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QK 
81 
H88 
1907 
IST  SER 


[LIAR 
DEN50 
VERS 


From   the  Library 

of 
JOCELYN  BROOKE 


G/0 


WALL    FLOWER. 


FAMILIAR 
GARDEN    FLOWERS 


FIGURED   BY 

F.    EDWARD    H.ULME,   F.L.S.,   F.S.A. 

AXD  DESCRIBED  BY 

SHIRLEY    HIBBERD 


'  Where  does  the  •wisdom  and  the  power  divine 
In  a  more  bright  and  sweet  reflection  shine  ? 
Where  do  we  finer  strokes  and  colours  see 
Of  the  Creator's  real  poetry, 
Than  when  we  with  attention  look 
Upon  the  third  day's  volume  of  the  Book  ? 
If  we  could  open  and  intend  our  eye, 
We  all  like  Moses  should  espy, 
Even  in  a  hush,  the  radiant  Deity." 

COWLEY,  TTie  Garden,  Essay  V. 


jftrst 
WITH    COLOURED    PLATES 


CASSELL  AND  COMPANY,  LIMITED 

LONDON,  PARIS,  NEW  YORK,  TORONTO  AND  MELBOURNE 

MCMVH  ALL   RIGHTS   RESERVED 


PREFACE. 

LIGHT  words  are  at  times  more  serviceable  than  learned 
lines,  and  persuasions  are  often  more  effective  '  than 
arguments.  This  is  especially  the  case  in  respect  of 
subjects  that  are  adapted  for  universal  enjoyment,  and 
that  appeal  to  feeling  first  and  afterwards  arouse 
curiosity  and  set  the  mind  to  work.  Garden  flowers 
give  more  delight,  perhaps,  to  those  who  study  their 
history  and  cultivation  and  uses,  than  to  such  as 
admire  them  but  in  a  casual  way,  and  who  may  be 
said  to  smile  and  pass  on.  But  in  either  case  the 
gratification,  which  is  one  of  sentiment  in  the  first 
instance,  becomes  an  intellectual  exercise,  and  may  be 
aided  by  one  given  to  gossiping,  and  with  a  little 
knowledge  to  flavour  his  words.  It  is  with  some  such 
purpose  the  following  papers  have  been  penned  to  ac-^ 
company  a  series  of  pictures  adapted  to  awaken  and 

sustain  an  interest  in  "  familiar  garden  flowers." 

S.  H. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

WALLFLOWEB     .'     ...'...»....  1 

MONKSHOOD        .,.,.., 5 

PETUNIA      .............  9 

WHITE  LILY 13 

CANARY  FLOWEB 17 

PHLOX o.o 21 

MICHAELMAS  DAISY 25 

SINGLE  FUCHSIA „ 29 

CHRISTMAS  EOSE 33 

LAVENDER  ....,,        37 

CANTERBURY  BELL 41 

RUDBECKIA         ....,.„ 45 

MARIGOLD .49 

BALSAM ,.,.,.,  53 

YORK  AND  LANCASTEB  EOSB     .       .        .       ......  57 

COMMON  MARIGOLD 61 

JESSAMINE 65 

BLUE  SAGE .  69 

INDIAN  PINK 73 

GLADIOLUS 77 

VIRGINIAN  STOCK 81 

BLUE  LOBELIA    .                                                                                            .  85 


vi  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

COMMELINA »       •       »    89 

COLUMBINE ,       .    93 

WINTEB  JASMINE •  ,    97 

BBOWALLIA 101 

EVEBLASTING  PEA ,       .       .  105 

WHITE  BEGONIA. 109 

SWEET  PEA ,       .  ....  113 

HONEYSUCKLE     .  ...  117 

CKIMSON  FLAX   .  .........        c        ,  121 

IBIS - .125 

CBIMSON  PETUNIA 129 

ASTEB.        .        .        .        .        .       .        .      '.       .       .       .       .        .133 

SNOWDEOP  .  13" 

PUEPLE  CLEHATTB ' 141 

TUBE'S  CAP,  OB  YELLOW  MAETAGON  LILY      ......  145 

CEOCUS 149 

POPPY 153 

WINTEE  ACONITE       .......  .157 


SYNOPSIS. 


THE  subjoined  notes  will  be  useful  to  readers  who  desire  more  information 
of  a  scientific  and  technical  nature  than  is  embodied  in  the  sketches  that 
accompany  the  plates.  To  arrange  them  otherwise  than  in  accordance  with 
the  arrangement  of  subjects  in  the  body  of  the  work  would  appear  an  incon- 
gruity ;  and  as  each  note  is  complete  in  itself,  the  lack  of  scientific  sequence 
is  probably  of  no  consequence.  It  is  impossible,  indeed,  in  such  a  work  as 
the  present,  to  follow  any  system,  unless  it  be  that  of  the  butterfly,  which 
probably  knows  but  little  of  botany,  but  appears  to  be  perfectly  happy  in 
going  from  flower  to  flower. 

WALLFLOWER,  or  CHEIRANTHUS.  The  English  name 
refers  to  the  habit  of  the  plant  as  an  inhabitant  of  walls  and  rocks;  the 
Latin  name  implies  that  it  is  in  an  especial  manner  a  nosegay  or  "  hand" 
flower.  N.O.,  Crucifera.  LINN^AN:  15,  Tetradynamia. — The  cruciferous 
order  is  one  of  the  most  natural  as  well  as  most  important  of  the  great 
families  of  the  vegetable  kingdom,  as  it  includes  the  cabbages,  cauliflowers, 
cresses,  mustards,  turnips,  colzas,  horse-radish,  sea-kale,  and  an  immense 
number  of  ornamental  plants,  of  which  the  candytuft,  stock,  wallflower,  and 
arabis  are  familiar  examples.  Many  of  the  plants  of  this  order  are  characterised 
by  a  volatile  acridity  and  a  pungent  flavour ;  they  are  stimulant  and  anti- 
scorbutic ;  none  of  them  are  poisonous.  Most  of  them  are  annual  or  biennial 
herbs  ;  some  are  perennial  and  sub-shrubby ;  all  have  alternate  leaves 
without  stipules ;  the  flowers  are  hermaphrodite,  regular,  and  consist  of  a 
calyx  of  four  pieces  and  a  corolla  of  four  petals  clawed  at  the  base  and 
arranged  opposite  each  other  in  the  form  of  a  cross  ;  hence  the  term  "  cruci- 
ferous." The  stamens  are  six  in  number,  four  of  which  are  longer  than  the 
other  two.  The  stigma  is  two-lobed.  The  ovary  is  superior,  with  two  cells 
separated  by  a  partition  to  which  the  ovules  are  attached.  The  fruit  is  a 
silique,  or  a  silicic,  dry,  one  or  many  seeded,  and  usually  opening  in  two 
valves.  The  seeds  are  without  albumen,  but  in  many  instances  contain  oil, 
which  is  removed  by  expression  for  commercial  purposes.  p.  1. 

ACONITTTM,  most  probably  from  Acma,  the  place  where  it  was 
first  found.  N.O.,  Ranunculacea:.  LnraasAN:  13,  Polyandria  ;  2,  Trigynia. 
— The  ranunculus  or  crowfoot  family  consists  of  herbaceous  and  half -shrubby 
plants,  witft  leaves  alternate,  divided,  aad  widened  at  the  base,  where  they 


viii  FAMILIAR    GARDEN  FLOWERS. 

form  a  sheath  round  the  stem.  The  flowers  vary  much  in  their  disposition, 
having  sometimes  a  whorl  of  three  leaves  close  to  them  or  at  some  distance 
below.  The  calyx  consists  of  three  to  six  pieces ;  the  corolla  contains  petals 
that  have  a  distinct  numerical  relation  to  the  leaves  of  the  calyx,  being  equal, 
double  or  triple.  Thus  the  buttercups  have  usually  a  calyx  of  five  leaves 
and  a  corolla  of  five  petals ;  but  the  pilewort,  or  lesser  celandine,  has  usually 
three  sepals  and  nine  petals ;  while  the  peony  has  five  sepals  and  five  to  ten 
petals.  The  stamens  are  generally  numerous,  distinct,  and  situated  under 
the  ovary.  The  carpels,  or  seed-vessels,  are  sometimes  one-seeded  and 
collected  in  a  head  or  capitule ;  or  many-seeded  and  combined  in  a  whorl ; 
or  are  compressed  so  as  to  form  a  many-celled  pistil.  All  the  ranunculaceous 
plants  have  watery  juices,  and  are  more  or  less  acrid  and  poisonous,  and  the 
roots  are  often  more  decidedly  poisonous  than  the  stems  and  leaves.  But  the 
poisonous  principle  is  destroyed  by  boiling  or  drying ;  hence  some  of  these 
plants  are  used  for  food  when  cooked,  and  the  poisonous  crowfoots  of  our 
meadows,  which  are  never  touched  by  cattle,  become  wholesome  fodder  when 
dried  in  the  form  of  hay.  The  aconite  may  be  distinguished  from  all  other 
members  of  the  ranunculus  family  by  the  fact  that  the  large  uppermost 
segment  of  its  calyx  overhangs  the  petals  and  other  parts  in  the  form  of  a 
helmet.  p.  5. 

PETUNIA,  from  pettin,  the  Brazilian  name  for  tobacco.  N.O., 
Solanaceee.  LINN^EAN:  5,  Pentandria ;  1,  Monogynia. — This  order  is  com- 
posed of  herbs  or  shrubs,  rarely  of  arborescent  plants,  with  colourless  juices, 
round  or  irregularly  angled  stems  or  branches,  sometimes  armed  with  thorns 
or  prickles ;  their  leaves  alternate,  simple,  entire,  or  lobed ;  the  inflorescence 
is  variable,  mostly  axillary,  sometimes  terminal;  the  flowers  regular  and 
united;  the  calyx  is  five-parted,  persistent;  corolla  monopetalous,  five- cleft 
or  four-cleft,  regular,  deciduous ;  stamens  inserted  upon  the  corolla,  as  many 
as  the  segments  of  the  limb,  and  alternate  with  them ;  ovary  two  or  four- 
celled,  stigma  simple  ;  fruit  either  a  capsule  or  a  berry  ;  seeds  numerous.  A 
large  and  somewhat  anomalous  order,  comprehending  many  useful  and  many 
noxious  plants,  as,  for  example,  the  potato,  tomato,  nightshade,  egg-plant, 
capsicum,  henbane,  and  tobacco.  Between  the  flower  of  the  potato  and  that 
of  the  petunia  what  a  difference,  and  yet  we  are  to  regard  them  as  somewhat 
nearly  related !  p.  9. 

LILIUM,  from  leirion,  or  from  the  Celtic  li,  white.  N.O.,  Liliacea. 
LINN.EAN:  6,  Hexandria ;  1,  Monogynia. — The  lily  worts  are  endogenous 
plants  widely  scattered  over  the  globe,  and  comprehending  the  dracasuas, 
yuccas,  aloes,  and  asparagus,  as  well  as  the  true  lilies,  which  for  the  most 
part  produce  fleshy  bulbs  of  annual  duration.  The  leaves  are  always  simple 
and  undivided,  and  usually  have  the  veins  running  straight  from  the  base  to 
the  apex,  but  in  some  dracaenas  they  diverge  from  the  midrib  to  the  margin. 
The  flower  consists  of  six  perianth  pieces,  six  stamens  with  anthers  opening 
inwards,  and  a  superior  three- celled  ovary  changing  to  a  three-celled  fruit- 


SYNOPSIS.  ix 

The  true  lilies  have  a  longitudinal  nectariferous  furrow  at  the  base  of  each 
petal  or  perianth  piece,  an  undivided  style,  a  capitate  stigma,  and  flat  seeds. 
The  colour  of  the  flowers  is  white,  yellow,  or  red.  p.  13. 

TROP2EOLUM,  from  tropaion,  a  trophy.  N.O.,  Tropceolacea. 
LINN.EAN:  8,  Octandria;  1,  Monogynia.  p.  17. 

PHLOX,  from  phlox,  a  flame,  in  allusion  to  the  splendour  of  the 
flowers.  N.O.,  Polemoniacece.  LINN^AN:  5,  Pentandria ;  1,  Monogynia. — 
The  order  represented  by  Polernoniuin  consists,  for  the  most  part,  of  herbaceous 
plants  with  alternate  leaves,  regular  flowers  which  have  a  five-cleft  calyx, 
and  a  five-lobed  corolla  consisting  of  one  piece  as  in  the  primulas.  The 
stamens  are  five  in  number,  inserted  alternately  with  the  lobes  of  the  corolla; 
ovary  three -celled,  fruit  a  capsule.  There  is  not  much  to  be  said  of  this 
order,  as  it  has  no  important  place  in  the  arts,  and  it  is  restricted  in  its  forms 
and  geographical  distribution.  It  is  more  largely  represented  in  the  new 
than  in  the  old  world,  and  the  majority  of  its  members  are  found  in  tem- 
perate climates,  a  few  of  the  smaller  kinds  giving  a  glow  of  colour  to  alpine 
and  sub-arctic  scenery.  As  garden  plants,  many  of  them  are  of  great  im- 
portance, as  not  only  the  phlox,  but  the  gilia,  ipomopsis,  cobaea,  leptosiphou, 
and  the  lovely  cantua  are  members  of  the  order.  p.  21. 

MICHAELMAS  DAISY.-See  "Aster,"  p.  xiv.,  Vol.  I. 

p.  25. 
SINGLE  FUCHSIA.— See   "Fuchsia,"  p.  xiii.,   Vol.   III. 

p.  29. 

CHRISTMAS  ROSE,  or  HELLEBORUS.— The  familiar 
name  needs  no  explanation.  Helle/borus  is  from  the  Greek  hclein,  to  kill, 
and  bora,  food,  implying  a  poisonous  plant,  which  this  certainly  is.  N.O., 
Ranunculacece.  LINNJEA.N  :  13,  Polyandria ;  6,  Polygynia.  —  See  under 
"  Acouitum,"  p.  vii.,  Vol.  I.  p.  33. 

LAVENDER,  from  Latin  lavo,  to  wash.  N.O.  Lamiacece,  or  Labi- 
at((.  LISTIOEAN:  14,  Didynamia;  1,  Gymnospermia. — The  labiate  order  is 
marked  with  strong  characters,  and  constitutes  a  distinct  though  extremely 
large  group.  The  members  of  it  are  mostly  herbs  and  low  shrubs  with  square 
stems,  opposite  leaves,  and  aromatic  juices ;  the  flowers  are  singularly  formed ; 
the  calyx  is  bell-shaped  with  five  teeth ;  the  corolla  tubular,  irregular,  two- 
lipped,  the  upper  o'ne  very  short  and  sometimes  wanting ;  stamens  four ; 
ovary  four-lobed ;  stigma  two-cleft ;  fruit  composed  of  four  one-seeded  nuts 
enclosed  in  the  interior  of  the  permanent  calyx.  A  large  proportion  of  the 
most  useful  aromatic  herbs  belong  to  this  order,  such  as  sage,  thyme,  mar- 
joram, mint,  betony,  ground  ivy,  &c.  About  1,714  species  are  known,  of 
which  over  1,000  belong  to  the  eastern  hemisphere.  The  temperate  and 
warm  temperate  parts  of  the  earth  are  largely  occupied  with  labiates  ;  there 
are  but  few  in  the  Equinoctial  regions,  and  still  fewer  are  Arctic.  p.  37. 


x  FAMILIAR    GARDEN  FLOWERS. 

CAMPANULA,  from  Lat.  campana,  a  little  bell.  X.O.,  Campanu- 
lacece.  LINN.ZEAN  :  5,  Pentandria ;  1,  Monogynia. — This  order  consists  for 
the  most  part  of  leafy  herbs  with  alternate  leaves,  which  sometimes  contain  a 
milky  juice.  The  flowers  are  hermaphrodite  and  regular,  consisting  of  a 
persistent  calyx,  usually  of  five  divisions,  but  sometimes  of  three  or  eight. 
Corolla  inserted  in  the  summit  of  the  tube  of  the  calyx,  usually  five-lobed, 
and  bell  or  saucer-shaped  ;  stamens  five,  inserted  in  the  summit  of  the  tube 
of  the  calyx ;  ovary  inferior,  with  two,  three,  or  five  many-ovuled  seeds ; 
fruit  a  capsule  containing  many  seeds  attached  to  a  central  placenta.  A 
comparative^  unimportant  order,  the  members  of  which  are  esteemed  for 
their  beauty.  p.  41. 

RUDBECKIA,  named  after  O.  Kudbeck,  a  Swedish  botanist. 
N.O.,  Asteracece.  LINNJEAN  :  19,  Syngenesia;  3,  Frustranea. — See  under 
"Aster," p.  xiv.,  Vol.  I.  p.  45. 

MARIGOLD.— See  under  "Aster,"  p.  xiv.,  Vol.  I.  p.  49. 

BALSAM,  or  IMPATIENS.  The  word  balsam  explains  itself, 
although  the  plant  does  not  furnish  any  oil  or  balm  or  resin  that  might 
be  so  called.  The  term  impatiens  refers  to  the  hasty  escape  of  the  seeds 
when  the  pod  is  touched.  N.O.,  Balsaminacea.  LINN^AN  :  5,  Pentan- 
dria;  1,  Monogynia. — The  order  consists  chiefly  of  succulent  herbs,  with 
sometimes  radical  leaves,  but  more  frequently  caulescent  leaves  which  are 
alternate  or  opposite ;  flowers  irregular,  issuing  from  the  axils  of  the  leaves ; 
calyx  with  five  segments,  which  are  petal-like  and  unequal ;  corolla  with  five 
petals  alternate  with  the  segments  of  the  calyx,  the  anterior  petal  large  and 
concave,  the  two  posterior  united  with  the  two  small  lateral  ones  ;  stamens 
five;  fruit  a  capsule  with  five  many-seeded  cells  beneath,  but  one-celled 
above  and  opening  in  five  elastic  valves.  A  small  order  containing  no 
plants  of  special  interest  or  importance.  p.  53. 

YORK  AND  LANCASTER  ROSE.— See  under  "Eosa," 
p.  xi.,  Vol.  II.  P.  57. 

MARIGOLD,  or  CALENDULA.  N.O.,  Asteracece.  LIN- 
N.EAN  :  12,  Syngenesia;  4,  Necessaria.  p.  61. 

JESSAMINE,  or  JASMINE.  N.O.,  Jasminacece.  LINN^AN: 
2,  Diandria ;  1,  Monogynia. — Climbing  shrubs  or  miniature  trees,  with 
leaves  opposite  or  alternate  ;  trifoliate  or  unequally  pinnate,  without  stipules  ; 
flowers  hermaphrodite,  regular  ;  calyx  of  five  to  eight  lobes  ;  corolla  with 
fire  to  eight  lobes;  stamens  two;  ovary  two-celled;  fruit  a  double  berry  or 
duplex  capsule.  A  small  order,  the  members  of  which  are  met  with  in 
tropical  and  warm  temperate  climates.  In  many  instances  the  flowers 
abound  in  a  fragrant  essential  oil.  p.  65. 


SYNOPSIS.  jri 

SAL VI A,  from  salvo,  to  save,  in  allusion  to  the  medicinal  properties 
of  the  sage  and  other  aromatic  plants  of  the  same  genus.  N.O.,  Lamiacece, 
or  Lipworts.  LINN^AN  :  2,  Diandria ;  1,  Monogynia, — This  order  has 
several  distinctive  characters.  The  stems  are  four-cornered,  the  leaves 
are  opposite,  replete  with  receptacles  of  aromatic  oil ;  the  flowers  in  whorls 
or  opposite  cymes,  the  corolla  bilabiate,  the  upper  lip  overlapping  the 
lower,  which  is  larger  and  three-lobed ;  the  fruits  are  small  nuts  enclosed 
within  the  persistent  calyx.  As  they  come  near  to  borageworts,  note 
should  be  taken  of  their  square  stems  and  irregular  flowers,  for  borage - 
worts  have  round  stems  and  regular  flowers.  The  labiates  are  natives  of 
temperate  regions  chiefly,  and  are  very  abundant.  In  the  cooler  parts  of 
India  there  are  over  two  hundred  species  ;  they  love  dry  sunny  places,  as  is 
the  case  generally  with  aromatic  plants.  In  the  arts  they  are  much  used,  as 
in  the  preparation  of  perfumes  and  sauces ;  a  few  are  eatable,  and  many 
have  valuable  medicinal  properties.  The  famous  patchouli  is  a  labiate ; 
lavender,  mint,  horehound,  and  rosemary  are  familiar  labiates  renowned  for 
their  several  uses.  As  regards  the  rosemary  there  can  be  no  question  of  its 
power  of  encouraging  the  growth  of  hair,  and  thereby  curing  baldness  ;  it  is 
used  also  in  the  manufacture  of  Hungary  water,  and  contributes  in  an 
especial  degree  to  the  pungent  aroma  of  eau  de  Cologne.  The  famous 
Narbonne  honey  is  derived  from  the  flowers  of  rosemary,  which  abounds  in 
that  district  of  France.  p.  69. 

INDIAN  PINK,  or  DIANTHUS,  from  dios,  divine,  and 
anthos,  flower,  the  divine  flower.  N.O.,  Cari/ophyllacece.  LiNN-asAx:  10, 
Decandria  ;  2,  Digynia. —  See  under  "  Lychnis,"  p.  viii.,  Vol.  V.  p.  73. 

GLADIOLUS,  from  gladius,  a  sword,  in  allusion  to  the  form  of  the 
leaves.  ~S.Q.,Iridacece.  LINN^AN  :  3,  Triandria;  1,  Monogynia. — Although 
the  Cape  species  of  gladiolus  are  best  known  in  gardens,  there  are  a  few 
European  species,  and  two  of  them  are  found  wild  in  Britain.  Gladiolus 
segetum,  the  cornflag,  and  G.  commimis,  which  may  be  called  English  if  not 
British,  very  fairly  represent  the  family,  and  are  worthy  of  the  special 
attention  of  the  rambling  botanist.  Hitherto,  however,  G.  communis  has 
only  been  found  amongst  the  bracken  near  Lyndhurst,  in  the  New  Forest. 
See  under  "  Iris,"  p.  xiv.,  Vol.  I.  p.  77. 

MALCOMIA.  Named  after  W.  Malcom,  mentioned  by  Ray. 
N"  O.,  Cmciferce.  LINN^EAN:  15,  Tetradynamia.— See  under  "Wallflower," 
p.  vii.,  Vol.  I.  p.  81. 

LOBELIA,  named  after  M.  Lobel,  botanist.  N.O.,  LobeUacea. 
LINNJEAN  :  5,  Pentandria  ;  1,  Monogynia. — This  order  consists  almost  exclu- 
sively of  herbs  and  under-shrubs  of  suspicious  qualities.  The  leaves  are 
alternate  and  simple ;  the  flowers  irregular  ;  the  corolla  five-lobed  ;  the  fruit 
a  capsule  opening  at  the  top.  The  species  are,  for  the  most  part,  moisture- 
loving  plants,  possessing  acrid  juices  of  the  most  poisonous  nature.  p.  85. 


xiv  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

the  fact  that  it  first  acquired  proper  renown  there,  arid  being  used  by  a  cul- 
tivated people,  obtained  through  them,  an  honourable  place  in  literature 
This  plant,  everywhere  grown  for  its  tenacious  fibres,  is  comparatively 
unknown  in  gardens,  and  the  observer  of  vegetable  forms  who  is  unac- 
quainted with  it  may  be  advised  to  sow  a  few  common  flax  seeds  in  the 
spring,  and  in  due  time  look  for  an  elegant  tuft  of  vegetation  crowned  with 
pretty  blue  flowers.  p.  121. 

IRIS,  from  iris,  the  rainbow.  N.O.,  Iridacece.  LINNJEAN  :  3,  Tri- 
andria ;  1,  Monoyynia, — This  order  consists  entirely  of  herbs  that  have 
fibrous,  tuberous,  or  bulbous  roots;  but  the  "bulbs"  of  this  order  are 
not  formed  of  scales  like  those  of  lilies,  but  are  woody,  and  multiply  by  a 
new  growth  at  the  summit,  which  true  bulbs  never  do  ;  hence  the  bulb-like 
roots  of  these  plants  are  called  conns.  The  order  comprehends  the  iris  and 
crocus  of  the  northern  hemisphere.  All  are  furnished  with  sword-shaped 
or  sickle-shaped  leaves ;  the  flowers  are  hermaphrodite,  regular  and  irregular, 
enclosed  before  opening  in  a  sheath  ;  the  perianth  has  six  divisions  arranged 
in.  two  series ;  there  are  three  stamens ;  the  fruit  is  a  three-celled  capsule. 
There  are  several  edible  plants  in  the  order,  and  a  few  that  furnish  aromatic 
drugs,  and  all  the  species  are  highly  ornamental.  Though  a  comparatively 
unimportant  order  it  comprises  fifty-three  genera  and  550  species.  p.  125. 

CRIMSON  PETUNIA.— See  "Petunia,"  ^.viii.,  Vol.  I.  p.  129. 

ASTER,  from  Greek  aster,  a  star.  N.O.,  Composite,  or  Asteracece. 
LINNJEAN  :  19,  Syngenesia  ;  2,  Superjlua.— The  composite  plants  have  a  strong 
family  likeness,  and  yet,  owing  to  the  breadth  and  fewness  of  the  ray  florets 
in  the  flowers  of  some  kinds,  the  beginner  may  occasionally  fail  to  recognise 
them.  They  are  herbaceous  plants,  or  small  trees,  with  leaves  opposite  or  in 
whorls,  entire  or  divided.  Flowers  hermaphrodite  or  unisexual,  sometimes 
in  single  heads  or  capitules,  sometimes  in  compound  umbels  or  corymbs. 
The  "composite"  character  is  revealed  when  we  examine  one  of  the 
capitules  or  stars.  This  is  found  to  consist  of  a  number  of  separate  flowers, 
varying  in  structure,  packed  together  on  a  common  receptacle.  The 
following  may  be  accepted  as  a  general  statement  of  a  very  difficult  case  :— 
Every  head  of  flowers,  or  florets,  as  they  are  technically  named,  has  a 
central  part,  or  disc,  and  a  circumference,  or  ray ;  of  these  florets  some 
are  regularly  tubular,  with  their  limb  cut  into  four  or  five  segments  ;  others 
are  slit  up  on  one  side,  opened  flat,  and  turned  towards  the  circumference 
of  the  head  ;  the  latter  are  named  ligulate  florets.  When  in  a  head  of  flowers 
all  the  florets  are  alike  and  ligulate,  it  belonged  to  the  division  Cichoracece,  as 
in  the  dandelion ;  if  the  florets  of  the  disc  were  tubular,  and  those  of  the 
circumference  only  ligulate,  it  was  referrible  to  Corymbiferte,  as  in  the  mari- 
gold ;  and  when  all  the  florets  are  alike  tubular,  both  in  the  disc  and  ray,  it 
belonged  to  Cynarocephala,  provided  the  involucre  was  at  the  same  time  stiff 
and  ovate,  as  in  the  thistle.  The  latter  character  was  necessary  in  order  to 
distinguish  Cynaroeephalce  from  those  of  Corymbifera,  in  which  the  ray  is  not 
developed,  as  common  groundsel.  To  these  three  divisions  a  fourth  has  in 


SYNOPSIS.  xv 

later  times  been  added  under  the  name  of  Labiatlflorce,  in  consequence  of  the 
florets  having  distinctly  two  lips  of  unequal  size.  These  divisions  have, 
however,  been  thought  objectionable  on  several  accounts,  and  De  Candolle, 
following  Cassini  and  Lessing,  has  trusted  more  to  modifications  of  the  style, 
the  result  of  which  is  the  following  arrangement  of  the  order  in  eight  tribes, 
named  respectively  Vernoniacece,  Eupatoriacece,  Asteroidete,  Senecionideai, 
0>/>iarcfc,  Mtitisiacea,  Nassauviacete,  Cichoraceae.  A  very  large  order,  the 
members  of  which  are  met  with  in  every  part  of  the  world.  They  are 
mostly  astringent,  tonic,  and  aromatic,  affording  foods',  fibres,  dyes,  and 
drugs.  There  is  scarcely  a  poisonous  plant  in  the  family.  p.  133. 

SNOWDROP.  The  name  is  explained  in  the  text.  N.O.,  Amaryl- 
lidacece,  the  Amaryllis  family.  LINN^EAN  :  6,  Hexandria  ;  1,  Honogynia. — 
A  casual  inspection  of  the  flower  by  one  unskilled  in  botany  will  result  in  a 
conviction  of  an  alliance  of  the  snowdrop  with  the  lilies,  but  the  snowdrop  is 
simply  not  a  lily  but  an  amaryllid.  Between  the  two  families  the  differences 
are  not  many,  but  there  are  differences,  and  one  of  the  principal  is  the 
inferior  position  of  the  ovary.  This  is  a  large  order,  comprising  the  snow- 
flake,  snowdrop,  vallotta,  pancratium,  narcissus,  the  agave,  and  the  "  giant 
lily"  of  Australia,  doryanthes.  They  are  widely  distributed  and  are  plentiful 
in  the  southern  hemisphere.  A  large  proportion  of  them  possess  acrid  juices, 
one  of  the  number,  the  beautiful  Hcemanthns  toxiearia,  being  employed  by 
the  Hottentots  to  poison  their  arrows.  An  important  amaryllid  is  the 
American  agave,  often,  but  mistakenly,  called  "  aloe. "  From  this  noble 
thick-leaved  plant  a  valuable  fibre  is  obtained,  and  from  the  juice  of  its 
leaves  the  Mexicans  prepare  the  celebrated  drink  called  "pulque."  The 
snowdrop  was  valued  in  ancient  times  for  medical  purposes,  as  also  for  a 
distillation  of  its  juices  employed  as  a  cosmetic.  But  it  is  no  longer  used  for 
such  purposes,  and  lives  unmolested,  establishing  its  rights  by  its  beauty 
alone.  p.  137. 

CLEMATIS,  from  klema,  a  vine,  or  climber.  From  the  same  root  we 
have  in  Dutch,  climbop,  the  ivy,  a  very  picturesque  though  strictly  classic 
name.  N.O.,  Eanunculacece.  LINN^IAN  :  13,  Polyandria;  6,  Polygynia. — 
The  clematis  section  of  crowfoots  stands  far  apart  in  all  its  prominent 
characters  from  the  buttercups  and  anemones  that  are  classed  in  the  same 
order.  It  agrees  with  them  in  the  possession  of  an  acrid  juice  which  produces 
inflammation  when  applied  to  the  skin,  and  if  taken  internally  is  irritant  and 
may  prove  fatally  poisonous.  In  the  buttercup  we  see  the  leaves  placed 
alternately,  and  their  bases  sheathe  the  stem ;  in  the  clematis  the  leaves  are 
opposite,  and  do  not  sheathe  the  stem.  In  the  insertion  of  the  stamens  on 
the  receptacle  all  the  members  of  this  order  agree.  A  large  proportion  of  the 
species  of  clematis  are  climbing  shrubs  of  temperate  climes,  a  few  are  herba- 
ceous, and  all  are  ornamental,  even  our  wilding  of  the  hedgerows,  the 
traveller's-joy,  or  Clematis  vitalba,  being  extremely  elegant,  if  not  so  showy 
as  the  exotic  species  that  are  now  so  much  cultivated.  p.  141. 


xvi  FAMILIAR    GARDEN  FLOWERS. 

