or bed, the staple of the soil ought to be made deep enough changed if need be. In dealing with a soil which is. too rich in humus, an addition of lime will improve it, but generally the soils are too poor, and require renewing and deepening. Bedding plants have the advantage of fresh soil and often a total change every year, and hence the bright vigour they often show when the seasons are fair. A little of the same generous change would help Roses, Lilies, and all the finer things in an equal degree, though many of these will be quite happy in the same soil for years if it be well pre- pared at first. C C 2 388 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. WEEDS AND RUBBISH HEAPS. Upon suggesting once in a beautiful garden in Essex that an opening should be made from a pleasure ground into a picturesque grove of old Oak trees, we were met with the objection that the rubbish heap was there ; and, on making our way in, this was found to cover half an acre almost picturesque in its wild up and down heaps of rubbish, earth, leaves, branches and broken crockery, &c. A fire was kept alight for six months in the year to get rid of some of this rubbish, and this being very near the house, was a frequent nuisance in certain states of wind and air. This is a common state of things, but as wrong in practice as it is unnecessary. We gain nothing by destroying organic matter by fire, but lose a good deal and get only the ash. The garden weeds, the good soil scraped up with them, and the many other things that go to make up these rubbish heaps would be of far more use put directly over young trees to protect and nourish them. Refuse of hard materials, such as iron or delf, should be buried separately ; and if any roots of bad weeds occur, they may be burned at once where they are. Yet there is no practice more firmly established than the ancient one of the garden rubbish heap, often disfiguring spots which might be pretty with ferns or shrubs, encouraging vermin, filth, and vile odours, all things that we do not want in or near the flower garden or pleasure ground. We may see these heaps made even where labour is scarce and the gardener is over-weighted with work, he adding to his toil by barrowing or carting away weeds and earth. This means moving the costly product two or more times : ( I ) to the rubbish heap ; (2) turning over and burning ; and (3), finally, again removing the result in ash ; whereas we may easily, as in the above and many other cases in a garden or pleasure ground, get rid of it at once by one move, and find it acts in a more useful way, even as a fertiliser, than when we go through the ugly labours, pains, and penalties of forming the regulation rubbish heap. Nor does this plan in the least prevent us burning where burning is a prompt aid in getting rid of the roots and bad weeds or any worn-out branches or roots that incommode us ; but in such a case we burn on the spot and scatter the refuse there or thereabouts. Here are a few instances of other ways of getting rid of what usually is carried or carted to a rubbish heap, that were carried out during one summer in my own garden. Protecting Hollies. A very fine group of Hollies was planted on a slope facing south. Seedling trees of the largest size that could be planted with safety were brought from a distance by rail. These were planted in May, and afterwards any grass mowings, prunings, weeds, clearings, reeds, dead roots of shrubs, &c., that happened to be near, were placed at the base of each Holly for about 3 feet all round ; also, where any ground near was cleared of summer SOILS AND CULTIVATION IN THE FLOWER GARDEN. 389 weeds, these were also put over the roots, even branchlets of evergreens being used, as preventing the direct action of the sun. Not one of these Hollies was lost in spite of the drought, though the turf near, on the same slope, was like dust, but the covering of waste material given kept the earth about the trees moist during the drought. A Bamboo Plantation. A plantation of hardy bamboos was made in quite a different situation in mid June a hollow slightly shaded with trees, and therefore not nearly so much exposed to danger as the southern slope above mentioned. It is known, however, that bamboos are the better for mulching in any situation, and as there was no manure at hand, and even if there had been it would have needed a good deal of carting, the waste and weeds near were placed over the surface of the ground. In this case, mowings, dead flower- stems, scum of a pond (which was very bad this year, coming off in masses of most indestructible stuff), were laid over the surface of the bamboo plantation, in which the plants did remarkably well, and never turned a leaf. On taking up some plants of the Japan bamboo, which had been put in too thickly and were wanted for another place, we found the roots and suckers growing finely after only five months' growth. Protecting Young Orchards. An orchard of fine young standard trees was planted in 1897 on a rather steep slope to the south, where the soil was not good. Faggots of little value, the sweepings of roads, and any vegetable refuse about the yards were put over these 4 feet all round. It would be impossible to see trees healthier or less affected by the starving drought of the hot year. Such aid would not be so precious in good valley land, but in many soils it is of the greatest help. Using Weeds Where They Grow. Very often weeds are removed from the surface of garden ground which would be much more useful if left where they grew buried, if there be room, or allowed to dry up if cut off very small, as they always, if possible, should be. The upper surface of garden ground is the best of it, owing to mulching and manuring, and to take away the best of the ground is bad gardening. What would become of the farmer who systematically removed an inch of the surface of his best fields ? It would be folly ; and it is no less so in the garden. The winter being a very mild one, encouraged the growth of weeds very much, and, where there was other work going on, they got too big. A planta- tion of barberries, evergreen and others, was in this state in early summer, the weeds nearly as high as the bushes. They were cut down with much labour, and I just came upon the scene when the carter was beginning to take away the surface of rich weeds and soil, and I left the weeds and soil where they were, spreading them equally 390 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. over the surface. As it happened, this was followed by many dry weeks, and the dead weeds formed a protection for the bed itself, which did not suffer in the least during the heats. To remove this mass of stuff would have been a costly labour, the surface would have been exposed to direct evaporation, and the plants starved by the drought. Fallen Leaves. Sometimes leaves are massed in these rubbish yards, and the leaf question is bound up with it. Many people fidget at the sight of beautiful leaves in autumn, instead of enjoying them, as Shelley did, and gardeners are often sweeping them up when they would be much better employed planting good plants or shrubs. What are we to do with the garden leaves ? We cannot, it is true, have them in drifts in the flower garden, but it is better to let them all fall before we take much trouble in removing them. In gathering them up, we may best add them to a place set apart for leaf mould. But in every case where they may be let alone, it is much better to let them stay on the surface of wood, grove, shrubbery, or group of shrubs, for protection and nourishment for the ground. If any one during the hot years that we have recently had such as 1893 stood on a height in a woody country, he would see that, while the fields were brown and bare, and cattle and crops distressed for want of water, the wood retained its verdure, and the growth of the year was as good as usual. Why is this ? It is explained by the beautiful func- tion of the leaf, which not only does the vital work of the tree, but also shields the ground from the direct action of the sun, and when the leaf has fallen its work is not half done, as it protects and nourishes the roots throughout the year, so that in the hottest years the fibres of the trees find nourishment in decaying leaves. This surely is a reason that leaves should not be scraped out from beneath every shrub or tree, and there is no reason whatever why they should form part of the rubbish heap. And let it be noted that it is not only the better use of the waste as a fertiliser that is a gain, it is the saving of very troublesome labour, often occurring in the warmest part of the year, when every hour is precious over the really important work of the garden getting in crops of all kinds at the right time and in the best way. Also we save the disfigurement of the rubbish yard itself, and get rid of the smoke of the fires kept going to consume it another nuisance about a country house or garden. The ash, the one result of all the waste of labour and filth of the rubbish heap is certainly of some use, but not one-sixth the good of the stuff used in the direct way. And it is not only the sum- mer aid we gain, but all we put on in this way settles down in winter to a nice little coat of humus, which nourishes the roots and protects them from frost as well as heat. SOILS AND CULTIVATION IN THE FLO WE R GARDEN. 391 WEEDS AND THEIR SEEDS. The destruction of the seeds of weeds is the only shadow of reason for the rubbish heap, but it is bad gardening to let weeds go to seed. And though certain areas of town gardens have no neighbours from which seeds can be blown, this is not so in the country, where weed seeds from woods and fields and young plantations abound in the air. There is no good remedy for weeds except early and regular hoeing and cleaning. Moreover, there are many conditions in which even if we do allow weeds to go to seed, they can be used as a mulch ; as, for example, in young orchard and turf and other planting in or near turf where weed seeds can do no harm. Burning therefore should be kept to a few essential uses. The source of success in flower gardening is to be always busy sowing or planting ; there is scarcely a day or a week when some things have not to be planted or attended to if we want a succession of beauty ; but when the men are from morn to night busy hoeing and watering and with other routine work, it is difficult to get time for securing the successions of plants of various kinds on which the lasting beauty of a garden at all seasons, depends. The old labour of grubbing up walks, which was so constant and dreadful in the very heat of summer, is got rid of by weed-killers, of which one dressing a year will sometimes suffice to keep the walks clean, and, better still, prevent us from having to rip up the surfaces of the walks, which was common in every garden until quite recently, and is carried on still in many places. The great gain of abolishing ignoble routine work, in this and all ways we can, is that we have time for the real work of the garden, in adding to its beauty with new or beautiful things and improved ways of growing and arranging them. FIRE AS A CLEANSER. A fire on the spot is a great aid in the garden when active changes have to be made, and foul borders or shrubberies renovated or replanted. Where, in stiff soils, Twitch and other bad weeds take possession, with perhaps a number of worn-out shrubs, the simplest way is often to burn all, not trying to disentangle weeds from the soil in the usual way, but simply skinning the surface 2 inches, or more if need be, and burning it and the vital parts of the weeds, first removing any plants that are worth saving. In light soils the labour of cleaning foul ground is less than in heavy, ad- hesive soils, but fire is a great aid in all such cases. If we are remov- ing ugly and heavy masses of Laurels or other evergreens, which have never given grace or flower to the scene, we should burn them root and branch at the same time, the result being that we get rid of our worst weeds, and turn enemies like Goutweed into ashes. This weedy surface of garden ground is often some of the best of the soil, and it is much better to keep it where it is, but purified. Regular cleaning will keep down all young weeds, but it is a struggle to get the old and 392 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. bad weeds out of the soil, owing to the broken roots of Bindweed, Twitch, and Goutweed which escape the closest forking and sharpest eyes. Next there is barrowing or carting to take the weeds to some rotting heap, while, on the other hand, the friendly fire eats up and kills at once the whole of the weeds, and converts them and the burnt surface they infested into good earth, and all this is gained at once without barrow or horse labour. So that, whatever we may think of cremation for ourselves, it is a good friend in fighting weeds and in helping us to thoroughly cleanse foul garden ground. We have not even the trouble that they had with Don Quixote's books to carry them into the yard to burn them as we can so often burn the weeds on the spot, insects and grubs included. EVAPORATION. Mulching or covering the surface with various kinds of light materials, such as leaf mould, cocoa fibre, manure, and sand, or anything, in fact, which gives an inch or two of loose surface to the earth, and prevents evaporation, is a great aid on many soils, but not so important where the beds have been thoroughly prepared, at least not for Roses, Carnations, and many of the best flowers, be- cause, if the roots can go down and find good soil as far as they go, they really do not want mulching, save on very hot soils. Mulching of various kinds or loosening the surface of the ground is, moreover, much easier to carry out in the kitchen and fruit gardens or orchard than in the flower garden, all the surface of which should be covered with living things during the fine season. This is the prettiest way and is not diffi- cult to carry out, as we often see it in cottage gardens and in Nature itself, where the health of the forest and other fertile lands depends to a certain extent on the ground being covered with vegetation, which of itself prevents direct evaporation. Taking a hint from this, I am very fond of covering the surface with dwarf living plants of fragile nature, which do not much exhaust the soil, and which in very hot weather may help to keep it moist. This is done in the case of Roses and other plants which, being rather small and bare at first, want some help to cover the ground, and a number of very pretty plants may be used for this purpose, which will give us bloom in spring and good colour on the ground. This, of course, prevents the use of manure, hitherto common on the surface of flower beds, Roses especially. It is much better that the aid of manure should be given at the root instead of the surface, and if we have plenty of manure and rich soil, there is no need for surface mulching it. Covering the surface with living plants is worth doing, for the sake of the effect alone, even if we have to pay for it in other ways. One result of it is that we may have a beautiful spring garden in ad- dition to the summer garden that is to say, if our garden is planted for summer and autumn with Roses and the like, by the use of Tufted Pansies and other dwarf plants in the beds we get pretty effects early in SOILS AND CULTIVATION IN THE FLOWER GARDEN. 393 the year, and through this living carpet may come up many pretty bulbs. Thus we may have in the same beds, with a little care and thought, two or three different types of flower life. The plants that may be used in this way are numerous, and mostly rock and mountain plants of Europe and cold countries, evergreen, often bearing pretty flowers and good in colour at all seasons, spread- ing into pretty carpets easily, and quite hardy, taking often a deeper green in winter, so that used over permanent beds they help to adorn the flower beds in winter ; and through them in the dawn of spring the early Crocus, Scilla and Windflower come up to find themselves in green turf of Thyme; Rockfoil ; Stonecrop ; or varying these according to soil, altitude or position ; the cooler north favouring many mountain plants, though some face the ardours of the warmer sun. THE WASTE OF MONOTONY. A grievous source of wasted effort in gardens is monotony arising from everybody growing what his neighbour grows. Thus it comes that the poor nurseryman who attempts to grow new or rare trees or shrubs very often finds them left on his hands, so that many country nurseries only grow a few stereotyped things, and we see public gardens and squares in London given over to the common Privet, the common Lilac let to run as a weed, and the common Elder, as in Lincoln's Inn Fields. Every lover of the garden could do something to check this fatal monotony by taking up some plant, or family of plants, for himself, which perhaps he is unable to find in the nursery gardens near at hand. There are not only many beautiful species of plant which are excluded from the ordinary nurseries, but even special nurseries, as for Roses, often exclude good kinds from their collections. It is not only the introduction of new plants or species we have to think of, but the raising of new forms (hybrids or varieties), the fine cultivation of neglected groups, as the beautiful forms of our native Primrose by Miss Jekyll ; the making more artistic use of old and well-known plants ; the skilful adaptation of plants and trees to the soil so as to get the highest beauty of which it is capable withou. 4 - excessive care, and without the deaths visible in many places after hard winters. Those who seek to vary the monotony of gardens must be prepared to face some trouble, and they must not take the least notice of what is thought right in the neighbourhood, or of what can be obtained from the nearest nursery garden. The further afield they look, probably the better in the end it will be for them if they would escape from the trammels of monotony. ATTACHING CLIMBERS AND FRUIT TREES TO WALLS. Per- haps the most miserable of all garden-work is that of nailing the shoots of trees to walls, on cold days, and the value of climbing plants now in our gardens is so great, that the best mode of 394 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. attaching them to walls is a question which, though it may seem a small one from some points of view, is important, and by no means settled for the best. In our self-styled scientific age the age also of the galvanised iron church and the ironmonger's fence, which is no fence our gardens have been invaded by galvanised wire, which is put up at great expense on garden and house walls, and is thought to be an essential improvement in all new work. The question does not merely concern walls for climbers round the house, but also the fruit garden. In our cold country we cannot ripen the Peach or the choicer fruits without the aid of walls ; galvanised wire is used in many gardens, but many growers discover that its effect on the trees is not good. There is a foundation of fact in these complaints, and they are common to French and English gardeners. In France, where the cultivation of wall fruit to supply the market with Peaches and fine winter Pears is carried out well, the best growers are against the use of galvanised wire, and think it much better to have the wooden lattice only against the wall ; so they keep to the older and prettier way of trellising the wall. For those who care about effect this is well, for whatever harm the wire may do to the tree, of its ugli- ness there can be no doubt. The old French and English way of fixing branches to walls having trellis-work made of Oak in about i inch strips was a very good one. Chestnut, too, was used, and was thought to be the best, and is often used now in France. One advantage of such woodwork is that it looks well on the walls even before we get our plants up, and there is the great facility of being able to tie where we wish, thus avoiding the use of nails and the other miseries of training against walls. I use Bamboos in forming trellises, with very good results. Trellis- work made of Oak or Chestnut lasted for many years, and was efficient, and a well-made trellis of this sort saves us all the trouble and injury to the wall of pock-marking it with nail holes, forming nests for destructive vermin. There remains the question of fixing our lattice-work of Oak, Chestnut, Pine or Bamboo. In old walls, holdfasts must be driven ; in new ones, pieces of iron with strong eyes should be laid along here and there in the courses of brick or stone as the work goes on. It is a great thing to be relieved from the ugliness and injury of the galvanised wire. We would like to go a little further and keep to old ways of tying things on walls. Those who look through their bills may perhaps come upon items, and not small ones, for tarred twine and other bought means of tying. In old times people would have used the shoots of the yellow Willow, which did the work of tying fruit trees to walls better than any tarred twine as far as the main branches were concerned. To say that it is impracticable now is nonsense, as in some great nurseries where millions of plants are SOILS AND CULTIVATION IN THE FLOWER GARDEN. 395 sent out every year, every lot is tied with Willow. Also, the French way of using a Rush for tying, instead of twine or matting, is an excellent one. It is a Rush which is harvested and dried carefully, and it is the simplest thing in the world to tie with so as to allow for the free growth of the branch, and yet keep the shoot quite secure. THE STAKING OF TREES AND SHRUBS. Whether staking trees and shrubs or wind-waving is the w r orst evil is doubtful, but much harm is done by staking, and it is costly and troublesome, especially so -for those large trees that are seen in pleasure grounds, surrounded by a kind of crinoline of galvanised wire. The evil of staking arises largely from planting trees too big as " specimens." To plant these is tempting to many, but generally we get a much better result from small trees that want no staking ; but planting ornamental trees of considerable size is so common that staking is frequently done, and very often the trees are injured by the stakes, not only at the root, but also much in the stem, which sometimes leads to canker. It is known that canker (as in the Larch) enters the trees more readily where the wounds are ready to receive the spores, and we often see fruit-trees badly cankered through staking. The wire-roping business for trees is a nuisance, as the ropes cut in if neglected in the least, and the tree often snaps there, and when the ropes are finally removed the trees often go down in gales. The best cure for the waste and dangers of staking is to plant small trees, but often where this is not done for any reason (and some- times there may be good ones, as in planting vigorous-growing Poplars to shut out things we do not care to see) we may do good by cutting in the side shoots close to the stem. This leaves the tree with little for the wind to act upon, and we escape the need of staking without injury to the tree. Transplanting trees involves so much injury to the roots that somewhat reducing the tops does good in all ways. At Kew, when a large tree is transplanted, it is guyed up with three lengths of soft cord (commonly called " gaskin ") if it appears likely to become loose. This is better than a stake, cheaper, and less likely to injure the stem by abrasion. A tree with branches low enough can be stayed by driving into the ground three stout stakes at equal distances round the tree, nearly at the circumference of the branches, and tying a branch to each of the stakes. The picturesque grouping of trees and shrubs is a gain in the avoidance of the trouble and danger of staking. For example, the pinetum, as seen in many country seats, is a scheme in which trees are isolated and dotted so as to encourage them as " specimens," which is the wrong way and the ugly way. In Nature these trees are almost always massed and grouped in close ways, so that they shelter each other, and if in planting them we plant as a wood, closely, thin- 396 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. ning them very carefully, we find them make trees and give better effects than in the common way they are generally placed, as the trees protect and comfort each other, and shade the ground. I have planted true pinetums in this way, the trees in which have stood violent gales without giving way, and which were never staked, any more than they are on their wild mountain homes. But in this case, as with sailors, we must begin young. WASTED LABOUR IN GLASS-HOUSES. Among the evils of the " bedding " and " carpet system " is the need of costly glass-houses in which to keep the plants all the winter, not one in ten of these plants being as pretty as flowers that are as hardy as the Grass in the field, like Roses, Carnations, and Delphiniums. It is absurd to grow Alternan- theras in costly hothouses, and not to give a place to flowers that endure cold as well as Lilies-of-the-Valley. Glass-houses are useful helps for many purposes, but we may have noble flower gardens with- out them. To bloom the Rose and Carnation in mid-winter, to ripen fruits that will not mature in our climate, to enable us to see many fair flowers of the tropics for these purposes glass-houses are a precious gain ; but for a beautiful flower garden they are almost needless, and the numerous glass-houses in our gardens may be turned to better use. It would not be true to say that good hardy flower-gardening is cheaper than growing the half-hardy plants that often disgrace our gardens, as the splendid variety of beautiful hardy plants tempts one to buy, and it is therefore all the more necessary not to waste money in stupid ways, apart from the heavy initial cost and ceaseless costly labour of the glass-house system of flower garden decoration. For those who think of beauty in our gardens and home land- scapes, the placing of a glass-house in the flower garden or pleasure ground is a serious matter, and some of the most interesting places in the country are defaced in that way. In the various dividing lines about a country house there can be no difficulty in finding a site for glass-houses where they cannot injure the views. There is no reason for placing the glass-house in front of a beautiful old house, where its colour mars the prospect, though often, in looking across the land towards an old house, we see first the glare of an ugly glass shed. If this were the case only in the gardens of people lately emerged from the towns to the suburbs of our great cities, it would not be so notable ; but many large country places are disfigured in this way. And, apart from fine old houses and the landscape being defaced by the hard lines and colour of the glass-house, there is the result on the flower garden itself ; efforts to get plants into harmonious and beautiful relations are much increased if we have a horror in the way of glass sheds staring at us. Apart from the heavy cost of coal or coke, the smoke-defilement of many a pretty garden by the ugly vomit of these needless chimneys ; the effect on young gardeners in SOILS AND CULTIVATION IN THE FLOWER GARDEN. 397 leading them to despise the far more healthy and profitable labours of the open garden ; all these have to be considered in relation to the cost, care and ugliness of the glass nursery as an annual preparation for plants for the flower garden, these plants being with few exceptions far less precious in every way for flower garden or for room than those that are quite hardy. A few years ago, before the true flower garden began to get a place in men's minds, many of the young gardeners refused to work in places where there was no glass. A horrid race this pot and kettle idea of a garden would have led to : men to get chills if their gloves were not aired. I met the difficulty myself by abolishing glass altogether. Only where we do this we must show better things in the open-air garden, than ever flourished in a glass house. WASTED LABOUR IN MOVING EARTH. Next to moving heaven, the heaviest undertaking is that of moving earth, and there are no labours of gardening men that lead to more wasted effort, where care and experience are not brought to bear on the work. Labour in many parts of the country has become dearer, and the question of moving earth without needless waste of energy is a serious one for all who have much groundwork to do. We may often see instances of misuse of labour ; the soil from foundations carted far, and then put deep over the roots of old trees, to their death or injury. A man of resource in dealing with ground would place this soil in some well-chosen spot near, having first removed the surface soil, and, resurfacing with it, planted it with a handsome group of beautiful shrubs or trees, so that the surface would in no ugly way differ from the general lie of the ground near. The presence of carts and horses seems very often to lead to waste of labour in carting earth when barrows and a few planks would do the work better. In necessary groundwork there is inevitably much moving of earth, in getting levels, carrying roads and paths across hollows, and for various other reasons. We should make a rule of getting the soil in all such cases as near at hand as possible. Mistakes in levelling ground are frequent, and often lead to twice moving of soil. The best man for groundwork is often one with a good navvy's experience, and many such men know how to make heavy groundwork changes without putting a barrowful of soil in the wrong place. Very often spare soil has to be removed, and in this necessary work ugly mounds are made, when, by a little care in choosing the place well and never leaving any ugly angles, but making the ground take the natural gradation of the adjacent earth, it could be well planted. Hardy trees take well to such banks if the good soil is kept on the top, as it should always be. The same remarks may serve for the moving of turf, gravel, stones 398 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. and soil, save that to get good soil for the formation of beds, we must go where the good soil is ; whereas for the bottoms of roads and paths, the support of banks, base of terraces or mounds, much saving may be effected by getting what we want in the nearest possible place, never fearing to make a hollow if need be, as that can be so easily planted with some free-growing tree or shrub ; the hardy Pines, like Scotch, Corsican, and Silver Firs, being excellent for this, as they thrive in almost any earth, and often on surfaces from which the whole bed of fertile soil has been removed. Apart from essential groundwork, there is the diversifying of ground artificially, as may be seen in our parks, owing to the false idea that you cannot make level ground picturesque with planting. Proof that this is not impossible may be seen in many a level country planted by Nature, as in the forest plain and in many a park and pleasure ground both in Germany, France, and Britain. Trees are given to us to get this very variety of broken surface, and the idea that to make a place picturesque we must imitate and usually badly imitate naturally diversified ground is most inartistic. No doubt broken ground has many charms, but so has the fertile plain, and the best way is to accept and enhance the beauty of each variety of surface. To do so is the planter's true work. In cities and suburbs there is often occasion to conceal ugly objects, and earth, if to spare, may be used well and wisely in raising at once the base of a plantation of young trees ; but an enormous amount of labour given to making artificial mounds might be saved without any loss, and with much gain to garden design. There are yet certain landscape gardeners who make mounds or earth-pimples everywhere, regardless of the growth of the plants. If people would only spend more on good planting and less on trying to " diversify," as they call it, the surface, it would be better for our gardens. In many cases when planting time comes, so much effort has been spent on needless groundwork, that there are no means to spare for the best work of all in garden making, namely, good planting. But any one can make earth dumplings of the sort we see too many of, while planting to give enduring and beautiful effects requires a knowledge of trees and shrubs. In our public parks the mania for foolish groundwork may be often seen, one of its results being the burial of the tree base, surrounded, perhaps, with a brick-lined pit-hole, as in St. James's Park. Shooting earth and rubbish to fill up the hollows on such a precious space as Hampstead Heath is common, and as the surrounding district is busy in building, these attempts are, we fear, often the result of finding a shoot for earth and rubbish. Therefore the bringing in of such rubbish should be absolutely forbidden, as the only effect of this filling up of SOILS AND CULTIVATION IN THE FLOWER GARDEN. 399 hollow places is to destroy the incidents of the ground, usually far prettier in form than the results of smug levelling up, or, worse still, the formation of such artificial mounds as we see examples of in the parks. Even the squares in our level Thames valley are not exempt from outrage of this kind, of which, perhaps, the most hideous example is that of Euston Square, in which a high and ugly earth-bank has been put all around the Square, so steep that even the cheap nursery rubbish of the London squares Privet and Elder refuses to grow upon it, and so in the summer days, instead of the grass and tree-stems and cool shadows, a bank of dusty rubbish meets the eye ! Another serious source of waste of the inexperienced in ground- work is burying the top surface, the most precious, and in many cases the result of ages of decay of turf and plants. In alluvial land and light friable hill soils this mistake does not so much matter, but in heavy land where there is a clay subsoil it is fatal. The first thing in all groundwork is to save the top soil with the greatest care, for the sake of using it again in its proper place ; and how to save it, so that it may be available at the end of the work, is one of the most essential things the good ground-worker has to think of. Trenches for the reception of pipes, drains, and foundations should not be opened until the materials are at hand, as in wet weather, doing so often leads to the sides falling in and much needless labour. The direction of walks, roads, or designs for beds, borders, or gardens, should be carefully marked out and looked at from every point of view before carrying them out, having regard to their use and their relation to all things about them, and not merely to any plan on paper. Attention to this will often save much labour in groundwork. A cause of much waste of labour in moving soil is the usual way of treating mud after the cleansing of artificial ponds often a poor inheritance to leave to one's children. The silting up with mud goes on for ever, and while the mere expense of getting this out of the pond bed in any way is usually great, the cost is often increased through the idea that the stuff is of manurial value. This leads people frequently to heap it up on the banks to dry, then to liming it, and eventually to moving it onto the land, these various labours adding to the disfigurement of the foreground of beautiful ground often for a long time. Pond mud has very little manurial value generally, though it will differ to some extent according to the sort of soil the supply comes from. Usually, however, it has very slight value, and any labour bestowed upon it from that point of view is nearly always wasted. The best and simplest way is to put it direct on to some poor pasture near, or on to any ground where it may be got rid of with least labour to man or horse. Where the pond is ugly in outline and not essential 400 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. coccmeus. Simplest label for trees. either for its beauty in the home landscape or for its uses for fish or water store, it may often be worth considering whether the best way would not be to let the water off and turn the mud bed into a handsome grove of Willows and Dogwoods, and an excellent covert at the same time. I know nothing among trees quite so good in effect in the landscape, winter and summer, as the white, red, and yellow Willows, with an undergrowth of the red Dogwoods. LABELS. Where possible it is best to do without labels, except where we grow many kinds of things that differ by slight shades, as Carnations and Roses. The contents of a garden are usually in a state of change ; we are continually adding to and taking from them ; new plants are introduced ; a severe winter kills a number of shrubs, which we determine not to replant. Fashion changes the garden vegetation too, and then the perma- nent labels, cast and burnt into hardware and cemented in cast iron, are thrown aside. I prefer a label which can be used again, such as a cast-iron label of " "f shape " or, in other words, a slip of cast iron with an oblong head slightly thrown back. These are cast very cheaply in the iron districts. We have to paint them and write the names of the trees on them when they come to hand ; but that can be readily done by a handy painter in winter. In a large garden, where much naming is required, the best way is to train a youth who is likely to remain in the place, by placing a copy of the desired kind of letters before him. It is an advantage to give the label a coat of copal varnish when the letters are dry, and generally to use white letters on a black or dark ground, and give three coats of black over one of red lead. These are the best labels for the shrubs and choice young trees of a pleasure ground or flower garden. The painting will last for twenty years, and if we cease to cultivate the plants to which they belong, the labels may be repainted. With big trees it is always a mistake to use a ground label. The best labels for large trees are made of pieces of tin about 4^ inches by 3! inches. About half an inch of the upper edge should be bent at a right angle so as to form a little coping for the label, two holes should be made just beneath the little angle, through which a strong copper wire should be put and firmly nailed to the tree. ' Place it so as to be easily read, at about 5^ feet from the ground. Paint it dark brown or black with white letters and it will last for many years. All Position for tree label. SOILS AND CULTIVATION IN THE FLOWER GARDEN. 401 labels inserted in the grass in pleasure grounds are liable to be pulled up by mowers or others, and in this way to get lost, while the labels on the stems are safe from such mishaps. For low trees and bushes to which copper wire may be fixed with ease, the simplest and most enduring labels are those that are made of cast metal galvanised, and as they are very enduring they are best for hardy trees and shrubs. The words on them should be as few as may be, and all needless ones omitted. Thus in fruit-tree labels it is needless to use the word Pear or Apple, but simply the variety, as " Ribstone. " This plan makes these labels more legible than when they are crowded with letters. For half-hardy plants, annuals, and plants of a season only, wooden labels are often the most convenient. In most gardens it is the practice to write the name at the part that goes in the ground, and to go on from thence to the top a bad way, for the label always begins to decay at the base, and thus the beginning of the name is lost, while the end of it may be quite legible. After a little practice it becomes as easy to write from the top as from the other end, and, in writing the names, always begin as near the top as possible. The use of the wooden label should be given up in favour of labels with raised or incised letters. The main reason is that the endurance of the wooden label is too slight ; moreover, some kinds of good stamped-metal label are less conspicuous in the garden than the wooden label, and any kind of conspicuous label is bad. As regards labels for large gardens and trees, at Kew they now use a lead label of their own stamping, so that should many labels get out of use, as is the case in large collections, it is easy to melt them down and use the metal again for trees and enduring plants of all kinds. Cast-iron labels ; the simplest, neatest, and best form for shrubs, bold herbaceous plants, and for all cases where the label has to be fixed in the ground THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN AND HOME GROUNDS PART II CONTAINING THE FLOWERS, FLOWERING SHRUBS AND TREES, EVERGREENS, AND HARDY FERNS FOR THE OPEN-AIR FLOWER GARDEN IN THE BRITISH ISLES, WITH THEIR CUL- TIVATION AND THE POSITIONS MOST SUITABLE FOR THEM IN GARDENS D D 2 " A garden is a beautiful book, writ by the ringer of God : every flower and every leaf is a letter. You have only to learn them and he is a poor dunce that cannot, if he will, do that to learn them and join them, and then to go on reading and reading. And you will find yourself carried away from the earth by the beautiful story you are going through. . . . And then there are some flowers that seem to me like overdudful children : tend them but ever so little, and they come up and flourish, and show, as I may say, their bright and happy faces to you." DOUGLAS JERROLD. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN AND HOME GROUNDS ABELIA. Beautiful shrubs, of the Honeysuckle order, little grown in our country, and best in warm districts. The best known is the Rock Abelia (A. ru- pestris), a Chinese shrub, delicate pale pink in autumn, is always best planted in a raised bank in light soils, as it is then less liable to injury during winter. A. uniftora, also from China, is of like habit. The Three-flowered Abelia (A. triflora) coming from N. India, is less hardy than the Chinese kinds, but will clothe a wall in a few years. It bears fragrant pink flowers in clusters at the end of summer. A , floribunda is rather too tender for the open air, except in the mildest parts of the country ; it is ever- green, with clusters of rose-purple flowers, and makes a good wall shrub. In mild districts in the southern parts of England and Ireland Abelias sometimes do well in the open air. ABIES (Silver Fir]. Beautiful ever- green trees of northern and mountainous regions, many hardy in our country, and valuable timber trees in their own. Some of the Indian and Japanese Silver Firs suffer in our country by starting too early in our open winters and harsh springs ; in their own frost-bound mountain lands the young shoots only start when all danger is past, but with us they often start owing to the mild weather and are injured afterwards. One remedy for this is the selection, where possible, of exposed and elevated positions which will not en- courage early growth, and also, perhaps, not making the soil so rich and deep as is the rule. In our country, as with many of the conifers, the usual way is to put them apart as "specimens," but that, from an artistic point of view, and that of their own health, is not always the best. Where there is room these trees should be grouped together so as to shelter each other, in which state they are more effec- tive and protect the ground from the sun. Grafting of rare kinds, is very often re- sorted to, which should, in all cases where we hope to secure their long life and health, be on their own roots. There is still much confusion of names owing to the American trees having origin- ally been sent over under various names, and from different localities. The follow- ing selection includes the best and most distinct so far as the trees are known. In this, as in many other families, there are a variety of variegated and other sorts which are given fine names, these are generally useless to those who think of the natural dignity and beauty of the tree. We do not refer by this to natural geo- graphical varieties which may be valuable as coming from diverse climates. A. AMABILIS (Cascade Mountains Fir). A tall, massive tree with deep bluish-green foliage, and dark purple cones thriving in Britain. It is not easy to get it true to name and on own roots. Owing to propagating by grafting from side shoots the trees do not make a good leader. British Columbia. A. BALSAMEA (Balsam Fir). A slender northern forest fir rarely attaining a height of more than 80 feet, and much smaller in high Arctic regions. Hardy in our country but somewhat uncertain as to soil, owing to the great difference in our climate to its own. Northern America, and the mountains in N. E. America. A. BRACHYPHYLLA (Jesso Silver Fir). A handsome and hardy tree, over 100 feet high, with bright green foliage and short leaves. The densely crowded leaves are very silvery underneath, and the general effect of a healthy specimen very pleasing. Japan. A. BRACTEATA (Santa Lucia Fir). A stately tree, often 150 feet high in its native country. The foliage is long and rather scattered, sharply pointed. It is injured in some districts by starting early in the spring. There are very few good specimens of it in Britain, the best being at Tortworth Court and Eastnor. N. W. America. A. CEPHALONICA (Cephalonian Fir). A vigorous Fir of about 60 ft. high, hardy in this country in a variety of soils, but is best planted in an exposed position to prevent it starting into growth too early. In Britain, is handsome till it reaches a height of about 30 ft., when Abies magnifica. From a photograph by the Earl of Annesley, Castlewellan. ABIES THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. ABRONIA. 407 the leaders give way and the side branches grow vigorously. Even in old specimens with several heads it forms a picturesque tree. Greece. A. CILICICA (Mount Taurus Fir). A grace- ful tree, 40 ft. to 60 ft. high, with slender branches. It grows freely, but is apt to be injured by spring frosts ; the leaves are soft, and of a peculiar shade of green where it thrives. Cilicia. A. CONCOLOR (Hoary White Fir). A whitish tree of medium height, with thick, grey bark. The flat leaves are about 2 ins. long, and it has small, pale yellow cones. It is hardy in Britain, and a rapid grower. Colorado. A. FIRMA (Japanese Silver Fir). A tree of sometimes 150 feet in height, with light brown bark and foliage of a glossy green. Hardy in Britain, and grows freely when established, although it is late in starting. It is a handsome tree with short branches and stiff habit. Japan. A. FRASERI (Allegheny Fir). A forest tree, reaching 90 feet high in its own country, with smooth bark having resinous blisters. It is allied to the Balsam Fir, but has shorter and more oval cones, and leaves with silvery under- sides. Mountains of Virginia, N. Carolina, and Tenessee. A. GRANDIS (Puget Sound Fir). A beauti- ful and stately tree of over 200 feet, with dark green cones 2 to 3 inches long, and dark shin- ing leaves, white below. Hardy and free in various parts of Britain ; best in moist soils, trees in Scotland at Ochertyre being over 60 feet high in 1899. N. W. America. A. LASIOCARPA (Alpine Fir). A beautiful spire-like tree 150 feet high with white bark, and very small cones, purple, 2 to 3 inches long, and red male flowers, the foliage luxuriant and gracefully curved. Alaska, B. Columbia. A. LOWIANA (California White Fir). A lovely tree, often 150 feet high, long leaves and light green cones, turning yellow at maturity. Oregon to Southern California. A. MAGNIFICA (California Red Fir). A stately mountain tree of 200 to 250 feet, with brown bark (red within), and very large light purple cones 6 to 8 inches long. The foliage is dense on the lower branches, but thinner towards the top, of olive- green. Grows rapidly in Britain. N. California. A. MARIESI (Maries' Silver Fir) is a tall, pyramidal tree with robust spreading branches and dark purple cones 4 to 5 inches long. Japan. A. NOBILIS (Columbia Fir). A mountain tree, 200 to 300 feet high, with deep glaucous foliage and brown cones 5 to 7 inches long. Hardy and rapid grower in Britain. Oregon. A. NORDMANNIANA (Crimean Fir). A beautiful dark green tree, with rigid branches and dense dark green foliage and large cones. Hardy and good grower in Britain. Caucasus and Crimea. A. NUMIDICA (Mount Babor Fir). A tree of medium height with bright green foliage. Hardy in this country, but may fail from start- ing too early. Mountains of N. Africa, grow- ing with Cedars and Yew. A. PECTINATA (Silver Fir). A noble tree of the mountains of Central Europe, often planted in Britain, and growing well over 100 feet high at Longleat, Burton Park, and many other places. It was the first of the Silver Firs planted in Britain, and one of the best. When young it grows well in the shade of other trees, and it is an excellent tree to plant for shelter, as it will grow in the most exposed situations, and in peaty as well as ordinary soils. A. PINSAPO (Spanish Silver Fir). A large Fir, with bright green prickly foliage, and thriving in almost any soil and in chalky dis- tricts. Often suffers from too early a start in spring, and the usual method of isolation by which the grass exhausts the moisture. Spain. A. SACHALiNENSis(Saghalien Silver Fir). A tall tree with greyish-brown bark, narrow leaves and small cones. It is hardy, and of distinct and graceful habit, a native of Japan and Saghalien. A. SIBIRICA (Siberian Silver Fir). A slow- growing tree of medium size, injured by spring frosts. A. VEITCHI (Veitch's Silver Fir). A tall tree of over 100 feet. The bark is light grey and the leaves a bright glossy green with silvery streaks, the cones being a purplish-brown, thriving in Britain. Japan. A.WEBBIANA (Webb's Fir). An Indian Fir, sometimes nearly 100 feet high, and one of the most distinct. The leaves are deep glossy green with silvery undersides, and the cones are large. A variety Pindrow is without the silver markings. Both suffer much from spring frosts. Himalayas. F. M. ABRONIA (Sand Verbena.} Small Californian annuals or perennials of a trailing habit, with showy blossoms in dense Verbena-like clusters. A. arenaria (A. latifolia], a honey-scented perennial, has trailing stems and dense clusters of lemon-yellow flowers ; A. umbellata, also an annual with succulent trailing stems and clusters of rosy-purple, slightly fra- grant flowers ; A.fragrans, forming large branching tufts from ij to 2 ft., and white flowers which expand late in the afternoon, and then emit a delicate vanilla-like perfume ; A. villosa is a fine species with violet flowers, and A. Crux MastcE a pretty species with white scented flowers. A. arenaria and A. umbellata should be planted in rather poor, light, and dry soil, on an open, well-drained border or rockwork. The seeds often remain dormant some time before vegetating ; those of A. umbellata germinate more readily. A. fragrans, which does not ripen seed in this country, is best in friable soil, and is larger than the others. Abronias flower in summer 408 ABUTILON. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. ACANTHOLIMON. and autumn, and are pretty and effective when well planted. - Nyctaginece. ABUTILON Plants mostly requiring greenhouse temperature in winter, but growing freely out-of-doors in summer, and a graceful aid in the flower garden, Abutilon, Boule de Neige. at least in the southern counties. A. Darwini and its forms, as well as the varieties related to A. striatum, under favourable conditions, grow from 4 ft. to 8 ft. in height. They can be made bushy by stopping, and they flower better than they do in pots. They are useful among the taller and more graceful plants for the flower garden, and are 'easily raised from seed and cuttings. A. vitifolium is a very handsome wall-plant in mild districts, and several sorts may be grown in the open air in gardens in warm sea-shore districts. A. Sellowianum mannoratum is a fine variety. Among the best in cultivation are the following, and new varieties are often raised : Admiration, Anna Crozy, Buisson d'Or, Darwini majus, Elegantissimum, Grandiflorum, Lemoinei, Lady of the Lake, Leo, Orange Perfection, Boule de Neige Delicatum, Pactole, Darwini tesselatum, Thompsoni variega- tum, vexillarium variegatum, Brilliant, King of Roses, Canarybird, Golden Queen, and Scarlet Gem. ACACIA (Tassel Tree}. Beautiful shrubs and trees, mostly thriving in warmer countries than ours, but some few are grown out of doors in the warmer parts of our country. A . Julibrissin. By confining this to a single stem and using young plants, or those cut down every year, one gets an erect stem covered with leaves as graceful as a Fern, and pretty amidst low-growing flowers. The leaves are slightly sensitive : on fine sunny days they spread out fully and afford a pleasant shade ; on dull ones the leaflets fall down. It is better raised from seed. A. lophantha, though not hardy, grows freely in the open air in summer, and gives graceful verdure among flowers. It may easily be raised from seed sown early in the year to give plants fit for putting out in early summer. Plants a year old or so, strong and well hardened off for planting out at the end of May, are best. A. dealbata may be grown in gardens in the south, and against walls. And other kinds, such as armata and vertidlata are hardier, and being closer in habit, better fitted for open air culture away from walls in southern sheltered gardens. AC^ENA. Alpine and rock plants be- longing to the Rose family. Though not pretty in their flowers, if we except the crimson spines that give a charm to the little New Zealand A. micropJiylla, these plants have a neat habit of growth that fits them for very dwarf carpets in the rock garden, and now and then, to cover dry parts of borders and tufts on the margins of borders, they are very useful ; among the most useful being argentea, millefolia, pulchella, ovalifolia, and sar- mentosa, all of free growth and increase. ACANTHOLIMON (Ptickly Thrift). Dwarf mountain herb plants of the Sea Lavender order, extending from the east of Greece to Thibet, and having their headquarters in Persia. The flowers re- semble those of Statice and Armeria, but the plants form branching, cushion-like tufts ; the leaves are rigid and spiny. They are dwarf evergreen rock-garden Acaena microphylla. and choice border plants. We have had the following species for years, but have not been very successful in propagating any except A. glumaceum, which is the freest in growth, the others being very slow. Cuttings -taken off in late summer and kept in a cold frame during winter make good plants in two years, but by layering one gets larger plants sooner. All are hardy, and prefer warm, sunny ACANTHOPANAX. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. ACER. 409 situations in sandy loam. There are only a few kinds in cultivation, such as A. glumaceum, venustum, and androsacenm. A. Kotschyiis handsome, with long spikes rising well above the leaves and white flowers ; A. melananthum has short, dense spikes, the limb of the calyx being Acantholimon glumaceum. bordered with dark violet or black ; and other pretty species, not all in cultivation perhaps, are cephalotes, acerosum, laxi- florum, libanoticum, and Pinardi^ and so far as we know them, thriving best on the sunny rock-garden, in light deep soil. Where large plants of the rare kinds exist, it is a good plan to work some cocoa-nut fibre and sand, in equal parts, into the tufts in early autumn, but before doing this some of the shoots should be gently torn so as to half sever them at a heel ; water to settle the soil. Many of the growths thus treated will root by spring. Cuttings made in the ordinary way are uncertain, but August or Sept- ember is the best time to try them. E. J. ACANTHOPANAX.^. ricini- folium is the most striking of the shrubby Araliads, hardy and grows freely at Kew. Professor Rein, of the University of Bonn, mentions trees 90 feet high, with stem 9 feet to 12 feet in circumference in the forests ot Yezo, the great northern island of Japan. A. sessiliflorum is a new species, a native of China, Manchuria, and Japan. It has rugose, dark green leaves, consist- ing of three to five leaflets, the midribs having a few scattered bristles. A. isspino- sum. A small shrub with leaves divided into five segments (sometimes only three). The stem is armed with a few sharp prickles. This plant is more frequently grown in a greenhouse than out of doors, more especially the variegated form. They are both hardy in sheltered-positions, although they do not grow so freely as in- doors. A . palmatuni atro-sanquineum, p. sanquineum, which have very rich crimson foliage, and pinnatifidum, in which the leaves are much divided, are the finest of the Japanese kinds. The plants should not be grafted. W. J. B. ACANTHUS (BeaSs-breech\ Stately perennials with fine foliage, mostly com- ing from the countries round the Medi- terranean, and are hardy, though the foliage may suiter now and then. On rocky banks, borders of the bolder sort, and in almost any position among the more vigorous hardy plants they look well, and will live in shade, yet to flower well should have full sun. Acanthuses succeed best on warm, deep soil, though they will grow in almost any garden soil. They are easy of increase by division of the roots in winter, and may be raised from seed. Acanthacece. Acanthus. There are several hardy kinds. A. hispanicus, A. longifolius, A. mollis, A. in. latifolius (A. lusita?iicus\ A niger, and A. spinosissimus. ACER ( Maple]. Trees, mostly of 4IO ACER. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. ACIPHYLLA. northern regions, often of the highest value in pleasure-ground planting, some of the species breaking into a great number of varieties. Among the best are the Silver Maple (A. eriocarpum), naturally a very beautiful tree, though we get from it variegated and other forms which are not of much value, except the cut-leaved one. The Norway Maple (A. platanoides), a beautiful tree, has many varieties, the purple ones being effective. The common Sycamore Maple (A. Pseudo-platanus) has also a number of variegated and other varieties, though none of them better than the natural tree ; it is doubtful if there is any finer tree than this when old. The sycamore walk in the Bishop's Garden, at Chichester, and the trees near Knole House, remind us of its fine quali- ties for avenues or groups ; and it is the best of forest trees to face the sea, as it Acer circinatum. does in Anglesey and many other places. Our Native Maple (A. campestre), is also a pretty tree, seldom planted in gardens, but of which fine trees may be seen at Mereworth in Kent and many other places. The variegated forms are usually tree rubbish. The Virginian or Red Maple (A. rubrum) is a beautiful tree, as is also the Sugar Maple (A. sac- charinum) and the Colchic Maple (A. laetum). The Japanese Maples are inter- esting and beautiful, but not quite hardy and robust, except in the most favoured districts. Moreover, the fine varieties are often grafted, which makes them still less able to endure severe weather. A. Negundo is the kind which has given us the much overplanted variegated Maple so common in gardens. A. Ginnala is worth mentioning as a low tree almost a shrub whose leaves die off a rich red in colour. The North American and Euro- pean species are hardy as forest trees and thrive in almost any soil, but the Southern American kinds and Japanese Maples want warmer soils and positions to thrive in our climate. The variegated varieties in this family are too many, and our nurserymen insist upon sending out many forms which, however attractive they may appear to them in the hand, planted out soon give a poor and even harmful effect. The known and cultivated species are the following : Acer campestre, Europe ; caudatum, N. India ; cir- cinattim, California ; cissifolium, Japan ; carpini- folium, Japan ; cratcegifolium, Japan ; creticum, Asia Minor ; diabolicuin, Japan ; distylutn, Japan ; erio- carpum, N. America ; glabrum, N. America ; grandi- dentatum, N. America ; Heldreichi, E Europe ; heterophyllum, E. Europe ; hyrcanum, Caucasus ; insigne, Persia: japoniciti, Japan; Lobeli, S. Italy; macrophylliim, California ; micranthnm, Japan ; monspessnlanum, S. Europe ; Negundo, N. America ; nikoense, Japan ; opulifoliuin, Europe ; palmatnm, Japan ; pectinatum, N. India ; pennsylvanicum, N. America; pictum, Japan; platanoides, N. Europe; Pseudoplatanns, Europe, Asia ; rubrum, N. America ; rufinerve, Japan \saccharinum, N. America ; Sieboldi- anunt, Japan; sikkimense , N. India; spicatum, N. America ; tataricum, E. Europe ; Volxemi, Caucasus. ACHILLEA (Milfoil, Ycirrowj. - Hardy herbaceous and Alpine plants spread through Northern Asia, S. Europe, and Asia Minor, varying in height from 2 in. to 4 ft., their flowers being pale lemon, yellow, and white, but rarely pink or rose. They grow freely in most garden soils, and, with the exception of the dwarfer mountain species, increase rapidly. Some of the large kinds are fine plants for groups, as A. Eupatorinm. The alpine kinds, such as A. tomentosa, are for the rock-garden, or margins of choice borders. The best of the larger kinds are ex- cellent for large groups in mixed borders and also in shrubberies ; among the best being A. Eupatorium, A. Fili-pendula, A. millefolium roseum (a rose-coloured variety of a native plant), and A. Ptarmica (the Sneezewort), the double variety being one of the best perennials. The variety known as the " Pearl " is a larger improved form. A. ^Egeratum (Sweet Maudlin) is a distinct old kind, about 2 feet high. The dwarfer species come in for groups for the rock garden or the margins of rock borders, and, occasionally, as edging plants, most of them growing freely and being easy of increase ; but some of the higher Alpine kinds are not very enduring in our open winters. Among the best are A. aurea, A. rupesttis, A. tomentosa, and A. Clavenna. ACIPHYLLA. A small and not im- portant group of New Zealand plants, suitable for the rock-garden in sandy soil. They may be raised from seeds or by division. A. Colensoi'^ quite a bush with bayonet-like spines, and A. squarrosa is called the Bayonet plant for this reason. ACONITUM. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. ACTINIDIA. 411 ACONITUM (Monkshood).l2\\ and handsome herbaceous plants, of theButter- cup order, dangerous from their poison- ous roots. There are many names not so many species, of value for our gar- dens. They should not be planted where the roots could be by any chance dug up by mistake for edible roots, as they are so deadly : almost all the kinds may be easily Aconitum Napellus (Monkshood). naturalised in copses or shrubberies away from the garden proper, or beside stream- lets or in openings in rich bottoms. The best kinds are A. Napellus and its forms, versicolor and others ; A. chinense, A. autumnale, A.japonicum, and A. tauri- cum ; A. Lycoctonum is a yellow-flowered and vigorous species. They are from 3 ft. to 5 ft. high and flower from July to September. A. Fortunei, the old A. chinense of gardens, is the best for late blooming. ACORUS (Sweet Flag). Waterside or marsh plants of the arum order, easily cultivated, and of wide distribution. A. Calamus (Sweet Flag) is a marsh or water- side plant, now naturalised in most parts of Europe. A variety has gold-striped leaves. A. gramineus (Grass-leaved Acorus) has a slender creeping rhizome covered with numerous Grass-like leaves, from 4 in. to 6 in. in length, and there is a variety with white-streaked leaves. This plant is often seen in the little bronze trays of water-plants in Japanese gardens and houses. China. ACROCLINIUM. A.roseumjhK, only species, is a pretty half-hardy annual from Western Australia, growing over i foot high with rosy-pink flowers, which, owing to their chaffiness, are used as "everlasting" flowers. Seeds should be sown in frames in March, and the seedlings planted at the end of April or early in May in a warm border ; or the seeds may be sown in the open ground in fine rich soil at the end of April. If the flowers are to be dried as everlast- ings, it will be well to gather them when fresh and young some when scarcely out of the bud state. This annual might be 'made graceful use of in mixed beds. There is a white variety. Composites. A C T JE A (Baneberry}. Vigorous perennials of the Buttercup order, 3 ft. to 6 ft. high, thriving in free soil ; flower spikes, white and long, with showy berries. The white Baneberry has white berries with red footstalks. The var. rubra of A. spicata has showy fruit ; the plants are best suited for rich bottoms in the wild garden, as though the foliage and habit are good, the flowers are short- lived in the ordinary border, and some- what coarse in habit. A. spicata (com- mon Baneberry or Herb Christopher), A. racemosa (Black Snakeroot), A. alba (white Baneberry), having white berries with red stalks, and one or two American forms of the common Baneberry are in cultivation. The flowers have often a very unpleasant smell. ACTINELLA. North American com- posites of which there are three kinds in gardens, dwarf-growing plants with yellow flowers. The finest is A. grandiflora (Pigmy Sunflower), a native of Colorado,, an alpine plant with flower-heads 3 in. in diameter, growing from 6 in. to 9 in. high. The other species, A. acaulis, A. Brandegei, and A. scaposa, are somewhat similar. They are all perennial, and thrive in a light soil. ACTINIDIA. Climbing summer-leaf- ing shrubs of the Camellia order from Japan and China,thriving in warm rich soil. They all have climbing or twining stems and bear waxy white flowers. A. Kolomik- ta should be grown against a wall or against a buttress or tree trunk placed against the wall, on which the stems sup- port themselves. The leaves are brightly tinted in autumn, and the flowers of A., polygama are fragrant. A. volubilis is free-growing and has small white flowers. 4 i2 ADENOPHORA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. .T.SCULUS. ADENOPHORA (Gland Bellflower}. Hardy perennials of the Bellflower family, 1 8 in. to over 3 ft. high. They are mostly from Siberia and Dahuria, with flowers generally blue in colour. Some of the most distinct species are A. corono- pi folia, A. denticulata, A. Lamarckii, A. liliiflora, A. polymorpha, A. stylosa, and A. pereski&folia. In these occur slight variations in colour and size of flower. Their thick fleshy roots revel in a rich loam, and like a damp subsoil ; they are impatient of removal, and should not be increased by division. Unlike the Platy- codons, they seed freely, and are easily increased. ADIANTUM (Maidenhair Fern). Elegant ferns, few of which are hardy, growing best in a rough fibry peat, mixed with sand and lumps of broken stone or brick. A. pedattim, the hardy N. American kind, is charming among shade- loving plants in the wild garden with the more beautiful wood-flowers, such as Trillium, Hepatica, and blue Anemone, in moist soil. A. Capillus veneris, the British Maidenhair Fern, is best in a sheltered nook at the foot of a shady wall, and in the southern warmer countries might be found near fountain basins and moist corners of the rock garden and hardy fernery. There are several varie- ties or forms of this Maidenhair. ADLUMIA (Climbing Fumitory). Climbing biennial plants. One species only (A.cirrhosd) is known, a rapid grower. Its Maidenhair-Fern-like leaves are borne on slender twining stems with abundant white blossoms, about \ in. long. There is a variety with purple flowers. It thrives in a warm soil, and its place is trailing over a shrub or twiggy branch, placed either against a wall or in the open. ADONIS (Pheasants Eye}. Beautiful perennial or biennial plants, belonging to the Buttercup order, chiefly natives of cornfields in Europe and Western Asia, dwarf, with finely divided leaves, and red, yellow, or straw-coloured flowers. A. vernalis (Ox-Eye] is a handsome Alpme herb, forming dense tufts 8 in. to 15 in. Adlumia cirrhosa. high of finely divided leaves in whorls along the stems. Blooming in spring, with large, yellow, Anemone-like flowers 3 in. in diameter. Of A. vernalis there are several varieties, the chief being A. v. sibirica, which differs in having larger flowers. A. apennina is a later-blooming form, and is a good plant for moist spots on the rock-garden. A. pyrenaica is from the Eastern Pyrenees, but with broader petals. A. amurensis is a new kind from Manchuria, with finely cut leaves, bloom- ing with the snowdrop, and seems to be of easy culture. A. autumnalis is a pretty bright-coloured annual. The rock-garden or borders of sandy loam suits the perennial kinds well. Division, or by seed sown as soon as gathered. JESCULUS (Horse Chestnut, Buckeye}. The Horse Chestnuts are mostly me- dium-sized trees, hardy in nearly every soil, and excellent for park and garden. /ETHIONEMA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. AGATH^A. 413 The common variety is an exception as to size, and one of the most beautiful of flowering trees. There is at least one handsome variety of it with very long spikes. The red Buckeye (jE. Pavia) is a handsome small tree, with dense and large foliage, together with bright red flowers in large loose clusters in early summer. Sometimes it rises from 15 to 20 ft. high, but some of its varieties are only low-spreading or trailing shrubs. sE. humilis, pendula, arguta, and laciniata are forms of sE. Pavia, and the plants are useful for grouping with taller trees. AZ. flava (the yellow Buckeye) is common, and sometimes 40 ft. high. It has some- thing of the habit of the red Horse Chest- nut (;. rttbicunda), but smoother leaves. A variety called purpurascens (sometimes AZ. discolor) has much showier flowers, larger, and of a reddish tint. The ^Esculi, named in gardens and nurseries as ^E. neglect a, hybrida, pubescens, Lyoni, rosea, and pallida, may be included in one of the foregoing species, and some differ but slightly from them. They are all low trees or large shrubs, coming into leaf early and losing their foliage in early autumn, especially in light or dry soils. One of the best of all the forms is the brightly-coloured sE. Brioti. A distinct species is the Californian Buckeye (;. californica\ which in this country does not usually rise above shrub height. It has slender-stalked leaves, broad leaf- lets, and in early summer dense erect clusters of white or pinkish fragrant flowers ; a valuable hardy tree. Quite different from the rest is the North American AZ. parviflora (dwarf Horse Chestnut), a handsome shrub, 6 ft. to 10 ft. high, flowering in late summer. Its foliage is much like that of other ^Esculi, and its small white fragrant flowers are in long, erect, plume-flowers. A variety of the preceding, ^E. macrostachya, is an August-blooming North American shrub of great beauty. The growth is spreading and bushy, with creamy white flowers in dense plumy spikes. A specimen on the outskirts of the lawn is effective. We have grouped the Pavias with the ^Esculus. 1THIONEMA A beautiful group of Alpine and rock plants found on the sunny mountains near the Mediterra- nean. They grow freely in borders of well-drained sandy loam, but their true home is the rock-garden. The tall JE. grandiftorum forms a spreading bush about i ft. high, from which spring numerous racemes of pink and lilac flowers. It also grows well in borders in ordinary soil, and, when in flower in summer, is among the loveliest of alpine half-shrubby plants. As the stems are prostrate, a good effect will come from planting them where the roots may descend into deep earth, and the shoots fall over the face of rocks at about the level of the eye. Easily raised from seed, and thrive in sandy loam. There are many species, but few are in gardens. All the cultivated kinds are dwarf, and may be grouped with alpine plants. The other best kinds are A. cotidifolium^ A. pulchellum, A. persicum. AGAPANTHUS(4/m-rt;zZz7y). Beau- tiful bulbous plants from the Cape, with blue or white flowers in umbels on stems i8in. to 4 ft. high. A. umbellatus, the old kind, is hardy in some mild seashore districts, and a fine plant in rich warm soil, but better for the protection of leaves or cocoa fibre round the root in winter. It is worth growing for the flower garden and vases in summer, but should be pro- tected in winter by storing under stages, in sheds or cellars. The fleshy roots may be so stored without potting. Enjoysplenty of water during out-of-door growth, and is easily increased by division. Various new kinds have been introduced, but their out- of-door value has not been so well tested as the favourite old African Lily. Of the best-known kind, A. umbellatus, there are several varieties ; major and maximus are both larger than the type, and of maximus there is a white-flowered variety. There is a smaller one with white flowers, one with double flowers, and variegated- leaved kinds. A. Sounder sonianus is a distinct variety with deeper-coloured flowers than the type. The largest is A. umbellatus gigaiitetis, the flower-spikes of which attain a height of from 3 ft. to 4 ft., with umbels bearing from 1 50 to 200 flowers. The colour is a gentian blue, while the buds are of a deeper hue. A. u. pallidus is a pale porcelain blue, a short-leaved variety. A. u. minor is a dwarf variety. Of A. timbellatus there is a double-flowered variety, a dis- tinct plant. There is, moreover, A. u, atrocceruleus, a dark violet variety. A. 21. maximus has flower-stalks 4 ft. long, and full heads of flowers, one set opening while a second is rising to fill up the truss as the first crop fades. A. u. Mooreanus deciduous and hardy ; it grows from 12 in. to 1 8 in. high, has narrow leaves, and conies true from seed. A. u. albiftorus, a pure white kind, also is deciduous, the leaves turning yellow in autumn and dying off. It forms a stout root-crown. AGATH^EA (Blue Daisy}. A. ccelestis is a tender spreading Daisy-like plant, with AGAVE. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. AILANTUS. blue flowers, useful for the margins of beds. There is also a pretty golden variegated form. It is among the prettiest of the half-hardy bedding plants, but is not so effective or good on heavy soils. Cuttings or seed. AGAVE. Tropical-looking succulent plants of the Amaryllis order, of which the common kind, A. americana and its variegated varieties are useful for placing out-of-doors in summer in vases or pots plunged in the ground, and also for the conservatory in winter. When the plant flowers, which it does only once, and after several years' growth, it sends up a flowering stem, from 26 ft. to nearly 40 ft. high. The flowers are a yellowish- green, and are very numerous on the ends of the chandelier-like branches. It may be placed out-of-doors at the end of May, and should be brought in in October. Easily increased from suckers. A. Deserti, utahensis, ccerulescens, and Shaivi have lately come into cultivation, and are supposed to be hardy, in which case they will be interesting for the rock-garden. North America. AGERATUM (Floss Flowet ). Half- hardy herbaceous plants, varying in height from 6 in. to 24 in., with pale-blue, laven- der, or white blossoms. The dwarf Agera- tums are among the best, but all are great- ly overvalued, though they are among the most lasting of summer bedding plants, and as they will withstand a few degrees of frost they may be planted out earlier than most of the bedding plants. The flowers are not readily injured by rain, and do not fade in colour, but continue the same throughout the long flowering season. There are numerous varieties of varying merit, some in good soil attaining a height of 2 ft., and others not more than 6 in. The very dwarf kinds are disappointing ; they flower so freely, and the growth of the plants is so sparse, that they always appear stunted. For back lines in bor- ders, or for grouping in mixed flower borders, there is no variety better than the oldest kind, A. mexicanum. They strike best when placed on a gentle bottom-heat, and will winter in any position where there is plenty of light, and the temperature does not go below 40. Cuttings. W. W. AGROSTEMMA (Rose Campion). A. coronaria is a beautiful old flower, of the Pink family, hardy and free, most at home in chalky and dry soils. It is a woolly plant, 2 ft. to 3 ft. high, bearing many rosy-crimson flowers, in summer and autumn, easily raised from seed, excellent for borders, beds, and naturalisation on dry banks. It is biennial or often perishes on some soils. There is a white variety and a double red one ; the last is a good plant. The name is sometimes given to the annual Viscanas. A. Githago is a large annual, occasionally grown in botanic gardens. A. Walkeri is a hybrid between A. coronaria and A. Flos-Jovis, very compact, free flowering, and rich in colour. A.GROSTIS (Cloud Grass}. A large family of Grasses, the best of which in the garden are the annual kinds so useful when dried. There are some half-a-dozen annual kinds grown, the Young Ailantus tree with Cannas. best A. nebtilosa, which forms delicate tufts about 15 in. high, and is useful for rooms. If cut shortly before the seed ripens and dried in the shade, it will keep for a long time. The seed may be sown either in September or in April or May, and lightly covered. A. Stcveni, multi- flora^ and plumosa require the same treatment. A. Spicaventi is very grace- ful, especially if grown from self-sown seeds. A. pulchella is also useful for the same purpose, dwarfer and stiffer than A nebulosa. AILANTUS (Tree of Heaven}. Chinese hardy tree, young plants of which cut down every year give a good effect. It should be kept when young with a single stem clothed with its fine leaves. This can be done by cutting THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN, ALLOSORUS. 415 down annually, taking care to prevent it from breaking into an irregular head. Vigorous young plants and suckers in good soil will produce handsome arching leaves 5 ft. or more long, not surpassed by those of any stove plant. Cuttings of the roots. AIRA (Hair Grass], Graceful grasses, of which one of the prettiest is A.pulchella, with many hair-like stems, growing in light tufts 6in.high. It is useful forforming grace- ful edgings, amongst plants in borders, or for pots for rooms. Its delicate panicles give a charm to the finest bouquets. Seed may be sown either in September or in April. This comes from South Europe, and the British A. ccespitosa is handsome. A. c. vivipara, with its innumerable panicles of graceful viviparous awns, re- sembles a miniature Pampas Grass. A. flexuosa (the Waved Hair grass) is a pretty and graceful perennial. Of easy culture in ordinary garden soil. AJUGA (Bugle], A small family of dwarf herbs of the sage order, flowering in spring and early summer, and having blue flowers. They grow on mountain genevensis. or lowland pastures, are easily cultivated and increased by division. A, genevensis is among the best, and is distinguished from the Common native Bugle (A. reptans) by the absence of creeping shoots. The flower-stems are erect, from 6 in. to 9 in. high ; the flowers deep blue, and in a close spike. It is suitable for the front of mixed borders or for the margin of shrubberies, and also for naturalising. There is a white variety of A. reptans, also a form with variegated leaves, and another with purplish ones, this being finer than the type. AKEBIA. Of these climbing or twin- ing shrubs of the Barberry order, A, quinata is best known. It comes from China, often grown in greenhouses, but hardy. It is a good plant for a trellis, per- gola, wall, or any such place in cold dis- tricts, growing 12 ft. or more high. In southern localities it does not need this, but rambles like a Clematis. It is best to let it run over an Evergreen, being then better protected against cold winds, which may injur e its flowers. It has long slender shoots, and fragrant claret purple flowers of two kinds large and small, which are produced in drooping spikes. The Japanese^, lobata is a climber of elegant growth, and, although the flowers are small and dull, they are very fragrant. ALISMA (Water Plantain}. Water plants, of which two are fitted for growing with hardy aquatic plants. A, Plantago, is rather stately in habit, having tall panicles of pretty pink flowers. When once planted it sows itself freely. The other kind is A, ranunculoides, a few inches high, in summer bearing many rosy blossoms. Both are adapted for wet ditches, margins of pools, and lakes. A. natans is a small floating pretty British plant. There are one or two Chinese kinds, single and double. ALLIUM (Garlic, Chive, Onion}, Liliaceous bulbs. Not often important for the garden, and frequently with an unpleasant odour when crushed ; but to growers of collections there are some in- teresting kinds, of which a few are worth growing. They thrive in ordinary soil, the bulbs increasing rapidly. Some kinds give off little bulblets, which in certain situations make them too numerous. The following are among the kinds worthy of culture : A, neapoli- tanum,paradoxum, ciliatum, subhirsutum, Clusianum pulchellum, triquetrum (all with white flowers), azureum and cceru- leum (blue), pedemontanum (mauve), Moly and flavum (yellow), fragrans (sweet scented), oreophyllum (crimson), descendens (deep crimson), narcissiftorum (purplish), Murray anum, acuminatum, and Macnabianuni (deep rose). These mostly grow from I ft. to 18 in. high, some 2 ft. or 3 ft. ALLOSORUS (Parsley Fern}. A. 4 i6 ALXUS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. ALSTROMEKIA. crispus is a beautiful little British Fern found m mountainous districts. It re- quires abundance of air and light, but should be shaded from the hot sun. In the rock-garden it does well between large stones, with broken stones about its roots, and its fronds just peeping out of the crevice. ALNUS (Alder). A somewhat neglected group of trees which have some value in moist places and to help to bind the banks of streams. Of the native kind A. glutinosa there are several varieties, and of the cut-leaved one there are fine specimens at Wynnstay and many other places. A. incana has also several varieties seldom of more value than the wild tree. Among other cultivated kinds are japonica, cordi- folia, barbata, occidentalis, Oregona, and l&ff* Alnus ar'.utinosa serndata : all of easy culture. None are of greater value as to effect than our own native kind. The common Alder does not seem to have been regarded with much favour by many writers, but Gilpin places it, after the Weeping Willow, as the most pic- turesque of all. With Gilpin Sir Thomas Dick Lauder fully agrees. He says : It is always associated in our minds with river scenery, both of that tranquil description which is most frequently to be met with in the vales of England, and with that of a wilder and more stirring character which is to be found among the glens and ravines of Scotland. In very many instances we have seen it put on so much of the bold, resolute character of the Oak, that it might have been mistaken for that tree but for the depth of its green hue. The river Mole may doubtless furnish the traveller with very beautiful specimens of the Alder, as it may also furnish an example of quiet English scenery, but this is too high a value to place on the tree, but nowhere will the tree be found in greater perfection than on the banks of the river Findhorn and its tributary streams. An advantage the tree possesses is its tendency to retain its foliage. There is, however, a great deal of difference in this respect among the species and varieties. Although in a state of Nature most of the Alders are found where their roots have an abundant supply of moisture, they will grow well in Britain in all but the lightest soils. ALONSOA (Mask-flower}. Mostly Peruvian annual plants, of the Snapdragon order, of which the best species are A. lVarscewiczi,'ha\\r\g small bright orange- red flowers ; A. linifolia, and A. acutifolia, a slender-growing herb ; A. incisifolia, also a pretty kind ; similar to this is A. myrtifolia of vigorous habit with flowers larger than any other kind, and of a more intense scarlet than those of A. linifolia ; A. rt/&/?0r has pure white flowers, yellow in the centre, and A. linearis has a pro- fusion of light scarlet flowers. All the species are easily grown, both in pots and the open ground : from seed in spring and also by cuttings in the spring. ALOYSIA (Sweet Verbena]. A. citrio- dora is a fragrant-leaved bush with small and not showy flowers. Its pale green foliage goes well with any flower, and it may be grown against a sunny wall, where, if protected by a heap of ashes over its roots and a warm straw mat over its branches, it will pass through the winter safely. If uncovered too soon in spring, the young growths get nipped by late frosts. It is increased from cuttings and is a hardy wall plant in mild seashore districts, but not so common, owing to the cold, in inland districts. Verbena order, Chili. Syn. Lippia. ALSTROMEBIA (Peruvian Lily}. Handsome tuberous plants of the Ama- ryllis order, which require a richly manured and thoroughly warm and well- drained soil, the best .place being a south border, or along the front of a wall hav- ing a warm aspect, where, if the soil is not light and dry, it should be made so. Dig out the ground to the depth of 3 ft., and spread 6 in. or so of brick rubbish over the bottom of the border. Shake over the drainage a coating of half-rotten leaves or short littery manure, to prevent the soil from running through the inter- stices of the bricks, and stopping up the drainage. If the natural soil be stiff, a portion should be exchanged for an equal quantity of leaf soil, or other light vege- table mould, and a barrow-load of sand. The plants should be procured in pots, as they rarely succeed from divisions, and, once planted, should never be interfered with. Place them in rows about 18 in. ALSTROMERIA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. ALSTROMERIA. 