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U.B.C. LIBRARY

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LOWERS

WALTER P.
WRIGHT

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THE UNIVERSITY OF
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POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

BY THE SAME AUTHOR
Uniform with this Volume

THE GARDEN WEEK BY
WEEK

THROUGHOUT THE YEAR

A Practical Handbook to Gardening

Operations for every Week in the

Year and to the Culture of

ALL Important Plants

IFziA Coloured Plates and Engravings

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How to Keep it Beautiful
and Fruitful

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POPULAR GARDEN
FLOWERS

ANEMONES: ASTERS: BEGONIAS: CARNATIONS:

CHRYSANTHEMUMS: CROCUSES: DAFFODILS:

DAHLIAS: GERANIUMS: GLADIOLI:

HOLLYHOCKS: HYACINTHS: IRISES:

LILIES : PANSIES : PHLOXES :

PRIMULAS : SWEET PEAS :

STOCKS: TULIPS:

ROSES

WALTER P. WRIGHT

AUTHOR OF "the PERFECT GARDEN"

"the garden week by week," etc.

IV/T/I SIX ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOUR

AND FORTY-EIGHT REPRODUCTIONS

FROM PHOTOGRAPHS

LONDON
GRANT RICHARDS LTD

PUBLISHERS

Printed by Bai.i.antyne, Hanson 6* Co.

At the Ballantyne Press, Edinl)iirgh

1911

PREFACE

Systems of gardening are not of much use unless
supported by good plants, of which the best varieties
are selected for thorough cultivation.

Many amateurs grow too many kinds of plants.
They crowd their beds, borders, and rockeries with a
heterogeneous assembly of genera, many of which are
of no special value. They would find gardening equally
interesting, and far more effective, if they selected a few
of the great flowers which have been developed by
florists, studied the habit and requirements of the plants,
and made themselves acquainted with the best varieties.

By making good use of such great bulbous flowers as
Daffodils, Tulips, and Hyacinths for spring ; Begonias,
Roses, Sweet Peas, Zonal Geraniums, Asters, Carna-
tions, Hollyhocks, Irises, Lilies, Paeonies, and Pansies
for summer ; and Dahlias, Chrysanthemums, Phloxes,
Michaelmas Daisies, Japanese Anemones, and Gladioli
for late summer and autumn, it is possible to have a
garden full of beauty and interest for the greater part of
the year.

In *^The Perfect Garden" I dealt with systems of
gardening and plans of gardens. In a second work,
*'The Garden Week by Week," I described the routine
of garden operations throughout the year. In the pre-
sent one, which completes the trilogy, I take all the
most important plants and deal with them fully, showing

a 2

PREFACE

their history, the origin and pronunciation of their
names, their position in Hterature and folklore, their
value as modern garden plants, their culture, and the
best varieties of them.

Garden interests are kept clearly in view throughout,
and the book is not the less practical because literary
associations are referred to. Every important cultural
item has received attention. I feel sure that garden-
lovers will not grow their favourite flowers with less of
either interest or thoroughness for knowing something
of their place in history and literature.

Although the various plants are dealt with primarily
as garden flowers, I have thought it wise to refer briefly
to the indoor as well as the outdoor culture of such as
are used for both greenhouse and garden adornment,
and even to offer hints for the guidance of exhibitors.
This has been done for the sake of completeness.

In the case of such particularly important plants as
Carnations, Chrysanthemums, and Roses, which are
specialised by thousands of people, I have supplemented
the practical information with a summary in the form
of a monthly calendar of cultural operations, which will
guard the amateur from the ill effects of neglecting im-
portant operations or performing them out of season.

WALTER P. WRIGHT.
March^ 191 1.

CONTENTS

CHAP. PAGE

I. Anemones (Windflowers) i

II. Asters, China and Perennial .... 13

III. Begonias 24

IV. Bell-flowers (Campanulas) and Canterbury

Bells 32

V. Shrubby Border and Bedding Calceolarias . 38

VI. Canary Creeper and other Nasturtiums and

Tropceolums 42

VII. Candytufts and other Annuals ... 47

VIII. Carnations, Picotees, and Pinks . . .51

IX. Christmas and Lenten Roses (Hellebores) . n

X. Chrysanthemums 84

XI. Clematises iii

XII. Columbines (Aquilegias) 119

XIII. Crocuses 126

XIV. Daffodils and Narcissi 134

XV. Dahlias 150

XVI. Feverfews (Pyrethrums) 163

XVII. Forget-me-nots (Myosotis) 167

XVIII. Foxgloves 171

XIX. Geraniums 176

XX. Gladioli . 186

XXI. Hollyhocks 196

vii

vili CONTENTS

CHAP. PAGE

XXII. Honeysuckle 202

XXIII. Hyacinths 208

XXIV. Irises 218

XXV. Jasmine 232

XXVI. Perennial Larkspurs (Delphiniums) . . 237

XXVII. Lilies 243

XXVIII. Pteonies 263

XXIX. Pansies, Violas, and Sweet Violets . . . 270

XXX. Phloxes 285

XXXI. Primulas— Auriculas, Oxlips, Polyanthuses,

and Primroses 294

XXXII. Roses 303

XXXIII. Snapdragons and Sweet Williams . . .339

XXXIV. Sweet Peas 345

XXXV. Stocks and Wallflowers 355

XXXVI. Tulips 3^2

INDEX 371

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

IN COLOUR

Lilies and Roses Frontispiece

Hollyhocks and Herbaceous Phloxes . . . Facing page i()6

Perennial Larkspurs „ 236

White Lilies .....*... „ 242

Rose Borders , . „ 304

Sweet Peas „ 346

BLACK AND WHITE

Hepaticas „ 8

A bed of Japanese Anemones „ 10

Annual Asters „ 20

Double Begonias „ 26

Canterbury Bells „ 32

A bed of the Peach-leaved Campanula persicifolia . „ 36

Carnations in a vase „ 62

Double Pinks „ 64

Double Indian Pinks ,, 68

Single Chrysanthemums as cut flowers ... „ 84

Prize Japanese Chrysanthemums .... „ 94

Single Chrysanthemum A. Ferguson ... „ 96

X LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Decorative Chrysanthemums .

Double white annual Chrysanthemums .

Chrysanthemum (Pyrethrum) uliginosum

Clematis Montana

Columbines

Crocuses in grass under trees .

Narcissus Emperor

Cactus Dahlias

A bed of Dahlias

Alpine Forget-me-not (Myosotis dissitiflora)
Foxgloves in the wild garden .

Gladioli

A well-bloomed Hollyhock
Honeysuckle on an arch ....
Beds of Irises at Kew ....
Iris Sibirica massed for effect on the margin

pond at Kew

A border of Irises

A bed of Delphinium (perennial Laikspur)

donna

Lilium auratum

Lilium longiflorum

Lilium speciosum

Belladonna Lilies

Tree Paeonies

Violas or Tufted Pansies ....

Perennial Phloxes

Primroses

Rose Felicit^-Perp^tue ....

A bed of the beautiful Rose Eleclra

A Rose Pergola in the Royal Gardens, Kew

of a

Bella

Facing page

}}

100

104

»5

114

120

132

148

160

162

J»

168

172

190

198

204

220

226

230

238

248

254

258

260

;)

264

5»

276

286

294

304

324

;)

332

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xi

Pentstemons Facing page 340

348
358
362

364
368

370

Sweet Peas

Ten- week Stocks ....
Tulips and Arabis (While Rock Cress)
Beds of Tulips at Kew
A border of Tulips with Lilac above
Cannas

ON ANEMONES (WINDFLOWERS) AS ALL-THE- YEAR-
ROUND PLANTS

To many lovers of flowers the Anemone is merely a
charming denizen of the woodlands. When it is men-
tioned, radiant pictures of the shady undergrowth of
the forest rise into memory. The listener recalls bright
spring mornings in the secluded forest dales, when the
first note of the cuckoo was heard, and the startled
rabbits scurried at the sound of his footsteps. The
Windflowers spread in sheets at his feet, the white or
tinted flowers rising a few inches from the pretty green
leaves.

But the Anemone is also a garden plant of outstand-
ing beauty and value. There are many species of it,
and these have their varieties, differing to some extent
in form and colour. Many bear little resemblance to
the Wood Anemone. They are of larger growth, the
flowers are many times the size, and the colours are
rich and varied. With culture, we can have some of
them in flower every month of the year. It is these
beautiful Anemones that I now propose to consider.

Garden-lovers who trace the folk-lore and literary
association of flowers, grow them with a deeper interest
from the knowledge that they have become the subject
of tradition or rite with the multitude, or have come
under the special observation of great writers. Research
is carried to excess if the flower-lover deteriorates as

2 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

a gardener in proportion to his development as an
antiquarian, but most people find no difficulty in main-
taining their cultural standard, while learning all that
there is to know about the plants which they grow.

A beautiful flower is worth studying from two points
of view — its value as a garden object, and the part that it
has played in life and literature. In the former capacity
it adds to the pleasure of the present, in the latter it
links us with the past.

The brilliant Anemone, the first of our list of popular
garden flowers, is a typical example of a flower that
has the double interest of garden beauty and legendary
association. In its different species and varieties it is
a garden plant of great value, owing to its hardiness,
the long period over which it blooms, and its brilliant
colours. The flower gardener loves it, because it gives
beautiful flowers for practically every month of the
year, and is particularly generous in winter and spring.
The litterateur regards it with special interest as the
flower referred to by Shakespeare in ** Venus and
Adonis " :

" By this, the boy that by her side lay killed
Was melted like a vapour from her sight,
And in his blood that on the ground lay spilled,
A purple flower sprang up chequered with white."

The gardener might object that the flower which
Shakespeare had in view when he wrote these lines
could not have been the Anemone, inasmuch as it was
neither purple nor chequered. But it has to be re-
membered that with the mediaeval writers ^' purple "
had a much wider application than it has at the present
time. In the Latin purpureus it was used to describe
the Poppy. And with respect to chequering, it was

ON ANEMONES 3

applied as freely to spots of various shape as it was
to square markings. A red flower with any kind of
white markings might easily be '^ purple chequered with
white " in Shakespeare's time.

The Adonis Flower of his day was certainly the
Anemone — note Ross's statement in 1647 that ^'Adonis
was turned into a red flower called Anemone."

The Anemone is the flower of the wind. The name
comes from the Greek anemos — wind. What was the
Greek idea ? Pliny says that the plant was so named
because ^' the flower hath the propertie to open but
when the wind doth blow " ; but as this does not con-
form to the habit of the Anemone, it can only be supposed
that he had some other flower in mind. Our Anemone
became the Windflower because several species inhabited
exposed, wind-swept places.

That the early classical writers had another Anemone
than ours is shown by Sir William Jones's lines :

" Youth, like a thin Anemone, displays
His silken leaf, and in a morn decays."

The modern Anemone is not a fleeting (fugacious) flower,
and this figure could not be used correctly in reference
to it.

We have anglicised the name by adopting an accen-
tuation of our own. We ought to make it An-e-mo'-ne ;
we make it A-nem'-o-ne. It is interesting to note that the
scansion of the lines quoted above point to our method
of pronunciation being held in the days of the old
poet, but it is possible that he introduced an arbitrary
pronunciation for the sake of his metre.

The Windflower has its popular names. There is
the ** Poppy " Anemone {coronaria)^ and there is the
^* Star " Anemone (hortensis). These represent two

4 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

great sections of early bloomers. The popular name of
one of our native Anemones comes from its season of
flowering : it is Pulsatilla — the Pasque or Passe Flower
— the Easter Flower. Then there is the Japanese Ane-
mone {A. Japonica) a later bloomer, and likewise a taller
grower, than most other species.

Several of the most important species have a bevy
of beautiful daughters, but before considering these we
might tabulate the most important kinds, and show their
normal period of flowering outdoors : —

Species.

Flowering Season
Outdoors.

When to Sow or Plant.

Apennina

Spring

Plant in autumn.

Blanda ....

Late winter and
early spring

Plant in autumn.

Coronaria

April to June

Sow seed the pre-
vious spring, or
plant tubers in
autumn.

Fulgens ....

April

Sow seed previous
spring, or plant
tubers in autumn.

Hepatica

February, March

Plant previous March.

Hortensis (stellata)

April

Plant tubers in
autumn.

Japonica

( August to \
\ October |

Plant early in pre-
vious spring.

Narcissiflora .

April

Plant previous spring.

Nemorosa

April

Plant previous au-
, tumn.

Pulsatilla

March, April

Plant previous spring.

Sylvestris

April

Plant previous spring.

The gardener extends the flowering season of some
of these, as we shall see in our consideration of the
different species.

Anemone Apennina^ sometimes called the Italian
Windllower, owing to its being a native of the Apen-

ON ANEMONES 5

nineS; is a pretty blue species with creeping, tuberous
roots. It may grow on rockwork, or naturalised in
the woodland. There is a double light blue form (flore-
pleno), a white (alba), and a mauve (purpurea). All
grow about six inches high.

Blanda is a charming Windflower often in flower in
January in sheltered places. It is blue, varying in shade,
but also produces white and pink flowers. There are two
exceptionally desirable varieties, namely, atrocaerulea,
dark blue, and scythinica, white and blue. Like Apen-
nina, the Blandas have creeping, semi-tuberous roots.
They grow about four inches high, and are suitable for
the rockery.

Poppy Anemones, — Coronaria, the Crown, Poppy, or \
Garland Anemone, is the most valuable of all. The origi- ^
nal species, introduced from the Levant in 1596, had single
striped flowers. It is not much grown, but its offspring,
single, semi-double, and double, are cultivated in thousands
of gardens. The flowers are large, brilliant, and varied.
The foliage is attractively cut (laciniated). The Poppy
Anemones make beautiful beds, and by judicious man-
agement can be had in bloom over a long period. They
are tuberous-rooted, and can be planted in autumn to
flower the following spring ; but they are easily and \
quickly raised from seed, and a large stock of flowering
plants can be raised in a year.

The double Poppy Anemones are particularly prized,
and the following are fine varieties or strains : —

Alderborough, a mixed strain.

Chapeau de Cardinal, cerise.

Chrysanthemum-flowered, a mixed strain.

King of Scarlets, beautiful form and brilliant colour, no seed.

L'Ornement de la Nature, azure.

Queen of Roses, rosy-carmine, no seed.

6 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

Rose de Nice, rose.

St. Brigid, a mixed strain.

Salmon King, salmon.

Sir Joseph Paxton, light violet.

The singles are not so keenly sought after as the
doubles, but they are beautiful. Scarlet, white, and blue
varieties can be procured.

All the Poppy Anemones grow about a foot high,
and they thrive in most kinds of soil. If they are grown
from tubers they should be planted in autumn for spring
bloom, and in spring for summer flowering. If the
tubers are examined, the incipient buds can be dis-
tinguished, and these should be uppermost. The tubers
should be set two inches deep and six inches apart.
I Heavy clay soil is not supposed to suit the Anemones,
but I have had excellent results from it when well
drained, so that moisture had no chance of collecting
and becoming stagnant. If I had undrained soil to deal
with, I should either plant on a bed the level of which
had been raised, or in spring. Given these provisions,
clay soil is good, especially for summer blooming, as it
supplies the moisture which these plants love so well.
Poor soil should be well enriched with decayed manure.
After the flowering the leaves will gradually die away,
and when they have withered the roots of the spring-
flowering plants may be lifted, dried, and stored in thin
layers in a dry place.

On a cool, fertile clay soil in a mild district in Kent
I found seedling Poppy Anemones a source of great
pleasure and interest. Some of the plants flowered the
same year, others the following spring. As the seed
is fluffy, and given to close adherence, thin sowing is
not easy until the seed has been rubbed up in sand or
fine soil. After this has been done it can be spread

ON ANEMONES 7

readily. It should be covered with about half an inch
of fine moist soil. If the plants come up thickly they
should be thinned, and they may be subsequently trans-
planted if desired, but it is not indispensable. The seed
bed should not be allowed to get quite dry. The seed
may be sown in a frame or greenhouse if the grower has
either.

By making special provision it is easy to have Poppy
Anemones in bloom for several months. By sowing
seed in spring and planting in frames in autumn, flowers
can be had in January and February. In March, out-
door plants from tubers inserted in autumn will begin to
bloom in sheltered places, and there should be bloom in
April and May. Flowers can be had in June and July
by planting tubers in February or March. Autumn and
winter bloom should come from seed sown in spring.
Thus it is possible to get Anemones from one class alone
nearly every month in the year.

The specialist will grow all the varieties of the Poppy
Anemone which he can get, but others will be content
with the St. Brigid mixture and King of Scarlets. These
will give some of the finest forms. The St. Brigids
embrace a great diversity of beautiful colours, and the
/flowers are as large as breakfast-cups. Most of them S
are semi-double. Considering their beauty and cheap-
ness (the best strains only cost about five shillings per
100 tubers) they should be grown by every flower-
lover.

FulgenSj the next on our list of Anemones, is the
well-known scarlet Windflower, and a most brilliant
one it is. It grows about a foot high, and has several
varieties, notably annulata, crimson with white base ;
flore-pleno, double scarlet ; graeca, scarlet, with black
boss ; oculata gigantea, scarlet, with pale yellow eye ;

S POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

and The Queen, salmon pink. The flowers of oculata
gigantea are of great size.

The treatment of this class is very similar to that of
the Poppy Anemone, and flowers can be had for several
months by the same procedure. They like a sunny
position. They are tuberous-rooted. In the ordinary
way they will bloom in spring from seed sown the
previous spring or tubers planted in autumn. If there
is room to spare in a cold frame, it is always worth
while to put in a few tubers of Anemone fulgens, as the
brilliant scarlet flowers are very cheerful at mid-winter.

Hepaticas. — Our next species is Hepatica, that little
plant which has received the popular award of a generic
standing, and is grown, not as Anemone Hepatica^ but
as the Hepatica, in thousands of gardens. It is not a
tuberous species, and this fact, coupled with its inclu-
sion in the catalogues of most florists apart from the
Anemones, deceives non-botanical flower-lovers, who do
not look on it as an Anemone at all.

The common Hepatica, with its three-lobed leaves
(triloba) has single lilac flowers, and is a very pretty
plant. There are several varieties, such as single red
and white, and double red, blue, and white. The last
is very rare, and is too expensive to plant in quantity.
Angulosa, blue, with its white and rose varieties, is also
a Hepatica.

The Hepaticas have fibrous, not tuberous, roots, and
grow about six inches high. With their low, dense
growth, early period of blooming, and abundance of
bright flowers, they would be valuable rockery plants
but for the fact that they cannot endure a sunny
position. They love a cool, moist soil and a shady
I place, and thrive under__tjees. They should be planted
in March, or as soon as the flowers have decayed and

ON ANEMONES 9

the young foliage shows. When estabHshed they should
be left alone, as they do not relish frequent disturbance.

Hortensis [stellata), — With the star Windflower we get
back to the tuberous-rooted class. The botanists make
hortensis embrace fulgens as well as stellata ; both,
they tell us, are forms of the one species. Doubtless
this is correct, but we have grown into a way of regard-
ing hortensis and fulgens as distinct in gardens.

The species produces scarlet, purple (or blue), and
white flowers. It has several varieties, notably White
Gem, an exquisite silvery flower with dark anthers.
Jewel, violet, with white centre, is also charming. All
grow nine inches to a foot high, and bloom in spring.
The culture is similar to that of coronaria and fulgens —
that is, they may be raised from seed sown in spring or
tubers planted in autumn ; but they will not thrive so
well as the Poppy Anemone in heavy soil. They like a
light, warm, well-drained soil, in a sunny position, and
are suitable for rockwork.

The Japanese Anemone^ Japonica, which came from
Japan in 1844, is a glorious herbaceous plant, producing
its beautiful flowers on long, arching stems in August,
September, and October. A fibrous-rooted species, it
will grow almost anywhere. I have seen it really good
in a London suburban garden. It loves a deep, cool, 1
rich soil ; and in such a medium is a very different
plant from the ones that are seen in thin, poor, sun-
baked soil, often rising to four feet high.

The type has red flowers, and is less popular than the
white variety Honorine Joubert, which first appeared in
the garden of a French horticulturist named Joubert (or
Jobert) at Verdun-sur-Meuse. The latter produces its
large, white flowers in great abundance, and as the stems .
are long, the plant is valuable to cut from.

lo POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

Many fine varieties of the Japanese Anemone have
been raised from seed, and the following may be named
for the benefit of gardeners who want to specialise this
beautiful plant : —

Alba (Honorine Joubert), white.

Beaute Parfaite, double white.

Collarette, white, yellow anthers, semi-double.

Coupe d' Argent, white, double.

Couronne Virginale, white, tinted.

Honorine Joubert, white.

Lady Ardilaun, white, larger than the preceding.

Mont Rose, rose, semi-double.

Vase d'Argent, silvery, double.

Whirlwind, white.

The Japanese Anemone and its varieties are delightful
for herbaceous borders. They may be planted in spring.
Propagation can be effected by division, or by taking
cuttings of the roots in spring, placing them in pots, and
putting them in a heated greenhouse or warm frame.

Narcissiflora is not a very important species, but it is
a pretty one, with its umbels of white flowers in April
and May. It grows about a foot high. It will thrive on
the rockery if the position is partially shaded. It may be
planted in spring, and divided, if propagation is neces-
sary, at the same season.

Wood Anemones. — In nemorosa we have the Wood
Anemone, so much admired in the shady glades of the
forest in spring. It abounds on the chalk hills of Kent,
the colour varying from white to pale rose. It is not
much grown in gardens, but the large, beautiful, lavender-
coloured variety Robinsoniana is, and few more charming
dwarf spring-blooming plants exist for the rockery or
for naturalising. Other pretty varieties of nemorosa are
alba flore-pleno, double white ; Alleni, blue ; bracteata,

.^Ji, ■. v».,,1

z
o

Q
H

ON ANEMONES n

the flowers of which are surrounded by a green frill ;
and grandiflora (major), large single white.

All of the Wood Anemones are creeping-rooted, and
flower in early spring if planted in autumn.

Pulsatilla^ the Pasque Flower, is a popular mauve-
flowered herbaceous species, loving chalky soil. It
blooms in spring from seed sown the previous March.
Plants may be put in when growth starts in spring. It
grows about a foot high. There is a charming white
variety named alba, which is rare and rather expensive.
Limestone chips should be placed round this plant in
order to prevent moisture collecting at the ground level
and causing decay.

Sylvestrisy the Snowdrop Windflower, is a fragrant
and beautiful species that opens in April. Before expan-
sion the flowers resemble Snowdrops. There is a larger
variety called grandiflora, and a double called flore-pleno,
both lovely. All grow about a foot high. They are
herbaceous plants, and are charming for mixed borders.
They enjoy a position that is somewhat shady, and light,
well-drained soil. Early spring is a good time to plant.

The foregoing are the principal Windflowers. Of
the remaining species perhaps Alpina, which grows a
foot high, produces white flowers in May, has fibrous
roots, is best planted in early spring, has a pretty sulphur-
coloured variety called sulphurea, and is useful either for
borders or rockwork ; Baikalensis, one foot high, with
drooping white flowers in June, a fibrous-rooted species
useful for the border and the rockery ; palmata, which
has yellow flowers in May, kidney-shaped leaves, and
likes a damp site ; and ranunculoides, a dwarf sort with
small yellow flowers in spring, are the most desirable.

The list of species and varieties which I have given is
much too long for owners of small gardens, but I have

12 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

thought it well to describe all the principal sorts, in order
that the reader may have the salient facts about the best
Anemones before him. When it comes to a selection,
there need be no difficulty in making a choice. The
I Poppy and Japanese Anemones — the former for spring,
" the latter for autumn — are the two most valuable classes.
Both are easily grown. Both thrive in most soils. Both
give large, brilliant flowers in abundance. As different
from each other in bloom as in foliage, they are, never-
theless, sisters, and a more charming pair could not be
found.

ON ASTERS, CHINA AND PERENNIAL

It comes as a shock to lovers of the China Aster, which
has been a familiar object in every garden that they have
known since childhood, to learn that it is an interloper
in the Aster genus. The triumphant botanist will grant
you that there is such a plant as an Aster, but he will
produce irrefutable evidence that the "China" is not
it. He will show you that the true Aster is a plant of
respectable antiquity, with something of a history of its
own, and, so to say, a family portrait gallery. And he
will prove that the annual varieties are mere modern
upstarts, practically without a history, and sadly lacking
in family weight.

Those uncompromising botanists who object to
"popular" names for plants will follow up the advan-
tage that they have gained in showing that the " China
Aster" is not an Aster by proceeding to demonstrate
that the plant which really is an Aster is called generally
by some other name. " Perceive your folly," they will
thunder ; " the name Aster is not simple enough for the
plant which owns it, and so you must needs call it the
Michaelmas Daisy or the Starwort ; but Aster is quite
simple enough for another plant which has a name of
its own." Truly, the botanist has us on the hip, and we
can but hang our abashed heads in a becoming meekness.

Shall we, however, mend our ways ? Shall we accept

14 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

admonishment in a chastened spirit, and ^^ do better next
time " ? That were too much to promise. It is one
thing to acknowledge that the botanist has scored a
point, but it is quite another to give him an under-
taking to accept in future every name that he chooses
to give us, and ^* use no other." We love our old garden
names almost as much as we love the flowers them-
selves. They come '^trippingly off the tongue." They
revive old memories. Mignonette might smell as sweet if
we had to grow it under the name of Reseda, but it would
not seem the same to us. The Sweet Pea would sparkle
as brightly in the sunshine with Lathyrus odoratus on the
label as it does now, but we could not discuss it under
that name as familiarly as we do at present.

The botanist, let us remind him, has his weak spot as
well as we. He is much given to growing dissatisfied
with the names which he has given to the plants, and to
changing them in consequence — or, to be more exact, to
changing the names given by other botanists. If two
botanists give different names to a plant, there is surely
some excuse for ordinary folk giving it a third. By a
remarkable coincidence, two botanical names have been
given to the China Aster, one being Callistephus and the
other Callistemma. Have we not now given the botanist
a Roland for his Oliver ? We have, and, being quits, we
will part in good humour.

The Michaelmas Daisy is, then, the real Aster. Time
was when it fell little short of weed-dom. It was a
rampant grower, with a most aggressive root system,
and its flowers were not so very striking. But the
modern varieties are mostly compact growers, with
large flowers of brilliant colours. So much improved
has the plant been, indeed, that it is now extremely
useful. Its intrinsic beauty is considerable, and is

ON ASTERS 15

supported by late blooming. The Michaelmas Daisy
now ranks with the Dahlia and the Chrysanthemum as
an autumn flower of the first rank, and not a few
gardeners prefer it to either.

Without making comparisons which might be painful
to the feelings of Dahlia and Chrysanthemum specialists,
we may throw into relief two of the merits of the
perennial Aster.

In the first place, the genus is made up of a large
number of species and varieties varying greatly in
colour, height, and period of flowering. This means
that it provides us with material for our beds and
borders that we can utilise (a) for particular colour
effects, (d) in different parts of the borders, (c) for
blooming over a long period. Instead of planting a
dozen of one particular sort, and so having a block of
one colour at one place at one particular period, we
can plant several sorts, thus getting bloom in different
places and at different times.

In the second place, they will grow in almost any soil
and situation.

Students of hardy plants are fully alive to the import-
ance of the modern Michaelmas Daisy, and have set up
such a demand for it as to make it worth while for clever
cross-fertilisers to specialise it. This means that a con-
stant stream of new and improved varieties is flowing
into the nurseries, just as there is of new Roses, new
Chrysanthemums, new Carnations, new Dahlias, and new
Sweet Peas. The old school of flower gardeners have
no adequate conception of the modern Michaelmas
Daisy. They neither know what it is, nor what it is
capable of doing. Before me as I write is a clump of
the violet-coloured variety Framfieldi (a variety, I ought
to say, for the sake of botanical accuracy, of the old

1 6 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

species amellus, which grows about two feet high, has
blue flowers with yellow disc, and came to England
from Italy as far back as 1596.) It is mid-October, and
the plant, which has been in flower several weeks, is
still full of bloom. It is growing in thin, fibreless soil
on a chalk bank, in spite of which it has spread to a
yard across by two and a half feet high, and is bearing
scores of flowers. (By the way, if the chalk bank does
not conduce to vigour, it does, I think, to richness of
colour ; and I may be pardoned a brief digression, the
object of which is to allude to the effects of chalky soil
on blue flowers. The blue annual Love-in-a-mist
(Nigella) luxuriates in chalk, bears huge flowers, and
colours brilliantly. Certain wild flowers that may be
white or pink on black lands become blue on chalk.
Veronicas form one example, and the blue Wood
Anemone, Robinsoniana, is found wild on the limestone.)
The beauty of my particular plant of Framfieldi is
typical of many others. Some bloom in August, some
in November. All are perfectly hardy. Many of the
species come from North America, others from Siberia,
and consequently no extremity of severe weather that
we have in Britain injures the plants. What does some-
times happen is the tarnishing of the flowers by frost,
but even this is not always fatal to the beauty of the
plants. If the assault is not a heavy one, and if the sun
does not strike direct on to the flowers early in the
morning, the flowers freshen up again. They justify
the figure of Dante in the Divina Commedia :

" As florets, by the frosty air of night
Bent down and closed, when day has blanched their leaves,
Rise all unfolded on their spiry stems ;
So was my fainting vigour new restored,
And to my heart such kindly courage ran,
That I as one undaunted soon replied."

ON ASTERS 17

The colours of some of the Michelmas Daisies are
not to be matched by any other flowers of autumn.
They are not vivid and dazzHng, but in most cases they
are rich, warm, and harmonious. Some of the tones are
exquisitely refined. Others have a tawny, subdued glow
which is both arresting and appealing. Invariably the
plants bloom abundantly.

Flower-gardeners who like warm effects in their
borders should draw largely on the perennial Asters.
By selecting a few of the best varieties of each species,
having in view differences in height, colour, and flower-
ing season, beautiful effects can be had from mid-August
to mid-November. The following table will give an idea
of the material available. Except where otherwise stated,
the height of the variety is approximately the same as
that of the parent species : —

Species.

Height
in Feet.

Flowering
Season.

Varieties.

Acris

August

Nanus, lilac.

Alpinus

June, July

Purple species.

Amellus .

August,

Bessarabicus, purplish-

September

lilac.

j> • •

Sept. & Oct.

Distinction, rosy-
mauve.

5) ff

Framfieldi, violet.

Cordifolius

August

Elegans, lilac, 4.

—

Ideal, lavender, 3J.

Dififusus .

October

White species.

» • •

—

Coombe Fishacre,
bluish-rose.

))

—

Horizontalis, lilac-rose.

Dumosus .

Mauve species.

Ericoides .

September

Golden Spray, white,
yellow disc, i^.

—

Freedom, white, yellow
centre.

"""■

CHo, white, i^.

POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

Species.

Height
in Feet.

Flowering
Season.

Varieties.

Grandiflorus

November

Blue species.

Laevis

September

Hon. Vicary Gibbs,
reddish-blue.

Novae-Angliae .

4-5

Mrs. J. F. Rayner,
rose, 4.

Mrs. S. T. Wright, rosy-
purple.

Lil Fardell, pink.

Novi-Belgii

Arcturus, blue.
Captivation, pale pink, 3
Robert Parker,lavender
Top Sawyer, lilac.
White Spray, white, 5.

Shortii

October

Lavender species.

Tradescantii

August

White species.

Turbinellus

October

Lilac species.

Albus, white.

Vimineus

September

Blue species.

The foregoing is really a small selection, and as many
varieties as are named in it could be found in one popular
section, such as Novi-Belgii, alone. Alpinus is suitable
for rockwork. Amellus and its varieties, diffusus hori-
zontalis, and the ericoides varieties are suitable for posi-
tions from the middle to the front of the border. The
Novae-Angliae and Novi-Belgii varieties are suitable for
sites from the middle to the back. In order to have each
variety well represented in characteristic form, it is advis-
able to put at least three plants in each clump about
eighteen inches apart, wider or closer according as the
soil is rich or poor.

Soil. — With reference to this question, while the
Michaelmas Daisies will grow in almost any ground,
they give the best effects in deep, rich, moist ground,
attaining to noble proportions and flowering in great
profusion over a long period. If there is any marked

ON ASTERS

difference in the soil, the tall, strong growers may be
given the poorest, but it is a bad principle to provide
poor soil in a herbaceous border, which the Asters, after
all, only share with other plants. The most that should
be done is to abstain from manuring the ground for the
strong growers.

Propagation, — They must be taken up every three
years at the most, however, and the clumps split up, as
the root system is very strong and impoverishes the soil
rapidly. By this division a larger number of plants
can be secured, but it is best to keep the outside por-
tions for propagation, as they are stronger than the
hearts.

Young shoots taken off in spring and struck as cut-
tings in sandy soil afford another means of propagation.
The plants come readily from seed too.

The suburban gardener must be careful not to over-
look the Michaelmas Daisies, as they are good near-town
plants ; and the fact that they will grow in borders under
walls and fences where the soil is none too good is a
great advantage from his point of view. We have seen
that they are not at their best in such ground, but it is
not clear that the suburbanist wants their best, if by this
we understand the greatest vigour of grow^th. His
circumstances are quite different from those of the
country gardener who has plenty of room, and can
afford to smile when his plants spread into broad masses.
The suburbanist wants compactness ; he wants neat,
comparatively restricted growth, with as much bloom
to the square inch as can be had. For him, such small
but free-blooming varieties as Amellus and its varieties,
diffusus and its varieties (particularly horizontalis), and
the dwarf varieties of ericoides, are the most suitable.
With them in good form he can very well do without

20 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

I the taller, looser sorts like the Novae-AngUae and Novi-
Belgii varieties.

China Asters. — Suburban and country gardeners alike
will grow China Asters, which, being annuals, grow from
seed in spring and die in autumn. Like the worker bees,
they have a few months of bright, bustling life, and then
depart into the shades. They are adorable little plants,
and have a time-hallowed association with ten-week
Stocks ; indeed, one might speak of the two in com-
mercial language as " Messrs. Stocks and Asters, speci-
alists in garden decoration, established over one hundred
years."

f The original China Aster came over in 1731. Bot-

anists called it Callistephus chinensis. The first name
means "beautiful crown," the second indicates the
habitat. Whence the popular name of Aster ? It is
probably derived from astevy a star, in allusion to the
somewhat stellate form of the flowers. (Remember that
the original was single, not double.) Be this so or not,
the name Aster was given, and it stuck. It is as Asters
that we know the Callistephuses to-day, and it is ^s
Asters that our descendants will grow them a thousand
years hence.

The original Aster had mauve flowers, and the flower-
lover who is sufficiently interested may get seed of it
from a few of the larger seedsmen, under the name

) of Callistephus sinensis. It is a really pretty thing, worth
growing for its own sake, as well as for the interest
which springs out of a comparison between the earliest
and the latest forms. Such a comparison pays a re-
markable tribute to the skill of the florist, who has not
only developed fresh colours, but also new forms. The
unversed amateur who opens a seedsman's catalogue
with the view of finding the cost of a packet of Aster

Annual Astp:rs.

ON ASTERS

seed, is often astonished to find many different classes
offered. He sees Quilled, Paeony-flowered, Ostrich
Plume, and many others, and knows not the difference
between them. The following table gives the principal
types, with a brief description of them : —

Type.

Colour.

Form.

Chrysanthemum-
flowered . .
Comet ....

> Various •)
Various

Round, florets over-
lapping evenly.
Florets broad and flat.

Crown or Cockade .

Various

Florets somewhat in-
curved.

Dwarf Bouquet

Various

The feature of this
type is the low, com-

Ostrich Plume
Pasony-flowered
Quilled ....

Various
Various
Various

pact growth.
Loose feathery flowers.
Florets incurved.
Florets rolled.

Victoria ....

Various

Florets reflexed.

Up till comparatively recent times the Chrysanthe-
mum-flowered and Victoria were the two most popular
annual Asters for the garden, and the Quilled for ex-
hibition. They are still grown extensively, but the
newer types, Comet and Ostrich Plume, have increased
so rapidly in popularity as to dispute the position of
the old favourites. The Ostrich Plume is particularly
beautiful, as the flowers, although large and rich in
colour, have a light and feathery appearance. It grows
eighteen inches to two feet high, very little more than
either Comet or Victoria, but the habit is a little looser.
Unless space is very precious, I should recommend the i
Ostrich Plume in preference to any other type. If a
compact grower is wanted, the Dwarf Chrysanthemum-
flowered had better be chosen. The Dwarf Bouquet

2 2 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

is smaller still, but it is more suitable for edgings than
anything else in the garden.

The seedsmen offer the various types in separate
colours as well as in mixture, so that gardeners can
make special arrangements if they wish. As a large
number of plants can be raised from a packet of seed,
the cost of which need not exceed sixpence, and may
be as little as a penny, the Aster is one of the cheapest
of flowers to grow in quantity. Whole beds can be
had for a few pence.

Culture. — Little skill is required to grow the plants,
the principal points being to keep them uncrowded
and free from black-fly while in the seedling stage. A
simple way of getting a stock of plants is to fill some
shallow boxes with fine soil in March, draw drills half
an inch deep and three inches apart, sprinkle the seeds
thinly, and place the boxes in a frame or greenhouse.
In the absence of both, stand the boxes on a layer of
ashes in the garden in April, and cover with squares
of glass. Immerse the boxes in a tub of water as deep
as the level of the soil when the latter becomes dry.
Seedlings raised in a greenhouse should be kept on a
shelf close to the glass, in order to prevent their getting
drawn or weak ; but Asters are best in an unheated
frame. Abundance of air should be given in fine
weather.

When the seedlings have developed sufficiently to
begin crowding, they should be set three inches apart
all ways in other boxes, or they will spoil each other.
They can remain in the second boxes until the ground
is ready for them in May or June. If they are attacked
by black-fly (and a sharp lookout should always be
kept for this injurious aphis), sprinkle them with water
in which a handful of quassia chips, which chemists

ON ASTERS 23

supply, has been soaked for several hours. Or dust
some tobacco powder on them, and wash it off a few
hours later.

No small part of the value of China Asters lies in
their adaptability for bedding. Those who fill their
flower-beds with bulbs, Wallflowers, and Forget-me-nots
in autumn, should always raise or buy a supply of Asters
in spring, so that when the spring flowers are over they
can be cleared off at once, and the beds, after being
dug, replanted at once. The beds can either be filled
with Asters alone, or with Asters associated with graceful
Salpiglossis, Tobacco (Nicotiana), and Snapdragons,
which can also be raised from seed in spring.

The soil need not be manured heavily for any of the
plants which I have named, and particularly for the
Asters. If very poor, a light dressing of decayed manure
can be worked in, otherwise it will suffice to dig in some
burnt refuse, saved from the last garden fire.

I need hardly say that the use of China Asters is not
limited to bedding. Groups of them look charming in
herbaceous borders, if the colour blends with those of
the permanent plants. Wherever there is a gap in the
garden, be it in bed or border. Asters may be pressed
into service ; and the sensible flower - gardener will
always have a box or two of sturdy seedlings by him
in May, ready for strengthening any weak spot.

Ill

ON BEGONIAS, MOST BRILLIANT OF BEDDING PLANTS

The tuberous Begonia, as we grow it in our gardens
to-day, is an entirely modern production. Begonias, and
Begonias with tubers, were known a good many years
ago, but flower gardeners took very little notice of them,
because they were either straggly and ungainly in habit,
or had drooping, ineffectual flowers.

" Begonia " is derived from Begon, the name of a
French floriculturist.

There is little of the interest of folk-lore or literary
association in the Begonia. When the reader who is
interested in the beginnings of popular plants looks up a
botanical dictionary, he finds the names of an enormous
number of species, but nearly all were introduced in the
nineteenth century. Nitida is one of the oldest, and
that came from Jamaica in 1777 ; it has not played any
part in the development of garden Begonias, and we can
pass it over. Modern garden Begonias have come in
the main from six species, the salient facts about which
are set out in the following table: —

Species.

Boliviensis
Clarkei .
Davisi
Pearcei .
Rosaiflora
Veitchi

Colour.

Vermilion

Rose

Scarlet

Yellow

Pink

Vermilion

Year of
Introduction.

1864
1867
1876
1865
1866
1867

ON BEGONIAS 25

All of these came from South America, and their
offspring are not hardy. The earliest to arrive came,
we see, as recently as 1864, so that it is vain to ransack
libraries in search of ancient rites and ceremonies, or
old beliefs, or literary references, in connection with this
now popular flower. It is as modern as torpedo-boats,
and society newspapers, and electric tramcars. It can
hardly be said to have a history at all. Florists have
rushed it into being just as engineers have rushed iron-
clads and type-setting machines.

The history of the development of a popular flower
is briefly as follows : —

(i) The introduction of certain species.

(2) The crossing of these species, resulting in the

production of hybrids.

(3) The intercrossing of hybrids, resulting in the pro-

duction of varieties.

(4) The intercrossing of varieties ad infinitum.
Botanists generally keep records of the crossing of

species, and often of the intercrossing of hybrids, but
when florists take to crossing varieties the herbarium
authorities give up in despair. In case the reader is
interested in the derivation of garden Begonias, I may
give a table showing a few of the early crosses : —

A Cross between

Gave

Boliviensis and an unnamed species .
Boliviensis and Veitchi ....
Boliviensis and Sedeni ....

Sedeni and Veitchi

Clarkei and Sedeni

Sedeni.

Intermedia.

Chelsoni.

Stella.

Vesuvius.

But this has no practical value, because none of the off-
spring, or the offspring of the crosses which immediately

26 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

followed these, are grown now, with the possible excep-
tion of Vesuvius. We see that the hybrid Sedeni was
produced by crossing two species, and that this hybrid
was almost immediately used as a parent itself, resulting
in the sub-hybrids Chelsoni and Vesuvius. Thence-
forward the work of crossing was no longer botanical.
Trade florists, both in this country and abroad, crossed
and re-crossed ; and they kept the records of the various
crosses to themselves. One of the first of the nursery-
men to become famous as a raiser of Begonias was
the late John Laing, and he was followed by Pope,
Cannell, Lascelles, Blackmore, and Langdon. They all
did good work, but none of them published details of
his crosses, and it may be said truly that it is a wise
J Begonia child which knows its own father.

Laing did not begin till 1875 or 1876, but things
moved so fast that by 1906 we had a magnificent array
of varieties, including many shapes and colours. At the
present time they could be classified by form if desired.
Some are single and others double. The former could
be classified as plain and frilled, the latter as Camellia-
shape, Hollyhock-shape, Rose-shape, and Water-lily
shape. All the doubles are beautiful, whatever their
form, as long as they have only one centre, and that
symmetrical.

It is an interesting fact about single Begonias that
the flowers are generally borne in clusters of three, the
|l central one being a male, and the other two females.
Double Begonias are sexless, as the organs of fertilisa-
tion are transformed into petals.

Single and double alike are now distinguished by
good habit. The flowers do not hang nerveless on
slender stems, but are borne erect on strong stems, and
show up in handsome clusters above the leaves. This is

Double Bkosaias.

ON BEGONIAS 27

a great advantage when the plants are bedded out. The
leaves are thick and handsome, borne on fat, reddish or
brown stems.

The florists have not given us a blue Begonia yet.
This colour baffles them almost as effectually in Begonias
as it does in Zonal Geraniums and Chrysanthemums.
We should be glad to have it, if it was a real blue, and
not a wishy-washy, lilac-cum-lavender-cum-purple, the
exact shade of which could not be found even in the
colour chart ; but we can do very well without it.

The fact that the parentage of our best modern
Begonias is unknown will not worry the majority of
flower-gardeners ; it will be enough for them that we
have the varieties. Here is a table of good bedding
sorts : —

Variety.

Single or
Double,

Colour.

Washington

Doris

Major Hope .

Marquis of Stafford

Hilda

Lafayette .

Double
Double
Double
Double
Double
Double

Scarlet.

Rosy-pink.

Rose.

Crimson.

Salmon.

Crimson-scarlet.

Singles are generally labelled to colour, and sold as
such for bedding without names. The best colours are
white, crimson, rose, scarlet, pink, and salmon.

If the grower buys varieties under name he will have
to pay more for them than for unnamed sorts, and
further, he will feel himself under the obligation of label-
ling them, propagating them, and storing them separately.
As a set-off to the extra work he will have the advantage
of being able to arrange his colours exactly to his taste,
and the interest of comparing his varieties with those of

28 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

other growers. He will have to propagate by cuttings
or dividing the tubers to keep them true. He could
save seed of the singles perhaps, but it would not give
the form and colour of the parent plant.

Cheap Begonias. — Most gardeners do very well with
unnamed Begonias. The florist can sell these cheaper
than named sorts, because he has not the expense of
growing them separately. I open the catalogue of a
good florist, and I find the following : — " Begonias for
bedding, singles, specially selected, free bloomers with
erect flower stalks, colours mixed, large tubers, 2s. 6d.
per dozen ; doubles, mixed, 4s. per dozen." This is
quite a genuine offer, and a dozen other reliable dealers
would make it in slightly different words. It is perfectly
safe to buy these cheap mixtures so long as the florist is
a man of repute.

How to Start, — It is a good plan to buy the tubers
in March, embed them six inches apart in soil in
shallow boxes, and put them in a greenhouse or
frame. The compost may consist of two parts loam,
one leaf mould, and half part sand. When growth
starts the boxes should be placed close to the glass,
and water should be given when the soil becomes
dry. The grower will first see a thick, reddish
stem push up ; the leaves will form at the top of it.
Growth will be slow in April, but fast in May, and by
the end of the merry month the boxes will be full of
foliage. By this time the spring flowers will be over,
and the beds can be cleared of them. The ground
should be dug deeply and dressed with decayed manure
if poor ; but if it is in good condition, a couple of hand-
fuls of superphosphate to the square yard will do. A
hot, dry position should be avoided, as Begonias love
\ partial shade and abundance of moisture. The plants

ON BEGONIAS 29

should be put in a foot apart. If the soil is shallow it
will be wise to spread on a coating of manure or cocoa-
nut fibre refuse after planting. Soakings of water in dry
weather, with a Hberal drenching of liquid manure once
a week, will go a long way towards producing good
results.

Raising from Seed. — A stock can be secured by sow-
ing seed; and this certainly gives a large quantity of
plants cheaply. The habit of the plants and the quaHty
of the flowers will be all that can be desired if the seed
is bought from one of the large firms who specialise the
principal florists' flowers. But full beds must not be
relied on the first year. If the seed is sown early, if the
treatment is good, if the soil is fertile, and if the season
is a damp one — if, in a word, all the circumstances are
favourable — there may be a nice bed the same year
as the seed is sown. But the circumstances must be
favourable.

The seed, which is very fine and needs careful hand-
ling, ought to be sown on the surface of very fine moist /
soil in January, and merely settled down with a film of
silver sand. The pan should be covered with glass
shaded with paper until germination has taken place,
when the seedlings should be inured to the light by
degrees. When the soil gets dry it should be moistened
by lowering the pan into a vessel of water. Pouring
water on to the surface, even through a fine-rosed can,
is dangerous, as it is liable to displace the seed or seed-
lings. The pan should be put near the glass, and air
given in fine weather.

Planting, — The seedlings can be removed on the end
of a label when they begin to crowd each other, and set
three inches apart in a shallow box. As they have to
form tubers, they must not be expected to move as fast

30 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

as young Cinerarias or Primulas, which only have to
form a few fibres ; Begonias develop very slowly.
When they have grown sufficiently to crowd in the
boxes each may be given a small pot, and on their
progress after this shift, and the weather, turns their
future for the current year. If they grow to six inches
high and through by mid-July, and the weather is moist,
they may be planted out, as, in the absence of early
frost, they will have three months in which to develop,
and that should be sufficient — given good soil and plenty
of moisture — to bring them into beauty.

Begonias are often at their very best in October, as
they love the cool nights and heavy dews. And their best
is something that no other " bedding plant " can equal.
The colours are not more brilliant than those of Zonal
Geraniums, but the flowers are finer, and the foliage is
more handsome. Some of the shades are exquisite,
notably the soft pinks, yellows, and blushes. The whites
are as pure as snow.

The tubers should be taken up when the plants
wither or are blackened by frost, dried, and stored in
a dry, frost-proof place to which mice cannot gain
access.

Fibrous Begonias. — Several varieties of a fibrous-rooted
Begonia named semperflorens exist. The species, a
Brazilian plant with pink flowers, is generally used for
pot culture ; but the varieties are planted out in the
garden. Being of neat, shrubby habit, and flowering
profusely for many weeks, they are very attractive. In
addition to pretty flowers some of them have tinted
leaves. When cold weather comes on they may be
lifted, put into pots, and placed in a warm greenhouse,
where they will give winter bloom. The following are
charming varieties : —

ON BEGONIAS 31

Coral Pink. — Coral, large flowers.

Crimson Gem. — Red flowers and bronzy red leaves (some-
times grown under the name of Vernon).

Crimson Bedder. — Crimson flowers and dark red foliage.
Fairy Queen. — Pink (there is also a white variety).

These pretty fibrous-rooted Begonias come readily
from seed, which may be sown in a similar way to that
of the tuberous varieties. As the seedlings have no
tubers to form they grow faster than the latter, and soon
make nice plants for the beds. They only grow eight to
ten inches high, and should be put at the front of beds
which contain large plants.

ON BELL-FLOWERS (CAMPANULAS) AND CANTERBURY
BELLS AS BEAUTIFUL BORDER PLANTS

There is better ground for the popular name of the
Campanulas than there is for many of the English names
which are given to plants. Here, the popular and the
botanical names are associated. Campanula comes from
campanay a bell, and is, indeed, one of those endearing
diminutives which the Latin races love, meaning '' little
bell." It flows softly from the tongue however it is
accented, and lingers on the ear with a memory of the
tinkle of sheep bells on Alpine slopes. The pronuncia-
tion is Cam-pan'-u-la. Repeat it, lingeringly — Cam-pan-
u-la-a-a-a. How sweetly it falls, suggesting song !

But the poets have not dealt kindly with the Cam-
panulas. Shakespeare does not mention them. Does
some alert and swift-moving reader bound to his shelves
and, first shaking a protesting finger at me, then point it
to Act iv. scene 2 of Cymbeline^ where Arviragus cries :

" With fairest flowers
While summer lasts and I live here,'Fidele,
I'll sweeten thy sad grave ; thou shalt not lack
The flower that's like thy face, pale Primrose, nor
The azured Harebell, like thy veins, no, nor
The leaf of Eglantine. ..."

I reply that the Harebell of Shakespeare was not our

Harebell, Campanula rotundifolia, but the Wild Hyacinth,

Scilla nutans^ which is often called Bluebell.

Canterbury Bells.

ON BELL-FLOWERS 33

*^ At least the Canterbury Bell has been immortalised,"
some one will say, ^^and it, too, is a Campanula." Oddly
enough, the Canterbury Bell, popular flower though it
is, seems to have received scant attention. You turn up
reference book after reference book, and '^ See Cam-
panula " meets the eye with exasperating iteration. And
when you get to Campanula you merely find ^^ Medium,
the Canterbury Bell." Writers seem to have troubled
about it very little ; in fact, they have not even asked
themselves how it got its popular name. If the South-
Eastern Railway had existed when it was christened I
might have suggested that some traveller had called it
the Canterbury Bell because of its abundance on the
sides of the chalk cuttings on the Elham Valley line near
the old cathedral city. The Canterbury Bells are very
happy there, and nowhere is their blue more sparkling
than on chalk, though to be sure the plants do not grow
with anything like the vigour that they display on the
deep clay. These wildlings have doubtless strayed out
of gardens, and we may assume that the Canterbury Bell
has long been a popular flower in East Kent.

It is one of the oldest Campanulas that we have, \
having been introduced from Germany in 1597, one
year later than the Peach-leaved Campanula, persicifolia.
Stevens and Leebault included Canterburie bels in the
garden of the Maison Rustique, published in 1600.
Those grand old botanists, Gerard and Parkinson, both
gave illustrations of the Canterbury Bell, but the draw-
ings are almost as quaint as the descriptions. Philip
Miller referred to it in his Gardener s Dictionary^ telling
us that it grew wild in Austrian and Italian woodlands,
but was appreciated by English gardeners for the beauty
of its flowers. His description is minute : —

*' There are the following varieties : the blue, the

34 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

purple, the white, the striped, and the double flowering*
This hath oblong, rough, hairy leaves, which are serrated
on their edges ; from the centre of these a stiff, hairy,
furrowed stalk arises, about two feet long, sending out
several lateral branches, which are garnished with long,
narrow, hairy leaves, sawed on their edges ; from the
setting on of these leaves come out the footstalks of the
flowers, those which are on the lower part of the stalk
and the branches being four or five inches long, diminish-
ing gradually in their length upward, and thereby form
a sort of pyramid."

New forms and colours have been added to the
Canterbury Bells since Miller's day. We have rose and
mauve as well as blue and white, and we have the cup-
and-saucer Canterbury Bell {Campanula medium caly-
canthemd) in various colours. The calyx of this is
coloured like the corolla. Many people prefer it to the
plain type, but the latter is quite good enough for the
majority of flower-gardeners when it is well grown.

All the Canterbury Bells belong to the class known
as hardy biennials, which are sown in late spring in
the open ground, flower the following year, then seed
and die. They often come up year after year in the
same place, but it is not a case of fresh growths from
the same rootstock ; the new plants are self-sown
seedlings.

Having grown Canterbury Bells on heavy soil and
on light, I have to confess a preference for the former.
Given strong, moist ground, they branch freely. On
thin, dry ground they make very little lateral growth.
Plants with strong side shoots are much more hand-
some than those with only one stem. Those who want
to get the best out of these fine old flowers (and their
best is really well worth having) should enrich the soil,

ON BELL-FLOWERS 35

if poor, with well-decayed manure, taking care to dig
deeply.

Sowing. — There is no dijEficulty in getting strong plants
by autumn if seed is sown thinly at mid-May, and the
plants are put out nine inches apart in a spare plot a
month or so later. They will not grow very fast through
the summer, as they move slowly while quite young,
but they will have filled their allotted space nicely by
October, when they can be planted out in their perma-
nent positions if convenient, otherwise being left till
spring. If the soil is good they should be put a yard
apart.

The plants will bloom early in summer, and will last u^ {-^^
a long time in beauty, especially if the first flowers are
picked off as soon as they fade.

There are many biennial Bell-flowers beside the
Canterbury Bell, but the majority are not of much
value, and we have to look for the best of the other
Campanulas among the perennial species, which (in
the case of the hardy ones at least) come up from
the samB rootstock in the border year after year. There
are one or two good annual species, notably Loreyi,
purplish-blue, and ma crostylf^, light violet with purple
spots. The name of the latter- comes from the large,
brown, spindle-shaped style (the " style " of a flower
is that portion of the pistil between the ovary and the
stigma). These annual kinds flower in summer from
seed sown out of doors the same spring.

The perennial Bell-flowers vary enormously in habit.
One, Raineri, a charming little Hlac-flowered Italian
species, only grows three or four inches high. On the
other hand, we have the Chimney Campanula, pyrami-
dalis, which grows six or seven feet high under good
culture. The latter, by the way, is not considered to be

yiM

POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

hardy, but it is far from being tender, and often passes
severe winters unharmed.

The following is a representative table of perennial
Bell-flowers : —

Species or Variety.

Colour.

Height in
Inches.

Allionii . . ...

Violet-blue

Carpathica

Blue

„ alba

White

„ pallida .

Light blue

Garganica

Blue

Glomerata dahurica .

Indigo-blue

Grandiflora (Platycodon)

Blue

Latifolia .

Blue

„ alba .

White

Macrantha

Deep blue

Persicifolia

Blue

„ alba plena

White (double)

„ Moerheimii

White

Portenschlagiana (muralis

>
)

Violet-blue

Pyramidalis

Blue

„ alba

White

Raineri

Blue

Rotundifolia (Harebell)

Blue

Trachelium

Blue

„ alba plena

White (double)

Turbinata .

Purplish-blue

„ alba .

White

Seed of nearly all of these is procurable at a cheap rate,
^ and if it is sown out of dpprs^ in early summer, and the
plants thinned, they will bloom the following year, and
propagation can be effected afterwards by division in
spring. They are beautiful border plants, and the dwarf
sorts are good for the rockery.

It will be observed that in all cases the species is blue,
J and if it be true that this is Nature's most difficult
1 colour, which she has been longer elaborating than the

►J

<
U

>
<

W
u
<:
tii

b
O

Q
W
pa

ON BELL-FLOWERS 37

rest, the Bell-flowers must have come late in the stages
of evolution.

If I had to pick out what I regarded as the most
precious of the foregoing Campanulas, I should be dis-
posed to take the double white form of the Peach-leaved
(persicifolia alba plena). It is a graceful, lasting, and
beautiful plant, which in my experience is not fastidious
as to soil, and is well suited for a suburban garden. It
is stocked by all the hardy plant dealers, and costs but
a small sum. Grandiflora and glomerata dahurica are
two valuable species.

All the Campanula like cool conditions in the
summer ; they enjoy a semi-shady position and a
friable soil. Little summer attention is needed except
staking.

ON SHRUBBY BORDER AND BEDDING CALCEOLARIAS

The garden Slipperworts have lost some of the import-
ance which they possessed in the days when ^' bedding-
out" was popular. Inasmuch as flower-gardening has
spread so much during these latter years it is probable
that if a Calceolaria census were taken it would be found
that the plants are grown in greater quantities than they
ever were ; but florists pay little attention to them, and it
is rare for a new variety to come out. If one did, very
little notice would be taken of it. It would certainly not
be surrounded by a thick crowd of admirers at a show
like a new Rose or Sweet Pea.

The Slipperworts were misused in days gone by.
They were associated with red Zonal Geraniums and
blue Lobelias in the famous ^'ribbon border," of which
cultured people grew so weary that they could not see,
read, or hear of it without an impatience that almost
amounted to anger. And as if the ribbon border were
not enough, it was common to fill the principal beds
with Geraniums and border them with yellow Calceolarias
and blue Lobelias. In fact, flower-lovers became so
surfeited with this eternal red, yellow, and blue (and all
on plants that required glass protection in winter), that
they could hardly look on the triumvirate without
loathing.

There is nothing inherently repulsive in a Calceo-

3«

ON SHRUBBY BORDER 39

laria : on the contrary, it is a pretty and pleasing little
plant; neat in its growth, very free blooming, and so
bright in colour as to be as cheering as a sunny morn-
ing. It is the gardeners who over-used it, and not the | ^
plant itself, that we ought to condemn. Now that it has
settled down to the modest position to which its merits
entitle it, we can well afford to regard it with favour.

The shape of the flower gave it its name. The re-
semblance to a slipper {calceolus) is not very close in
modern flowers, which come nearer to the form of a
tobacco-pouch than that of a slipper, but doubtless the
flowers have become rounder with cultivation. Florists
always try to take angles out of flowers, and make them
smooth and round.

Although Calceolaria is a botanical name the public
has taken kindly to it — so kindly, in fact, that it is often
affectionately reduced to the diminutive *^ Calcie," which
might almost be the name of a favourite daughter. The
pronunciation is Cal-se-o-lair'-i-a. The fancies of the
people with respect to plant names are past comprehen-
sion. Calceolaria would prove a troublesome mouthful,
one might have thought, to the class of gardener that gives
plants popular names ; but apparently it did not discom-
mode them. To be sure, the bedding Calceolarias are
comparatively modern plants, most of the species from
which the bedding varieties have sprung having been
introduced during the nineteenth century, so that the
plant plays no part in folk-lore or tradition. Integrifolia
{rugosa) came over in 1822, and we know that this was
used as a parent by hybridists. Perhaps floribunda
[petiolaris) and violacea were also used as parents. These
were introduced in 1843 and 1853 respectively. All
three species came from South America, and this being
so, we should not expect them to be hardy.

40 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

Good Varieties. — Very few people who grow Calceo-
larias in the garden trouble about names ; nay, the nur-
seryman who grows a particular variety by the thousand
to sell in spring may not know its name. There are,
nevertheless, several distinct varieties, and they can be
had under name if desired. Gaines' Yellow is a famous
variety, and it is probably used more largely than any
other ; it grows about a foot high and blooms abun-
dantly, so that it makes a good bedder. A newer variety
called Golden Glory is larger both in growth and bloom
than Gaines' Yellow ; it is a splendid sort, but more
expensive than the older one. The red, orange, and
purple varieties are not much used, but can be bought
if wanted under the respective names of Bijou, Prince
of Orange, and Sultan. All grow about a foot high.
Propagation. — The bedding Calceolarias differ from

I the greenhouse sorts, being evergreen shrubs. The^
greenhouse Calceolarias lose their stems after flowering,
and are generally raised from seed annually, although
occasionally cuttings are taken when young shoots push
up from the rootstock. Propagation by cuttings is
general with the bedders, and the shoots, which are
taken off and inserted in sandy soil in a cold frame in
autumn, retain their leaves all the winter. They are so
nearly hardy that they do not require any protection in
mild winters, but it is well to put a mat over the frame
when severe frost threatens. If the cuttings are taken
early — say with those of Zonal Geraniums in August —
they start growing before autumn, and the new wood is

i likely to be injured by frost. October is early enough. /

The young plants begin to grow in March if the

weather is mild, and by mid-April they are bushy little

fellows. They ought to be planted then, as if they get

well established before the hot weather comes on they

ON SHRUBBY BORDER 41

will not be likely to fall a prey to the fungus which kills
so many yellow Calceolarias every year. The soil should
be deep and fertile, to encourage healthy growth.

Well-grown ^' Calcies " are worth dropping into
borders in clumps of six or sO; and they also make a
cheerful border, but I must guard against saying any-
thing that might arouse painful memories in the minds
of my middle-aged and elderly readers.

Suburbanists will find the yellow Slipperwort a useful
plant, alike for their gardens and window-boxes, if they
will avoid the error of planting it late in poor, shallow,
sun-scorched soil ; and remember that it shares with
most other plants the weakness of enjoying a few
gallons of water (with an occasional dose of liquid
manure) in dry weather.

ON THE CANARY CREEPER AND OTHER "NASTUR-
TIUMS" AND TROPCEOLUMS

The Canary Creeper is one of the most familiar of
summer ramblers^ and at the first glance there is little
to connect it with the ^'Tom Thumbs" of our garden
borders, which have round leaves and large, open-
throated flowers. Its blossoms are small and crinkled,
and its leaves are much cut on the edges (five-lobed).
But it is closely related to the so-called *^ Nasturtiums "
in spite of this, for all are Tropoeolums.

The Canary Creeper probably got its popular name
from the colour of its flowers, which resembles that of
the feathered songsters so often to be found in the
parlours of elderly maiden ladies. True, it is sometimes
given the name of Canariense^ and this would indicate
the Canary Islands as its home if it were accurate, but it
is not. Canariense or Canariensis is a seedsman's name,
and has no support from the botanists. The plant did
not come to Britain from the Canaries, but from New
Grenada, the year of its advent being 1810. By some
odd happening ^^Canariensis" has become adopted as a
popular name, and it is not at all uncommon to hear it
used by amateurs in place of Canary Creeper.

In case the reader is not content to leave the plant

without a specific name, and demands that, since he is

told that Canariense is not correct, he should be in-

ON THE CANARY CREEPER 43

formed what is, I tell him that the botanists have made
two attempts, the one being aduncum (reference to the
basal hook) and the other peregrinuniy or wandering, i
The former is now the accepted botanical name.

The Canary Creeper is certainly a peregrinating plant.
It loves to ramble, peering here and there. It enjoys
sprawling along a rustic fence, climbing a trellis, and
creeping up an old bole. The one thing that it does
not like is tiresome restriction, and it looks least happy '/
when it is led on a piece of string, like a slum urchin's
flea-bitten and doleful-looking dog. One may plant it
at the front of window-boxes and large tubs, allowing it
to droop over ; it is not so vigorous as usual when so
treated, much preferring to climb, but it looks bright.
A more humane way of using it in a window-box is to
press the ends of a bamboo rod in the ends of the box,
thus forming a bow or arch over it, and let the plant
ramble over that.

Sowing. — It is a charming plant for one of the pillars of
a pergola, or the rustic work often employed in summer-
houses. If the basal position is shaded part of the day,
all the better, because it likes to have its roots in cool,
moist soil. But so far as the shoots are concerned, the
more sunshine that falls on the long gay streamers the
more cheerful the plant looks. It is classed as a half
hardy annual, and the plants in this section are generally
raised under glass in March or April, and planted out
in May or June. The angular, purplish seeds may be
put three inches apart and an inch deep in a shallow
box of soil, and placed in an unheated frame. Some
twigs should be put among the plants if they cannot be
planted out by the time they are four inches high, other-
wise they may cling round each other and be difficult to
separate.

44 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

I have known the Canary Creeper seed itself in a
place that it liked, and come up year after year. One
such colony, however, was invaded by a Dorothy
Perkins Rose, and even the Canary Creeper had to
knuckle under to that robustious plant.

There are, of course, many beautiful Tropoeolums
besides the Canary Creeper, albeit we call some of them
Nasturtiums. This name has stuck so tightly, in spite
of the fact that it is Latin, that we have never been able
to get rid of it, and never shall. There actually is a
genus Nasturtium^ so that the case presents a parallel
to Geraniu7n and Pelargonium^ the Zonal Pelargonium
being almost always called Geranium, in spite of the fact

' that a totally different class of plants owns the name.
Nasturtium and Tropoeolum are really further away
from each other than Geranium and Pelargonium ; and
it is curious to find the reason of the application of
the name '^ Nasturtium " to the Tropoeolums. The true
Nasturtiums are Cresses, N, officinale being the well-
known Water Cress. ^^ Nasturtium " comes from nasus,
nose, and tortus^ tormented, in allusion to the acrid
smell of the Cress. The leaf of the Tropoeolum has
much of the pungency of Cress, and was consequently
called the Indian Cress. (Why Indian is not clear, as

I the Tropoeolums are natives of South America.) From
this stage it was easy to reach the next, and decide that
if the Water Cress was a Nasturtium the Indian Cress
must be one also. Country folk often corrupt Nastur-
tium to *^ Sturshon," and when we hear this we realise
how far the Tropoeolum has gone. The cottagers do
more — they use the green seeds as a substitute for capers.
Nasturtiums. — It is generally the hardy Tropoeolums
which are called Nasturtiums, only the tender varieties
being given their proper name. Readers arc familiar with

ON THE CANARY CREEPER 45

both the dwarf (Tom Thumb) and tall hardy annual Nas-
turtiums, which bloom so brightly in summer and far into
the autumn, flowering when almost every other annual
has gone. They certainly bloom more profusely on chalk ] ^ (jf\
than on rich, strong soil ; and the colours are excep- / '^
tionally brilliant. The explanation of the more abun-
dant bloom is the less vigorous and succulent growth.
Leaving out Sweet Peas, they are my best late annuals
on chalk, only the Candytufts and Love-in-a-mist making
a real effort to vie with them. The suburban gardener
soon proves their worth on his often poor and baked
soil. The Lilliput strain of dwarfs is almost better than
the Tom Thumb, as the flowers are thrown up more
boldly above the leaves. This habit is particularly
valuable in rich soil. The strain can be had in separate
colours, like the Tom Thumb, or in mixture.

In the Queen of Tom Thumbs, in Variegated-leaved,
and in Cloth of Gold, we get coloured foliage. These
are attractive before any flowers appear.

Colour of flower and marking of leaf are both re-
peated in the tall (majus) section, the members of which
are excellent for training over rough ground, as well
as over trellises, arbours, and railings. There is an
Ivy-leaved variety with yellow flowers that is very
pretty.

The reader who has never tried orange, salmon, and |
yellow Nasturtiums for table decorations should do so.
If cut with long trails of stem and bloom, they will give
beautiful and uncommon effects.