YELLOW  MABTAGON  LILY.  — See  under  "Lilium," 
p.  viii.,  Vol.  I.  p.  145. 

CROCUS,  from  Greek  crocus,  saffron.  Holinshed  ("  England,"  c.  8), 
says  that  "  a  certain  young  gentleman  named  Crocus  went  to  plaie  at  coits  in 
the  field  with  Mercuric,  and  being  heedlesse  of  himself e,  Mercuric' s  coit 
happened  by  mishap  to  hit  him  on  the  head,"  &c.  &c.  The  coit  killed  him, 
and  saffron  sprung  from  the  ground  whereon  he  had  bled,  and  was  called 
crocus  in  commemoration  of  the  event.  N.O.,  Iridacece.  LIXX.EAX:  3, 
Triandria ;  1,  Monogynia.  p.  149. 

POPPY,    or   PAPAVEB.    N.O.,   Papaveracea:.     LINIUEAN  :    13, 

Polyandria;  1,  Monogynia. — See  under  "  Eschscholtzia,"  p.  ix.,  Vol.  II. 

p.  153. 
WINTEB   ACONITE.— See  under  "  Aconitum,"  p.  vii.,  Vol.  I. 

p.  157. 


I  will  not  praise  the  often-flattered  rose, 
Or,  virgin-like,  -with  blushing  charms  half  seen, 
Or  when,  in  dazzling  splendour,  like  a  queen, 

All  her  magnificence  of  state  she  shows ; 

No,  nor  like  that  nun-like  lily  which  but  blows 
Beneath  the  valley's  cool  and  shady  screen, 
Nor  yet  the  sunflower,  that,  with  warrior  mien, 

Still  eyes  the  orb  of  glory  where  it  glows  ; 

But  thou,  neglected  wallflower !  to  my  breast 
And  muse  art  dearest  wildest,  sweetest  flower ! 
To  whom  alone  the  privilege  is  given 

Proudly  to  root  thyself  above  the  rest, 
As  Genius  does,  and,  from  thy  rocky  tower, 
Lend  fragrance  to  the  purest  breath  of  heaven. 


FAMILIAR   GARDEN  FLOWERS. 


THE    WALLFLOWER. 

Cheiranthus  Cheiri. 

HE  wallflower  is  a  prominent 
member  of  the  cheerful  family 
of  "  old-fashioned  "  flowers,  and 
obviously  takes  its  name  from 
the  circumstance  that  it  thrives 
on  walls,  which,  indeed,  it  often 
adorns  in  a  most  extravagant  and 
delightful  manner,  making  them 
mountains  of  perfume  and  beacons 
of  fire.  I  was  much  struck  with 
the  glow  of  an  old  bastion  at 
Amiens  one  April,  as  the  sun- 
shine streamed  through  its  ruddy 
bloom  of  wallflowers,  and  I  very 
gladly  remembered,  in  connection 
with  the  charming  spectacle,  the 
lines  of  Bernard  Barton,  in  refer- 
ence to  the  wallflowers  of  Leiston 
Abbey— 

And  where  my  favourite  abbey  rears  on  high 

Its  crumbling  ruins,  on  their  loftiest  crest, 
Ye  wallflowers,  shed  your  tints  of  golden  dye, 

On  which  the  morning  sunbeams  love  to  rest, — 
On  which,  when  glory  fills  the  glowing  west. 


2  FAMILIAR   GARDEN  FLOWERS. 

The  parting  splendours  of  the  day's  decline, 
With  fascination  to  the  heart  address'd, 

So  tenderly  and  beautifully  shine, 
As  if  reluctant  still  to  leave  that  hoary  shrine." 

A  snapdragon  might,  with  perfect  propriety,  be  called 
a  "  wall "  flower,  and  a  full  list  of  plants  that  commonly 
grow  on  walls  would  include  a  considerable  number  of  dear 
old  garden  friends.  The  finest  wallflower  I  have  seen  was 
a  great  tuft  of  wheat  that  kept  company  with  snapdragons 
and  stone-crops  and  pellitories  on  one  of  the  old  fruit 
walls  within  view  of  my  bedroom  windows.  I  watched  it 
through  the  summer  with  ever-increasing  joy,  anticipating 
the  harvesting  of  the  crop,  and  the  feeding  of  my  parrots 
with  the  "  golden  "  grains.  But  when  they,  were  about 
half -ripe  I  saw,  as  I  gazed  from  my  window,  a  great  hand 
rise  above  the  wall  and  grasp  them,  and  they  disappeared 
as  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  while  a  thrill  of  horror  went 
through  me  from  head  to  foot.  It  was  the  gardener,  who 
had  suddenly  resolved  to  make  the  wall  tidy. 

The  wallflower  has  no  special  renown  in  literature,  and 
is  but  rarely  mentioned  by  the  poets.  It  is  not  a  native 
of  this  country,  and  although  so  thoroughly  at  home  as  a 
wilding  on  ruins,  it  is  not  known  as  a  plant  of  the  rocks, 
and  is  not  often  met  with  remote  from  places  that  have 
been  modified  by  the  hand  of  man.  Its  old  name  was 
"  stock-gillofer  "  and  "  wall-gilloflower/'  Under  the  last 
name  Parkinson,  in  the  "  Paradisus/'  describes  seven  sorts : 
the  Common  Single,  the  Great  Single,  the  White,  the 
Common  Double,  the  Pale  Double,  the  Double  Red,  and 
the  Double  Yellow.  The  "  streaked  gillivors  "  that  Perdita 
speaks  of  as  "nature's  bastards"  were,  in  all  probability, 
pinks  or  cloves,  but  the  wallflower  and  the  stock  were 


Tfr£   WALLFLOWER.  3 

known  by  the  same  name,  and  therefore  we  cannot  always 
determine  with  precision  the  flowers  referred  to  when 
gillivor  or  gilloflower  occurs  in  our  older  literature.  The 
Latin  name,  Cheiranthns,  means  "  hand-flower/'  and  it  is 
most  appropriate. 

The  cultivation  of  this  flower  is  an  extremely  simple 
affair.  The  seeds  should  be  sown  on  a  plot  of  newly-dug 
ground  in  the  month  of  May;  and  during  rainy  weather  in 
July,  the  plants  should  be  transplanted  into  rows  a  foot 
apart,  and  the  plants  six  inches  apart  in  the  rows.  In 
September  or  October  they  should  be  lifted  with  care  and 
be  at  once  planted  where  they  are  to  flower,  and  in  the 
months  of  April  and  May  following  they  will  be  gay 
enough.  The  best  of  the  double  kinds  is  the  sulphur 
yellow,  which  may  be  grown  into  a  tree  of  considerable 
size,  and  if  planted  in  a  dry  sunny  situation  will  last  any 
number  of  years,  and  may,  indeed,  become  the  pride  of  the 
garden.  To  multiply  this  variety,  cuttings  are  taken, 
when  they  are  full-grown  but  have  not  become  woody, 
and  being  planted  firmly  in  sandy  soil  and  kept  shaded  or 
covered  with  a  hand-glass,  soon  make  roots,  and  in  the 
following  spring  they  may  be  planted  out.  Well-grown 
double  walls  make  fine  pot  plants  for  the  conservatory,  and 
with  a  little  careful  forcing  may  be  had  in  bloom  at  the 
turn  of  the  year,  and  will  continue  flowering  until  mid- 
summer. The  conditions  of  success  are  to  be  found  in  the 
employment  of  a  gritty  and  somewhat  calcareous  soil,  and 
affording  the  plants  at  all  times  plenty  of  light  and  air. 
Darkness  and  damp  are  death  to  wallflowers. 

"  Flower  in  the  crannied  wall, 
I  pluck  you  out  of  the  crannies  ; — 
Hold  you  here,  root  and  all,  in  my  hand. 


4  FAMILIAR   GARDEN  FLOWERS. 

Little  flower — but  if  I  could  understand 
What  you  are,  root  and  all,  and  all  in  all 
I  should  know  what  God  and  man  is."— TENNYSON. 

The  Parisian  gardeners  delight  the  public  by  adorning 
the  borders  of  the  parks  and  promenades  with  beds  of 
wallflowers  of  the  most  lovely  description.  They  are 
grown  as  recommended  above,  and  are  planted  so  as  to 
form  dense  convex  masses,  which,  during  April  and  May,  are 
literally  solid  with  fiery  flowers.  They  mix  the  blood-red 
and  purple  variety,  and  employ  the  yellow  very  sparingly, 
In  this  country  the  yellow  kinds  are  the  most  esteemed  for 
bedding  purposes,  and  the  favourite  sorts  are  the  Belvoir 
Castle  Yellow  and  the  orange-coloured  Tom  Thumb. 

.  If  it  is  desired  to  establish  wallflowers  on  ruins,  rocks, 
and  walls,  the  seed  should  be  sown  in  April  or  May  in 
suitable  chinks,  and  be  covered  with  a  little  fine  soil,  and 
it  may  be  well,  if  there  is  danger  of  the  seeds  being  blown 
or  washed  away,  to  cover  them  with  a  brick  or  tile  until 
they  germinate.  The  single  blood-red  and  single  yellow 
are  the  best  for  the  purpose. 


MONKSHOOD. 


MONKSHOOD. 

-Aconitum  napcllus. 

T  may  be  well  at  times  to  figure 
and  describe  familiar  flowers 
that  should  be  rendered  un- 
familiar. The  truly  handsome 
and  very  individual  monlcshood 
of  the  cottage  garden  is  of 
so  poisonous  a  nature,  and  has 
actually  killed  so  many  good 
people,  that  we  should  be 
wanting  in  duty  to  our  readers 
did  we  not  advise  the  rooting 
out  of  this  grand  herbaceous 
plant,  and  its  consignment  to 
the  rubbish-heap  as  a  plant 
that  will  surely  offend  if  it 
obtains  the  opportunity.  We 
distinctly  remember  several 
instances  of  poisoning  by  the 
substitution  of  its  fleshy  roots 
for  horse-radish.  We  confess  we  "don't  know  how''''  any  one 
who  has  ever  tasted  horse-radish  could  eat  the  root  of  this 
dangerous  plant  in  place  of  it,  however  nicely  it  might  be 
scraped  and  dished ;  but  the  fact  remains  and  the  warning 


6  FAMILIAR   GARDEN  FLOWERS. 

follows.  As  the  most  excellent  apricot  jam  may  be  made 
from  carrots,  and  the  Jerusalem  artichoke,  which  is  like  a 
potato,  is  by  many  regarded  as  in  no  way  differing  from 
the  globe  artichoke,  which  is  a  fleshy  flower  of  a  kind 
of  thistle,  we  must  not  be  in  haste  to  blame  people  who 
scrape  the  roots  of  monkshood  and  supply  the  scrapings  to 
be  eaten  with  beef  as  horse-radish  ;  but  we  must  indulge 
th*e  hope  that  knowledge  will  prevail,  and  speedily  render 
such  a  dangerous  substitution  impossible. 

It  is  somewhat  singular  that  the  older  botanists  are 
apparently  in  a  fog  with  this  common  and  characteristic 
plant.  Mr.  John  Gerarde  lumps  it  in  with  a  lot  of  lark- 
spurs, that  are  certainly  related,  but  more  or  less  far  re- 
moved. His  "  munkeshood  "  is  a  delphinium  possessed  of 
several  virtues,  such  as  being  good  against  the  stings 
of  scorpions,  and  "so  forcible  that  the  herb  only  thrown 
before  the  scorpion,  or  any  other  venomous  beast,  causeth 
them  to  be  without  force  or  strength  to  hurt,  insomuch 
that  they  cannot  mooue  or  stirre  vntill  the  herbe  be  taken 
away."  (Edition  1597,  page  924.)  To  Master  Gerarde's 
honour  we  are  bound  to  quote  further  that  in  his  opinion 
we  should  hold  in  contempt  this  "  with  many  other  such 
trifling  toies  not  woorth  the  reading/' 

John  Parkinson  figures  this  plant  fairly  well,  and 
describes  it  with  the  most  delightful  minuteness  at  page 
215  of  his  "  Paradisus."  He  adds  that  the  "fair  blew 
colour  "  of  the  flowers  "  causeth  it  to  be  nourished  upon 
gardens,  that  their  flowers,  as  was  usual  in  former  times, 
may  be  laid  up  among  green  herbes  in  windowes  and 
roomes  for  the  summer  time ;  but  although  their  beauty 
may  be  entertained  for  the  uses  aforesaid,  yet  beware 
they  come  not  near  your  tongue  or  lips,  lest  they  tell 


MONKSHOOD.  7 

you  to  your  cost,  they  are  not  so  good  as  they  seem 
to  be/' 

It  is  amusing  to  note  how  these  grand  old  masters,  who 
produced  such  books  as  we,  degenerate  triflers,  dare  not 
even  think  of  because  of  the  years  of  work  and  the 
thousands  of  pounds  we  should  have  to  expend  upon  them 
— it  is  amusing  to  note  how  they  struggled  against  super- 
stition with  the  right  hand,  and  occasionally  opened  the 
door  for  it  to  enter  with  the  left.  There  is  a  charming 
winter-flowering  aconite  that  should  be  grown  in  every 
garden ;  its  flowers  are  pale  yellow,  and  it  is  known  as 
Eranthis  hy  emails,  Parkinson's  name  being  Aconltum 
hyemale.  This  is  the  "  counter-poison  monkeshood/'  the 
roots  of  which  "  are  effectual  not  only  against  the  poison 
of  the  poisonf ul  helmet  flower,  and  all  others  of  that  kind, 
but  also  against  the  poison  of  all  venomous  beasts,  tlie 
plague  or  pestilence,  and  other  infectious  diseases,  which 
raise  spots,  pockes,  or  markes  in  the  outward  skin,  by  ex- 
pelling the  poison  from  within,  and  defending  the  heart  as 
a  most  sovereign  cordial." 

Apart  from  the  consideration  of  its  possible  and  actual 
mischievousnes's,  the  monkshood  is  a  noble  border  flower. 
It  grows  to  a  height  of  three  to  four  feet,  the  upper  half 
of  the  strong  stems  being  closely  beset  with  hooded  flowers 
of  a  fine  dark  blue  coldur,  elegantly  accompanied  with 
leaves  that  are  deeply  and  distinctly  cut  into  narrow- 
pointed  segments.  Its  name,  Aconitum  napellm,  is  derived 
from  Aconte*  the  supposed  place  of  its  origin,  and  napus, 
a  turnip,  from  the  likeness  of  its  roots  to  the  long  white 

*  Thcophrastus  so  derives  it,  from  'A/coWi,  but  Ovid  derives  it  from 
aKovrj,  as  growing  on  sharp  steep  rocks.  But  as  all  the  species  require 
some  depth  of  good  soil,  the  reference  of  Ovid  must  be  to  some  other  plant. 


8  FAMILIAR   GARDEN  FLOWERS. 

turnips  that  were  formerly  grown,  but  are  DOW  but  rarely 
seen  in  this  country.  Amongst  the  allied  plants  that  are 
worth  a  place  in  the  herbaceous  border,  and  more  particu- 
larly in  the  front  of  the  shrubbery  border,  the  following 
deserve  special  mention,  as  they  are  handsome  and  by  no 
means  likely  to  prove  hurtful  to  life,  as  the  common  monks- 
hood  always  is : — Aconitum  autumnale,  height  three  feet, 
flowers  pale  blue;  A.  japonicum,  like  the  last,  but  of  a  fuller 
blue ;  A.  chinense,  height  five  feet  or  more,  flowers  brilliant 
blue — a  splendid  plant,  requires  a  dry,  warm  border,  and 
shelter;  A.  lycoctonum,  height  four  feet,  flowers  creamy 
yellow;  A.  variegatum,  height  four  feet,  flowers  blue  and 
white,  a  fine  plant.  All  these  thrive  in  common  garden 
soil.  Those  who  have  peat  soil  may  add  to  the  list  A. 
paniculatitm  and  A.  septentrionale ;  the  first  has  flowers 
blue  and  white,  the  second  reddish  lavender. 


THE     PETUNIA. 

Petunia  plmuit'tcfu. 

ETUNIA  PHCENICEA  is  un- 
known in  the  land  of  the  Phoani- 
cians,  being  a  native  of  Buenos 
Ayres,  v.'hence  it  was  introduced 
in  1831.  As  a  matter  of  course, 
the  spirited  maritime  nation  who 
built  Tyre  and  Sidon,  and  who 
in  their  day  were  proud  of  their 
King  Hiram,  friend  of  Solomon, 
knew  nothing  of  any  kind  of 
petunia,  because,  to  use  the  lan- 
guage of  a  familiar  song,  the 
New  World  "  had  not  then  been 
invented/'  And  yet  in  a  certain 
way,  by  the  involutions  of  lan- 
guage, this  plant  takes  us  round 
by  way  of  South  America  to  the  eastern 
shores  of  the  Mediterranean,  for  it  is  a 
Phoenician  flower,  and  rightly  named,  and  we  are  bound 
to  connect  it  with  the  intelligent  sailor  race  who  brought 
the  ideas  and  the  gold  of  the  east  to  the  southern  and 
western  coasts  of  this  country,  and  took  away  in  exchange 
the  tin  of  Cornwall,  and  the  report  of  our  wealth  of  timber 
and  the  suitableness  of  these  isles  for  colonisation. 
B 


10  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

The  Phoenicians  found  on  their  coast  an  abundance  of 
the  mollusk  (Nassa  purpura  of  naturalists) ,  from  which 
they  extracted  a  purple  pigment.  This  became  to  them 
an  important  article  of  trade,,  and  the  world  resounded 
with  the  praises  of  "  Tyrian  dye."  The  ancients  had  not 
many  colours,  and  it  was  but  natural  the  Greeks  should 
name  the  purple  they  so  much  esteemed  after  the  people 
who  produced  it.  Thus  it  became  known  to  them  as  the 
"  Phoenician  colour,"  and  the  Romans  subsequently  modi- 
fied the  term,  so  that  with  them  it  became  the  "  Punic 
colour."  Thus  the  botanist  has  been  provided  with  a 
choice  of  two  (in  addition  to  many  more)  terms  available 
for  the  indication  of  the  colours  of  flowers.  This  purple 
or  crimson  flower  of  South  America  he  has  named  Petunia 
phoenicea,  and  the  brilliant  glory  pea  of  New  Zealand  he 
has  named  Clianthus  pnniceus,  which,  of  course,  was  no 
more  known  to  the  Tyrians  and  Sidonians  than  the  flower 
before  us. 

The  petunia,  is  almost  a  tobacco,  and  it  will  interest 
the  observant  loiterer  in  the  garden  to  compare  it  with 
the  noble  Virginia  tobacco,  which  is  well  worth  growing 
for  its  stately  carriage  and  beautiful  flowers.  Indeed,  the 
petunia  is  a  tobacco,  for  its  Brazilian  name  peinn,  from 
which  is  derived  petunia,  means  tobacco,  and  it  is  fair 
to  suppose  that,  if  the  plant  were  dried  and  prepared,  it 
would  be  found  to  possess  distinctly  fragrant  and  narcotic 
properties.  A  sheet  of  petunias  in  full  flower  is  a  glorious 
sight,  and  the  odour  the  flowers  emit  when  the  sun  shines 
full  upon  them  is  agreeable,  but  the  plant  is  not  a  nice 
one  to  handle  or  examine ;  its  leafage  is  unhandsome,  its 
habit  ungainly,  its  substance  is  clammy,  and  certainly 
does  at  times  give  the  nose  a  reminder  of  tobacco. 


THE    PETUNIA.  11 

The  systematic  crossing  of  a  few  distinct  species  of 
petunia  has  resulted  in.  the  production  of  a  number  of 
splendid  varieties,  which  are  invaluable  as  garden  plants. 
The  showy  single  white,  purple,  and  striped  kinds  may 
be  raised  from  seed  sown  on  a  hot-bed  in  March,  and 
if  plmted  out  in  May  will  flower  superbly  as  the  season 
advances.  Treated  in  this  way,  the  petunia  is  one  of  the 
cheapest  and  grandest  of  annuals,  and  as  it  makes  a 
sumptuous  bed,  the  owner  of  a  country  garden  may  turn 
it  to  good  account,  especially  where  the  soil  is  hot  and 
sandy,  for  this  suits  the  plant  perfectly.  The  double 
varieties  make  magnificent  pot  plants,  and  require  precisely 
or  nearly  the  same  treatment  as  geraniums,  the  two  grand 
points  in  their  management  being  to  train  them  with  care 
and  keep  them  short  and  leafy  to  the  bottom.  They 
ivquire  a  light  rich  soil,  and  to  be  safe  from  all  extreme 
conditions,  more  especially  from  extreme  heat,  for  when 
unduly  forced  they  become  infested  with  vermin,  and  if 
they  cannot  be  quickly  cleansed  by  means  of  tobacco  smoke, 
they  may  as  well  be  destroyed,  for  when  they  have  once 
gone  wrong  to  any  serious  extent  they  never  recover. 
Reasonable  care,  however,  will  prevent  any  such  mishap, 
and,  as  remarked  above,  the  matter  of  main  importance 
is  to  guard  against  extreme  conditions.  It  is  especially 
worthy  of  remark  that  the  petunia  is  more  hardy  than  the 
geranium,  perhaps  even  a  trifle  more  hardy  than  the 
calceolaria  ;  hence  it  may  be  planted  out  somewhat  early 
in  May  if  the  weather  is  cloudy  and  genial,  and  if  the 
plants  escape  harm  from  frost — as  with  a  little  care  in 
sheltering  they  will — they  will  soon  make  a  free  growth 
and  shake  off  any  trace  of  aphis  or  other  insect  pest  they 
may  have  been  troubled  with,  and  make  an  early  and 


12  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

splendid  bloom.  It  is  usual  to  peg  them  down  when  in 
beds,  but  they  thrive  better  and  look  better  when  allowed 
to  stand  up,  and  therefore  petunias  are  well  adapted  to 
form  low  flowery  hedges  in  the  flower  garden.  In  Paris 
they  are  much  employed  in  this  way  in  combination  with 
white  "  marguerites,"  the  result  being  a  dense  hedge  of 
about  a  foot  to  a  foot  and  a  half  in  height,  composed  of 
two  close  lines  of  purple  and  white  flowers.  When  enclosing 
a  small  plot  of  grass  this  is  very  effective. 

The  named  varieties  are  propagated  from  cuttings  in 
July  and  August  without  the  aid  of  artificial  heat.  The 
best  place  wherein  to  winter  them  is  a  cold  dry  pit,  for 
damp  is  death  to  them  ;  they  cannot  endure  a  touch  of 
frost,  and,  generally  speaking,  the  greenhouse  is  too  warm. 
When  kept  sufficiently  cool  they  are  entirely  free  from 
vermin  ;  indeed,  the  amateur  gardener  may  with  advantage 
regard  as  a  doctrine  that  the  liability  of  a  plant  to  the 
attacks  of  vermin  is  in  direct  proportion  to  mismanage- 
ment in  respect  of  temperature  and  moisture ;  generally 
speaking,  when  a  plant  becomes  covered  with  "  fly "  or 
"  spider,"  it  is  the  consequence  of  insufficient  ventilation. 


WHITE  LILY. 


THE    WHITE    LILY. 

Lllium  candidum. 

HE  common  white  lily  is  one  of 
the  noblest  as  well  as  commonest 
flowers  of  the  English  garden, 
and  a  lean  ideal  of  the  tenantry 
of  the  terrestrial  paradise  of  the 
delectable  Lady  Corisande.  Its 
manner  is  that  of  a  wilding, 
for  if  a  few  scales  broken  from 
a  bulb  are  scattered  about  a 
irden,  some  of  them  will  be- 
come true  lilies  in  time;  and 
wherever  it  is  planted  and  left 
alone  for  a  few  years,  it  justifies 
the  confidence  reposed  in  it  by 
flowering  freely,  and  increasing  by  the 
formation  of  new  bulbs,  so  that  small 
clumps  become  large  clumps,  and  may 
be  periodically  divided.  But  it  is  not 
a  wilding  here,  and  is  but  rarely  met 
with  as  an  escape  from  the  garden.  It  is  a  native  of  the 
interesting  country  called  the  Levant,  and  as  the  Levant 
includes  Palestine,  it  is  by  no  means  improper  to  consider 
this  as  the  "  lily  of  the  field  "  referred  to  by  our  Lord  in 
the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  (Matthew  vi.  28).  If,  however, 
we  seek  for  a  dislinct  flower  as  the  lily  of  the  Holy  Land, 
we  must  take  note  of  Canticles  vi.  2,  where  the  lily  is 


14  FAMILIAR   GARDEN  FLOWERS. 

associated  with  spices,  and  this  lily  has  a  powerful  and 
spicy  odour  that  exactly  answers  to  the  suggestion  of  the 
text.  Thus  the  white  lily  may  be  the  lily  of  Solomon, 
because  of  its  powerful  fragrance,  but  the  Gocpel  lily  need 
not  be  scented,  but  must  be  glorious  in  apparel,  comparable 
with  this  splendid  monarch.  It  happens  then  that  the 
Martagon  Lily  (L.  ckalcedonicum] ,  which  is  almost  devoid 
of  odour,  but  produces  flowers  of  the  most  brilliant  scarlet, 
like  the  robes  of  Solomon,  grows  in  profusion -in  the  Levant, 
and  is  especially  abundant  about  the  Lake  of  Gennesaret, 
on  the  plains  of  Galilee,  and  the  pastures  on  the  borders  of 
the  desert.  But  it  must  also  be  borne  in  mind  that  the 
s/i  a  than,  or  lily  of  Scripture,  may  be  rendered  "rose"  or 
"  violet "  with  propriety,  and  probably  had  a  very  broad 
meaning,  so  that  we  might  read,  "  Behold  the  flowers  of  the 
field,  how  they  grow/'  without  in  the  slightest  degree  mis- 
representing the  purpose  of  our  Lord.  The  word  "lily"  is 
of  unknown  origin,  and  in  all  its  older  forms  is  of  general 
application,  and  therefore  we  cannot  hope  to  identify  with 
certainty  ?,ny  flower  so  called  in  ancient  and  especially 
Eastern  documents.  It  is  none  the  less  interesting,  how- 
ever, to  note  how  admirably  these  two  lilies  answer  to  the 
two  references  cited,  so  that  we  may,  without  resorting  to 
invention,  regard  the  scarlet  martagon  and  the  common 
white  as  par  excellence  the  lilies  of  Scripture. 

It  is  a  question  of  some  interest  why  the  white  lily 
was  dedicated  by  the  Romish  Church  to  Mary  the  mother  of 
Jesus,  and  hence  employed  on  the  2nd  of  July  in  connection 
with  the  celebration  of  the  Visitation  of  the  Blessed  Virgin. 
The  delicate  whiteness  of  the  flower  renders  it  in  this 
respect  appropriate ;  but  it  is  worth  considering,  too,  that  it 
is  the  only  flower  distinctly  mentioned  by  the  Founder  of 


THE    WHITE  LILY.  15 

the  Christian  faith,  for.  notwithstanding-  the  comprehensive 
meaning-  of  the  word  as  it  comes  to  us  in  the  text,  it  has  been, 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  generally  restricted  to  a  particular  flower. 
This  dedication  of  the  lily  to  the  Virgin  has  certainly  con- 
tributed in  a  very  material  degree  to  the  diffusion  and 
popularity  of  the  plant ;  and  the  traveller  in  Ireland  will,  in 
the  season  of  lilies,  soon  learn  to  distinguish  the  houses  of 
Romanists  and  Protestants  by  the  lilies  in  the  gardens,  for 
while  the  first  plant  the  white  lily  as  an  emblem  of  their 
faith,  the  second  plant  the  orange  lily  for  a  similar  purpose, 
although  the  last  is  in  reality  much  more  of  a  political  than 
a  religious  emblem. 

The  white  lily  will  thrive  in  any  fairly  good  soil,  but  to 
ensure  a  free  growth  and  an  abundance  of  flowers  the  soil 
should  be  rich  and  deep  and  moist.  It  is  a  good  practice, 
therefore,  to  prepare  for  the  plants  suitable  stations,  and, 
having  planted  them,  the  next  best  thing  to  do  with  them 
is  to  leave  them  undisturbed  for  several  years.  It  is  often 
thought  that  lilies  love  the  shade,  but  that  is  a  mistake ; 
they  love  the  sun  and  a  free  circulation  of  air  about  them. 
In  cold  and  exposed  places  the  white  lily  often  fails  to 
flower,  owing  to  the  destruction  of  the  incipient  flower-buds 
by  frost,  in  the  month  of  May.  Hence  shelter  from  the 
keen  east  winds  is  an  aid  in  lily  culture,  as  is  also  a  plentiful 
supply  of  water  during  the  month  of  June,  when  the  stems 
are  rising.  In  respect  of  taste,  the  white  lily  should  be  so 
planted  that  its  shabby  stems  may  be  concealed,  for  when 
wild  it  grows  amongst  tall  grasses,  and  hence  it  is  that  as 
the  flowers  expand  the  leaves  below  them  usually  wither. 
The  dashing  Tritoma  and  the  quiet  Agapanthus  are  good 
plants  to  associate  with  lilies,  for  they  agree  in  character, 
and  supply  ample  and  elegant  green  leafage. 


16  FAMILIAR   G  AMD  EN  FLOWERS. 

It  is  not  generally  known  that  the  common  white  lily 
may  be  grown  to  perfection  in  pots,  and  is  well  adapted  for 
forcing1.  Its  great  decorative  value,  and  its  emblematic 
character,  enhance  its  importance  as  a  plant  adapted  for 
culture  under  glass,  to  supply  its  charming  flowers  at  an 
earlier  season  than  they  customarily  appear  in  the  open 
garden.  When  grown  for  this  purpose,  the  bulbs  should 
be  potted  in  August,  in  a  compost  consisting  of  about 
three  parts  mellow  turfy  loam,  and  one  part  each  of  rotten 
hot-bed  manure  and  sharp  sand.  Frame  culture  should 
suffice  until  the  end  of  February,  when  the  plants  may  be 
removed  into  a  light  airy  greenhouse,  and  should  never 
have  a  temperature  higher  than  the  average  of  greenhouse 
plants.  This,  with  full  exposure  to  light,  and  abundant 
ventilation,  will  ensure  an  early  and  a  vigorous  bloom. 


CANARY     FLOWER. 


THE    CANAKY 
FLOWEK. 