417 apart, and with I ft. from plant to plant. If planted during the winter, they should be placed from 6 in. to 9 in. deep, so as to keep them from frost ; and a few inches of half-rotten leaves shaken over the soil. Should there be any difficulty in obtain- ing established plants in pots to start with, seed may be had ; and this sow in pots or beds where the plants are to re- main. The seeds should be sown 2 or- 3 in. deep, with three or four in a patch. If well treated, they will begin to bloom at a year old, and if not disturbed will in- varying much in their colour markings. While growing and blooming they should have occasional watering, otherwise they get too dry, and ripen off prematurely. A good mulching of old Mushroom dung or of leaf soil is a great assistance while in bloom. When going out of flower carefully remove the seed-heads, other- wise the plants are apt to become ex- hausted, as almost every flower sets. In removing the pods, do not shorten the stems or reduce the leaves in any way, as all are needed to ripen the tubers and Alstromeria (Peruvian Lily). crease in strength and beauty every sea- son. If one takes the seed of Alstro- merias as soon as it is ripe and sows it, every seed will germinate the first season. It is also much better to sow three to five seeds in each pot and let the seedlings remain in the same pot the first year. The young plants of Alstromerias are very difficult to handle, being as brittle as glass, and a very great percentage will die if replanted when still young. When grown in masses in this way they are very beautiful, as every stem furnishes a large number of flowers, form fresh crowns for the following year. Any one having deep light sandy soil rest- ing on a dry bottom may grow these beautiful flowering plants without prepar- ation ; all that is necessary being to pick out a well-sheltered spot, and to give the surface a slight mulching on the approach of severe weather. No trouble is involved in staking and tying, for the stems are strong enough to support themselves, unless in very exposed situations. They last long when cut. The species in cultivation are A. aurantiaca (A, aurea}. A vigorous E E 4 i8 ALTERNANTHERA. THE ENGLISH F LOWER GARDEN. ALTH.^A. growing Chilian kind, 2ft. to 4ft. high, flowering in summer and autumn. The flowers are large, orange yellow, streaked with red, and umbels of from 10 to 15 blooms terminating the stems. A. brasiliensis. A distinct kind with red and green flowers, and dwarfer than the preceding. Known also as A. psit- iacina. A. chilensis. A quite hardy kind from Chili, with many varieties that give a wide range of colours from almost white to deep orange and red. A. Pelegrina. Not so tall or robust as the last ; but the flowers are larger, whitish, and beautifully streaked and veined with purple. There are several varieties, including a white one, (A. p. alba] which requires protection. When well grown it is a fine pot plant, compact, and crowned with almost pure white flowers. It is called the Lily of the Incas. A. peregrina is synonymous. Other good kinds are the hardy variable-coloured A. versicolor (A. peru- mana) and St. Martin's flower (A. pul- chra\ this, however, requiring protec- tion. ALTERNANTHERA (Joy- Weed}. Little tropical weeds of the Amaranthus order, which, owing to their colour, have been used in our gardens far beyond their merits. These tender plants are natives of Brazil, and can be used only in the more favoured parts of the country. The varieties range in colour of foliage from dull purple to bad yellow, and why they are used in flower gardens is a question to which no good answer can be given. ALTHJEA (Hollyhock}. Biennial or perennial plants of the Mallow family consisting chiefly of coarse-growing plants. Some, such as A. rosea, from which the Hollyhock has sprung, are showy garden flowers. The other wild species are generally characterised by great vigour, and hence are not very suitable for the choice flower garden. They thrive in almost any situation or soil. Among them A. armeniaca, officinalis, narbonensis, cannabina, fici folia, Hildebrandti hirsuta, caribcea, Froloviana syriacusjavatercefolia are the best mostly natives of S. Europe and the East, flowering in summer and autumn. A. rosea (Hollyhock}. One of the noblest of hardy plants, and there are many positions in almost all gardens where it would add to the general effect. For breaking up ugly lines of shrubs or walls, and for forming back-grounds, its tall column-like growth is well fitted. So, too, it is valuable for bold and stately effects among or near flower beds. Cottage bee- keepers would do well to grow a few Hollyhocks, for bees are fond of their flowers. CULTURE. Deep cultivation, much manure, frequent waterings in dry weather, with occasional soakings of liquid manure, Althaea rosea (Double-flowered Hollyhock). will secure fine spikes and flowers. Holly- hocks require good garden soil, trenched to the depth of 2 ft. A wet soil is good in summer, but injurious in winter, and to prevent surface wet from injuring old plants left in the open ground remove the mould round their necks, filling up with about 6 in. of white sand. This will pre- serve the crowns of the plants. It is best, ALTH.^A. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 419 however, if fine flowers are desired, to plant young plants every year, as one would Dahlias, putting them 3 ft. apart in rows at least 4 ft. apart ; or if grouped in beds, not less than 3 ft t apart. In May or June, when the spikes have grown i ft. high, thin them out according to the strength of the plant, if well established and strong, leaving four spikes, and if weak two or three. When for exhibition, leave only one spike, and to get fine blooms cut off .the side shoots, thin the flower buds if crowded together, and remove the top of the spike, according to the height desired, taking into considera- tion the usual height and habit of the plant. By topping you increase the size of the flower, but at the same time shorten its duration, and perhaps disfigure its appearance. Stake them before they get too high, tying them securely, so as to induce them to grow erect. The most robust will not require a stake higher than 4 ft. If the weather is dry, they may be watered with a solution of guano or any other liquid manure poured carefully round the roots, but not too near the stem. But it is in the garden, not the exhibition, one wants the Hollyhock. PROPAGATION is effected from eyes, cuttings, seeds, or careful division. Holly- hocks may be propagated by single eyes, put in in July and August, and also by cuttings put in in spring, on a slight hot- bed. Plants raised in summer are best preserved by putting them in October into 4-in. or 5-in. pots in light, rich, sandy earth, and then placing them in a cold frame or greenhouse, giving them plenty of air on all favourable occasions. Thus treated they will grow a little in winter. In March or April turn them out into the open ground, and they will bloom as finely and as early as if planted in autumn. Plants put out even in May will flower the same year. If seeds are sown in autumn in a box or pan in heat, as soon as they are ripe, potted off and grown on in a pot through the winter, and planted out the fol- lowing April, they will flower in the same summer and autumn. If allowed to remain in the beds or borders where they have flowered, choice Hollyhocks often perish from damp, or from snow settling round their collars, or penetrating the cavity left by the too close removal of the flower- stems. At the approach of winter, say in October, carefully lift all it is desired to save, and lay them close together in a slanting direction, at an angle of about 45, in a warm mellow soil at the foot of a wall or hedge, where, in hard weather, shelter can easily be given. The ground that is to receive them can then be thoroughly worked in winter, and if a little rotten turf is put in with them when replanted in March or April, good spikes and large flowers may be ex- pected. Choice and scarce varieties may be either potted up or planted out in a frame. Potting them is the better way, because they can be placed in a green- house or vinery, on shelves near the glass. Some of the stools will have numerous growths starting from them, and unless the plants have a little heat early in the year, many of the cuttings cannot be pro- pagated soon enough to flower the same season. Growers in the south of England have an advantage with these spring- struck cuttings as there is quite three weeks' difference between the time of flowering in the south and in the northern districts of England and in Scotland. Root-grafting gives the propagator a little advantage, and early in the year the plants are propagated more readily in a light frame fixed in a heated propa- gating house. A hotbed is uncertain, as there is sometimes too much heat, and then not enough. Although the young side shoots of old stocks will root in a gentle bottom-heat in spring, they may also be increased in July, just before the plants come into flower. The side shoots from the flower-spikes, or the smaller flower - spikes, if they can be spared, should be cut up into single joints, and dibbled in thickly in a prepared bed in a frame or pit, where they can be kept close and cared for by shading from bright sunshine, and sprinkling occasionally with water that has been warmed by standing in the sun. Nearly every cutting will then develop a bud from the axil of the leaf, rapidly strike root, and make a good strong plant by the following spring ; as a rule, young plants propagated at this season give the best spikes. When cut- ting down the flowering stems of Holly- hocks after blooming, they should be left a good length, as they are impatient of damp about their crowns ; in spring the old stems may be removed altogether. Owing to the Hollyhock disease it is often a better plan to abandon the named kinds increased from cuttings and resort to seedlings only for stock. This way is all the more sure, as seed growers of late years have fixed and separated the colours so that a fine variety of good ones may be secured in this way, while the plants are more vigorous, and in any case will often start free from the disease. INSECT PESTS AND DISEASES. Red spider and thrips are both very trouble- E E 2 420 ALYSSUM. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. AMARANTHUS. some, but the first does most injury. It appears on the under sides of the leaves as soon as the hot weather sets in, and is difficult to dislodge. If there is any trace of red spider before planting out, the whole plant, except the roots, should be dipped in a pail of soft soapy water, to which a pint or so of tobacco liquid has been added. It will be well to syringe the under sides of the leaves with the mixture if the plants have been planted out before the pest is perceived. Thrips may be de- stroyed in the same way, and it is well to syringe the plants every day in hot weather. THE HOLLYHOCK FUNGUS (Puccinia malvacearuui) is very destructive to the Hollyhock. When once it seizes a col- lection, probably the best way is to destroy all the plants affected. Those that do not appear to be attacked should be washed with soapy water in which flowers of sulphur has been dissolved. The sulphur will settle at the bottom of the vessel, and must be frequently stirred up when the mixtuie is being used. Sulphur seems to destroy almost any fungus ; and may de- stroy this in its very earliest stages, but will not when established. ALYSSUM (Madwort\ Rock and alpine plants, the species much resemb- ling each other. A. saxatile (the Rock Madwort or Gold Dust) is one of the most valuable of yellow spring flowers, hardy in all parts of these islands. The colour of its masses of bloom and its vigour have made it one of the best- known plants. It is often grown in half- shady places ; but like most rock-plants it should be fully exposed. It is well fitted for the spring garden, and the mixed border, and for association with evergreen Candytufts and Aubrietias. In winter it perishes in heavy rich clays when on the level ground. A native of Southern Russia, it flowers with us in April or May. There is a dwarfer variety, distinguished by the name of A. saxatile compaction, but it differs very little from the old plant. A. Gemwiensehasthe habit of A. saxatile, but larger flowers. A. mon- tanum is a dwarf plant, spreading into compact tufts, 3 in. high. A. podolicum, is a small hardy alpine from South Russia. It has in early summer, a profusion of small white blossoms, and is suited for the rock-garden or the margins of borders. A. pyre?iaicum is a neat rock-plant with white flowers. A. spinoswn is a silvery little bush with white flowers. A. ser- Pyllifolium is a grey-green leaved form, with yellow flowers. Small plants quickly become Liliputian bushes, 3 in. to 6 in. high ; and when fully exposed, are almost as compact as Moss. Among other kinds sometimes grown are A. IViersbecki, and A. olympicum, but they are not quite so good as the com- mon kind. The alpine and rock kinds are Alyssum montanun of easy culture in light or dry soil, as indeed are all the species. A. maritimum is the Sweet Alyssum, a small annual with white flowers, useful as a carpet plant. It grows on the tops of walls in the west country, and in sandy places. In these situations it is perennial, but in gardens is grown as an annual, sowing itself freely. There is a variegated form. AMARANTHUS (Prince's Feather, Love-lies-bleeding). Annual plants, some of distinct habit and striking colour. The old Love-lies-bleeding (A. caudatus) with its dark red pendent racemes, is a fine plant when well grown, butA.spectesus and some other varieties are finer. The more vigor- ous species grow from 2 to 5 ft. high. It is best to give them room to spread, otherwise much of their picturesque effect will be lost ; and to use them in positions where their peculiar habit may be seen to ad- vantage, as, for example, in large vases and edges of bold beds. Easily raised as any annual, they deserve to be well thinned out and put in rich ground, so that they may attain full size. The foliage of some varieties is very rich in its hues, and planted with Canna, Wigandia, Ricinus, Solanum, their effect is good. The varie- ties of A. tricolor require a light soil and a warmer place. They do well in gardens by the seaside, and sow the seed in April AMARYLLIS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. AMELANCHIER. 42! in a hot bed, pricking out the seedlings in a hot bed, and plant out about the end of May. The cultivated kinds embrace bi- color, tricolor, atro-purptireus. A. melan- cholicus ruber, a useful bedding plant with bright crimson leaves, A. Henderi, A. salicifolius, and A. s. Princess of Wales may be used in the summer garden with good effect. Amaranthus order. Old and new world. Amaranthus (Prince's Feather). AMARYLLIS. Showy bulbous tropi- cal plants few of the species of which are hardy, though the beautiful Belladonna Lily (A. Belladonna] may be grown well in the open air, and is, in fact, almost too free in some soils in Cornwall. It is a noble bulbous plant from the Cape of Good Hope, from i ft. to 3 ft. high, blooming late in summer, the flowers, as large as the white Lily, and of delicate silvery rose in clusters on stout leafless stems, arising from the large pear- shaped bulbs. To grow it in inland and less favoured districts choose a place on the south side of a house or wall, take out the whole of the soil to the depth of 3 ft. and place about 6 in. of broken brick in the bottom. Over this put some half- rotten manure to keep the drainage open, and feed the plant. If the natural soil is not good, add some sandy mellow loam, or if stiff, a few barrow-loads of leaf mould, and one or two of sharp sand mixed with it. Having trod this firm, plant the bulbs in small groups. Each clump should be about i foot apart, and if the border is of such a width as to take a double row, the plants in the second should be alternate with those in the first. In planting, place a handful or so of sharp sand round the bulbs to keep them from rotting. If planted in autumn, or at any time during the winter, it will be well to protect them from severe weather by half- rotten leaves, cocoa-nut fibre, or fern. The plants begin to push forth their new leaves early in spring, and upon the freedom with which they send forth these during summer the bloom in the autumn depends. During dry weather give an occasional soaking of water, and with liquid manure once or twice. As soon as the foliage ripens off remove it, and clean the border before the blooms begin to come through the soil. A. B. blanda is a variety with larger bulbs, bearing noble umbels of white flowers, turning to pale rose in summer, and there are other varieties. Amberboa. See CENTAUREA. AMELANCHIER (Snowy Mespilus, June Berry}. Pretty hardy shrubs and low trees, or medium sized, associa- ting well with the Almond, Laburnum, the Cherry, Plum, and such things. A. canadensis is one of the most precious of our flowering trees, nothing" giving better general effect or more distinct, and long before it comes into flower it is pretty with its soft brown-grey masses. It has also the advantage of being perfectly hardy in our country, thriving as well on sands as on stiff soils ; and beinga Canadian tree, no cold ever touches it. It is more slender in habit than many of our flower- ing trees, and often weakened in the crowded masses of the shrubbery, where everything is so often sacrificed to hungry evergreens. In its own country it varies very much in size, some forms being mere shrubs, whilst others make trees 4oft. and even more in height. In botanic gardens and nursery catalogues we find the names of several other trees of this genus, but there seems to be little distinction among them, and none quite so good as this, though the one which grows in the Maritime Alps (A. vulgaris] should be worth a place. The Americans have 422 AMELLUS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. ANAGALLIS. selected some forms of the shad bush, which bear better fruit than the common form ; if they would bear it in our own country it would make the bush more valuable, but whether this prove so or not, there is no prettier thing than a group of this tree, which will grow anywhere we choose to put it, on a rocky bluff or bank, or even fight its way in a copse. It has also the advantage of being raised very easily from seed, and increases rapidly by suckers, so that the grafting nuisance is easily avoided in its case. AMELLUS A. annuus is a pretty dwarf hardy annual, with Daisy-like flowers, of a deep purple, but with white, take it up and pot it in winter. With me it has stood the cold, rain, and gales far better than the variegated Maize and big Solanums. The flower, though bright, is not large enough to be effective." AMMOBIUM (Winged Everlasting. A. alatinn is a handsome Composite from New Holland \\ to 3 ft. high, bearing white chaffy flowers with yellow discs from May till September. In sandy soil it is perennial, but on heavy and damp soils must be grown as annual or biennial. Seed. AMORPHA (Bastard Indigo}. Hardy shrubs of the Pea order, thriving in ordin- A group of the Belladonna Lily. rose, scarlet, and violet varieties, which are named in catalogues alba, rosea, ker- mesina^ and atro-violacea. It forms a compact tuft, suitable for groups or masses, if sown in the open in April, flowering in June. It makes a pretty ground or "carpet" plant with taller plants here and there through it. Cape of Good Hope. Compositae. Syn. Kanlfussia amelloides. AMICIA A .zygomeris is a quaint plant from Mexico, occasionally used in the sheltered flower garden. Mr. E. H. Woodall praises it : " for those who like a bold and distinct plant in a warm situation in summer, and have means to protect or ary garden soil but requiring a sheltered situation in bleak localities. Increased by layers or cuttings in autumn, or from suckers. A. canescens (the Lead Plant) is a native of Missouri. It has clusters of blue flowers and hoary leaves. A. fruticosa (The False Indigo) comes from California, and there are many forms of it, differing but slightly, all having bluish or dark purple flowers. Ampelopsis. See VITIS. ANAGALLIS (Pimpernel}. Usually rather pretty and half-hardy annuals of the Primrose family. The best-known is the Italian Pimpernel (A. Monelli], with large blossoms, deep blue, shaded with ANCHUSA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. ANDROSACE. 423 rose. There are several varieties rubra %randi flora, Wilmoreana, bright blue 'purple, yellow eye ; Phillipsi, deep blue, rose-coloured centre ; Breweri, intense blue ; linifolia, fine blue, very dwarf ; Napoleon III., maroon ; and sanguinea, bright ruby, all flowering from July to September. The Indian Pimpernel Bastard Indigo. (A. indica] has small bright blue flowers. It is a hardy annual, but the Italian Pimpernel should be grown as a half- hardy annual. The seed may be sown any time from March till July, the later sowings to be made in pots and put into a greenhouse or window in autumn. Pim- pernels grow well in ordinary garden soil, and are used with good effect in broad masses in borders, or edgings to beds, and make good pot plants. The pretty little bog Pimpernel (A. tenella) is a native creeping plant, with slender stems and myriads of tiny pink flowers. It is pretty in suspended pots or pans, and may be grown in the bog or a moist corner in the rock-garden. ANCHUSA (Alkanet}. Stout herbace- ous and biennial plants of the Forget-me- Not family ; some worth growing, amongst the best being A. italica, which is vigorous, 3 to 4 ft. high, with beautiful blue blossoms. A. hybrida is similar, about 2 ft. high with flowers of rich violet. A. capensis is a pretty plant with large bright blue flowers, rather tender ; it should be planted in a sheltered well-drained border. A. semper- virens is a British perennial, i^ to 2 ft. high, with blue flowers, worth a place in the wild garden. Seeds or division. ANDROMEDA. Handsome dwarf hardy shrubs of the Heath Family, thriving in peaty soil. Various shrubs usually called Andromedas in gardens, belong in reality to several other genera, and there is only one true species of Andromeda known, viz. : A. polifolia (Moorwort), a native of Britain and N. Europe growing from about 6 to 1 8 inches high, and bearing purplish-red flowers from May to Septem- ber. It is best grouped in peat beds or in the bog garden. For allied plants usually known as Andromeda see Cassandra, C as slope, Lencothoe, Lyonia, Oxyden- drum, Pieris, and Zenobia. ANDROSACE. Alpine plants, of very small stature and great beauty, belonging to the Primrose order. Other families, like Primroses and Hairbells, do come down to the hill-pastures, the sea-rocks, or the sunny heaths, but these do not. They are more alpine than even the Gentians, which are as handsome in a hill-meadow as on the highest slopes ; and as Andro- saces are, among flowering plants, the most confined to the snowy region, so they are the dwarfest of this class. Growing at elevations where the snow falls very early in autumn, they flower Amelanchier canadensis. as soon as it melts. Sometimes, like some other alpine flowers, they frequent high cliffs with a vertical face, or with portions of the face receding here and there into shallow recesses. Here they must endure intense cold cold which would destroy all shrub or tree life ex- posed to it. And here in spring they flower. Their small evergreen leaves, often downy, retain much more dust and 424 ANDRYALA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. ANEMONE. soot than smoother and larger-leaved evergreen alpine plants do, making them more difficult of culture near cities than most alpine plants. The Androsaces enjoy in cultivation small fissures between rocks or stones, firmly packed with pure sandy peat, or very sandy or gritty loam, not less than 15 in. deep. They should be so placed that no wet can gather or lie about them, and they should be so planted in between stones that, once well rooted into the deep earth all the better if mingled with pieces of broken sand-stone they could never suffer from drought. It is easy to arrange rocks and soils so that, Androsace sarmentosa. once the mass below is thoroughly moistened, an ordinary drought can have little effect in drying it. The names of the species here given mainly require the treatment above described, excepting the spreading Hima- layan, A. lanuginosa, which thrives on walls and sandy borders A. alpijia, carnea, chamtzjasme, helvetica, imbricata, Laggeri, obtusifolia, pubescens, pyrenaica, sarmentosa, Vitaliana and Wulfeniana. They are mostly from the Alps and Pyrenees, a few from the mountains of India. ANDRYALA. Small plants of the Dandelion order ; some with woolly leaves. The shrubby A. mogadorensis, forms snowy masses on a little islet on the Morocco coast, and has not been found elsewhere. It bears flowers as large as a half-crown, of a bright yellow, the disc being bright orange. Little is known of its culture and hardiness. A. /ana fa has woolly silvery leaves, and grows well in any soil not too damp. ANEMONE (Windflower}. \ noble family of tuberous alpine meadow and herbaceous plants, of the Buttercup family, to which is due much of the beauty of spring and early summer of northern and temperate countries. In early spring, or what is winter to us in Northern Europe, when the valleys of Southern Europe and sunny sheltered spots all round the great rocky basin of the Mediterranean are beginning to glow with colour, we see the earliest Windflowers in all their loveliness. Those arid mountains that look so barren have on their sunny sides carpets of Anemones in countless variety. These belong to old favourites in our gardens the garland Windflower and the Peacock Anemone. Later on the Star Anemone begins, and troops in thousands over the terraces, meadows, and fields of the same regions. Climbing the moun- tains in April, the Hepatica nestles in nooks all over the bushy parts of the hills. Farther east, while the common Anemones are aflame along the Riviera valleys and terraces, the blue Greek Anemone is open on the hills of Greece ; a little later the blue Apennine Anemone blossoms. Meanwhile our Wood Ane- mone adorns the woods throughout the northern world, and here and there through the brown Grass on the chalk hills comes the purple of the Pasque- flower. The Grass has grown tall before the graceful Alpine Windflower flowers in all the natural meadows of the Alps ; while later on bloom the high alpine Wind- flowers, which soon flower and fruit, and are ready to sleep for nine months in the snow. These are but few examples of what is done for the northern and temperate world by these Windflowers, so precious for our gardens also. A. alpina (A Ipinc Wind/lower}. On nearly every great mountain range in northern climes this is one of the handsomest plants, growing 15 in. to 2 ft. high. It grows more slowly in gar- dens than most of the other kinds, and should have deep soil. A. siilphurca is a fine variety. Many fail with it through transplanting in autumn and winter. Seed is the best way to increase it. Sow this in November in a rather moist peaty bed out-of-doors and allow the seedlings to remain for two years. When growth ANEMONE. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. ANEMONE. 425 commences in spring transplant to where they are to flower. Full exposure, good drainage, and moisture in summer are essential. A. angulosa (Grent Hepatica). - Larger than the Hepatica, with sky-blue flowers as large as a crown-piece, and five-lobed leaves. In rock-gardens, or near them, it will succeed in spaces be- tween choice dwarf shrubs in beds. Seed and division. Transylvania. A. apennina (Apennine Wind/lower). A free blue and hardy kind scattered among the native Anemones in our woods, or making pictures with Daffodils, adds a new charm to our spring. It is readily increased by division, and grows about 4 in. to 9 in. in height. There is a white form and others not so important, however, as the wild one. Italy. The Blue Apennine Windflower. A. blanda (Blue Winter Wind- flower}. A lovely plant from the hills of Greece, of a fine blue, and blooming in winter, mild years. It should be grown in every rock-garden, planted on banks that catch the early sun, whilst it may be naturalised in Grassy places in warm soil. It is distinguished by round and bulb- like roots ; increased by division and seed, and varies in size and colour. Greece, Asia Minor. A. coronaria (Poppy Anemone]. One of the most admired flowers of our gardens from earliest times. There are many varieties, single and double. The single sorts may be readily grown from seed sown in the open air in April, and, being varied in fine colour, they deserve to be cultivated, even more than many of the doubles. The planting of the double varieties may be made in autumn or in spring, or at intervals all through the winter, to secure a continuity of flowers ; but the best bloom is se- cured by October planting. The Poppy Anemone thrives in warm deep loam, and the roots of the more select kinds may be taken up when the leaves die down. They are, however, seldom worth this trouble, as many fine varieties may be grown from seed sown in June. Prick out the plants in autumn : they will flower well in the following spring, so that the plant is as easily raised as an annual. Apart from the old florists' or double Anemones and the single ones, there are certain races of French origin of much value the Anemones de Caen, for example. These are raised from the same species, but are more vigorous and have larger flowers than the older Dutch kinds. Of the Caen Anemones there are both single and double kinds, and the Chrysanthemum- flowered is another fine double race, whilst one may also note the deep scarlet double form Chapeau de Cardinal, and the double Nice Anemones. The fine variety of the Poppy Anemones leads to mixed collections being grown. While it is well to plant mixtures now and then, it is better to select and keep true some of the finer forms in any desired colour. A fine scarlet, purple, or violet should be grown by itself and for itself, as in that way the Poppy Anemone will be a greater aid to the garden artist. All kinds thrive in light 'garden soils of fair quality, and, in many districts there is no trouble in their culture ; in others this plant never does well and is often killed in winter. By resorting to spring planting we avoid this last. The plan is not worth following out, especially as we have so many really hardy species introduced of recent years. The St. Bridgid Anemones, like those of Caen and Nice, are simply selections from the Poppy Anemone, depending for their value on care in selection, and also on good culture in the warm limestone soil the plants enjoy so well. The following method will enable any one to raise anemones from seed in a moist loam. To save time, I sow as soon as the seed is ripe, selecting it from the brightest flowers only. Separate the seed thoroughly. Spread a newspaper on the table, pour over it a quart of sand, dry ashes, or fine earth, and sprinkle the seed over this, rubbing it together till its separation is complete. The seed bed need not be larger than 3 ft. by 9 ft., and choose the sunniest part of the garden. Make the surface fine, tread it down, and give it a good watering. Wait until it is dry enough to scratch with a fine rake ; ther 426 ANEMONE. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. ANEMONE. sow broadcast, covering the seed with a very thin coat of fine earth, about the thickness of a shilling ; beat flat with a spade, and give a light sprinkling of water. Never let a ray of sunshine reach the bed ; cover it with newspapers, spread- ing a few Pea sticks or something to retain the covering in its place. Keep the surface of the bed moist. In about twenty days the young plants will begin to appear, and when all seem up, remove the | covering ; they will need no further care except watering. If the bed once gets thoroughly dry, the plants are apt, after forming small bulbs about the size of Peas, to stop growing, the foliage to die, and the bulbs to lie dormant for months. If kept, however, well watered through the summer, they will go on growing through the winter, and begin to blossom the following spring. The seedlings may be left to blossom where they are sown, or be transplanted in September or October. J. What are termed French Anemones are thought an improvement on the Dutch, with large flowers of brilliant and varied colour; the plants vigorous, the climate of Normandy in some parts suiting the plant ; but in our country, away from the sea, the Poppy Anemone may perish in cold weather. Poppy Anemones, double and single, are useful for edgings and for borders either singly or in tufts. They are culti- vated alone in beds or in clumps in borders, and answer well for planting under standard Rose Trees or other light and thinly planted shrubs. Cut the flowers when just open. A. fulgens ( The Scarlet Wind/lower} A native of the south of France, over a limited area, for the most part in vineyards. It withstands severe frosts in the open border, but stagnant moisture injures it. In good well-drained soils it will thrive, but is best in a rich manured loam in a northern aspect and in a shaded situation. Division is the surest way of increasing it, as it is liable to sport if raised from seeds. Roots may be transplanted almost all the year round, though the resting time ex- tends only from June to August, and to insure early and good flowers plant the roots as early as possible in the autumn. A large bed of well-grown plants in bloom is a brilliant sight. The flowers last in- doors for a week or more if cut when just coming into bloom and kept in water in a moderately warm room. H. V. The Greek form of A. fulgens is larger, and very intense in colour. A fine strain was raised by the late Rev. J. G. Nelson, and called by him A . fulgens major. The peacock Anemone (A. Pavonina] is double form of this. A. Hepatica (Common Hepatica).^ beautiful early hardy flower. In sheltered spots on porous soil the foliage will re- main through the winter. The Hepatica is a deep rooter hence it thrives so well upon made banks, and it will do as well as Primroses or Violets in any good gar- den soil. Where let alone, and not often pulled to pieces, it makes strong tufts. Clumps of the rich-coloured blues and reds when a mass of bloom in March are very beautiful. The best-known kinds are Anemone japonica alba. the double red and single blue, both amongst the hardiest of the section. Then there are the single white ; single red ; double blue, rich in colour ; Barlowi, a rich-coloured sport from the single blue ; splendens, a single red ; lilacina^ a pretty mauve kind ; and some others every variety being worthy of culture. A. japonica (Japan Anemone}. A tall autumn-blooming kind, 2 ft. to 4 ft. high, with fine foliage and large rose-coloured flowers. The variety named Honorine Jobert, with pure white flowers, is a beautiful plant ; and all good forms of the plant should be cultivated where cut flowers are required in autumn. By ANEMONE. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. having some on a north border, and some on a warm one, the bloom may be pro- longed. The secret of success seems to be to prepare at first a deep bed of rich soil and to leave the plants alone. The various forms of the Japan Ane- mone are useful for borders, groups, fringes of shrubbery in rich soil, and here and there in half-shady places by wood walks. A. nemorosa (Wood Anemone]. In spring this native plant adorns our woods, and also those of nearly all Europe and Asia, but it is so abundant in the British Isles that there is little need to plead for its culture. There are double varieties, and the colour of the flower is occasionally lilac, or reddish, or purplish. A sky-blue variety of the Wood Ane- mone, A. Robinsoniana, has of recent years been much grown. It is of easy culture and much beauty, especially if seen when the noon-day sun is on the flowers. It is useful for the rock-garden in wide-spreading tufts ; or for the margins of borders, or as a ground plant beneath shrubs, or for the wild garden or for dot- ting through the Grass in the pleasure- ground in spots not mown early. A. palmata (Cyclamen-leaved Ane- mone], A distinct kind, with leathery leaves and large handsome flowers in May and June, glossy, yellow, only open- ing to the sun. A native of N. Africa and other places on the shores of the Mediterranean, this charming flower should be planted in deep turfy peat, or light fibrous loam with leaf-mould, but not placed on the face of rocks, but rather on level spots, where it can root deeply and grow into strong tufts. There is a double variety. This Anemone may be increased by either division or seeds. A. Pulsatilla (Pasque-flower}. There are few sights more pleasant to the lover of spring flowers than the Pasque-flower just showing through the dry Grass of a bleak down on an early spring day. It is smaller in a wild than in a cultivated state, forming in the garden strong healthy tufts, but it is one of the plants more beautiful in a wild state than in a garden. In Normandy with Mr. Burbidge I came upon many plants of it on the grassy hill about Chateau Gaillard and also in the woods and by the roads near, and we thought we had never seen so fair a wild flower. There are several varieties, including red, lilac, and white kinds, but they are not common, and there is also a double variety. It prefers well-drained and light but deep soil, and is increased bv division or seeds. ANEMONE. 427 A. ranunculoides ( Yellow Wood Ane- \ mone]. Not unlike the Apennine and the Wood Anemone in habit, this is distinct in its yellow flowers in March and April. It is S. European,' and less free on com- mon soils than the Apennine A., but is happier on chalky soil. A. stellata (Star Wind flower]. The star-like flowers, this ruby, rosy purple, rosy, or whitish, vary in a charming way, and usually have a large white eye at the base, contrasting with the delicate colour- ing of the rest of the petals, and the brown violet of the stamens and styles of the flower. It is not so vigorous as the Poppy A., and requires a sheltered warm position, a light, sandy, well-drained soil. Division and seeds. Syn. A. hortensis : S. Europe. A. sylvestris (Snowdrop Windflower). A handsome plant, about 15 in. high with large white flowers in spring and Pasque-flower (Anemone pulsatilla). beautiful buds. Hardy and free on all soils, but fails to bloom. The aspect of the drooping unopened buds suggested its English name the Snowdrop Ane- mone. Division. A. thalictroides (Thalictrum ane- monoides]. The previously named Anemones are the most beautiful of the family, which, however, contains many other interesting plants, but many of the higher Alpine kinds are grown and increased with difficulty and only in carefully chosen situations. Some again, however distinct as species, are not strikingly so in gardens, and for the flower-gardener the best way is to make good use of the proved species. The lovers of alpine flowers will no doubt look with a longing eye over the following names of the species, while no doubt many unknown species adorn the vast 428 ANOMATHECA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. ANTHERICUM. solitudes of Asia and Arctic America and probably other countries too. Known species. A. acanthifolia, Hah? acutiloba, N. America ; aquinoctialis, Peru ; albana, N. Asia ; artnena, Asia Minor ; baicalensis, Asia ; baldensis, Switzerland ; barbulata, China ; BauJiini, Ear rope; cernua, Japan ; cftinensis, China ; coronaria, S.Europe ; crassifolia, Tasmania ; cylindrica, N. America ; dahurica, Temp. Asia; debilis, Siberia; decapetala, N. W. America ; deltoidea, N. W. America ; demissa, Himalayas ; dichotoma, N. Asia and N. America ; Drumtnondii, California ; elongata, Himalayas ; eran- thoides, Temp. Asia; exigua, China; Falconer i, Himalayas ; Fannini, Natal ; Fischcriana, Siberia ; flaccida, China ; formosa, Asia Minor ; fnlgcns, S. Europe ; Glazioviana, Brazil ; Gtneliniana, Siberia ; gracilis, Japan ; Grayi, California ; Griffith!, Hima- layas; H alter i, Switzerland; helleborifolia, S. America ; Hepatica, Europe, N. America ; Jte pat id folia, Chili ; heterophylla, N. America ; integrifolia, Cent. America; isopyroides, Sibirica ; Jamesoni, Ecuador ; Jankce, Transylvania ; japonica, Japan ; lincariloba, Kamts- chatka; mexicana, Mexico; minuta, Siberia; inontana, S. E. Europe ; inultifida, N. and S. America ; narcissi- flora, Europe. N.Asia, N.America ; neinorosa, Europe, N. Asia, N. America ; nikoensis, Japan ; obtusiloba, Himalayas ; ochroleuca, Switzerland ; octffftaJa, Hab ? palniatu, S. Europe ; parviflora, N. America ; patens, Europe, N. America; Pai'oniana, Iberia; Pittoni, Europe ;polyanthes, Himalayas \pratensis, N.Europe; Pulsatilla, Europe ; Raddeana, Amur ; rannnculoides, S. Europe ; rejflexa, Siberia ; Richardsoni, Arctic America ; rigid'a, Chili ; rivularis, E. Indies ; Rossii, China ; rupestris, Himalayas ; rupicola, Himalayas ; Sellmvi, Brazil ; sibirica, Siberia ; slavica, Europe ; speciosa, Caucasus ; sphenophylla, Chili ; stolonifera, Japan ; sumatrana, Sumatra ; syfotstris, S. Europe ; tenuifolia, S. Africa ; tetrase/>ala, Himalayas ; thalic- troides, N. America ; Thomson!, Trop. Africa ; transylvanica, Europe ; trifolia, Europe, N. America ; triternata, S. America ; trullifolia, Himalayas ; Tschernaeivi, Temp. Asia ; uotrtsit, Manchuria ; umbrosa, Siberia ; vemalis, Europe ; inrginiana^ N. America ; vitifolia, Himalayas; Wahlenbergii, Europe; Walteri, N. America ; Wightiana, E. Indies ; Wolf- gangiana, Europe. ANOMATHECA (Flowering grass}. A. cruenta is a pretty little South African bulb of the Iris order, from 6 to 12 in. high, flowers \ in. across, carmine crimson, three of the lower segments marked with a dark spot ; in loose clusters on slender stems and Grass-like leaves. Hardy on warm soils, but in others it should be planted on slopes, in very sandy dry soil or on warm borders ; the bulbs planted rather deep. In many soils it increases rapidly. Syn. Lapeyrousia. ANTENNARIA (Cafs-ear}. Mostly hardy alpine or border flowers. A. margaritacea is a North American plant, 2 ft. high, with flowers in clusters, white and chaffy, hence are kept in a dry state, and dyed in various colours. The pretty but rare A. triplinttvis from Nepal is closely allied to this plant. The Moun- tain Cat's-ears, A. dioica and A. alpina, and such forms as A. minium, are neat little plants with whitish foliage, used as carpeting. All are of simple culture in ordinary soil in exposed positions. These are good rock garden plants and the pretty little rosy heads of one form of the Mountain Everlasting may often be seen in the cottage gardens of War- wickshire. A. touientosa has been much used as a dwarf silvery plant in the flower garden. ANTHEMIS ( Rock Camomile}. Vigor- ous perennials and rock plants, Of the kinds in cultivation A. Aizoon is a dwarf silvery rock-plant, 2 to 4 in. high, with Daisy-like flowers. A. Kitaibeli is pretty in the mixed border, with large, pale', lemon-coloured, Marguerite-like flowers. A. tinctoria is similar and both are Anthemis Macedonica. excellent for cutting, growing very freely in ordinary soil. The double-flowered form of the Corn Camomile (A. arvensis} is sometimes cultivated among annual plants. A. Bicbersteini forms dense carpets of silVery leaves with large and handsome yellow blossoms one on a stem. A. Macedonica is a neat species with white flowers, excellent as a rock-garden plant. There is also a variety called A. nobilis. ANTHERICUM (St. Brunds Lily}. Bulbous plants of the Lily family, contain- ing a few species hardy in this country. These are the European kinds, among the most beautiful of hardy flowers. A.Hookeri (syn. Chrysobactron} is a distinct New Zealand plant, 15 to 20 in. high, with bright yellow flowers, in long spikes in early summer. It grows best in moist deep soils. A. Liliago (St. Bernard^ Lily) is about 2 ft. high, with white flowers in early summer. A. ramosum has flower stems about 2 ft. high, much branched, and small white flowers. A. Liliastrum (St. Bruno's Lily) is a grace- ful alpine meadow plant in deep free sandy soil, in early summer throwing up spikes of snowy-white Lily-like blossoms. In dry soils a covering with rotten manure helps it, and in early spring the plants ANTIRRHINUM. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. AQUILEGIA. 429 should be protected from slugs and cater- pillars. Division of the roots in autumn, or it may be raised from seed. The major variety of the St. Bruno's Lily has much larger flowers (2 in. across) coming up from the root, these opening before the flowers on the spike. It grows 3 ft. high in good soil, and is a fine border plant. ANTIRRHINUM (Snapdragon). ^ numerous family of rock plants and peren- nial herbs, mostly hardy and many of them from mountainous regions, but none so popular in gardens as the handsome Snapdragon (A. majus) which like the wallflowers often grows on walls and stony places. There are many species, but they do not take a large place in gar- dens, among the best being A. Asarina and A. rupestre. Of the common Snap- dragon, the garden varieties are now numerous, and often showy in effect, the best being the pure colours (i.e., not striped). CULTIVATION. Snapdragons are easy of cultivation, sandy and free soils suiting them. They are sown : (i) In August in the place where they are to grow, or preferably in seed-beds, in which latter case plant close to a south wall, sheltering from continued frosts with dry leaves or straw, planting out in spring 16 in. to 24 in. apart. (2) In June or July in seed-beds in a well-exposed posi- tion, planting out the seedlings in the spring. (3) In seed-beds (March to April) at the foot of a south wall. Transplant when the plants are sufficiently developed, and they may also be transplanted to seed-beds and planted out when the flowers commence to show themselves. By means of successive sowings it is possible to obtain an almost uninterrupted bloom from June until frost comes. Snap- dragons are also propagated by cuttings made in the spring or summer, and even during the whole of flowering time. As with a great number of plants, the colour of the stems and leaves of the young plants may to a certain point indicate to us what the colour of the flowers will be. Thus, kinds with green or light-coloured stems and leaves will have in nearly all cases white, or mainly white flowers, or of which the colour is undecided ; whilst of the plants which produce flowers of a decided colour the stems and the leaves are of a pronounced green tint, more or less purple or ruddy also. APONOGETON(C^ Pond-flower}. A. distachyon is a beautiful and fragrant water-plant from the Cape of Good Hope, hardy in many parts of these islands. About London during the late severe winters there has been no more interest- ing sight than the profuse bloom of this plant in springs, and in cold districts it is necessary, for the perfect culture of this plant in the open air, to grow it in spring or other water that does not freeze ; but in mild districts this is not needed. It may be flowered in an inverted bell-glass in a room. In Devonshire it is grown to greater perfection than in the home counties. Failures often result from put- Aponogeton (Cape Pond-flower.) ting it in too shallow water. There is a variety (roseus) with rosy tinted blossoms. A. spathaceum is a poor form with flowers tinged with rose. Naiada-cece. AQUILEGIA (Columbine). Alpine rock and meadow perennials of the But- tercup order, often beautiful and widely distributed over the northern and moun- tain regions of Europe, Asia, and America. They are of great variety in colour white, rose, buff, blue, and purple, and also stripes and intermediate shades, the American kinds having yellow, scarlet, and most delicate shades of blue flowers. The Columbines are frequently taller than most of the plants strictly termed alpine, but are nevertheless true alpine plants, and among the most singularly beautiful of the class. Climbing the sunny hills of the sierras in California, one meets with a large scarlet Columbine, that has almost the vigour of a lily, and in the mountains of LTtah, and on many others in the Rocky Mountain region, there is the Rocky Mountain Columbine (A. cosrulea\ with its long and slender spurs and lovely cool tints, and there is no family that has a wider share in adorning the mountains. Although our cottage gardens are alive with Columbines in much beauty of colour in early summer, there is some difficulty in cultivating the rarer alpine 43 AQUILEGIA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. AQUILEGIA. kinds. They require to be carefully planted in sandy or gritty though moist ground, and in well-drained ledges in the rock-garden, in half-shady positions or northern ex- A white Aquilegia. posures. Most rare Columbines, how- ever, fail to form enduring tufts in our gardens, and they must be raised from seed as frequently as good seed can be got. It is the alpine character of the home of many of the Columbines which makes the culture of some of the lovely kinds so uncertain, and which causes them to thrive so well in the north of Scotland while they fail in our ordinary dry garden borders. No plants are more capricious ; take, for instance, the charm- ing A. glandulosa, grown like a weed at Forres, in Scotland, and so short-lived in most gardens. Nor is this an excep- tion ; it is characteristic of all the mountain kinds. The best soil for them is deep, well-drained, rich alluvial loam. It is probable many of the species are biennial, and that it is necessary to raise them from seed frequently ; and to avoid the results of crossing it is better to get the seed, if we can, from the wild home of the species. The seeds should be sown early in spring, and the young plants pricked out into pans or into an old garden frame as soon as they are fit to handle, removing them early in August to the borders ; select a cloudy day for the work, and give them a little shading for a few days. A. alpina (Alpine Columbine). A beautiful high mountain plant i ft. to 2 ft. high, with showy blue flowers, and there is a lovely variety with a white centre to the flower. In the rock-garden in a rather moist and sheltered, but not shady, spot in deep sandy loam or peat. Seed or division. A. Bertoloni. A pretty little alpine, about I ft. high, with violet-blue flowers having short knobby spurs. A. californica (Californian Columbine]. One of the finest of the American species, with one bold woody stem, 3 ft. high, and handsome, bright orange flowers. The seeds should be carefully looked after, as having once blossomed the old plant may perish. This plant thrives best on a deep sandy loam and moist. A. canadensis (Canadian Columbine}. The flowers are smaller than the Western American kinds ; but this is compensated for by the brilliancy of the scarlet colour of the sepals and of the erect spurs, and by the bright yellow of the petals. The true plant is a slender grower, I ft. in height. It is a plant for borders, or placing here and there among dwarf shrubs and plants in the rougher parts of the rock-garden. A. chrysantha (Golden Columbine}. This tall and beautiful species endures as a perennial on many soils where the other kinds perish, thriving even on the stiff clay soils north of London, though it is no less free in more happy situations. AQUILEGIA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. ARABIS, 431 It comes true from seed, which is most safely raised under glass, and the plant grows 4 ft. in height in good soil. A. ccerulea (Rocky Mountain Colum- bine}. This is very beautiful, the green- tipped spurs of the flower being as slender as a thread, and having a tendency to twist round each other. It is hardy, flower- ing early in summer, from 12 in. to 15 in. high, worthy of the best position on the rock-garden, and in choice mixed borders, where the soil is free and deep. Unlike the Golden Columbine, it is not perennial on many soils, though longer-lived in cool hill-gardens. To get healthy plants that will flower freely, seeds should be sown annually. A. glandulosa (Altaian Columbine). A beautiful plant of tufted habit, flowering in early summer a fine blue, with tips of petals creamy-white, the spur curved backwards towards the stalk, the sepals dark blue, large, with a long footstalk. It is a native of the Altai Mountains, and one of the most precious flowers for the rock-garden, in deep sandy soil. Seed and division. A. Skinneri (Skinners Columbine). A distinct plant, the flowers produced later on slender pedicels, the sepals greenish, the petals small and yellow; the spurs are 2 in. long and bright orange- red. Though from Guatemala, it comes from mountain districts, and is nearly hardy. While the name is often seen, the true plant is rare. A. viridiflora. A charming Siberian Columbine, the sage-green of the flower and the delicate tint of the leaf offering a delicate harmony. In the border it may not be noticed, but if a spray or two are put in a glass its beauty is seen. It has a delicate fragrance, and is raised from seed. A. vulgaris (Common Columbine}. There are many forms of this, and double kinds, flowering from May till towards the end of summer. One may often see a variety of the common Columbine nearly as handsome as any of the finest alpine species. Its varieties, and some hybrid forms, may well be used in the wilder and more picturesque parts of large pleasure- grounds, by streams, in copses, or among Foxgloves, Geraniums, or long Grasses. The ground should be well dug if the vegetation is dense, and the seed sown on the spot. Where bare places occur, and seedlings have a chance of coming up without being strangled by other plants, seed may be scattered as soon as ripe. Known species. A. advena, Hab? alpina, Siberia; .Amalice, Thessaly ; aragonensis, Spain; arbascensis, Europe ; Bertoloni, Europe ; Brauni, Europe ; brevis- tyla, N. America; Buergeriana, Japan; californica, N. W. America ; campylocentra, Europe ; canadensis, N. America ; chrysaniha, N. Mexico ; ccerulea, N. W. America ; dichroa, Europe ; dioica, Europe ; discolor, Spain ; Einseleana, Europe ; eximia, Europe ; flabellata, Japan ; fiavescens, California ; formosa, Kamtschatka; fragrans, Himalayas; Gaertneri, Europe ; Gebleri, Europe ; glandulosa, Siberia; glauca, Himalayas ; grata, Europe ; Haynaldi, Europe ; Huteri, Europe ; Jonesi, N. America ; Kareliniana, Hab ? Kitaibeli, Armenia ; lactiflora, Siberia ; leptoceras, Siberia ; longisepala, Europe ; longissuna, N. America; lutea, Hab? lutescens, Europe; macro- centra, Europe ; mollis, France ; Moorcroftiana, Himalayas ; nemoralis, France ; nevadensis, Spain ; olympica, E. Europe ; orthantha, Europe ; Ottonis, Greece ; oxysepala, E. Asia ; parviflora, Siberia ; pubiflora, E. Indies ; pycnotricha, Europe \pyrenaica, S. Europe ; ruscinonensis, France ; Schotti, Europe ; sibirica, Siberia ; sinensis, China ; Skinneri, Mexico ; stenopetala, Europe ; sulphurea, Europe ; Szabpi, Europe ; iriridiftora, Siberia ; volubilis, Manchuria ; is, Europe. Siberian Columbine. ARABIS (Rock Cress). A large family of hill-plants, few of which are grown, though some are worth a place. A. albida (White Rock Cress) is a popular plant in gardens, and in the barrows of every London flower-hawker in spring. It will grow in any soil, where its sheets of snowy bloom may open in early spring. It is easily increased by seed, or cut- tings, and is useful for the mixed border the spring garden, and for -naturalising in bare or rocky spots. It is closely allied to the alpine Rock Cress 432 ARAI.IA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. ARBUTUS. or Bee Flower (A. alpimi} so widely distri- buted on the Alps, but is distinct, and by far the best kind. A variegated form is the dwarfest and whitest of the Rock Cresses. A. blepharophylla (Rosy Rock Cress) is not unlike the white Arabis, but the flowers are rosy purple. It varies a good deal, but there is no difficulty in selecting a strain of the deepest rose, its healthy tufts being effective in April. There are variegated forms of the commoner species, the prettiest of them being A. lucida variegata, but none have much value. A. arenosa, from the south of Europe, is a pretty annual in the spring garden or naturalised on old ruins or dry bare banks. A.petrcea is a neat sturdy little plant, with pure white flowers ; it is a native of some of the higher Scottish mountains, rare, but very pretty when well grown on a moist well-exposed spot on the rock-gar- den. A. Stelleri, a Chinese species, is a much freer flowering plant than A. blepharophylla, ripening seed freely, and easily grown in the rock-garden. Cruciferce. AR ALIA. Shrubs, or stout her- baceous plants of the Ivy order, of diverse Aralia chinensis. aspects, few fitted for open air, except A. canescens and A. spinosa, which thrive in our gardens, and which in size and beauty of leaf are far before many " fine-foliaged plants " carefully grown in hothouses. The Aralias described are now placed under Fatsia, but we retain the older name as better known in gardens. A. papyri f era (Chinese Rice-paper plant), though a native of the hot island of Formosa, is useful for the greenhouse in winter and the flower garden in summer. It is hand- some in leaf, but is only suited for southern or very warm gardens. A. chinensis. A handsome hardy shrub, with very large much-divided spiny leaves, resembling those of the Angelica tree of North America. In this country it attains the height of from 6 to 12 ft. In a well-drained deep loam it thrives vigorously. May be useful in a flower- garden where tender fine-leaved plants will not thrive. Syn. Dimorphanthus viandschitricus. A. Sieboldi. A shrubby species, with fine green leaves, nearly hardy, and a handsome bush on dry soils and near the sea. It may be used in the flower garden or the pleasure-ground, for isolated specimens on the turf, or for association with fine-leaved plants ; but it soon turns yellow and unhappy-looking if exposed to much sunshine. It is also hardier in the shade, its foliage browning badly if caught too suddenly by the sun after hard frosts. Syn. Fatsia Japonica. A. spinosa (Angelica Tree) is the oldest species in our gardens. Its small white flowers appear in autumn in great panicles. This fine shrub has often been put in exposed places, but is better where its great leaves will not be torn, and in every size may be used in the flower garden or pleasure ground. Cuttings of the roots. N. America. ARAUCARIA (Monkey-Puzsle).^ noble group of Cone-bearing trees, most of which, unfortunately, are too tender for our winters. A. imbricata (the Monkey- Puzzle Tree) is a native of Chili, and the only species which does at all well in favourable situations. As a rule it soon presents an unhappy appearance, and is therefore not to be recommended for planting. It was killed by thousands in the nurseries and gardens in the severe winter of 1860, and it is no way worthy of its popularity in the garden, being really a forest tree of a climate very different to ours. ARBUTUS (Strawberry Tree}. Ever- green shrubs of much beauty, both of flower and form of leaf or bush, but coming from warmer countries thrive only on our sea shore or warmer districts and on warm soils. The beau- tiful A. Unedo grows 20 ft. high or more in the coast districts, but inland it is cut down in severe winters. There are varieties of it, one of the best being A. ARBUTUS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. ARCTOTIS. 433 Crooniei, which has longer and broader leaves than the common kind. The variety rubra has almost bright scarlet flowers in autumn. One varietv has double \ \ \ position is best. In the south and west of England, and in Ireland, the fruits are freely borne, and a large specimen is very handsome in fruit. ARCTOSTAPHYLOS (Bear-berry}. Mostly trailing Alpine evergreens of the Heath order, of which few are in cultivation. Of this group A. alpina is useful for rocky banks, edging bog-beds, or even in bogs. A. Uva-ursi (Bear-berry) is a dwarf ever- green mountain shrub, I ft. high often less sometimes grown with rock-plants. It has small rose flowers in early summer and red berries in autumn. A. alpina. The Black Bear-berry has trailing stems and white or flesh coloured flowers. It is abundant in hilly places in Europe and N. America. Grows in any soil, but prefers a moist border or ledge. Division. A. nitida is a Mexican half-hardy evergreen with shining green leaves and white flowers. The dwarf, much branched, A. pungens, is also a native of Mexico ; while the shrubby, hardy A. tomentosa comes from N. W. America. ARCTOTIS. Showy half hardy com- posites from the Cape, numbering between forty and fifty species, for the most part little known. The bright colours of many of the species are more intense in the open air than when the plants are cramped in pots in a greenhouse. Dry sunny banks often devoid of plant life might be beauti- fully clothed with them. Although true sun-loving plants, they may be used as a groundwork in spots where, unmindful of the shade if not too dense, they flower almost as freely as when fully exposed to Aralia spinosa. From a photograph sent by Mr. C. L. Mayor, Paignton, Devon. flowers, and there are a number of so- called varieties differing only a little in the form of the leaf. S. Europe, and also wild in the south of Ireland. The other species are not so important as flowering trees, though good evergreens where they will face the climate. A. Andrac/ine, with smooth ruddy-tinged bark, is hardy in the south and coast districts ; about London it reaches a height of over 15 ft. It grows wild in Greece, and is a very old tree in gardens. The fine Californian Arbutus are not hardy with us. These shrubs succeed best in a deep light loam, and will thrive on chalky soils much better than many other evergreen shrubs, j -In planting them, a warm sheltered I Arctotis arborescens. F F 434 ARENARIA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. AR1STOTELIA. the sun. They require warm greenhouse treatment in winter. A. acaulis is a very variable dwarf species. The flowers are large, attractive, and of a deep rich orange. It does not ripen seed freely, but is easily propagated from side shoots. A. aspera is a half-shrubby species, with deeply cut and wrinkled leaves and creamy flowers, purplish outside. It may be used in vases and hanging baskets, the pink buds being pretty. Cuttings strike readily in heat. A. aureola is of shrubby habit, I to 2 ft. in height, with handsome orange flowers towards the end of the branches. Cut- tings. Syn. A. grandiflora. A. leptorhiza is one of the most showy annuals we grow, with abundance of rich orange flowers, as is also A. breviscapa, which likes a sunny position. The seeds may be sown in the open air, the plant being treated as a hardy annual. A sunny spot should be chosen, and the seedlings well thinned. K. ARENARIA (Sandwort\k numer- ous family of rock and mountain plants, of vast distribution over northern and alpine ranges, and in temperate countries. Few kinds are in gardens, and these are dwarf plants, easy to grow. A. balearica (Creeping Sandwort}.^ pretty little plant, which coats rocks and stones with verdure, and scatters over the green mantle countless white starry flowers. Plant firmly in any common soil near the stones or rocks it is to cover, and it will soon begin to clothe them. Flowers in spring. Division. I first used it for carpets beneath tea roses at Grave- tye, and also for low rough stone walls, over which it spreads in myriads. Corsica. A. montana (Mountain Sandworf). A pretty rock-plant, having the habit of a Mountain Sand wort (Arenaria montana). Cerastium, and fine large white flowers. It is the best of the large Sandworts, and should be in every collection of rock- plants, being hardy and free. France. Seed or division. A. norwegica is one of the best kinds, forming dense cushions about 6 in. in diameter, and covered with large white flowers throughout the summer. A fine alpine plant. Norway. A. purpurescens (Purplish Sandwort). An interesting kind with purplish flowers, on a dwarf tufted mass of smooth pointed leaves. It is plentiful over the Pyrenean mountains, hardy, and, like the other kinds, increased by seed or division. It should be associated in the rock-garden with the smallest plants. There are a great number of other species, but it is not easy to find among them plants of such garden value as those named above. ARETHUSA. A. biilbosa is a beautiful American hardy Orchid, which grows in wet meadows or bog-land, blossoming in May and June. Each plant bears a bright rose-purple flower that shows well on its bed of Sphagnum, Cranberry, and Sedge. The little bulbs grow in a mossy mat formed by the roots and decaying herbage of plants and moss. In cultivation it requires the same soil, and get the leaf as well matured as possible. A shady moist spot with a northern exposure is best, and the soil should be a mixture of well-rotted manure and Sphagnum. During winter, protect the bed with some cover, for it is not so hardy in gardens as in its bog home. ARGEMONE (Prickly Poppy}. Hand- some Poppy-like plants, said to be peren- nial, but perishing on moist soils after the first year. As they come from the warmer parts of California and Mexico, and even there grow on dry hill-sides and in warm valleys, their perishing here may be understood. Usually about 2 ft. high, they have large white flowers 4 in. across with a bunch of yellow stamens in the centre. They require a warm loam, and go with the choicest annual flowers. The kinds mostly grown are A. mexicana, A. grandiflora, and A. hispida, which are so much alike in habit as not to need separate description. Seed in a warm frame. ARISTOTELIA. A . macqui\s a hardy Chilian shrub of the Lime tree family, chiefly esteemed for its handsome ever- green foliage. The pea-like berries are at first dark purple but eventually black. There is a variegated form, but not quite so hardy as the species. Commoner in southern Ireland than in England. ARISTOLOCHIA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. ARUM. 435 ARISTOLOCHIA (Dutchman's Pipe}. Climbing Birthworts of curious form of flower, and effective in foliage. A. Sipho is generally used as a wall-plant, but is finer for covering bowers, or for clam- bering up trees or over stumps. A. tomentosa is smaller, distinct in its tone of green, and useful in like ways ; both plants are N. American, growing with freedom in ordinary garden soil. The family is a large one, mainly tropical, but some of the forms go into northern coun- tries. Propagated by cuttings. ARMERIA (Thrift, Sea Pinfy.Rock and shore plants of the Statice Order, of which the best known is the common A. vulgaris (Thrift). This native of our shores, and of the tops of the Scottish mountains, is very pretty, with its flowers of soft lilac or white springing from The Tufted Thrift (Armeria csespitosa.) cushions of grass-like leaves ; but the deep rosy form, rarely seen wild, best deserves cultivation. It is useful for the spring garden, for banks or borders in shrubberies, for edgings, and for the rock- garden, and is easily increased by division. As old plants do not bloom so long as young ones, occasional replanting is desirable. In addition to the white variety and the old dark red one, there are Crimson Gem and Laucheana^ the flowers intense pink. A. ccespitosa is a rose-coloured kind from the south of Europe, 5000 to 8000 ft. above the sea-level. Its flower-heads, each from f in. to I in. in diameter, are borne on slender stems I to 2 in. high, from June to September. The leaves are in dense tufts, with a branching woody root-stock. A rock-garden plant, thriving in any well-drained, rather poor, sandy loam, in wet weather it is apt to damp off at the neck in rich soil. Seed. A. cephalotes (Great Thrift) is one of the best hardy flowers from South Europe and South Africa, and should be in every good border and rock-garden among the taller plants. Hardy on free and well-drained soils, it now . and then perishes in hard winters, especially on cold soils. It varies a little from seed which is easily raised, but all the forms are worth growing. It is not, however, so readily got from division. This species and its forms have flowers much larger than the common Thrift. A. setacea is an alpine species, with little globose heads of pink flowers so numerous as almost to conceal the plant on flower-stems from I to 3 in. high. This and A.juncea are found in the S. of France on barren stony mounds and on elevated tablelands. ARNEBIA (Prophet-flower). A hand- some and distinct perennial herb, I ft. to 1 8 in. high. A. echioides has flowers of a bright primrose-yellow, with five black spots on the corolla, which gradually fade and finally disappear. It is hardy either on the rock-garden or in a well-drained border, and prefers partial shade. It is a native of the Caucasus and Northern Persia, and though long introduced is still among the rarest of hardy flowers. Young plants bloom long, which adds to their charms. Cuttings. A. Griffithi is a tender annual, and though pretty not so valuable as A. echioides. ARTEMISIA ( Wormwood}. Herbs and low bushes covering a large part of the surface of northern and arid regions. Though often poor weeds, some have a use in gardens, though rarely for their flowers. A. anethifolia is one of the most elegant herbaceous perennials, 5 ft. in height. A. annua is a graceful plant with tall stems 5 or 6 ft. high, the foliage fine, and the flowers not showy in elegant panicles. The hue is a fresh and pleas- ing green, and the plant is a graceful centre of a flower-bed or group. Other kinds, like A. alpina and A. frigida, be- long to an alpine group which is at home in the rock-garden, while there are many taller herbaceous and half-woody plants of a silvery hue, such as A. Stelleriana, A. cana, A. maritima, and some with handsome Fern-like foliage like A. tan- acetifolia. ARUM (Cuckoo Pint}. Tuberous rooted herbaceous plants of distinct form, of which some from South Europe are hardy, and of interest in our gardens. They thrive best in warm borders and! about the sunny side of garden walls. F F 2 436 ARUM. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. ARUNDO. Some nine or ten kinds are found in South Europe, two coming as far north as our own country. They have, when in bloom, a very offensive odour of carrion. A. crinitum (Dragon's Month}. This plant when in flower is very grotesque, from the singular shape of its broad speckled spathe. The leaves are cut into deep segments, and the leaf-stalks, mottled with black. It loves best a corner to itself in sandy loam at the foot of a south wall. Many would not care for a plant having such an odour. Division. A. italicum (Italian Arum] is larger than our native Arum ; the veins blotched with yellow. As the leaves come very early in the season, they are attractive. In the autumn, when they have died Arum crinitum (Dragon's Mouth). overlapping each other, form a sort of spurious stem i ft. or 14 in. high, marbled and spotted with purplish-black. Warm borders, fringes of shrubberies, or beds of the smaller sub-tropical plants suit it best. Division of tubers. A. Dracunculus (Dragons, Snake Plant\ from South Europe, attains a height of 2. to 3 ft. ; the leaves large ; the stalks and stem of a fleshy colour, deeply away, the clusters of scarlet berries, on foot-stalks 10 in. or 12 in. long, are showy. The true use for it is as a naturalised plant, or in the shrubbery. Arundinaria. See BAMBUSA. ARUNDO (Great Reed}. Important Grasses of fine form sometimes of great height. A. conspicua (New Zealand Reed) is a Grass of noble form a companion for the Pampas Grass, especially in the AS ARUM. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. ASPARAGUS. 437 western and southern counties and on light soils. In fine deep loams it reaches a height of nearly 12 ft., but perishes from cold or other causes on many soils. It flowers before the Pampas Grass. It likes plenty of water nearly all the year round, and may be increased by seeds or division. A. Dottax (GreatReed) is the great Reed of the south of Europe, a noble plant on good soils, in the south of Eng- land making canes 10 ft. high, in rich soil, but in our country it has suffered much in recent severe winters. Its varie- gated variety is of some value for the flower garden, and is nearly hardy in the southern counties. A . Phragmites (Common Reed) is the native marsh plant, 6 ft. or more high, bearing when in flower a large, handsome, spreading, purplish pan- icle. It is an excellent cover for water birds. There is a good variegated form which has more claims as a plant for the water side. ASARUM (Asarabaccd). Curious little plants resembling Cyclamens in their leaves, but of little value except as curiosities, or as wood plants in ordinary garden soil. A. canadense is the Canadian Snakeroot, which bears in spring curious brownish-purple flowers, the roots being strongly aromatic, like Ginger. A. vir- ginicum is the Heart Snake-root, its leaves thick and leathery, with the upper surface mottled with white. A. caudatum is from Oregon, and much like the others in habit, but the divisions of the flower have long tail-like appendages. A. europ&um is the Asarabacca, the flowers greenish, about i in. long, and close to the ground. " ASCLEPIAS (Milk-weed, Silk-weed}. A large genus of strong growing her- baceous perennials, few of which are adapted for the flower garden, as they re- quire a good deal of room, and are not attractive. They thrive in a light or peaty soil and may be increased by division. A. acuminata has red and white flowers. A. ainczna, purple ; A. Cor?iuti (the common Milk-weed; also known as A. syriaca grows vigorously to a height of 4 ft., and bears umbels of deep purple fragrant flowers, of which bees seem to be fond. A. incarnata (the Swamp Milk-weed) is a good waterside plant with rose-purple flowers. A. quadrifolia (Four-leaved Milk-weed) bears fragrant terminal heads of lilac-white flowers early in the summer. A. purpurascens is also a waterside plant with purple flowers. A. rubra (the Red Milk-weed) is a distinct tall-growing plant with long bright green foliage, and large umbels of purple-red flowers. A. tuberosa (the Butterfly Silk-weed) is the prettiest species, with its clusters of showy bright orange-red flowers in the autumn. Good' flowering plants may be obtained from seed in three years, but it is mostly increased by dividing the tubers. This species likes sandy soil and a warm situation. A. variegata (Variegated Milk- weed) has dense umbels of handsome white flowers with a reddish centre. The downy stems reach a height of 2 to 4 ft. r and are mottled with purple. ASIMINA ( Virginian Papaw}. A North American shrub, or low tree of the Custard Apple family. A. triloba forms a small tree, with dull purple flowers, about A climbing Asparagus. 2 in. across. It bears fruits eaten by the inhabitants of the Southern States ; hence the name. Sometimes grown against a wall in this country, but is hardy as a standard, at least about London. ASPARAGUS. Herbaceous plants or climbers of the Lily Order, of fine habit with elegant leaves. The vigorous and talL4 . Broussoneti is quite hardy in warm sandy soil, and so are A. tenuifolius and others,. The common Asparagus is as good as any,, and a tuft or group of it is graceful in a border of flowers or a bed of fine-leaved plants. 438 ASPERULA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. ASPERULA (Sweet Woodruff}. A. odorata, which belongs to the same family as the Coffee Plant, is abundant in many parts of Britain, and worthy of the garden or shrubbery, especially in districts where it does not occur wild. Its stems and leaves give off a fragrant hay-like odour when dried ; and in May the small white flowers, dotted over the tufts of whorled leaves, are pretty. It is sometimes used as an edging to beds in cottage gardens, and it goes prettily with some of the smaller ivies, in forming edgings about rocky banks and borders. A. azurea setosa (A. orientalis) is a pretty hardy blue annual, flowering in April and May. Sow seed in the previous autumn. A. cynanchica is a rosy-red perennial, and a good bank or rough rock-plant. A. hexaphylla is a tall slender white-flowered species. ASPHODELINE. Plants nearly allied to the following, but the stems of Aspho- delus are leafless, while in Asphodeline the leaves are produced on erect stems. About six kinds are in cultivation, the best-known being A. lutea, which grows about 3 ft. high, with yellow flowers in dense clustered spikes. A. taurica has white flowers, on stems i to 2 ft. high. A. liburnica (A. cretica) and A. tenuior have yellow flowers in loose racemes. A. damascena has white blossoms in dense racemes, and A. brevicaulis has yellow flowers in loose racemes. These all thrive in any common garden soil, and may be used in bold masses with good effect among other tall plants. ASPHODELUS^//^^/). Tuberous plants of the Lily Order, with spiked flowers and not of a high order of beauty, thriving in any free garden soil. The best-known is the bold A. ramosus, a South European species, familiar in most old herbaceous plant borders, but better fitted for the shrubbery. Other kinds are A. fistulosus and tenuifolius, with white flowers, the plant growing from i to 3 ft. high. The last-named kind has delicate feathery foliage. A. creticuS) the Cretan Asphodel, has yellow flowers, and is an easily cultivated border plant. ASPIDIUM (Shield or Wood Fern}. This family now embraces the Poly- stichum and some species of , Lastrea. There are numerous hardy kinds, among them the Male Fern (A. Filix-mas} and the Prickly Shield Fern. These thrive even in small town gardens and places similarly confined if given plenty of water in hot dry weather. Either alone or in groups they have a fine effect, as an under- growth to trees in the pleasure-ground or in the shadier parts of the garden, and are evergreen. Their varieties are endless, no fewer than a hundred named sorts of A. aculeatum and fifty of A. Filix-mas being enumerated in trade lists. The smaller and more delicate kinds require some care. A. aculeatum succeeds best in rich loam, with sand and leaf-mould, well drained, and so does the Male Fern. The bolder Ferns of this group give fine cool effects in rightly chosen spots in and near the flower garden. ASPLENIUM (S0/*aw/). The fine dark green colour and free-growing cha- racter of most of the Spleenwort Ferns give them distinct value. The best soil for them is a well-drained mixture of peat, sand, and loam, in which the finer kinds of flower- ing shrubs, such as Kalmias and Andro- medas, thrive. A. Adiantum nigrum (the black Spleenwort) would be at home amongst hardy Azaleas, as they lose their foliage in winter, and the Spleenwort would then carpet the surface. The shade of Azaleas in the summer, if not planted too thickly, would suit this Spleenwort, which, when wild, fringes copses or is found on hedge-banks, where it gets a little pro- tection from the summer sun. The various smaller species of this genus belong more to the choice fernery than to the flower garden, unless when we are happy in having old walls near or around it, often so congenial a home for the smaller rock-ferns. ASTER (Starwort, Michaelmas Daisy]. Hardy perennial plants of much beauty Aster Stracheyi. and variety. There is a quiet beauty about the more select Starworts, which is charming in the autumn days, and their variety of colour, of form, and of bud and blossom is delightful. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. ASTRAGALUS. 439 For the most part Starworts are regard- less of cold or rain. Less showy than the Chrysanthemum, they are more re- fined in colour and form. Even where not introduced into the flower garden, they should always be grown for cutting ; and they are excellent for forming bold groups to cover the bare ground among newly- planted shrubs. Nothing can be more easy to cultivate. The essential point is to get the distinct kinds, of which the follow- ing are among the best that flower in early October Aster amellus, acris, cassu- bicus, turbinellus, Chapmani, versicolor, pulchellus, cordifolius, elegans, Re eve si, discolor, laxus, horizontalis, ericoides, SJwrti, multiflorus, dmnosus, Ctirtisi, ICEVIS, longifolius, coccinetis, sericeus, Nova- Angles, Nova-Belgii, puniceus, and mmineus. Every year adds to our bundling may be wholly got rid of, if the plants were supported and relieved by the bushes, and their flowers massed above them here and there. Asters, dwarfer than the shrubs among which we place them, are not less valuable, as they help to give light and shade, and to avoid the common way of setting plants to a face as if they were so many bricks. This is not the only way of growing these hardiest of northern flowers, but it is a charming one, and it lights up the garden with a new loveliness of refined colour. Of recent years many seedling forms have been raised and named, but in no case are these so good as the best of the wild species, such as amellus, acris and cordifolius, ASTILBE (Goafs Beard]. A vigorous group of chiefly tall-branching herbaceous Aster elegans (Lilac Starwort). autumn-blooming hardy plants, and a choice of Starworts may be made by autumn visits to collections. As yet gardeners seldom look at general effects at the whole of things. The flowers are so dear to them that the garden, as a picture, is left to chance, and hence there is so much ugliness and formality in gardens, to those at least who regard the robe as more than the buttons. Some years ago Starworts were rarely seen except in bundles in botanic gardens. Since the hardy flower revival, they have become more frequent in collections, but as yet they have no important place in gardens generally, and we may often still see them tied in bundles, though the effective way of grouping is so clear and simply carried out. The bad effect of staking and perennials. The robust kinds resemble the Spiraeas of the Aruncus group, but are bolder, and perhaps better suited for the margin of water. There are eight kinds in cultivation, the best known of which are A. japonica and A. rivularis. Moist places in the wild garden are most suitable for A. decandra, A. rivtilaris, A. rubra, A. Lemoinei, and A. Thtmbergi, the last being also known as Spiraea. These plants group well, and the handsome foliage makes healthy undergrowth, over which the tall plumes of white or red flowers tower with good effect. Division of the roots, and some by the runners. ASTRAGALUS (Milk Vetch}. A large family of alpine and perennial leguminous plants, not many of which are valuable for the garden. The best are rock-plants, 440 ASTRANTIA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. AUBRIETIA. but they grow freely on the level ground in borders. A. monspessulanus is useful for the front ot borders and for the rock garden. The vigorous shoots are pros- trate, so that it is seen to greater advan- tage when its long heads of crimson and rosy flowers droop over rocks. It grows well in any soil. There are several varieties. A. Onobrychis (Saintfoin Milk Vetch) is a handsome species from South Europe and Siberia (in some varieties spreading, and in others about 18 in. high), with racemes of purplish-crimson flowers in June. It thrives well on any good loam. A. dasy glottis is well suited for the rock- garden. Its numerous showy flower- pleasantly of sour milk. A third species is A. Bicbersteini ; in some of its characters it is intermediate between the other two. Its habit is good and com- pact, and it flowers freely. There are two or three smaller species, the com- monest of which is A. minor, often brought from the Alps by collectors. The Astran- tias have a quaint beauty of their own ; they are not showy, nor particular about soil or aspect. They are easily established in woodland walks where the growth of weeds is not too rank. C. W. D. ATHYRIUM (Lady Fern). Beautiful hardy Ferns, which A. Filix-fatmina may Purple Rock Cress (Aubrietia). heads, of a clear bright purple, are set off by the fresh green foliage. A. adsurgens is dwarf, with numbers of violet-carmine flowers. A. vaginatus succeeds in an ex- posed position in any ordinary border. The showy deep violet-purple flowers are borne in dense erect clusters fora long time. ASTRANTIA (Master-wort}. These herbs are amongst umbelliferous plants, and consist of not more than four or five true species, all natives of the mountains of Southern Europe. The two most distinct are A. major and A. helleborifolia. A. Jielleboiifolia is from the Caucasus, with the largest flower of any, the colour clear pink ; but the habit of the plant is straggling, and the flowers smell un- be taken to represent. They like a compost of loam, leaf-mould, and peat, mixed in about equal proportions, with the addition of some sharp sand. They require abun- dance of water during their growing period, but not in winter, because all the varieties are deciduous, the ground at that period being wet enough naturally. Among many fine hardy evergreen and herbaceous plants Lady Ferns might be planted with advantage ; they will thrive in a little shade where protected from drying winds. There are many beautiful forms. Atragene. See CLEMATIS. AUBRIETIA (Purple Rock Cress}. charming group of rock plants from the. AUCUBA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 441 mountains of South Europe. There are many varieties in gardens, but probably all may be reduced to some half-dozen species, whilst all are beautiful. The oldest is called A.purpurea. Then there is what is called deltoidea, and the free-branching variety of it known as Eyrei, which has large violet-purple flowers. We have also orandiflora, with a lax habit, a pretty rock-plant. Then we have Leicktlini, Mooreana, Cohtmnce, and Campbelli ; but the names of the species are too numerous in this family, and are often only varieties from different localities. Some, like Dr. Mules, Beauty of Baden and \V. Ingram, are of higher value as garden plants. The Aubrietia is excellent as a wall- plant. We need only sow the seed in any mossy or earthy chinks in autumn or spring, indeed they will sow themselves on walls, and often bloom on the sunny sides in February. Rock-gardens, stony places, and sloping banks suit Aubrietias perfectly. They make neat edg- ings, and may be used as such with good effect. There are one or two variegated varieties. Aubrietias are easy to naturalise in rocky places, and may be easily got from seeds, cuttings, or by division. AUCUBA. Evergreen berry-bearing shrubs of the Dogwood order, which brighten gardens in winter. It is one of the best shrubs for planting under trees, as its strong fleshy roots enable it to live where other shrubs would starve. It may be safely removed at midsummer or midwinter, but requires shelter and shade. To get a good crop of berries, plant males about 30 ft. apart among the ordinary forms. Smoke and dust seem to have slight effect upon Aucubas, making them valuable for town gardens. The variegated form is more vigorous and rapid in growth than the green or plain- leaved variety, though we have now many fine green forms extremely handsome when in good berry. AZALEA (Swamp Ho7ieysnckle]. These are beautiful upland and bog shrubs I from North America, and, if only as a relief I from the heaviness of Rhododendrons, i their graceful growth is precious. There | is nothing in the open garden so charm- ing as old Azalea bushes in flower, with I their branches in table-like tiers ; but the brilliant tints always seem most effec- tive in the subdued light of a shady wood, and happily few shrubs flower better in partial shade than Azaleas. They like shelter, even from southerly winds, and peaty soil suits them best, though they grow well in loam. The hardy Azaleas, called Ghent Azaleas, have sprung chiefly from the wild kinds of North America A. nudi flora, A. calendulacea, and A. viscosa^ These and A, pontica have been so hybridised with the wild Azalea of South Europe that we have a race in which the colours of the various species are blended and diversified in a great variety of tints, and they all intercross so freely that it is difficult to single out a variety identical with any of the wild species. Fifty years ago, Latin names were given, to every fine variety, but they could soon be numbered by the hundred from Belgian gardens alone. Now very few sorts are named. Every variation of tint, from the most fiery scarlets to delicate pinks r whites, and dark and pale yellows, is to Flowers of Azalea mollis. be had in Ghent Azaleas, a very beautiful one being the pure white Mrs.. Anthony Waterer. Of late years there has sprung up a new race with double Hose-in-hose flowers, collectively called the Narcissi - flora group, the chief sorts of which number about a score Graf von Meran, one of the first, being still among the best yellows. A California!! species, named A. occidentalis^ is distinct from the deciduous Azaleas, as it flowers after the others are past. It has bunches of fragrant white flowers and broad foliage. A. mollis, a, dwarf deciduous shrub from Japan and China, has given rise to a variety of kinds, yellow, salmon-red, and orange scarlet being the prevailing colours. It is. hardy, and being dwarf may be grouped as a foreground to a mass of the tall' kinds. The Chinese A. amcena, with small magenta flowers, common enough in greenhouses, is quite hardy in rnild localities and rich in bold masses. The Chinese A. indica, the ordinary Azalea of greenhouses, is hardy in many places, 44 2 AZARA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. BAMBUSA. especially the white variety, which, even in mid-Sussex, thrives in the open air. The Ledum -leaved Azalea (A. ledifolia) is a hardy evergreen shrub, also from China, with white flowers, large and open, like A. indica. It grows from $ ft. to 6 ft. high, and Loudon states that in Cornwall, on Sir Charles Lemon's estate at Carclew, it was planted in hedges, which flowered magnificently without the slightest pro- tection. Azalea nudiflorum. AZARA. Distinct and graceful Chilian shrubs, nearly hardy in favourable soils. On east or west walls they flower freely ; -while in the southern counties, at least, they do well in the open. Well-drained loam and the partial shade of taller shrubs suit them. A. Gillesi is probably the most handsome, its toothed leaves resembling in colour and texture those of the Holly, with the branches tinged with red. Both .in the open air and under glass it blooms in late autumn and winter, the flowers small, and resembling golden catkins. A. celastrina has rather smaller leaves, and yellow blossoms. A. integrifolia has drooping spikes of fragrant yellow blossoms, which form a dense bush a few feet in height. A. microphylla is a graceful evergreen shrub, with many small flowers, succeeded in autumn by small orange-red berries. The best place for it is a sheltered position, not too low. Among other kinds are A. dentata, a quick grower ; and A. serrata, with prettily serrated leaves, and umbels of yellow blossoms. Order, Bixineae. AZOLLA. A. Caroliniana is a very small and curious water-plant, which floats on water quite free of soil, the tufts of delicate green leaves like tiny emeralds. During summer it will grow out-of-doors, and then becomes bronzed, and perhaps it is prettier when light green, as it is in the greenhouses or window. Syn., A. rubra. A. pinnata is a distinct species. BABIANA (Baboon-roof). Charming bulbs of the Iris order, from South Africa, allied to Sparaxis and Tritonia, but having broader foliage, often hairy and plaited ; they grow from 6 to 12 in. high, with spikes of sometimes sweetly scented brilliant flowers ranging in colour from blue to crimson-magenta. The bulbs should be planted from Sep- tember to January, about 4 in. deep and 2 to 4 in. apart, in light loamy soil thoroughly drained, with a due south aspect. The early plantings make foliage in autumn, and require protection of mats against frost. Those planted later will only require a covering of Fern, which should be removed as the foliage appears. In wet soils surround the bulbs with sand, and raise the beds above the level. Many varieties are in cultivation, but in the open air their growth is only worth attempting in very favoured spots. BAMBUSA (Bamboo). There are some forty or more varieties of these graceful woody grasses, which are hardy in all but the coldest parts of our Islands, though best in sheltered places. Grace and elegance are the characteristics of the Bamboo, and in no species more conspicuous than in the lovely group of Phyllostachys, while some of the Arundinarias will, if planted in suit- able places, grow into dense thickets of almost tropical aspect. There are few gardens in which some sheltered nook, backed by evergreens, might not be beautified by a feathering group of Phyllostachys Henonis or nigra ; while in the wilderness fine effects may be produced by the grand foliage of Arun- dinaria Metake or the stately plumes of A. Simoni. Background is the great secret of getting the best effect out of plants in which beauty of form is the dominant feature ; and above all let the Bamboos be sheltered from our biting easterly and north-easterly winds, as they are more deadly than frost. The softer and moister westerly winds, blow they never so hard, will do but little damage to plants which come from such storm - vexed regions as the coasts of China and the islands of Japan. It is important that every autumn the plants should be well mulched with cow manure, and this again should be covered with dead leaves. To prevent the latter from blowing away it is expedient to surround the plant or group with wire netting. This has the additional advantage of keeping out rabbits and hares. The mulching pro- tects the roots from frost in the winter, and prevents evaporation in summer. When the plants are thoroughly BAMBUSA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. BAMBUSA. 443 established these precautions become un- necessary. The plants should only travel during the period when they are at rest. They will be received therefore during the late autumn or winter. If they have come from abroad, the balls of earth round the roots should be thoroughly soaked ; they should then be potted and placed in a cool house for the winter ; the leaves syringed with rain- water twice a day, but the roots should not be kept too wet. In this way many species will keep their leaves as green and fresh as if they had never been dis- turbed ; but even those that lose their leaves will early in February begin to show little fat buds that will soon develop into branchlets. Early in May begin to harden off the plants, as you would Geraniums for bedding out, and, at the end of May, place them in their per- manent homes. When you take the plants out of the pots be careful not to disturb the roots in any way. You must not attempt to comb them out as you would the roots of trees, for they are as brittle as glass : place them in the earth as they are, and they will soon find their way about. If possible the newly planted Bamboos should be well watered during growth. It must be remembered that Bamboos will not show their true characteristics for several years. But by taking the above precautions much time will be saved, and many disappointments avoided. For trans- planting Bamboos (from one part of the same garden to another, not for sending them on a journey), May and June are perhaps the best months, though I have moved them without any ill effects during the whole summer up to the end of September. The worst time is from November to March ; for the plants need to have made some roots in their new homes .before they can resist our cold winters and biting winds. As regards propagation, very little need be said here, for I doubt whether the propagation of hardy Bamboos, except by division, is likely to become a successful industry in this -country. PROPAGATION BY DIVISION. The best moment for this operation is, in our climate, the latter end of April or May. The process is very simple. The plants should be divided into clumps of two or three culms with their rhizome, in order to insure a new growth from the buds on the internodes of the root-stock. If the tufts can be lifted with a ball of earth, so much the better. They should be planted in beds at distances of 2 ft., carefully watered, and protected by a top-dressing of well-rotted cow manure and dead leaves. With the same care they may be planted at once in their permanent homes. NATIVES OF THE HIMALAYAS. Arundinaria racemosa. This grows about 1 5 feet high in its own country. Stem smooth and round. Internodes about 2 in. apart, leaves 2 to 4 in. in length and narrow, cross veins well defined. After the trying winter of 1895, quite green and fresh at Kew Gardens ; found at an elevation of 12,000 ft. in the N.E. Himalayas. A. aristata. A pretty variety of moderate size, with purplish stems and tessellated leaves. This latter quality, also the great altitude at which it is found in the North Eastern Himalayas as high as 11,000 feet above the sea- level indicates it as a hardy Bamboo. A. spathiflora. Another hardy Bamboo with tessellated leaves, from the Hima- layas, where it is found at an altitude of 9,000 feet. Most of the specimens which 1 have seen grown under this name in English gardens are not the true A. spathiflora. ' A.falcata and A. Falconeri, though fine kinds in their native country, are not quite hardy in ours. NATIVES OF CHINA AND JAPAN. A. Fortune!. Three plants of no rela- tionship to one another are at present the bearers of this name, respectively green, silver variegated, and golden variegated. As there is absolutely no similarity be- tween them, I have re-named two of them humilis and auricoma, leaving the name Fortunei to the silver-striped species which has the prior claim to the title. A. humilis. A green species, about 2 ft. to 3 ft. high, with round and green stem, bright evergreen leaves smooth on both sides, 4^ in. long, three-quarters of an inch broad, and tapering to a point. A very pretty plant to form a car- pet, or isolated group near rocks. Syn. B ambus a gracilis. A. Fortunei fol. var. A silvery- variegated dwarf Bamboo about 3 ft. high. Leaves about 5 in. long, by half or at most three-quarters of an inch wide ; a bright colour beautifully striated with white in a young state, but the variegation is apt to fade in the older leaves, which become rather spotty. A strong runner at the roots. A. auricoma. A golden variegated dwarf Bamboo, taller than the two pre- ceding sorts. Leaves striped with bright 444 BAMBUSA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. BAMBUSA. yellow, from 5 in. to 7 in. long, by I in. to i in. broad. Not a strong runner, but a beautiful and conspicuous evergreen plant. Bambusa pumila (? Arundinaria).^ very pretty dwarf Bamboo somewhat like 'Arundinaria humilis, but smaller in habit, the leaves are less broad, shorter, and do not taper so gradually to a point. The teeth of the serrated edges are less conspicu- ous ; the lower sheaths are hardly so hairy, and the nodes are less well defined and far less downy. The stem is more slender. Arundinaria Hindsii. A distinct and beautiful species. In its first year with me it has grown to a height of 6 ft. 3 in., but will evidently attain a greater stature. The young dark-green stems have a lovely white wax on them like the bloom on a Grape. The leaves are 6 in. long by about five-eighths of an inch across ; they are thicker than in most Bamboos. The colour is a beautiful dark green, fairer underneath ; the veins are conspicuously and beautifully tessellated. A. Hindsii var. graminea. A smaller plant than the above, with leaves 9 in. long by five-eighths of an inch broad, and yellow stems ; considered by the authorities at Kew to be another form of the same species. The tessellation of the veins of the leaves is not quite so strongly marked as in the type. A. japonica. A fine and valuable plant, generally grown in gardens under the name of Bambusa Metake. The leaves are from 8 in. to i ft. in length by about \\ in., sometimes more, broad. The upper surface is smooth and shining, the lower side paler, rather glaucous and wrinkled ; the edges are finely serrated. The creeping root-stock in well-established plants is very active, so that care must be taken to give the plant plenty of room. A. Simoni. Of this fine species, at Kew, old-established plants have reached a height of 1 8 ft. The leaves are from 10 in. to i ft. long, slightly hairy, lanceolate, longitudinally ribbed, ending in a long narrow point. So far as experience at present goes, this is the greatest runner of all the hardy Bamboos. Its young shoots will appear at a great distance from the parent plant. It should be planted apart in the wild garden, where it may wander at pleasure without injury to any neighbour. Bambusa palmata (? Arundinaria}. A beautiful species, about 5 ft. high, conspicuous from the size of its leaves, which are often used by Japanese peasants to wrap up the bit of salt fish or other condiment which they eat with their rice. These are the chief beauty of the plant. each from i ft. to 13 in. long and 3 in. to 3^ in. broad, tapering rather suddenly to a very fine point ; the colour a vivid green on the upper surface, glaucous on the lower. Both edges are serrated. The rhizomes are exceedingly active, and travel far. Bambusa palmata (from a photograph by Lord Annesley). Arundinaria Veitchi much resembles Bambusa palmata in its habit, though on a far humbler scale, the plant being only about 2 ft. high and the leaves smaller and more rounded at the point. The leaves are about 7 in. long by about 2|- in. broad, green above, glaucous below, glabrous and much ribbed. The edges wither in winter, giving the plant a variegated but shabby appearance ; but the thick new foliage of spring is very beautiful, and the plant runs fiercely, soon making a thick carpet and ousting all 1 weeds. A. metallica. A species closely re- sembling A. Veitchi, but lacking the ugly withering of the leaf edges in winter. A native of the north of Japan and the island of Vezo, and hardy. Bambusa tessellata. A very beautiful soecies having the largest leaves o 15AMBUSA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. BAMBUSA. 445 any of the hardy Bamboos. The stem is about 2^ ft. high, round, slightly flat- tened at the top, the colour a purplish- green, much hidden by persistent withered sheaths. The slender new culms spring gracefully from the carpet of arching foliage. Syn., Bambusa Raga- .niowski. Arundinaria nitida. A very lovely species from North Western Szechuan. The culms are purple-black, very slender and round. The leaves are small, lancet- shaped, and tessellated. Quite the hardi- est of all our Bamboos. A. angustifolia. A lovely little Bam- boo, about 9 in. to i ft. in height. The stems are round, very slender, and when young of a purplish colour. It is much branched ; the leaves are about 4^ in. in length by three-eighths of an inch in width ; they are serrated on both sides, and somewhat capriciously striped with silver variega- tion. A. marmorea. A pretty and dis- tinct little Bamboo, for which I have chosen the name marmorea on account of the very peculiar appearance of the young stems, which are folded in purple sheaths, delicately marbled with a pinkish silver-gray, through which, near the knots, peep glimmers of the bright emerald- green or dark purple of the stem itself. The leaves, which are bright green, are about 4^ in. long by three-eighths to five- eighths of an inch broad ; they are ser- rated on both edges, and have a marked constriction at about half an inch from the very sharp end. The rhizome is very active, new shoots appearing at some distance from the parent plant. A. pygmaea. The best and the smallest of the dwarf Bamboos, invaluable for making a carpet of soft brilliant green. It grows with extraordinary rapidity, the root-stock travelling great distances and at a considerable depth. Stem about 6 in. to 1 6 in. high ; leaves about 4 in. long by half an inch to three-quarters of an inch broad. It grows so thick and close that no weed has a chance against it, but it should have plenty of room. A. Lay dekeri. Apparently a semi- dwarf Bamboo, not, so far as my ex- perience of it goes, particularly attractive, though it should have a place in a collec- tion. The stems in the third summer are about 3 ft. high, but will probably grow higher ; round, much branched ; ap- parently, therefore, it is an Arundinaria. The leaves are about 6 in. long, dark green, but rather shabbily mottled on both surfaces, serrated on one edge and slightly so on the other ; leaf-sheaths hairy at top. The branches, which are long in propor- tion to the length of the stems, from which they stand out rather markedly, give the plant a conspicuous habit. Phyllostachys heterocycla. This is called by the Japanese Kiko-chiku, or the " tortoise-shell Bamboo," from the curious arrangement of the alternately and par- tially suppressed internodes at the base of the stem, which sheathe it in plate armour like the scales on a tortoise's back. At about 2 ft. or 3 ft. from the ground the nodes are regularly defined, as in other Bamboos. The other characteristics of this Bamboo do not differ from those of the Phyllostaches of the mitts and aurea group. The leaves are from 3 in. to 4 in. long and about half an inch wide, very minutely serrated on one edge and almost imperceptibly so on the other, bright green on the upper surface, bluer under- neath. The imported stems are about 5 in. round, and the plant has the appear- ance of growing into a large and impor- tant Bamboo. P. Marliacea. A rare, handsome species. The only plant of it I possess has in its third year grown to a height of 8 ft., and promises to become very tall and vigorous. The stem is a dark green, shining like enamel ; the internodes at the base are very close together, not more than i^r in. to 2 in. Its habit is very graceful, the culms forming the most elegant arches, beautiful both in form and colour. P. fastuosa. This very stately and beautiful plant stands out quite conspicu- ously among its fellows. The leaves are from 5 in. to 7 in. long by three-quarters of an inch to I in. in width, tapering to a sharp point, and markedly constricted at about an inch from the end, which has the appearance of a little tongue. Their colour is bright green on the upper surface and very glaucous underneath. This Bamboo will probably prove to be one of the most valuable of the group. Tall, spreading, gracefully plumed with foliage which for richness and beauty of colour is without a rival, it cannot fail to make a striking feature in the wild garden. P. aurea. The distinctive name aurea is not very happily chosen, for there is nothing golden about the plant unless it be the yellow stems, and these are not peculiar to the variety named. At Shrub- land Park, Phyllostachys aurea is 14 ft. 6 in. high, the canes being 2| in. round. P. mitis. This is the tallest, and in that respect the noblest, of all the Bam- boos capable of being cultivated in this countrv. At Shrubland the culms of 44 6 BAMBUSA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. BAMBUSA. plants imported seven years ago are 19 ft. 5 in. high and 43- in. in circum- ference. In China and Japan it grows to 60 ft. high. The stems, some of which spring out of the ground like spears, are, when fully developed, beautifully arched. The young shoots, when once they start, are very rapid, growing in this country as much as 6 in. in the twenty-four hours. P. sulphurea. A handsome golden - stemmed Bamboo, which in appearance has great affinity with P. mitis. It is per- fectly hardy and well worth cultivating, but difficult to obtain. At Shrubland it is growing to a height of 13 ft., with a circumference of 2f in. round the stem. P. Quilioi. A very distinct Bamboo, introduced from the north of Japan. To me it appears to have a character alto- gether its own, and the many botanists and gardeners to whom I have shown it have without exception come round to my opinion. Altogether a notable Bamboo, growing at Shrubland to a height of 18 ft. 6 in., the canes having a circumference of 3f in. Syn., Phyllostachys Mazeli. P. viridi-glaucescens. A most elegant and graceful Bamboo, growing to a great height nearly 18 ft. at Shrubland. The root-stock is very active, the plant being a great runner, while many of the culms come almost horizontally out of the ground, giving the plant a very wide spread. The leaves are generally about 3 in. or 4 in. long and about three-quarters of an inch across. The stem is much zigzagged. This is a perfectly hardy Bamboo, but it should be established in pots before planting out. P. violescens. This is sometimes said to be a variety of P. viridi-glaucescens, but quite different both in appearance and behaviour. It is somewhat more tender, the leaves being apt to be cut by frost, which gives the plant an ugly appearance in winter, but with the spring the culms are clothed with new foliage, and after all it is only those shoots which come into existence in the late autumn which suffer. The foliage is rather darker and larger than in P. viridi-glaucescens and the plant more straggling, the rhizomes run- ning rampantly. But the most distinctive feature is the deep purple colour of the young stems during their first year. This is lost in the two-year-old stems, which change to a greenish yellow or brown. The plants at Shrubland are 15 ft. high, and the culms 2f in. in cir- cumference. P. Henonis. To my taste this is the loveliest of all our Bamboos, and it is perfectly hardy, bearing up bravely against our coldest weather. Of all the plants that I imported not one has gone amiss, though they were subjected to hardships which proved fatal to a good many of their travelling companions. The slender tall stems are green at first, growing yellower with age, slightly zigzagged. The root- stock runs rather freely, but it is to its habit that this Bamboo owes its surpassing loveliness. The two-year-old culms, borne down by the weight of their own foliage, bend almost to the earth in graceful curves, forming a pretty groundwork from which the stems of the year spring up, arching and waving their feathery fronds, the delicate green leaves seeming to float in the air. P. nigra. This is perhaps the best known, and from its black stems the most easily recognised of the hardy Bamboos. Varieties of this said to be more free than the species are P. nigro-punctata and P. Boryana. With me the plant has been a little capricious and difficult to establish, but once it has taken hold of the ground no Bamboo seems hardier. The stems are of an olive-green colour during their first year of growth, changing to shining black the following year. They are slightly zigzagged. The leaves, which are from 3 in. to 4^ in. long by three- quarters of an inch broad, are green on the upper surface and glaucous under- neath. P. Boryana. One of the handsomest and most vigorous of the hardy Bamboos, very graceful in its habit. Like P. nigra, the stems are green during their first year, but change colour the second year to a dull brown splashed with large deep purple or black blotches. P. Castillonis. A most lovely plant. The foliage is larger than it is in most of the Bamboos, some of the leaves being as much as between 8 in. and 9 in. long by nearly 2 in. broad, When they first appear they are striped with bright orange-yellow, which in time fades to a creamy white. As the sheaths of the branchlets are of a very pretty pink, the plant has a tricoloured effect, which is most pleasing ; the branches come in twos and threes. Twenty-four degrees of frost January, 1894, did them no harm. P. ruscifolia. A pretty little Bamboo, described by Munro as P. kuinasaca, though the Japanese name is bungozasa. The stems are about 18 in. high, purplish green in colour, with brown sheaths, much zigzagged and very slender, distinctly channelled from the pressure of the branches, which spring in twos and BAPTISIA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. BEGONIA. 447 threes, sometimes in fours, from the nodes. The leaves are from 2 in. to 4 in. in length, and an inch, more or less, in width ; ovate ; soft hairs very conspicuous on the lower surface, but none on the upper surface or on the insertion of the leaves, which are serrated on both edges. Arundinaria anceps. A very beauti- ful Bamboo discovered by Mr. Jordan, superintendent of Regent's Park, in the stock of a dead nursery gardener, whose books being destroyed or lost, it was impossible to trace its origin. It is pro- bably a Chinese species. The culms are brown when ripe ; the leaf-sheaths are hairy, and the petiole of the leaf is yellow. A. nobilis. A grand Bamboo, pro- bably of Chinese origin, growing to a height of 24 ft. at Menabilly, in Corn- wall. It is quite hardy, only losing its leaves in early summer when the new ones are ready to appear. The tall stems are yellowish in colour with very dark purplish nodes, of which the lower rim is broadly marked with grey. Bambusa disticha. A pretty little dwarf Bamboo. Stem about 2 ft. high, round, very slightly zigzagged ; branches and leaves distichous ; leaves hairy, especially at the base, and serrated at the edges, about i-| in. long by three-quarters of an inch broad, tapering to a point ; leaf-sheaths hairy ; rhizome inclined to run. A very distinct little plant, most useful for a choice corner in a rock garden. A. B. F.-M. BAPTISIA (False ^ Indigo}. A hardy and vigorous Lupine-like group of perennials from North America, forming strong bushy tufts 3 to 5 ft. high, with sea-green leaves ; the flowers, mostly of a delicate blue, in long spikes. B. australis, exaltata, and alba are the best- known kinds, and should be placed in the mixed border in any garden soil. BARBAREA. Mountain and marsh cruciferous herbs of the Old World, few of much garden value, only two varieties being worth growing. The finest is the double yellow Rocket (B. vulgaris ft. -pl.\ which is a beautiful and curious plant. It is about 1 8 in. high, flowers bright yellow, from June till late summer, and often till autumn. It succeeds in almost any soil, preferring a rich light loam. Division. Barkhausia. See CREPIS. Bartonia aurea. See MENTZELIA. BEGONIA (Elephants Ear}.^ large tropical and sub-tropical family of plants, many of them of much value in our hot- houses, and, of recent years, in our open gardens. The Tuberous Begonia is the most familiar to flower gardeners, and now plays a large part in summer bedding. Grouped together in beds a fine effect is produced, and the colours vary from the darkest scarlets and crimsons to the various shades of rose and pink ; also white and blush-coloured kinds. The cultivation of the Begonia is not difficult. Seedlings raised in March will make good plants for planting early in June. One can just prick them off into pans ; from these, when large enough, they are put in shallow boxes, and not disturbed again until planted out, unless getting overcrowded. The beds should be well prepared for them, if the soil is heavy, using plenty of well-decomposed leaf-mould, and failing this old Mushroom manure. During the first year those of inferior quality should be discarded when lifted, marking the finest for another year. For the second and after seasons' display start the tubers in a gentle heat in boxes in March, transferring them to a cold frame or pit in May. A north frame is best, as the plants make very free growth, and get a good size for planting out the first week in June. The beds should be surfaced with either a dwarf kind of plant or with Cocoa-nut fibre. When, however, they are planted thickly together, use the fibre, which will soon be covered by the foliage. Begonias planted in dry posi- tions should always be kept moist at the root. Damping the beds over- head as the sun leaves them in the after part of the day when the weather is dry and warm will greatly refresh them. When lifted, the tuberous varieties require careful attention so as to prevent the decaying stems from imparting any ill effects to the tubers. Remove these stems as soon as they can be twisted out without any trouble. Some growers expose the tubers in a light, dry, and airy house until the stems are quite dried up. Later on the bulbs when quite at rest should be kept in a cool place, neither too dry nor too moist, but where frost cannot reach them, being stored in either Cocoa-nut fibre or silver sand in shallow boxes until again required for starting. It is better to have single than double flowers for bed- ding out, and there is no want of good colours. A class getting more popular each year is that called the shrubby set, these being known as forms of B. semper- florens. They are neat and shrubby in growth, with an abundance of rather small leaves, varying in shade. Conspicuous is Vernon's variety, the leaves deep crimson to light green, and pinky blossoms. There 448 HELLIS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. BERBERIS. are many varieties, and as easily and -similarly raised as the tuberous kinds. The plants are, when in beauty, a mass of bloom, the small flowers almost hiding | the leaves. But many of the kinds are ! -very dull in colour, and get shabby to- wards the end of summer. There are many uses for them in gardens as distinct groups, or as a groundwork to beds filled with taller plants. Bellevallia. See HYACINTHUS. BELLIS (Daisy}. B. perennis, daisies raised from our Wild Daisy are among the most popular of garden flowers, although not used so much as formerly. They need only simple culture, increase rapidly, ! and in the spring garden are of great service in large clumps or masses. Though \ we have numerous kinds, growers have ad- hered most closely to the old flat-petalled j white and the old quilled red, both of which are grown by millions as market plants. Besides these are the flat-petalled Pink Beauty, a charming pink of the quilled class ; a deep rich red or crimson quilled kind, called Rob Roy; White Globe, with large white quilled petals ; and many others. The yellow-blotched or Aucuba- leaved kinds have originated by sporting, and one named aiicubcefolia is a pretty kind, but rather tender, though it will do well in winter on a free porous soil, and in summer in a cool shady border, if transplanted there. The giant or crown- flowered Daisies almost form a distinct ; section, and, though vigorous, are much less free of bloom than the better-known kinds. These have large and usually mottled red flowers upon long stalks, and are best suited for mixed borders. A -very old favourite is the Hen-and-Chickens Daisy. It differs in no respect of habit or foliage from the double kinds, except that when the flowers are at their best they send out small ones from the axils of the scales hence the name. Propagation is simple, and may be done in spring and autumn. Well-dug soil suits well, and pull the plants to pieces, dibbling them in six inches apart, or a little closer. Where the soil is good the Daisy inci eases so rapidly that it may be transplanted twice in the year. BELLIUM. Plants belonging to the same order as the Daisy (Compositae), of which some three or four forms are in cultivation. Although from the south of Europe, they are hardy on the rock- garden, but are apt to exhaust them- selves in flowering. B. bellidioides, B. crassifolium, and B. minutum, are much alike and are easily grown in light soil. .B. rotundifolium ca?ru/escens (Blue Daisy) is a native of Morocco, and a pretty rock- plant. Division or by seed. BERBERIDOPSIS (Coral Barberry. />. corallina is a beautiful evergreen climbing shrub from Chili, hardy enough for open walls in the southern counties. It has large spiny leaves very much like some Barberries, the flowers bright coral- red, hanging in clusters on slender stalks, and borne for several weeks in summer. It is charming for a wall, preferring partial shade, such as that of a wall facing east or west, and does best in peaty or sandy soil. Seed or layers. BERBERIS (Barberry) A valuable group of hardy shrubs, among the most beautiful of which is Darwin's Barberry Berberis nepalensis. (B. Darwini], B. stenophylla is a hybrid between B. Darwini and the small B. empctrifolia. B. dulcis is a pretty Barberry, whose slender shoots are hung with tiny yellow flowers. The common Barberry (B. vulgaris) is brilliant when in fruit in autumn, and it has several varieties, some of which differ con- siderably in habit of growth and colour of the berries. A beautiful shrub-group could be formed of the fruiting Bar- berries alone, using B. vulgaris, B BETA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. BETULA. 449 aristata (which has berries covered with white powder, like Plums), and the small- growing B. Thunbergi, also remarkable for its scarlet berries, which remain on the bush throughout the autumn. B. Wallichiana has handsome flowers and foliage, and is worthy of cultivation inthe best collections. The Mahonias are now merged in the genus Berberis. As flowering shrubs they are of much value, as is shown by the beauty of flower and fruit of the common evergreen Barberry B. aqui- folium and its varieties. M.fascicularis, though not hardy everywhere, is fine when in bloom, its stems being wreathed with golden clusters for some weeks, while M. hybrida is scarcely less ornamental and certainly hardier. M. repens, Msglumacea and M. trifoliata are all gobd dwarf Evergreens. In mild districts there is not a finer flowering shrub in spring than M. nepalensis, with large clusters of yellow bloom and massive foliage. M. japonica is a good Evergreen in sheltered places, and a fine flowering shrub. Most of the evergreen kinds thrive best in leafy or peaty soils, the ordinary hardy kinds in any garden soil. Berkheya. See Stobcea. BETA (Chilian Beef)~B. cida varie- gata is a variety of common Beet, the leaves being more than 3 ft. long, vivid in colour, their midribs varying from dark waxy orange to vivid crimson. The plant should be sown in a gently heated frame, and afterwards planted out in rich ground. It varies much from seed, and the most striking individuals should be selected before the plants are put out. Used sparingly, its effect is often perhaps more telling than if in quantity, but it is a mistake to use this or any such vegetables in the flower-garden. Other varieties of the common Beet are used in the flower-garden for the sake of their dark colours, but no artistic flower- gardening is possible where such vege- tables out of place are used. BETULA (Birch}. Trees of cold and arctic regions, often forming vast forests. Sometimes, in the extreme north, even the tall and graceful Birches of more tem- perate lands take a bushy form, and there are also arctic and northern species which are small and give us little effect or in- terest except for botanic gardens. The Birches, generally, are easy to grow, and should be raised from seed, in which way they come very easily, excepting what are called the garden or nursery varieties. These are grafted, and might be propa- gated by layers, if anybody would take the trouble, and in this way might be longer lived and useful in some ways. Owing to the beauty of our native species in all sorts of positions north and south, we have not lost so much by neglecting the American species, and it would be difficult to expect, however, any of them to show anything finer in effect than such woods as we see in northern and central Europe, of Birch alone, the silvery stems rising out of heath or ferns. Among the greater, or tree, Birches after our own (in- cluding its varieties or allies, verrucosa and pubescens) are the Canoe Birch (B. papyri- fora] or paper Birch, a forest tree of Northern America, which is hardy in Britain ; the River Birch (B. nigra] also a tall tree of Northern America ; the Cherry or Sweet Birch (B. lento) which is sometimes 80 ft. high and also of northern distribution (Canada, Newfoundland) ; the Yellow Birch (B. luted] sometimes 100 ft. high ; the Western Birch (B. occiden- talis], a medium-sized tree of Western America and British Columbia, and the White Birch (B. populifolia) also a slender tree of Canada and the Northern States with tremulous leaves like some of the Aspens. Among the dwarf or shrubby kinds are B, nana, pumila, humilis and fruticosa ; but the Birches of any real value for our home landscapes are the tree kinds. From a garden point of view, perhaps the most important trees of the genus are the varieties of our common Birch and its allies, such as the weeping and cut-leaved forms, also those with purple leaves, and the nettle-leaved Birch. B. maximowiczi is a distinct and fine Japanese kind which grows very high and with a trunk 2 to 3 ft. in diameter, the bark orange-coloured, the leaves very large. B. ermani is also a common kind in Japan. An incident in my own planting of birches may be worth recording here. Having got a collection from America, I planted them by some ponds where I thought they might have a better chance, as they often grow well near water in their native country. I lost a good many of them, not knowing the cause until I hap- pened to pull up some of the dead young trees, when I found the main roots were all barked round by the common water- rat, working below the line of the snow during a hard winter. As regards the positions of Birches in a pleasure-ground, there is is not a more graceful lawn tree than the cut-leaved and weeping kinds, the more so where trees of light shade are desired. The American tree kindsmight taketheir places in the mixed woodlands of a country place, or by streams or pools. W. R. G G 450 BLETIA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. BOCCONIA. Bignonia. See TECOMA. Blechnum. See LOMARIA. BLETIA. B. hyacintha is a beautiful Chinese Orchid, having ribbed leaves, and slender flower-stems I ft. or more high, bearing about half a dozen showy flowers of a deep rosy pink. It is hardy, and an interesting annual flower, showy, the foliage elegant, and the growth dwarf, the structure of the flowers singular. Its culture is that of a hardy annual, but it is better sown in spring than in autumn. It flowers from July to September in warm light soils. The other species in cultiva- Weeping Birch. thrives in sheltered and shaded situations in peat borders in winter. In cold districts it would be well to cover the roots. It is very interesting for the bog garden or a bed of hardy Orchids. Blitum. See CHENOPODIUM. BLUMENBACHIA. B. coronate is tion are B. insignis and B. inultifida. South America. (Loasa Order.) BOCCONIA (Plume Poppy}. B. cor- data is a handsome and vigorous perennial of the Poppy Order, growing in erect tufts 5 to over 8 ft. high, with numerous flowers in very large panicles, not showy, but the BOMAREA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. BRACHYCOME. 451 inflorescence, when the plant is well grown, has a fine effect. It is best in the shrub- bery in ordinary garden soil, and is excel- lent in bold groups, the leaves, too, being fine in form. Division. China. Syn. B. japonica. B. frutescens. - A vigorous Mexican shrub, 3^ to nearly 6 ft. high, with few and very brittle branches, large, seagreen, handsome leaves, and greenish flowers. Very effective on Grass plats, The Plume Poppy (Bocconia. cordata). in groups or as isolated specimens. It requires a somewhat warmer climate than ours, but may be placed out from June to the end of September. It is difficult to propagate by cuttings, easier from seed. Boltonia. See Aster. BOMAREA. Curious and handsome plants of the Amaryllis order allied to Alstrcemeria, requiring greenhouse tem- perature so far as now known. Mr. Archer Hind, of Newton Abbot, has B. edulis out-of-doors, and it has flowered well after surviving a temperature of 25 oelow freezing. If any of the other species should prove hardy in the southern counties, their fine bold twin- ing habit and handsome flowers would be a gain. Best in free sandy or peaty soil. BONG AUDI A. B. rauwolfi is a plant of the Barberry Order, though remarkably unlike one, as it has a Cyclamen-like root- stem, from the apex of which spring the flower stems 6 in. high, bearing roundish golden blossoms from \ to I in. across, which droop gracefully from slender stalks. Though now rare, this beautiful plant was among our earliest garden plants. Found from the Greek Archi- pelago to Afghanistan, and hardy on dry soils. Seed. Syn., Leontice. BORAOrO (The Cretan Borage}. B. orientalis is a vigorous perennial, bearing pale-blue flowers early in spring, having very large leaves through the summer. Easily naturalised in any rough place, but not worth a place in the garden proper, being coarse and taking up much space. The common Borage is very pretty, naturalised in dry places or banks, where it might often be welcome for use as well as beauty. There is a white variety. B. laxiflora is pretty with suspended blue flowers ; it grows very freely on sandy soils. Borkhausia. See CREPIS. Botryanthus. See MUSCARI. BOUSSINGAULTIA (Madeira Vine}. B. baselloides is a luxuriant trailing plant of the Spinach Order with shoots 1 6 to 20 ft. long, flowering late in autumn, the flowers small, white, fragrant, and be- coming black as they fade The fine green leaves are shining, fleshy, and slightly wavy ; stems twining, tinged with red, growing with extraordinary rapidity, and bearing many tubercles. Suited only for dry banks and chalk-pits, associated with climbing and trailing plants. Increased by tubercles of the stem ; these break with the least shock, but the smallest fragment will vegetate. South America. BRACHYCOME (Swan River Daisy}. B. iberidifolia is a pretty Australian annual of simple culture, about 8 to 12 in. high, the flowers about I in. across, in loose terminal clusters,and are bright blue, with a paler centre. There are other sorts, with flowers of various shades of blue and purple, and one of pure white. Sow in cool house in September as soon as ready, prick off four or five in a 4-in. pot. keep in cold pits during winter, and guard against damp. Pot on again in March singly into 4-in. pots, .and finally at end of April plant out into open borders ; or sow on slight hotbed in March, prick out into pits for transplant- G G 2 452 BRASSICA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. BROWALLIA. ing into open in May ; or sow in open in April and May. B. Sinclairi is a pretty little kind with tiny daisy-like heads which sometimes sows itself in sandy soil. BRASSICA. Some forms of the Cab- bage, particularly the variegated Kales, are used in the flower garden for winter effect, where people are ignorant of what a flower-garden means in winter even a beautiful thing to those who know how to make it so. So we will forego de- scriptions of how to grow kail for the flower-garden. The odour of such things about a house after a hard frost should be enough of itself to condemn them. And as for beauty, a corner of a labourer's garden with a few snowdrops and hepaticas is worth all the displays of the floral kail- yard ever seen. BRAVO A. (Scarlet Twin/lower). B. geminiflora is a pretty Mexican bulbous plant of the Amaryllis Order. From i to 2 ft. high, the flower-stems stout and erect, bearing on the upper part numerous pairs of nodding tubular flowers of a rich scarlet outside, but inclined to yellow within. It succeeds well in warm sheltered situations in borders of light and well-drained soil, but requires some protection over the bulbs in winter. It flowers in autumn, and remains a long time in bloom. BREVOORTIA (Crimson Satin/lower). B. coccinea is a beautiful bulbous flower, of the Lily Order, also known as B. Ida- Mai. It is one of the prettiest Californian plants. The flowers grow on stems, \\ to 2 ft. high, and are tubular and of a deep crimson-red, the lips a vivid green. It succeeds best in friable loam. Plant in October, and the roots may re- main undisturbed for several years. Not less than three plants should be grouped \ together, and a dozen will produce a still better effect; an Osier rod in their midst will support the fragile steins. Offsets and seed. BRIZA (Quaking Grass}. A graceful family of Grasses, American and Euro- pean. B. maxima is one of the hand- somest, growing 12 to 18 in. high ; may be sown in the open in March in any garden soil, is quite hardy and graceful while growing, and useful for decoration either green or dried. B. media (Common Quaking Grass) is smaller, 9 to 15 in. high. Borders, Seed. BRODL3J A (Brodie 's Lily or Californian Hyacinth}. A charming family of North American liliaceous plants. B. congesta has the stems long and wiry, the flowers in a dense umbel ; pur- plish blue in colour, and very lasting. B. alba is a pretty white-flowered variety. />. capitata much resembles this kind. B. grandiflora. This is an old and pretty plant, about 5 in. high, with deep purplish-blue flowers in a loose umbel in July. At the time of flowering the foliage is often withered, and to hide the naked- ness of the stems it is sometimes best planted among other low-growing plants. B. Howelli. This pretty species has flowers in a fine umbel, bell-shaped and milky white. A beautiful variety of it (lilacind] has delicate bluish flowers, re- taining its fine deep-green foliage at the time of flowering, and throwing up sturdy stems about 2 ft. high, crowned by large flat umbels of well-shaped flowers. B. laxa is a very old garden plant, of which there are several varieties, not only varying in colour, but in the size of the flowers and the umbels. B. minor, probably a variety of the foregoing, is very pretty; the scape is not more than an inch high, about fifteen flowers in the umbel ; the colour purplish blue, with a lighter centre. B. peduncularis is a pretty white- flowered species, with large umbel of porcelain-white blossoms. These bulbs may be planted from October until December, and in mild localities will pass the winter in the open unprotected. In Holland, where the winters are often very severe, they are covered with reeds or straw at the approach of the cold season. This covering will keep the cold off, the soil open, and ward off the effects of a treach- erous winter sun. C. G. V. T. BROMUS (Brome Grass}. -At least one of this large genus of Grasses is very graceful and worthy of culture that is B. brizceformis, a hardy biennial about 2 ft. high, with large graceful and droop- ing heads. It is more valuable for cutting and drying than any of the Quaking Grasses. It may be grown as an annual sown out-of-doors in spring, and autumnal- sown plants would be best in warm soils. BROWALLI A. Annual plants of the Nightshade Order, chiefly Peruvian. B. elata has usually been regarded only as a beautiful pot-plant, but it does well in the open air, either in a bed by itself or in large patches with other things. 1 1 supplies a shade of colour difficult to obtain, and is useful to cut from. Sow the seed in March, prick off the young plants when large enough to handle, grow them on till they are strong, and plant out in May. There is a white variety equally useful. B. Roezli is a dense compact bush, 1 6 to 20 in. high, with shining BRYANTHUS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 453 green leaves. The flowers are of a delicate azure blue, or are white with a yellow tube, and are unusually large for the genus. They come in uninterrupted succession from spring till autumn. Rocky Mountains. Bnigmansia. See DATURA. BRYANTHUS (Hybrid B.}. B.erectus is a dwarf evergreen Ericaceous bush, from 8 in. to i ft. high, bearing pretty pinkish flowers. Said to be a hybrid. In very fine sandy soil or in that usually prepared for American plants, it grows well, and is suitable for the rock-garden or in col- lections of very dwarf alpine shrubs. BUDDLEIA (Orange Ball Tree\B. globosa is afavourite shrub from Chili, often seen in the southern coast gardens, where it is hardier, and in Ireland ; the flowers, balls of bright yellow, are showy in early summer. It is of rapid growth, and if badly cut down during a severe winter generally grows again in the following summer. B. Colvillei is a tender Hima- layan kind, with bunches of pale rose- coloured flowers. It is a shrub for mild districts only. Other species less satis- factory for open-air culture are B. crispa, B. Lindleyana. BULBOCODIUM (Spring Meadow Saffron}. B.vernum is a pretty Liliaceous bulb from 4 to 6 in. high, and one of the earliest of flowers, sending up large rosy purple flower-buds, distinct in colour. The tubular flowers are nearly 4 in. long, and are usually prettiest in the bud state. Associated with very early flowering plants like the Snowflake, Snowdrop, and Greek Anemone, it is welcome in the rock-garden or in warm sunny borders. Easily increased by dividing the bulbs in July or August, and replanting them from 4 in. to 6 in. apart. One other species, B. trigynum, is sometimes met with in cultivation. Alps of Europe. BUPHTHALMUM. B. speciosum is a bold free and showy perennial, hardy, and growing in any soil, with large heart- shaped leaves in great tufts, and, in summer and autumn, handsome heads of showy yellow flowers with dark centres. An excellent plant for shrubberies and covering the ground here and there in bold masses, as it grows so close that it keeps the weeds down and in such ways also gives a better effect than in small tufts in the mixed border. Central Europe. Division. Syn. Telekia speciosa. BUTOMITS (Flowering Rush\B. umbellatus is a handsome native water- plant, often very fine in a rich muddy soil and hardy and free to flower. Common by some river banks, and growing with water-side seeds in garden ponds and lakes, flowering in summer rose-red in bold umbels. Division. BUXUS (Box). This beautiful bush or low tree grows wild on some of our southern chalk hills, and is much culti- vated in gardens as an edging and also in shrubberies. The beauty of its habit is seldom seen in gardens, owing to its being grown under other trees or to its being too much crowded, but seen wild its habit is most graceful, and it might be well to secure the same beauty of habit by planting in groups upon ex- posed knolls. Almost al) the species and varieties have variegated forms, which, Buphthalmum speciosum. though pretty, are not so good as^ the natural forms. B. sempervirens (the Com- mon Box) from its close bushy habit is one of the most useful Evergreens for garden hedges. It may be pruned or clipped into any shape ; and when topiary gardening was in fashion, it shared with the Yew in the formation of designs and figures of men and animals. While there are few soils in which it will not thrive, it prefers such as are light, with a warm gravelly subsoil. Among the typical species is Japonica, a form of the com- mon Box, but hardier. The Minorca Box (B. balearicd) is a native of Balearic and other islands in the Mediterranean, 454 CACTUS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. CAI.ANDRIN'IA. as well as Italy and Turkey, where it forms a fine tree of from 60 to 80 ft. in height. The leaves are larger than | those of the common Box, and when exposed to the sun are of a lighter green, j but it only succeeds well in warm well- j sheltered situations with a dry soil and a ! warm subsoil. Other species are Har- \ land:, microphylla and Wallidiana, few of \ these so precious as the common Box. The variegated forms of Box are seldom so good in effect as the green kinds, at least after they have left the nursery stage. climate, and the best places are, as a rule, on well-drained ledges in the rock-garden. Plants of this family should be planted in the rock-garden in open airy situations, free from dripping water, and where the drainage is perfect. Probably hardy alpine species will be found farther south, and we may yet see, in warmer counties, a good collection of bright-flowered Cac- taceous plants on warm rocky borders or banks. CAESALPINIA. A graceful and distinct summer-leafing shrub or low tree, even at this early date after its introduction, Calandrinia oppositifolia. CACTUS. Various plants belonging ic Cactus Order of plants have prove to the Cactus Order of plants have proved hardy in England. Opuntia, Echino- cereus, Mammillaria and Echinopsis are among the hardiest. Pretty effects are shown by some Cacti in the open air in Southern England, the plants blooming freely when fully exposed in the sun on a warm rock-garden ; but the want of the sunshine of their native plains is against their being very happy in Britain. When the foliage of a plant is perennial, as in Cacti it is well to place it so that it may be safe from injuries, apart from proving a picturesque one. It is one of a genus usually tropical, and the interest lies in finding a species which is hardy in the country around London. C.japonica is a loose or free growing shrub with hard prickles, leaves a foot long and very graceful, and handsome yellow flowers in racemes. It grows well with me in very poor soil and seems quite happy as a wall or bank bush. R. Calampelis. See ECCREMOCARPUS. CALANDRINIA. (Rock Purslane}. Dwarf annual or perennial plants of the Purslane Order. This genus is large, and CALCEOLARIA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. CALCEOLARIA. 455 many species have been introduced, though few are very effective for gardens, but if well grown and placed they are pretty, and sometimes brilliant border or rock plants, thriving in warm and dry soils. C. discolor is a beautiful S. American plant, from i to IT? ft. high, with fleshy leaves, pale green above and purple be- neath, and bright-rose flowers in a long raceme, i^ in. across. C. giandiflora is a handsome annual with showy blossoms. It thrives in a warm and good loam, and blooms throughout the autumn. C. oppositifolia is a distinct plant, and is well marked by its larger, very thick, succulent leaves and delicate white flowers. C. speciosa has flowers from \ to i in. across, purple-crimson ; on sunny mornings they open fully, closing early in the afternoon. C. umbellata is a dis- tinct and pretty plant, the flower dazzling magenta-crimson. It does well in fine sandy peat or in other light earth, and is perennial on dry soils and in chinks in a well-drained rock-garden, readily raised from seed sown in pots or in the open air in fine sandy soil. It may also be treated as an annual sown in frames very early in spring. Chili. There are other kinds, such as C. Lind- leyana, C. procumbe?is, C. compressa, and C. micrantha, but not so good as the kinds just mentioned. CALCEOLARIA (Slipper Flower). Handsome and distinct herbs or low shrubs of the Foxglove Order, mostly from South America. Many of them are of high garden value, but few are hardy. In the London district they are employed very much less than they were some years ago, as many of the varieties die from disease, or are short-lived as regards bloom, but the handsome C. amplcxicaulis, with its bold habit and lemon-yellow flowers, is always a favourite. PROPAGATION. The best time for pro- pagating the shrubby varieties is the end of September and October, in a cold wooden or turf frame on a dry bottom ; fill it to within 6 in. of the top with sandy loam, and over that spread some clean silver sand. Then select stubby firm side shoots, pick out any flower-spikes that are visible, remove one or two of the base leaves, cut horizontally below a joint with a sharp knife, and dibble them thickly, regularly and firmly into the frames, giving a sprinkling of water through a fine rose to settle the soil and to prevent their flagging. Keep the frames close and shaded for a day or two, but afterwards remove the shading, and only use it during the succeeding month to counter- act the effects of bright sunshine. WINTERING. These frames require no further care beyond protection from frost, by covering the sashes, and banking up the sides, if of wood, with soil. Wooden boxes, seed-pans, or pots might also be used for striking Calceolarias in ; and in them the plants might be wintered in any pit, greenhouse, or conservatory. Whether propagated in frames or boxes, they should be transplanted farther apart than previously, into other frames filled with rich open soil, where they will become fit for planting out by the middle of May. SPRING PROPAGATION. Spring cut- tings are mostly rooted in hotbeds, in boxes, or in pans, and often as many damp off as survive to become plants ; neverthe- less, where the stock is deficient, this mode must be resorted to. It is best to strike them after the middle of March in pure sand in a hotbed or propagating pit where there is no stagnant moisture, and, when well rooted, to pot them, or put them in boxes in light sandy soil, still keeping them in warm quarters for a few days. After that, gradually shift them into places in which there is less heat. Powdered charcoal or wood ashes strewed on the soil among the cuttings prevents damp, and the watering-pot should be used judiciously. Species of Calceolaria. Apart from the varieties, a number of species are of some merit for the flower garden, and some are neglected and unknown. The greater number of them inhabit mountain valleys, and ascend to an elevation of from 13,000 to 14,000 ft. within the tropics in South America, where they enjoy a temperate climate. C. alba. A lovely sub-shrubby species from Chili growing 3 to 4 ft. high, with clusters of snowy white flowers. A native of Chili. C. amplexicaulis. A fine bold kind with soft green leaves clasping the stem and many lemon-yellow flowers. Owing to its tall habit it groups well with bold plants, and it is usually handsomer in autumn than any of the other kinds. Ecuador. C. hyssopifolia is one of the best of the small-growing kinds, bearing loose clusters of lemon-yellow blossoms from early summer till autumn, the foliage resembling that of Hyssop. Ecuador. C. Kellyana. A curious hardy hybrid, with short downy stems, 6 to 9 in. high, flowers about an inch across, of a deep yellow with numerous small brown dots, and two or three grow together on the 456 CALLA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. CALLISTEPHUS. top of the steins. Its foliage resembles that of one of the Mimulus, creeping along the ground, and it is a very interesting dwarf rock-garden plant. C. Pavonii is a noble species, the largest in cultivation. It is from 2 to 4 ft. high, has large light-green, much- wrinkled foliage, from June to September bearing large, pale-yellow, slipper-shaped blossoms. It is a fine object against a warm south wall, but at the approach of winter it should either be lifted or pro- tected. Peru. C. violacea is a pretty species, with small helmet-shaped flowers, which are rich purple and spotted ; succeeds well on warm borders or the rock-garden, and, if slightly protected, withstands mild winters in the south. Chili. Calendula officinalis (Pot Marigold}. An interesting old hardy biennial ; one of the best for autumn and winter flowering in almost every garden ; the petals were formerly used to flavour dishes in old English cookery, hence its name. A variety of kinds is now offered by the seed houses. The plants are among the best biennials for autumn and even winter flowering. For late blooming, seed should be sown in July. The plants usually sow themselves freely, and may be sown in the open ground either in spring or autumn. The pretty variety called meteor and other forms are improvements on the old showy form. CALLA (Bog Arum}. C.palustris is a small hardy trailing Arum, which has pretty little white spathes. Though often grown in water, in a bog or muddy place it will grow larger. For moist spongy spots near the rock-garden, or by the side of a rill, it is one of the best plants, but its beauty is best seen when it is allowed to ramble over rich muddy soil. N. America and N. Europe. Flowering in summer, and in- creasing rapidly by its running stems. Callichrpa. See LAYIA. Calliopsis. See COREOPSIS. Calliprora. See BRODLEA. CALLIRHOE (Poppy Maiiow\& small and handsome genus of North American plants, of the Mallow order, of which some half-dozen kinds are known in our gardens. They are hardy herba- ceous perennials, and succeed well in the open border in rich light soil. C. alcseoides is an erect herbaceous perennial, with the habit and general ap- pearance of Malva moschata, the flowers from i inch to \\ inches in diameter. Barren Oak lands, Kentucky and Ten- nessee. C. digitata. A distinct-looking glau- cous perennial herb, 2 or 3 ft. high, with reddish-purple flowers in summer ; it is not so showy as the other kinds. C. involucrata is a charming dwarf prostrate perennial, with large violet- crimson flowers 2 in. in diameter. It is excellent for the rock-garden, as it bears a continuous crop of showy blossoms from early in summer till late 'in autumn. It has the best effect when allowed to fall over the ledge of a rock. California. C. macrorhiza alba is a pure white form of a kind with purplish-carmine flowers, and erect stems, from i^ to 2^ ft. high, with a corymbose raceme of flowers. It occurs in several shades of colour, from rosy-purple to pale rose and white, and sown early it will bloom the first year. South-western States of N. America. C. Papaver, figured in The Garden, has a trailing habit, and flowers incessantly from early summer until late autumn. The flowers are of a bright purple-red, as large and somewhat resembling those of our common field Poppy, hence the name. C. pedata is one of the prettiest species. A perennial, with trailing stems bearing lobed foliage, and handsome crimson flowers, fully 2 in. in diameter. When sown early the plants bloom the first season, and continue in flower until late in autumn. In dry soils the roots survive our average winters. It succeeds best in dry soils. The varieties nana and compacta are pretty dwarfer varieties. CALLISTEPHUS (China Aster]. Among the many annuals now in cultiva- tion China Asters (C. chinensis) are among the best, and when well grown and cared for they do as much to render a garden gay during summer and autumn as any annual plant. To see them in their beauty, however, they must be grown in masses, and well cultivated not at any stage left to haphazard or poor culture. VARIETIES. China Asters may be classed according to height, habit, character of flower. Tall Asters com- prise the fine Paeony-flowered, the tall Chrysanthemum, the Emperor, the tall Victoria, the Quilled, and a few others. Kinds of medium height are the dwarfer forms of the Victoria, the fine Cocardeau, the Rose, and the Porcupine. The dwarf forms comprise the short Chrysanthemum, the dwarf pyramidal, and specially the dwarf bouquet, which is one of the most beautiful for pot culture. The best bedding kinds are the medium-growing Victoria, the Rose, and the dwarf Chrysanthemum, as these vary from 9 to 12 in. in height, and form good bunches of bloom on each CALOCHORTUS THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. CALOCHORTUS. 457 plant, and fine masses of colour collec- tively. The dwarf bouquet kinds, whilst specially good for pot culture, are valuable as edgings to beds of taller kinds. For pot culture for exhibition the best are the medium-growing Victorias, as these, if of a good strain, possess quality, and hand- some even heads of bloom. CULTURE. Mr. J. Betteridge writes : " For several years after I com- menced the culture of quilled Asters I always sowed the seed in bottom- heat ; but during the last decade I have sowed it, between 26th March and 26th April, in a cold frame, under glass, in drills 6 in. apart, and not too thick in the drills. A few days suffice to bring the plants above the soil, when a liberal supply of air must be given, or they will be weak. When large enough, prick them out into another cold frame, slightly shaded, where they will soon be estab- lished, and after they are strong enough to handle plant them out in well- manured soil, and be careful not to break the tender fibres of the roots. Let the rows be I ft. apart, and plant the strongest plants i ft. from each other, in showery weather, and they will soon get estab- lished. If the weather be hot and drying, give them a little watering till rooted : afterwards keep them clear of weeds by hoeing among them. About the first week in August top-dress with rotten manure from an old hotbed, giving a good soak- ing all over if the weather continues dry. " SOIL. China Asters like a deep rich soil, and, should dry weather set in, it is only in such soil that really fine flowers can be obtained and the plants induced to hold out. Planted in the ordinary way, they are weeds in comparison with those that are well nourished and watered. Confined to the top shallow crust of earth, they soon dry up and starve. The best way to manage them is to dig and cast off the top spit to one side, handy to be returned to its place again, and then to trench and break up the soil below, working in with it plenty of short manure. In very light soils a few barrow-loads of clay, chopped fine and mixed well in, will do more than any other to grow fine China Asters. The thing to aim at is to keep the bottom cool and moist ; then, if the weather be favourable, the plants will take care of themselves. But considering this work has all to be done for one year's bloom only, the question is whether the same labour would . not be better given to hardy plants or choice shrubs which thrive for many years in the same spot after such preparation as is here spoken of to secure one year's bloom, and that perhaps a short one." Calluna. See ERICA VULGARIS. CALOCHORTUS (Mariposa Lily}. A lovely family of bulbous plants from Western North America, belonging to the Lily Order. Forming one of the most charming groups of hardy bulbous plants, the colours being so varied and delicate. Excepting the Mexican species, which are, fortunately, few, Calochorti are hardy ; but my experience is that unless on very warm soils their culture is precarious in our country, and no wonder, considering they come from one of the most genial and sunny of climates. They are so singularly beautiful, how- ever, that many will attempt their culti- vation, and the advice of Mr. Carl Purdy, who has studied the wild species in their native wilds, and cultivated them, is the best we can have. THE CULTURE OF CALOCHORTI. Calochorti are natives of a vast region in North America, stretching from far east of the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, and from Northern Mexico to British America. From the sea-coast and islands they grow from 6000 feet to 9000 feet altitude on the peaks. Some are natives of the intensely hot deserts of Southern California and Arizona, and- some grow in the moist meadows ot Oregon in a climate differing but little from that of England. In Montana and other States of the inland region the species indigenous there have to bear as low a temperature as 40 below zero. In the soils in which they naturally grow there is as much diversity. Clay, sand, loam and rocky debris are respectively the chosen homes of certain species, and several choose the blackest and stickiest of clays. One is found in salt meadows and many in grassy meadows. I have at different times tried nearly every known species in many soils and situations. The winter climate of Ukiah is quite wet, with the thermometer often at 20 to 24, and sometimes as low as 15 above zero. Often the Calochorti leaves are frozen till they crackle, but I have never known any injury to result. In spring there is abundant rain until their flowering time, while our summer is perfectly dry. Perfect drainage is the first essential to success for all sorts. I have gradually come to the use of three mixtures. Along our river banks there is a winter deposit of sandy silt. This is excellent Calochortus soil, but not so good as the 458 CALOCHORTUS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. CALOCHORTUS. next. I find the best results follow from ; the use of about one half half-rotten spent tan bark with one half sandy or clay loam. The tan bark rots slowly and gives a loose, j well-drained soil, which will not pack, j This suits all Calochorti and gives a | splendid bloom and firm, well-ripened j bulbs. For English growers many sub- stitutes will occur. I know of but one i disease to which Calochorti are subject. I This is a mildew, the " Lily leaf ash." It \ attacks them in the spring, just before the flowering stalk appears. It attacks the leaf tissue, and in a week entirely destroys the leaf and injures the bulb. In their susceptibility to the attacks of : the fungus Calochorti vary greatly. All of the species having a single glossy radical leaf are free from its attacks. This includes all of the Star Tulips and the C. nitidus group. While all of the desert species, such as C. splendens, C. Kennedy^ C. Palmeri, C. Gunnisoni, C. Nut t alii, C. macrocarpus, and C.flexuosus are subject to it to such an extent as to make their successful culture very near hopeless unless some cure can be found for this mildew. While the amateur may prefer to try all sorts and get his experience for him- self, I believe that many growers will appreciate a list of the best growers among the Calochorti. For such I would recommend the following : In the globular-flowered Star Tulips, C. albus, white, C. piilchellus, yellow, and C. amcenus, rose-coloured, are all thrifty and beautiful. Among the open-cupped Star Tulips, C. Benthami, in yellow, and C. Maiveanus var. major are the best. There is, however, a race of giant Star Tulips, sturdy plants 9 in. to 16 in. high, with large flowers of the same delicate style as Maweanns, which, although rare now, will soon quite displace the smaller i ones. These are C. apiculatus, straw- I coloured, C. Greeni, blue, and C. Howelli, yellow. C. lilacinus, a lavender-coloured sort, is a splendid grower and very de- sirable. In the next section, C. nitidus is a fine hardy and very beautiful plant, combining the attributes of Star Tulip | and Mariposa. In the C. IVeedi set, C. PlummercB is best. Of the true Butter- fly Tulips, C. Vesta is by far the best grower. It is a sort which has great vitality, can be propagated very rapidly by offsets (three or four a year), and grows well in any well-drained soil. C. venustus var. purpurescens is almost as good a grower, and the two are by all odds the easiest Calochorti to grow. C. venustus var. citrinus in lemon is very thrifty. That grand plant C. davatus is a fine grower. I have found that by very late planting I can bring sorts to flower which planted early invariably succumb. I had the same experience a year ago. It would seem that when planted early they reach a standstill period in late winter and cannot resist disease, while planted late they are in full growth at the critical period. Clearly if so much care is needed in their own lovely climate, in ours it will require all our care to secure them perfect drain- age, porous soil and warmth, though no doubt some of naturally warm soils may suit them. Calochortus flavus. C. albus. This is a charming species and more easily grown than most. This may be planted in the open border without much fear of failure, unless the soil be very stiff. It increases rapidly by offsets and seeds, which ripen and produce good flowering bulbs in three years. These require rich soil during the first two years, after which they may be planted in the general collection. C. apiculatus is a tall stout-stemmed species 9 to 18 in. high, with large straw- coloured flowers. The variety minor has creamy flowers with a fringe of yellow hairs in the centre. C. Benthami. A pretty dwarf species CALOCHORTUS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN, CALOCHORTUS. 