Two or three of the species of Tropoeolum are
grown in the garden, notably polyphyllum^ a prostrate
perennial with yellow flowers, thriving in dry, warm
spots if left alone ; and speciosunty the Flame Nasturtium.
The latter is a glorious rambler in Scotland, and one

46 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

occasionally sees it succeeding in southern England,
but only when the roots are in a cool, shady place.
It likes association with some other plant, which gives
it protection and partial shade. Tuberosum, which has
red and yellow flowers, will pass the winter safely in
sandy soil and a sheltered place, but it is not really
hardy, and, as a rule, the tubers are taken up and stored
for the winter. The Lobbianum section, such as Ball
of Fire, are charming trailers, and although often grown
under glass, are quite suitable for window-boxes and
balconies in summer.

Erasmus Darwin wrote of the Tropoeolum in ^^The
Loves of the Plants " :

" Ere the bright star which tends the morning sky
Hangs o'er the flushing east his diamond eye,
The chaste Tropeo leaves her secret bed ;
A saintlike glory trembles round her head ;
Eight watchful swains along the lawns of night
With amorous steps pursue the virgin light."

The *^ watchful swains " are doubtless the stamens
of the flower.

The poets, therefore, have not neglected this old
garden flower.

VII

ON CANDYTUFTS AND CERTAIN OTHER ANNUALS

There are a few kinds of annuals which possess such
outstanding qualities — whether of colour, perfume, or
habit — that every flower-gardener feels that he must
grow them. The most remarkable example is, of course,
the Sweet Pea, which combines every merit, and is of
such importance as to claim a chapter to itself. Falling
below it in beauty and utility, yet still valuable, are a
few particular kinds that stand out from the bulk of
their class. Of such are Asters, Candytufts, Chrysanthe-
mums, Clarkias, Godetias, Larkspurs, Mignonette, Pe-
tunias, Phloxes, Poppies, Stocks, and Sunflowers, while
Sweet Alyssum, Convolvuluses, Coreopsis, Cornflowers,
Eschscholtzias, Lavateras, Leptosiphons, Linarias,Linum,
Lupins, Love-in-a-mist, Marigolds, Nemophilas, Sapona-
rias, Sweet Scabious, Silene, Salpiglossis, Sweet Sultans,
Virginian Stocks, and Zinnias, follow them closely.

It is only when the flower-lover sees a large collec-
tion of annuals on the trial grounds of one of the great
seed firms that he fully reahses the beauty of the class.
He is astonished alike at the range of colours, the splen-
did habit, and the duration. And when he realises that
seed of all can be bought for a few pence a packet, he
fully appreciates the strength of their claims.

Town and suburban amateurs are great people for
annuals. Many a small back-garden would go bare

48 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

but for these beautiful flowers. The suburbanist's
borders are comparatively narrow and restricted, as a
rule, and he cannot get the pleasure and satisfaction
out of hardy herbaceous perennials which people more
fortunately situated can. For a modest half-crown he
can buy a collection of several kinds of annuals, each
packet containing enough seed to yield a considerable
number of plants — sufficient in the aggregate, indeed,
to fill his garden with beautiful and fragrant flowers
through the summer and into mid-autumn. If the
amateur supports a penny-packet firm, he could get a
packet of each of the kinds which I have named for
two shillings and eightpence. It is good indeed to
think that so much beauty is available for so modest
an outlay.

Let me take the Candytuft (Asters have been dealt with
in Chapter II) as typical of the annuals. On April 7
I sowed a packet of Giant White Hyacinth-flowered
(the seedsman said the spikes would be nearly as large
as Hyacinths when at their best, and so they were) in
front of a Rose-bed, and to-day (October 11) the clumps
are still full of bloom after several weeks of incessant
flowering. The packet cost threepence, and by dint
of careful sowing, the seed being sprinkled very thinly
over an area of half a square yard in each case, I was
able to make it provide me with several clumps. This
I Candytuft, with its great white spikes reminiscent of
\ Hyacinths, has been as much a feature of the garden
as any of the herbaceous plants. The spikes are very
reluctant to part with their flowers. At their best they
are, of course, all bloom ; as the seeding instinct asserts
itself the lower flowers wither, leaving seed-pods ; and
this process repeats itself, but very slowly if the plants
are growing unrestricted, and many weeks elapse before

ON CANDYTUFTS 49

the clumps show serious signs of decay. It is, however,
only fair to say that culture has much to do with dura-
tion of bloom. Plants with plenty of room, growing
in fertile and moist soil, flower much longer than others \jM
that are crowded together in poor dry soil. The latter
go to seed prematurely in sheer self-defence, anxious
to perpetuate their kind before they seek an early
grave.

Other Candytufts besides the Giant White Hyacinth-
flowered, and other annuals besides the Candytuft, re-
spond with equal generosity to such little labour and
care as are involved in digging soil deeply, manuring it
if poor (but not heavily, especially for Nasturtiums), pre-
paring a fine surface tilth, sowing thinly, thinning out,
and watering in dry weather. The double pink Clarkia
and the double pink Godetia will rival the Candytuft in
length of blooming ; and both will come in admirably
for vase decoration. The touch of orange at the base
of some of the Godetias makes them associate very well
with salmon-coloured Sweet Peas, like Henry Eckford,
in wide bowls. Larkspurs are long lasters, but it is ;l>S-»
important to get a dwarf strain, as the tall are very
straggly, and apt to look gawky and untidy. Poppies
are not, in the main, lasting flowers ; their value lies in
the brilliant blaze of colour which they make at mid-
summer ; but the doubles are not nearly so transient as
the singles, and the flowers are nearly as large and rich
as Paeonies. The Eschscholtzias, with their orange
flowers and finely cut leaves, are long lasters. So are
the Rose Mallows (Lavateras), and the blue Love-in-a-
mist (Nigella). Not so durable, but free growers, free
bloomers, and bright in colour, are the Coreopsis,
Leptosiphons, Linarias, Linums, Lupins, Nemophilas,
Silenes, and Virginian Stocks.

50 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

The principal half-hardy kinds (which respond to
the treatment indicated for annual Asters in Chapter II)
also last well. Petunias, Phloxes, Salpiglossis, and
Stocks blow well into the autumn if the plants are
roomily grown and watered in dry weather.

Mignonette, Night-scented Stock (Matthiola), Sweet
Alyssum, Sweet Scabious, and Sweet Sultan give us per-
fumed flowers. The two first are long lasters, especi-
ally, I think, on limestone soils. Certainly Mignonette
gives me far more bloom on chalk than on clay, although,
oddly enough (yet perhaps not so odd, since the position
is bleak) it is later to open on the former.

While I am a strong believer in giving annuals good
culture, on the lines indicated above, I find that it is
well worth while to broadcast a few kinds on any rough
bank or chalky slope, and leave them to Nature. Such
scatterings of seed may appear to be useless, since the
conditions afford no sort of hope of success ; and per-
haps half the summer passes without any result being
observed, then suddenly some evening a whiff of
perfume reaches your nostrils, and search reveals a
lusty colony of Mignonette that had been overlooked.
Clarkias, Eschscholtzias, Godetias, Linarias, Love-in-
a-mist, Mignonette, Night-scented Stock, and Poppies
are all particularly Hkely to succeed on this rough-and-
ready system.

VIII

ON CARNATIONS, PICOTEES, AND PINKS

From the earliest times the Carnation has interested
flower-lovers deeply, and it interests them deeply to-day.
The old writers loved it, the people loved it. With the
possible exception of the Rose, it has figured more pro-
minently m literature than any other flower, and it has
loomed large in the customs of the proletariat. Monarchs
have chosen it as one of their favourite flowers. Florists
have specialised it, and formed societies to guard its
interests.

It is easy to find an explanation for the popular name
Carnation ; it can be attributed to the colour — flesh
colour. Note Shakespeare's —

t( >

A could never abide carnation ; 'twas a colour he never liked."

— Henry V.

Even so good a scholar as Dr. Johnson was satisfied
with this. But the obvious is not always the correct,
and this appears to be a case in point. In Lyte's Herbal
the name is spelled Coronations, and now, when we read
Spenser's ^'Shepherd's Calendar" —

" Bring Coronations and Sops-in-wine
Worn of paramours,"

and recall the old custom of wearing flower-crowns

icoronce) by the Romans and Greeks, we arrive at the

true derivation. The Carnation held a high place among

52 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

these garland flowers. Our flower being a popular one
for head wreaths, it was called the coronation flower, and
coronation became Carnation.

The old writers called several plants Gillyflowers (this
name was sometimes spelled Gilliflower or Gilloflower),
amongst them being the Stock and the Wallflower ; but
when they wrote of the two latter as Gillyflowers it was
with the prefixes '' Stock " and '' Wall." When they re-
ferred to Gillyflowers without any such distinctions it
may be assumed that they referred to Carnations. It is
true that Shakespeare alluded to them in such a way as
to lead to the supposition that they were different plants.
Note—

" The fairest flowers o' the season
Are our Carnations and streaked Gillyvors,
Which some call Nature's bastards."

— Winter's Tale.

But it is probably safe to assume that the '< streaked
Gillyvor" (Gillyflower) was merely another sort of
Carnation.

We may carry the interest of derivations a little
farther. The botanist's name for the Carnation is Dian-
thus caryophyllus. Dianthus comes from dios^ divine, and
anthoSf a flower — Jove's flower. Caryophyllus means nut-
leaved (see CoryluSj the Nut ; Carya, the Hickory ; Gary-
ocarj the Butter Nut, &c., all deriving from the Greek
karyon, a nut). As the Carnation has grassy leaves, dif-
fering entirely from those of the Nuts, the specific name
caryophyllus seems at first inappropriate and difficult
to explain, but it was first applied generically to the
Indian Clove tree, Caryophyllus aromaticus, and the name
became attached to the Carnation through the latter
having a smell of Cloves. Having got so far, the rest is
easy, because Gillyflower is certainly a corruption of

CARNATIONS, PICOTEES, AND PINKS 53

caryophyllus. (Some authorities have suggested that
Carnation itself is a corruption of caryophyllusy but this
cannot be accepted). If the objection is raised that
Gillyflower is very different from caryophyllus^ it may be
replied that Gillyflower is a comparatively modern form
of the word ; older forms are gillyvor and gilofre.
Chaucer speaks of the '^clow gilofre" with

" Notemuge to put in ale
Whether it be moist or stale."

Some writers think that he had the dried flower-buds
(commercial cloves) of the Clove Tree in view here,
since he speaks of nutmeg and other spices. Carnation
flowers were, however, used to flavour wine and beer,
and hence the name Sops-in-wine. In Blount's Antient
Tenures ^^July-flower wine" is referred to, and writers
are not wanting who declare that Gillyflower is simply a
corruption of July flower. The correct explanation is
probably as above.

The name Picotee comes from the French picoUy
*' pricked " or " marked," and was applied to flowers with
colour marks on the edge. Our modern Picotees are
really Carnations in which the colour runs round the
edge of the flower, sometimes in a thin line, sometimes
in a broad band. Picotees are classified by the depth of
the edging.

Pinks. — The origin of the name " Pink " would be
sought naturally in the colour ; it would be assumed that
the first flower which bore this name was pink in hue,
and that the flower would be called, therefore, the Pink,
i.e. the pink Gillyflower. The reverse is the case ; it is
the colour that comes from the flower.

According to that careful authority, Dr. Prior, Pink
comes from Pentecost through the German word Pink-

54 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

sten. It was the Whitsun-blooming Gillyflower. The
Pink does, in fact, bloom much earlier than the Carna-
tion and Picotee, and is generally at its best in June.
^ The early forms were, of course, single.

The flower was highly esteemed, as we may judge
from the expression " the pink of courtesy." Note
Romeo and Juliet^ Act ii. scene 4. —

Mercutio. Nay, I am the very Pink of courtesy.
Romeo. Pink for flower.
Mercutio. Right.

See also Spenser's —

" Her lovely eyes like Pincks but newly spread."

Pinks are of two classes, the Laced and the Garden
or Feathered. The former are probably varieties of
Dianthus caryophyllus like our Carnations, and the latter
^ (Pheasants' Eyes) of the feathered Pink {Dianthus
plumarius). The Laced Pink has a coloured centre,
which distinguishes it from the Carnation and Picotee ;
and also a coloured band near the edge of the petal, but
not on the margin, as in the Picotee ; there is a band of
white on the outside. Like the florists' Carnation and
Picotee, it is a smooth-edged flower. The Garden Pinks
have cut-edged or serrated petals.

The multiplicity of names may be taken as evidence
of the popularity of the Carnation. Cultured and
illiterate people alike loved and grew it.

The clove-scented Carnation is a very old plant — cer-
tainly one of the oldest of which botanical historians
have any record. The old Roman writer Pliny describes
it, and tells us that it was discovered in Spain. Plant
dictionaries make no attempt to fix the period of its
introduction to Great Britain, and boldly class it as a

CARNATIONS, PICOTEES, AND PINKS SS

native, which, in a sense, it is, inasmuch as it has grown
as a wilding for centuries in some places. It is
naturalised on some of the old castles of Norman
construction, such as Dover and Rochester ; and this
raises an interesting point : Was it introduced advisedly
by the Norman builders, or accidentally with the stone
which they quarried and shipped ? It was certainly a
popular plant in Normandy, and it is probable that the
barons brought it over to please their ladies, who doubt-
less looked with scant favour on their new homes, and
needed placating.

It is not easy, either, to fix the period when flower-
lovers in England began to specialise the Carnation.
When we find so old a writer as Gerard (1545-1612)
sa3ang that it would require a large volume to describe
all the varieties of Carnations, Picotees, and Pinks, we
may infer that it was a highly specialised flower as far
back as 1597, when his Herball appeared. Shakespeare's
reference to '^ streaked Gillyvors " in The Winter s Tale
showed that Carnations differing from the old flesh-
coloured Self (which he referred to in the same line)
existed in 1601 ; and Gerard credits Lete with the intro-
duction of yellow varieties in or about the year 1580.
John Parkinson (1567-1650) appears to have had a large
collection of different kinds, but not Picotees.

These historical facts about Carnations increase our
interest in the flower. They show us that it has long
been rooted deeply in the national life. It is not an
ephemeral plant, the interest of which passes within a
few hours of its introduction, but a flower of abiding —
one might almost say constitutional — interest. It is
woven into the national fibre. As we move about
among our collections to - day, propagating, potting,
planting, so we may imagine Lete, Gerard, Stow,

56 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

Parkinson, and other old florists doing in the spacious
Elizabethan epoch. These men were as eminent in
floriculture as their contemporaries Spenser, Marlowe,
and Shakespeare were in literature. But what different
lives they led — John Gerard pursuing the peaceful art of
gardening at Burghley and compiling his Herball in
placid seclusion (cribbing freely from Dodoens' Pemp-
tadesy however, according to some unkind biographers),
Kit Marlowe carousing in the taverns, and getting killed
in a vulgar brawl !

The Carnation presently began to develop on certain
well-defined Hnes. The ^'streaked Gillyvors" became
the ^* Bizarres " and ^' Flakes " of modern florists. The
different character of the markings led to the flowers
being separated into classes. When we open a Carna-
tion catalogue to-day we find such sections as Bizarres,
Flakes, Selfs, Malmaisons, Trees (or Perpetuals), Ameri-
cans, and Fancies ; and all of these are subdivided by
colour. Among Picotees we have Yellow Grounds and
White Grounds, with sub-divisions according to the
breadth of the marking on the edge of the petals and
the colour.

When the old florists had secured their sections they
kept them distinct and good by formulating rules and
standards. They fixed on an ideal flower, and worked
up to it with their new seedlings, retaining only those
that conformed to the standard, and keeping them true
to form and colour by propagating from layers and
cuttings. They gave us a round, smooth-edged flower,
full in the centre, and with the petals overlapping each
other evenly. They did their work so well that we have
not been able to make improvements in form during the
past 150 years (some of the old school declare mourn-
fully that we are receding, since we have admitted the

CARNATIONS, PICOTEES, AND PINKS 57

cut-edged '^American" section to favour), but we have
secured increased size and a larger range of colours.

A brief description of the various sections may be of
interest.

A Bizarre is a flower the clear ground colour of
which is marked radially with two or three other
colours. According to the predominant colour in the
flaking, it is a Scarlet, Crimson, or Pink and Purple
Bizarre.

A Flake is a flower the clear ground colour of which
is marked radially with one other colour ; the shade of
the mark decides whether it is a Purple, Rose, or Scarlet
Flake.

A 5^^ is a flower with one colour only,

A Malmaison is a large-flowered sub-section of the
Tree or Perpetual Carnation, flowering in spring and
early summer. The original variety was blush-coloured,
and was raised in France. Its full name was Souvenir
de la Malmaison. The reader hardly needs to be re-
minded that La Malmaison was the chateau occupied
by Napoleon and Josephine, and he may suppose, if he
pleases, that the Malmaison Carnation was grown and
admired by these remarkable beings, but its origin can-
not be traced. Josephine certainly loved Carnations,
and grew the best varieties of her day. The Malmaison
Carnations are self-coloured, and distinguished by their
powerful clove fragrance. The stems and leaves are
more vigorous than those of other Carnations, and the
plants can be distinguished readily, even when not in
bloom.

Tree or Perpetual Carnations have a tall, upright
habit of growth. They are winter and spring bloomers,
and self-coloured.

American Carnations are large-flowered Perpetuals

58 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

with cut-edged petals. They are winter and spring
bloomers, self-coloured, long-stemmed, and very sweet.
(What might be termed an Anglo-American class has
been evolved, the members of which have the large
flowers, long stems, rich colours and full perfume of
the Americans, but smooth-edged instead of cut-edged
petals. A cut-edged petal has always been an abomina-
tion to British florists.)

Fancies are flowers with irregular markings on
coloured or white grounds. The Yellow Ground
Fancies are a beautiful class, which has been greatly
increased and improved in recent years. The body
colour is marked with plum, pink, rose, or some other
colour in stripes and flakes.

Picotees may be first classified as Yellow or White
Grounds ; secondly, as light, medium, or heavy-edged ;
and thirdly, as red, rose, scarlet, or purple-edged. If
the colour is a thin line on the very edge of the petal,
the flower is a light-edge ; if it is a belt a sixteenth
of an inch wide, or thereabouts, the flower is a medium-
edge ; if it is a broader belt of something like an
eighth of an inch, the variety is a heavy-edge. Thus
a flower will be a ^^ White Ground, heavy rose-edge,"
if the body colour is white and the marginal colour a
broad belt of rose.

The Malmaison, Tree, American, and Anglo-Ameri-
can Carnations are grown under glass most of the year,
although it is not unusual to stand them out of doors
on a bed of ashes in the summer. The Malmaisons
are usually propagated by layering in a frame in spring,
the method being the same as that which is to be de-
scribed presently for garden Carnations ; but also by
cuttings. They need great care in watering and venti-
lating. They are not plants for the one-house amateur,

CARNATIONS, PICOTEES, AND PINKS 59

and are principally used by wealthy flower-lovers, who
grow them in a house to themselves. The Tree, Ameri-
can, and Anglo-American Carnations are propagated
by cuttings of young wood inserted in sandy soil in
small pots in winter or spring.

Pot culture. — Exhibitors of Carnations grow the Biz-
arres, Flakes, Selfs, Picotees, and Fancies in pots. They
generally put two plants in a 7-inch or 8-inch pot, using
a compost of fibrous loam, with a fourth of leaf mould,
dried cow manure, and mortar rubbish (or road grit) in
equal parts. They grow the plants, while quite young, in
frames, and later in light, airy houses. It is only
when the plants are thus grown that the exhibitor can
rely on flowers of the standard which judges look for.

Flower gardeners need not regard so old a garden
favourite as the Carnation as an indoor plant, however.
It is delightful to see flowers in perfect form and texture,
but the flower-gardener need not deny himself a Car-
nation-bed in order to secure perfection of outline and
colour in a limited number of flowers on a show-board.
He will the more particularly refrain from making this
mistake when he sees that the exhibitor is never satisfied
with the native beauty of the flowers which he has pro-
duced at so much cost, but embellishes them by " dress-
ing " with tweezers, and staging in ^^ collars" of white
papers.

Flower-gardeners will sympathise with the main
work of the exhibitor, because they will recognise that
it makes for quality of bloom. They will gladly take
the beautiful varieties which his operations bring into
being, but they will judge the sorts by a different
standard — a standard of vigorous growth, free blooming,
and clear, decided colours.

The Selfs are undeniably the best garden Carnations.

6o POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

The Bizarres and Flakes, particularly the former, fail
to strike a sufficiently bold and clear note. The Fancies
are fairly good. The Picotees are pleasing at a close
view, but ineffective at a distance ; they are, however,
exquisite in pots.

Every Carnation-lover who grows his favourite as
a garden plant pure and simple should make a
special study of the Selfs. He should note the bear-
ing of the different varieties when he has opportunities
of seeing them out of doors — in parks, in nurseries,
in private gardens. He should look out for a good
white, a good pink, a good rose, a good scarlet, a good
yellow, and a good crimson. He should note which
sorts grow strongly and which weakly, which bloom
freely and which sparsely, which are decided in colour
and which washy, which keep their shape, and which
become deformed through the bursting of the calyx ;
for all these points have a bearing on flower-garden
results.

The following are good Self garden Carnations in
the various colours : —

Scarlet.

Banner. — A large bloom of rich colour.
B arras. — Bright and strong.

Hayes Scarlet. — A free bloomer, fine in form, habit, and
colour.

''^Herbert J. Cutbush. — A splendid flower of brilliant colour.

Crimson and Maroon.

Agnes Sorrel. — Very dark crimson.
''^ Gil Polo. — Magnificent flower, crimson.
Lady Hifidlip. — Fine flower, a light rather than a rich
crimson.

* Uriah Pike. — An improved Old Clove, very sweet.

CARNATIONS, PICOTEES, AND PINKS 6i

Yellow.

* Daffodil. — A modern sort, with a much larger flower than
Germania, and very rich in colour.

Germania, — Avery old variety, a strong grower, and clear in hue.
Miss Audrey Campbell. — A well-proved sort, primrose in

colour.

White,

Hildegarde. — Lovely flower, and a free bloomer.
"^Mrs. Eric Hambro. — A strong grower, and with large, pure
floweis.

Trojan. — A large and beautiful flower.
Vesta. — Good habit and a free bloomer.

Blushj Pale Pink^ or Peach.

Lady Nina Balfour. — Peach-colour, very strong grower, a
great favourite in Scotland.

Lady Ridley. — Cream, very vigorous, with long stalks.
Mrs. Weguelin. — Blush, long stalk, very sweet.
Seagull. — Blush, strong, a fine garden sort.

Pink and Rose.

Endymion. — Salmon-pink, splendid flower.
*Exile. — Rose, very vigorous and free.
Raby Castle. — The old salmon pink.

Heliotrope and Lavender.

Capuchin. — Large, handsome flower.

"^Garville Gem. — A fine, strong, free border sort.

Orange, Terra-cotta, and Apricot.

Nabob. — Orange-buff, strong and free.

*Sir R. Waldie Griffith. — Apricot, very vij^orous and flori-
ferous, a great favourite in Scotland.

Yellow Ground Fancy.

Clio.
Hudibras.

Mrs. F. Wellesley.
Zingara.

POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

All the foregoing are varieties of proved merit, not
untried novelties. They are inexpensive. They repre-
sent the best type of garden Carnation, growing strongly
and healthily, and giving abundance of bloom of good
quality. Those marked with an asterisk (*) might be
chosen for a smaller collection. While, however, the
varieties are good for the garden, most of them are
capable of being grown into exhibition form.

The following are selections of the other sections : —

Scarlet Bizarres.
Admiral Curzon.
Robert Houlgrave.
Robert Lord.

Purple Flakes,
George Melville.
Gordon Lewis.
James Douglas.

Crimson Bizarres.
Harrison Weir.
Master Fred.
Rifleman.

Pink and Purple Bizarres.

Mrs. Barlow.
Sarah Payne.
Wm. Skirving.

Scarlet Flakes.

Alisemond.

Matador.

Sportsman.

Rose Flakes,

Rob Roy.

Sybil.
Thalia.

Heavy Red-edged Picotees.
Brunette.
J. B. Bryant.
John Smith.

Medium Red-edged,
Charlotte Bronte.
Euripides.
Lena.

Light Red-edged.
Mrs. Gorton.
Thomas William.
Violet Douglas.

Heavy Rose or Scarlet-edged.
Edith D'Ombrain.
Mrs. Payne.
Mrs. Sharpe.

Mediwn Rose or Scarlet-edged.

Clio.

Daisy.

Duchess of York.

Light Rose or Scarlet-edged.

Ethel.

Favourite.

Nellie.

Carnations in a vase.

CARNATIONS, PICOTEES, AND PINKS 6^

Heavy Purple-edged.
Mrs. Chancellor.
Muriel.
Zerlina.

Medium Purple-edged.
Amy Robsart.
Jessie.
Mrs. Kingston.

Light Purple-edged.

Ann Lord.
Clara Penson.
Mary.

Yellow Ground Picotees.
Gronow.
Hy. Falkland.
Lucy Glitters.
Pilgrim.

Malmaisons.
Blush (original type).
Lord Welby, crimson.
Mrs. Trelawny, salmon.
Nell Gwynn, white.
Pink (original type).
Princess of Wales.

Tree or Perpetual.
Deutsche Brant, white.
Lady Carlisle, pink.
Lord Roberts, yellow.
Mdlle. T. Franco, light pink.
Uriah Pike, crimson.
Wm. Robinson, scarlet.

Americans.

Alpine Glow, salmon-rose.
Beacon, scarlet.
Enchantress, light pink.
Harlowarden, crimson.
Helen Gould, rose.
Jessica, white, pencilled scarlet.
Lady C. Waring, yellow.
Robert Craig, scarlet.
Winsor, silvery-pink.

A nglo- American.
Britannia, scarlet.
Carola, crimson.
C. W. Cowan, claret.
Lady Ridley, cream.
St. Louis, scarlet.
White Perfection, white.

The laced Pinks are, as we have seen, as closely
related to the Carnation as Picotees are. The principal
difference is in the arrangement of the colour bands.
These beautiful Pinks have not kept pace with the Carna-
tion and Picotee. There was a time when they ranked
almost as high with florists, but that is long past. The
grower who wants a small collection might choose the
following varieties : —

Amy. Harry Hooper.

Arthur Brown. Morna.

Empress of India. Old Chelsea.

64 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

The following are beautiful garden Pinks : —

Anne Boleyn, purple. Ernest Ladhams, blush.

Ascot, pink. Mrs. Lakin, white, pink centre.

Brackleen, rose, white ground. Mrs. Sinkins, white.

If we are to get beautiful Self Carnations in the
garden, we must attend to a few important practical
points. We aim at border clumps or beds in which the
plants are strong, healthy, and bearing a number of
large; brilliant, fragrant flowers. We cannot very well
get such plants if the soil is bad or infested with wire-
worms. We can get plants of a kind, but they will be
small, weak, and incapable of producing flowers of the
quality we desire.

Sot'l. — There should be at least a foot in depth of soil,
and if it is loam all the better, but clay will do if it is well
drained and rendered friable by deep digging towards
the end of winter. A light dressing of thoroughly
decayed manure will improve it, and mortar rubbish,
road grit, and wood ashes from a garden fire may be
added with advantage. Light soil should be dressed
with decayed turves that have stood in a heap for several
months if possible, as this adds fibre, and Carnations like
a soil with body in it.

Wireworm and leather-jackets are not common, as a
rule, in ground which has been cultivated for several
years, but they are often abundant in new gardens,
especially those that have been made out of meadow-
land. Now, wireworms are particularly fond of Carna-
tions, and will troop ravenously to them, feeding on the
roots, and so worrying the plants that they have no chance
of growing well. Small plants never '^get away," as
gardeners say ; they remain stunted and sickly. If
the Carnation-lover is going to plant on freshly-broken

M
D
O

CARNATIONS, PICOTEES, AND PINKS 65

pasture, he had better dress the soil with vaporite or
apterite, which seedsmen sell, a few weeks before plant-
ing. These compounds are not expensive, and they
certainly tend to reduce wireworm. Another plan is to
work in kainit, a cheap chemical manure, at the rate of
half a pound to the square yard, when the ground is
being dug. It worries wireworm, and acts as a fertiliser
to the soil at the same time. If the plants still refuse to
grow, and, on one being taken up, hard yellow worms
about an inch long are found at the roots, pieces of
potato and carrot may be impaled on sticks and
thrust in near the plants. It is better to keep taking up
these than to take up the Carnations themselves ; and
they form good baits.

Planting, — When the grower is making a start with
bought plants, he should buy in October or March. He
can get nice young plants growing in small pots at a
low rate, except in the case of novelties, which are dear.
He should make the surface soil level and fine, and
plant at once fifteen inches apart, making large holes for
the plants with a trowel, sinking them to the lower
leaves, and pressing the soil firmly round them. If
making a bed, he should plant in diagonal lines thus —

♦

•»

•«•

♦

After planting, the soil should be raked over and the bed
left neat.

If the plants are being grown in the borders, they

66 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

should be set near the front, in clumps of not less than
three, the soil being prepared and the plants put in
fifteen inches apart as before.

If there is wireworm about, it would be well to put as
many of the plants as pots can be spared for into five-inch
pots, and stand them in a sheltered place on a bed of
ashes, in order to grow them stronger before putting
them out. Carnations do quite well if planted in May,
provided they are put out with good balls of earth round
them in showery weather, and watered if dry. While
they are making root, and generally strengthening in
preparation for their fight with the wireworm, the latter
is being harassed and reduced by the vaporite, kainit,
and baits.

Disease, — While they are in pots (and, for the matter
of that, when they are planted out also) they should be
looked over regularly to make sure that no fungoid disease
is beginning to attack the leaves. If any blotches show,
pick off the leaves which are affected, and then spray
the plants over with water in which liver of sulphur
(sulphide of potassium) has been dissolved at the rate of
half an ounce per gallon.

Directly Carnations begin to grow in the beds and
borders they become attractive. The flowering season
may be a long way off, but the glaucous grey foliage is
pleasing in itself ; and herein lies one of the great advant-
ages of the Carnation as a garden plant ; as long as it is
healthy, it is always handsome, whether in or out of flower.
Old plants, it is true, are apt to be unsightly, because
they show a considerable amount of bare stem at the
base ; but no one need keep plants until they become
ugly, because new ones can be raised easily.

A bed of Carnations in free, healthy growth is beauti-
ful and interesting all the summer. The plants throw out

CARNATIONS, PICOTEES, AND PINKS 67

tufts of grassy grey leaves, and presently push flower
stems. They will not need much cultural treatment
until the stems are long, but the bed may be hoed to
keep weeds down, and water may be given in dry
weather. When the flower stems begin to bend over,
stakes should be put to them. The loops made in tying
should be loose, in order to avoid checking extension.
Carnation experts use special supports which florists
sell. Porter's and Sydenham's are both very good.

When flower-buds show, the number on each stem
may be reduced to three, if very nice flowers are wanted.
If no disbudding is practised, there will be a larger
number of smaller flowers. Exhibitors permit only one
flower stem, and disbud, but many flower gardeners
do not, preferring to let the plants bloom naturally.

For towns, — The plants will come into flower in July,
and will probably be at their best towards the end of
that month. If they are healthy, and the flower stems
strong, the beds or clumps will be objects of great
beauty. And they can be had in town or suburban as
well as in country gardens, for the Carnation is one of
the best of town flowers. Several of the most successful
exhibitors grow their plants in or near large towns. It
may be said that of all the great popular flowers Carna-
tions and Chrysanthemums are the two best for town
and suburban gardeners to specialise.

The propagation of garden Carnations is conducted
by means of seeds and layers. Seeds give large, healthy,
free-blooming plants if the strain and culture are good ;
from a poor strain the flowers are small and of no special
quality. They look charming in the garden, however,
and are good for cutting. Seed should be sown thinly
in June, in well-pulverised soil, and covered half an inch
deep. If the seedlings come through in a mass, they

68 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

should be thinned. They can be planted out where
they are to bloom in autumn or spring. Or seed may
be sown under glass in March, to give bloom the same
year.

The propagation ot all varieties grown under names,
and, indeed, of any sorts that the grower wishes to keep
true to form and colour, is by layering. All the grassy
side-shoots previously alluded to can be layered in
August, and the process is simple. The grower slices
the small leaflets from a short length of stem about three
inches from the parent plant, cuts half-way through the
shoot as though he were going to sever it, then changes
the direction of the knife and runs the blade through
the centre of the stem in the direction of the tip of the
shoot to the length of an inch ; he then withdraws the
knife. By this act he makes a slit in the shoot without
separating it from the plant. A small pebble may be
slipped in to keep it open. Each shoot is then depressed
and the slit portion of the stem pegged down in a small
mound of sandy soil put there for the purpose of receiv-
ing it. Such is layering, and any amateur gardener may
succeed in it with very little practice.

Roots will form in and around the slit, and by mid-
October they will be so numerous as to form a small
mat of fibres. The shoots will no longer need support
from the old plant, and may be cut away from it.

The young plants procured by layering will be better
than their parents a year later if all has gone well with
them. Specialists often put them in small pots, and
winter them in unheated frames on a bed of ashes.
They then get larger plants, but a sharp watch must be
kept for leaf spot. Amateurs would be well advised
to plant them out, as the plants will probably remain
cleaner than in frames, and there is not likely to be any

Doublp: Indian Pinks.

CARNATIONS, PICOTEES, AND PINKS 69

serious loss from frost if the soil is well drained. In wet
soil some sharp road or other grit may be sprinkled
round the plants to prevent damp affecting the collar.
Dry cold will not kill the plants.

Pinks do not produce tufted side-growths so freely as
Carnations; and are often propagated by division, or by
pulling young shoots out of their sockets early in summer
and inserting them as cuttings in sandy soil. These |i
shoots are called pipings. The strong-growing Pinks *
which produce vigorous side-shoots may be layered like
Carnations. They are often used as marginal plants for
beds and borders. As they will grow in almost any soil
if rabbits are wired out of the garden, and bloom most
profusely, they are invaluable plants to the amateur. A
line of Pinks makes a neat and pleasing margin to a bed
or border, besides yielding a large quantity of sweet and
pretty flowers.

Maggot, — Sometimes a blistered spot, with a brownish
track running from it, is seen on a leaf. If so, the leaf
should be sliced down at once with the point of a knife
and a pair of small maggots searched for with the aid of
a lens. If the attack is not observed, the maggots, un-
checked by the grower, will work their way down to
the stems, and whole shoots may become sickly and
drop out.

There are several beautiful plants grown in gardens
as Pinks of different kinds, such as the Indian Pink
{Dianthus chinensis)^ the Japanese Pink {Dianthus Hed- '
dewigii), the Cheddar Pink {Dianthus ccBsius)^ the Maiden
Pink {Dianthus deltoides), and the Mule Pink, of which
there are several hybrids, Napoleon III. being one of the
best.

The Indian and Japanese Pinks are generally treated
as annuals. With the seed sown in winter or spring

i J^v*

70 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

under glass similarly to that of China Asters (Chapter II),
the plants flower in July, and remain in beauty a long
time. They are dwarf, free-blooming plants, bright and
varied in colour, but have not the perfumed charm of
the old garden Pinks and Carnations.

The other species are suitable for the rockery. They
may be planted in spring or raised from seed in summer.

The Carnation-Grower's Year — a Summary

January and February. — Border Carnations will be
almost, if not entirely, quiescent during these months.
It is only in mild spells that outdoor plants will make
any visible movement. There will be little to do among
them. If the grower lives in the country he must keep
a sharp lookout for hares and rabbits, especially in
severe weather. In districts where rabbits abound, the
best plan is to go to the expense (not very serious) of
fastening two feet of wire netting, one and a half inch
mesh, to all the fences. The lower portion should be
embedded in the ground a few inches, to prevent the
rabbits scratching away soil at the ground level and
getting under. If any leaves become blotched with
disease, they should be picked off and burned. Pot
plants in frames should be ventilated regularly, except
in very bad weather. Diseased leaves should be picked
off. Very little water will be needed. It is only in
periods of severe frost that any protective covering need
be placed on the lights. Tree and American varieties
will be in bloom in warm greenhouses, and will need
attention in respect to staking and watering. Young
shoots may be struck as cuttings in small pots of sandy
soil. If possible, give bottom heat till rooted, then place
on a shelf nei^r the glass,

CARNATIONS, PICOTEES, AND PINKS 71

March. — Planting in beds and borders may be done
in favourable weather. If any of the plants put out in
autumn have done badly, they may be removed and
fresh plants put in their places. Prepare the soil
thoroughly. Young plants in frames should be planted
out. Carnation seed may be sown in boxes and placed
on a hotbed or shelf in a warm greenhouse. Continue
the propagation of winter bloomers. If green-fly should
appear on the cuttings, dip them in water at a tempera-
ture of 100°. If the cuttings show a tendency to damp-
ing off, put a tumbler or bellglass over them to check
evaporation from the leaves till roots have formed.
When the roots of struck cuttings have reached the
bottom of the pots, repot them in a compost of three
parts loam, one leaf mould, one decayed manure, and
some coarse washed sand.

April, — Plants in the garden will now be in active
growth. The soil should be hoed regularly. Fresh
plants may still be put in. Seedlings raised in March
may be picked ofif three inches apart and put on a shelf
in a greenhouse. Young winter bloomers may be re-
potted as required, and kept in a light, airy greenhouse.
From now onwards vaporising the house once a fort-
night with a vaporising cone (which seedsmen supply)
will keep down green-fly and other insects. Malmaisons
will perhaps be in bloom. Meet their requirements for
water judiciously, never letting the soil become parched,
but at the same time guarding against keeping it
sodden.

May. — Bed and border plants which were planted in
autumn or March will now be growing rapidly. By the
middle of the month it is quite likely that the flower
stem will begin to spindle up ; anyway, stakes should be
procured and kept in readiness. Tying cannot be coqi-

72 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

pleted in one operation^ but must be done at intervals
as the stem extends. Continue hoeing. If the soil is
shallow and dry, a mulching of cocoanut fibre refuse or
short manure may be spread round the plants. Seed-
lings may be planted out from the boxes about the end
of the month. Winter bloomers should have free
ventilation in fine weather, and freshly struck plants
may be put into frames about the middle of the month
if the weather is mild. Give full exposure to air except
in bad weather. Old plants may be stood on a bed of
ashes in a sunny, sheltered place outdoors, and will
flower again in autumn.

June, — Continue the hoeing and staking of outdoor
plants. Green-fly, the cuckoo spittle, and earwigs may
now become troublesome. Vigorous syringing once or
twice a week will harry the two first, and prevent them
from doing serious damage ; it will also benefit the
plants. If earwigs do damage, place hay in some small
flower-pots, invert them on sticks among the plants, and
examine them daily. Tying the flower stems will need
regular attention. If the grower intends to exhibit, he
should restrict each plant to one stem, and the buds
may be thinned to three at the most when they appear.
Some varieties are thinned more severely than others,
only two, or in some cases even one, bud being left ;
experience of the peculiarities of each sort will guide
him. He should guard against severe disbudding at
first ; to restrict a plant to one bud might mean a coarse
bloom. The exhibitor will also prepare his show boxes.
A stand for six blooms may be 13I inches long (from
back to front), 8J inches wide, 4J inches high at the
back, and 2\ inches high at the front. It should be
perforated with holes large enough to contain the metal
tubes which hold the stems of the flowers, and should be

CARNATIONS, PICOTEES, AND PINKS 73

painted green. The flowers will stand in two rows of
three each from back to front. A stand of this size will
accommodate the largest flowers. Two such stands may
be placed side by side to show twelve flowers. If several
stands are to be taken to a show, a case fitted with ledges
ought to be made for them. Cases, stands, and tubes
can all be bought ready made from Carnation specialists.
Round pieces of Bristol cardboard, about four inches
across (rather more for large fancy flowers) may be
procured, and a circle cut in the centre large enough to
envelop the calyx loosely (the calyx is the circle of green
segments just beneath the flower). A slit can be cut
from the circumference of the card to the central hole,
and by depressing one edge of this the stem can be
slipped through. The preparation of exhibiting neces-
saries betimes prevents any confusion when show day
arrives. Repot winter-blooming plants as required, and
stand them on ashes in a sunny, sheltered place. Attend
to watering and the suppression of insects.

July, — This is the flowering month, but the plants
will not be in full bloom until the latter part, in most
seasons. Continue tying, disbudding, and watering,
as needed. If some of the opening flowers threaten
to burst the calyx, slip an indiarubber band over it.
Note hints under June as to exhibiting stands and
collars. Before show flowers are finally put in the
stands, in readiness for the judges, exhibitors make a
practice of looking over them, and remedying any de-
fects with tweezers. Thus, narrow, curled, or deformed
florets in the centre of the flower are removed with a
pair of ivory tweezers, together with ^' run " petals —
that is, petals in Bizarres or Flakes coloured all over
instead of barred on white, and Picotees with the colour
leaving the edge for the body of the petal. The flower

74 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

is finally mounted and dressed in the following way :
a small circular card — preferably of Bristol cardboard —
is cut, with a star pattern in the centre, two-thirds the
diameter of the pod, and the stem of the flower is then
drawn through it. The points of the stars yield and
bind round the pod. This small card serves as a ^^ plat-
form," as it were, for the display card referred to under
June. The small card does not, in clasping the calyx,
interfere in any way with the movement of the petals,
which must be quite free. The large card, with its
central hole (which is large enough to allow the petals
to move freely), is then fixed above the smaller one
by drawing the stem through the slit edge. The top
of the calyx is turned outward with a pair of steel
tweezers, to allow the petals to move freely, and then
the flower is dealt with. First the large outer petals
(^' guard" petals) are drawn towards the edge of the
large card and arranged in a ring, then the second row
of petals is arranged over the edge of the first; other
rows are treated likewise ; and, finally, the central
petals are lightly curved over the centre. With prac-
tice this can be done without giving the flower an
unnatural and artificial appearance. If made to look
very stiff, it would be regarded as ^' over-dressed."
Seedlings in the beds should be examined as they come
into bloom, and any very good ones marked for pre-
servation and propagation by layering. Pot plants
should be watered and syringed regularly.

August. — Layer young shoots out of doors in
mounds of soil in the manner previously described,
beginning early in the month. Should the weather be
very hot and dry, the layers ought to be watered daily
to encourage rooting. Pot plants should be watered
and syringed as in July.

CARNATIONS, PICOTEES, AND PINKS 75

September. — The layers in the garden should be
forming roots freely, and the process will be hastened
by watering in dry weather. By the end of the month
the layers made early in August ought to be well rooted,
and, if so, they may be cut away and the young plants
(for such they will now be) planted out where they
are to bloom the following year. The soil should be
prepared as previously advised, and pressed firmly
round the plants. A few plants of special varieties
may be potted and put on a layer of ashes in a frame
as a reserve. Early pot plants will now be forming
flower-buds, although the later-struck ones may not
yet be doing so. All ought to be put in the green-
house towards the end of the month.

October. — Complete the planting-out of rooted layers
and the potting of a few reserves. The latter, which
may be potted firmly in three-inch pots, should be kept
close for a few days after potting, but subsequently
given abundance of air in fine weather. They will
need very little water, and none should be sprinkled
over the leaves, or mould may follow. Pot plants in
the warm greenhouse will now be giving flowers, and
if the batch is in different stages, some being from
early and others from late cuttings, the display will
be a prolonged one. A high temperature is not ne-
cessary— 50° to 60° being ample. The house should
be a light, well-ventilated one, and abundance of air
admitted in tine weather.

November and December. — If any plants out of doors
are upheaved by frost, press them back again. Venti-
late frame plants at every opportunity, and water very
sparingly. Keep a sharp lookout for rabbits. Pick
off any diseased leaves directly they are seen and burn
theiiif Maintain a fresh, buoyant atmosphere in the

76 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

greenhouse. Give water when the soil is actually dry,
but be careful not to overwater, and avoid spilling
water about, thereby creating a damp atmosphere.
Ventilate regularly, except in foggy weather. This
treatment, combined with the above temperature, will
insure abundance of flowers for a long period.

ON CHRISTMAS AND LENTEN ROSES (HELLEBORES)

Great as is the skill of the modern flower-gardener, and
vast as is the number of plants at his service, he has not
yet arrived at the point of being able to fill his beds and
borders with bloom at mid-wnnter. He has liowers in
abundance in spring, summer, and autumn, but the
hard weeks from the end of November to mid-February
are practically bare, the few unimportant and compara-
tively ineffective plants which give odd flowers in
sheltered places during that period hardly counting
seriously.

There is, however, one flower which does count, and
that is the Christmas Rose {Helleborus niger). It counts
as the best summer flowers count — with amplitude of
growth, abundance of bloom, and real beauty of flower.
It is not one of those little plants that we speak of as
merely "pretty" or "interesting," and which we fondle
in some corner of the rockery. It is a strong grower,
capable of forming a bold break of bloom. When we
have learned to give it the best of treatment, and to
utilise it in the best way, we shall appreciate it more and
more.

We always think of the Christmas Rose as a white
flower, and yet the dictionaries tell us that the original
species was pink. Naturally we resent this. We have
grown used to employing such terms as "snow-white"

78 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

and " pure as the driven snow " in relation to it, and we
do not relish the idea of parting with our choicest
figures of speech. The truth is that the Helleborus,
which came to us from Austria in 1596, is pink exter-
nally, but it is white within, and that is enough for us.

It is a poisonous plant, yet not a dangerous one.
The very name Helleborus points to poisonous qualities,
as it comes from heleim^ to kill, and bora^ food. Both
the leaves and roots are poisonous, and half a drachm
of an infusion of the leaves has been known to kill an
elderly man ; but no one is likely to prepare and
drink an infusion, or to make a supper off the roots.
There is no berry for children to pick and eat. The
only circumstances in which the Christmas Rose is at
all likely to do injury are when flower stems are put in
the mouth, and when the plant is used as a drug by
incompetent practitioners. Growers may be warned
against the former, and, as to the latter, the plant has
been discarded from the Pharmacopoeia.

Some confusion arises at times owing to another
poisonous plant, Veratum albunty being called the White
Hellebore. The Hellebore powder used for destroying
Gooseberry caterpillars is prepared from this plant.

The case is an illustration of the muddle which may
easily arise from a careless use of popular names. We
hear of the White Hellebore, and we have a plant that
we know to be a white Helleborus ; what more natural
than that we should conclude them to be the same ?
They are really quite different.

The coiner of popular names who minted ''Christ-
mas Rose " deserves more approbation than coiners
in general. It is true that the flower is not in the least
like most of the Roses which we grow in our beds —
our Mrs. John Laings, our Frau Karl Druschkis, our

CHRISTMAS AND LENTEN ROSES 79

Crimson Ramblers. It is single. But, after all, there
are single Roses as well as doubles, and I have a single
white Rose that is absurdly like the white Helleborus.
The " coiner " had not that particular variety in his
mind, because it is a modern variety, but he had another
something like it.

The word ^'Christmas" completes the charm. It
wins our hearts and interest at once. The veriest
Scrooge must admit its power when allied with a
beautiful flower. There are two things inseparable
from the popular conception of a cheerful Christmas —
a roaring fire and a well-laid table. In the old days,
according to every popular writer, the table " groaned "
under its burden of turkey, roast beef, pudding, and
other comestibles. Now, a groan is a sound of distress,
and if a table of a normally cheerful disposition really
did emit a note of agony (which I for one take leave to
doubt), it was not because it had to bear an extra burden
once a year — it would have done that cheerfully enough
— but because it deplored the absence of delicate and
refined touches. Anyway, no self-respecting Christmas
table will be satisfied with a sprig or two of holly now-
adays. There must be a plentiful supply of bowls and
vases of flowers. Rather than leave these out, either the
beef or the turkey must go.

Situation. — The person who buys plants of Christmas
Roses naturally does so with the object of having flowers
at Christmas, but he does not always get them. The
weather and the site have their say in the matter. If
the plants are put in an exposed place, and the Clerk
of the Weather should develop a cantankerous attitude,
there will be no flowers on the poor Hellebores. They
will be too pinched and miserable to think of blooming.
The plant does not like being beaten and bullied by

8o POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

blusterous winds. It likes peace and quietude. Of
course, it is hardy. It will not be killed by cold. But
there is a difference between merely living and passing
a happy, healthy, joyous existence.

Lovers of the Christmas Rose who really want it as
a Christmas flower should give it a sheltered position.
There ought to be sheltered places in every border of
any size, because the owner will have worked in a few
evergreen shrubs or conifers. These divide the border
into ''bays," and prevent the winter winds from sweep-
ing in a savage, mad-dog rush from end to end, and
tearing off every green leaf or blossom that ventures to
show itself.

Another plan of providing shelter is to leave the old
stems of herbaceous plants on until spring ; but this is
abhorrent to any mind with a sense of neatness and
order.

Christmas Roses will do perfectly well under trees if
they have shelter of some kind, such as a windscreen in
the form of a neighbouring belt of shrubs, or the fronds
of hardy ferns around them. The latter have not the
ugliness and disorder of decaying herbaceous plants
when they are turning brown. Some pretty, dwarf,
winter-flowering bulbs, such as Snowdrops, Scillas, and
Glory of the Snow, may be dotted among the Christmas
Roses. The last-named {Chiondoxa) is a beautiful little
blue bulb that one can buy for about three shillings per
hundred in autumn.

With a reasonable allowance of mild weather in
autumn, and shelter, there certainly ought to be flowers
on the Christmas Roses at Yuletide ; in fact, if several
different varieties are grown, there will be flowers before,
at, and after Christmas. There are Christmas Roses
that bloom early and Christmas Roses that bloom late.

CHRISTMAS AND LENTEN ROSES 8i

Sticklers would contend that a Hellebore which flowered
in November could not be a Christmas Rose, but there
are no sticklers in gardening.

Planting, — The time to plant Christmas Roses is un- ;
doubtedly September. During that pleasant month they
begin to make roots, and it is desirable to shift them
when the process is starting. To move them afterwards
means the destruction of new roots, which is a slap in
the face for Nature that she is quite likely to return with
interest.

The character of the soil is not of great importance
as long as it is drained. Heavy soil and light will alike
grow the plants well. But there should be no damp, no .
stodginess. Light soil may be improved by digging in
a dressing of well-decayed manure, and the ground
should be moved to a depth of at least a foot — prefer-
ably eighteen inches.

Some growers, unable to find the ideal sheltered spot
for their Christmas Roses, yet very desirous of having
early flowers, place the plants in groups and put frames
around and over them. Or they cover small clumps
with separate handlights. The French gardener's frames |
and cloches would serve this purpose admirably. But
it is not every amateur who has frames and handlights
to spare. At a pinch artificial shelter could be provided,
in the form of a few armfuls of fern fronds thrown
among the plants. These also form a soil-covering
which prevents particles of grit being splashed up by
rain on to the flowers. Should the flowers be caught
by frost, it is a good plan to sprinkle them with cold
water before the sun rises.

The Christmas Roses begin to grow (in the ordinary
sense) in spring, for it is then that the new leaves
appear. When they are furnished with fresh foliage

POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

the old leaves can be dressed off. The season for pro-
pagation is autumn, when the clumps may be divided.

The Lenten Rose is a Hellebore, but not the same
species as the Christmas Rose ; it is //". Orientalis, or the
Eastern Hellebore, its native country being Greece. It
is a handsome plant, with deep rose flowers and abund-
ance of leafage. Blooming later than the Christmas
Rose, it gives successional flowers, and the colours of
the varieties are richer. It and its hybrids are plants to
study for late winter and early spring blooming.

A description of the best varieties and hybrids may
bring our chat about Christmas and Lenten Roses to a
close.

Varieties. — Of the Christmas Rose there are two large
varieties, one called major and the other altifolius or maxi-
mus. Both have flowers which are rose outside and white
within. The latter is the earlier bloomer, often flower-
ing in October and November. Madame Fourcade is
a pure white form. Angustifolius (meaning narrow-
leaved), St. Brigid's Christmas Rose, is a beautiful pure
white variety. It is a strong grower, and altogether
desirable. These are a few of the best varieties of
Helleborus niger^ but the reader need not allow himself
to become perplexed by the difficulty of choosing among
them. The old Christmas Rose is good enough for any-
body when it is well grown, and it is the cheapest.

The following are pretty varieties and hybrids of
Helleborus orientalis : the Lenten Rose ; Apotheker
Bogren, purple, spotted; Frau Irene Heinemann, purple,
spotted ; Gretchen Heinemann, purple, red streaks; and
Persimmon, white, with red spots.

There are several green Hellebores, notably abchasi-
cus, viridis, and odorus, the last of which has sweet
flowers. H, foetidus has greenish flowers also. But

CHRISTMAS AND LENTEN ROSES 83

while they are not without charm and interest, they lack
the beauty of the Christmas and Lenten Roses. These are
the real indispensables. Would that I could conclude by
saying that they are good plants for the suburban
gardener, but the truth is that the average garden near
towns, with its poor soil and hot aspect, is not suited to
them. Hellebores are plants for shady spots, for ferny
glades, for woodlands, for cool banks ; and it is the
exception to find such sites in the suburbs. But if
they exist, Christmas Roses may be grown.

ON THE CHRYSANTHEMUM FOR TOWN AND

COUNTRY

To mention the Chrysanthemum is to arouse the interest
of every lover of flowers. The professional gardener in
large places thinks of his conservatories and corridors,
the amateur of his general greenhouse, that threatens to
be so bare of bloom in autumn, the flower-gardener of
his borders, the townsman of the feasts of bloom pro-
vided in the public parks during the gloomy days of
November, the suburbanist of the small number of high-
class plants on which he can draw, the lady of the house
of her bowls and vases. All fall under the spell of the
flower, for all have had ample proof of its beauty and
value.

The Chrysanthemum is one of the most remarkable
of plants, alike for its season of flowering, the number of
forms in which it can be grown, its adaptability for
different conditions of growth, its indifference to impure
air, and the extraordinary size, diversity of shape, and
colour of its flowers. There are almost as many types
of Chrysanthemum as there are of breakfast foods, and
all are distinguished by a wide range of bright and
cheerful colours ; moreover, they can be grown in many
ways and places.

History, — Our interest in Chrysanthemums, and our

knowledge of the degree to which they have been de-

Single Chrysanthemums as cut flowers.

ON THE CHRYSANTHEMUM 85

veloped even in our own time, prompts us to speculate
on their origin. We feel that the history of so great a
flower must have much that is remarkable about it. But
when we begin to probe into the heart of Chrysanthemum
history we run against the stony obstacles of Oriental
secrecy and passivity. The trail meanders away into
the dust-tracks of past centuries — tracks sprinkled plenti-
fully with boulders. We even read of references to the
plant in the pages of Confucius, the immortal sage of
China, whose memory still receives the homage of the
Manchu emperors ; and Confucius was born as far back
as 551 B.C. Who can follow the progress of a plant
which was grown for hundreds of years before it reached
Europe — grown, too, in the Far East ? The task is
clearly impossible. We know that our modern Chrys-
anthemums C' florists' " Chrysanthemums, not the com-
paratively unimportant annual varieties of the summer
garden) are the offspring of two species, indicum and
sinense, both of which came from China, and had single
flowers, the former yellow in colour, the latter variable.
Those who are sufficiently interested to want to know
what the early blooms were like may turn to the Botanical | ♦
Magazine^ that great picture gallery of plants, where
tJ. 327, 2042, and 2556 portray the two parent species.

It is common to indulge in playful badinage at the
expense of the Celestial, but it would be somewhat
dangerous in the case of the Chrysanthemums, for our
own botanists seem to be undecided about the respec-
tive parts played by Chrysanthemums indiacm and
sinense in fathering modern varieties. One boldly attri-
butes all of them to C, indicum. Another as roundly
declares that C, sinense is the parent. In these circum-
stances it behoves us to preserve a prudent silence, and
reserve our gibes for a subject on which repartee would

86 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

be less embarrassing. That C, indicum and C, sinense
have been confounded is probable, for one authority is
silent as to the period of introduction of the former, but
gives the year for the latter as 1764. Now, other records
state that the first specimen of Chinese Chrysanthemum
that flowered in this country was a small yellow species
which bloomed in the Botanic Garden, Chelsea, in 1764.
Surely this was C. indicum. The name was given to it
by Linnaeus in his Species Plantarunty first published
eleven years before the plant bloomed at Chelsea. It
had been described previously by Breynius in his Podro-
mus in 1689, but was referred to by him under the name
of Matricaria Japonica maxima^ or the large Japanese

* Matricaria. (Matricaria is closely allied to Anthemis,
and, as we shall see presently, the unfortunate Chrysan-
themum was given yet another name by botanists —

I Anthemis artemisicEfolia), Breynius stated that there were
several varieties under cultivation in Holland in 1689,
and it seems peculiar that the plant should not have
flowered in England until seventy-five years later. This
fact lends colour to the supposition that there was con-
fusion between two different species.

As 1764 seems to be the first year that we can fasten
on safely with respect to the appearance of the Chrysan-
themum, we will accept it, and see what happened after-
wards. The plant which flowered at Chelsea aroused
considerable interest, and a dried specimen was pre-
sented to the Royal Society by the Chelsea gardener,
the famous Philip Miller. It is now in the British
Museum. The plant soon died, and we have no further
definite record of Chrysanthemum culture until 1790,
when a large-flowered double variety was grown at Kew.
It was said to have been procured from a French mer-
chant named Blanchard or Blancard, who imported

ON THE CHRYSANTHEMUM 87

it, with two other varieties, the previous year. It was
called the Old Purple, and considered to be a double
form of indicum. It forms the subject of Plate 327 of
the Botanical Magazine. Six years later a collection of
plants was grown in Colville's nursery at Chelsea, and
these, well cultivated and flowering freely, first taught
the general public that an important new plant had
arisen.

That greatest of horticultural writers, John Claudius
Loudon, called the Chrysanthemum Anthemis arte-
misicefolia, Anthemis nobilis is the common Camomile,
and the characteristic odour of the Chrysanthemum can
now be located by the amateur.

Loudon wrote of the varieties in 1822 : '^The Chinese
are supposed, on good authority, to have fifty varieties
or upwards ; there are fourteen described by J. Sabine
as having flowered in this country, and as many more of
recent introduction, which have not yet flowered. . . .
J. Sabine describes as having flowered in the garden of
the Horticultural Society the following : —

The Purple. Golden Yellow.

Changeable White. Large Lilac.

Quilled White. Rose or Pink.

Superb White. Buff or Orange.

Tasselled White. Spanish Brown.

Quilled Yellow. Quilled Flamed Yellow.

Sulphur Yellow. Quilled Pink.

From 1822, therefore, British florists had at least
fourteen varieties to work on, differing both in form and
colour. We see that there were white, yellow, lilac,
purple, orange, and brown sorts. The terms '' quilled "
and *^ tasselled" are not used in reference to Chrysan-
themums at the present day, although we have quilled

88 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

Asters. A flower is spoken of as quilled when the petals
or florets are rolled or tubular, like the stem of a quill
pen. The petals of many of our modern incurved and
Japanese Chrysanthemums are quilled. Loudon might
have had the former in mind, although there is no record
of it till 1836. The term " tasselled " would fit the early
forms of what we now call Japanese flowers, but this
section was not introduced till 1 860-1862.

Whatever the shapes, British raisers made haste to
cross them, and so get a large number of new and im-
proved varieties. They perceived immense possibilities
in a plant which grew strongly and bloomed freely in
autumn, when flowers were scarce. It is quite likely,
however, that even the most far-seeing of them never
foresaw the marvellous results of their work. They did
not see huge halls full of brilliant flowers, nor conserva-
tories in the public parks through which thousands of
people passed daily to admire the beautiful forms and
glowing colours. They did not picture groups of Chry-
santhemums in almost every garden, a great market
industry in the flower, and scores of societies specially
devoted to the plant.

By 1826 the Horticultural Society had forty-eight
varieties, and three years later (although, according to
some writers, it was seventeen years later) the first show
was held in that grand old city, Norwich, whose gardeners
are to this day as active, enterprising, and skilful a body
as their craft can show anywhere. London claims to
have followed. A Chrysanthemum Society was founded
in Stoke Newington, and a show was held in 1847, which
was not only to become an annual fixture, but was fated
to start a host of others ; for the Stoke Newington
Chrysanthemum Society became, in course of time, the
National Chrysanthemum Society, and the flower which

ON THE CHRYSANTHEMUM 89

it had taken under its wing became one of the great
flowers of the country, second only to the Rose in the
number of its admirers. But the claim of London can-
not be admitted, as a Chrysanthemum show was held at
Birmingham in 1836.

Famous Growers. — Let us put on record a few of the
names most closely identified with the development of
Chrysanthemums in Great Britain. One of the earliest
raisers of seedlings was Isaac Wheeler of Oxford, who
exhibited a batch before the Horticultural Society in
1832 ; and a Norfolk gardener, Freestone, followed him
closely. In 1836 Chandler of Vauxhall exhibited im-
proved varieties, and the incurved Chrysanthemum is
said to have come into being about this time. Greater
than any of these raisers, however, was John Salter, who, j
although gardening at Versailles when he first seriously
set himself the task of improving Chrysanthemums, was
an Englishman, and, returning to England in 1848, I
became a trade florist at Hammersmith. He began I
about 1838, and made enormous improvements in the
flower.

In 1846 the '^Chusan Daisy" was introduced by
Robert Fortune from China, and it developed into the
Pompon Chrysanthemum. In the course of a second
visit to the Far East (i 860-1862) he sent to England
the flrst Japanese varieties, which constitute the most
important section of modern Chrysanthemums.

Thomas Pethers, a Channel Islands grower; Samuel
B;oome, gardener at the Inner Temple, London ; Adam
Forsyth, of Stoke Newington ; J. Dale, gardener at the
Middle Temple ; Edwin Molyneux of Bishops Waltham ;
George Mileham of Leatherhead ; W. Wells of Earls-
wood ; H. J. Jones of Lewisham ; and Norman Davis of
Framfield, may be named among the eminent raisers and

90 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

growers of Chrysanthemums who bring its development
up to the present day. It would be impossible to give a
complete chronology of the varieties, as the number pro-
bably exceeds three thousand, and records of the parent-
age of the great majority of these have never been
published.

The Blue Chrysanthemum, — The various raisers have
given us a great range of colours in Chrysanthemums,
but not a blue. It is interesting to hear that blue Chrys-
anthemums appear on the splendid pottery of the
Japanese ; and, in view of their usual fidelity, it is claimed
that a blue Chrysanthemum must have existed at the
time.

The Japanese cultivated the Chrysanthemum with great
ardour. They went, indeed, farther than the Chinese,
exhibiting in this, as in so many other things, a more
progressive and energetic spirit. They made it their
national flower, and in 1876 the Mikado instituted the
Order of the Chrysanthemum, consisting of a star in the
form of a cross with thirty-two rays. A Chrysanthemum
is placed in each of the angles formed by the prmcipal
arms. The star is attached to a red ribbon by a gold
Chrysanthemum, and this is entirely appropriate, for the
Chrysanthemum is the Golden Flower, the name deriv-
ing from chrysoSy gold ; and anthoSy a flower. The deco-
ration is not for florists; it is an honour reserved for
crowned heads and the highest dignitaries of states ; but
the man who introduces a good blue Chrysanthemum
will need no order to commend him to posterity. His
name will be famous for all time.

Classification. — We may begin our survey of present-
day Chrysanthemums by a brief consideration of the
various classes. To many growers a Chrysanthemum
is a Chrysanthemum, neither more nor less; but to

ON THE CHRYSANTHEMUM 91

the cognoscenti it is either an Incurved, a Japanese,
a Japanese Incurved, a Japanese Reflexed, a Reflexed,
a Large Anemone, a Japanese Anemone, a Pompon, a
Pompon Anemone, or a Single. A system of classifica-
tion for a popular flower is apt to alarm and irritate
the amateur at the outset, but the more he learns about
the plant, the more clearly he sees that it is desirable.
He goes farther if he becomes an exhibitor — he sees that
it is absolutely necessary. Varieties of totally different
types could not be shown against each other in one
class with satisfactory results. Picture Japanese flowers
as large as footballs competing with Singles of the size
of border Pyrethrums !

While describing the different sections, I may indicate
a good type of flower for the guidance of would-be
exhibitors.

An Incurved Chrysanthemum has quilled florets
turned in towards the centre. A good flower is globu-
lar, not flat, with a smooth, even outline ; the florets
are broad, gracefully curved, and fill up the centre so
thoroughly that no hollow is discernible. A flat flower,
with thin, pointed florets, and showing an ^^eye" or
hollow centre, is defective.

A Japanese Chrysanthemum may have flat, quilled,
fluted, or thread-like florets. The class is a large and
varied one, and consequently it is difficult to describe
it in a few words. In most varieties the florets droop,
but in some they are erect, while others, again, have
erect central and drooping outer florets. A good show
Japanese Chrysanthemum is from six to ten inches
across, according to the variety, and the same in depth,
measuring from the crown to the tip of the drooping
florets. The colours are fresh and clear. A lop-sided,
thin, dull flower is defective.

92 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

The Japanese Incurved Chrysanthemum has broad
florets, but they are arched, so as to give the flower
an incurved, globular form. Many societies do not
make this a separate class, and when this is the case,
exhibitors may exhibit them with ordinary Japanese.

The Japanese Rejlexed Chrysanthemum has broad,
flat florets, which are reflexed instead of being incurved
or merely drooping. It is not kept separate from the
ordinary Japanese by some societies.

The Rejlexed Chrysanthemum is much smaller than
the Japanese, and has broad, reflexed florets. A good
flower is circular, with broad, overlapping florets.

The Large Anemone Chrysanthemum has two sets
of florets of different shapes, the one being quilled,
and forming a raised disc or cushion in the centre ;
the other flat, nearly or quite horizontal, and forming
a ring round the disc ; the latter are called the ray
florets. A good flower has a smooth, even disc, and
broad ray florets evenly disposed.

The Japanese Anemone Chrysanthemum has the cen-
tral disc of the large Anemone, but the ray florets vary
in shape and arrangement, being twisted, curled, or
drooping.

The Pompon Chrysanthemum is a small-flowered
type, with globular double blooms, the florets of which
may be flat, fluted, or quilled, in different varieties, but
not differing in the same flower. The blooms do not
exceed two inches across.

The Pompon Anemone Chrysanthemum has a raised
disc of quilled florets like the Large Anemone, and a
ring of flat ray florets, but the flowers are a great deal
smaller than those of the Large Anemone.

The Single Chrysanthemum has a flat disc, and not
more than two rows of ray florets.

ON THE CHRYSANTHEMUM 93

The foregoing ten sections contain types varied
enough to please the greatest enthusiasts in Chrysan-
themums. The Japanese is far the most important
for indoor culture. The Incurved, though still prized
for exhibitions, tends rather to recede than advance.
Of the remainder, the Single and Pompon types are
perhaps the most popular at the present day. The
latter is even more useful than the Japanese for garden
culture, owing to the dwarfer growth and neater habit.
I may sum up by saying that the average amateur could
get along very well with no other section than the
Pompon for his garden.

Varieties, — In view of the fact that the Chrysanthe-
mum is still under development, varieties are superseded
somewhat frequently, and selections tend to become
out of date within a few years of being made. The fol-
lowing sorts (page 94) have, however, sufficient merit to
justify the belief that they will hold their places for a
considerable time.

The object of giving two selections of Japanese is
to emphasise the fact that exhibition varieties are not
necessarily, or even probably, good garden and green-
house sorts. The amateur grower who goes to a show,
and sees huge flowers of beautiful shape and colour,
is apt to conclude that the condition in which he sees
them is their normal one, and that it would be repeated
if they were grown in his own little conservatory or
back garden. The truth is that the condition is entirely
abnormal, and is only brought about through treatment
of a highly skilled and specialised character. Most of the
show sorts do not shine under a simple system of cul-
ture : the habit is not good, and the flowering is sparse.
There are, however, varieties which grow naturally —
or with very little training — into a suitable shape for

94 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

Large Japanese for Show,

Name of Variety.

Colour.

Bessie Godfrey

Yellow.

Brilliant

Amaranth.

Florence Penford

Lemon, chrome reverse.

F. W. Lever .

Cream.

F. W. Vallis .

Crimson.

Henry Perkins

Yellow, flaked chestnut.

J. H. Silsbury

Crimson, yellow reverse.