Tropceolum  canariense. 
HIS  remarkably  pretty  creeper  is 
>  known  in  gardens  as  Tropaolttm 
canariense,  but  its  recognised 
botanical  name  is  T.  aduncum, 
or,  in  the  older  books,  T. 
peregrinum.  The  first  and 
commonest  name  suggests  that 
it  is  a  native  of  the  Canary 
Islands,  and  it  may  indeed  have 
come  to  us  from  thence,  but 
its  home  as  a  wilding  is  New 
Granada.  The  yellow  colour 
may  justify  the  name,  for  not 

*f  •''•)••.     I  /]  only  is  the  canary-bird  yellow. 

^  ^wNwHSsSxsT^  ,    ,  r         u 

but  canary  wine  is  or  a  golden 

hue ;  and  as  the  Canary  Islands 
were  the  "  Fortunate  Isles  "  of 
the  ancients,  we  may  suppose 
them  to  be — as  Dick  Whittington  expected  to  find 
London  streets — paved  with  gold.  Strange  to  say,  if 
the  case  is  considered  philologically,  a  Canary  Isle  is  an 
Isle  of  Dogs,  for  Juba  so  named  one  of  the  group 
because  of  the  large  canine  animals  he  found  there,  as 
he  named  another  of  them  Nivaria,  the  Snow  Island, 
c 


18  FAMILIAR    GARDEN    FLOWERS. 

because  it  is  crowned  with  the  peak  that  is  now  called 
Teneriffe,  which  at  times  is  capped  with  snow.  It  is 
proper  to  remark,  however,  that  not  only  is  the  flower 
before  us  of  a  canary  colour,  but  it  bears  some  resemblance 
to  a  bird,  and  in  this  respect  is  as  curious  in  its  mimicry  as 
any  of  the  orchids.  Its  second  name  refers  to  the  hooked 
termination  of  the  nectary;  and  its  third  name  indicates 
that  it  is  a  wanderer,  a  happy  vagabond,  a  plant  that 
loves  to  climb  the  wall  and  tumble  over  in  the  next 
garden,  or,  if  it  gets  hold  of  the  trellis  next  the  summer- 
house,  will  stretch  and  pull  and  clamber  until  it  can  peep 
in  at  the  little  window  and  say  "How  d'ye  do?"  at 
the  very  moment  when  you  don't  want  to  be  disturbed. 
But  this  Peregrinum  must  be  allowed  to  indulge  in  its 
peregrinations,  for  the  joy  of  the  thing  is  its  rampant, 
rambling,  and  ill-regulated  ambition  to  overstep  every- 
thing and  everybody. 

We  miss  here  one  of  the  prominent  characteristics  of 
the  tropaeolums,  the  leaves  of  which  are  mostly  circular 
and  peltate  and  like  a  buckler,  while  the  flower  is  like 
a  helmet,  and  thus  together  they  constitute  a  trophy,  or 
tropaum.  The  canary  creeper  has  five-lobed  leaves  and 
bird-like  flowers,  and  a  style  of  growth  that  separates  it 
from  the  typical  tropaeolurns.  Its  rapidity  of  growth  is 
remarkable,  as  also  is  its  tendency  to  be  eaten  up  by  the 
little  mite  known  as  the  "red  spider/'  when  hot,  dry 
weather  has  prevailed  a  few  weeks.  Like  the  general  run 
of  vagabonds,  it  is  not  particular  about  its  life-conditions, 
and  having  no  stamina,  it  soon  breaks  down  when  things 
go  wrong. 

The  uses  of  such  plants  are  many.  The  peculiar  light 
green  leafage,  dotted  with  yellow  flowers,  renders  this  very 


THE    CANARY  FLOWER.  19 

distinct  amongst  the  fast-growing-  trellis  and  bower  plants 
that  love  to  climb  high  and  toss  gay  garlands  in  the  air. 
The  canary  creeper  may  be  used  with  effect  to  clothe  low- 
growing  trees  of  spare  habit,  as  it  will  soon  run  up  into 
the  midst  of  them  and  make  them  gay  with  golden 
streamers.  Care  should  be  taken  never  to  carry  this 
sort  of  gardening  too  far,  because  a  valueless  creeper,  that 
lives  but  a  few  months  at  the  most,  should  not  be  allowed 
to  injure  a  tree  that  has  perhaps  a  lease  of  a  century  to 
honour  by  profitable  occupation  of  the  ground. 

The  plant  before  us  is  a  half-hardy  annual,  and  is 
therefore  grown  from  seeds  that  are,  in  the  first  instance, 
protected  from  the  weather,  and  afterwards  planted  out. 
The  best  way  to  raise  all  such  plants  is  to  sow  the  seed 
in  the  spring  on  a  gentle  hotbed  in  light,  rich,  and  rather 
fine  soil,  and  when  the  plants  are  large  enough  to  handle, 
to  prick  them  out  two  or  three  inches  apart  in  boxes  filled 
with  similar  mellow  soil,  or  to  pot  them  separately  in 
small  pots.  In  any  case,  when  thus  transferred  from  the 
seed-pan  they  should  be  nursed  under  glass  for  a  time  in  a 
greenhouse  or  frame,  and  be  gradually  hardened  by  ex- 
posure to  the  air,  to  prepare  them  for  planting  out.  The 
time  of  sowing  and  the  details  of  management  must,  in 
some  degree,  be  determined  by  .the  nature  of  the  plant.  It 
is  not  too  early  to  sow  seed  in  February  in  some  cases,  but 
in  others  March  and  April  are  early  enough.  In  the  case  of 
the  canary  creeper,  it  is  folly  to  sow  before  April,  because 
the  plant  grows  rapidly  when  put  out,  and  it  is  troublesome 
if  it  grows  to  some  size  previously.  For  filling  the  seed- 
pans  and  the  boxes  in  this  preliminary  culture,  a  mixture 
of  mellow  loam,  old  hotbecl  dung  rotted  to  powder,  equal 
parts,  with  a  half  part  of  silver  sand,  will  answer  perfectly. 


20  FAMILIAR    GARDEN    FLOWERS. 

It  should  be  free  from  worms,  and  moist  enough  without 
being  wet — in  fact,  a  good  test  of  a  potting  compost  is 
that  it  may  be  handled  without  soiling  the  fingers. 
Where  there  is  no  accommodation  for  raising  half-hardy 
annuals  under  glass,  the  seed  may  be  sown  where  the 
plants  are  required  in  the  open  ground,  but  this  should 
not  be  done  until  the  end  of  April. 

In  the  "  Loves  of  the  Plants,"  by  the  elder  Darwin, 
the  tropseolum  is  the  subject  of  a  fanciful  description,  in 
which  the  poet  contrives  to  inform  us  that  the  flower  has 
eight  stamens  and  one  pistil,  and  that  it  occasionally  emits 
flashes'  of  phosphoric  light  :— 

"  Ere  the  bright  star  which  tends  the  morning  sky 
Hangs  o'er  the  flushing  east  his  diamond  eye, 
The  chaste  Tropaeo  leaves  her  secret  bed ; 
A  saint-like  glory  trembles  round  her  head ; 
Eight  watchful  swains  along  the  lawns  of  night 
With  amorous  steps  pursue  the  virgin  light ; 
O'er  her  fair  form  the  electric  lustre  plays, 
And  cold  she  moves  amid  the  lambent  blaze. 
So  shines  the  glow-fly  when  the  sun  retiree, 
And  gems  the  night  air  with  phosphoric  fires ; 
Thus  o'er  the  marsh  aerial  lights  betray 
And  charm  the  unwary  wanderer  fiom  his  way." 


PHLOX, 


THE    PHLOX. 

Phlox  paniculata. 

All  DEN  phloxes  are  compounds 
of  several  species,  and  but  little 
of  their  origin  is  distinctly 
traceable  in  their  styles  of 
growth  and  flowering.  It  will 
suffice  to  say  that  the  so-called 
Phlox  decussata  and  P.  pyramir 
da  Us,  to  which  most  of  the 
-garden  phloxes  are  referred, 
have  no  proper  existence  as 
species,  and  for  the  cultivation 
and  classification  of  phloxes  it 
is  best  to  consider  the  habit 
(whether  tall,  dwarf,  or  inter- 
mediate), the  time  of  flowering 
(whether  early  or  late) ,  and  the 
colour  and  general  style  of  the 
flowers,  those  that  are  large 
and  circular  and  produced  in 
dense  masses  being  the  best.  The  florist  is  chiefly  concerned 
with  their  decorative  qualities,  and  will  have  abundant 
reason  to  be  gratified,  provided  he  has  first  secured  a 
good  collection,  for  the  varieties  that  have  been  produced 
by  cross-breeding  within  the  past  ten  or  twelve  years  are 


22  FAMILIAR     GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

remarkable  for  perfection  of  form  and  exquisite  colouring. 
In  self-coloured  purple,  crimson,  and  salmon-tinted,  and 
in  oculate  flowers  that  have  white  grounds  and  centres 
delicately  stained  with  rose,  carmine,  and  ruby,  this  class 
of  plants  is  extremely  rich.  Of  pure  whites  there  are  not 
many  of  good  quality,  and  we  have  as  yet  no  scarlet,  no 
yellow,  and  no  blue  phloxes.  We  may,  however,  hope 
for  scarlet  and  blue,  because  in  some  of  the  later  varieties 
these  colours  are  nearly  realised,  but  we  can  hardly  hope 
for  yellow,  since  nowhere  in  the  genus  is  there  any  strong 
leaning  that  way.  As  the  case  stands  we  have  command 
of  a  sumptuous  series  of  summer  and  autumn  flowers,  and 
it  is  but  the  simple  truth  to  say  that  the  florists'  phloxes 
have  pre-eminent  claims  on  the  attention  of  amateurs, 
because  of  their  splendour,  their  hardiness,  cheapness,  and 
extreme  usefulness,  whether  to  exhibit,  to  cut  from  for 
decorations,  or  to  enrich  the  garden  with  their  noble 
panicles  of  many-coloured  flowers. 

As  to  the  employment  of  phloxes  in  the  garden,  there 
is  no  method  so  effective  as  to  dot  them  about  amongst 
trees  and  shrubs,  keeping  them,  of  course,  in  the  fore- 
ground, and  ensuring  them  a  sufficiency  of  air  and  light. 
As  border  flowers,  they  are 'invaluable  ;  but  the  least  in- 
teresting way  of  growing  them  is  in  large  compartments 
of  phloxes  only,  as  we  see  them  in  nurseries,  and  in  the 
gardens  of  amateurs  who  give  them  particular  attention 
for  the  purpose  of  exhibiting  them.  When  well  grouped 
on  the  exhibition  table  they  are  altogether  delightful,  but 
a  great  lot  of  phloxes  in  a  lump,  as  it  were,  in  the  garden 
is  like  a  mouthful  of  honej" — too  rich  to  be  enjoyable,  and 
likely  to  choke  one. 

The  cultivation  of  the  phlox  is  a  very  simple   affair. 


THE   PHLOX.  23 

The  plants  being-  left  in  the  ground  all  the  winter  take 
no  harm,  and  beg-in  early  in  the  spring  to  grow.  When 
the  new  shoots  are  about  two  inches  high,  the  roots  may 
be  lifted  and  divided,  and  planted  again  in  freshly-dug 
and  liberally- manured  ground.  In  their  new  stations  they 
may  be  allowed  to  stand  two  or  three  years,  and  should  then 
be  taken  up,  divided,  and  again  planted.  This  we  may 
call  the  rough-and-ready  way,  and  it  has  for  many  years 
past  been  our  way  with  a  collection  comprising  over  a 
hundred  varieties.  When  grown  for  exhibition,  a  fresh 
stock  should  be  planted  every  year  in  well-manured  turfy 
loam,  and  if  the  summer  should  be  hot  and  dry,  the  plants 
should  have  liberal  help  from  the  water-pot.  In  making 
plants  for  ordinary  purposes  it  is  quite  sufficient-  to  pull 
off  rooted  pieces,  but  when  stock  of  some  particular  sorts 
is  required  in  quantity,  the  old  stools  should  be  potted  and 
gently  forced,  and  the  tops  should  be  made  into  cuttings 
and  struck  in  a  gentle  heat.  By  this  mode  of  procedure 
one  plant  may  be  made  the  pai-ent  of  hundreds,  because 
propagating  may  be  continued  until  far  into  the  month  of 
May,  and  the  plants  will  flower  the  same  season,  though 
late  perhaps.  '  To  grow  fine  phloxes  the  two  important 
points  are  to  renew  the  plants  frequently  and  feed  them 
well.  To  raise  phloxes  from  seed  is  an  equally  simple 
affair.  First  secure  your  seed,  as  Mrs.  Glasse  might  say  ; 
and  if  you  begin  with  first-rate  sorts  you  will  not  get 
much.  Our  plan  has  been  to  sow  in  pans  as  soon  as  the 
seed  was  fully  ripe,  and  keep  the  young  plants  in  a  pit 
through  the  winter.  But  it  will  suit  amateurs  better  to 
sow  in  spring,  and  we  mjist  advise  keeping  the  seed-pans 
under  glass  until  the  plants  are  forward,  when  they  may 
be  planted  in  an  open  mirsery-bed  to  flower.  They  should 


24  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

not  be  planted  in  the  borders  until  they  have  flowered  and 
proved  to  be  worth  keeping. 

The  pretty  Phlox  Drummondi  is  so  surprisingly  beauti- 
ful that  we  cannot  but  regret  it  is  seldom  seen  in  English 
gai-dens.  It  is  the  more  valuable  now  that  the  distinctive 
colours  are  easily  secured  by  sowing  well-saved  seeds,  so 
that  as  a  bedding-plant  it  is  not  only  one  of  the  loveliest, 
but  certainly  one  of  the  cheapest.  If  the  seed  is  sown  at 
any  time  between  the  middle  of  March  and  the  middle  of 
April,  and  started  in  a  gentle  heat,  the  usual  nursing  of  a 
half-hardy  annual  will  suffice  to  ensure  strong  plants  to 
put  out  at  the  end  of  May,  and  this  being  accomplished, 
there  is  nothing  more  to  be  done,  for  the  showers  and 
sunshine  will  do  the  rest.  In  burning  summers  (of 
which,  unfortunately,  we  have  but  few)  this  lovely  plant 
holds  its  own  as  well  as  any  border  plant  in  cultivation. 
When  verbenas  and  calceolarias  have  been  roasted  too 
brown,  and  even  scarlet  geraniums  are  beginning  to  cry 
for  something  to  drink,  Drummond's  phlox  appears  to  be 
unconcerned,  and  goes  on  blooming  as  if  the  hot  weather 
had  been  ordered  for  it. 


MICHAELMAS    DAISY. 


THE    MICHAELMAS 
DAISY. 

Aster    amelltts. 

ICHAELMAS  DAISIES  are  not  in 
high  repute,  for  they  are  not  well 
represented  in  gardens.  A  cer- 
tain number  of  coarse,  weedy  sorts 
have  obtained  entrance,  and  have 
spread  far  and  wide ;  and  when, 
by  the  artistic  eye,  they  are 
weighed  in  the  balances  and 
found  wanting,  the  whole  race  is 
condemned  for  their  defects.  But 
there  are  in  cultivation  some 
truly  noble  kinds,  and  many  that 
are  beautiful  and  useful  if  not 
noble  ;  and  their  value  is  in  some 
degree  enhanced  by  the  fact  of 
their  flowering  late  in  the  summer 
when  the  gaiety  of  the  garden  is 
overpast.  From  August  to  the 
close  of  the  year  is  the  season  of 
the  Michaelmas  daisies;  one  of  their  number  (Aiter  ffrandi- 
jJi>nm}  is  called  the  "  Christmas  daisy/'  because  of  its 
late  flowering,  and  it  is  not  at  all  uncommon  for  them 
to  fight  the  frost  night  after  night  as  the  season  wears 
on,  and  come  out  triumphant  at  last  in  unfolding  to 


26  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

the  declining  year  all  their  starry  flowers.  Dante  alludes 
to  the  struggle  of  flowers  with  frost  in  the  second  canto 
of  the  first  book  of  the  "  Divine  Comedy,"  as  represent- 
ing his  own  case  when  overcome  by  the  inspiration  of 
Beatrice : — - 

"  As  florets,  by  the  frosty  air  of  night 

Bent  down  and  clos'd,  when  day  has  hlanch'd  their  leaves, 

Rise  all  unfolded  on  their  spiry  stems  ; 

So  was  my  fainting  vigour  new  restor'd, 

And  to  my  heart  such  kindly  courage  ran, 

That  I  as  one  undaunted  soon  replied.'' 

Chaucer  had  made  note  of  the  fact  as  a  theme  for 
poetry,  and  it  touched  the  vein  of  tenderness  which  was 
so  peculiarly  his  : — 

"  But  right  as  floures  through  the  cold  of  night 

Iclosed,  stoupen  in  her  stalkes  lowe, 
Hedressen  hem  agen  the  sunne  bright, 

And  spreden  in  her  kinde  course  by  rowe." 

Trail,  and  Cress.  II. 

A  large  proportion  of  the  plants  classed  as  Michaelmas 
daisies  are  natives  of  North  America,  and  therefore  are 
hardy  enough  for  any  part  of  the  British  Isles.  They 
may  be  more  properly  regarded  as  perennial  asters,  for 
such  they  are  when  their  season  of  flowering,  as  remarked 
above,  is  of  some  four  or  five  months'  duration.  They 
are  among  the  most  accommodating  plants  of  their  class 
known,  being  truly  indifferent  as  to  soil  and  situation, 
provided  they  have  something  to  live  on  and  are  blessed 
with  H  glimpse  of  sunshine  at  some  part  of  the  day. 
But  they  are  like  many  other  accommodating  plants  in 
the  fact  that  they  make  a  far  finer  show  of  their  flowers 
in  a  good  soil,  a  pure  air,  and  a  sunny  situation,  than 
when  overshaded  by  trees  and  with  exhausted  earth  for 
their  sole  sustenance.  The  larger  and  bolder  kinds  are 


THE    MICHAELMAS    DAISY.  27 

fine  shrubbery  plants,  aiid  some  of  the  smaller  unattractive 
kinds  are  worth  growing-  to -cut  from,  for  their  clusters  of 
little  stars  are  often  useful  for  decorative  purposes,  though 
as  seen  in  the  garden  they  may  be  inconspicuous  and  of 
small  account. 

The  safest  rule  of  classification  appears  to  be  found  in 
the  relative  heights  of  the  plants.  Beginning  with  the 
smallest,  we  have  a  charming  thing  in  Aster  alpinas,  the 
blue  daisy  of  the  Alps,  a  plant  which  in  gardens  grows 
to  a  height  of  six  inches,  producing  large  blue  flowers, 
but  in  the  mountain  pastures  is  too  short  to  rise  above 
the  tine  grass,  amidst  which  its  flowers  appear  like  large 
blue  daisies. 

"  Star  of  the  mead !  sweet  daughter  of  the  day, 
Whose  opening  flower  invites  the  morning  ray, 
From  thy  moist  cheek,  and  bosom's  chilly  fold, 
To  kiss  the  tear  of  eve,  the  dewdrops  cold.'1 

Other  useful  dwarf  kinds  are  A.  attaicus,  with  rosy 
purple  flowers;  A.  patens,  purplish-blue;  A.  sericeus, 
deep  blue;  A.  versicolor,  white  changing  to  pale  purple; 
A.  diunosm,  pale  lilac-blue. 

Another  series  adapted  for  second  and  third  rows  are 
the  following  : — A.  amellus,  flowers  blue  with  yellow  disc, 
one  of  the  best;  A.  dracunculoides,  purplish-blue,  fine; 
A.  fragilis,  flowers  white,  changing  to  rose  or  purple; 
A.  Itevis,  purple  with  yellow  centre,  useful  and  good ; 
A.  laxus,  pale  blue,  fine;  A. pendulus,  white,  changing  to 
rose ;  A.  pyrentens,  lilac-blue  with  yellow  disc ;  A.  tur- 
binellus,  delicate  mauve,  a  handsome  plant.  In  this 
section  occur  the  most  generally  useful  kinds. 

Amongst  the  taller  sorts  suitable  for  planting  amongst 
shrubs  and  in  the  reserve  garden  the  best  are  A.  cordifolins, 


•28  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

flowers  early,  white  or  pale  violet;  A.  eletjams,  purple  and 
white,  useful  to  cut  from  ;  A.  grandifloru*,  violet,  late,  very 
handsome;  A.  lonyif alias,  purple-blue,  showy;  A.  mulli- 
fionus,  small  white  flowers  in  elegant  bouquets,  most  valu- 
able to  cut  from;  A.  nova-anglue,  late  flowering1,  very  tall, 
flowers  violet  and  purple;  A.  obliquws,  late  flowering,  white 
with  purple  disc,  coarse,  but  in  its  way  superb. 

A  score  or  even  fifty  more  may  be  found  by  those  who 
need  them,  but  the  foregoing  will  suffice  to  stock  a  large 
garden  with  the  most  distinct  and  handsome  kinds  that 
need  no  special  care  when  once  they  have  been  properly 

planted. 

"  Last  smile  of  the  departing  year, 

Thy  sister  sweets  are  flown  ! 
Thy  pensive  wreath  is  far  more  dear 
From  blooming  thus  alone. 

"  Thy  tender  blush,  thy  simple  frame, 

Unnoticed  might  have  passed ; 
But  now  thou  com'st  with  softer  claim, 
The  loveliest  and  the  last. 

' '  Sweet  are  the  charms  in  thee  we  find — 

Emblem  of  hope's  gay  wing ; 
'Tis  thine  to  call  past  bloom  to  mind, 
To  promise  future  spring." 


SINGLE    FUCHSIA. 


SINGLE   FUCHSIA. 

Fuchsia  ffraeifix. 

HE  fuchsia  is  too  modern  a 
flower  to  have  a  great  history, 
but  what  is  known  of  it  his- 
torically is  full  of  interest. 
Strictly  speaking,  it  is  not  so 
modern  as  is  generally  sup- 
posed, for  it  begins  with  the 
adventures  of  Father  Pluinier, 
who  was  born  at  Marseilles 
in  1646.  At  the  age  of  six- 
teen Charles  Plumier  was 
admitted  to  the  religious  order 
of  Minims,  and  under  the 
training  of  Father  Maignan 
he  soon  became  an  expert 
mathematician  and  a  practical 
turner.  He  wrote  a  remark- 
able book  on  the  art  of  turn- 
ing, and  might  have  continual  turning  and  calculating, 
save  that  he  had  injured  his  health  by  too  close  application, 
and  turned  to  the  study  of  botany  for  occupation  and  rest. 
He  soon  became  a  master  of  this  science,  and  the  friend  of 
the  tyreat  botanist  Tournefort.  Three  several  voyages  he 


30  FAMILIAJt    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

made  to  the  West  Indies  and  the  American  continent  in 
search  of  plants,  and  in  the  capacity  of  King's  Botanist 
he  published  ID  1695  his  first  botanical  work,  "  Descrip- 
tion des  Plantes  de  1'Amerique."  After  his  third  voyage 
he  published  in  1703  his  "Nova  Plantarum  Genera/'  in 
which  occurs  the  first  description  of  the  fuchsia,  which  he 
had  discovered.  In  this  work  a  feature  of  great  importance 
is  developed.  Plumier  dedicated  about  fifty  of  the  plants 
he  discovered  to  eminent  botanists,  by  adopting  their 
names  as  generic  designations.  Thus  he  dedicated  the 
plant  before  us  to  the  memory  of  Leonard  Fuchs,  and  on 
him,  therefore,  we  must  bestow  a  paragraph. 

Leonardo  Fuchs  (or  Fox)  was  born  at  Wembding,  in 
Bavaria,  in  the  year  1501.  Early  in  life  he  devoted 
himself  to  learning  and  letters,  became  a  convert  to  the 
opinions  of  Luther,  and  in  1521  graduated  as  a  physician 
at  Ingoldstadt.  He  was  the  first  German  physician  whose 
name  became  famous  in  foreign  countries ;  and,  strange  to 
say,  his  fame  rested  chiefly  on  his  vindication  of  the  system 
of  medicine  that  prevailed  among  the  early  Greeks.  He 
was  rather  a  herbalist  than  a  botanist,  and  made  great  but 
often  vain  profession  of  his  knowledge  of  the  plants  of 
Dioscorides.  His  works  are  now  regarded  as  mere  curio- 
sities, of  considerable  historical  importance,  but  valueless 
in  respect  of  the  science  they  uphold  and  teach.  The  most 
important  of  them  is  the  "  Historia  Plantarum/'  pub- 
lished at  Basle  in  1542. 

But  these  relations  do  not  bring  the  flower  "  home  to 
us."  That  was  done  by  a  sailor,  about  a  hundred  years 
after  the  discovery  of  the  plant  by  the  learned  monk 
Plumier.  The  adventurous  tar  had  brought  home  from 
Chili  a  plant  bearing  flowers  of  a  kind  unknown  till  then 


SIN&LE    FUCHSIA.  31 

in  Europe,  and  he  gave  it  to  liis  wife,  and  in  the  course  of 
time  she  sold  it  to  Mr.  Lee,  the  eminent  nurseryman  of 
Hammersmith.  It  soon  became  famous,  and  as  a  garden 
flower  the  fashion  was  thus,  as  we  may  say,  created.  And 
it  is  worthy  of  observation  that  the  kinds  that  were  earliest 
introduced  were  of  such  high  quality  that  later  discoveries 
have  not  eclipsed  them.  Perhaps  the  greatest  sensation 
experienced  by  the  floral  world  in  connection  with  the 
fuchsia  occurred  in  the  year  1847,  when  Messrs.  Veitch 
obtained  their  first  flowering  plants  of  Fuchsia  spectabilis 
from  seeds  sent  home  by  Mr.  William  Lobb,  who  met  with 
it  in  the  Andes  of  Cuen9a,  Peru,  growing  at  an  elevation 
of  four  to  five  thousand  feet.  But  we  dare  not  touch  on 
the  floral  history  of  the  plant,  for  we  should  need  years 
for  the  study  of  it,  and  endless  volumes  for  the  text. 
Nor  have  we  space  left  for  a  disquisition  on  the  beauty 
of  the  fuchsia,  and  therefore  have  determined  to  follow  a 
good  example.  A  lean  cure  dined  with  a  fat  bishop,  who 
first  gave  the  cure  a  very  poor  vin  ordinaire.  But  the 
cure  praised  the  miserable  wine,  and  astonished  the  bishop, 
who  now  determined  to  astonish  the  cure.  So  he  brought 
forth  his  wines'  of  rare  vintage,  and  watched  for  the  effect, 
but  the  cure  spoke  not  a  word.  "  What/'  said  the  bishop, 
"  you  praise  my  meagre  vin  ordinaire,  and  you  say  nothing 
of  the  wine  now  before  you  \"  "Pardon,  monsignor," 
replied  the  cure ;  "  the  wretched  wine  you  first  gave  me 
needed  praising ;  but  this — this  speaks  for  itself." 

Ladies  and  gentlemen,  as  regards  the  elegance  and 
freshness  of  the  fuchsia  it  is  not  needful  to  speak — it  speaks 
for  itself! 

In  sheltered  gardens  in  all  the  southern  counties,  and 
in  some  places  even  north  of  the  Trent,  the  beautiful 


32  FAMILIAR    GAEDEN   FLOWERS. 

named  fuchsias  that  are  grown  in  the  greenhouse  may 
be  planted  out,  and  will  pass  through  the  winter  safely 
if  slightly  protected,  except  in  those  seasons  when  the 
frost  is  unusually  severe.  Large  old  fuchsias  may  be 
turned  to  grand  account  in  this  way.  The  soil  must  be 
rich  and  mellow,  and  the  plants  must  have  abundant 
supplies  of  water ;  and  if  valued  for  their  strong1  stems 
they  should  be  lifted  in  November  and  be  stored  away  in 
a  greenhouse  or  a  cellar,  to  be  planted  out  again  in  May. 
If  allowed  to  remain  in  the  ground  they  should  be  uut 
down  and  a  little  cone  of  coal  ashes  piled  over  them. 
For  permanent  features  the  hardiest  fuchsias  are  F.  coccinea, 
F.  gracilis,  F.  virgata,  F.  globosa,  and  F.  Riccartoni.  Of 
F.  spectabilis  we  shall  shortly  give  a  description. 


CHRISTMAS    ROSE. 


\ 


THE 


CHEISTMAS 

ROSE. 

Helleborus  niger. 


MOXGST  the  "  old-fashioned 
flowers"  that  one  might  look 
for  in  the  little  out-door  para- 
dise of  Lady  Corisande,  there 
would  be  none  more  worthy 
of  care  and  honour  than  the 
Christmas  rose.  It  is  quite 
a  proper  thing  for  a  Londoner 
fond  of  flowers  to  visit  Co  vent 
Garden  Market  at  an  early 
hour  on  a  morning  of  De- 
cember to  see  the  Christmas 
roses  that  are  offered  for  sale. 
They  appear  in  surprising 
quantities,  and  the  visitor  un- 
used to  the  Avays  and  doings 
of  the  market  will  ask,  "  Where 
do  they  come  from?"  But  their  size,  their  perfection, 
their  perfect  purity  of  colour  are  more  surprising  than 
their  number,  and  he  will  perhaps  ask  a  second  question, 
"  How  is  it  done  ?  "  And  thereby  hangs  a  tale. 

The  Christmas  rose  is  one  of  the  easiest  plants  to  grow, 
but  when  left  entirely  to  itself  it  flowers  late,  and  the 
flowers  are  much  torn  and  discoloured  by  the  unkind 


34  FAMILIAR    GARDEN    FLOWERS. 

weather  that  usually  prevails  in  its  flowering  season.  The 
plant  is  a  native  of  Southern  Europe,  and  needs  for  its 
perfect  development  better  conditions  than  are  usually 
secured  for  it  in  English  gardens,  more  especially  as  it 
flowers  at  a  time  of  year  when  the  elements  are  in  a  mood 
to  make  war  upon  every  green  herb,  and  tear  away  the  one 
last  leaf  that  still  hangs  upon  the  tree.  To  put  this  plant 
in  a  common  border  is  not  quite  fair  to  it.  A  sheltered 
nook  should  be  chosen,  and  a  plot  of  ground  prepared  by 
draining  it  thoroughly,  unless  it  is  naturally  well  drained 
already,  and  by  deep  digging  and  liberal  manuring.  It 
does  not  need  any  particular  kind  of  soil,  for  any  fairly 
good  garden  loam  will  suit  it  perfectly,  but  the  station 
should  be  well  prepared,  and  the  plants  should  be  put  out 
upon  it  when  their  leaves  are  dying  down,  and  they  are 
going  naturally  to  rest.  Sheltered,  half-shaded,  grassy 
banks  answer  admirably  for  plantations  that  are  to  be  left 
to  flower  naturally,  but  the  plantation  in  the  sheltered 
nook  we  are  now  considering  is  not  to  be  left  to  flower 
naturally.  As  soon  as  they  begin  to  push  in  the  late 
autumn  they  should  all  be  covered  with  frames  or  hand- 
lights,  which  must  be  freely  ventilated  in  mild  weather, 
but  during  frost  must  be  kept  close,  both  to  prevent  a 
check  and  protect  the  flowers.  By  such  management  early 
flowers  will  be  secured,  and  they  will  be  large,  thick,  and 
pure.  Like  those  of  the  white  Japan  anemone,  they  may 
be  likened  to  water-lilies,  but  they  need  not  be  likened  to 
anything — it  is  enough  to  know  that  they  are  Christmas 
roses.  An  anonymous  poet,  weaving  the  "  winter  rose  " 
into  the  garland  of  his  hopes  and  cares,  has  indulged  in  the 
fancy  that  the  flower  is  fragrant,  but  it  requires  quite  a 
poet's  imagination  to  extract  an  odour  from  the  flower. 