459 from 4 in. to 8 in. high, the leaves long and narrow ; the flowers, of a rich citron- yellow, often deep brown at the base, and densely covered with yellow hairs, are erect, from three to six in an umbel, and produced in June and July. California. C. clavatus has strong much- branched flower stems, bearing very large widely expanded blossoms of golden- yellow. C. cceruleus. A dwarf species, rarely exceeding 6 in. in height, with umbels of three to five large flowers of a bright lilac, dotted and lined with dark blue, the gland at the base being covered with a pretty fringed scale. California. C. elegans. A fine dwarf species, variable, bearing in June three to five drooping flowers, white or greenish-white with a purplish base, bearded, but not ciliate. The gland is covered by a fringed scale. The narrow leaf is longer than the flower-stem, smooth, and nerved. C. flavus. It represents a form in which the flowers are upright, and the petals have an outward curve instead of an inward curve. It is, perhaps, not quite so hardy as most kinds, but it will be found to do well at the base of a south wall. It is also known as C. pallidus and C. lutens. Mexico. C. Greeni. A fine bold species, grow- ing a foot or more in height, and blooming in early June, three to five large, clear, lilac flowers, barred below with yellow and purple, and often loosely covered with long hairs. The leaves are broad, glaucous green, and pointed. California. C. Gunnisoni has larger flowers of a bright lilac, yellowish-green below the middle, where they are banded and lined with purple. A native of the Rocky Mountains from Wyoming to New Mexico, flowering with us in July. C. Howelli is a strong growing species with long glossy leaves and large creamy white flowers. C. Kennedy!. This is the most brilliant of the Mariposa Lilies known to us, and the flowers are dazzling scarlet in colour. It has proved perfectly hardy, and grows about 18 in. high. California. C. lilacinus. This is of very distinct habit, and has curious, hairy flowers, which are borne from four to ten on a stem, from 6 in. to 8 in. high, and they are pale lilac in colour. California. C. longibarbatus. A curious species from Oregon and Washington Territory. It grows about a foot in height, the stem bearing one to three pale purple-lilac flowers each I to \\ in. in diameter, with a dark purple stripe across the base of each petal, and a long beard just above it. Flowers in July. C. luteus. A handsome and variable species, from I ft. to 2 ft. in height ; j the flowers vary from one to six to a stem, I the colour varying from yellow to deep, rich orange, and lined with brownish - yellow below the middle. In the variety citrinus the whole flower is rich lemon- yellow, with a central circular brown or purple blotch ; and in the variety oculatus \ it varies from white and lilac to yellow,. | with a dark-brown spot. Calochortus fuscu* C. Lyoni. One of the earliest Mariposa Lilies, with numerous large blossoms varying from pure white to rose with a large black spot at the base of each petal. C. macrocarpus. A tall handsome species, found on the undulating barren grounds around the great falls of the Columbia River. It grows from \\ ft. to 2 ft. in height, the flowers, 3 in. to 4 in. in diameter, purplish-lilac, somewhat paler at the base and with greenish mid- vein. C. madrensis. A pretty little species with bright orange-yellow flowers in 460 CALOPOGON. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. CALYCANTHUS. August and September, and a tuft of deep-orange hairs at the base of each segment. It rarely exceeds a span in height, the stems bearing several flowers in a loose head. Mexico. C. Maweanus is a low plant, from 5 in. to 9 in. in height, and bearing from four to six bell-shaped flowers in July, each \\ in. to 2 in. in diameter. The petals are white, tinged with bright purple at the base, and densely clothed with purple hairs. California. C. nitidus is a lovely strong growing species with five to ten large white flowers in an umbel, each petal having a large indigo blotch in the centre, and covered with long hairs. C. Nuttalli has large white flowers with a blackish purple blotch at the base of the broader segments, the narrow segments being green striped with red. The rare variety Leichtlini has white flowers also, but is more beautifully marked. C. Plummerse throws up a broad leaf about 2 ft. long, and a strong branching spike with numerous soft lilac flowers of a satiny lustre and about 4 in. across, the base of each petal being clothed with golden hairs. C. pulchellus. A hardy plant, the bulbs, left in the open border, flower regu- larly. It grows about a foot high, much- branched, each branch terminating in an umbel of three to four fragrant, bright orange-yellow pendulous flowers. C. splendens. A pretty species, the flowers of a pale lilac, with a dark blotch at the base of each of the petals. California. C. Tolmiei. This very scarce Star Tulip is a vigorous grower, with tubular flowers covered with bluish hairs. C. venustus. One of the prettiest of the Mariposa Lilies, from i ft. to 2 ft. high, the flowers very large, white or pale lilac, with a prominent red blotch at the top of each petal, the centre brownish-yellow, the base brown. California from Alameda County southwards. C. Weedi. A handsome and remark- able species in having the bulbs fibrous- coated. The stem grows about a foot in height, one to three flowered, large, deep yellow, dotted and frequently margined with purple. CALOPOGON. C. pulchellus is a beautiful hardy Orchid suitable for boggy ground, the flowers pink, I in. in diameter, in clusters of two to six upon a stem, beautifully bearded with white, yellow, and purple hairs. Plant in the rock- garden, bog, or in an open spot in the hardy fernery in moist peaty soil, as it is a native of wet spots at the edges of Pine woods in the Moss in Cranberry swamps, and in wet Grassy marshes, and occasionally seen on solid ground, in low, wet, woody situations in N. America. CALTHA (Marsh Marigold\1te Marsh Marigold (C. palustris], that in early spring " shines like fire in swamps and hollows gray," and is one of our good hardy plants, though it is so frequent in a wild state that there is little need to give it a place, except on the margin of water. Its double varie- ties, however, are worth a place in a moist rich border, or, like the single form, by the water-side. There is a double variety of the smaller creeping C. radicans, about half the size of the common plant. There are double-flowered forms, bearing beautiful golden rosettes. There are also C. leptosepala, a California!) kind, and C. purpurascens, distinct and hand- some, about i ft. high, with purplish stems, and bright-orange flowers, the out- side of the petals flushed with a purplish tinge. The various forms of the Marsh Marigold are handsome in their golden blossoms, and in groups or bold masses are effective ; they are easily grown, and increase freely. CALYCANTHUS (Allspice Tree}. North American shrubs with handsome flowers of pleasant fragrance. C. occidcnt- alis is from 6 to 8 ft. high, with large maroon-crimson flowers of fine fragrance, and is worthy of cultivation. C. florid us is smaller and not so dense, with purplish- red flowers, strongly scented. The names in catalogues, such as C. glau- cus, IcEirigatus, oblongifolius, macr op hy llus, represent forms or varieties of either the east- ern or the west- ern species. The two described are hardy, the Carolina species having been grown since 1757, while the Californian has been cultivated over fifty years. They flourish best when some- what shaded by other trees and where the ground is damp. They grow wild near streams and wet places. The Winter-Sweet, Chimonanthus, is some- times included among these shrubs in Continental lists. Calycanthaceae. Calycanthus laevigatus. CALYPSO. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. CAMELLIA. 461 CALYPSO. C. borcalis is a pretty little hardy Orchid, with rosy-purple sepals and petals, and a white lip, heavily blotched with cinnamon brown, from the cold regions of N. America. It succeeds in half-shady spots on the margin of the rock-garden or bog, or in a select spot among choice shrubs in light, moist vegetable soil, covered with Coco fibre or like material to keep the surface open. Calystegia. See CONVOLVULUS. CAMASSIA (QuamasJi}. North Am- erican plants of the Lily Order, hardy and valuable for cutting. C. esculenta (Quamash} is a native of meadows and marshes in N. W. America from i to 3 ft. high, its stalks bearing a loose raceme of from ten to twenty flowers about 2 in. across, the colour from deep to pale blue. There is also a pure white, and various other forms thriving in moist situations in a deep light soil. A bold group in flower has a fine effect in July, and it is excellent in the cut state, as the buds of the spike open in the house. C. Cusicki is a new species discovered a few years ago in the Blue Mountains of Oregon, and it was described in Garden and Forest as the most vigorous species yet found with large broad leaves, a stout flower-stem growing 3 ft. high, and flowers of a pale delicate blue, large and spreading. C. Fraseri (Eastern Quamask\^ native of the States east of the Mississippi, its flowers are rather smaller than those of the western species ; about i^ ft. high, the scape bearing a raceme of ten to thirty pale-blue flowers, each about I in. across. It is, however, later in flowering than other Camassias, thriving in a light rich soil. All Camassias may be pro- pagated by dividing the bulbs or by seeds. C. Leichtlini ( White Camassid}. This often grows on sandy ridge-tops, and is found in dry spots in ravines ; its bulbs are generally deep in some stiff soil. The flower-spike is large, being 9 in. long by 4 in diameter, while in rich deep soils it is sometimes compound, and contains several hundred florets, creamy white and about i in. in diameter, the stem often 3 or 4 ft. high. It is vigorous, but not so handsome as the Quamash. British Columbia. CAMELLIA. Handsome shrubs of the Tea Order, mostly grown under glass in our country, and those who live in northern districts may well be sur- prised to see this shrub healthy out-of- doors, even if it does not flower well ; but in the Isle of Wight and the southern coasts of England and Ireland it is often laden with as many flowers, as it is in Madeira. Most people who have Camellias in the open air find that they flower well five out of every six years, and that the plants are hardy indeed, hardier than many shrubs that make their new growth early in the year. Their greatest enemy is fierce winds, which beat them about. Any one planting them out for the first time will do well to plant first some of the commoner kinds, and in Alpine Hairbell in rock garden. Engraved from .photograph by Ellen Willmott. sheltered spots ; then, when these thrive, to continue with more valuable ones. The best aspect for Camellias is a south or south-west one, sheltered by a bank or wall, but in some districts they do best on a north wall. Planting from pots may take place at any period, but about July is the best time, as the wood is then well ripened. Duke of Devonshire, Halfida, Chandleri, Florida, imbricata, elegans, Alberti, Double White, Donckelaari, Countess of Orkney, Mathotiana, and Lady Hume's Blush are good varieties for outdoor culture. The late Robert 462 CAMPANULA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. CAMPANULA. Marnock, the landscape gardener, wrote as follows to The Garden about Camellias out-of-doors : " Permit me to remind those who, like myself, have an affection for the great beauty of the Camellia, when in vigorous health in the open air, that although it is true that the plant will bear a greater degree of cold than the Common Laurel, and other ever- green shrubs which by common consent have long been regarded as hardy, yet the main stems and stouter branches of the Camellia are, nevertheless, liable to injury from severe frost. Now, all that is necessary to protect the plant at this weak point is to closely wrap the stem with straw or hay bands ; and if a little Fern or other loose material be laid over the roots, so much the better. The portions of the stems near the ground are the most liable to suffer, while the leaves and branches, if not exposed to fierce gales, will bear much frost, provided the stems are protected." In Cornwall, the Camellia grows in a most beautiful way at Tregothnan, Mena- billy and many other places, flowering in this county better than I have seen it in warmer countries even. It is also grown out of doors in home counties, though not quite successfully ; still the plant is hardy in many districts, even more hardy than the common laurel and it will grow even on the north side of walls. At Scorrier House, Tremough, and Pengreep, among the varieties that do best are Mathotiana, the largest, ane- uwnccflora, very profuse flowering, Countess of Orkney, Donkelaari, which comes very early, and the old japonica. C. reticulata is the handsomest of the Camellias, but needs a warmer and more sheltered place than the varieties of the Japan Camellia. CAMPANULA (Hairbell, Bellflower). A large, beautiful, and most important family for the flower garden. The alpine species are charming for rock r gardens, being as a rule not difficult to cultivate. Some are very easy and free. A group of kinds somewhat larger than the high alpines adorn rocks and old walls on themountaing,and maybe used for these in our gardens. Some are pretty window- plants, thriving in dry rooms ; numbers are good border and edging plants of easy cul- ture ; the tall and straggling kinds admir- able for the wild garden, or rough woody places or hedgerows, but these tall species must not be used much in the flower garden or mixed borders, as their time of bloom is short and they are very apt to overrun rarer plants. Some of the annual kinds, if well grown, are showy. The Canterbury Bell is one of the finest of biennials, the tall chimney Campanula a very handsome and precious plant. C. Allioni, an alpine kind forming an underground network of succulent roots, surmounted by stemless rosettes of leaves, about an inch long, from which arise stalkless erect flowers. Suc- ceeds in exposed positions in the rock- garden in a moist, free, and sandy loam, but dislikes limestone. Division. Alps. C. alpina (Alpine /jfcwVte//). Covered with stiff down, giving it a slightly gray appearance, 5 to 10 in. high ; flowers of fine dark blue, scattered in a pyramidal manner along the stems. Valuable for front margins of mixed border, as well as the rock-garden. Division or seeds. Carpathians. C. Barrelieri has prostrate one- flowered stems and roundish heart-shaped leaves and blue large flowers. On rocks by the seaside about Naples ; a good trailing rock-plant, which thrives also in baskets or pots in windows. C. caespitosa ( Tufted charming and vigorous little plant, its roots ramble very much, and it soon forms large patches in any garden soil. Ex- cellent for edgings and rocks, the angles of steps in rock-gardens, and where flagstones are used to form paths it is one of the plants that run about among the stones with very pretty effect. C. carpatica (Carpathian Hairbell). A dwarf plant of free-flowering habit, the light-blue flowers large and cup- shaped, borne on foot-stalks 12 to 15 in. high in July and August in succession. There are pale and white forms of this plant and the hybrid forms, none of them better than the species though giving variety. C. cenisia (Mont Cenis Hairbell}. A high alpine plant growing among Saxifraga biflora on the sides of glaciers, making little show above ground but vigorous below, sending a great number of runners under the soil, and here and there it sends up a compact rosette of light-green leaves, with blue flowers. It should have a sandy or gritty and moist soil on the rock-garden. Division. C. fragilis (Brittle Hairbell} is a glabrous plant, except that the young branches are coated with soft down ; the flowering branches prostrate, 12 or 15 in. long ; the flowers I in. or more in diameter, delicate blue. If planted in the rock-garden, a watchful eye must be CAMPANULA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. CAMPANULA. 463 kept against snails. A variety C. hirsuta is covered with stiff down, and looks almost woolly. Division, cuttings, and seeds. C. garganica (Gargano Hairbell}. A compact and tufty plant. The flowers in branching racemes, pale blue, towards the centre shading off to white in summer, Campanula carpatica. thriving in a rock garden or a border ; but, owing to its pendent flowering branches, a good place for it is against a rocky ledge, over which its masses of flowers may hang. Division or by cuttings taken in early spring. C. glomerata (Clustered B ell flower}. A handsome plant about 2 ft. high, the stemsterminated by dense clusters of pretty flowers, intense purple. The pure-white form is somewhat rare, and there are various forms and allies. One of the finest of all the Bellflowers. C. grandiflora. See PLATYCODON. C. isophylla (Ligurian Hairbell}.^ very pretty Italian species ; the leaves are roundish or heart-shaped, the flowers of a pale but very bright blue, and with whitish centre. A charming ornament for the rock-garden, in sunny positions in well- drained, rather dry fissures, in sandy loam. The variety alba is a beautiful form with white flowers. Seed and cuttings. C. macrantha. The stems of this handsome plant rise to a height of 5 ft., terminated by clusters of large deep-blue flowers almost as large as Canterbury Bells, but less contracted at the mouth of the tube. It is a free vigorous perennial from Russia, best fitted for naturalisation in woody places. C. macrostyla (Candelabra Bell flower}. A singular plant, having large flowers, with blue netted veins on a white ground which gets purple at the edges, and with a huge stigma, wholly distinct from any of the Campanulas in our gardens, and well deserves culture. It is readily recog- nised by its candelabra habit of growth. A native of Asia Minor, and a fine annual of easy culture. C. Medium (Canterbury Bell\^ familiar old plant having now varieties of various colours bearing single flowers, doubles, in which two, three, and even four bells seem to be compressed into the outer one ; and duplex flowers, in which one bell grows in the other, the two com- bined resembling a cup standing in a saucer. There are many colours, such as white, lavender, mauve, several shades of purple, pink, rose, salmon, and blue. The duplex strains have hitherto been confined chiefly to white and blue, but other colours are now being introduced. The habit of the plants as a rule is compact, when in bloom, ranging from 18 to 24 in. in height, and forming perfect pyramids of flowers. The Calycanthema section usually exhibits a taller and a looser growth, and should be planted in borders behind the double and single kinds. March or April is the best time to sow seed in a warm spot in the open ground, but it is much safer to sow some also in shallow pans or boxes placed in a frame Campanula hirsuta. or on a shelf in the greenhouse. When the seedlings are large enough to handle, prick them out into some shady spot, and keep them watered until well rooted. From that time they may be safely left to take care of themselves until 464 CAMPANULA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. CAMPANULA. September, when they should be trans- planted into their permanent places in the flower borders, where they will get well established before the winter and develop blooming crowns for the next year. Campanula pyramidalis. C. persicifolia (Peach - leaved Bell- flower}. A beautiful species, the cup- shaped flowers of which are fully 2 in. across. The plant is \\ to 3 ft. high, flowering in July and August. Besides the double blue and white forms there is an interesting variety named coronata, in which the corolla is doubled. All the varieties well repay good culture, and there is a new and very large form, maxime. Plants occasionally divided and grown in rich beds give very fine crops of flowers. C. Portenschlagiana( WallHairbell\ A dense tufted-evergreen species, with small bright-green leaves, irregularly notched, so dense as to obscure the foot-stalks, I in. or more in length, by which they are sup- ported. The flowers pale blue in August or September. It spreads slowly by underground stems, and succeeds in crevices of the rock-garden. Dalmatia. C. pulla (Austrian Hairbell\ This, when well grown, is one of the most charm- ing of Hairbells. It is a native of the Austrian Alps, on high mountain pastures ; if planted in the rock-garden, therefore, it should have to itself a shelf of soil in which a little peat and sand have been mixed. After blooming the foliage dis- appears and the plant goes to rest. An excellent rock-garden plant. Division. C. pusilla. Smaller than C. caspitosa, rarely exceeding 4 in. in height, the shining green leaves heart-shaped and toothed, the flowers pale blue, in racemes, in June and July. Switzerland. Very gritty moist loam in the rock-garden is best for it. Syn. C. modesta. 'C. pyramidalis (Steeple Bell/lower). A vigorous plant, with thick and fleshy flower-stems, rising to a height of 4 to 6 ft., with numerous broad ovate leaves ; the flowers, close to the stem, giving the in- florescence a steeple-like form. The flowers are blue or white ; coming in succession, over a considerable time, in July, August, and September. Though not quite a biennial, it is better in general cultivation to treat it as such, as from seedling plants, well grown on during the first year, the finest stems arise. A border flower of the highest merit in favourable soils ; so important, indeed, that occasional batches of seed should be sown to keep up a Campanula turbinata var. vigorous supply. It is often grown in pots for the house both in England and France. C. Raineri (Rainess Bell flower). A dwarf, compact, sturdy plant, varying in height from 3 to 6 in., each branch bearing a large dark-blue flower. It thrives best CAMPTOSORUS. ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. CANNA. 465 in sunny positions in loam freely inter- mingled with pieces of stone, and well watered in dry weather, and is a gem for the rock-garden. Alps of N. Italy. C. rotundifolia (English Hairbell\ In this pretty wild pla'nt we have a true type of the Hairbell. There is a white variety, generally dwarfer, and there are several forms all beautiful, and of easy culture in any soil. These are all ex- cellent border flowers, and also good for the rougher parts of the rock-garden, and I love to see the wild plant growing in Grass on rough slopes or places not mown till autumn. C. turbinata ( Tur- ban Bellflower) is a dwarf plant with grayish-green leaves, the flowers borne singly on stems about 6 in. long, deep blue, and i|in. across. Mountains of Transylvania ; a charming plant for border or rock cul- ture. CAMPTOSORUS (Walking- Leaf}. C. rhizophyllus is a cu- rious N. American Fern, remarkable for its narrow fronds, which taper into slender prolonga- tions, and take root at the tips like run- ners, giving rise to young plants. Thrives in gritty loamy soil in a some- what shaded position in the rock-garden or hardy fernery. CANNA (Indian Shot}. Handsome tropical plants of the Ginger Order with fine foliage. The tendency of most half-hardy flower-garden plants is to flatness, and the grace of the Cannas makes them valuable, though our country in many parts is too cool for their fair development ; in the warmer south and in sheltered gardens they may be grown with profit. Another good quality is their power of withstanding the storms of autumn. Sheltered situations, places near warm walls, and sheltered dells are the best places for them. As to cul- ture and propagation, nothing can be more simple ; they may be stored in winter under shelves in the houses, in the root- room in fact, anywhere, if covered up to protect them from frost, in spring pulling the roots in pieces and potting them separately. Afterwards it is usual to bring them on in heat, and finally to harden them off previous to planting out in the middle of May. The soil should be deep, rich, and light. Cannas, pro- tected by a coating of litter, have been left out in Battersea Park through severe winters, and attained a height of nearly Canna iridiflora Ehemanni. 12 ft. ; but this was on raised beds in a very warm and sheltered place. Wherever they are grown as isolated tufts, in small groups, or in small beds, it will be best not to take them up oftener than every second or third year, if the ground be warm and well drained. These noble plants would also adorn the conservatory, which is often as devoid of graceful vegetation as the un- happy flower gardens all over the country. Few subjects would be more effective, and none more easily obtained. Cannas are pretty in pots when grown H H 466 THE ENGLISH FLOWER CARD EX. CARBliNIA. with a few corms of gladiolus. The flowers of the Gladioli nestle among the foliage of the Cannas, and lend a charm to groups. LARGE-FLOWERED CANNAS. This is a race of Cannas for which we are mainly indebted to M. Crozy, of Lyons, France, who crossed the Iris-flowered Cannabis saliva (Hemp Plant). Canna with the older kind. Here, how- ever, they are more valuable for the green- house than the open air. The plants as a rule are dwarfer than the old type of Canna, the newer French varieties rang- ing between \\ ft. to 4 ft. in height, the leaves of many shades of colour. In commencing the cultivation of these Cannas, by far the best time to get them is during the winter (say soon after Christmas), when the rhizomes, then in a dormant and well-ripened state, can be sent by post. The list of varieties is now a considerable one, so that a careful selection is absolutely necessary, other- wise some of them will be found to greatly resemble each other, A few of the finer ones are Paul Bert, Louise Chretien, Geoffrey Saint-Hilaire, Capri- cieux, Revol Massot, Lutea splendens, Ulrich Brunner, Francois Crozy, Antonin Crozy, Admiral Courbet, Felix Crousse, Francisque Morel, and Antoine Chantin, and there are many others. CANNABIS (Hemp Plant}. A well- known annual of the Nettle Order, C.satii>a being largely cultivated for its fibre. In our country it is 4 to 10 ft. high, but in Italy sometimes 20 ft. high. In plants growing singly, the stem is much branched, but in masses it is generally simple. It is useful where the tender sub-tropical plants cannot be easily grown, well-grown plants looking graceful, and are useful at the backs of borders ; and a few look well as a separate group. It should be sown in the open ground early in April, and to get larger plants it would be best to raise it in frames. It loves a warm sandy loam, and is one of the few plants that thrive in small London gardens. CAEAGANA (Siberian Pea-tree). A curious group of wiry bushes of the Pea order which, as seen in gardens generally, are not pretty enough to justify their getting a place in this book, but as the name occurs so often, and the wretched appearance they usually present may be in part owing to their being grafted, I give them a place. They are mostly rock or desert shrubs of arid regions in Central Asia, and the species are C. arborescens and its varieties, C. aurantiaca which is the prettiest, and would, perhaps, be a graceful rock shrub, C. chamlagu, C. jubata, C. microphylla, C. pygmaa, and C, spinosa. If we could get these curious shrubs on their own roots the best place for them would be the rock garden or dry banks. dicta is a handsome biennial, having bold, deep-green leaves, blotched and marbled with silvery white. It is useful for asso- ciating with plants of fine foliage, but must have good deep soil and plenty of space. It grows freely and luxuriantly in a thin shrubbery, or on any bank of rub- bish. S. Europe. Syn. Cnicus bcncdictus CARDAMINE. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN-. CARPENTERIA. 467 C AED AMINE ( Cuckoo-flower or Lady's Smock}. Plants of the Wallflower Order, few of which are cultivated, the best being the native Cuckoo-flower in its double form. This will grow well almost any- Caragana Chamlagu. where, although, like the wild plant, that colours the meadows with its soft-hued flowers, it delights in swampy ground. The single kind is too common to need cultivation ; the double kind is a pretty subject for the spring garden and for borders. Division. C. trifolia is a pretty species, with white flowers, from Switzer- land ; 9 to 1 2 in. high ; a border or rough rock-plant. C. latifolia, C. asarifolia, and C. rotundifolia are pretty dwarf plants when in flower, but not popular in gardens. The Toothworts (syn. Dentarias) are interesting spring-flowering plants. They grow best in a light sandy or peaty soil enriched by decayed leaf-mould. Their flowers are welcome in early spring, and remain some time in beauty, and they are easily increased from the small tuber-like roots. Some, like C. bulbifera (Coral Root), bear bulblets on the stem, and from these the plant may be increased. C. digi- tata, a handsome dwarf kind, about 12 in. high, flowers in April ; rich purple, in flat racemes at the top of the stem. C. maxima is the largest of the species, being 2 ft. high, with many pale-purple flowers, and is a native of N. America. C. pinnata is a stout species at once dis- tinguished by its pinnate leaves ; it is from 14 to 20 in. high, flowering from April to June, bearing large pale-purple, lilac, or white flowers, in a cluster. It is a native of mountain and sub-alpine woods in Switzerland. CAREX (SV^*). Waterside grass-like herbs well known in all northern and temperate countries, but few have a place in the garden. C. paniculata is a very large Sedge, something like a dwarf Tree Fera, with strong thick stems and luxuriant masses of drooping leaves, the roots forming dense tufts, I to 3 ft. high, flowers in a large and spreading panicle. A few tufts are very effective in wet places. The finer specimens are of great age, and are found in the bogs where the plant is wild. C. pendula. A graceful British sedge, growing in large tufts, with numer- ous flowering stems and shoots from 3 to 6 ft. high, the leaves 2 ft. or more in length. When in flower the graceful pendent spikes, from 4. to 7 in. long, are pretty, and the plant is very suitable for the margin of water or for shady or moist spots. Common in Britain in evergreen patches in cool or marshy woods. CARPENTERIA. A lovely and dis- tinct shrub of the Saxifrage Family C. californica living out-of-doors against walls in favoured situations. It is 6 to 10 ft. high, having long narrow pale-green leaves, and great clusters of large white fragrant flowers. The first account of it in England was from Mr. Saul, of Wash- Carpenteria californica in a Sussex garden. ington, who sent specimens of it to The Garden in 1880. It is nearly related to the Mock Oranges, which it somewhat resembles, but is handsomer : thrives in light warm soil, and increased from H H 2 468 CARPINUS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. CASSIOPE. suckers, cuttings, or seeds. In cool dis- tricts will require the protection of a greenhouse. CARPINUS (Hornbeam*}. C. betulus is a native tree, especially of the south, sometimes attaining a height of 70 feet, frequent in some woodlands, and in Epping Hornbeam. Forest. There are several varieties of this tree, such as the fern-leaved, cut-leaved and purple kinds, and also the never- failing variegated kind. The common kind is often used as a fence plant, and also, in many continental gardens, to form green walls and hedges. It is one of the best of all woods to burn, and if we ever go back to. the best of all ways of firing for a dwelling-house in the country, a wood fire, it should not be forgotten. It is easily lighted, burns cheerfully and equably, and gives a good heat. Other species are C. caroliniana, cordata, japonica, orientalis and Turczaninovii. CABYA(/#Vvfo>j). A very interesting and distinct group of forest trees, little planted in England in our own day, but so valuable in their own country for their wood, and some for bearing delicious fruit, that they deserve a place in our choice plantations. Mostly trees of North Eastern America and usually hardy, they are some- times well over 100 ft. high ; in their own country inhabiting moist woods and swampy grounds, and therefore likely to be useful in ours in soil not thought good enough for many trees. Among them are : C. olivcefprmis Pecdn, a tree which sometimes attains to a height of over 150 feet with a trunk diameter of 6 ft., and which bears a delicious nut. It has rather a southern distribution, and therefore would be best, no doubt, in good warm soils in our country. C. amara, (the bitter nut), a tree of about 100 feet in moist woods, from Canada downwards, ascending high on the mountains. C. aquatica ( Water Hickory\ a swamp tree sometimes nearly 100 ft. high in wet woods and swamps from Virginia south and west- wards. C. alba (Shell-bark Hickory) also often over 100 feet high ; a native of Canada and of the Western and Southern States. C. sulcata (King-nut), a tall forest tree over 100 feet high in the New England States and westward. C. tomcn- tosa (Fragrant Hickory) growing nearly 100 feet high and inhabiting the cold regions of the West and New England. C. microcdrpa (Small-fruited Hickory). A tall tree of nearly 90 ft. high. New England and westwards. C. porcina (Pig-nut Hickory). A very tall tree of over loo ft. bearing very bitter seeds, also a tree of cold northern regions. They are trees of fine growth with walnut- like leaves and the wood of some kinds in its own country is most valuable. Carya aquatica. CARYOPTEEIS. C. mastacanthus is a small shrub with grayish foliage, distinct in habit, and with purple flowers, not quite hardy, perhaps, in all soils, but pretty on warm banks and in warm gar- dens. There is a white variety. It would group well with the dwarfer shrubs, and in cool districts and on cool soils it will grow against warm walls. On good soils it would come in well with borders of grayish plants such as Lavenders, Carna- tions, and the like. CASSIOPE (Himalayan Heather}. Tiny alpine bushes, thriving in peaty soil well drained, as they are all impatient of stagnant moisture about their roots, whilst absolute shade from the midday sun is also necessary. The best plan is to raise small banks of peat, and plant them on the top, taking care that they do not want for water both at the roots and overhead. They are in- creased by division, rooting freely when pegged down. C.fastigiata is one of the most fragile and beautiful of alpine CASTANEA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. CATALPA. 469 woody plants ; it may be grown without much trouble with the more common C. tetragona. Both are pretty for the rock or bog garden. Cassiope fastigiata. ). Anoble tree, native of eastern and southern Europe. There are fine old trees in many of our country seats in all parts of the south of the country, though excepting in the warmer counties, such as Devonshire, the fruit is not as good as on the continent of Europe. The Chestnut thrives best in airy and warm situations, and upon stony or free soils, not caring much for chalk or heavy soils. There are various garden forms of the Chestnut which are all in- creased by grafting, but none of them are so important as the common tree. As regards its uses, it is common in our underwoods and most effective, perhaps, in all the instances we know of, grouped on turf and occasionally as an avenue tree, but in that case it ought to be planted wide apart. It is easily raised from seed planted directly where it is wanted to grow. There are on the Continent, where the tree is much more grown than here, a good many varieties distinguished by the value of their fruits. Variegated varieties as usual are useless for the garden. There are a few other species such as C. crenata (Japan), de?itata (N. America), and the dwarf C. pumila of the Southern states of N. America, but these are of slight value Castanea pumila. compared to that of C. Vesca, the beauty of old trees of which is very great, as seen at Shrubland, Tortworth, Cowdray, and many other places. CATALPA. Handsome flowering trees of the Bignonia order, one of them forming quite a beautiful tree even in London gardens. The Catalpas thrive best in warm ground and in sheltered positions, the common kind often thriving by the margin of water, though it is more liable to be injured in severe winters in such places. C. bignonoides (Indian Bean}. A handsome tree, native of the Gulf States of Eastern America, but hardy in southern Britain and the kind which flowers so well in London. There is no more precious lawn tree giving good shade and flowering at a season when all the early trees are out of flower. It is best propagated by seed and is not difficult about soil. This tree has a number of synonyms, the best known being C syringcefolia . 470 CATANANCHE. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN, CEANOTHUS. C. speciosa (Catawba Tree). This is a forest tree in its own country in America, rather westwards in Illinois and Missouri, and is little known in our country yet, though promising to be a handsome tree as it reaches 1 20 ft. high in its own country. It deserves a very good position among the best flowering trees for lawn or for a group. Syn. C. cordifolia. C. Bungei and C. Kaempferi are two other kinds known in gardens, both much so pretty that they are often planted by those who are fond of flowering shrubs. Some, however, are hardy enough on light soils in sunny places to withstand our climate, even if fully exposed as bush plants. The majority form beautiful wall shrubs. In all the species the flowers are small, but this is compensated for by their abundance, as they come out in succession during the greater part of the summer. As wall shrubs it is neces- Catalpa bignonioides. inferior in size to the foregoing trees, and less attractive unless where collections are desired. CATANANCHE (Blue Cupidone).C. scerulea is an old border plant, about 2 ft. high, flowering in summer ; fine blue, and growing freely in borders and margins of shrubberies. There is a white variety as common as the blue and a bicolor one. It is easily grown in any soil, and quickly raised from seed. Compositae. Italy and S. France. CEANOTHUS (Mountain Sweet}. Though these beautiful shrubs of the Buck- thorn Family are not quite hardy, they are sary to prune them in April, or as soon as danger from frost is over ; and as all the sorts flower on the shoots of the current year's growth, from one to three eyes of the preceding year's wood should be left, reserving, or at most only topping, such shoots as are required for filling up the open spaces on the wall. All the species are of free growth in warm garden soil, if it is dry, and they will ripen their wood best and flower most freely in sunny exposures. As they are often natives of a charming climate the Pacific slope of N. America no one should attempt their culture except in CEDRELA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. CEDRONELLA. 471 are distinct Ceanothus azureus. warm soil. The following and pretty : C AMERICANOS (New Jersey Tea}. Though one of the hardiest, this thrives best against a wall, and in a dry porous soil ; the flowers, which come in succession from about the middle of June till August, are white, and numerous. E. America. C. AZUREUS. From the temperate regions of Mexico, where it grows as a straggling bush about 10 ft. high. It is one of our prettiest wall shrubs, flowering abundantly in dry sunny situations, the flowers bright blue, from June till September. C. pallidus is a handsome variety, with pale-blue flowers. The result of crossing with this species may be seen in such lovely shrubs as C. Gloire des Versailles, Arnoldii, Lucie Simon, Theodore Froebel, Bertinii, President Reveil, Lucie Moser, and others, all of which have flowers in large plumy clusters, some white, others rose, but mostly of some shade of blue. C. DENTATUS is an elegant little evergreen shrub, rarely higher than about 3 ft. The flowers, which appear in May or June, are deep blue, and continue the greater part of the season. C. DIVARICATUS grows as a dense broad evergreen bush of about 10 ft. high. It is a free-growing handsome wall plant, flowering from May to autumn, the flowers a bright blue. C. PAPILLOSUS is a pretty species from the mountains of California, where it is a densely branched straggling bush 6 to 10 ft. high. The panicles of pale-blue flowers are borne on long foot-stalks from the sides of the young shoots. Like the other kinds, it loves the protection of a wall, on which it blooms in summer. C. RIGIDUS is a sub-evergreen, or in sheltered places an evergreen, rarely exceeding 6 ft. in height, the branches stiff and wiry ; the flowers, in clusters on the sides of the young shoots, are deep purple, in April and May. C. VEITCHIANUS is one of the best kinds, the flowers of a rich deep blue, in dense clusters at the ends of leafy branches. G. C. VERRUCOSUS forms a thickly branched evergreen bush about 6 ft. high. As a wall plant it is of free growth, and has a good effect, the flowers coming in May and during the summer months, borne in corymbs along the whole length of the young branches, often so profusely as to hide the foliage. CEDRELA. C. sinensis is somewhat similar to the "Tree of Heaven" (Ailan- thus glandulosd). but this Chinese tree is much more uncommon in gardens. In some places, however, it might be a more suitable tree, for whilst it has much the same character of foliage and habit, it is not so rampant a grower. The Ailanthus is often somewhat of a nuisance through its habit "of sending up root-suckers at long distances from the stem. The Cedrela has not this habit, although it can, like the Ailanthus, be increased by root-cuttings. The largest specimens I have seen are about 30 ft. high. The tree is chiefly noteworthy for the large pinnate leaves it bears, these being, indeed, amongst the most striking to be met with in the large or medium-sized trees hardy in this country. C. sinensis, which is the Catananche coerulea. only one hardy in Britain, was for a long- time known as Ailanthus flavescens. It has small yellowish flowers arranged in great numbers in pendent clusters said to be agreeably scented. Among the trees of the genus there are some remark- able for their uses, but they are tropical, and we have no object in giving any particulars of them in this book. As far as we know C. sinensis it promises to be a graceful lawn tree, but has not been long enough in the country yet to speak with certainty of its hardiness, although we see it flourishing in unlikely places. W. J. B. CEDRONELLA (Balm of Gilead] is a distinct half-bushy herb of the Sage order, C. triphylla having leaves with a pun- gent but grateful odour, in our coun- try -2\ to 4 ft. high, varying much according to soil, and not quite hardy, but living out-of-doors most winters if in dry free soil and planted against walls. 47 2 CEDRUS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. CEDRUS. A few plants against a wall are worth having where curious plants are cared for, but the flowers are not showy Easily raised from seed. CEDRUS (Cedar}. Noble trees of the mountains of Asia Minor and India, some hardy, and often planted on lawns and within sight of the flowers. The India Cedar (Deodar) is really a tender tree, and though it may seem to promise well in sea-shore and favoured districts, planters Cedrela sinensis. should not forget that it is to the Cedars of the northern mountains they must look the Lebanon and Atlas Cedars, which have been proved so hardy, and so well fitted for our country. No finer things can be within view of the flower garden, but they should never be planted near the house, or their great branches will darken it, and in small flower gardens they are sure to be in the way. In books and catalogues a form called C. Atlantica is considered distinct enough to merit a separate name, but having seen the trees on their native moun- tains, I think the Atlas Cedar is the same species as the Lebanon Cedar (C. Lebani). There are varieties of each in catalogues, rarely so valuable as the wild tree, except the glaucous or silvery forms, which are worth planting. The Deodar (C. Deodari] is distinct from the N. African Cedars, and differs so also in its tenderness and unfitness for our country generally. The Cedars though hardy in our country are nevertheless the victims of storm and snow to an often painful but partly needless extent ow- ing to the nearly universal "speci- men " way of plant- ing these trees. The pinetum is not only a mistake from an ar- tistic point of view, with its stuck-about trees, but it also is so in the exposure of the trees to all the storms and ac- cidents of weather, including heavy snowfalls. Naturally, pines often grow to- gether and shelter each other, and where this is so, great falls of snow do not harm them to the same degree. The lower boughs fall off in due time, as is their nature, the tree often showing a bare, mast-like stem be- neath its crown of leaves. Clearly, when we isolate any tree in the open, and in- duce a tree which naturally grows upright in a great moun- tain forest to throw its limbs out in all directions, we expose it to an unfair test ; hence the Cedars of which we in England are so proud are often swept down -in numbers by heavy gales and snowfalls. The idea that every choice tree in our pleasure grounds should be set out by itself like an electric lamp-post is deeply impressed in the gardening mind, and we have to pay dearly for it. Even where the Cedars are naturally grown and grouped very exceptional falls may do CEDRUS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 473 some injury, but nothing like what hap- pens to the specimen trees. Think of the weight that a Cedar of Lebanon, with its great spreading arms, would have to carry in a snowstorm, and how much more able to bear it or to meet such a test are the Cedars planted in woods and allowed to group and grow mast-like shafts ! The cure for much of this loss and waste of valuable trees lies in planting in more natural ways and in grouping and keeping the trees together. With regard to soil and situation, each planter seeks the best possible develop- ment for his Cedars, and so selects the best soil and position he has, and, pro- bably, digs a big hole for each tree and puts many loads of earth in. The result of this is not good, in more ways than one, first in creating a too rapid growth in the young tree, and soft unresisting wood in the old, and, secondly, any proof that the natural soil and other conditions of the Cedar of Lebanon. place suit the tree is withheld from us by the deep preparation of soil made, entirely altering the natural conditions. Any one who has seen the trees in their native countries will know that the Cedar usually inhabits high mountains, often on bare, shaly slopes, in which they are happy enough, though never so well developed as when growing where a little soil col- lects. That soil is always of a poor rocky or pervious nature. Surely this points out that in pleasure grounds and country seats, instead of taking the very best soil, we should plant on rocky or sandy places where the tree will, though growing at first slowly, eventually get a safer and harder growth than it .ever would on rich deep soil. This would not preclude us from putting a group in the pleasure grounds for the sake of shade, but holding the trees together. Also, it would be well to plant it in the ordinary woodland, in which the trees would be drawn up with a tall stem, very effective near drives or in woods. The difficulty of dealing with the Cedar is increased by its being made a kind of fetish in our nurseries, always being offered in the "specimen" state, so that nowadays it is not easy to get a nice healthy stock cf young plants of it, and those offered are generally highly priced as if they were some rare novelty instead of a tree known for some centuries. The seed of the tree is plentiful in Asia Minor and North Africa, and it really ought to be grown in forest nurseries and offered among the other forest trees. The seed being as easy to raise as that of any other conifer, people should not buy the tree in the " specimen " state but in the smaller state, a much safer and better way, especially where we group and hold our trees together and where they can shade the ground. This plan by no means precludes us from sufficient thin- ning in good time, so as to secure great trees, always, however, holding to the principle of letting the trees shade the ground and shelter each other. W. R. CELASTRUS (Staff Vine]. C. scandens is a shrubby climber from North America, flourishing in any ordinary garden soil, and valuable for its rapid twining growth, which is excellent for trailing over trellis-work and arbours, or on a bank, or to run over other shrubs and trees to a height of 12 or 15 ft. The flowers are inconspicuous, and the fruits orange-red, like those of the Spindle Tree, to which order it belongs. CELOSIA (Cocks-comb}. Indian an- nuals of the Amaranth family. They are generally too tender for the open air, though we have occasionally seen them used with effect in bold groups. For this purpose they should be sown in pans in March, and kept near the glass to prevent the seedlings being drawn, and as soon as they are large enough to handle they should be pricked off into small pots, grown on fast in gentle heat until the crowns are formed. Planted out in June in rich soil, and liberally watered, they continue in good condition for a long time. CELSIA (Cretan Mttllein\C. cretica is a pretty plant, allied to the mulleins, with rich yellow flowers and polished buds, may be treated as an annual. Well grown in good soil, it is distinct and effective. Candia, N. Africa. CELTIS (Nettle tree}. Trees of the Elm order, natives of temperate countries, much mentioned in books, and introduced to Britain many years, but which have never made much way with us, and are less attractive to planters than other trees of the same order. Among a cloud of synonyms, the following are the names : 474 CENTAUREA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. CENTAUREA. C. australis, caucasica,glabrata,japonica, mississipiensis, occidentalis, and Tourne- fortii. Some of the kinds are tropical, and not hardy in our country. CENTAUREA (Knapweed}. Peren- nial or annual herbs inhabiting Southern and Middle Europe, some being good garden plants, most of them hardy. Some of the southern species require the green- house in winter, but, making free growth out-of-doors in summer, are freely used for their silvery foliage. C. argentea has elegant silvery Fern- like leaves, and when planted out or plunged in pots has a good effect ; for bedding it must be plunged and partly starved to bring out its whiteness. C. babylonica. A distinct perennial, tall and with silvery leaves, hardy, and when in good ground its strong shoots with yellow flowers reach a height of 10 or 12 ft. The bloom, which continues from July to September, is less attractive than the leaves, but the plant is at all times picturesque. A free sandy loam suits it best. Seed. Levant. C. Clementei. A silver-gray-leaved plant of fine form. Small plants from seed are useful for edging bold beds, and when too large for that purpose they may be transferred to borders, or planted out singly on Grass. The blossoms are best picked off, as they detract from the beauty of the plant. C. Cyanus (Blue Cornflower). A beautiful native flower, an annual of easy culture, often sowing itself. The young plants stand our hardest winters, and flower better grown thus than if sown in spring. It is best sown in September, either where it is to flower, or in beds to be trans- planted. Self-sown plants too may be transplanted, or allowed to remain where they come up, as they are often the finest plants. The many garden varieties range through white, rose, sky-blue, striped, to dark purple, the delicate tints of which are most attractive. They are favourites in the flower market, but by far the most beautiful is the true wild kind. There are also a number of double kinds. The Cornflower will flourish in almost any soil or position, but best, perhaps, in strong soil. C. dealbata. A hardy perennial, with graceful and somewhat silvery leaves, 15 to 1 8 in. high, flowering in summer; rose-coloured. Borders. Division. Cau- casus. C. gymnocarpa. A half-shrubby plant from the south of Europe, nearly 2 ft. high, with hard, branching, bushy stems, and elegantly cut leaves, covered with short whitish-satiny down. Useful as it is for edging or bedding, it is when grown in fine single specimens that its beauty is most seen. C. macrocephala (Great Golden Knap- weed}. A strong plant from 4 to 5 ft. high, with a great golden head of bloom. In the back part of a herbaceous border, or where herbaceous plants must com- pete with the roots of trees and shrubs, this robust plant deserves a place Armenia. C. montana (Mountain Knapweed}. A handsome border plant, i to 2^ ft. high, with slightly cottony leaves, "and flowers resembling those of the Corn- flower. There is a white and a red variety, all thriving in borders, margins of shrubberies, or the wild garden in any soil. This kind is somewhat coarse in borders, and scarcely worth a place there- in, but when cut, its flowers are pretty, and larger than those of the Blue Corn- flower. Division. C. moschata (Sweet Sultan}. A fra- grant annual, of which there are two shades delicate purple and creamy white, the first giving the finest flowers ; but both are valuable. Aphides are very partial to the young seedlings, and unless the pests are quickly cleared off the plants soon dwindle away. The first essential is a cal- careous soil, and any soil deficient in lime should have lime rubble worked into it. The best time to sow is about the middle of April, in an open and sunny place, sowing the seed where the plants are to remain, as they do not move well. Syn., Amberboa moschata. J. R. C. ragusina. A showy silvery-leaved plant, tender, but of rapid growth out- of-doors in summer, and valued much for summer-bedding". It thrives in the coldest situation throughout the summer. When taking cuttings, they should not be cut away, but pulled off with a "heel" so as to have a firm base ; small firm shoots should be preferred ; in taking them the knife should be used very little, and each cutting put singly into a small 2^-in. pot filled with a mixture of loam, leaf-mould, A cold frame from which frost can be excluded is their best winter quar- ters ; the leaves should be kept dry, as they are rather liable to damp during the short days, and every opportunity should be taken for giving them air. They also winter well in an airy vinery or greenhouse. Old plants are sometimes lifted and kept over the winter ; where very large plants are required this is a CENTAURIDIUM. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. CERCIS. 475 sure means of obtaining them ; but for ordinary use autumn-struck cuttings are the best. J. M. C. suaveolens ( Yellow Sweet Sultan\ A pretty citron-yellow hardy annual and favourite border flower, thriving best in light dry soil. Sow in beds in April, raising one batch in frames, and sowing another in the open air in light rich earth where it is to remain. Syn., Amberboa odorata. CENTAURIDIUM. A showy half- hardy annual from Texas, C. Drummondi being from i\ to 3 ft. high, and flowering from July to September. It should be sown in a frame on slight heat in April, and planted out in May. It has large citron- yellow flowers, much resembling those of Centaurea. Composite?. CENTRANTHUS, C. macrosiphon is a hardy Spanish annual of the Valerian order with pretty rose-coloured flowers, is useful for the rock-garden or flower border. It may be sown in September and pricked off into pots for winter for transplanting in spring, or again in the open ground in March and April, the seedlings being thinned out about I ft. apart. There are several varieties white, red, and two-coloured, and a dwarf form. C. ruber (Red Valerian}. A handsome hardy border plant from the Mediter- ranean, and an old inhabitant of gardens, often also naturalised. There are two or three varieties white, purple, and red or crimson. It has stout stems, woody at the base, and bold clusters of flowers, blooming in June and through the summer. It is often naturalised on walls, ruins, and on rocky or stony banks. Seeds, division, and cuttings. CEEASTIUM (Mouse-ear Chickweed]. Dwarf herbaceous or alpine plants of the Pink order, containing few garden plants of value, and these mostly used as edgings, among the best being Biebersteini, tomen- tosum, and grandiflorum, all hardy plants of easy culture, and increase in ordinary soil. Cerasus. See PRUNUS CERASUS. CERCIDYPHYLLUM.- A very beauti- ful tree, so far hardy in Britain, and always pretty for its graceful and distinct leaves. It is a forest tree abundant in certain parts of Japan on the slopes of hills and mountains, reaching a height of between 80 and 100 feet, and forming a stately and beautiful tree. We read that it can- not be grafted, which is a blessing, as the natural way of producing it is much better. It is likely to make a beautiful lawn tree, though the flowers are not conspicuous. CERCIS (Judas Tree}. Flowering- trees of much beauty of bloom and form of tree. Of the three different kinds of Judas Tree in gardens, the most beautiful is C. Siliquastrum from South Europe, which for nearly 300 years has been a favourite in English gardens. It is from Celsia cretica (Cretan Mullein). 15 ft. to 30 ft. in height, and thrives in a light deep loam soil. There are several varieties, differing chiefly in the colour of the flowers. It is of slow growth, and though young specimens flower profusely, only very old ones show the picturesque growth of the tree. Other kinds are C. Chi- nensis, and the better known canadensis^ CERINTHE. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. CHAMJEROPS. or Red Bud, a handsome tree of the American forests. Pea order. CERINTHE (ffoneywort}. Annual or biennial herbs of the Borage family, of which there are two or three interesting plants. C. aspera bears many yellow flowers, the tube of which is black at the base. In C. minor the flower-stems arch over considerably, so that at the apex of* the stem the delicate yellow tube-shaped bloom is hidden by the imbricated pale- green leaves with which the stem is fur- nished. C. retorta is a beautiful kind, the floral leaves of a rich purple tint, and from among them peep the yellow-purple- tipped flowers in charming contrast. There are various other species, but the above are the best. Cerinthes are half- Mountain Knapweed. hardy annuals, requiring to be sown in early spring on warm borders or in frames, and afterwards to be planted out in good soil. They are, however, not likely to be much in favour, owing to their quiet colours. Greece and Southern Europe. CETERACH (Stone Fern}. This is now placed with the Aspleniums, but is known so well under its present name that we retain it. C.officinarum is a distinct and beautiful little native Fern, admirably suited for rock or alpine gardens, as it thrives best when planted between the chinks of rocks or of stone walls. The chinks and crevices should be filled with .a mixture of sandy peat and pounded limestone. CH^INOSTOMA. A small group of the Figwort family, natives of the Cape. They are naturally perennial, but in the open air must be treated as half-hardy annuals. C. fastigiatum is the prettiest. It grows 6 to 9 in. high, forming a dense compact tuft, with many small pinkish, and sometimes white, flowers. The seeds should be sown in warm frames in spring or in August, when the seedlings require to be wintered in a pit, and flowers are borne from June to November. Other species in cultivation are C. cordatum. C. hispidum, C. linifolium, and C. poly- ant hum. CHATKLEBATIA ( Tarweessi?i-floiver). The most beautiful of this group ; 15 in. to 2^ ft. high, flowers in summer, one or two on each stem (rarely three), large, with inflated, rounded lip, about \\ in. long, white, with a large blotch of bright rosy carmine in front. A variety (C. s. album) has the lip entirely white. In America it grows in open boggy woods, moist meadows, and also in peaty bogs in the Northern States. Good native specimens produce from fifty to seventy flowers on a single tuft, 3 ft. across, formed on a thick 512 CYSTOPTERIS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. DAHLIA. mat of fleshy roots. The plant is hardy, and succeeds if planted out in a deep, rich peaty soil, with a few nodules of sand- stone or rough sandstone grit mixed with the soil. It also thrives in turfy loam on a moist bottom ; in any case, however, deep planting is necessary, as the roots are then cool and moist during the hot weather, and do not suffer from frost in the winter. CYSTOPTERIS (Bladder Fern). The cultivated kinds of this native group are small elegant Ferns of delicate fragile texture. They grow on rocks and walls, chiefly in mountainous districts. The best-known are : C. fragilis, which has finely cut fronds about 6 in. hig'h. It is of easy culture, succeeding in an ordinary border, though seen to best advantage on shady parts of the rock- garden in a well-drained soil. There are two or three varieties, Dickieana being the best. C. alpina is much smaller, and when once established not difficult to cultivate or increase, but more affected by excessive moisture than C. fragilis. A sheltered situation in a well-drained part of the rock-garden suits it. C. mon- tana is another elegant plant requiring the same treatment as C. fragilis. CYTISUS (Broom}. The few kinds of hardy Cytisus are all valuable ornamental shrubs. Common as the British Broom (C. Scoparius) is, it should certainly be in gardens in places where it does not grow wild ; and in company with Heath and Furze it is most useful for dry sandy banks where other shrubs would fail. It is easily raised from seed. C. Andreanus is a hands ome form of the com- mon Broom well worth growing, and coming fair- ly true from seed. The White Por- tuguese Broom (C. albus) is well known as one of the finest of all early-flowering shrubs. A strong bush, particularly in light soils, and frequently 10 ft. high. Towards the end of May every slender twig is wreathed with small white flowers. The Spanish Broom is a handsome and distinct shrub, often flowering a long time on dry banks. C. nigricans is also a beautiful shrub. The purple Broom is naturally a long Cytisus nigricans. trailing shrub with purplish flowers, but is generally seen grafted mop fashion on Laburnum stems. It is really an alpine shrub, and its place is among' rocks and boulders, where its wiry branches can fall over and make dense cushion-like tufts. The foregoing are the most important kinds. Others, suitable fora fuller collec- tion, are C. austriacus, biflorus, sessilifolius, capitatus, monspessulanus, purgans, and C. Ardoini. The last is a pretty alpine shrub a few inches high, and suitable for the rock-garden ; its tufted growth is covered in summer with yellow flowers. There is a great number of names and synonyms, but the above are the most generally accepted and embrace the best varieties. Dabcecia. See ERICA. DACEYDIUM (Huon Pine). A tree of the Pine order of exquisite grace, but not hardy in Britain except in the Cornish and Devon gardens, and others of the south of England and Ireland, where it is occa- sionally very beautiful. In other parts of the country if people want them they must be grown in the cool greenhouse or winter garden, but in the face of the number of beautiful hardy Pines we have that is a doubtful practice except in botanic gardens. There are two species, D. Frank- lint (Huon Pine] and D. cupressinuni New Zealand Cypress), a common New Zealand tree attaining nearly 100 feet in height, like the other kind. DACTYLIS (Cocks/oof). The varie- gated forms of this native Grass are attrac- tive to those concerned much with bedding out, D. glomerata variegata being one of the most useful of edging plants, and easily increased by division in autumn or spring, thriving in almost any soil, but if the soil be too poor the plant is apt to look rusty in dry autumns. There are several other variegated forms graceful as edgings to beds, as carpets or mixtures, or as tufts in borders. The graceful leaves should not be clipped. DAHLIA. The Dahlia group is not a large one, so far as wild plants go, and every species is a native of Mexico. It is valued chiefly for the many beautiful varieties that have been raised from seed, the garden varieties being separated in various classes. When well placed in the garden the Dahlia is superb, its pro- fusion of bloom creating fine masses of colour in the late summer and autumn months, especially when the best forms of the Cactus sectipn are used. Distinct beds of Dahlias present a fine aspect, if the colours are well contrasted, and many otherwise good effects are spoilt by DAHLIA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. DAHLIA. 513 mixing up tall and dwarf bushy kinds indiscriminately. A mass of one colour looks well, especially if backed by dark- leaved shrubs, whilst distinct beds are a welcome feature in the flower garden, being gay far into the autumn when the weather is not frosty. CLASSES. The recognised classifica- tion of Dahlias is convenient, but not very distinct. A few years ago the two leading classes were the Show and Fancy Dahlias distinctions confusing to some, as a White or Yellow Dahlia, edged or tipped with a dark colour, was classed as an edged, tipped, or laced Dahlia, and included among the show flowers ; but if the disposition of colour w 7 as reversed, and dark-coloured flowerets were tipped with a light colour, the plant was classed as a Fancy Dahlia. All the kinds with Carnation-like stripe were Fancy Dahlias. The catalogues abound with names of varieties, and the grower can make his own selection, especially as new forms are often raised. Varieties that do not conform to the stiff ideal of the hard-shell florist sometimes please the artist or the gardener best. SHOW AND FANCY DAHLIAS. These are not so much grown in gardens as formerly, but are still seen at the ex- hibition, Dahlias being shown in a far freer way than was usual a generation ago, and the Cactus and Single classes have, to some extent, overshadowed the formal Show and Fancy varieties. The reason why these are less valuable than many other kinds of Dahlia in the garden is because of the weight of the flowers. There is little graceful beauty about them, the stems being bent with the burden of a too heavy blossom, hence the greater popularity of the many lovely Cactus varieties. Show Dahlias. Agnes, Alexander Cra- mond, Bendigo, Colonist, Crimson Globe, Canary, Eclipse, Ethel Britton, George Gordon, George Rawlings, Glowworm, J. T. West, John Walker, Harry Keith, John Wyatt, Mr. Harris, Mrs. W. E. Gladstone, Mrs. S. Hibberd, Nellie Cra- mond, Queen of the Belgians, Richard Dean, R. T. Rawlings, Shirley Hib- berd, J. T. Saltmarsh, W. H. Wil- liams, W. Garratt, Wm. Keith, Wm. Rawlings. Fancy Dahlias. Buffalo Bill, Charles Wyatt, Comedian, Duchess of Albany, Frank Pearce, Gaiety, General Gordon, H. Eckford, H. Glasscock, Fanny Sturt, Mrs. Ocock, Mrs. Saunders, Peacock, Rebecca, Rev. J. B. M. Camm, Sunset, T. W. Girdlestone. POMPON OR BOUQUET DAHLIAS are not so popular as either the Cactus or single forms. They seem to have gone out of cultivation to some extent, though they are useful for cutting. The tendency of recent raisers has been to increase the size of the flowers, but they should be quite small, as the name Pompon sug- gests, not like a Show or Fancy Dahlia. Although many additions have been made to this section, the pure-white variety White Aster, still retains its popularity, and it is grown largely for cutting, and also for its effect. The Pompon Dahlias are very free-blooming, throwing their charming flowers well above the leaves. Pompon Dahlias. Admiration, Arthur West, Countess von Sternberg, Coquette, Crimson Beauty, Cupid, Darkness, Dove, E. F. Jungker, Eurydice, Eva, Fairy Tales, Gem, German Favourite, Glow- worm, Golden Gem, Hedwig Pollwig, Juno, Lilian, Little Bobby, Little Ethel, Marion, Midget, Pure Love, Tommy Keith, Vivid, White Aster. SINGLE DAHLIAS. D. coccinea (D. Mercki), D. variabilis, and others formed the foundation, so to say, of this group. The value of Single Dahlias as beautiful garden flowers was not considered until a reaction set in against the show blooms, and then the elegant single kinds became popular. It is so easy to cross them and raise seedlings that the earlier varieties were quickly improved upon in colour and habit of growth, until we have now a delightful group of garden plants, free, and making a continuous display through the late summer and early autumn months. In the best kinds the flowers are carried erect above the foliage, the growth bushy, and the flowers abundant. No summer flower gives a greater variety of brilliant colours, rich selfs and delicate hues of mauve and rose to pure white. With all this choice, one, unfortunately, sees much of the striped kinds, too often praised, for the reason perhaps that they are well shown at some exhibition, but a new Dahlia should be seen in the garden to judge of its merits. The striped kinds are also sportive, like striped Carnations, and depend in a large measure for their peculiar colour upon the weather. This class must not be confounded with those that have flowers boldly margined with colour. As the round-flowered form of Single Dahlia is declining in popularity one sees less of the big saucer-shaped blooms, so large that it was necessary to support them when gathered. These flabby varieties won few friends, and the L L DAHLIA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. DAHLIA. more recent kinds are far smaller and better. Single Dahlias. Annie Hughes, But- terfly, Chihvell Beauty, Conspicua, Duke of York, Duchess of Westminster, Eclipse, Evelyn, Gulielma, Jack, James Scobie, Miss Glasscock, Midget Improved, Mik- ado, Magpie, Nellie Ware, Paragon, Rose Queen, Yellow Boy, Yellow Satin. "CACTUS" DAHLIAS. These origin- ated from D. Juarezi, which was introduced from Mexico about 1879, and they retain the characteristic shape of that species, the petals twisted, so to say, and reminding one of those of some of the Cacti. The earlier Cactus Dahlias had one fault hiding the flowers amongst the leaves ; but this is to a large extent changed, so that we have now a beautiful race of garden plants for summer and autumn, with flowers of bold form and charming and varied colours. A new group is formed by the single Cactus kinds. The flowers are quite single, about as large as those of a good single Dahlia of the ordinary type, and with twisted petals. Cactus Dahlias. Beauty of Eynsford, Bertha Mawley, Cannell's Own, Countess of Gosford, Countess of Radnor, De- licata, Ernest Cannell, Juarezi, Kentish Invicta, Kynerith, Lady Penzance, Match- less, Mrs. Francis Fell, May Pictor, Professor Baldwin, Robert Cannell. TOM THUMB DAHLIAS. This is a very dwarf race, the plants forming little bushes, but they are not satisfactory, as they appear not to bloom with great free- dom, whilst the growth does not retain its true dwarf character. When true, the habit is compact, dense, and the single flowers borne well above the mass of leaves. Fortunately the colours of the flowers are for the most part simple, and raisers should steer clear of the ugly striped kinds. Dwarfing any flower naturally tall and graceful is a doubtful practice. BEDDING DAHLIAS. This is the name given to a small list of dwarf varieties, which are used for massing, blooming profusely. One kind named Rising Sun has the flowers brilliant scarlet, and used with good effect in the London parks. SPECIES. Amongst these we may note the following : D. coccinea, .a tall plant with bright- scarlet flowers that rarely vary. Nearly related to it, and differing only in some slight points, is D. Cervantesi, also with showy scarlet flowers. D. glabrata is a beautiful plant of dwarf spreading growth, more slender than any of the other species. The flowers are smaller than those of other kinds, and vary from pure white to deep purple. It is hardier than any other Dahlia, and plants left in the ground are generally uninjured throughout the winter. Its dwarf growth adapts it for positions unsuitable for the latter kinds, and it has a good effect in masses, its colour being unlike that of any other Dahlia. It is known also as D. Mercki, repens, and Decaisneana. D. gracilis is a distinct and graceful plant, with slender stems and finely divided foliage, which gives it a freer habit than any other Dahlia. The bright-scarlet flowers are of the ordinary size. D. imperialis has large and graceful much-divided leaves, and flowers of a beautiful French white, thrown up in a great cone-like mass. It rarely flowers in the open air, but it is of service both in the flower garden and conservatory. Planted in rich soil, and placed in a warm, sheltered position in the open air at the end of May, it grows well in summer, and its large and graceful leaves make it an ornament worthy of being used as a " fine-foliaged " plant. Similar to this, but not so fine, is D. Maxi- miliana. D. Juarezi is now well known. It is the more desirable because of its easy culture, as it requires no different treat- ment from ordinary Dahlias. It is not quite double, but is very fine in form and brilliant in colour, though it flowers some- what sparsely. D. variabilis is the supposed parent of all the garden varieties. The wild plant has scarlet flowers like coccinea, and is of similar growth. A packet of seed, however, will yield plants with flowers of all shades, from crimson to white and yellow. CULTURE. To get a good result it is essential to have rich, deep, and moist soil, and to put out strong plants as early as may be safe, so as to secure a good growth or autumn bloom. Where weak plants are put a little too late they may only give a few poor blooms before the frost comes. If planted in May and frost is feared, protect the young plants at night by turning a garden pot over them. If the soil is not deep, rich, and moist, manure-water should be used. Watering is usually necessary in early growth, afterwards it is not so in moist districts where the plant is well treated as regards depth and quality of soil. In dry places water is essential in most DAHLIA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. DAHLIA. 515 seasons. Staking and tying out the shoots must be attended to, as the stems are brittle and break under little wind- pressure. Earwigs are great enemies to Dahlias, but can be trapped in small round troughs which may be got from any pottery. They may also be caught on pieces of Hemlock stem, 6 in. long, by leaving a joint at one end, and stick- ing the pieces here and there through cuttings every two or three days. These may be taken off even as early as March, close to the crown, without how- ever injuring it, as others will come up at the base of those removed. The cut- tings must not be too long before they are taken from the tubers, as then they flag. When the crowns have supplied all the cuttings that can be got from them they may be divided, and therefore Cactus Dahlia " Juarezi. the Dahlias. Small pots, with a little bit of dry Sphagnum Moss inside, inverted on the tops of stakes, also form good traps. INCREASE. The usual practice is to take up the roots and store them in a dry frost-proof cellar in winter. Dahlias may be propagated by cuttings, root-division, and seed, the last way being used only where new kinds are sought. Cuttings are the best means of propagating Dahlias, though division of the roots is usually practised. If started in February or March in a temperature of 60 to 70 F., each crown will produce three or four nothing is lost. Cuttings may be success- fully struck during the summer months ; but this is unusual except in the case of choice varieties. Three-inch pots are best for putting the cuttings into, six cuttings being put in each pot. They should be plunged in a brisk bottom-heat, covered with hand-glasses, and shaded from bright sunshine. In less than a fortnight they will be all rooted, and may be potted off singly into large 3-in. pots. Harden them off gradually until planted out in May To raise seedlings sow the seed in heat in February, and treat the young plants L L 2 DAPHNE. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. in the same way as cuttings. To propa- gate from layers the lowest branches of the plant should be pegged down. If the soil be sandy they will root freely, but in the absence of sandy soil a quantity of leaf-mould with a mixture of sand may be laid down for them to root into. Pure white sand alone is best suited for striking them in, and a mixture of leaf- mould and sand is very good to start the crowns in. WINTERING. As long as the weather keeps mild Dahlia roots are best in the soil, and need not be taken up till the end of November ; but should sharp frosts be followed by heavy rain they should be promptly removed from the ground. Lift the roots on a dry day, and cut off the stems to within 2 or 3 in. of the crown. Remove the greater portion of the soil from the tubers and lay the latter out in the sun to dry before storing. The floor of a greenhouse where frost can be excluded, or a dry cellar, is a good place to store the roots in. A little ventilation is necessary to keep them from getting mouldy ; but a hot dry atmosphere must also be avoided, as the tubers might shrivel in it. By lifting the roots with some soil adhering to them, they are kept plump during the winter, which is best when they are required for early forcing. They will generally keep well on the floor of a greenhouse, as it is light and airy, and during mid-winter much water should not, as a rule, be given. The tubers of some sorts are more difficult of preservation than others, and choice varieties are frequently bad keepers. The species of Dahlia are natives of Mexico and adjacent regions : I, arborea ; 2, astrantiae- flora ; 3, coccinea ; 4, excelsa ; 5, gracilis ; 6, imperialis ; 7, Maximiliana ; 8, Mercki ; 9, platylepis ; 10, pubescens ; n, scapigera ; 12, variabilis ; 13, Juarezi. DAPHNE (Garland-flower']. Beauti- ful dwarf flowering shrubs. There is a group of small-growing species among them that claims a place in the rock-garden. The best-known and the most popular Daphne is the old Mezereon (D. Mezereum), whose leafless branches are often wreathed with fragrant blossoms before winter is past. The common sort has reddish-purple blooms, but there are pink and white, single and double-flowered forms. It is indispensable for every garden, and should always be planted where its beauty can be enjoyed in early spring, and it does best in an open sunny place in almost any soil. In some seasons it flowers from the end of January until April. The pretty D. Cneorum (the Gar- land-flower) is a favourite little shrub, 6 to 12 in. high, more suited for the rock- garden than the shrubbery. The deep- pink flowers are deliciously fragrant, and appear in dense clusters at the tips of the snoots, the unopened buds being crimson. It flowers in April and September, often twice a year, the fragrant flowers being borne in dense terminal umbels. It is a native of most of the great mountain chains of Europe, and is suitable for the rock- garden, for the front margin of the mixed border, or as an edging to beds of choice low shrubs, being of trailing growth, and forming dense cushion-like masses of ever- green leaves a few inches high, thriving best in an open situation in sandy peaty soil. Increased by layers. D. rupestris (Rock Daphne) is a neat little shrub, with erect shoots forming dense, com- pact tufts, 2 in. high and I ft. or more Garland-flower (Daphne Cneorum). across, which are covered with bloom which sometimes almost eclipses the plant. Its colour is a soft-shaded pink or rose, and its flowers are larger and more waxy than those of D. Cneorum, but form clustered heads in the same way. It is essentially a rock-plant, growing wild in fissures of limestone in peaty loam. In cultivation it is of slow growth, and it takes some years to form a moderate-sized tuft, but the plant is a gem worth waiting for. It seems to thrive in very stony and peaty earth with abundance of white sand, and should be planted in a well-drained but not in a dry position. D. Blagayana is a beauti- ful dwarf alpine shrub, 3 to 6 in. high, also suitable for the rock-garden. It is of straggling growth, the leaves forming rosette-like tufts at the tips of the branches, and encircling dense clusters of DAPHN1PHYLLUM. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. DATURA. 