Lady Conyers

Pink, silvery reverse.

Lady Hopetoun .

Silver.

Leigh Park Wonder .

Dark crimson.

Madame R. Cadbury

Ivory.

Madame Paolo Radaell

Blush or ivory.

Madame G. Rivol

Yellow, shaded rose.

Magnificent .

Crimson.

Marquise V. Venosta .

White.

Melchett Beauty .

Yellow, flaked rose.

Miss Elsie Fulton

White.

Mr. F. S. Vallis .

Yellow.

Mrs. Barkley

Rosy mauve.

Mrs. A. H. Lee .

Crimson.

Mrs. A. T. Miller

White.

Mrs. G. Mileham .

Rose, silvery reverse.

Norman Davis

Brown, yellow veins.

President Viger .

Lilac.

Smaller Free- Flowering Japanese,

Variety.

Colour.

Framfield Yellow .
Heston White
Madame F. Perrin
Money Maker
N. C. S. Jubilee .
Niveus .
Source d'Or .
Vivand Morel
Winter Cheer
W. H. Lincoln .

Yellow.

White.

Pink.

White.

Lavender.

Late white.

Orange.

Pink.

Amaranth.

Late yellow.

Prize [ai-anese Chrysantheml'ms.

ON THE CHRYSANTHEMUM

small houses and for garden use. The flowers are
not nearly so large under any system of culture as
those of the show sorts, yet they are beautiful.

By making a prudent selection of varieties these
free-flowering Chrysanthemums will give blossoms for
many weeks, because some are naturally later bloomers
than others. This is a great advantage, and the point
has been borne in mind in making the selection. Fram-
tield Yellow and Heston White will bloom in the ordi-
nary way much earlier than W. H. Lincoln and Niveus,
which are of similar colour. The two first are of par-
ticularly good habit, and produce their flowers in
abundance. They are beautiful sorts for growing in a
small greenhouse or conservatory, for standing in
porches, and for cut bloom.

Large Incurved for

Show,

Variety.

Colour.

A. H. Hall .
Buttercup
Charles H. Curtis
Godfrey's Reliance
Lady Isabel .
Mrs. G. Denyers
Mrs. F. Judson
Mrs. B. Hankey
W. Biddle .

Purple.

Yellow.

Chestnut.

Lavender.

Pink.

White.

Mahogany.

Lemon.

I do not recommend this class for amateurs who
want a profusion of bloom in the garden, or in a small
house, because the selected Japanese already named will
serve the purpose much better. The Incurved varieties
have not the freedom and grace of the Japanese, they do
not bloom so abundantly, and the habit of growth is
less compact. The Incurved are really only quite at

96 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

home on the show-board, where well-finished flowers
have the attraction which perfect form, smoothness, and
richness of colour can impart to a flower. Experts
gloat over them as highly finished examples of horti-
cultural skill ; and to experts they may be left.

Reflexed,

This class gives effective pot plants. The most
popular variety is Dr. Sharpe, magenta. King of
Crimsons is also grown a good deal. One of the Re-
flexed varieties, Progne, has agreeably scented flowers.

Large Anemone,

Descartes, crimson ; Gluck, yellow ; and Lady
Margaret, white, are three of the most popular varieties
of this not very important class.

Pompon,

Several of this class are included in the selection of
garden varieties below. Of those grown in pots for
greenhouse or show, Bob, brownish-red ; Mdlle. Marthe,
white ; Mdlle. Elise Dordan, blush ; and Wm. Westlake,
yellow, are the most popular.

Single,

This class tends to grow in favour now that varieties
of good habit, free bloom, and beautiful colours, some
flowering early and some late, have been raised. They
are charming for pots, and the early varieties are suit-
able for the garden. The later sorts may be tried out of
doors if desired, but there is always the risk of early
frost injuring the flowers.

Single Chrysanthemum A. Ferguson.

ON THE CHRYSANTHEMUM

Variety.

Colour.

Season.

Bronze Edith Pagram .

Bronze

Late.

Canary Bird .

Yellow

Late.

Crimson Queen

Red

Late.

Dolly Iniff .

Crimson

Early.

Distinction .

Rosy cerise

Early.

Emile .

Pink

Late.

Florence Gillham .

White

Early.

Felicity ....

Ivory

Late.

Gem of Merstham .

Crimson

Early

Gaiety ....

Salmon

Late.

Mrs Gwynn Powell

Blush

Late.

Pink Beauty .

Pink

Early.

Double Garden Varieties.

In August, September, and October the flower-
garden may be gay with beautiful Chrysanthemums,
which will give brightness to the beds and borders
when most other flowers are fading. Those who are
planting borders have one great point to bear in mind —
that the material which they employ must be capable of
giving successional bloom. In many cases the gardener
chooses a certain number of things that he particularly
likes, and plants them, overlooking the fact that they are
all summer bloomers, and that both spring and autumn
are left unprovided for. The proper course when plant-
ing a large bed or a border is to begin by choosing a
few particularly good things for the various seasons —
Daffodils, Tulips, and Pyrethrums for spring ; Irises,
Lupins, Rockets, Paeonies, Delphiniums, Carnations,
and Columbines for early summer ; Pentstemons,
Phloxes, Snapdragons, Ox-eye Daisies, and Chrysanthe-
mums for late summer and autumn. This insures
bloom from March to November. There is no need,
of course, for the gardener to restrict himself to these

98 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

kinds ; he may introduce such others as he Hkes ; but at
the same time he may rest assured that if he made good
selections of the kinds named, and grew them well (and
both good selections and good culture are described in
the present work), he would have a beautiful and interest-
ing garden, whatever else he left out.

Chrysanthemums are not the least important feature
of the late-flowering section. Beginning in August, they
go on to November. Given a mild autumn, there is
bloom when schoolboys are celebrating Guy Fawkes'
Day, and crowds are cheering the newly elected Lord
Mayor through the streets of London.
/[ In Town Ga^-dens. — They are nearly as happy in

town gardens as the crowd itself. Who has not seen
Chrysanthemums on which a rain of smuts from an
adjoining factory or railway is falling most of the year
blooming cheerfully ? Fumes which shrivel up Roses
like a blast of flame, and make Sweet Peas uncom/ort-
able, have very little effect on Chrysanthemums.

They will thrive, too, in most kinds of soil ; but no
one should take advantage of this and leave them to
make the best of poor, hot, shallow ground, especially if
the site is one that is much swept by strong, cold winds
late in spring. The grower should help his plants with
deep spade work and liberal manuring.

When the amateur reflects that, in addition to making
charming garden pictures, by choosing good Chrys-
anthemums and growing them , well, he can also
provide his wife with abundance of light and pretty
sprays for decorating the house, his arm will be
strengthened.

If his borders are so small that he can hardly find
room for all the plants that he wants to grow in it, he
can perhaps grow his collection of Chrysanthemums in

Decorative Chrysanthemums.

ON THE CHRYSANTHEMUM

a spare bed somewhere, and, cutting back the early
blooming plants when their beauty is past, plant the
Chrysanthemums near the clumps. The Chrysanthe-
mums will ''shift" quite safely in showery weather in
August and September.

Let us now make a selection of double garden
Chrysanthemums, with their colours and usual month
of flowering : —

Variety.

Colour.

Months.

Bijou Rose

Pink

September, October.

Champ d'Or

Yellow

September, October.

Firefly ....

Crimson

September, October.

♦Firelight

Dark red

September, October.

Freedom

Purplish-rose

September, October.

Goacher's Crimson

Bronzy-red, yel-
low reverse

September, October.

♦Horace Martin

Yellow

September.

♦Le Cygne

White

October.

Le Pactole .

Bronze

September, October.

Lillie ....

Pink

September, October.

♦Madame Desgranges .

White

August.

Market White

White

September, October.

Maxim ....

Chestnut

September, October.

Minnie Carpenter .

Terra-cotta

October.

♦Nina Blick .

Bronzy-red

September, October.

Rabbie Burns

Salmon-pink

September, October.

♦September Belle .

Pink, shaded
salmon

September.

White Quintus

White

September.

The six marked with an asterisk would form a good
half-dozen, giving, as they do, different colours and
seasons of blooming.

Truly, when one thinks of the beauty of Chrysanthe-
mums, of their tough constitution, and of their obliging
disposition, one's heart warms to them. They have
nothing in common with plants which demand that

lOO POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

everything shall be just right before they will consent to
grow and bloom. They do not pule and whine because
their bread is not buttered on both sides. The wisest of
plants, they take the good things of life with whole-
hearted enjoyment when they are available, and do
without them when they are not. There is one sin that
they never commit — they do not cold-shoulder any
earnest grower. They befriend him constantly, faithful
to the end. Whether he be townsman, suburbanist, or
countryman, he can rely on their fidelity if he give the
smallest proof that he deserves it.

Large Daisies. — The florists' Chrysanthemum, in the
various forms which we have just been considering,
dominates the genus so strongly that other species and
varieties hold but a small place. Yet the perennial Ox-
^e, Shasta, and Pyrenean Daisies are Chrysanthemums,
and very useful ones too, as they grow vigorously and
bloom for a long period in summer and autumn. They
are hardy perennials, will grow in almost any soil,
and are easily propagated by division. The Ox-eye
Daisy is Chrysanthemum Leucanthemum, which blooms
in early summer ; and the Pyrenean Daisy is Chrysan-
themum maximum. There are now several fine varieties
of the latter available, such as King Edward, the Mun-
stead variety, and Wm. Robinson. Another good hardy
perennial Chrysanthemum is the tall, white - flowered,
late-flowering plant commonly grown under the name
of Pyrethrum uliginosum.

Golden Feather. — The reader may be surprised to
hear that yet another popular plant in the yellow
Feverfew, or Golden Feather, is a Chrysanthemum
[Parthenium) according to modern botanical classifica-
tion, although it used to be called a Pyrethrum. This
plant was in great demand in bygone days, when carpet

Double white annual Chrysanthemum.

ON THE CHRYSANTHEMUM loi

bedding was in vogue, but it is not much used now. It
was raised from seed sown in heat in spring, and when
planted out was kept low and compact by being cropped
with finger and thumb every few days.

The Marguerites of our flower-gardens and window-
boxes are Chrysanthemums, and their free blooming,
duration, and neat habit render them extremely service-
able. They are propagated by cuttings in spring or
autumn, and thrive in ordinary potting soil.

The hardy annual Chrysanthemums, double and
single, are desirable, as they flower in a few weeks
from seed sown outdoors in spring, and are suitable
for cutting. They have come from the two old species
carinattim (tricolor) and coronariuniy the former of which
had purple and white flowers, the latter yellow. Bur-
ridgeanum. Lord Beaconsfield, Morning Star, and W. E.
Gladstone are popular varieties of carinatum. Segetunty
the Corn Marigold, is also a hardy annual, and improved
forms are grown in gardens, notably grandiflorum.

The genus Chrysanthemum is not a large one, but
when we survey the florists' varieties, the summer
annuals and perennials, and the Marguerites, we recognise
that it is in every way a remarkable one. It would go
ill with flower-lovers now if they had to do without it.

Having considered the scope of the genus, and picked
out some of the best of the good things which it gives
us, we may deal with the culture of the florists' section.

Hardiness, — From time to time questions are asked,
and discussions arise^ as to the hardiness of Chrysan-
themums. This is hardly worthy of argument except
on an academic basis, because it is a simple matter to
procure a few fresh cuttings, rooted or unrooted, every
spring ; and when new plants can be bought for a penny
or twopence each, it is hardly worth while to keep old

I02 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

ones. Personally, I have tried leaving Chrysanthemums
in the open ground throughout the winter as the cottager
does ; some have died, some have lived. But the type
of plant that one gets by treating the Chrysanthemum as
( a hardy herbaceous perennial is not pleasing to me, and
I will not assume that it is any more gratifying to my
readers. If the plants are cut back in autumn, the root-
stock generally survives the winter and throws up fresh
growth in spring if the soil is light and well drained.
In damp soil the rootstocks often die in winter.

Propagation. — A person who particularly wanted to
propagate from his own stock, and had stiff soil, could,
if he liked, lift a few roots in autumn, pack them in soil
in boxes, and keep them in a sheltered place till spring.
They would probably live, and if put in a frame or in
a warm place in spring would throw up shoots, which
could be taken off and struck as cuttings in a greenhouse
or frame. New plants could be raised thus, and they
would probably give better results than old ones which
had passed the winter out of doors.

Many florists make a speciality of collections of rooted
cuttings in spring, and sell excellent varieties at prices
averaging twopence a plant or thereabouts. By buying
fifty or upwards the cuttings can be procured cheaper
still.

If the cuttings are not rooted when they arrive they
should be put into small pots or shallow boxes filled
with a compost containing a considerable proportion of
leaf mould and sand. It is wise to cover them with a
bellglass or small handlight if convenient, but as a rule
they will root without provided they are not exposed to
hot sun and dry air, but are sprinkled if they flag. The
soil should be kept just moist, but not saturated. Home-
made cuttings may be treated in the same way.

ON THE CHRYSANTHEMUM 103

When growth starts it may be assumed the roots have
formed and a little more water may be given, but still care
should be taken to avoid keeping the soil sodden. Air
may be admitted to the plants, and they should be put
close to the glass. The best place for them is an
unheated frame. When they have filled the pots with
roots they may be planted out.

Soil, — The ordinary soil of most gardens suits Chrys-
anthemums very well, as they are not fastidious plants ;
but that is no reason why special provision should not
be made to get them at their best. If the soil is very
stiff it may be improved by the addition of leaf mould,
road sweepings, or lime rubbish. These materials will
lighten and enrich the ground simultaneously. In add-
ing them, take the opportunity of digging deeply, breaking
up the subsoil in the process. This will lead to increased
vigour of plant and finer quality of bloom. If the soil is
light, a liberal dressing of decayed manure will be the
best addition to it.

There is not a great difference in the height of the
varieties of early garden Chrysanthemums. They grow
from two to three feet high in most cases, and the habit
is compact ; consequently they are plants for the front
and middle of borders rather than the back. Groups
of three can be set here and there in large borders,
so placing them in association with earlier-blooming
plants that they carry on the display of flowers, not
putting them with late Phloxes, Michaelmas Daisies, and
Sunflowers, and so having a part of the border full and
a part bare. In small borders the plants can be put
singly.

They will not call for a great deal of attention through
the summer. If the soil is hoed regularly, and a pail
of water is given occasionally in dry weather, they will

104 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

grow steadily. Should any plants show a tendency to
straggle, the tips of the shoots may be pinched off, in
order to make them break from below and form a bush ;
otherwise no stopping will be required. It is hardly
likely that staking will be needed, but it should be done
if the plants are badly blown about. If green-fly should
attack the plants, they might be dusted with tobacco
powder and syringed vigorously an hour afterwards.
The course of treatment indicated ought to lead to great
success with garden Chrysanthemums.

As the present work is devoted to garden flowers, the
cultivation of the Chrysanthemum as a pot plant for
conservatories and exhibition hardly comes within its
scope ; however, the principal items in pot culture may
be included in the following calendar : —

The Chrysanthemum-Grower's Year — A Summary.

January, — Outdoor plants will be quite dormant. If
there is much rain, mortar rubbish or dry litter may be
put round the clumps. Keep an eye on any roots which
are wintered in boxes, and moisten the soil only to
prevent its getting dust dry ; do not let it get sodden.
Strike cuttings of pot plants, choosing the suckers which
spring up from the root when they are about three
inches long. They root best in sandy soil under a hand-
light. Put 3'oung plants from early cuttings on a shelf
near the glass to keep them sturdy. They ought to be
grown in a cool but frost-proof house to prevent their
growing fast. Rapid growth is not desirable at this
season.

February, — If boxed stools of outdoor plants have
begun to throw up shoots owing to mild weather, put
them in a frame and give them a little water. Take the

id
>

H
<

ON THE CHRYSANTHEMUM 105

shoots off when three inches long, and put them in small
pots containing sandy soil. Early struck plants for pot
culture should be kept as cool as possible, and not be
repotted until the roots show freely at the drainage hole.
Directly they are repotted they call for nearly double
the space which they required before, and that is a
serious matter for amateurs with very little glass. The
plants may be shifted from a three-inch to a five-inch
pot. Use more loam and less leaf mould than for
cuttings. Give plenty of air to young rooted plants in
fine weather, and water only to prevent flagging.

March. — Cuttings of outdoor plants may be struck in
any desired quantity this month. If cuttings are being
bought, they may be procured about the middle of the
month. Young pot plants which have not been repotted
are certain to need a shift. They may go on to a bed of
ashes in a frame at the end of the month, but a mat
should be kept handy to throw over the light in case of
severe frost. Ventilate freely in fine weather. More
water will be needed as growth becomes more active.

April. — Complete the propagation of garden varieties.
Prepare the beds and borders, and plant strong rooted
plants from earlier cuttings out. If they have been
grown in an unheated frame they will be hardy
enough to withstand any frost which is likely to come
now. If the position is exposed to cold winds, some
temporary shelter can be devised in stormy spells. Pot
plants in frames will be growing fast, and must have
water when the soil is dry. Take the lights right off the
frames in fine weather. Late-struck plants may be put
into five-inch pots. The tips may be pinched off if bushy
plants are wanted.

May. — Complete the planting out. As the weather
may be hot and dry, take care to give a good soaking of

io6 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

water if the plants flag. Pot plants will require regular
daily attention. Many of them will have filled their five-
inch pots with rootS; and directly the latter begin to
creep out of the soil into the ashes on which the pots
stand they should be shifted into seven-inch. As the
available frame space may not suffice now, a sheltered
place out of doors may be chosen, a coat of ashes
spread on, and the plants stood out ; but a light frame-
work of laths capable of supporting a cloth or mat
should be kept handy, so that a protector can be speedily
put over them if hard weather should come on. Some
of the varieties form a flower-bud this month, with three
incipient shoots below it. The bud should be picked off,
and the three shoots grown on and tied to stakes in due
course. To get flowers of exhibition quality, it is import-
ant that the break of the shoots referred to should take
place at the right time, and if it does not come naturally
the tips should be pinched off. As the sorts vary a
great deal, the beginner should send a list of those which
he is growing to the trade expert from whom he buys
his plants, or to a gardening paper, and ask for the
varieties to be marked according as they break naturally
or have to be stopped. Stem cuttings may be struck for
yielding small plants in pots.

June. — Outdoor plants ought to be in full growth
now. Hoe the soil once a week, and give a soaking of
water occasionally in dry weather. Pot plants grown
for prize blooms ought to have their final shift, and if
they are in seven-inch pots, they may go into nine-inch
or ten-inch ; if in six-inch they may go into eight-inch or
nine-inch. The pots should be drained with crocks
surfaced with moss or leaf mould. The compost may
consist of three parts fibrous loam, one part of leaf
mould, one part of decayed manure, with half a peck of

ON THE CHRYSANTHEMUM 107

sand to each bushel. The whole of the components
should be well mixed and used in a moist state. Ram
the soil in quite hard, and leave two inches at the top
for water. Only give just enough water to prevent the
plants from flagging until they have started growing
again, then water regularly. Stand the pots on a bed of
ashes in a sunny but sheltered place in the garden. The
labour of watering, which is considerable, may be
reduced by partially or wholly embedding the pots in
ashes ; but still, water is sure to be required at least once
a day in dry weather. Remove side-shoots from the
three stems.

July. — Many of the garden varieties will form flower-
buds this month, and a few of the earliest, such as
Madame Desgranges, may come into bloom. Pot plants
will need daily attention. They must be watered liberally,
and should never be allowed to get so dry that the soil
cracks away from the side of the pot. Should such a
thing happen, prompt and drastic measures must be
taken. A tub of water must be procured, and the pot
sunk nearly to the brim in it. The water will rise
through the soil, driving air before it, and causing a
rush of bubbles to the surface. Only when these have
ceased should the pot be raised. It may rest on the
edge of the tub for a few seconds to permit the surplus
water to escape, and then be replaced in its permanent
position. If flower-buds should form at the tip of the
three shoots, with incipient shoots just below them, they
(the flower-buds) should be removed, together with two
of the three incipient shoots on each stem, the third
being left to grow on and form another bud in August.
An exception to this rule should be made in case of any
variety which an expert adviser says gives its best blooms
from '* crown" buds that form at the end of July. The

io8 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

number of such cases will not be great, as most do best
from later buds. Look out for green- and black-fly. If
either should attack the plants, dust with tobacco powder
and syringe vigorously an hour or two later. Should it
be observed that any leaves are getting covered with
white streaks, squeeze them to kill the maggots within.
If small warts should appear on the leaves, touch them
very carefully with methylated spirit, and then spray the
plants with water in which half an ounce of sulphide of
potassium per gallon has been dissolved. If the warts
are allowed to develop, the plants may be destroyed by
the fungoid disease called *' rust."

August, — If any garden plants are being grown as a
reserve in a spare bed they should be planted out after
the first showery spell. Should the weather remain hot
and dry, they may still be planted, but it would be wise
to chop round the plants with a spade the day before
they were shifted, to check root action, and then give a
soaking with water. Moreover, they should be moved
towards evening, and afterwards well syringed. Plants
already established in beds and borders will be coming
into bloom. A soaking of liquid manure will do them
good. The majority of the varieties grown in pots for
large blooms will show their crown buds the second or
third week in August. The new growth shoots just
below them should be pinched out at once, leaving the
flower-bud standing alone. Continue the watering and
treatment for insects advised under July. Bush plants
in pots may be showing buds in clusters. Do not thin
if plenty of small flowers are wanted, but disbud if a few
larger flowers are required.

Septembe7'. — Garden plants will be in full beauty this
month. The flowers may be gathered freely, as with
moisture and liquid manure fresh growth and flowers

ON THE CHRYSANTHEMUM 109

will be made. Pot plants ought to be put under glass
towards the end of the month — earlier if the buds are
showing colour. The heavy night dews of September
are enjoyed by the plants, but they are not good for the
flowers. Should mildew appear, dust with flowers of
sulphur. Keep the plants on the dry side for a few days
after the housing, but as soon as they freshen up resume
full watering. The plants should be arranged in a group
according to height and colour. Ventilate in fine
weather.

October, — Outdoor plants ought to be yielding flowers
still, but the earliest varieties will be over, and may be
cut down when the growth begins to wither. Flowers
will be developing rapidly under glass. Less water will
be needed, but the soil should not be allowed to get
quite dry. The hot-water apparatus ought to be started
in damp, foggy weather to help dry the air, but the
house must not be hot ; 55° should be the maximum
temperature. Ventilate every fine day. As most of the
shows are held towards the end of October and in the
early part of November, the exhibitor should procure the
necessary appliances early in October. Large stands
are required for Japanese blooms, owing to the great size
of the flowers. They should be painted green. A show-
board for twelve Japanese should be twenty-eight inches
long (left to right), twenty-one inches from back to front,
seven inches high at the back, and four at the front.
The holes for the tubes should be seven inches apart.
For six blooms the stands should be fourteen inches long,
and the other dimensions the same. For twelve Incurved
the size should be twenty-four inches by eighteen, back
six inches high, and front three inches, holes six inches
apart; for six Incurved, twelve by eighteen. If several
stands are to be taken about, a large travelling case fitted

no POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

with side strips should be ordered for them. Zinc cups
and tubes are required to fit into the show stands.
They consist, as a rule, of three parts: (i) a socket an
inch wide, provided with a perforated flange to screw
on to the board ; (2) a cup four inches long, fitted with
an external strip of brass which serves as a wedge, so
that when the cup is put into the socket it can be raised
or lowered, and fits firmly in any position ; (3) a cup four
and a half inches long, fitted with a brass strip and a top
flange two and a half inches wide, which supports the
bloom, and can be slid up and down in the cup just as
the cup can in the socket. The object of the whole
arrangement is to facilitate fixing the various flowers at
the heights which show them to the greatest advantage.
Only No. 2 has a bottom ; it has to hold water. Steel
tweezers in two or three sizes are required for dressing
the blooms. Most large Chrysanthemum dealers supply
stands, tubes, and tweezers ; and if they do not, they are
always able to tell an inquirer of some one who does.

November. — The last of the outdoor plants will now
go out of bloom, and may be cut down. The roots of
special varieties may be packed m boxes of soil, kept
just moist, and wintered in a cool, dry, frost-proof place.
Pot plants will be in full beauty. When they go out of
bloom cut them right back and lift the pots to a position
near the glass ; the root suckers will then become sturdy,
and make good cuttings. Watering should be continued.
Treat the cuttings as previously advised.

December. — The remarks made under November apply
to the closing month of the year. It is important to get
good cuttings of pot plants and strike them early if prize
flowers are wanted the following year. See remarks
under January.

ON CLEMATISES

Dear old ramblers, these. We love them when we
see them tumbling about the hedgerows almost as
much as when they are covering our own summer-
houses and pergolas.

It is curious to learn that the name comes from the
word klema^ a vine growth, in reference to their habit.
The purists complain that the popular pronunciation
of Clematis is wrong ; but what is the popular pro-
nunciation ? As many people say Klem'-a-tis as Klee-
may'-tis, but perhaps no more. The former is the
better of the two, and I do not think that any flower-
lover need be diffident about using it. The purists
themselves oscillate between Klee'-ma-tis and Klee-
mat'-is, and we must leave them to enjoy playing
pendulum. Klem'-a-tis is good enough for us, and
Klem'-a-tis, therefore, it shall be.

Lovers of old English folk-names may say : '' Why
Clematis at all ? Why not Traveller's Joy ? Why
not Virgin's Bower ? They are charming names, and
simple." True, but they belong to certain old species,
and do not fit the new hybrids with their great brilliant
flowers. You could not very well call Cle7natis Jack-
manii blue Traveller's Joy or blue Virgin's Bower,
though it may be assumed that travellers and virgins
alike have fits of the blues. We may continue to call

112 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

our old plants by the old names ; but since the florists
have given us such beautiful varieties we must, in
ordinary courtesy, accept their names for these sorts.

The wild Clematis, known as Traveller's Joy, Vir-
gin's Bower, and Old Man's Beard, is the botanist's
species vitalba. The French have one beautiful name
for it, les cheveux de Jesus^ and also another that is not
so pleasing. They sometimes call it Vherbe d gueux^
or Beggar's Weed, because unscrupulous mendicants
blister their legs with a plaster of the leaves in order
to assist their appeals for alms; or rub the juice into
sores on their hands and arms.

The reader may be surprised to hear of such uses
of a plant that is not generally regarded as poisonous;
but, in point of fact, the plant belongs to the Buttercup
family (Ranunculaceae), and all parts of it are poisonous.
If fresh leaves were chewed, ulcers would form in the
mouth ; and if the juices were swallowed, they would
probably produce severe dysentery.

The name Traveller's Joy appears to have been
first given to Clematis Vitalba by Gerard, tor we read
in his *^ Herball " : *^ It is commonly called Viorna quasi
vias ornans, of decking and adorning ways and hedges
where people travel, and thereupon I haue named it
the Trauveiler's loie." The specific name vitalba is in
allusion to the white fluffy masses of achenes (an achene
is a dry single carpel containing a seed, and it does not
open when ripe) which give the plant its distinctive
beauty in late summer. It grows luxuriantly in the
tall thorn and hazel hedgerows on the chalk lands in
East Kent, and also on the great blackthorn hedges
which skirt the road from Hythe to Romney Marsh,
covering both with a fleecy white mantle in August
and September. Large hedges, with their tangle of

ON CLEMATISES 113

Traveller's Joy, Brier, and Wayfaring Tree, are open
to the criticism that they indicate slothful farming,
and be sure that students at agricultural colleges have
various instructive data tending to the discredit of the
spreading masses ; but we cannot but rejoice in their
free, untrammelled beauty. We remember, too, that
it is to the English hedgerow that we owe our abund-
ance of songbirds. Without the shelter and protec-
tion of the hedges, feathered life must necessarily
diminish.

Pretty Species, — The Traveller's Joy is not much
used as a garden plant nowadays, for there are many
kinds far more suitable. The old species flammula^
which came from France as far back as 1596, is one ;
the growth is much neater, and the flowers are fragrant.
It is not entirely hardy, but in sheltered gardens it often
lives for many years, gracing a gable or old roof with
a foam of white blossom. But this good old plant has
receded, in spite of its perfume, giving place to the
earlier-blooming mountain Clematis (montana)y which
has forged ahead in popular esteem with such rapidity
that it is now grown in hundreds of thousands of
gardens. Its popularity is easily explained. In the first
place, it blooms as early as May, and there are few wall,
arch, or porch plants that flower so early. In the second
place, it is a very rapid grower and profuse bloomer.
In the third place, it will thrive in almost any soil or
position, not objecting to stiff land, or an eastern aspect,
or a town atmosphere. The flowers are white, and
of about the size of a half-crown. They are scented,
although not so strongly as those of flammula. The
perfume of C, montana led to its being also called C.
odorus.

The mountain Clematis is a native of the Himalaya,

114 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

whence it was introduced in 1831. It may be planted
to cover a house wall or a rustic summer-house. Have
you an unsightly object in or near the garden ? Fix
up a framework of rustic timber or wooden trellis-work,
/ plant the mountain Clematis, and it is hidden speedily.

In most cases it goes away freely when planted ; but
I have known it *^hang fire" when planted on chalky
I ground in a position where it catches drip from a
roof. The soil gets splashed away, and nothing but
chalk is left. In such circumstances some of the chalk
should be dug out to form a pocket, and with this filled
with fibrous loam the plant has a much better chance
of getting established. Another source of failure is to
put in a plant which has stood a good while in a
nursery pot - bound, and has a long, tough, vine-like
stem, and leave it unpruned. Such a plant ought to
be cut back. It is better to begin with a young one,
and prune it back to a good bud a few inches from
the ground. There will be a strong growth from the
bud, and in two or three years a large area will be
covered with flowering shoots. It is not wise to prune
established plants severely. The plant bears the finest
flowers on the wood made the previous year, conse-
quently the bloom would be cut away if severe spring
pruning were practised. The wood which has bloomed
may be pruned out in autumn if there are fresh shoots
to take its place.

The mountain Clematis may be propagated by
cuttings.

There are not many hardy species grown in gardens

now, as the hybrids and varieties are so much finer.

Cirrhosa, a spring bloomer, with green and white

.| flowers ; Erecta, a very old white species, blooming in

July ; Fortunei, white, brought from Japan in 1863 ;

Ci.KMATis Montana.

ON CLEMATISES 115

Florida, a white species introduced from Japan, blos-
soming in June ; Lanuginosa, a blue June bloomer from
China ; Patens, white, a Japanese plant blooming in
June ; and Viticella, purple, an August bloomer, are
well-known hardy species ; but they are better repre-
sented by their varieties than in themselves. The last
four have all given their names to sections.

Jackmanii has also done so, but it is a hybrid. This
remarkable Clematis is certainly the most popular of
all the large flowered, rich-coloured class, and is familiar
to almost every lover of climbing plants. It is beautiful
on porches, roofs, trellis-work, pillars, and verandahs,
bearing its large violet-blue flowers in great abundance
in July and August. It was raised in 1858 by a Woking
florist, George Jackman, who obtained it by crossing
the old blue Japanese species lanuginosa with a hybrid
called Hende7'sont. The latter was raised in 1835 ^Y
crossing the species integrifolia and viticella^ and bore
purplish-blue flowers. A hybrid called rubro-violaceay
with purplish-maroon flowers, came from the same
cross ; but although it is a good Clematis, it was over-
shadowed from the first by Jackmanii.

Clematis J ackinanii is one of the most profuse-bloom-
ing plants ever grown in a garden. It becomes a mass
of bloom in late summer, quite hiding whatever object
it may be grown upon. Such a plant, if also hardy and
a fast grower — and Clematis Jackmanii is both — is bound
to become a great favourite, because it meets the wants
of innumerable gardeners. Suburban as well as country
amateurs love Clematis Jackmanii^ and town gardeners
might succeed with it nearly as well as their rural
brethren if they would provide better soil than they
generally do, and use the knife with a little more courage,
it is very rarely that the natural soil of a suburban

ii6 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

gardener is really fertile, and in nine cases out of ten it
is advisable to take out some of it, and make a hole big
enough to hold a bushel of fibrous loam and leaf mould,
which the local florist will provide for a shilling. The
plant is worth that.

Pruning, — The use of the knife should begin directly
the plant is put in, and that should be either in November
or March. Many plant late in April or in May, on a hot
site, with the result that the plant is scorched up before
the roots have time to get to work and feed it. With
autumn or early spring planting the plant has a chance
to make new roots before the hot weather comes on, and
as these fibres begin to send up food at once, the plant is
strengthened and can endure the sun. But a gardener
who has once summoned up enough courage to cut
back a Clematis Jackmanii after planting it will always
be ready to repeat the operation in future plantings.

If shortened to a bud near the ground all the energies
of the plant are concentrated on that bud, and it pushes
a fine, vigorous shoot, which is soon several feet long,
and produces flowers the same year. The second year
it will do better still, and in the third the plant will be
at its best, covering an immense area, and producing
hundreds of flowers.

It may sound strange to the non-professional reader,
but Clematis Jackmanii produces the finest flowers when
all the flowering shoots of the previous year are cut
back in spring. The reason of this is that the plant
blooms on new wood. We cannot lump all the Clema-
tises together and say that they should be pruned in
such-and-such a way. Jackmanii^ we see, differs from
montana ; and others differ from both. The amateur
may protest that his Clematis Jackmanii blooms without
any pruning at all. So it does — kindly, generous-hearted

ON CLEMATISES 117

plant that it is ; but it often gets into a terrible tangle,
and is not far short of being positively unsightly when
the leaves have fallen. Moreover, as the soil becomes
exhausted, the flowering falls off. The pruned, trained
plant is never ugly, leaves or no leaves ; and it produces
the finest of flowers — large and full of glorious colour.
About every third year, some of the old soil should be
forked away from the roots and a fresh coat of loam,
leaf mould, and manure put on. A few pailfuls of liquid
manure will do good.

The white variety of Jacknianii is worth making a
note of, but it is not so valuable as the blue. Some
Clematis lovers like to mix the latter and Jlammula^ for
the sake of the perfume which the latter possesses, j
There was a movement to grow them as dwarf bedding
plants trained over hoops a few years ago, but it has
nearly died out. More convincing is the idea of grow-
ing them on groups of tall pillars in a large bed. The
bigger the boles used the better. If they are moderate-
sized tree trunks twelve feet out of the ground, no matter,
the Clematis will reach the top in one season if the soil
is rich, and in the second will be sprawling over them,
and dangling flower-laden shoots over the top as a kind
of flag of victory.

Beautiful Varieties. — Some of the large varieties ot
the other sections may be used to support Jackmanii for
this purpose. Their flowers are even larger than those
of the famous blue, and they give variety of colour.
For instance, there are The Queen, a beautiful lavender
variety, and Lord Londesborough, mauve, both of the
patens type. These bloom in early summer, and need
no pruning except when they get very crowded. There
are Beauty of Worcester, violet, and Venus Victrix,
lavender, double, of the Lanuginosa section, which also

ii8 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

need no pruning beyond thinning. There is Lady Bovill,
Hght blue, of the Viticella type, which does best when cut
back hard every autumn. And there is Madame Edouard
Andre, red, of the Jack^nanii class, which, as already
mentioned, should be pruned back to the old wood in
spring.

We see that there is great variety of habit and colour
in the Clematises, and although this may, at the outset,
tend to cause the amateur a little perturbation, he soon
gets over it, and finds a deeper interest in the flowers
from the demands that they make on his knowledge and
skill.

XII

ON COLUMBINES (AQUILEGIAS)

As the sweetheart of Harlequin, Columbine was a primft
favourite in the days when we were young enough to
love the pantomime ; and in the form of a distinct and
graceful flower we give her a high place among our
garden favourites.

Her charming name comes, of course, from the
Latin columbaj a dove, but we are not quite sure
whether it is Lady Wilkinson or Dr. Prior who may
be accepted as the true guide to the derivation. The
former tells us that it arises from the fact that if we
pull off a. petal with its attached sepals we see a
semblance of the figure of a dove with expanded
wings ; the latter, that it is due to the nectaries re-
sembling the heads of pigeons arranged in a ring round
a dish. There is a third view — that the dove association
arises merely from the colour, and its supporters quote
Chaucer —

" Come forth now with thin eyghen Columbine."

— The Marchau7ides Tale,
But this is a little strained.

It is a coincidence that the botanical name, Aquilegiaj

is also supposed by many to arise from a bird, but

a very different one from the dove. The derivation

ascribed is that of aquila^ the eagle, in reference to the

form of the petals ; but this does not satisfy some

scholars, who prefer to trace Aquilegia to aquilegusy a.

119

120 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

water-collector, in allusion to the capacity of the flower
for holding water.

We see that in the case of both scientific and popular
names there is fine scope for learned controversy, but it
is probable that modern flower-lovers will be disposed
to confine their discussions to the relative merits of the
varieties.

The poets have dealt richly with the Columbine.
John Clare, the peasant rhymer, who was for a short
period an under-gardener at Burghley, and who died in
the Northampton lunatic asylum in 1864, included it iii
some charming verse on old-fashioned flowers :

" The Columbines, stone blue, or deep night brown,
Their honeycomb-like blossoms hanging down ;
Each cottage garden's fond adopted child,
Though heaths still claim them, where they yet grow wild."

Let us recall, too, John Skelton, the satirical poet,
once Rector of Diss, in Norfolk, who was bold enough
to make a fierce attack on the all-powerful Cardinal
Wolsey in '*Why come ye not to Courte?" In
'* Phyllyp Sparowe " he cries :

" She is the Vyolet,
The Daysy delectable,
The Columbine commendable
The lelofer amyable."

Spenser uses the delightful comparison :

" Her nekke lyke to a bounch of Cullambynes."

Shakespeare refers to the Columbine in "Love's
Labour's Lost " :

Armado. Peace !
The armipotent Mars, of lances the almighty,
Gave Hector a gift, the heir of Ilion ;
A man so breathed that certain he would fight ; yea,
From morn till night, out of his pavilion.

Columbines.

ON COLUMBINES 121

I am that flower ; —

Dumaine. That Mint 1

Longaville. That Columbine.

And again in " Hamlet" :

Ophelia. There's Fennel for you and Columbine ; there's
Rue for you ; and here's some for me ; we must call it herb
grace o' Sundays.

The Columbine clearly had the interest for great
writers which all popular flowers must arouse ; and
the repeated references to it by Shakespeare may be
taken as a measure of its familiarity, for he was too
astute a writer to weaken his appeal by drawing illus-
trations from the garden that were likely to be strange
to his readers. His observing eye took in and measured
the influence of flowers as it did the power of human
emotions.

It is not every botanist who will admit that, popular
as the Columbine has been from the earliest times of
which we have any floricultural records, it is a true
native plant ; but we need hardly labour the point,
for it would be impossible to give its original habitat.
The horticultural dictionaries state that the common
Columbine, Aquilegia vulgaris, is a native, while quoting
the exotic origin of several species which are them-
selves comparatively old plants. The Columbine was
specialised in the days of Parkinson (1567-1650), for
he wrote of it as being *' carefully nursed up in our
gardens for the delight both of its form and colour."
Yet we might suppose that it had not been developed
very highly, since George Chapman, translator of Homer
and playwright, referred to it disparagingly in his bright
comedy, "All Fools," which was produced in or about
1599, as follows : —

" What's that — a Columbine ?
No. That thankless flower grows not in my garden."

/v/r

122 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

The Columbine was used in heraldic devices, and
John Guillim (or Gwillim) (1565-1621), scholar of Braze-
nose, Oxford; official at the College of Arms, London, and
author of '^ A Display of Heraldrie," quotes *' a chevron
sable between three Columbines," and speaks approv-
ingly of the flower itself, as ^' pleasing to the eye, as well
in respect of the seemly (and not vulgar) shape as in
regard of the azury colour.'' He gave it, too, a good
character in another respect — it was '^very medicinable
for throat troubles."

Select Species and Hybrids. — Aquilegia (pronuncia-
tion, Ak-wil-ee'-ji-a) vulgaris was variable in colour,
giving red, white, and blue forms. It comprised both
single and double flowers. Other species gave larger
flowers and a greater range of colours. Alpina is a
beautiful blue species from the Swiss Alps, growing
about a foot high, and being suitable for the rockery.
It is the same as grandiflora, Ccerulea, blue and white,
introduced from the Rocky Mountains in 1864, is a
charming Columbine. It has long, slender spurs tipped
with green. The height is fifteen to eighteen inches.
CcBrulea hybrida is the result of crossing ccBrulea with
chrysantha and other species. The Columbines were
first hybridised by a florist who was later to become
famous as a Carnation grower, James Douglas. He
made a large number of crosses, and secured strains
with large, long-spurred flowers, embracing many
colours. The seedsmen have a strain called Calif ornica
hybrida, the petals of which are yellow, and the sepals
and spurs orange. It grows about two feet high, and
certainly has the blood of chrysantha in it. The latter
is one of the noblest of the Columbines, growing three
to four feet high ; it has yellow flowers. Some botanists
do not accept it as a species, but consider it to be a

ON COLUMBINES 123

variety of leptoceras. The latter is blue and white, and
very close to, if not identified with, ccerulea. Columbine-
lovers will find a plate of it in the Botanical Magaziney
t. 4497, and also one of chrysantha under the name of
leptoceras chrysanthay t. 6073. Aquilegia chrysantha came
from California in 1873. In itself, and also as a parent
of the many beautiful hybrids, it is very valuable.

The blue and white species glandulosa is regarded
as precious by all lovers of Columbines. The flowers
are large and graceful, and the height is about a foot.
It is a Siberian plant, and therefore hardy, nevertheless
it is short-lived in most gardens, and requires frequent
renewal from seed, but that is a simple and inexpensive
matter, fucunda is a variety of it.

There is a lovely little dwarf Columbine named
Pyrenaica, introduced from the Pyrenees in 181 8. It
rarely grows more than nine inches high, and may
therefore be put on the rockery. The colour is blue.
Sibirica, lilac, is another species suitable for the rock
garden. Skinneriy red and green, a Guatemalan species,
is a popular Columbine, and is illustrated in the Botanical
Magazine, t. 3919. Stuartii is a hybrid htiv^Qtn glandu-
losa and a variety of vulgaris, raised in 1888. It is a
dwarf grower, with dark blue and white flowers.

A Columbine-lover who wanted to have a thoroughly
representative collection might add canadensis, formosay
^nd /ragrans to the foregoing, as all are worth growing ;
but one may not assume that every flower-lover can find
space and time for cultivating a long list of species when
there are so many other beautiful plants claiming a share.
Nay, one is forced to assume that many gardeners will
be driven to the extreme of cultivating Columbines as h^"^
Columbines, and nothing more. Even in this case they
will not do badly if they procure a good strain of mixed

124 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

hybrids, for they will have a beautiful display of flowers
in late spring.

Propagation. — The grower of Columbines learns from
observation that they do not possess a spreading, fibrous
root-stock, like, for example, Michaelmas Daisies and
Sunflowers ; but form a hard, knotty stock. For this
reason they do not lend themselves to propagation by
division, although I have resorted to this method of
increase on occasion, driving a sharp spade clean
through the centre just as the growth started in spring.
But the plant comes so readily from seed that division
is uncalled for except in the case of double varieties.
As a matter of fact, the Columbines sow themselves.
The bees buzz around them busily in June, and a few
weeks later one sees the peculiar pointed pods dis-
charging their seeds. A word of warning as to this.
The hybrid Columbines of the seedsmen are highly
bred, and they soon deteriorate in quality when left to
Nature ; if it is desired to keep the flowers up to the
highest standard, the self-sown seedlings should be
weeded out every few years, and a new stock of plants
raised from fresh seed.

The Columbines certainly have a good notion of
making themselves comfortable in any quarters which
they like. I have cleared an herbaceous border to make
a shrubbery, been sure that every particle of growth
has been removed, and had the soil deeply dug, but
a Columbine has come up here and there among the
shrubs the following season, and, enjoying the good
fare and the partial shade, has grown into a sturdy
specimen. Although they grow vigorously in strong
loam and clay — as, indeed most plants do — they like
chalk, and will make surprisingly tall growth and flower
prokisely in comparatively poor soil overlying limestone. \

ON COLUMBINES 125

Those who raise Columbines from seed should sow
thinly in a drill as soon as it is ripe, if they gather their
own ; but if buying seed in spring, they had better sow
in May. This seed will be of the previous year's sowing,
and is often rather slow in germinating ; on this account
it is worth while to go to the little extra trouble of sow-
ing in a shallow box filled with moist fine loam, leaf
mould, and sand. If kept dark, and the soil moist, in a
frame, it will germinate in due course, and the plants
must then have light and air. When they begin to get
crowded they may be set six inches apart in a prepared
bed in the garden, and transferred thence to their per-
manent quarters in autumn.

Lovers of this beautiful plant, who grow it mainly for
garden effect, must still make themselves acquainted
with the structure of its flowers, for they are of great
interest. There are five coloured or petaloid sepals j
(a sepal is not a petal — it is a segment of the calyx —
while a petal is a segment of the corolla) and five tubular /
petals ; each of the latter terminates in a horn-like
"spur" or nectary, which resembles a bird's head.
The abundant seeding of Columbines is perhaps due
to the numerous series of stamens, which, fed by the
nectaries, discharge a great deal of pollen.

Interesting in its structure, a beautiful, hardy, and
easily grown garden plant, endeared to us by long
association, the Columbine is one of the greatest of
our flower-garden favourites.

XIII

ON CROCUSES

That cheerful harbinger of spring, the yellow Crocus,
which often flashes back a greeting to the pale rays of
the February sun, is one of the oldest of our popular
garden flowers. Thriving in almost any soil, calling for
no skill in culture, cheap, it is truly one of the flowers
of the people.

The Crocus is so old a plant, and its derivation so
remote, that it has been admitted to the British flora ;
but the species that grow wild have probably become
naturalised.

Old writers spoke of the ^^ Saffron Crocus" in general
terms, but the Crocus that produces the saffron of com-
merce is satzvuSy a lilac species which blooms in autumn.
The saffron is made from the dried stigmas of the flower.
It is a very old plant — too old for its history to be
traceable. The word '^saffron" comes from the Arabic
al zahafaran or zdfaran. It is easy to trace the old
French safran, the Italian zafferano^ and the English
saffron from this root. The origin of Crocus is hardly
less clear. Theophrastus (372-286 B.C.), the Greek
naturalist and writer on plants, referred to it. The
Greek krokos is probably derived from the Arabic
kurkum.

In these days the name saffron is rarely used in
relation to the Crocus, but is applied to Colchicum
autumnale, the Meadow Saffron ; and there are probably

ia6

ON CROCUSES 127

thousands of cultivators of Crocuses who have lost sight
of the association of the flower with the saffron of com-
merce. It is desirable to recall the fact, because it adds
greatly to the interest of the plant, and brings us,
through it, into touch with the old writers. How many
people are aware that Saffron Walden, in Essex, takes
its name from the introduction of the Crocus there ? It
is the fact, however. Sir Thomas Smith (15 14-1577),
Secretary of State to Edward VI., and author of De
Republica Anglorum, was a native of that place; and
he is credited with having introduced the plant with the
object of founding a new industry for the poor. (The
reader may safely ignore published statements that
Smith introduced saffron into Essex during the reign
of Edward III., as that was some two hundred years
before his time.)

Sir Thomas Smith may have been the first to start
the cultivation of Crocuses for saffron - making in
Essex, but it is hardly likely that he was the first to
do so in Great Britain. The reader who is interested in
the matter may read Hakluyt's references to saffron in
the ''English Voiages," vol.ii., written only five years after
Sir Thomas Smith's death. He says : •' Saffron groweth
fifty miles from Tripoli, in Syria, on a high hyll, called
in those parts gasian, so as there you may learn at that
part of Tripoli the value of the ground and the good-
nesse of it, and the places of the vent. But it is said
that from that hyll there passeth yerely of that commodity
fifteen moiles laden ... If a vent might be found,
men would in Essex (about Saffron Walden) and in
Cambridgeshire, revive the trade for the benefit of the
setting of the poore on worke. So would they do in
Herefordshire by Wales, where the best of all England
is, in which the soile yields the wild Saffron commonly,

128 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

which shovveth the natural incHnation of the same soile
to the bearing of the right saffron, if the soile be manured
and that way employed." And Hakluyt goes on to say:
" It is reported at Saffron Walden that a pilgrim, pro-
posing to do good to his country, stole a head of
Saffron, and hid the same in his palmer's staffe, which
he had made hollow before of purpose, and so he
brought the root into this realme with venture of his
life, for if he had been taken, by the law of the country
from whence it came, he had died for the fact." If
Hakluyt is accurate, saffron -growing was introduced
into Essex long before Smith's time, for the latter was
contemporary with him.

Saffron Hill, in London, also derives its name, accord-
ing to Cunningham, from the crops of saffron which it
bore. That delectable quarter is now the home of the
Italian colony of organ-grinders, whose efforts turn
many a harassed London writer of as bilious a colour
as that of the '* snipt - taffeta fellow " described by
Shakespeare in <' All's Well that Ends Well," whose
"villainous saffron would have made all the unbaked
and doughy youth of a nation in his colour." Flying
to the wilds of Cornwall for solitude, the literary man
finds nothing worse to remind him of the terrors which
he has escaped than the saffron cake, so beloved of the
Cornish folk.

The references to the saffron Crocus by Pliny show
that it was cultivated in Cilicia, a region in the south-east
of Asia Minor, in his time ; and later writers, probably
taking their cue from the Roman, referred to it as a
Cilician plant. Thus Spenser's

" Saffron sought for on Cilician soyle."

It may have been a native of Asia Minor, but it v/as

ON CROCUSES 129

grown in Persia and Cashmere in remote ages. Bird-
wood speaks of saffron as a native of Cashmere, and
states that "the Saffron Crocus and the Hemp plant
followed the Aryan migrations together throughout the
temperate zone of the globe."

The writers of the Elizabethan epoch made many
references to Saffron Crocuses, and did not limit the
application to the lilac -flowered Crocus sativus. In
*^The Tempest," Act iv. scene i, Ceres cries to Iris —

" Hail, many-coloured messenger, that ne'er
Dost disobey the wife of Jupiter ;
Who with thy saffron wings upon my flowers
Diffusest honey-drops, refreshing showers."

And Shakespeare refers to saffron in several other of his
plays. Gerard grew several species of Crocus, and was
particularly enthusiastic about the yellow, which was
perhaps introduced in his own day, as he writes : ^^ It
hath flowers of a most perfect shining yellow colour,
seeming afar off to be a hot glowing coal of fire. That
pleasant plant was sent unto me from Rabinus, of Paris,
that painful and most curious searcher of simples."
Parkinson described thirty-one sorts of Crocus. Dean
Herbert made a careful study of the genus, and published
a monograph of the Crocuses in 1847, in which he de-
scribed forty-one species, in addition to many varieties.
Later, Mr. George Maw also published a monograph of
the genus, in which he dealt with upwards of sixty
species, besides varieties.

These facts will show amateur gardeners who are
tempted to hold the Crocus lightly because it is a some-
what common flower, that it is really one of great
importance. Insigniiicant as it may appear to some,
it has its roots deep down in the world's history. It

I30 POPULx^R GARDEN FLOWERS

has been carried by wanderers all over the world, stolen
by patriotic adventurers, and has maintained one of the
oldest industries known to civilisation.

Educated people will not grow the Crocus less
frequently in their gardens for knowing the part that it
has played ; on the contrary, they are likely to give
greater attention to it than they have done hitherto.
And, when they have begun to study it, they will find
species of a beauty that they had never suspected.
Probably seven out of ten of the growers of Crocuses
know them only through the *^ Dutch " varieties —
popular yellow, lilac, blue, white, and striped sorts,
which are sent over from Holland in autumn in
millions, to be sold by bulb dealers and auctioneers
at a cheap rate, and to flower in February and March
of the following year. The fact that they sell in such
enormous quantities is a sufficient proof that they are
appreciated, and their beauty is undeniable ; but, after
all, they give only a very meagre idea of the variety and
the beauty of the genus. They do not, for instance,
touch the autumn bloomers at all, and they only
represent the late winter or spring bloomers with
moderate success.

Crocuses for Rockwork and Pots, — In years gone by I
grew a collection of Crocuses, which included some of
the best species, in a London suburb. I learned thereby
two things : that the Crocus is one of the best of town
flowers, and that it includes plants the beauty of which
far exceeds that of any of the Dutch varieties. I grew
some of my Crocuses in the garden, and some in pots in
the greenhouse. Their low growth suggests that the
rockery rather than the open bed is the place for them
outdoors. Given pockets to themselves in the rockery,
and labelled, there is no risk of their getting overgrown

ON CROCUSES 131

by larger plants, or dug out in general gardening opera-
tions. They are both safer and under more complete
control in the rock garden than in the mixed border.
At the same time the exquisite flowers show up to greater
advantage. The species can hardly be compared with
the Dutch varieties as garden plants, although equally
hardy. It will be conceded that a clump of perhaps half
a dozen plants is much more likely to escape observa-
tion than a whole row. However, in the absence of a
rockery, an amateur who is interested in Crocuses may
grow a few specimens in the front of a bed or border,
and with a little special care will succeed with them.

In the hope that some gardener has sufficient interest
in Crocuses to grow a few species, I give a brief descrip-
tion of the best of those which I have grown myself,
classifying them into two sections — autumn and spring,
although some of the latter really flower in winter.

Autumn-blooming Crocuses, — One of the prettiest of this
class is Boryi, which has white flowers. Hadriaticus is
another beautiful white species. Iridiflorus (Iris-flowered)
is one of the most exquisitely lovely of bulbous flowers.
When expanded it is nearly two inches across, and of a
rich blue colour. I found this to be a gem for pot
culture, and a charming ornament for the front of the
greenhouse stage. There is a large variety of it called
major. LongifloruSy purple and lilac, is not only very
pretty, but is also sweet-scented ; there are several varie-
ties of it. NudifloruSy purple, is also good. Ochroleucus,
yellow and white, is well worthy of pot culture. Sativus,
as we have seen, yields the saffron of commerce, which
the old writers dowered with many virtues. Note
Gerard : '* The moderate use of it is good for the head,
and maketh sences more quicke and liuely, shaketh off
heauie and drowsie sleepe and maketh a man merrie."

132 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

Sativiis has purple or yellow flowers. Speciosus^ purplish
lilac, is one of the best of the autumn Crocuses ; and
zonattis, lilac and rose, is also lovely.

Spring- flowering Crocuses. — Aureus is a good orange-
yellow species, and has many varieties, including white,
cream, primrose, and deep yellow. It has additional
interest for us as the parent of the popular Dutch yellow.
Biflorus has white flowers, and is not only pretty in
itself, but has a family of charming daughters. Another
fine species is chrysanthuSy orange, which also has a long
list of varieties to its name. Fleischeri, white, with purple
feathering, is worth growing ; and at least as much may
be said of Imperati, a large, handsome and early-bloom-
ing species, purple within, buff outside. There are
several varieties of this splendid Crocus. Olivierij orange ;
reticulatus, lilac and white ; Sieberi, lilac, a most charm-
ing early bloomer ; Tommasinianus, lavender ; vernus,
varying from white to purple ; and versicolor ^ striped,
are other good Crocuses. Vernus is the parent of the
Dutch white, striped, and purple.

If the Crocus species are grown in pots, five corms (a
corm differs from a true bulb in not having visible scales)
may be placed equi-distant in a five-inch pot. The soil may
consist of loam, with a quarter of leaf mould and some
sand. The autumn bloomers should be potted or planted
in summer, the spring bloomers in autumn. The pots
should be covered with cocoa-nut fibre refuse until roots
have pushed freely in the soil, when they may be put in
the greenhouse and exposed to light. If planted on
rockwork, pockets of loamy soil should be prepared for
them, and they may be buried an inch deep.

Cheap Dutch Crocuses. — The following are a few
good varieties of Dutch Crocus : Maximilian, lavender ;
Mont Blanc, white ; Purpurea grandiflora, blue ; and Sir

ON CROCUSES 133

Walter Scott, striped. These cost no more than 2s. 6d.
to 3s. 6d. per hundred, and are therefore cheap enough
for long lines, masses, or planting in grass. The Yellow
is generally sold in three sizes, and the price ranges
from 2s. 6d. per hundred. The colour is the same in
each case, but the large corms produce more and larger
flowers than the small. Unnamed Crocuses in white,
blue, and striped can be bought for is. 6d. to 2s. 6d. per
hundred.

Crocuses in Grass. — Many flower-gardeners now plant
Crocuses in quantity in grass. They take off the turf,
stir the soil below, mix in bone flour at the rate of a
handful per square yard, and replace the turf above the
corms. It is a pretty idea to clothe a grassy mound
with yellow Crocuses ; the effect is charming when the
flowers are out in February. They will do under trees
which are leafless when the plants are in bloom. The
Crocuses may be put in six inches apart.

Birds, — The amateur often finds his Crocus edgings
spoiled by birds, which pull off the flowers. The sugges-
tion that they do this ^'for mischief" is of doubtful
accuracy. They probably find sweet moisture at the
base of the flowers. The simplest plan of baffling them
is to fix strings of black thread just above the blossoms.

The amateur may plant his corms three inches deep
in well-worked soil and leave them from year to year.
When they have dwindled to very small proportions
fresh corms can be bought.

Crocuses do well in suburban gardens.

XIV

ON DAFFODILS AND NARCISSI

We cannot think about Daffodils without a Hghtening
of the heart. There is something irresistibly cheery
about them. They are infectiously gay and enlivening.

The Daffodils have been popular flowers for many
hundreds of years. They are old, old favourites. Their
early flowering has much to do with this, and it is
interesting to know that some authorities trace the name
Daffodil to the old English word affodyhy which means
an early object. Another explanation is that it comes
from Asphodel, and the Daffodil was certainly confused
with that flower by Lyte and others. If the reader
repeats the two names one after the other he will be
able to appreciate the possibility of confusion arising
through careless writing following faulty pronunciation.
Asphodel is the popular form of the Greek Asphodelus.
The plant is entirely different from the Daffodil, and
no confusion ought to have arisen between them. The
Asphodel belongs to the natural order LiliacecBj and the
Daffodil to the AmaryllidacecB. Asphodelus comes from
a, not, and sphallo, to supplant, the intention being to
convey that the flowers are so beautiful that they cannot
be surpassed.

Whether Daffodil originated from Asphodel or

affodyle, it appears to have come into possession of

an initial letter which did not belong to it. It would

134

ON DAFFODILS AND NARCISSI 135

probably be a futile task to endeavour to trace the cir-
cumstances in which the '* d " became added.

The Daffodil is not merely the Daffodil, however — it
is also the Daffadowndilly ; so that at some time or other
it not only acquired an extra letter in front, but several
additional ones at the end. Dr. Prior thinks that Daffa-
downdilly is a corruption of Saffron Lily, but it may
have been manufactured by a poet to assist a metre.
Constable (1562-1613) uses the word —

" Diaphenia, like the Daffadowndilly-
White as the sun, fair as the Lilly."

And Milton speaks of ^' the Daffodillies " that
" Fill their cups with tears."

Our greatest poets have written of the Daffodil.
Shakespeare refers to it repeatedly, and no lines relating
to a flower are more familiar than those from ''The
Winter's Tale," Act iv., scene 3, where Perdita cries —

" Now, my fair'st friend,
I would I had some flowers o' the spring that might
Become your time of day ; and yours, and yours,
That wear upon your virgin branches yet
Your maidenheads growing : O Proserpina !
For the flowers now that frighted thou lett'st fall
From Dis's waggon : Daffodils,
That come before the swallow dares, and take
The winds of March with beauty."

And in the same play, so rich in allusions, which
have now become classical, to flowers, scene 3 of the
fourth act begins with Autolycus singing —

" When Daffodils begin to peer,
With heigh ! the doxy over the dale,
Why, then comes in the sweet o' the year ;
For the red blood reigns in the winter's pale."

Herrick, Keats, and Shelley continued tfie Daffodil

136 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

garland of song begun by Constable, Shakespeare, and

other early poets. The first-named wrote the lines —

" Fair Daffodils, we weep to see
You haste away so soon,
As yet the early rising sun
Has not attained his noon."

Keats's famous lines beginning, ^^A thing of beauty is

a joy for ever/' proceed —

"In spite of all
Some shape of beauty moves away the pale
From our dark spirits. Such the sun, the moon,
Trees old and young, spreading a shady boon
For simple sheep ; and such are Daffodils
With the green world they live in."

The name Narcissus is scarcely less familiar than
that of Daffodil. It stands as the botanical name of
the whole genus with the bulk of amateurs, but florists
call only the Trumpet Narcissi Daffodils, and use
Narcissus for the rest of the family. They speak, for
instance, of the Poet's Narciss, not the Poet's Daffodil.
This, however, was a Daffodil with the old writers. It
is the ^'chequ'd and purple-ringed Daffodilly" of Ben
Jonson. Narcissus was the name of a vain youth who
is said to have been turned into this flower —

" That was a faire boy certaine, but a foole
To love himself; were there not maids enough?"

— Two Noble Kinsmen.

Shelley writes of the flower under the classical name —

" Narcissus, the fairest among them all,
Who gaze on their eyes in the stream's recess,
Till they die of their own dear loveliness."

We may assume that the Rose of Sharon, mentioned

in the *^ Song of Solomon," was a Daffodil, although

some writers believe that it was a Rock Cistus, and may

quote the words of Mahomet : *' He that has two cakes

of bread, let him sell one of them for some flower of

ON DAFFODILS AND NARCISSI 137

the Narcissus ; for bread is the food of the body, but
Narcissus is the food of the soul."

The Jonquil is a Narcissus, and the word comes
ivoinjunczfolius, which means rush-leaved. The Jonquil \
is therefore the Rush-leaved Daffodil.

The old English Daffodil, the Daffodil of Shake-
speare, is the Lent Lily, Narcissus pseudo-Narcissus
of botanists. It is a native of this country. It is a
cheap plant, and those >yho feel an interest in it may,
if they like, plant it in quantity. But the modern
Daffodils are so enormously superior that the Lent Lily
does not receive so much attention as it used to do.
It is, of course, thoroughly hardy, and it will grow
almost anywhere. In heavy moist soil it multipUes
almost too fast.

Classification. — There are so many different types of
Narcissus that a person used to the ways of florists will
assume that they have been classified. They have.
The old system was to group them according to the
size of the central cup or crown. They were classified
in three groups — Large-Crowns, Medium-Crowns, and
Small-Crowns [Magni-Coronati, Medio- Cor onatiy Parvi-
Coronaii). The true Daffodils, in which the crown was
so large as to become a '' trumpet," were Magni- Coronaii ^
the Chalice-fiowered were Medio-Coronati, and the Poet's
Narcissi were Parvi- Coronati. This system served until
the florists had mixed up the sections by hybridising,
when it broke down. Another was formulated, in which
eleven groups were made, as follows: —

1. Trumpets. 6. Cyclamineus hybrids.

2. Incomparabilis. 7. Jonquilla hybrids.

3. Barri (including Burbidgei). 8. Tazetta and Tazetta hybrids.

4. Leedsi. 9. Poeticus varieties.

5. Triandrus hybrids. 10. Doubles.

II. Various.

138

POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

The trumpet Daffodils bloom early, and the Poet's
Narciss late. Between them come the Chalice-flowered
varieties. By making a selection from each of these
three classes, the grower can have bloom from March to
May inclusive. A table of select varieties will put the
information which a beginner is likely to require before
him clearly and succinctly : —

Month

Variety.

Section.

Colour.

of Flower-
ing.

Almira

Poet's

White and orange

May

*Barri conspicuus

Chalice

Yellow and orange

April

Bulbocodium

Trumpet

Yellow

March

Capax plenus

Double trumpet

Yellow

March

Cernuus

Trumpet

Cream

March

Duchess of West-

minster .

Chahce

White, creamy cup

April

Emperor .

Trumpet

Yellow

March

^Empress .

Trumpet

Yellow and white

March

Glory of Leyden

Trumpet

Yellow

March

■^Golden Spur

Trumpet

Yellow

March

Henry Irving

Trumpet

Yellow

March

*Horsefieldii

Trumpet

Yellow and white

March

Johnstoni Queen

of Spain .

Trumpet

Yellow

March

M. Magdaline de

Graatf .

Chalice

White, yellow cup

April

Maximus .

Trumpet

Yellow

March

*Obvallaris (Tenby

Daffodil)

Trumpet

Yellow

March

Orange Phoenix .

Double chalice

Orange and yellow

April

Ornatus

Poet's

White and orange

April

*Pallidus praecox

Trumpet

Cream

March

■^Poeticus plenus .

Double Poet's

White

May

*Sir Watkin

Chalice

Yellow

April

Sulphur Phoenix

Double chalice

Pale yellow

April

Telamonius ple-

nus (Van Sion)

Double trumpet

Yellow

March

White Pearl

Bunch-flowered

White

April

The foregoing comprise twenty-four of the most
popular varieties of Narcissus grown at the present
time. Those marked with an asterisk are very cheap,

ON DAFFODILS AND NARCISSI 139

and, giving considerable diversity of colour and season
of flowering, might be chosen for a small collection, or
for planting in large quantities. They will not provide
sufficient interest for the specialist however, and it may
be well to add notes of a few varieties that are more
likely to appeal to him : —

Albatross. — White, with orange centre, a lovely variety of the
Burbidgei class.

Blackwell. — Yellow Chalice, cup shaded orange.

Bullfinch. — A Barrii variety, with rich red cup.

Cardinal. — Chalice-fiowered, red cup.

Cassandra. — A lovely sweet Poet's.

Cavalier. — White, with orange cup. A Burbidgei variety.

Cernuus plenus. — Double cream trumpet.

Elvira. — White and yellow Poetaz, very sweet.

Firebrand. — A red-cupped Burbidgei.

Glitter. — An orange-cupped Barrii.

Gloria Mundi. — Red-cupped Chalice.

Homespun. — Yellow-flowered Chalice of beautiful form, one
of the most refined varieties we have.

John Bain. — White, yellow cup, small crown.

Katherine Spurrell. — White Chalice, with yellow cup.

King Alfred. — Grand yellow trumpet.

Lemondrop. — A Leedsii variety, with drooping, primrose
flowers.

Lucifer. — A white Chalice-flowered, with large rich orange cup.

Lulworth. — Cream Chalice, with orange cup.

Mrs. Langtry. — A Leedsii, white, with primrose cup.

Nelsoni aurantius. — White, with orange cup.

Sunset. — A yellow Poetaz.

Victoria. — Yellow and white trumpet.

Waterwitch. — White Leedsii, a lovely, drooping flower. Excel-
lent for cutting.

Weardale Perfection. — Yellow and white trumpet.

White Lady. — A beautiful white Leedsii, with canary cup,
one of the most charming of all.

HO POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

It must be remembered that the majority of these
are much more expensive than the varieties in the first
Hst.

With respect to the classes mentioned, the Burbidgei
and Poetaz both belong to the small-crown section, of
which the Poet's Narciss is the most popular example.
The Burbidgei varieties are really hybrid Poet's. The
Poetaz sorts, of which Elvira is a charming example, are
hybrids between the Poet's and the Polyanthus-flowered
. group, the latter of which is botanically known as
I Narcissus Tazetta. The Chalice-flowered or Star Narcissi,
of the medium-crown section, are the Naixissus inconi-
parabilis of botanists. The resemblance of the crown to
the wine chalice at the Lord's Supper table led to the
term chalice-flowered being applied to them. The Barrii
and Leedsii varieties belong to the same section. The
yellow and white trumpets are frequently spoken of by
florists as Bicoloj's.

Hardiness, — After this brief glance at the history and
classification of the Daffodil, and list of some of the best
varieties, we may usefully consider cultivation. The
amateur may wonder whether the work of the florists in
improving the flower has led to any loss of hardiness or
vigour on the part of the plant. Happily it has not.
With one or two unimportant exceptions, all the Narcissi
are hardy. All do not, it is true, multiply as fast as the
old Lent Lily, but for the most part they are strong, and
quite suitable for cultivation in the open air. Only in
the case of a very expensive variety need pot culture be
regarded as obligatory, and this not because the plant
lacks vigour, but because it can be kept more closely
under the grower's control in a frame or greenhouse
than in the garden, where a careless spade-thrust might
destroy it.