THE    CHRISTMAS    ROSE.  35 

"  Alas !  on  thy  forsaken  stem 

My  heart  shall  long  recline, 
And  mourn  the  transitory  gem, 
-    And  make  the  story  mine ! 
So  on  my  joyless  winter  hour 
Has  oped  some  fair  and  fragrant  flower, 
With  smile  as  soft  as  thine. 

"  Like  thee  the  vision  came  and  went, 

Like  thee  it  bloomed  and  fell, 
In  momentary  pity  sent 

Of  fairer  climes  to  tell ; 
So  frail  its  form,  so  short  'its  stay, 
That  nought  the  lingering  heart  could  say, 

But  hail,  and  fare  thee  well ! :' 

In  the  growth  of  the  new  taste  for  hardy  plants,  which 
we  may  regard  as  a  revival  of  old-fashioned  gardening-, 
the  hellebores  have  obtained  a  fair  share  of  attention,  and 
they  now  constitute  a  very  important  feature  of  the  hardy 
garden.  As  the  trumpet  daffodils  are  called  "  Lent  lilies/' 
so  the  spring  flowering  hellebores  are  called  "  Lent  roses." 
One  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  late  flowering  kinds 
is  the  sweet  hellebore  (Hellebores  odor  us),  which  produces 
pale  green  leaves,  and  greenish  drooping  flowers  which  are 
agreeably  scented.  The  Olympian  hellebore  (H.  Olympic**) 
is  a  handsome  plant,  producing  purplish  flowers.  The 
Oriental  hellebore  (//.  Orientalis]  is  strikingly  handsome, 
the  flowers  being  large,  of  a  soft  rose-colour,  and  accom- 
panied by  an  ample  and  elegant  leafage.  The  purple 
hellebore  (H.  atrorubeus)  produces  beautiful  flowers,  which 
at  first  are  violet-purple,  and  afterwards  dull  purple,  with 
an  admixture  of  green.  There  remain  two  fine  species  that 
are  particularly  well  adapted  to  plant  in  woodland  walks. 
They  are  H.  abcha.ricua,  with  greenish  flowers,  and  //. 
fteiidus,  with  greenish-purple  flowers.  These  have  hand- 


36  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

some  winter  foliage,  and  there  should  be  a  few  clumps  of 
each  in  spots  where  they  are  likely  to  be  seen  during1  a 
walk  round  on  a  sunny  winter  day. 

A  few  beautiful  garden  varieties  have  lately  been  intro- 
duced from  the  Continent,  and  have  found  much  favour 
with  English  amateurs.  They  are  mostly  of  German 
origin,  and  are  produced  by  crossing  the  purple  and  green 
flowered  species,  the  result  being  in  some  cases  flowers 
richly  spotted,  and  of  various  shades  of  greenish-white, 
maroon,  purple,  and  purplish-rose.  The  conspicuous  yellow 
stamens,  which  contribute  so  much  to  the  beauty  of  the 
white-flowered  Christmas  rose,  are  distinct  and  welcome 
features  of  these  new  varieties  of  Lent  roses,  adding  an 
element  of  cheerfulness  that  compensates  for  their  other- 
wise dull  colouring,  for  the  colours  of  the  petals  are  in 
all  cases  toned  down  by  infusions  of  green  and  purple  that 
render  them  impure.  A  collection  of  hellebores  may  now 
be  looked  for  in  every  garden  of  hardy  plants,  to  combine 
with  the  daffodils  to  "take  the  winds  of  March  with 
beauty." 


LAVENDER. 


LAVENDER. 

Lavandula  vera. 

MERE  word  will  often  transport 
us  into  flowery  fields  and  restore 
happy  days  that  have  long  since 
fled.  To  many  of  the  older  sort 
the  word  lavender  is  as  good  as  a 
charm,  if  it  only  recalls  the  old 
plaintive  strain  of  once  familial- 
street  music.  This  tame-looking-, 
grey-green,  stiff,  sticky,  and  im- 
movable shrub  holds  as  much  poetry 
in  its  wiry  arms  as  would  fill  a  big 
book ;  but  that  is  no  matter  if  it 
has  helped  to  fill  a  heart  with  glad- 
ness, for  the  filling  of  a  book  is  but 
a  piece  of  mechanical  trickery.  A 
most  famous  plant  is  the  lavender, 
as  may  be  seen  by  reference  to  any 
of  the  older  herbalists,  more  especially  Parkinson,  Gerarde, 
and  Johnson. 

In  a  notice  of  the  plant  in  a  popular  work  occurs — 
what  is  very  common  in  "  popular  works  " — a  showy  but 
most  egregious  blunder  in  respect  of  one  of  the  fi  asso- 
ciations" of  lavender.  It  is  affirmed  by  the  writer  that 
the  plant  grows  in  Syria,  and  furnished  the  "ointment 


38  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

of  spikenard"  with  which  "Mary  anointed  our  Lord  in 
Bethany.  Let  us  suppose  the  two  statements  to  be  cor- 
rect, and  then  what  becomes  of  the  protest  against  a 
supposed  act  of  extravagance — "  it  might  have  been  sold 
for  three  hundred  pence "  ?  The  produce  of  a  common 
weed  of  the  country  could  never  have  acquired  such  a 
value,  and  the  protest  necessarily  suggests  that  the  oint- 
ment of  spikenard  was  the  produce  of  some  far-distant 
land,  and  obtainable  only  with  cost  and  difficulty.  Such, 
indeed,  is  the  case.  The  spikenard  of  the  New  Testament 
and  of  Canticles  i.  12  and  iv.  13  was  imported  into 
Palestine  from  the  far  East,  the  plant  producing  it  being 
the  Nardostachys  Jatamansi  of  De  Candolle,  a  plant  spoken 
of  by  Dioscorides  as  the  Nard  of  the  Ganges — the  Sumbul 
or  Sunbul  hindac  of  the  Arabs  to  this  day.  Lavender,  in- 
deed, grows  in  Syria,  for  the  genus  Lavandnla  is  essentially 
Mediterranean,  but  it  was  not  the  spikenard  of  antiquity. 

The  commonest  uses  of  Lavandnla  connect  it  with  the 
lavatory,  both  words  deriving  their  origin  from  Invo,  to 
wash  ;  the  plant  being  as  much  prized  in  ancient  times  as 
now  for  its  refreshing  perfume  and  cleansing  properties. 
Herein  is  the  secret  of  the  commercial  importance  of 
lavender,  of  which  immense  quantities  are  grown  near 
London  for  the  purposes  of  the  perfumer. 

The  common  lavender  (Lavandnla  vera]  is  the  species 
grown  in  the  Mitcham  and  other  districts,  as  the  oil  yielded 
by  its  flowers,  although  not  so  large  in  bulk  as  that  pro- 
duced by  the  flowers  of  Lavandnla  spica,  is  of  much 
finer  quality,  and  is  alone  employed  in  the  manufacture 
of  the  finest  perfumes.  The  oil  obtained  from  the  last 
mentioned  of  the  two  species  is  rather  green  in  colour,  and 
is  commonly  known  as  spike  oil,  or  foreign  oil  of  lavender. 


LA  VENDER.  39 

It  is  chiefly  used  for  painting,  but  a  considerable  quantity 
linds  its  way  every  year  to  the  second-class  manufactories, 
where  lavender-water  and  other  perfumes,  of  which  the  base 
is  the  essential  oil  of  lavender,  are  prepared,  and  this  in  its 
turn  is  sometimes  adulterated  with  spirits  of  turpentine. 
The  harvesting  of  the  flowers  takes  place  at  the  end  of 
July  or  the  beginning  of  August,  according  to  the  season, 
the  proper  moment  for  cutting  the  spikes  being  just  as 
the  flowers  are  opening,  as  they  are  then  more  powerfully 
aromatic,  and  consequently  yield  an  oil  of  greater  value 
than  when  fully  expanded.  The  cutting  is  done  with  the 
sickle,  and  every  care  taken  to  immediately  pack  and  tie 
up  in  mats,  for  when  exposed  to  the  rays  of  the  sun  for 
any  length  of  time  after  cutting,  the  yield  of  oil  is 
materially  reduced  in  consequence.  The  flowers  cannot, 
indeed,  be  sent  to  the  distillery  too  quickly  after  their 
removal  from  the  plants.  Large  quantities  of  lavender 
Howers  are  sent  to  Covent  Garden  annually,  and  from 
thence  find  their  way  to  the  shops  and  costers'  barrows, 
for  there  is  still  a  demand  for  them  for  filling  muslin  bags 
to  stow  away  in  drawers  and  cupboards,  notwithstanding 
the  facilities  which  exist  for  obtaining  the  essential  oil, 
and  lavender-water,  and  other  perfumes  into  which  it  enters. 
The  flowers,  it  should  be  remevnbered,  are  put  into  drawers 
and  wardrobes  to  exclude  moths,  as  well  as  for  imparting 
an  agreeable  odour  to  the  articles  placed  in  these  recep- 
tacles. A  few  drops  of  the  oil  will,  however,  serve  the 
same  purpose;  and  it  has  been  ascertained  by  experiment 
that  if  a  single  drop  is  placed  in  a  small  box  along  with  a 
living  insect,  the  insect  will  be  killed  almost  immediately. 
The  distillation  of  the  flowers  is  a  business  quite  dis- 
tinct from  that  of  their  production,  and  both  large  and 


40  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

small  growers  take  their  crops  to  the  distillery,  and  pay  a 
certain  rate  per  ton.  The  quantity  of  oil  extracted  from 
a  ton  of  lavender  varies  according  to  the  season,  a  rather 
dry  and  hot  summer  being  the  most  favourable  to  an 
abundant  production.  From  15  Ibs.  to  16  Ibs.  is  considered 
a  fair  average,  and  in  some  years  it  reaches  20  Ibs.,  but  not 
often.  The  distilling  commences  about  the  1st  of  August, 
and  is  continued  until  the  end  of  September  or  the  middle 
of  October,  according  to  the  extent  of  the  crop. 

In  the  propagation  of  a  stock  of  lavender,  and  in  the 
management  of  the  plantations  after  their  formation,  a 
very  simple  course  of  procedure  has  been  found  to  be  the 
most  satisfactory.  Propagation  is  effected  by  means  of 
cuttings  taken  in  the  autumn,  October  being  considered 
the  most  suitable  month  in  which  to  take  them.  After 
the  shoots  selected  for  cuttings  are  separated  from  the  old 
plants,  they  are  left  in  small  heaps  on  the  ground  for  six 
weeks,  and  are  then  planted.  Rooted  slips  are,  as  far  as 
possible,  taken  advantage  of  for  the  increase  of  stock,  and 
when  these  can  be  had  they  are  at  once  planted  in  the 
tield,  at  a  distance  of  eighteen  inches  apart  each  way. 


CANTERBURY  BFLU 


THE 
CANTEKBUBY   BELL. 

Campanula  medium. 

AXTERBURY   BELLS    are  not 

so  loud  in  their  tone  as  might 
be  imagined  by  people  who  are 
not  bookish.  How  easy  it  would 
be  to  say  that  this  common 
flower  is  figured  and  described 
in  all  the  books,  and  to  one 
who  had  so  committed  himself, 
how  terrible  would  be  the  shock 
of  a  rejoinder  to  this  effect — 
that  it  is  neither  figured  nor 
described  in  any  of  the  books. 
Such  a  rejoinder  would,  of 
course,  be  a  trifle  too  daring ; 
but  it  is  a  fact,  and  one  of . 
immense  interest  to  the  writer 
of  this,  that  this  very  familiar 
flower  has  been  so  rarely  figured 
or  described  that  it  will  require 

some  searching  to  discover  any  literary  recognition  of  it. 
But  the  fact  is  a  key  to  what  we  may  for  convenience 
term  one  of  the  grievances  of  an  important  section  of  the 
flowery  world.  The  Canterbury  bell  is  a  biennial,  and 


42  FAMILIAR    GARDEN  FLOWERS. 

• 

therefore  has  no  right  to  a  place  in  any  of  the  books. 
The  biennials  should  make  a  declaration  against  this  state 
of  things.  For  the  sake  of  an  hour's  amusement  we  have 
ransacked  our  library,  and  found  but  few  allusions  to  the 
plant.  The  botanists  say  it  is  not  British,  and  therefore  is 
not  one  of  our  wild  flowers.  En  passant,  we  will  remark 
upon  this,  that  we  once  found  a  grand  plant  of  the  blue 
variety  growing  in  Bonsai  Dale,  Derbyshire,  and  that  is  our 
only  acquaintance  with  it  as  a  wilding.  The  books  that 
treat  of  annuals  ignore  biennials,  and  the  books  that  treat 
of  perennials  do  the  same,  and  so  the  biennials  are  denied 
benefit  of  clergy,  and  there  is  left  to  them  the  final  but 
sufficient  consolation  that  they  can  do  very  well  without  it. 
That  we  may  not  a-ppear  heathenish,  it  is  proper  to  say  that 
the  clergy,  philologically  considered,  are  not  necessarily 
employed  in  a  sacred  office — they  are  learned  men ;  men 
who  can  read  and  write ;  men  possessed  of  skill,  science, 
and  clerkship.  As  Blackwood  remarks,  "  the  judges  were 
usually  created  out  of  the  sacred  order ;  and  all  the  inferior 
offices  were  supplied  by  the  lower  clergy,  which  has  occa- 
sioned their  successors  to  be  denominated  clerks  to  this 
day." 

But  here  is  a  digression.  "Well,  we  find  figures  of 
Canterbury  bells  in  Gerard  and  Parkinson,  but  it  is  hard 
work  to  make  them  out,  because  they  are  badly  drawn  and 
confusedly  described.  But  it  is  something  to  say  for  these 
old  masters  that  if  we  want  to  trace  the  history  of  such 
a  common  plant  we  must  ask  them  to  help  us,  because 
modern  authors  aim  so  high  that  their  shafts  fly  over  many 
common  but  useful  and  beautiful  things. 

It  is  time  to  say  something  about  the  cultivation  of 
this  noble  campanula,  and  it  will  be  consistent  with  the 


THE  CANTERBURY   BELL.  43 

foregoing1  observations  that,  instead -of  following  in  the 
wake  of  the  blind  man  who  made  a  fiddle  out  of  his  own 
head,  we  turn  to  the  pages  of  a  great  old  master  for  a  code 
of  instructions.  In  the  "  Abridgement "  of  Philip  Miller's 
"Gardener's  Dictionary/'  quarto,  1761,  will  be  found  the 
following  : — 

"  The  third  sort  [Campanula  medium]  is  a  biennial 
plant,  which  perisheth  soon  after  it  hath  ripened  seeds.  It 
grows  naturally  in  the  woods  of  Italy  and  Austria,  but  is 
cultivated  in  the  English  gardens  for  the  beauty  of  its 
flowers.  Of  this  sort  there  are  the  following  varieties,  the 
blue,  the  purple,  the  white,  the  striped,  and  double  flower- 
ing. 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  high,  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,  diminishing 
gradually  in  their  length  upward,  and  thereby  form  a  sort 
of  pyramid.  The  flowers  of  this  kind  are  very  large,  so 
make  a  fine  appearance.  The  seeds  ripen  in  September, 
and  the  plants  decay  soon  after. 

"  It  is  propagated  by  seeds,  which  must  be  sown  in 
spring  on  an  open  bed  of  common  earth,  and  when  the 
plants  are  fit  to  remove,  they  should  be  transplanted  into 
the  flower-nursery,  in  beds  six  inches  asunder,  and  the 
following  autumn  they  should  be  transplanted  into  the 
borders  of  the  flower-garden.  As  these  plants  decay  the 
second  year,  there  should  be  annually  young  ones  raised  to 
succeed  them/' 


44  FAMILIAR    GARDEN  FLOWERS. 

A  note  on  campanulas  in  general  may  be  useful.  The 
best  of  them  are  hardy  border  flowers,  that  need  no  parti- 
cular care,  and  thrive  well  in  any  ordinary  good  soil,  but 
cannot  endure  to  be  starved  or  over-much  shaded.  In 
planting  a  border,  preference  in  the  first  instance  should 
be  given  to  such  sorts  as  C.  latifolia,  C.  trac  helium, 
C.  gloinerata,  C.  nobilis,  C.  persicifolia.  For  the  rockery, 
the  most  important,  to  begin  with,  are  C.  carpathica,  C. 
garganica',  C. pumila,  and  C.  rotundifolia.  The  last-named 
is  the  "  harebell "  of  the  hedgerow  and  the  roadside  and 
the  woodland  waste,  which  we  have  met  with  near  Hayfield, 
in  Derbyshire,  in  many  shades  of  blue,  white,  and  pink, 
but  the  plants  and  seeds  we  saved  of  the  curious  varieties 
lost  their  distinguishing  characters  when  removed,  so  that 
when  planted  out  on  raised  banks  of  sandy  soil  in  the 
garden  they  all  produced  blue  flowers. 


RUDBECKIA. 


THE    KUDBECKIA. 

Rudbeckia  hirta. 

ARDY  herbaceous  plants  have 
been  rising  in  public  favour  dur- 
ing the  past  ten  years  or  so,  but 
they  will  never  so  entirely  engross 
the  admiration  of  the  English 
amateur  as  certain  over-zealous 
advocates  believe  and  desire.  The 
world  is  tolerably  wise  as  to  what 
it  wants,  and  it  is  useless  for 
specialists  to  go  crazy  because  the 
world  will  not  implicitly  follow 
their  lead. 

The  truth  is,  the  English  gar- 
den is  a  rafter  of  the  English 
household  made  up  of  good  things 
from  all  parts  of  the  world,  and  the 
pelargoniums  of  the  Cape  and  the 

calceolarias  of  Peru  are  as  worthy  of  a  place  in  it  as 
the  lilies  of  the  Levant  or  the  fuchsias  of  the  Falklands. 
People  who  enter  upon  gardening  as  a  recreation  are 
usually  eclectic  in  their  tastes,  and  are  very  quick  in  dis- 
tinguishing good  things  from  bad  ones,  and  those  who 
seek  applause  by  crying  up  herbaceous  weeds  and  crying 
down  bedding  plants  that  make  the  garden  grandly  gay 


46  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

in  the  sunny  months  when  gaiety  is  needed,  will  only 
obtain  in  the  end  the  pitying  smile  that  is  bestowed 
on  the  well-meaning  fanatic.  The  Rudbeckias  illustrate 
this  case.  They  are  hardy  herbaceous,  handsome  weedy 
things,  that  would  be  of  priceless  value  were  we  possessed 
of  only  a  few  dozen  sorts  of  garden  flowers.  But  as  we 
can  command  thousands  we  can  afford  to  be  dainty,  and 
so  it  happens  that  two  or  three  species  of  Rudbeckia  are 
enough  for  any  ordinary  garden  :  the  rest  may  be  left  over 
for  those  omnivorous  ones  who  swallow  everything  that 
can  be  described  as  "  herbaceous  "  and  "  hardy." 

The  genus  to  which  our  plant  belongs  takes  its 
name  from  O.  Rudbeck,  a  Swedish  botanist.  It  is  wholly 
American.  It  is  noted  in  the  "Hortus  Kewensis"  of  Aiton 
that  R.  laciriiata  was  grown  by  John  Tradescant  before 
1640,  and  R.  trilola  by  Jacob  Bobart  before  1699.  These 
appear  to  have  been  the  earliest  introduced.  R.  hirta,  the 
subject  of  the  coloured  plate,  was  grown  in  this  country 
in  1714,  and  is  pretty  widely  distributed,  although  the 
members  of  this  genus  have  never  ranked  high  as  border 
flowers.  They  are,  however,  useful,  being  at  home  in  any 
soil  or  situation,  though  preferring,  if  they  can  get  it, 
a  dry  sandy  loam  and  a  sunny  situation.  They  are  all 
perennial  plants,  and  may  be  propagated  by  division  and 
seed.  Being  rough  and  gay  and  conspicuous  at  a  distance, 
they  are  admirably  adapted  for  the  front  line  of  the  shrub- 
bery, and  if  they  do  not  delight  the  florists,  they  will 
gratify  the  artists,  who  always  lean  considerately  towards 
single  composite  flowers,  if  there  be  some  degree  of  dash 
in  them,  as  there  certainly  is  in  the  yellow  and  orange 
flowers  of  the  Rudbeckias. 

Rudbeckia  Calif ornica  grows  to  the  height  of  five  feet, 


THE    RUDBECKIA.  47 

and  flowers  in  July ;  the  flowers  are  of  a  golden-yellow 
colour.  R.  Drummondi  is  of  dwarf  habit,  rising  only  two 
feet,  flowering  from  June  to  September,  the  flowers  rich 
deep  yellow  with  a  band  of  purplish- brown  and  a  curious 
brown  centre ;  this  is  a  fine  plant.  R.  fulgida  rises  two 
feet ;  the  flowers  appear  in  July,  they  are  orange-yellow, 
the  disk  purple ;  a  fine  plant.  R.  hirta  grows  two  to 
three  feet  in  height,  the  flowers  appear  from  July  to 
September;  they  are  of  a  rich  orange-yellow,  the  disk 
purplish-brown.  R.  laciniata  is  of  compact  habit,  height 
three  feet,  flowers  pale  yellow,  the  leaves  elegantly  cut; 
a  fine  plant.  R.  speciosa  is  of  medium  growth,  rarely  ex- 
ceeding two  and  a  half  feet  in  height ;  the  flowers  appear 
late,  they  are  orange-yellow  with  blackish-purple  disk. 
About  a  dozen  more  may  be  found  by  those  who  want 
them — at  all  events,  their  names  may — but  it  might  be 
difficult  to  obtain  the  plants. 

The  American  continent  is  somewhat  profusely  sprinkled 
with  composite  plants  that  flower  in  the  later  summer  and 
autumn,  and  prove  perfectly  hardy  with  us.  We  want 
the  best  of  them  for  our  gardens,  and  perhaps  there  are 
not  many  remaining  to  be  introduced,  for  the  botanists 
have  not  been  idle  on  the  "  boundless  prairies."  It  is  the 
peculiar  characteristic  of  a  large  majority  of  -these  plants 
that  they  flower  at  a  season  when  our  native  plants  are  for 
the  most  part  in  a  seedy  state;  and  thus  they  help  us 
through  the  autumn,  when  out-door  pleasures  obtain  more 
of  our  attention  than  at  any  other  time. 

The  botanist  in  whose  honour  the  Rudbeckia  was 
named  by  Linnaeus  was  the  son  of  John  Rudbeck,  a 
learned  Swedish  bishop,  who  aided  very  materially  in  the 
publication  of  the  Swedish  Bible,  commonly  called  the 


48  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

Bible  of  Gustavus  Adolphus,  in  the  year  1618,  and  was  the 
author  of  the  celebrated  "  Privilegia  qusedam  Doctorum," 
the  production  of  which,  in  the  year  1636,  very  nearly* 
proved  his  ruin.  His  son  Olaf  Rudbeck,  born  1630, 
studied  at  Upsala,  and  in  1652  held  a  disputation  there 
on  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  and  afterwards  made  dis- 
coveries in  anatomy  which  he  rendered  public  in  1653. 
In  this  year  he  travelled  into  Holland,  but  soon  after 
returned  to  Upsala,  where  he  was,  in  the  year  1658,  ap- 
pointed professor  of  medicine.  As  an  aid  in  this  study 
he  had  previously  established  a  botanical  garden,  into 
which  he  introduced  many  rare  plants  from  distant  places, 
and  thereby  afforded  an  astonishing  example  of  the  capa- 
bilities of  a  northern  climate. 


MARIGOLD. 


MAEiaOLD. 

Tagetes  erect  a. 

LATER  illustration  of  a  very 
humble  marigold  has  suggested 
homely  thoughts,  and  the  re- 
sult is  a  merely  gossiping 
paper ;  but  the  showy  flower 
now  before  us  demands  a 
learned  treatise,  and  we  must 
show  that  we  are  equal  to  the 
inspiriting  theme.  We  shall 
therefore  dive  into  the  depths 
of  our  erudition,  and  thence 
rebound  to  the  highest  heights 
of  philosophy,  in  the  endeavour 
to  display  to  the  reader  the 
immensity  of  our  knowledge  of 
marigolds. 

A  marigold  may  be  re- 
garded as  a  golden  Mary,  but  the  name  has  no  necessary 
reference  whatever  to  the  Virgin  Mary,  or  to  any  Mary ; 
it  is  a  corruption  of  the  old  Anglo-Saxon  mersc-mear- 
qealla,  the  golden  marsh  flower  (caltha),  which  is  still 
called  the  "  marsh  marigold,"  although  it  is  really  a 
ranunculus.  The  marigold  proper  is  a  composite  plant, 
and  far  removed  from  the  ranunculus  and  all  its  cup 
G 


50  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

flowered  relations.  In  the  "  Grete  Herball "  it  is  called 
"  Mary  Gowles/'  Dr.  Prior,  in  his  "  Popular  Names  of 
British  Plants,"  remarks  that  "  it  is  often  mentioned  by 
the  older  poets  under  the  name  of  gold  simply/'  Not- 
withstanding- all  this,  the  marigold  became  the  flower  of  the 
Virgin  Mary,  if  it  was  not  so  originally.  The  name  being 
once  corrupted,  the  association  with  a  personage  followed, 
and  in  the  latest  days  of  history,  say  the  seventeenth 
century,  it  became  the  symbol  of  Queen  Mary.  The  cele- 
brated Child's  Bank,  that  was  so  long  associated  with  old 
Temple  Bar,  had  for  its  sign  the  marigold,  and  the  motto 
AINSI  MON  AME,  which  necessarily  applies  to  a  sunflower. 
This  appears  to  discomfit  us ;  but  no,  the  marigold  is 
a  sunflower,  quite  as  much  a  sunflower  as  the  gigantic 
American  plant  that  is  now  known  by  the  name.  In  the 
poem  by  George  Wither,  quoted  at  page  63,  we  read 

that 

"  Every  morning  she  displayes 
Her  open  brest,  when  Titan  spreads  his  rayes." 

In  Perdita's  garland  for  men  of  middle  age  we  find 

"  The  marigold  that  goes  to  bed  with  the  sun, 
And  with  him  rises  weeping." 

Winter's  Tale,  iv.  3. 

In  the  fifty-fourth  sonnet  of  Drummond  we  have — 

"  Absence  hath  robb'd  thee  of  thy  wealth  and  pleasure, 
And  I  remain,  like  marigold  of  sun 
Depriv'd,  that  dies  by  shadow  of  some  mountain." 

That  the  marigold  was  often  regarded  as  especially 
emblematic  of  the  Virgin  Mary  is  certain.  We  see 
marigold  windows  in  Lady  chapels,  and  we  may  call  them 
sunflowers  if  it  suits  us  to  do  so,  but  the  plant  we  now 
know  as  the  sunflower  was  certainly  unknown  in  Europe 


MARIGOLD.  61 

previous  to  A.D.  1500.  The  dedication  of  the  flower  to 
Queen  Mary  would  naturally  occur  to  the  adherents  of  her 
cause,  and  hence  it  is  not  surprising  to  find  in  a  ballad  of 
her  time,  as  quoted  in  "  Notes  and  Queries"  (S.  5,  xii.  418), 
such  lines  as  the  following  : — 

' '  To  Mary  our  queen.,  that  flower  so  sweet, 

This  marigold  I  do  apply  ; 
For  that  name  doth  seme  so  meet 

And  property  in  each  party. 
For  her  enduring  patiently 

The  storms  of  such  as  list  to  scold 
At  her  doings,  without  cause  why, 

Loath  to  see  spring  this  marigold." 

The  flowers  known  as  marigolds  represent  two  distinct 
genera  of  composites.  The  common  weedy  marigold 
figured  at  page  61  is  Calendula  officinalis ;  the  generic 
name  implying  that  it  keeps  pace  with  the  calendar — that 
is  to  say,  it  flowers  every  day  throughout  the  year,  which 
is  very  nearly  true.  The  great  African  marigold  is 
Tayetes  erecta  ;  it  is  not  African,  but  Mexican,  as  are  also 
the  more  refined  French  marigold,  Tagetcs  patula,  and  the 
fine-leaved  and  the  shining-cleaved  kinds,  T.  tenuifolia  and 
T.  lucida.  The  genus  Tagetes  is  named  in  honour  of  an 
obscure  Etruscan  hero  of  doubtful  pedigree.  It  seems  that 
Jupiter  had  a  son  named  Genius,  and  this  Genius  had  a 
son  named  Tages,  who  taught  the  Etruscans  the  art  of 
divination.  In  the  fifteenth  book  of  Ovid's  "  Metamor- 
phoses" he  is  thus  referred  to  in  connection  with  the 
transformation  of  Egeria  : — 

"  The  nymphs  and  Virbius  like  amazement  fill'd, 
As  seized  the  swains  who  Tyrrhene  furrows  till'd, 
When  heaving  up,  a  clod  was  seen  to  roll, 
Untouch'd,  self-mov'd,  and  big  with  human  soul. 


52  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

The  spreading  mass,  in  former  shape  deposed, 
Began  to  shoot,  and  arms  and  legs  disclosed, 
Till,  form'd  a  perfect  man,  the  living  mould 
Oped  its  new  mouth,  and  future  truths  foretold ; 
And,  Tages  named  by  natives  of  the  place, 
Taught  arts  prophetic  to  the  Tuscan  race." 

It  is  a  grave  defect  of  the  Mexican  marigolds  that  they 
emit  an  unpleasant  odour,  and  therefore  are  scarcely  fit  for 
bouquets.  The  pretty  little  T.  tenuifolia  (also  known  as 
signata)  is  less  objectionable  than  the  others  in  this  respect, 
and,  generally  speaking,  is  the  most  useful  of  all,  because 
of  its  suitability  for  bedding,  to  take  the  place  in  dry  soils 
of  that  capricious  flower  the  yellow  calceolaria.  All  these 
Mexican  marigolds  are  half  hardy,  and  therefore  the  seed 
should  be  sown  in  a  frame  or  greenhouse  in  March  and 
April,  and  the  plants  carefully  nursed  until  strong  enough 
to  take  their  place  for  flowering  in  the  beds  and  borders. 


THE    BALSAM 

Impatiens  bahamina. 