517 fragrant white flowers. It blooms in spring for several weeks, and is of easy culture, thriving in the rock-garden in well- drained spots surrounded by stones for its wiry roots to ramble among. It is hardy, and in open spots thrives in any good soil ; increased by layers pegged down in spring and separated from the plants as soon as roots are emitted. Another Daphne is the Japanese D. Genkwa, introduced about twenty years ago, but still uncommon. In spring, before the leaves appear, it bears freely large lilac fragrant flowers. D. Fortunei, from China, is similar to it. The foregoing are the best hardy Daphnes ; others in cultivation are : D. alpina, a dwarf deciduous shrub, about 2 ft. high, with clusters of fragrant white flowers ; D. collina, from South Europe, a dwarf evergreen form, 2 or 3 ft. high, bearing clusters of fragrant pink blossoms during the first half of the year ; D. neapolitana, from Italy, similar to this, and probably only a variety of it ; D. altaica, with neat growth, like that of D. Mezereum, has white scentless flowers ; D. pontica and Laureola are good Evergreens, although not remarkable for blossom ; while the pretty D. odora and its variety Mazeli are scarcely hardy enough for open-air culture. Such a beautiful family deserves the best attention. The following is a list of the species, to which some beautiful things, it is hoped, will be added from the often little- known lands some of the species inhabit Species. D. alpina, S. Europe and Himalayas altaica, Siberia, aurea, Orient. Blagayana, Car niolia. cannabina, Himal. cancasica, Caucas. Cham pioni, China. Cneonun, S. Europe, decandra, Java Genkwa, China, glotnerata, Caucasus, gnidioides Asia Minor. Gnidium, S. Europe, involncrata, India jasminea, Greece, jezoensis, Japan. Kuisiana, Japan Laureola, Europe. linearifolia, Syria. Mazeli Japan. Mezereutn, Europe and N. Asia, odora tapan. oleoides, S. Eur. Asia Minor. pendula urma. petreea, Tyrol, pontica, Asia Minor, pseudo inezerenm, Japan. Rodriguezi, Minora. Roumea, China, sericea, S. Eur. and Asia Minor. Sophia Asia, striata, S. Europe, tangutica, China, tenui flora, Ins. Timor, triftora, China. DAPHNIPHYLLUM. - Evergreen shrubs of fine effect of foliage and little beauty of flower. D. Glaucesceits grows well in the home counties so far as tried, especially at Lydhurst in Sussex, the leaves over 6in. long, and glaucous underneath, the flowers small, in the autumn ; but the habit is so fine wherever evergreens are cared for that this will be worth growing at least in the southern and warmer counties. The other species known is D. josoe?ises. It is a much dwarfer plant, and is an under shrub in the forests of Yezo. These plants seem to be hardy enough in the Southern districts of Britain, but may require a little care to establish. Rich as we are in ever- green plants in Britain, these are distinct enough to take a good place. DARLINGTONIA (Californian Pitcher-plant}. A most singular plant, resembling the Sarracenias, but very dis- tinct : the leaves of D. calif ornica rise to a height of 2 ft. or more, are hollow, and form a curiously shaped hood, from which hang two ribbon-like appendages, the hood often a crimson-red, and the flowers are almost as curious. This remarkable plant is found to grow in our climate if care be taken with it ; and it would be difficult to name a more interesting plant for a sheltered bog garden. It is less trouble out-of-doors than under glass ; indeed, it only requires a moderately wet bog in a light spongy soil of fibrous peat and chopped Sphagnum Moss. A place should be selected by the side of a stream, in an artificial bog or in any moist place, and the plants should be fully exposed to direct sunlight, but sheltered from the cold winds of early spring when they are throwing up their young leaves. They require frequent watering in dry seasons, unless they are in a naturally wet spot. When they become large they develop side shoots, which, if taken off and potted, soon make good plants. The plant is also raised from seed, but this requires several years. DATISCA. D. cannabina is a tall and graceful herbaceous perennial from 4 to 7 ft. high, the long stems clothed with large pinnate leaves, yellowish-green flowers appearing towards the end of summer. The male plant is very strong and grace- ful in habit : the female remains green much longer than the male ; when it is laden with fruit, each shoot droops grace- fully, and the plant should be included in any selection of hardy plants of good form. Seed will be found the best way to increase it, and would secure plants of both sexes. The border is not its place ; it is, above most other plants, suited for the grassy margin of an irregular shrubbery, and will be all the more effective if planted on a grassy slope, where its deep-seeking roots will soon defy the most protracted drought. DATURA (Thorn Apple}. Plants of the Nightshade family, including several handsome garden plants that well deserve cultivation. Being natives of Mexico and similar countries, none are hardy, but owing to rapid growth some succeed well if treated as half-hardy annuals, and make effective plants in a short season. The best are : D. ceratocaula, from 2 to 3 ft. high, with large, scented, trumpet-like flowers, often 6 in. in length, and 4 or 5 in. Si8 DATURA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. DATURA. across, white, tinged with violet-purple, expanding in the afternoon and closing on the following morning. D. fastuosa is a handsome species, having white blossoms smaller than the preceding; there is a fine variety of it with the tube of the flower violet and the inside white. The most striking forms of this species humilis flava of the gardens ; but although they offer a- greater variety of colour, they are less hardy than the older forms just described, and appear to require a warmer climate for their complete de- velopment. D. meteloides is a handsome Mexican plant, called in gardens Wright's Datura. Isolated specimens of it have a (Brugmansia Knighti) bear "double" flowers, the primary corolla having a second and sometimes a third corolla arising from its tube, all being perfectly regular in form, and often being particoloured, as in the single variety with violet flowers. D. fastuosa Huberi- ana of the seed catalogues, and several varieties of it that are offered, are re- puted to be hybrids of this species with the dwarf D. chlorantha flore-pleno or D. fine aspect in sunny but sheltered nooks. It is from 3 to 4 ft. high, has wide- spreading branches, and blooms from the middle of July till frost sets in, the flowers white, tinged with mauve ; from 4 to 6 in. across, showy and sweet, but the leaves emit a disagreeable odour. Besides these there are other kinds in cultivation, such as D. ferox and quercifolia, but those described are the finest. Fresh seeds are DATURA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. DELPHINIUM. 519 readily raised, in an ordinary hot-bed ; the young plants while small should be pricked out singly in pots, and finally planted out where they are to stand. They need ample space for their full growth, and should be grown in light warm soils. The plants hitherto known as Brug- mansia are now considered to belong to Datura. They are of easy cultivation, and soon make large plants. The best way of growing is as standards, so that their long drooping flowers may be better seen. In the flower-garden a sheltered but sunny position should be chosen. The plants may be safely put out about the end of May in good warm soil. It would be best to pot them into large pots or tubs, and turn them out of these, as thus treated they would not die back so far in the winter, and when planting time again came round the growth would be stronger. When in a house either in tubs or in the border, an annual pruning should be given early in the spring, and they should be kept within bounds. Under glass the chief enemy is green-fly, but fumigation soon disposes of this. For the open border of a large house a few standards with stems 8 ft. or so in height make a grand show. Their propagation is simple, the young shoots being merely taken off in spring and struck in a gentle heat, one cutting in a small pot. Grow them on as fast as possible, keeping them to the one stem until of good height. They will yield a few flowers the first autumn when planted out, but as they get older they flower more profusely, the growth being less luxuriant. When planted out in the open ground, they are best as centre plants to fairly large beds, with a carpet of dwarf things under them. They should not be smothered up, the example of D. cor- nigera (Brugmansia Knighti) in the illus- tration being an instance of good effect when not overcrowded. This is one of the best varieties, with many large handsome double flowers. It is more robust and compact in growth than other kinds, its leaves too of a darker green. D. suaveolens, another good white variety, is a profuse bloomer, its flowers being perhaps larger than those of D. cornigera, but single. D. san- guinea has flowers of a deep orange- yellow tinged with green towards the base ; it does not flower quite so freely as the white kinds, but should be grown for its distinct character. There is also a double yellow variety of D. chlorantha, which is free-flowering and well worth growing, being pleasing in pots. Some years ago, at Nuneham Park, Oxford, D. suaveolens was used with good effect in the flower garden during summer and autumn. Mr. Stewart, the gardener, used to raise plants annually by striking cuttings in autumn in bottom heat. They were potted as soon as rooted, and kept growing gently in a warm greenhouse all through the winter. About the end of February they were placed in an atmo- sphere of about 55, when they were encouraged to grow freely. As soon as the roots appeared above the surface, liquid manure and sometimes a top- dressing of old cow manure were given. They were kept growing on in this way until the middle of May, when they were 2^ ft. high, after which they were gradually hardened off, and during a dull time taken out-of-doors, placed in a sheltered corner, and screened from the sun before being planted out. Out-of-doors the plants flowered freely, and gave off a sweet perfume during the evenings in July and August. Species. D. arborea, S. America. ' cerato- caula, tropical America, chlorantha. cornigera, Mexico, discolor, Mexico, dtibia. erinacea, Brazil. fastuosa ferox, China, floribunda, S. America, inermis, Abyssinia. Leichhardti, Australia. Metel, tropical countries, nieteloides, W. America. microcarpa. nigra, Malaya. prcecox. quercifolia, Mexico, sanguinea, S. America. scandens, Brazil. Stramonium ^ common everywhere. suaveolens, Mexico. trapezia, India. DECUM ARIA. Two species of this interesting genus are in cultivation ; both are hardy, and useful climbers for walls and buildings. D. barbara, a native of Carolina, where it is found in shady places along the margins of swamps, is a very elegant plant. The branches cling to the wall by small rootlets, as in the Ivy, and when allowed to ramble at will are very grotesque, ascend- ing trees or walls to a considerable height, and requiring no nailing and little attention. The flowers are in large bunches in May and June, pure white and fragrant, resembling Hydrangea. D. sinen- sis is a native of Central China, and a beautiful hardy species. It is a climber, and was found by Dr. Henry covering the cliffs of the Ichang Gorge with clusters of fragrant white flowers. DELPHINIUM (Larkspur). Few plants contribute so much to the beauty of the garden as these fine plants of the Crowfoot Order. There are in cultivation many species, both annual and perennial, but the most important are the tall hybrid perennials, of which there are many varieties with a wonderful range of lovely colour. They are very valuable for their 520 DELPHINIUM. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. DELPHINIUM. great variety in height, from I to 10 ft. ; for their greater variety in shades of colour, which range from almost scarlet to pure white, from the palest and most chaste lavender up through every con- ceivable shade of blue to deep indigo ; and for the variety of size and form of their individual blooms, some of which are single, some semi-double, and some Delphinium. perfectly double, and all set on spikes ranging from i to 6 ft. in length. About a dozen species have given rise to the cultivated varieties, the chief species being D. grandiflorum, formosum, lasio- stachyum, cheilanthum, elatum, and pere- grinum. CULTURE AND POSITION. The com- binations in which they can be placed are numerous. They are splendid objects in various positions, and may be used in various ways in the mixed border, in masses or groups in one or several colours, or associated with other flowering plants or with shrubs. Perennial Larkspurs thrive in almost any situation or soil ; they are easily increased, and are quite hardy. A deep friable loam, enriched with rotten manure, is a good soil for them, but they will grow well in a hot sandy soil if it be heavily manured and watered. Every three or four years they should be replanted and divided, and this is best done in spring, just as they are starting into growth, or in summer ; if it is done in summer, cut down the plants intended for division, and let them remain for a week or ten days until they start afresh ; then carefully divide and replant them, shading and watering until they are established. Late autumn division is not advisable. Delphiniums can be made to bloom for several months by continually cutting off the spikes immediately after they have done flowering. If the central spike be removed, the side shoots will flower, and by thus cutting off the old flowers before they form seeds we cause fresh shoots to issue from the base, and to keep up a succession of bloom. Another plan is to let the shoots remain intact until all have nearly done flowering, and then to cut the entire plant to the ground, when in about three weeks there will be a fresh bloom. In this case, however, to keep the plants from becoming exhausted, they must have a heavy dressing of manure or manure-water. Top-dressings keep the soil cool and moist, give the plants a healthier growth, increase the number and improve the quality of the flowers. The following is a selection of the good kinds : Single Varieties. Belladonna, Hendersoni, Cambridge, Granville, Gloire de St. Mande, Barlowi, versicolor, Coronet, magnificum, Lavender, pul- chrum, formosum, lilacinum, Celestial, Madame Hock, mesoleucum superbum, Defiance, and Attraction. The grower should consult his own taste, and raise seedlings of his own, taking care to have a good stock of the standard varieties he likes best. Double Varieties. Madame E. Geny, Madame Henri Jacotot, Madame Richalet, Pompon Brilliant, Roi Leopold, Hermann Stenger, Claire Courant, George Taylor, Roncevaux, Le XlXe. Siecle, Keteleeri, Prince of Wales, General Ulrich, Arc en Ciel, Sphere, Michael Angelo, Delight, Glynn, Barlowi vittatum, Star, Perfectum novum, Triomphe de Pontoise, Pompon de Tirlemont, Victor Lemoine, Trophee, Madame Henri Galotat, Louis Figuier, Azureum plenum, and Madame Ravillana. The beautiful old D. grandiflorum fl.-pl., another double DELPHINIUM. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. DELPHINIUM. 521 variety, is one of the most charming of border plants. The best of the numerous perennial species distinct from the hybrids are D. cashmerianum, with flowers nearly as large as those of D. formosum, and with stems about 1 5 in. in height. The flowers are I in. in diameter, and are usually of a light blue-purple, but they vary in shade to mauve and dark blue, and are produced in terminal corymbs of six or more. D. cashmerianum is well suited for the border or for a large rockery ; in either case perfect drainage is essential, and spurs, and is neat and rather dwarf in growth, having finely cut feathery foliage, and freely producing spikes of large blossoms, usually of a rich blue-purple, but sometimes white. It is a good peren- nial, is easily raised from seed, and con- tinues to flower throughout the summer till late in autumn. It is suited for borders and beds. D. nudicaule has scarlet blossoms, a dwarf, compact, branching- growth, a hardy constitution, and a free blooming habit, I to 3 ft. high. The flowers are in loose spikes, each blossom being about i in. in length ; the colour Delphinium grandiflorum. this is best attained in rock-garden culture. Its branches have a prostrate habit, apparently adapting it to such con- ditions. It is best increased from seed. D. cardinale is a beautiful species of tall growth, having bright-scarlet flowers, like those of D. nudicaule. It blossoms later in summer, and continues longer in flower than D. nudicaule, owing in part to its slower development. It is a most desirable plant, and as hardy as D. nudicaule. Seedlings will probably not flower till the second season. In very damp soil it would be prudent in winter to protect the root with a hand-light or inverted pot. D. chinense is distinct from other Lark- varies from light scarlet to a shade verging closely on crimson, and when seen in the open air, especially in sunshine, dazzles the eye by its brilliancy. D. nudicaule is perfectly hardy, and commences growth so early that it may almost be termed a spring flower, but it may be had in bloom during several of the summer months, and is handsome for warm borders. Al- though somewhat apt to damp off on level ground, it is a perennial on raised ground, and keeps up a succession of bloom. It is as easy to raise from seed as other Larkspurs. A tall variety of nudicaule is called elatius. THE ANNUAL LARKSPURS. In these 522 DELPHINIUM. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. DELPHINIUM. hardy annuals there is also a wealth of beauty for the summer garden, and we have a host of beautiful sorts with a wide Portion of a group of Delphiniums in the garden at The Grange, Knutsford, Cheshire. range of colour. There is great diversity too in the habit of growth, some being as dwarf as a Hyacinth, others 3 or 4^ ft. high, others with a branching habit re- sembling a candelabrum. The species which have given rise to these varieties are D. Ajacis (Rocket Larkspur) and D. Consolida. D. Ajacis has the flowers in long loose spikes forming an erect and spreading panicle, the stem vigorous with open spreading branches. All the varieties of the Rocket Larkspur may be arranged in three great groups : i. D. Ajacis majus (large Larkspur). The stem of this is single, and varies in height, from 3 to 4 ft. 6 in. ; the flowers double, in a long, single, and compact spike, generally rounded off at the extremity. This kind has given the following varieties white, flesh-coloured, rose, mauve or puce- coloured, pale violet, violet, ash-coloured, claret, and brown. 2. D. Ajacis minus (dwarf Larkspur). The stem of this is from 20 to 24 in. in height, and is even shorter when the plant is sown thickly or in dry or poor soils. The flowers are very double, and in a single well-furnished spike, usually cylindrical, and rounded off at the extremity, but rarely tapering. The principal varieties are white, mother-of-pearl, flesh colour, rose, mauve, pale mauve, peach blossom, light violet, violet, blue-violet, pale blue, ash-gray, brown, light brown, white striped with rose, white striped with gray, rose and white, and flax-coloured and white. 3. D. Ajacis hyacinthiflorum (dwarf Hya- cinth-flowered Larkspur). -The varieties of this group have been raised in Belgium and Germany. They do not differ from other kinds in form of flower, but only in the spike on which the flowers are set, being more tapering, and the flowers farther apart than those of the two pre- viously mentioned groups. There is a strain called the tall Hyacinth Larkspur. Other strains mentioned in catalogues are the Ranunculus-flowered (ranunculi - florum) and the Stock-flowered, both of which are worth cultivating. D. Consolida (Branched Larkspur). This species has branching stems and beautiful violet-blue flowers hung on slender stalks, and coming later than those of D. Ajacis. It embraces several varieties, both single and double, all of which may be reproduced from seed. The principal sorts are white, flesh colour, red, lilac, violet, flaxen, and variegated. The varieties especially worthy of cultiva- tion are candelabrum, bearing pyramidal spikes of flowers of various colours ; and the Emperor varieties, of symmetrical bushy habit, which form compact and well-proportioned specimens, i| ft. high by 3! ft. in circumference, doubleness of flowers possessing great constancy. There DENTARIA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. DESMODIUM 523 are three colours viz. dark blue, tri- coloured, and red-striped. In D. tricolor elegans the flowers are rose-coloured, streaked with blue or purple, and about 3 ft. high. CULTURE. Annual Larkspurs should be sown where they are to remain at any time after February when the weather permits usually in March and April. They may also be sown in September and October, and even later when the ground is not frozen, but the produce of winter sowing is liable to be devoured by slugs and grubs. The sowing may be made either broadcast or in rows 4 in. to 8 in. apart, and the plants should stand 4 in. or 5 in. asunder. The branching varieties may be sown in reserve beds, and in March when about 12 in. or 16 in. high should be transferred to the flower beds, lifted carefully with balls of earth round the roots, so that they may not suffer. These branching varieties are well suited for the garden, either in masses of one colour or of various colours. They may be planted in borders or among shrubs thinly planted. One great advantage of this class is that it flowers earlier and longer than the dwarf Larkspur that is to say, it flowers throughout the summer, and, according to the period of sowing, from the end of June or July to September, and even to October if the flower-stems that have shed their blossoms be cut off. They succeed, moreover, in the driest calcareous soils, and even upon the declivities" of hills. By pinching, dwarf plants useful under certain circumstances may be obtained, Seed should be taken only from flowers perfectly double ; and for this purpose single-flowered plants should be carefully weeded out. Larkspurs are at their best in June and July ; they bloom almost anywhere, especially in dry localities, and do not require much attention. They look well whether they are all of one colour, or of all the colours mixed, and, by separ- ately using varieties possessing different colours, striking contrasts may be pro- duced. DENTARIA (Toothworf). Interest- ing spring-flowering plants of the Crucifer Order, of which there are in cultivation some half a dozen species all worth grow- ing in half-shaded positions in peat beds, among shrubs, on the margins of borders, or in the cool shrubbery. They grow best in a light sandy or peaty soil en- riched by decayed leaf-mould. Their flowers are welcome in early spring, and remain some time in beauty, and they are easily increased from the small tuber-like roots. Some, like D. bulbifera, bear bulblets on the stem, and from these the plant may be increased. None of them ripen seed freely. The species are D. bulbifera, I to 2 ft. high, flower- ing in spring ; purple, sometimes nearly white, rather large, and borne in a raceme at the top of the stem. D. digi- tata, a handsome dwarf kind, about 12 in. high, flowers in April ; rich purple, in flat racemes at the top of the stem. A native of Europe. D. diphylla is a pretty plant, from 6 to 12 in. high, bearing but two leaves, the flowers purple (some- times white) and yellowish. N. America. D. enneaphylla is about I ft. high ; has in April and June clusters of creamy- white flowers, and is a pretty plant for a shady border. Mountain woods in Central Europe. D. maxima is the largest of the species, being 2 ft. high, with many pale-purple flowers, and is a native of N. America. D. pinnata is a stout species at once distinguished by its pinnate leaves ; it is from 14 to 20 in. high, flowering from April to June, bearing large pale-purple, lilac, or white flowers, in a cluster. It is a native of mountain and sub-alpine woods in Switzerland. D. polyphylla, similar to D. enneaphylla, is about I ft. high, with cream-coloured flowers in clusters. It is a handsome plant ; from woods in Hungary. Syn. Cardamine. DESFONTAINEA. In favoured gar- dens along the southern coast and in other mild parts D. spinosa, a very beautiful evergreen shrub from Chili, can be grown and flowered out-of-doors. It is of moderate growth, having foliage very much like the Holly, and handsome flowers in the form of a tube of bright scarlet tipped with yellow. It usually flowers about the end of summer, and in some parts of Devon- shire it blooms profusely, thriving in a light loamy soil, and even round the coasts as far as the north of Ireland, but once a few miles from the protection of the sea air it ceases to thrive and perishes, and is therefore only of value in very favoured places. DESMODIUM (Tick^ Trefoil}. A few of the North American species are cultivated, but their weedy appearance prevents their general culture. These are D. canadense, marilandicum, and Dilleni, all from 2 to 4 ft. high, with slender stems, terminated by dense racemes of small purplish flowers. D. penduliflorum is a really pretty shrub, and hardy if the stems are annually cut down, with graceful shoots, bearing along their upper portions numerous rich violet-purple blossoms in September. It is the name by which the 524 DEUTZIA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. DIAXTHUS. beautiful Lespedeza bicolor is generally known. It is a slender shrub, graceful when in flower, 6 ft. or more in height, bearing drooping racemes of small Pea- shaped flowers of a carmine-purple colour. It is a native of China and Japan, and hardy enough for open-air culture except in cold districts. It makes a good wall shrub. DEUTZIA. The best of the few species in cultivation are D. gracilis and crenata, both common and well-known abundance of double snow-white flowers. This is one of the finest hardy flower- ing shrubs, and is called the Pride of Rochester. Deutzias grow in any good soil, best in slight shade ; if too much exposed they are liable to suffer during drought. They should be pruned annually, the old wood being cut away, and the young j growths thinned. The species are D. gracilis, Japan. grandiftora, China. macrantha, Himal. mexicana, Mexico. fiarviflora, China. Deutzia parviflora. shrubs, the first generally seen in green- houses, the second in almost every shrub- bery. D. gracilis, so often grown in pots, is quite hardy, and, under good conditions, makes a dense bush about 2 ft. high, in a free soil flowering as freely as when in pots. D. crenata (commonly called D. scabra) is a much larger bush 6 to 8 ft. high, its leaves large and rough, and, when in flower, its slender stems are wreathed with racemes and panicles of pure-white blossoms. There are two distinct and beautiful varieties of it viz. flore-pleno, with double flowers, tinged with purple, and candidissima, with an scabra, Japan. Sieboldiana, Japan, sta- minea, Mountains of India. DIANTHUS (Pink}. Plants of the highest garden value, containing several of our finest families of hardy flowers the Carnation, Pink, and Sweet William be- sides numerous alpine and rock plants that are among the most charming of mountain plants, Many of the species are plants of the heath, dry meadow, or maritime Alps ; or shore plants, such as the Fringed Pink (D. superbus) ; and, so far as our climate is concerned, they are almost at home in lowland gardens. On the other hand, some are among the very highest DIANTHUS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. DIANTHUS. 525 alpine plants, like the Glacier Pink and the Alpine Pink. The following is a selection of the best species for gardens. D. alpinus (Alpine Pink}. A beautiful and distinct plant, distinguished at a glance from any other cultivated Pink by blunt-pointed shining green leaves. The stems bear in summer solitary circular flowers, of deep rose spotted with crimson, and when the plant is in good health they are so numerous as to hide the leaves. In poor, moist, and very sandy loam this Pink thrives and forms a dwarf carpet, though the flower-stems are little more than i in. in height ; but both leaves and stems are much more vigorous and tall in deep, moist peaty soil. Wire-worms cause its death more frequently than unsuitable soil. It should be placed in a fully ex- posed spot, and carefully guarded against drought, especially when recently planted. It is not difficult to increase from seed, and it comes true ; and it may be also increased by division. Alps of Austria. D. barbatus (Sweet William}. One of the most admired of garden flowers, hardy and vigorous ; bearing a profusion of bright flowers which form sheets of bloom, the colours being vivid and pretty, and the flowers often finely and distinctly marked. What makes the Sweet William of such high value for small gardens is that its culture is so easy, and it may be raised from seed without the aid of glass. The Sweet William has been greatly improved of Jate years, and the old varieties are surpassed. The points the "florist" improver aims at are a circular flower, with no indentation where the petals meet, thick in petal, and with all the petals marked alike, the colours meeting each other in clearly defined lines without any feathering or flushing into each other ; but in this, as in other flowers, the more variety the better. In the Sweet William colours vary, and they may be classed under two heads dark and light kinds. Of the latter there is a strain known as the Auricula-eyed, the blooms of which have a clear white eye in a setting of red or purple or some other rich dark colour. Smooth-edged flowers, such as Hunt's strain, have their admirers. Fine, evenly rounded trusses are always present in a good strain, but size is generally allied to high culture. Except for shows, however, very large trusses are not the best, as they usually need support. The finest strain is usually found where year after year care has been exercised in selecting only the finest flowers, with the largest trusses and most varied mark- ings. The only self-coloured flowers are those of pure white, pink, or crimson ; all the others are parti-coloured or variously marked, some very prettily mottled, others more or less edged with white or pale pink. CULTURE. This is very simple ; sow the seed in April, in a well-prepared bed in a sunny spot, thinning out the young- plants when they are large enough, or, if a large stock is required, planting them out about 6 in. apart in good soil. About the end of September transplant them to their permanent quarters, and in the following summer they will bloom. When, however, any particular strain is to be rapidly increased the following plan is a Dianthus alpinus (Alpine Pink). good one : Sow in pots, and allow the seedlings to become a little drawn and lanky before planting out. Plant out in light loam, dressed only with a little leaf- mould or loam from rotted turfs, placing the seedlings so that a few of the lower joints are under the soil. When the blooming stems are well above the foliage, prick in a dressing of guano all round the plants, give plenty of water in dry weather, and a further slight dressing of guano just before the flowers begin to open. The result will be vigorous stocky shoots from the buried joints, all rooted and ready to plant out as soon as the bloom is over. Sweet Williams may also be propagated by cuttings taken off in early summer ; for the main stems, which should rise for bloom, creep along the ground, and throw up from every joint shoots suitable for cuttings ; and a 526 DIANTHUS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. niANTurs. little sheaf of cuttings may be taken from the tips of the main stems, so that each plant would furnish over a hundred cuttings. Double-flowered kinds, as a rule, are not desirable except the double dwarf magnificus, the deep velvety crimson flowers of which are the finest among the double kinds : the large heads of flower are numerous, the colour is rich and effective, it is a dwarf, vigorous grower, and soon forms a strong tuft. D. Caryophyllus (Carnation). 1\us beautiful flower, so much loved in all countries where it can be grown both under glass and in the open air, in all its forms, is derived from a wild Dianthus of Western Europe and the Alps, which as regards our own country is wild on Norman castles such as Rochester. From very early days it seems to have been a favourite flower, as in Dutch pictures nearly 200 years old the Carnation, mostly I in its striped forms, is shown in perfection. Clearly at this early date the tendency of the flowers to vary in colour and markings was greatly admired. At a very early date the Carnation was divided into four classes viz. Flakes, Bizarres, Picotees, and Painted Ladies. The Flakes had two colours only, the stripes going the whole length of the petals. Bizarres (from the French, meaning odd or irregular) were spotted or striped with three distinct colours. Picotees (from the French, piquotte] had a white ground with addi- tional colours in spots, giving the flowers the appearance of being dusted with colour. Painted Ladies had the under side of the petals white and the upper side red or purple, so laid on as to appear as if really painted. Unfortunately this class has so entirely disappeared that many growers are not aware that it ever existed. The first two classes still remain unchanged ; but the Picotee, instead of being spotted, has the colours confined to the edge of the petals, and any spot on the ground colour (which may be either white or yellow) would detract from the merits of the flower as an exhibition flower. Another class, too long neglected, con- sists of self-coloured kinds. A familiar type is the old crimson Clove, a sweet and lovely thing, which may be had also in several different shades of self-colour. The florists of the old school did not pay much attention to self-coloured Carnations, and till recently there was a scarcity of fine varieties. We may now have them in all shades of colour. They combine hardiness and vigour with free blooming and great effect. For the flower garden they are the most important. They should be grown in bold groups or simple masses associated with Roses or choice hardy flowers. The Tree Carnation is very valuable as a pot plant ; or, if planted out in a greenhouse border, it produces flowers in winter and spring, when none can be had out-of-doors. The most popular of this class is Souvenir de la Malmaison, with large cream-coloured blossoms and de- lightful fragrance, and from this have been obtained sports of different colours ; so that, with these and other varieties, there is now no difficulty in obtaining all colours, from pure white to bright scarlet. As a rule, the choice-named varieties of Picotees and Carnations for show are grown in pots, but we confine our remarks to their culture in the garden, also treating of it, shortly, from the exhibiting florist's point of view. A great number of people still think Carnations are tender, and they coddle them up in frames throughout the winter. The florists, too, continue much in their old ways, which do not tend to the advancement of Carnation culture in gardens where we should see and grow fine selfs of brilliancy and beauty. As garden flowers Carnations have been badly treated, and yet there is no brighter and sweeter flower for the garden throughout summer and autumn. This fact is dawning on English raisers, but we have had the greatest success with fine French-raised selfs that combine hardi- ness with good form and colour, and, what is more precious, a perpetual blooming habit. Nothing could be better than Countess of Paris, Carolus Duran, Colin de Harville, Mad Roland, Murillo, Madame Lafausse, Mdlle. Rouselle, Veronica, Jenny Lind, Comte de Mel- bourne, and Flora. Of English kinds the only one we have had to equal the pre- ceding is Alice, a white self of perfect form and a perpetual bloomer. Some standard kinds of the present are : Ketton Rose, Purple Emperor, Mrs. Muir, Ger- mania, Rose Celestial, Emma Lakin, Hebe, Mary Morris, Mrs. Reynolds Hole, Aline Newman, Celia, and Joe Willett. SOILS. The soil has a marked influence upon Carnations. In very light hot soils as in Surrey they cannot be grown well at all. They want a loamy soil, but as this varies in texture and richness so the plants vary in growth. In very rich soils they are so luxuriant that it is necessary to make new plantations, annually destroying the old DIANTHUS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. DIANTHUS. 527 plants. In some soils however they make a harder growth, and stand two or more years, spreading into great tufts and bushes. CULTURE FOR BORDERS AND BEDS. First, then, of the wants of the general grower, who rightly esteems a good crimson or white Clove as it grows in the open garden as much as the most exact staged flower. And rightly so, because, in the opinion of those who have thought and studied most about it, the superiority in form is wholly with the bold, free, undressed flower. What applies to the individual flower applies with greater force to its culture in the garden. It does not appear at its best in lines, or surpassed. Layering has to be performed when the plants are in full flower, and as it is undesirable to interfere with the groups in flower, the best plan is to have a few plants of each kind grown in nursery quarters solely for layering. We can then enjoy all that is gained from planting groups thickly, and suffer no inconvenience. We shall also have plenty of flowers, and can cut great numbers without missing them. Varied colour is the distinctive charm of the florist varieties. Few of them are likely to produce bold effects like the selfs, but they may be grown in special beds and borders in a less prominent spot. Some nurserymen are beginning to see the mistake of neglecting a noble Bed of Carnations at Bulwick. circles, or dotted here and there as in pattern gardening ; but good kinds planted in groups of from twelve to fifty, ac- cording to room, will give us when in flower the truest idea of the value of fine Carnations for ornamenting the garden. These groups should be renewed annually, or fresh ones should be made elsewhere, a stock of plants having been raised from layers. Only in a few cases are Carna- tions likely to spread and make healthy tufts, able to stand for two or three years. It is generally advisable to destroy the old plants after flowering, and, if we do not, the frost often does. Young strong layers, planted during September about 9 in. apart, will produce an effect hardly to be flower like this, and are trying to raise bold, free, and varied border flowers easily grown in every garden. They will succeed, and our gardens will be all the better for it. In specially cultivating the better kinds in beds, it is usual to cover the surface with I in. or more of fine rotten manure passed through a sieve, and in dry weather to give plenty of water ; but as many will not pay more attention than is necessary, it may be stated that neither water nor top-dressing is usually required in good garden soil, and, without either, the result will be quite as valuable from an ornamental point of view. But when a good collection is grown in special little beds in a warm 528 DIANTHUS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. DIANTHUS. border of the kitchen garden, a top-dress- ing of one barrow of mould to three of decayed manure could be given in a very short time, and if the weather or soil were very dry an occasional heavy watering would improve matters. Varieties are endless ; and as English, Continental, and American florists are busy raising seedlings, these varieties are likely to be much added to, though enough attention has not as yet been paid to the raising of vigorous border and flower garden kinds with a great range of colour, form, contin- uity of bloom, and fragrance. It would be well for raisers to discard the kinds which burst their flowers. This is a great defect, an unnatural habit too long condoned, and its evils are most manifest in the flower garden. In ordering, the public should distinctly make known their wishes as to colour, form, and fragrance. The Carnation Carnation. does not depend for its beauty on elaborate instructions, which only the special grower for exhibition cares to master. CARNATIONS IN POTS AND VASES. It is a common practice to have pots and vases of flowers in the garden, but the Carnation is rarely seen in them. It is a grand flower for the purpose if naturally grown, allowing its flower spikes to droop where they will. The flowers on these last longer in bad weather, as they protect themselves from wet. Wherever pots can be stood they look admirable, but are seen to special ad- vantage if above the line of sight. In window boxes they would make a pretty picture. The essential thing to do them well is to pot up some good strong layers in autumn and keep in a frame all the winter. In spring they should be potted into their flowering pots or vases. There should be no tying or training. PERPETUAL CARNATIONS IN THE OPEN AIR. These, if from a good strain of French seed, are very satisfactory plants, and useful for cutting. Their drawback is the habit of flowering in winter, but this can be obviated by sow- ing early, so as to get them to a good size by autumn, when they will flower in the spring and continue to bloom all the summer. Pipings struck in the spring and planted out in the autumn will behave in the same way. Old plants are difficult to manage in the open air, but survive the winter if well thinned out ; the only danger is damp cold, which rots them at the surface of the ground. They grow very well in light rich soil on chalk. Their free-rooting habit makes them un- suitable for pots. Many of my plants filled almost 3 ft. of soil with their roots ; it is manifest waste to cram such free- growing plants in pots. J. D. GARDEN CULTURE FOR EXHIBITION. About the end of July cover the bed intended to be devoted to Carnations, &c., about 2 in. with good rotten manure, and if the soil be sandy add to this 2 in. of good mellow loam, or, if it be stiff, add the same quantity of sand. Then, when- ever time can be spared, fork in the dress- ing well and dig it over. Then put the plants in firmly, putting all of the same sort in a row with a good legible label at the end. Being perfectly hardy, they will need no attention till next spring. At the same time take up and put in in the same way any seedlings sown in the spring, which will now be fine strong plants. The next spring, when the severe cold has ceased (about March or April), hoe the beds over carefully between the rows, and in fine weather water them if they are dry. When the flower-stems begin to rise, place a stick about 30 in. long to each plant. These sticks should be painted a light whitish green. The flower-stems must be kept well tied up as they grow, but they must be tied quite loosely, for if they are tied tightly they will knee and bend, and finally break. About 2oth June (or later), when the buds appear, take off all but three on each shoot, so as to leave each bud a little footstalk to itself when it grows (what is lost by this in quantity will be regained twenty-fold in quality). From this time until the buds are near showing colour, give occasionally a little weak manure-water a handful of \\ell- rotted stable manure to a large pot of water. As soon as they show colour at the top, tie them round with a little strip of bass about half-way down. This should be done every morning in July, as it saves much trouble as well as the un- sightly peculiarity termed a "split pod." If in spite of this the pods split on one side, carefully open the bud all round at the other segments, using the flat wedge handle of a knife used for layering. Un- less it is intended to save seed, cut off DIANTHUS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. DIANTHUS. 529 dead blooms as soon as they wither, and the flower-stems as soon as all the buds have come out, which will be about the end of August or beginning of September. Not later than the last week in July see to layering. As soon as the layers are rooted, which will be early in September, take them off and lay them in by the heels for a time, while taking up and throwing away the old stools, top-dress and fork over the bed with 2 in. of well-rotted stable litter or cow-house very lightly with finely sifted compost, and put them in a cold frame or house out of danger of frost. When they show three pairs of leaves, prick them out about 2 in. apart round the edges of 5 -in. pots rilled with the same compost, and keep them still in the cool house till there is no fear of frost. When they are about 3 in. high, prick them out into beds, keeping them about 4 in. apart. The beds may be enriched with a little sand and manure. In the autumn they will be Redbraes Picotee. sweepings, replace the layers, and they will be in the same condition as at the beginning. PROPAGATION BY SEED. The proper time to sow is about April or May. Pre- pare a compost of equal parts of loam, leaf-mould, and silver sand, sift it fine, and fill a number of 3-in. pots (as many as you have sorts of seed) to within i in. of the rim. Sprinkle each pot with a fine rose, flatten the surface, and with the point of a knife put down the seeds separately about- \ in. apart. Cover them nice little plants, and may be planted where they are to flower, which will be the next year. Keep and name any really good kind, discarding all singles, and using the rest for borders or beds for cutting from. BY PIPINGS. When the plants throw up shoots too numerous to layer, or when the root is attacked by disease, the shoots may be taken off as follows : Take the shoot just above the fourth or fifth joint from the top, and with a sharp pull draw it out from the socket formed by the next M M 53 DIANTHUS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. DIANTHUS. joint, which it will pull away with it. Just through the joint make a little upward slit in the cutting, and thrust it firmly into a pot filled to within i in. of the top with the compost described, and the rest with silver sand. Water the pot and plunge it in fibre under a hand-light for three or four weeks, when the pipings will be rooted. They may then be potted off singly or bedded like layers, and will flower the next year. Plants thus struck are never so good as those propagated by layers, but this method is a useful ex- pedient to save a good sort or to get up a good stock. BY LAYERS. This is the best and most generally accepted method of pro- pagating Carnations and Picotees. It should be commenced at latest the last week in July, and finished by the second week in August. It is performed as follows : Scrape away the earth round the plant to the depth of 2 in., and substitute for the earth removed the compost pre- I scribed. Strip each shoot up to the top i three or four joints, going all round the plant before proceeding farther. Then | with a fine sharp knife cut half through a shoot, just below a joint, make a slant- ing cut up through the joint, and bring the knife out just above it ; take a peg with a hook in it, and thrust it into the fresh compost just above the tongue, so that as the peg comes down it will catch the tongue and peg it into the earth. Cover it with a little more compost placed firmly. Proceed thus all round the plant, finally watering carefully with a fine rose water- pot to settle the soil around the layers. In about a month the layers will be rooted, and by the second week in October all the young plants ought to be in their winter quarters. SEVERAL DISEASES affect Carnations. Two of the worst are fungoid growths. One of these is a fungus which grows between the membranes of the leaf^ and the only method of destroying it is to pick off and burn every infected leaf. It appears at first as a small blister which bursts, scattering its spores and leaving a dark-brown scar. A more familiar disease is that known as spot; a damp atmosphere or overcrowding of the plants being the causes. It spreads rapidly, but some kinds enjoy a complete immunity from it. Dusting the plants two or three times with a mixture of soot and sulphur has been found effectual. The gout is a swelling of the stem close to the surface of the ground, which eventually bursts, supposed to be caused by little worms which eat their way into the collar of the plant and lay eggs there which hatch worms that feed upon and eventually kill the plant. The Maggot is a small insect with great powers for mischief. It comes in the spring from an egg laid no doubt in the skin or tissues of the leaf, and, eating its way down under the skin of the leaf, it makes a home in the main stem of the plant, eating out the centre and killing it. The only remedy appears to be diligently searching for and hunting it out before it has traversed the leaf. Wire-worm is a pest to be reckoned with, but usually only gives trouble in fresh soil. Spittle fly, which appears when the flower-spikes are growing, must be destroyed, or it will do serious harm. An open situation and a well-drained soil are conditions un- favourable to the spot diseases, whilst rotation in planting keeps the stock free from the worm pests and maggots. D. caesius (Cheddar Pink}. One of the neatest and prettiest of the dwarf Pinks, the fragrant and rosy flowers appearing in spring, on stems 6 in. high, and in good soil sometimes taller. This Pink requires peculiar treatment, as in winter it perishes in the ordinary border, while quite happy on an old wall. It is a native of Europe and Britain (the rocks at Cheddar, in Somersetshire). To establish it on the top or any part of an old wall sow the seeds on the wall in a little cushion of Moss, if such exists, or, if not, place a little earth in a chink with the seed, and it may also be grown upon the rock-garden, in firm, calcareous, or gritty earth, placed in a chink between two small rocks. D. deltoides (Maiden Pink}. A pretty native plant, with bright pink-spotted or white flowers, on stems from 6 to 1 2 in. long. It grows almost anywhere, in borders or on rockwork, does not appear to suffer from wire-worm, like most other Pinks, and often flowers several times during the summer. It may be readily raised from seed, and is easily increased by division. The variety glauca has white flowers with a pink eye. It is abundant on Arthur's Seat, near Edinburgh, and forms a charming contrast to the crimson kind. D. dentosus (Amoor Pink}. A distinct and pretty dwarf Pink, with violet-lilac flowers, more than i in. across, the margins toothed, and the base of each petal having a regular dark-violet spot, which forms a dark " eye " nearly in. across in the centre of the flower. The plant flowers from May or June till autumn, and thrives in sandy soil, in borders, or on rockwork ; seed. South Russia. D. neglectus (Glacier Pink}. A DIANTHUS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. DIANTHUS. 531 brilliant alpine plant, forming, very close to the ground, tufts like short wiry grass, from which spring many flowers, I in. across, and of bright rose. It grows freely in very sandy loam, either in pots or on the rock-garden, rooting into the sand through the bottom of the pots as freely as any weed, is hardy, easily grown, increased by division and seed. Alps and Pyrenees. Syn., D. glacialis. D. petrseus (Rock Pink}. A charming Pink, forming hard tufts, I or 2 in. high, from which spring numerous flower-stems, plants, as they live longer and thrive better when raised above the general level of the ground, though they grow well in ordinary soil. They have for many years been amongst the favourite "florists'" flowers in European countries, and are hardier and dwarfer than the Carnation. In August, Pinks should be planted 9 in. apart, the ground being rich and well prepared. If the winter be very severe, a little litter should be put over them, and in spring the surface of the beds should be stirred a little, and given a top-dressing of fine old manure and a Dianthus neglectus (Glacier Pink) each bearing a fine rose-coloured flower. It seems to escape the attacks of wire- worm. It flowers in summer, and should be planted on the rock-garden in sandy and rather poor moist loam. Hungary ; seed or division. D. plumarius (The Common Pink}. This is the parent of our numerous varieties of Pinks, and has single purple flowers, rather deeply cut at the margin, and is naturalised on old walls in various parts of England. The wild plant is rather handsome when grown in healthy tufts, but on the level ground it is apt to perish. The many fragrant double varieties are welcome everywhere, and should be cultivated as rock or bank slight dusting of guano. As they push up their flower-spikes these should be staked, and if they are for exhibition the buds. should be thinned, as many varieties produce buds too freely. The culture of Pinks, however, either for exhibition or for the garden, is simple, and the outlay small. Get newly struck pipings in August and September the best months to plant them in a sunny place. In a smoky town a cold frame will be needed ; but if the air be clear, an open bed will do. When the pipings are once planted in the open garden, they require little care till they begin to push up their flower-stems. Spring planting should be commenced as early as the weather permits, and, as soon M M 2 532 DIANTHUS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. DIANTHUS. as the plants begin to grow, the bed should be mulched about I in. deep with equal quantities of well-rotted horse manure and leaf-mould. The plants will then fast push on their new growth. INCREASING STOCK. If the plants have made good growth in July, cut the strongest shoots with a sharp knife, cut off the ends of the grass, and cut the shoot two or three joints below the grass or leaves. Prepare some ground as follows : Scatter a little salt on the surface, then riddle on 2 in. deep of fresh soil, prick in the pipings, and put a light or hand-glass over them ; and they will be rooted in a few weeks. Where seed is wanted, protect the flowers from wet, and as they decay re- move the withered petals, which en- courage damp and form a harbour for insects. Seed should be saved only from the finest and most constant varieties of vigorous and hardy growth, and may be sown early in June in pots, or in the open ground. GARDEN OR BORDER PINKS. The show Pinks may be left to the exhibitor. There are certain kinds both old and new which must be taken care of by the " general lover " of flowers. These are the hardier border kinds, grown for their beauty and fragrance. As in the case of the hardier Carnations, we must en- courage these. Some of the best of the hardier kinds are Anne Boleyn, Ascot (soft pink), Fimbriatus major, Fragrans (pure), George White, Hercules, Lady Blanche, Mrs. Moore, Mrs. Pettifer, Mrs. Sinkins (Mule Pink), Marie Pare (Mule Pink), Napoleon III., Multiflorus, New- market, Pluto, Purity, Robustus, Rubens, Thalia, White Queen, Wm. Bruce, High Clere, Multiflorus flore-pleno, Multiflorus roseus, Striatiflorus, Speciosus fl.-pl., Coc- cineus, Early Blush, Fimbriatus albus (old white), Lord Lyons, Miss Joliffe, Nellie, White Perpetual, the Clove Pink, Her Majesty. DWARF SINGLE AND DOUBLE PINKS. Messrs. Dicksons, of Edinburgh, have raised some dwarf profuse - blooming Pinks so compact in habit and stiff in stem that they do without stakes. Most Pinks are better without stakes, especially when their foliage is healthy, and is in such wide tufts as to shield the flowers from splashed earth ; but these new dwarf sorts may be compact enough for the rock-garden. Mr. J. Grieve, who raised them, says : " Both the single and the dwarf double varieties will prove quite a boon to the flower-gardener and for bouquets. To the ordinary eye all florists' Pinks consist of but one variety ; whereas amongst the single and dwarf sorts there are endless colours, and many of the flowers are so varied in colour as to render them easily mistaken for other plants. Numbers of the single sorts look like miniature Petunias." Carnea Beauty, Delicata, Rosea, Spicata, and Odorata are among the best of these new dwarf Pinks, and the class will no doubt be added to. D. sinensis (Chinese Pink}. This has given rise to a race of beautiful garden flowers. It is an annual, or biennial, ac- cording to the way it is sown and grown. If sown early, the plants will flower the first year ; if late, the second. On dry soils, and if the winters be mild, they will live for two or three years. The varieties, both single and double, are now very numerous and beautiful, and may be classed under D. Heddewigi and D. laciniatus. The forms of Heddewigi, the Japanese variety, are dwarf and handsome, while there are double-flowered forms, particularly diadematus, the flowers of which are large and very double. The petals of the laciniated section are very deeply cut into a fine fringe. Of this class there are also double-flowered forms. The colours of both are much varied, and there are striped crimson and white sorts. There is a pretty dwarf class (nanus), about 6 in. high, but it is less useful than the taller varieties for cutting from. Two beautiful and distinct selected sorts, Crimson Belle and Eastern Queen, are among the best varieties. Sow D. sinensis under glass in February, with very little or no bottom-heat ; give air freely during open weather, and in April plant out in well-cultivated soil, which need not be rich. Place the plants 9 in. to 1 2 in. apart each way, and they will form compact tufts. Encourage the laterals by pinching off decayed flowers, and the result will be a mass of blossom through- out the summer, and probably till November. Some sow in autumn, and winter the young plants in frames or under hand-glasses, hardening them off by degrees in spring, until they have become fully established. These Pinks are ad- mirable for the flower garden, either in beds by themselves, or mixed ; they may be well used with taller plants of a different character dotted sparsely among them. D. superbus (Fringe dPink\ A fragrant wild pink, easily known by its petals being cut into strips for more than half their length. It inhabits many parts of Europe from Norway to the Pyrenees, and DIAPENSIA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. DICKSONIA. 533 Is a true perennial, though it perishes so often in gardens that many regard it as a biennial. It is more likely to perish in winter on rich and moist soil than on poor and light soil, and, when it is desired to establish it as a perennial, it should be planted in fibry loam, well mixed with sand or grit. It grows, however, on nearly any soil ; and, by raising it every year from seed, an abundant stock may be kept up even where the plant perishes in winter. It comes true from seed, and is often more than i ft. high ; flowering in summer or in early autumn, and is better suited for mixed beds and borders than for the rock-garden. DIAPENSIA (D. lapponica) is a sturdy and dwarf evergreen alpine shrub, often under 2 in. in height, growing in dense rounded tufts, having narrow closely packed leaves, and bearing in summer solitary white flowers, about half an inch across. It may be grown well on fully ex- posed spots on the rock-garden, in deep sandy and stony peat which is kept well moistened during the warm season. It is a native of N. Europe and N. America, being found on high mountains or in arctic latitudes. DICENTR A (Bleeding Heart}. Grace- ful plants of the Fumitory Order, including about half a dozen cultivated species, of which the finest are D. chrysantha. This handsome plant forms a spreading tuft of rigid glaucous foliage, from which arises a stiff leafy stem, 3 to 4 ft. high, with long branching panicles of bright golden-yellow blossoms, about i in. long in August and September ; it seems hardy in light rich soil if warm and sheltered. Seed. California. D. Cucullaria (Dutchman' s-breeches] and D. thalictrifolia are less important, and rather belong to the curious garden. D. eximia combines a Fern-like grace with the flowering qualities of a good hardy perennial. From i to i^ ft. high, with numerous reddish-purple blossoms in long drooping racemes. It is useful for the rock-garden and the mixed border, or for naturalising by woodland walks ; thriving in rich sandy soil. Division. N. America. D. formosa is similar to the preceding, having also Fern-like foliage, but is dwarfer in growth, its racemes shorter and more crowded, and its flowers lighter. Suitable for same positions as D. eximia. California. D. spectabilis. A beautiful plant, too well known to need description, as nearly every garden is adorned with its singular flowers, which resemble rosy hearts, and, in strings of a dozen or more, are grace- fully borne on slender stalks. It succeeds best in warm, light, rich soils, if in sheltered positions, being liable to be cut down by late spring frosts. 1 1 is moreover suited for the mixed border, but is of such remarkable beauty and grace that it may be used with the best effect near the lower flanks of rockwork, in bushy places near it, or on low parts where the stone or " rock " is suggested rather than shown. It is worthy of naturalisation on light rich soils by wood walks. It is also excellent for mixed borders, and for snug corners on the fringes of choice shrubs in peat, as such soil suits it well. There is a " white " variety, which is by no means Dictamnus Fraxinella. so ornamental, though worth growing for variety's sake. Propagated by division in autumn. The species are D. canadensis, N. Amer. chrysantha, Calif. CuU//aruf, N. Amer. eximia, do. formosa, do. lachenaliceflora, Siberia. ochrole2ica, Calif, pauciftora, Calif. pusilla, Japan. Roy lei, Mts. of India, scan- dens, do. spectabilis, Japan, thalictrifolia, Mts. of India, torulosa, do. uniflora, N. America. DICKSONIA. A noble evergreen Tree Fern, D. antarctica having a stout trunk, 30 ft. high or more, the fronds forming a magnificent crown, often 20 to 30 ft. across. They are from 6 to 20 ft. long, becoming pendulous with age. It is 534 DICTAMNUS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. DIMORPHOTHECA. the hardiest of Tree Ferns, and the most suitable for the open air, in sheltered shady dells. From the end of May to October. In favourable localities it may even be left out all the winter. DICTAMNUS (Fraxinettd). -- D. Fraxinella is a favourite old plant, about 2 ft. high, forming dense tufts, flowers pale purple, and with darker lines (there is a white form) borne in racemes in June and July. This plant does best in a light soil. It is propagated by seeds sown as soon as they are ripe, or by its fleshy roots, which, if cut into pieces, in spring, will form good plants much quicker than seedlings. It is a slow-growing plant in most gardens, though it is freer in some warm soils, and a very long-lived plant where it likes the soil. It is at home in the sunny mixed border among medium-sized plants. Caucasian Mountains. DIDISCUS. A native of New Holland, and from i to 2 ft. high. In D. cceruleus the stems are erect and much branched, each branch terminating in a flat umbel of small flowers, of a pleasing clear blue colour, which are borne freely from August to October. It is a half-hardy annual, and requires rather careful treat- ment, as it is impatient of excessive moisture, especially in the early stages of its growth. It requires to be raised in a gentle hotbed, and the seedlings should be transplanted in May to a warm friable soil, in which they will flower freely. Those who seek distinct and novel effects might use this plant, as its pretty blue flowers are uncommon in the Parsley Order, which usually has pale flowers. A little bed or groundwork would be charm- ing if only as a change. Syn., Trachymene ccerulea. Dielytra. See DICENTRA. Diervilla. See WEIGELA. DIGITALIS (Foxglove). 1\^. most important plant of this genus is our native Foxglove, and the handsomest of the several species in cultivation. The best of the exotics is D. grandiflora, a tall slender plant, bearing large bell-shaped yellow blossoms in long racemes. The other kinds are D. ferruginea, aurea, eriostachys, fulva, laevigata, lanata, lutea, ochroleuca, parviflora, Thapsi, tomentosa, but these are suited mainly for botanical collections. D. purpurea (Foxglove]. Wild Fox- gloves seldom differ in colour, but culti- vated ones assume a variety of colours, including white, cream, rose, red, deep red, and other shades. The charm of these varieties, however, lies in their pretty throat-markings- -spots and blotchings of deep purple and maroon, which make large flowers resemble those of a Gloxinia ; hence the name gloxiniaerlorais applied to some finely-spotted kinds. The garden plants make grand border flowers ; they are more robust than the wild plant, and have stouter stems and larger flowers. If associated with other tall plants, they look well as a background to mixed borders ; and the improved varieties have a fine effect in the wild garden if planted or sown in bold masses. They are good, too, among Rhododendrons, where these bushes are not too thick, and they charm- ingly break the masses of foliage. The seed is small, and is best sown in pans or boxes, under glass, early in May. When the young plants are well up they should be placed out of doors to get thoroughly hardened before being finally planted out. In shrubbery borders varied clumps of several plants produce a finer effect than when set singly. The Foxglove fre- quently blooms two years in succession ; but it is always well to sow a little seed annually ; and if there be any to spare, it may be scattered in woods or copses where it is desired to establish the plants. Those who do not require seed should cut out the centre spike as soon as it gets shabby, and the side shoots will be con- siderably benefited, especially if a good supply of water be given in dry weather. In a good variety a side shoot will supply an abundance of seed. D. The species are : D. ainbigua, W. Asia. atlantica, Algeria, ciliata, Caucas. cochin- chinensis, Cochinch. dubia, Balearics. stachya. ferruginea, S. Europe. Fontanesii. gloxinioides. laciniata, Spain. hzvigata, Danube and Greece, lanata, do. leucophtca, Greece. longibracteata, Austria. lutea, S. Europe, lutescens, France, mariana, Spain. minor, Spain. nervosa, Persia. obscura^ Spain, orientalis, As. Min. parviflora, S. Europe, piupurascens, Europe, purpurea, do. sibirica, Siberia. Thapsi, Spain, vindi- flora, Greece. DIGRAPHIS (Ribbon Grass}. Grasses, of which the Ribbon Grass (D.arundinacea variegata) is the most familiar. Being hardy and perennial, it is valuable for good effect in the flower garden. It should be treated liberally, and renewed by young plants every other year. If it be not desired in the flower garden proper, a few tufts by a back shrubbery will suffice. It grows anywhere. Dimorphanthus. See ARALIA. DIMORPHOTHECA (Cape Marigold). A hardy annual from the Cape, 18 in. to 2 ft.high ; the flowers of D. pluvialis are white and purplish-violet beneath, expand- ing in fine weather. Plants from spring- D10TIS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. DORONICUM. 535 sown seed flower from July to September. It is a bold free annual thriving in any good soil and an effective ground plant with the larger flower-garden subjects ; alone, how- ever, it is well worth growing. Composite. DIOTIS (Sea Cotton-weed}. D. mari- tinia is a dwarf cottony herb suitable for the rock-garden, and sometimes employed in the flower-garden as an edging plant. It is apt to grow rather straggling, and to prevent this it is kept neatly pegged down and cut in well. It should have deep sandy soil. Increased by cuttings, as it seldoms seeds in gardens. Native of our southern shores. Diplopappus. See ASTER. DIPSACUS ( Teasel}. Coarse-growing plants, annual or biennial, striking in form, in woods and hedgerows, where their fine foliage and habit have a good effect. There are three native species, D. Fullonum, pilosus, and sylvestris ; the boldest kind is D. laciniatus, a European species growing 5 to 8 ft. high, with large deeply-cut foliage. The seed may be sown in woody places and by freshly broken hedge-banks, where the plants will often perpetuate themselves. DODECATHEON (American Cowslip}. Beautiful plants, of the Primrose family, perennials from N. America, where they are called Shooting Stars. They are all hardy, requiring a cool situation and light loamy soil. The nature of the soil is, however, of small importance, as they grow almost as freely in peat or leaf-mould as in loam ; situation is the principal point. In borders where Primulas and Soldanellas thrive, Dodecatheons will soon establish themselves. All the kinds grow freely in sandy loam, and soon form large tufts, which should be divided every third or fourth year. The best time for trans- planting them is the end of January or the beginning of February, when the roots are becoming active ; but care must be taken not to divide them into pieces too small, for fear of losing the plants while they are in a weakly condition. All may be easily raised from seed. D. integrifolium. A lovely flower ; the petals have a white base, and spring from a yellow and dark orange cup, the flowers deep rosy crimson, on stems from 4 to 6 in. high, in March. It is a native of the Rocky Mountains, and a choice plant for the rock-garden, if planted in sandy peat or sandy loam with leaf-mould. It is easily grown in pots placed in the open air in some sheltered and half-shady spot during summer, and kept in shallow cold frames during winter. Strong well-established plants produce abundance of seed, which should be sown soon after it is gathered. Careful division. D. Jeffreyanum. A stout kind, more than 2 ft. high in good soil, with larger and thicker leaves than D. Meaclia, red- dish midribs strong and conspicuous, and the flower somewhat larger and darker. D. Jeffreyanum is a hardy and distinct plant, thriving in light, rich, and deep loam, in a warm and sheltered spot, where its great leaves are not broken by high winds. D. Meadia (American Cowslip], a grace- ful plant and a favourite among old border flowers, its slender stems from loto 16 in. high, bearing umbels of elegantly droop- ing flowers, the purplish petals springing up vertically from the pointed centre of the flowers, something like those of the greenhouse Cyclamen. It loves a rich light loam, and is one of the most suitable plants for the rock-garden, for choice mixed borders, or for the fringes of beds of Ameri- can plants. In many deep light loams it thrives without any preparation, but where a place is prepared for it, it is best to add plenty of leaf-mould and plant in a some- what shaded and sheltered position,though it often thrives in exposed borders. It is best increased by division when the plants die down in autumn ; but if seed is sown, it should be sown soon after it is gathered. There are numbers of pretty and distinct varieties, differing more or less in height of plant and size and colour of flower. Among the best are D. giganteum, elegans, albiflorum, and violaceum. D. californi- cum, though sometimes thought a species, is probably only a variety of D. Meadia. It is, however, a distinct and pretty plant, and worth growing. DONDIA (D. Epipactis) is a singular and pretty little herb, 3 to 6 in. high, having small heads of greenish-yellow flowers in spring, and suitable for the rock-garden, margins of borders, or banks ; increased by division after flowering. A model rock plant, a native of Carinthia and Carniola. Syn., Hacquetia Epipactis. DORONICUM (Leopards Bane}. - Showy plants of the order Composite, of which half-a-dozen species are in gardens, all of vigorous growth, flowering in spring, and thrive in any soil ; they are therefore excellent for rough places, for naturalising, or for dry banks, where little else will thrive. All are readily increased by division of the roots. They range in height from 9 to 12 in., and have large, bright yellow Daisy- like flowers. The best species are D. austriacum and caucasicum, both of which are neater than the rest and produce in early spring a profusion of blossoms that enliven the borders besides being useful 536 DOWNING! A. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. DROSERA. for cutting. The other kinds are D. Clusi, carpetanum, Columnae, Pardalianches, and Doronicum plantagineum excelsum. plantagineum, all natives of Europe. D. plantagineum var. excelsum (syn., Harpur Crewe) is by far the best. D. The species are : D. altaicum, Siberia. austriacum, Europe. Bourgaei, Canaries. cacaliafoliuni) As. Minor, carpetamim, Spain. caucasicum, As. Minor. Clusii, Pyrenees. Columnae, S. Europe and As. Min. corsicum, Corsica, croaticum, S. Europe, dentatum. Falconeri, Spain, glaciate, do. grandiflonim, Europe, hirsutum, do. hungaricum, S.E. Europe. macrophyllum, Caucas., Persia. maximum, Armenia, oblongifolium, Caucas. Orphanidts, Greece. Pardalianches p , Europe. plantagineum, Europe. Roylei, Mts. of India. scorpioides, Europe. stenoglossum, China. Thirkei, Bithynia. DOWNINGIA. Charming little Cali- fornian half-hardy annuals, generally known as Clintonia. There are two species, D. pulchella and elegans, similar to each other, resembling the dwarf annual Lobelias in habit, but more brilliant in colour. D. pulchella is of dwarf habit, rarely exceeding 6 in. in height, and is suitable for edging small beds or borders, as when covered with its bright blue flowers it is very pretty. In March and April the seed should be sown in the open ground in a free soil and an open situation, but, if the plants are intended for pot culture, the sowing should be two months earlier. Each plant should be allowed quite 8 in. for development, and in hot weather those from the latest sowing should be well watered. The flowers of the several varieties of D. pulchella differ in colour, the best variety being alba (white), rubra (red), and atropurpurea (dark purple). DRAB A (Whitlow Grass). Minute alpine plants, most of them having bright yellow or white flowers, and leaves often in neat rosettes. They are too dwarf to take care of themselves among plants much bigger than Mosses, and therefore there are few positions suitable for them ; but it would be very interesting to try them on mossy walls, ruins, or bits of mountain ground with sparse vegetation. The best-known and showiest is D. aizoides, found on old walls and rocks in the west of England. It forms a dwarf, spreading, cushion-like tuft, which, in spring, is covered with bright yellow blossoms. D. Aizoon, alpina, ciliaris, cuspi- data, lapponica, rupestris, frigida, and helvetica are very dwarf, compact-growing plants. In each the small flowers, white or yellow, are produced abundantly. Rarer kinds are D. Mawi, glacialis, and bruniae- folia, all worth growing in a full collection of alpine flowers for a choice rock-garden. Dracaena. See CORDYLINE. DRACOCEPHALUM (Dragon's- head}. Plants of the Sage family, among them a few choice perennials suitable for the rock-garden or the mixed border, suc- ceeding in light garden soil and increased by division or seed. D. altaiense has bright green leaves, and axillary clusters of large tubular flowers of adense Gentian- like blue, spotted with red in the throat. D. austriacumhas flower-stems nearly I ft. in height, densely covered with rich purple blossoms ; D. Ruyschianum, a handsome species, has narrow Hyssop-like leaves and purplish-blue flowers, but its variety japonicum, a new introduction from Japan, is even more showy. D. peregrinum, with pretty blue flowers always produced in pairs, is desirable, and so is D. argunense, which is a variety of D. Ruyschianum. The most beautiful of all is D. grandiflorum, a rock-garden plant, which is the earliest in flower. It is very dwarf, and has large clusters of in- tensely blue flowers, which scarcely overtop the foliage. In D. speciosum, a Himalayan species, the small deep purple flowers are nearly smothered by the large green bracts. The hardy annual kinds, such as Molda- vicum and D. canescens, are ornamental, and worth a place in a full collection. DROSERA (Sundew}.~Mc>^ interest- ing little bog-plants, of which all the hardy THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. ECHINOCACTUS. 537 species but one are natives of Britain. All are characterised by tufts of leaves which have tneir surfaces covered with dense glandular hairs. When the native kinds are grown artificially the condition of their natural home should be imitated as far as possible. In a bog on a very small scale it is not easy to secure the humid atmosphere they have at home, but they will grow wherever Sphagnum grows. The native kinds are intermedia, longifolia, obovata, and rotundifolia. The North American Thread-leaved Sun- dew (D. filiformis) is a beautiful bog-plant, with very long slender leaves covered with glandular hairs, the flowers purple- rose colour, half an inch wide, and open- ing only in the sunshine. It is quite hardy, but appears difficult to cultivate. DRYAS (MountaijiAvens}. Mountain plants of the Rose family, containing two or three dwarf alpine plants of spreading growth and neat evergreen foliage. They thrive in borders in light soil, though they are seen to best advantage in the rock- garden, where they can spread over the brows and surfaces of limestone rocks, best on an exposed spot, not too dry, though when well established they will flourish under almost any conditions. Division in spring. The kinds are D. Dnimuiondi, a dwarf, hardy, evergreen trailer, with flower-stems 3 to 8 in. high ; its yellow flowers, I in. across, appear in summer. A native of N. America. D. octopetala, a creeping evergreen, forming dense tufts, with pretty white flowers. It is a British plant and there are two others, D. lanata, a native of Europe, and D. integrifolia. American. ECCREMOCARPUS. E. Scaber is a delightful old climber for walls, trellises, and pillars, its orange-red flowers are beautiful, and its rambling shoots graceful. If the roots are protected during winter, they are uninjured and the plant annually increases in size. Increased freely by seed, and should be raised in this way occasion- ally. Syn., Calampelis. ECHEVERIA. Dwarf succulent plants, much used in the flower garden, es- pecially the half-hardy species like secunda. Other species are tenderer and need a greenhouse to keep them through the win- ter, and a warm house or frame to propa- gate them in the spring. E. secunda is well known by its pale green rosette, leaves tipped with red. E. s. major is but a mealy form of the same. E. s. glauca differs only in having leaves rather more pointed and glaucous. E. s. pumila is a smaller form, with narrow leaves of the same colour as E. s. major, E. glauca metallica is intermediate between the well-known E. metallica and E. secunda glauca. Dwarf and massive, the leaves are very solid and fleshy. E. metallica is a noble species, and distinct in the size of its leaves and in their rich metallic hue. The dwarfer kinds are used mostly as edgings or panels. The fine E. metallica is very effective on the margins of beds and groups of the dwarfer foliage plants, or here and there among hardy succulents. It should be planted out about the middle of May. INCREASE. As soon as the seed is ripe prepare to sow it. Fill some 4-in. pots to within \ in. of the rim with equal pro- portions of leaf-mould and well-sanded loam. Make the surface very firm, and water the soil so that the whole body of it becomes thoroughly moistened. Having allowed the moisture to drain away, scatter the seed lightly and cover it thinly with silver sand. Place the pot in a hand-light or in a close frame ; cover with a pane of glass and shade. The seed will germinate before the soil can dry, and if it is sown as soon as it is ripe every seed will come up. As soon as the seedlings are large enough to handle, prick them out thinly into pans or 6-in. pots ; keep them close until they are fairly established, and then allow them the full benefit of sun and air. After the middle of September give no water, and take care to remove all decay as soon as it is perceived. If planted early in April in well-worked and fairly- enriched soil, these little plants will be strong by the autumn. There is another method of increasing them. With a sharp knife cut out the heart of the plant, so as to induce offshoots. These taken off will speedily make good speci- mens. E. metallica maybe increased in the following manner : Take off the flower- stems which come early in the season ; cut off the embryo flowers and place the stems in pots of sandy soil. These stems will strike and will produce little offsets from the axils of the flower-stem leaves. If these are taken off they will readily strike. E. metallica may also be raised from seed in the manner above described. Echinacea. See RUDBECKIA. ECHINOCACTUS.^. Simpsoni is a beautiful little Cactaceous plant, a native of Colorado, occurring at great elevations, and believed to be hardy. It grows in a globular mass, 3 or 4 in. across, which is covered with white spines. It flowers early in March, bearing large pale purple blossoms which are very beautiful. No one appears to have had any lengthened experience in cultivating it, but, so far, it seems to thrive. Its natural conditions 538 ECHINOCEREUS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. ECHIUM. should be imitated as far as may be. In its native habitat it enjoys a dry climate, and, in some seasons at least, is more or less protected from frost by a covering of snow. In this country, however, it has withstood 32 of frost, and therefore in a dry spot may escape and flourish. ECHINOCEREUS. Plants of the | Cactus family (from arid regions in N. America), some of which have been said to be hardy. Mr. E. G. Loder, of Weedon, Northamptonshire, grows and flowers them successfully. He thus writes to The Garden : " I have a wall here where the Ivy hangs over in such a way that it keeps a large portion of the winter's snow and rain off the plants growing underneath. In this position I have grown several species of Echinocereus and Opuntia, an Echinocactus, and a Mammillaria. Only small plants were tried, yet several flowered in spite of our very severe winters and not favourable summers. We had 41 of frost one winter, but none of these Cacti were in- jured by it. No species of Cactus which I have tried does well in a level border. A narrow rock border, raised about i ft. high, against a south wall, would be a capital position, but it is much improved if the wall has a good wide coping. The most attractive is a natural one of Ivy. What success I have in the culture of these plants has amply repaid me for all the trouble and care spent upon them ; but much greater success may reasonably be expected by any one who will under- take their cultivation in a more sunny part of England. All of them are beautiful, and some quite splendid when in flower. E. Fendleri bears some of the brightest coloured flowers that I have ever seen a rich purple." The species of Echino- cereus that Mr. Loder grows are E. noephiceus, gonacanthus, Fendleri, viri- diflorus, and paucispinus. We have no doubt that various hardy Cacti of N. America would flower well on raised stony borders and sunny banks in rock-gardens. Give them soil which is well drained and sunny, but exposed, away from all coping or artificial protection, but take great care so to place them in relation to surrounding objects that their stems cannot easily be hurt in clearing or passing. A few protecting stones and low evergreens can be grouped so as to keep off the digger and also dangerous animals. A close turf of some dwarf clean alpine will prevent earth- splashings and will improve the effect. Echinochloa. See PANICUM. ECHINOPS (Globe Thistle}.