ON DAFFODILS AND NARCISSI 141

In Beds. — Where can we grow Daffodils ? How
can we utilise them so as to get the most individual
interest, as well as the finest collective effect from them ?
Before we put one bulb into the ground, we have to
remember that the plants bloom only at one parti-
cular season. An amateur who developed an interest
in Daffodils might rush a large collection of them
into the ground in autumn, and after enjoying them to
the full in spring, find himself embarrassed in May
onwards by beds and borders full of nothing but decay-
ing leaves.

The Daffodils do not make the garden entirely —
they only adorn it for a few weeks. From May to
July, inclusive, they are worse than useless as decorative
plants for the garden. The flower gardener should do
one of two things: (i) Fill the beds with them in
autumn, lift the bulbs in May, and lay them in a spare
plot, then plant the bed with something else ; (2) plant
them in groups among the other occupants of beds
and borders, and sow annuals, or plant dwarf, free-
blooming perennials near them in spring, to come
on for summer bloom.

In the public parks the first plan is adopted, and
amateurs who do not mind the little trouble of lifting
and replanting may follow it also. Let us suppose
that an amateur has one flower bed which he wishes
to be gay with Daffodils in spring, and with hardy
plants — Asters, Petunias, Phloxes, Verbenas, Carna-
tions, Begonias, Zonal Geraniums, or some other popular
flower — in summer. He could plant his Daffodils in
October, when the summer flowers were over. First,
he should clear the bed ; then dig it deeply, and work
in steamed bone-flour at the rate of four ounces per
square yard. He should now plant the Daffodils.

T42 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

Assuming that he has a selection of different varieties,
he will be well advised to arrange them in groups, the
number of bulbs in each ranging from three to a dozen,
according to the size of the bed and the number of the
varieties available. Six bulbs make a very nice clump.
They should be set about six inches apart, and there
should be a space of at least nine inches between the
I different clumps. The larger sorts, such as Emperor,
' Maximus, and Sir Watkin, may go in the middle, and
the bulbs may be covered with four inches of soil. Bear
in mind in planting the poeticus varieties that they are
May bloomers. Set a neat, unobtrusive label in front
of each group, so that the name can be clearly seen
w^hen the plants are in bloom. The bed may be finished
off by planting a ring of Crocuses round it, or alternate
tufts of mauve Aubrietia and white Arabis, or any other
favourite edging plant.

The bed will not require much attention throughout
the winter. More than once in hard spells of weather,
when the ground is frost-bound or deep in snow, the
amateur will feel that he and his bulbs are parted for
ever. But snow will melt, frost disappear, and warm
sunshine come. Then the green shoots of the hardy
Daffodils will appear, and soon the bed will be full.
Early varieties, like Golden Spur, Henry Irving, and
Obvallaris, will be out long before March is spent, most
of the other trumpets will bloom in March and early
April, and thence to the end of May there will be
flowers.

Primroses and Daffodils. — Those who love Primroses
as well as Daffodils, may choose to plant the former
as a groundwork, placing the groups of Daffodils farther
apart to make room for them. Primroses, Polyanthuses,
and hardy Auriculas are beautiful little flowers, and

ON DAFFODILS AND NARCISSI 143

they can be transplanted in spring just the same as the
Daffodils.

After Floivering. — At mid-May, or a little later if
there is still a good show of bloom, the bed may be
cleared by the simple plan of lifting each group of
Daffodils in turn with a fork or spade, taking care to
get the implement well underneath, in order to avoid
carving up the bulbs, and placing it in a box or
wheelbarrow with its label. The clumps may be
replanted, as close together as is compatible with
distinguishing between them, in a reserve bed. The
bulbs and the lower part of the foliage, which will
be yellow from contact with soil in the bed, should
be covered with earth. The green foliage will droop
as a result of the shifting, and, if the weather is very
dry, the bed may be given a soaking of water once
a week ; but, in any case, the leaves will gradually die
away as the summer wears on. The bulbs will ripen
and be ready for replanting when the summer comes
again.

The bed will be thoroughly re-dug in spring when

the Daffodils have been cleared away, manured, and
replanted with the chosen occupants for summer.

In Town Gardens, — A border under a fence or wall
in a town or suburban garden could be treated in ex-
actly the same way as a bed. There is no better spring-
blooming plant than the Daffodil for such borders.
It thrives in town gardens, and a collection is both
beautiful and interesting. It gives the amateur gardener
a good start for the gardening year. It cheers, heartens,
and encourages him. He has, so to say, a ^^good
send-off."

If the suburbanist's garden is so small that he
cannot provide a reserve bed, he must either grow cheap

144 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

varieties and throw the bulbs away after blooming, or
adopt Plan No. 2 of arranging in groups among other
plants. Some of the finest Daffodils, such as Sir Wat-
kins, Empress, Barrii conspicuus, Golden Spur, and
Pallidus Praecox, are almost ridiculously cheap, and
could be discarded after flowering without any sense
of wastefulness.

Inexperienced amateurs may consider that the plan
of making two separate complete plantings of beds or
borders in a year involves considerable time and labour.
This is hardly so. A couple of hours will suffice to
prepare and plant a bed, unless it is a very large one.
The work is easy when once the ground has been
broken up thoroughly and the soil brought into a
friable state ; and the amateur must not measure the two
annual diggings by the standard of the first one. When
ground is first broken up for gardening it is generally
stiff, and the work is rather laborious ; but if it is once
well done and rendered friable by digging in road scrap-
ings, ashes, and manure, it is ever afterwards easy to
manage. The spade sinks in readily, and the whole task
is enjoyable and healthful.

Daffodils enjoy a good root run, and the ground
cannot be broken too deeply for them. Eighteen inches
should be the minimum. Light land should have a
dressing of decayed yard manure if this is procurable.
In heavy land bone-flour will suffice. They love mois-
ture, and do not object to a shady place.

Now for the second plan — that of treating Daffodils as
permanent plants in beds and borders. There is no reason
why they should not be used with good effect among
perennials, provided that stations are allocated to them
and clearly defined. There might be a fairly broad belt
towards the front of every large border of herbaceous

ON DAFFODILS AND NARCISSI 145

things, which should be reserved for comparatively
dwarf plants. Daffodils and May-blooming Tulips
could be made to play an important part among these.
They should not be planted in continuous lines, because
after they had gone out of bloom and the foliage had
begun to turn yellow there would be an unsightly band.
They should be put in clumps, interspersed with Pyre-
thrums, Leopards' banes {Doronictims)^ Columbines, and
other things of about the same height that would be in
bloom soon after them and carry on the display. ,

There is, of course, one perfectly simple way of
dealing with clumps of spring bulbs directly they have
gone out of flower, and that is to cut them off level with
the ground-leaves, flower-stems, and all. Experts
do not like this plan, arguing that as the leaves serve as
lungs for the plants, the bulbs must suffer if the foliage
is removed before it decays naturally. A safer plan is
to draw the foliage together and tie it in a neat bunch,
then to plant something else near, such as Annual Asters
or Snapdragons. A little trouble of this kind is well
repaid, as the border always looks fresh and neat.

Daffodils in Herbaceous Borders. — If unskilled labour
is employed in the garden, it is wise to keep a sharp eye
on a man digging an herbaceous border containing
bulbs. He should be taught to observe the position of
labels or marking-stakes, and neither to drive a sharp
spade into the middle of the clumps nor to put a huge
boot on to an upspringing treasure. While splitting
bulbs into fragments cannot by any stretch of imagina-
tion be made beneficial to them, it does no harm to take
the clumps up bodily in early autumn ; in fact, it is rather
a good thing, as the soil can be freshened up, and the
small bulbs separated from the flowering ones. Some
of the Daffodils make many new bulbs every year,

146 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

especially if they are growing in rich moist soil ; and
with the mass of roots produced the soil is impoverished
rapidly. Lifting them, digging and manuring the soil,
and replanting are beneficial.

Under the conditions, and with the treatment advised,
the use of Daffodils in herbaceous borders is all for good.

The smaller Daffodils, such as Johnstoni Queen of
Spaiuy CyclamineuSy Minimus ^ Najius, Bulbocodimn (Hoop
Petticoat), and Triandrus (Angel's Tears), are suitable
for the rock garden.

Cheap Gardening, — People who have fairly large
gardens, and little spare money to spend on plants and
skilled men, are often at a loss to know what to do for
the best. Grocers', bakers', and butchers' bills, income
tax, rates — all these have to be paid periodically, and
when they have all been cleared off, together with odd
accounts for clothes, boots, coals, and laundry, there
is not a great deal left with which to carry on an acre
or two of ground as an up-to-date garden. One way
of reducing the expenditure on a garden is to sow a
good deal of it down with grass and establish colonies
of bulbs in it. They are in bloom in spring before the
grass has begun to grow, and so the flowers show up
well, even quite small things like Snowdrops and
Crocuses making a bold display. It is of the essence
of the scheme that the grass should not be regularly
mown with a machine and rolled from the time that
it begins to grow in April, because that would involve
weekly expenditure in labour. The amateur gardener
learns from experience that, if grass is kept trim, like
a lawn, by mowing, rolling, and edge clipping, it gives
as much work as an equal area of cultivated garden.
The grass must be left to grow. Not only would the
regular cutting cause expense in labour, but it would

ON DAFFODILS AND NARCISSI 147

remove the leaves of the bulbs while still green, and we
have already seen that experts condemn this practice.
Only a belt of grass beside the walks and sufficient for
a tennis or croquet lawn need be kept mown. The grass
may be cut with a scythe twice in the season, the first
cutting being in June, by which time the foliage of the
bulbs will be sufficiently ripened to bear removal, and
the second in September. These cuttings give crops
of hay. The grass loses its fine quality of course, but
if at any time the owner becomes ^'better off" he can
soon restore it to lawn condition again by dressing with
manure and fine soil, and regular cutting and mowing ;
or he may make a compromise, by having the grass
scythed over once a month throughout the spring and
summer. This will be less exhausting to it than taking
a hay crop ; but if the Poet's Narciss is planted, its late-
blooming and early-ripening throw the first cutting so
late that the grass is getting near the flowering stage
when the scythe comes into play.

The Poet's Narciss Naturalised. — And the Poet's is
one of the most beautiful of all the Narcissi for natura-
lising. It looks lovely on a shady bank in May — so
beautiful that there seems no rhapsody even in the
description of Forbes Watson : '' In its general expres-
sion the Poet's Narcissus seems a type of maiden purity
and beauty, yet warmed by a love-breathing fragrance ;
and yet what innocence in the large soft eye, which few
can rival in the whole tribe of flowers. The narrow yet
vivid fringe of red, so clearly seen amidst the whiteness,
suggests again the idea of purity, gushing passion — purity
with a heart which can kindle into fire."

Daffodils in Grass, — Amateurs need not fear that
Daffodils will be unable to force their way through if
planted under turf. They pierce it with ease ; and

148 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

providing that there is a good depth of strong, moist
soil beneath them they seem to grow quite as strongly
and to bloom as well on grass as on open soil. Where
there is only a thin coat of soil over chalk under the
grass the case is different, and the best results must not
be expected unless the soil is prepared by taking out
pieces of turf, stirring the soil, and adding fresh loam
and bone-flour. Golden Spur, Henry Irving^ Obvallaris,
PrincepSy Pallidus praecoxy the common Lent Lily,
Emperor, Empress, Horsefieldi, Sir Wat kin, Barrii con-
spiciiusy Telamonius plenus (double yellow), Orange
PkosniXy John Bain, Johnstoni Queen of Spain, and
Poeticus are all well suited for grass, and most of them
are so cheap that they can be planted by the hundred,
if desired, at no great cost. If planting is done in
autumn after the turf has softened under the influence
of rain the work is not laborious. The pieces of turf
removed to admit the bulbs soon unite again if pressed
down and rolled after rain.

In Pots and Bowls, — Lovers of Daffodils may like to
grow a few in pots or china bowls for their greenhouses
and rooms. The bulbs do well in ordinary potting
compost, such as loam with a fourth each of decayed
manure and leaf mould, and a liberal admixture of sand ;
and also in peat moss fibre mixed with broken shell
and charcoal. Three bulbs may be placed in a five-inch,
six-inch, or seven-inch pot according to their size. They
should be plunged in ashes or cocoa-nut fibre refuse
until they have rooted freely, and then placed in the
full light. When grown in bowls of fibre they should
not be plunged, but should be kept in a dark place for
six or eight weeks. The fibre should be moistened
thoroughly before it is used, and it must never be
allowed to get dry.

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Narcissus Emperor.

ON DAFFODILS AND NARCISSI 149

Daffodils enliven the border at a season when the
majority of the larger permanent occupants are only just
beginning to bestir themselves. They dance and quiver
in the spring breezes. They nod their golden heads
joyously. They are on the best of terms with the world,
and put the grower on the best of terms with himself.
They gleam as brightly as the sun itself. When they are
growing vigorously in well-prepared soil they will yield
armfuls of flowers for the house and church at Easter-
tide, and still make a brave show in the garden.

ON DAHLIAS

The Dahlia occupies a somewhat peculiar position among
garden flowers. It is undeniably in the front rank of
outdoor plants, it is a recognised exhibition flower, it
has a society devoted to its interests, it is grown by all
classes ; and yet one can hardly speak of it as a flower
that is loved by the people. Perhaps it inspires admira-
tion rather than affection. It is likeable rather than
lovable.

Dahlia shows do not draw the public like exhibitions
of Roses, Sweet Peas, Chrysanthemums, and Carnations.
Truth to tell, the long rows of boxes, with their severely
correct blooms — all of which might have been turned
out of a mould — are not inspiriting. The big, double
flowers of the ^^Show" and ^* Fancy " sections are as
prim as middle-aged parlour-maids. There is more
cheerfulness in the singles, which are exhibited in
bunches ; and the Cactus section is also interesting.
Another thing that tells against Dahlia shows is that
they are held at the end of August and in the early part
of September, when the holiday season is at its height.
Even flower-lovers like to get away to the seaside some-
times, and once comfortably established on the beach
in flannels, they are apt to be more interested in the
children's sand-castles than in exhibitions of Dahlias.

Experts speak of a growing lack of interest in Dahlias

150

ON DAHLIAS 151

even as garden plants. The demand for novelties tends
to slacken rather than grow keener as the years pass,
and that is an unfailing sign of waning interest on the
part of the public. What is the reason of it ? Perhaps
it may be explained partly by the increased interest in
Sweet Peas and early Chrysanthemums, and partly by
the development of late-blooming Roses. With the
growth of Sweet Peas in public favour more attention
has been given to their culture, and it has been found
that it is quite easy to continue the display of these
beautiful flowers into September. There are many more
early-blooming Chrysanthemums than there were, and
the range of colours has been extended. As to Roses,
the great development of the Hybrid Tea Section has
put at the service of the flower-gardener a large number
of varieties which bloom well into September, and there
is no difficulty nowadays in making a large and beautiful
display of Roses in the latter month.

Sweet Peas, Chrysanthemums, and Roses alike have
one great advantage over Dahlias — they are more suitable
for vases, and perhaps this goes a good way to explain
the lukewarmness towards the old autumn favourite
which causes florists so much disquietude. The latter,
however, have been gravely at fault in one respect —
they have developed the Dahlia as a show rather than as
a garden flower. Sometimes the two elements run in
conjunction. A good Sweet Pea is often, though not
always, a good garden plant. In the case of Dahlias the
flowers have been made too heavy for the stalks, with
the result that the blooms hang down and are half or
wholly hidden by the leaves ; with this condition a
variety is defective as a garden plant.

The remedy is in the hands of the florists. It is
possible to breed varieties with strong stalks. At first

152 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

the varieties with this feature may not have such beauti-
ful flowers as the older sorts, but quality of bloom can
be developed subsequently. So great is the skill of
flower fertilisers that a few years of careful work with
a definite object in view would alter the character of
Dahlias entirely, and the change would be all for the
better.

The Dahlia gives the florist good ground on which to
work. It is not a plant of feeble constitution and puny
growth, but of abundant inherent vigour. Some plants
deteriorate alarmingly under high cultivation. They
develop fungoid diseases — a sure sign of weakened con-
stitution. When new varieties are raised and propagated
rapidly under artificial conditions, and by unnatural
means, such as cuttings, the plants soon become en-
feebled. Not so the Dahlia. It is too full of vitality.
It has an inexhaustible reserve of strength. The natural
method of increase — by seeds — has been practically dis-
continued for many years except to raise new varieties ;
and even propagation by division of the roots has given
way to the quicker method of striking cuttings ; yet the
Dahlia shows no signs of diminished strength. It is the
same hearty, luxuriant, free-growing plant that it always
was. This is encouraging. It tells the florist that he
may cross, and cross, and cross again, improve the
varieties to his heart's content, propagate his novelties
rapidly, and still have a sturdy, healthy plant.

While the Dahlia remains vigorous and responsive
it is too early to despair of its future. There may be
temporary set-backs, due to special causes (such as the
development of flowers too heavy for their stems, as
already mentioned), but when they have been removed
the plant will get a new lease of life. Nor Sweet Peas,
nor Carnations^ nor Roses will relegate Dahlias to the

ON DAHLIAS 153

garden scrap-heap if raisers will frankly acknowledge
their mistakes and rectify them promptly.

There is something very flattering to amateur gar-
deners in the way in which Dahlias respond to cultivation.
The plants enter into a hearty comradeship with their
growers, and bustle ahead in a breezy way that proves
quite irresistible. This is why people keep on growing
Dahlias, although fully aware of their defects for cutting.
When an amateur once takes up Dahlias he is always
strongly tempted to go on with them, although the
flowers may not show up well on the plants, and are
not in favour with the wielder of the flower-scissors.
The fact is they pay him the compliment of growing
well, and that goes a long way. Only in poor, thin,
chalky soil do they '' hang fire." They certainly do not
like such soil ; it is too dry for them. They have thick
stems, large leaves, and huge bulk ; consequently they
throw off a great deal of moisture by evaporation. In a
dry soil the supply is not replenished.

History, — As popular garden plants go the Dahlia is
a comparative newcomer. It has only been grown in
British gardens since 1789, when it was brought from
Spain by Lord Bute. Compared with such plants as the
Rose, the Carnation, and the Daffodil it is a mere boy.
The name is a Latinised form of that of a Swedish
botanist, one Dahl, after whom it was named ; and, as a
result of the method of pronunciation which English
gardeners insisted on adopting, confusion threatened,
inasmuch as there happened to be an existing genus
named Dalea. In vain purists expostulated and ex-
plained. In vain they ostentatiously pronounced the
ah in Dahlia as they would the exclamation ^* ah ! "
The proletariat persisted in making it ay. But the
Dahlia received another name. The German botanist

154 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

Willdenow called it Georgina, in honour of Professor
Georgi, a Russian botanist.

The danger of confusing Dahlia and Dalea was found
to be more apparent than real, inasmuch as the latter
was an entirely insignificant genus. The name Dahlia
was therefore kept in England. Ninety-nine persons out
of a hundred pronounce it Dayliuy and the hundredth
(who is really a pedant under the guise of a purist) calls
it Dah-\\2^.

We have to accept the Dahlia as an entirely modern
flower. It gives us no excuse to hasten to our book-
shelves and spend happy half-hours over the familiar
but ever-delightful passages of our favourite writers.
There is no Perdita to thrill us with exquisite lines.
Poets have not sung of the Dahlia as they have of the
Daffodil, the Lily, and the Rose. Its only literature is
the literature of the florists, and that is frigidly exact —
a brief statement of the '^points" of a perfect flower,
and a bald description of the system of culture. The
only illustration of imaginative treatment is in the trade
catalogues, where the new varieties are described in
tempting language.

Without a history, without literary associations,
without an artistic following, the Dahlia has to satisfy
us with whatever it possesses of intrinsic excellence or
promise as a garden and exhibition flower. When we
have improved it sufficiently to satisfy ourselves, we
must make our own literature about it, and so commend
it doubly to posterity.

There are very few species of Dahlias, and such as
there are have only the interest of parentage. Of no
garden value in themselves, we still keep up acquaintance
with them out of respect for the good they have done
in fathering and mothering modern varieties. The three

ON DAHLIAS 155

species Variabilis , with purple or red flowers ; Coccinea,
with scarlet flowers ; and Merckiiy with Hlac and yellow
flowers, are the principal parents of the modern double
Dahlias. The Cactus class came, however, mainl}^ from
Juareziiy a scarlet species with rolled and pointed florets,
which was introduced in 1872. Variabilis was first called
Superflua by botanists, not because they wished to place
a stigma upon it by conveying that it was superfluous,
but to indicate its kinship with the Linnaean section of
^'composite" flowers, in which the central and outer
florets differ. " Variabilis " is in allusion to the variable
colour of the flowers.

The species are not often seen now, but any one
interested in them may make some sort of acquaintance
with them, either through a botanical garden or through
illustrations. Coccinea is figured in the Botanical
Magazine^ t. 762 ; and Merckii in the same work, t. 3878.
Coloured plates such as these have an interest for those
who like to compare the old forms of popular flowers
with modern ones. Probably no plant has suffered
more through the duplication of names than the Dahlia.
As we have seen, two generic names were given, and
there are many synonyms of the principal species.
Variabilis has at least four, and Coccinea three. How-
ever, as none is of any garden importance, we need
not worry about that, but confine our study to the
distinctiveness of the garden varieties.

Dahlias as Hardy Plants. — The Dahlia is not hardy
in Great Britain. When we learn that its native country
is Mexico, we do not expect it to be able to withstand
the winters in latitudes so much farther north. It is true
that it is sometimes treated as a hardy herbaceous per-
ennial— that is, planted out, left to die down in autumn,
pass the winter in the open ground, and spring up again

156 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

the following year. In rare cases it plays the r61e
thus allotted to it admirably, but in the majority
it breaks down, being unsuited for its part. Successes
are most numerous in well-drained, light, warm soils in
mild districts. In cold localities, and particularly in
damp soil, the roots die. Those who prefer to winter
their Dahlias out of doors should put a few inches of
ashes or dry litter above the stools in autumn.

Apart from want of hardiness, there is another good
reason why the Dahlia should not be treated as a hardy
herbaceous perennial except in particularly favourable
circumstances, and that is that cuttings struck under
glass in late winter and early spring make stronger
plants and give finer flowers than old stools left in the
border. The whole routine of modern culture turns
upon this fact. It means the treatment of the Dahlia
in an unnatural way, it is true, but there is no doubt
about the superior results obtained. The inherent
vigour of the plant preserves it from injury. It is
under the " natural " system that the plant might be
expected to suffer. It forms a large mass of tubers
underground, and the roots from these feed so greedily
as to impoverish the soil rapidly and make frequent
renewal necessary if the plants are to be kept strong
and healthy.

After Flowering, — Assuming that the root-stocks are
to be taken up in autumn, after the foliage and flowers
have been disfigured by cold weather, the stems should
be cut back to short stumps. When the roots are lifted
it will be found that most of the soil can be brushed
or shaken away readily if the soil is friable, leaving the
roots quite clean. In this case they will only need to be
dried in the sun for a few hours before storing. If, how-
ever, the soil is clay, a good deal of it may stick to the

ON DAHLIAS 157

tubers, in which case the roots should be washed and
then turned upside down in the sun and left till dry.
This is more important than might be supposed. Dahlia
stools often go off wholesale in winter when it is quite
certain that frost cannot have affected them, and the
explanation is that they have rotted through damp. The
winter store should be dry. If a grower finds that he
persistently loses stools in winter, he may strike a few
cuttings in August, made from young growing tips cut
off just below a joint. These will root if inserted in
small pots of sandy soil and kept close for a few days,
and form small tubers before winter. They should be
kept dry in winter ; drip would be likely to injure them
as badly as frost. The young plants will form a reserve
that may come in very useful if anything happens to the
stools.

Propagation by Cuttirigs. — Sound tubers would begin
to grow naturally in spring, but florists do not wait for
the weather to grow warm enough to start the tubers if
a great many cuttings are wanted. They pack the roots
in soil in February and put them in a warm house or
frame, so stimulating early growth. The shoots that
push are taken off when about three inches long. If they
are numerous, they may be broken off quite close,
but if scarce they should be cut off so as to leave two
buds. The)^ will strike just the same, and the buds left
will push fresh growth. Several cuttings may be put
round the edge of a six-inch pot, or one cutting in a
three-inch. They strike root best when plunged in a mild
hot bed, giving only just sufficient water to prevent the
soil getting quite dry, and shaded from sunlight. They
will be growing in twelve to eighteen days, and those
in large pots should then be put singly into three-inch or
four-inch pots and kept close till they start growing again.

158 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

From this time they will be best in an unhealed frame,
but protection should be kept handy in case of frost.
Cuttings which are struck and treated in this way will
give sturdy plants by the end of May.

Raising from Seed. — There is no difficulty in raising
Dahlias from seed, but flowers of the same quality as
the named varieties of the principal florists must not be
expected. The seeds should be sown in a pan of light,
sandy soil in February or March, and put in a warm
frame or greenhouse. The seedlings should be pricked
out in boxes when they become crowded, or put singly
in small pots. They should be hardened in an unheated
frame and planted out in June. If the soil is good they
will flower the same year. Sometimes a really good
variety comes in a batch of seedlings, and it is propagated
by cuttings of the tops in order to keep it true, and to
make sure that it is not lost through the decay of the
tuber in winter. Florists get their novelties by making
selections from seedlings. An amateur who has what
he considers to be a promising seedling can always get
an idea of its value by showing it to an expert.

Propagation by Division. — Growers of Dahlias who
have not much convenience for raising young plants
from seed or cuttings may divide the cluster of tubers
which make the root-stock or ^' stool " at the point of
attachment to the stem in spring, and put them a few
inches apart in a box of soil containing a good deal of
sand and leaf mould, in April, with a square of glass
fixed just above them. If the soil is kept moist, and
protection is put over them in cold weather, they will
grow. Early in June they may be taken up and planted
where they are to flower. If the tubers are sound, and
not very much shrivelled, they make good plants when
treated in this way.

ON DAHLIAS 159

A still simpler plan is to replant all the stools that
were lifted in autumn and remained sound through the
winter in the garden towards the end of April. If the
soil is good they will make strong clumps, but they are
not likely to yield such fine flowers as fresh plants raised
from cuttings.

Soil and Manure. — Moisture is the first essential for
grovv^ing Dahlias, and it is easier to provide it by break-
ing up the soil deeply and hoeing regularly, than by
taking a water-pot to the plants day after day. If the
soil is loosened two spades deep in winter or spring,
and the subsoil disintegrated thoroughly, the rooting
area will retain moisture far better than if there is a
hard pan a few inches from the surface ; moreover, the
roots can spread farther. The regular hoeing will check
the escape of moisture and keep weeds in subjection.

The process of soil-deepening affords a golden
opportunity for manuring, as the dung can be put in
the right place — that is, between the top and bottom
layers ("spits") of soil. From two to three barrow-
loads of decayed yard manure may be used to each
square rod of ground.

If the subsoil is limestone, the only way of making
the soil suitable for Dahlias is to break up the chalk.
This is not always so serious a task as might be
supposed. In some cases no pick is required, but the
chalk can be broken up with a fork more easily than
stiff soil can.

It is desirable to avoid a wind-swept site for the
Dahlia bed, because the plants get dashed about and
badly injured in stormy weather, in spite of care in
staking them. Even if the plants are not blown over,
shoots carrying good flowers are sometimes broken off.
Individual plants may be set in herbaceous borders if

i6o POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

desired, but Dahlias are hardly suitable for association
with hardy plants. Apart from the fact that their great
mass of succulent shoots renders them somewhat incon-
gruous, there is the fact that they are such gross feeders,
and require so much room, that other occupants of the
border fare badly.

Staking. — It is a good plan to make the holes and
drive the stakes in before the plants are ready. The
stakes should be at least six feet long, so that they
can be driven in eighteen inches deep, and still leave a
good length above ground. They should be sound and
strong, as the plants will need to be tied securely. The
stakes may look a little unsightly for a short time, but
the plants will soon hide them. Small pots stuffed with
hay may be inverted on them later to serve as traps
for earwigs, which often do great damage.

Large double, Paeony-fiowered, single and Cactus
Dahlias should all be planted in hollows five feet apart,
but four feet will suffice for the Pompons. A ring of lime
or soot should be put round them to keep slugs away.

The plants should be tied to the stakes directly they
begin to sway, and later on the side shoots should be
tied also. It may be possible to secure the latter to
the large stake ; if not, smaller ones must be driven
dow^n in convenient positions. The tying is particularly
important to exhibition growers, as it prevents crowding,
exposes the shoots to the sun, and insures fine flowers.
If the side shoots come very thickly, they should be
thinned, some being cut out altogether. Half-a-dozen
branches will be enough for each plant.

For Exhibition. — The exhibitor will have to protect
his flowers. Dealers in garden sundries supply muslin
cones made to slide on stakes, and these can be fitted
above the blooms. But growers can easily make their

Cactus Dahlias.

ON DAHLIAS i6i

own protectors. In choosing flowers for exhibition,
select those of symmetrical shape, the florets over-
lapping evenly, and open right to the centre. A flower
which displays a hard green centre, or a hollow one,
is defective. A show-board for twelve Show or Fancy
Dahlias should be two feet long (left to right), eighteen
inches wide (back to front), nine inches high at the back,
and three in front. It should be perforated with holes
large enough to admit the zinc water tubes which hold
the flowers, and they may be set equidistant in three
rows. A stand for twelve Cactus should be a little
larger — twenty-six inches long, and nineteen and a half
wide. Cactus Dahlias are often shown in bunches of
six blooms each, on a stand sixty inches long, twenty-
seven inches wide, eighteen inches high at the back, and
six inches in front ; also in vases. Single and Pompon
Dahlias are usually shown in bunches of ten blooms
each on a stand. Twelve varieties would require a
stand forty-eight inches long by twenty-seven wide, and
the same height as the stands for Cactus varieties.

Garden Dahlias, — As garden plants the Paeony-
flowered and Pompon Dahlias are superior to the
large double and Cactus-flowered varieties. The former
is a modern section, and lovers of the prim Show and
Fancy varieties look askance at it, because the flowers
are very large and irregular in form. The expert calls
them coarse. However, the stems are strong enough to
lift the flowers right above the leaves, and as the blooms
are not only of considerable size and brilliant in colour,
but are borne in clusters, the plants make a bold and
telling display. At a short distance the imperfect shape
of the flowers is not sufficiently noticeable to be re-
marked even by a trained eye. The Paeony Dahlias are
undoubtedly fine garden plants, and they will grow in

1 62 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

suburban gardens ; but, as they are large plants, they
are not suitable for small gardens. The garden Dahlia
for the suburbanist, and also for owners of small gardens
generally, is unquestionably the Pompon. The flowers
are borne in clusters, are pretty in form and beautiful
in colour, and are well displayed. There are many
charming varieties in this section, and many of them
only grow a yard high and through. The singles make
handsome bushes, but they need as much room as the
large sections.

The following are twenty-five beautiful varieties : —

Variety.

Section.

Colour.

Amos Perry

Cactus

Crimson

Bacchus ....

Pompon

Crimson

Baronne de Grancy ,

Paeony

White

Beauty's Eye . . •

Single

Mauve, crimson
ring

Britannia ....

Cactus

Salmon pink

Buttercup ....

Pompon

Yellow

Columbine ....

Single

Rose, shaded
orange

Comedian ....

Fancy

Orange and
crimson

Coronation ....

Pompon Cactus

Scarlet

Dr. Van Gorkum

Paeony

Blush

Floradora ....

Cactus

Wine crimson

Florence Stredwick .

Cactus

White

Germania ....

Paeony

Crimson

Glory of Baarn .

Pasony

Rose

Guiding Star

Cactus

White

John Walker

Show

White

Leslie Seale

Single

Lilac

Mrs. Gladstone .

Show

Blush

Mrs. N. Halls .

Fancy

Scarlet and
white

Mrs. Mawley

Cactus

Yellow

Peace

Pompon Cactus

White

Peari

Cactus

Pink and white

]'hoebe ....

Pompon

Orange

R. T. Rawlings .

Cactus

Yellow

The Bride ....

Single

White

XVI

ON FEVERFEWS (PYRETHRUMS)

There is so vast a difference between the little Golden
Feather of our garden beds and the huge Japanese
Chrysanthemums which grace the boards at autumn
exhibitions, that the average gardener lacks sufficient
imagination to bridge the gap between. They stand
on different planes. But we saw in our chapter on
Chrysanthemums that the Chrysanthemums and Pyre-
thrums are related.

In the ** bedding out" days the Golden Feather was
the most important of the Feverfews, but now that
herbaceous plants reign, the single and double-flowered
varieties of Pyrethrum roseum stand in front of it. The
common name came from the supposed virtues of the
plant as a febrifuge, and the botanical one (pronounced
Pie-ree'-thrum) from/j/r, fire ; in allusion to the acridity
of the roots.

The great botanists Bentham and Hooker linked

Pyrethrum with Chrysanthemum, and if their decision

had been accepted by gardeners, the name Pyrethrum

would have dropped out ; but it became naturalised as

it were. It had taken out its papers, sworn the oath

of allegiance, and been accepted as sound British stuff.

Pyrethrum has become, with Begonia, Gardenia, Ste-

phanotis, and others, as familiar as the Anglo-Saxon

names, and it could not be uprooted.

163

164 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

The carpet-bedder and the ribbon-border maker had
definite uses for the Golden Feather, but the modern
flower gardener has none ; indeed, he had better beware
lest it become a weed with him. When used in carpet-
bedding it was associated with tender plants, and it grew
to be regarded as tender also, more especially as it was
raised from seed in a warm house or frame every spring.
But it is far from being tender, and will seed itself freely
in the open border. This would not matter so much if
it came naturally as dwarf, compact, and golden as we
used to see it in the carpet-beds of long ago ; but it does
not — it gets coarse, straggly, and green, and much more
nearly approximates to a weed than a garden plant.
The carpet-bedders kept it close by severe cropping or
'^pinching."

The modern varieties of the species roseuin are,
however, wholly admirable. It is difficult to put them
in the wrong place except by hiding them behind a
spreading bush of some border monster such as a
Michaelmas Daisy, Bocconia, or Sunflower. Wherever
they are in view they are beautiful. They are so nearly
evergreen in mild districts that they are only devoid of
foliage for a few weeks, being slow to part with their
leaves in autumn and eager to produce a fresh lot
before any of their rivals in the border can get started.
The leafage is gracefully cut, and has quite a ferny
lightness. The flowers are throw^n up abundantly in
spring, and if the first lot are cut off when they fade,
more will follow, so that there will be a succession of
bloom.

The original species had single rose-coloured flowers,
but natural variation, followed by florists' selections,
has given us a wide range of colours. We have white,
lemon, yellow, peach, pink, rose, crimson, cerise, scarlet,

ON FEVERFEWS 165

purple, lilac, cardinal, and violet. Better still, we have
both single and double varieties. In some of the best
doubles the flowers have real individual quality when
the plants are well grown.

Town and suburban amateurs who are interested in
hardy herbaceous perennials, and want to have a *' mixed
border " in order to be in the gardening fashion, should
have a set of double and single Pyrethrums. The plants
have every merit except fragrance. (They have a slight
odour, but it is not one of the sweet flower smells which we
love.) They will thrive in gardens near towns in almost
any soil, and, growing compactly, will have ample room
in a small border.

The Pyrethrums should be set near the front of large
borders, as they are close, neat, dwarf growers. At the
same time, they should not be crowded, as the flowers
have long stems and the heads spread out considerably.
In fairly fertile, rather dry soil, they may be set 18 inches
apart in triangular clumps of three ; in rich, deep, moist
soil, 30 inches apart. They are so healthy and free
growing that they suffer little from enemies, but slugs
are apt to be troublesome in attacking the young growths
in spring. Dustings of dry, freshly slaked lime at night
will stop their proceedings and do no harm to the
plants.

The flower gardener who would have these beautiful
plants at their best should dig his ground deeply and
manure it well, for they love good fare. He should cut
off the decaying flowers. He should give them good
soakings of water in June if the weather is dry, with an
occasional pailful of liquid manure, and he should take
them up bodily every other year, divide them, and
replant them in fresh soil. I have succeeded with them
on a thin chalky soil by keeping as close to this line of

1 66 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

culture as possible, although the results scarcely equalled
those which I had had previously on deep, moist, fertile
clay.

Pyrethrum growers often abstain from supporting
the plants, but if wet weather should come while they
are in bloom, the want of a stake and a band of raffia
or string is felt severely. The stems fall over and sprawl
about on the ground in all directions. Three flower-
sticks, with a band of raffia wound round them, will
prevent this, and will not be unsightly. When the
flowering is over, the stakes should be removed, as the
foliage will not need them.

The florists give us new Pyrethrums every year or
two, just as they give us new Phloxes and Delphiniums.
The amateur may keep a lookout for descriptions of
these, and, in these days of hardy flower classes at
gardening shows, he may often be able to jot down the
names of good sorts at the exhibitions. In the mean-
time, the following selections will keep him going, and
he will find the varieties really good ones that he will be
loth to part with : —

Single. Double.

Decoy, scarlet. Alfred, crimson.

Feversham, white. Carl Vogt, white.

General Buller, carmine. King Oscar, scarlet.

Oliver Twist, cream. Ovid, rose.

Roland, lilac. Pericles, yellow.

Vesuve, blood red. Shotover, pink.

XVII

ON FORGET-ME-NOTS (MYOSOTIS)

The Forget-me-not plays so useful, if modest, a
part in the flower garden, that we hardly need the
romantic story of the way in which it won its popular
name to commend it to us. And yet, having a tinge
of sentiment left in us still, we are willing to be in-
fluenced mildly by the pathetic recital of the accidental
drowning of the lover, and his last despairing appeal
to his lass to hold him in remembrance as he flung her
a flower and was swept away by the water. We hope
that she did not forget him, but named her second boy
after him when she had married the other man, and
taught him to associate Myosotises with his bulbs in the
spring bedding.

It is fitting that there should be water — and water
other than the tribute of our tears — in the story of the
christening of the Forget-me-not, for it is a plant of
marshy places. Its specific name, palustrisy indicates
this, for paludal or palustral objects are those of the
marshes [paluSy a marsh). This contains a practical hint
for us ; it suggests that we should grow our Forget-me-
nots in cool, moist places. Assuredly they do well there,
but, happily for us, there are Alpine kinds suitable for
cultivation in spots that are normally dry in summer.
We need not put them in their flowering positions till
autumn ; and as they bloom in spring, they have all the
rnoist seasop of the year in which to do their best for us.

?67

1 68 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

The name Myosotis (My-o-so'-tis) comes from mus^ a
mouse, and otosy an ear, in allusion to the resemblance
of the shape of the leaf to a mouse's ear. My lady
readers have too great a horror of a mouse, probably,
to collect a specimen of it for comparison, and they
may be disposed to think that namers of plants must
have been sadly lacking in imagination to be driven to
such straits for names as this case indicates. Let me
assure them, however, that it is a mild offence compared
with some which botanists have committed.

The cultivated Forget-me-nots are essentially flowers
of spring. Having no liking for hot weather, they get
the best of their blooming done in May, but it must
be said in their favour that they do not scramble through
as though in nervous terror of sunstroke ; on the con-
trary, they grow and bloom deliberately for a good
many weeks, and often last into June if allowed, pro-
vided that the soil is fertile and moist. It is as spring
flowers that we ought to grow them, because the growth
is healthy and abundant, and the flowers deliciously
bright and sparkling in spring ; moreover, they associate
admirably with Tulips. Until they get the exuberance
of manhood upon them they are compact growers, and
by the time they break bounds and become straggly the
bulbs are over, and the Forget-me-nots can be cleared
off to make way for the summer occupants of the beds.

There are few plants so charming for the side of
shady banks and dells in cool places. Bits dotted in
during October will spread into broad masses in April,
and, like their companions, the Primroses and Arabises,
they will bloom as they grow. These are the sort of
plants that amateur gardeners want. Kinds that give
up growing directly they begin to bloom suffer by
comparison.

ON FORGET-ME-NOTS 169

The true native Forget-me-not, " the blue and bright-
eyed floweret of the brook," has blue flowers with a
yellow eye, and the same combination of colours dis-
tinguishes that charming Swiss species dissitijloray which
was introduced to Great Britain as recently as 1868.
This comes near to being the best of all Forget-me-
nots for the flower garden, owing to its neat, dense
habit and profusion of bloom. The specific name means
distant-flowered, and bears reference to the fact that
the flowers are disposed more loosely on the stems
than those of the older species. Directly flower
gardeners saw the Swiss Distant-flowered Forget-me-
not they fell in love with it, and it has been a prime
favourite with them from the moment of its introduc-
tion. They were not satisfied until they had raised
improved varieties of it. Two of these are called
grandiflora and sple7idenSy both blue ; then there are
alba^ white ; and elegantissimay the leaves of which are
edged with white, and Perfection. Dissitiflora is quite
likely to begin blooming in February or March ; directly
the winter relaxes it is in flower.

Another useful species is the Wood Forget-me-not,
sylvatica. It is of taller growth, and hardly so suitable
therefore for carpeting bulb-beds as dissitiflora ; but it
is a free grower and bloomer in moist soil. There are
several varieties of this species, one, compacta aurea^
having yellow leaves. Distinction is a fine form also.
Azorica, a species from the Azores, is a lovely Forget-
me-not, having rich dark-blue flowers ; but unfortu-
nately it is somewhat tender. It blooms as late as
August. There is a good variety of it called Imp^ratrice
Elizabeth.

The one Forget-me-not which will thrive in dry soil
is the species Alpestris, which is also called rupicola

I70 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

(rock-loving). It is quite suitable for the rockery. I
do not suggest, of course, that rock plants should be
dry — indeed, the majority love to get their roots down
into moist crevices — but the point is that this species
/ will thrive far better than the others in a dry, sunny
/ place.

The Forget-me-nots succeed in pots. They may be
potted up in autumn, and with gentle forcing — but it
^ must be gentle — they can be had in bloom under glass
in winter. It is hardly worth while to keep them in
pots after flowering if a fresh stock of plants is being
raised, but if they are retained, the pots should be stood
in saucers of water during summer.

Forget-me-nots are so easily propagated that no one
need worry about old plants. If it suits his purpose
to keep them he may do so, but if not he may divide
them, or take cuttings from them, and insert them in
sandy soil in a shady place. Most simple of all is to
sow seeds with that of the Wallflowers, Canterbury
Bells, Arabises, Aubrietias, and other things in May, as
by this plan a large stock of plants can be raised at a
very small cost. A hot, dry site should be avoided.
The species and most of the varieties come true from
seed. It is well to dig the soil deeply and reduce it
to a fine state on the surface, moisten it thoroughly,
and then sow thinly about half an inch deep. The
seedlings can be thinned, and the rest pricked off six
inches apart when they get crowded. With hoeing, and
an occasional soaking of water in dry weather, they will
make good plants by October.

This is a very simple and inexpensive procedure
with which to be able to provide abundance of so
charming a flower, and it commends this de^^r little
plant still further to us,

XVIII

ON FOXGLOVES

Lovers of old English flowers who like to trace the
origin of names have an interesting task in finding the
reason why Digitalis purpurea came to be called the
Foxglove. Even when they give free rein to fancy
they fail to see a connection between the tall and grace-
ful wilding with its spotted flowers and the stealthy
nocturnal marauder which often plays sad havoc with
the drowsy occupants of their fowl-houses. What has
the fox to do with flowers, and what does he want with
gloves ? Did he, cunning rogue that he is, suppose, once
upon a time, that if he drew thumb-stalls over his paws
he could spoil the scent for his pursuers ? And did he
experiment with Foxglove flowers ? Was he found,
when fleet Bay Archer dashed boldly into him and
brought him down, with the Digitalis bells upon him ?
And as he died, a victim of misplaced ingenuity, did he
emit a parting howl of disappointment that his device
had come to naught ?

These speculations once beguiled me when, the very
morning after the hunt had dashed through my garden,
I saw the fox nonchalantly stroll along the bank on the
outskirts of the lawn, and go leisurely to earth within
fifty yards of the front-door. I had not seen him pre-
viously ; the hunt had not seen him. But the hounds
must have thought that they had winded him, for they

172 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

had suddenly gathered and tumbled after each other
pell-mell along the side of the ditch with one sharp yelp
of excitement. A cramped corner, a double ditch, and
a nasty hedge combined to check the hunt, so, as it
could not follow the hounds, it cut across the garden
(to its credit it kept to the drive) to meet the pack
in the meadow on the other side. And then it swept
away with its own peculiar din, and the pack yelped
itself out of hearmg, and peace settled on the garden
again. With a passing thought for the joy of the maiden
who received the brush I resumed my book, and lo ! at
daybreak there was the unruffled fox creeping along by
the very spot where the hounds must have scented him,
alive and well, which is more than can be said for a pair
of the best chickens of a local grazier. The befooled
pack had overshot the fox somehow, and I speculated
about him while I walked in the wild garden, where in
summer the Foxgloves lifted their spires.

The learned will not acknowledge the connection of
the fox with the Foxglove, of course. They state, with-
out any beating about the bush, that Foxglove is neither
more nor less than a corruption of Folksglove (folks'
glove), and that the '^folk" are not the proletariat in
this case (the Foxglove flower would be too small for its
capacious paw), but the little folk or fairies. The Fox-
glove, then, is the fairy's glove ; but we must go a little
farther before we can get the name fully explained,
because no one has ever been found who saw a fairy
wearing a Digitalis flower, although plenty of people are
prepared to sign affidavits, and do other mysterious legal
things, to prove that they have seen fairies get into Fox-
glove flowers and hide there.

The flower of the Foxglove has been likened in shape
to a finger-stall — that article which we carve out of an old

>
o

ON FOXGLOVES 173

glove in order to protect an injured digit — and it is a
somewhat curious fact that the botanical n?im.Q Digitalis
comes from the Latin digitabulumy which means a finger-
protector. The connection between finger-stall and
glove is obvious, and so we begin to see things. We see
that the flower is either a glove or part of a glove (and it
is all the same thing for the purposes of a flower name) ;
we see that the fairies could legitimately claim the gloves
as theirs, whether they put them on or hid in them ; and,
after all, it is not for us to dictate what the fairies shall
do. So the Foxglove is really the Fairy's glove beyond
all doubt or question.

As everybody knows, it is just when a fact has been
established finally that somebody or other questions it.
Accordingly, somebody questioned this. He was not
satisfied that fairies ever got into Foxgloves, or had any
other connection with them whatever. He dragged out
the fact that there was an old musical instrument called
2iglieWy which was composed of a number of bells sus-
pended on a pole, and invited us to believe that the
Foxglove got its name from the resemblance of the
flowers on their arching stems to the gliew. I should be
disposed to accept this more readily if I could see
where the first part of the name came in. Is the ^' Fox "
again a corruption of folks, and are we to understand
that the fairies made bell-music out of the flower ? It
is a rather pretty idea if it goes so far as this, but I do not
know that it does.

The Foxglove is a grand old plant, and, wilding or
not, we are glad to grow it in our gardens. It generally
bears its inflorescence at intervals on a long stem, the
flowers opening from below upwards, the topmost occu-
pant being a small bud. Occasionally, however, it bears
a large expanded flower at the top. It loves cool, moist

174 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

places, and I have never had it so luxuriant and happy
as in a low, mild, sheltered garden on Kentish clay. But
it does not object to an elevated site provided that it has
moisture. This is shown by its vigour in the Derby
dales. It does, however, dislike, and very strongly dis-
like, a thin, hot, shallow soil in an exposed place. The
winds worry it. The soil stints it of moisture.

A London amateur whom I knew once had re-
markable success with Foxgloves in a garden at Dulwich
by the simple plan of preparing a piece of ground between
a shrubbery and a Rose pergola and flinging the seed
broadcast over it in June. He had the most glorious
colony of Foxgloves that I ever saw in a private garden.
The long tall spires rose high above the heads of visitors,
and they produced a remarkable effect against the back-
ground of shrubs, and, where they rose above the latter,
against the sky. One looked through a forest of lofty
spikes to the sky-line beyond, broken by the tall towers
of the Crystal Palace.

When the plants are established in a position that
they like they seed freely, and become an institution
which no one will find it in his heart to overturn. They
may be grown in the herbaceous border, but under
restriction, so that they may not over-ride smaller things.
It is an easy matter to keep them within bounds by
hoeing out any superfluous self-sown seedlings.

Seedsmen have raised improved strains of Foxgloves,
and whoever proposes to establish the old flower in his
garden should make a point of getting a good strain of
Giant Spotted in mixture. Separate colours, such as
primrose, rose, and white, can also be had. Moreover,
some of the larger seedsmen offer seed of the form which
produces terminal flowers, and this is not only interesting
but beautiful.

ON FOXGLOVES 175

Little skill is called for in raising Foxgloves from
seed. It may be sown on a prepared seed-bed, the
surface of which has been made quite fine, in May. The
seedlings may be thinned when they become crowded,
and if they again interfere with each other, may be set
out a few inches apart in a spare plot. They may be
transplanted to their flowering quarters in autumn. It
is a good plan to treat them as biennials, like Wallflowers
and Canterbury Bells, in spite of their nominally perennial
character, because they are apt to die off after flowerin
and the flowers of self-sown seedlings degenerate.

XIX

ON GERANIUMS

In my remarks on the shrubby Calceolaria I referred to
the abuse of the plant in years gone by, when it was used
as one of the three items to form " ribbon borders," and
also in bedding. It is scarcely necessary to remind
readers of an older gardening generation than the pre-
sent that one of the other components of the ^* ribbon
border" was the scarlet Zonal Geranium, and that it was
the most important of the triumvirate which nearly
drove lovers of artistic gardening to distraction.

In those days the true Geranium was a wholly
unimportant plant. One or two of the native species
were admired by lovers of wild flowers, notably the
Herb Robert (Ge^'amum Robertianum)y with its hairy
red stems and pretty pink flowers ; but the majority
were hardly thought to be worthy of notice. Things
have changed so much that the Geranium has now
receded into the eminently respectable position of chief
ornament of the villas of retired grocers, while the hardy
species have been admitted to the borders of advanced
flower-lovers.

The Geraniums and Pelargoniums both belong to the
natural order GeraniacecBy and the confusion of names is
not altogether surprising. The name Geranium (Crane's-
bill) comes from geranos, a crane, in allusion to the beak-
like projection on the seeds ; while that of Pelargonium

176

ON GERANIUMS 177

(Stork's-bill) comes from pelaygos, a stork, in allusion to
the beak-like form of the seed-pod. There is a similarity
of derivation here which arrests attention at once, and
suffices to show excuse for popular confusion. It is not
until we study the structure of the flowers botanically
that we get on to safe ground. The flowers of the
Geranium are regular, spurless, and with ten stamens :
those of the Pelargonium are irregular, spurred, with
five stamens or less. Thus we concede a point to the
botanist, and admit that, while he sometimes tries our
patience, he keeps us right in the main.

Hardy Geraniums. — Several of the true Geraniums
are British plants. In addition to the Herb Robert, such
species as pratensCy purple, the Meadow Crane's-bill ;
sanguineunty crimson ; luciduifiy pink ; and lancastriensey
striped, may be named as wildings. The Zonal
Geranium, however, in common with most of the other
Pelargoniums, came from South Africa, and is not hardy
in Great Britain.

Lovers of hardy plants will gladly admit some of the
true Geraniums to their gardens, especially if they have
to furnish borders that are partially shaded by trees. I
have used these Crane's-bills somewhat largely on a cool,
shady border of clay soil in a Kentish garden, and they
have proved very useful, spreading into large but not
unwieldy masses, and providing numbers of brilliant
flowers. They proved easy to increase to any desired
extent by means of division in spring. In addition to
the natives named, I found armeminty a purple species
from Nepal ; sylvaticunty having purple flowers with
crimson veins ; cinereuniy red, from the Pyrenees ; and
striatum^ striped, an Italian species, good ; the collection
was strengthened by one or two garden forms of the

natives, such as the double and white varieties oi pratense,

178 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

The last-named luxuriated in the cool surroundings, as
it does in the Yorkshire and Derbyshire dales, but on
being removed to a hot, exposed hillside on limestone
soon dropped out of existence. The Shining Crane's-
bill (lucidum) and the Herb Robert will both thrive on
dry sites.

There is a handsome allied plant to the Crane's-bill
in the Heron's-bill (Erodiuin Manescavi)^ which succeeds
on a dry sandy or chalky soil, and is by way of being a
favourite with lovers of hardy plants.

The Zonal Geranium. — It would be affectation to
attempt to exclude the Zonal Pelargonium from the
ranks of the Geraniums, even though it be not a true
Geranium botanically. We cannot take one of the
people's flowers by the scruff of the neck and thrust it
out of the G's into the P's without a word of explanation.
We shall find, if we try this, that we shall have shoals of
indignant letters demanding to know why we have left
out a popular garden plant from our list ; and when we
explain that we have not left it out, but have merely
put it into its proper place, we shall have a fresh shoal
of letters, couched in even more scornful terms than
before, charging us with pedantry.

As long as the prefix ** zonal " is used, there seems to
be no harm in referring to the modern varieties of Pelar-
gonium zonale as Geraniums. There are many species
of Pelargonium, and they might be classed into two
sections — those with wrinkled green leaves and those
with flat leaves having a colour zone marked upon
them. It is only the latter that can be acknowledged
as Geraniums ; the others are, always have been, and
always will be, Pelargoniums.

The zone-leaved Geranium came from the Cape of
Good Hope in 1710. It is a shrubby plant, retain-

ON GERANIUMS 179

ing its stems throughout the year, whereas the true
Geraniums are herbaceous, dying down to the root in
autumn. The leaf had the distinguishing band, and the
flowers were scarlet. But the form was very different
from that which we see in the best modern varieties. If
the reader examines the flowers of a Pelargonium species
he sees that the petals vary in size and are narrow ; the
upper petals are larger than the lower ones. Such were
the flowers of the first scarlet Geranium. Compare the
old type with the modern variety. All the petals in the
latter are so nearly equal in size that it is impossible to
see any difference between them ; they are rounded, they
overlap each other. Thus, instead of a '* truss " (for
such the flower head is called) showing gaps, it is an
unbroken ring. The beauty of the plant is enhanced
greatly by the change, which has been brought about
entirely by the efforts of the florists. They have patiently
selected good types and raised improved varieties by
cross-fertilisation year after year, until they have given
us an altogether superior plant.

In due course the public began to take an interest in
the improved Zonal Geraniums. Gardeners discovered
that the plant had a great fund of vitality, which made
it grow in almost any circumstances short of frosty
weather, that it bloomed with remarkable persistence,
and that the colours were very brilliant. So they began
to fuss over it. At first, no doubt, they valued it as a
greenhouse plant, and they would like it more and more
when they discovered how well adapted it was for winter
flowering. But presently they tried it as a summer
bedding plant, and found it extremely useful in the open
air, where, so long as the weather was warm, it grew and
flowered for several months without a break. A craze
for "bedding out" and ribbon borders followed, and

i8o POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

the Zonal Geranium was the hero of it. Flower-gar-
deners scrambled after novelties eagerly, and paid high
prices for them. The introduction of a new variety
became quite an event in the floral world.

Flower-lovers of artistic tastes revolted at length.
After all, what was there in a border of scarlet, yellow,
and blue, the plants in regular lines ? And what was
there in a bed of red Geraniums with a belt of blue
Lobelia round it ? It had, and has, its public, like a
murder mystery, but it was not a public of educated
modern gardeners. Besides, the plants were tender, and
had to be wintered under glass.

In the end the bedding-out craze collapsed ; narrow
ribbon borders disappeared, and broad herbaceous
borders took their place. Beds were reduced in number
to make room for larger borders in small places, and
were enlarged and planted with Roses, Carnations,
Chrysanthemums, and other good hardy plants.

Winter Bloom, — The Geranium did not die out — it
was far too valuable a plant for that — but it retained
favour mainly as a winter plant for warm greenhouses
and conservatories. It was, and is, admirably adapted
to winter use. Large plants can be secured from cut-
tings in six months, and with very little attention and
no great amount of heat — 50° sufficing — they will bloom
for the whole of the winter. The diversity and brilli-
ance of the colours are unequalled by any other winter-
blooming plant. A collection of well-grown Zonals is
a most valuable asset in winter. It is as sparkling and
enlivening as a display of fireworks — a little startling,
perhaps, like the rockets, if there is a preponderance of
the most vivid colours, such as scarlet, crimson, salmon,
and vermilion ; but there is no reason why the charming
whites and pinks, of which there are so many good

ON GERANIUMS i8i

representatives, should not be used to check any exuber-
ance. Given this provision, the Zonals will restore the
most depressed person to joviality. He has only to
throw away the newspaper which contains such melan-
choly news about his investments, and to stalk resolutely
into his greenhouse to be restored to serenity.

The Zonal Geranium is still, of course, a useful
garden plant. If it had not been a good plant it would
never have become sufficiently popular to be overdone.
And the fact that it has been over-used should not, by
the force of reaction, lead to its being under-used. It
is a capital plant for the amateur to draw upon who
begins his gardening year, perforce, late in spring. He
can buy it cheaply in boxes, or out of small pots, in
May or June. It is equally happy in a town and in a
suburban garden. It does not object to poor soil. It
will grow almost better than any plant of standing
in a dry place. It will never stop flowering, when
once it starts, until frost comes. It will throw its
flowers well above the leaves, and so be really
'* decorative."

With all these qualities it is impossible that the
Zonal Geranium can drop out of gardens. And those
who may not feel that they can spare a place for it
in their principal beds or borders, may often be glad
to fall back upon it for a dry bank or other unfavourable
spot, or to grow large plants in tubs or vases on
terraces, near flights of steps, and in other selected
positions.

Amateurs who have no glass should not attempt to
raise their own Zonals, and it is hardly worth while
to keep old plants through the winter. It is true that
they will often live in a cellar or frost-proof store if
pruned hard both at head and root in autumn ; but young

1 82 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

plants are likely to do better the following year, and,
cheap as they are nowadays, anybody can afford to
buy a fresh stock each season.

Propagatio7i. — Given a greenhouse from which frost
is excluded in winter, four-inch flowerless shoots may
be taken off the plants in August just below a joint,
deprived of their lower leaves, and inserted firmly two
inches deep in shallow boxes of sandy soil, or even in
a prepared bed outdoors. In any case they should be
exposed fully to sun and air. They will have rooted
by the time they have to be put under glass in October,
but will not have grown much, and it is not desirable
that they should, because the more growth they make
in winter the more room they will want, and space is
generally at a discount. On this account the cooler
they are kept the better, provided frost does not touch
them. They may be put in unheated frames in April,
and hardened — as far as they can be hardened — by full
exposure in fine weather.

Plants to flower in winter should be raised from
cuttings inserted in small pots in a greenhouse in May,
and not allowed to bloom until autumn, all the flowers
being picked off as fast as they show. If they are kept
thenceforward in a house with a temperature of 50° to
55°, with 45° as a minimum, they will bloom con-
tinuously until spring. Decaying flower trusses should
be picked off regularly, as if the petals fall on to
the leaves and stick, disease will develop in the
foliage.

The Ivy-leaved Geranium, like the Zonal, is really a
Pelargonium. There are many flower - lovers to be
found who consider it to be the most beautiful member
of the genus, when represented by the modern varieties
which the florists have raised. These sorts have come

ON GERANIUMS 183

mainly, if not wholly, from Pelargonium lateripesy a
species with light purple flowers, which was introduced
in 1787. They form charming bedding plants, as the
foliage is attractive, the plants ramble freely, and the
flowers are brilliant. They may also be grown in stone
vases and baskets. Few things look better in pedestal
vases on steps or terraces. They are also admirable for
pot culture.

Zonal and Ivy-leaved Geraniums alike grow too
strongly to bloom well in rich soil and shady situations.
They should be grown in unmanured, or very lightly
manured, soil, in order to keep down their inclination
to rankness. As a chalk-soil gardener I cannot but
consider them with gratitude, and would not be without
them. Even in a narrow south border under a house
wall I can have months of beautiful blossom by the
simple expedient of taking out a foot of chalk, and
substituting loam from decayed turves — loam none too
good in quality, and by no means calculated to satisfy
an aspirant to exhibition honours with Roses and
Chrysanthemums, but fertile enough for the Geraniums.
These accommodating plants will grow, indeed, almost
anywhere, and it is a foolish gardener who refuses to
admit them, for no other reason than that somebody
else grew too many of them twenty years ago.

From Seed. — Can Zonal Geraniums be grown from
seed ? Assuredly, and flowered in four months to boot.
All the larger seedsmen sell selected strains, which will
give flowers of good form and colour. The seed could
be sown in a pan or box of sandy soil in spring, and
placed on the shelf of a warm greenhouse, or in a
heated frame. When the plants were an inch high
they could be set out, four inches apart, in a shallow
box, and kept close to the glass. When they began

1 84 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

to crowd, they could be put into small pots, or planted
in the garden. The former would be the better, as it
is always well to flower seedlings under glass in the
first place, and pick from the batch those of which the
habit and colour render them most suitable for the
garden.

A collection of seedling Zonals forms a very interest-
ing hobby for the amateur gardener. Very few plants
that he could take up would reward him better, by
cheerful growth and bloom, for the time he devoted
to them. One word, however, to the amateur cross-
fertiliser : do not start with a poor strain, the trusses
of which are loose and gappy, and the ^^pips" (indi-
vidual flowers) ragged. To do this means plodding for
years along a path that earlier raisers have already
trodden, and to creep lamely behind them for a whole
lifetime. Begin with the best strain procurable — a
strain with smooth, round flowers, and a large, circular
truss — then there is a real prospect of getting valuable
novelties. Before me, as I write on a dull November
day, are several plants representing an experiment on
the part of the wife of a well-known florist. This
energetic lady gardener thought that it ought to be
possible to get extra large pips, with flower-heads as big
and handsome as those of the well-known Paul Crampel
(many, by the way, will tell you that this is the best
Geranium in cultivation, and they are not to be contra-
dicted hastily), and so she set out to do some cross-
fertilising on her own account, her husband surveying
her operations with an affectionate tolerance. Here is
the result : some of the pips are four inches across, and
all are of huge size, splendid form, and perfect colour.
They are a genuine advance, and show the advantage
of starting at the top with a high ideal.

ON GERANIUMS

i8s

The following are beautiful varieties of Zonal
Geraniums : —

Variety.

Colour.

Bedding or Pots.

Beckwith's Pink

Pink

Both

Crystal Palace Gem •

Scarlet, leaves
yellow

Bedding

Flower of Spring . •

Silver leaves

Bedding

F. V. Raspail ....

Double crimson

Pots

Gertrude Pearson .

Pink

Pots

Henry Jacoby

Crimson

Both

Hermione ....

Double white

Pots

John Gibbons . . , .

Orange

Bedding

King of Denmark .

Double salmon

Pots

Mr. Hy. Cox ....

Dark variegated
foliage

Bedding

Mrs. Pollock ....

Light variegated
foliage

Bedding

Paul Crampel ....

Crimson

Both

Pierre Loti ....

Double rose

Pots

Swanley Single White .

White

Both

Ville de Poictiers .

Double scarlet

Pots

The following ivy-leaved varieties are well adapted
for garden culture, and may be propagated from cut-

tings the same as the Zonals :-

Galilee. — Double rose.
Madame Crousse. — Double silvery pink.
Eyecroft Surprise, — Double salmon pink.
Souvefiir de Charles Turner. — Deep carmine pink.

ON GLADIOLI

The Gladiolus has never made much progress with a
popular name. Nominally it has one, like most other
plants, but even those people who prefer '' English " to
Latin names tacitly ignore it, and it is probable that the
great majority would wonder what was meant if a writer
referred to Corn Flags. The Corn Cockle they know,
the Corn Marigold they have more than a nodding
acquaintance with, but the Corn Flag puzzles them, and
they are disposed to sum it up as " some kind of Iris."
Well, the Corn Flag belongs to the natural order
IridacecBj and, therefore, has a botanical kinship with
the Irises, but it is really the Gladiolus, and that is a
distinct genus.

It is a little singular, perhaps, that the Gladiolus has
not a popular name — a popular name, that is, which is
really popular, instead of one which nobody knows any-
thing about — because the botanical name is not an easy
one for the multitude to cope with, and there are as
many ways of pronouncing it as there are of writing
a plant label. Of course the scholar has no difficulty
in the matter. He points out that the name derives
quite obviously from gladiusy a sword, in reference to
the shape of the leaves ; and that, in consequence, the
pronunciation must be Glad'-io-lus, the accent being
on the first syllable, here accented, the two vowels in the
second being run together sharply, and the third being

(86

ON GLADIOLI 187

disposed of with as quick a pressure of the tip of the
tongue on the palate as the music-master insists on in
his interminable exercise on lah^ lah, lah. When the
student has touched the palate with his tongue in order
to produce the labial sound, he has to get the organ
down into the bottom of his mouth as quickly as he can
in order to remove any obstacle to the passage of the
vowel sound from his widely expanded throat — so sharply
must he dispose of lus.

But flower-lovers are not all word-students. They
did not know that Gladiolus came from gladius, and
even if they had known they would not have been any
nearer knowing how to pronounce it, and so they went
their own way. Some called it Gla-die'-o-lus, making
four syllables, and accenting the second ; others Glad-e-
o'-lus, again making four syllables, but accenting the
third. Popular pronunciation hovers between these
two, and perhaps to the latter. Both are wrong, but
the offence committed is one of those that people who
know must deal gently with, rebuking the offender by
no more drastic method than taking the first opportunity
of repeating the name with the accent in its proper place.

However great our enthusiasm for the Gladiolus may
be — and if we have once grown it successfully, that
enthusiasm is likely to be warm — we have to acknow-
ledge that it can hardly be classed as one of the great
flowers of the people. It is hardy, it is grown easily, it is
almost incomparably beautiful, but it just misses greatness.
Except in the case of one or two kinds, it lacks perfume,
and it is not quite capable of holding its own in the
rough and tumble with Nature which garden plants
have to undergo sometimes. Perhaps this is more
marked in a liability to attack by wireworms than in
susceptibility to cold. But a plant must be wireworm-

1 88 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

proof, just as it must be cold-proof, to satisfy us entirely.
What amateur florist, operating in a garden that he has
made himself from pasture, but mourns the liabiHty
of Carnations to be attacked by wireworm ? More often
than not he is induced to enthrone Chrysanthemums or
Sweet Peas or Roses as the queen of his floral loves for,
at all events, the first few years of his work ; and only
after he has worried his underground enemy out of the
field can he take up Carnations with any confidence.

Wireworm. — The Gladiolus is as susceptible as the
Carnation to wireworm attack. The grubs fasten on the
corms (a Gladiolus ^' bulb " is really a corm, and a corm,
as we saw under Crocus, has no visible scales like a bulb)
in myriads, and soon make short work of a large collec-
tion. If it is planted in new land from pasture the turf
should be taken away, not turned in, however deeply ;
and in spring, before planting, Vaporite or Apterite
should be dug in nine or ten inches below the surface.

Grace of form and beauty of blossom distinguish the
Gladiolus in a remarkable degree. The habit is some-
what singular. At the ground level the growth is a thick
purplish stem, a few inches above it becomes flattened,and
there the leaves emerge, the lower part cohering in a flat,
plate-like mass, the upper spreading out almost like an
open fan. The flower stem rises from the heart of the
leaves in July or August, and conical, pointed buds form
on it. As it extends, the lower buds thicken, and fresh
narrow ones appear on the upper part. Future develop-
ment finds the same expression — stem-extension and
bud-production — going on simultaneously. While buds
on the lower part of the stem are bursting and colouring
— becoming, in fact, flowers — fresh ones are forming
higher up, and so there is a long succession.