.N  some  of  the  books  the  plant  is 
catalogued  as  'Balsamina  Tior- 
tensis,  but  as  a  rose  by  any 
other  name  would  smell  as 
sweet,  the  amateur  gardener 
need  not  be  troubled  about  the 
relative  claims  of  the  respec- 
tive designations.  The  garden 
balsam  is  a  tender  annual  of 
rapid  growth,  with  an  ex- 
tremely succulent  stem,  ample 
full  green  leafage,  and  showy 
flowers  of  various  shades  of 
white,  red,  rose,  and  crimson. 
The  generic  name  Impatiens  is 
explained  by  the  behaviour  of 
the  plant  when  the  seeds  are 
ripe,  for,  on  the  slightest  touch, 
the  seed-pods  burst,  and  the 
seeds  are  scattered ;  and  this  impatience  of  the  plant  may 
occasion  to  the  cultivator  considerable  loss.  But  there  is  a 
way  out  of  every  difficulty,  and  the  only  real  difficulty  is  to 
know  the  way.  In  this  case  it  consists  in  removing  the  pods 
when  they  are  nearly  ripe,  and  placing  them  on  a  cloth 


54  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

or  newspaper,  or  in  a  bell-glass  placed  mouth  upwards,  to 
ripen ;  then,  as  they  arrive  at  perfection,  the  seeds  will  be 
shed,  and  none  will  be  lost,  and  if  the  plants  were  good,  the 
seed  will  pay  for  the  trouble  of  saving-. 

It  is  a  very  strange  thing,  and  hardly  to  be  believed, 
that  there  is  not  to  be  found  in  any  systematic  treatise  on 
gardening  a  really  good  code  of  balsam  culture.  In  plain 
truth,  the  books  are  all  wrong  upon  the  subject,  and  as  the 
opportunity  is  now  offered  to  put  them  right,  we  propose 
to  do  so.  Let  it  be  understood,  then,  to  begin  with,  that 
the  right  way  occasions  less  trouble  than  the  wrong  way, 
and  the  result  is  a  free  development  of  healthy  leafage  and 
splendid  flowers.  The  essence  of  the  proceeding  consists  in 
growing  the  plant  generously  and  somewhat  rapidly  from 
the  first,  and  guarding  it  against  any  possible  check.  Sup- 
pose we  desire  to  have  a  fine  bed  of  balsams.  We  secure 
the  very  best  seed,  and  sow  it  in  light  rich  soil,  in  pans  or 
boxes,  in  the  month  of  April.  These  pans  or  boxes  should 
be  placed  on  the  sunny  shelf  of  a  greenhouse,  or  in  a  warm 
corner  of  a  pit,  and  be  kept  moderately  watered.  The 
plants  will  soon  appear,  and  as  soon  as  they  have  about 
three  rough  leaves,  they  should  be  pricked  out,  three  or 
four  inches  apart,  in  other  boxes,  in  light  rich  soil ;  or  be 
potted  separately  in  thumb-pots,  and  be  again  nursed  in 
the  warm  pit  or  greenhouse,  where  they  should  have  plenty 
of  air,  and  never  suffer  in  the  least  through  lack  of  water. 
If  they  grow  fast,  and  the  weather  is  too  cold  to  permit  of 
planting  them  out,  give  them  a  shift  into  60  size  (three- 
inch)  pots  before  they  become  pot-bound,  for,  as  remarked 
above,  there  must  be  no.  check  whatever.  When  the 
weather  is  warm -and  dull,  say  about  the  first  or  second 
week  in  June,  plant  them  out  in  a  sunny  position,  in  rich 


THE    BALSAM.  56 

deep  soil.  We  have  put  them  at  two  feet  apart,  and  they 
have  met  long-  before  the  season  was  over ;  but,  for  a 
general  rule,  perhaps  one  foot  distance  may  suffice.  Give 
them  plenty  of  water  in  dry  weather,  and  that  is  all  you 
need  do  to  them. 

In  the  event  of  requiring  nice  specimens  in  pots,  it 
will  be  advisable  to  sow  in  March,  and  start  the  seeds  on  a 
hot-bed;  then  proceed  as  advised  in  raising  plants  for  a 
bed,  but  instead  of  planting  them  out,  keep  shifting  into 
larger  and  larger  pots,  until  it  is  time  to  stop,  and  allow 
the  plants  to  flower.  As  a  rule,  an  eight-inch  pot  is  large 
enough  for  a  very  fine  plant,  and  a  dozen  or  two  in  pots  of 
six-  to  eight-inch  size  may  be  turned  to  good  account  in 
the  conservatory.  When  grown  in  this  way,  they  must  have 
good  living  and  plenty  of  water,  be  protected  from  cold  and 
drying  winds,  and  excessive  heat,  but  always  have  the  fullest 
daylight  and  plenty  of  air.  If  they  appear  rather  too  long  in 
the  stem,  put  them  down  a  little  in  potting,  and  the  buried 
portion  of  the  stem  will  soon  throw  out  roots  to  the  ad- 
vantage of  the  flowers  that  are  coming.  They  require  no' 
stakes  and  no  shading,  and  if  the  foregoing  brief  directions 
are  fairly  well  carried  out,  that  is  all  you  need  do  to  them. 

The  reader  may  be  ready  to  exclaim,  "  I  see  nothing 
peculiar  in  this/'  and  the  reader  who  so  exclaims  is  quite 
in  the  right.  But  turn  to  the  books,  and  you  will  find  a 
complicated  process  prescribed,  and  so  in  balsam  growing 
the  lover  of  complications  may  be  gratified.  Here  is  an 
extract  from  a  respectable  book  of  reference,  and  there  is 
really  something  in  it : — "  When  you  cannot  accommodate 
any  but  the  best  flowers  in*  the  greenhouse,  adopt  the 
following  method.  After  pricking  out  into  three-  or  four- 
inch  pots,  and  plunging  them  in  the  bed,  allow  the  pots  to 


56  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

get  full  of  roots,  keep  them  drier  and  cooler,  and  give 
plenty  of  air,  which  will  soon  cause  flowers  to  appear ;  then 
select  plants  with  best  flowers,  rub  every  flower-bud  off 
them,  fresh  pot,  disentangling  the  roots  a  little  as  you 
proceed,  and  grow  them  on  as  advised  above;  and  what 
you  lose  in  time  you  will  make  up  in  selectness."  These 
directions  provide  for  a  check  by  allowing  the  plants  to 
become  pot-bound,  and  for  another  check  by  the  process 
of  rubbing  the  flower-buds  off,  so  as  to  compel  the  plants 
to  produce  another  crop.  And  what  is  the  result  ?  Tall, 
attenuated  plants,  with  poor  flowers  on  the  side  stems,  and 
no  fine  flowers  anywhere.  We  see  numerous  wretched  bal- 
sams at  flower  shows  that  have  been  grown  in  this  way. 
Now,  let  us  ask  Nature  about  it,  and  her  reply  will  be  that 
the  finest  flowers  are  the  first  produced,  and  appear  in  the 
centre  of  the  plant ;  therefore  the  removal  of  the  buds  is 
a  mistake,  and  the  imposition  of  any  check  is  a  mistake, 
and  there  is  no  balsam  so  beautiful  as  the  one  that  has 
been  generously  grown  and  allowed  to  flower  at  its  own 
time  and  in  its  own  way. 


YORK    AND    LANCASTER    ROSE 


YOEK  AND  LANCASTER 
EOSE. 

Rosa  Damascena . 

HY,  it  may  be  asked,  is  this  old 
favourite  of  the  English  garden 
presented  as  a  rose  of  Damas- 
cus? The  reason  is  that  the 
:  true  York  and  Lancaster  rose  is 
a  variety  of  Rosa  Damascena; 
and  if  in  this  little  work  we 
recognise  Latin  names  at  all, 
we  must  he  as  nearly  correct 
as  possible.  There  are  several 
distinct  roses  known  as  repra 
senting  the  two  great  families 
and  the  healing  of  their  feuds, 
one  of  the  best  known  being  a 
variety  of  Rosa  Gallica.  But 
the  "  proper  "  symbolic  flower  is  a  striped  damask  rose, 
with  green  branches  and  pubescent  leaves,  and  the  habit 
of  the  old  monthly  roses. 

As  Shakespeare  tells  the  tale  it  makes  a  profound  im- 
pression. We  see  the  foundations  of  the  feud  laid  in 
the  success  of  Bolingbroke  and  the  cruel  murder  of  the 
king  as  the  curtain  falls  on  the  fine  historical  tragedy 
of  "  Richard  II."  We  see  it  ripen  in  the  first  part  of 
"  King  Henry  VI."  in  the  famous  scene  in  the  Temple 


58  FAMILIAR    GARDEN  FLOWERS. 

Gardens,   where    the   white   and   red   roses   are    defiantly 
plucked  as  party  badges  : — 

"  Plantagenet.  Since  you  are  tongue-tied,  and  so  loath  to  speak, 
In  dumb  significants  proclaim  your  thoughts : 
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. 

"  Somerset.  Let  him  that  is  no  coward,  nor  no  flatterer, 
But  dare  maintain  the  party  of  the  truth, 
Pluck  a  red  rose  from  off  this  thorn  with  me. 

"  Warwick.  I  love  no  colours  ;  and,  without  all  colour 
Of  base  insinuating  flattery, 
I  pluck  this  white  rose  with  Plantagenet. 

"  Suffolk.  I  pluck  this  red  rose  with  young  Somerset ; 
And  say  withal,  I  think  he  held  the  right." 

Most  fittingly  the  scene  closes  with  the  prophecy  of 

Warwick — 

"  This  brawl  to-day, 

Grown  to  this  faction,  in  the  Temple  garden, 
Shall  send,  between  the  red  rose  and  the  white, 
A  thousand  souls  to  death  and  deadly  night." 

One  of  the  most  penetrating  and  pathetic  passages  in 
the  historical  plays  of  our  great  poet  occurs  in  the  third 
part  of  "Henry  VI."  (act  iiv  so.  4),  where  the  king  on  the 
wasted  field  beholds  first  a  son  that  has  killed  his  father, 
and  next  a  father  that  has  killed  his  son,  and  exclaims 
in  painful  soliloquy  over  the  dead  boy — 

"  Woe  above  woe  !  grief  more  than  common  grief ! 
O,  that  my  death  would  stay  these  ruthf ul  deeds ! 
0,  pity,  pity,  gentle  Heaven,  pity ! 
The  red  rose  and  the  white  are  on  his  face, 
The  fatal  colours  of  our  striving  houses : 
The  one,  his  purple  blood  right  well  resembles ; 
The  other,  his  pale  cheeks,  methinks,  presenteth : 
Wither  one  rose,  and  let  the  other  flourish  ; 
If  you  contend,  a  thousand  lives  must  wither." 


YORK  AND    LANCASTER   ROS£.  59 

It  is  with  a  sense  of  immense  relief  that  we  see  in  the 
death  of  Richard  III.  the  end  of  the  sanguinary  struggle, 
and  most  happily  does  that  tremendous  work  close  with 
the  healing  words  of  Henry  VII.,  when  upon  Bosworth 
Field  he  declares — 

"  The  day  is  ours,  the  bloody  dog  is  dead  !  " 

and  crowns  the  victory  with  an  act  of  clemency  and  an 
expression  of  pious  hope — 

''  Proclaim  a  pardon  to  the  soldiers  fled, 
That  in  submission  will  return  to  us  ; 
And  then,  as  we  have  ta'en  the  sacrament, 
We  will  unite  the  white  rose  and  the  red. 
Smile,  Heaven,  upon  this  fair  conjunction, 
That  long  hath  frown'd  upon  their  enmity ! 
What  traitor  hears  me,  and  says  not  Amen  ?  " 

Returning  to  our  flower,  it  will  be  observed  that  we 
have  wandered  far  away  from  it,  for  the  Wars  of  the  Roses 
were  represented  by  a  white  rose  for  Lancaster  and  a  red 
rose  for  York.  And  what  may  they  have  been  ?  In 
Shakespeare's  time  there  were  probably  many  kinds  of 
roses  in  the  Temple  Gardens,  but  it  was  not  so  in  the 
days  of  the  Plantagenets.  Then,  in  all  probability,  the 
only  roses  known  in  gardens  were  the  wild  roses  of  the 
woods.  Supposing  the  scene  which  Shakespeare  has  so 
filled  with  the  reality  of  life  to  be,  not  a  creation  of  his 
own,  but  a  scrap  of  genuine  history,  then  we  can  find 
no  other  roses  for  the  partisans  than  those  described  by 
Chaucer  as — 

"  The  bramble  flour  that  bereth  the  red  hepe  ;  " 

that  is,  the  dog  rose,  the  "  canker  of  the  hedge,"  which 
gives  in  one  thicket  flowers  of  the  most  delicate  rosy-pink 
hue,  and  in  another  flowers  of  the  purest  white.  They 


60  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

had  also  the  sweet-brier  rose,  with  its  elegant  carmine- 
coloured  flowers,  and  the  downy  rose,  with  its  neat  white 
flowers ;  the  emblems  of  the  pending  strife  were  not  want- 
ing, but  no  one  can  now  say  what  they  were. 

As  remarked  above,  there  are  two  roses  that  represent 
the  desire  of  Richmond  to  "  unite  the  white  rose  and 
the  red."  The  true  York  and  Lancaster  we  believe  to  be 
a  striped  damask  rose;  but  there  is  another  that  often 
bears  the  name,  the  proper  name  of  which  is  Rosa 
mundi,  and  its  alliance  is  with  the  French  rose  (Rosa 
Gallica}.  These  are  not  the  only  striped  roses  known  to 
cultivators,  for  in  truth  there  are  many ;  but  not  one  of 
the  throng  has  ever  been  much  prized  by  critical  enthu- 
siasts— that  is  to  say,  by  rosarians,  for  that  is  the  fashion- 
able designation  of  the  modern  rosomaniacs — to  which 
excitable  and  exacting  fraternity  the  writer  humbly  con- 
fesses his  attachment. 


i 


COMMON     MARIGOLD. 


THE  COMMON  MAEIGOLD. 

Calendula  officinalis. 

ROM  the  common  marigold  here 
faithfully  figured,  and  suggestive 
of  soup,  to  the  delicate  French 
marigold,  Tagetes  palida,  that  the 
florists  grow  for  exhibition,  and 
bring  to  a  perfection  of  geometric 
marking  that  makes  a  place  in 
floriculture  for  mathematics,  what 
a  stride  !  Fifty  years  and  more  ago 
a  flower  show  of  a  very  individual 
nature  engrossed  my  attention 
and  made  a  deep  impression  on  my 
mind.  It  consisted  entirely  of 
marigolds,  and  the  scene  was  the 
churchyard  of  St.  Botolph,  Aid- 
gate,  where  these  flowers  had  run  wild, 
and,  as  wild  things  are  wont  to  do, 
had  taken  care  to  keep  the  race  going, 
so  that  there  should  be  no  lack  of 
wild  marigolds  from  year  to  year,  for  in  truth  the 
ground  was  literally  covered  with  them  as  with  a  pave- 
ment of  stars  stamped  out  of  the  rinds  of  oranges.  At 
that  early  date  I  had  heard,  but  had  never  tasted,  of 
soup  flavoured  or  adorned — I  knew  not  which — with 


62  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

marigolds,  and  I  stole  and  munched  a  flower,  and  was 
lost  in  the  admiration  of  contempt  for  the  people  who 
could  put  such  trash  into  soup,  whether  for  flavouring, 
beautifying,  or  any  other  purpose.  My  father,  being 
a  florist  to  the  backbone,  would  not  tolerate  a  common 
marigold,  and  so  I  had  to  play  the  thief  to  gain  the 
knowledge  of  the  comparative  worthlessness  of  marigolds 
in  clear  ox-tail.  Within  a  few  weeks  of  writing  this  I 
have  had  to  judge  at  a  flower  show  where  the  study  of 
French  marigolds  occupied  me  nearly  an  hour  to  award 
the  prizes  to  my  satisfaction.  What  a  stride  !  But  Provi- 
dence gave  me  years  to  accomplish  it,  with  enjoyment  at 
the  beginning  and  the  end  and  at  all  the  intermediate 
stages.  To  stride  over  marigolds,  beginning  with  soup 
and  ending  with  the  fine  arts,  is  not  a  particularly  noble 
business,  but  one  might  do  worse;  one  might  be  M.P. 
for  Battle  Bridge,  for  example,  or  confessor  to  the  pirates 
of  the  Flowery  Land.  When  the  churchyard  marigolds 
enraptured  me  I  had  not  read  Shakespeare,  but  I  call  to 
mind  now  his  association  of  them  with  the  grave  in  the 
fourth  act  of  "  Pericles  "— 

Enter  MARINA,  with  a  basket  of  flowers. 
"  No,  I  will  rob  Tellus  of  her  weed, 
To  strew  thy  green  with  flowers :  the  yellows,  blues, 
The  purple  violets,  and  marigolds, 
Shall  as  a  carpet  hang  upon  thy  grave, 
While  summer-days  do  last.    Ay  me !  poor  maid, 
Born  in  a  tempest,  when  my  mother  died, 
This  world  to  me  is  like  a  lasting  storm, 
Whirring  me  from  my  friends." 

The  marigold  is  a  very  important  flower  to  the  senti- 
mental. "  As  the  marigold  to  the  sun's  eye,"  so  is  any- 
thing you  like  to  speak  of  for  its  constancy.  The  marigold 


THE  COMMON  MARIGOLD. 

is  a  "sunflower,"  and,  in  common  with  the  helianthus, 
is  said  never  to  turn  its  face  from  that  part  of  the  heavens 
where  the  sun  is,  whether  seen  or  invisible.  In  the 
"Winter's  Tale/'  Shakespeare  speaks  of  "the  marigold 
that  goes  to  bed  with  the  sun  and  with  him  rises  weep- 
ing/' a  state  of  things  that  necessitates  the  facing  of  the 
flower  to  the  northern  regions  of  the  heavens  all  through 
the  night.  One  of  the  most  beautiful  of  the  poetical 
fancies,  founded  on  the  idea  of  a  flower  following  the  sun, 
is  the  little  poem  by  George  Wither : — 

"  When,  with  a  serious  musing,  I  behold 
The  gratef  ull  and  obsequious  marigold, 
How  duely,  ev'ry  morning,  she  display es 
Her  open  brest,  when  Titan  spreads  his  rayes ; 
How  she  observes  him  in  his  daily  walke, 
Still  bending  towards  him  her  tender  stalke ; 
How  when  he  downe  declines,  she  droopes  and  moumes. 
Bedew'd  (as  't  were)  with  teares,  till  he  returnes ; 
And  how  she  vailes  her  flow'rs,  when  he  is  gone, 
As  if  she  scorned  to  be  looked  on 
By  an  inferiour  eye  ;  or,  did  contemne 
To  wayt  upon  a  meaner  light,  then  him. 
When  this  I  meditate,  me-thinkes,  the  flowers 
Have  spirits,  farre  more  generous,  then  ours; 
And  give  us  fair  examples,  to  despise 
The  servile  fawnings,  and  idolatries, 
Wherewith  we  court  these  earthly  things  below, 
Which  merit  not  the  service  we  bestow." 

Florists'  marigolds  are  very  delicate  things.  The  Afri- 
cans we  will  not  speak  of,  because  anybody  can  grow  them, 
and  they  are  horribly  coarse ;  but  the  French  are  delicate 
things,  and  worthy  of  all  reasonable  care  to  ensure  fine 
quality.  And  yet  with  these  the  chief  matter  is  to  get 
good  seed,  for  the  qualities  the  severe  judges  of  flowers 


64  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

require  are  more  the  result  of  hybridism  and  selection  than 
what  we  understand  by  the  term  "cultivation/'  But 
having1  secured  the  seed,  sow  it  in  a  gentle  hot-bed  in 
April,  or  in  pots  some  time  in  May,  in  which  case  a  hot- 
bed will  not  be  wanted,  as  the  seed  will  soon  germinate 
in  a  common  frame.  Prick  out  the  young -plants  into 
boxes,  filled  with  light  rich  earth,  as  soon  as  they  are 
large  enough  to  handle ;  and  very  soon  after,  the  plants 
being  stout  and  healthy,  put  them  out  in  a  bed  open  to 
the  full  sun,  and  carefully  water  and  shade  until  they 
begin  to  grow  freely,  and  then  give  no  more  shade  and 
no  more  water  unless  the  summer  happens  to  be  very 
hot  and  dry,  in  which  case  you  must  water  regularly 
and  copiously — say,  to  soak  the  bed  well  twice  or  thrice  a 
week. 


JESSAMINE 


THE   JESSAMINE. 

Jasminum  officinale. 

ASMIN  THE  TROUBADOUR, 

who  happily  hails  from  Agen, 
"  content    and    poor/'    makes 
boast  of  his  name  as  allied  to 
the  "  stem  of  Jesse."    For  this 
plant    is  variously  called  Jas- 
mine,   Jessamine,   and    Jesse : 
its  Arabic  name  being  Ysmyn, 
and  its  Persian  name  Jdsemin. 
And  it  is  a  question  of  some 
interest   whether,    in  the  pro- 
phetic utterances,  "  the  stem/' 
"  the    root/'    "  the   rod/'   and 
"  the    branch "  of  Jesse  were 
associated  with  any  plant  that 
had    the   value  of   a    symbol. 
It    is  not  an  idle   question,  as   may  be 
seen  on  reference   to   the  tree  of  Jesse 
in  the  east  window  at  Dorchester,  Oxon ; 
for  however  the  artist  may  draw  on  his 
imagination  in  such  a  work,  he  is  likely  to  be  governed 
by  an   idea   derived   from   a   consideration    of  facts,  and 
the  jessamine,  if  admissible  in  such  a  case,  is  peculiarly 
I 


66  FAMILIAR    GARDEN    FLOWERS. 

adapted  for  truthful  delineation  in  conventional  tracery. 
The  tree  of  Jesse  is  indeed  often  met  with  in  the  reredos 
and  east  windows  of  English  churches,  and  usually  we 
have  no  hint  of  any  special  symbol  or  any  properly  objec- 
tive thought  in  the  work,  although,  doubtless,  there  is  fair 
excuse  for  it. 

The  white  jessamine  has  been  in  cultivation  in  this 
country  so  long  that  we  have  no  record  of  its  introduction, 
and  know  not  whence  it  was  obtained.  In  the  books  it  is 
reported  to  have  been  introduced  from  the  East  Indies  in 
the  year  1548,  but  Gerarde,  in  1597,  speaks  of  it  as  com- 
monly used  for  covering  arbours;  and  as  to  its  native 
country,  we  can  scarcely  localise  it,  except  in  a  general 
way,  as  an  Eastern  plant.  It  is  perfectly  hardy  in  this 
country,  rarely  suffering  even  in  the  severest  winters,  and 
it  is  particularly  well  adapted  for  planting  in  town  gardens, 
as  defect  of  light  and  the  deposition  of  dust  on  its  leaves 
do  not  prevent  its  healthy  growth  and  free  flowering.  As 
a  wall  tree,  however,  it  lacks  character,  and  often  looks 
dingy  and  dejected ;  but  if  fairly  well  taken  care  of,  the 
natural  elegance  of  the  plant  is  pleasingly  displayed,  and 
the  delicious  fragrance  of  its  delicate  white  flowers  abund- 
antly justifies  its  place  in  the  garden. 

To  obtain  the  evanescent  odour  of  the  flowers  of  this 
plant,  a  complicated  process  is  required.  To  merely  press 
them  or  to  distil  them  with  water  would  be  useless,  the 
essential  essence  being  too  subtle  for  retention  by  any 
such  simple  methods  of  procedure.  The  flowers  are  first 
embedded  in  fat,  to  which  they  communicate  their  odorous 
treasure,  which  is  then  separated  from  the  fat,  and  obtained 
in  a  more  elegant  form  by  means  of  alcohol.  The  last  part 
of  the  process  is  comparatively  modern,  but  the  first  pro- 


THE    JESSAMINE.  67 

cess  is  as  old  as  the  use  of  perfumes,,  and  explains  the 
frequent  employment  of  ointments  by  the  ancients;  for 
many  of  the  odorous  essences  they  coveted  were  obtainable 
only  by  the  aid  of  greasy  substances,  which  served  as 
vehicles  for  separating-  and  preserving  them. 

The  most  important  species  of  Jasminum  in  respect  of 
the  production  of  commercial  perfumes  are  /.  officinale, 
which  is  here  figured ;  /.  sambac,  a  native  of  the  East  Indies, 
producing  white  flowers,  which  are  followed  by  black  berries. 
— the  perfume  known  as  oil  of  jasmine  is  obtained  from  this 
species  ;  and  /.  grandiflorum,  also  a  native  of  the  East 
Indies,  and  closely  resembling  /.  officmale,  but  the  flowers 
are  larger,  and  reddish  "underneath ;  from  this  is  obtained  a 
very  considerable  proportion  of  the  essential  oil  of  jasmine 
of  the  shops.  A  favourite  garden  jasmine  in  the  East  is 
J.  angiistifolium,  a  bright  twining  plant,  with  star-shaped 
flowers  tinged  with  red,  and  very  agreeably  fragrant.  It 
is  somewhat  singular  that  when  these  plants  are  grown  in 
our  conservatories  they  do  not  appear  to  attract  many 
insects,  nor  does  the  fragrant  jessamine  of  the  garden  often 
enjoy  the  honour  of  a  visit  from  a  busy  bee  or  an  idle 
butterfly ;  but  Moore,  with  his  exquisite  taste  in  matters 
of  detail,  makes  the  jasmine  of  Asia  Minor  the  resort  of 
many  gay  insects,  attracted  by  the  rare  fragrance  of  its 
flowers.  In  his  delightful  story  of  "  Paradise  and  the 
Peri/'  he  makes  the  "  child  of  air/'  when  searching  for 
"  the  gift  that  is  most  dear  to  heaven/'  betake  her  amongst 
the  bovvers  of  the  "chambers  of  the  sun" — 


"  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 ; 


68  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

Chasing,  with  eager  hands  and  eyes, 
The  beautiful  blue  damsel-flies, 
That  flutter'd  round  the  jasmine  stems 
Like  winged  flow'rs  or  flying  gems." 

Cowper,  who  better  understood  the  garden  than  any  English 
poet,  Shakespeare  alone  excepted,  gives  us  a  photograph  of 
the  plant  in  four  short  lines — 

"The  jasmine,  throwing  wide  her  elegant  sweets, 
The  deep  dark  green  of  whose  un varnish' d  leaf 
Makes  more  conspicuous  and  illumines  more 
The  bright  profusion  of  her  scatter'd  stars." 


BLUE    SAGE. 


THE   BLUE   SAGE. 

Salvia  patens. 

HE  light  of  other  days  is  faded, 
and  the  blue  salvia  is  no  longer 
in  high  renown  as  a  wonder 
amongst  bedding  plants.  It 
has  filled  as  many  pages  of 
print  as  the  crimson  flax,  but 
now  the  horticultural  writers 
have  nothing  to  say  about  it, 
and  appear,  indeed,  to  have  for- 
gotten its  gay  existence.  It 
might  have  been  famous  to  this 
day  if  it  could  but  have 
stooped  to  conquer,  but  it  was 
always  too  tall  for  its  place, 
and  carried  its  colours  care- 
lessly, as  if  seeking  the  bubble 
reputation  were  a  pastime  for 
such  meaner  ones  as  without 
seeking  would  never  outwin  reputation  at  all.  But  we 
must  be  wise  about  it,  and  endeavour  to  earn  our  wages. 

The  blue  salvia  is  a  tall-growing,  loosely -branched,  un- 
tidy plant  that  may  be  grown  equally  well  in  the  green- 
house or  the  stove.  For  summer  bloom  the  greenhouse 
suffices,  and  during  the  warmer  portions  of  the  summer 


70  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS, 

the  plant  will,  if  properly  managed,  flower  freely  in  the 
open  air.  If  winter  flowers  are  required,  the  plant  must 
be  in  the  stove,  where,  if  fairly  dealt  with,  it  will  rise  to  a 
height  of  ten  or  twelve  feet,  and  make  a  very  delightful 
display  of  its  intensely  blue  flowers,  in  which  the  blue  of 
the  delphinium — the  rarest  colour  in  nature,  save  in  the 
vast  firmament  above — is  developed  in  power  and  purity. 

Salvia  patens  may  be  raised  from  seed  with  ease  and 
certainty.  If  it  is  sown  in  sandy  soil  in  shallow  pans  and 
boxes  early  in  February,  and  placed  in  the  stove  or  on  a 
common  hotbed,  the  plants  may  be  grown  to  a  sufficient 
size  to  make  a  good  display  in  the  flower  garden  the  same 
season.  It  will  be  necessary  to  pot  them  into  small  pots, 
and  keep  them  in  a  warm  pit  or  greenhouse  until  the 
middle  of  May,  when  they  should  be  transferred  to  a  cold 
frame,  and  have  more  and  more  air  by  degrees,  but  with 
very  great  care  in  the  first  instance,  the  object  of  this 
treatment  being  to  render  them  hardy  enough  to  bear  full 
exposure  before  they  are  finally  planted  out  The  bed 
should  be  in  a  sunny  situation,  well  drained,  and  the  soil 
somewhat  sandy.  To  plant  them  out  before  the  first  week 
of  June  would  be  unwise,  but  as  soon  after  that  time 
as  possible  they  should  be  consigned  to  their  blooming 
quarters,  and  should  be  at  a  distance  apart  of  not  less 
than  nine  to  twelve  inches. 

The  plants  can  be  kept  from  year  to  year  by  lifting 
the  roots  after  the  tops  have  been  cut  down  by  frost,  and 
storing  them  in  sand  during  the  winter.  Early  in  the 
spring  these  roots  should  be  planted  in  boxes  or  pans  filled 
with  light  soil,  and  be  placed  in  a  moderate  heat  to  start 
them  into  growth.  They  will  soon  produce  young  shoots, 
which,  when  two  or  three  inches  in  length,  may  be  taken 


THE    BLUE    SAGE,    •  71 

off  as  cuttings,  and  will  soon  strike  in  a  temperature  of  70°. 
This  practice  may  be  varied  by  lifting-  and  potting  the 
plants  before  the  frost  has  defaced  them,  in  which  case 
they  must  be  wintered  in  a  warm  greenhouse  or  the  cool 
end  of  the  stove,  and  have  but  moderate  supplies  of  water 
until  they  begin  to  grow  freely  in  the  spring.  At  the 
time  of  potting,  superfluous  shoots  may  be  removed  and 
struck,  but  the  autumn  is  an  inconvenient  season  for  pro- 
pagating this  sal  via. 

The  crimson  salvia  (S.  splendens)  and  the  small 
8.  coccinea,  are  about  equally  well  adapted  for  bedding 
as  S.  patens,  but  they  are  all  so  diffuse  in  habit  that  to 
employ  them  to  advantage  requires  more  than  ordinary 
taste  and  judgment.  S.  coccinea  answers  admirably  to 
grow  from  seed  as  an  annual,  as  when  so  managed  it  does 
not  grow  much  more  than  a  foot  high,  and  it  blooms 
freely  from  July  to  October. 