-^ fine hardy plant from S. Russia, 3 to 5 ft. high, covered with a silvery down, E. ritthcnicus having the flowers blue, in round heads. Thrives in ordinary soil. Easily multiplied by division of the tufts, or by cuttings of the roots in spring. It is the most ornamental of its distinct family, and is highly suit- able for grouping with the bolder her- baceous plants. It would also look well when isolated on the turf. There are other species, mostly from S. Europe and the Levant, among which are E. Ritro and E. banaticus ; but we have never seen any so good as E. ruthenicus, and, as the species are very much alike, it is enough to grow the best. E. sphasrocephalus is Echinops ruthenicus (Globe Thistle). a fine species tall and handsome ; giganteus is a garden variety of the above, more robust, and with larger heads. ECHIUM (Viper 9 s Bugloss}. Hand- some plants of the Forget-me-not Order, the finer kinds of which, though superb in the open gardens of S. Europe, are too tender for flower gardens. E. planta- gineum is one of the handsomest of the annual or biennial species. Its showy flowers, of rich purplish-violet, are in long slender wreaths that rise erect from a tuft of broad leaves. It is handsomer than our indigenous species, E. pustulatum and E. vulgare. E. rubrum is a scarce and handsome species, its habit is similar to those above mentioned, but its colour is a reddish -violet, similar to the attractive E. creticum. The Salamanca Viper's Bugloss (E. salmanticum) is another fine kind, but difficult to obtain, except from its native locality. These five species are now in cultivation, and are representative of the annual and biennial Echiums. They are all showy and of the simplest culture. The seeds should be sown in ordinary EDRAIANTHUS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. EIJE AGNUS. 539 garden soil, either in spring for the current year's flowering, or late in autumn for flowering in early summer. Our native E. vulgare is good in certain positions ; its long racemes of blue flowers are hand- somer than those of the Italian Anchusa. Against a hot wall, where nothing else would grow, Dr. Acland, of the Grammar School, Colchester, planted some, and they gave a beautiful bloom. It is valuable for such positions, particularly on hot gravelly or chalky soils. Edraianthus. See WAHLENBERGIA. Edwardsia. See SOPHORA. EKEAGNUS (Oleaster). Several of the Oleasters are beautiful shrubs, and de- serve to be much more widely cultivated than they are now. E. angustifolia, the form which grows wild in South-eastern Europe, is the wild Olive of the old Greek authors, and in some modern books is called Jerusalem Willow. The long silvery-gray fruit is constantly sold in the Constantinople markets under the name of Ighide agaghi, and is sweet and pleasant to the taste, abounding as it does in a dry, mealy, saccharine substance ; it possesses the property of retaining, for a considerable time after being gathered, its usual size and form. The general aspect of this form is much more that of a Willow than an Olive, the long lanceolate leaves being grayish above and silvery-white beneath. Under cultivation I have seen this thrive in a dry, hungry, sandy soil, and attain tree- like proportions with a stem as much as a foot in diameter. This deciduous species is capable of being turned to good account by the landscape gardener; the yellow tubular flowers are produced in profusion. E. argentea, or E. canadensis (the Silver Berry, or Missouri Silver Tree\ has very fragrant tubular yellow flowers, followed by an abundance of nearly globular, dry, mealy, edible fruit. This species gives a characteristic feature to the vegetation of the Upper Missouri valley, and in a wild state grows 8 or 10 ft. in height, and throws up an abundance of suckers, a habit which, at any rate in a young state, does not appear to occur so much under cultivation. The oval leaves are silvery- white. In nearly all British and foreign nurseries this species is confused with the Buffalo Berry (Shepherdia argentea), a genus belonging to the same natural order as the Elasagnus, but altogether different from it. E. hortensis, a somewhat variable plant with a wide geographical dis- tribution, is cultivated in many countries for the sake of its fruit. In Dr. Aitchison's Botany of the Afghan Delimitation Commission it is described as a shrub or tree occurring at an elevation of 3,000 ft. and upwards, near running streams, and cultivated largely in orchards for its fruit. E. longipes, a thoroughly deciduous Japanese species, is one of the most desirable members of the genus. Prof. Sargent thus writes of it in Garden and Forest : " The plant may well be grown for the beauty of its fruit alone, which, moreover, is juicy and edible with a sharp, rather pungent, agreeable flavour. Both the size and the flavour can doubt- less be improved by careful selection, and it is quite within the range of possibility that it may become a highly esteemed and popular dessert and culinary fruit. To some persons, even in its pre- sent state, the flavour is far preferable to that of the Currant or the Gooseberry." The fruit, as implied by the specific name, is borne on long stalks ; it is bright red in colour and covered with minute white dots. The branches are covered with rusty brown scales, and the. somewhat leathery leaves are dark green above and silvery-white beneath. Pheasants are said to be very fond of the fruit, and I can vouch for the fact that blackbirds and other fruit-eating birds will soon strip a bush unless it be netted. Some French growers make a preserve of the fruit, and this is said to be very similar to that made from the fruit of the Cornelian Cherry (Cornus mas) ; a spirit, too, with a taste like kirsch, has also been made from the fruit. E. longipes, known in some gardens under the names of E. edulis, E. odorata edulis, and E. rotundifolia, is appa- rently as hardy as the first-named species. E. macrophylla, an evergreen species from China and Japan, has large roundish leaves, grayish above and silvery beneath. Old plants are said to produce suckers freely, but the species is a somewhat recent introduction to British gardens, and all the specimens which I have seen up to the present have not shown any tendency to sucker. It is quite distinct in appearance from any other hardy cultivated shrub, and is worthy of much more general employment in the orna- mental shrubbery. In its native habitats it is said to sometimes attain tree-like dimensions ; under cultivation I have only seen it as a dense bush. E. pungens, E. glabra, and E. reflexa are beautiful evergreens, which are not very dissimilar in general aspect, and which without long dry scientific de- scriptions it would be impossible to dis- tinguish. Variegated forms exist of all 540 EL^EAGNUS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. ELYMUS. three, and any of them, as well as the types, are thoroughly well worthy of a place in the garden or pleasure-ground. They are all natives of Japan, &c., but do not appear to be quite as hardy as the species previously mentioned ; all could be tried, however, with every prospect of success in the southern counties. Some of them in the south of Europe assume a somewhat climbing habit, and round the North Italian lakes, for example, the upper surface ; in a young state earlier in the season they are silvery-gray, and silvery-white beneath. The creamy-white flowers are produced in the greatest pro- fusion in June. In some localities the plant is practically evergreen ; in the neighbourhood of London, however, it is at any rate during such winters as the two last to all intents and purposes deciduous. It is probably perfectly hardy throughout Britain, as it withstands the Lyme Grass (Klyrnus arenarius). grow up to the tops ot high Fir and Pine trees. E. Simpni, said to be a native of China, seems quite hardy, but is the least orna- mental of those which have been men- tioned in these notes. A variegated form of this, with leaves margined with dark green and with the centres constantly varie- gated with golden-yellow and yellowish- green, originated in the Belgian nurseries a few years ago ; it is highly spoken of in some of the Belgian periodicals. E. umbellata is a beautiful bush. The leaves are deep green and glabrous on much severer winters of Northern Ger- many without protection. In a wild state it occurs from the Himalayas to China and Japan. Elaeagnus parvifolia is a name under which this species occurs in some gardens. G. N. ELYMUS (Lyme Grass}. E. aretuuiits is a wild British Grass, vigorous and dis- tinct, which if planted in deep soil near the margin of a shrubbery, or on a bank on the Grass, makes an effective plant, growing 4 ft. high, and as we should culti- vate it for the leaves, there would be no loss if the flowers were removed. It is frequent EMBOTHRIUM. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. EPHEDRA. 541 on our shores, but more abundant in the north than in the south. E. condensatus (Bunch Grass) is a vigorous perennial Grass from British Columbia, forming a dense, compact, column-like growth, and more than 8 ft. high. It is covered from the base almost to the top with long arching leaves, and in the flowering season is crowned with erect rigid spikes 6^ in. long, so that it resembles an elongated ear of wheat. It is very ornamental, and maybe grown in the same way as the Lyme Grass. Other kinds might be mentioned, but one or two give us the best effect of the race. EMBOTHRIUM (Fire Bush\E.coc- cineum is a very beautiful S. American evergreen shrub of the Protea family, hardy in warm parts of Britain, even without the protection of a wall. At Coombe Royal, in South Devon, it grows quite 20 ft. high, and is a spectacle of won- drous beauty about the end of April or the beginning of May, when every twig carries a cluster of fiery flowers. Even on the favoured Devonshire coast a sharp late frost will sometimes injure the flowers. It thrives near the coast in southern Ireland and in Wicklow at Mr. Acton's, but soon perishes in less favoured places. EMPETRUM (Crowberry}. E. ni- grum is a small evergreen Heath-like bush, of the easiest culture, which may be associatedwith the dwarfer rock shrubs. It is a native plant, and the badge of the Scotch clan McLean. ENKIANTHUS. E. campanulatus is a pretty shrub, native of Northern Japan. It has slender branches covered with a light brown bark, and campanulate flowers produced in a pendulous cluster, and of a pale rosy-red colour, with three darker lines on each of the five sections of the corolla. E. cermms. A little-known species only recently introduced from Japan, where it is said to be a bush 6 ft. to 8 ft. high. The reddish flowers are campanulate, and slightly five-lobed. Syn., Me.isteria cernua. E. japonicus. A rare and desirable shrub, first discovered by Sir Rutherford Alcock near Nagasaki, Japan, in 1859, and afterwards introduced by Messrs. Standish. The leaves turn to a beautiful deep orange colour before falling in autumn. The pendent flowers are pure white, globose, and contracted to a much narrower mouth than in E. campanu- latus. Ericaceae. EOMECON (Cyclamen Poppy}. E. chionanthus is a very charming hardy perennial Poppy intermediate between Stylophorum and Sanguinaria. The root- stocks are usually as thick as the finger ; they run freely underground, and increase rapidly ; leaves all from the base, long- stalked, and resembling those of the hardy Cyclamen. The flowers, 2 to 3 in. in diameter, are pure white, with a bunch of yellow anthers in the centre ; several borne on stems about i ft. high. It is a native of China, and will be found perfectly hardy out-of-doors ; it has stood the winters of 1890 and 1891 without injury. This Poppy will be found a delightful plant in moist situations in free soil, and fully exposed to the sun. The pure pearly-white Poppy flowers, in a setting of bold yellow-green foliage, make Epigaea repens (Mayflower). an elegant picture, and as it continues in flower all through the summer, it is a good plant for the rock-garden. It can be increased to any extent by division. EPHEDRA. (Shrubby Horsetail}. Curious greyish, wiry trailing bushes of Southern Europe and Northern Africa, rare in our gardens, but hardy here and there, as in the Cambridge Botanic Gardens, where there is light warm soil. All these plants resemble to a certain extent the Equisetums, and though they are leafless, or nearly so, the bright green colour of the bark makes them conspic- uous at all seasons. E. distachya\s a native of the southern part of France and Spain, in sandy soils on the seashore, a yard or more high, forming a spreading mass of bright green cylindrical branches distinct from our hardy shrubs ; the berries, which 542 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. EQUISETUM. Ephedr do not always appear in this country, are red. In the front of the shrubbery, where the slender branches can grow at will, this Ephedra is seen to advantage, breaking up the outline, and it is a good plant for bold arrangements in the rock garden as it will succeed in dry spots. It is also known as E. nebrodensis. E. vulgaris is a smaller plant and one that will resist more cold as it is a native of Si- beria, also some of the more southern districts of Asia. Other species are found in different parts of the world, but the nomenclature of the en- tire genus is confused, and it is probable that the list of names would be reduced if they were grown together, as slight geographical variations would no doubt disappear under cultivation. T. EPIG.51A (Mayflower}. & small Ever- green found in sandy soil in the shade of Pines in many parts of N. America, E. repens having pretty rose-tinted flowers in small clusters, which exhale a rich odour, and appear in spring. Its natural home is under trees, and it would be well to plant some of it in the shade of Pines or shrubs. It was at one time lost to our nurseries and gardens, owing to the habit of planting all things in the same kind of exposed situation. It is a charming plant for the wild garden, in sandy or peaty soil under trees, growing only a few inches high. Ericaceae. EPILOBIUM (French Willow}. Few of these plants are worthy of cultivation, but some are important, and the best perhaps is the showy crimson native E. angustifolium, of which there is a pure white variety. This plant runs in a border so quickly as to soon become a trouble- some weed, but is fine when allowed to run wild in a rough shrubbery or copse, where it may bloom with the Foxglove. It is a native of Europe and many parts of Britain. Division. Other kinds some- what less vigorous are E. angustissimum, E. Dodonaei, and E. rosmarinifolium. The common native E. hirsutum is stouter than the French Willow, and is only useful by the margins of streams and ponds, associated with the Loosestrife and such plants. There is a variegated form. The Rocky Mountain Willow Herb (E. obcordatum) is a beautiful rock- plant. The Willow Herbs of our own latitudes are very tall and vigorous, but on the dreary summits of the Rocky Mountains and the Californian Sierras one species has succeeded in contending against the elements by reason of its very dwarf stature ; it has imitated the Phloxes and Pentstemons of the same region ; though not more than 3 in. high, it has retained the size and beauty of flower of the finest species, the colour being rosy- crimson. It is hardy, and thrives in ordinary sandy soil in the rock-garden. Some of the small New Zealand species, such as glabellum nummulariaefolium, and longipes, are very useful for draping stones on rock-gardens. D. EPIMEDIUM (Barren-wort}. Inter- estingand, when well grown, elegant plants of the Barberry Order, but not shrubby. E. pinnatum is a hardy dwarf perennial from Asia Minor, 8 in. to 2^ ft. high, with handsome tufts, and bearing long clusters of yellow flowers. The old leaves remain fine until the new ones appear in the ensuing spring. It is not well to remove them, as they shelter the buds of the new leaves during the winter, and the plants flower better when they are allowed to re- main. Cool peaty soil and a slightly shaded position are most suitable. Other species are alpinum, macranthum, Musschianum, purpureum, rubrum, niveum, and viola- ceum, all loving half-shady spots in peat, or in moist sandy soil. None are so valuable for general culture as the first-mentioned. Known species. E. alpimun, Europe, con- cinnurii) Japan, elatiun, Himal. inacranthmu, Japan. Musschiamim, do. Perralderiamtm, Algeria. pinnatum, Persia. pteroceras, Caucas. pubescens, China, piibigeruui, Caucas. ritbrnm, Japan, sagittatum, do. EPIPACTIS (MarshE.}E. palustris is a somewhat showy hardy Orchid, i to i^ ft. high, flowering late in summer, and bear- ing rather handsome purplish flowers. A native of moist grassy places in all parts of temperate and southern Europe. A good plant for the bog -garden, or for moist spots near a rivulet, in soft peat. In moist dis- tricts it thrives very well in ordinary moist soil. EQUISETUM (Giant Horse-tail}. E. Telmateia is a tall British plant, of much grace of habit when well developed, and from 3 to 6 ft. high in moist peaty or clay hollows in woods. The stem is furnished from top to bottom with spreading whorls of slender branches, slightly drooping, the whole forming a graceful pyramid. It is fit for the hardy fernery, shady peat borders, near cascades, or among shrubs, and grows best in deep vegetable soil. Division. E. sylvaticum is another native Horse-tail, much dwarfer, but graceful when well ERAGROSTIS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN, EREMURUS. 543 grown, the stem standing 8 to 15 in. high, and being covered with slender branches. ERAGROSTIS (Love Grass). Grasses, some of which are worth cultivating for their elegant feathery panicles. E. iegyptiaca, with silvery-white plumes, maxima, elegans, pilosa, amabilis, pellu- cida, capillaris, plumosa, are all elegant annuals. They are useful for cutting for the house during summer. Seed may be sown in autumn or spring in the open air, on or in a slightly heated frame. For preserving, the stems should be gathered before the seeds are too ripe. ERANTHIS ( Winter Aconite). E. hyemalis is a pretty early plant with yellow flowers surrounded by a whorl of shining green. It is 3 to 8 in. high, and flowers from January to March. It is seen best in a half-wild state, under trees or on banks in woody places, though it is occasionally worthy of a place among the earliest border flowers. It often naturalises itself freely in Grass, and is very beautiful when the little yellow flowers peep out in early spring. E. cilicicus is a recent introduc- tion of like stature and character, though distinct as a species, and seems to be of like value and hardiness. We may therefore enjoy it without giving it positions suited for more delicate plants, or taking any trouble about it, but it is more vigorous on chalky or warm soils, and dwindles on some cold soils. EREMURUS. Noble bulbous plants from Northern India, Persia, and Central Asia, as yet little seen in our gardens. Of their culture or fitness for our climate fenerally little can be said with certainty, lost of the forms are handsome, and \vell suited for the warm sheltered glades of gardens where hardy flowers and plants are grown in a natural and informal way. In such a home they can be associated in bold groups with some of the finest hardy plants, with a background of fine-foliaged subjects and choice shrubs. In planting, however, care should be taken to place the roots where they would not be over- grown or shaded by other plants, so that the crowns should receive the greatest amount of sunshine during the ripening period previous to going to rest. They thrive admirably in deep, rich, sandy loam, such as would suit Lilium auratum, with the addition of some thoroughly decayed cow manure. My own plants were grown in a bed filled in 3 ft. deep with a compost of good fibrous loam, sharp river-sand, peat, decayed cow manure, and charcoal, with a well-drained sheltered situation facing due south. Once well planted, they should never be disturbed, as the roots are extremely brittle and very liable to injury. The surface soil above the roots should be kept clean by hand weeding and enriched by occasional surfacings of old manure, leaf-soil, and a little grit, thoroughly broken up and mixed together. Autumn is the best period for planting, which should take place as soon as the young plants have ripened their growth, the sites being well and deeply prepared some little time beforehand, so as to allow the soil to thoroughly settle before the plants are placed in it. As the whole family dislike stagnant moisture, care should be taken to avoid this at the time of planting, and in any favourable situation this can be managed by spreading out the roots of the young plants upon the prepared surface of the bed and covering them with soil so as to form a mound. This can be afterwards surfaced with Cocoa-nut fibre refuse to exclude frost. In any case it is a great advantage to keep the crown of the plant slightly above the soil. I found a plan adopted by Mr. Gumbleton, who is a most successful cultivator of these plants, to be an excellent protection during winter and early spring, especially at the latter period, when the young growth is liable to be injured by frost and the plants to be disfigured for the whole season, if not permanently injured. The shelter, in fact, is very simple and is easily managed being merely the placing over each plant of a hand-light upon supports. As it takes some of the forms several years to flower, old plants are valuable, but are difficult to move. It is better, therefore, to begin with three year-old plants if possible, and care should be taken to obtain the plants from a trustworthy source, or, after waiting patiently, cultivators may find that in stead of the beautiful E. robustus or E. himalaicus, they have the uninteresting E. spectabilis, or some other species that f they do not care for. Owing to losing my garden, I had, unfortunately, to break up my collection in the finest condition, before all the forms I had collected had flowered. I, however, flowered E. robustus, Olgae, himalaicus, and Bungei, all of which are very beautiful, and amenable to cultiva- tion. These four forms all flowered finely, and throve admirably in a Herefordshire garden. A most interesting account of this family, with a list of the species and varieties known to cultivation, may be found in vol. xxix. (p. 96) of The Garden, which cannot fail to assist those who con- 544 EREMURUS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. EREMURUS. template the introduction of these beautiful plants into their gardens. W. J. G. The Rev. F. Page- Roberts writes from Scole Rectory : Eremurus robustus. " With a little trouble Eremuri may be grown successfully by every lover of beautiful flowers. All that is necessary for their well-being is protection from slugs, which soon scent them from afar. I keep a perforated zinc collar round the crown and protect from spring frosts. The plant early forces its way up even through the frost-bound earth, but the tender flower-spike, tender only in infancy, is nipped in the bud if rain fall on it and freeze. Protection also from cutting winds which destroy the foliage is needed. With such precautions and planted in loam, deep, but not too stiff, in a well-drained sunny border, and with an occasional dose of weak liquid manure, they will repay one for all the care given to them." E. Aitchisonii. This is a very fine species, nearly allied to E. robustus. It was introduced a few years ago from Kar- shatal, Afghanistan, where it grows on ridges of the hills nearly 12,000 ft. above sea-level, flowering in June. It is a rather fine species, producing dense spikes of pale reddish flowers. The robust and very striking stems vary from 3 to 5 ft. high. E. aurantiacus. A charming dwarf plant somewhat resembling E. Bungei, and perfectly hardy in gardens. It flowers in April, the numerous spikes of bright citron-yellow flowers giving quite a character to part of the Hariab district, where it is one of the commonest plants on rough stony ground. It is very interesting as the vegetable proper of the Hariab district, and is said to be the sole vegetable upon which the in- habitants depend for at least two months of the year. The leaves are simply cut from the root-stock, as close to the ground as possible, and cooked. It is extremely palatable, and Dr. Aitchison recommends its growth as an early spring vegetable. E. Bungei. A pretty dwarf species now plentiful in nurseries. The leaves, contemporary with the flowers, are narrow, linear, and about i ft. long. Flower- stem somewhat slender, I to 3 ft. long. Flowers bright yellow, the segments reflexing from above the base, and having a distinct green keel. The stamens are about twice as long as the perianth. Native of Persia, flowering in July. E. himalaicus is a beautiful white- flowered species, introduced to cultivation by Mr. Gumbleton, and is one of the most lovely hardy plants in cultivation. In form and height it reminds one of E. robustus, but it starts into growth later, escaping spring frosts. The flower- stems are 4 to 8 ft. high, the dense raceme taking up quite 2 ft. of the upper portion, with flowers as large as a ERIANTHUS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. ERICA. 545 florin. It is one of the hardiest and best of the known species. It flowers in May and June, and is a native of the temperate Himalayas. E. OlgSB is a comparatively dwarf form, received with E. Bungei from Herr Max Leichtlin, and one of the latest to flower. The flower-stem is nearly 4 ft. high, and is densely set with handsome lilac flowers as large as a five-shilling piece. It is certainly one of the hand- somest and most conspicuous flowered species. It was introduced about eight years ago by Dr. Regel. A native of Turkestan, flowering in June and July. E. robustus, a lovely species, and one of the best known in gardens. It pro- duces a huge flower-stem 6 to 10 ft. high, bearing on its summit a dense raceme of peach-shaded lilac flowers nearly 2 in. in diameter. It is perfectly hardy, and may often be seen forcing its shoots through frozen ground. It is one of the easiest to manage. Native of Turkestan, flowering in June. D. Known species. They are Asiatic plants coming chiefly from Asia Minor, Persia, Afghanistan, India, and Turkestan. E. Aitchi- soni, Afghan. Alberti, albo-citrinus, altaicus, angustifolius, anisopterus, Aucherianus, bach- tiaricus, bucharicus, Bungei, cappadocicus, Capusi, Griffithii, himalaicus, inderiensis, Kauf- manni, Korolkowi, luteus, Olgae, persicus, robustus, spectabilis, stenophyllus, Stocksii, Suworowi, tauricus, turkestanicus. ERIANTHUS. A fine Grass from S. Europe, E. Ravenna is somewhat like the Pampas Grass in habit, but smaller in size, having violet-tinged leaves. The flowering stems grow from 5 to6|- ft. high, but as it only flowers with us in a very warm season, it must be valued for its foliage alone. I ts dense tufts are strongest with us in light or warm soil, in positions with a south aspect. It is poor on cold soils, and will probably not grow well north of London. It is fitted for association with such Grasses as Arundo conspicua. Division of the tufts in spring or autumn. E. strictus is another species, but is not so good as E. Ravennae. ERICA (Heath}. Beautiful shrubs, of which the kinds that are wild in Europe are very precious for gardens. We should take more hints from our own wild plants and bring the hardy Heaths of Britain into the garden. Why should we have such things as the Alternanthera grown with care and cost in hothouses, and then put out in summer to make our flower gardens ridiculous, while neglecting such lovely hardy things as our own Heaths and their many pretty varieties ? But very many people do not know how happy these Heaths are as garden plants, and how well they mark the seasons, and for the most part at a time when people go into the country. A pretty Heath garden is that of Sir P. Currie at Hawley, where, near his house he has kept, instead of a lawn, a piece of the Heath land of the district almost in its natural state, save for a little levelling of old pits. In such places the native Heaths of Surrey and Hampshire sow themselves, and nothing can be better in the situation. Where, as in many country places, the Heaths abound, there is less need to cultivate them, al- though we cultivate nothing prettier. In places large enough for bold Heath gar- dens it would be well to plant them, but a small place is often large enough for a few beds of hardy Heaths. Once established, they need very little attention. To some it may be necessary to state that most of our Heaths break into white and various coloured, the common Heather having many pretty varieties, also the Scotch Heath. These forms are quite as free as the wild sorts, and give delightful variety in a Heath garden, which need not by any means be a pretentious affair, but quite simple ; for Heaths are best on the nearly level ground. Though they grow best, perhaps, in northern and upland peat bogs and wastes, we see them in the southern counties in ordinary soils, though on heaths they seem to form their own soil by decay of the stems and leaves for many years. Choice Heaths form often the very best adornment of rocky banks, but these are by no means necessary, and some of the best groups I have seen were on the level ground, as in the late Sir William Beaumont's garden in Surrey. This group of plants has as yet had but scant care, and, if grown at all, is grown in a poor way and more for its " botanical interest " than from any just sense of its great beauty. That can only be fairly judged of by those who see Heaths on mountains and moors, where they are among the most beautiful of plants in effect in broad masses. This can hardly ever be shown in small gardens, but why should it not be in large ones ? We need not even have a garden to cultivate Heaths in a picturesque way, as almost any rough open ground will do, and some kinds will do among bushes and in woody places. The larger Heaths, where grown, should be massed in visible groups, and the dwarf ones seen in masses also, and not treated as mere " specks " on rockeries. They are all of easy culture and all the dwarf kind of easy increase by pulling in N N 546 ERICA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. pieces and replanting at once any time from October to April. E. ARBOREA (Tree Heath}. A tall and graceful shrub of Southern Europe, N. Africa and the Canary islands ; white flowered, and covering vast areas in the upland woods of Oak or other trees, attaining a height of 12 feet or more in N. Africa, and in the Canaries becoming a tree. This Heath is tender in Britain generally, but may be grown in southern and warm districts and on warm soil in sheltered valleys near the sea with its friendly warmth. E. AUSTRALIS (Southern Heath]. A pretty bush Heath of the sandy hills and wastes of Spain and Portugal, 2 feet to 3 feet high, flowering in spring in Britain. The flowers are rosy purple and fragrant. It deserves a place in heathy soils and sheltered places near the coast. E. CARNEA (Alpine Forest Heath}. A jewel among mountain Heaths and hardy as the rock Lichen. On many ranges of Central Europe at rest in the snow in winter, in our mild winters it flowers in January in the south, and in all districts is in bloom in the dawn of spring deep rosy flowers, carpeting the ground, the leaves and all good in colour. There are one or two varieties, one white. This Heath is not averse to loamy soils, and often thrives on them as well as on peat soil. Syn., E. herbacea. E. CINEREA (Scotch Heath). A dwarf and pretty Heath common in many parts of Britain, and particularly Scotland, very easily grown, and has pretty varieties of white and various colours. Its flowers of reddish purple begin to expand early in June. Among its varieties are alba, bicolor, coccinea, pallida, purpurea, and rosea. E. CILIARIS (Dorset Heath). A lovely dwarf Heath, and as pretty as any Heath of Europe. A native of Western France and Spain in heaths and sandy woods it also comes into Southern England, and is hardy further north than the districts it inhabits naturally. The flowers are of a purple - crimson, and fade away into a pretty brown. It is neat in habit and excellent in every way, thriving also in loamy as well as in peaty soils, and flowering from June to October. E. HYBRIUA (Hybrid Heath}. A cross between E. carnea and E. mediterranea. It is a remarkable plant and flowers through the winter and far into the spring, thriving in loamy soil almost as well as in peat, and is excellent as a ground work below Azaleas. E. HIBERNICA (Irish Heath). Mr. Boswell Syme, whose knowledge of British plants was most profound, considered this Irish plant dis- tinct from the Mediterranean Heath, "the flower- ing not taking place in the Irish plant till three or four months after the Mediterranean Heath ; ; ' a fine shrub in Mayo and Galway, growing from 2 to 5 feet high. E. LUSITANICA (Portuguese Heath). This is for Britain the most precious of the taller Heaths, 2 to 4 feet high, and, hardier than the Tree Heath, it may be grown over a larger area. Even in a cool district I have had it in a loamy soil ten years, and almost every year it bears lovely wreaths of flowers in mid- winter, white flowers with a little touch of pink, in fine long Foxbrush-like shoots. In about one year in five it is cut down by frost, but usually recovers. This would probably perish in the north, but is a shrub of rare beauty for sea coast and mild districts. Syn. E. codonodes. E. MEDITERRANEA (Mediterranean Heath}. A bushy kind, 3 to 5 feet high, best in peat, and flowering prettily in spring. Although Erigeron speciosus. a native of Southern Europe, it is hardier in our country than the Tree Heaths of Southern Europe. Of this species there are several varieties. E. STRICTA (Corsican Heath}. A wiry- looking shrub, compact in habit, about 4 feet high, and a handsome plant. A native of the mountains of Corsica, flowering in summer. E. SCOPARIA (Broom Heath}. A tall and wiry-looking Heath, reaching 8 feet or more in our country, flowering in summer, not showy. I have seen this in cold parts of France (Sologne), and it is hardier than most ERIGERON. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. KRIGERON. 547 of the larger Heaths : it is often naked at the bottom and bushy and close at the top. E. TETRALIX (Marsh or Bell Heather}. This beautiful Heath is frequent throughout the northern, as well as western, regions, thriving in moist or boggy places but also in ordinary soil in gardens. This Heath has several varieties, differing in colour mainly. E. Mackaiana is thought to be a variety of the Bell Heather. There is also a supposed hybrid between this and the Dorset Heath. E. Watsoni is a hybrid between the Bell Heather and Dorset Heath. Flowering sum- mer and early autumn. E. VAGANS (Cornish Heath} is a vigorous bush Heath thriving in almost any soil, 3 to 4 feet high. A native of Southern Britain and Ireland, and better fitted for bold groups in the pleasure ground or covert than the garden. There are several varieties, but they do not differ much from the wild plant. E. VUI.GARIS (Heather : Ling}. As precious as any Heath is the common Heather and its many varieties, none of them prettier than the common form, but worth having, excluding only the very dwarf and monstrous ones, which are useless except in the rock garden, and not of much good there. Heathers are excellent for forming low covert, and, of all the plants, none so quickly clothes a bare slope of shaly soil, not taking any notice of the hottest summer in such situations. Among the best varieties are alba, Alporti, coccinea, decumbens, Hanunondi^ptimila^ rigida, Searlei, and tomentosa. Syn., Calluna. E. DABCECII (Dabacs Heath). The name of this fine plant has been so often changed by botanists that it is difficult to find it by name in books, and I give it by the Linnean name here. It is a beautiful shrub 18 inches to 30 inches high, bearing crimson-purple blooms in drooping racemes. There is a white variety even more beautiful, and one with pruple and white flowers, called bicolor. I have had the white form in flower through- out the summer and autumn on a slope fully exposed to the sun, and in very hot years, too. Syn. Menziesia polifolia^ also Dabcecia and Boretta. West of Ireland. E. MAWEANA (Maw's Heath}. Of this Heath, Mr. Robert Lindsay writes as follows : " This is one of the handsomest of all the hardy Heaths and was discovered by Mr. George Maw in Portugal in 1872. It may be best described as a very vigorous-growing Erica ciliaris, which it resembles, but is more robust in all its parts ; the flowers also besides being larger than those of E. ciliaris, are darker in colour. It flowers from July to De- cember." E. MULT i FLORA (many flowered Heath}. Somewhat like a white Cornish Heath but dwarf and close-set ; flowers in the form usually grown white ; many in close racemes. Southern Europe and North Africa on cal- careous soil thriving in ordinary soil in gardens. W. R. ERIGERON (Fleabane}. Michaelmas Daisy-like plants of dwarf growth, some- what alike in general appearance, and having pink or purple flowers with yellow centres. They flourish in any garden soil, but one or two are best suited for the rock-garden. Of these, E. alpinum grandiflorum is the finest. It is similar to the alpine Aster, having large heads of purplish flowers in late summer, and remaining in beauty a long time. Suit- able for the rock-garden and well-drained borders Division or seed. E. Roylei, a Himalayan plant, is another good alpine, of very dwarf, tufted growth, having large blossoms of a bluish-purple^ Erigeron multiradiatus. with yellow eye. By far the best of the taller kinds is E. (Stenactis) speciosus, a vigorous species, with erect stems, that grow about i\ ft. high, and bear during June and July manyjarge purplish- lilac Aster-like flowers, with conspicuous orange centres. E. macranthus, another showy species, is of a neat habit, and about i ft. high. It bears an abundance of large, purple, yellow-eyed blossoms in summer, and, like E. speciosus, will grow in any soil. E. mucronatus, known also as Vittadenia triloba, is a valuable border flower, neat and compact, and for several weeks in summer is a dense rounded mass of bloom about 9 in. high. The flowers are pink when first N N 2 548 ERIN us. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. ERODIUM. expanded, and afterwards change to white, and the plant therefore presents every intermediate shade. Other kinds in gardens are E. multiradiatus, glabellus, glaucus, bellidifolius, strigosus, and phila- I delphicus the last two being the prettiest, j All are easily increased by division in | autumn or spring. The most effective and useful of the genus is E. speciosus, which is excellent for groups or borders. ERINUS ( Wall E.)E. alpinus is a pretty alpine plant, with racemes of violet- purple flowers, abundant on dwarf tufts of leaves in early summer. In winter it perishes on the level ground in most gar- dens, but it is permanent when allowed to run wild on old walls or ruins, and it is j easily established on old ruins by sowing \ seeds in mossy or earthy chinks. It is well suited for the rock-garden, where it grows in any position, and often flowers bravely on earthless mossy rocks and | stones. E. hirsutus is a variety covered I with down. There is a white variety. Pyrenees. ERIOBOTEYA (Loquat). ^ large- j leaved shrub from Japan, E. japonica be- j ing in our country tender, and only suitable I for walls. Its large evergreen leaves are handsome at all seasons, and in warm dis- I tricts it flowers freely, the blossoms being I white, but it does not fruit in the open air in England. ERIOGONUM. North American alpine plants which, in the mountain regions of California, are of much beauty, but are rarely good in culti- vation, with the exception perhaps of E. umbellatum. From a dense tuft of leaves E. umbellatum throws up numer- ous stems, 6 to 8 in. high, on which golden- yellow blooms, in umbels 4 in. or more across, form a neat and conspicuous tuft. In light sandy soil of the rock- garden it has never failed to bloom profusely. The variety Sileri is much better than the type. Other species are E. compositum, flavum, racemosum, ursinum. ERIOPHORUM (Cotton Grass}. - Sedge-like plants, whose heads of white cottony seeds make them interesting in the bog-garden or in wet places in grass. E. polystachyon is the best for a garden ; it is plentiful in some marshy districts. ERITRICHIUM (Fairy Forget-me- no t\ E. nanum is an alpine gem, closely allied to the Forget-me-nots, which, how- ever, it far excels in the intensity of the azure-blue of its blossoms. Thou ghre- puted to be difficult to cultivate, a fair amount of success may be ensured by planting it in broken limestone or sand- stone, mixed with a small quantity of rich fibry loam and peat, in a spot in the rock-garden where it will be fully exposed and where the roots will be near masses of half-buried rock, to the sides of which they delight to cling. The chief enemy of this little plant, and indeed of all alpine plants with silky or cottony foliage, is moisture in winter, which soon causes it to damp off. In its native habitat it is covered with dry snow during that period. Some, therefore recommend an over- hanging ledge, but if such protection be not removed during summer, it causes too much shade and dryness. A better plan is to place two pieces of glass in a ridge over the plant, thus keeping it dry and allowing a free access of air, but these should be removed early in spring. Alps, at high elevations. G. ERODIUM (StorVs-bilt).Lfc hardy Geraniums, but usually smaller and more southern in origin. Suited for chalky banks or the rock-garden, and some are suited for borders, while others may be naturalised in the Grass in warm soil. Among the best species are E. macradenium. A charming dwarf Pyrenean plant, 6 to 10 in. high, with the blooms of French white delicately tinged with purple, and veined with purplish- rose ; the lower petals are larger than the others ; the two upper ones have each a dark spot, which at once distinguishes them from other Erodiums. This plant should be exposed to the hottest sun. The best position for it is a crevice where it is tightly placed between two rocks, and where the roots can pene- trate dry, sandy, or stony soil to the depth of 3 ft. When grown in this way, it is extremely pretty ; the dry- ness of the situation keeps the leaves dwarf, they nestle to the rock, and the flowers come in great abundance during the summer months. The plant has an aromatic fragrance. E. Manescavi is a vigorous herba- ceous plant, and the most showy of the Erodiums. It grows I to \\ ft. high, and throws up strong flower-stalks above the foliage, each with seven to fifteen showy purplish flowers, I to \\ in. across. It is not fastidious as to soil or situation, but its best place is in dry, hard soil, fully exposed to the sun. If the soil be too rich, the plant bears so many leaves that the flowers are hidden. Seed, or careful division. E. petrseum (now Moltkia petraea). This has three to five purplish-rose flowers on each stalk, which are 4 to 6 in. high. The leaves and flower-stalks ERPETIOX. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. ERYNGIUM. 549 are densely clothed with minute hairs. It thrives best among the dwarfer alpine plants, in warm positions, in deep sandy or gravelly soil. E. Reichardi. A miniature species 2 to 3 in. high when in flower. The small heart-shaped leaves lie close to the ground, and form little tufts from which arise slender stalks, each bearing a solitary white flower, marked with delicate pink veins. It often continues in flower for many weeks. It should be grown in gritty peat mixed with a small portion of loam, like the Androsaces and Gentians. To the foregoing may be added : E. caruifolium, 6 to 10 in. high ; flowers, red, about ^ in. in diameter, and in umbels of nine or ten blossoms. E. alpinum, which resembles E. Manescavi, but is much dwarfer, growing 6 to 8 in. high, and flowering continuously from spring to autumn. E. strictum is a fine annual with deep azure-blue flowers from India. E. romanum, allied to the British E. cicutarium, but with larger flowers, growing 6 to 9 in. high ; flowers, purplish, appearing in spring and early summer. E. trichomanefolium, a very pretty dwarf kind, 4 to 6 in. high, with leaves so deeply cut as to resemble a Fern ; flowers, flesh- coloured, marked with darker veins. All the preceding, with the exception of E. Manescavi and E. hymenodes, are suited for the rock-garden or borders, in light sandy or calcareous loam. E. Manescavi should, perhaps, be confined to the border, as it is somewhat too tall and spreading for the rock-garden. Erpetion. See VIOLA. ERYNGIUM (Sea Holly}. Handsome perennials or biennials of the Parsley order, but so unlike that class of plants in general appearance as to be often mis- taken for Thistles. For the garden, whether the decoration of the border, or rock-garden, or the lawn, few plants yield a greater charm from the size and colour of involucres and stems. The stems are so singularly beautiful with their vivid steel-blue tints, surmounted with an in- volucre even more brilliant, that the effect of good large groups is hardly excelled by that of any plants that live in our climate. The great diversity in the form of the leaves is very interesting, ranging from the great Pandanus-like foliage of E. pandanifolium to the very small thistle- like leaves of E. dichotomum. Those be- longing to the Pandanus set, such as E. Lasseauxi, eburneum, bromeliaefolium, and others, are useful among fine-leaved plants ; their leaves being mostly of a thick succulent nature, are not liable to be damaged by the cold nights in early autumn ; indeed, in all but very damp places or -heavy soils they continue effec- tive as regards foliage all through the winter season. E. alpinum, Oliverianum, giganteum, and the finer herbaceous species are very useful for borders, and all are the more valuable for this purpose owing to the length of time they continue in bloom, and for the longtime they retain their hand- some blue tints. A good rich and well- drained soil suits most of the species ; damp carries off more of the tender species during winter than cold. Protection is not needed, as the Sea Hollies will stand any exposure so long as the drainage is perfect. E. alpinum may be made an exception to the above directions, as in the south of England at any rate it prefers a shady spot in a good stiff soil. Much the same treatment will also answer in the case of E. Oliverianum. The only really safe way to increase these Sea Hollies is by means of seed. Some few sorts may be increased by division or root cuttings, but they take such a long time to recover strength, that a vigorous batch may be raised from seed in about the same time. Sow the seed in pans as soon as gathered, and place in a cold frame. The seeds will germinate in the spring, and if properly managed will be j ready to plant out the following year. These plants often "sow themselves," I and seedlings come up in all sorts of j places. The under-mentioned are a few of the best kinds : E. alpinum (Alpine Sea Holly}. This is found in the alpine pastures of Switzer- land, and, when well grown, is certainly not surpassed in beauty by any plant in the genus. It does well in shady borders, developing a tint almost equal to that when the plant is fully exposed to sun- shine. The involucres, as well as the stems, are of a beautiful blue, and its flower-stems averaging about 2 ft. high, appear during July and August. There is said to be a white variety. E. amethystinum (Amethyst Sea Holly]. This has been confounded with the much more robust E. Oliverianum, although they have little in common. E. amethystinum rarely exceeds I ft. to i| ft. in height, is of a somewhat straggling habit, and has flower heads and stems of the finest amethyst-blue. Apart from the great beauty of its flower-heads and stems, this plant is chiefly welcome on account of its pretty dwarf habit. It answers well for a first or second row in the border, and makes on the rock-garden 550 ERYNGIUM. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. ERYSIMUM. charming little groups. It can be in- creased by division, and easily raised from seed. It flowers during July and August, and is a native of Dalmatia and Croatia. E. giganteum (Giant Sea Holly}. This does well in almost all positions and varieties of soil. The large flower-heads are excellent for winter decoration ; and although not highly coloured like those of many of the others, they make pretty bouquets arranged with Grasses. It is an excellent plant for grouping, and in The Amethyst Sea Holly (E. amethystinuin). large masses it forms a very picturesque object, growing from 3 ft. to 4 ft. high, with stout stems and deeply-lobed, spiny, glaucous leaves. The involucre, of eight to nine large, oval, spiny leaves, pale grey or glaucous, is very effective. Caucasian Alps and Armenia. E. maritimum (Common Sea Holly}. This plant is found growing along the coast in company with the Oyster plant (Mertensia maritima) and is a very pretty kind, requiring no special culture, and does well in a stiff, loamy soil. It is one of the most glaucous of the species, flower- ing from July to October, and grows from 6 inches to i^ feet high. E. Oliverianuin (Olivers Sea Holly}. This is of easy cultivation, and the abun- I dance of its highly coloured flower-heads renders it very attractive in the flower border. It has often been, and is even yet, confounded with the Amethyst Sea ! Holly. E. Oliverianuin grows 2 feet to 3 feet and often 4 feet in height. The ten i to twelve bracts composing the involucre | are longer than the head of flowers and have about half a dozen teeth on each side. In habit and general appearance it is more nearly allied to E. alpinum than to any of the other kinds. It ripens seed freely and in this way it may be readily increased, and is a native of the Levant. Other attractive kinds are E. Bourgati, campestre, cceruleum, planum, of which there is a very beautiful variety, dicho- tomum, triquetrum, creticum, glaciale spina-album. THE PANDANUS GROUP. To this group, chiefly natives of Mexico and Brazil, belongs some of the extraordinary forms in this highly ornamental genus. Beginning with Serra, we have a large broad-leaved species with curious double spines ; Carrierei, said to be the finest of all, having a compact habit combined with large, beautiful leaves. E. bromeliae- folium is a charming plant, striking and distinct in habit and forming elegant Yucca-like tufts, with its graceful leaves surmounted with whitish flower-heads. E. pandanifolium is a noble plant, very effective when grown as an isolated plant on a lawn. E. Lasseauxi is nearly allied and quite hardy in the open air. E. eburneum, aquaticum, virginianum, Leaven worth i, and others are all worthy of attention for their fine foliage. D. D. ERYSIMUM. Wall-flower-like peren- nials, biennials, and annuals, mostly of dwarf growth. Of the perennials the following are the finest : E. ochroleucum (Alpine Wallflower}. -This handsome plant forms, under cultivation, neat rich green tufts, 6 to 12 in. high, and in spring is covered with beautiful sulphur-coloured flowers. The rock-garden is most congenial to it ; but it does very well on good level ground, though it is apt to get naked about the base, and may perish on heavy soils during an unusually severe winter. It thrives best when rather frequently divided. Division and cuttings. A capital dwarf border plant on light soils. Alps and Pyrenees. Flowers in spring. ERYSIMUM. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. ERYTHRINA. 551 There are several varieties. Syn., Cheiran- thus alpinus. E. pumilum (Fairy Wallflower). A very small plant, rare in cultivation, re- sembling the alpine Wallflower in the size and colour of its flowers, but lacking its vigorous and rich green foliage. It is often only I in. high, and it bears very large flowers for its size. They appear above a few narrow sparsely toothed leaves which barely rise from the ground. High bare places in the Alps and Pyrenees. It requires an exposed spot of very sandy or gritty loam in the rock-garden, where it must be surrounded by a few small stones to guard it from excessive drought and The common Sea Holly (E. maritimum). from accident, and must be associated with the most minute alpine plants. It is nearly related to the alpine Wallflower, E. ochroleucum, but is separated from it by its minuteness, and by its greyish- green leaves. E. rhseticum. A pretty mountain flower which, though rare in cultivation, is a common alpine in Rhaetia and the neighbouring districts, where in early summer its broad dense-tufted masses are aglow with pretty clear yellow blos- soms. E. canescens, a South European species with scentless yellow flowers, is also a neat alpine, and so is E. rupestre, which is desirable for the rock-garden. All of them are easy to grow, and delight in gritty soil and a well-drained and sunny position on the rock-garden. Among the biennial and annual kinds the best is E. Perofskianum, i to ITT ft. high, with dense racemes of orange-yellow flowers. For early flowering it should be sown in autumn, and again in March and April for later bloom. E. arkansanum and pachycarpum are similar to E Perof- skianum. ERYTHEMA (Centaury). A small genus of rather pretty dwarf biennials be- longing to the Gentian family. The native species, E. littoralis, common in some shore districts, is worth cultivating. It is 4 to 6 in. high, and bears an abundance of rich pink flowers, which last a considerable time in beauty, and will withstand full exposure to the sun, though partial shade is bene- ficial. The very beautiful E. diffusa is a similar species. It is a rapid grower, with a profusion of pink blossoms in summer. E. Muhlenbergi is another beautiful plant. It is neat and about 8 in. high, putting out many slender branches. It bears many flowers, and the blossoms are 3ijjf in. across. They are of a deep pink, with a greenish-white star in the centre. Seeds should be sown in autumn, and grown under liberal treatment till the spring ; the plants will then flower much earlier and produce finer flowers than spring -sown plants. They are excellent for the rock-garden and the margins of a loamy border, but the soil must be moist. ERYTHRINA (Coral Tree}. These beautiful trees are pretty general through the tropics. Some attain great dimensions, while others are dwarf bushes with woody root-stocks. Many produce beautiful large Pea flowers, usually of a blood-red or scarlet colour, in terminal racemes. The varieties have proved very hardy and use- ful in the summer garden, flowering freely and showing considerable beauty of foli- age. E. ornata, Marie Belanger, lauri- folia, Crista-galli, profusa, Madame Be- langer, rubernma, and Hendersoni, have stood out with slight protection. The common old E. Crista-galli will thrive for years against a warm south wall in a light soil, if protected about the roots in winter, and when so grown, it is often very hand- some in the warmer countries. How far E. herbacea will prove an efficient sub- stitute for the older and better known species remains to be seen, but, having resisted a New York winter, it may be assumed to be hardy enough for England, and it deserves a trial. It is rather dwarfer than the old species, and has a woody root-stock, which under favourable conditions throws up in summer stems 2 to 4 ft. high. These stems are of two kinds, one bearing leaves only, the other bearing flowers with few leaves. The flowering stems have a raceme, I to 2 ft. long, of narrow flowers about 2 in. in length, the deep scarlet standard, erect in so many genera, being horizontal and folded over the wings and keel. The 552 ERYTHRONIUM. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. ERYTHRONIUM. seeds are bright scarlet, and should be sown in heat as early as practicable, the seedlings being kept in a frame for the first winter. This species is a native of Texas, and is found as far north as Carolina, and as far west as Sonora. ERYTHRONIUM (Dog's-tooth Violet}. Lilaceous bulbs, among the loveliest of our hardy flowers, though the old favourite Dens-canis is the only one commonly cultivated. The genus con- tains only about a dozen species and varieties. These belong to N. America, with the exception of E. Dens-canis, a beautiful plant found in various parts of Europe. It has hand- Eryngium Oliverianum. some oval leaves, with patches of reddish- brown. The rosy-purple or lilac flowers are borne singly on stems 4 to 6 in. high, and droop gracefully. One variety has white flowers, one rose-coloured, and one flesh-coloured. E. longifolium has longer and narrower leaves and larger flowers, and the sorts enumerated in catalogues under the name of majus are apparently derived from this variety. E. Dens-canis thrives in moist sandy or peaty soil, when fully exposed to the sun. It is most valuable for the spring or rock-garden, or for a border of choice hardy bulbs, and, where it is sufficiently plentiful, for edgings to American plants in peat soil. The bulbs are white and oblong, re- sembling a dog's tooth, hence its name. It is increased by dividing the bulbs every two or three years, and replant- ing rather deeply. Central Europe. The varieties sibiricum, a robust plant from the Altaian Mountains, and japonicum, with" violet-purple flowers, are not, so far as we are aware, yet in culti- vation. E. americanum (Yellow Adder 3 s- tongue] is common in the woods and low copses of the Eastern States of N. America, where it flowers in May. Its pale green leaves are mottled, and com- monly dotted with purple and white. Flowers I in. across, pale yellow, and spotted near the base ; they appear on slender stalks 6 to 9 in. high. A variety (E. bracteatum) differs in having a bract developed, as E. grandiflorum sometimes has. It is very pretty, but, being a some- what shy flowerer, is seldom seen in cultivation. The late Mr. M'Nab was very successful with it in the Edinburgh Botanic Garden, and writes in an early volume of The Garden : " This interesting- plant formerly grew in the open border here, but its flowers were rarely seen. Some years ago I put a tuft of the bulbs in one of the stone compartments of the rock-garden, with a southern aspect, the soil being a mixture of peat and loam. As soon as the space became filled with roots, flowers were freely produced, and on the 20th of April it was covered with yellow blooms. In these confined spaces the bulbs are better matured than in open borders, where the ground is generally covered with small green leaves growing from unmatured bulbs, and there are few of the larger spotted leaves which generally accompany the flowers." The rich soil of our gardens probably develops growth at the expense of flower. In poor sandy soil, in copses, or in the wild garden, this little plant may bloom better. E. giganteum. This, the noblest of the genus, is considered a variety of E. grandiflorum. Its showy flowers of pure white have a ring of bright orange-red, and measure 3 in. in diameter. It is found in California at an elevation of six to ten thousand feet, and also in Van- couver's Island. It was called E. maximum by Douglas, and E. speciosum by Nuttall. E. grandiflorum. The only cultivated kind with more than one flower on a stem. It is extremely handsome when well grown. In a peat bed, with Lilies and other peat-loving plants, it is very fine, and produces as many as five flowers on a stem. The late Mr. M'Nab used to ESCAI.LONIA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. EUCALYPTUS. 553 grow the larger American kinds as well as the European Dens-canis very success- fully in grass. Writing of them in spring, he says, ".Many Dog's-tooth Violets are in bloom on the northern grassy slopes of the rock-garden ; they were thickly dibbled in, here and there, when the turf was first laid, and, being placed in all exposures, a longer flowering season has been obtained. In such places they do not multiply fast, as only single flowers pro- ceeding from the two or three spotted leaves are produced. On grass banks with a southern aspect the leaves are all ripened off before the first grass cutting, which is not the case on grass slopes with a northern aspect." I have planted them largely in grass, and find they thrive in every soil in that way, and are very early and pretty both in leaf and flower, scattered in groups and colonies in turf. Little known or rarer kinds are E. revolutum, albidum, purpurascens, pro- pullans, and Hartwegi. Known species. E. albidum, N. Amer. americaimm, do. Dens-canis, Europe, N. Asia, grandiflorum , N. W. Amer. Hartwegi, N. W. Amer. propiillans, do. purpiirascens, Calif. ESCALLONIA. The Escallonias in cultivation are often beautiful shrubs, un- fortunately sometimes perishing in hard winters save in favoured districts. In mild places the common E. macrantha succeeds in the open, but, as a rule, it must be regarded as a wall shrub. Even in the mild districts it is cut down during severe winters, but it usually shoots up again strongly in the returning spring. There is a variety called sanguinea with deeper - coloured flowers. Somewhat similar to E. macrantha is E. rubra, but the foliage is less handsome and the flowers are paler. E. Philippiana is very beautiful and hardy, as it may be grown as a bush in the neighbourhood of London. It is an Evergreen with small leaves, and bears a profusion of large panicles of small white flowers. It is a first-rate shrub, and one of the best of the Escallonias. E. pterocladon is very free-flowering, the small flowers being white and pink, while E. punctata has dark red flowers, some- what similar to those of E. rubra. Another species, E. montevidensis, also known as E. floribunda, bears large loose clusters of white flowers, and there are varieties usually seedling forms known under different names, especially in seaside gardens. Among these, that called E. Ingrami is one of the best, being hardier than E. macrantha, though not so hand- some. Escallonias are mostly natives of S. America, chiefly Chili, Brazil, and Peru. ESCHSCHOLTZIA (Califomian Poppy}. Brilliant annuals, long and favourably known. The beautiful new forms recently seen are acquisitions ; the rich reddish-orange of Mandarin and the | unique form of double crocea are of real 1 value, and they make, with crocea alba, j and the orange aurantiaca, most attractive plants. To have these showy flowers in all their beauty, they should be sown in August and September for early summer bloom. They may be sown even later and should then be allowed to bloom where they are sown. They get deeply and firmly rooted, and flower much longer than if sown in spring. They are very hardy, and snails and slugs do not molest them. There are some half a dozen kinds, well worth growing, viz. E. californica, J orange, very strong ; E. crocea, saffron colour ; E. c. alba, white ; E. c. Mandarin, orange and crimson, very fine ; E. c. j fl.-pl., double ; E. c. rosea, and E. tenui- folia ; and new forms are raised from time to time. Known species. Nearly all natives of Cali- fornia. E. Austinae, californica, elegans, glyptosperma, mexicana, minutiflora, Parishii, peninsularis, rhombipetala. EUCALYPTUS (Gum Tree}. Large and handsome Australian trees and shrubs, of which a number of species grow to a great height. The leaves are thick and leathery, and vary much in shape. In the south of England and Ireland a few of the | species live in the open air. About London some grow them for their aspect in the open air after a single year's growth, and in that case they should be put out about the middle of May. Some letters in the Times ^ by persons unaware of the results of planting the tree in this country, in- duced many to plant the common Gum tree, which perished with the first severe frost. Only in the more favoured districts have these trees any chance, and they never present the graceful and stately port which they show in countries that really suit them, such as parts of Italy I and California. What the higher moun- tain species may do remains to be seen, and the common Gum tree is sometimes j made fair use of in the London parks among the larger plants put out for summer. I think these trees are unfitted j for our climate, and even in Algeria, where many species were planted by the French Government, the result, as I saw it some years ago, was anything but good. 554 EUCHARIDIUM. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. EULALIA. EUCHARIDIUM. Pretty hardy an- nuals of the Evening Primrose family, thriving under the same treatment as all annuals from California. They may be sown in autumn for earlysummer-flowering, or from March to June for late summer and autumn bloom. They flower about eight weeks after sowing, and remain in bloom a long time. Three species are cultivated E. concinnum, about 9 in. high, with many rosy purple blooms ; E. grandi- florum, larger rosy-purple flowers, streaked with white, which has a white variety (album), and a variety with pink flowers (roseum) ; and E. Breweri, an elegant new annual, more robust, and with red flowers of a deeper, richer colour than E. .grandiflorum. These species are of secondary importance in the flower garden, but may occasionally be used as surface plants or in bold masses. Like many other annuals, they suffer in general estimation through being judged by spring-sown plants, with poor and short- lived bloom. EUCNIDE. E. bartonioides is a half- hardy annual of the Loasa family, from Mexico. The stems are about i ft. high, and bear sulphur-yellow flowers, \\ in. across, showy in August and September when several are expanded. Seeds should be sown in heated frames in early spring, but the seedlings should be very carefully transplanted to the open border in May, as they are then very liable to injury. Syn. Microsperma. EUCOMIS. Cape bulbs, not very showy, though deserving of cultivation in the out-door garden, on account of their broad handsome foliage, more or less spotted with purple at the base, from which rise tall cylindrical spikes of blossoms surmounted by a crown of leaves. Like many Cape plants, they are hardy on light and dry soils. There are four species, all of which are in cultivation. E. undu- lata has leaves 18 in. long, wavy at the margins, and profusely marked on the under surface with dark purple blotches which, in the variety striata, assume the form of stripes. The flower spike is 2 to 4 ft. high. On the upper half are densely arranged, in a cylindrical manner, numer- ous greenish-white blossoms, with purplish centre, crowned by a tuft of narrow green leaves. E punctata is the largest kind, having leaves about 3 ft. long. E. regia is dwarfer than either of the preceding. The raceme of flowers is about I ft. high, and the tuft of leaves at the top is larger than in other kinds. E. nana is the smallest. The spreading leaves lie hori- zontally, while in the others they are more erect. They thrive best in light sandy soil, with the roots protected by a covering during winter. The foot of a south wall suits them if they are associated with the larger hardy bulbs, but they are not the most effective or graceful of the Lily family. EUCRYPHIA (The Brush Bush}. - A distinct shrub, E. Pinnatifolia being hardy, though a native of South America. It belongs to the Rose family, but the flowers remind one in size and form of those of St. John's Wort, except that they are white, and the central tuft of stamens is very conspicuous. The flowers, borne plentifully, are very pretty, among foliage resembling that of some of the Roses. It is one of the most beautiful shrubs of recent introduction, and valuable on account of producing its flowers about the end of the summer, when blooming shrubs are getting scarce. It is deciduous, some- what upright, and has pinnate leaves, and large white flowers about 3 in. in diameter. It is of rather slow growth, but has with- stood severe winters in the neighbourhood of London ; and may therefore fairly be classed as hardy. It can only be satis- factorily propagated by layers, which will, to a certain extent, account for its scarcity. Till more plentiful, it should be placed in warm positions and in good free soil. Chili. There is another species in cultivation, E. cordifolia, but it is rarer. EULALIA. This Japanese Grass, E. gracillima, is less vigorous in growth than either of the better known kinds, the leaves being more narrow and more grace- fully recurved. They are bright green in colour, with a comparatively broad stripe of white down the centre of each. So pronounced is this white stripe, that this form is sometimes called E. gracillima univittata. Plants of it in pots are pretty. E. japonica. A hardy and ornamental perennial Grass of robust growth, 6 to 7 ft. high. Established plants form ! clumps 17 to 1 8 ft. in circumference. The brownish-violet flower-panicles have at first erect branches, but as the flowers open, these branches curve over gracefully, and resemble a Prince of Wales' Feather. I Each of the numerous flowers has at its I base a tuft of long silky hairs, which contribute greatly to the feathery lightness of the whole. For isolated positions on lawns it is excellent ; or it might be used | in groups, or on the margin of the shrubbery. Even more valuable than the type are the two variegated forms, varie- EUONYMUS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. EUONYMUS. 555 gata, with leaves longitudinally striped with white and green ; and zebrina, with distinct cross bars of yellow on the green, which render it singularly attractive. These variegated forms, particularly zebrina, are not quite so vegetable matter, and, as a rule, they prefer open sunny situations, particularly the evergreen sorts, and all thrive near the sea. The following are among the most distinct of the kinds at present in cultivation : Eulalia japonica. hardy as the type. Division or seed. Japan. EUONYMUS (Spindle Tree]. Low trees with little beauty of flower, but this defect is compensated for by their foliage, habit, and bright fruit which some of the sorts bear. They grow well in almost every variety of soil, but are most luxuriant in such as are rich in E. europaeus (Common Spindle Tree}. This is a native of England, and is a bushy tree, from 10 to 25 ft. high ; the leaves are of a warm green colour, changing as they decay to a reddish tint. Its small greenish- white flowers expand in May, and are followed almost always by an abundant crop of fruit, in bright pink capsules, which, opening up in the 556 EUONYMUS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. EUPHORBIA. autumn, reveal the orange-coloured sac which envelops the seeds, producing a beautiful effect. Of several varieties, the most interesting are the white fruited kind, which differs from the species in producing white instead of pink cap- sules ; the variety with scarlet leaves ; and nanus or pumilus, a neat little plant, very bushy, and one which never grows higher than about 2 ft. and is admir- ably suited for the rock-garden, or any situation where a dwarf plant is desirable. E. latifolius (Broad-leaved Spindle Tree). A species wild in the south of France and in some parts of Germany, and a tree of from 10 to 20 ft. high, the leaves shining green, larger than those of the common Euonymus ; the flowers, which expand in June, are of a purplish-white ; the capsules large, and deep red, contrast- ing, as they open, most effectively with the bright orange sacs with which the seed is enveloped. It is quite hardy, and forms an ornamental tree, well fitted for a lawn. E. americanus (American Spindle Tree]. This is a small deciduous, or, in mild winters and sheltered situations, sub- evergreen shrub, of about 6 ft. in height, found wild over a wide area in Canada and the United States. It has an erect habit of growth, with numerous long slender branches covered with a smooth light green bark ; the flowers open in June, succeeded by rough warted brilliant crim- son capsules, which in its native habitats are so showy and abundant that it is named the Burning Bush. In this country it is generally cultivated as a wall plant, and as such it is ornamental. It succeeds best on the shady side, and prefers a moist rather than a dry porous soil. E. angustifolius (Narrow-leaved Spindle Tree]. A twiggy or sub-ever- green shrub about 4 ft. in height, with long wiry branches, abundantly clothed with remarkably narrow oblong leaves, of a deep green colour in summer, changing in autumn to a dull red tint. The flowers are very small, of a greenish-white colour, followed by red fruit capsules. It is a very distinct and interesting shrub for a low wall, and has a pretty effect pn raised banks, growing freely in shady sheltered aspects, and in damp heavy soils. E. japonicus (Japan Spindle Tree]. An evergreen species 4 to 6 ft. in height, of bushy habit, the branches clothed with numerous leaves of a dark glossy green colour. Though hardy in sheltered dis- tricts, it seldom flowers in this country. Few evergreens thrive better near the sea ; and either it or some of its varieties are frequently met with on the west and south coasts of England, and west coast of Scotland, forming handsome specimen shrubs on lawns and shrubberies. In the inland districts it suffers from frosts, and can only be depended upon on walls or in favoured situations. During recent years a number of varieties have been sent home from Japan ; several of these, and particularly the variegated forms, are favourites. All the varieties thrive best in warm sunny exposure, and in well-drained soils. The kind called argenteus variegatus has leaves clothed with silver ; aureus varie- gatus, leaves margined with deep yellow ; latifolius argenteus and latifolius aureus, leaves with white and yellow variegations respectively. E. radicans variegatus is a dwarf creeping variety, its leaves are variegated with white ; it is hardy, and useful for planting as an edging. On rockeries or low walls it has a pretty effect ; and as it forms roots similar to those of the Ivy, it requires little care to keep it to the wall or other support. 77ie Garden. EUPATORIUM ( Thorough-wort}. - Coarse Composite perennials, most of which are better suited for the wild garden than for borders, though two or three kinds are worth a place for supplying cut flowers in autumn. The most suitable are E. ageratoides, altissimum, and aroin- aticum, which are 3 to 5 ft. high, and bear a profusion of white blossoms in dense flat heads, E. cannabinum (Hemp Agrimony), E. perfoliatum, and E. pur- pureum (Trumpet-weed), which is a fine object in the rougher parts of a garden, being 12 ft. high, with stems terminated by huge clusters of purple flowers. All grow in any kind of soil. EUPHOEBIA (Spurge}. Perennials and dwarf bushy plants,including few hardy species of value for the flower garden. The foliage of some, such as E. Cyparissia (Cypress Spurge) is elegant. In spring E. pilosa and amygdaloides are attractive by their yellow flowers when little else is in bloom, but they are scarcely worth growing in a general way. Some of the dwarf kinds, such as E. Myrsinites, portlandica, capitata, and triflora, are neat and distinct in habit and grow in any soil. There are a few variegated forms. The well-known Caper Spurge (E. Lathyris) is often seen in cottage gardens, and in habit is a distinct plant, with a certain beauty of foliage and habit. A few plants of it on a bank or rough place are not amiss. EURYBIA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. FAGUS. 557 Eurybia. See OLEARIA. Eutoca. See PHACELIA. EXOCHORDA (Pearl Bush}. E. grandiflora is one of the loveliest of hardy shrubs allied to the Spiraeas, but with larger flowers. It is a graceful shrub, making when full grown a rounded bush of about 10 ft. high and as much through. It flowers about the middle of May, just after the foliage unfolds, and affords a charming contrast between tender green leaves and snow-white flowers as large as florins. It likes shelter, and grows best in warm loam. Syn., Spiraea. EXOGONIUM (Jalap Plant). A graceful perennial trailing plant, none more beautiful among climbing plants than E. Purga, and of its hardiness there can be little doubt. It has lived for years at Bitton, Gloucestershire, with- out any protection, and each year it has flowered well. It has also grown well at Kew, Fulham, and in the Edinburgh Botanic Gardens. Mr. Ellacombe grows it in a sheltered corner, and provides a tall wire trellis with a spreading top for it to grow up. It does not flower in the lower parts, but the entire top and the pendent shoots become a mass of lovely bloom. If not checked by late spring frosts at Bitton, it comes into blossom early in September, and continues, to flower till cut down by frost. It has roundish tubers of variable size, those of mature growth being about as large as an orange and of a dark colour. These are the true Jalap tubers. The plant gets its name from Xalapa, in Mexico, its native region, and is increased by division of tubers. FABIANA (False Heath}.- F. imbri- cata is a pretty shrub of the Potato family, but so much resembling a Heath, that it might well be mistaken for one. It is slender, with evergreen leaves, and in early summer every shoot is wreathed with small white trumpet-shaped flowers. A native of Chili, it is not perfectly hardy as a bush except in the southern and western counties, in which it is often a very distinct and beautiful shrub. FAGUS (Beech}. Not a very large family of trees, but including one of the I noblest of all our native beech. It is a great tree in all the countries of Europe, from Northern Greece to Denmark,- thriving admirably in soils useless for the oak and other trees, and a beautiful object in many of our poor chalky and limestone soils. It is so often seen in our woodlands that there is no need to advocate its use elsewhere ; a wild tree common in the woodlands and forests in Europe everywhere can have little place in gardens, although it is one of the trees which used to be clipped and mutilated to conform to the architect's notion of a garden, but wrong, and ugly so treated. The varieties of the beech, however, are of the highest garden value as lawn trees. Some of the most beauti- ful weeping trees in England are those of the weeping form of the beech, as in the Knaphill nurseries, and at Lough nurseries, Cork (in Ireland) and elsewhere. The fine character of the pendant beech is that it is not only graceful in a young state, but improves remarkably every year of its life, very old trees being picturesque in a high degree. It is needless to enumerate all the varieties, which are almost without end. Every state or chance variegation is given a Latin name and sent out from nurseries, though many of them are worth- less. Merely curious and variegated varieties are not worth getting. The fern- leaved variety is one of the best, and the purple beech is the most striking of all our coloured trees, and very popular. The purple form will often come truly from seed, which is a gain. Even if all the seeds do not come true it does not matter in the least as long as we get some plants of the colour we seek, and in raising trees from seed we always obtain some slight variation. The copper beech is a little paler and more coppery than the old purple beech, and there is a weeping form as well as a dark purple form. If anything the danger is using these dark coloured forms too freely. Our propor- tion would be one to three purple beeches in each parish, but a weeping one in many gardens. Among the best varieties of the European beech are the following : Miltonensis, peridula, heterophylla, mac- rophylla, purpurea, purpurea pendula, purpurea tricolor, and a new variety Zlatia. Fagus Americana (the American beech) is in its own country a forest tree well above looft.high, inhabiting the north- ern regions, Canada, and Nova Scotia, as well as westwards and southwards, but the European beech is a so much greater tree, for our climate at least, that little importance is attached to the American variety. As to other species of which there are birch-like evergreen ones as well as summer leafing kinds, such as those inhabiting the antarctic regions and Terra del Fuego, little is known of them in this country. F. Betuloides, an evergreen one, is a very graceful, low tree, and so is F. Cunninghami, and others probably will be found in antarctic regions. 558 FARFUGIUM. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. KORSYTHIA. If they will only thrive in our climate their distinct habit will be a great gain to us. FARFUGIUM. A vigorous perennial, F. grande having fleshy stems i to 2 ft. high, and with broad leaves of light green ! variously streaked, spotted with yellow in one variety, and having white and rose I in another. It does best in a half- shady position in free moist soil. During the heats of summer it requires frequent watering, and at the approach of winter it should be moved to the greenhouse, I except in mild districts. In colder parts it is scarcely worth planting out, as it grows slowly ; but where it thrives it is handsome in borders, or on the i margins of beds. Multiplied by division in spring ; the offsets being potted and kept in a frame until they are well rooted. FEEULA (Giant Fennel}. Among the finest umbelliferous plants that have so long remained unnoticed in our botanic gardens, their charm consisting in large tufts of the freshest green leaves in early spring. The leaf is apt to fade early in autumn, but this maybe retarded by cutting out the flower-shoots the moment they ap- pear, though these are not ugly, but on the contrary the plants are striking when in flower. Ferulas should be well planted at first, and it is only when established that their good effect is seen. Where bold spring flowers are naturalised or planted in colonies, a group of these fine- leaved plants will be valuable, with their fine plumes rising in early spring. They are among the true hardy plants of the northern world, never suffering from cold. Their fine forms in summer or autumn, when they throw up flowering-shoots to a height of 10 ft. or so, are remarkable enough ; but their appearance when break- ing up in spring charms us most. A good way is to place them singly or in small groups, just outside a shrubbery, or isolated on the Grass, so that their verdure may be seen in early spring. Deep free soil should be supplied before planting, if the soil be not good and deep. Ferulas are readily raised from seed, which as soon as gathered should be sown in a nursery bed in the open air. The plants, even when well established, do not bear division well, though with care they may be transplanted. One of the best known and most valuable is F. tingitana, which is elegant and vigorous. It takes several years to form strong plants, and the plants look like massive plumes of large filmy Ferns. F. com- munis is also a good species, and others, including F. glauca, neapolitana, Feru- lago, and persica, may be added where variety is sought, but the first two are not surpassed. The flower-stems developed the second or third year from seed are 6 to 10 ft. high, are branched, and bear numbers of small inconspicuous flowers. S. Europe and N. Africa. FESTUCA (Fescue Grass). Annual and perennial Grasses, containing few species for the garden. A variety of Sheep's Fescue (F. ovina), named glauca r is a pretty dwarf hardy Grass, forming dense tufts of leaves of a glaucous hue or soft blue, and on this account some- times called "blue" Grass. It makes good edgings, and when it is used for this purpose the flower-spikes should be cut away. F. ovina viridis is also a pretty edging plant, and, being of slow growth, does not require renewal for years. FICARIA (Pileworf]. Plants of the Crowfoot family, much resembling some kinds of Buttercup : F. ranunculoides (Lesser Celandine) is a common British plant, 3 to 6 in. high, producing golden- yellow flowers in early spring. It is so common that it would not be mentioned but for its pretty double and white varieties. Moist borders, in any soil. A good plant for growing under trees. Division. F. grandiflora. A large-flowered kind, about twice the size of our own, the flowers being nearly 2 in. across. It is easily grown and showy, and could be naturalised. Southern Europe and Northern Africa. FICUS (India-rubber Plant}. F. elas- tica is not only in fair health in the open air in summer, but sometimes makes a good growth under our northern sun. It is best suited for select mixed groups, and in small gardens, for isolating among low-bedding plants. It will best enjoy stove treatment in winter. It should be put out at the end of May. In all cases it is best to use plants with single stems. The trailing F. repens and F. stipulata also thrive in the open air in summer, and have a pretty effect, trailing up stems of trees in the sub-tropical garden. In mild districts they are hardy against walls or rocks. Cuttings. FORSYTHIA (Golden Bell). Very beautiful spring -flowering shrubs, espe- cially F. suspensa, whose long, slender, wand - like shoots are studded for a considerable distance with bright golden blossoms. F. suspensa is certainly one of our finest shrubs, and should be found in any garden however small. It is at home under various conditions. Be- FORSYTHIA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. FRAXINUS. 559 ing of a rather loose rambling habit, it is well suited for training on a wall ; indeed, few subjects are superior to it for a sunny spot, where the wood will thoroughly ripen, and a good display of spring bloom will be ensured. F. suspensa should not be employed as a wall plant in a shady position, as the yield of flowers will be meagre ; nor where a close-fitting subject is required, as it is seen to the greatest advantage when the principal branches are secured to the wall till the allotted space is covered, and the shoots are afterwards allowed to grow at will, since by this mode of treatment the long slender branchlets dispose themselves in a very graceful manner, and the upper ones hang down for a long distance. A wall treated in this way is quite a mass of gold. If any pruning is required, it should be done as soon as the flowers are over, so that the young shoots may have as long a growing and ripening season as possible. As a rule, however, they need little pruning bsyondthe removal of weak or exhausted shoots. When rambling about in a semi- wild state, or when hanging over a bank or a cutting, this Forsythia is seen to very great advantage. It also forms a most ornamental specimen in the open if it is secured to a good stout stick when planted, and is afterwards allowed to grow at will ; for the long slender shoots, which are produced in considerable numbers, will dispose themselves in a graceful manner, and in favourable situations many of them will root at the points, and will soon form quite a colony around the central plant. A large mass of Forsythia grown in this way is most striking. F. viridissima, another species, is quite a shrub. It needs a spot fully exposed to the sun, so that a good display of bloom may be ensured. A certain Forsythia was sent here from the Continent two or three years since under the name of F. intermedia, and was announced as a hybrid between F. suspensa and F. viri- dissima. Though at first very little disposed in its favour, I have recently seen it in a better light. Its general appearance is about midway between its alleged parents. Forsythias may be flowered under glass in the greenhouse or the conservatory during the early months of the year, and, if so treated, they will bloom in a very satisfactory manner. Owing to the time the blossoms expand when in the open ground, very little forcing is necessary to have them in bloom quite early. Fortunei and Sieboldi are names often used ; but these represent only vigorous forms of F. suspensa. As the shoots of the rambling kinds root from the points almost as readily as a bramble, and cuttings strike freely, there are no obstacles in the way of their rapid propagation. The shrubby F. viridissima also strikes without difficulty from cuttings, though scarcely to the same extent as the others. FOTHERGILLA. F. alnifolia is a North American dwarf shrub, desirable on account of its flowering early in spring, its feathery tufts of fragrant white flowers ap- pearing before the leaves, which resemble those of the common Alder. Suitable for a moist peat border or the low part of the rock-garden. FRAGARIA (Strawberry}. -- The Strawberry is much more useful in the fruit garden than in the flower garden, yet some kinds are pretty in the rock-garden. The common English Strawberry is very pretty on banks, and occasionally most useful on old mossy garden walls where it establishes itself. One kind, F. mono- phylla, is a beautiful rock-garden plant, with large white flowers. The Indian strawberry, F. in-dica, is a pretty little trailer, bearing many red berries and flowering late. All are of the easiest culture in any not too wet soil, and of facile increase by division. FRANCOA (Maiden's Wreath}. - Chilian plants of the Saxifrage family, somewhat tender, and suitable for dry shel- tered positions on warm borders or banks, preferring a light loam. They are good for cutting, as the long branching stems 18 in. to 2 ft. high, bear numerous white or pink blossoms on stalks. The plants are raised from seed, and in spring furnish flowers for a long time. F. ramosa, bear- ing white or pink flowers, and having a short stem, differs from F. appendiculata, which is stemless, and has flowers deeper in colour than the others. F. sonchifolia has also a short stem, but its leaves are sessile and not stalked, and its flowers are rose-coloured. They are often grown as window plants, and are best as such where they do not thrive in the open air. FRAXINUS (Ash). Trees of some distinction and value for their timber ; natives of cold and northern regions, and one of them our precious native Ash, of great beauty of form, often in places quite away from gardens. Important as the foreign trees of this race are our native kind is so much better known to us, and so remarkable, that we cannot be sur- prised at the neglect of the other kinds. The British Ash is a variable tree, and its varieties are more valuable than those of many other trees, the best of them not 5 6o FRAXINUS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. FRAXINUS. depending on mere variegation, which mostly means disease, but sometimes on habit, such as in the pendulous variety, so well known, much used as it is for bowers and on lawns. There is a form of this with golden shoots, and certain kinds with singular leaves, and here again we come upon mere monstrosities, for this as much as good oak trees, as at Ochter- tyre, Drummond and Lawes. America is rich in species, and in old times, before the conifers mania arose,they were planted, but of late very little attention has been given to them, and few of these reach the size and fine form of our native ash, at least as we know them. Francoa ramosa (Maiden's Wreath). fine tree has not escaped the attention of the variegation hunter, these varieties being without value. There is a variety of F. Lentiscifolia, a native of Asia Minor, which is pendulous in habit. The Ash is never more beautiful than when we see it fully exposed in the cool and northern parts of the country and in Ireland, sometimes in Scotland, girthing Occasionally very picturesque effects arise from grafting the weeping ash on a very tall stem of the ordinary kind, of which there is a good example at Elvas- ton. F. ornus is the celebrated Manna Ash, a native of the East and Mediterranean regions, (sometimes called Ornus} which has several varieties. It is an effective FREMONTIA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. FRITILLARIA. 5 6l and hardy tree in England, and even in London gardens is vigorous and hand- some. It is grafted on the Common Ash, so what it would be if on its own roots we have no knowledge. Its place is among the larger flowering' trees. Syn. Ornus. FREMONTIA (F. californica). A handsome Californian shrub, but scarcely hardy enough for the open air without protection. There are few more beautiful wall shrubs. It has large yellow bowl- shaped flowers, 2 in. across, the deep green leaves being lobed. In favourable Fraxinus. spots it reaches 10 or 12 ft. in height, and flowers in early summer. It succeeds best against a north, west, or east wall, a southern exposure being usually too hot and dry. FRITILLARIA (Fritiiiary). Bulbs of the Lily family, several of which are valu- able, some, such as the Crown Imperial, being stately, others such as F. recurva, being delicate and pretty, but most have dull-tinted curiously interesting flowers. They may be put to many uses : the Crown Imperial is a fine plant for the mixed border or the shrubbery, and, being vigorous, is able to take care of itself in the wild garden. Its early spring growth makes it valuable. The Snake's-head (F. Meleagris) and others, such as F. latifolia, pyrenaica, together with the choicer kinds, are fitted for the bulb border and for grassy places. Only one or two require special treatment ; all the others thrive in ordinary garden soil. They may all be readily increased by offsets from the old bulbs, which should be lifted every three or four years and planted in fresh soil a process very beneficial to the plants. The lifting should be done in autumn, and the bulbs replanted without delay. The following are among the most desirable for general cultivation : F. aurea, one of the prettiest of the genus, is quite hardy, is about 5 in. high, and has a stem of four to six in. thick, fleshy, deep green leaves, with a nodding flower, which is pale yellow spotted, or chequered with brown. Silesia. F. Burneti, a handsome hardy plant about 9 in. high, with solitary drooping ; blossoms, 2 in. long, which are of a plum colour chequered with yellowish-green. Alps. Flowers with the Snowdrop, and is as easy to grow. F. imperialis (Crown Imperial}. A ! showy and stately plant, from 3 to 4 ft. high, with stout bright green shoots, crested by large dense whorls of drooping bell-like flowers and a crown of foliage. There are several varieties, differing chiefly in the colour of the flowers. The princi- pal are lutea (yellow), rubra (red), double red and double yellow, rubra maxima (very large red flowers), Aurora (bronzy orange), sulphurine (large sulphur-yellow), Orange Crown (orange-red), Stagzwaard (a fasciated stem form, with very large deep red blossoms), and aurea marginata (gold-striped foliage) ; every lead being margined with a broad golden-yellow band, blending with the rest of the foliage. This plant thrives best in a rich deep loam, especially if the bulbs remain undisturbed for years. Its best place, per- | haps, is in a group on the fringe of the I shrubbery or a group of American plants. | For artistic effects it is not so valuable as ; the common Snake's-head ; and its odour i is against it when gathered. F. Karelin!. An interesting kind, 4 to 5 in. high, with two or three broad leaves clasping its stem, and having a terminal raceme of slightly-drooping bell-like flowers. These flowers, about I in. across, are of a pale purple, with darker veins, a few darker spots, and a distinct yellowish-green pit at the base of each reflexed segment. It is a native of Central Asia, and, flowering in late autumn or early winter, is valuable for a collec- tion of winter-flowering outdoor plants. According to Dr. Regel it must be kept in dry sand until November, and should not grow or show bloom before spring. If planted in November, growth is re- tarded, and it does not bloom in spring, which it ought to do ; while those flowering in autumn invariably dwindle away, and do not produce any new bulbs. It should be planted in light O O 562 FRITILLARIA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. FRITILLARIA. soil in well-drained borders with a warm exposure. F. latifolia. A most variable species as regards the colour of the flowers, which are larger than those of our native F. Meleagris. They are borne on stems about i ft. higli, are pendulous, and vary in colour through various shades of purple, black, lilac, and yellow. The principal named varieties are Black Knight, Cap- tain Marryat, Caroline Chisholm, Cooper, Dandy, Jerome, Maria Goldsmith, Mari- anne, Mellina, Pharaoh, Rembrandt, Shakespeare, Van Speyk, each represent- ing a different shade of colour. They White Fritillary. grow freely in an open situation in any soil, and are excellent for naturalising. Caucasus. F. Meleagris (Snakes -head] is an elegant native species, of which there are numerous varieties. It is 9 to 18 in. high, and in early summer bears a solitary drooping flower, beautifully tesselated with purple or purplish-maroon on a pale ground. The chief varieties are the white (alba), which has scarcely any dark markings ; nigra, a deep purplish-black ; pallida, light purple ; angustifolia, with long narrow leaves ; major, with flowers larger than the type ; praecox, which flowers about a week earlier than the other forms ; flavida yellow ish ; and the rare double variety. All forms of this beautiful plant may be used with excellent effect. It grows freely in grass not mown early, and is therefore admirable for the wild garden ; its various forms are among the most beautiful inhabitants of the hardy bulb garden, and tufts of the chequered or white-flowered variety are among the most graceful plants in cottage gardens. F. Moggridgei (Golden Snake 1 s-head}. A beautiful plant with pendulous blossoms, 2 in. long, which are of fine golden-yellow, chequered with brownish- crimson on the inner surface of the bell. It may be seen on its native Alps, at an elevation of five to seven thousand feet, among the short stunted Grass, accom- panied by alpine plants, and giving the slopes the appearance of a sheet of golden bloom. " It is hardy, and flowers early in spring. It is .a lovely flower for planting in the choice bulb portions of the rock- garden, and, when plentiful, for dotting in groups in Grass where it may escape the mower. F. pudica is one of the most charming of hardy bulbs, and takes a place among yellow flowers similar to that of the Snow- drop among white ones. It is a native of the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada of California, where it grows in a dry barren soil. It is one of the principal spring ornaments of the flora, being nearly 6 in. high, and having bright golden- yellow flowers, graceful in form and drooping like a Snowflake. It thrives in warm sunny borders of loamy soil. F. recurva. The showiest of the Fritillaries, its red colour being as bright as some Lilies, and mixed with bright yellow especially on the inside of the flower. It flowers early in May or towards the end of April. The bulbs consist of a slightly flattened tuberous stock, covered by articulated scales, some- what widely placed, which at first sight resemble those of Lilium philadelphi- cum. A tuft of bright green linear leaves appears above the soil, and from this rises a slender purplish stem, 6 in. to 2^ ft. high, with several pendent Lily -like flowers. It is not robust, and has suc- ceeded only under careful cultivation, growing best in fibry loam, on a warm sunny border, near a wall. In winter it is advisable to cover the bulbs with some protective material or with a hand-light. California. F. Sewerzowi. A singular - looking plant, growing from I to i ft. high, having broad glaucous leaves and nod- ding flowers that are greenish outside FUCHSIA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. FUCHSIA. 563 and vinous-purple within. A native of the mountains of Turcomania, quite hardy in our climate. Propagated by bulblets or seed. Many others are in cultivation, but the majority are unattractive, though some are useful for naturalising among Grass in the wild garden ; the most suitable are F. delphinensis, a robust plant with stems i ft. or more high, bearing brownish- purple flowers, more or less chequered with greenish-yellow ; F. pyrenaica, a similar species, but more robust ; F. liliacea, liliorhiza, lanceolata, lusitanica, pallidiflora, tulipifolia, ruthenica, and tristis, all with dull brownish-purple or greenish flowers. Fritillaria species. F. acmopetala, Syria. alba, N. Amer. annena, Armenia, assyriaca, Mesopotamia, atropurpurea, N.W. Amer. bi- tfora,Ca.\if. bithynica, Bithyn. Boissieri, Spain. bucharica, Bokhara, camschatcensis, E. Asia. cirrhosa, Himal. conica, Greece, cormita. Cornuti. crassifolia, As. Min. cuprea, Mexico. dagana, Siberia, dasyphylla, Lycea. Ediiardi, Bokhara. Ehrharti, Greece. Elwesii, Lycea. Fleischeriana, Asia Min. Forbesii, Lycea. Gardneriana, Himal. gibbosa, Persia, Afghan. graca, Greece, imperialis, Persia, Himal. involucrata, Italy, japonic a^ Japan, kurdica, Kurdistan, lanceolata, N. W. Amer. latifolia, Caucas. libanotica, Syria, hliacea, Calif. lusitanica, Portugal, lutea, Caucas. Meleagris, Europe, Caucas. meleagroides, Siberia, mes- sanensis, Mediterr. region. minuta, Kurdi- stan. Munbyi, Algeria. obliqua, Greece. Olivieri, Persia, oranensis, Algeria, oxypetala, India, pallidiflora, Siberia, parviflora, Calif. persica, Armenia. Pinardi, As. Min. plan- taginijolia, East, pluriftora, Calif, pontica, Greece, prm- sure Flower]. Handsome and dis- tinct dwarf plants ; of much value, though only hardy enough for our summers. They are most useful on warm soils, and should always be placed in open sunny spots and among dwarf plants. They strike freely in a cold frame in August, but later require bottom-heat. Unless struck very early, spring-struck plants are almost worthless, so that it is best to put in the stock in August and let them stand in cutting-pots till potting-off time in spring. They will then come well into flower when put out in May ; whereas, if they are topped for spring cuttings, both lots will be small and late. Short young tops should be used for cuttings, and may be inserted pretty thickly in the cutting- pots. When established, they must be just protected from frost, and kept in dry airy quarters. If kept warm, they grow too much, and are in spring poor lanky plants that can hardly be handled ; but cool airy treatment keeps them short and sturdy. G. rigens is the best known. It has long deep-green leaves, silvery beneath, and bears flowers 2 in. across, which are of bright orange-yellow, with a dark Gaultheria shallon. centre. G. splendens is a fine variety, and there is also one with variegated leaves. The known species (from S. Africa) are : G. arctotoides, arminioides, Bnrchellii, caespi- tosa, canescens, coronofiifolia, heterochaela, Jurineaefolia, Kraussii, Krebsiana, Lichten- steinii, lineariloba, longifolia, longiscapa, mu- cronata, tmtlttjuga, nivea, othonnites, oxyloba, Pavonia, pinnata, pygmaea, rigens, serrulata, THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. GENISTA. 571 subbipinnata y subulata, tenuifolia, uniflora, varians. GENISTA (Rock Broom}. Some of these are good garden and rock-garden shrubs, thriving in almost any soil which is not too wet, and readily raised from seeds. G. setnensis, a native of Sicily, is one of the best kinds. In a young state the twigs are sparsely clothed with linear silky leaves, but when old no leaves are developed, and the green slender twigs perform the functions of leaves. An old tree for this species attains a height of 12 ft. or more is a beautiful sight in July or August when in full flower. G. anglica (Needle Furze] is a prostrate spiny shrub, sometimes growing to a Gazania nivea. height of 2 ft., widely distributed through- out Western Europe, and in Britain occurring on moist moors from Ross southwards. The short leafy racemes of yellow flowers appear in May and June. G. aspalathoides, a native of South- western Europe, makes a densely- branched, compact, spiny bush from I ft. to 2 ft. in height. It flowers in July and August (the yellow blossoms are somewhat smaller than those of G. anglica), and is a good shrub for the rock- garden. Other names for it are Spartium aspalathoides and S. erinaceoides. G. anxantica, found wild in the neigh- bourhood of Naples, is very nearly allied to our native Dyer's Greenweed (G. tinctoria). It is very dwarf in habit, and its racemes of golden-yellow flowers are produced in great profusion in late summer. A beautiful rock-garden plant. ~ G. ephedroides, a native of Sardinia, is a much-branched shrub, 2 ft. in height, bearing yellow flowers from June to August. The aspect of the plant much resembles that of Ephedra distachya. G. germanica, a species widely dis- tributed throughout Europe, makes a Genista pilosa. bright rock-garden shrub not more than a couple of feet in height. It flowers very freely during the summer and autumn months, and the stems are inclined to- arch when i ft. or more high. Some- times met with under the name of Scorpius spinosus. G. hispanica, a native of South-western Europe, is a compact undershrub, ever- green from the colour of its shoots. It scarcely attains more than i ft. or 18 in. in height, and the crowded racemes of yellow flowers are borne at the tips of the spiny twigs from May onwards. G. pilosa, a widely distributed European species, is a dense, prostrate bush and a delightful rock-garden plant. In Britain it is rare and local, being confined to- gravelly heaths in the south and south- west of England. It grows freely and flowers abundantly in May and June- Like the rest of the British species of the genus, it has bright yellow blossoms. G. radiata is a native of Central and Southern Europe, 3 ft. or 4 ft. in height, ever- green from the colour of its much-branched! spiny twigs. The ter- r -^ minal heads of bright yellow flowers are pro- duced throughout the summer months. It is quite hardy at any rate in the South of Eng- land. G. ramosissima. A native of Southern Spain, and one of the best gar- den plants in the genus, growing about 3 ft. high, the slender twigs laden in July with bright yellow flowers. This also passes under the name of G- cinerea. G. sagittalis is widely distributed throughout Europe. In habit it differs Genista radiata. 572 GENTIANA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. widely from any of the other species here mentioned, the leaves being replaced by a winged-jointed stem. It scarcely grows a foot high, and forms a mass of branches bearing racemes of yellow flowers in May and June. G. tinctoria (The DyeSs Greenwecd}. Occurring in a wild state in Britain, it rarely exceeds 18 in. in height, and is .a spineless shrub bearing a profusion of bright yellow flowers from July until September. A double-flowered variety of this makes a pretty rock-plant. G. tinctoria var. elatior is a tall-grow- ing form from the Caucasus, which under cultivation frequently grows from 4 ft. to 5 ft. high, and bears huge paniculate inflorescences. G. virgata. A native of Madeira and one of the most beautiful species of the genus. At Kew there are many old plants from 6 ft. to 10 ft. high, and as much through, which in July are one mass of colour, every one of the slender branchlets terminating in a raceme of golden-yellow blossoms. GENTIANA (Gentian}. Dwarf evergreen alpine plants, some of them difficult to cultivate, but others easily grown (on the rock-garden and in borders). The most precious are the perennial alpine kinds, which are such a beautiful feature on the mountains of Europe, and with care in our gardens spread into healthy tufts and flower as well as on the mountains. Of these plants there are two sections the first, strong easily-grown kinds, suitable for borders ; and the second, dwarfer kinds, which should be grown in the rock-garden, or in borders or beds of choice dwarf plants. The Willow Gentian, some of the American perennials, and those with herbaceous shoots generally grow freely in borders, in good moist soil. So does the Gentianella (G. acaulis). The dwarfer Gentians are represented most familiarly by the Vernal Gentian (G. verna). G. acaulis (Gentianella). An old in- habitant of English gardens, among the most beautiful of the Gentians, and easily cultivated, except on very dry soils. In some places edgings are made of it, and where it does well it should be used in every garden, as, when in flower, edgings of it are of great beauty, and, when not in flower, the masses of little leaves gathered into com- pact rosettes, form a good edging. It is at home on the rock-garden, where there are good masses of moist loam in which it can root. It is also good for forming carpets in the rock-garden or on raised borders. With us the flowers open in spring and in early summer, but on its native hills they open according to posi- tion, like the Vernal Gentian. G. alpina is a marked variety with small broad leaves, and there are several other varie- ties. Their colours vary from the deepest blue to white, and in one white flower the tips of the corolla are a rich blue. In all the forms except the white the throat of the corolla is spotted with blue on a greenish ground, and all have greenish marks on the outside. Alps and Pyrenees. G. asclepiadea (Willow Gentian}. A good herbaceous kind ; this gives no trouble, but dies down out of harm's way in winter. Well grown, it will spring up Gentiaiia affinis. to 2 ft. and freely produce good-sized flowers of a purple-blue along nearly the whole stem in late summer and autumn. This Gentian will grow in open woods. It may therefore be naturalised, and its effect among the Grass in a wood is charming. There is a white form. Division. Europe. G. bavarica (Bavarian Gentian). In size this resembles the Vernal Gentian, but it has smaller Box-like leaves of yellowish-green, and its tiny steins are thickly clothed with dense little tufts of foliage, from which arise flowers of lovely iridescent blue. While G. verna is found on dry ground, or on ground not over- flowed by water, G. bavarica is in per- fection in boggy spots, by some little rill. We must imitate these conditions if we desire to succeed, and a moist peat or bog bed, and with no coarse plants near, will enable us to grow this lovely plant. Alps. GENTIANA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. GERANIUM. 575 Gr. septemfida (Crested Gentian} &. lovely plant, bearing on stems 6 to 12 in. high clusters of cylindrical flowers widening towards the mouth, and a beautiful blue-white inside, and greenish- brown outside, having between each of the larger segments one smaller and finely cut. In the variety cordifolia leaves are more cordate, but it grows about only half the height of the type, with a much neater habit. The dwarf form, again, seems to subdivide itself when raised from seed, and I have got plenty of plants with very small leaves flowering at a height of only 3 in. J. W. One of the most desirable species for the rock-garden, and thriving best in moist sandy peat. Division. Caucasus. Gr. verna ( Vernal Gentian}. One of the most beautiful of alpine flowers, thriving in deep sandy loam, with abundance of water during the warm and dry months, and perfect exposure to the sun. The absence of these conditions is a frequent cause of failure. It thrives wild in cool pastures and uplands, where it is rarely subjected to such drought as it is in a parched border. Grit or broken limestone may be mingled with the soil ; if there be plenty of sand this is not essential ; a few pieces half buried in the ground will tend to prevent evaporation and guard the plant till it has taken root. It is so dwarf, that if weeds be allowed to grow round it they soon injure it, and tall plants over- shadow or overrun it. In moist districts Gentiana verna. it may be grown in a deep sandy loam, on the front edge of a border carefully sur- rounded by half-plunged stones. Well- rooted plants should be secured to begin with, as failure often occurs from imper- fectly-rooted, half-dead plants. It is abundant in mountain pastures on the Alps, in Asia, and also in Britain. There are other Gentians in cultivation,, such as G. caucasica, adscendens pneumo- nanthe, cruciata, affinis, algida, arvernensis,. crimta, and Andrewsi. Most Gentians may be raised from seed, but it is slow work. GERANIUM (Cranesbill}. The hardy Geraniums are usually stout perennials and natives of the fields and woods of Europe and Britain, though some are A group of hardy Geraniums. dainty alpine flowers. The handsomest of them is probably G. armenum. It is sometimes 3 ft. in height, flowering in midsummer abundantly, and sometimes till late in autumn to a less degree. Its flowers are large and handsome. It re- quires only ordinary garden soil, and is well suited for the mixed border, or for grouping with the finer perennials in beds or on the margins of shrubberies. Some other kinds are showy, and the best of these are : the dwarf G. sanguineum ; its beautiful Lancashire variety, with rose- coloured blossoms finely marked with dark lines ; G. pratense, a tall kind, with large purple flowers ; and its pure white variety. There is also an intermediate form with white and purple flowers. The Caucasian species, G. gymnocaulon and ibericum, are beautiful, with their rich purple blossoms, 2 in. across, delicately pen- cilled with black. G. platypetalum, striatum, ibericum, and Lamberti are suited for shrubbery borders, and most of them are free and vigorous enough for naturalisation. G. Endressi, with light rose-coloured blossoms, is also very attractive. All the above-mentioned 574 GERARDIA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. Geraniums are hardy, easily cultivated, and grow in ordinary soil. The pretty rock-garden kinds, G. cinereum and G. argenteum, are charming alpine plants, and, unlike stout perennials, they must be associated with very dwarf rock-plants. All the Geraniums are increased by seed, and with the exception perhaps of the G. cinereum, and G. argenteum, all are freely multiplied by division. GERARDIA. I have never, either in gardens or in the wild land or in the Alpine mountains, where beauty of plant life is at its highest, seen anything that struck me more than a Gerardia I once met with in the roadside in New Jersey, growing abundantly here and there, like a little tree inhabit, 15 in. to 18 in. high, bearing most graceful miniature Pent- stemon-like flowers, but far more refined in colour and distinct in form than any Pentstemon. Naturally I asked why such a plant was not in cultivation, and learnt that the Gerardias are mostly parasites on the roots of other plants. In spite of this, I brought home some seed of one or two kinds and sowed it where I thought it would have some chance, but nothing ever came of it. There are a number of kinds in America, and some of the plants are pretty, but hitherto they seemed to have resisted all attempts at cultivation. Gerardia is a genus called after John Gerard, who wrote the famous Herbal in the time of Queen Elizabeth, and is as a group of the highest interest. I hope that some of them may be intro- duced. G. temiifolia is a species long known, which thrives in the open, and forms charming tufts covered with pretty flowers in summer. It is dwarf and bushy in habit, light and graceful effect with its numerous pale blue flowers. GERBEKA. G.Jamesoni is a curious perennial, hardy in southern counties, but too tender for northerly places. Its leathery dark-green leaves are arranged in a rosette, and the flower head glowing scarlet. Where it cannot be grown in the border, it should be placed in pots in the greenhouse, in which it succeeds well. At*Kew the plant is grown in a mixture of loam, peat, and sand, and is watered as one would water a Cineraria. It is kept in a sunny, airy greenhouse all the year round. S. Africa. GEUM. Dwarf handsome perennial herbs, G. montanum being one of the best of the dwarf kinds for the rock-gar- den, and very beautiful when well estab- lished in early spring. It has a compact habit, the leaves lying close on the ground, the erect stems of solitary clear yellow flowers being abundant. It likes plenty of moisture. G. reptans is also a pretty rock- plant, differing from G. montanum in its finely cut leaves, large flowers, and in pro- ducingstolons, which are absent in G. mon- tanum. There is a variety, however, of the latter, which is by far the most ornamental plant of the European kinds. It is of a very vigorous habit, with large, fine leaves, and bears freely deep yellow flowers on each stem. This form was cultivated in the Liverpool Botanic Garden over twenty years, and is said to be of garden origin. G. chiloense. A double-flowered form of this was figured in The Garden, December 2 ist, 1878, under the name of G. coccineum fl.-pl., an erroneous name, under which it is known in many gardens. A very large-flowered variety, under the name of G. chiloense grandiflorum, was figured in the Botanical Register, vol. xvi., t. 1348. This I think is one of the best single-floweredforms in the genus, and does not seem to have altered much since the above-mentioned plate was drawn. At t. 1088 of the same work another plant is figured as G. coccineum, but this does not at all agree with the original figure in Sibthorp's Flora Grcsca, t. 485, and may be taken to represent as nearly as possible the typical G. chiloense. A native of Chiloe, introduced to cultivation some- where about 1826. G. chiloense var. grandiflorum (syn., coccineum grandiflorum} is a magnificent border plant, its dazzling scarlet flowers and bold habit making it a favourite with all who love brilliant patches in their mixed borders. The double-flowered form of this, however, seems to be a more general favourite, the blooms lasting longer, though I think they lack the elegance of those of the simpler form. They begin to expand soon after May and continue until October. G. chiloense var. miniatum. This plant, figured in The Garden in 1890, is said to have originated in the nursery of Robert Parker at Tooting, and was named by him G. miniatum. Another plant known as the Altrincham variety, or G. hybridum, was raised about the same time, but unless in the flowers being brighter, I see no difference. But there can be no question as to the value of this plant, its robust constitution standing it in good stead in almost every kind of soil, and enabling it to be propagated with the greatest facility by cutting the tufts in pieces. It flowers from April until the end of July, and when doing well often attains a height of from 2 ft. to 3 ft. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. GLADIOLUS. 575 Gr. coccineum is a rare and entirely different plant. A native of Mount Olympus. D. K. GILIA. Hardy annuals, i to 2 ft. high, and bearing for a long time a succession of blossoms either blue, white, lavender, or rose-coloured. Seed may be sown in autumn for spring-blooming, and in April for summer and autumn blooming. Gilias should be grown in masses and the soil should be light and enriched with decomposed manure ; they are useful for small bouquets or vases, and last for a long time in water. The best are G. achilleasfolia major (blue), G. a. alba (white), G. capitata (lavender), G. tricolor (white and purple), G. rosea splendens (rose), G. nivalis (white), G. liniflora, G. dianthoides, and G. laciniata. A mixed packet of seed will give a fine variety of colours. They may occasionally be made graceful use of as carpet plants, or used effectively among annuals. GILLENIA. G. trifoliata is a Spiraea- like plant with numerous erect slender stems, about 2. ft. high, and branching in the upper part into a loose panicle of white flowers. Distinct and graceful, is of value for the garden growing in peat or free loamy soil, and may be given a place in the shrubbery, or in the wild garden. North America. Division. G. stipulacea. This is a rather taller plant and not quite so compact in habit, but it is graceful, and no more charming plant could be introduced to parts of the garden where there chances to be an extra amount of moisture and a little shade from mid-day sun. Mr. J. Wood says : "It makes more distinct offsets, so that in the case of plants a few years old you may take the rooted offsets with a fair amount of fibre, and they make good plants the first year. The Gillenias have a distinct and delicate beauty all their own, and are pre-eminently suited for growing in semi-boggy places interspersed with such subjects as the Bog Lilies, Irises, Bamboos, and other similar strong growers." GLADIOLUS (Sword Lily}. Beautiful bulbs, for the most part natives of S. Africa. Every species ntroduced is of ornamental value, is easily grown, and is suitable for many garden uses. The chief charm of the Gladiolus is derived from the beautiful hybrid varieties now in cultivation. G. gandavensis and brenchleyensis are the principal kinds from which these hybrids come, and are by far the most important class, though the earlier-flowering kinds (descendants of G. ramosus, Colvillei, trimaculatus, and others) are valuable for early summer-flowering. The gandavensis section suffers from cold autumn rains, and the bulbs must be lifted in autumn. In growing Gladioli it is necessary to prepare soil where they will be most effective. They are happy in clumps be- tween Dahlias, Phloxes, Roses, and sub- jects of a somewhat similar character, and are very effective in clumps alternating with Tritomas, and also when associated with masses of Cannas ; while they are suitable for intermixing with American plants, whose dark foliage shows off rich flowers to good advantage. The position should be marked out in the autumn or winter, and a few spadefuls of manure should be dug in. As a rule, the space of each clump should be 18 in. in diameter, and the soil should be turned up to a depth of 18 to 24 in. March and April are the best months for planting, as Gladioli planted then are at their best during August and the early part of September. A succession of planting is desirable to secure a late bloom. Those who desire their gardens to be beautiful late in the autumn should not fail to employ the Gladiolus largely, as it is the handsomest of late-blooming garden plants, and its spikes are seen to great advantage about the time of heavy autumn rains. When spikes of extra fine bloom are required it is necessary to give special treatment, and an open situation is of the utmost importance. A deep loamy soil, not too heavy, is the most suitable for spikes for exhibition, but very satis- factory results even may be obtained by deep digging and liberal manuring in soils of an uncongenial character. Early in autumn the soil should be liberally dressed with manure from an old hotbed. After it is spread regularly over the surface, trench the soil up to a depth of 2 ft., and leave the surface as rough as possible, so as to expose a large body of it to winter frost and rain ; this is of special import- ance in the case of heavy soils, which should be thoroughly pulverised by the weather. If this is done, the soil will be fit for working in spring, and a pricking over with the fork will reduce it to a fine tilth, and will admit of the bulbs being planted, even in wet seasons, without unnecessary delay. Planting should com- mence in March, and be continued until June, at intervals of a fortnight. By this means will be obtained a succession of bloom, from the earliest moment at which the show varieties may be had in flower until the end of the season. The beds should be 4 ft. in width, with rows 1 8 in. apart. They will then admit of a 576 GLADIOLUS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. GLADIOLI-:-. row down the centre, and one on each side, these outside rows being 6 in. from the edge of the bed. As soon as the plants have made sufficient progress to require support, stout stakes should be put to them. The top of the stake must not be higher than the first bloom, and the stem should have one tie only, a strong one of bast. After staking, the bed should be covered with partly-decayed manure, to a uni- form depth of 2 to 3 in. This dressing materially assists during hot weather in keeping the soil cool and moist about the roots. As soon as the plants show bloom, liquid manure promotes full development of the flowers. For exhibition the spikes should be cut when about two thirds of the blooms are expanded, as the lower flowers are generally finer than those towards the top. To ensure a given number of spikes at a particular date, a number of different sorts should be planted. For example, instead of six to twelve bulbs of a sort, it is preferable to plant one to three, and to increase the number of sorts ; and, in purchasing a hundred bulbs, to select fifty to seventy varieties. For decoration it is also better to have a large number of sorts, because of the greater variety of colour they afford. The improvements of the last few years have been so rapid, that many sorts which a few years ago occupied a foremost position are now surpassed, and for exhibition purposes are comparatively worthless. Most large nurseries and seed houses supply the finest exhibition bulbs, as well as bulbs for ordinary planting. EARLY-FLOWERING KINDS. During the past few years these beautiful flowers have rapidly become popular on account of their great value for cutting. They have been obtained by hybridising several South African species, particularly G. ramosus (the branching kinds which are a distinct group), G. trimaculatus, G. bland- us, G. venustus, and G. Colvillei forming what is known as the nanus section. Of G. ramosus a great number of varieties are dwarfer in habit, more graceful in appearance, earlier in flower, than those of G. gandavensis, and almost as variable in colour ; they are, moreover, much hardier, and beds of them may be left unprotected during winter, so as to afford early flowers for cutting, for, unless the weather is very severe, these beds never require any covering. This remark applies only to bulbs established in the ground, for fresh bulbs are as tender as other Gladioli, and must be protected from frost. Amateurs often make a mistake in this matter. Many plants are hardy only after they are well established. The nanus section has a great many varieties of almost every shade of colour,. i to 2 ft. high, and invariably having the three characteristic blotches of G. trima- culatus on the lower segments of the flower. G. Colvillei is one of the prettiest and hardiest of all, and is most valuable for cutting, particularly the white variety, which has many beautiful white flowers in early summer. The time of flowering depends upon the time of planting, but the dwarf sections are the earliest. If the varieties of G. ramosus are planted at the same time as the dwarfs, the dwarfs are in flower a fortnight before the others. Gladiolus the Bride. These early-flowering kinds are of simple culture, and succeed best in well-drained raised beds of good loamy soil, in a sunny position. Some varieties, such as Colvillei are safe if undisturbed, but some persons prefer to take the bulbs up and thoroughly dry them, and then to plant them again about November ; in which case they will flower early in June. If the bulbs remain in the ground through the winter, care must be taken to protect them in severe cold. Propagation may be effected rapidly by seeds and offsets. By seeds, flowering bulbs are produced the second season, and can be left in the ground during GLADIOLUS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. GLADIOLUS. 577 the winter, provided the soil is light and dry and the bulbs are protected from frost. These Gladioli are extremely useful for pot culture, and, by gentle forcing, can be had in flower at mid-winter, and, for securing bloom between the flowering of the forced plants and of the plants in the open beds, they may be grown in cold frames. For this purpose a bed of loam, leaf-mould, and sand in nearly equal pro- portions should be made up in October. It should be about i ft. deep and well drained, and in it the bulbs may be planted thickly 4 in. in depth. The lights should then be replaced, and air left on always, except during severe frosts. No water should be given until the leaves appear (which will be about February, or earlier if the season be mild), and then only enough to keep the soil moist. The lights should be removed during mild weather, and altogether in April. During the latter part of May and in June plenty of bloom may be cut for decoration. Besides those named, the following are some of the best kinds : The Bride, Groot- voorst, Rubens, Maori Chief, The Fairy, Elvira, Rembrandt, Philip Miller, Beatrice, Baron von Humboldt, Sir Walter Raleigh, and Rose Distinctive. Another interesting race of hybrids has lately been obtained between G. gandavensis and G. purpureo-auratus, a Cape species, with yellow and purple flowers. These hybrids have large flowers of a creamy-white and a deep purplish-crimson. The named kinds are G. hybridus Frcebeli, G. h. Lemoinei, and Marie Lemoine. Although by no means so showy as many others, they are most graceful and distinct in port, and in the shape and colour of their flowers. In deep sandy soil they attain a height of nearly 5 ft., and the gradual development of the flowers renders them effective for at least five weeks after the first and lowermost blossom. As graceful plants they well deserve culture, being hardier than many home-raised hybrids ; but a warm deep soil and a sheltered position near the foot of a south or west wall are the most congenial to their strong growth. A few of the true species almost equal the hybrids in beauty. One of the finest is G. Saundersi, about 2 ft. high, with large flowers of a brilliant scarlet and a conspicuous pure white centre. It is not often grown, though hardy and of very easy culture, and only requiring a sunny position in a light rich soil. The European Gladioli are pretty plants for the mixed border. There is a strong similarity among them, all of them being from i to i^ ft. high, and bearing rather small rosy-purple flowers. The best-known are G. byzantinus, com- munis, segetus, illyricus, neglectus, sero- tinus. They like warm dry soil and a sunny situation. They are of particular interest from their free and hardy habit, which makes them as easy to grow as native plants. They are admirable for Hybrid Gladiolus (Lemoine's). the wild garden as they thrive in copses, open warm woods, in snug spots in broken hedgerow banks, and on fringes of shrubbery in the garden. DISEASE. This is frequently, if not always, accompanied by some condition of the fungus known as Copper-web, the Rhizoctonia crocorum of De Candolle, which is known in France under the name of Tacon. The fungus attacks also the Narcissus, the Crocus, Asparagus, Potatoes, and other bulbs, roots, etc. A good deal of attention was paid to it in P P GLAUCIUM. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. GUNNER A. 1876, when Mr. G. W. Smith detected in j abundance the curious fungus named by I him Urocystis Gladioli. The Urocystis i and Rhizoctonia are probably two con- ditions of the same thing, the Rhizoctonia ' being possibly the spawn and the Uro- cystis the fruit. The latter Urocystis is capable of remaining in a resting state for a year or more, and is frequently , found in the decayed red-brown portions of the diseased conn. No attempts have been made in the direction of a cure, as far as we know. The disease is confined to certain localities and to cer- tain gardens, and is unknown in some districts. GLAUCIUM (Horned Poppy}. Plants of the Poppy family, mostly biennials. G. luteuin is quite hardy and has hand- some silver foliage, almost as white as the silvery Centaurea. The leaves are much more deeply cut, and, planted close, are effective either in masses or lines. To ensure strong plants for winter borders or beds, seed should be sown about May, as the plant is a biennial. When in bloom it makes a striking border plant, the flowers being large and orange-red. G. Fischeri is a handsome plant ; its snow-white woolly foliage is very telling, and its blossom is an unusual flame colour. G. corniculatum is similar, but not so handsome. Both require the same treatment as G. luteum. GLOBULARIA (Globe Daisy}. Inter- esting and dwarf alpine plants, good on the rock-garden in light and peaty soils. G. Alypum is among the best ; it inhabits dry rocks. Other kinds are G. cordifolia, G. nana, G. nudicaulis, and G. tricho- santha. GOODYERA (Rattlesnake Plantain}. A beautiful little Orchid, G. pubescens having leaves close to the ground, deli- cately veined with silver ; hardy, distinct, and charming, though its flowers are not showy. It has long been grown in botanic and choice collections, thriving in a shady posit on, such as may be found in a good rock-garden, in moist peaty soil, with here and there a soft sandstone for its roots to run among. Eastern United States. G. repens and Menziesi are less desirable and much rarer. GRAMMANTHES. A pretty half- hardy annual, G. gentianoides being a capital plant for the dry parts of a rock- j garden, about 2 in. high, forming a dense tuft, with fleshy leaves about \ in. long, with many flowers, about in. across : orange when first expanded, with a distinct V-shaped mark at the base of each petal, but finally assuming a deep red. G. gentianoides is sometimes used with good effect in the flower-garden, and succeeds in dry warm soil. Seeds should be sown in heat in February and March, and the seedlings planted out in May. Stonecrop family. Cape of Good Hope. GREVILLEA. Australian shrubs, generally grown in the greenhouse, but a few are quite hardy enough for wall culture ; and G. sulphurea, the hardiest in cultiva- tion, lives against walls about London. Its pale yellow flowers, of curious shape, as in all Grevilleas, come throughout the summer. G. rosmarinifolia is another hardy kind with Rosemary - like leaves and clusters of red flowers. The Grevil- leas do best against a warm wall in a sheltered situation. GUNNERA (Prickly Rhubarb}. South American plants remarkable for large and handsome foliage, somewhat resem- bling that of gigantic Rhubarb. They are hardy if slightly protected during the severest cold, for instance by a layer of dry leaves placed among the stems, and having their own leaves bent down upon them. In spring these dry leaves should be removed, and the tender growth slightly protected by a piece of canvas-shading or by an ordinary mat. In mild winters this precaution is scarcely necessary, especially in the south and other favoured localities. Where there is any diversity of surface it will be easy to select a spot well open to the sun and yet sheltered by shrubs. A large hole, about 6 by 4 ft. deep, should be dug out, a good layer of drainage material put at the bottom, and the hole filled with a rich compost of loam and manure. In summer the plants ought to have plenty of water, and a ridge of turf should be placed round them, to compel the water to sink down about their roots. They should also have a mulching of well-rotted manure early in every spring. They thrive on the margins of ponds or lakes where their roots can penetrate the moist soil, and if judiciously placed in such a position, they have a fine effect. Though the two kinds G. scabra and G. manicata greatly resemble each other, they have well-marked characteristics. The leaves of G. manicata are more kidney-shaped and attain a much larger size, often measuring 4 to 6 ft. across. The spikes of fruit are also much longer, and the secondary spikes are long and flexuose, whereas in G. scabra they are short and stiff. Propagated by seed or division of established plants. G. manicata. Writing from Trelissick GYNERIUM. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN, GYNERIUM. 579 Truro, Mr. W. Sangwin says : " It never attains the extraordinary dimensions it is capable of, unless planted in deep rich ! soil with its roots in the water by the side of a pond or stream. Our plant covers a space fully 30 ft. across, and consists of from twenty-five to thirty leaves, some of them over 9 ft. in diameter, upon clear stems 8 ft. high. The crowns are as large as a man's body, of a delicate pink colour. Flower-spikes are produced freely, which ; should be cut as soon as seen, or they j will check the growth of the leaves. When they die down in autumn, the leaves should be placed loosely over the crowns, with their stems on top to prevent them being blown away by the wind. Protected in this way the plants have noble Grass, G. argenteum, 6 to 14 ft. high, according to soil or district, is most precious for our gardens, but in many districts suffers from our severe winters, and we seldom now see the fine plants of it that were not uncommon soon after its introduction. Some varieties are better in habit than others, and flower earlier, and it would be better to patiently divide such than to trust to seedlings. There are a number of varieties, some of a delicate rosy colour, and one variegated. The soils of many gardens are insufficient to give it the highest vigour, and no plant better repays a thorough preparation, and we rarely see such fine specimens as in quiet nooks where it is sheltered by the surrounding vegetation. It should be * ^w r Gunner.i manicata at Narrow Water Park. Engraved from a photograph sent by Mr. F. W. Burbidge. stood the winter with a thermometer ranging on several occasions below zero. It grows freely from seed, but it can be divided as easily as Rhubarb. The individual flowers are very minute, more curious than beautiful, the chief attraction being in the truly magnificent leaves." The known species of Gunnera are : G. Ber- teroi, Chili, bracteata, do. brephogea, N. Granada. chilensis, Chili, comnnttata^ do. cordifolta, Tas- man. densiflora, N. Zeal, scabra, J. Fernand. Hamiltoni, N. Zeal, insignis, Chili, lobata. Magellans. macrophylla, Java, magellanzca, Magellans. manicata, Brazil, monoica, N. Zeal. tie It at a, J. Fernand. perpensa, E. Africa, peta- loides, Sandwich Isles, broretiens, N. Zeal, stri- gosa, do. GYNERIUM (Pampas Grass}. This I planted about the beginning of April I in deep open soil mulched with rotten i manure, and watered copiously in hot j dry weather. G. jubatum is very well j spoken of, but as yet has not been tried much except in favoured spots. The ! leaves resemble those of G. argenteum, but are of deeper green, and droop elegantly at the extremities. From the centre of the tuft, and exceeding it by 2 or 3 ft., arise numerous stems, each bear- ing an immense loose panicle of long filamentous silvery flowers, of a rosy tint with silvery sheen. It is a native of Ecuador, and is earlier in bloom than G. argenteum. The sexes are borne on separate plants in all the species, and the plumes of male flowers are neither so P P 2 580 GYPSOPHILA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. HAIIRANTHUS. handsome nor so durable as the plumes of female flowers. GYPSOPHILA. Plants of the Stitch- wort family, the larger kinds usually very elegant, and bearing myriads of tiny white blossoms on slender spreading panicles. Of these the best is G. paniculata, which forms a dense compact bush, 3 ft. or more high, the numerous flowers small white, on thread-like stalks on much- branched stems, with the light, airy effect of certain Grasses, and very useful for cutting. G. paniculata thrives in any soil, and is suitable for borders and for naturalisation in woods or banks. G. fastigiata, perfoliata, altissima Steveni, are very similar. G. prostrata is a pretty species for the rock-garden or the mixed border. It grows in spreading masses, and from midsummer to September has loose graceful panicles of small white or pink flowers, on slender stems. G. cerastioides is about 2 in. high, and has a Gypsophila cerastioides. spreading habit ; the leaves are about \\ in. long, and small clusters of blossoms, \ in. across, white with violet streaks. It is from Northern India, and quite unlike any of the group now in our gardens, being dwarfer and having larger flowers. It is a rapid grower, and in good soil and an open position on the rock-garden soon spreads into a broad tuft. Division, seeds, or cuttings in spring. G. elegans is a graceful feathery annual much used for bouquets. HABENAEIA (Rein Orchis}. Terres- trial Orchids from N. America, I to 2 ft. high, some of which are pretty. For out- door culture, a partially-shaded spot should be prepared with about equal parts of leaf- mould or peat and sand, and well mulched with leaves, grass, or other material, to "keep it moist. H. blephariglottis bears in July spikes of white flowers beautifully 'fringed. H. ciliaris has bright orange- yellow flowers with a conspicuous fringe, and appear from July to September. H. fimbriata has a long spike of lilac- purple flowers beautifully fringed. H. psycodes bears spikes 4 to 10 in. long of handsome and fragrant purple flowers. They are charming plants for the bog- garden. HABEELEA. //. rhodopensis is a pretty little rock-plant resembling a Gloxinia in miniature, forming dense tufts of small rosettes of leaves, which somewhat resemble those of the Pyrenean Ramondia (R. pyrenaica), every rosette bearing in spring one to five slender flower-stalks, each with two to four blossoms nearly i in. long, of a bluish-lilac colour with a yellowish throat. Messrs. Frcebel of Zurich, who grow it well, write of it : " We have treated this plant in the same manner as the Pyrenean Ramondia, i.e. we have planted it on the north side of the rock-garden ; so that the sun never directly reaches it. We grow it in fibrous peat, and fix the plants, if possible, in the fissures of the rock-garden, so that its rosettes hang in an oblique position, just as they do in their native country. It succeeds well in this way ; but if no rock- garden be at hand, it may be grown equally well on the north side of a Rhododendron bed. \Ve have it thus situated quite close to a stone edging a way in which we also grow the Ramondia, and the Haberlea flowers profusely every year in May and June. The plant is very hardy, having withstood our often very hard winters, without any protection." It is a native of the Balkan Mountains, where it is found among moss and leaves on damp, shady, steep declivities at high elevations. HABEANTHUS. A brilliant bulb , of the Amaryllis family, hardy, at least in the southern and eastern parts of the i country. H. pratensis has stout and I erect flower-stems, about i ft. high, and ! the brightest scarlet flowers, feathered I here and there at the base with yellow. The variety fulgens is the finest form. It blooms freely in the open border of the Rev. Mr. Nelson's garden at Aldborough, in Norfolk, flowering at the end of May or beginning of June. It grows very freely in strong loam improved by the addition of a little leaf-mould and sand. j Its propagation is too easy, for in many ; soils it is said to split up into offsets ! instead of growing to a flowering size. At Aldborough it made numerous offsets. A choice plant for the select bulb-garden or rock-garden. Chili. H. Andersoni is much inferior. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. Halesia tetraptera. HALESIA (Snowdrop Tree]. Beauti- ful North American trees, hardy in this country. The commonest is H. tetraptera, one of the prettiest of flowering trees. It grows in England from 20 to 30 ft. high, has a rounded head, with sharply-toothed leaves, in May bearing many pure white blossoms, in form like the Snowdrop, hence its popular name. It is of moderately rapid growth, and flour- ishes in any good garden soil, and as it grows naturally by river banks, it enjoys a moist, but not waterlogged soil. In some parts it ripens its seed in abundance. A similar species, dis- tinguished in hav- ing but two wings to the seed-vessel (tetraptera having four), is H. diptera, of smaller growth, and not such a suitable tree for this climate ; neither is H. parviflora, which, like the others, has small bell-like flowers. As a lawn tree, or planted near the margin of a lake or stream, H. tetraptera is very beautiful. HALIMONDENDRON (Salt-tree} H. argenteum is a small shrub belonging to the Pea family, with elegant leaves, silky and whitish, the flowers purplish in early summer : a native of Asiatic Russia, it is hardy, and grows from 5 to 6 ft. high, and sometimes is grafted on to the tall stems of the Laburnum. HAMAMELIS( Witch Hazel\Rz.r&y shrubs with singular blossoms flowering in winter. They have a peculiar value as ornamental shrubs, and one species at least is worth planting in all good gardens. This is H. arborea, or Tree Witch Hazel, though in this country it does not rise generally above 8 ft. high. In January, and sometimes before, its leafless branches are covered with flowers, which have twisted, bright yellow petals and crimson calyces, so that a well-flowered plant is very pretty. It is a hardy Japanese shrub, and thrives in most kinds of soil, but must have an open situation. Another Japanese species is H. japonica, a smaller and dwarfer plant than H. arborea, and bearing flowers of a lighter yellow colour, while that called H. Zuc- cariniana is very similar to it. Of less value perhaps is the American Witch Hazel, which has small yellowish flowers in winter, and sometimes in autumn. Though not so showy when in flower as the Japanese species, it is a pretty shrub, and, like the others, thrives in any soil. HEDERA (Ivy).H. Helix is the most beautiful evergreen climber of our north- ern and temperate world, and is a noble gar- den plant that may be used in many ways. The common Ivy of the woods is familiar to all, but its many beautiful varieties are not so common as this. All are not of the same vigorous habit, as will easily be seen by cultivating a collection ; but the rich self green-leaved kinds are usually as free and as hardy as the wild plant. Although there are many varieties, there are only two accepted species the Australian, that is confined to the continent of Australia ; and Hedera Helix, which is found wild in the British Isles, and spreads over Europe, reaching into N. Africa and Central Asia. It is under our English Ivy that the large number of forms in cultivation are classed. Although there are only two species, we can classify the Ivies in several groups, after the variation in the leaves. If we want Ivies in their fullest beauty, it is necessary to pay some attention to position, soil, and training. This applies to all kinds, but especially to the more delicate varieties. Ordinary garden soil will grow the Ivy well, and the strong growers, as Emerald Gem, Rasgneriana algeriensis, canariensis or the Irish Ivy, sagittasfolia, lucida, palmata, gracilis, dentata, digitata, pedata, and angularis,will need no special position ; but in the case of kinds like madeirensis variegata, a showy form, some little care is needed. It is better to plant these kinds as edgings to a bed of shrubs or permit them to clamber over a root-stump, arbour, or form a pyramid of them, where they will be less exposed to the full force of wind than if they were stiffly trained on walls. Cuttings may be struck in the latter part of the summer, and quickly root if put in a shady border where the soil is fairly good. It is sometimes well to cut the plants down to the ground after the first year, as often the shoots are very weak ; but this severe pruning induces a stronger growth later on. . As regards the best time to plant, the spring months are the most suitable ; but the Ivy may be planted any time if it is in a pot, and during the first sum- mer, if the weather is hot, give plenty of water. In the case of variegated sorts, it is advisable to plant in a poor soil, so as to bring out the variegation. A 5 82 HEDYCHIUM. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. HELENIt'M. word should be said for Tree Ivies, which make fine bushes in the garden, and may be associated with other shrubs in beds. Healthy plants make dense rounded heads of foliage, relieved during the blooming season with many flowers. By far the most important Ivies, however, are the green - leaved forms, many, various, and nearly all beautiful in form. Whatever kinds among these we may prefer, a fuller and more graceful use of the Ivy in or near the flower- garden and its surround- ings is desirable. HEDYCHIUM. H. Gardneriamtin, though usually grown in the green- house, will flower out-of- doors, and live through an ordinary winter with a little protection. It should be planted out in May, in a loose sandy loam, en- riched with manure. While the plant is making its growth a mulching should be given, and in dry weather an occasional watering of liquid manure. It is excellent for choice groups in the sub-tropical garden, in warm sheltered spots. A heap of cinders or half-rotten leaves laid over the crowns in winter will ensure their safety ; or the roots may be lifted in autumn and wintered in any dry place with Dahlias and Cannas. It is in- creased by dividing the roots in spring, but each piece must have a young crown attached. HED YSARUM (French Honeysuckle}. Plants of the Pea order, mostly weedy, only a few peren- nials being ornamental. H. coronarium is a showy plant, 3 or 4 ft. high, bearing in summer dense spikes of red flowers. It grows in any ordinary soil, but is not a perennial, though it usually sows itself where it is established. There is a white variety. Among the dwarfer kinds the two following are desirable : H. obscurum, a brilliant and compact perennial ; 6 to 12 in. high, with racemes of showy purple flowers. It is suitable for the rock-garden, for borders, and for naturalisation amongst vegetation not more than i ft. high, chiefly on banks and slopes in sandy loam, and is increased by division or seed. H. Mackenzii is said to be the handsomest of the genus. It grows about 2 ft. high, and has long racemes of from seven to thirty rather large rosy-purple Pea-like flowers. It is perfectly hardy in any situation, and flowers in June and July. It is rather too tall for the rock-garden, and is more suited for the mixed border. HELENIUM (Sneeze-weed]. Vigorous Pyramid of large-leaved Ivy, 7 it. high. Composites from North America, flowering in autumn, and thriving in any soil, and, where rightly used, excellent plants. There are two or three species, the most useful being H. autumnale, about 6 ft. high, bearing yellow flower-heads. The varieties grandiceps and pumilum are very distinct : grandiceps being of gigantic growth with a fasciated head of bloom, which makes it very showy ; pumilum being much dwarfer and better than the type. H. atropurpureum grows 3 or 4 ft. HELIANTHEMUM. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. . HELIANTHUS. 583 high, and has reddish-brown flower-heads. H. Hoopesi is desirable, as it flowers in early summer, but is a rather coarse grower, with large yellow flowers. The first-mentioned species and its varieties are excellent border plants, and, though vigorous, remain long in bloom. They are very useful for cutting, as they remain a long time fresh. HELIANTHEMUM (Sun Rose}. - Though strictly shrubby plants for the most part, these dwarf evergreens possess so much the aspect of rock-plants, that they cannot well be separated from them. There are few more brilliant sights than masses of them when in full beauty, and they are of the easi- est possible cul- ture, dwarf and compact, bear- ing in great pro- fusion flowers with fine diver- sity of colour. The common Sun Rose (H. vulgare) is vari- able in colour, and from it have sprung the many varieties enumerated in trade lists ; indeed, we need only this species to represent, for garden purposes, the vari- ation in all the dwarf shrubby species of the family. The colours range from white and yellow to deep crimson. There are also double-flowered kinds and one with variegated foliage. Other pretty, dwarf, shrubby species, similar to H. vul- gare, are H. rosmarinifolium, pilosum, and croceum. There is also a herbaceous perennial species, H. Tuberaria (Truffle Sun Rose), which in aspect differs com- pletely from the shrubby species, and is second to none in beauty. It grows 6 to 12 in. high, with flowers 2 in. across resembling a single yellow Rose, with dark centre, and drooping when in bud. It is suited for warm ledges o'n the rock- garden in well-drained sandy or calcar- eous soil. When sufficiently plentiful it should be used in the mixed border. It is propagated by either seed or division. When a full collection is required there are other species introduced, but the above fairly represent the beauty of the family. HELIANTHUS (Sunflower} PEREN- NIAL SUNFLOWERS. Usually stout, Helianthemum lignosum. vigorous, and showy plants, typical of the coarse yellow Composites abounding in North America, of which not a few have found their way into English gardens. All the perennials are vigorous growers, and generally attain a great height, being most precious for the autumnal garden when well placed. Sunflowers may be cultivated with the greatest ease ; they are gross feeders, and the richer the soil the better the result. It is true that not a few of this genus are coarse and weedy, unfitted for the flower-garden, but a good many, some of which are not yet in general cultivation, could be utilised with striking effect in the best-kept flower- garden ; and for mixed borders, etc., they are valuable. The Sunflowers, like the Michaelmas Daisies, could ill be spared from the autumn garden, where, when most other hardy perennials are beginning to show the sere and yellow leaf, they are generally at their best and in their greatest numbers. Although the flowers are some- what restricted in their range of colouring, the plants vary considerably in their seasons of blooming, in habit, and also in the positions in which the most may be made of them. From their robust growth, the majority of them are essentially suitable for borders where plenty of scope may be had, and where attention may be given to the proper grouping of the different species and varieties. Some few of the species which may not be considered showy enough for the flower border proper could be planted in the woods, in isolated beds or among shrubs, where their particular arid char- acteristic habits could be seen to advantage. It would hardly be policy to grow the whole genus in any one garden un- less shrubberies abound on a large scale. H. multi- florus and its varieties, H.rigidus and its varieties, Helianthemum sabrosum. H. decapetalus, and a few others are essentially border plants, where, when doing well and in full flower, they form a feature of no mean beauty. H. laetiflorus, H. orgyalis, H. lasvigatus, and H. divaricatus would make handsome groups in open shrubberies, and giganteus, doronicoides, grosse- serratus and others might with advantage be relegated to the wood, where, in open 584 HELIANTHUS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. HELIANTHUS. exposed positions, they would form inter- esting groups. They increase so rapidly as a whole that it will be needless to say anything about propagation, which may be done in autumn or spring with good results. Other species not mentioned, but which may be of interest to many, are H. angustifolius, Maximiliani, mollis, and occidentalis, the two last being early- flowering species rare in gardens. H. DECAPETALUS is one of the most charming species in the whole genus as a background to mixed borders or as a feature in open shrubberies. It forms large, bushy, well-balanced plants 4 to 6 ft. in height, with strong, much- branched stems, rough on the upper half Double Perennial Sunflower. and usually quite smooth on the lower. The leaves are broadly oval, pointed and thin in texture ; flowers 2 to 3 in. in diameter, of a rich sulphur-yellow, pro- duced in great abundance, and very showy. It is found plentifully on the banks of streams in Canada and Georgia. H. GIGANTEUS is a very tall, elegant plant. The stems often exceed loto 12 ft. high, the leaves narrow, tapering to both ends ; the flowers deep yellow, 2 to 3 in. in diameter. It is one of the latest to flower, and has been found variable under cultivation, giving rise to several garden names. Moist ground, Canada and Louisiana. H. L^ETIFLORUS is a handsome species, very little known in gardens, although the name was freely used for forms of H. rigidus. It is, as a rule, rather later in flowering than the H. rigidus forms, and unfortunately in cold wet seasons or early winters does not bear good flowers. It is a much taller and stronger plant than H. rigidus, the flowers, 4 to 5 in. across, of a bright yellow with yellow disc. The leaves are thin, entire, or coarsely toothed, and the bracts of the involucre always acute, a very distinctive character in this genus. The roots are somewhat similar to those of H. rigidus, perhaps larger, and they certainly travel further. It is a native of prairies and barrens, Illinois, Wisconsin. H. MULTIFLORUS. The late Dr. Asa Gray always considered this plant a garden variety of H. decapetalus. There is strong evidence, however, of its being a hybrid, the parents of which it would be difficult now to ascertain with accuracy. It is so very distinct from all the other species so well known in gardens under its present name, and such a good all-round plant, that it well deserves specific rank. It rarely exceeds 3 to 5 ft. in height, producing numerous large fine rich yellow flowers, remaining a considerable time in good form. The var. maximus has larger flowers with more pointed rays, and the varieties plenus and Soleil d'Or are both very desirable double-flowered forms. All the varieties of H. multiflorus should find a place in collections, however small. H. ORGYALIS, though a small-flowered plant, is yet one of the best of the genus for the picturesque garden in southern counties. It is one of the late-flowering species, and is often damaged by early frosts. It grows from 6 to 10 ft. high, having numerous linear leaves and bunches of deep golden yellow flowers. It should be grown in sheltered spots, otherwise it requires a great deal of staking. It is a native of dry plains of Nebraska and Texas. H. RIGIDUS. This distinct, though variable species is perhaps the best known of all the perennial Sunflowers. It is still found labelled Harpalium rigidum in some gardens, and is often confounded with H. missuricus and H. atro-rubens, the latter of which, so far as I know, is not now in cultivation. Typical H. rigidus is figured in the Botanical Register, t. 508, and Botanical Magazine, t. 2668, as H. atro-rubens. H. rigidus grows from 4 to 5 ft. in height, with a rough hispid stem, the upper leaves always alternate, dis- tinctly three-nerved and veined. The lower ones are opposite, broader, thinner, often serrated, and rarely pointed. All HELIANTHUS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. HELICHRYSUM. 