For Cutting,— ThQ lady flower-lover will not fail to

ON GLADIOLI 189

take full advantage of this habit. She will cut the stems
when the lower buds are bursting, and carry the spike
triumphantly indoors to adorn a tall vase, where, for
some three or four weeks, it will be engaged in the
delightful task of unfolding a succession of the most
beautiful flowers. At the outset she will arouse the
unmeasured wrath of her lord, who will loudly bemoan
the ruin of his bed ; but when he finds that the plants,
deprived of their first spikes, straightway proceed to
produce more, he will graciously permit himself to be
pacified.

It may be stated, for the special benefit of lady readers
who like to cut flowers, and in particular Gladioli,
that the number of spikes which a plant will produce
depends mainly upon the thoroughness of the culture.
If the soil is deep and fertile, the plants (always provided
that the corms planted are good and remain uninjured
by wireworms) will be strong, and will be quite capable
of yielding a spike each for the house and still producing
a reserve for the garden. It is obvious from this that if
an amateur does not get a satisfactory result after his
wife has had the first helping, it is his fault, and not
hers. She will need no prompting to " rub in " this point
if occasion arises.

When it is said that good corms are desirable, large
ones are not meant necessarily. Some varieties produce
much smaller corms that others, and no cultivation will
make them large. They will, however, produce enor-
mous spikes. A normal corm is about two inches
across, but in some sorts the corm is less than an inch
across the base. It happens that some of the largest
varieties have these small corms. If the amateur buys
from growers of repute, he need not be alarmed at a
small ** bulb." He may take it for granted that all is well.

190 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

In the best modern varieties of Gladioli the individual
flowers are nearly as large as Candidum Lilies, and they
are arranged on the stem in a double row, facing one
way, so that they are collectively, as well as individually,
beautiful. Such sorts are much superior to those in
which the flowers face different points of the compass.
If the Gladiolus-grower is one who raises seedlings, he
should only choose those which have this desirable trait
for future propagation.

The colours are brilliant and varied. We get blush,
pink, rose, scarlet, crimson, lilac, salmon, ruby, cream,
cherry, mauve, and yellow. Many varieties have a white
or yellow throat with a different body colour. Others
are flaked or spotted. It was many years before we got
a pure white and a self yellow in the large-flowered type ;
we have these treasures now.

Beautiful Species, — The magnificent modern Gladioli
have been developed by hybridising between different
species. A few are still grown, and I may touch on the
best of them, without, however, committing myself to the
assurance that they are all really genuine species : I have
grave doubts about several. Blandus, flesh-coloured, is
one of the earliest to bloom, opening in June ; it may be
planted in autumn. Blushing Bride, pale pinky white,
blooms early. Brenchleyensis^ scarlet, flowers in July
from corms planted in autumn. Colvillei, often classed
as a species, is really a hybrid between cardinalis and
tristis ; it is red marked with purple ; both it and its
white variety, a/da (The Bride), but more particularly
the latter, are valued for pot culture, being treated like
pot Hyacinths and Tulips. Delicatissima^ pale pink,
spotted, is an early bloomer. FloribunduSf citron-
coloured, blooms in July. Gandavensis, crimson and
yellow, is a hybrid, and one of the parents of our beauti-

Gladioli.

ON GLADIOLI 191

fill modern varieties. Ne Plus Ultra, spotted, an early
bloomer, is doubtless a hybrid. PsittacinuSy red and
yellow, blooms in July. Purpureo-auratuSy yellow and
purple, has been much used as a parent. RamosuSy rose,
is a July bloomer. Saundersii, scarlet and white, bloom-
ing in August, has been used as a parent. Tristis, with
brown and red flowers in July, is not showy, but is
scented.

Classes, — Gandavensis, the most important of the
foregoing, took its name from the fact that it was sent
out by a Ghent (French Gand) florist, but it was raised I
at Enghien, where it was secured by crossing psittacinus
with either cardinalis or oppositiflorus. Variations ap-
peared, and were intercrossed, so that we soon had a
large number of varieties bearing the sectional name of
Gandavensis. The best of them are distinguished by
beautiful symmetry. But the value of the hybrid did
not rest in this. It was crossed with the s^tciQS purpureo-
auratuSy and gave an entirely distinct blotched section
called Lemoinei, after the Nancy hybridist Lemoine.
It was further crossed with seedlings of Saundersii, and
gave us the Childsii section, which are distinguished by
very large flowers, albeit set loosely on the spike. Cross-
ing between varieties of the Lemoinei and Gandavensis
groups gave the sub-section Nanceianus, \

One feels a little apologetic in referring to these
various processes and their result, but it happens that
some dealers classify the varieties in their catalogues,
and without a few words of explanation the reader might
be puzzled by the group headings. It really is not neces-
sary to keep the classes separate to enjoy Gladioli as
garden flowers. If a variety is beautiful we need not
probe its parentage, although this is a proceeding which
has its interest for a good many flower-lovers. The

192 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

most that the amateur need do is to keep the early-
flowering section, such as Blushing Bride, Brenchley-
ensis, Colvillei, The Bride, DeHcatissima, Ne Plus Ultra,
Psittacinus, and Ramosus separate from the later hybrids.
Most of the former are very cheap, and may be planted
in autumn ; they ought not to be put in later than
February. Nearly all may be grown in pots, although
Brenchleyensis is a little too robust to make a perfect
pot plant. This, one of the noblest of Gladioli, with its
massive spikes of brilliant scarlet flowers, is also one
of the hardiest and cheapest. It flowers in July and

August.

Named Varieties. — The best named varieties of late-
blooming hybrid Gladioli are somewhat dear, and many
flower-lovers may be satisfied to buy mixtures. Dealers
of standing put splendid varieties in their mixtures, and
a well-grown bed of them will be a wonderful spectacle
of floral beauty. The tall Childsii and the spotted
Lemoinei varieties are upstanding plants, and are very
hardy, so that the corms may be left out all the winter
if it is not convenient to store them. The Gandavensis
varieties should be lifted. The following are a few good
varieties of this beautiful section : —

Commandant Marchand^ ruby.
Enchantresses rosy lilac.
Formosa^ rose.
Grand Rouge, crimson.
Klondyke, yellow, flaked carmine.
Llncendie, cherry.

La Parisienne^ yellow, shaded mauve.
Marie Therhe, cream.
Markhal Vailla7it, scarlet.
Pascal, rose, white centre.
Pyramide, rosy orange.
Sanspareil, orange, white throat.

ON GLADIOLI 193

Preparing Soil. — Is the reader fired by the preceding
eulogy of Gladioli to a resolution in favour of buying a
collection and giving it the best possible chance ? Then
let him prepare his ground as follows : In autumn
remove the topsoil and break up the subsoil, turning in
a dressing three inches thick of decayed manure. If the
ground is very stiff, leaf mould and sand may be added.
Leave the surface lumpy. In February spread on a
coat of wood ashes, with an additional quantity of bone
flour at the rate of three ounces per square yard, and
fork it in. This operation will simultaneously reduce
the lumps to small particles. The soil is now in fine
condition for planting.

The corms may be put in a foot apart about the end
of March, and may be set in angles (see figure in Chapter
VIII., where the same method is advised for planting
Carnations). They may be covered with four inches of
fine friable soil, and the bed rolled or trodden. By the
time they come through weeds will have grown, and a
hoeing will stimulate the plants and destroy the weeds.
Care must be taken to avoid cutting off the young spikes,
but should so sad an event take place, the grower need
not become a prey to despair, even though (as is quite
likely to be the case) the variety injured happens to be
one of the most esteemed, because the plant is almost
certain to throw up another shoot. The hoeing should
be continued throughout the summer.

If the soil is light and shallow, soakings of water will
be helpful in dry weather, and when the flower spikes
begin to push up, a drenching of liquid manure, repeated
weekly to the end of the flowering season, will do great
good. Given these attentions, light soil grows Gladioli
well. In clay soil they will not need artificial watering.
Heavy ground will give good results provided it is

194 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

well drained and friable, for the Gladiolus is not really
exacting, although it dislikes stodgy, cold land. Directly
the buds form, stakes should be put to the plants and the
spikes tied, or the first storm will break them, especially
if the site be exposed ; a sheltered though sunny position
should be found if possible.

In cold districts it may be found advisable to start
Gladiolus corms in pots or boxes in spring, as advised
under tuberous Begonias, and to plant them out, well
rooted, towards the end of May.

Wintering. — The corms should be lifted in autumn,
except when the Childsii and Lemoinei varieties are
being grown in a light, warm soil ; and it is not wise to
wait until the leaves have died away, for that may not be
until the New Year, but proceed as soon as the foliage
loses its freshness. The plants may be laid in a shed for
a few days to dry, and then deprived of stems and roots,
leaving only the corms. It will be found that, in many
cases, the old corm has begun to decay, and that a new
one is fixed on the top of it ; they should be broken
apart forcibly, and only the new corms, with any young
ones, preserved. These can be stored in dry sand in
shallow, uncovered boxes till spring. The large ones
will flower again the same year as they are planted, the
small offsets not till the following year.

From Seed. — To raise Gladioli from seed, sow in pans
or boxes in spring, put in a warm frame or greenhouse
until germination has taken place, harden the plants in
an unheated frame, and stand the pans outside in May.
It is hardly worth while to plant them out until the
following year, as they will not grow strongly. They
can be dried off in autumn like large corms and
planted the following spring, to flower in that or the
following year*

ON GLADIOLI 195

I should be glad if I could conclude by saying that
the beautiful Gladiolus is suitable for planting in any
herbaceous border, but the truth is it does not
appreciate the companionship of big, coarse-rooting
things, and is best in a bed to itself. However, it will
thrive in the border if it is planted in a little colony
to itself and protected from the encroachment of greedy
giants.

XXI

ON THE HOLLYHOCK

There is no finer border flower than the Hollyhock
when it is healthy and well grown, and it is not
surprising that gardeners still cling to it in spite of
the disasters which sometimes accompany its cultivation.
The fact is, sentiment becomes entangled with these old
plants, and the nearer we get to our own disappearance
from the world's garden, the more affectionately we
think of the flowers of our youth. People whose
memory is good can recall the halcyon days of the
Hollyhock, even it their hair is only as yet half grey,
and they are loth to part with the picture which it
brings before them of stately groups, seven or eight
feet high, clothed with green leaves and studded with
large, brilliant flowers.

It is rarely that we see perfectly healthy Hollyhocks
in these degenerate days. Even if the plants get to the
flowering stage, they still fall short of the Hollyhock
beauty of former days, because the lower foliage is
discoloured by their hereditary enemy, the fungus called
Puccinia malvacearmn. The latter name, compounded as
it is from Malva^ the botanical name of the Mallow,
shows at once the " family " nature of the fungus (that
is, its particular association with the Mallows) and the
kinship of the Hollyhocks with the Mallows.

The Hollyhock is, indeed, a relative of the common

196

From a Water Colour Drawiiifi by Lilum Sttiiuuinl.

Hollyhocks and Herbaceous Phloxes.

ON THE HOLLYHOCK 197

Mallow, which is known to botanists as Malva sylvestris,
grows by the roadsides and in waste places, and bears
pale purple flowers in June. It is a closer relative still
of the Marsh Mallow, which frequents the sea marshes,
grows two to three feet high, and bears pink flowers in
August. The Marsh Mallow is Althcea officinalis y and the
Hollyhock is Althcea rosea. Another relative is the
Hibiscus y several species of which are esteemed in
gardens. Althcea frutex is the same as Hibiscus syriacus.

The Hollyhock was introduced in 1573. Botanical
works give China as the native country, but it was
probably brought to Europe by way of Palestine. Any-
way, in striving to find the origin of the popular name,
we have a difficulty in escaping from the conviction that
it is the *' holy mallow," the holi-hoc (Anglo-Saxon,
y^^^= mallow) of the Middle Ages.

Althaea comes quite obviously from altheoy to cure, in
allusion to the medicinal virtues of the plant, which are
well marked in the Marsh Mallow.

The Hollyhock was not a familiar plant in mediaeval
times. The reader will not find it alluded to by Shake-
speare, for example ; but the common Mallow did not
escape the eye of the bard, as witness —

" He'll sow't with Nettle seed,
Or Docks or Mallow."

The Tempest^ Act ii. scene i.

Hollyhocks were, however, grown in Elizabethan days,
for Parkinson knew them, and actually illustrated a
double variety under the name of Malva rosea multiplex.
The flowers were improved steadily as the years passed,
and in the early half of the last century had been
developed so highly as to become among the most
important of garden flowers. They were greatly im-

198 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

proved by a trade florist named Chater, living at Saffron
Walden, in Essex (see the chapter on Crocuses for a
note of the derivation of the name of this old town),
and for many years " Chater's strain of prize Holly-
hocks " was a feature of the catalogues of the principal
seedsmen. Special varieties were grown under name,
just the same as Roses, Carnations, and Dahlias, and
almost equalled these old favourites in popularity. There
were classes for them at all the principal flower shows,
and the exhibition blooms were truly remarkable, alike
in size, form, and colour.

It was as a garden plant that the Hollyhock was
valuable to the great bulk of flower-lovers. They set
it in groups at the back of large borders. They even
made beds of it. The tall spikes were closely studded
wMth flowers from within two feet of the ground to the
tip, and, leaning gently forward, made a gracious
semblance of bringing their beautiful blooms nearer
to the admiring eyes of the grower.

Cottagers grew the plant, and it did well in their
modest gardens. Those who love to ramble in country
places, examining the village plots as they pass reflectively
along, cannot but heave a sigh of regret that the old-time
pictures are seen no more, even though gay Sweet Peas
and Dahlias enliven the gardens. The Hollyhock seemed
to form an integral part of the cottage. The whitewashed
walls of the dwelling formed a background for it, its crest
touched the low, thatched roof. It stood in soldierly array
at the back of the border wherein the Carnations, Pinks,
Snapdragons, and Monthly Roses grew.

The undoing of the Hollyhock came swiftly in 1873.
A year or two, and its career as a great garden and
exhibition flower was at an end. Its kinship with the
Mallows proved fatal. A destructive fungus burst like

A WELL-BLOOMED HOLLYHOCK.

ON THE HOLLYHOCK 199

a pestilence on the wild Mallows, and spread from them
to the Hollyhocks. Contemporary writers blamed the
railways, pointing out how the wild Mallow established
itself and throve on the embankments, and from thence
distributed its fungoid poison to the Hollyhocks in the
neighbouring gardens. But the railways did not bring
it across the seas. It was first observed in South
America, whence it managed to get across the Pacific
to Australia ; and presently it reached Europe. The
Hollyhock grower will, as a precautionary measure,
destroy any wild Mallows that he sees near his garden,
thereby tacitly acknowledging the wisdom of one of
old Thomas Tusser's ^'Five Hundred Points of Good
Husbandry."

The spores of the fungus are two-celled. Pustules
form on the skin of the leaf, and they are the hyphae
of the fungus bursting through to the surface from
within. The pustules spread rapidly, and the affected
leaf shrivels. The loss of most of its leaves throws the
plant into ill-health, and the flowering is impaired. It
is wise to pull up and burn any diseased plant in the
early stage of the attack, and to spray the remaining
plants immediately with Burgundy mixture, which may
be made by dissolving three pounds of bluestone (sul-
phate of copper) in water in a wooden bucket, three and
three-quarter pounds of washing-soda in another vessel,
adding the two together, and making the total quantity
of water to twenty-five gallons. Smaller quantities of
the mixture can be made, of course, by proportionate
reductions of bluestone, soda, and water. It should be
sprayed on in a fine, dew-like state, so that it adheres ;
if put on through a coarse hose it will run off again
at once. It is useless when the fungus has become
well established on the plants.

200 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

The more thoughtful of the florists were not dis-
posed to put all the blame for the Hollyhock fungus
on the bloated capitalists who perversely insisted on
making railways ; they turned the searchlight on to
their own methods of culture, and were honest enough
to confess that they may have weakened the constitu-
tion of the plant, and thereby predisposed it to disease,
by propagating the plants from cuttings or grafts in
a high temperature. There may have been something
in this, although the fact that the disease attacks wild
plants shows that cultivation is not at the root of it.
However, the impulse to intensive propagation no longer
exists, as there is no particular demand for named
varieties, and consequently more subdued methods pre-
vail, such as division or seed-sowing.

Most Hollyhock growers trust to seed nowadays,
and such of them as buy from seedsmen of standing
get a satisfactory percentage of good varieties, even
though all may not be doubles. Single Hollyhocks are
much inferior to doubles as show flowers, but not so
far behind in garden effect, so that a strain which
includes a small percentage of them need not be con-
demned. The seed can be sown outdoors in May or
June just the same as that of Canterbury Bells; in fact,
the plants may be treated as biennials, being raised from
seed every year, bloomed the following year, and then
cleared away. But if a particularly good variety should
appear among the seedlings it should be preserved, and
it may be kept true by taking cuttings or practising
division. A simple plan of perpetuating a good sort
is to take pieces of the stool in late summer, pot them,
winter them in a frame, and plant them out in spring.
Or young shoots, three or four inches long, may be
taken from the stools when growth starts in spring,

ON THE HOLLYHOCK 201

grafted on to thick pieces of root, tied round and
potted, with soil over the union, and put in a close,
warm frame. When they have rooted to the extent of
filling three-inch pots with roots, they may be planted
out.

Seedling plants should be encouraged to make good
growth by thinning and hoeing in summer, and in
autumn some may be put into small pots and wintered
in a cold frame, the rest being planted out to take their
chance. It is generally acknowledged by Hollyhock
growers that seedlings are stronger and less liable to
disease than plants raised vegetatively, and if fresh
stock is raised at frequent intervals, and put on new
ground, the pleasure derived from Hollyhocks may still
be considerable.

The plants like a deep, fertile soil, but rank manure
is not safe, and the ground had better be prepared in
autumn. It may be dug deeply then, the subsoil being
broken up, and a thick coat of manure laid on it. The
top soil should be left rough and dressed with wood-
ashes and bone flour or superphosphate in February,
just as in the case of Gladioli. The manure will decay,
the ground will become mellow, and the Hollyhocks
will make healthy growth when put out in May. Strong
stakes should be driven in at the time they are planted,
as they will need tying.

The yellow and white fig-leaved Hollyhocks {Althcea
ficifolid) have a widening circle of admirers, and may
be grown in addition to the old kinds. Seed is avail-
able.

XXII

ON THE HONEYSUCKLE

The lover of popular names is in high feather with
Lonicera periclymenuin^ for he has two English names
for it, and both are charming. ^'Honeysuckle" and
'^ Woodbine" are used indiscriminately alike by many
old and modern writers, but Shakespeare perhaps re-
garded the former as belonging to the flower and the
latter to the plant. Note Titania*s injunction in Act iv.
scene i of *' Midsummer Night's Dream " —

" Sleep, then, and I will wind thee in my arms.
So doth the Woodbine the Sweet Honeysuckle gently entwist. . . ."

Some writers boggle at the difficulty of making Wood-
bine and Honeysuckle mean the same plant here. Shake-
speare clearly refers, they declare, to two ; and they
conjecture that by Woodbine he must mean Convolvulus.
They probably base the opinion on Ben Jonson's

figure —

" Behold
How the blue bindwood doth itself enfold
With Honeysuckle, and both these entwine
Themselves with Briony and Jessamine."

Would Shakespeare, however, have spoken of the Bind-
weed as '' luscious " ? Note those other famous lines in
** Midsummer Night's Dream" —

" I know a bank where the wild Thyme blows,
Where Oxlipsand the nodding Violet grows,
Quite over canopied with luscious Woodbine.''

ON THE HONEYSUCKLE 203

It is not impossible, inasmuch as the old form of the
adjective was ^' lustious/' and is derived from lusty. But
if Shakespeare used it in the sense of sweet he could hardly
have alluded to the Convolvulus. In early times writers
referred to several creeping plants as Woodbine. The
name was certainly applied to the wild Clematis and the
Ivy. On the other hand, note Beaumont and Fletcher's

" Woodbines of sweet honey full."

These writers were contemporaries of Shakespeare, and
students of their work associate all three of these men of
genius in ^^ The Two Noble Kinsmen," which appeared
under the names of Beaumont and Fletcher. With the
latter the Woodbine and Honeysuckle were the same, and
it is not impossible that they were also identical in the
mind of Shakespeare. He uses both names in *' Much
Ado about Nothing," Act iii. scene i. In the first case
Hero bids Margaret tell Beatrice —

" Our whole discourse
Is all of her ; say that thou overheard'st us,
And bid her steal into the pleached bower,
Where Honeysuckles, ripened by the sun,
Forbid the sun to enter."

In the second Ursula says —

" The pleasant'st angling is to see the fish
Cut with her golden oars the silver stream,
And greedily devour the treacherous bait ;
So angle we for Beatrice : who even now
Is couched in the woodbine coverture."

These two references are only a few lines apart.

^^ Woodbine " derives from woedeii-binde, which
later is wude-bindey and the name is in allusion to the
habit of the plant. *^ Honeysuckle " certainly comes
from the rich stores of nectar that are sucked from

204 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

it. It may be noted that the perfume is strongest after
sunset, and the flower is fertilised by night moths. Its
sweetness was known to Mistress Quickly, who, in" King
Henry IV.," Part 2, Act ii. scene i, thus apostrophises
Sir John Falstaff: "Ah, thou honeysuckle villain ! Wilt
thou kill God's officers and the king's ? Ah ! thou
honeyseed rogue ! Thou art a honeyseed, a man-
queller, and a woman-queller."

In applying the adjective '* honeysuckle " to the fat
knight Mistress Quickly had in mind, perhaps, the
persuasiveness of his tongue when he was in a mood
to cozen her,

Milton had apparently distinct plants in view when
he referred to Honeysuckle and Woodbine, whatever
may have been the case with Shakespeare, because he
spoke of the *' Flaunting Honeysuckle " and the '* well-
attired Woodbine," thus using two adjectives of quite
different meaning. BuUein, in "The Book of Simples,"
speaks of the " swete and pleasant Woodbine," and of
its friendly embrace of " the bodies, armes, and branches
of trees with his long winding stalkes and tender leaves,
openyng or spreading forthe his swete Lillis."

The embrace of the Woodbine may be " friendly " ;
it is certainly very close. When the Honeysuckle gets
hold it clings tightly, and growers have observed an
association so intimate as to leave its mark on the stem
of the supporting plant. Gardeners will not give it
another plant to cling to, but will plant it to cover rustic
fences, pergolas, arbours, and other erections. It is well
worth planting in gardens, as the flowers are pretty as
well as sweet, and they are followed by red fruit, which
gives it attractiveness in autumn. Often, however, the
winter quarter is near at hand before the plant ceases
blooming. Nominally a summer bloomer, it may flower

Honeysuckle on an arch.

ON THE HONEYSUCKLE 205

on into the autumn. I have a plant growing over a low
rustic fence on thin soil overlying chalk, and as the
position is much swept by cold winds spring growth
and bloom are retarded. It is sometimes flowering
freely in November, despite some very severe autumn
weather.

Lovers of Honeysuckles should not plant in thin soil
over chalk if they have the choice of a better. The plant
thrives best in a deep fertile loam. In such a soil it
becomes established quickly, whereas in poor dry ground
it is a long time before it gets a good hold and really
starts in earnest. If it must be planted in poor ground
it would be worth while to make a " station " for it by
removing a couple of bushels of soil, breaking up the
bottom of the hole, laying on a coat of manure, and
refilling with decayed turves. These would induce the
plant to make good growth the first year. If the roots
received a soaking of water or liquid manure now and
then it would be further assisted.

The fact that the Woodbine is a native of Great
Britain is sufficient proof of its hardiness, but the
sensible grower will not give it a cold site except under
pressure.

Although we speak of the Honeysuckle, there are
many species in cultivation, and the best of them are as
sweet as the old native and finer in bloom. They are
known to botanists under the name of Lonicera (Lon-i-
seer'-a), and this name derived from that of a German
physician named Adam Lonicer, after whom they were
named in compliment. He was a good writer on
plants.

The best garden Honeysuckle is perhaps the plant
known variously as Jlexuosa, brachypoda^ and Japonica
chinensis. Most nurserymen list this splendid plant

2o6 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

under the name of Lonicera flexuosa simply, and although
that name would not satisfy a strict botanist, it may be
accepted as sufficient for garden purposes. The point
is that the gardener must not buy plants under the other
names quoted also and expect them to be different.
This Honeysuckle was introduced from China in 1869,
and soon became a highly popular plant, owing to its
free growth and the profusion, size, and fragrance of its
flowers. It is quite hardy. In addition to its value for
rustic work, it may be made suitable for a house wall
by giving it a framework for support. The flowers are
nominally red and yellow in colour, like those of the
common Honeysuckle, but they are often yellow and
white. Their perfume is delicious.

Another splendid garden Woodbine is the Golden-
netted aureo-recticulata. In some catalogues this is
classed as a species, in others it is included as a variety
of Japonica, which it is. Introduced from Japan in 1862,
it was soon established as a prime favourite in gardens —
a fact that will in no way surprise those who have seen it
well grown. The leaf differs in shape at different stages of
growth, sometimes being a plain ellipse with an unbroken
outline, and at others lobed or cut into divisions. The
colour deepens to red in autumn. One may sometimes
see this Honeysuckle covering an outhouse or a frame
of rustic poles in a small suburban garden, and it is
indubitably a fine amateur's plant. The flowers are
sweet. Like its relatives, it appreciates a substantial
loamy soil.
ii, Lonicera caprifolium is the pale yellow and white wild
Honeysuckle of British hedgerows. It is larger than the
other wilding, periclymemim. There is a red variety of
it. Another yellow British species is Xylosteuvu None
of the natives is much esteemed in gardens, however

ON THE HONEYSUCKLE 207

much they are loved in a state of nature, because it is
recognised that the Eastern forms are finer.

The evergreen and winter-blooming Honeysuckles
are worth attention. The former, which bears scarlet
and yellow flowers in spring, is called Lonicera semper-
virens. It is a North American plant, and not quite
hardy. It is the " trumpet Honeysuckle," and there
are several varieties of it ; they may be tried outside
in warm places. The latter bears white flowers towards
the end of winter, and its perfume has earned it the
attractive name of Fragrantissima. It is a Chinese plant,
and is quite hardy, but it is more suitable for culture
as a bush than as a climbing plant.

The " Dutch Honeysuckle " sold by florists is a
variety of periclymenuniy and so are the Belgian and
Oak-leaved ; but the ^' French Honeysuckle " is not a
Lonicera at all — it is a Hedysaruni.

The Honeysuckles may be propagated by seeds, and
also by cuttings inserted in sandy soil in a frame in
autumn, but the question of propagation need not be
dealt with fully, because it concerns nurserymen, and
they know their business quite well. Honeysuckles are
not plants which the amateur gardener wants to multiply
extensively. His requirements in respect to any par-
ticular kind are limited, as a rule, to two or three plants,
and these he can buy at moderate prices. He will plant
them here and there, in selected places, such as on a
framework of rustic poles somewhere near the house, or
skirting a favourite walk. Or perhaps he will employ
them for that part of his pergola which is nearest to his
favourite garden-seat or summer-house. There, in the
evening, he will read with the perfume of the flowers in
his nostrils. And so will the garden gain new charms.

XXIII

ON HYACINTHS

The Hyacinth is a truly domestic flower, for do we not
grow it in glasses and bowls for the adornment of our
rooms as well as in pots for our greenhouses ? The
village widow loves it, and puts it in tall, slender glasses,
which she stands on the narrow ledge of the window
that she would not open, summer or winter, if she could,
and could not if she would. The odour of Hyacinths
conceals the mustiness of many a cottage parlour in
spring, but for the remainder of the year the latter reigns
supreme, a source of criticism in the drawing-rooms of
the rectory and the hall, but not of vigorous protest to
owners of cottage property, and to ignorant village folk
who love ^'snugness" better than pure air.

The home Hyacinth is an Eastern flower, and is not
native, as those might suppose who think of the wild
Hyacinths. The truth is, that the *' Bluebells," which
grow wild in some districts, and are often called
Hyacinths, are not members of the genus Hyacmthus
at all, but are Scillas, The ^'azur'd Harebell," men-
tioned by Shakespeare in " Cymbeline," is Scilla nutans^
and not Campanula rotundifolia^ the *^ Harebell " of plant
dictionaries.

The full name of the garden Hyacinth is Hyacinthus
orientaiisy or the Eastern Hyacinth. It came from Syria
in 1596, a year which the diligent plant student will lind

203

ON HYACINTHS 209

to have been particularly rich in introductions. The
generic name is mythological. It is that of a beautiful
boy who was killed by Apollo, and from whose blood
the flower sprang. Being of noble birth, he was doubt-
less blue-blooded ; anyway, the Eastern Hyacinth was
blue, although we have many red varieties at the present
day.

When we open an autumn bulb catalogue in these
piping times, we find the names of many dozens of
different varieties of Hyacinths. Some are single,
others double. The colours include light and dark
blue, blush, pink, rose, scarlet, crimson, yellow, lilac,
lavender, mauve, white, and purple. We find, too, the
*' white Roman " Hyacinth, and here is a neat little trap
for the unwary. There is a species of Hyacinthus called
romanus ; it has white flowers ; it came from Italy. What
more natural than to conclude that it is our familiar
'* white Roman " ? One can quite imagine an amateur
growling, "Well, if it isn't, it ought to be, if names
mean anything." In this case names do not go for
much, because the " white Roman " is merely a variety
of the Eastern Hyacinth called albuluSy and has no con-
nection with romanus. The latter is not a very important
plant, but those who are sufHciently interested to turn up
iht Botanical Magazine vj\\\ find an illustration of it there,
t, 939. They will also find a plate of the original Eastern
Hyacinth, which is represented by t. 937. This is of
real interest, as it enables the Hyacinth lover to compare
the old plant with modern forms and note the progress
which has been made.

We have a splendid selection of Hyacinths to choose
from to-day, and we owe most of them to the Dutch,
who, finding their light, sandy soil particularly adapted
to the propagation and culture of the plant, took it up

2IO POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

as a commercial venture. They succeeded so well that
bulb-growing became one of the national industries of
Holland.

In view of the splendid quality of the Hyacinths
grown in this country, it is often suggested that the
industry could be established here with equally good
results. This is doubtful. The best plants grown by
British cultivators are equal to the best of the Dutch,
but it has to be remembered that they came from
developed bulbs. To produce the bulbs is another
matter. Of the great triumvirate of bulbous flowers.
Tulips, Daffodils, and Hyacinths, the two first increase
readily in this country, but Hyacinths do not. The
reproductive systems of the three plants are the same,
in the main — all form fresh bulbs annually ; but the
offspring of Hyacinths is much smaller than that of
Tulips and Daffodils, and much more time is required
to grow them to a saleable size. The largest bulb of a
set of Tulip progeny is nearly, or quite, as big as the
parent. The largest of the Daffodil offsets are big
enough to bloom the year following their formation.
But the offsets of Hyacinths are very small, and several
years are required to get them to a flowering size. The
grower observes them springing from the base of the bulbs
in autumn. Sometimes one will have become as big as a
Scilla bulb, but concave on one side, where it nestles
close to the parent, by November. The offsets should
be picked off before the bulb is put into the soil.

The Dutch growers can develop flowering bulbs more
quickly than we can, and thus have a commercial advan-
tage which enables them to undersell British growers,
but it is not so with Daffodils and Tulips. Consequently,
while we find that the Hyacinth trade remains almost
entirely in the hands of the Dutch, that of Tulips

ON HYACINTHS 211

and Daffodils is shared by the British. If Hyacinths
could be grown on a commercial scale in this country,
it would be in districts where the soil is light, and yet
not far above water. The plants thrive in light soil
provided that they have abundance of moisture, but
not otherwise.

Amateurs, as a whole, are not likely to trouble where
bulbs are grown, provided they are large, sound, and ripe.
Given these conditions, fine ^^ trusses" of bloom will be
had. What is a " large " bulb ? Hyacinths are graded
and sold at different prices. A bulb two and a half inches
through at the thickest part is a ^* first size" bulb, and
will be charged at the highest price for that particular
variety, perhaps twopence, perhaps fourpence, perhaps
sixpence. But a bulb may be less than two inches
through and yet be a " first size." The varieties differ
a good deal in this respect. The yellows are nearly all
small-bulbed. With respect to soundness, an unfailing
test is pressure of the thumb on the flat ring at the base ;
if this is firm, the bulb is sound ; if soft, it is unsound.
Ripeness may be assumed if the bulb is firm and the
outer skin, in addition to being loose, is tinted with a
silvery sheen.

We grow Hyacinths (a) in pots of soil, (3) in glasses
of water, (c) in bowls of peat moss fibre, (d) in the
open garden ; and they do almost equally well in all
if the treatment is correct.

As Pot Pla?tts. — They are beautiful as pot plants, for
the trusses are handsome, the colours are brilliant and
varied, the habit is neat, and the perfume is delicious.
One would hardly grow a block of Hyacinths in a
greenhouse, because it would look flat ; but one would
grow Hyacinths in association with other bulbs and
spring blooming plants. To have them at their best

212 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

we should pot them by the end of October, and use
a fertile compost, such as fibrous loam three parts,
decayed manure and leaf mould one part each, and
sand in a quantity equal to about one-eighth of the
whole. Sand should always be used very liberally for
Dutch bulbs; they practically grow in it at home in
Holland.

Pots four and a half to five and a half inches across
the top, or the size known as forty-eight's, are quite
large enough, even for big bulbs. Large pots are un-
suitable. They hold so much soil that the plants grow
too strongly to flower well, for, singular though it may
seem, it is possible to have leaf at the expense of bloom.
The soil should be moist when used, and it should be
pressed firmly on to the drainage crocks without being
made downright hard. The pot need hardly be more than
half-filled at first. Make a hollow in the centre of the
soil, sprinkle in a little sand, place the bulb in position,
and then fill in soil round it, making it as firm as the
under soil. When the pot is finished the soil should
be an inch below the brim of the pot, and the tip of
the bulb should be exposed to the extent of about half
an inch.

The amateur sometimes complains of bulbs rising
out of the soil, as though thrust upward by their own
roots. That is what actually happens, and it is generally
due to too hard a soil in conjunction with exposure.
The grower must try to strike the happy mean between
hardness and looseness, and he must plunge his pots in
cocoa-nut fibre refuse for six or eight weeks after potting,
heaping the material over them to a depth of four or
five inches. This checks top growth, but not root
action, and the foundation of success is laid in a healthy
root system in advance of stem and leaves. Without

ON HYACINTHS 213

the plunging the reverse holds good, and the plants
do not thrive so well. There is one slight danger in
plunging, and that is that the plants may be forgotten,
but this presupposes a ^'slackness" on the part of the
grower that he is hardly likely to be guilty of. It can
be guarded against by making the entry " Examine
bulbs" in the pocket diary on a date six weeks later
than that of potting. If at the end of the six weeks
top growth has pushed about half an inch, and the
roots have got well down the pot (this can be ascer-
tained without causing any injury by inverting the pot
with the fingers spread across the soil, tapping the rim
on a bench, and lifting the pot right off), the plants
should be withdrawn, if not, they may have another
week or two.

The interval may be shorter in the case of White
Roman Hyacinths, which grow quicker than the others.
Bulbs of this variety can often be bought as early as
July, and certainly in August. Many people like to pot
them in batches from August to October inclusive, in
order to get a succession of bloom. Three bulbs may
go in a forty-eight pot. ^

When Hyacinths of whatever variety are withdrawn
from the plunging material, the proper course is to
put them in a heated but not very hot greenhouse, give
free exposure to light, ventilate in fine weather, and
water as often as the pots ring sharply under the
knuckles. Later on the spike will want tying to a
flower stake. From the time that the colour is seen
in the truss, which will push up before the leaves have
become very far advanced, liquid manure may be given
twice a week. It may consist of any of the patent
fertilisers sold in small tins by florists, or of home
preparations. If the plants are flowering in spring and

214 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

the weather is sunny, they will probably want water
every day. Certainly it is much more easy to under-
water than to overwater Hyacinths in bloom. With
their abundance of thick, fleshy roots they develop a
thirst that is almost as difficult to quench as a cement
worker's, and he, poor fellow, has a very dry job of
it indeed.

In Water. — The success of Hyacinths in water is a
proof of what this simple chemical compound means
to them. They are able to dispense alike with soil and
manure. Perhaps a good bulb does not give quite equal
results in the amateur's glass to those that it yields in
pots under the hands of a skilful gardener, but it pro-
duces a very fine truss all the same. One cannot very
well plunge glass-grown Hyacinths, but the same end
may be gained by putting them in a dark cupboard
until roots have reached the bottom of the receptacles.
It does not seem to matter much whether the base of
the bulb actually touches the water or not, roots push
just the same. Some growers prefer to have the base
just clear of the water, on the ground that there is less
fear of the bulb rotting. The water should be quite
clean, and a couple of small lumps of charcoal should
be put in it. If the water remains clear it need never
be changed, but if it becomes turbid or slimy it had
better be poured away very carefully by tilting the
glass, and a fresh supply put in. The plant should be
kept steady during the operation.

Glass culture is a little more expensive than pot
culture, because there is not only the cost of the glasses,
but also of supports for the spikes ; however, the whole
amount is not very serious. The supports, like the
glasses, can be bought of the bulb dealer. They are
made for the purpose, with a basal ring to encircle the

ON HYACINTHS 215

neck of the glass, and they render the task of '* staking"
very simple. Support is really necessary ; without it
the whole plant would topple over when the truss of
bloom became heavy, and might be quite spoiled by
the crash.

In Bowls. — Hyacinths do very well in bowls of peat
moss fibre, and may be treated as advised for Daffodils
in Chapter XIV.

In Flower Beds. — They have declined somewhat as
garden plants, perhaps, since the rise of Daffodils, but
their day is far from being done. The gardeners in
the public parks still find them indispensable, and
although private growers may not go to the lengths of
the County Council horticulturists, and fill whole beds
with Hyacinths alone, they will continue to use them
in groups both in beds and borders.

Hyacinths give quite different effects from either
Daffodils or Tulips. Their growth is closer and dwarfer.
This, combined with the massiveness of the flower-
heads, renders them a little dumpy, and it is well to
have them surrounded by cushions of white Arabis and
mauve Aubrietia, which not only form a pretty carpet,
but give the Hyacinths an effect of greater height. The
Arabis and Aubrietia are perennials, but they are so
easily and cheaply raised from seed out of doors in
June, that the old plants can be thrown away when the
Hyacinths are taken up.

If many first-size Hyacinths were planted, the cost
would be rather serious, but dealers supply a second
size suitable for the garden. If the soil is fertile and
moist, and the stems are removed directly the flowers
fade, these bulbs will very likely develop and bloom
well again the following year. But they will not do
much good in poor, dry soil after the first year.

2i6 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

Hyacinths are great lovers of water, and do best in
a heavy but friable soil that holds moisture well. Con-
trary to general belief, they thrive splendidly on clay,
provided it is well drained and is reduced to a fine
crumbly state. Some sand may be put around the
bulbs when they are planted in autumn. They may be
set nine inches apart, and covered with three inches
of soil. If the soil is light, poor, and dry, it ought
to be worked deeply, and dressed heavily with decayed
manure.

A few clumps of Hyacinths go far to enliven a
mixed border in spring. The bulbs may be set in
clumps of three to twelve. The following colours go
well together : (i) red, white, and blue ; (2) light blue
and yellow ; (3) light blue and rose ; (4) pink, blue, and
yellow; (5) mauve, red, and white. The same colours
could be arranged in beds.

Town and suburban gardeners will find the Hyacinth
a good plant for them, and they may mix it in their
beds, if they like, with the Chalice-flowered or Star
Daffodils (see Chapter XIV.), which are generally in
bloom at the same time. Country amateurs may space
the Hyacinths out, and give the bed a groundwork of
coloured Primroses and Polyanthuses (see Chapter
XXXI.). The Hyacinths will go out of bloom before
the Primroses, but they will not spoil the bed if the
stems are broken off directly the flowers fade. Nothing
is much uglier than a batch of Hyacinths with the
flower trusses brown. Pale blue Hyacinths look charm-
ing amid Primroses.

The ** Grape Hyacinths" {Muscari) should not escape
the attention of the bulb lover, as they are charming
little plants, and thrive on banks or rockeries. The
ordinary dark blue only costs is. 6d. to 2s. per 100.

ON HYACINTHS

217

A clump might be established here and there near the
front of the border, the bulbs being set four inches
apart and an inch deep ; and if they take to the
quarters — as they will if the soil is moist and cool —
they will propagate themselves, and bloom brightly year
after year in April. The flowers have an odour of
musk.

Hyacinthus Candicans, — A plant of great beauty which
is allied to the Hyacinths is Hyacinthus (sometimes
called Galtonid) candicans. It has large expanded white
flowers on a long, arching stem, and they appear in
August. This splendid plant costs no more than about
one shilling per dozen bulbs, and a clump of it in the
border, preferably near some brilliant plant of corre-
sponding habit, such as Gladiolus Brenchleyensis (see
Chapter XX.), is very striking. It may be planted three
inches deep in fertile friable soil in autumn.

The following are beautiful Hyacinths : —

Variety.

Baroness van Tuyll
Cardinal Wiseman
Gigantea
Grand Maitre
Isabella ,
Jacques .
King of the Blues
La Grandesse
Ornament Rose
Roi des Beiges
Queen of the Blues
Yellow Hammer .

Colour.

White
Rose
Pink

Medium blue
Blush
Pale pink
Dark blue
White
Blush
Dark red
Light blue
Yellow

Single or Double

Single.

Double.

Single,

Single.

XXIV

ON IRISES

Few of the popular flowers of our gardens give us such
diversity of growth and such richly painted flowers as
the Iris. Fewer still include in their ranks species difl^ering
so greatly in their habitat, tastes, and season of blooming.
Its remarkable beauty makes the Iris one of the finest
of garden plants, and its catholicity gives it exceptional
interest.

Flower-lovers of all degrees should make the Iris one
of their principal plants. Considered collectively, it has
almost every merit which they could ask for in a garden
plant. It is hardy (except in the case of one or two
small sections, to which special reference shall be made),
and so may pass the whole of its life in the open air.

Soil. — It is not particular as to soil. Like most plants,
it loves a deep, fertile loam, but it will thrive either in
heavy or light land. This more particularly applies, as
we shall see presently, to the magnificent^* Flag" Irises,
which give such beauty and character to the border in
May and June. But most of the Irises will succeed in
the ordinary soil of gardens to which good garden
culture (deep digging and manuring) has been given.

A Good Town Plant. — It is almost as good in town as
in country gardens when the soil is treated liberally.
This naturally attracts suburban gardeners, who may be
advised to make the Iris one of their principal plants.

3X8

ON IRISES 219

Propagation. — It is easily propagated by division or
offsets. Irises have more than a mere set of fibres as
a root-stock. They either have a rhizome (which is a
thick, tough, root-Hke stem, just under or at the surface
of the ground, pushing fibres from its under side and
leaves from the upper) or a bulb. The rhizomatous
Irises include the " Flags," the bulbs include the English
and Spanish. It is hard to say which of the two great
sections, the rhizomatous or the bulbous, is the more
important. Most Iris lovers take care to have the best
of each. The clusters of rhizomes may be separated
when they get crowded, and individual ones may even
be cut through if desired. This work is best done in
early autumn. It is wise to practise it, in any case,
every third year, as this gives an opportunity of simul-
taneously increasing the number of plants and improving
the soil. When rhizomes are planted, they should be
just covered with soil. There will be leaves attached,
for the ^' Flag " Irises are evergreens, but that will not
matter. The bulbous Irises are increased by offsets,
which grow round the parent bulb. It is not necessary
to take them up every year, but they may be lifted in
the early autumn of every third or fourth year, the
clumps divided, and replanted in fresh soil.

Cheapness. — The Iris is a cheap plant, if we limit it to
the German (or other popular '* Flags "), the Spanish,
and the English. The first may cost is. 6d. to 2s. 6d.
per dozen in mixtures ; the second about 3s. per 100 ;
the third about is. 6d. per 100. A dozen *^Flag" Irises,
planted at intervals of a few feet, will be enough for
many borders, and 100 bulbous Irises, planted in threes,
will give thirty-three nice clumps, and leave an odd
bulb for the children's garden. The question is whether
the genus can be so limited and still remain well

2 20 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

represented in gardens ? As to this, there are no finer
Irises than the German, English, and Spanish. The first
flower in May, the second and third in June or July, but
the English are generally about a fortnight later than
the Spanish. The bulbous Irises love a friable, well-
drained soil. The bulbs may be planted in autumn and
covered with two or three inches of soil. They may be
set about nine inches apart in their clumps.

^* Flag^' Irises. — In size of flower and beauty of
colouring the Irises are excelled by very few. The
** Flags " are particularly fine. Strong clumps produce
a mass of slender, sword-shaped leaves, and throw up
flower-stems a yard high, surmounted by magnificent
flowers. In many of them the upright petals, which are
called '* standards," differ in colour from the drooping
ones, which are called '^ falls." Most have a yellow or
orange beard, and many have a golden crest. Every
amateur gardener, whether he practise in town or
country, should have at least half-a-dozen good, tall
'' Flag " Irises. The vigour of the plants will delight
him, the beauty of the flowers will win his heart. From
them he may, if he wish, proceed to make a collection of
all the best sorts, many of which are fragrant.

The Iris has a prominent place in literature. It is
almost certain the Flower-de-luce of Shakespeare.
True, in a passage from the *' Winter's Tale," Act iv.
scene 4, which I have quoted under Dafl^odils, the bard
makes Perdita, who speaks so much of flowers, refer to —

" Lilies of all kinds,
The Flower-de-luce being one."

This might be thought to convey that the Flower-de-luce
was a Lily and not an Iris, but it is not absolutely con-
vincing, for old writers classed the Iris with the Lily

—t^^^

ON IRISES 221

order. Shakespeare made several references to the
Flower-de-luce as the cognisance of France in *' King
Henry V." and '* King Henry VI./' but that does not settle
the question as between Iris and Lily, for authorities
differ sharply as to which flower (if it was really meant
for a flower at all) the Gallic arms bore. Was the
Flower-de-luce the " Flower of St. Louis " ? or was it
the " Fleur-de-delices " (it was spelled sometimes ^' Fleur-
de-lys " and sometimes *^ Fleur-de-lis ") ? In either of
these cases it might still have been either Iris or Lily.
If Shakespeare's Flower-de-luce was the same flower as
St. Francis de Sales wrote of, it was certainly the white
Lily, for ^' the six leaves (petals) whiter than snow "
and " the pretty little golden hammers (anthers) in the
middle " do not belong to the Iris.

We lean to the belief that the Flower-de-luce was a
Lily when we read the foregoing words, and we are
pushed further in the same direction by Chaucer's
" Her necke was white as the Fleur-de-lis."

But other writers of the Middle Ages, including literary
men such as Bacon, Drayton, Jonson, and Spenser,
and botanists like Gerard and Parkinson, all wrote of
the Lily and the Flower-de-luce as distinct. Thus
Jonson's

" Bring rich Carnations, Flower-de-luces, Lillies."

And Bacon's

" Flower-de-luces and Lilies of all Natures."

Spenser, in the ^' Shepherd's Calendar," is not the least
definite —

" Strow mee the grounde with Daffadown-Dillies,
And Cowslips, and Kingcups, and loved Lillies ;
The pretty Pawnee
And the Chevisaunce
Shall match with the fayre Flowre Delice."

222 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

While we cannot escape controversy if we decide
that the Iris is the Flower-de-luce, we have considerable
weight of evidence to support us.

Iris, the mythological daughter of Thaumas and
Electra, and messenger to Juno, travelled from heaven
to earth along the rainbow, which is called Iris in Greek.
The bow and the colours are seen in the iris of the
human eye, and so the plant has derived its name from
the diversity and beauty of its flowers.

Native Irises, — The Iris is a very old plant in British
gardens, and two species are natives. These are the
Yellow Flag, Iris pseudacorus, and the Stinking
Gladwyn or Gladdon, Iris fcetidissima. The Snake's-
head Iris is naturalised in a few places. The Yellow
Flag grows wild in shallow water almost all over
England, Ireland, and the Channel Islands. It blooms
late in May and early in June, and grows about three
feet high. Shakespeare probably knew this fine old
plant quite well, and had it in his mind when he put
the following lines into the mouth of Caesar : —

" It has been taught us from the primal state,
That he which is was wish'd until he were ;
And the ebb'd man, ne'er loved till ne'er worth love,
Comes dear'd by being lack'd. This common body,
Like to a vagabond flag upon the stream,
Goes to and back, lackeying the varying tide
To rob itself with motion."

Iris pseudo-acorus (or pseudacoruSy as now com-
pounded) was probably this '^ vagabond flag upon the
stream," and our interest in the flower is strengthened
by the splendid figure which these noble words form.

The Gladwyn also grows wild almost all over Eng-
land, and is naturalised in Scotland, Ireland, and the
Channel Islands. It frequents copses, and blooms early

ON IRISES 223

in June. The flowers are bluish purple, a little over two
inches across, and the stem rises from a foot to two feet
high. It is not particularly attractive when in bloom,
and the odour is so disagreeable that one's first impulse
is to uproot it ; but the scarlet berries that follow the
flowers are ornamental, and come in useful for Christmas
decoration.

The Snake s-head Iris y with its greenish and blue-black
flowers, is not recognised as a native, and botanical
records tell us that it was introduced from the Levant
in 1597. This date makes it a tolerably old plant, and it
has been found wild near Penzance and Cork. It blooms
in March, and the flowers are about two inches across.
The plant grows nine inches high, and has only one
flower on a stem. It is illustrated in the Botanical
Magazine^ t, 531. And here the numerous coloured
plates of Irises in the great plant publication may be
pointed to as evidence of the interest which has always
been taken in the Iris genus by both botanists and
gardeners. A large number of the best species are
illustrated in the work. It is expensive, and I may not
assume that it is in the possession of many amateurs ;
nevertheless, I will give the references to the coloured
plates in cases where the various species which I propose
to name have been illustrated, as flower-lovers may like
to refer to the Botanical Magazine in some of the large
libraries to which they have access.

The best Species of Iris, — There are many extremely
beautiful species of Iris, and from some of them we have
obtained our modern varieties of Flags, also of English
and Spanish. I will pass the principal members of the
genus in review, for the benefit of those readers who may
like to form a collection. The winged Iris {alata) is a
bulbous species, which produces blue flowers in June,

2 24 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

and grows only about six inches high. It is cheap,
pretty, easily grown, and has several varieties. Bakeriatia^
lilac, cream, and violet, a comparatively new species,
having been introduced as recently as 1889 from Armenia,
is a beautiful little plant, and may be grown on the
rockery. It is illustrated in the Botanical Magazine ^
t. 7084. Amcena, with blue flowers in May, and aphylla of
gardens (plicata)^ white and blue, have many varieties,
and have given us some fine Flags (see end). Biflora^
growing about eighteen inches high, and bearing purple
flowers in June, is worth growing in a representative
collection of Irises, although it is not one of the most
important species.

A pretty modern '^ Cushion " species, introduced from
Lebanon in 1892, is Bismarckiana, It grows about fifteen
inches high, and has bluish grey veined flowers. Cristata^
on the other hand, is a very old species, having been
known in British gardens since 1756. It only grows
about six inches high, and produces blue flowers in June.
A charming little species, /. cristatay is figured in the
Botanical Magazine, t. 412. DanfordicB, also grown
under the name of Bormnulleri^ is a dwarf, yellow,
winter-blooming bulbous species, introduced in 1899.
FlavescenSy pale yellow, sweet, blooms in early summer.
The Florence Iris, florentina, introduced from Southern
Europe in 1596, is a handsome plant, and is interesting
as yielding the Orris root, or Orrice. This, with its
odour of Violets, is used to scent powders ; and the
French peasantry string pieces of dried root together,
pour boiling water on them, and immerse their bed linen
in the liquid in order to give it a pleasant odour. After
use the roots are re-dried and stored for use on future
occasions, care being taken that they are not eaten,
as Irises are poisonous, Gatesii is a beautiful silvery

ON IRISES 225

'' Cushion " species dotted with grey, and was introduced
from Armenia in 1889. It only grows about three inches
high, and blooms in June.

The German Iris. — Proceeding with the species in
alphabetical order, we come to gerinanicuy the great
German Iris, a blue-flowered species growing two to
three feet high, flowering in May and June. This grand
old plant, which was introduced as long ago as 1573, is
illustrated in the Botanical Magazine^ t. 670. There are
many varieties of it, differing in colour from the type.
The German Iris will grow almost anywhere, and is one

'/ of the finest of town plants. Smoke and impure air may
check its luxuriance, but are rarely able to kill it. The

1^ root is not a bulb but a rhizome, and the plant is much
less severely affected by dry soil than most bulbous
plants. See the names of some fine German Flag Irises
on page 230.

The Actor Iris {histrio), which grows about a foot
high, is a modern bulbous species with lilac and yellow
flowers, a pretty plant, and much in demand among
Iris-lovers. Iberica^ lilac and brownish red, with purple
blotches, is a cushion Iris, growing about eighteen inches
high and flov/ering in May.

Japanese Irises. — Kaempferi and laevigata are the now
famous Japanese Irises which gardeners call Clematis-
flowered and plant in moist places. They are magnificent
plants, producing large, flattish flowers, painted in the
richest manner with a large variety of colours. The
type, laevigatay is blue, and came from the Far East in
1836. It flowers in early summer. A coloured plate of
it will be found in the Botanical Magazine, t. 6132.
Kaempferi is perhaps synonymous with it, or possibly a
variety.

Korolkowij growing a foot high, and bearing white or

226 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

yellowish flowers veined with green in early summer, is
a comparatively young species with us, and is one of the
most esteemed of the Cushion section. It is one of the
'* Regelia " Irises of the bulb catalogues, and was intro-
duced from Turkestan, a region of Central Asia, in 1874.
Another Regelia is vaga, purple, blue, and yellow, which
also comes from Turkestan. These Regelia Irises have
been crossed with large-flowered Cushion Irises (techni-
cally classed as the Oncocylus section), and the hybrids
are called the Onco-regelia section, the class names of the
plants having been compounded. The flowers are netted
on a blue, white, or rose ground. The hybrids are quite
new, having been first exhibited in the early part of the
present century. Several received awards from the
Royal Horticultural Society in 1904. They are expensive
as yet, and may be left to Iris specialists. They like a
warm position, and light, well-drained soil.

Another pretty member of the Cushion class is
Lortetii^ which was introduced from Armenia in 1890.
It has creamy flowers marked with rose. Another
Cushion is the Wolf's Fur Iris, lupina, which has
greenish flowers veined with red and bearded heavily.
It w^as introduced from Kharput in 1887. Neglecta, two
feet high, with pale blue or lilac flowers in May, /. 2435
in the Botanical Magazine^ is a good rhizomatous Iris,
and there are several charming varieties of it. Pallida
is also a tall *' Flag " Iris, and has many varieties.
Nigricans^ maroon and purple, is a very dark cushion
Iris.

We get back to the bulbous Irises again with
orchioidcs, a dwarf grower, with yellow flowers, in April.
It is a new species, as Irises go, having been introduced
in 1880. See the Botanical Magazine^ t. 71 11. Persica
and reticulata also belong to this section. The former,

<
'■J

2
S

ON IRISES 227

which grows barely six inches high, bears bhie and
yellow flowers in early spring. It appears in the
Botanical Magazine^ t, i. It is a very old plant, but is
still esteemed by amateurs, and so are its varieties, of
which Heldreichii, lavender, violet, and yellow, is one of
the best. Reticulata is a lovely Iris, having violet
flowers crested with yellow, and is scented with the
odour of Violets. It grows about six inches high, and
blooms in winter. It is best grown in pots in a cold
frame. Krelagei is a variety of it which is much grown,
although it is not so bright as reticulata and lacks
perfume.

Harking back a little, we find the pretty cushion
Iris, paradoxay the white flowers of which are veined
with blue and furnished with a crimson beard. It is a
very old plant, and has many varieties. Rosenbachiana is
a bulbous Iris, with blue and yellow flowers, which appear
in March.

The old blue Siberian Iris, sibirica^ is a good species,
which I find one of the best of the genus on chalk,
although it is reputedly a strong-soil plant. The flowers
are not large, but they are borne in great abundance on
a healthy clump, and rise nearly three feet above the
ground. It is a rhizomatous species, and the root forms
a thick mass when established. It is not wise to disturb
it frequently. There are several varieties of it, notably
a white. Sindjarensis is a bulbous Iris bearing lilac
flowers in February or March. It is a very pretty
plant, and a plate of it appears in the Botanical
Magazine^ t. 7145. Sisyrinchium is also a bulb. It
grows about nine inches high, and bears lilac flowers,
spotted with yellow, in April. It is given in the
Botanical Magazine^ tt. 1407, 1696. Squalens, an old
rhizomatous species, introduced in 1768, grows from

228 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

two to three feet high, and bears purplish flowers,
bearded yellow, in early summer. It is elder-scented.
See the Botanical Magazine^ t. 787. There are several
fine varieties of it.

One of the most remarkable of all Irises is the
Cushion species, Susiana, which is called the Mourning
Iris, in allusion to the swarthy hue of its flowers.
Although a very old plant in British gardens, it is still
grown with interest. The flowers are brownish black,
dotted with lilac. See the Botanical MagaziitCy t, 91.
Tubergeniana, a Cushion species, is a pretty modern
Iris, with green and blue flowers. Unguicularis^ also
grown under the name of stylosa^ is a winter bloomer,
growing about two feet high, and bearing lilac flowers.
It is an oldish plant, and has many varieties. Urmiensis
is a Cushion, growing from six to twelve inches high, and
with fragrant yellow flowers. Variegata is a very old
species, growing about eighteen inches high, and having
brownish flowers with a yellow beard. See the Botanical
Magazine, t. 16. There are several varieties of it.
Vartani is bulbous, and bears lilac, yellow-crested
flowers in autumn or winter. It was introduced from
Palestine in 1885. Versicolor^ an old claret-coloured
species, growing about a foot high, flowers in May and
June. See the Botanical Magazine^ t. 21. Virescens^
growing a foot high, bears greenish flowers in May.

Two famous Irises are hidden away, so far as
unversed amateurs are concerned, in the names
Xiphioides and Xiphium, The former is the popular
English Iris, and the latter the equally popular Spanish.
Both are bulbous. Growing about two feet high, thriv-
ing in most soils, very cheap, and having a great number
of beautiful varieties, which bloom in early summer,
they are invaluable plants. The English Iris is figured

ON IRISES 229

in t. 687 of the Botanical Magazine^ and the Spanish in
/. 686. Both have been grown in British gardens for
more than three hundred years.

When the amateur has made himself acquainted with
a few of the popular Irises, he will probably want to
extend his knowledge of the genus, and may even go as
far as to have an Iris garden. Arrived at this stage, he
will no longer shrink with awe from such a list of species
as I have given, but will study it eagerly, and even want
detailed information about the various classes.

F'irst, perhaps, he will study the Flag Irises, and he
will find that these are divided into two sections, the
bearded and the beardless. The former is much the
more important, and is sub-divided into tall and dwarf.
The following are the principal tall species : —

Tall^ Bearded Flag

Irises.

Amcena.

Neglecta.

Aphylla (Plicata).

Pallida.

Flavescens.

Squalens.

Florentina.

Variegata.

Germanica.

The tall, bearded Irises are very popular, and there
are many varieties of all of them ^y.Qo^'^i flavescens and
florentina. They bloom in May and June, and are dis-
tinguished by having large, upright petals ('^ standards ")
and long, drooping petals (*^ falls "). The former are
often mottled, and the latter veined ; the beards are
yellow or orange. The flowers are scented. Here are
selections of good sorts : —

Arncena.

Calypso, white, blue veins.

Due de Nemours, purple and white.

2 30 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

Aphylla.

Bridesmaid, lilac and white.
I Madame Chereau, white, frilled blue, exquisite.

Germanica.
Alba, white. j Kharput, violet.

Neglecta,

Cordelia, " standards " lilac, " falls " crimson.
Hannibal, lavender and purple.

Pallida.
Dalmatica, lavender.
Princess Beatrice, lavender.

Squalens.

Harrison Weir, "standards" bronze, "falls" crimson.
Mozart, bronze, white veins.

Variegata.
b Gracchus, crimson, white veins.

The foregoing are not expensive varieties.

Tally Beardless ^'^ Flag'" Irises.

The following are a few of the best tall, beardless
Flag Irises : —

Cristata, described previously.

Japonica (fimbriata), lavender, yellow crest.

Monnieri, yellow, very strong.

Monspur, a hybrid between Monnieri and Spuria, violet,

yellow spots.
Orientalis (ochroleuca), previously described.

„ Snowflake, a good white variety.
Sibirica, previously described.

„ alba grandiflora is a fine white variety.

„ George Wallace, a good blue and white.

ON IRISES 231

Spuria Notha, violet, blue, and yellow.

Unguicularis (stylosa), previously described. There is a
white variety, also a good lilac.

These winter-blooming Irises are charming for
cutting. All of them are good for the border and
thrive in ordinary soil.

Dwarf Bearded Irises.

The dwarf bearded or hybrid Crimean Irises are
pretty at the front of borders and on the rockery. The
following are a few of the best : —

Balceng hybrids, several, of various colours.
Biflora, previously described, and its varieties.
Chamaeiris, violet, and its varieties.
Lutescens, yellow, and its varieties.
Pumila, previously described, and its varieties.

The Cushion Irises are not so hardy as the Flags,
and require a warm situation. They are best planted at
midwinter and covered with heather till spring. After
the leaves have withered they may be lifted and ripened
in a dry, sunny place.

This survey of the genus Iris may strike the beginner
as voluminous, but in reality it is brief and condensed.
The fact is, the flower is one on which it would be easier
to write a whole book than it is to write a chapter ; and
special works on the Iris actually exist.

The Iris is a most varied, most fascinating flower.
It wins all hearts with its wonderful beauty and the
generous nature which adapts it to almost all circum-
stances. It is everybody's flower, and will live for ever.

XXV

ON THE JASMINE

With pretty flowerS; vigorous growth, and, in the
case of most species, perfume to recommend them,
the Jasmines are in the way for being prime garden
favourites ; but all are not hardy — indeed the majority
have to be grown under glass. It would almost seem
as though some of the botanists wanted to make
Jasmines greenhouse rather than garden flowers, because
they are not satisfied with the known tender species,
but even claim our old favourite the winter-flowering
nudiflorum as an indoor plant. This cannot be per-
mitted. It might be possible to point to cases of the
plant being killed by frost (although I have never known
one), but it is quite certain that scores of others could
be quoted in which it has passed many years in the
open air, and remained unscathed by severe frost.

The popular and botanical names of the Jasmine
are very similar. All we have to do is to remove the
final '*e" of the garden name, and add "um" to be
as frigidly accurate as any dictionary. The derivation
of the name is not difficult to trace. Behind the English
Jasmine we have the French Jasmin, behind the latter
the Arabic Ysmyn and the Persian Yasmin or J^semin.
The pronunciation is Jaz-my'-num.

It is too old a plant to have been named after the

illustrious ^'Jasmin," the barber poet of Provence, for

333

ON THE JASMINE 233

Jacques B06 was born in 1798; and the Jasmine has
been known in British gardens since 1548. '^Jasmin/'
indeed, borrowed his nont de guerre from the plant, and
sang his connection with the ''stem of Jesse." Our
flower is often the '' Jessamine," and sometimes even the
"Jesse."

The Jasmine does not seem to have attracted the
attention of Shakespeare, which is somewhat surprising,
for it would be known in his day. Gerard refers to
it as in general use for covering arbours, and Shake-
speare knew plants well, as almost every play of his
teaches us. But Spenser alluded to it, and later poets,
such as Cowper and Moore, gladly wove it into their
mellifluous verse. The former gave a striking portrait
of the flower in the lines —

" The Jasmine, throwing wide her elegant sweets,
The deep dark green of whose unvarnished leaf
Makes more conspicuous, and illumines more
The bright profusion of her scattered stars."

Moore, with lighter touch, deftly conveys a charming
picture of childish innocence and rural beauty —

" When, o'er the Vale of Balbec winging
Slowly, she sees a child at play,
Among the rosy wild flow'rs singing,
As rosy and as wild as they :
Chasing, with eager hands and eyes.
The beautiful blue damsel-flies,
That fluttered round the Jasmine stems,
Like winged flow'rs or flying gems,"

The sweet white Jasmine is known to botanists as
Jasminum officinale, and they tell us that it came from
the East Indies. Further, they give us — and we are
grateful to them for it — a coloured plate of the flower
in the Botanical Magazine, t. 31. Neither in examining

234 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

the illustration nor in looking at the plant in the garden
should we describe it as a striking rambler. At its best
it is a modest plant, with no size of bloom or brilliance
of colour to recommend it. But when well managed
it is pretty, and its perfume is all-convincing. We
could almost tolerate ugliness in a flower so long as
it possessed the delicious odour of the old white Jasmine.
Because of this odour we put the plant on our summer-
houses, or in other places where we walk or sit
frequently, so that we may have it near us for at least
a part of every day.

In spite of its odour, the Jasmine has probably
receded in public favour during recent years, having
given place to the pushful Mountain Clematis. The
latter is not scented, but it is a vigorous grower, takes
care of itself when once started, flowers abundantly,
and has a generally bright, happy, cheerful appearance.
The Jasmine wants rather more attention, and attention
is just what it does not get, as a rule. It is put into
poor soil, never pruned, and rarely watered. The
result is that it is often shabby and droopy. Those
who set out to grow it should give it a fair chance
of showing what is in it. They should give it a bushel
of prepared soil, and plant it early in spring, before the
hot weather has come on. If it is growing on a hot
wall, they should give it a good soaking of water once
a week or oftener, and a pailful of liquid manure now
and then. A douche with a syringe on the evenings of
hot days will freshen it. With respect to pruning, while
no regular course of cutting back or spurring in is
necessary, the plant should not be allowed to become
a tangle of weak shoots. Where there is much crossing
and crowding, the pruning knife should be brought into
play, and a vigorous thinning resorted to.

ON THE JASMINE 235

There are variegated-leaved forms of the white
Jasmine, which may be grown instead of the green-
leaved if desired.

Town gardeners should not overlook this sweet
flower, for it will thrive in their gardens quite as well
as the Mountain Clematis if it is treated liberally. In
dry seasons the flowers, which are generally borne in
July, are often followed by a crop of round dark
berries, about as large as Peas.

Two hardy Jasmines which are not grown frequently
2LVt fruticans and humile. Both are of shrubby habit, and
grow about three feet high. They are not without
interest, but I would not urge them on the attention
of flower-lovers whose gardens are too small to accom-
modate a large collection of plants — certainly not if
their culture meant the exclusion of the yellow winter
bloomer nudiflorum. This cheap, easily grown, and most
useful plant was introduced from China in 1844. I^
was sent home by the celebrated plant collector, Robert
Fortune, who travelled for the Royal Horticultural
Society from 1843 to 1846. It is illustrated in the
Botanical MagazinCy t, 4649. We can speak of it as the
winter Jasmine correctly, for it always blooms in the
winter. The amount of shelter which it receives affects
the flowering to some extent, naturally, but the amateur
need not, because of this, despair because he cannot find
a snug corner or a warm aspect, for in mild spells it
will flower almost anywhere. It will, indeed, bloom in
bursts from week to week, and a hard spell of frost will
be needed to keep it out of flower for long.

The winter Jasmine is semi-shrubby, but although in
no sense a ^'climber," a "creeper," or even a rambler,
it does best against some kind of support. It may be
grown against a pillar, an arch, or a wall. In good soil

236 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

it will probably grow about five feet high. It is not an
evergreen; consequently the flowers have no backing
save those of the stems, but these are of a rich dark
green. The leaves come in spring. The specific name
derives from the fact that the plant blooms when devoid
of leaves.

The winter Jasmine is a good town plant, and will
grow in ordinary soil ; but, like most other things, it
appreciates fertile ground. Beyond tying or nailing it
to its support it will require very little treatment, as
much pruning is objectionable. It suffices to cut out
some of the older wood when the plant gets crowded.