For  the  greenhouse  and  conservatory  the  following 
species  of  salvia  may  be  especially  recommended  : — The 
narrow-leaved  (S.  angustifolia) ,  flowers  blue,  appearing  in 
May  -,  the  light  blue  (S.  azurea],  flowering  from  August  to 
October;  the  scarlet  (S.  fulgens],  a  fine  plant,  producing 
a  grand  show  of  scarlet  flowers  in  August ;  the  white 
patens  (S.  patens  alba) ,  a  variety  of  the  plant  represented 
in  the  plate.  It  is  useful  as  a  greenhouse  plant,  but  is 
scarcely  effective  as  a  bedder. 

A  remarkably  fine  group  of  salvias  were  some  time 
ago  brought  into  notice  by  Mr.  H.  Cannell,  of  Swanley. 
We  happily  received  grand  spikes  of  bloom  of  three  of 
these,  and  therefore  can  speak- of  them  as  flowering  well 
in  the  autumn.  Salvia  Pitcheri  produces  a  profusion  of 
flowers  of  the  most  pure  and  brilliant  blue,  and  will  flower 


72  FAMILIAR    GARDEN  FLOWERS. 

all  the  winter  in  the  conservatory.  S.  Betkeli  has  bril- 
liant scarlet  flowers ;  S.  splendens  Bruanti  also  has  scarlet 
flowers;  S.  Hovei/i  has  flowers  of  an  exquisite  tone  of  violet 
or  satiny  purple.  These  four  may  be  considered  the  most 
useful  of  all  the  salvias  in  cultivation. 

A  few  other  kinds  deserve  mention.  S.  tricolor  is  a  sweet 
little  gem,  with  white  tube  and  mouth,  and  the  upper  lip 
purple,  the  lower  lip  scarlet — a  bit  of  Nature's  fancy  work 
in  painting-  that  appears  intended  to  mock  the  human 
painters  of  flowers.  Thirty  years  ago  we  used  to  see  in 
the  gardens  two  curious  salvias,  named  respectively  S. 
bracteata  and  S.  horminum,  which  are  remarkable  because 
their  conspicuous  features  are  their  coloured  bracts,  the 
flowers  of  both  being  blue. 


INDIAN     PINK. 


THE   INDIAN   PINK. 

Dianthns  Chinensis. 

ARIABILITY  is  a  common  cha- 
racteristic of  garden  flowers,  and 
is  the  quality  on  which  depends 
very  much  of  the  interest  they 
excite  in  the  mind  of  the  florist. 
A  flower  that  continues  constant 
to  its  typical  character,  or  but 
rarely  manifests  a  capability  of 
varying-,  will  never  attain  to  high 
popularity,  no  matter  how  splen- 
did may  be  its  appearance  when 
in  full  dress.  The  Indian  pink 
possesses  the  charming  property 
of  changeableness  in  an  especial 
degree,  and  the  consequence  is 
that  our  gardens  abound  with  distinct  and  rich  varie- 
ties that  in  some  instances  are  so  far  removed  from  the 
type  that  the  relationship  can  only  be  determined  by 
the  trained  eye  of  the  critical  botanist.  The  splendid 
forms  known  as  Dianthus  Heddewegi,  D.  giganteus,  and 
D.  laciniatus  are  all  sub-sections,  or  "  strains/'  of  D. 
Chinensis,  and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  if  they  were  at  this 
moment  destroyed,  they  could  be  reproduced  from  the 
species  within  the  lifetime  of  an  earnest  florist  who  should 


74  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

have  the  good  fortune  to  begin  early  and  be  spared  to 
labour  late  in  developing  the  variability  of  this  gay  and 
useful  plant.  In  its  simple,  and  for  present  purposes  we 
may  say  original  state,  as  the  common  Indian  pink,  it  is 
surely  the  cheapest  and  most  beautiful  of  all  our  hardy 
annuals ;  but  in  its  improved  condition  it  ranks  as  a 
florist's  flower,  and  we  name  the  finest  examples  and  regard 
them  as  perennials  because  they  are  propagated  from  cut- 
tings. In  the  books  the  Indian  pink  is  a  biennial,  being 
so  classed  because  it  is  usually  sown  in  summer  to  flower 
the  next  summer,  and  having  flowered,  dies.  But  it  has 
been  our  rule  to  sow  the  seed  early  in  a  frame,  and  put 
the  plants  out  in  a  bed  of  light  rich  soil  in  the  month  of 
May,  and  have  them  gloriously  in  flower  from  July  to  the 
end  of  the  season  :  thus  it  becomes  an  annual.  But  it 
does  not  of  necessity  die  after  the  first  season's  flowering, 
for  on  a  dry  soil  it  will  live  many  years,  if  the  dead  flowers 
are  removed,  so  as  to  prevent  the  swelling  of  seed-pods : 
thus  it  becomes  a  perennial.  A  majority  of  so-called 
"biennials"  may  be  treated  as  annuals  or  perennials  at  the 
discretion  of  the  cultivator.  Of  all  the  common  plants,  the 
life-term  of  which  may  be  thus  contracted  or  prolonged  at 
pleasure,  the  most  interesting,  perhaps,  is  the  mignonette. 
As  usually  treated  it  is  an  annual ;  but  we  have  had 
immense  mignonette  trees  that  have  lived  fifteen  years, 
and  become  quite  woody  and  venerable,  the  one  secret  of 
keeping  them  so  long  being  the  systematic  prevention  of 
seeding.  Allow  them  to  swell  a  fair  crop  of  seeds,  and 
away  they  go.  Do  not  allow  a  single  seed-pod  to  swell, 
and  in  all  probability  a '  mignonette  plant  would  live  as 
long  as  its  owner,  and  then  become  an  "  heirloom/'  or  more 
likely  a  "  white  elephant/'  to  another  possessor. 


THE   INDIAN   PINK.  75 

'The  Indian  pink  was  introduced  about  1713  by  a 
French,  missionary  named  Bignon,  and  soon  became  a 
popular  garden  flower.  The  plant  has  a  singularly  frail 
appearance,  and  yet  it  is  by  no  means  tender  in  constitu- 
tion. The  narrow  glaucous  leaves,  too,  seem  out  of  pro- 
portion to  its  large  and  richly-coloured  flowers,  a  quality 
which  may  be  termed  "  alpine/'  for  the  plants  of  the 
mountains  commonly  produce  flowers  of  immense  size  in 
proportion  to  the  herbage  that  sustains  them.  Any  ordi- 
nary good  soil  will  suit  this  plant,  but  excessive  damp  in 
winter  is  to  be  carefully  avoided  by  the  cultivator,  and 
therefore,  when  grown  on  a  heavy  soil,  the  stock  should 
either  be  wintered  in  pots  and  boxes  in  a  frame,  or  in  a 
bed  in  a  pit,  or,  if  in  the  open,  a  raised  bed  should  be  pre- 
pared for  them  consisting  of  good  loam  with  a  considerable 
proportion  of  sand.  From  this  they  may  be  transplanted 
in  April  to  the  beds  or  borders  in  which  they  are  to  flower. 
But  this  is  beginning  at  the  wrong  end,  because  it  pre- 
supposes the  possession  of  plants.  The  very  best  way  to 
obtain  a  stock  is  to  sow  seed  in  an  open  border  or  cold 
frame  in  May  or  June.  If  the  plants  are  required  to  flower 
as  early  as  possible  the  same  season,  sow  in  February 
or  March  in  pots  or  pans,  and  place  on  a  hotbed  or  in 
a  warm  house,  and  as  soon  as  the  seedlings  have  made 
a  little  progress,  prick  them  out  into  boxes  and  nurse 
them  with  care,  and  plant  out  early  in  May. 

It  is  singular  that  the  word  "  pink  "  is  so  various  in  its 
meaning,  that  it  may  be  cited  as  one  of  the  wonders  of 
philology.  We  talk  of  the  "pink  of  perfection;"  and  a 
flower  does  not  cease  to  be  a  pink  though  its  colour  may 
be  white,  purple,  or  even  yellow.  Whitsunday  is  a  ' '  pink 
day/'  but  the  term  Pentecost  does  not  mean  either  a 


76  FAMILIAR    GARDEN  FLOWERS. 

White  Sunday  or  a  Pink  Sunday,  but  simply  the  "  fiftieth/' 
From  "Pentecost/'  however,  we  have  not  only  the  name  of  a 
festival  of  the  Church,  but  the  name  of  a  flower  and  of  a 
colour,  and  of  a  process  that  has  melancholy  suggestions 
— that  of  "  pinking/'  By  a  roundabout  but  not  uncertain 
process,  a  pink  becomes  an  eye,  and  also  anything  that 
glitters.  The  French  term  for  the  flower  is  ceillet,  an  eye, 
or  eyelet,  and  it  is  in  accordance  with  the  most  common 
mutations  of  words  to  find  thatj0tȣ  is  a  merely  sharpened 
form  of  the  older  word  link,  and  this  again  a  departure 
from  wink,  and,  following  this  up,  we  attain  to  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  wincian,  or,  as  we  have  it  in  common  parlance, 
winking,  a  movement  of  the  lids  of  the  eyes.  A  pilot's 
boat  is  sometimes  called  a  "  pink,"  and  the  scar  resulting 
from  a  wound  is  also  called  by  the  same  name.  Thus,  in 
Cowper's  expostulation,  "  pink'd "  means  marked  with 

stabs — 

"  He  found  thee  savage,  and  he  left  thee  tame ; 
Taught  thee  to  clothe  thy  pink'd  and  painted  hide, 
And  grace  thy  figure  with  a  soldier's  pride." 


GLADIOLUS. 


THE    GLADIOLUS. 

Gladiolus  gandavensis. 

T  is  a  mere  compliance  with 
custom  to  label  this  flower 
Gladiolus  gandavensis,  for  that 
is  the  name  of  an  early  hybrid 
between  G.  cardinalis  and  G.  psit- 
tacinus,  raised  many  years  ago 
in  a  Belgian  garden.  Eut  it  is 
scarcely  worth  while  to  discuss 
technicalities  or  draw  fine  lines, 
and  we  prefer  to  talk  about  the 
gladiolus  as  a  beauty  to  be  wooed 
in  the  pleasant  days  of  the  after- 
summer. 

The  florist's  varieties  consti- 
tute a  large  and  separate  class, 
and  are  usually  designated  "hy- 
bi'ids  of  gandavensis/'  although 
they  owe  their  ^origin  to  several 
species  and  to  many  and  repeated 
crossings.  To  grow  these  well 
requires  some  care;  but  they  are 
worthy  of  all  attention,  so  various  and  splendid  are 
their  flowers.  In  the  first  place,  then,  it  must  be  said 
that  they  are  not  hardy,  and  therefore  it  will  not  do  to 
leave  them  in  the  ground  all  the  winter.  We  have 


78  FAMILIAR    GARDEN  FLOWERS. 

tried  this  many  times,  and  although  many  roots  sur- 
vived the  ordeal,  they  were  rendered  worthless  by  it. 
Nor  is  it  well  to  plant  them  in  February  or  March, 
as  advised  in  some  of  the  books;  for  if  the  spring  is 
wet  and  cold  they  rot  in  the  ground,  and  if  it  is  dry 
and  warm  they  grow  too  soon,  and  their  tender  green 
tops  are  liable  to  be  cut  off  by  frost  in  April  and  May. 
Keep  the  corms  or  roots  in  sand,  in  a  dry,  cool  place,  until 
about  the  middle  of  March,  and  then  pot  them  singly  in 
thumb-pots,  or  in  three-inch  pots  at  the  utmost.  First 
cover  the  hole  in  the  pot  with  a  convex  potsherd,  hollow 
side  downwards,  or  with  two  or  three  small  pieces  of  coke 
or  cinder.  Then  put  in  compost  to  the  depth  of  about  two 
inches ;  on  this  place  the  corm,  and  fill  in,  and  press  a  little 
firm  all  round,  and  finally  cover  to  within  a  quarter  of  an 
inch  of  the  rim  of  the  pot.  The  compost  may,  with 
advantage,  consist  of  equal  parts  of  mellow  loam,  leaf- 
mould,  very  old  rotten  hotbed  soil,  and  silver-sand.  But 
this  precise  formula  need  not  be  followed,  because  any  light 
compost  will  answer  the  purpose,  if  sweet  and  nourishing. 
Pack  the  pots  in  a  frame,  or  under  the  stage  of  a  green- 
house, give  them  one  watering,  and  leave  them  untouched 
for  a  fortnight  at  least.  By  that  time,  probably,  the 
growth  will  be  spearing  through.  In  such  case  they  must 
have  light  and  aiir,  and  a  very  suitable  place  for  them  will 
be  the  stage  of  a  cool  greenhouse,  or  to  continue  in  the 
frame,  and  to  have  regular  attention  in  respect  of  watering 
and  air-giving.  Be  careful  to  avoid  extremes.  Keen  east 
winds,  sharp  frost,  very  much  moisture,  continued  cold 
and  damp,  are  all  more  or  less  to  be  feared  as  dangerous. 
It  is  but  little  they  will  require;  the  matter  of  main  im- 
portance is  to  keep  a  watch  on  them. 


THE    GLADIOLUS.  79 

You  must  now  prepare  for  planting  out.  The  bed 
should  be  in  an  open,  sunny,  though  sheltered  situation, 
and  the  soil  should  be  deep  and  mellow,  and  rich  in  humus. 
A  heavy,  pasty,  or  lumpy  soil  will  not  do.  Gladioli  will 
grow  finely  in  peat,  and  still  more  finely  in  a  hazelly 
loam,  continuing  abundance  of  rotted  turf,  and  a  moderate 
amount  of  old  hotbed  soil.  Many  natural  soils  which 
may  be  described  as  sandy  loam  will  grow  them  well 
without  any  aid  whatever ;  but  we  have  noticed  that  the 
most  successful  growers  prepare  the  ground  with  care, 
and  put  in  a  pretty  liberal  dressing  of  well-rotted  farm- 
yard manure. 

The  best  time  to  plant  out  is  just  when  the  pots  are 
full  of  roots,  and  will  turn  out  without  breaking.  Then 
make  your  plantation,  and  if  the  weather  be  dry  give 
water  every  evening  for  a  week,  after  which  discontinue 
watering  for  a  week  or  so,  unless  the  weather  sets  in 
unusually  dry  and  hot,  in  which  case  the  water-pot  must 
be  kept  going.  In  a  run  of  ten  years,  during  which  we 
flowered  all  the  varieties,  we  managed  to  do  well  without 
often  resorting  to  the  water-pot.  We  had  our  plants 
nicely  rooted  in  small  pots,  and  put  them  out  in  showery 
weather,  and  did  little  more  for  them  than  to  keep  the 
ground  clear  of  weeds  and  afford  aid  as  required  in  staking 
and  tying;  and  the  bloom  was  always  of  good  average 
quality,  and  sometimes  more  than  that. 

In  respect  of  taking  up  the  corms,  it  is  very  important 
to  remark  that  you  may  incur  serious  loss  by  waiting 
until  the  leaves  die  down,  for  in  a  mild,  moist  autumn  they 
will  keep  green  until  near  Christmas ;  meanwhile,  perhaps, 
the  roots,  being  moist  when  they  ought  to  be  dry,  become 
diseased,  and  this  is  manifested  in  the  next  season  in 


80  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

various  unpleasant  ways.  Therefore,  when  there  comes 
over  the  plantation  a  certain  amount  of  yellowness,  and 
the  leaves  look  as  if  they  would  die  if  they  could,  and 
are  only  prevented  by  reason  of  the  "  growing  weather," 
hesitate  no  longer,  but  lift  them,  and  lay  them  in  lots  of 
a  sort  in  a  dry  shed,  with  as  much  earth  about  them  as 
adheres  naturally,  and  in  the  course  of  a  week  afterwards 
clean  them  by  removing  leaves  and  roots,  and  store  in  sand. 
It  is  a  delightful  task  to  raise  gladioli  from  seeds.  To 
obtain  the  seeds  is  an  easy  matter,  but  artificial  fertilisation 
should  be  practised  to  render  the  work  complete.  Sow  the 
seed  in  spring  in  shallow  pans,  which  should  be  placed  in  a 
moderate  heat.  When  the  grass  appears,  give  air  cautiously ; 
and  when  the  season  is  sufficiently  advanced,  place  them 
out  of  doors,  and  let  them  finish  the  first  season's  growth 
in  the  seed-pans.  Put  these  away  untouched  in  a  dry 
place  for  the  winter.  In  the  month  of  March  following 
sift  the  soil  and  separate  the  corms,  and  plant  these  in  pans, 
and  treat  them  as  described  above  for  the  flowering  corms. 
A.t  the  end  of  May  plant  them  out. 


VIRGINIAN    STOCK. 


THE    VIRGINIA    STOCK. 

Malcomia  maritima. 

O  humble  a  flower  is  this  that  we 
should  despair  of  making  a  suffi- 
cient vindication  to  justify  the 
picture,  but,  happily,  it  is  a  repre- 
sentative of  a  very  important  class 
of  garden  flowers  —  the  hardy 
annuals — with  which  most  ama- 
teurs make  an  agreeable  beginning 
in  garden  experiences.  It  is  a 
cruciferous  or  cross-flowered  plant, 
and  in  that  respect  might  claim  a 
lot  of  attention ;  for  the  wallflower, 
the  stock,  the  aubrietia,  the  rocket, 
and  the  cabbage  are  cruciferous, 
and  have  some  striking  properties 
in  common. 

Hardy  annuals  are  the  cheapest 
flowers  in  the  world;  many  of  them  are  gay, 
and  last  long,  and  are  delightfully  fragrant, 
and  all  of  them  are  interesting  and  pleasing  more  or 
less.  It  is  usual  to  sow  the  seeds  of  these  flowers  in  the 
month  of  March  in  patches  along  the  borders,  and  the 
ciistomary  practice  answers  very  well.  The  weak  point  in 
the  practice,  for  the  most  part,,  consists  in  sowing  too  many 


82  FAMILIAR   GARDEN  FLOWERS. 

seeds  and  leaving  too  many  plants  in  a  clump,  for,  being 
crowded,  they  never  acquire  a  proper  degree  of  strength ; 
and  hence,  if  they  flower  freely,  the  flowers  are  small  and 
are  soon  over.  When  walking  round  the  kitchen  garden, 
you  will  sometimes  see  a  stray  plant  of  parsley  in  the 
cabbage  or  onion  plot,  and  it  is  sure  to  be  robust  and 
handsome,  so  that  a  punnet  may  be  filled  with  its  beau- 
tiful leaves,  and  still  leave  the  plant  looking  pretty  well. 
The  reason  this  stray  plant  is  so  strong,  while  the  parsley 
sown  in  the  row  next  the  walk  is  quite  lean  as  compared 
with  it,  is  that  it  has  enjoyed  plenty  of  air  and  light,  as  is 
the  way  of  vagabonds ;  and  hence  their  rude  health  and  easy 
endurance  of  circumstances  that  would  kill  the  pampered 
ones  right  away.  Now  and  then  a  stray  plant  of  Virginia 
stock  may  be  seen  in  like  manner,  and  then  what  a  plant  it 
is !  We  have  met  with  single  plants  measuring  six  to  nine 
inches  across — a  dense  mass  of  healthy  herbage,  completely 
smothered  with  flowers  half  as  large  again  as  those  produced 
on  the  thin,  wiry  plants  where  they  are  crowded  in  clumps 
on  the  regulation  pattern.  And  yet  this  lesson,  so  obvious 
and  so  forcibly  taught  by  nature,  amateur  gardeners  are 
very  slow  to  learn,  and  they  will  go  on  sowing  Virginia 
stock  and  mignonette  as  if  they  would  pave  the  ground 
with  the  seed  ;  and,  when  the  plants  are  up,  will  throw 
away  the  second  chance  of  success  by  refusing  to  thin 
the  plants,  as  they  should,  to  from  three  to  six  inches 
apart. 

Annuals  are  occasionally  grown  in  first-rate  style,  and 
if  well  selected  are,  in  the  early  part  of  the  summer,  re- 
markably effective.  There  is  almost  only  one  point  of 
importance  in  the  practice,  and  it  consists  in  sowing  the 
seeds  in  the  autumn. 


THE    VIRGINIA    STOCK.  83 

Let  us  now  address  ourselves  to  this  subject.  When 
annuals  are  sown  in  autumn,  it  should  be  on  poor,  dry 
ground.  The  object  is  to  build  up  the  plant  slowly,  as  a 
mountaineer  that  is  thinly  fed  becomes  sturdy  through 
constant  exposure  to  all  the  airs  of  heaven  more  than  by 
the  aid  of  such  nourishments  as  are  strewn  in  the  lap  of 
luxury.  The  time  of  sowing  must  be  regulated  by  the 
latitude  and  local  circumstances  :  in  the  far  north,  the  end 
of  July  is  none  too  soon;  in  the  midlands,  the  middle  of 
August  is  soon  enough ;  in  the  south,  the  sowing  may  be 
prudently  delayed  until  September ;  and  in  the  far  south, 
where  geraniums  often  live  through  the  winter,  October  is 
soon  enough.  The  object  of  sowing  in  autumn  is  to  give 
the  plant  the  longest  possible  time  to  accumulate  the  sub- 
stance requisite  to  the  production  of  flowers.  But  if  we 
sow  too  early  for  the  district,  the  plants  may  become  stout 
and  succulent  before  the  winter  frost  occurs,  and  when  the 
frost  comes  it  may  kill  them.  Hence  the  necessity  of  in 
some  degree  adapting  the  season  of  sowing  to  the  averages 
of  the  local  climate. 

The  safest  mode  of  procedure  is  to  sow  in  an  open  spot, 
on  poor  soil,  and  thin  the  plants  to  about  two  inches  apart 
before  they  touch  one  another.  In  spring,  when  the  weather 
is  favourable,  transplant  them  to  the  spots  whereon  they  are 
required  to  flower,  and  do  this  as  early  as  possible,  that  they 
may  become  well  established  before  they  begin  to  throw  up 
their  flowers.  In  a  mild,  open  season  the  middle  of  February 
is  none  too  soon  for  this  work ;  but  it  should  anywhere  be 
completed  before  March  is  out. 

In  places  much  exposed,  where  there  might  be  a  risk  of 
losing  the  stock  in  the  winter,  the  seed  may  be  sown  on 
beds  made  up  for  the  purpose  in  turf  pits.  In  this  case 


84  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

they  must   have   plenty   of    air    to    keep  them   short   in 
statm-e  and  hardy  in  constitution. 

The  following  are  the  most  useful  sorts  of  annuals  for 
sowing  in  autumn  : — Calandrinia  grandiftora,  rich  purple, 
twelve  inches  in  height;  C.  speciosa,  purple,  twelve  inches; 
Calliopsis  bicolor,  golden  yellow,  three  feet ;  Clarkia  elegans, 
lilac,  two  feet ;  C.  pulchella,  rose-purple,  eighteen  inches ; 
Collinsia  bicolor,  purple  and  white,  twelve  inches ;  C.  mul- 
ticolor, crimson  and  white,  twelve  inches;  C.  verna,  blue 
shaded,  twelve  inches;  Ert/simum  Peroffskianum,  orange- 
yellow,  exceedingly  showy,  eighteen  inches;  Eschscholtzia 
crocea,  orange,  twelve  inches ;  Gilia  tricolor,  white  and 
purple,  twelve  inches  ;  Godstia  Lady  Albemarle,  brilliant 
crimson;  G.  rnbicunda  splendens,  purple,  eighteen  inches; 
Iberis  nmbellata,  in  variety,  ten  inches  ;  Ne  mop  hi  la  in- 
signis,  blue,  six  inches;  Platystemon  calif  or  nicum,  sulphur- 
yellow,  six  inches;  Saponaria  calabrica,  deep  rose-pink, 
twelve  inches;  Silene  pendula,  pink,  fifteen  inches; 
Viscaria  ocnlata,  rose-purple,  eighteen  inches. 


BLUE    LOBELIA. 

Lobelia  erinus. 

PLANT  so  well  known  as  the  little 
blue  lobelia  may  appear  capable  of 
telling  its  own  story,  but  it  is  not 
so;  and  there  is  so  much  in  the 
story  that  we  must  be  business- 
like, and  avoid  sentiment  and 
gossiping.  It  represents  a  pretty 
group  of  dwarf-growing,  wiry- 
habited,  free-flowering  plants,  the 
flowers  of  which  are  mostly  of 
some  shade  of  blue,  but  occasionally 
white,  rosy  purple,  and  pucy  pink. 
They  are  all  annuals  or  perennials, 
according  to  the  treatment  they 
receive  and  the  kind  of  season 
they  have  passed  through.  In  a 
hot  dry  summer  they  produce  an 
abundance  of  seed,  and  become  ex- 
hausted. In  this  case  the  old 
plants  are  likely  to  die  during  the  winter,  however  much 
care  may  be  taken  of  them.  After  a  wet  cool  summer 
the  old  plants  are  likely  to  survive  the  winter,  if  potted 
and  housed  sufficiently  early  in  the  autumn. 

In  the  cultivation  of  these  dwarf  lobelias,  the  saving 


86  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

of  old  plants  is  resorted  to  only  for  the  purpose  of 
supplying  cuttings  in  spring1,  annual  renewals  of  the 
plants  being  absolutely  needful  if  a  free  growth  and 
an  abundant  bloom  be  desired.  A  quick  way  of  making 
stock  is  to  tear  the  plants  to  pieces  in  the  autumn,  and 
pot  the  little  rooted  tufts  in  sandy  soil  and  store  them 
away  in  a  greenhouse  or  pit.  The  section  known  as 
"pumila,"  consisting  of  very  dwarf  cushion-like  plants, 
may  be  very  well  propagated  by  this  method,  but  the  more 
wiry  ones,  such  as  ramosa  and  elegans,  are  best  grown 
from  cuttings.  They  may  all  be  most  easily  grown  from 
seeds  sown  in  pans  in  February  or  March,  and  afterwards 
pricked  out  to  become  strong  in  time  for  bedding,  or  the 
seed  may  be  sown  in  April  where  the  plants  are  to 
remain  to  flower,  and  if  thinned  in  good  time  the  plants 
will  do  very  well,  although/  of  course,  they  will  flower 
somewhat  late. 

All  the  Ipbelias,  including  the  grand  "  cardinalis " 
section,  require  a  deep,  rich,  moist  soil,  and  therefore,  if 
the  soil  of  the  garden  is  dry  and  poor,  plenty  of  leaf- 
mould,  rotten  turf,  and  old.  hotbed  manure  should  be 
dug  in  where  the  lobelias  are  to  be  planted.  None  of 
them  are  quite  hardy,  but  none  of  them  are  particularly 
tender,  therefore  moderate  protection  in  a  cool  house  or 
pit  will  in  general  suffice  for  their  preservation  during 
winter,  but  long-continued  frosts  will  certainly  prove 
fatal  to  them.  As  they  are  a  thirsty  lot,  an  overdose 
of  water  at  any  time  will  scarcely  trouble  them ;  and  if, 
amongst  the  arrangements  for  bedding  plants,  any  house 
or  pit  proves  too  damp  for  geraniums,  it  will  probably 
happen  that  lobelias  may  be  wintered  there  with  perfect 
safety. 


BLUE  LOBELIA.  87 

The  genus  was  named  by  Linnaeus  in  honour  of  a 
remarkable  man,  who  was  one  of  the  true  founders  of 
botanical  science.  Matthias  de  Lobel  was  born  at  Lisle 
in  1538,  and  was  trained  to  the  medical  profession,  under 
the  physician  Rondelet,  in  whose  honour  the  fragrant 
rondeletia  was  named.  Lobel,  according  to  the  good 
custom  of  his  time,  prepared  himself  for  the  business  of 
life  by  travel,  and  in  his  wanderings  he  picked  up  a  lot 
of  knowledge  about  plants.  He  settled  as  a  physician 
at  Antwerp,  but  soon  after  went  to  Delft,  where  he  was 
appointed  physician  to  William  Prince  of  Orange.  Some 
time  after  this,  but  at  what  date  no  one  can  tell,  he 
came  to  England,  and  published  in  London,  in  1570, 
his  "  Novum  Stirpium  Adversaria,"  the  object  of  which 
was  to  investigate  the  botany  and  materia  medica  of  the. 
ancients.  Now  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance,  in  con- 
nection with  the  history  of  plants,  to  bear  in  mind  that 
this  work  contains  the  germ,  and  a  large  and  good  germ, 
of  the  natural  system.  Lobel  grouped  the  plants  into 
tribes  and  families  by  their  affinities,  which  is  the  essence 
of  the  natural  system ;  and  it  is  somewhat  surprising  that 
Linnaeus  did  not  work  on  this  basis  instead  of  framing 
his  own  artificial  system,  which,  with  all  its  ingenuity, 
is  comparatively  valueless  even  as  an  aid  to  the  memory, 
although  it  becomes  useful  in  spite  of  its  inherent  weak- 
ness of  principle  when  it  happens  to  agree  with  the 
natural  system  in  the  case  of  such  groups  as  the  grasses 
and  the  composites. 

Lobel  was  an  industrious  author  and  a  consistent 
worker  in  the  garden.  Under  the  patronage  of  Lord 
Zouch  he  established  a  physic  garden  at  Hackney,  and  in 
due  time  was  appointed  king's  botanist  by  James  I.,  but 


88  FAMILIAR     GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

probably  without  a  salary,  and  with  but  few  official  duties. 
In  1576  he  published  his  "  Observationes,"  wherein  may 
be  found  the  sources  of  much  of  the  information  embodied 
in  Parkinson's  "  Theatrum  Botanicum "  and  other  works 
of  the  time  that  now  surprise  us  by  their  erudition,  their 
comprehensiveness,  and  the  delightful  accuracy  of  their 
engravings. 

The  lobelias  are  widely  scattered,  but  there  are  not 
many  of  them.  There  are  two  British  species,  namely, 
L.  urens,  a  very  rare  plant,  found  on  heaths  near  Axmin- 
ster,  and  L.  Dortmanna,  a  rather  showy  water-plant  with 
blue  flowers.  The  "  erinus "  section  are  natives  of  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  comprise  L.  licolor  and  L.  cam- 
panulata,  from  which  many  of  the  garden  varieties  have 
been  bred.  The  splendid  plants  of  the  "  herbaceous " 
section,  comprising  L.  cardinalis,  L.  splendens,  and  L. 
f-iilgens,  are  natives  of  Mexico. 


COM  ME  LIN  A. 


THE    COMMELINA. 

Commelina  ceelestis. 