585 the leaves narrow to a winged petiole, and are easily distinguished from those of any other species. The flowers, bright yellow and very showy, are produced very freely. It is a native of the plains and prairies of Georgia and Texas. The varieties of this species, most of which have undoubtedly originated in gardens, are superior to the type as garden plants. H. grandiflorus, semi-plenus, elegans, and asstivus are all worth a place in the flower border. All should, however, be grouped by themselves, as they form underground tubers, which spread a con- siderable distance from the parent plant in the course of a year. Some of these varieties have been tried at Kew and else- where grouped singly in beds, and are always much admired in the autumn months when the members of this genus are so much in evidence. D. D. ANNUAL SUNFLOWERS. All the larger kinds are noble plants, requiring plenty of space, a sheltered position, and a good background. They are all easily raised from seed, which may be sown in pans in early March or in the open air in April where they are intended to flower, and thinned out to from a foot to a yard apart according to the vigour of the plant. The regulation row of Sunflowers along a choice mixed border often ruins its effect, but there are various ways of arranging the annual Sunflowers with excellent effect among large beds of fine-leaved plants being one of them. H. ANNUUS (Common Sunflower). Although often regarded only as a cottagers' flower, the annual Sunflower is one of the noblest plants we have, and one of the most effective for various positions. In order to dispense with support, it should be planted in a sheltered place, as among tall shrubs. Here it assumes a dense branching tree-like habit, and often produces flowers each over a foot in diameter. It requires a strong rich soil, to which may be added a quantity of old cow manure just before planting. There are many varieties in gardens, the most notable being one called californicus, a more robust and darker-flowered form. I Macrocarpus, lenticularis, and ovatus, are synonyms or slight varieties of the culti- I vated annual Sunflower ; sulphureus, j multiflorus, globosus, grandiflorus, and ; fistulosus are garden variations. The sulphur-coloured variety is charming, and less strong in growth than the richer yellow forms. North America. H. argo- phyllus, little more than a variety of H. annuus, is a charming plant from Texas, for the back of mixed borders, open borders, and in thin shrubberies. The whole plant is white, being covered with soft and silky wool, the flowers large with very broad ray florets. H. Dammanni and H. D. var. sulphureus are said to be garden hybrids between H. argophyllus and H. annuus. H. cucumerifolius, the miniature Sunflower, is a good annual, growing from 2 to 3 ft. high, usually with purple mottling on the stems, the leaves thin, and bright apple-green. The stems are much branched, and when allowed plenty of room the plants form perfect symmetrical specimens. The flowers are yellow, about 3 in. in diameter, nicely set off with the almost black disc. Sandy soil in woods from Texas west- wards. H. EXILIS. A very slender species, rarely more than a couple of feet in height, Annual Sunflowers. with lance-shaped leaves and yellow flowers about 2 in. in diameter. N. Cali- fornia. H. PETIOLARIS. A fine kind rarely seen in gardens, though from its neat habit and profusion of flowers it should be a welcome addition to the mixed border. It grows about a yard high, loosely branched, the stem as well as the leaves being covered with stiff hairs ; flowers yellow, 3 to 4 in. in diameter. The variety canescens is covered with white pubescence. Texas. H. SCABERRIMUS. A very distinct plant with large deep yellow flowers, stout branching stems, and broad, oval, coarsely-toothed leaves. California. D. HELICHRYSUM (Everlasting Flower). Composites, mostly natives of the Cape of Good Hope, of which a few are 5 86 HEI.IOPHILA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. HELI.EBORUS. cultivated. The most important garden plants are H.macranthum and H. bractea- tum. They are generally treated as an- nuals, and, unless exceptionally well man- i aged by being sown early under glass, they commence flowering so late that the best j period for laying on the brightest colours j is lost, and early frosts find them just approaching their best. They are par- ticularly suited for background plants on dry borders. If they are sown in pans or boxes where they can be slightly protected during winter, and are planted out early in April, they have a chance of producing a good crop of flowers for drying. The colours vary from deep crimson to yellow and white. The hardy perennials are not important, and seldom succeed. H. orientale, which furnishes the Immortelle of the French, flowers poorly except in very hot seasons. None of the other hardy kinds are worth growing, except perhaps H. arenarium, which has bright golden- yellow flowers. HELIOPHILA. Small and pretty Cruciferous annuals. H. araboides is a pretty blue annual, of which occasional use might be made, being dwarf, and free in growth and flower. Another kind is H. pilosa. HELIOTKOPIUM (Cherry />*>). A great favourite for flower gardens on ac- count of its delicate fragrance. For the flower garden spring-struck plants are the best. It is a good plan to lift a few plants from the beds in September, winter them in a warm greenhouse, and in spring to put them in a warm place, where they will soon produce plenty of. cuttings. These cuttings may be struck on slight heat like Verbenas, potted on, made to grow rapidly, so as to be fit to plant out at the end of May when danger of frost is past. Heliotropes may be raised from | seed and flowered the same year in fact, j treated as annuals. Sown early in Feb- ruary or the beginning of March they become sturdy little plants before planting j time. When bedded out they should be placed in good dry soil. The following | are good varieties, and new varieties are raised from time to time : Anna Turrell, General Garfield, Roi des Noirs, Triomphe de Liege, and the old H. peruvianum, which many like from its associations if for no other reason. Heliotropes, though quiet in colour, are charming flower- garden plants, either when grown for their own sakes as simple masses or when associated with tall plants which grow above them. HELLEBORUS (Christmas Rose}. One of the most valuable classes of hardy ] perennials we have, as they flower in the open air when there is little else in bloom. They appear in succession from October till April, beginning with the Christmas Rose (H. niger), and ending with the handsome crimson kinds. The old white Christmas Rose is well known and much admired, but the handsome kinds with coloured flowers have, hitherto, not been much known. Recently too there have appeared some really beautiful hybrids, which add a great deal of beauty to our winter and spring garden, for their flowers withstand the \vinter, and their verdure and the vigorous growth of their leaves distinguish them throughout the year. The Hellebores, besides being excellent border flowers, are suited for naturalising. There are a few kinds those with incon- spicuous flowers, but handsome foliage whose only place is the wild garden, such as the native H. fcetidus, H. lividus, viridus, and H. Bocconi, which have elegant foliage when well developed in a shady place in rich soil, like that usually found in woods. The Hellebores may be classed in three groups, according to the colour of the flowers those with white flowers, those with red, and those with green, which last will get little place in the garden. The white-flowered group is the most important, as it contains the beautiful old Christmas Rose. H. niger is a well-known kind, scarcely needing description. It may be recognised at once by its pale green smooth leathery leaves, divided into seven or nine seg- ments, 3 to 6 in. long and I to 2 in. broad. The flowers, which are usually borne singly on stems 6 in. long, are about 3 in. across, and vary from a waxy-white to a delicate blush tint. The variety minor is smaller in every part, and is also known as H. angustifolius. H. altifolius, though sometimes considered a variety of H. niger, is a distinct kind, and much larger than H. niger. It has leaf-stalks over I ft. long, and blossoms 3 to 5 in. across which are borne on branching steins, each stem bearing from two to seven flowers, which have a stronger tendency to assume a rosy hue than the ordinary kind. Another characteristic is that the leaf and flower stems are beautifully mottled with purple and green, while in H. niger they are of a pale green. H. altifolius also flowers much earlier in some seasons in the beginning of October. It has been known a long time under the names of H. niger var. major, maximus, giganteus, and grandiflorus. Other white kinds are H. olympicus a tall slender species with cup-shaped bios- HELLEBORUS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. HELLEBORUS. soms that appear in early spring and vary from pure white to greenish-Avhite. H. guttatus is like it, but has the inside of the blossoms spotted with purple. There are several forms ; in some the markings assume the form of small dots, in others of thin streaks. It is one of the parents of the many beautiful hybrids. The finest of the red or crimson kinds is H. colchicus, which is larger than any produced from the end of January to the end of March. A fine hybrid has been obtained by crossing it with H. guttatus, the result being a form with large spread- ing flowers lighter than in H. colchicus, and profusely marked with dark carmine streaks. Another hybrid between this and H. altifolius resulted in a form with larger flowers of a lighter purple. H. atro-rubens has leaves much thinner and Christinas Rose. other, and may be readily recognised by thick dark green leaves, with five to seven broad and coarsely-toothed divisions, the veins of which are raised on the under sides, and are of a dark purple when young. The blossoms, borne on forked stems rising considerably above the foliage, are dark purple. Under good cultivation the leaves attain the length of i^ and 2 ft., forming fine specimens, and flowers are flowers much smaller than H. colchicus, the latter dull purple on the outside and greenish-purple within. It is a native of Hungary, and is common in gardens, but is often confused with H. abchasicus, a taller and more slender plant, the flower- stems of which are longer, and the blos- soms nodding and smaller. H. abchasicus is much superior to atro-rubens, the colour of the blossoms a deep ruby-crimson 588 HELLEBORUS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. HEMEROCALLIS. making them very attractive. Other fine varieties of the red-flowered group are Gretchen Heinemann, James Atkins, and Apotheker Bogren, all worthy of culture. Other reddish kinds, such as H. purpurascens and H. cupreus, are not worth growing. All the kinds will thrive in ordinary garden soil, but for the choicer kinds a prepared soil is preferable. This should consist of equal parts of good fibry loam and well-decomposed manure, half fibry peat and half coarse sand. Thorough drainage should always be given, as stag- nant moisture is very injurious. A moist and sheltered situation, where they will obtain partial shade, such as the margins of shrubberies, is best, but care should be taken to keep the roots of shrubs from exhausting the border. In the flowering season a thin mulching of moss or similar material should be placed on the soil round the plants, as this prevents the blossoms from being spattered by heavy rains, etc. Any one beginning to grow these useful plants should give the soil a good preparation. If well trenched and manured, they will not re- quire replanting for at least seven years ; but a top-dressing of well-decayed manure and a little liquid manure might be given during the growing season when the plants are making their foliage, as upon the size and substance of the leaves will depend the size of the flowers. The common white Christmas Rose is a fav- ourite pot-plant, and if required for pot- ting its foliage should be protected from injury ; when the blooming season is over it should be protected by a frame until genial weather permits it to be plunged in the open air. Hardy subjects like the Christmas Rose frequently suffer when removed from under glass, for although hardy enough to withstand our severest winters when continuously exposed, their growth, when made under more exciting circumstances, will not withstand sudden variations of temperature. For this reason it is advisable to keep them in as cool a position as possible when in flower, so that the growth of young foliage may not be excited before its natural season. Propagation may be effected by division or by seeds, which, in favourable seasons, are plentiful ; as soon as thoroughly ripened they should be sown in pans under glass, for they soon lose their vitality. As soon as the seedlings are large enough they should be pricked off thickly into a shady border, in a light rich soil ; the second year they should be transplanted to their permanent place, and in the third season most of them will bloom. In division the clumps must be well-established, with root-stocks large enough to cut up. The divided plants, if placed in a bed of good light soil, and undisturbed, will be good flowering plants in a couple of years, but four years are required to bring a Christmas Rose to perfection. By July the Hellebore is in its strongest vigour, and lifting and divid- ing the plants should then be carried out. HELONIAS (Stud Flower). A dis- tinct and handsome bog perennial, H. bul- lata being 12 to 16 in. high, with hand- some purplish-rose flowers in an oval spike. It is suitable for the bog-garden or for moist ground near a rivulet. In fine sandy and very moist soil it thrives as a border plant. N. America. Syn., H. latifolia. HEMEROCALLIS (Day Lily}. The Day Lilies, though not numbering many distinct species, are varied both in habit and flower, and are very useful in the mixed border and in groups by the water-side. Few plants surpass a strong well-flowered clump of Hemerocallis fulva, as we have seen it mixed with a group of male Fern near a brook. The leaves of this Day Lily were overhanging the banks of the stream, intermingled with the Fern fronds, while the flower-heads, tall and straight, were towering upwards. If the ground is well broken up and some lasting manure supplied at planting time, they may be left undisturbed for years. The forms of H. disticha, both single and double, are also useful for clumps by water, or inter- mixed with other robust or bold-foliaged plants ; indeed, there seems no reason why all the Day Lilies could not be treated in this picturesque way, the trouble entailed being small, and that chiefly at planting time only. For cut- ting, H. flava, minor, and Dumortieri are useful, the flowers lasting a few days and the buds opening well in water. The fragrance of these flowers is delightful, they are readily increased by division, and grow with such rapidity that in the course of a few years they may be in- creased to almost any extent. The following are the species as they are now recognised, with the principal varieties : H. DUMORTIERI (Dumortier's Day Lily). This valuable kind is the first to flower of all the Day Lilies. Coming as it does from Japan and W. Siberia, it proves hardy in the open air. It does not require protection during winter, and we have never known it fail to bear freely its charming and fragrant flowers. The HEMEROCALLIS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. HEMEROCALLIS. 589 blooms are short-lived, but the reserves ; are so numerous as to keep up the suc- cession for a long time. This Day Lily ! dwindles in vigour of the plants and size | of the flowers if allowed to remain too I long in one place. If the plants are I examined, the centres will be found to i be matted together, the stronger shoots | appearing on the outside. If the whole i plant is divided and replanted it will I amply repay the trouble by increased j vigour and flowers. It is closely allied to H. minor, also known as H. graminea, but it is a much stronger plant, however, with leaves twice as broad, the flower- stems short, and the divisions of the perianth divided almost or entirely to their base. The leaves are about five or six to a growth, about 18 in. long and half an inch broad, bright green above and pale but not glaucous on the under surface ; flower-stem i to 2 ft. in height, ' bearing a corymb of large orange-yellow ' flowers. H. rutilans and Sieboldi of j gardens belong to the same species. H. FLAVA (the yellow Day Lily). Few plants can be grown with so little trouble in the border, and give such a valuable return as this one. The flowers large | and in such quantities, emitting such an agreeable fragrance, as to earn the name of yellow Tuberose. The length of time the flowers last enhances its value as a j border plant. It is hardy, and though not so robust in habit as H. fulva, it j increases rapidly, and where the soil is \ good might be naturalised. On banks the beautiful light green curving leaves hang gracefully, surmounted by bunches of large yellow heads of flower in June and July. Europe and N. Asia. H. ' Thunbergi and japonica are forms of this species. H. FULVA (copper-coloured Day Lily) | is a much larger plant than H. flava, and i more suitable for extensive planting in j semi-wild or rough parts of the garden. It is variable under cultivation, and the | numerous forms now grown, many with- out names, are all worthy of attention. H. disticha is a well-known garden variety of this species, notable for the fan-like form of its growths. The flower-stem is forked near the summit, and carries two or three heads of flowers, six to eight blooms on each, of a brown-orange colour. There is also a double-flowered variety of this. H. Kwanso is a variety with varie- gated or striated leaves. It is a handsome plant for edgings or for the rock-garden. Of this there is also a double-flowered form. H. f. var. angustifolia, narrow- leaved; longituba, crocea, natives of China, flowering in July and August, belong to this section. H. MIDDENDORFIANA is from Amur- land, in appearance resembling H. Dumortieri ; the leaves are, however, broader, the flowers about the same size, closer, and paler in colour, and with a distinct cylindrical tube half an inch or so long. It is of easy cultivation. H. MINOR, also known in many gardens under the highly characteristic name of H. graminea, from its Grass-like foliage, was formerly classed by the older botanists Yellow Day Lily (Hemerocallis flava). as a variety of H. flava, though now con- sidered distinct. It is the smallest, though not the least showy, and, like flava, sweetly scented, the flowers lasting two or three days. It makes a handsome plant for a rocky bank, and even when flowers are absent the pretty Grass-like leaves are welcome. It flowers during June and July. It is also known under the names graminifolia and pumila. Siberia. H. AURANTIACA MAJOR. This is the name given by Mr. Baker of Kew to a new and handsome kind from Japan, and 590 HERACLEUM. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN, HESPERIS. of which a coloured plate was given in The Garden, November 23, 1895. It is certainly one of the finest new hardy plants of recent years, and reminds one of H. fulva (syn., H. disticha). The new kind has bold leafage, a glaucous tinge overlying the deep green body colour ; the flowers are rich apricot in colour, open out widely, and of great substance. HERACLEUM (Giant Parsnip}. - Umbelliferous perennials, mostly of gi- gantic growth, having huge spreading leaves and tall flower-stems, with um- belled clusters of small white flowers i ft. or more across. Though well-developed plants of the large kinds have a fine effect when isolated in a position not too obstructive, they are generally suitable only for the rougher parts of pleasure- grounds, the banks of rivers or lakes, and i to 3 ft. high, and has pinkish flowers, but the double kinds are much more valued. There are two distinct forms of the double white Rocket, as well as of the double purple Rocket in cultivation. One is a tall white, turning to a pale flesh colour with age ; the other is the old white variety, of dwarfer growth, with smaller and more compact flowers. It is met with in the north, but is little known in the south, where it does not flourish so well as the common variety. There is the old purple double Rocket and a free- growing dwarf form known as Compact- ness, which has also larger and darker flowers. Rockets require care in cultivat- ing, and will soon be lost if left to them- selves. They should be divided at least every second year and transplanted, for they seem to tire of the soil and to require more change than most perennials. If Double White Rocket. other places where they can grow freely j and well, and can show their stately growth to advantage. The finest are H. | giganteum, lanatum, sibiricum, eminens, Wilhelmsi, and pubescens, all of which, when in flower, are 5 to 10 ft. high. All are increased by seed. HERNIARIA. Dwarf perennial trailers, forming a dense turfy mass, green throughout the year. There are two or three species, but the most important is H. glabra, which has been largely used as a carpeting plant on account of its dwarf growth. Always a deep green, even in a hot and dry season. HESPERIS (Rocket). H. matronalis is . a popular old garden plant, and among the I most desirable of hardy flowers. It bears i showy varied, and fragrant flower-spikes. The original single-flowered kind grows the young shoots are formed into cuttings when they are about 3 in. long, they strike very freely in the open ground, and the spikes of bloom on the remaining stems are all the finer when some of the others have been removed. When shaded from the sun for about three weeks with a few Laurel branches, the cuttings do better than when covered with a pot or box, as has been advised. They like a rich soil, rather moist, and are all the better for repeated applications of liquid manure if the soil is not as deep and good as it should be. Double Rockets really belong to the garden plants requiring annual attention, and they therefore cannot well be used as true perennials. It is always worth while having a bed of them in the reserve garden in case the plants should be lost or neglected in the borders. We HEUCHERA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. HIBISCUS. 591 have seen them best grown where there was a yearly transfer of plants from the reserve garden to the mixed border, and the groups look very well. The single Rocket is easily naturalised, and is a showy plant in woods or shrub- beries. H. tristis (Night-scented Stock}. A quaint plant with dull-coloured flowers, sweet-scented at night. It is rather tender, and requires a light warm soil and a sheltered position. HEUCHERA (Alum Roof}. Dwarf, tufted, perennial herbs, with distinct and sometimes finely-coloured leaves and modest but inconspicuous flowers. Of little value for their flowers, one or two kinds give pretty effects of foliage either as edgings to or beneath groups of shrubs ; the best are also worth growing for their leaves for cutting for the house in winter, lasting as they do fresh for weeks in winter, the foliage being good in form as well as colour. Among the best are H. hispida (Richardsoni], americana, pubescens, and sanguined, the last the only one with any showy bloom. They are North American plants, of the easiest cultivation in ordinary soil. Division. Saxifrage order. HIBISCUS (Rose Mallow}. Shrubby and herbaceous perennials and annuals. They are numerous in hothouses, but few are suited for the flower-garden. The splendid hardy Rose Mallows of the woods and swamps of N. America will live with us, but our climate is not warm enough for them, though it would be well to try tufts of them in warm sunny places in the southern parts of England, in deep, moist soil. They have splendid crimson or rosy flowers, as large as saucers, and are from 4 to 7 ft. high. The finest are H. Mos- cheutos, H. palustris, H. grandiflorus, and H. coccineus. They seldom bloom in the open air in England, as they flower late in the season. There are two or three annual kinds, the finest being H. Manihot, which forms handsome pyramids 4 to 6 ft. high, the flowers being 3 or 4 in. across, and pale yellow with a dark centre. H. Manihot should be treated as a half-hardy annual, sown in heat in February, and in May planted out in good deep soil. H. africanus is a hardy annual with showy pale yellow flowers that only open in fine weather. In light soil it usually sows itself. H. Trionum appears to be extremely variable, and has long been cultivated in gardens. It is widely scattered over all the warm regions of the Old World, and is usually described as a common sub-tropical weed, found plentifully in cultivated fields in Afghanistan. It is found in several places in China, and is a very common weed in waste garden ground and rich damp soil throughout the Cape Colony, and has given rise to almost innumerable varieties, a few of which are so distinct as to have at one time been considered species. The great objection to the type is the short-lived flowers, which Gerard says open at eight in the morning and close at nine, and which supposed fact gave rise to the curious appellations, " Flower of an hour," " Good night at noon," or " Good night at nine." In a fine form, figured in The Garden, this objection is quite done away with, the flowers opening in the morning, and, on bright days, remaining so until late in the afternoon. Individual flowers do not last very long, but there is a succession on a well-grown plant, and these are large and beautiful. It is quite as hardy as the Venice Mallow (Hibiscus Trionum). one usually grown, seeds as freely, and much more striking, especially in bold clumps. Simply scatter the seeds in the open on the spots where they are intended to grow, thinning, where too close together, to 6 in. or i ft. apart, and leaving the sun, etc., to do the rest. It will even sow it- self, the seeds coming up in plenty the following spring if the winter has not been too severe, but sowings should be made at different times to ensure bloom all through the summer and autumn. H. Syriacus (Syrian Mallow, Rose of Sharon}. A beautiful shrub, bearing showy blossoms in late summer and in autumn. It is a very old favourite, and in good moist 'soils it rises 8 and even 10 ft. high. The wild form has bluish- purple flowers with crimson centres, but now there are forms representing every 592 HIERACIUM. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. HOTTONIA. tint from white (to/its albus] to crimson and purple, while the blooms of one sort (Celeste] are almost blue. There are also double flowers of varied colours. The best kinds, single and double, are Totus albus, Celeste, Violet Clair, Leopoldi, bicolor, roseus plenus, Pompon Rouge, carneoplenus, Du^ de Brabant, albus plenus, puniceus plenus, and anemonce- florus. In the South German gardens this shrub assumes a larger growth, and bears much larger flowers than in England. The usual form has flowers not so attrac- tive in colour as some of the newer forms raised from seed main- ly in France, and there are some double kinds poor in colour and ef- fect. The pure white kind (totus albus] and a few others lead to the hope that it is a plant capable of real improve- Hibiscus syriacus. ment through raising seedling forms, and perpetuating the best of them. Our experience of this shrub in our own islands is that it is best on free and warm soils ; not too dry. Where it thrives it is well worth more attention than is usually the fate of flowering trees in the British shrubbery ; all the more so now that we are getting varieties of good colour like the pure white one named above, and Celeste. HIERACIUM (Hawkweed\ Peren- nial herbs with yellow flowers, very numer- ous, and often beautiful in nature, but not much grown in gardens. Among the best are aurantiacum with orange flowers, a good plant, but apt to spread too much in the garden ; and villosum, the Shaggy Hawkweed, a handsome plant with silvery leaves and large yellow flowers. Free in ordinary soil. Borders. Division. Daisy order. HIPPOPHJE (Sea Buckthorn). H. rhamnoides is a beautiful seashore native the rich ly soil but hungry clay and peat. The best position for it is a rather damp spot near a running stream, where the subsoil is always moist. It forms, when wild, a straggling bush, which, when the shrub is sheltered, rises 8 or 10 ft. high. In gardens it grows taller. The Sea Buck- thorn has silvery-looking Willow-like leaves and bears a profusion of orange berries. rnajnnoiaes is a oeauinui seasnore native shrub, developing its full beauty in the ricl soils of inland gardens, though it is happj in any soil but hungry clav and peat. Th< HOLBCELLIA. //. lati folia is a beau- j tiful evergreen climbing shrub from the Himalayas, hardy against walls in the southern and the warm districts. The foliage is thick with three or five leaflets of a deep shining green. The flowers are a deliciously fragrant dull purplish green, but it does not bloom so freely out of doors as in a cool conservatory. As it is of tall growth, it must be planted against a high wall, such as that of a house or stable. It is known also as Stauntonia latifolia. The variety angustifolia has smaller and more numerous leaflets. HORDEUM. Grasses, of which the Barley is the most familiar type, few of ornamental value except H. jubatum (Squirrel-tail Grass), which has long feathery spikes. It grows in any soil in open places, is easily raised as an annual, and is one of the most distinct dwarfer Grasses. Sow in autumn or spring. HOTEIA. H.japonica is a fine tufted herbaceous plant i ft. to 16 in. high, with Hippophae rhamnoides. ! silvery-white flowers early in summer in a panicled cluster. In a rich soil it is excellent for a shady border. Strong clumps planted in autumn will flower in the following spring. Where there are forced plants to spare they may be planted out when they have done blooming, but | will not make much show in the following season. Much used indoors, is seldom good in the open garden, partly because it does badly in heavy and poor soils. Where it thrives and flowers well it would be a graceful aid in the varied flower- garden. Increased by division in autumn. Japan. Syns., Spiraea japonica, Astilbe barbata. HOTTONIA( Water Violet]. H.palus- tris is a pretty British water-plant, which, HOUSTONIA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. HYACINTHUS. 593 however, .thrives better on soft mud-banks than when submerged. The deep-cut leaves form a dwarf deep-green tuft over the mud, and from this tuft arise stems bearing at intervals whorls of handsome pale lilac or pink flowers. As water and bog may be associated with the rock- garden, this plant may with advantage be grown at its margin in the water or on a bank of wet soil. It grows from 9 in. to 2 ft. high, flowers in early summer, and is abundant in many parts of England. HOUSTONIA (Bluets). A very pretty little American plant, H. ccerulea forming small, dense cushion-like tufts, and from late spring to autumn bearing crowds of specimen to centre of a Houstonia coerulea. tiny slender stems, about 3 in. high. The flowers are pale blue, changing to white. There is also a white variety. It succeeds best in peaty or sandy soil, in sheltered shady nooks on well-drained parts of the rock-garden. As it sometimes perishes in winter, it is advisable to keep reserve plants in pots. Propagated by careful division in spring, or by seed. H. serpyl- lifolia and H. purpurea are allied species and alike in stature and wants. HUME A. A very graceful half-hardy biennial, 3 to 8 ft. high, H. elegans having large leaves with a strong balsamic odour, and forming, when in flower, an elegant feathery pyramid of reddish-brown blos- soms. It is highly ornamental as a back line to a long border, as a single let into the lawn, as the bed or vase, or in masses with other elegant foliage plants. Ex- cellent effects may be obtained by com- bining it in masses or groups with other good plants. For cutting, its light feathery sprays are useful. The proper time to sow seed is July or August, as plants do not bloom the first year, and, if raised before those months, get too large to winter conveniently, often becoming leafless below, and the nakedness of stem detracts from their beauty. To .prevent this, they should be well fed during winter with weak liquid manure, and be shifted into larger pots early in spring. Rich soil should be used, as they can only be kept healthy by good feeding. When planting them out in beds, which may be done by the first week in June, put under each a spadeful of rotten manure and mix it up with the soil. As the plants, when large, hold a good deal of wind, they must be securely staked to prevent their being damaged. Composite. Australia. HUMULUS (Common Hop}. H. Liipitlus, a well-known vigorous twining perennial is admirable for bowers, especi- ally when vegetation that disappears in winter is desired ; and will soon run wild in almost any soil, among shrubs or hedge- rows. A slender plant climbing up an Apple or other fruit tree, near the mixed border, looks well. Division. HUNNEMANNIA. H.fumat icefoUa is an erect perennial, 2 to 3 ft. high, with glaucous foliage, like some of the Fumi- tories. Its flowers are large and showy, of a rich orange, and in form are like Esch- sc.holtzia californica. They continue long in perfection. Being a native of Mexico, it is rather tender, and not satisfactory for open-air culture. Poppy family. HUTCHINSIA. A neat little alpine plant, H. alpina having shining leaves and white flowers, in clusters about i in. high, quite free in sandy soil, and easily increased by division or seeds. In an open spot, either in the rock-garden or in good free border soil, it becomes a mass of white flowers. Its proper home is the rock-garden, though in borders of dwarf and choice hardy plants it may be grown with success. Central and S. Europe. Cruciferae. HYACINTHUS (Hyacinth"). The familiar garden Hyacinth is not generally included among hardy plants, though it is perfectly hardy, and, when treated as it should be, is most important. The parent of all the varieties is H. orientalis ; this is as hardy as a Daffodil, and its varieties are Q Q 594 HYACINTHUS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. HYACINTHUS. scarcely less hardy. Hyacinths in the open air are generally the refuse, as it were, of the forced bulbs of preceding years, but even these create a good display in suit- able positions. To have a fine bloom of Hyacinths in the open air, however, it is essential that the bulbs should be good and sound, and due regard paid to assort- ment of colour, as tints massed by them- selves are far more effective than a con- fusion of various colours. Now that bulbs may be obtained cheap there is no diffi- culty. The hyacinth will grow well in any good garden soil, but a light rich soil suits it best, and the bed should be effectually drained, for though the plant loves moisture, it cannot stand in a boL r flowering, if there is fully 6 in. of earth over the crowns. No protection is better than dry litter, but a thin coat of half- rotten manure spread over the bed is safer if severe frosts are likely to come at any time before the growth has fairly pushed through. The bulbs need no further attention until the flower-stems are much advanced, unless very severe weather intervenes, when a mat or some oiled calico should be thrown over them. Waterproof calico is also useful in very wet weather, as too much water, especially when iced by February frosts and March winds, is by no means good for Hyacinths, which will thrive all the better for a water- proof covering. Hyacinths in the open Hyacinths. during the winter. It is advisable to plant early and deep. If a rich effect is I required, the bulbs should be 6 in. apart, but a good effect may be produced by planting them 9 in. or even more apart. The time of blooming may to some extent be influenced by the time and manner of planting, but no rules can be given to suit particular cases. Late planting and deep planting both tend to defer the bloom, but make no great difference, and as a rule late bloom is to be preferred, being less liable to injury from frost. The shallowest planting should ensure a depth of 3 in. of earth above the crown of the bulb, but, generally speaking, they will flower better, be a few days later, and form stronger bulbs after air seldom require artificial watering, the natural moisture of the soil and the strength of the manure mixed with it being sufficient. When grown in beds | they do not require sticks or ties ; simply proper planting. After blooming, the bulbs, if intended to flower again, must be | left undisturbed until the leaves wither or I die. The bulbs should then be taken up, i dried in a stack for a week or two, and finally placed in the sun for a few hours, the dry leaves being pulled off. Offsets ; should also be removed from the bulbs, and stored' in dry sand or earth till the next planting time. Some take up the bulbs every year, but we have seen hand- j some beds that were not disturbed for several years. Offsets, carefully cultivated HYACINTHUS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. HYDRANGEA. 595 in rich light soil for two or three years, will produce many flowering bulbs, but, as a rule, imported ones are stronger. However carefully cultivated in England, they seldom flower again so well as in the first season, but it is a mistake to throw them away, as many people do. Selections for bedding in distinct colours of red, yellow, white, blue, or mixed are to be bought cheap. H. azureus. One of the earliest as well as the most charming of our early spring flowers. Indeed, one of its chief charms lies in the fact of its producing its numerous dense heads of pretty azure blooms long before we have ceased to expect falls of snow. Many a time have I gone in quest of flowers when the ground was white with its winter covering and have only been able to obtain flowers of this and some Snowdrops and Crocuses. In the case of a dwarf bulb of this kind flowering so early a handlight or bell-glass is simply placed over the clump on the approach of a storm, taking the cover off when all danger is past. The flowers stand any amount of frost without injury, and it is only the chance of their being broken with snow that renders a covering neces- sary. H. azureus is one of those half-way types that one finds so often in the Lily order. It has the habit, appearance, and many of the characters of a Muscari, with the campanulate flowers of a Hyacinth. It was first brought to the Vienna Botanic Garden by Kotschy in 1856, and it was some years after before it was in cultiva- tion in England. The bulb is whitish, round, an inch or so in diameter, produc- ing in great abundance stolons or bulbils I from the base ; the leaves, in number from six to eight to a bulb, are broad, strap- shaped, glaucous, and deeply channelled ; the flower-heads dense, conical, upper flowers sky-blue, campanulate, the lower deep azure blue, and larger than those of the ordinary Grape Hyacinth. It is an excellent plant for the rock-garden, and even in situations where it gets densely shaded by overhanging plants. H. amethystinus, though nearly related to H. azureus, is quite different, and flowers a month later and at a time when there is a dearth of flowers of this description in the hardy bulb-garden. It is one of the very old plants, and although cultivated by M-iller as early as 1759, it was until recently a scarce plant. The great mistake with a bulb like this is to have two or three or even a dozen in a clump. Instead of the dozen it should be grown by the hundred, and no prettier sight can well' be imagined than a large sheet of this graceful Hyacinth, with its loose racemes of vivid amethyst flowers. Its pleasing flowers are produced in May and June, when there is little chance of their being disfigured by frosts. Spain and Italy. D. K. H. candicans. See GALTONIA. HYDRANGEA. Handsome flowering shrubs, some well known in gardens, others neglected. In warm districts and on good warm soils it would be well worth while to grow many of the rarer and finer forms of the common Hydrangea, which always flowers best in seashore districts where its shoots are not cut down by frost or by the knife every winter. H. Hortensia. The common Hydran- gea (H. Hortensia), from China, may be grown well out-of-doors, but is not always satisfactory in the midlands and the north, being liable to injury in winter. It likes a sheltered yet sunny spot and Hyacinthus amethystinus. good soil. In order to get good heads of bloom, the Hydrangea must be pruned so as to induce the growth of strong shoots. In favoured spots it reaches a height of 6 ft., and as much through, making a beautiful object on a lawn or in the shrubbery margin. From time to time, and especially in recent years, other forms have been introduced and described, some of them as distinct species. Dr. Maxi- mowicz, who has had opportunities of studying them in European and Japan- ese gardens, and also in a wild state, arranges the following forms under H. Hortensia : (a] H. Hortensia acuminata. A much-branched shrub, 2 to 5 ft. high ; flowers blue. It sports according to locality, and Maximowicz enumerates four such sports, viz.: In open places and in a rich soil it is stouter,. with erect thick Q Q 2 59 6 HYDRANGEA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. HYDRANGEA. branches, large, broad, firm leaves, and larger flowers with somewhat fleshy sepals ; under cultivation it becomes more showy, passing into H. Belzonii. In woods and on the shady banks of rivers it grows taller with slender stems, pointed leaves, and much smaller flowers. In a very fertile soil, a stout plant with toothed sepals in the barren flowers, which are commonly of a blue colour. This is the true H. Buergeri of Siebold and Zuccarini's Flora Japonica, and the H. japonica ccerulescens of Regel. Sometimes it produces white or rose-coloured flowers, and then it is the H. roseo-alba, as figured in the Flore des Serres. These varia- tions are all beautiful, but perhaps not constant. () H. Hortensia japonica. This is the H. japonica of Siebold and Zuccarini's Flora Japonica, and the H. japonica Hydrangea quercifolia. macrosepala of Regel's Gartenflora. It is exactly like acuminata, save that the flowers are tinged with red, and the sepals of the barren flowers are elegantly toothed. (c) H. Hortensia Belzonii. A short stout plant, with beautiful flowers, the inner sterile ones being of an indigo- blue, and the enlarged sterile ones white, or only slightly tinged with blue, and having entire sepals. There is a sport of this in which the leaves are elegantly variegated with white. This was raised by Messrs. Rovelli, of Pallanza. (d) H. Hortensia Otaksa. -- This has all the flowers sterile and enlarged. A very handsome variety with rich dark green leaves nearly as broad as long, and large hemispherical heads of pale pink or flesh-coloured flowers, very fine when well grown. (e) H. Hortensia communis. This is the old variety with rose-pink flowers, commonly cultivated in European gardens. It differs from the last in being perfectly glabrous in its longer, less-rounded leaves, and in its deeper-coloured flowers. (/) H. Hortensia Azisia. This is not in cultivation, but it differs remark- ably from all of the preceding varieties in the sterile flowers, which have a very long, slender calyx tube. (g) H. Hortensia stellata. The chief character of this variety is in the flowers, which are all' sterile and double. The variety in cultivation has pink flowers, but they are described as being either pale blue or rose, finally changing to a greenish colour, and distinctly net- veined. The white variety Thomas Hogg is a very fine one, now widely cultivated. Most of the above-named deserve the attention of all who have soil and climate suited to these shrubs. H. paniculata (Plumed Hydrangea}. A shrub or small tree. According to Maximowicz, the only Japanese Hydrangea which becomes a tree. It grows as much as 25 ft. high, with a The Plumed Hydrangea. dense rounded head and a straight trunk 6 in. in diameter. But it more commonly forms a shrub a few feet high, bearing enormous panicles of flower. With the exception of H. Hortensia, it HYDRANGEA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. HYPERICUM. 597 is the commonest species in Japan, growing throughout that country both in the mountains and the plains, being more abundant in the northern parts, and it is said to vary very much. It is commonly cultivated by the Japanese. The massive clusters of pure white blossoms, terminat- ing every shoot in autumn, are very beautiful, and there are few finer autumn effects than a well-flowered mass of this shrub. It must have a good soil, and be well mulched with manure in winter. To encourage the new growth the old and useless shoots must be cut away. It is from 3 to 4 ft. high, and spreads its branches gracefully and widely on all sides. The clusters are often i ft. long and half as much in diameter, but to get such flowers we must cultivate well and prune the shrubs hard down in winter. H. hirta (Nettle-leaved #!) A dwarf shrub, 3 or 4 ft. high, with slender hairy branches and Nettle-like leaves. The leaves and branches become nearly or quite glabrous with age. This, although not a showy species, seems to be a pretty, compact dwarf shrub, with numerous clusters of white flowers. A. native of the mountains of Japan. H. virens (Changing H.} This is a remarkable and elegant shrub, varying in height from 2 to 6 ft. The branches, straight, slender, and polished, bearing small, thin, deeply-toothed leaves, 2 to 3 in. long, yellowish-green above, and pale beneath, with small clusters of flowers, some of which are sterile. Altogether this is a pretty little shrub, and it is somewhat surprising that it has not been introduced, as it is common in the neighbourhood of Nagasaki in Japan. H. chinensis (Fortune's H.} Near the last, but of more robust habit, with leaves 3 to 5 in. long, and with cymes of flowers much larger. It differs from H. virens in the leaves being green on both sides, and in the enlarged sepals being nearly equal in size, much thicker, in fact almost fleshy in substance, and remaining on the branches until the fruit of the fertile flowers is ripe. This species was collected by Mr. Fortune in N. China. H. Thunbergi. A small shrub with slender branches, small leaves, and small cymes of flowers. A few only of the outer- most ones are sterile, and these are not more than \ in. in diameter. Accord- ing to the Gardeners' Chronicle, Messrs. Cripps, of Tunbridge Wells, flowered this species in June 1870. They describe it as hardy, though not so showy as some of the varieties of H. paniculata and H. Hortensia. The sterile flowers are of a delicate Peach-blossom colour. It is a native of the mountains of Sikok and Nippon, Japan. H. quercifolia (Oak-leaved H.} This is a fine distinct kind, and though not showy like the popular kinds, it is an excellent shrub, and one I have noticed growing with fine vigour in sea-shore gardens. The leaves have a good deep colour in the autumn, and the flowers are beautiful, while old plants have a pictur- esque habit. The whole family is in want of look- ing up by some enthusiastic admirers who have good soil and other favourable conditions. Although there is a large range of land in Great Britain in which Hydrangeas seem happy, there are other inland and cold districts in which they make poor growth, or are cut down so frequently that experiments come to little. I made a trial myself on a cool hill-side in Sussex without getting any bloom or a healthy growth ; but on the other hand we see, especially in the South of England and Ireland, beautiful results in warm valleys and on sandy and alluvial soils even from the use of one kind, so that I have often thought that any one who should take up the Hydrangeas in earnest, and grow them and group them well, might have some very interesting results. HYDROCHARIS (Frog-bit\ H. Morsus-rance is a pretty native water- plant, having floating leaves and attractive white flowers, and well worth introducing in artificial water. It may often be gathered from ponds or streams in spring, when it floats after being submerged in winter. HYPEEICUM (St. John's Wort}. - Often handsome plants, for the most part shrubs and under-shrubs, but including a few herbaceous perennials and annuals. The Rose of Sharon (H. calycinum) is probably the most familiar, but there are other shrubby species of some beauty. Some of the perennials are good border and rock-garden plants, and the best of these is H. olympicum, one of the largest flowered kinds, though not more than i ft. high. It is known by its very glaucous foliage and erect single stems, with bright yellow flowers about 2 in. across. It forms handsome specimens that flower early, and its value as a choice border plant can scarcely be over- rated. It may be propagated easily by cuttings, which should be put in when the shoots are fully ripened, so that the young plants 598 HYPOLEPIS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. Hypericum uralum. may become well established before winter. H. elodes is a pretty native plant suitable for the banks of pools and lakes. H. nummularium and humifusum, both dwarf trailers, are also desirable for the rock-garden. Owing to their dwarf compact growth, several of the shrubby species are well suited for the rock-garden. Of these, the best are H. aegyptiacum, balearicum, empetrifolium, Coris, patulum, uralum, and oblongifolium. The last three are larger than the others, but as they droop they have a good effect among the boulders of a large rock - gar- den, or on banks. H. Hookerianum, triflorum, aureum, orientale are a- mong the kinds having some beauty, but the species from war- mer countries than ours are apt to disappear after hard winters. H. Moserianum is a handsome hybrid kind raised in France and well worth a place. HYPOLEPIS (New Zealand Bracken}. H. millefolium is a very elegant New Zealand Fern, with a stout and wide- spreading rhizome, from which arise erect light green fronds, I to ii ft. high, very finely cut. There can be no doubt about its hardiness, as it has- flourished for two or three years in a Surrey garden, and was also quite hardy and vigorous in Mr. F. Lubbock's garden in Kent. It requires a sheltered nook and peaty soil. IBEEIS (Candytuft}. -Valuable hardy perennials and annuals, the perennials somewhat shrubby and evergreen, and precious as rock-garden, border, and margining plants : I. corifolia. A dwarf kind 3 or 4 in. high, and covered with small white blooms early in May. Few alpine plants are more worthy of general culture either in the rock-garden or the mixed border for the front of which it is well suited. It is probably a small variety of I. sem- pervirens, but is distinct and true to its character. Easily propagated by seeds or cuttings, and thriving in any soil. Sicily. I. correaefolia is known by its large leaves, its compact heads of large white flowers, by flowering later than other common white kinds, and both the flowers and the corymb are larger and denser than in the other species. It is an in- valuable hardy plant, and useful in coming into beauty about the end of May when the other kinds are fading. It is excellent for the rock-garden, the mixed border, and the spring-garden, and is well suited for the margins of choice shrubberies, and may be used as an edging to beds. Said to be a hybrid. Increased by cut- tings, not coming true from seed. I. gibraltarica, a beautiful plant, larger in all its parts than the other kinds, with flowers of delicate lilac in low close heads, in spring and early summer. It is a pretty species, but does not rival the best white Iberis gibraltarica. border kinds. Its hardiness is doubtful, and it should, therefore, be planted on sunny spots in the rock-garden or on banks in light soil, and wintered in frames. In- creased by cuttings, as it rarely produces seeds in our climate. Spain. I. jucunda, distinct, growing about T.\ in. high, the leaves small, the flowers, in small clusters, of a pleasing flesh colour and prettily veined with rose in early summer. It does not possess the vigour of the common evergreen Iberises, but it is valuable as a rock-plant, and is fitted for association with dwarf alpine flowers on warm and sunny parts of the rock-garden in well-drained sandy loam. Syn. I. yEthionema. I. petraea, a pretty alpine species, 3 in. high, with a flat cluster of pure white flowers, relieved in the centre by a tinge of red, thriving among the rock-plants. Many cultivators cannot succeed with it, but it thrives in a well-drained position, with plenty of moisture. IRERIS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. ILEX. 599 I. semperflorens. A shrubby plant, with large dense corymbs of white flowers, and not suited for border culture, but hardy enough to stand our winters when grown at the foot of a south wall or in a very sunny corner of the rock- garden. Under those favourable con- ditions it forms a pretty evergreen bush in bloom nearly all the year. Sicily and other Mediterranean islands. I. sempervirens. The common rock or perennial Candytuft, and as often seen as the yellow Alyssum and the white Arabis. Half-shrubby, dwarf, spreading, evergreen, and perfectly hardy, it escapes Iberis jucunda. where many plants are destroyed by cold ; and in April and May its neat tufts of dark green change into masses of snowy white. Where a very dwarf evergreen edging is required for a shrubbery, or for beds of shrubs, it is one of the best plants known, as on any soil it quickly iforms a spreading mass almost as low as the lawn-grass. Like all its relatives, it should be exposed to the full sun rather than shaded Readily increased by seeds or cuttings. Its common garden name is I. saxatilis. I. Garrexiana is not sufficiently distinct to be worthy of cul- tivation ; in fact, it and several other Iberises prove, when grown side by side, to be very slight varieties of I. semper- virens ; it, however, seeds more abund- antly, and is less spreading. I. superba, another variety, is of good bushy habit, and bears many large dense heads of pure white flowers. . - *&MZ I. Tenoreana is a dwarf species, with white flowers, changing to purple. As the commonly-cultivated 'kinds are pure i white, I. Tenoreana will be more valuable | from its purplish tone as well as its neat 1 habit. It has not, however, the perfect | hardiness of the white kinds, being very j apt to perish on heavy soils in winter ; but ' on light sandy soils and in well-drained positions on the rock-garden it is pretty. 1 Where no rock-garden exists it should be I placed on raised beds or banks, and is | easily raised from seed ; it should be i treated as a biennial. S. Italy. I. umbellata (Annual Candyttiff). i This and its ally (I. coronaria) are the hardy annual Candytufts. They are varied in colour, and are among the most beautiful of annual flowers. They may be sown at all seasons, but, as in the case of most other hardy annuals, the finest flowers are from autumn-sown plants, which flower from May to July. They like a rich soil and plenty of room to flower freely. There are a great number of varieties, differing both in growth and colour. What are known as the dwarf or nana strain are neat and dwarf in growth, are abundant bloomers and showy. I. umbellata nana rosea and alba are two of the most distinct, being about 9 in. high ; the dark crimson, carmine, lilac, and purple sorts, about i ft. high, are also fine. The Rocket Candytuft (I. coronaria) in good soil grows 12 to 1 6 in. high, with pure white flowers in long dense heads, and there is a dwarf variety of it (pumila), 4 to 6 in. high, forming spreading tufts i ft. or more across. The Giant Snowflake is also an excellent variety. These Rocket Candytufts require the same treatment as the common varieties. IDESIA /. polycarpa is a Japanese tree of recent introduction, growing out of doors in mild districts ; but we have no proof of its hardiness for our country generally. It has large leaves, bright green above, and whitish beneath. The flowers form long, drooping branched racemes and are fragrant. The colour is not brilliant, but their effect, combined with the red leaf stalks, the varying green of the leaves, and their drooping habit is good. There are male and female forms, and, although the tree may be increased by cuttings, it is better raised from seed. There is a crisp-leaved form. Syn. flacourtia. ILEX (Holly}. Beautiful evergreen shrubs of northern temperate countries, of which the most precious is our own native Holly, Ilex Aquifolium. It would be difficult to exaggerate the value of this plant, whether as an evergreen tree, as the best of all fence-shelters for our 600 ILEX. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 1LLICIUM. fields, or as a lovely ornament of our gardens ; whether grown naturally or clipped as it must be to form fences ; embracing also in its numerous varieties the most enduring of variegated shrubs known, variegation in most other things being mere disease, whereas in the Holly it is quite consistent with health and beauty. No other shrub known to us may be so often used with good effect near the house and garden, and it will be clear, therefore, how much one should consider the common Holly in all its forms and ways. Valuable as many varieties are, probably none are quite so good as seedlings of the common kind. Good seedling plants are the easiest to transplant and establish. The art of grafting most delusive as well as most curious of arts should be carefully guarded against as regards Hollies. Hitherto the way has been to graft the many variegated kinds on the common Holly, and although we often see good results in that way, it is by far the safer plan to insist on the variegated and curious kinds being raised from layers or cuttings. Nurserymen are very apt, having large quantities of stocks of com- mon things, to graft indiscriminately ; and though time seems at first to be gained by it, it is dead against the cul- tivator in the end in almost every case. It will perhaps take a long time to recognise the immense superiority of own-root plants, but if purchasers in- quire for and insist upon getting them, it will very much hasten progress. My own experience is that old plants grafted are extremely difficult to move with safety, and, generally, Hollies and other trees are best not moved when old. It is an expensive and troublesome business, and often a failure. Young healthy bushes, seedling or layer, will in a few years beat old grafted trees, that at least is my experience. Very often old specimens from the nursery live for a number of years, but their appearance is deplorable, whereas healthy well-grown young plants, from 3 to 5 ft. high, when transplanted in May, are often beautiful from the first. No doubt healthy seed- ling plants might be transplanted at various times, but experience has proved that there is a distinct gain in transplant- ing Hollies in May ; and if we transplant them carefully at that time we shall probably see good healthy growth the same year. As regards the uses of the Holly, they are so many in the garden that it is difficult even to generalise them. As shelter in bold groups, dividing lines, hedges, beautiful effects of fruit in autumn, masses of evergreen foliage, bright glistening colour from variegated kinds ; elegant groups of the most beau- tiful varieties, every kind of delightful use may be found for them in gardens. According to the late Mr. Shirley Hibberd, who was a very keen observer of the Holly, the following is a good selection of varieties. In the selection of Hollies it will be well to bear in mind that the variety known as Scotica answers best of any plant near the sea. The variety known as Hodgins's is the most free in growth in a town garden, being less affected by smoke than most others. The most fruitful varieties are catalogued as foemina, glabra, madeirensis, balearica, lutea, and flava. The most distinct and beautiful of the variegated kinds are Golden Queen, Silver Queen, Painted Lady, Broad-leaved Silver, Gold Milkmaid, Watereriana, and Argentea marginata. The following classification of Hollies in relation to their several char- acters will be useful : " MALE-FLOWERING HOLLIES. Cili- ata, Heterophylla, Latispina, Laurifolia, Tortuosa, Gold Tortuosa, Bcetii, Cookii, Gold Cookii, Cornuta, Doningtonensis, Ferox, Ferox fol. arg., Ferox aurea, Foxii, Furcata, Ovata, Picta marginata, Golden Queen, Longifolia aurea, Longifolia argentea, Watereriana, Gold Few-spined, Silver Queen, Shepherclii. " FEMALE - FLOWERING HOLLIES. Angustifolia, Angustifolia aurea pendula, Angustifolia medio picta pendula, Bal- earica, Broad leaf, Dark shoot, Fisherii, Flavo fructo aurea, Fcemina, Golden Milkmaid, Glabra, Handsworthiana, Silver Handsworthiana, Heterophylla, Hodginsii, Latifolia argentea, Latifolia aurea, Lutea, Madame Briot, Madeirensis, Madeirensis nigrescens, Madeirensis variegata, Myrtifolia, Milkmaid, red berry ; Milkmaid, yellow berry ; Moonlight, Perry's weeping, Picta aurea, Platyphylla, Scotica, Watereriana, Weeping. " HERMAPHRODITE-FLOWERING HOL- LIES. Shepherdii, Smithiana, Silver Queen, Heterophylla, Hodginsii, Lauri- folia, Handsworthiana, Lutea, Flava, Scotica, Balearica, Rotundifolia." By far the best of all known Hollies is our native Holly, but there are other Japanese and American kinds worth growing, such as Ilex crenata, and the fine I. latifolia. This, however requires our most temperate districts to thrive. ILLICIUM. An interesting half-hardy evergreen shrub from the Southern States IMPATIENS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. IOXOPSIDIUM. 601 of N. America, /. floridanum bearing fragrant flowers of a deep red, like those of the Carolina Allspice. I. religiosum, also known as I. anisatum, from China and Japan, with pale yellow flowers, is also interesting, if not worthy of general culture. It may be grown against walls in warm localities. IMPATIENS (Balsam}. The species of Impatiens that thrive -in the open air are all annual and hardy, and sow themselves freely where they get a chance. The best are the common I. glandulifera, which attains a height of 4 to 6 ft., and bears numerous flowers, varying in colour from white to rose. It will soon take possession of the shrubbery if not checked ; and it is seen to advantage in cottage gardens. I. longicornu is beautiful, and has the same habit as glandulifera, but the lower part of its helmet-shaped flowers is bright yellow, marked by tranverse lines of dark brown ; while the upper part is rose colour, I. Roylei is much dwarfer than the pre- ceding, and has blossoms of a deep rose. I . cristata has light rose-coloured blossoms. I. balsamina (Garden Balsam} may be grown in the open air, and makes a pretty display in warm places. The plants should be raised in a frame and trans- planted. Soil which is too rich should be avoided ; but soil manured for a previous crop, and which has been well pulverised by forking, gives the finest flowers and a less sappy growth. Colours and markings in any good and valued strain include the following, and probably a few others, as some sorts sport continually : Pure white, buff-white, rosy- white, lavender- white, pale mauve, peach, pink, carmine, scarlet-cerise, crimson, violet, purple, purple-white blotch, scarlet-white blotch and others. INCARVILLEA. Interesting shrub- by plants, hardy only in southern counties. There are few kinds. I. Delavayi has lately come from China, and has proved hardy, Mr. Thompson, of Ipswich, writing that it has been a year or more in the open border, having stood the full brunt of a zero temperature. The flowers are in corymbs, lengthening into racemes, and like those of Bignonia grandiflora, twelve or thirteen to a raceme, and delicate rose or rose-pink in colour, the throat yellow streaked with purple. Where it is not happy out-of-doors it is worth growing in the greenhouse. I. Olgas was intro- duced earlier from Turkestan and has purple flowers ; it grows from 3 to 4^ ft. high. INDIGOFERA. /. Gerardiana is a pretty plant which may be grown as a bush or against a wall, which it clothes grace- fully with feathery leaves, towards the close of summer, bearing small Pea-like bright pink blooms. In cold districts it may be well to give it protection in cold winters if not against a wall, and the only attention it requires is close pruning in early winter. The kinds known as I, floribunda, I. coronillaefolia, and by other names, are either synonymous with I. Gerardiana or varieties of it. I. decora, from China, is sometimes grown against a wall in warm parts, but is much less hardy than I. Gerardiana, which comes from the Himalayas. INULA. Perennial Composites, few of which are important for the garden. I. Helenium (Elecampane), a vigorous British plant, 3 or 4 ft. high, with a stout Inula glandulosa stem, large leaves, and yellow flowers, is well suited for planting with other large- leaved plants, or in isolated specimens on rough slopes or wild places, in good soil. I. Oculus Christi grows IT? to 2 ft. high, and bears orange flowers in summer. I. salicina, montana, and glandulosa are similar, the last being the finest. Easily propagated by division or seed. IONOPSIDIUM ( Violet Cress). /. acaule is a charming little Portuguese an- nual about 2 in. high, whose dense tufts of violet flowers spring up freely where plants of it have existed the previous season. Its peculiar beauty makes it useful for various purposes. On the rock-garden, associated with even the choicest of alpine plants, it holds its own as regards beauty, and never overruns its neighbours, and it is particularly suitable for sowing near pathways or rugged steps, growing freely in such places ; indeed it would even 602 IPOM.^A. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. IRIS. flourish on a hard gravel walk. It flowers a couple of months after sowing, and often produces a second crop of blossoms in the autumn. Portugal and Morocco. Cruciferae. IPOIOI! A (Morning Glory}. Beautiful, slender, twining plants of the Convolvulus family, for the most part tropical. A few succeed in the open air when treated as half-hardy annuals. The most popular of these is I. purpurea, or Convolvulus major as it is called, which is too well known to need description, as it is one of the oldest cultivated plants. Its varieties are numerous ; there are white, rose, and deep violet varieties, while Burridgei is crimson, Ditksoni deep blue, and tricolor striped with red, white and blue. A mixed packet of seed would contain most of these. This beautiful though common plant deserves much attention, as its uses are various. It may be used for the open border, for festooning branches, for covering arbours, trellises, and the like, or for rambling over shrubs, growing freely in any good ordinary garden soil. Seeds should be sown in heat in early spring, and the seedlings transplanted in May as soon as large enough. In some localities seed may be sown at once in the open border, but as a rule plants raised under glass succeed best. It is known also as Phar- bitis hispida. Tropical America and Asia. I. hederacea (Ivy-leaved Morning Glory) is somewhat similar to the common Morning Glory (I. purpurea), but has lobed leaves like Ivy. Its flowers, too, are smaller, of a deep blue striped with red. The varieties grandiflora (light- blue), superba (light-blue, bordered with white), and atroviolacea (dark-violet and white) are all worth cultivating, and so are the Japanese variety, Huberi, and its variegated-leaved form. The Ivy-leaved Morning Glory is somewhat hardier than I. purpurea, and seeds may be sown in the open border in April, in light rich soil, where it will flower from July to September. It is also known as I. Nil. North America. Other kinds of I pomaeas for open-air culture are I. rubroccerulea, a half-hardy annual, and I. leptophylla, a hardy perennial from North America, but neither is so pretty as those mentioned above. IPOMOPSIS. Graceful biennials from California, thriving in light, dry, and warm soils in the milder districts. There are three kinds ; each forms a tuft of finely- cut feathery foliage, and has slender flower spikes from 2 to 3 ft. high thickly set with flowers that open in succession. In I. elegans the flowers are scarlet and thickly spotted, and in I. superba they are much the same, while in the rosea variety they are a deep pink. The seeds should be sown in spring in pots in the open border in ordinary soil. During the first year the plants make growth, and early the following summer they flower. If planted out to stand the winter it is advisable to give a little pro- tection. Other kinds mentioned in cata- logues belong to Gilia, of which Ipomopsis is really a synonym. On light soils early autumn-sowing should be tried. These plants are very seldom well grown. IRESINE. Dwarf half-hardy plants, remarkable for their foliage, and much used in the flower garden with other tender plants in summer. There are two types, from which have sprung several varieties. I. Herbsti grows from I to 2 ft. high, and has crimson stems and rich carmine-veined foliage, the brilliancy of which continues until late in autumn, and is more effective in wet than in hot dry seasons. It requires a moist rich soil, and is readily increased by cuttings taken in September and wintered in a green- house. In early spring the plants should be repotted, and grown on in heat, and fresh cuttings taken in March and April will make them fit to put out in May. I. brilliantissima and Wallisi are two varie- ties possessing more brightness of colour in their foliage. Lindeni is quite distinct from the foregoing, having more pointed leaves, which are of a deep blood-red. It is compact and graceful, and bears pinching back and pegging down to any height. It makes a good edging plant, and requires the same treatment as I. Herbsti. Amarantaceae. IRIS (Flag). Beautiful bulbous or tuberous plants numerous in kind and won- derfully varied in beauty, more than most flowers. By some, Irises have been com- pared to Orchids, and those who delight in singular and beautiful colour, and to whom greenhouses and hothouses are denied, may find a substitute for Orchids in Irises. The plants are for the most part hardy and have much diversity of habit and colour, varying in height from a few inches to 6 ft. They may be conveni- ently divided into two classes those with bulbous roots, which are now called Xiphions, and those (the greatest number) with creeping stems. In treating of cul- ture it is well to consider these separately. The bulbous kinds should have a warm and sheltered situation, such as the pro- tection of a south wall, and succeed in IRIS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. IRIS. 603 almost any light garden soil, but prefer one that is friable, and sandy, not too poor, but enriched with rotten leaf-mould and manure. Sun they must have, and the shelter must be without shade. They need an autumn drought to ripen, and a dry soil in winter to preserve the bulbs and keep them at rest, but in spring, when the leaves are pushing up, they love moderate rain. These observations apply to the Spanish and English Irises as well as the rarer bulbous kinds. The great point is not to meddle with the bulbs as long as the plants are doing well, and, when the soil is exhausted and it is necessary to transplant, the bulbs should not be allowed to become dry or shrivelled. It is advisable to place a thin layer of Cocoa-nut fibre refuse or some similar material for protection during severe weather, and to prevent the flowers from being bespattered by mud during heavy rain. Some kinds produce seeds very freely in some seasons, which should be carefully collected, and when well ripened sown at once. This will be found a ready way of increasing the stock, as they will make strong flowering bulbs in about three years. Most of the non-bulbous Irises like rich soil, the coarser and stronger forms relish- ing even rank manure, but to the more delicate ones this is almost poison ; and all indeed thrive the better if the manure is given in a decayed state. If it is well rotted they can hardly have too much of it. As regards moisture, they vary a good deal. The condition that suits most is comparative dryness in winter and an abundance of water in summer. Un- fortunately, this is the reverse of what they generally get, and they also vary a good deal as to the nature of the soil they like best, some preferring a deep, some- what stiff, but rich loam, and their long thong-like roots reach down an amazing- distance, while others prefer a lighter, looser soil, richer in vegetable matter. The more vigorous kinds are suited for planting among large shrubs, which ought to be wider apart than they generally are in shrubberies ; and may be enjoyed in tufts near water, in isolated groups on the Grass, and also on mixed borders and beds. In the smallest gardens, where there is not space to plant them in these various ways, one of the best ways would be to establish healthy tufts in the fringes of the shrubbery. Another good way is to place them here and there in carpets of low evergreens, above which their flowers would be seen in early summer. Tufts of the finest kinds look very beautiful here and there among dwarf Roses. The flowering season of the Iris extends over the greater part of the year. The follow- ing selection of the more important kinds for our gardens is arranged in alphabetical order for convenience of reference. I. alata (Scorpion Iris}. A beautiful bulbous kind with fine large blossoms, the ground colour delicate lilac-blue, with showy blotches of bright yellow, copiously Iris asiatica. spotted with a darker hue. The foliage, which appears with the flowers, much resembles that of a Leek. I. alata gener- ally commences to bloom in October, and, if the weather is not too severe, flowers also about Christmas time. It is easy to grow, requiring a warm, dry, sunny border ; the bulbs should be planted in autumn in ordinary garden soil. I. asiatica (Asiatic Flag]. Allied to the German Iris, but the handsome flowers are much larger, the lip especially being very long and broad ; its colour is a very fine pale purplish-blue, the standards a little paler than the falls. A good border kind. I. atro-purpurea. This Iris may be 604 IRIS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. considered as coming within the iberica group, as the foliage is not unlike that kind, and the stem, though always of some length, never rises very high. The flower is somewhat small, and for the most part of deep purple colouring. The plant varies somewhat, one variety being called " Odysseus." I. aurea (Golden Flag}. This is a fine Iris, a native of the H imalayas, with golden- yellow flowers of great beauty, is a tall stately kind, hardy in. the coldest soils. It does well among shrubs or in borders of the best perennials, and groups of it so placed are very handsome. Division and seed. I. Bakeriana. This is one of the most beautiful of the bulbous early spring flower- Iris cristata. ing Irises. It comes from Armenia, and the flowers,which smell like violets, remind one strongly of those of the netted Iris (I. reticulata). The colouring varies, the yellow streak on the fall, which is con- spicuous in some of the forms, being almost entirely absent in others ; the size and number of the violet spots and the breadth of the rich violet edging as well as the size and brilliancy of their tints vary in individual flowers. It blooms quite early in the year, and is delightful in pots. I. Barnumae. This Iris, a native of the hills of Kurdistan, belongs to the iberica group. The flower is smaller than that of that Flag, and both falls and standards are vinous red-purple marked with darker veins, the standard berni; lighter in colour than the fall and its veins more conspicuous. There is a yellow variety described by Prof. Foster a's " an exceedingly charming plant," and fragrant, the odour not being unlike the Lily of the Valley. I. biflora. A handsome Flag, 9 to 1 5 in. high, bearing large violet flowers on stout stems. Similar to it are I. sub- biflora and I. nudicaulis, which is one of the best of the dwarf Flags, from 4 to 10 in. high ; its flowers large, of a rich violet- blue, four to seven on a stem in early summer. It has the vigour of the German Iris and the dwarfness of the Crimean Iris, but is much sturdier, and is suited for the margin of the herbaceous border and for the rock-garden. I. Bismarckiana. This "Cushion" Iris, found in Lebanon, is little known as yet, but it is described as having a flower as large as I. susiana, with gray falls and sky-blue standards. I. cristata (Dwarf-crested Iris] is a charming dwarf Flag, flowering in spring and also in autumn, delicate blue and richly marked. It is a fragile plant, 4 to 6 in. high, with broad leaves, and throws out long slender rhizomes, wholly above ground, thriving in sandy earth in beds, borders, or on the rock garden. I. florentina (Florentine Flag). Its large delicate flowers are nearly 6 in. deep, faintly tinged with blue, the falls veined with yellow, and green at the base, with an orange-yellow beard, whilst the broad leaves are rich dark-green. A native of Southern Europe, flowering during May and June. The variety albicans is almost pure white. I. fcetidissima (Gladwin}. A British plant, 1 1 to 2 ft. high, with bluish flowers. There is a variety with variegated leaves. The common green form is worth growing in semi-wild places for its brilliant coral- red seeds. I. G-atesi. This is a remarkably hand- some Flag from Armenia, and very near to susiana, but the rhizome is more compact, and the foliage smaller, shorter, and narrower, and of a darker green than in susiana. The stem is taller, i^ ft. or even 2 ft., and the flower when well grown larger. The prevailing colour of the specimens so far cultivated is, when the flower is seen at a distance, a soft deli- cate gray, brought about by very thin clear veins and minute dots or points of purple on a creamy-white ground, the dots being predominant on the fall and the veins on IRIS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. IRIS. 60 5 the standard. The ripe capsule is as much as 5 in. in length. I. germanica (Common German Flag]. This is common in gardens, and is one of the few plants that succeed well in London. I. nepalensis is a charming form from India, with flowers from 5 in. to 6 in. long, the standards rich dark violet- purple, the falls intense violet, striped white and purple at the base, with yellow and reddish markings. It flowers during May and June, and may be increased quickly. The German Flags flourish in ordinary garden, dry gravelly soil, or sandy banks, for which they are well suited. A good selection of varieties of the German Iris, all good garden flowers, would be composed of Atro-purpurea, Aurea, Brides- maid, Calypso, Celeste, Gracchus, Mme. Chereau, Queen of May, Rigolette, Vic- torine, and George Thorbeck. I. Histrio. This beautiful bulbous Iris, when peeping through the ground in winter or early spring, reminds one of I. reticulata, but it is rather taller, and its sweetly-scented flowers are broader and more' conspicuously spotted or blotched, the colour being rich bluish-purple, flushed towards the base of the petals with rose- pink, whilst the markings are of the deepest purple, relieved by a crest of gold. Syria. I. histrioides. One of the most charm- ing of the spring flowering bulbous Irises. So far, though it has only been in cultivation a few years, it has proved of easy culture. The flowers are larger than those of any of the group, the falls mottled with white and rich lilac both on the claw and on the broad rounded blade. It is a native of Eastern Anatolia, and blooms in early March. I. iberica (Iberian Flag}. One of the most singular and handsome of Irises. The flowers are large, the standards white, pencilled and spotted with purple or violet, while the falls are veined with dark purple or purple-black on a yellowish ground, with a conspicuous dark blotch in the centre. This is the colour of the commonest form, but there are several, and one, ochracea, is very distinct, is hardy and thrives best in a rich fibrous loam, where it can send its long roots deep into the soil. The rhizome should not be planted deep, but only just below the surface as in most cases the roots perish when planted deeply. Coarse river sand should be used, the rhizome being planted completely in it, and by this means it is kept rather dry during the winter. Dry borders or warm spots on the rock-garden. I. juncea (Rush-leaved Flag] is a lovely bulbous Iris, graceful in habit and with bright yellow flowers of a delightful frag- rance, whilst it can be grown almost as easily as the English Irises. It requires a light, rich deep soil, and will be all the better if planted where it can be kept fairly dry during winter. Spain. I. Ksempferi (Japanese Ftag).The many varieties in cultivation under this name have sprung from I. laevigata and I. setosa, and form a fine race of garden plants, whilst every year many beautiful sorts are added, chiefly from Japan, though many seedlings have been raised in this country. The flowers are variable in size and colour, some measuring as much as 9 and loin, across. The varieties of I. setosa differ from those of I. leevigata Iris foetidissima (Gladwin). in having broader and less-drooping petals, and the three inner petals are often of the same size as the outer, so that the flower is symmetrical. I. Kaempferi will grow in almost any soil, but is best in a good loam, with peat added to it, though this is not so much for nourishment as to retain moisture during the hot and dry summer months, for this Flag likes moisture, and its numerous roots will often go 2 ft. deep in search of it. It dislikes shade, prefer- ring a warm sunny position, being especi- ally happy when planted by the margin of a lake, pond, or stream. Two-year-old seed- ling plants of it bloom in June and July, and amongst them will be found an endless variety of colours from white to the richest plum, the deep blues being very rich. The mottled flowers are objection- able, and unfortunately these are common, 606 IRIS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. IRIS. but they are poor in effect, nothing like so handsome as the self-coloured kinds, nor do we care about the more double varieties. In these the natural grace and fine outline of the flower are lost. When transplanted this moisture-loving Flag does not bloom well until the second season after planting. Propagated by division or seeds, which should be sown as soon as gathered either in pots or in the open ground; they will vegetate in the following spring. I. Kolpakowskiana. An ally of I. reticulata and introduced from Turke- stan, it is perfectly hardy in the open air, flowering about the same time, and effec- tive in groups. The chief difference from the netted Iris is in the bulb and leaves, which are narrow, linear, deeply channelled Iris iberica. on the inner face, with a central band or rib like a Crocus leaf, and pale-green with- out the glaucous tint usual to this group. The falls are deep violet-purple, with a beardless bright yellow keel from which are purplish branchings, whilst the standards are pale self-lilac with creamy anthers. I. Korolkowi. Of this the leaves are tall, narrow, and upright, the scape, which is about i ft. or so high, bearing two large flowers of delicate shades of gray and brown, and beautifully veined. Warm and dry spots on the rock garden. I. lacustris (Dwarf Lake Iris}. A dainty, quite hardy Iris, with beautiful sky-blue flowers in spring and again in the autumn. It belongs to the rhizo- matose group, is free both in growth and bloom, and succeeds in full sun and in sandy soil. North America. I. Lorteti. This Iris comes from South Lebanon. In general features it is near to I. Sari, but its wonderful colouring makes it, perhaps, the most beautiful Iris in the world. " In a plant flowered by myself this summer (1893)," writes Prof. Foster, " the falls showed a creamy-yellow ground marked with crimson spots, con- centrated at the centre into a dark crimson signal, while the standards were nearly pure white, marked with very thin violet veins, hardly visible at a distance. I. lupina (Wolfs Ear It is}. This is from Armenia and Central Asia Minor, and resembles both I. susiana and I. iberica. The rhizome is compact and the foliage, though somewhat variable, is dwarf like that of I. iberica, and 3 in. or so in length. The flower, borne on a stem varying from I in. to 6 in. or even more in length, differs in form from both I. susiana and I. iberica in that the fall is distinctly lance-shaped, whilst the colour- ing consists of irregular brownish-red veins on a yellow or greenish-yellow ground, the red of the veins often merging into purple. The claw of the standard is furnished with quite numerous hairs. I. Marise, which belongs to the iberica group, was discovered on the confines of Egypt and Palestine. The rhizome is compact, rather slender, the foliage being not unlike that of iberica, but narrower. The flowers, on a stem of about 6' in. high, are somewhat smaller than I. iberica, of a uniform lilac colour, though marked with veins, but the uniformity is broken by a conspicuous "signal" patch of deep purple on the fall. The standard is larger and more rounded than the fall, whilst the claw of the latter is beset by numerous deep purple hairs, which, scattered at the sides, are crowded together along the middle line more after the fashion of the beard of an ordinary bearded Flag. I. Meda is a native of Persia, and has a small, slender, and compact rhizome. The leaves are narrower than I. iberica, and for the most part erect, the stem being about 6 in. in length, more or less, but seems to vary a good deal. The fall, which spreads horizontally, is narrow and pointed, the blade being sharply curled back on itself. The standard is rather larger than the fall, and the style, which lies close down on the claw of the fall, is narrow, ending in two small triangular crests. I. missouriensis (Missouri Flag). This was found in the Rocky Mountains, and is a good kind, graceful, and with delicate purplish-blue flowers, which are valuable to cut in the month of May. It grows well in a border of good soil, and is THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. IRIS. 607 not seen as often as one might expect in gardens. I. Monnieri. A noble Flag, distinct from any other in cultivation, the leaves being dark-green, and the flower-stem nearly 4