Several other species of Jasmine are pretty and
sweet, notably grandiflorumy which is larger than the
white Jasmine ; odoratissimum, very fragrant ; gracil-
limuniy white, illustrated in the Botanical Magazine^
t, 6559 ; revohitmUy yellow [Botanical Magazine ^ t, 1731) ;
and Sambac, white flowers followed by black berries,
the species from which oil of Jasmine is obtained : but
these are greenhouse plants. The last three are ever-
greens.

It is as a garden plant that the sweet Jessamine
appeals to most of us, and we ought to grow it better
than we often do, thereby insuring it the place in our
gardens which it now seems doomed to lose.

XXVI

ON PERENNIAL LARKSPURS OR DELPHINIUMS

The name Larkspur is one of the oldest of popular
garden terms, and it is a tribute to the power of the
hardy plant movement that we flower-lovers are taking
to the botanical name, Delphinium^ so readily. The
rough-and-ready classification of the garden is that
the annual form is the Larkspur and the perennial the
Delphinium. As a matter of fact, all Larkspurs are
Delphiniums, but the distinction w^ill serve. The exten-
sion of borders for herbaceous plants has led to a
demand for perennial Delphiniums on account of their
tall growth and beautiful spikes of blue flowers, and
people seem quite content to know them by their
botanical name.

Delphinium (pronunciation Del-fin'-i-um) is formed,
according to the usually accurate Chambers, from the
Greek Delphinion, Larkspur ; and Larkspur is ^'so called
from the spur formation of calyx and petals." He
takes us back to the Middle-English laverock^ the
Anglo-Saxon lawerce, and the German lerche. But
botanists trace Delphinium to delphitiy a dolphin, from
a supposed likeness of the spur to a dolphin's head.

Larkspur is not the popular form of the name, for

the Delphinium has many garden names. Larks' heels,

Larksclaw, and Larkstoes are others ; and the first of

these was used by Shakespeare, if we may credit him

with the introductory song to Beaumont and Fletcher's

237

238 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

pla}^, *' The Two Noble Kinsmen," where the phrase
" Larks' heels trim " appears.

The annual Larkspur may be claimed fairly as a
British plant, because it would seem to have derived
from the two species ajacis and consolida. We are
told that the former was introduced from Switzerland
in 1573, but it is naturalised in Cambridgeshire, accord-
ing to Mr. Thomas Fox. With respect to the other
species, it is a true native. Both flower in a wild state
in June. There are no wild perennial forms.

The perennial herbaceous Larkspur which all classes
agree to call Delphiniums have sprung from the three
blue Siberian species, cheilanthum, elatum^ and grandi-
fiorumy the blue Italian s^tcits per egrinum^ and the blue
garden hybrid formosum. These have been crossed,
and the progeny intercrossed, by Kelway and other well-
known modern fiorists, to an extent that it would be
difficult even to guess at. The varieties so produced
have been given distinguishing names, and they have
raised the plant to a position of high importance in
modern gardening. Delphiniums play a part, indeed,
that few other plants are fitted to fill. Their growth
is so vigorous, their spikes so tall, that they make noble
pictures in themselves ; and those amateurs who con-
sider that the most striking form of flower gardening
is to make a few bold groups of selected plants, seize
on the Delphinium as peculiarly a plant for their
purpose. The interest of the perennial Larkspur does
not lie wholly in its flow^ers, for the leaves are distinct
and handsome. Kelway likens them, not inaptly,
to those of the Acanthus, or Bear's Breech, a plant
whose foliage is said to have suggested the Corinthian
style of architecture. The leaves are broad and deeply
cut, and are set on strong, whitish flower-stems.

ON PERENNIAL LARKSPURS 239

Propagation. — The root-stock is thick and fleshy, the
roots differing entirely from fibrous things Hke Michael-
mas Daisies. They resemble the large, succulent roots
of the " Bleeding Heart," Dielytra (or, with modern
botanists, Dicentra) spectabilis. Somehow, the amateur
shrinks from dividing root-stocks thus composed much
more seriously than he does from dealing with stools
that consist of a thick network of fine fibres ; but should
he be standing with poised spade, hesitating and doubt-
ful, he may be encouraged to strike home boldly, provided
his clumps are strong, and are furnished with distinct
*' crowns " or growing points.

Soil. — As bought from the nursery, in the first place,
the root-stocks are not, as a rule, ripe for division. They
consist generally of single ^' crowns " with a few strong
roots attached, and the amateur is not to split them up,
but, on the contrary, so to treat them as to get them a
good deal larger. With this object in view, he should
plant them some time between November and April
(both months inclusive) in soil that he has prepared
for them. The extent of the preparation may depend,
to some extent, on the character of the ground. Deep,
moist, ^* holding " soil is eminently qualified to give fine
Delphiniums, but the site ought not to be low and un-
drained, as they do not care for stagnant ground in
winter. Given drainage, and pulverisation to a depth of
eighteen inches or two feet, heavy clay will grow Del-
phiniums to perfection. The bottom soil ought to be
broken up when the ground is fairly dry in winter. If
the top soil breaks up in a very lumpy state, a coat of
decayed stable manure may be spread on it and left for
a few weeks. This, in conjunction with the spring rains,
will soften the surface, and it will crumble down into a
friable state by spring. I have had most encouraging

240 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

results with Delphiniums on heavy land by following
this course.

A later experience with light, fibreless land overlying
chalk taught me the full value of deep clay. At the
same time, it taught me that the perennial Larkspurs
can be made to thrive on poor, thin ground. The course
to pursue is to break up the chalk and cover it with
green refuse, then to dig the surface soil to the last
fraction of an inch, and interlard it with rich decayed
manure from a stable or farm-yard. It is a good plan
to do this in autumn, and add a light dressing of manure
in spring, in the form of a mulching over the soil when
the plants have been put in. The owner of light, shallow
ground is favoured, so far as his plants are concerned, if
a wet summer follows the planting. If not, let him give
good soakings of water and liquid manure now and

agam.

The Delphinium is a poor, ineffective plant when
badly grown ; in fact, it is almost unsightly, as the
foliage becomes flabby and dingy, the spikes are small,
and the flowers are soon over. In such a state it is not
worth the space that it occupies. We must remember
that the Delphinium is an early blooming plant, and we
can only have it in flower all the summer by giving good
treatment and cutting it back after blooming.

At its best it has no rival, for there is no plant of the
same character. It gives us the coveted colour blue, and
gives it generously. It gives us blues as shining as Salvias,
others as dense as Gentians, others as brilliant as Sweet
Peas, others as clear of eye as Forget-me-nots. No
hardy plant gives the splendid range of blues that we
get in the perennial Larkspur. And the plant has lofty
stature, massive spikes, to recommend it. The stems
rise to six feet high or more in good soil. They are as

ON PERENNIAL LARKSPURS 241

tall and graceful as Hollyhocks, Foxgloves, or Eremuri.
In their best condition they are truly noble ornaments
of the herbaceous border. They may be set a yard
apart, in groups, large or small, according to the space
available, and may be blended with pillar Roses, Pasonies,
Phloxes, and other good border plants. In the case of
small borders, where grouping is impracticable, they may
be set in a row at the back, as Hollyhocks were in their
palmy days ; and they will worthily wear the mantle
which the Hollyhock has been compelled to lay down
owing to disease. The Delphinium has no specific
enemy of any note, and — always given good culture —
it is a perfectly healthy and happy plant.

When the plants become dingy in the autumn, they
may be cut to the ground. If the root-stocks are not
to be divided the soil may be forked up around them,
and some manure worked in or laid on the surface
as a mulch. Should slugs attack the young growths
seriously, some freshly slaked lime may be strewn
about.

Seedlings. — Blue is not the only colour which the
Delphinium gives us. We have white, pale yellow, and
rose. Again, some are semi-double, and some full double.
There are, too, scarlet species in cardinale and nudicaule.
Both are fine plants, but the latter is a dwarf grower.
These are easily raised from seed, and strong plants
can be secured by autumn if the seed is sown in a
box in spring, and put in a cold frame. If the seedlings
are kept thin, put out a few inches apart in summer,
and watered in dry weather, they will be in good con-
dition for planting in September or later. If the soil
is heavy and undrained, they ought not to be planted
before spring, but they must not overcrowd each other
in the nursery bed.

242 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

The modern hybrids and varieties may be raised
from seed the same as the species, but they will not
come true. Those who cannot afford to buy named
varieties should procure seed from a good firm, and
perpetuate a few of the best varieties which result by
means of cuttings. This is an economical way of pro-
curing a good stock. They should select varieties for
increase which have large, wide flowers, well disposed
on the spike. The colours should be rich and clear*
Flowers with dark or light blue sepals and clear white
or dark eye are the most desirable. These are really
charming as individual flowers, and will well bear close
inspection. As much can hardly be said of old varieties.

The following are fine named varieties : —

Autolycus. — Violet, black eye.
Beauty of Langport. — White, black eye.
Geneva. — Sky blue.
Grand Duchess. — Sky blue, black eye.
John Thorpe. — Dark blue, white eye.
King of Delphiniums. — Gentian blue, white eye.
True Blue. — Bright blue, dark eye.
Persimmon. — Light blue, greyish centre.
Blue Butterfly. — A dwarf variety, good as an annual.

From a Water Colon r Drmciiig by Liliuii Sfanimrd.

White Lilies.

XXVII

ON LILIES

Whether we limit the term ^' Lily," as many gardeners
do, to members of the genus Lilhim, or whether we
allow it the wider scope which has been given to it
by the popular voice, and, include Lilies of the Valley
and all other plants grown as Lilies in gardens, it
is still a great force. The Lilies appeal to us by large
size and handsome form of flower, by purity, and by
perfume. They are amongst the noblest of garden plants.
Everybody can grow some of them, and the townsman
can have his share.

No lover of hardy plants can afford to ignore the
Lilies. To do so would be to submit himself to the
risk of a heavy blow in summer, when a visit to a
friend's garden, a nursery, or a public garden, revealed
a beautiful group which could not be matched at home.
In gardening an involuntary burst of envy is common.
We see something elsewhere that we had fully intended
to have ourselves, and, not having it, we of course
admire it and long for it all the more. We have to
put up with the disappointment for the time being,
but we register a vow that another year shall not
pass without seeing the plant at home in our own
garden.

With the best of intentions we cannot always grow

Lilies as well as other people, for there are sometimes

243

244 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

special local circumstances which affect the welfare of
the plants, but we can certainly grow some species
quite creditably without any special help from fortune.

It is a rare old flower the Lily, and it has stimulated
the great minds of all ages. They have seen in its
grace and purity the symbols of lofty moral instincts,
and have used it repeatedly as a figure of beauty and
chastity.

" I love the Lily as the first of flowers,"

wrote Montgomery. This mediaeval poet gave it, we
see, pride of place in the garden. He preferred it
even to the Rose.

Later, Cowper pursued a more measured course.
He could not choose between the two beautiful flowers,
and so he gave them dual sovereignty —

" Within the garden's peaceful scene
Appeared two lovely foes,
Aspiring to the rank of Queen —
The Lily and the Rose.

* Yours is,' she said, ' the nobler hue,
And yours the statelier mien,
And till a third surpasses you,
Let each be deemed a Queen.' "

Shakespeare dearly loved the Lily, and referred to
it again and again. Recall the noble and familiar lines
in " King John," Act iv. scene 2 —

" To guard a title that was rich before,
To gild refined gold, to paint the Lily,
To throw a perfume on the Violet,
To smooth the ice, or add another hue
Unto the rainbow, or with taper light
To seek the beauteous eye of heaven to garnish,
Is wasteful and ridiculous excess."

ON LILIES 245

He used it repeatedly to give an effect of stainless
purity —

" Most radiant Pyramus, most Lily-white of hue."

— Midsu7nfner Night's Dream.

" Now by my maiden honour, yet pure
As the unsulhed Lily."

— Lov^s Labour's Lost.

" A most unspotted Lily shall she pass
To the ground."

—Henry VLIL

" Full gently now she takes him by the hand,
A Lily prison'd in a jail of snow."

— Venus aftd Adonis.

What was the Lily which Shakespeare had in his
mind in making these exquisite parallels ? In his day,
and later, the name Lily was used very loosely. We
have his own

" Lilies of all kinds,
The Flower-de-luce being one,"

and we have decided already (see Chapter XXIV.) that
the Flower-de-luce was the Iris. But the bard could
hardly have had any other flower before him than the
true old white Lily, Lilium candidum^ when he chose
a white Lily as a type and symbol of purity. His
career ranged from 1564 to 1616. The White Lily is
said to have been introduced to Great Britain in that
wonderful year for new plants, 1596. (No student can
fail to be struck by the number and importance of the
plants which botanical records tell us were introduced
in 1596, and the more sceptically inclined among them
will incline to the belief that the herbalists resolved to
credit 1596 with any plant of whose exact year of
introduction they were uncertain.) If that date were

246 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

correct, Liliuvi candidimt could not possibly have become
a popular garden plant until after Shakespeare's time,
and he must have referred mainly to the Lily of the
Valley, which is a British plant ; but it is probable that
the white Lily came to us much earlier than the year
quoted.

The Madonna Lily. — The White, Garden, or Madonna
Lily is a beautiful plant, tall in growth, yet not so tall
as the massive Japanese Lily, auratum, graceful in habit,
pure as snow, and powerfully perfumed. It has long
been a much-loved flower in cottage gardens. A cheap
as well as a beautiful plant, it has proved to be within
the means of the humblest grower of plants. Entirely
hardy, not particular as to soil, it has proved its readi-
ness to thrive in the most modest of gardens. It is
an early grower, and the principal trade in its bulbs is
done at the end of the summer and in the early autumn.
Those who propose to plant it might well order it with
their Roman Hyacinths, and although it will not be
ready quite so early, it will follow them in good
time.

The White Lily, however, is not proof against all the
ills of plant flesh. It is often attacked by a fungus, and
whole clumps die out quickly, the bulbs rotting. The
disease is less common in light, sandy, well-drained soils
than in heavy, damp ground. Lilies, it is true, love
moisture, but they abhor stagnant soil. It is possible,
too, for the ground to be made too rich for them. If it
is heavy it can be made suitable by drainage, pulverisa-
tion, and the addition of bone flour alone. The soil
should be dug deeply, left lumpy on the surface, dressed
with burnt refuse from the garden fire, and bone flour
at the rate of four ounces per square yard. Light ground
may have manure, but it should be well-decayed stuff,

ON LILIES 247

preferably such as has been used for a hotbed. Sand
may be sprinkled round the bulbs, and they may be
covered four inches deep.

When Liliu7n candiduin is thus treated it generally
grows strongly, and bears large clusters of beautiful
flowers, well earning such panegyrics as that of Cannart
d'Hamale in his monograph of the Lily : " C'est le Lis
classique, par excellence, et en meme temps le plus
beau du genre." ^^ It takes its place naturally," says
d'Hamale, ^' at the head of this splendid group" (^'11
se place tout naturellement a la tete de ce groupe splen-
dide "). Many would tell us that it is the Lily of the
arms of France, but to this I demur. It is above all
the classical Lily, and at the same time the finest of the
genus.

The White Lily makes a charming border companion
to the blue perennial Larkspurs, and may therefore be
grouped near these noble flowers. The two plants are
generally in bloom together.

The Scarlet Lily, — If we doubt the accuracy of 1596
as the date of the introduction of the white Lily, what
are we to say of 1796 as the year when the fine scarlet
species Chalcedonicum was introduced to Britain ? It is
surely much older. The Scarlet Lily is a brilliant plant,
and has long been a great favourite in our gardens. It
is illustrated in the Botanical Magazine, t. 30.

The Golden-rayed Lily, auratum, is a modern plant
compared with the species named and some others to
which reference will be made, as it was introduced as
recently as 1862. As most people know, it is a Japanese
plant, and to this day the principal trade is in Japanese
bulbs. Although not so tall as giganteum, it is certainly
the finest of all the hardy Lilies, and enjoys widespread
popularity with all classes of flower-lovers. When given

248 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

special culture it will grow six to eight feet high, and
twelve to twenty magnificent flowers may be produced
from one bulb.

The original species had white flowers, barred with
yellow and dotted with red. It is illustrated in the
Botanical Magazine^ t. 5338. But importations yielded
varieties differing from the type, and these were given
varietal names. There were, for instance, cmentu^n,
which was more heavily marked with red than the
species ; platyphylhi77iy with broader leaves and very
large flowers ; riibro-vittatum and rubruvi, forms with a
broad crimson band along the petal ; tricolor, heavily
spotted ; virginaky white ; and IVittei, with yellow bars.
Specialists soon singled these treasures out, and created
a special demand for them. They are now sold separately,
under names, at a somewhat higher cost than the species
itself.

Lovers of Lilies have established Lilium auratum as
one of their prime favourites. They have found that it
is capable of giving beautiful effects when grouped in
the border, especially when it has shelter from shrubs
or other plants capable of breaking strong wind. Such
shelter is particularly grateful in spring, when the plants
are making their first growth ; but it is welcome at all
seasons, especially in wind-swept districts. Clay is not
quite the right soil for it, but it can be made to thrive on
heavy land if the site is well dressed with lighter material,
such as leaf mould. The thick, soft deposits of the woods
have a mellowing effect on stiff land. They should not
be expected to do everything, however. The ground
should be drained, the subsoil broken up, and the surface
layer reduced by exposure in a lumpy state. If peat is
available it should be added to the leaf mould which is
incorporated, and in any case road grit or coarse sand

LlLIUM xVURATUM.

ON LILIES 249

should be added in sufficient quantity to make the soil
crumbly and friable.

Given due preparation of the soil, the golden-rayed
Lily will thrive in town gardens, and no finer plant
will ever grace the suburbanist's border. Most town
gardens have shelter, if only that of walls or fences,
and that is no small point in the plant's favour. The
town gardener will find that half a bushel of fibrous
loam from the nearest florist's and another half-bushel
of road scrapings will help him greatly in preparing
a site for his clump of Lilies. He might form a group
of from three to six, according to the space available,
and set the bulbs a foot apart on a base of pure sand in
spring. Reliable Japanese bulbs are not available before
January.

In large country gardens it may be possible to form
a Lily border in a sheltered place, such as along the
front of a shrubbery, or under a kitchen-garden wall.
If there are large trees near the shrubbery their roots
may be expected to make for the spot, in quest of the
good things provided for the Lilies, and it may be
necessary to keep a trench open at the back to check
their advance. If possible, a site near trees should be
avoided, because the shade, and still more the drip, from
large trees is bad. In the case of a wall border there
is no objection to planting creepers to cover the wall ;
on the contrary, it is advisable, as a flower-covered wall
makes a beautiful and appropriate background. Roses
are eminently suitable, as, in spite of their vigorous
growth, they are not plants which throw out coarse,
rambling roots, but produce a mat of fibres immediately
around the stem. Warm-coloured Roses, like Bardou
Job, Cheshunt Hybrid, and Reine Marie Henriette, must
be included in the collection. Clematises also look well

2 50 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

on a wall at the back of a Lily border. The Passion
Flower [Passijlora cceruled) may be grown on a warm
wall if it is liked, and so may the beautiful Ceafiothuses,
which produce lavender or blue cones.

In such a Lily border as the foregoing auratum, and
possibly some of its varieties, must have a place. On
account of its tall growth it must be set towards the
back. If the soil is loam it will need little more than
deepening and manuring to render it suitable ; but even
loam needs breaking up to a good depth to render it
thoroughly friable, and leaf mould or road scrapings
will facilitate the task. The best manure is decayed
stuff from an old hotbed. Two barrowloads to the
square rod of ground will be a sufficient quantity to
apply, and it should be worked underneath the top spit,
where it will not touch the bulbs, but where the roojs
will find it. If the natural soil of the Lily border is
light, that is, if it is thin soil over chalk, or merely
sand, it ought to be stiffened up with loam. Such soils
are good in one respect — they are well drained, but they
have not substance enough for Lilies. If chalk comes
near the surface it ought to be broken up and covered
with garden refuse. Loam, leaf mould, and decayed
manure will collectively impart depth and body to the
surface layer.

Other Species. — In anything like a representative
collection of Lilies possibly Batemanii and Bolanderi,
but certainly Browniiy will find places. The first grows
about three feet high, and has apricot-coloured flowers ;
the second about two feet, and has purplish red blooms,
it thrives under the same conditions as auratum ; the
third four feet, and has white flowers marked with
brown or purple. Brownii is one of the finest Lilies,
and there are some good varieties of it, notably Odor-

ON LILIES 251

aster. It does well under the conditions prescribed for
auratum. Bulbiferum is not a very important species,
and may be left out of a small collection without much
hesitation. It grows about a yard high, and has red
flowers. It is not a fastidious sort, and thrives in most
soils.

The Hybrid Lily Burbankiiy which was raised by
crossing the species pardalinuin and Washingtonianum
(or Parryi) is interesting. It grows about four feet
high, and produces apricot-coloured flowers. The
auratum treatment suits it. Canadense, a North Ameri-
can species, is worth growing. Three to four feet high,
it has orange yellow flowers with red spots ; but bulb-
dealers offer two varieties of it, one with lighter flowers
called Jlavum, and the other deeper in colour, and
named rubrum. The cost of all is about the same —
7s. to 8s. per dozen. They love peat, and; if a group
of them is to be established in the Lily border, a
station well dressed with peat should be prepared.
The species is illustrated in the Botanical Magazine^
t. 800.

Reverting to candidum and chalcedonicum, both
will thrive with auratum treatment, and garden varieties
of both are offered by bulb-dealers. A popular form
of the White Lily is striatunty but it costs about double
as much as the species. Heldreichi is one of the most
esteemed forms of Chalcedonicum.

Three newer species, which are offered in some
catalogues, are carntoltcum, carolimanum, and Catesbcei.
The first has red, the second orange, and the third
scarlet flowers. Like Canadense they are peat-lovers.
Catesbaei grows about eighteen inches high, and the
others from two to three feet. Colchicum {Szovitzianunt)
has yellow flowers spotted with brown, and grows about

252 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

two feet high. It is not in the front rank, nor are
columbia7iumy the Oregon Lily, and co7tcolor. The former
grows three feet high, and has orange-spotted flowers ;
the latter grows two feet high, and has red flowers ; its
variety, Coridio7iy which has canary-coloured flowers, is
offered in the catalogues at a slightly higher price than
the parent. The auratum treatment will suit them.
Cordifoliunty growing four feet high, and bearing white
flowers marked with purple, is not much grown.

The old Orange Lily, croceum, is one of the cheapest,
brightest, and most easily grown of Lilies. It was
introduced as far back as 1596, according to the
records, and has got itself so firmly established that it
is likely to last for a good many hundreds of years
yet. Growing about two feet high in poor soil, and
anything from three to six in rich ground, it is a
familiar plant, alike in town and country gardens. The
colour is as bright as the oranges that Nell Gwynn sold
in the pit of Drury Lane. A hybrid Lily has been
raised by crossing croceum with elegans (Thunbergianum
ov formosum)j and is offered in some lists.

Dalmaticum^ the Black Martagon of the catalogues,
is really a dark variety of Martagon, the well-known
purple *' Turk's Cap " Lily, and Dalhansoni is a hybrid
raised by crossing Dalmaticum and the species Hansoni.
It will be seen that the name is compounded of the
names of the parents, the first syllable of the one being
added to the whole of the other. Dalhansoni is a rather
dear Lily. It grows four to five feet high, has purple
flowers, and responds to auratum treatment. Dauricmit
(the same Lily as that sometimes grown under the names
of davuricum and spectabile) has red flowers, and grows
about a yard high. The auratum treatment suits it.

Elegans is one of the most beautiful and useful of

ON LILIES 253

our Lilies. It is the same species as that offered in
many catalogues under the name of Thunbergianum.
The botanists, indeed, appear to be unanimous in giving
the name elegans priority, and the dealers have as
strong a leaning to the longer name. It is a Japanese
species, and has scarlet flowers. The height ranges
from a foot to two feet. It is not quite hardy, and
although it will thrive in the border with auratum
treatment, it, or one of its varieties, is often grown
in pots. The varieties cost from two shillings to two
pounds per dozen, according to their rarity. The
following varieties are offered in many catalogues :
Alice Wilson, yellow ; alutaceunty orange ; citrinumy pale
yellow ; flore pleno, double ;' grandiflorum, blood red ;
fnarmoratum aureunij yellow ; and Van Houtteiy scarlet,
a fine variety. Although these varieties of elegans are
low growers they have very large flowers, and are
extremely handsome plants.

The species excelsum, testaceum^ and Isahelinum are
\ the same — a plant growing four or five feet high, with
nankeen-yellow flowers. It succeeds wnth the auratum
treatment. Fortunei bears orange yellow flowers, and
grows two feet high ; it is not an important species.

The tallest member of the whole genus is giganteumy
a true son of Anak, often growing twelve feet high, and
bearing pure white flowers. This magnificent Lily is a
native of the Himalaya, whence it was introduced in
1852. It is illustrated in the Botanical Magazine^ t. 4673.
It is by no means the plant for an exposed place, as it is
somewhat tender, and is soon spoiled by a cold wind.
It thrives with the auratum treatment in a sheltered
place, and also luxuriates in a deep, peaty soil among
shrubs. There is nothing more gratifying to the flower-
lover than to see Lilimn giganteum starting on its career

2 54 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

in spring, for it pushes a huge growth through the soil,
and appears as robust as a young Oak. It is a somewhat
expensive Lily, and bulb-dealers often supply it in
various sizes at different prices. Two shillings is the
average price of a bulb four inches through.

The species Grayiy orange, dotted with purple, is not
very important ; but Hansoni is a good plant, and is not
expensive. It growls about four feet high, and, having
yellow flowers, is sometimes called the yellow " Turk's
Cap." It will succeed with the auratum treatment.

Harrisii is a highly important Lily. It is really a
variety of the species longiflorum^ but is grown com-
mercially as a species. It is the famous white Easter
Lily so much used as a pot-plant for forcing. Growing
from two to three feet high, and bearing its long, pure
white flowers freely, it is a charming plant for green-
house and conservatory decoration in spring, and is
very useful for cutting. If it were not an abundant
bloomer, the flowers would be rather too expensive to
use in quantity for wreath-making and church decoration,
as the bulbs cost from 8d. to is. 6d. each, unless bought
in considerable numbers, in which case they are much
cheaper. It thrives in a compost of loam, leaf mould,
and sand. If grown out of doors, it should have a
sheltered place and the auratum treatment.

The species Henryi, which was introduced from
China as recently as 1888, has become a popular Lily.
It has orange flowers, and grows four to five feet high.
The auratum treatment suits it. Huinboldtii is a very
good Lily. It is a Californian species, growing about
four feet high, deep yellow in colour, with purple or
brown spots. Two varieties are offered in many
catalogues, the first being mag^iificum, a very deeply
coloured variety ; and the second ocellatunij yellow,

ON LILIES 255

with purple spots. They are not the best natured of
LiHes, and need a good loamy soil. Japonicum is the
same as Elizabethce and Krameri. It is a charming
Japanese Lily, growing two to three feet high, and
with pink flowers. There is a white variety called
AlexandrcC. The auratum treatment suits these charm-
ing Lilies. Kelloggii is a Californian species with pink
flowers, and, being rare, is somewhat expensive. It
grows three or four feet high. Kewense is a hybrid,
raised at the Royal Gardens, Kew, from a cross between
Henryi and Brownii Chloraster. The flowers are white
and buff in colour. The auratum treatment suits it, but
it is generally grown in pots. Lancifolium is the same as
speczosum. Leichtlini is a Japanese species of no great
importance. It is yellow, with purple spots, and grows
about two feet high. The auratum treatment suits it.

We have a charming pot Lily in longiflorum, which
grows about three feet high, and has long, tubular, pure
white flowers. Japanese bulbs of it are very cheap. It
will thrive out of doors with the auratum treatment in
a sheltered place, but, like its variety, Harrisii, it is grown
generally in pots. There are several varieties of it besides
the Easter Lily, including one with variegated leaves ;
that called Eximium is the same as Harrisii.

Lowiij white, with purple blotches, growing two to
three feet high, is an Indian species, and requires pot-
culture in a warm house. We find another interesting
hybrid in Marhan, which resulted from a cross between
the white " Turk's Cap," martagon alburn^ and Hansom.
The name is compounded of the first syllable of the
names of the parents. The flower is orange in coloui,
with brown or purple spots. It is a tall plant, and may
go near the back of the border, where it will thrive under
the auratum treatment. Forms of it are offered in some

256 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

of the catalogues, notably G. F. Wilson, yellow, with
carmine tips; and Miss E. Willmott, orange, with purple
spots, but they are dear. Maritiimim^ orange, with dark
spots, is a Californian Lily, and loves peat. It grows
about three feet high.

The famous purple '^ Turk's Cap " Lily is the species
known to botanists as Martagotiy and was reputedly in-
troduced from Germany in 1596. It is illustrated in the
Botanical Magazine, it. 893 and 1634. ^^ grows about three
feet high, and will thrive almost anywhere. It is often
seen in the cottager's border, where it practically looks
after itself. With the auratum treatment it is luxuriant.
The common ^^ Turk's Cap " is one of the cheapest of
Lilies, but its best varieties are rather dear. Albmuy
the white, is a beautiful plant, and dabnaticum, claret-
coloured, is also fine. These varieties are not quite
so accommodating as the type, and had better have
good auratum treatment.

The Japanese species, Maximowiczii, is a bright but
not very important Lily. It is scarlet in colour, grows
about three feet high, and thrives with auratum treat-
ment. Nor is medeoloides of any great value. It has
orange flowers, grows about eighteen inches high, and
likes auratum culture. Monadelphmn is more valuable.
This handsome yellow species grows about three feet
high, and thrives with auratum treatment. Neilgherrense
is a pretty sulphur-coloured Lily growing about three
feet high, but, being an Indian species, is not hardy, and
had better be reserved for pot-culture, if grown at all.
Nepalense is also lacking in hardiness. It has white
flowers, and grows about three feet high. It is not
important. Nitidum, yellow, with reddish spots, is a
Californian species, and grows about two feet high. It
thrives under the auratum treatment.

ON LILIES 257

The Panther Lily, pardalinumy is a Californian
species of some importance, having orange flowers
marked with crimson. Several varieties of it are offered
in the catalogues, such as BourgcBz, Californicum, Johnsoni^
and Red Giant, the last somewhat expensive. They
grow four to five feet high, and are peat-lovers. Parryiy
a yellow-flowered Californian species, growing three to
four feet high, should have peat. Parvum has small
yellow flowers spotted with red, and is the same as
Alpinum, As a Californian species, it is a peat-lover.
A yellow variety, called hiteum, is offered by bulb-dealers.
Philadelphicum^ scarlet, two to three feet high, is a North-
American species that should have peat. It is a cheap
Lily/ Cheaper still is Philippinense^ which grows two
feet high, and has long, white, trumpet-shaped flowers.
It is not hardy, and should be grown in pots. Poly-
pkylhim, white, with purple spots, grows about three feet
high, and thrives under auratum treatment. Pomponiumy
two to three feet high, with small red flowers, is a hardy
and accommodating Siberian species which needs no
special treatment. It is a cheap plant. Pulchelluniy
scarlet, is a rather dear and not very important Lily.
PyrenaicufUy which has deep yellow flow^ers, and grows
about three feet high, is a pretty Lily that thrives under
auratum treatment. A red variety, rubrunty is offered in
the catalogues. Roezlii, orange, with purple spots, is a
hardy but not important species.

Rubelluniy with pink flowers on stems eighteen inches
to two feet high, is a charming and not expensive Lily
that blooms early, and is often grown in pots. Rubescens,
a tall species with white flowers, is rather dear, and not
very important.

One of the most beautiful and valuable of Lilies is
speciosuin (lancifoliu7ri)y a Japanese species, growing three

258 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

to four feet high, with white flowers spotted with red.
There are many charming varieties of it, among which
albufu and album KrcBtzeri may be named as beautiful
and cheap white forms, well adapted for pot-culture.
Album novu-m is a lovely variety, but somewhat dear.
Other good and cheap varieties are roseum, rubrimiy
rubruvt ^nagnificum^ and Melpomene, Although Lilium
speciosum and its varieties are not reputedly hardy, and
are generally cultivated in pots, they may be grown
out of doors in a sheltered place with the auratum
treatment.

Sulphureum (which is the same as Wallichianuvt
superbum) is a fine but expensive Lily, and is not hardy.
It grows five to eight feet high, and has pale yellow
flowers with a brown exterior. Superbumy orange with
red spots, growing six feet high or more, is an American
species, and loves a damp, peaty soil. It is quite hardy
and very cheap, Sutchuenensej orange with dark spots,
growing about two feet high, is somewhat dear, and is of
no importance. Tenuifolium, scarlet, a Siberian species,
growing about two feet high, is cheap and hardy. We
have seen that testaceum is synonymous with excelsum,
and Thunbergianum with elegans, under which names
they are described.

The orange black-spotted Tiger Lily {tigrinum\
which grows four to six feet high, is one of the
cheapest and most easily grown of Lilies, thriving
under the auratum treatment. Several varieties are
offered in the catalogues, such as flore pleno (double),
Fortuneiy and splendens. They cost about the same as the
type, except Fortunei, which is rather dearer, but still a
cheap plant. UmbellaiujUy which has red flowers, grows
two to three feet high, and thrives under the auratum
treatment, is an excellent Lily, and there are several

ON LILIES 259

varieties of it in the bulb catalogues, such as Cloth of
Gold, erectumy and Incomparable. They are very cheap.
Wallichianum, an Indian species with white flowers,
growing three to four feet high, is not hardy, and should
be grown in pots if wanted.

The last species to be named is Washingtomanum, a
Californian Lily, growing three to five feet high, and
having white flowers. It thrives with the auratum
treatment. A dark variety called purpureum is offered
in the catalogues.

The list of species given is a long one, and few
readers are likely to require the whole ; nevertheless,
many will grow some, and the descriptions and hints on
culture may be useful to them.

As to soil and culture, we see that the great majority
are suited by that suggested for auratum, but that a few
species (and notably the Californians) enjoy peat. Few
Lilies like wet ground, but superbum is one that does,
and the magnificent giganteum loves a cool, sheltered
site.

Culture in Pots. — Such popular Lilies as longiflorum,
its variety Harrisii, speciosum and its varieties, such as
Kraetzeri, thrive in a compost of three parts loam, and
one part each leaf mould and decayed manure with
one-tenth sand. As they generally throw out roots
from the stem, it is well to place the bulbs low down
in deep, well-drained pots, and nearly to cover them,
but not to fill up until the stem roots appear, when
more soil should be placed on. The pots should be
stood in a sheltered place, and covered with ashes or
cocoanut-fibre refuse after potting, and they should not
be withdrawn until roots have pushed freely. They will
enjoy abundance of air and water when in growth, and

26o POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

may be syringed to keep them fresh and subdue insects.
They may be potted in autumn, winter, or spring, accord-
ing to the season when the bulbs are available. They
may also be grown in peat-moss fibre.

Propagatio7i. — Lilies may be increased by offsets,
which form at the base ; by bulbils, which form on the
stems of such species as have the habit of producing
them ; and by scales, which should be inserted in a box
in a compost of leaf mould and sand, with some cocoa-
nut-fibre refuse added in spring, and planted out when
they have formed bulbs.

Among other plants grown under the name of Lilies
are the following : —

African Corn Lily, Ixia.

American Wood Lily, Trillium grandiflorum.

Belladonna Lily, Amaryllis Bellado7i?ia.

Brisbane Lily, Eurycles Cunninghami.

Day Lily, Hemerocallis.

Guernsey Lily, Nerine sarniensis.

Herb Lily, Alstromeria.

Jacobean Lily, Sprekelia formosissima.

Lent Lily, Narcissus Pseudo-Narcissus.

Lily of the Nile, Richardia ( Calla), Africana {y£thiopica).

Lily of the Valley, Co?wallaria majalis,

Mariposa Lily, Calochortus.

Peruvian Lily, Alstromeria.

Plantain Lily, Funkia.

St. Bernard's Lily, Anthericum Liliago.

St. Bruno's Lily, A?ithericum Liliastrum.

Scarborough Lily, Vallota purpurea.

Snake's Head Lily, Fritillaria.

Torch Lily, K?iiphofia (Tritoma).

Water Lily, NymphcBa.

Most of these plants do not quite come within the
scope of the present work, and as they are nearly all

ON LILIES 261

dealt with, according to their merit, in the companion
volume, The Garden Week by Weeky it is not necessary
to devote space to them herein.

The flower-lover will find the Lilies a most interesting
as well as beautiful class of plants. He should grow at
least one variety — auratum, and he should endeavour to
provide it with such beautiful associates as candidum,
chalcedonicum, speciosum, and umbellatum, with such
of their varieties as come within his means and space.
They will give stately growth, graceful foliage and habit,
and beautiful flowers. Their beauty is of a type that no
other hardy plant provides, and so we may say that they
are indispensable in the garden.

Home aitd Imported Bulbs. — Lest the references to
imported bulbs in the foregoing notes should lead to
the inference that I regard them as the ** stock article,"
I may say that I do not do so. Foreign bulbs and late
planting do not make for the most successful results
with Lilies. The bulbs of all Liliums are much more
liable to lose their freshness than such things as
Hyacinths and Tulips, and even these are best potted
or planted early in autumn, before they start to grow.
Lilies ought really to be planted in late summer or
early autumn, when the bulbs are quite fresh. But the
imported bulb undoubtedly meets a want. It suits the
amateur who cannot very well aftord the price of home-
grown bulbs, or do his planting before the spring. The
Japanese bulbs are large and cheap, and as they are
encased in moist earth they do not become dry speedily.
If, when they reach the hands of the grower, they have
shrivelled, and have loose scales, they had better be
laid in cocoanut-fibre refuse for a fortnight before
planting, as this will freshen them. A soft, yielding
bulb, with loose scales, is hardly worth using.

262 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

Lovers of Lilies will not shrink from the little trouble
involved in carrying out the hints given herein ; on the
contrary, they will adopt them gladly. They will give
of their best to a flower whose beauty they admire so
much, and whose associations they reverence so deeply.
Its appeal to them is a special one. It is not merely
the flower of their gardens, it is the flower of the
Sermon on the Mount, and as such it stirs thoughts
and emotions which can nowhere find better expression
than in the endeavour to add more beauty to the world.

XXVIII

ON PvEONIES

The modern Paeony may on no account be omitted
from a list of popular garden flowers, for during recent
years it has advanced by leaps and bounds. Visitors to
the great flower shows gaze in wonder at the magnificent
flowers which represent the florists' latest achievements
in Paeony development — flowers almost as large as huge
show Chrysanthemums, brilliantly coloured, and in the
case of many varieties, richly scented.

A grand old plant this Paeony, whether we consider
it as a shrub or a herb. We have sections of both
types, and the herbaceous Paeony is the older, so far
as British gardens are concerned. The modern leaf-
losing Paeony has sprung from two species, the white
albijiora and the red officinalis^ and botanists tell us
that both were introduced in 1548; whereas Moutan,
the shrubby Paeony, did not arrive until 1789. The
latter is illustrated in the Botanical Magaziney t. 11 54.

With some writers the typical Paeony is corallina, a
red herbaceous species, stated to be a native of England.
Fox records it as found on May 23rd at Steep Holmes,
Severn, and states that it produces red, pink, or white
flowers. It is probable that this was the Paeony of the
poets — if we allow them to have named a Paeony at
all. It is not every student who will admit that Shake-
speare had the Paeony in mind when he puts into the

363

264 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

mouth of Iris (''The Tempest/' Act iv. scene i) the
words —

" Ceres, most bounteous lady, thy rich leas
Of wheat, rye, barley, vetches, oats, and pease,
Thy turfy mountains, where live nibbling sheep,
And flat meads thatched with stover, them to keep;
Thy banks with pioned and twilled brims,
Which spongy April at thy best betrims
To make cold nymphs chaste crowns."

And it must be confessed that there is some justification
for their scepticism, since pioner or pyoner (forerunner
of our modern word pioneer) was used to indicate
digger in mediaeval times. Shakespeare himself used it
in this sense in " Hamlet." But it is at least as probable
that he alluded to the plant, for, after all. Nature's
banks are not 'Migged," but left to look after them-
selves.

The Paeony was esteemed by the botanical writers
of Shakespeare's time. Parkinson, for example, had it,
and what is more, said that the double Paeony produced
seed with him, which, being sown, ''bringeth forth
some single and some double flowers." The double
Paeony does not often do that in these days. Gerard
also knew the Paeony quite well, and records it as
growing wild at Southfleet, near Gravesend, although
there is an unkind suggestion that it was first deliber-
ately planted, and then hailed as a wilding by the
planter. Southfleet is a parish of fruit in these days,
and its market-gardens spread for many miles.

The modern Paeony is one of the greatest of all
border plants. It is of vigorous growth and hardy
constitution, soon establishing itself, and spreading into
large bushes. When it has made itself at home it bears
its great brilliant flowers in abundance, moreover, it

ON Pi^ONIES 265

throws them up on thick, strong stems, quite clear of
the leaves. It is both an early grower and an early
bloomer. The ruddy stems of the herbaceous varieties
push up in March, and in a warm spring a bed is a
rich mass of colour in April. These spring tints of the
Paeony growth give it an undeniable value, for they
brighten up the border at a dull period, and afford a
pleasant foretaste of the good things in store.

When a clump of Pseonies has spread to three or
four feet across, and is bearing a broad mass of leaves
and two or three dozen brilliant flowers in June, it is
an object with which few plants can vie.

A minor point in favour of Paeonies is their healthy
nature and freedom from insects and diseases. Slugs
may do damage to the young shoots in spring if left
unchecked, but dustings of lime soon reduce them to
impotence.

SoiL — The Paeony, then, has several things to recom-
mend it : a healthy, hardy nature, vigorous growth,
handsome spring tints, beautiful flowers, fragrance.
Can it now be added that the plant will thrive any-
where ? Hardly that. It does not care for shallow,
dry soils, nor situations swept by cold winds. It loves
a deep, fertile, moist soil ; and if there is a fence, or
a bank of shrubs between it and the east winds of
spring, all the better. Given the deep soil there is no
plant more easy to manage, for it practically needs no
culture. I have succeeded with it on shallow, chalky
ground by loosening the chalk, dressing the top soil
liberally with decayed manure, and giving occasional
soakings of water, plus a weekly drenching of liquid
manure throughout the summer. If the soil of a
suburban garden is made fertile to a depth of eighteen
inches by digging up the under soil and manuring

266 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

it, also the top soil, it will grow Paeonies success-
fully.

Plantmg. — The best time to plant Paeonies is towards
the end of winter — say February or March. But they
may be planted any time between October and April.
After a mild winter the planting had better not be
deferred until late spring; it should be done as soon
after growth starts as possible. It will be seen that
Paeonies have not a spreading, fibrous root-stock, but
form a few thick, fleshy roots, which have a tendency
to strike down deeply. They may be planted in clumps
if desired, but as the habit is spreading, the components
of a clump ought not to be nearer than eighteen inches.
Single plants will suffice for small borders, as, if the soil
is good, one plant will spread to anything from two
to five feet across.

Propagation, — Owing to the strong, fangy root-stock
of which I have spoken, Paeonies do not lend themselves
to propagation by division, the popular method of in-
creasing most herbaceous plants ; moreover, they do
not exhaust the soil nearly as much as plants with
spreading fibrous root-stocks. On both these counts
frequent propagation by division should be avoided. But
when the clumps have become established thoroughly,
and have spread so much as to encroach on the pre-
serves of other plants, they may be cut up while dormant
with a sharp spade. Florists propagate the majority of
their best Tree Paeonies by grafting small pieces on to
the roots of common herbaceous kinds. The latter
cannot very well be divided. They do not die down
to the ground every autumn like the herbaceous Paeonies.
They retain their stems, but not their leaves, like an
Apple tree. In sheltered places and rich soil they grow
into large shrubs, like Rhododendrons. Paeonies can

ON P/EONIES 267

be raised from seed, and the best plan is to sow in a
box in September, and put it in a cold frame. The
seedlings will probably appear in spring, and when they
are strong they may be set out in rows a foot apart, and
hoed between to keep down weeds. If the soil is good
they will be strong plants by autumn. By using seed
bought from a firm which specialises in Paeonies the
grower may rely on getting good varieties, some single,
others double.

Species and Varieties. — The name Paeony is said to
derive from one Paeon, a physician. Albiflora (white-
flowered) was a Siberian plant, and we should therefore
expect its offspring to be hardy, as, indeed, the Paeonies
are. Officinalis cannot be located with certainty. It is
described in the records as of '^ European origin," which
is pleasantly vague. The old double red Paeony of
cottage gardens is the officinalis rubra plena of the
botanists. It is a fine, and at the same time a cheap,
plant. The old double white and double rose are
respectively officinalis alba plena and officinalis rosea
plena. There is a handsome species called by
botanists tenuifolia, which is illustrated in the Botanical
Magazine, t. 226. This is often grown under the name
of the Fennel-leaved Paeony. It has red flowers, and
there is a double form of it. The Anemone-flowered
Paeony [aneinonceflora) is a variety of officinalis. Witt-
manniana is a notable though rather expensive species,
with primrose-coloured flowers. It is illustrated in the
Botanical Magazine, t. 6645.

While the Paeony-lover likes to know of the species
of his favourite flower, his interest lies mainly in the
modern varieties, and to those we may turn, for the list
of species is short and (considered from the garden stand-
point) unimportant.

268 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

When the amateur opens a hardy plant catalogue
and turns to Paeony he may be dismayed to find that
plants are quoted at as much as half a guinea each ; but
if he reads closer he learns that the varieties offered
at this price are the latest novelties, and he has only to
turn over a page or two to find sorts offered at prices
falling by stages to eighteenpence or a shilling each. If
the price still seems rather high, he may be reminded
that Paeonies are not plants which can be propagated
rapidly, and can never, therefore, be sold as cheaply as
some plants. Moreover, being large plants, he will not
need to buy many of them. In case he is swayed by the
fear that cheap varieties are necessarily poor ones, I may
reassure him by saying that the standard of Paeonies has
been a high one for so many years that a six or even a
ten-year-old sort is still a good one. The following, for
instance, are fine double Paeonies, although inexpen-
sive : —

Denis Helve, dwarf red, very sweet.

Dr. Brettoneau, dark rose.

Duchesse de Nemours, white, delicious Rose perfume.

Festiva maxima, white, red tips.

Francois Ortigal, purplish crimson.

Humei carnea, peach, white centre.

Louis van Houtte, crimson, yellow anthers.

Lucrece, pink, white centre.

Madame Vilmorin, blush, Rose scented.

Magnifica, white, flushed yellow, fragrant.

Ne Plus Ultra, light rose, very fine.

Virginie, rose, white centre, Anemone-flowered.

They may not be so fine as the best of the modern
varieties which the amateur sees at a great show, the
highest product at once of the skill of the hybridist and
the experience of the professional grower ; but, when all

ON PEONIES 269

is said and done, there is less difference between them
than there is between half a guinea and a shilling to a
person of moderate means.

The principal reason why I describe double instead
of single varieties is that they last longer. As the Paeony
is naturally an early blooming plant we want to get as
much out of it as possible before it passes for the season.
Seedling Snapdragons or Pentstemons may be planted
near it in May to give beauty when it is over ; or a group
of Gladioli may be planted close by, to give beauty
when the Paeonies have faded. Without some such
provision there may be a dull patch in the border late
in summer ; with it, the display of colour is maintained
until the autumn frosts arrive. Single Paeonies are
somewhat fleeting ; still, they are beautiful flowers, and
amateurs who fancy them in preference to the doubles
will find no difficulty in obtaining varieties at corre-
sponding prices.

XXIX

ON PANSIES, VIOLAS, AND SWEET VIOLETS

Elsewhere in this work I have remarked that there
are some flowers whose appeal is so intimate and
irresistible that they do more than stimulate interest
and admiration — they arouse our love. The Pansy is
one of them. Its flowers may be excelled in beauty —
as they certainly are in size — by those of many plants,
but it is winning where they are no more than brilliant,
and so it probes deeply into our hearts, and finds an
abiding resting-place there.

People sometimes speak of the popular names of the
Pansy, as though the names of the books and catalogues
were a scientific one. Pansy is itself a " popular "
name, and it has become generic by mere right of long
usage. It is a corruption oi penseey the French word for
thought, but why the French gave this name to the little
flower is not obvious. Was it supposed to stimulate
reflection ? Were the thoughts pleasant or painful ?
We should say that they were agreeable if we knew of
one other common name only, ^' Heartease," but there
is another, '' Love-in-idleness," and this really meant
love in vain.

Perhaps we should not be far wrong if we assumed
that it was originally ^^ the flower of one's thoughts,"
for la dame de ses penseeSy or ** one's lady-love," is a

phrase that might have been copied. As an abbre-

270

PANSIES, VIOLAS, SWEET VIOLETS 271

viation of la fleiir de ses pens^es, the use of pensies as a
name for the flower becomes intelligible. The Pansy
has always been associated with tender thoughts, such
as those of love. It is the ^'Cupid's flower" of Shake-
speare in the " Midsummer Night's Dream " —

" Dian's bud o'er Cupid's flower
Hath such force and blessed power."

Shakespeare knew, too, of the origin of Pansy, for in
'• Hamlet," Act iv. scene 5, Ophelia exclaims : " There's
Rosemary, that's for remembrance ; pray you, love, re-
member ; and there is Pansies, that's for thoughts."
To which Laertes responds: '^ A document in madness,
thoughts and remembrance fitted."

Shakespeare was familiar with the folk-name, Love-
in-idleness, for in "The Midsummer Night's Dream,"
Act ii. scene i, we find —

" Yet marked I where the bolt of Cupid fell :
It fell upon a little western flower,
Before milk-white, now purple with love's wound,
And maidens call it Love-in-idleness.
Fetch me that flower, the herb I showed thee once ;
The juice of it on sleeping eyelids laid
Will make or man or woman madly dote
Upon the next hve creature that it sees.
Fetch me this herb."

The Pansy, then, was a *^ western " flower, and it
was a component of love potions. As regards its
habitat, it is a British plant, found in Scotland, Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and by many English waysides. It
is purple and pale yellow in colour, so that the Bard was
not far wrong in his description of it. The wild moun-
tain Pansy, found on many moors and hills, is yellow.

We have found already three folk-names for the

272 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

Pansy, but that number is added to greatly by Dr.
Prior in his '' Popular Names of Flowers." He gives
the following : Herb Trinity ; Three-faces-under-a-
hood ; Fancy-Flamy ; Kiss me-Cull me, or, Cuddle-
me-to-you ; Tickle-my-fancy ; Kiss me 'ere I rise ;
Jump up and kiss me ; Kiss me at the garden gate ;
and Pink of my John. All, it is to be noted, are of an
amatory nature. Prior thought that the quaint names
given to the flower arose partly from its habit of
^* coquettishly hanging its head and half hiding its
face." Whatever the cause, the Pansy has many en-
dearing cognomens, and their number, allied to their
affectionate character, may be taken as some measure
of its popularity.

The wild Pansy is a five-petalled flower, about
three-quarters of a inch across. The lower petal is
the largest, and, as in other wild flowers of which
the petals vary in size, it has what the florists would
describe as a " ragged " appearance. Florists do not
like flowers with petals that have gaps between them,
and one of their first objects in improving a flower
is to fill up the gaps. By steady selection they increase
the size of the smaller petals until they get them as large
as the biggest. They not only fill up the gap, but secure
a margin, so that the petals overlap each other a little.
If the outline of the petals is uneven, indented, or flat,
they pursue their operations until they have got it
slightly convex, and this, in conjunction with the closing-
up of the petals, gives a well-rounded flower ; in other
words, the upper outline of each petal unites to form a
circle. It all sounds mysterious and surprising to the
novice, but it is mere finger-and-thumb routine to the
experienced florist. Working by cross-fertilising one
variety with another, by selecting those of the offspring

PANSIES, VIOLAS, SWEET VIOLETS 273

for parents in future crosses that come nearest to his
ideal, and by taking advantage of any natural variation,
he gets gradually nearer to the goal.

It would be as difficult to say when the work of im-
proving the Pansy began, as to trace the stages by which
it advanced towards the form of the best type which we
have at the present day ; but that the way has been a long
one may be judged by comparing the wild Pansy with a
modern Scotch prize flower. The blooms which the
specialists stage are nearly three inches across, the out-
line is perfect, the petals are thick and substantial, the
colour markings are exquisite. Perhaps the amateur
who only knows the Pansy as a garden flower is a little
startled when he first sees a stand of prize flowers at a
show. He may be *' doing Scotland," and, seeing an
announcement of a big flower show in Edinburgh or
elsewhere, and recalling the high reputation of Scotch
gardeners, may decide to drop in and see what the
Scotchmen can really do. Whatever the latter is or
is not capable of in other directions, he can certainly
grow Pansies. The flowers will be a revelation to the
novice, who will hardly know them at the first glance.
However, a closer inspection will convince him that the
flowers really are Pansies, for though much larger,
rounder, thicker, and more beautifully coloured than
any Pansies that he has ever seen before, they will have
the same bright, winning, affectionate faces.

There may be two different types of flower at the
show, one having much smaller flowers and more sedate
colours than the other. These comparatively small
flowers (which, however, will be larger than the ordinary
garden Pansies) may have one colour only, or they may
have a dark central blotch and an outer band of the
same colour on a white or yellow ground. These are

274 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

all termed Show Pansies. The section with much
larger flowers, and with more brilliance and variety in
the colours, are called Fancy Pansies, and they have
become so popular that their smaller sisters have to
play the part of Cinderella. Here is a description of
a typical Fancy Pansy : '' Brownish purple blotches,
laced with yellow and crimson ; upper petals lemon
yellow, with dark blotches and broad band of purplish
crimson." What a gay fellow have we here !

Propagation. — The prize Pansies are grown under
names, and they are kept true to character by propa-
gating them from cuttings. Any good garden Pansy
which an amateur has raised from seed may be per-
petuated in the same way. The process is very simple.
Shoots are taken off in September, and young, solid
stems are chosen which are not, and have not been,
in bloom. Sometimes suitable shoots may be found
springing quite from the base of the plant, and this
is the more Hkely to be the case if the grower has
placed some rich soil round the plants in July. The
cuttings should be inserted, just clear of each other, in
sandy soil in boxes, which may be put in a frame. Air
should be given when the weather is fine throughout
the winter, and if brown aphis attack the cuttings it
should be brushed off. The cuttings will grow in
spring, and may be planted out. Although prize
Pansies are propagated by cuttings, a stock of plants
has to be bought in the first place, and they will cost
4d. to 2S. 6d. each, according to their variety. Very
good varieties can be bought for 6d. a plant. If the
grower does not wish for named varieties, he can
buy a good strain for 8s. a hundred, or approximately
id. each. London and other amateurs can often buy
boxes of plants even cheaper than this, for some of

PANSIES, VIOLAS, SWEET VIOLETS 275

the market gardeners grow them by the thousand for
spring planting. The plants are sold through florists*
shops and off costermongers' barrows. The cheapest
plan of all is to raise plants from seed at home. Some
dealers supply seed as cheap as id. a packet, and
specialists offer it as low as 6d. The following strains
of seed can be bought amongst others : (i) Exhibition
Fancy ; (2) Bedding Fancy ; (3) Masterpiece ; (4) Pea-
cock; (5) Odier's Blotched or Spotted; (6) Bedding,
in separate colours and in mixture ; (7) Show ; (8)
Trimardeau ; (9) Bugnot's veined ; (10) Cassier's. Nos.
5, 8; 9; 10 are Continental strains. Probably No. 2
(Bedding Fancy) would suit the amateur as well as
any, but No. 4 (Peacock) is a richly coloured strain.
Masterpiece has curled flowers. Whichever is chosen
the seed may be sown in boxes of sandy soil in March,
and put in a frame or on a greenhouse shelf. Heat
is not absolutely necessary, but it is an advantage if
the garden soil is poor and dry, because stronger plants
can be got by a given time. If the seed is sown in
February, and the plants hardened in a cold frame, they
will be ready to plant early in May. Another plan of
securing early plants is to raise the seedlings without
artificial heat in July, winter them in an unheated frame,
and plant them in April. However, in most cases it
suffices to sow without heat in March, and plants so
raised will be in bloom in July if treated well.

Soil. — The Pansy chooses cool places as a wilding,
and possibly one reason why it does well in Scotland
is that it enjoys the cool, moist climate. This affords
a hint to the cultivator. He may grow it in the full
sun, but he should not plant it in dry, sandy soil. If
the soil of the garden is of that character he should
add loam and decayed manure liberally, and he should

276 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

further mulch the bed with cow manure. This, com-
bined with water and Hquid manure in summer, and
with systematic removal of fading flowers, will insure
success almost anywhere. In fact, with this treatment
Pansies may be grown successfully in town gardens.
They like rather than dislike clay soil. If well w^orked,
clay soil is both fertile and moist, so that it suits Pansies
well. If fine, fresh flowers are wanted for exhibition,
the plants had better be grown in a bed to themselves,
where special attention can be given to them. The buds
may be thinned to get increased size of bloom, and the
bed may be shaded with tiffany (a thin canvas) when
show day approaches. But in ordinary garden use
Pansies may be used in a less formal way. Clumps of
them may be set near the front of herbaceous or shrub
borders, and they may be used as margins for beds.

Violas or Tufted Pansies. — When bedding or border-
ing for garden effect is in view, the amateur may well
consider the Violas or Tufted Pansies, which are more
popular than the Pansies proper in these days. They
are of hybrid origin, and probably some varieties of the
garden Pansy have been used as parents of them. At
all events, while there is a wide distinction between an
exhibition Fancy Pansy and a Viola, it is sometimes
difficult to distinguish between garden Pansies and
Violas. The latter are supposed to have a more bushy
habit, to throw up more shoots, and to produce more
flowers than the Pansy. The blossoms are nominally
smaller, however. They may be raised from seed and
cuttings in precisely the same way as Pansies. Named
varieties must be kept true by propagation from cuttings,
but good mixed strains, also self blue, white, and yellow,
can be raised from seed. The great popularity of Violas
or Tufted Pansies is not at all surprising, for they are

Violas or Tufted Pansies.

PANSIES, VIOLAS, SWEET VIOLETS 277

valuable plants in many ways. They grow freely, and
flower abundantly for several months.

It is mainly owing to its profusion of bloom and
dense, tufty habit that the Viola has got ahead of the
Pansy as a garden plant. It has not the rich colouring
of the latter, and could not be shown individually on a
board like the Pansy. When exhibited it is set up in
bunches like single Dahlias, most of the flowers being
arranged so as to face the spectator. A series of such
bunches, set up on green boards, forms a beautiful
exhibit, far more striking and attractive to most flower-
lovers than a board of Pansies, the blooms of which lie
singly and flat on the show-board, however appealing
the latter may be to the specialists. Viola exhibits are
made at many of the principal shows both in England
and Scotland. If there are not classes for them they
may still be found, because trade florists set up non-
competitive stands in the hope of arresting the attention
of visitors, and so gaining orders for plants or seeds.

As Town Flowers. — Speaking broadly, the Viola
thrives best with the same soil and general culture as
the Pansy, and enjoys similar conditions. But owing
to its greater vigour it can make a better fight against ad-
verse conditions. Those w^ho see the beautiful bands and
beds of Violas in the London parks will appreciate this
advantage fully. These displays bring home to them the
fact that in spite of the reputation which members of
the Viola family enjoy of being bad town plants, they
can be made to succeed in town gardens. If the soil is
well prepared, if planting is done by mid-May, if water-
ing is attended to in hot, dry weather throughout June,
if the flowers are picked, and if the plants are given a
mulching of fresh soil and decayed manure in July, they
will succeed. Let the suburbanist bed them among his

278 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

standard Roses, or band them along the front of his
Sweet Pea border. Nor Roses, nor Violas, nor Sweet
Peas are nominally the right plants for him, yet if he
has the root of floriculture in him he may make a toler-
able success of all of them.

The Sweet Violet. — We cannot think of the Viola
genus without thoughts of the sweet Violet, Viola
odorata, coming into our minds. Who does not love
this delicious denizen of the hedgerows ? Who does
not long to have it naturalised in his garden, and likewise
giving him winter flowers from a snug frame ? That
time of the year

" When Daisies pied and Violets blue,
And Ladysmocks all silver white,
And cuckoo-buds of yellow hue

Do paint the meadows with delight,"

is one of enjoyment to every Nature-lover.

The Sweet Violet comes with the Dog Violet, Violet
caninay in March. The latter, paler in hue and not
scented, sometimes deceives the inexperienced eye, and
surprise and disappointment blend after an eager spring
forward to gather the flowers. Both have five petals of
unequal size, of which the lowest has a spur.

The Sweet Violet was one of the prime favourites of
Shakespeare. Note how he refers to it again and again,
and always in language that breathes freshness and
fragrance.

" Who when he lived, his breath and beauty set
Gloss on the Rose, smell to the Violet."

— Venus aTid Adonis.

" The forward Violet thus did I chide :
' Sweet thief, whence didst thou steal thy sweet that smells
If not from love's breath ? The purple pride
Which on thy soft cheek lor complexion dwells

PANSIES, VIOLAS, SWEET VIOLETS 279

In my love's veins thou hast too grossly died.

The Lily I condemned for thy hand,

And buds of Marjorqim had stol'n thy hair.' "

— Sonnet xcix.

" They are as gentle
As zephyrs blowing below the Violet,
Not wagging his sweet head."

— Cymbeline.

" If music be the food of love, play on ;
Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting,
The appetite may sicken, and so die.
That strain again ! it had a dying fall :
O ! it came o'er my ear like the sweet sound
That breathes upon a bank of Violets,
Stealing and giving odour."

— Twelfth Night.

And it was not Shakespeare alone of the great writers
who loved the Violet. Its appeal was equally powerful
to all. It made the same impression on Chaucer as on
Milton.

One would expect so old a British flower to have a
common name. That it has not may be attributed to
the natural charm of the Latin name Viola, of which
Violet and Violetta (the latter applied to a miniature
strain of garden Violas) are affectionate diminutives.
Cockneys sometimes perpetrate the atrocity Voylat in
naming it, but for the most part it is pronounced cor-
rectly. Speaking of pronunciation, it may be well to
point out that Viola is frequently rendered incorrectly.
It is pronounced Vi-o'-la ; it should be Vi'-o-la, the
accent being on the first syllable.

That grand old mediaeval gardener Gerard used brave
words of the Violet : '^ There be made of them garlands
for the head, nosegaies and poesies, which are delightful!
to looke on and pleasant to smell to, speaking nothing
of their appropriate vertues : yea, gardens themse-ives

2 8o POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

receive by these the greatest ornament of all chiefest
beautie and most gallant grace, and the recreation of the
minde which is taken thereby cannot but be very good
and honest ; for they admonish and stir up a man to
that which is comelie and honest, for fioweres through
their beautie, variety of colour, and exquisite form, do
bring to a liberall and gentlemanly minde the remem-
brance of honestie, comelinesse, and all kindes of
vertues."

If this leaves us a little breathless, we nevertheless
perceive the point of it all, and are impressed with a
respectful sympathy.

Propagation of Sweet Violets. — Violets for the garden
may be raised from seed in the same way as Pansies
and Violas. It may not be known to all that the Violet
bears its seed on a sort of supernumerary flower, devoid
of petals and perfume, which is produced in autumn.
Plants with this habit are spoken of by botanists as
cleistogamous. But the fine modern varieties of Violets
are rarely grown from seed ; they are propagated by
runners, cuttings, or division, according to their habit.
Some varieties throw out offspring on " runners," like
Strawberries, and these can be struck in the ground
around the parent if a little good soil is put to them and
they are pegged down. Others, more Pansy-like in their
habit, produce basal shoots devoid of flowers, and these
can be taken off and treated as cuttings. Plants which
spread and form a thick rootstock with many fibres are
best divided. Whichever method is chosen it is generally
practised in spring, for the plants make most of their
growth in that season.

Culture for Winter Bloom, — It is to yield winter
bloom that Violets are generally grown in gardens,
and they play their part generously when well treated.

PANSIES, VIOLAS, SWEET VIOLETS 281

They must have protection, of course, and this is
generally provided in the form of a glass frame, set up
on a mild hot bed of manure and leaves. The plants
are taken from the ground in September or October,
and planted in a bed of good soil, made up about
nine inches deep on the top of the hot bed. The addi-
tion of an equal quantity of leaves to the manure insures
a mild, steady heat, which is what is wanted. With
fermenting manure alone there would be a fierce heat
at first and coldness soon afterwards. The plants are
put about a foot apart. Any dead or diseased leaves,
and any side shoots, are removed. The lights are kept
open in fine weather. Watering is done when the soil
becomes dry, and a little special manure is watered
in once a week. With this treatment the plants grow
and bloom throughout the winter and spring. They
will not yield many flowers in very severe weather, but
there will not be many days on which a few flowers
cannot be picked ; while in mild spells there will be
abundance of fragrant blossoms. Frame Violets are
sometimes a failure through an attack of red spider,
which may be suspected at once if the foliage becomes
thin and rusty ; but this enemy rarely puts in an appear-
ance when plenty of water is given and ventilation is
sufficient. The plants remain healthy, the leaves are
abundant, substantial, and dark in colour. The side
shoots and suckers which form may be removed regu-
larly until the end of March, so that the plants may
concentrate their energies on flowering ; but after that
time the plants may be allowed to grow naturally, in
order that they may produce material for propagation.

Species and Varieties. — It would probably be impos-
sible to trace the exact parentage of modern Pansies,
Violas, and Sweet Violets, although we know that most

282 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

of the Pansies have sprung from Viola tricolor, and the
Violets from Viola odorata. As we have ah-eady seen,
the flowers of the former are purple and yellow, and
those of the latter purple ; and both are British plants.
There is a white variety of Viola odorata called alba,
and this also is a Sweet Violet. Another variety, called
pallida plenay or pale double, is the double lavender-
coloured Violet that we grow under the name of
Neapolitan, and which is loved so much for its large
flowers and its perfume. It is valuable for forcing.
There are several other charming varieties, and a selec-
tion of them is given below. The Siberian Violet, Viola
altaica, has purple flowers, and is illustrated in the
Botanical MagazinCy t. 1776. A more important species
is cornuta, which has blue flowers, and is illustrated in
the Botanical Magazine, t. 791. This species, which
came from the Pyrenees in 1776, is the parent of many
of the strains of bright, free-blooming ^' bedding
Pansies " sold by seedsmen ; moreover, it has probably
been used as a parent in raising our bedding Violas.
There is a white variety of it. Calcarata, blue, and its
varieties ; cucullatUy violet ; lutea, yellow ; and pedata,
blue, and its varieties, are other well-known Violas, and
may have been used as parents in producing the fine
varieties named and briefly described in the following
lists : —

Twelve Fancy Pansies.

Alice Lister, violet, French white, and pale mauve.

Carrie Nation, violet, white, purple.

Constance Abercromby, claret, yellow, and purple.

Hall Robertson, purple, brown, and yellow.

James McNab, yellow, dark blotches.

John Harle, cream and purple.

Mrs. Ferguson, crimson, violet, and pale yellow.

PANSIES, VIOLAS, SWEET VIOLETS 283

Mrs. J. Sellars, violet and yellow.
Mrs. William Sinclair, violet and pale yellow.
Neil M'Kay, yellow, crimson, and purple.
Nellie Curson, yellow, brown, and mauve.
Robert M'Caughie, violet, rose, and yellow.

Twelve Violas or Tufted Tansies.

Archie Grant, indigo blue.

A. J. Rowberry, yellow, rayless.

Countess of Hopetoun, white.

Duchess of York, white.

Helen Smellie, white, blue edge.

Ithuriel, azure.

Lark, cream, edged heliotrope.

Mrs. C. McPhail, heliotrope.

Mauve Queen, mauve.

Royal Sovereign, deep yellow.

True Blue, deep blue.

William Neil, rosy lavender.

Single Sweet Violets.

Amiral Avellan, purple.
Mdlle. O. Pages, pale rose.
Princess of Wales, deep blue.
The Czar, violet.

Double Sweet Violets.

Comte de Brazza, white.
Marie Louise, lavender and white.
Mrs. J. J. Astor, pink.
Neapolitan, lavender, white eye.