IKES  and  dislikes,  as  regards  flowers 
and  plants,  are  not  very  easy  to 
explain,  and  we  shall  not  now  at- 
tempt to  say  why  it  is  that  many 
people  dislike  the  Commelina  and 
the  Tradescantia  and  the  rest  of 
the  "  spiderworts."  However,  it 
may  not  be  improper  to  remark 
that  in  proportion  as  taste  is  in- 
fluenced by  knowledge  it  becomes 
universal.  Large-minded  and  gene- 
rous-hearted people  discover  beau- 
ties and  points  of  peculiar  interest 
in  all  the  works  of  nature,  and  we 
may  reasonably  expect  to  find  the 
wise  ones  of  this  generation  unen- 
cumbered with  prejudices  in  their 
observation  of  the  wonders  that 
spring  up  around  them. 
The  Commelina  takes  its  name  from  the  Dutch  bota- 
nists, J.  and  G.  Commelin,  whom  it  thus  keeps  in  remem- 
brance, just  as  its  near  ally,  the  Tradescantia,  is  named 
after  John  Tradescant,  gardener  to  Charles  I.,  a  man  who 
contributed  in  an  eminent  degree  to  advance  the  botany 


90  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

and  horticulture  of  his  day,  which  were  not  altogether 
favourable  to  science.  The  genus  has  a  wide  geographical 
range,  but  a  majority  of  the  species  are  American.  The 
plant  figured  is  the  best  known  of  all,  and  is  certainly  a 
very  charming  subject  for  pot  or  border  culture.  Although 
a  perennial,  it  may  be  grown  as  an  annual  by  sowing  the 
seeds  in  heat  and  nursing  the  plants  under  glass  until 
May,  when  they  should  be  carefully  hardened  by  gradual 
exposure  to  the  free  air,  and  be  planted  out  towards  the 
end  of  the  month.  The  tuberous  roots  may  be  preserved 
in  the  same  way  as  dahlia  roots,  but  should  never  be  quite 
dry ;  the  best  way  to  keep  them  is  to  take  them  up  early 
in  October,  and,  having  removed  the  stems,  pack  them  in 
moist  sand  in  a  large  flower-pot,  and  put  this  under  the 
greenhouse  stage  where  no  damp  will  reach  it,  for  if  the 
roots  get  wet  in  winter  they  will  rot.  As  it  is  such  an 
easy  matter  to  raise  a  stock  from  seed,  there  is  no  great 
inducement  to  keep  the  roots.  Nevertheless,  they  are 
useful  to  the  cultivator  who  cannot  conveniently  raise 
early  seedlings,  because  he  may  sow  the  seed  in  the  open 
border  at  the  end  of  May  and  take  up  good  roots  in 
October,  and  by  keeping  these  make  sure  of  a  good  bloom 
in  the  season  following.  If  the  tubers  are  planted  at 
the  end  of  May  they  will  begin  to  grow  immediately  and 
make  fine  plants  ;  but  a  better  way  is  to  start  them  into 
growth  in  pots  in  a  frame  or  greenhouse  first,  and  defer 
planting  until  the  early  part  of  June.  Supposing  there 
is  no  need  to  save  the  roots,  they  may  still  be  turned  to 
account ;  when  boiled  in  salt  and  water  and  served  with 
white  sauce  they  constitute  an  agreeable  table  vegetable, 
and  thus  the  flower  garden  may  in  this  respect  be  made 
sttbservient  to  the  dinner  table. 


THE    COMMELINA.  91 

All  the  species  of  Commelina  require  a  light,  rich  soil 
and  a  sunny  situation,  but  they  will  bear  a  certain  amount 
of  shade.  There  are  a  few  hardy  species  with  blue  flowers, 
the  best  of  which  are  C,  erecta,  C.  fasciculata,  and  C. 
Vifffinicaj  but  these  are  only  known  in  botanic  gardens, 
and  the  amateur  will  in  most  cases  have  to  content  himself 
with  the  charming  blue-flowered  plant  which  is  the  subject 
of  the  accompanying  figure,  and  its  two  beautiful  varieties. 
One  of  these  (Commelina  calestis  alba)  has  white  flowers, 
and  the  other  (C.  caelestis  variegata]  has  variegated  leaves. 

The  Virginian  spiderwort  (Tradescantia  Virginicd]  is  a 
capital  border  plant,  for  it  will  grow  in  almost  any  soil, 
and  gives  plenty  of  flowers  all  the  summer  through.  We 
have  had  it  thriving  amazingly  in  a  wet  clay,  the  varie- 
ties being  at  least  a  dozen  in  number,  and  we  have  seen 
it  scarcely  less  happy  in  old  worn-out  garden  loam  or  sandy 
peat.  The  deep  violet  blue,  which  is  considered  the  typical 
form,  is  extremely  beautiful  in  the  contrast  of  its  golden 
anthers  with  the  violet  satin  of  its  petals.  The  white 
variety  also  is  extremely  beautiful.  Those  who  want  more 
than  these  two  will  have  no  difficulty  in  obtaining  the 
blue  and  white,  the  double  blue,  the  single  red,  and  the 
single  blue.  They  have  but  to  be  planted  and  left  alone, 
and  they  will  do  their  duty.  They  are  not  out  of  place 
on  a  rockery,  but  are  not  good  enough  for  a  really  choice 
rockery,  for,  though  curious  and  beautiful,  there  is  a  weedy 
and  common  tone  about  them,  and  a  rockery  must  be  ex- 
tensive to  admit  such  things.  Propagation  is  best  effected 
by  division  in  spring,  and  those  who  are  unaccustomed  to 
propagate  plants  may  be  advised  to  avoid  minute  division, 
being  content  to  divide  a  clump  into  two  or  three  good- 
sized  pieces  rather  than  make  of  it  as  many  as  possible. 


92  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

The  best  figure  of  the  plant  that  we  have  met  with 
in  any  botanical  work  is  in  Sweet's  "  British  Flower 
Garden  "  (t.  3).  It  is  also  figured  in  the  Botanical  Maga- 
zine (t.  1659)  as  C.  tuberosa,  which  Sweet  regards  as  a 
mistake ;  for,  he  says,  this  has  "  smooth  leaves  and 
hairy  peduncles,  whereas  C.  tuberosa  has  hairy  leaves  and 
smooth  peduncles/'  The  very  broad  views  that  now  prevail 
in  respect  of  the  characters  of  species  would  sanction  the 
opinion  that  these  two  "  species  "  are  but  two  forms  of 
the  same  plant ;  but  we  must  not  encumber  these  pages 
with  the  heavy  arguments  that  might  be  needful  to  estab- 
lish exact  identity.  Certain  it  is  that  "  species  "  are  now 
more  boldly  separated  than  in  the  days  of  Sweet  and 
Herbert  and  HawToiih.  After  all,  more  depends  perhaps 
on  words  than  ideas — that  is,  in  respect  of  these  verbal 
distinctions.  What  one  regards  as  a  species,  another  may 
regard  as  a  mere  variety,  and  the  difference  of  terminology 
will  not  matter  much  in  the  end,  provided  all  behold  the 
truth  as  nature  presents  it  to  our  notice. 


COLUMBINE. 


THE   COLUMBINE. 

Aquilegia  vulgaris 

NCE  more  we  have  to  discourse 
upon  an  "old-fashioned"  garden 
flower  that  everybody  knows 
and  loves,  and  yet  very  few 
make  it  the  subject  of  any  special 
care  in  cultivation.  It  is  as- 
tonishing how  well  it  can  take 
care  of  itself,  as  indeed  do  all 
the  aquilegias,  for  they  scatter 
their  seeds  freely  and  appear  in 
all  sorts  of  places,  and  it  requires 
a  rough  hand  and  hard  heart 
to  root  them  out  and  call  them 
"  weeds. "  According  to  the  de- 
rivation of  the  word  from  the 
Latin  columbina,  a  columbine 
should  bear  a  likeness  in  some 
way  or  other  to  a  dove  or  pigeon. 
If  there  be  any  resemblance,  however,  it  is  of  a  round- 
about sort.  The  nectaries  are  rather  peculiar,  and  may 
be  likened  to  the  heads  of  pigeons.  The  Latin  name 
aqnilcffia  means  "  like  an  eagle,"  and  so  in  both  languages 
the  flower  suggests  the  existence  of  a  bird. 

The   common    columbine  is    a    British    plant,    by    no 


94  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

means  common,  though  in  a  few  places  plentiful,  its 
favourite  haunts  being  woods  and  coppices.  When 
grown  in  the  garden  border  it  scatters  its  seeds  plen- 
tifully, and  thus  renews  itself  without  any  care.  But 
fine  flowers  are  not  often  obtained  from  the  plants 
thus  naturalised  in  the  garden.  There  must  be  careful 
selection  and  good  cultivation  to  insure  the  establishment 
of  a  good  strain,  and  none  but  the  best  should  ever  be 
allowed  to  remain  after  the  first  flowers  have  been  seen. 
The  double  kinds  are  certainly  handsomer  than  the 
single,  and  as  they  do  not  produce  seed,  or  at  all 
events  but  little,  they  must  be  multiplied  by  division. 
Any  good  soil  will  suit  them,  and.they  bear  partial 
shade  without  injury. 

The  economy  of  the  reproduction  of  this  flower  is  de- 
serving of  study.  The  nectaries,  that  may  be  likened  to  the 
heads  of  birds,  secrete  a  syrup  that  appears  to  be  needed 
to  promote  the  growth  of  the  stamens.  These  are  pro- 
duced in  a  series  of  circles  which  have  been  perfected  suc- 
cessively from  within  outwards,  each  series  changing  from 
a  recurved  to  an  erect  attitude  to  discharge  its  pollen, 
the  result  being  a  very  abundant  production  of  seed. 

The  hardy  species  of  columbines  that  may  be  met 
with  in  gardens  where  choice  plants  are  cherished  have 
no  place  in  the  catalogue  of  "  familiar "  flowers.  They 
are,  however,  extremely  beautiful  and  intensely  inte- 
resting. The  most  useful  of  all  is  the  noble  blue  and 
white  Aquilegia  glandwlosa,  which  rises  to  a  foot  in 
height,  and  produces  a  profusion  of  flowers.  Aquilegia 
carulea  is  the  most  beautiful  of  all,  though  it  is  cer- 
tainly not  showy ;  its  large  and  singular  flowers — blue 
and  white,  and  tipped  with  green,  and  as  it  were  twisted 


THE    COLUMBINE.  95 

tog-ether — are  rare  and  delicate,  but  make  no  appeal  to 
the  casual  eye.  The  showiest  of  the  series  are  Aquilegia 
Skinneri,  a  bold  plant,,  rising  a  yard  high,  with  red  and 
yellow  flowers ;  and  Aquilegia  truncata,  about  the  same 
height,  the  flowers  bright  orange-scarlet.  The  Alpine 
columbine  (A.  Alpina)  is  a  charming  plant,  the  height 
about  a  foot,  the  flowers  wholly  blue,  or  with  white 
centre.  Although  some  of  these  are  comparatively  new, 
they  belong  properly  to  the  "  old-fashioned "  class,  and 
are  of  the  kind  Clare  had  in  his  mind  when  he  wove 
a  garland  such  as  the  heart  will  not  willingly  let  die. 

' '  The  shining  pans y,  trimmed  with  golden  lace ; 
The  tall  topped  lark-heeln,  feathered  thick  with  flowers ; 
The  woodbine,  "climbing  o'er  the  door  in  bowers ; 
The  London  tufts  of  many  a  mottled  hue  ; 
The  pale  pink  pea,  and  monkshood  darkly  blue ; 
The  white  and  purple  gillyflowers,  that  stay 
Lingering  in  blossom  summer  half  away  ; 
The  single  blood  walls,  of  a  luscious  smell, 
Old-fashioned  flowers  which  housewives  love  so  well ; 
The  columbines,  stone  blue,  or  deep  night  brown, 
Their  honey-comb  like  blossoms  hanging  down  ; 
Each  cottage  garden's  fond  adopted  child, 
Though  heaths  still  claim  them,  where  they  yet  grow  wild  ; 
With  marjoram  knots,  sweet  brier,  and  ribbon  grass, 
And  lavender,  the  choice  of  every  lass." 

During  the  past  two  or  three  years  a  new  and  very 
welcome  delight  has  been  given  to  the  flower-loving  public 
in  the  exhibition  of  new  varieties  of  columbines,  by  those 
eminent  collectors  and  cultivators  of  rare  plants,  Messrs. 
Veitch  and  Son  of  Chelsea.  At  festival  meetings  of  the  Royal 
Horticultural  and  Royal  Botanic  Societies  these  new  types 
have  been  presented  in  large  groups,  tastefully  arranged, 
and  have  taken  captive  the  eyes  of  many  visitors,  who 


96  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

have  found  it  hard  to  believe  that  such  exquisitely  beau- 
tiful subjects  might  be  grown  to  perfection  in  any  open 
garden  with  the  aid  of  sunshine  and  fresh  air.  It  is 
customary  for  the  first  agreeable  impression  of  a  new 
plant  or  flower  to  be  accompanied  by  the  thought  that 
it  must  be  of  exotic  production,  requiring  hothouse  cul- 
tivation, and  so  of  course  these  new  aquilegias  were 
regarded  as  rare  and  tender,  whereas  they  may  be  grown 
by  the  thousand  and  the  ten  thousand  from  seed  costing 
but  a  small  sum,  and  what  is  called  a  "  common  garden 
border"  will  suffice  for  all  their  needs.  The  raiser  of 
these  charming  varieties  was  Mr.  James  Douglas. 


WINTER    JASMINE. 


THE  WINTER  JASMINE. 

Jasminum    nudiflorum. 

VERY  known  jasmine  is  worth 
growing  if  space  can  be  found 
for  it  and  taste  inclines  to  it. 
We  cannot  expect  everybody  to 
grow  everything,  and  therefore 
we  deprecate  the  earnestness  of 
those  writers  in  horticultural 
papers  who  devote  their  fine 
energies  to  the  abuse  of  people 
who  grow  what  suits  themselves 
in  defiance  of  the  dictates  of  their 
egotistical  critics.  The  jasmine 
now  under  consideration  is  not 
adapted  for  any  great  variety  of 
uses,  but  it  is  a  pretty  thing  to 
grow  on  a  wall  near  doors  and 
windows,  because  in  the  dark  days 
of  winter  it  will  be  all  alive  and 
full  of  golden  light  with  its  generous  display  of  yellow 
flowers.  As  these  appear  when  the  plant  is  as  yet  with- 
out a  leaf,  it  is  called  the  naked  flowering  jasmine 
(Jasminum  nndiflorutn) . 

This  jasmine  was  introduced  from  China  by  the   late 
Mr.  Robert  Fortune,  as  one  of  the  results  of  his  memorable 


98  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

and  successful  expedition  on  behalf  of  the  Royal  Horti- 
cultural Society,  in  the  years  1843  to  1846.  It  is  a  hardy 
deciduous  shrub — so  hardy,  that  although  we  have  had 
some  half-dozen  terrible  winters  since  it  became  established 
in  the  country,  we  have  never  heard  of  an  instance  of  its 
being  destroyed  or  even  seriously  injured  by  severe  frost. 
Accustomed  as  we  are  to  "  floral  surprises  " — which  do  not 
cease  to  "  surprise  "  even  when  one  gets  used  to  them — we 
think  we  were  never  more  surprised  than  in  the  month 
of  March,  1880,  when  on  the  first  look  round  after  about 
three  months  of  the  most  destructive  and  horrible  frost 
and  fog,  we  found  on  the  wall  beside  the  garden  door  a 
delicate  stippling  of  the  yellow  flowers,  with  an  under- 
colour  of  the  grass-green  branches  of  this  storm-defving 
and  most  cheerful  jasmine.  It  was  like  life  starting  from 
the  grave,  and  at  all  events  it  was  an  assurance  that  the 
grave  had  not  closed  over  all  things,  as  it  seemed  likely  to 
do,  when  the  twelve  days'  fog  of  the  preceding  February 
had  carried  both  heart-break  and  sorrow  into  innumerable 
homes  where  the  winter  had  begun  with  mirth  and  gladness. 
Such  a  plant  is  a  pearl  of  great  price,  although  it  may  be 
bought  with  a  shilling,  and  will  grow  anywhere,  even  in 
the  stuff  the  builders  call  "  dirt/'  As  any  soil  will  suit 
this  plant,  so  will  any  aspect.  'But  a  sheltered  corner,  and 
if  possible  a  dry,  warm,  sandy  soil,  should  be  chosen  for  it, 
in  order  to  secure  its  flowers- in  plenty  in  the  very  depth  of 
winter.  Then  you  have  but  to  nail  it  carefully  to  the  wall 
or  fence,  and  prune  it  just  enough  to  keep  it  tidy.  To 
employ  the  knife  in  any  way,  with  a  view  to  promote  the 
production  of  flowers,  will  prove  a  grave  mistake.  Let 
your  tree  grow  in  its  own  way,  and  it  will  flower  in  its  own 
way,  and  that  will  be  the  best  way.  But  you  may  cut  a 


THE    WINTER    JASMINE.  99 

little  here  and  a  little  there  to  insure  regularity  of  growth, 
and  if  any  portion  of  the  tree  appears  exhausted  through 
age,  cut  the  branch  away  to  the  base,  and  at  the  same 
time  remove  a  few  inches  of  the  -top  soil,  supplying  its 
place  with  fresh  turfy  soil  or  half-rotten  stable-manure. 
There  must  be  no  "  cut-and-come-again "  practice  with 
this  jasmine,  or  you  may  have  to  whistle  for  flowers, 
and  that  is  a  profitless  pastime  on  a  winter  day  when 
the  wind  already  whistles  too  loud  for  any  one  to  hear 
your  piping. 

There  are  several  fine  species  of  jasmine  adapted  for 
general  use  that  are  but  little  known.  Jasminumfruticans 
is  of  upright  habit,  with  dark  green  glossy  leaves  and 
yellow  flowers.  /.  humile  is  like  the  last  in  general 
character,  but  more  humble  in  growth ;  the  flowers  are 
yellow.  /.  revolutum  makes  a  handsome  bush,  the  leaves 
dark  green,  the  flowers  yellow  and  fragrant.  All  these 
are  hardy,  and  flower  during  the  summer.  In  places  well 
favoured  as  to  climate  a  few  fine  species  that  are  a  trifle 
tender  may  be  planted,  such  as  /.  puligernm,  J.  Wal- 
lichianum,  and  J.  heteropkyllum,  which  have  yellow  flowers ; 
and  J.  Azoricuin  and  J.  odoratissinmm,  which  have  white 
flowers.  Any  good  soil  will  suit  this  group,  but  they 
need  dryness  and  warmth,  and  are  quite  too  tender  for 
the  climate  of  London.  The  fruits  of  the  jasmines  are 
not  often  seen,  but  in  hot  dry  seasons  the  common  white 
jasmine  (/.  cfficinale]  will  in  favourable  localities  produce 
quite  a  crop  of  its  round  berries,  of  the  size  of  smallish 
peas,  and  of  a  dark  colour. 

If  you  happen  to  have  any  extent  of  walls  that  might 
with  advantage  be  devoted  to  the  production  of  winter 
flowers,  the  following  may  be  planted  with  a  prospect  of 


100 


FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 


happy  results  : — Chimonanthus  fragrans,  a  very  fine  subject 
when  in  a  snug1,  sheltered  nook ;  Chimonanilms  grandiflorus 
and  C.  luteus  ;  Forsytkia  viridissima,  Garrya  elliptica,  and 
Cydonia  Japonica.  The  first  and  the  last  of  the  list  are 
the  best,  and  any  good  soil  will  suit  them. 

"• When  thy  heart,  in  its  pride,  would  stray 

From  the  first  pure  loves  of  its  youth  away — 

When  the  sullying  breath  of  the  world  would  come 

O'er  the  flowers  it  brought  from  its  childhood's  home, 

Think  thou  again  of  the  woody  glade, 

And  the  sound  by  the  rustling  ivy  made — 

Think  of  the  tree  at  thy  father's  door, 

And  the  kindly  spell  shall  have  power  once  more." 

HEMANS. 


BROWALLIA 


THE   BEOWALLIA. 

Browallia  elata. 

not  little  things  possess  a  special 
value  of  their  own,  as  great  or 
even  exceeding  the  value  of  larger 
things  ?  Pearls,  rubies,  emeralds, 
diamonds,  and  forget-me-nots,  for 
instance,  which  are  certainly  small 
as  compared  with  cabbages,  cauli- 
flowers, and  pumpkins.  And  hav- 
ing mentioned  forget-me-nots, 
we  are  tempted  to  speak  of  this 
Browallia  as  the  American,  or 
more  properly,  perhaps,  the  Occi- 
dental forget-me-not,  for  it  comes 
from  the  tropical  parts  of  the 
western  continent,  which  nobody 
ever  thinks  of  when  America  is 
mentioned,  the  northern  parts 

thereof  having  a  monopoly  of  our  attention.  There  is 
another  and  nearly  allied  species  called  B.  demissa,  but 
it  is  not  much  grown,  for  the  simple  reason  that  it  is 
not  so  good  a  plant  as  elata,  of  which  there  are  two 
varieties — the  blue,  which  is  here  figured,  and  the  white, 
which  diffei-s  only  in  the  colour  of  the  flowers. 

To  grow  this  pretty  annual  it  is  necessary  to  sow  the 


102  FAMILIAR    GAEDEN  FLOWERS. 

seed  in  light,  rich  soil  in  the  month  of  March,  and  put  the 
pan  containing  the  seeds  on  a  mild  hotbed  or  in  a  warm 
greenhouse.  When  the  plants  are  somewhat  forward  they 
should  be  pricked  out  into  pans  or  pots,  and  have  another 
term  of  culture  in  a  warm  house,  and  having  been  hardened 
by  careful  exposure  to  the  air,  be  planted  out  where  they 
are  to  flower.  The  rough  treatment  that  suits  some  half- 
hardy  annuals  will  simply  fail  to  produce  a  fair  bloom  of 
this  pretty  plant,  for  it  requires  a  long  season  of  growth 
before  flowering,  and  is  decidedly  tender  in  constitution. 
When  well  grown,  however,  it  is  replete  with  refined 
beauty,  owing  to  the  profusion  and  delicacy  of  its  tiny 
slaty-blue  flowers,  and  so  we  recommend  the  diligent 
amateur  who  can  care  for  little  things  to  grow  a  few  nice 
specimens  in  pots.  Having  raised  the  plants  on  a  moderate 
hotbed,  prick  them  out  to  strengthen  as  already  advised,  and 
instead  of  planting  them  out  to  flower,  put  them  in  eight- 
inch  pots,  about  four  plants  to  a  pot,  using  rich,  light  soil, 
and  grow  them  on  in  the  greenhouse,  training  them  up  with 
care,  and  keeping  them  near  the  glass  and  well  ventilated. 

The  elegant  Schizant/ius  pinnatus,  S.  porrigens,  S. 
Grahami,  and  S.  retusus  are  closely  allied  to  the  Browallia, 
and  may  be  grown  in  the  same  way,  but  are  less  in  need  of 
heat,  as  they  are  hardier.  At  all  events,  the  two  first- 
named  are  hardy  enough  to  be  sown  on  the  open  border, 
but  are  good  enough  to  repay  the  trouble  of  growing  them 
well  in  pots,  for  they  make  most  charming  specimens ;  and 
the  better  if  so»wn  in  autumn,  so  as  to  have  a  long  season 
of  growth  before  flowering. 

These  flowers  belong  to  the  important  order  ScropJm- 
larineaR,  in  which  we  find  not  only  the  Browallia  and 
schizanthus,  but  the  calceolaria,  verbascum,  antirrhinum, 


TEE    BROWALLIA.  103 

the  pentstemon,  and  the  mimulus,  with  many  more 
garden  favourites  that  to  the  casual  eye  have  but  few 
traces  of  a  family  likeness. 

The  Browallia  was  so  named  by  Linna?us  in  remem- 
brance of  J.  Browallius,  Bishop  of  Abo,  which  was  for- 
merly the  seat  of  government  in  Swedish  Finland,  and  still 
is  the  seat  of  a  Lutheran  archbishopric,  although  now  it  is 
a  Russian  and  not  a  Swedish  city,  having  passed  over  with 
the  whole  of  Finland  at  the  peace  of  Frederickshamm  in 
1809.  Finland  was  a  botanical  playground  to  Linnaeus, 
and  its  capital  Abo  was  to  him  the  most  important, 
because  it  was  the  nearest  centre  of  learning  and  liberal 
thought.  Commemorative  names  of  plants  are  in  many 
respects  objectionable,  but  there  is  something  to  be  said 
in  their  favour,  and  in  any  case  the  names  that  Linnaeus 
bestowed  on  plants  "  tb^  world  will  not  willingly  let  die." 
Of  one  flower  in  particular  may  this  be  said,  for  the  delicate 
two-flowered  Linnaea,  the  Linncea  borealis  of  the  botanist, 
he  named  after  himself.  It  is  a  humble  creeping  shrub 
of  the  cold  morasses  of  the  north,  producing  exquisitely 
beautiful  though  unattractive  miniature  bell-flowers  in 
pairs.  The  great  botanist,  remembering  his  own  humble 
origin,  and  conscious  of  a  merit  that  then  had  not  been 
generally  recognised,  chose  this  flower  for  the  emblem  of 
his  own  career,  and  described  it  as  "  a  little  northern 
plant,  flowering  early,  depressed,  abject,  and  long  over- 
looked." It  may  not  be  too  wide  a  departure  from  the 
course  set  before  us  to  remark  that  in  those  few  words 
we  have  a  great  poem,  wanting  neither  verse,  nor  rhyme, 
nor  music  to  indicate  the  pathos  that  cannot  be  concealed. 
Linnaeus  was  indeed  a  poet,  though  he  was  and  is  properly 
ranked  among  the  soldiers  of  science. 


104  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

The  Browallias  may  be  advantageously  employed  to 
embellish  the  greenhouse  and  conservatory  during  the 
summer.  For  this  purpose  we  have  not  so  great  a  variety 
of  flowers  as  may  appear  from  a  casual  consideration  of  the 
subject,  because  a  large  proportion  of  decorative  plants 
thrive  so  much  better  when  planted  out  than  when  kept  in 
pots  and  flowered  under  glass.  These  little  tropical  forget- 
me-nots  enjoy  the  shelter  and  comparatively  uniform  tem- 
perature of  the  greenhouse  during  the  summer,  and  in 
places  where  the  climate  is  usually  unfavourable  to  tender 
plants  in  the  open  ground  it  is  advisable  not  to  plant 
them  out,  but  to  grow  fine  pot  specimens  for  flowering 
in-doors.  Then  it  will  be  found  that  the  two  varieties  of 
B.  elata,  giving  flowers  white  and  blue ;  with  B.  pulchella, 
with  flowers  rosy  purple;  B.  grandiflora,  with  flowers 
yellow ;  and  B.  Jamesoni,  with  flowers  orange — will  make 
an  interesting  collection.  Associate  with  them  a  few  fine 
pot  specimens  of  the  delicate  schizanthus,  and  the  conserva- 
tory will  not  lack  interest  and  beauty. 


EVERLASTING    PEA. 


THE 
EVERLASTING    PEA. 

Lathy rus  latifolius. 

;OXE  of  the  old-fashioned  flowers, 
as  it  is  the  new  fashion  to  call 
them,  can  fairly  stand  before  the 
half-dozen  sorts  of  everlasting 
peas  that  may  be  met  with  in 
gardens  where  fashion  is  unknown 
and  beauty  is  pre-eminent.  When 
they  have  held  their  ground  a 
few  years,  and  have  made  great 
bosses  of  rampant  growth,  crowned 
and  crowded  with  flowers,  they  are 
altogether  glorious.  They  are  a 
little  too  riotous  in  temper,  too 
exuberant  in  spreading  themselves 
about,  for  the  very  trim  garden 
where  straight  lines  prevail  and 
the  knife  and  shears  are  kept  con- 
stantly at  work ;  and  yet  it  must  need  a  curious  frame  of 
mind  in  any  one  who,  having  seen  a  clump  of  everlasting 
peas  in  flower,  should  after  that  desire  to  limit  their 
growth  or  put  them  out  of  the  garden  altogether. 

The  rambling  botanist  who  cares  not  for  garden  flowers 
will  scarcely  turn  aside  from  these,  for  they  will  remind 
him  of  some  of  the  glorious  wildings  of  the  pea  tribe  he 


106  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

has  met  with  in  his  wanderings,  such  as  Vicia  cracca  and 
l/atkyrm  sylvestris,  which  are  apt  to  throw  their  arms 
about  as  if  the  hedgerows  belonged  to  them,  and  boundaries 
and  rights  had  never  been  heard  of  in  the  land.  And  it 
is  worthy  of  remark  that  these  splendid  wildings  may  be 
easily  introduced  into  the  garden  by  simply  gathering  the 
ripe  seeds  (of  which  the  plants  produce  plenty),  and  sowing 
them  where  they  are  to  remain,  taking  care,  however,  to 
give  them  a  reasonable  chance  of  struggling  up  into  the 
light  in  positions  similar  to  those  they  find  for  themselves 
in  their  vast  domain  of  no-man's-land.  As  a  rule,  a  sandy 
soil  suits  them  best,  as  may  be  known  by  their  frequency  in 
sandy  districts  ;  but  they  like  good  living,  and  starving  land 
will  not  produce  many  vetches,  whether  wild  or  cultivated. 
In  like  manner  all  our  cultivated  species  of  lathyrus,  orolus, 
and  astragalus  do  best  on  a  deep  sandy  loam.  But  they 
are  not  very  particular,  provided  they  have  a  good  soil  of 
some  sort,  and  are  left  alone  for  a  few  years  to  become 
well  established  in  it.  Indeed,  nine-tenths  of  the  best  of 
our  hardy  flowers  only  ask  to  be  left  ^alone  to  find  delight 
in  doing  their  duty.  If  they  are  transplanted  about  from 
place  to  place — as  it  is  the  way  of  beginners  to  treat  all 
their  plants — they  take  the  sulks  and  refuse  to  flower,  or 
they  take  themselves  off,  and  so  teach  a  lasting  though 
disagreeable  lesson. 

The  round-leaved  pea  (Lathyrus  rotundifolius]  grows 
to  a  height  of  about  two  feet,  and  flowers  in  August.  The 
flowers  are  produced  in  long  loose  clusters  of  a  bright  rosy 
purple  colour.  It  is  a  native  of  the  Caucasus,  and  tho- 
roughly hardy.  Its  low  growth  precludes  its  employment 
to  cover  arbours  and  trellises ;  but  it  is  a  good  rockery 
plant,  and  may  with  advantage  be  planted  where  it  can 


THE  EVERLASTING    PEA.  107 

run  amongst  low  shrubs,  and  find  a  little  support  for  its 
delicate  stems. 

The  broad-leaved  pea  (L.  latifolins)  is  no  doubt  a 
variety  of  our  woodland  pea  (L.  sylvestris).  It  will  run 
to  a  height  of  six  to  eight  feet,  and  flowers  somewhat  early 
in  the  summer,  the  flowers  being  of  a  rich  rose  colour. 
It  has  been  found  growing  wild  in  several  districts  far 
removed  from  each  other ;  but  has  always  been  regarded  as 
an  escape  from  gardens  rather  than  as  an  indigenous  plant. 