This brief glance at the Viola genus shows us that
although its members are of lowly habit, they have
great value and charm for the flower gardener. Small
as the plants are, they have such qualities of abundant

2 84 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

blooming and brilliant colour as to make them capable
of producing bright effects in the garden, while their
delicious perfume endears them to us at all stages of
our lives. In their modern ennobled forms the Violets
are as sweet as they were when they prompted the
inspired muse of Shakespeare in the glades of Arden,

XXX

ON PHLOXES

Beautiful as a flower, and magnificent as a garden
plant, the Phlox is fortunately in a position to arouse
interest by its own merits. I say ''fortunately," because
tracing its history unfolds no pageant of the past. It
cannot appeal to patriotism as a native, or to sentiment
as one of those sweet old favourites which have been
linked with the lives of centuries of generations. It is
a modern plant. True, some of the species have been
grown for a hundred years or more, but they are of
little historic interest or garden value, and only concern
us as parents of the beautiful varieties which we grow
in our gardens to-day.

The name Phlox comes from flame, in allusion to
the brilliance of the flowers. Short, simple, easy of
pronunciation with the national custom of turning the
first two letters into ^'F" brought into play, it soon
became familiar, and no folk-name was required to
facilitate popularity. No sooner had the florists given
us good varieties than the plants spread from garden
to garden, and in a few brief years Phloxes were grown
everywhere. They are now so abundant and familiar
that they are associated in the public mind with old
favourites like Snapdragons, Columbines, Lilies, and

Michaelmas Daisies, and it comes as a surprise to

285

2 86 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

flower-lovers to know that they are as modern as
florists' Chrysanthemums.

The facts being thus, it is useless to send our
thoughts rambling among the book-shelves in search
of references to Phloxes by the old writers. When the
giants of the Elizabethan epoch were sharpening their
quills, the Phloxes grew only as weeds in the untrodden
wilds of North America. We must think out our own
poetry about them, as we survey them in our borders
on fiery August days, and in the cooler hours of
September. They stand in bold masses, the tall, strong,
woody stems, clothed with short, narrow leaves, bear-
ing huge clusters of brilliant flowers aloft. When good
culture and good varieties are in union the flower-heads
may be a foot long and eight or nine inches through,
the individual flowers as large as florins. Here, surely,
is the wherewithal to inspire poetry, if rather of the
martial than the amorous stamp.

The botanist does not speak of ^'clusters" and
*' flower-heads" in connection with Phloxes. These are
loose garden phrases, fit only for the man in the street.
He calls them ^^ panicles." A panicle is an inflores-
cence, the branches of which are divided irregularly,
as in the Lilac. And we bow to the superior knowledge
of the botanist, and we feel what fundamentally inferior
creatures we are, when we turn up a plant dictionary
and find that the parent (or one of the parents at least)
of our late blooming Phloxes is Phlox paniculata, a North
American plant, with purplish pink flowers, that was
introduced in 1782. Another species which is credited
with the parentage of the late Phloxes is maculata,
introduced from North America in 1740, and having
purple flowers. Phlox maculata has another name —
deciissata — and this explains why it is that the reader

Pf.renniai. Phi.oxfs.

ON PHLOXES 287

sometimes sees a set of Phloxes referred to as " belong-
ing to the decussata section." Since decussata is a
synonym, or at the most an almost identical form of,
maculata ; and since maculata has only shared a part
with paniculata in parenting the modern late-blooming
Phloxes, the phrase '' decussata section " is unfortunate.
However, there is no need to use it, as ^' late flowering"
suffices. We need only teach ourselves what it amounts
to, and then drop it for good.

The use of ^Mate-flowering" as a sectional term
suggests that there are at least two classes of perennial
Phloxes. As a matter of fact there are three, but one
of them is a distinctly spring-blooming group. There
are two which flower in summer, and the earlier set has
derived from a different species, as might be supposed.
Phlox glaberrtma (from glabevy smooth, devoid of hairs ;
glaberrima means very smooth), a red species intro-
duced in 1725, had a form named suffmticosa (a suffru-
ticose plant is one that loses its leaves every year, but
retains its stems, and Phloxes growers will observe
that Phloxes hold their stems much longer than their
leaves), which bore pink flowers. This variety is figured
in the Botanical Magazine^ t. 1555. The flower-lover
now understands why it is that he sees a section
described as the ^^suffruticosa group," and rightly
assumes that they have derived from Phlox glaberrhna
suffruticosa. Nominally the parent does not bloom
earlier than the parents of the decussata group ; but
the varieties are earlier, and the section is usually
spoken of as the Early-flowering Phloxes.

There are many beautiful varieties of both sections,
and each ought to be represented in gardens. Most
of the members of the early group grow two to two
and a half feet high, and bloom in June and July. The

288 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

colours are varied, and the flower-heads are of good
size. The late bloomers are at their best from August
to October, and are rather taller in the main than their
early sisters, although some, notably the magnificent
white, Tapis Blanc, are quite dwarf. They are very
vigorous plants, with strong stems, and when established
in suitable soil spread into glorious masses. They
present a considerable range of colours, some of which
are brilliant in the extreme. One of their most power-
ful recommendations is the long period during which
they remain in bloom. They are often beautiful until
November.

The spring-flowering varieties (as distinct from
species) of Phloxes have come from the "Moss Pink,"
Phlox subulata (from subulate^ awl-shaped) species, grow-
ing only about six inches high, and having purple
flowers, introduced from North America in 1786. With
its prostrate stems and dense mass of flowers this little
Phlox is a real carpetter, and is suitable for the rockery.
Frondosa and nivalis are forms of it. The former, with
its rosy lilac flowers, is a great favourite. It grows
rapidly, and so spreads into a broad mass. There are
now many charming varieties of subulata^ giving much
variety of colour, and they form pretty cushions in the
border or on the rockery.

There is yet another important section of Phloxes,
namely, the annual forms grown under the name of
Drumniondii. Phlox Druinmo7idii is a free flowering
annual, growing about a foot high, with purple
blossoms, which was introduced from Texas in 1835,
and is illustrated in the Botanical MagazinCy t, 3441.
It was soon seen to be a useful plant, although it was
neither perennial nor hardy, and distinct forms of it
were soon raised and offered by seedsmen under dif-

ON PHLOXES 289

ferent names, such as cuspidata (from cuspidate, pointed);
fivibriata (fringed) ; flore pleno (double) ; grandiflora (large-
flowered) ; and nana compacta [dvf?iri compact). We are
not yet at the end of these novelties in Annual Phloxes.
The modern selections are very beautiful, and have had
much to do with the exclusion of Verbenas from
gardens. They do nearly all that Verbenas can do
except yield fragrance, and are easier to manage. The
colours are varied and beautiful, and the wetter the
season the more abundant and beautiful the flowers
are.

Mention of one or two good species of Phloxes
may conclude my description of the genus, and I can
proceed to culture and selections of varieties. Divaricata,
a spring bloomer with lilac flowerS; growing about a
foot high, is a very pretty Phlox, and has charming
forms in canadensis^ blue ; and alba, white. It is illus-
trated in the Botanical Magazine, t. 163. Ovata {trifiora)
illustrated in the Botanical Magazine, t. 528, has red
flowers, and grows a foot high or a little more. Reptans
is a creeper with violet flowers. Verna has pink flowers,
and grows about six inches high. There are several
other species, but these are the only ones that are
grown to any extent, and they are all fairly popular.
They are spring bloomers, suitable for the front of
herbaceous borders or rockwork.

Propagation. — The Phloxes are easy plants to increase.
The annuals are raised from seed in spring in the
same way as Asters (see Chapter II.), but they may also
be propagated by cuttings in autumn, the Phloxes being
one of the few annuals which can be propagated in this
way. The plan is only desirable when plants are w^anted
for pot culture, to bloom in spring. When they are
required for garden use propagation in autumn, which

290 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

entails the care of the plants throughout the winter,
compares unfavourably with raising from seed in spring.
No heat is required for raising seedlings in April, as the
plants come readily in a cold frame. They should be
pricked off four inches apart when they begin to
crowd in the seed-box, and lime should be sprinkled
around them when they are planted out, as slugs are
very fond of them. The plants may be put in a foot
apart. Unless the summer is very dry they are likely to
keep on blooming till October, as they last remarkably
well. The perennial summer Phloxes, both early and
late blooming, can be propagated by division, cuttings,
or seed. They must not be expected to spread suffi-
ciently at the root to be strong enough for division at
the end of their first year ; but if the soil is good and
the summer moist they will probably be ready for division
the second year. The root-stocks may be divided into
several pieces with a sharp spade in winter or spring.
Cutting-propagation may be effected either with the
young shoots that start in the spring, which should be
inserted in boxes of sandy soil and put in a frame, or by
cutting some of the old roots into small pieces and putting
them in boxes of soil in spring just before growth starts.
Any of these methods will keep named varieties true to
character. Seeds afford a cheap and ready means of
getting a stock of plants, and if saved from the best
varieties will give a good type, but seedling plants will
differ from their parents. The seed may be sown in
boxes, and wintered on a greenhouse shelf or in a frame.
The young plants will be ready for planting out in May,
but except in very good soil and in a wet season they
will do no more than just flower the first season ; they
will not make really strong plants until the second year.
The spring-flowering Phloxes are propagated by cuttings

ON PHLOXES 291

after flowering. The shoots should be inserted in boxes
of hght sandy soil, and kept in a frame until they start
growing.

Soil. — Phloxes will thrive in the ordinary soil of most
gardens if it is not very stiff, but they do not like cold,
adhesive, undrained clay. In growing them on heavy
land I found it important to drain the ground with pipes
so as to prevent moisture lying near the surface in wet
winters, and to add sand and leaf mould to the stations
when planting, in order to increase the friability of the
soil. I am of opinion that they favour light soil, for
pieces planted in light land a foot above chalk made
magnificent clumps in eighteen months, far excelling
those which I had previously had on clay. It is true that
the second summer was wet, and therefore in their
favour. Although they do not relish stagnant moisture
in the soil while at rest in winter, they love water in
summer, and grow the faster the more they have of it.
One must get a good deal of growth in Phloxes to get
much bloom, as the flowers are borne on the top of the
stems, and one must have strong shoots before one can
have large panicles. This, of course, points to the ad-
visability of watering them in dry weather. Liquid
manure is also beneficial. They will thrive in light,
loamy soils. When the borders are dug in winter a
dressing of decayed manure should be worked in around
the plants.

Phloxes for Beds and Borders. — Phloxes are among
the finest of plants for both beds and borders. Owners
of large gardens who like to plant a bed entirely with
Phloxes have only to supply good soil and adequate
moisture to see the bed become one of the greatest
successes of the garden. Early and late varieties may
be planted in the same bed if desired, and there will

292 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

then be bloom from July to November. When planted
in mixed borders the Phloxes should go at the middle or
back if the soil is rich, as most of them will grow three
to four feet high ; and they should be planted four feet
apart, as they will spread considerably. If old stools are
not divided some of the shoots may be thinned out in
spring, as better flowers will result from the fewer
number. Phloxes will thrive in suburban gardens if
the soil is friable and abundance of moisture is given in
summer, but most of them are hardly suitable for small
town gardens, as they take up more room than can be
spared.

The following are beautiful varieties : —

Early Sum?ner Phloxes,

Attraction, white, crimson eye.
Fantasy, pink, suffused crimson.
James Hunter, rose.
Lady Napier, white, sweet.
Shakespeare, magenta, white edge.
The Shah, purplish rose.

Late Summer Phloxes.

Atala, rose, white centre, 3 ft.

Coquelicot, orange, 3 ft.

Crepuscule, white, dark centre, 3 ft.

Eclaireur, carmine, primrose suffusion, 3 ft.

Etna, scarlet, 3 J ft.

Eugene Danzanvilliers, rosy lilac, white eye, 3J ft.

G. A. Strohlein, orange, carmine eye.

L'Aiglon, carmine rose, 3 ft.

Mrs. W. P. Wright, rosy carmine, crimson eye, 4 ft.

Pyramide, white, i\ ft.

Rossignol, rosy mauve, white eye, 2 J ft.

Sylphide, white, 3 ft.

Tapis Blanc, white, 2 ft.

ON PHLOXES 293

Dwarf spring Phloxes.

Atropurpurea, rosy purple.
Frondosa, dark rose.
Grandiflora, pink, crimson eye.
Newry Seedling, white, rose eye.
Vivid, brilliant rose.

XXXI

ON THE PRIMULAS— AURICULAS, OXLIPS,
POLYANTHUSES, AND PRIMROSES

Natives and exotics alike, the different species of the
Primula genus hold our affections in sure bonds. Does
not the very name appeal to us — Primula, iv ova primus,
the first, in allusion to the early flowering of the plants ?
They are the harbingers of Nature's year, and in the
meadow and woodland, as well as in the rockery and
garden border, their pretty blossoms fill us with pleasure
and hope.

Auricula, Cowslip, Oxlip, Polyanthus, Primrose —
all are Primulas. Botanically the Auricula is Priimda
auricula, the Cowslip Primula officinalis (or veris), the
Oxlip Primula elatior, and the Primrose Primula vulgaris
(or acaulis). The Polyanthus is a hybrid between the
Primrose and the Cowslip. All except the Auricula are
natives, and that is an Alpine plant, although it has been
grown in British gardens for more than three hundred
years. The type is illustrated in the Botanical MagasinCy
t. 6837.

It is scarcely necessary to say that these popular
Primroses are hardy. Not merely do they withstand the
cold as cheerfully as an Oak, but they retain their leaves
through the winter, and take every opportunity afforded
by mild spells to grow and flower. They play a sort of

cat-and-mouse game with Jack Frost, darting into growth

294

ON THE PRIMULAS 295

if he relaxes his grip for a moment, discreetly retiring
when he renews his pressure, and eke flinging out a flower
or two in order to show how little impressed they are
by all his efforts.

The Cowslip is not a garden plant, but we give a
grateful thought to it every time our eye falls affection-
ately on the beautiful Polyanthuses of our spring beds.
We see that these exquisite little flowers differ from the
Primroses in bearing several flowers in a cluster at the
top of the stem (j)oly-anthus^ many-flowered), and we
understand that they acquired the habit from the Cow-
slip. We love the latter as a meadow plant, and we
rejoice that we have it in a glorified form — larger, richer
in colour, more varied, and yet sweet, in the garden.
As the Cowslip is not a garden flower, we need not
thresh out the vexed question of its popular name,
which still remains unexplained. There is a natural
association between ''cows" and ''lips," since it grows
in the pastures, and this derivation satisfies most people,
although so great an authority as Dr. Prior will have
none of it. W^e must leave it to the children and the
fairies, for the flower belongs to them.

" Where the bee sucks there lurk I,
In a Cowslip's bell I lie."

— The Te7npest.

The true Oxlip has pale yellow flowers. It is accepted
as a good species by botanists, but the Oxlips of our
gardens are probably hybrids. Shakespeare refers to
the Oxlip several times, and few lines about flowers are
more familiar than those from "A Midsummer Night's
Dream " —

" I know a bank whereon the wild Thyme blows,
Where Oxlips and the nodding Violet grows,"

296 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

The Primrose is equally interesting as a wild and
as a garden flower. Etymologists trace its name from
fior de prima vera (first flower of spring), through the
abbreviation prima vera and the affectionate Italian
extension primavcrola. Thus the latter became prime-
verole {Fvench) ^nd pri77terole. From this stage the end
is soon reached, as primeroles readily become Prim-
roses. The name "rose" disappears, as it must in-
evitably do, for it derives from rhodf red, and has no
natural connection with primrose.

Students of folk-names are often struck by some
similarity, the meaning of which is not obvious. Thus,
my attention was arrested by hearing the peasantry of
East Kent speak of the hedge plant Privet {Ligustrum)
as Prim. Singular to say, Primrose w^as an old name
for Privet, and it has lasted in an abbreviated form
to this day. Tusser, in his " Five Hundred Points of
Good Husbandry," tells us that —

" Now set ye may
The Box and Bay,
Hawthorn and Prim,
For clothes trim."

Privet is the accepted popular name of Ligiistrum
vtilgare^ L. ovalifolium, and other species in these days,
and Primrose is reserved for the beautiful little spring
flower in which the great writers of the past delighted.
Dozens of extracts trom the poets could be made to
show their love of the flower.

Beaumont and Fletcher wrote of the

" Primrose, first-born child of Ver,
Merry springtime's harbinger,
With her bell's dim,"

in "The Two Noble Kinsmen."

ON THE PRIMULAS 297

Shakespeare referred to it again and again —

" In the wood where often you and I
Upon faint Primrose beds were wont to lie."

— Midsummer Nighfs Dream,

" Pale Primroses
That die unmarried ere they can behold
Bright Phcebus in his strength."

— Winter's Tale.

" Thou shalt not lack
The flower that's like thy face, pale Primrose."

— Cymbeline.

It is clear from these and other references that the
pale colour of the flower had impressed itself on
Shakespeare's mind as the distinguishing feature of the
Primrose. Perhaps this gave a cue to Milton, for its
pallor seems to have influenced him also. He speaks
of the

" Rathe Primrose that forsaken dies,"
and the

" Soft silken Primrose fading timelesslie.'

The light colour and the alliteration combined seem
to have been too strong for both poets, and "pale
primrose" crops up in their writings with a frequency
that becomes a little wearisome.

Withal the Primrose is a cheerful flower. Country
children, and townsfolk of all ages, love to gather great
bunches of it from the banks and woodland glades in
spring. It enjoys coolness and shade, like the Violet,
and this should be borne in mind by gardeners. It is
essential that a warm, dry position should be chosen for
the flowering, as that takes place in spring, but it is
not advisable for the propagation which follows the
blooming. Divided plants do better when planted in

298 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

a cool, moist, shady place for the summer, than when
planted in a hot position.

Propagation. — I have mentioned division, but a start
may be made with seeds. The larger seedsmen supply
seeds of the following : Auriculas — Show, Alpine, Border,
and Giant Yellow ; the first two classes are grown in
pots, and named varieties are perpetuated by offsets ;
the others are grown in the garden. Polyanthuses — Gold-
laced, Mixed Border, White, Yellow, and Crimson,
Munstead strain, Galligaskin or Jack-in-the-green (each
floret in which is surrounded by a green leaflet), and
Hose-in-hose (each flower of which has another set
within it). All of these Polyanthuses are hardy garden
flowers, although the Gold-laced is sometimes grown in
pots. Primroses — Giant Mixed, White, Blue, and Com-
mon Yellow. The number of kinds will not alarm the
Primrose-lover, and he will be eager to try them all ;
but if it tends to perturb the amateur, let him rest
assured that he can reduce it to Mixed Border Auri-
culas, Mixed Border Polyanthuses, and Mixed Border
Primroses without losing one jot of garden beauty.
He may keep them separate in his beds if he likes,
or he may mix them. The seed may be sown as soon
as it is ripe, and seed of the current season's saving
can be bought in early summer. If sown in fine, moist
soil in the shady part of the garden it will soon
germinate, but it is safer to sow in boxes and put in
a frame. In either case the seedlings must be kept
uncrowded and planted out in autumn. The stock of
plants can be increased in late spring when the flower-
ing is over by dividing them with a trowel, and planting
in rich, friable soil in a shady place, from which the
plants can be transferred to the beds in autumn. If
they are kept as permanent plants at the front of mixed

ON THE PRIMULAS 299

beds and borders annual transplanting is not necessary,
but they may be split up sometimes.

Primroses for Beds. — These beautiful hardy Auriculas,
Polyanthuses, and Primroses are charming for spring
beds, and many use them in addition to Wallflowers,
Daffodils, Tulips, and other spring flowers. Easily and
cheaply raised in quantity from seed, they bear trans-
planting with impunity, so that they can be put into beds
in autumn when the summer flowers have faded, and
moved out again in late spring when they pass out of
flower to make room for summer and autumn-flowering
plants. So delightful are they, with their masses of
foliage and sheets of brilliant flowers, that few spring
flowers can vie with them, and they are pleasantly,
although not powerfully, scented. It is much to be
regretted that they are not quite suitable for town
gardens, but the truth is that they dislike the grime of
a smoke-laden atmosphere.

Auriculas. — The townsman who is enamoured of the
Primula genus might do worse than grow a collection of
Auriculas in pots, for they are refined and interesting
flowers. But the culture is special, and the plants some-
what expensive. It is customary for Auricula-lovers to
devote a frame to their favourites, which they set to face
the north in summer and the south in winter. The
plants bloom in late spring, and are re-potted after
flowering, when such offsets as have formed are taken off
and potted separately. They are given abundance of
air throughout the summer, and also in fine spells in
winter, but are kept close in foggy weather. The
varieties in the show section are classified according to
the prevailing ring of colour, e.g. Green-edged, White-
edged, Grey-edged. The Alpines are larger, and have ^
broad belt of purple,

300 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

Named Border Friuiroses. — Several beautiful hardy
border Primroses are grown under distinctive names,
and included in the collections of amateurs who specialise
these charming spring flowers. The following are a few
of particular interest : Alba Plena, double white; Cloth
of Gold, double yellow ; Old Double Crimson ; Crimson
Velvet, double crimson ; Harbinger, large single white ;
Lilacma Plena^ double lilac ; Miss Massey, crimson,
yellow eye, single ; Purpurea Plena, double purple ; and
Rosea Plena, double rose. Seed is not offered, and plants
have to be bought.

Beautiful Species of Primula. — The student of Prim-
roses finds that there are many beautiful exotic species
which are quite hardy, and are charming for rockeries
and borders. One of these is cortusoides^ a Siberian plant
with rose flowers in summer ; seeds are procurable.
Denticulata, with lilac flowers in spring, comes from the
Himalayas ; it grows about nine inches high, and bears
its flowers on a rounded head, as the illustration in the
Botanical Magazine^ t, 3959, shows ; it has several varieties,
including albay white ; cashmeriafiay pale purple ; pur-
purea^ purple ; and variegata^ white-edged leaves. Pari-
nosa, purple with yellow eye, is pretty, faponica^ a
Japanese plant with rose or crimson flowers, introduced
in 1871, is a splendid species for a cool, moist spot,
growing about eighteen inches high, and can be raised
from seed ; it is illustrated in the Botanical Magazine,
t. 5916. Maiginata is a tiny plant, only three or four
inches high, v/ith violet flowers ; it is illustrated in the
Botanical Magazine, t. 191. Rosea is a beautiful species,
introduced from Cashmere in 1879, and illustrated in the
Botanical Magazitie, t. 6437 ; the colour is rosy carmine ;
the plant loves a cool, moist spot ; there are varieties of
it, notably grandifora, very large. Seed of the type, if

ON THE PRIMULAS 301

not of the varieties, is procurable. Sikktmensisy which
grows about eighteen inches high, and blooms in sum-
mer, has pale yellow flowers ; it is illustrated in the
Botanical Magazine^ t, 4597. Viscosa [villosa), illustrated
in i\i^ Botanical Magazine y t. 14, is an Alpine species with
rosy-purple, white-eyed flowers, and grows only three
or four inches high. Sieboldii, a splendid Japanese
species with rose and white flowers, grows about a foot
high, and blooms in April ; several varieties are sold
under names, such as Alba magnificat large white-fringed
flowers ; Beauty of Sale, white, edged with rose ; Dis-
tinction, white, shaded rose ; Fascination, white, lavender
exterior, fringed ; Grandifloray creamy white and rose ;
Harry Leigh, lilac, with white eye ; Lilacina superba^
lilac ; Magenta Queen, magenta ; and Violacea, violet.
Seed of the type is procurable.

Greenhouse Primulas. — Sieboldii and its varieties are
nominally hardy, but they are apt to die out in winter,
and they are generally grown in pots for greenhouse
decoration, like the Chinese Primula (varieties of sinensis) ;
the Star Primula (stellaia) ; the lilac obconica, a free-
growing, free-blooming plant admirably adapted for
amateurs, but with the unpleasant peculiarity of causing
a painful rash on the hands of many people who handle
it ungloved ; and such minor but still beautiful sorts
as fioribunda, yellow ; Forbesii, lilac, with yellow eye ;
and kewensisy a yellow hybrid raised by crossing fioribufida
and verticillata. The beautiful fringed Chinese Primulas
are splendid plants for blooming in warm greenhouses
in winter, and are of the easiest culture, coming readily
from seed sown for succession in late spring and sum-
mer. They are purchasable in mixture or in separate
colours. Every seedsman of any standing specialises

302 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

them, and supplies strains which produce large trusses
of handsome flowers.

Those who specialise hardy Primulas will get the
newer species, such as Bulleyana, Cockburniana, and
Littoniana, which have aroused much interest in recent
years.

While the foregoing notes do not exhaust the Prim-
roses, they may serve to show how much interest and
value lie in the lovely denizen of the woodland and its
garden sisters. Early, sweet, gay, neat in growth, and
profuse in flow^ering, they are full of delight for the lover
of flowers.

XXXII

ON ROSES

A-SPRAWL along the hedges where, earlier in the year, the
tawny hazel catkins hung, and the white cymes of the
Wayfaring Tree stood out against the tender green of
the new May leafage ; sending a swaying tracery of
slender shadows up and down the grass path of the
pergola ; making a bold block of colour around the
stained sun-dial within the Yew hedges ; throwing a
flower-starred tangle over the stones and stumps of a
rough bank ; peering and tapping at the windows of the
house — everywhere the Roses charm us.

It is a quality of the Rose that wherever it grows
healthfully it seems a part of its surroundings. There
could hardly be a greater contrast between the wild
exuberance of a country copse and the trim order of an
old garden in the Dutch style, with its straight, Box-
lined walks and its tall, sombre hedges ; but in each the
Rose picture seems perfect. The natural grace of the
wilding is not more in keeping wdth its environm.ent
than the cultured refinement of the garden plant. Each
leaves an impression of propriety on the mind. The
plants fit in with their circumstances and conditions in
a way that creates a sense of natural suitability.

There are many conscious reasons why people

plant Roses in their gardens — for beauty of bloom, for

fragrance, for the harvest of material which the plants

303

304 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

yield for vases ; and there is this subconscious one — that
Roses fall into soft, gentle, and beautiful harmonies
without deliberate effort on the part of the grower,
giving him, out of the rich stores of their natural beauty,
a reward that he had hardly dared to hope for, much
less actively aimed at.

It is hard to put Roses in wrong places in gardens,
provided they are such spots as the plants can grow
vigorously and cleanly in. The plants make their own
" circle." They create ^' atmosphere." They form at
once a home for themselves and a peaceful, perfumed
retreat for the garden owner. They may not form a
"Rose garden" in the accepted sense, but where they
are, in health and beauty, the garden is.

Year by year we learn to love Roses more. Year
by year the Rose nurseryman extends his acres, and
gives us a larger and more varied selection. We delve
for pillars, we erect arches, we build summer-houses
less to sit in than to form supports for rambling Roses.
We form beds for Roses, we even put them in our
borders. For every Rose that is planted in good soil
the garden grows in grace. The old blazing Geranium
garden is gone, and in its place we have the garden
of tender-hued foliage, ruddy stems, and flowers that
we can gather for every purpose. Whether we have
a Rose garden, or a garden with Roses, our sense of
beauty and fitness is equally gratified.

If there is one touch of pain in connection with Roses,
it is that we have to forgo so many beautiful varieties
from sheer want of room. The raiser multiplies sorts,
and proves to us that his novelties are superior to exist-
ing varieties ; but the older we grow, the harder it is
to part with old favourites. They have grown into our
lives, and cannot be turned out without laceration.

Rose Felicite-Perpktue.

ON ROSES 305

Those moments of poignant pathos which come to
every human being at times when the path of youth
falls away into ever vaguer distance are rendered more
acute by the memory of old flowers, parted with re-
luctantly, and still loved. There comes a stage of life
when it is easier to transfer admiration than affection.
The old Roses may be superseded, but they cannot be
forgotten. In the warmth and perfume of the summer
garden the spell of their successors may be complete,
but on those winter evenings when we turn the pages
of diaries and sketch-books, or at moments when the
pain of a great bereavement is upon us, the power
of the old flowers comes back. And the worst thing
that we can do in such circumstances is to re-grow
them !

How beautiful some of those old Roses were —
Dundee Rambler, with the long, slender streamers that
it flung from pole to pole, encroaching on the space of
its sisters ; F^licitd-Perpetue, a column of snow against
its oaken pillar ; Aim6e Vibert, loose of bloom, but of
a most royal prodigality ; Maiden's Blush, tinting a wall
that knows it no more, for both wall and Rose, heart
and hearth, have gone ; Celine Forestier, with its canary
blossoms ; Gloire de Dijon, imperfect in form, but oh !
so free and gay and sweet ! It is the old Roses of
pillar, arch, and wall that are so hard to part with.
The bedding Roses do not cling so tightly. Perhaps
it is that they do not come so near to the home.

In dipping into the past the Rose-lover sometimes
finds that the old Roses are even older than he
thought — older, far older, than himself; and then he
begins to realise how old a plant the Rose really is,
and how closely it is entv/ined in the national life.
The name, he is told, comes from the Celtic word

3o6 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

rhod^ meaning red, and from this he assumes that red
must have been the prevailing colour of the Rose.

Shakespeare made numerous references to a flower
that he clearly knew and loved well ; and some of them
are of great beauty, as the following excerpts will
show : —

" Of Nature's gifts thou may'st with Lilies boast
And with the half-blown Rose."

— King John,

" So sweet a kiss the morning sun gives not
To those fresh morning drops upon the Rose."

— Love's Labour's Lost.

In the exquisite Sonnet LIV. Shakespeare makes beauti-
ful use of the odour of the Rose, and of its distillation
to form the famous attar of Roses, which has been
manufactured for many centuries in Turkey and else-
where. The fragrance of the Rose is indeed one of
its greatest charms, and it lives in most of the newer
varieties. It is true that a scentless sort wins favour
now and then, owing to exceptional beauty of bloom —
the varieties Her Majesty and Frau Karl Druschki are
cases in point — but they are few. From the ^'tea"
scent of the varieties of Rosa indica to the rich, full
perfume of the Damask, Monthly and modern Hybrid
Perpetual Roses all are deliciously sweet.

Some Species of Roses. — It is a pleasurable but an
involved task to trace the origin of modern Roses. We
have a number of classes, the distinctive names of
which convey a definite meaning to experts, but are
none the less indefinite. Few amateur growers realise
how numerous these classes are. With many Rose-
lovers there are only Hybrid Perpetuals, Teas, and
Hybrid Teas ; all the rest are " climbers." But even
climbers must be classified. Let us glance at a few

ON ROSES 307

of the species, including wildings and modern varieties.
The creamy-white trailing Rose, with flowers five-
petalled, about two inches across, which rambles over
the hedges in June, is Rosa arvensisj or repens^ and is
illustrated in the Botanical Magazine, t. 2054. This is
the Ayrshire Rose. A form (perhaps double) of arvensis
is supposed to be none other than the White Rose of
York, which Plantagenet gathered in the Temple Gardens
with the following appeal —

" Let him that is a true born gentleman,
And stands upon the honour of his birth,
If he suppose that I have pleaded truth,
From off this brier pluck a white Rose with me."

The Red Rose which Somerset plucked to point his
reply —

" Let him that is no coward and no flatterer,
But dare maintain the party of the truth,
Pluck a red Rose from off this thorn with me,"

could hardly be other than Rosa centifolia, the sweet I
old pink Cabbage Rose. A variety of this called niuscosa '
is the original Moss Rose.

The Ayrshire must not be confounded with the
Scotch Rose. Tlie latter, Rosa spinosissimay sometimes
called the Burnet-leaved Rose, blooms in May, and may
be found wild on the heaths in Scotland, Ireland, and
the Channel Islands. It has creamy flowers an inch
and a quarter across, tinted with pink ; the buds are
pink. The Dog Rose, Rosa canina, with its pink or
other-coloured flowers (it is a variable plant, and there
are many forms) is a familiar object in the hedges in
June, as are its red fruits in the autumn. The downy-
leaved Rose of the hedgerows, with pink flowers in
June, is Rosa villosa, and it has scarlet fruits. The true

3o8 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

Sweetbrier, with its foliage that has so delightful a
pungency, especially in the evening after rain, is the
Eglantine of Shakespeare —

" Quite overcanopied with luscious Woodbine,
With sweet Musk Roses and with Eglantine,
There sleeps Titania . . ."

This is the Rosa rubiginosa of the botanists, and there are
many forms of it. It is fond of the heaths and of the
chalk hills of southern England. The smaller-flowered
Sweetbrier of Scotland, Ireland, and the Channel Islands
is Rosa inia'antha.

Beautiful Briers, — These wild Roses are not without
garden interest, as improved forms have sprung from
them. For instance, there are the beautiful hybrid
briers of Lord Penzance, which have the leaf fragrance
of the dear old Eglantine with larger and more brilliant
flowers. They are splendid pillar plants, and alike in the
beauty of their flowers, the brilliance of their large hips,
and their perfume, they are remarkable. A few of the
best of these fine singles, with their spicy leaves, are
worth adding to any collection of pillar Roses.

Da^nask and Hybrid Perpetual Roses. — Old Roses
other than wildings which the garden-lover feels a
special interest in are the Damask, the Monthly (China),
and the Bourbon. The first, the Rosa damascena of
botanists, is reputed to have come from Syria in 1573,
so that there is no reason why Shakespeare should not
have known it and made use of it in the line —

" Gloves as sweet as Damask Roses."

It bears pink flowers in June, and was certainly one of
the parents of the modern Hybrid Perpetual Rose, with
its large, richly coloured, powerfully scented flowers.
The Old China or Monthly, which is in bloom most of

ON ROSES 309

the summer, has red flowers, and this has also been used
in raising hybrids. One of them is the Bourbon Rose
{Borbonica). It would be useless to endeavour to trace
the stages by which our modern Hybrid Perpetuals
have been raised from these old Roses, as no records of
the various crosses have been, or are ever likely to be,
published ; but the fact that the old species named were
the parents of them invests them with special interest in
our eyes.

Tea and Hybiid Tea Roses. — Greatly as modern Tea
Roses differ from Hybrid Perpetuals, having for the
most part smaller, more conical and lighter-coloured
flowers, thinner stems, and deeper colour in the foliage,
they are nevertheless supposed to have derived from a
variety of the Monthly Rose called Rosa indica odorata.
The Hybrid Teas are intermediate between the Hybrid
/ Perpetuals and Teas, and have sprung from crosses
between varieties of these two sections. It is interesting
to note that the most remarkable additions to the Hybrid
Tea section, which is now the most remarkable of all,
have been made by Irish raisers. It is hardly too much
to say that in the twenty years between 1890 and 1910
they revolutionised Rose-growing. In spite of their
name, the Hybrid Perpetual Roses are not, as a class,
continuous bloomers, and they only held priority over
the Teas owing to their larger flowers, richer colours, and
reputedly superior hardiness. The Hybrid Teas bloom
much more continuously than the Hybrid Perpetuals,
and as they equal them in brilliancy of colour, they hold
an advantage as garden plants.

The Musk Rose is the Rosa moschata of the botanists,
who tell us that it was brought from Bombay in 1596,
and had white flow^ers. This may be correct, as it has
been found in Nepaul, but Hakluyt {Voiages^ vol. ii.)

310 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

says that it was brought out of Italy, and Redout6 de-
clares it to be a native of North Africa. It is a loose
grower, making large, straggling bushes, and bearing
white flowers. It has no value as a garden plant, but its
scent is highly agreeable.

Shakespeare made several references to Musk Roses —

" Come, sit thee down upon this flowery bed
While I thy amiable cheeks do coy,
And stick Musk Roses in thy sleek smooth head.
And kiss thy fair large ears, my gentle joy."

— A Midsummer Nighfs Dreayn.

Literary flower-lovers may trip in deciding that the
Provincial referred to in ** Hamlet " is the Provence
Rose — ^* Would not this, sir, and a forest of feathers, if
the rest of my fortunes turn Turk with me, with two
provincial Roses on my razed shoes, get me a fellowship
in a cry of players, sir ? " — as it probably referred to
ribbons. The Provence Rose may be the same as the
Cabbage Rose — the Rose of Lancaster. Certainly the
Rosa provincialis of the old writer Philip Miller is the
same as the Rosa centifolia of Linnaeus, and the '* hundred-
leaved" Rose is also the Cabbage Rose. This richly
coloured, strongly scented Rose came from Asia (the
botanists say from Mount Caucasus), but it has long
been grown in southern Europe. Chaucer probably
had the Provence Rose in his mind when he wrote —

" Of Roses there were grete wone,
So fair were never in Rone " ;

for ^' Rone " would mean the Rhone, at the mouth of
which river Provence lies.

The *' canker-Rose " of Shakespeare —

" The canker-blooms have full as deep a dye
As the perfumed tincture of the Roses,"

ON ROSES 311

is, if a Rose at all, the wild Dog Rose, Rosa canina. But
may he not have meant a flower attacked by cater-
pillars ? Note in the ninety-fifth Sonnet —

" How sweet and lovely dost thou make the shame
Which, like a canker in the fragrant Rose,
Doth spot the beauty of thy budding name."

Rose-lovers will read with interest the suggestion of
Pliny the Elder that the old name for England, Albion,
originated in the abundance of white Roses that grew
wild in it. The botanist has his Rosa alba^ but that is not
a native. The white corn Rose, with its yellow stamens,
Rosa aruensisy is.

The Austrian Brier, — With a brief word of explanation
as to some other of the old Roses whose names crop up
from time to time, we must pass on to modern varieties
and culture. The reader sometimes hears of the Austrian
Brier. This is the Rosa lutea of botanists, has yellow
flowers in June, and grows about three feet high.

Va7'iegated Roses. — The variegated Rose, *^ Quatre
Saisons " of the French, red and white, is the York and
Lancaster Rose, a variety of Rosa damasceyta. Shake-
speare may have known of this variety when he wrote in
the '' Sonnets "—

" I have seen Roses damask'd, red and white,
But no such Roses see I in her cheeks."

There is another variegated Rose, the Rosamundi
or Gloria Mundi {Rosa Gallica versicolor). This was
mentioned by Ray, but not by Parkinson or Gerard.
The Macartney Rose is Rosa bracteatay a dwarf species,
bearing white flowers in July. The Evergreen Rose is
Rosa sempervirenSy a white rambler, a native of Southern
Europe, and included in the London Catalogue 2iS a wilding
in Great Britain. Rosa Wichuraiana is a Japanese species,

312 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

with white flowers, of comparatively recent introduction,
/ and important as the parent of our most valuable pillar,
arch, and bank Roses, such as Dorothy Perkins, Lady
Gay, and Alberic Barbier. The name should be
Luciae.

The Banksian Rose is Rosa BanksicBy a white-flowered
species introduced from China through Sir Joseph Banks
in 1807, and illustrated in the Botanical Magazine y t, 1954 ;
there is a yellow variety of it. These pretty Roses are
grown on walls, but often spoiled by over-pruning. It
is only the wood of more than two years old that should
be removed.

The Fairy Rose is a double form of the small Monthly
Rose, Rosa indica minima.

The Boursault and Seven Sisters Roses are both
varieties of Rosa multiflora^ the '* many - flowered "
Polyantha Rose — a section which includes no less im-
portant a plant than the Crimson Rambler, as well
as other popular Roses. The Boursault Rose {Rosa
multifloi-a Boursaultii) enjoyed considerable favour as a
wall Rose fifty years ago ; pink flowers were borne
profusely.

The Japanese Rose is Rosa rugosUy which has red
flowers and large, rough leaves ; it was introduced from
Japan in 1845. There are several good garden varieties
of it. The Japanese Roses are well liked for forming
bold, dense clumps in large gardens, as the single
flowers are bright in colour, and are followed by very
large brilliant fruits.

The Cherokee Rose is Rosa laevigata (sinica), a white-
flowered Chinese plant, introduced in 1759, and illus-
trated in the Botanical Magazine^ t, 2847. ^^^ variety
of this called Anemone, which has pale pink or white
flowers, and holds its leaves so persistently as to be

ON ROSES 313

practically evergreen, is a valuable plant for covering a
rustic fence. It blooms abundantly in June.

The Noisette Rose {Rosa Noisettiana) is a hybrid
between the China (indica) and the Musk (moschata).
Several important cluster-flowered Roses belong to the
Noisette group, notably Mar^chal Niel and William
Allen Richardson.

It is pleasant to make acquaintance with Roses, and
to reflect on the part that they have played in national
life. They have been known for many centuries in
British gardens, and were used in heraldry at a very
early period. The '* rose gules barbed vert and seeded
or " of the heralds would be a flower with green sepals
and golden stamens. There were Roses on the Great
Seal as early as 1340.

Employed as a badge, the Rose was also used by the
herbalists. It was made into Rose water and pot-pourri —

" Let one attend him with a silver basin
Full of Rose-water and bestrewed with flowers."

— Taming of the Shrew.

It was doubtless the use of the dried petals which
Shakespeare referred to in " Romeo and Juliet " : —

" A beggarly account of empty boxes,
Green earthern bladders and musty seeds,
Remnants of packthread, and old cakes of Roses
Were thinly scattered to make up a show."

The phrase sub rasa, or under the Rose, reminds us
that the Rose is the flower consecrated to Harpocrates,
the God of Silence, by Cupid ; and that it was worn as
a chaplet at gatherings where the conversation was to
be regarded as confidential. Chaplets of white Roses,
with kid gloves attached, were once carried before the
funerals of virgins in England.

314 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

It is fitting to conclude this brief excursion into the
hterature and history of the Rose with Herrick's Hnes —

" Gather ye Roses while ye may,
Old time is still a-flying,
And the same flower that smiles to-day
To-morrow will be dying,"

for they remind us that we must not spend all our time
over the pages of the past, however pleasantly scented
they may be, but come to the present, realise that time is
fleeting, and make haste to fill our garden with Roses.

Rose Gardens. — Almost all country dwellers — alas !
that it cannot be said of townsmen — are Rose-growers,
for even the cottager, whose garden is crowded with
Potatoes, Onions, Beans, Cabbages, and other vegetables,
contrives to get an arch for Roses in an angle of his
house. One sees the pink Monthly Rose in hundreds
of gardens, large and small. In many cases no one
seems to know how it got there, for it has no local
history. It looks after itself. It is never pruned, and
the most that it receives is a spadeful of manure now
and then. Villa gardeners grow Roses, generally with
some pretence of skill ; anyway, the plants are labelled
and pruned. And, needless to say, Roses are a feature
of every Vicarage and Hall garden. In many places
there is a special Rose garden extending to two or three
acres, but a Rose garden may be much smaller than
that ; indeed, one may be formed within a garden, the
whole of which does not extend to an acre. A small
Rose garden is before me as I write. A hedge has been
utilised as one side of the enclosure, the others are
formed of rustic Oak placed diagonally on Chestnut
uprights, the base of which was barked, painted with
tar and dusted w^ith sand. In one angle of the rustic
fence a semi-circular rustic summer-house has been

ON ROSES 315

made. In another corner, to which a grass walk leads,
is an Oak seat. Roses are grown on the fencing and
summer-house. The main path is paved with irregular,
open-jointed paving stones, in which dwarf plants grow.
A small pool for Water Lilies has been made in the
middle of the garden, and a Rose arbour constructed
round it. The body of the garden is occupied with
small beds of selected Roses, which include autumn as
well as summer bloomers. Could not some such plan
be adopted in many gardens which now know Roses
only in a spasmodic way ? A Rose garden ! The very
mention of it calls up memories of summer days, sun-
shine, beautiful flowers, and sweet smells.

Fragrant Roses.

Wherever and however we grow Roses, we must
include many varieties that are really sweet. I shall
presently give some selections of Roses, but so im-
portant do I think it is to have rich perfume that I
am tempted to anticipate these lists and give a special
table of fragrant Roses, putting the names in alpha-
betical order. H.P. = Hybrid Perpetual ; H.T. = Hybrid
Tea.

Variety.

Section.

Colour.

Abel Carri^re ....

H.P.

Dark crimson.

Alfred Colomb ....

H.P.

Light red.

A. K. Williams ....

H.P.

Carmine.

Cabbage or Provence

Species

Rose.

Camille Bernardin . .

H.P.

Light red.

Captain Hayward . . .

H.P.

Scarlet.

C. J. Grahame ....

H.T.

Scarlet.

Charles Lefebvre . . .

H.P.

Crimson.

Commandant Felix Faure

H.P.

Crimson.

Conrad F. Meyer . . .

Rugosa

Pink.

3i6 POPULAR

GARDEN FLOWERS

Variety.

Section.

Colour.

Countess of Annesley. .

H.T.

Salmon pink.

Danmark ....

H.T.
H.P.

Pink.
Red

Dr. Andry . . .

Dr. O'Donel Browne

H.T.

A^^x.4*

Carmine rose.

Duke of Wellington

H.P.

Scarlet.

Elizabeth Barnes .

H.T.

Salmon rose.

Eugenie Lamesch .

Dwarf Polyantha

Orange.

Frangois Michelon.

H.P.

Rose.

Ge'neral Jacqueminot

H.P.

Rose.

General MacArthur

H.T.

Carmine.

Gladys Harkness .

H.P.

Salmon rose.

Gloire de Dijon . .

Tea

Orange buff.

Griiss an Teplitz .

H.T.

Crimson.

Gustave Grunerwald

H.T.

Carmine pink.

Heinrich Schultheis

H.P.

Rosy pink.

Hugh Dickson . .

H.P.

Crimson.

J. B. Clark . . .

H T

Sp^ rlf*t

Jules Margottin . .

H.T.

Cherry.

La France

H.T.

Silvery pink.
Cherry.

Lady Battersea . .

H.T.*

Lady Helen Stewart

H.P.

Scarlet.

Laurent Carle . .

H.T.

Carmine.

Liberty ....

H.T.

Cnm Qnn

Louis van Houtte . ,

H.P.

Maroon.

Lyon, The ....

Hybrid Pernetiana
H.T.

Shrimp pink and

orange.
Salmon pink.

Madame Abel Chatenay

Madame Alfred Carri^re

H.T.

White climber.

Madame Jules Grolez

H.T.

Rose.

Madame Ravary . . .

H.T.

Orange yellow.

Madame Victor Verdier.

H.P.

Crimson.

Marechal Niel ....

Noisette

Yellow, glass.

Marie Baumann . .

H.P.

Red.

Marquise Litta . . ,

H.P.

Rose.

Mrs. J. Laing . . .

H.P.

Pink.

Mrs. Stewart Clark .

H.T.

Cerise.

Papa Lambert . . .

H.T.

Rose.

Pierre Notting . . .

H.P.

Purple.

Prince Arthur . . .

H.P.

Dark crimson.

Senateur Vaisse . .

H.P.

Light red.

Souvenir d'un Ami

Tea

Pink.

Souvenir de S. A. Prince

Tea

White.

Ulrich Brunner ....

H.P.

Cherry.

Viscountess Folkestone .

H.T.

Creamy pink.

ON ROSES

317

Good Hybrid Perpetual Roses.

The reader may wonder whether the Roses named in
the foregoing list of fragrant varieties are good in other
respects — whether they are strong growers and have
handsome flowers. They are excellent in every way.
Such varieties as Hugh Dickson, Mrs. John Laing, and
Charles Lefebvrc are splendidly vigorous, and, with
Alfred Colomb, Prince Arthur, Duke of Wellington,
A. K. Williams, Ulrich Brunner, and others, are quite
good enough for exhibition. The following newer sorts
may be added to them : —

Bent Cant, rich red.
Comtesse de Ludre, light red.
David R. Williamson, rose.
Duke of Edinburgh, scarlet.
Earl of Dufferin, maroon.
Frau Karl Druschki, white.
Helen Keller, cerise.
Lady Overtown, pink.
M. H. Walsh, crimson.
Madame G. Luizet, bright pink.

Mrs. Cocker, pink.

Mrs. R. G. Sharman Crawford,

pink.
Rosslyn, pink.
Susanna Marie Rodocanachi

rose.
Ulster, salmon rose.
Victor Hugo, crimson.
Xavier Olibo, dark crimson,

late bloomer.

Good Hybrid Tea Roses.

The same question and answer as that put in con-
nection with the Hybrid Perpetual Roses might be
applied to the Hybrid Teas. The following may be
added to those in the list of specially fragrant sorts : —

Augustine Guinoisseau, silvery

pink
Avoca, crimson.
Bessie Brown, cream.
Betty, coppery rose.
Caroline Testout, pink.

Dean Hole, carmine with sal-
mon shading.

Earl of Warwick, salmon pink.

fecarlate, scarlet.

Edu Meyer, coppery red, orange
shading.

31 8 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

Elizabeth Barnes, salmon rose.
Florence Pemberton, cream.
Frau Lilla Rautenstrauch, silver.
Grace Darling, cream, shaded

pink.
Gustave Regis, nankeen yellow.
Instituteur Sirdey, yellow.
Killarney, pale pink.
Lady Ashtown, pink.
Lady Helen Vincent, pink,

yellow base.
La Tosca, silvery pink.
Le Progres, nankeen.

Madame Melanie Soupert,
salmon.

Madame J. W. Budde, carmine.

Madame Ravary, orange.

Marquise de Sinety, orange.

Mildred Grant, ivory, exhibi-
tion variety.

Mrs. A. M. Kirker, cerise.

Pharisaer, blush, salmon shade.

Prince de Bulgarie, flesh.

Richmond, scarlet.

Warrior, scarlet.

Wm. Shean, pink.

Good Tea Roses.

The following charming Tea Roses might be added
to the list of sweet sorts : —

Catherine Mermet, pink.

Comtesse de Saxe, white.

Corallina, coral red.

G. Nabonnand, blush.

Harry Kirk, sulphur.

Hugo Roller, lemon.

Jean Ducher, salmon.

Lady Roberts, apricot.

Mrs. Dudley Cross, chamois

yellow.
Mrs. E. Mawley, carmine,

salmon shade.
Mrs. B. R. Cant, rose.
Mrs. Myles Kennedy, silver.

Maman Cochet, flesh.

Marie van Houtte, lemon and

rose.
Niphetos, white, good in pots.
Peace, white to lemon.
Souvenir de Pierre Notting,

apricot.
Souvenir de Stella Gray, orange

to yellow.
Sulphurea, yellow.
The Bride, white, pots.
White Maman Cochet, white

or lemon.

A Selection of Fkee-blooming Roses for Beds.

The Rose-lover who wants to fill large beds with
Roses, whether mixed or of separate varieties, will be

ON ROSES 319

wise to choose strong, free-flowering sorts. Out of the
following and foregoing lists we might select a few
varieties particularly good for beds. Here are some —

*Augustine Guinoisseau, silvery G. Nabonnand, blush Tea.

H.T. Hugh Dickson, crimson H.P.

Betty, coppery rose H.T. Irish Elegance, orange single.

♦Caroline Testout, pink H.T. La France, pink H.T.

♦Corallina, coral Tea. Laurette Messimy, china rose,
fecarlate, scarlet H.T. (dwarf). yellow base.

Edu Meyer, coppery H.T. *Madame Abel Chatenay, rose
Eugenie Lamesch, orange dwarf H.T.

Polyantha. Mrs. W. H. Cutbush, pink
Frau Karl Druschki, white H.P. Polyantha.

General MacArthur, carmine Mrs. John Laing, rose H.P.

H.T. Peace, white Tea.
*Gruss an Teplitz, crimson H.T*

Those marked with an asterisk are exceptionally
vigorous — in fact Griiss an Teplitz is sometimes used
as a wall Rose.

Good Wall Roses.

Roses do no more delightful work than that of
covering the walls of dwellings, and there is no home
but looks brighter for their presence. Old Roses, like
Gloire de Dijon, William Allen Richardson, Maiden's
Blush, Celine Forestier, Cheshunt Hybrid, the Banksian,
and the Boursault gained their popularity as much for the
suitability of habit which made them good wall varieties
as for the beauty and fragrance of their flowers. There
were other rambling varieties as beautiful — nay, more
so, but their growth was not suitable for walls. Thus
the home use of certain Roses gave them a popularity
somewhat beyond their merits as flowers. The Roses

320 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

named have not lost any of their good qualities. They
are as they have always been — vigorous, spreading, free-
flowering. Possibly those who have cold aspects to
cover, such as east or north, would still find Gloire de
Dijon and William Allen Richardson as good as any for
their purpose. But new climbing varieties assert their
claims, and have to be considered for south and west
aspects. Many, accepted at once as beautiful pillar and
arch Roses, have to be rejected at once for walls. The
mighty Crimson Rambler is one of the poorest of wall
Roses, falling a ready prey to mildew. Carmine Pillar,
most beautiful of early-blooming climbers for a pillar or
summer-house, is too strong of cane and too devoid of
spray to make an ideal wall Rose. Dorothy Perkins will
thrive — it thrives almost anywhere — but it goes to the
other extreme, and by producing an enormous mass of
long, thin shoots and slender laterals, gives the Rose-
lover a hard task in pruning and nailing before it can be
made to cover the wall. We want for our houses Roses
which, like Gloire de Dijon, branch freely, yet strongly,
from a central stem, producing a moderate yet not
excessive amount of laterals, and flowering freely on
them. Let us glance at a few Roses that fulfll these
conditions —

Alister Stella Gray. — A charming Rose, small-flowered, yet
invaluable owing to its neat but spreading habit and the remark-
able continuity of flowering which keeps it going right into the
autumn. The flowers are home in clusters, and the colour is
pale yellow.

Bardou Job. — A rich crimson Rose, not large in bloom, and
semi-double.

Bouquet cTOr. — Strong and free, yellow flowers, tea-scented.

Cheshunt Hybrid. — Bright red, a very profuse bloomer.

Madame Alfred Carriere. — White or blush, a strong grower.

ON ROSES 321

Marichal Niel. — A glorious yellow Rose, but not hardy
enough to grow out of doors, except in very warm, sheltered
places.

Reine Marie Henriette. — A splendid variety on rich soil on a
warm aspect, long, deep flowers, rich rose in colour, powerfully
scented.

Madame Berard. — Fawn, tea-scented.

Reved'Or. — A strong grower, with brown canes, flowers yellow,
holds its leaves well.

This selection should suffice for most places, and
the old stagers, such as Gloire de Dijon, William Allen
Richardson, and Maiden's Blush, can be added or sub-
stituted at discretion.

It should be understood that the soil under the walls
must be dug deeply and manured generously. If it is
very poor it must be taken away altogether, and a bed
of loam, leaf mould, and manure substituted. If the site
is a hot one, it is advantageous to cut the Roses hard
back after planting, and to water in dry weather. This
insures good plants the second year.

Good Roses for Pillars, Arches, Pergolas,
Arbours, and Summer-houses.

The course is much clearer in selecting climbing
Roses for comparatively open situations. Whatever the
supports may be, plenty of Roses can be found for them,
provided there is a good depth of soil and a free circu-
lation of air — conditions which do not prevail against
a wall as a rule. Crimson Rambler and its sisters, the
blush, the pink (Euphrosyne), the white (Thalia), the
yellow (Aglaia), and the dark crimson (Philadelphia)
become available at once. Dorothy Perkins, Lady Gay,
Alberic Barbier, and the rest of the Wichuraianas come
in, Carmine Pillar and its splendid later counterpart

32 2 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

The Lion are at our service. Lovely singles, such as
Leuchstern, Hiawatha, and the Penzance Briers await
our pleasure. If these are not enough, we can draw
upon the old evergreen Roses Felicit^-Perp^tue and
Rampant, the Ayrshire Dundee Rambler, the vigorous
Noisettes Aim(^e Vibert and L'Ideal, the Hybrid Tea
Griiss an Teplitz, and also on Longworth Rambler and
Reine Olga de Wiirtemberg. A selection from the pre-
ceding might consist of the following : —

Alberic Barbier, cream. Penzance Brier Meg Merrilees.

Blush Rambler, blush. Philadelphia Rambler, dark
Carmine Pillar, carmine, single. crimson.

Dorothy Perkins, pink. The Lion, crimson single.
Leuchstern, rose, white centre.

Trailing Roses for Banks.

The Wichuraiana Roses are charming for trailing
over rough banks, and many an unsightly spot on the
outskirts of gardens could be made beautiful by planting
Wichuraiana itself, which is white with yellow stamens ;
rubra, deep red ; Alberic Barbier, cream ; Dorothy
Perkins, pink ; Gardenia, yellow ; and Ren^ Andr^,
orange. They should be put several feet apart, as they
ramble afar. The leaves are shining green, and hang so
long that the plants are almost evergreen.

Roses for Standards.

The Wichuraiana Roses make beautiful standards,
owing to their habit of producing a great amount of
fine spray. Alberic Barbier, Dorothy Perkins, and
rubra may be mentioned as particularly good. They
far exceed the old Hybrid Perpetual Roses as standards,
owing to their freer growth and bloom and greater

ON ROSES 323

grace. The single red and white pillar Rose Hiawatha
makes a charming standard. Of the older Roses, Caro-
line Testout, G^n^ral Jacqueminot, La France, Maman
Cochet, Mrs. John Laing, Mrs. R. G. Sharman Crawford,
Charles Lawson, and white Maman Cochet may be
mentioned as making good standards.

Roses for Indoor Culture.

The owner of a conservatory often likes to grow
Roses under glass for the sake of early bloom, and
the following are good varieties (those marked [p) may
be grown in pots, and tho5e marked {c) planted out
for climbing) : — Anna OUivier (/), Bridesmaid (/), Captain
Hayward (/), Caroline Testout (/), Climbing Niphetos
[c), Climbing Perle des Jardins {c), La France (/>),
Liberty (/), Madame Lambard (/), Marechal Niel (^),
Mrs. John Laing (/), Mrs. Sharman Crawford (/),
Niphetos (/), Souvenir de S. A. Prince (/), Souvenir
d'un Ami (/), The Bride (/>), Ulrich Brunner (/), and
White Maman Cochet (/).

The most important items in Rose culture may be
dealt with under the following heads : —

Soils and Manures.

Exhibiting.

Planting.

Under Glass.

Pruning.

Insects and Diseases.

Propagation.

Calendar for the year.

Material for arches,

pillars.

pergolas, &c.

Soils and Manures. — If there is one fact about Roses
more strongly established than another, it is that they
love a substantial soil, such as heavy loam or clay, and
that they luxuriate in rich manure — coarse fare for

324 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

such refined flowers, it must be admitted, but very wel-
come to the plants all the same. Flower-lovers who
find their lot cast in clayey places are sometimes tempted
to repine, but it cannot be other than cheering to them
to know that it is just such soil as this which Roses love.
Clay, clay, and again clay ! Dark greyish soil that
works stiffly under the tools, and gets putty-like when
wet, is clay. If such a soil were ploughed it would be
seen that the surface of the ridges turned over by the
ploughshare shone almost like steel. Farmers do not
plough, and gardeners must not dig, such land when
it is very wet. It is best broken up after frost, as then
it crumbles. Dug two feet deep, and well manured,
it makes grand Rose soil. But loam, which is a mixture
of clay and sand, is also a good soil for Roses, and,
fortunately for Rose-lovers; loams are common. Is
your soil of a brownish or reddisli hue, reader ? Then
it is probably loam. If it is a very pale brown, can
be dug easily, and crumbles up readily when first
shifted with the tool, it is probably a sandy loam, and
will need deep working and a liberal dressing of de-
cayed manure — not less than two heaped barrow-loads
for every square rod — before it will grow Roses well, A
sandy loam is not so good as a clayey loam, but it will
produce satisfactory Roses if it is treated as suggested,
and if manure is dug in every year afterwards. A light,
shallow soil overlying chalk is nominally bad for Roses,
but after some experience with it I am able to assure
readers that it can be made to produce very fair results.
The procedure is to remove the top soil in sections,
break up the chalk to the depth of nine inches, lay
on it a thick coat of decayed stable manure, replace
the top soil, and lay another coat of manure on that
after planting. If the top layer of manure is considered

ON ROSES 325

unsightly, it may be turned under the surface. Loosen-
ing chalk may be regarded as very heavy work, but as
a matter of fact it is generally easier than breaking up a
subsoil of clay. Manure from covvyards may be used
for heavy soil, but manure from horse stables is best for
light soil.

Planting. — There is one advantage which light soil
has, and that is, it can be prepared and planted in
almost any weather ; there is no weary waiting after
rain as in the case of clay. The Rose-lover appreciates
this in a wet autumn. It is generally understood that
November is the best planting month, and the rosarian
grows discontented if that month merges into December,
and incessant rain keeps the soil too wet for culture.
In any case, the plants should be ordered for delivery
early in November, so that they can be laid in a row
with soil over their roots, ready for planting out at the
first opportunity. Even if the whole winter should
pass they will be safe ; and spring planting should be
preferred to autumn in stiff soil when the ground is
puddly in November. While waiting, the labels should
be prepared and written. They may be bought ready
painted, or they can be made of builder's laths cut
up into ten-inch lengths and pointed. The upper part
should be planed w^ith a stroke or two of the knife,
and then lightly brushed over with white paint, as this
gives a good writing surface. I have the lower half of
my labels painted with Stockholm tar, a pint of which,
purchasable at a gasworks or builder's for a trifle, will
suffice for hundreds. It acts as a preservative, and ob-
viates the necessity for renewing labels frequently. With
trees and labels all ready, planting is performed speedil3^
It is convenient for two to work together, one making
capacious holes with a spade, deep enough to cover the

32 6 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

roots and no more, while the other sets the plants in
and treads the loose soil which the spadesman throws
in until it is quite firm. The Rose-lover need not be
half-hearted about the treading owing to fear of injuring
the roots. Weak growers may be set two feet apart; and
strong ones a yard.

Pruning, — Pruning follows as naturally on planting
as planting on soil preparation, because it is generally
advantageous to let the first course of pruning accom-
pany the planting. When Roses are received from the
nurseries they contain far more wood than any prudent
grower would care to leave, and at the end of March
it is pruned back hard. Why not remove part of it
in autumn, in order to reduce the area exposed to the
wind, and so prevent excessive wind-sway, with its
loosening influences ? There is no good reason. There
is, I admit, an excellent reason why autumn pruning
should only be a part, and not the whole — why it
should be restricted to removing about a third of every
long shoot, and not extend to cutting back to the
ground buds, as will be done in spring. This reason
is that mild weather at mid-winter often starts Roses
into growth, and if there were only a few basal buds,
and these started growing, the plants might be thrown
back seriously owing to a severe late frost cutting the
tender young growth. If a foot or more of growth is
kept through the winter, it is the upper superfluous and
not the lower necessary buds which start ; the latter
remain dormant while their brethren run the risk. The
spring pruning of newly planted Roses should be severe.
Done at the end of March, it may be safely carried to
the point of cutting to within four inches of the ground
— weak shoots lower still. A Rose-bed looks rather
subdued after this drastic treatment, but it gladdens the

ON ROSES 327

grower's heart to see how nobly the plants leap into
life — what strong shoots they throw up, how beautiful
the tints of the fresh young leaves are, especially of
the Teas, and how quickly they speed into bloom.
Strong-growing climbers, like Crimson Rambler and
its sisters, Dorothy Perkins and her progeny, and Car-
mine Pillar, need not be cut to the ground if the soil is
substantial and rich, but they certainly should if it is
poor, light, and shallow. Without cutting back, the
roots have a double duty to perform : they have to feed
the existing shoots and to throw up fresh ones, and the
latter is the more important, for no pillar and arch
Roses can be thoroughly satisfactory unless they throw
up new shoots annually like Raspberries. With the
original shoots cut away, the roots can concentrate on
the task of forming new shoots, and they do it to
such purpose that the pillars are soon covered. The
annual pruning of established Roses is a task which will
interest the grower, and prompt him to a study of the
varieties. He will learn quickly what sorts are benefited
by severe and which by light pruning — how the strong
growers may be pruned much less hard than weak ones.
The quality of the soil governs pruning much more
than most people know. It governs it, because if it is
heavy and fertile it prompts much stronger growth than
if it is light and poor.

The more natural growth there is in a Rose the more
the grower may prune, as he is sure of a constant supply
of good new wood, and good new wood gives the best
flowers. The exhibition growers know this quite well.
They plant in rich soil and prune severely. It is dan-
gerous, however, to prune hard in a soil that does not
prompt free growth, as the plants break feebly from the
back buds to which they are cut. In such soil it is best

32 8 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

to prune lightly, and when, after a few years, the bushes
have become too straggly, to plant fresh ones. Roses
are cheap enough in all conscience, and changes give
opportunities of trying fresh sorts. All this comes with
experience and observation, and while knowledge of the
varieties is being acquired, the amateur may lean to severe
pruning. The annual pruning and training of pillar and
arch Roses is a matter that puts no small strain on the
courage of the grower. He examines the plants in
autumn, and he finds that each plant consists of several
old and several new canes, the former grey or brown in
colour, the latter brownish green. So far good. All that
has to be done is to cut out the former at the base of
the pillar, and tie up the latter (which in the case of very
vigorous varieties are quite likely to have started off on
a roving expedition among adjacent shrubs) in their
places. Doubt creeps in when it is discovered that
there are several young shoots on the upper part of the
old ones, and that most of the pretty sprayey shoots that
clothe the top of the pillars are dependent on them.
What is to be done ? It is a choice between tangle and
order. Personally I never hesitate. The old canes go
if there are young ones to take their places, and although
I grieve momentarily to see the top spray disappear in
a mass, my feelings are assuaged directly it is out of
sight and the young canes are tied in, for I can see
clearly that as soon as growth begins there will be
abundance of fresh flowering growth. When tying in
the young canes the grower will find that it is best to
have his first band about a foot above the ground. From
this point he can begin to work the canes round the
pillar, until, a foot or eighteen inches higher up, he has
got some at the sides and the back as well as in the front,
so that the whole pillar is clothed. No canes are to

ON ROSES 329

cross each other. It is hardly practicable to treat wall
Roses on this plan, as there is rarely a sufficient supply
of new wood to re-clothe the space, and to cut out the
old canes at the base would be to leave the whole wall
bare for a considerable time. Nearly all the summer
growth will be from the upper branches, not from the
root-stock, and this considerably modifies the annual
pruning. If an area of wall near the ground is to be
covered, the plant may be trained with three or four main
shoots tied in two or three feet apart ; the side shoots
which break from these will be the flowering shoots, and
can be treated like the dwarf plants, being pruned back
in spring, so that a fresh supply of young wood is secured
every year. If the upper part of a house wall is to be
covered, the plant may be trained up with one tall stem
past the lower windows, and three or four main shoots
taken from it. Strong-growing wall Roses, such as
Gloire de Dijon and William Allen Richardson, will
need a good deal of thinning annually if they are to be
kept neat. I once had a *' William Allen " on an east
wall in deep clay soil, and the growth it made every year
was prodigious. Alister Stella Gray, Bardou Job, and
other modern varieties are not so rampant.

Propagation — {a) by budding; [b) by cutting. — When
amateur Rose-growers hear that the beautiful new
varieties which they see with gold medal cards attached
at the shows are seedlings, they may wonder whether it
is not equally open to them to raise good Roses from
seed. I am afraid it is not. It is true that new varieties
are raised from seed, but it is also true that they are
raised from a special strain of seed, impossible to buy,
and, even so, that they merely represent one or two
selections from many hundreds of plants. We must
look to purchase of plants as our first source of supply,

330 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

and increase subsequently by propagation from buds or
cuttings, (a) Budding. — This interesting operation may
be practised by any amateur who will bring intelligent
practice to bear on the necessary raw material at a
suitable time. He can then turn Briers into Roses. If
he wants dwarf plants he should insert cuttings of Briers,
made of pieces of the current year's growth about eight
inches long and deprived of all except the top buds, two
inches apart, in September, burying them nearly to the
top and treading the soil firmly against them. At the
end of a year the plants so raised (which are termed
"stocks ") can be planted eighteen inches apart. In the
second summer afterwards they should have stems about
a third of an inch thick, and buds can be put in them
low down. It facilitates getting the buds in later on if
the soil is drawn up to the stems in June, as it softens
the bark. A quicker way of getting stocks is to take
straight Briers about three feet long out of the hedges in
November, prune them in root and branch, and plant
them eighteen inches apart, but these will be standards,
not dwarfs. They will push side shoots in early summer,
and buds can be put in these low down, in fact, close to
the base, where they spring from the main stem. In
either case the time and method of budding is the same.
Showery weather from mid-July to mid- August provides
a favourable opportunity to bud, as the wet causes a
vigorous flow of sap, and the buds are easily mani-
pulated. A current year's shoot of the Rose to be
multiplied should be cut off, the thin tip removed, and
the leaves cropped in to short stumps. An average
shoot will yield several buds, as a slice of wood suitable
for the purpose can be cut out at each leaf-stalk. The
bud nestles at the base of the stalk partly outside and
partly inside the bark. The inner part must be exposed,

ON ROSES 331

as it has to be brought into close contact with the stem
of the Brier ; and as the inner part is covered by the pith
from the body of the shoot, it follows that this woody
matter must be picked away with the finger and thumb,
and that it must be removed without tearing the bud, to
which it is attached, out with it. The operation is un-
doubtedly a delicate one, and it becomes almost impos-
sible when the wood is hard and sapless ; but with
plenty of sap the pith is pliable and yielding, and very
little practice enables the operator to prepare the buds
properly. The slices may be cut out thinly, and about
an inch and a half long. Not a moment must be lost
when they are prepared, as they dry quickly ; they must
be slipped into cuts made with a sharp knife-point in the
stems of the stocks, the edges of the bark being carefully
raised to admit them. They must be tied in with strong,
soft material. The Briers must not be pruned until the
buds start growing the following spring, when they may be
cut back, {b) Bycuiti?igs. — An amateur who has a favourite
Rose may try to increase it by cuttings. Many of the
strong-growing sorts, including climbers like Dorothy
Perkins and Crimson Rambler, strike readily, and make
nice plants in tw^o years. The time and method recom-
mended for striking cuttings of Briers may be practised
with Roses. Shoots which have borne flowers are quite
suitable.

Making Pillars and Arches, — I hope that the Rose-
loving reader has a special leaning towards rambling
Roses. I hope that he or she is bent upon breaking
up the stiffness of his garden by putting in plenty of
pillars and arches. A series of straight, flat, unrelieved
lines is all very well in a kitchen garden, but we can
improve upon it in the flower garden. A few pillars
and arches need not cost a great deal, and they will

332 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

certainly doubly repay the outlay upon them. Those
Rose-lovers who would like to have a complete Rose
garden could form an enclosure with a rustic fence,
planted with Roses, or a Sweetbrier hedge, or with
pillars connected with chains or top pieces. Otherwise,
a series of pillars, connected at the top either with
chains or lighter poles, could be set alongside a walk
leading to a summer-house. If there was no arbour,
an arch at each end would be both beautiful and
appropriate. Whatever timber is used should be well
seasoned. Nominally oak lasts many years, but
'^ green" oak may rot in two or three seasons. On
the other hand, with seasoned wood even larch and
chestnut, which are not potentially so durable as oak,
may remain sound for eight or ten years. Nine-feet
poles will be long enough, two and a half feet in the
ground, and six and a half feet out. They may be
anything from six to nine inches thick. The bark
should be stripped off the part to be plunged, which
may be painted with melted tar and dusted with sand
to assist in preserving it. Four-inch poles will be
large enough for the top (and also for the sides in the
case of a pergola), but old chains are often used ;
they are not drawn tight, but are allowed to sag in
the middle. Strong Roses may be expected to cover
them in two seasons if the soil is good. If suitable
timber for arches is difficult to get, the ironmonger's
wire arches need not be despised, as very little metal
is exposed when the Roses have been established a
year or two. Specially long nails or spikes should be
used to connect top and side poles with the pillars, as
it is necessary that they should be well secured.

Exhibiting. — It often happens that after a year or
two of Rose culture the charm and interest of the

ON ROSES 333

flower get so tight a hold of the amateur tliat he
specialises it. He reads the Rose notes in his favourite
gardening paper eagerly, and he visits shows. He sees
prizes won by flowers that are not a bit better than
his own, and he is encouraged to try his hand at show-
ing. When he gets to this stage he is wise to join a
local Rose society, or the National Rose Society, the
rules and other publications of which, and the inter-
course with special members, will give him much useful
information. The small grower need not feel that he
will be overweighted by the large one, as at most shows
the classes are divided into sections according to the
number of plants grown. An amateur who has less
than a hundred plants will find himself protected from
the attack of men who cultivate more than a thousand.
But even with no more powerful competitors than those
of his own class, he will have to grow his plants well
to succeed, as competition among the smaller amateurs
is as keen as it is among the ^' big men." Strong plants
put into deep, well-manured soil and pruned hard will
yield large, handsome flowers, especially if they are
restricted to three or four shoots, and the buds on these
thinned. If the plants are left to grow naturally, and
not disbudded, they will produce a larger number of
smaller flowers. The plants should be looked over the
day before the show, and plump young flowers just on
the point of full expansion chosen. A strip of raffia
should be slipped round the heart and tied firmly, but
not so tightly as to compress the flower severely. In
the evening or very early morning the flowers should
be cut, put in water, and kept in the shade. When they
are set up for the judges the raffia should be cut,
and the outer petals drawn away from the centre with
tweezers and evenly disposed, one overlapping the other.

334 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

This is called ** dressing," but care should be taken
to avoid giving the flowers a very stiff appearance, or
the judge will condemn them as '^ over-dressed." Boxes
painted green of the following sizes are suitable for
staging exhibition Roses in : —

Number of Blooms.

24 (or 8 trebles)
18 (or 6 trebles)
12 (or 4 trebles)

9
6

Length in Inches.

. 42

• 33

• 24

. 18

All the boxes must be 18 inches wide (back to front),
and 4 inches high at the front.

Roses under Glass. — In our selections we saw that
some varieties of Roses are particularly adapted for
culture in pots. Amateurs with a large greenhouse or
conservatory have an advantage over their glassless
brethren, as they can have Roses in spring. In a
corner of the house they can plant out a favourite
climber, such as Climbing Niphetos or Marechal Niel,
and on the stage they can have a few pots of selected
sorts. A cool house is better than a hot one. A winter
temperature of 45° to 50° is ample. Those who have
two houses, one warm and the other cool, may force
a few pot plants if very early bloom is wanted. The
plants may be stood outside on a bed of ashes after
flowering, and pruned, re-potted, and replaced in the
house in separate batches in autumn and winter. Three
parts of fibrous loam, one of decayed manure, and
some coarse sand form a suitable compost for Roses
under glass. Both the dwarf and climbing forms of
Niphetos are beautiful indoor Roses, producing abund-

ON ROSES 335

ance of long, pointed, pure white, delicately perfumed
buds. Mardchal Niel is an enduring favourite. The
most successful growers cut this glorious, fragrant
yellow Rose hard back after flowering, and get entirely
new canes for the next season's blooming.

Insects and Diseases, — The Rose is often attacked by
green-fly. This can be destroyed under glass by fumi-
gating the house with a vaporising cone, and outdoors
by syringing with water in which soft soap and quassia
chips, at the rate of a pound and half a pound re-
spectively per gallon, have been boiled. Grubs and
small caterpillars may be picked off when seen, and
their attack checked by dusting the bushes with flowers
of sulphur while moist. Sulphur is also a good remedy
for mildew and red rust — indeed, the Rose-grower
should always keep a supply by him. Probably mildew
will prove to be the most dangerous enemy. The
shining-leaved Roses of the Wichuraiana class (Dorothy
Perkins, &c.), are generally free from this pest, but
Crimson Rambler and other beautiful pillar Roses are
very subject to it. An attack mars their appearance
by coating the leaves with a greyish powder, and im-
pairs the flowering. To be thoroughly effectual, the
sulphur should be used in a finely powdered state, and
dredged on directly the attack begins. For pillar plants
it is convenient to have a pair of Malbec bellows, which
many seedsmen sell.

The Rose-grower's Year — A Summary.

January and February. — If the garden Roses were not
planted in autumn owing to the soil not being ready,
they should be kept prostrate with soil heaped over the
roots. Take an opportunity of preparing and manuring

336 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

the ground. Heavy soil often crumbles readily after frost
in these months. Planting may be done when the soil
is ready. Prune and pot a few selected plants, and place
in the greenhouse. Delicate dwarf Teas in the open
ground may be protected by drawing a few inches of
soil up to them in January, and standards by placing
some bracken in the branches. Tender varieties on walls
may be protected by being covered with a mat. This
protective work may be done in January or earlier,
according to the weather.

March. — Complete planting this month. If the winter
has been mild, and the Roses have consequently broken
into growth at the upper part, it will be well to shorten
them about half-way to the point of ultimate pruning
early in the month, and complete the pruning at the
end. Cut newly planted Roses hard back at the end of
the month. Look out for green-fly on indoor plants,
and vaporise the house to prevent its spread.

April. — All pruning may be completed early in this
month. Teas and Hybrid Teas sometimes start later
than Hybrid Perpetuals, but the pruning can be com-
pleted by the middle of April. Look over wall Roses
and cut out superfluous growths. Crowding should not
be permitted. Fasten the main shoots to the walls with
cast-iron nails and shreds or other approved means.
Prune back the shoots of budded Briers when the Rose
buds begin to grow. Attend to the watering of indoor
plants, and give liquid manure once a week. Give
abundance of air.

May. — Plants will now be growing fast, and the first
tints will be much admired. Keep a sharp lookout for
grubs, and examine any curled leaves. Thin the shoots
of plants which are wanted to give fme flowers. Put pot
plants that have finished flowering in the open air on

ON ROSES 337

a bed of ashes. Maintain the supply of water in dry
weather. Cut back Mar^chal Niel after flowering.

June, — The plants will be in full growth this month,
and the earlier varieties will form buds. Disbud plants
which are to yield show flowers. A soaking of liquid
manure once a week will do good. Continue to watch
for grubs and green-fly. Mildew may appear, and should
be promptly attacked with sulphur. Prepare boxes and
tubes if intending to exhibit. Tie the growths of climbers
to the pillars.

July. — This will be the principal flowering month of
the year. Most varieties will be in full beauty. Cut
freely while the flowers are young, as it encourages the
plants to continue blooming. Water and liquid manure
will be beneficial in diy weather. Take the opportunity
of wet weather to commence budding, which can often
be done with advantage in the latter part of the month.
Should frothy tufts appear on the plants, caused by the
*' cuckoo spittle " insect, brush them off.

August. — Most of the wall and Hybrid Perpetual
Roses in the beds will be past their best now, but the
Teas and Hybrid Teas will continue flowering. Complete
budding ; if it has to be done in dry weather, give the
plants a soaking of water the day before removing the
pith. Tie the growths of climbers, which will now be
strong, to the pillars. Continue to attack insects and
fungi.

September, — The Hybrid Perpetuals will give a few
more flowers this month, after which most of them will
finish blooming for the year. The Teas and Hybrid
Teas will continue. Towards the end of the month
insert cuttings of Briers or selected Roses.

October, — Complete the insertion of cuttings. Start
preparing soil for planting, and order the trees required

338 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

for delivery when ready. Work the soil two spades
deep and manure it liberally. Procure material for
pillars and arches. Renew labels which are becoming
illegible.

November. — Endeavour to get all planting done this
month, as it is the best of the year as a rule. If very wet,
planting on clay soil may have to be deferred. While
the plants are waiting to be put in they should be laid
prostrate with soil banked over the roots. Go over
climbing Roses, cut out as much old wood as can be
spared, and tie the new canes to their supports.

Dece7nber, — Complete soil preparation, planting,
thinning old wood, and tying or nailing. Protect deli-
cate varieties with soil, bracken, or mats (see January).

XXXIII

ON SNAPDRAGONS AND SWEET WILLIAMS

Two prime favourites of our great-grandparents, as they
are of ourselves. Their very names speak of past cen-
turies. They lead us back into mediaeval gardens, which
knew not of Begonias, Zonal Geraniums, and other fiery
modern flowers.

And whence came these names ? The Snapdragon
is the Antirrhinu7n majus of botanists. It is a plant
which grew wild on old walls in Great Britain long
before Linnaeus was born. The name Antirrhinum
came from antiy like ; and rhin, a snout, in allusion to
the fact that the flowers resemble the snout of an
animal in form. And we may very well suppose that
the common name arose from the wide mouth and
heavy lower jaws of the flower, which gave it a devour-
ing air.

The Sweet William is the Dianthus barbaiusy or
bearded Jove's Flower, of the botanists. It is closely
related to the Carnation — the Gillyflower of old
gardeners. These good florists had to subdivide their
Gillyflowers, and from that necessity we get our names
of Stock and Wallflower. It was perhaps the same
necessity for more minute distinction which induced
them to give separate names to the fragrant bearded
Pinks ; they called the narrow-leaved varieties Sweet
Johns, and the broad-leaved ones Sweet Williams,

339

340 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

The name Sweet John has not lived, but Sweet WiUiam
survives, and may be expected to live for ever.

Botanical authorities do not attempt to fix a date for
the introduction of the Snapdragon to Great Britain,
and they tell us that it is a native. That is open to
doubt, but it has certainly been a wilding for a period
which runs into centuries. Of the Sweet William they
tell us that it came from Germany in 1573. A coloured
plate of the plant appears in the Botanical Magazine^
t, 207.

There was a time when the Sweet William was
specialised by florists, who grew a strain called Auricula-
eyed, and were disposed to make the plant almost as
great a favourite as the Auricula itself. The movement
subsided, and the Sweet William no longer enjoys status
as a florist's flower. It is the turn of the Snapdragon
to be exalted. The florists — and particularly Scottish
florists — have devoted a great deal of attention to raising
improved varieties, and have even given special names
to them.

Both plants have shared in the increased popularity
of hardy flowers generally, and that is of much greater
moment than a rise and fall in the favour of a limited
number of florists. It means that as garden plants they
enjoy the favour of thousands.

Those flower-lovers who have to garden on chalk
ground learn fully the value of Snapdragons. These are
the plants which never fail, however poor and shallow
the soil may be, and however dry the season. They
are a boon and a blessing on chalk. They never tire,
they never flag. They may be planted at almost any
season, and they will remain in bloom when almost
everything else in the garden has gone. Even if the
flowers possessed no particular charm, these qualities

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SNAPDRAGONS, SWEET WILLIAMS 341

would render Snapdragons valuable, because they are
so rare. But the fine modern types are very beautiful.
There are both self and striped varieties. The latter
flowers are of immense size, and most of them have
broad flakes of rich velvety colour beside the narrow
lines. It is this type that the doughty Scottish florists
love, and with which they encounter each other in prize
competitions.

There are many selections of self-colours which come
true from seed. Nearly all seedsmen offer two strains,
the tall and the Tom Thumb, the former growing two
to three feet high, the latter only eight or nine inches.
But some offer a third called intermediate, the height of
which is twelve to fifteen inches. The latter strain is
better than the Tom Thumb, even for the front of
borders, as the growth, while not excessive, is a little
freer, and the flowers are larger.

With respect to colours, nearly all seedsmen offer
crimson, yellow, and white separately, most add carmine,
some include coral, pink, apricot, orange, and rose. No
varieties are more beautiful than those with a blending
of two colours, such as rose and white, red with white
margin, pink with yellow lip, scarlet with white throat,
crimson and yellow, pink and gold, white tipped with
yellow, and crimson with white throat. Few flower-
lovers, even those with considerable experience of hardy
plants, are familiar with these exquisite bi-coloured
Snapdragons. The more closely a collection of seed-
lings is examined the more exquisite the variations that
are found.

While those who are anxious to have particular
colours will do well to procure separate packets of
seed, it generally happens that a mixed packet from a
good seedsman gives a considerable number of them.

342 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

The gardener of limited means need not repine, there-
fore. If unable conveniently to buy a separate collec-
tion, let him trust his fortunes to a mixture. He may
mark the varieties which he likes best, and increase
them another year by seeds or cuttings.

While the Snapdragons are true perennials, flourish-
ing for years on old ruins and in the driest crevices
of walls, it is both simple and adequate to treat them
as annuals. No small advantage of growing them thus
is that a supply of sturdy seedlings can be got ready
for planting by mid-May, and thereby come in useful
for planting near bulbs which are to be left in the
ground, and the leaves of which are fading. It is
unwise to cut off the bulb foliage, nor is it necessary,
for if the leaves are tied in a neat cluster they do their
work of feeding the bulbs below them, and they are
not conspicuous when the Snapdragons get fairly into
growth.

To have the Antirrhinums ready for planting in
May they ought to be sown in a box of fine, moist
soil in January or February, and put in a warm frame
or greenhouse. With abundance of light and air after
germination, and thinning and pricking out as required,
they will make sturdy plants. They should be hardened
in a cold frame before they are planted out. Plants
may be raised without heat in March, and will flower
the same year if all go well with them, although they
will be later. Some growers sow seed out of doors in
early summer, and plant the seedlings out in autumn,
to bloom the following year. The distance apart should
be from six to eighteen inches according to the type.

It w^ould hardly be wise to trust to late spring
planting for establishing Snapdragons on walls. It
would be better to sow the seed in autumn, and put

SNAPDRAGONS, SWEET WILLIAMS 343

a little soil over it, in order to give the plants a chance
of getting good roothold before the hot weather came
on.

Cuttings may also be struck in autumn, and may
consist of the young shoots which healthy plants are
continually forming. These may be struck in a box
of sandy soil in a cold frame, or even outdoors.

The Sweet William is generally treated as a biennial,
like the Wallflower — that is, raised from seed in May,
thinned, set nine inches apart in a nursery bed in
summer, planted out in autumn, and cleared off after
flowering in early summer. If, however, a particularly
good variety results, it is often kept true by taking young
basal shoots as cuttings and inserting them in moist
soil in a shady place. But the Sweet William is not,
like the Snapdragon, a chalk-lover, and in poor soil
there is little enough growth suitable for cuttings. In
this respect the gardener who practises on a rich loamy
or moist clay soil is in a much better position than he
who works on chalk.

The Auricula-eyed Sweet William should have a
large truss of flowers which possess the qualities of
roundness, smooth edges, and clearly defined eye, sur-
rounded by a dark band. The Pheasant's Eye, crimson
with white eye, is also a beautiful selection. Self-
colours, such as pink, scarlet, dark crimson, and white,
are also available. Pink Beauty is an exceptionally
charming variety. Bright salmon-pink in colour, grow-
ing only twelve to eighteen inches high, of neat habit,
free blooming, and lasting well, it is perhaps the most
valuable of all the Sweet Williams as a garden plant.
The various colours come true from seed, and so does
the double white.

As in the case of Snapdragons, mixed seed from a

344 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

good firm will give a considerable diversity of colours,
and any particularly good varieties may be perpetuated
by means of cuttings.

With their beauty, their ease of culture, their hardi-
ness, and the charm of old association which they
possess. Snapdragons and Sweet Williams must ever be
favourites in the garden.

XXXIV

ON SWEET PEAS

The Pea is one of the oldest of garden plants, but the
Sweet Pea has only been grown in British gardens for
a little more than two hundred years. The first Sweet
Pea of which any record exists was sent to Dr. Uvedale,
a schoolmaster at Enfield, who took great interest in
plants, by a Sicilian monk, named Franciscus Cupani,
in 1699. It was received with interest rather than
enthusiasm. The flower, though fragrant, was small
and irregular, and the colour — purple — was not brilliant.
It is probable that Uvedale's interest in the plant was
that of the botanist rather than the gardener. It was
a new plant, and he would experience a certain pride
in the reflection that he, and not such mighty prede-
cessors as Ray, Gerard, and Parkinson, had had the
honour of being the first recipient. He would draw
the attention of botanists to it complacently, dissect it,
describe it in great detail, fuss over it generally, and
never, probably, form the slightest conception of its
great future.

To-day the Sweet Pea is one of the most popular
of garden flowers. It is grown by more people than
any other plant. All classes cultivate it. Everybody
loves it. It is charming in form, beautiful and varied
in colour, deliciously sweet, and open to culture by
everybody. The mos-t successful growers of Sweet Peas

are found in the owners of small gardens, with only a

345

346 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

few square rods of ground, and none too much of either
money or leisure.

If Sweet Pea lovers want to compare the modern
with the original Sweet Pea, they can do it best by
placing a photograph of a good spray of to-day beside
one of the original Sweet Pea which they will find in
the National Sweet Pea Society's Annual iov 1908. The
latter was taken from a specimen in Plukenet's Herba-
rium in the Natural History Museum, South Kensington,
London, and portrays a weed-like plant with insignifi-
cant flowers. But many people living at the present
time can remember the old-fashioned Sweet Pea, with
its small, irregular flowers borne in pairs, either white,
purple, striped, white, carmine, or pink and white. The
flow^ers of the present time, two inches across, the petals
overlapping so that no gaps are shown, and exquisitely
frilled, borne in fours and fives on the stem, with a
range of colours that comprises almost everything
except yellow, are a remarkable advance. They are
not sweeter than the older ones, but in every other
respect they are immensely superior.

Flower-lovers who grow Sweet Peas have good
grounds for their action. Well-grown plants yield a
\ constant succession of bloom from June to November
inclusive if the flowers are gathered regularly, and no
blossoms are more delightful for house decoration.
Moreover, the cultivation is inexpensive, so that all this
floral charm can be gained without any great outlay.
One may, it is true, spend a good deal of money on
Sweet Peas by growing a large collection of the newest
varieties and exhibiting them ; but that is not in the
least essential to garden beauty. The great fact is that
a splendid display of charming flowers can be had
both in garden and house with very little outlay.

I'voin a Water Colottr Drawing by Lilian Stanimni .

Sweet Peas.

ON SWEET PEAS 347

Let us put into small compass a few facts about the
Sweet Pea. It is known to science as Lathyrus odorahiSy
the name given to it by Linncxus. It belongs to the
order Leguminosae, or pod-bearers. It is a hardy
annual — that is, a plant which may be sown out of
doors to complete its life-history within a year. It
differs from most annuals, however, in being amenable
to propagation by cuttings. The flower consists of a
large upright petal called the standard, two smaller side
ones called the wings, and a bottom one folded in
called the keel. The organs of sex are enclosed within
the keel, and consist of ten stamens, each with its
anthers or pollen case at the top, the pistil with ovary
at the base, and stigma at the top. Nominally each
Sweet Pea flower is self-fertilised, because the pollen
is ripe and the stigma viscid to receive it before the
flowers have opened sufficiently for wind or bees to
come into play ; in this also it differs from most
flowers. When the flowers fade the fused carpels are
seen in the form of a boat-shaped body, which extends,
and is presently seen to be the seed pod. Each pod
contains from eight to twelve seeds. The pods are
ready for gathering when they change colour and begin
to open.

Had the Sweet Pea been known in the days of
Chaucer, Shakespeare, Spenser, and Ben Jonson, it
would have prompted some beautiful images and
delightful rhyme. John Keats fell in love with the
flower, and wrote of —

" Sweet Peas, on tiptoe for a flight,
With wings of gentle flush o'er delicate white,
And taper fingers catching at all things,
To bind them all about with tiny rings."

"Varieties. — The number of varieties of Sweet Peas is

348 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

now enormous, but it has developed almost entirely
within the past fifty years. The reason why Sweet Peas
did not multiply naturally is that the habit of self-fertili-
sation made for constancy. When florists had satisfied
themselves that it was possible to improve Sweet Peas,
and that there was a public waiting for new varieties, they
pursued an active course of artificial cross-fertilisation,
opening flowers while still in the bud, so as to antici-
pate self-fertilisation, removing the anthers, and applying
pollen from another flower to the stigma. These crosses
resulted in the production of a large number of different
varieties. The best were retained, and selected again
and again until they kept true to character. The raiser
has found that although the Sweet Pea was one of the
most constant of flowers naturally, yet it is extremely
^ variable when crossed, and is some time in settling down.
The seed of every plant raised from a cross should be
kept separate and sown by itself under its own label ;
this renders the task of getting any particular novelty
fixed much easier than when the seeds of different
plants are mixed ; even when the latter appear to be
absolutely identical they may throw dissimilar plants
another year. The old varieties had a smooth-edged or
plain standard with a notch in the centre, the modern
ones have frilled standards ; as there are admirers for
both, I will include them in the table of selected varieties
on page 349.

All those named are suitable for exhibition. They
include representative sorts of the principal colours
which we now possess, but the reader should recollect
that new, and in some cases improved, varieties are
being brought out annually, and he who specialises
should inquire about novelties from his seedsman in
order to be in a position to keep up to date.

Sweet Peas.

ON SWEET PEAS

349

Variety.

*A. J. Cook .

Asta Ohn

Aurora Spencer
*Black Knight

Cherry Ripe .
*Clara Curtis .
♦Constance OHver .
♦Countess Spencer .

Dora Breadmore .
♦Dorothy Eckford .

Douglas Unwin
*Duke of Westminster

Earl Spencer .
♦Elsie Herbert

Etta Dyke
♦Flora Norton Spencer
♦Frank Dolby.

Gladys Burt .
♦George Stark
♦Helen Lewis . .
♦Helen Pierce .
♦James Grieve.

John Ingman
♦Lady Grisell Hamilton
♦Lord Nelson .
♦Marjorie Willis

Masterpiece .
♦Mrs. Andrew Ireland
♦Mrs. C. W. Breadmore

Mrs. Hugh Dickson
♦Mrs. Walter Wright
♦Nora Unwin .

Nubian .
■^Paradise Ivory

Princess Victoria
♦Queen Alexandra

Stirling Stent
♦Sunproof Crimson

Tennant Spencer

Zarina .

Colour.

Pale mauve

Lavender

Striped

Maroon

Cerise

Cream

Pink

Buff

White

Maroon

Claret

Salmon

White, pink edge

White

Bright blue

Lavender

Cream, rose border

Scarlet

Orange

Blue veined

Cream

Orange carmine

Lavender

Dark blue

Rosy magenta

Lavender

Rose and blush

Cream, rose edge

Cream pink

Mauve

White

Maroon

Ivory

Blush

Scarlet

Salmon

Crimson

Mauve

Salmon

Standard.

Frilled a

Frilled.

Smooth.

Frilled.

Smooth.

Frilled.

Smooth.

Frilled.

Frilled a

Frilled.

Smooth.

Frilled.

Smooth.

Frilled.

Smooth.

Frilled.

Smooth.

Frilled.

little.

These are particularly good garden varieties.

350 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

Propagation. — The great majority of growers, for
garden and exhibition alike, raise their plants from seed,
and this is the method to be recommended. Cuttings
made out of the tips of young plants may, however, be
used if desired. They should be about three inches
long, and inserted firmly in moist, sandy soil in a box
that is covered with a square of glass and put in a shady
part of the greenhouse. The removal of the tips does
not hurt the plants, indeed some growers systematically
stop their plants, not because they want cuttings, but in
order to make them break from the base. Seed-buyers
will find that the seed of all varieties is not alike. In the
case of some it is plump, round, and smooth, in others
small and wrinkled. Most of the blues have insignificant
seed, but it gives equally as strong plants as large seeds.
Outdoor sowing may be practised in autumn or spring,
according to soil and requirements. If early flowers
are wanted, the seed may be sown in September or
October, provided the soil is well drained and friable.
In heavy, stiff, stodgy soil autumn sowing does not
answ^er. An ounce of seed may be sown for every seven
or eight yards of row and covered an inch deep. Seed
may be sown in March or April in the ordinary course.
The exact time should depend upon the state of the soil.
If it is in a friable state the first good shower may be
taken advantage of. It is desirable that the soil be
damp, but not sodden. It is the custom of growers to
raise expensive novelties in boxes or pots under glass
in order to be able to provide conditions which will
insure every seed germinating. A compost of loam, leaf
mould, and sand is prepared, and the seeds put in quite
clear of each other half an inch deep. Where pots are
used six seeds are often sown in a live-inch pot, but very
careful growers sow singly in three-inch pots, because

ON SWEET PEAS 351

then there is no disturbance of the ball of soil and roots
when planting time comes. The receptacles are put in a
frame or on a greenhouse shelf. Some exhibitors sow
in autumn, and keep the young plants almost dry through
the winter. Certainly the raiser must be very careful
not to keep the soil wet during the dull season. Others
sow in January or February. Hard-skinned seeds often
germinate slowly, and growers chip the shell with a
knife.

Soil^ Manure^ and Planting. — The plants raised in the
manner described are generally put into the open ground
in April. The soil should be prepared previously by
digging it two spades deep and incorporating a dressing
of decayed horse manure equal to from two to three
barrow-loads per square rod. Light soil should be pre-
pared in autumn, and heavy ground after the first severe
spell of frost. The surface should be left lumpy, and in
February a dressing of dry wood ashes, with super-
phosphate equal to seven pounds per square rod, may
be spread on. The soil will crumble after the spring
showers, and be ready for the seeds or plants in April.
If seeds are to be sov^ai in rows, draw drills tw^o inches
deep six feet apart ; if in clumps, draw circular drills
four to five feet across at intervals of a few feet. Young
and sturdy plants from pots or boxes may be set nine
inches apart. Some dry lime may be sprinkled round
them to keep slugs off. The grower should be careful
to get his plants sturdy by keeping them uncrowded
and near the glass, and he should plant them out as soon
after they show tendrils as possible.

Sticks, Water, Stopping, — The sticks should be put
to the plants as soon as they start growing. They
should be sharpened, and forced well down a few
ipches from the plants, In their early stages the plants

352 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

may be tied to the sticks, but when they get to be
eighteen inches high they will form tendrils freely and
get a tight hold, twining round every stem and twig.
Should the weather be dry, a good soaking of water,
in which nitrate of soda at the rate of half an ounce
per gallon has been dissolved, may be given twice
a week. This, with the good soil under the plants, will
insure their making rapid progress. Exhibitors practise
various plans to insure strong stems and continuity of
flowering. One fancies stopping the plants when a
foot high by pinching off the tips, in order to encourage
side shoots from the base. Another believes in letting
them grow naturally till the end of July, and, after
winning a number of prizes, cutting the plants right
back to the ground for a new break. A third stops half
his plants at four feet high. The general grower need
not trouble about any of these devices, but there is one
thing that he must do if he wants to have a long succes-
sion of flowers, and that is to gather regularly. Weekly
drenchings of liquid manure will help the plants to
continue growing and flowering until autumn : the food
will also help to keep the stems long, and this is a
great advantage to those who want flowers for room
decoration.

Exhibiting, — Sweet Pea competitions are general in
these days, and as the flower is not an expensive one
to exhibit, many amateurs try their luck in the show
tent. Stands and tubes are not wanted, as they are
in the case of Carnations, Chrysanthemums, Dahlias,
and Roses ; Sweet Peas being shown in vases. At many
exhibitions these are hired to exhibitors by the com-
mittee at a small charge ; if not, any slender vase from
eight inches to a foot high, with a mouth wide enough
to hold about twenty stems without crowding, will do.

ON SWEET PEAS 353

With the aid of a little moss the stems can be fixed
in the mouth of the vase in such a way that the flowers
are displayed in a well-spread circle, each clear of its
neighbours. Crowding should be avoided. Stems
about fifteen inches long, carrying four large, fresh
flowers each, give the exhibitor his greatest chance of
success. Old, dingy flowers stand very little chance,
however large they may be. Freshness is so important
that the exhibitor must take pains in selecting and pack-
ing his sprays. He should select sprays of which some
flowers are only just opening, cut them the day before
the show, and stand them in water in a cool, shady
place till he is ready to pack them up. He should then
wrap them quite dry in soft paper and pack them firmly
in shallow boxes with nothing more than a little moist
paper round the base of the stalks. They will pass
several hours in the boxes quite safely, and open fresh
and clean when placed in water. If the show is near
they may be cut early on the same morning. The
exhibitor should make himself acquainted with the
rules by reading the regulations in the schedule, and
conform to them. He should place neat cards clearly
inscribed with the name of the variety in front of each
vase. How charming a flower the Sweet Pea is for
decoration, the vases and epergnes which the lady
exhibitors arrange at the shows prove conclusively.

Ene77ties. — Sweet Peas have no dangerous insect
enemy peculiar to themselves, and when they are given
suitable conditions they generally grow healthfully, but
slugs, wireworm, caterpillars, and various fungi assail
them at times. Freshly slaked dry lime, and lime
water, check slugs. Wireworm may be reduced to
impotence by dressing the ground with Vaporite, which,
however, must be placed well below the roots in spring,

354 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

previous to planting. Caterpillars should be picked off,
or deterred by syringing the plants with soot-water.
If the grower has a hose he may give the plants a
drenching through the rose of this occasionally. It is
weak plants that suffer most from fungi, and the best
preventive is good soil and careful culture. Should
disease attack the plants, spray the foliage with a solu-
tion of liver of sulphur, at the rate of half an ounce i
per gallon of water.

Every flower-lover should grow Sweet Peas. If he
does not care to specialise them under names, let him
sow mixtures, preferably of the giant Waved or Spencer
type. Let him grow these in rows, in clumps beside
a favourite path, in his borders, or against fences and
trellis-work. Their beautiful blossoms will enliven the
garden and brighten and perfume the house. Flowers
of exceptional charm and grace, fragrant, easily grown,
they appeal to gardeners of all classes with overwhelm-
ing force.

XXXV

ON STOCKS AND WALLFLOWERS

Both of these perfumed flower-garden favourites shared
with Carnations the common name of Gilliflower (or
Gillyflower) in the Middle Ages. We have already seen
(Chapter VIIL, Carnations) that Gilliflower is not, as
is commonly believed, a corruption of July flower, but
of caryophyllon or caiyophyllus, and that the latter, the
generic name of the Indian Clove tree, is also the specific
name of the Carnation, having been given because of
the clove perfume of the flower.

Although old-time gardeners called Carnations,
Stocks, and Wallflowers by the common name Gilli-
flowers, we can well imagine their finding it con-
venient to devise subsidiary names, and looking for
them in the habit of the plants. They would perceive
a natural distinction between a grassy plant like the
Carnation and a shrubby one like either of the others.
So they would draw upon the good old word '^ stock,"
indicating a hard stem, for the Gilliflowers that were
not grassy. This would make both Stocks and Wall-
flowers Stock Gilliflowers, and a further sub-division
being desirable, they would bring in the word "wall"
to distinguish that member of the Stock Gilliflowers
which commonly grew on walls. Gillyflower (Burrow),
Gillowflower (Parkinson), Gillofre (Holland), Jereflouris
(Douglas), and Gillyvor (Shakespeare, **The Winter's
Tale "), are all variations of Gillyflower.

355

356 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

The Wallflower is the Cheiranthus (kyer-an'-thus)
cheh'i of botanists. The generic name comes from
cheir, the hand, and anthoSy a flower, in allusion to
the general use of the flowers as nosegays.

There are flowers, as there are people, which,
without possessing remarkable beauty, have a dis-
tinctiveness and force that cause them to stand out
from their fellows ; and the Wallflower is assuredly
one of them. Without exceptional vigour of habit or
brilliance of colour to recommend it, it nevertheless
holds a sure place in the affections of flower-lovers.
We may attribute its popularity partly to its being
evergreen, partly to its habit of blooming freely in
spring, and partly to its powerful perfume. Retaining
its foliage throughout the winter, it gives life and
colour to what would otherwise be bare soil ; blowing
in spring, it gives brightness at a season when flowers
are none too plentiful ; diffusing delicious fragrance, it
adds an unfailing charm to the neighbourhood of a
house.

Belonging to the Cruciferae, or cross-shaped flowers,
the Wallflower is a member of a large order, which
comprises 172 genera and 1200 species, and consists
of flowers with four sepals, the same number of petals,
six stamens, four of which are long and two short, with
glands at the base, and an ovary divided into two
sections. The seeds are borne in a long pod [siliqua).

The common W^allflower is a native of Southern
Europe, but has become naturalised in Great Britain,
where its orange-yellow flowers bedeck the crumbling
w^alls of many an old fortress. Its success in shallow
limestone crevices, and on chalky clifts, should warn
the flower gardener that it does not require rich soil.
Larger plants can be grown in such ground, but they

ON STOCKS AND WALLFLOWERS 357

are apt to be succulent, and to succumb to severe and
prolonged frost. If bigger plants than the wall seed-
lings are wanted there is no difficulty in getting them
in combination with a tough, frost-resisting habit by
sowing seed in some spare part of the kitchen or
flower garden in May, and setting the plants out nine
inches apart in rows a foot asunder after a shower
in July. Nothing need be done to them save hoeing
until October or November, when they may be planted
a foot apart all ways in flower-beds from which summer-
blooming plants have been cleared, in borders under
the house windows, in window-boxes, and near the
front of herbaceous borders. The soil should not be
manured before planting, as it is desirable to maintain
the hard, woody habit which has developed as a result
of the thin culture.

The Wallflower is a true perennial when growing
as a wilding ; its stems are seen to be woody and its
leaves few. In such a state it will live many years
and flower fairly well ; but garden plants treated as
biennials — that is, raised and planted as suggested, and
thrown away after flowering — are much finer in their
season, having much more foliage and therefore filling
beds better, and producing larger flowers. The seed
is cheap and the culture simple, consequently it is of
no advantage to let the plants assume their natural
character of perennials.

Many seedsmen offer the following strains of Wall-
flowers : —

Annual, — Brown, may be sown under glass in spring to
bloom the same year.

Belvoir Castle. — Pale yellow, one of the best, being a free
grower, an abundant bloomer, very bright, and highly perfumed.

Blood Red. — Dark red or brown, very sweet.

35 8 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

Cloth of Gold. — A good yellow.

Eastern Queen. — Chamois, paling to salmon.

German^ double. — Various colours, sweet, somewhat taller
than most of the singles ; a good plant for pots as well as the
garden.

Goldeft Tom Thumb. — Another useful yellow.

Harbi7iger. — Brown, rather taller than Blood Red, early.

Old Castle. — Orange yellow, a selection of the wilding, and
one of the best for dry places.

Ellen Willfnott.—^uhy.

Belvoir Castle and Blood Red will meet the require-
ments of most amateurs admirably. To establish plants
on walls, sow^ seed in the chinks in spring and cover with
soil.

Botanically the Stock, Mathiola (Math-e-o'-la) is very
close to the Wallflower, but the flowers are purple in-
stead of orange, the stigmas erect instead of spreading,
and the seeds slightly winged instead of wingless. The
plant was named after an Italian botanist, Mathioli. As
we have seen, there has been an association centuries
old between the two plants, although both have lost,
by abridgment, the distinguishing name of Gilliflower.
The Stock is a native of Western Europe and the
Mediterranean littoral, but one species, incana, is a
native of Great Britain, and is considered to be the
parent of the Brompton Stock, which, with its hoary
leaves and large flowers, ranks as one of the most
popular of our hardy biennials.

The Stock is equally as fragrant as the Wallflower,
but blooms later, and has a much greater range of
colours. All classes of it should be grown — the annual
ten-week, Wallflower-leaved, Queen, and Brompton
in the garden, the Intermediate and East Lothian in
pots. The Ten-week Stocks came from the annual

Tp:x-\veek Stocks.

ON STOCKS AND WALLFLOWERS 359

species annua, a various-coloured plant ; the Wall-
flower-leaved (which has green instead of hoary leaves)
from the white-flowered annual species grceca ; the
Queen and Brompton both from the evergreen species
incana. The hardy annual lilac-coloured species bicornis
is the plant popularly known as the Night-scented Stock,
from its peculiarity of emitting its sweet odour only at
night. The flowers of this plant are not particularly
attractive, even when they are fully open at night ; in
the daytime they are commonplace, while the whole
plant has a draggly look.

Single Stocks have no charms for most flower-lovers.
The blossoms are poor and the habit of the plant is
straggly. But florists have attained such skill in select-
ing the flowers from which to gather seed that, although
the seed-yielding blossoms are themselves single, eighty
to ninety per cent, of their progeny are double. If
the grower buys from a seedsman of repute he may
calculate on not having more than fifteen plants single
in each hundred. It is a good plan to put the plants
in clumps of five or six in the beds and borders, so
that if a single plant appears it can be pulled out
without leaving a serious gap. The plants may be
raised and grow^n in the same way as China Asters.
The one serious difficulty in raising Stocks from seed
in spring is the liability of the plants to damp off, and
they sometimes do this in thousands. The remedy is
culture in a frame, abundance of air in favourable
weather, and only enough water to prevent flagging.
Should the trouble persist in spite of care, it would
be well to sterilise the soil by heating it over a fire
and letting it cool before sowing.

The Dwarf German Ten-week, height about a foot,
and the Giant Perfection Ten-week, height about

36o POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

eighteen inches, are two excellent strains of annual
Stock for garden culture. They produce large spikes
of fragrant flowers in a great variety of colours, which
can be bought separately or in mixture. If green-
leaved Stocks are preferred, the Wallflower-leaved may
be grown instead. They grow about a foot high, and
have several distinct colours. Princess May, primrose-
coloured, is a charming variety of this class ; it may be
grown as a Ten-week garden Stock, or in pots for
the greenhouse. Mont Blanc is a splendid white
garden Ten-week of robust habit, growing about
eighteen inches high.

A bed or broad band of Ten-week Stocks beside a
walk or near a summer-house, or clumps in a part of
the herbaceous border near the doors or windows of
the house, should form a feature of every garden. The
plants are handsome and the flowers persistent, as well
as highly perfumed ; alike for garden and cutting they
will prove delightful. But to have them in really fine
condition they must be strong as seedlings, planted in
soil that has been dug deeply and manured well, and
given water or liquid manure in dry weather.

The Brompton Stock, which grows about two feet
high and branches freely, is generally treated as a
hardy biennial, being sown outdoors in May or June,
together with Wallflowers, Canterbury Bells, and Sweet
Williams, thinned, and planted out in autumn or spring.
As a rule it gets hard and woody enough to stand the
winter when treated in this way, but it is often killed
during severe winters in cold districts or on damp soil ;
and if disappointment is experienced from this cause,
it would be well to sow under glass in June, put
the plants in small pots later on, and winter them
in a frame, not planting them out until the spring.

ON STOCKS AND WALLFLOWERS 361

Several distinct colours of the Brcjinpton Stock are
available.

The Intermediate Stocks, of which the East Lothian
is a form, are generally grown in pots and treated as
biennials, being sown in a frame in August, potted, and
put in a heated house in autumn to bloom in winter
and spring. But they may be flowered in the garden
in summer if desired by sowing in a warm house in
February, hardening in a cold frame, and planting out
in May.

Riviera Market, Beauty of Nice, Christmas Pink, and
other charming strains of Stocks offered by the large
seedsmen are suitable for the same culture as the Inter-
mediates. Three plants may be grown in an 8-inch pot.

Wallflow^ers in spring. Stocks in summer, shall repre-
sent in our gardens the Gilliflowers of the olden days.
They will give us the same delicious odours as they
gave to the flower-lovers of the Elizabethan period,
and they will give us larger blooms, richer colours,
and a greater proportion of doubles. In so far,
then, we have the advantage of the amateurs for whom
Parkinson, Ray, and Gerard wrote.

XXXVI

ON TULIPS

There is no writer on Tulips who does not love to
recall the great mania. It was the one outstanding
event in the history of the flower. It lives not merely
in gardening records, but in tables of the world's great
events. In a paper read before the Royal Horticultural
Society on March 9, 1909, by Mr. W. S. Murray, and
published in the Society's \\i\^ Journal oi the same year,
some highly interesting information about this extra-
ordinary craze was given. The bulbs became so valuable
that they were sold by weight like diamonds. The
weight was calculated in azen, an azen being less than
a grain. A large bulb would weigh between 500 and
1000 azen, and sell for sums varying between 1500 and
3500 florins. (A florin was is. 8d.) The highest price
recorded is 5500 florins (^^458, 6s. 8d.) for a small bulb
weighing only 200 azen (about ten grammes) of the
variety Semper Augustus. But payment was sometimes
in kind, and here is a table of goods, with their estimated
value, paid for one bulb of the variety Viceroy —

Value

in Florins

2 loads of wheat .

448

4 loads of rye

558

4 fat oxen

480

8 fat pigs

240

12 fat sheep .

120

2 hogsheads of wine

36a

'J)

ON TULIPS

363

Value

in Florins.

4 barrels of beer .

2 barrels of butter .

192

1000 lbs. of cheese

120

A complete bed

100

A suit of clothes .

A silver beaker

Total value . :

zqoo

Was it some Tulip-loving farmer who made this
remarkable bargain ? Country doctors tell us that the
farmer of the present day has a way of offering to
settle a bill with a sack of grain and a side of bacon !

The centre of the mania was Holland, but Mr.
Murray quotes Munting as declaring that it originated
in France, where the nobility, evidently moved by the
spirit of reckless and selfish extravagance which led,
later on, to the Terror, paid sums amounting to hundreds
of pounds for a single bulb. Many of the Dutch
bu^^ers were mere speculators, and bargains involving
large sums of money were made without the Tulips
ever leaving the ground.

Tulips were grown in Holland as early as 1590, and
the period of the mania is suggested as 1634-1637.
The eagerness of the Dutch to get possession of
bulbs was amusingly satirised by Alexandre Dumas
in La Tulipe Noire^ but his description of the act of
an unscrupulous amateur in endeavouring to steal the
bulbs of a fellow grower was not imaginary. It was
based on fact. Dr. Clusius, whose name is enshrined
in the well-known species ClusmnUf took Tulips to
Leyden when appointed Professor of Botany there, in
1593, and as his prices for bulbs were high, his com-
patriots prepared a deep-laid scheme and stole them.

364 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

There are few popular flowers in which some of
the old species are as highly esteemed as the most
modern varieties, but the Tulip is certainly a case in
point. Gesncriana and its yellow variety liitea both date
back more than three hundred years as cultivated plants,
and both are highly esteemed at the present day. The
species must have been named in compliment to
Conrad Gesner, who described some Tulips growing
in Austria in 1561. Mr. Murray says that these origin-
ated from seed carried from Turkey by Busbequius,
an ambassador sent by the Emperor Ferdinand L to
the Sultan, and who saw Tulips for the first time in
Turkey in 1554. But he thinks that suaveokns, a dwarf
fragrant red and yellow species flowering in April, which
was introduced to Great Britain in 1603, and is illus-
trated in the Botanical Magazine, t. 839, must have been
seen among these seedling Turkish Tulips by Gesner
in view of his description of the flowers, because their
perfume is particularly mentioned, and there are few
fragrant Tulips. Busbequius himself commented on the
absence of perfume in the Tulips which he saw.

The Tulip probably came from Persia^ and it is
somewhat curious that the name can be traced from
the same Persian word, thoulyban, tulbend, or dubbend, as
gave '^turban." The Persian used this word to describe
the nettlecloth worn by the Turks as a fez, probably
in allusion to the shape of the flower. The old name
for Tulip was Tulipan, and the descent of this from
thoulyban is easily followed.

We see that the Tulip is an Oriental plant, and we
perceive Eastern splendour in the brilliance of its
flowers. The remarkably rich and glowing colours,
the large size and massive substance of the great
floral urns, the dusky sheen of some varieties, the

ON TULIPS 365

metallic sparkle of others, have a truly Oriental
magnificence.

Tulip Species. — The lover of Tulips who may be
curious to know what the species are like may buy
bulbs of many through the ordinary dealers, and may
make acquaintance with some at one of the large
libraries through the medium of the great works in
which faithful coloured plates and accurate descriptions
of the plants appear, such as the Botanical Magazine
and the Botanical Register. Here are the names of some
of the best : Australis or Celsiana^ yellow, flushed with
red, appears in the Botanical Magazine^ t. 717. Batalini
is pale yellow. Biflora^ yellowy introduced in 1806, is
shown in the Botanical Magazine^ t. 6518, and also in
the Botanical Register, t, 535. Clusiana, a white and
purple species, said to have been introduced from Sicily
in 1636, is shown in the Botafiical Magazine, t. 1390.
The fine bright red species, Didieri, introduced from
the Alps in 1882, is represented by t, 6639 of the
Botanical Magazine ; the yellow variety of this called
Billietiana is one of the most popular of late-blooming
garden Tulips. Eichleri, crimson, black, and yellow,
introduced from Georgia in 1874, is shown in /. 6191
of the Botanical Magazine. Fosteriana is a magnificent
vermilion species, exhibited in 1906. Gesneriana is
shown in the Botanical Register, t. 46. The variety of
Gesneriana called Dracontia, which is also known under
the name of Turcica, gave us the Parrot Tulip, with its
singularly cut and contorted petals. Another variety
called spathidata, brilliant red, is one of the finest of
garden Tulips.

The dwarf scarlet species Greigii is much in demand
as a garden Tulip. It has been grown in British gardens
since 1873, and is shown in the Botanical Magazine,

Z^e POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

/. 6177. Hagerij scarlet, blue, and yellow, is shown
in the Botanical Magazine, t. 6242. Kaufmanniana, red
and yellow, introduced from Central Asia in 1877, and
shown in the Botanical Magazine, t. 6887, is grown by
many Tulip-lovers ; and the same may be said of the
red and yellow Kolpakowskiana, introduced from Turkes-
tan in 1878, and shown in the Botanical Magazine,
t. 6710. Leichtlini, purple, white, and yellow, introduced
from Cashmere in 1889, is a charming little species,
and the same may be said of linifolia, scarlet and
black, brought from Central Asia in 1886. Primulina,
introduced from Algeria in 1882, a very dwarf grower
with primrose- coloured flowers, is illustrated in the
Botanical Magazine, t. 6785. Pulchella, Botanical Maga-
zine, t. 6304, is a pretty, small species from Asia Minor,
with rose and lilac flowers. Retroflexa, with yellow
recurved flowers, is regarded as a hybrid. Stellata,
white, a tall Himalayan species, somewhat rare, is
shown in the Botanical Magazine, t. 2672. Sylvestris or
fragrans is the sweet yellow English Tulip. Triphylla,
lemon to orange, Botanical Magazine, t. 6459, is beauti-
ful but expensive. Vitellina, pale yellow, is a hybrid.

The foregoing are the principal Tulips, other than
varieties, which are offered in the catalogues of bulb
dealers. They are not grown by the majority of
amateurs, but Tulip-lovers are a large body, and in
their ranks are to be found a sufficient number of
specialists to provide a considerable demand for most
of the kinds named.

Early and Florists Tulips. — The botanists formed
three sections — early (pi'cecoces), medium (dubice), and late
(serotince). The scarlet species /r(^r^;i: represents the first,
and Gesneriana the last. The middle section was never
taken very seriously, and dropped out. In modern

ON TULIPS 367

flower-gardens Tulips are grown either as Early or
Late. The former, both single and double, are the
cheap and popular '^ Dutch " Tulips. They include
the dwarf very early Due Van Thols, which are in
great demand for forcing in pots, and originated from
suaveolens. The late section includes the Darwins, the
May-flowering or Cottage Tulips, and the old florists'
show Tulips. The last, which are subdivided into
Bizarres (yellow-ground flowers marked with purple \
or scarlet), Bybloemens (white-ground flowers marked i
with violet or purple), Roses (white-ground flowers \
marked with rose, scarlet, or crimson), and Breeders
(one-coloured or self flowers which after several years
break into Bizarres, Bybloemens, or Roses, and are
then called ^^ rectified"), are only grown by a few
specialists. Those who want to study them might refer
to i\iQ Journal oi the Royal Horticultural Society, vol. xv.,
1893, and vol. xxvii., 1902, where articles by experts
appear. It was varieties of this section which formed
the principal objects of the Tulip mania, but early
varieties were also in demand. They might also refer
to Robert Sweet's Florists Guide, published by James
Ridgewa}^, of Piccadilly, in 1827-29, in two volumes, for
this work contains a large number of beautiful coloured
plates of Bizarres, Bybloemens, and Roses. Handsome
flowers, of great substance, with rounded, exquisitely
coloured petals, are shown in these splendid plates.

Late Tulips. — Although the early Dutch Tulips are
popular for pot culture, and are also used a good deal in
spring bedding, the great body of amateurs have given
most of their attention to the Darwins and cottage
Tulips during recent years. These glorious plants are
taller, larger, and finer in every way than the early
Dutch. They form noble clumps in the borders. The

368 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

flower stems rise to two feet high, or even more, the
flowers have as much substance as the florists' varieties,
and the colours are very rich. Flower-lovers plant
these grand Tulips near the front of the mixed borders,
and generally leave them in the ground the whole year,
although some prefer to take them up and dry them
after the foliage has ripened off, replanting in early
autumn. When Tulips are thus taken up it will be
found that in most cases the old bulb has decayed, but
that a new one, nearly or quite as large, has formed
within the scales. There may also be offsets, which
will require two years' culture before they are large
enough to flower. Flower-lovers need not feel under
any cultural obligation to replant the Tulips every
year, but they should take care that if the borders
containing them are dug in autumn or winter, when
the bulbs are dormant, a careful workman acts, and
that he replants the clumps as he proceeds.

Planting. — Early and late Tulips alike are best planted
in October or November, in friable, deeply dug soil. A
light dressing of well-decayed manure may be dug in
ten or twelve inches deep, and supplemented with
bone flour at the rate of a quarter of a pound per
square yard ; this may also be dug well in. The plants
are likely to do better in heavy soil than in light,
provided it is made friable, as they will appreciate the
moisture such ground holds. Leaf-mould, sand, road
grit, and old hotbed manure may all be used to im-
prove heavy land. Cow manure may be used freely
in light ground. The bulbs should be planted in clumps
of from three to twelve, according to means and space ;
and the components of the various clumps should be
about nine inches apart. The bulbs may be covered
with three inches of soil.

A IJORDER OF TULirS WITH LiLAC ABOVE.

ON TULIPS

369

Growers of florists' Tulips generally put their
plants in a special bed, the soil of which is prepared
carefully, and over which an awning of light canvas is
fixed during the flowering period for the purpose of
shading the flowers from the sun.

Pot Tulips are grown similarly to Hyacinths, being
put into 5-inch or 6-inch pots in autumn, in a compost
of loam, decayed manure, and sand, and plunged in
cocoanut fibre refuse until they have made a good
lot of roots, then brought out and put in the green-
house. The only difference is that three bulbs are
put in each pot instead of one. By putting some in a
warm house and keeping others in a frame or cool
house, a succession of bloom can be secured. All the
early Dutch Tulips are suitable for pot culture, and
the Due Van Thols are the earliest of them.

The following are beautiful Tulips, and the table
shows the class to which they belong, their colour, and
the month of flowering. It will be noted that several
fragrant varieties are included.

Variety.

Class.

Colour.

Month of
Flowering.

Annie Macgregor

Rose

Rose and white

May.

Attraction . . .

Bybloemen

Rose and yellow

May.

Bessie ....

Bybloemen

Rose and yellow

May.

Billietiana . . .

Cottage

Yellow, splashed
red

May.

Bridesmaid . . .

Cottage

Rose and white

May.

Brunhilde . . .

Early single

Flamed buff

April.

Buenaventura . .

Cottage

Scarlet and yellow

May.

Chrysolora . . .

Early single

Yellow

April.

Clara Butt . . .

Darwin

Rosy salmon

May.

Cottage Maid . .

Early single

Rose and white

April.

Couronne des

Early double

Rose

April.

Roses ....

Crimson King . .

Early single

Crimson

April.

2 A

370 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS

Variety.

Class.

Colour.

■

Month of
Flowering.

Dainty Maid . .

Cottage

Lilac and white

May.

Didieri alba . .

Cottage

White, sweet

May.

Dr. Dalton . . .

Bizarre

Purple and yellow

May.

Dr. Hardy . . .

Bizarre

Purple and yellow

May.

Donders ....

Darwin

Brownish red

May.

Farncombe Sanders

Darwin

Rosy carmine

May.

Gala Beauty . .

Cottage

Scarlet and yellow

May.

Gesneriana lutea .

Cottage

Yellow

May.

Heroine ....

Rose

Rose and white

May.

Herschel . . .

Cottage

Scarlet

May.

Imperator Rub-

Early double

Scarlet

April.

rorum

Inglescombe Scar-
let
Joost van Vondel

Cottage

Scarlet

May.

Early single

Crimson and white

April.

Kate Greenaway .

Darwin

Lilac and white

May.

Keizer's Kroon .

Early single

Scarlet and yellow

April.

La Candeur . .

Darwin

White

May.

La Merveille . .

Bronzy salmon

Cottage, s\v££t

May.

Le Reve ....

Early single

Pink

April.

Loveliness . . .

Darwin

Rose

May.

Mabel ....

Rose

Rose and white

May.

Macrospeila . .

Cottage

Cerise, sweet

May.

Maiden's Blush .

Darwin

Rosy pink

May.

Masterpiece . .

Bizarre

Purple and yellow

May.

Modesty . . .

Rose

Rose and white

May.

Nora Ware . . .

Darwin

Pale lilac

May.

Nulli Secundus .

Bybloemen

Rose and yellow

May.

Ophir d'Or . . .

Early single

Yellow

April.

Parisian Yellow .

Cottage

Yellow

May.

Picotee ....

Cottage

White, pink edge

May.

Pink Beauty . .

Early single

Pink and white

April.

Pride of Haarlem

Darwin

Rosy carmine

May.

Prince of Austria .

Early single

Orange, sweet

April.

Proserpine . .

Early single

Rose

April.

Queen of Whites .

Early single

White

April.

Salvator Rosa . .

Early double

Rose

April.

Sir J. Paxton . .

Bizarre

Purple and yellow

May.

Talisman . , .

Bybloemen

Rose and yellow

May.

Thomas Moore .

Early single

Orange

April.

The Sultan . . .

Darwin

Maroon

May.

Tournesol , . .

Early double

Red and yellow

April.

Van Berghem . .

Early single

Rose, sweet

April.

Vermilion Brilliant

Early single

Scarlet

April.

Can N AS.

INDEX

Anemones, origin of name, 3 ; prin-
cipal species, 4 ; Blanda, 5 ; Poppy,
5 ; fulgens, 7 ; Hepatica, 8 ; Hor-
tensis, 9 ; Japanese, 9 ; narcissiflora,
10 ; wood, 10; Pulsatilla, ii;
sylvestris, 1 1

Annuals, hardy, 47, 48, 49 ; half-
hardy, 50

Antirrhinums. See Chapter XXXIII.

Aquilegias. See Columbines, Chap-
ter XII.

Asters, origin of name, 1 3 ; perennial,
14; principal species, 17, 18; soil,
18; propagation, 19 ; for suburban
gardens, 19; China, 20; annual
types, 21 ; culture of annual, 22

Auriculas, 294, 299

Begonias, early species, 24 ; early
hybrids, 25 ; select varieties, 27 ;
cheap, 28 ; how to start, 28 ;
raising from seed, 29 ; planting,
29 ; fibrous, 30

Bell-flowers (Campanulas), origin of
name, 32 ; Canterbury Bells, Z'h J
perennial, 35 ; principal species, ^6

Calceolarias, bedding, origin of
name, 39 ; early species, 39 ; good
varieties, 40 ; propagation, 40

Campanulas. See Bell-flowers.

Canary Creeper, origin of name, 42 ;
sowing, 43

Candytufts, 47

Canterbury Bells, 32

Carnations, Picotees, and Pinks,
origin of names, 51,52, 53; Clove,
54; various sections of, 57; pot
culture, 59 ; select varieties, 60,
61, 62, 63; soil, 64; wireworm,
64 ; leather-jackets, 64 ; planting
{ilhisirated), 65; diseases, 66; in
beds, 66 ; for towns, 67 ; propaga-
tion, (^j ; maggot, 69 ; Japanese
and Indian Pinks, 69 ; a monthly
calendar, 70-76

Christmas and Lenten Roses, poison-
ous, 78 ; popular name, 78 ; situa-
tion for, 79 ; under trees, 80 ;
planting, 81 ; varieties, 82

Chrysanthemums, history, 84 ; early
varieties, 87 ; famous growers, 89 ;
blue, 90 ; classification, 90-92 ;
varieties, 93-97 ; double garden,
97-99 ; large Daisies, 100; Golden
Feather, 100; Marguerites, lOi ;
hardy annual, 10 1 ; hardiness, 10 1 ;
propagation, 102 ; soil, 103 ; a
monthly calendar, 104-110

Clarkias, 49

Clematises, origin of name, ii i ; uses
of, 1 1 2 ; popular names, 112; pretty
species, 113; mountain, 113; Jack-
manii, 115; pruning, 116; beauti-
ful varieties, 117

Columbines (Aquilegias), origin of

373

374

INDEX

name, 119; and the poets, 120;
species and hybrids, 122 ; propaga-
tion, 124; structure of flower, 125

Cowslips, 294, 295

Crocuses, origin of name, 1 26 ; safif-
ron, 126-129; Saffron Walden,
127; Saffron Hill, 128; for rock-
work and pots, 130; Autumn-
blooming, 131; spring-flowering,
132 ; cheap Dutch, 132 ; in grass,
133; birds, 133

Daffodils and Narcissi, origin of
names, 134; and the poets, 135,
136; classification, 137; select
varieties, 138, 139, 140; hardiness,
140; in beds, 141 ; and Primroses,
142 ; after flowering, 143 ; in town
gardens, 143-145 ; in herbaceous
borders, 145 ; for cheap gardening,
146; the Poet's naturalised, 147;
in grass, 147; in pots and bowls,
148

Dahlias, history, 153; as hardy
plants, 155; after flowering, 156;
propagation by cuttings, 157 ; from
seed, 158; propagation by divi-
sion, 158; soil and manure, 159;
staking, 160; for exhibition, 160;
garden, 161 ; good varieties, 162

Delphiniums. See Chapter XXVI.

Digitalis. See Foxgloves.

Eschscholtzias, 49

Feverfews (Pyrethrums), origin of
name, 163 ; and Chrysanthemums,

163; for town and suburban gar-
dens, 165 ; culture of, 165 ; best
varieties, 166

Forget-me-nots (Myosotis), origin of
name, 168; various species, 169;
culture, 170

Foxglove (Digitalis), origin of name,
171 ; naturalised, 174; culture of,
175

Geraniums and Pelargoniums, 176;
origin of names, 176, 177; hardy,
'^77 > good species, 177; Zonal,
178; winter bloom, 180; propaga-
tion, 182; Ivy-leaved, 182; from
seed, 183; good varieties, 185

Gladioli, origin of name, 186; wire-
v^orm, 188; for cutting, 188;
beautiful species, 190; classes, 191 ;
good varieties, 192 ; preparing soil,
193 ; wintering, 194 ; from seed,
194

Godetias, 49

Hellebores. See Chapter IX.

Hepaticas, 8

Hollyhocks, origin of name, 196, 197 ;
disease, 198, 199; culture of, 200;
Fig-leaved, 201

Honeysuckle, popular names, 202 ;
and the poets, 202, 203 ; culture
of, 205, 207 ; good species and
varieties, 205, 207

Hyacinths, wild, 208 ; origin of name,
208, 209 ; white Roman, 209 ;
Dutch, 210; propagation, 210; as
pot plants, 211 ; in water, 214; in
bowls, 215; in flower beds, 215;
in suburban gardens, 216; Grape,
216; good varieties, 217; Hya-
cinthus candicans, 217

INDEX

375

Irises, soil, 218; for towns, 218;
propagation, 219; cheapness of,
219; "Flag," 220; origin of
name, 220; and the poets, 221;
native, 222 ; pseudacorus, 222 ;
Gladwyn, 222; snake's head, 223 ;
best species, 223-228 ; German,
225 ; Japanese, 225 ; select varie-
ties, 229-231

Jasmine, origin of name, 232 ; and
the poets, 233; species of, 233-
236

Jonquils, 137

Larkspurs (Delphiniums), origin of
name, 237 ; origin of annual, 238 ;
perennial species, 238 ; propaga-
tion, 239; soil, 239; cutting back,
241 ; seedlings, 241 ; good varie-
ties, 242

Lent Lilies, 137

Lenten Roses. See Chapter IX.

Lilies (Liliums) and the poets, 244,
245 ; the Madonna, 246 ; the
scarlet, 247 ; auratum and its varie-
ties, 247; the best species, 250-
259; culture in pots, 259; propa-
gation, 260; popular names, 260;
home and imported bulbs, 261

Lonicera. See Chapter XXIL

Love-in-a-mist, 49

Michaelmas Daisies, 14

Mignonette, 50

Myosotis. See Chapter XVH.

Narcissi. See Chapter XIV.
Nasturtiums, 44, 45

Oxlip, 294, 29s

PjEonies, early species, 263 ; origin
of name, 264; soil, 265 ; planting,
266 ; propagation, 266 ; species
and varieties, 267 ; select varieties,
268

Pansies, origin of name, 271 ; and
the poets, 271 ; popular names,
272 ; wild, 272 ; Scotch prize,
273 ; propagation, 274 ; best types,
275; soil, 275; tufted, 276; as
town flowers, 277 ; Sweet Violets,
278-281 ; species and varieties,
281 ; select varieties, 282, 283

Pelargoniums. See Chapter XIX.

Phloxes, origin of name, 285 ; early
species, 286 ; early and late, 287 ;
annual, 288 ; propagation, 289 ;
soil, 291 ; for beds and borders,
291 ; good varieties, 292, 293

Picotees. See Chapter VIII.

Pinks. See Chapter VIII.

Polyanthuses, 294, 295

Poppies, 49

Primroses (Primulas) and Daffodils,
142; origin of name, 294-296;
and the poets, 297 ; propagation,
298 ; for beds, 299 ; named border,
300 ; beautiful species, 300 ; green-
house, 301

Pyrethrums. See Chapter XVI.

Rose Mallow, 49
Rose of Sharon, 136

376

INDEX

Roses, old varieties, 305 ; and the
poets, 306 ; origin of name, 306 ;
some good species, 307 ; White
Rose of York, 307 ; Red Rose of
Lancaster, 307 ; Ayrshire, 307 ;
Scotch, 307 ; Burnet-leaved, 307 ;
Dog, 307 ; Sweetbrier, 308 ; hybrid
Briers, 308; Damask, 308; Hybrid
Perpetual, 308 ; Tea, 300 ; Hybrid
Tea, 309 ; Musk, 309 ; Cabbage,
310; Provence, 310; Austrian
Brier, 311; variegated, 311; Bank-
sian, 312; Fairy, 312; Boursault,
312 ; Seven Sisters, 312 ; Japanese,
312 ; Cherokee, 312 ; " Sub rosa,"
313; gardens of, 314; list of
fragrant, 315 ; good Hybrid Per-
petual, 317; good Hybrid Tea,
317; good Tea, 3 1 S ; for beds,
319; for walls, 319; for pillars,
arches, pergolas, arbours, and
summer-houses, 321 ; for banks,
322; for standards, 322; for in-
door culture, 323 ; soils and
manures, 323 ; planting, 325 ;
pruning, 326; propagation, 329;
budding, 330 ; from cuttings, 331 ;
making pillars and arches, 331 ;
exhibiting, 332; sizes of show
boards, 334 ; under glass, 334 ;
insects and diseases, 335 ; a
monthly calendar, 335-338

Snapdragons, 339, 340

Stocks, origin of name, 355 ; sec-

tions, 35^ ; single and double,
359 ; raising from seed, 359 ; good
varieties, 359, 360, 361 ; in beds,
360; Brompton, 360

Sweet Peas, history of, 345 ; struc-
ture of, 347 ; good varieties, 348,
349 ; propagation, 350 ; soil,
manure, and planting, 351 ; sticks,
water, stopping, 351 ; exhibiting,
352; enemies of, 353

Sweet Williams, 339, 343

Tropoeolums, 45

Tulips, the mania, 362, 363 ; an ex-
traordinary bargain, 362 ; history
of, 364 ; origin of name, 364 ;
species of, 365 ; early, 366 ;
florists', 366 ; late, 367 ; planting,
368 ; in pots, 369 ; good varieties,
3691 370

Violas. See Chapter XXIX.
Violets. See Chapter XXIX.

Wallflowers, origin of name, 355-356 ;

structure of, 356 ; culture of, 357 ;

good varieties, 357
Windflowers, 3

Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson &> Co.
Edinburgh &= London

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University of British Columbia Library

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Full text of "Popular garden flowers; anemones: asters: begonias: carnations: chrysanthemums: crocuses: daffodils: dahlias: geraniums: gladioli: hollyhocks: hyacinths: irises: lilies: pansies: phloxes: primulas: sweet peas: stocks: tulips: roses &c"

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