The  white  everlasting  pea  is  a  variety  of  the  last- 
named.  Its  distinguishing  characteristic  is  seen  in  its  pure 
white  flowers,  which  blossom  in  prodigal  profusion  ;  for  the 
plant  produces  but  few  seeds,  and  thus  reserves  its  energy 
for  display.  While  other  kinds  of  everlasting  peas  are 
easily  multiplied  by  sowing  seeds,  this  must  be  "increased 
by  division  of  the  roots  or  by  striking  cuttings.  Happilv, 
there  is  no  difficulty  in  either  practice.  The  proper  time  to 
strike  cuttings  is  when  the  new  growth  is  rising  in  the 
spring,  when  the  young  shoots,  being  planted  on  a  moderate 
hotbed,  will  make  roots  in  the  course  of  a  few  days,  and 
soon  after  begin  to  grow  vigorously. 

This  fine  plant  maybe  employed  in  a  variety  of  ways  in 
the  garden.  It  is  one  of  the  finest  of  its  class  to  train  to 
the  walls  of  an  artificial  ruin  or  about  any  quaint,  rustic 
edifice  that  needs  the  embellishment  of  delicate  but  riotous 
vegetation.  And  it  makes  a  fine  bedding  plant,  being 
regularly  dotted  all  over  a  large  bed,  and  assisted  to  diffuse 
its  growth  by  means  of  light  brushwood  laid  amongst  it. 
The  folks  who  have  succeeded  in  making  grand  beds  of  the 
new  varieties  of  clematis  will  find  the  white  everlasting  pea 
a  fine  companion  subject  for  them. 

The  marsh  vetchling  (L.  palustris)  grows  two  to  three 


108  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

feet  high,  and  produces  rather  small  clusters  of  bluish- 
purple  flowers  early  in  the  summer.  It  is  a  bog-  plant,  and 
when  planted  in  the  garden,  therefore,  a  damp  situation 
will  suit  it  best. 

The  large-flowered  pea  (L.  grandtflorus)  is  a  fine  plant, 
with  hairy  herbage  and  large  rosy  flowers,  produced  in 
clusters  of  two  or  three.  It  runs  about  four  feet,  and 
requires  a  warm  sandy  or  light  loamy  soil.  It  is  a  capital 
plant  for  the  front  of  a  rockery. 

The  Californian  pea  (L.  Californicu.s)  runs  about  four 
feet;  the  flowers  are  light  purple  and  white,  extremely 
pleasing.  This  also  is  a  good  rockery  plant,  being  allowed 
to  fall  over  and  make  festoons  in  its  own  way. 

The  tuberous  pea  (L.  tuberosa)  is  of  low  growth,  rarely 
running  more  than  three  feet,  and  generally  less.  The 
flowers  appear  early,  and  are  of  a  pleasing  rose  colour.  It 
is  a  good  rock  and  border  plant.  The  tuberous  root  is 
edible,  and  has  been  sometimes  spoken  of  as  a  likely  substi- 
tute for  the  potato.  But  there  is  no  substitute  for  the 
potato,  unless  it  be  bread — which  is  like  saying  the  best 
substitute  for  silver  is  gold. 


WHITE     BEGONIA. 


WHITE    BEGONIA. 

Begonia  Mont  Blanc. 

ONE  of  the  newer  kinds  of 
garden  flowers  have  higher 
claims  on  the  attention  of  ama- 
teurs than  the  tuberous  bego- 
nias. The  hybrid  clematis  may 
rank  equal  in  importance,  and 
certainly  should  not  be  ranked 
far  below  them.  The  begonias 
are  so  nearly  hardy,  so  easily 
grown,  whether  as  specimens 
for  the  conservatory  or  as  useful 
flowering  plants  for  the  sum- 
mer garden,  and  are  withal  so 
various  and  beautiful,  that  the 
lovers  of  gardens  may  be  well 
advised  to  take  them  in  hand 
with  earnestness,  and  to  add 
to  their  number  by  the  systematic  raising  of  seedlings. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  grow  these  plants  from  seed, 
because  the  named  varieties  are  low-priced  and  easily 
obtainable.  But  there  is  great  interest  attaching  to  the 
raising  of  seedlings,  and  we  shall  advise  as  to  the  pro- 
cedure. If  a  collection  of  the  finest  kinds  are  flowered 
in  a  light  airy  conservatory,  there  will  be  abundance  of 


110  FAMILIAR    GARDEX   FLOWERS. 

seed  produced.  It  will  be  advisable  to  fertilise  the  female 
flowers — which  are  easily  distinguished  by  the  incipient 
seed-pod  at  the  base — with  pollen  taken  from  male  flowers 
differing  from  them  in  colour.  The  seed-pods  should  be 
pinched  off  before  the  seeds  begin  to  scatter,  and  being 
laid  loosely  in  a  clean  box  or  glass  dish,  will  soon  ripen, 
and  none  of  the  seed  will  be  lost.  The  seed  is  as  fine  as 
snuff,  and  in  sowing  it  care  should  be  taken  not  to  cover 
it  with  soil  at  all.  Prepare  some  shallow  boxes  or  pans, 
with  about  three  inches  of  light  rich  soil — say  turfy  loam, 
clean  leaf-mould,  and  very  old  rotten  hotbed  manure  in 
equal  parts.  Having  sprinkled  some  sand  over  the  surface 
and  pressed  it  flat  with  a  board,  sprinkle  the  seed  very 
thinly,  and  then  cover  with  a  sheet  of  common  glass. 
The  soil  ought  to  be  moist  enough  to  need  no  watering 
until  the  plants  are  up,  but  should  water  be  needed,  the 
boxes  or  pans  must  be  immersed  nearly  to  the  top  edge 
for  an  hour  or  two,  and  should  then  be  removed.  In  a 
warm  greenhouse  or  pit  the  seed  will  soon  germinate, 
and  the  seed-~boxes  will  present  the  pleasing  appearance  of 
hundreds  of  young  begonias. 

The  best  time  for  sowing  the  seed  is  during  February 
and  March,  as  the  young  plants  have  the  whole  summer 
before  them  to  complete  their  growth.  Being  carefully 
pricked  out  into  other  pans  or  boxes,  and  as  soon  as  large 
enough  sepai'ately  potted,  they  will  grow  rapidly,  and  the 
whole  of  them  will  floAver  before  the  season  is  past.  As 
they  flower  those  of  no  merit  should  be  destroyed;  the 
best,  of  them  should  be  named  or  numbered  ;  and  a  few 
plants  may  be  struck  from  cuttings  of  any  decidedly  good 
ones  that  flower  early. 

The  result  of  a  season's  growth  will  be  the  formation  of 


WHITE    BEGONIA.  Ill 

tuberous  roots,  and  the  best  way  to  keep  these  is  in  the 
pots  without  disturbing  them.  If  nearly,  but  not  quite, 
dust-dry,  and  guarded  from  frost,  they  will  be  perfectly  safe 
through  the  winter.  In  the  month  of  February  they  should 
be  shaken  out  and  planted  in  shallow  boxes  filled  with  a 
similar  soil  to  that  recommended  for  the  seeds.  It  is  a 
matter  of  importance  never  to  put  them  in  pots  or  boxes 
containing  more  than  two  or  three  inches  of  soil  in  the 
first  instance,  for  in  a  deep  soil  they  are  apt  to  rot ;  but  in 
a  shallow  soil  they  are  sure  to  grow,  the  temperature  of 
a  warm  greenhouse  being  sufficient  for  the  purpose.  A 
moderate  amount  of  care  will  insure  a  fine  lot  of  plants 
by  the  end  of  May,  when  they  should  be  very  carefully 
"  hardened  "  in  frames  to  prepare  them  for  planting  out. 
About  the  second  week  in  June  is,  generally  speaking,  the 
best  time  to  put  them  out  in  beds;  but  in  the  southern 
and  western  counties  they  may  be  put  out  at  the  end  of 
May,  and  provided  they  are  not  punished  by  frost,  it 
may  be  said  the  sooner  they  are  planted  the  better.  They 
will  flower  superbly,  and  in  all  adverse  seasons  it  will 
be  found  that  these  frail,  succulent,  and  comparatively 
tender  plants  endure  wind  and  rain  with  less  harm  than 
any  other  bedders.  In  a  dry  hot  season  they  must  have 
plenty  of  water,  but  in  an  average  season  they  will  need 
but  little  or  none. 

The  following  varieties  for  summer  flowering  constitute 
a  fine  collection  : — Mont  Blanc,  Coral  Rose,  Countess  of 
Kingston,  J.  H.  Laing,  Lady  Hume  Campbell,  Lemoinei, 
Trocadero,  Mrs.  Laing,  Louis  Thibaut,  General  Roberts, 
White  Queen,  Laing's  Superba. 

To  produce  fine  specimens  some  strong  plants  should 
be  dried  off  and  rested  as  soon  as  convenient,  without 


112  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

imposing  any  check.  At  the  turn  of  the  year  these  should 
be  shaken  out  and  re- potted  in  fresh  soil  in  smallish  pots, 
and  put  into  a  temperature  of  50°  to  encourage  growth. 
When  inclined  to  move,  the  heat  should  be  increased  to 
60°,  and  after  a  time  to  70°,  but  beyond  that  it  will  not 
be  safe  to  increase  the  temperature.  When  the  plants  so 
treated  have  filled  their  pots  with  roots  they  should  be 
shifted  to  the  next  size,  and  be  again  and  again  shifted  as 
needful,  but  never  until  the  pots  are  filled  with  roots,  and 
never  beyond  a  reasonable  size  of  pot.  If  the  shifting 
into  larger  and  larger  pots  is  carried  too  far,  there  will  be 
immense  growth  but  no  flowers,  therefore  you  may  reason- 
ably stop  when  the  plants  are  in  8-inch  or  10-inch  pots. 
Then  let  them  flower,  and  you  will  be  well  rewarded.  As 
a  matter  of  course  they  must  be  kept  neatly  staked,  and 
flowers  that  appear  before  the  plants  have  attained  to  a 
suitable  size  must  be  pinched  out.  A  compost  consisting 
of  loam,  leaf -mould,  and  very  old  manure  from  a  hotbed 
is  the  best  for  them ;  rank  or  fresh  manure  is  objection- 
able, and  liquid  manure  should  be  given  occasionally. 


SWEET    PEA. 


THE   SWEET  PEA, 

Lathyrus  odoratus. 

T  is  a  singular  circumstance  thai 
the  sweet  pea  has  been  com- 
monly regarded  as  a  half-hardy 
annual,  whereas  it  is  as  hardy 
as  any  pea  in  cultivation,  and 
the  seed  may  not  only  be  "sown 
in  February  in  the  open  ground, 
but  in  November,  and  if  the 
mice  do  not  eat  it  the  winter  will 
not  kill  it,  and  in  due  time  the 
plants  will  appear  with  the  sunshine 
of  the  early  spring.  But  this  fine 
plant  deserves  extra  care,  and  should 
never  be  grown  in  a  careless  manner. 
It  is  the  custom  with  many  gardeners 
to  sow  the  seed  in  pots  and  nurse  the  young 
plants  in  frames,  but  we  f  refer  to  sow  them 
where  they  are  to  remain,  and  to  defer 
doing  this  until  the  middle  of  March,  for  if  the  plants 
come  up  with  a  flush  of  warm  weather  before  the  frosts 
are  over,  they  are  apt  to  be  nipped,  and  transplanting 
puts  them  back,  so  that  to  raise  them  in  pots  for  the 
purpose  is  decidedly  objectionable.  Thus  we  simplify  the 


114  FAMILIAR    GARDEN  FLOWERS. 

ordinary  cultivation,  but  we  must  urge  that  what  is  done 
should  be  done  well.  A  piece  of  mellow  soil  in  an  open 
situation  should  be  prepared,  by  being  well  dug  and  rather 
liberally  manured,  in  autumn  or  winter,  and  when  the  seed 
is  sown  this  should  be  dug  over  again  and  the  lumps 
broken  to  make  a  nice  seed-bed ;  then  sow  in  a  neat  drill 
an  inch  and  a  half  deep,  and  very  soon  after  the  plants 
appear  put  to  them  stakes  of  brushwood  about  four  feet 
high,  selecting  for  this  purpose  the  neatest  and  most 
feathery  pea-sticks  you  can  find.  Peas  that  are  grown  to 
eat  may  be  supported  roughly,  but  peas  that  are  grown 
to  be  admired  for  their  beauty  should  be  supported  in 
the  neatest  manner  possible;  therefore  wire  trellises  and 
"  rissels "  made  for  the  purpose  may  with  advantage  be 
employed,  especially  when  the  peas  occupy  a  prominent 
situation  in  the  garden. 

In  the  event  of  dry  hot  weather  occurring  early  in 
the  summer,  sweet  peas  should  be  liberally  watered  two 
or  three  times  a  week,  and  if  the  natural  soil  is  sandy  or 
chalky  it  may  be  advisable  to  mulch  the  rows  with  half- 
rotten  stable  dung,  which,  if  needful,  can  be  concealed 
with  a  sprinkling  of  earth.  To  keep  them  flowering  freely 
to  the  end  of  the  season,  all  the  pods  should  be  removed 
upon  becoming  visible,  and  the  plants,  being  thus  relieved 
of  the  tax  upon  their  energies  the  swelling-  of  the  seed 
would  entail,  will  maintain  their  vigour  more  completely, 
and  flower  the  more  freely  in  consequence. 

The  commonest  sample  of  sweet  peas,  that  may  be 
bought  for  a  penny  at  the  nearest  stall,  is  worth  sowing 
and  growing,  -and  will  give  delight  to  all  who  see  and  smell 
the  flowers.  There  are  no  bad  sorts  in  cultivation,  and  so 
if  the  seed  is  alive,  that  is  enough.  But  those  who  take  a 


THE    SWEET   PEA.  115 

pride  in  growing  fine  flowers  will  do  well  to  secure  seeds  of 
some  of  the  named  varieties  of  sweet  peas  that  are  offered 
by  the  great  seed-houses,  for  they  are  distinct  and  glorious, 
and  will  contribute  in  a  most  especial  manner  to  the 
delights  of  the  garden,  and  at  a  cost  so  small  that  it  would 
be  a  breach  of  politeness  in  this  connection  to  talk  about 
money.  Secure  a  supply  of  each  of  the  sorts  that  are  on 
offer,  and  sow  them  separately ;  you  will  then  have  only 
half  a  dozen  rows  at  the  utmost,  for  there  are  not  more 
than  as  many  sorts  in  the  lists.  Or — happy  thought ! — • 
mix  them  and  sow  them  thinly  in  well-made  ground,  and 
then  you  will  be  able  to  gather  several  sorts  on  the 
same  spot,  which  will  often  prove  a  convenience.  They 
are  extremely  useful  for  decorative  purposes  and  large 
"  nosegays,"  but  must  be  used  with  caution  in  bouquets 
and  button-holes. 

Peas    are    "papilionaceous"   plants — that    is    to   say, 
their  flowers  are  like  butterflies. 

"  Here  are  sweet  peas,  on  top-toe  for  a  flight, 
With  wings  of  gentle  flush  o'er  delicate  white." 

They  are  also '"leguminous"  plants — from  legumen,  pulse 
— the  seeds- being  substantial  nutritive  things  produced  in 
cases  or  pods  which  are  sometimes  like  parchment,  some- 
times like  paper,  and  sometimes  tender  and  sweet,  so  that, 
as  in  the  sugar  pea,  the  whole  thing  is  eaten,  or,  as  people 
say,  the  "whole  hog,  skin  and  bristles."  Poor  "Bully 
Bottom  "  called  upon  Master  Peas-blossom  to  scratch  his 
head,  and  being  thus  scratched  by  Master  Peas-blossom, 
he  must  needs  have  a  donkey's  appetite,  and  desire  "a 
bottle  of  hay"  or  "a  handful  or  two  of  dried  peas." 
Nor  need  the  donkey  be  ashamed  of  his  relative,  for  the 


116  FAMILIAR     GARDEN    FLOWEES. 

choice  of  peas  was  not  a  bad  choice,  and  it  might  be  well 
for  mankind  at  large,  as  well  as  for  the  asinine  brotherhood, 
were  peas  more  extensively  relied  upon  as  a  kind  of  food 
likely  to  "  stick  to  the  ribs.-"  As  regards  usefulness,  the 
pea  family  is  one  of  the  wonders  of  creation ;  but  as  we 
cannot  afford  space  to  be  scientific,  we  shall  quietly  quit 
the  subject  while  our  shoes  are  good. 

"  An  early  worshipper  at  Nature's  shrine, 
T  loved  her  rudest  scenes — warrens  and  heaths, 
And  yellow  commons,  and  birch- shaded  hollows, 
And  hedgerows  bordering  unfrequented  lanes ; 
Bower'd  with  wild  roses,  and  the  clasping  woodbine, 
Where  purple  tassels  of  the  tangling  vetch 
With  bittersweet,  and  bryony  inweave, 
And  the  dew  fills  the  silver  bindweed's  cups. 
I  love  to  trace  the  brooks  whose  humid  banks 
Nourish  the  harebell,  and  the  freckled  pagil ; 
And  stroll  among  o'ershadowing  woods  of  beech, 
Lending  in  summer,  from  the  heats  of  noon, 
A  whispering  shade,  while  haply  there  reclines 
Some  pensive  lover  of  uncultured  flowers." 

CHARLOTTE  SMITH. 


HONEYSUCKLE. 


THE   HONEYSUCKLE. 

Lonicera  cnprifolitim. 

VERY  plant  has  its  place,  as 
every  dog  has  its  day,  and  the 
very  place  for  this  honeysuckle 
is  the  wall  of  a  comfortable  Eng- 
lish cottage,  whereon  it  appears 
more  at  home  than  anywhere  else 
in  all  the  world,  not  forgetting 
the  woods  in  the  south  of  Europe, 
wherein  it  plays  the  reveller,  and 
perfumes  the  breeze.  We  call  it 
British,  and  may  find  it  occa- 
sionally in  a  wild  state ;  but  it 
is  a  doubtful  native,  although 
well  adapted  for  naturalisation 
in  woods  and  thickets  and  the 
wilder  parts  of  garden  scenes. 
The  smaller  and  ever-welcome  woodbine  (Lonicera  peri- 
clymenum]  is  beyond  doubt  indigenous,  and  is  one  of  the 
most  widely-diffused  of  our  woodland  vines,  and  worthy 
of  its  renown  in  song  and  story.  Titania,  addressing  the 
ridiculous  weaver  of  Athens,  says  : — ' 

"  I  will  wind  thee  in  my  arms. 
So  doth  the  woodbine  the  sweet  honeysuckle 
Gently  entwist." 


118  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

But  this  passage,  perhaps,  we  should  not  have  quoted,  be- 
cause of  the  grave  question  arising  out  of  the  distinction 
implied  between  the  "  woodbine  "  and  the  "  sweet  honey- 
suckle." However,  we  will  meet  the  difficulty,  because  it 
is  one  of  great  interest.  The  explanation  is  that  there  is 
in  English  poetry  more  than  one  woodbine,  but  there  is 
only  one  honeysuckle.  The  woodbine  of  Shakespeare  was, 
in  all  probability,  the  convolvulus.  Gifford  pointed  out 
the  true  meaning  of  the  passage  in  his  note  upon  a  parallel 
passage  in  Ben  Jonson  : — 

"Behold 

How  the  blue  bindweed  doth  itself  enfold 
With  honeysuckle,  and  both  these  entwine 
Themselves  with  briony  and  jessamine.'' 

Readers  of  the  "divine  bard''  may  remember  that  a 
certain  hostess  (2  "King  Henry  IV.,"  ii.  1)  denounces  the 
mighty  Falstaff  as  a  "honeysuckle  villain "  and  a  "  honey- 
seed  rogue/'  by  which,  perhaps,  we  may  understand  that 
she  thought  his  fair  words  and  winning  ways  made  him 
doubly  dangerous  as  a  creditor  and  a  cheat.  It  is  agreeable 
to  turn  from  the  theatrical  weaver  and  the  stout  knight 
to  the  invitation  of  Hero  in  "  Much  Ado  about  Nothing" 

(iii.  1)  to 

"  Steal  into  the  pleached  bower, 
Where  honeysuckles,  ripen'd  by  the  sun, 
Forbid  the  sun  to  enter ;  like  favourites 
Made  proud  by  princes,  that  advance  their  pride 
Against  that  power  that  bred  it." 

Now  to  turn  from  poetry  to  the  garden  itself.  There 
are  from  eighty  to  a  hundred  species  of  Lonicera  adapted 
for  the  English  garden,  out  only  half  a  dozen  or  so  have 
hitherto  obtained  much  attention.  The  peculiar  "per- 
foliate  "  character  of  L.  caprifolium  is  displayed  in  the  illus- 


THE   HONEYSUCKLE.  119 

tration,  this  style  of  leafage  being  called  by  the  botanists 
"connate."  Of  the  common  L.periclymenum  there  are  several 
varieties  known — Dutch,  Belgian,  oak-leaved,  late-red,  &c., 
all  of  which  have  some  degree  of  special  merit ;  but  the 
variegated-leaved  variety  is  worthless.  One  of  the  very 
best  for  a  good  place  in  the  garden  is  L.  sempervirens,  the 
trumpet  honeysuckle,  an  American  species,  with  bold  heads 
of  scarlet  flowers,  which  are  inodorous.  Under  the  name 
Lonicera  brachypoda  we  may  group  half  a  dozen  garden 
varieties,  such  as  L.  Chinensis  and  L.  Japonica;  and  here 
we  find  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  the  family  in  that 
called  Aureo-reticulata,  which  is  exquisitely  rich  in  its 
leafage,  and  well  worth  attentive  observation.  It  will  be 
noticed  that  at  one  time  the  leaves  are  lobed  like  those  of 
the  oak-tree,  and  at  another  time  they  are  simply  ovate  or 
elliptical,  without  lobes,  for  they  alter  in  form  as  they  grow, 
and  they  are  always  richly  painted  with  bright-green  lines 
on  a  ground  of  gold-yellow  or  full  deep  orange,  which 
acquires  rich  tinges  of  red  when  the  chills  of  autumn  check 
the  growth.  Wherever  this  plant  can  be  accommodated 
with  a  trellis,  or  can  be  carried  by  an  arch  over  a  walk, 
or  have  careful  training  up  a  wall  to  a  height  of  ten  to 
twenty  feet,  it  should  be  allowed  "a  chance."  It  will 
grow  grandly  and  flower  sweetly,  and  if  it  happens  to  be 
the  only  plant  of  Japan  you  possess,  it  will  compel  you 
to  cherish  agreeable  thoughts  of  that  interesting  country, 
from  which  we  have  derived  a  very  large  proportion  of 
our  most  valued  garden  flowers. 

The  winter-flowering  honeysuckle  (L.fragrantissima)  is 
an  extremely  useful  but  altogether  unattractive  shrub.  It 
grows  in  a  style  similar  to  a  lilac,  and  does  not  climb  or 
riot  at  all.  Its  light  green  leafage  is  agreeable  in  summer  ; 


120  FAMILIAR    GARDEN  FLOWERS. 

in  fact,  it  is  quite  a  respectable  border  shrub.  But  its  best 
quality  is  its  production  very  early  in  the  year — even  in 
January  if  the  winter  be  a  mild  one — of  an  abundance  of 
small  white  flowers  that  are  very  sweet-scented. ' 

The  genus  Lonicera  is  named  in'  honour  of  Adam 
Lonicer,  a  physician  and  naturalist,  born  at  Marburg  in 
1528.  He  studied  at  Mainz,  took  the  degree  of  doctor 
in  1554,  and  soon  after  settled  at  Frankfort,  where  he 
practised  as  a  physician.  He  wrote  many  books,  but  one 
only  appears  to  have  acquired  a  lasting  renown ;  this  is 
the  "  Naturalis  Histories  Opus  novum,"  in  two  parts,  first 
published  in  1551  and  1555.  •  In  the  second  part  there  is 
much  curious  information  about  plants,  and  particularly 
those  that  grow  near  Frankfort;  and  it  contains  a  list 
of  plants  in  various  languages  to  which  the  student  of 
botanical  terminology  may  refer  with  advantage. 


CRIMSON    FLAX. 


THE   CEIMSON   FLAX. 

Linuin  yrandifloruiH. 

,HEN  Pharaoh  trembled  to  behold 
the  plague  of  hail,  "  and  fire 
mingled  with  the  hail,  very 
grievous/'  he  repented,  and  be- 
sought Moses  to  "intreat  the 
Lord ;"  and  Moses  spread  abroad 
his  hands,  "  and  the  thunders  and 
hail  ceased/'  Then  it  was  found 
"  that  the  flax  and  the  barley  was 
smitten :  for  the  barley  was  in 
the  ear,  and  the  flax  was  boiled/' 
This  passage  establishes  the  cul- 
tivation of  flax  in  Egypt  1,500 
years  before  the  Christian  era, 
and  over  500  years  before  the 
time  of  Homer,  who  speaks  of 
it  as  representing  an  important 
domestic  industry.  Herodotus 
describes  the  Egyptian  priests 
as  wearing  linen  garments,  as  in  after-times  was  the 
custom  of  the  priests  of  Israel,  as  ordained  in  Exodus 
xxviii.  The  common  annual  flax  bearing  blue  flowers 
was,  in  all  probability,  the  plant  grown  for  fibre  from 
the  earliest  times  in  all  parts  of  the  Old  World. 
P 


122  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

Whatever  maybe  the  economic  relations  of  the  crimson 
flax,  there  can  be  no  mistake  as  to  its  rank  as  a  garden 
plant.  It  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  splendid  hardy 
annuals  known,  and  is  capable  of  becoming1  a  perennial 
under  suitable  management.  Its  average  growth  is  twelve 
to  fifteen  inches ;  the  leaves  are  elliptic  to  linear,  the  upper 
ones  the  largest.  The  flowers  are  in  a  loose  terminal 
panicle,  each  measuring  about  one  and  a  half  to  two  inches 
across,  salver-shaped,  the  colour  deep  carmine  or  crimson, 
the  claw  of  each  petal  streaked  with  white  lines,  and 
divided  from  the  limb  by  a  transverse  mark  of  red-brown  ; 
the  sepals  have  white  margins.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that 
when  the  flowers  have  been  admired  for  their  fine  form 
and  rich  colour,  some  entertainment  may  be  derived  from 
a  minute  examination  of  their  structure. 

To  grow  this  plant  to  perfection  is  an  easy  task.  The 
first  step  to  be  taken  is  to  insure  a  true  sample  of  seed, 
for  worthless  kinds  of  flax  are  sometimes  sold  for  it.  The 
soil  in  which  the  plant  makes  the  finest  growth  is  a  free, 
fertile,  sandy  loam,  but  any  soil  in  which  summer  flowers 
usually  thrive  will  suit  it.  The  seeds  should  be  sown  in 
a  pan  in  a  frame  in  the  month  of  March,  and  be  carefully 
nursed  until  the  plants  are  large  enough  to  handle,  when 
they  should  be  planted  out  six  inches  apart.  From  the 
time  the  seedlings  appear  they  should  have  plenty  of  air 
and  light,  for  if  at  all  drawn  or  weakened  in  the  early 
stages  the  bloom  will  be  less  satisfactory.  A  sunny  open 
position  should  be  chosen  for  the  bed,  and  a  few  waterings 
must  be  given  if  the  weather  is  dry  when  they  are  newly 
planted  out.  If  sowing  in  a  frame  be  not  convenient,  the 
seeds  may  be  sown  where  they  are  to  remain  some  time 
in  April,  or  if  the  soil  be  naturally  dry  and  warm,  in 


THE    CRIMSON    FLAX.  123 

March,  and  in  due  time  the  plants  must  be  thinned  to  six 
inches  apart.  They  require  no  support  and  no  special 
attention,,  and  dryness  with  heat  will  do  them  no  harm 
if  they  have  been  assisted  in  the  early  stages  to  become 
well  established. 

In  common  with  most  other  plants,  the  crimson  flax 
is  greatly  benefited  by  systematic  removal  of  the  flowers 
as  their  beauty  declines,  to  prevent  the  growth  of  seed. 
But  if  seed  be  wanted,  they  must  be  allowed  to  run  their 
course,  and  the  round  seed-pods  must  be  gathered  when 
nearly  ripe,  and  be  spread  in  the  sun  under  cover  to  finish, 
when  the  seed  may  be  shelled  out,  and  stored  away  in  a 
paper  or  linen  bag. 

The  common  flax  (Linnm  nsitatissimuni) ;  although  but 
little  prized  as  a  garden  plant,  is  not  wanting  in  beauty. 
Its  extremely  light  and  airy  style  of  growth,  and  its 
comparatively  large  salver-shaped  blue  or  white  flowers, 
render  it  an  interesting  if  not  an  attractive  plant.  Of 
its  uses  it  would  be  almost  idle  to  speak  here,  because 
we  could  not  hope  in  a.  few  words  to  convey  to  the  reader 
anything  that  is  not  already  well  known.  However,  at 
the  risk  of  retailing  stale  news,  we  will  briefly  record 
that  we  have  seen  flax  fibre  prepared  for  the  workers 
in  .Brussels  lace,  and  have  experienced  surprise  at  the 
excessive  care  bestowed  upon  the  business,  while  all 
wonder  as  to  the  high  prices  of  the  best  kinds  of  lace 
was  by  the  same  experience  taken  away.  The  flax  is 
grown  with  great  care  at  Hal  and  Rebecque,  and  the 
retting  is  conducted  with  scrupulous  nicety,  to  secure 
clean  fibre  of  great  strength.  The  thread  for  the  lace  is 
spun  in  rooms  kept  nearly  dark,  to  discipline  the  eye  and 
the  fingers  to  the  delicate  task  of  rejecting  all  that  is 


124  FAMILIAR     GARDEN    FLOWERS. 

faulty  and  securing  a  thread  of  exceeding  fineness  and 
great  strength.  As  regards  the  strength,  indeed,  some 
samples  that  are  as  fine  as  the  threads  of  a  spider's  web 
are  nevertheless  as  strong  as  a  metal  wire.  The  result  of 
all  this  care  is  that  the  thread  is  worth  its  weight  in  gold 
before  the  making  of  the  lace  begins.  There  is  now 
much  inferior  thread  used  in  the  production  of  cheap  laces, 
but  certain  manufacturers  of  Bi'ussels  maintain  the  high 
quality  for  which  their  city  has  long  been  famous,  and  those 
who  care  to  pay  the  price  may  obtain  lace  of  modern 
make,  equal  in  every  way  to  the  best  of  laces  that  have 
acquired  historical  renown. 


IRIS 


THE     IRIS, 

Iris  Gfrmaniea. 

RIS  was  the  daughter  of  Thaumas 
and  Electra,  and  her  office  was  that 
of  messenger  to  Juno.  Therefore 
it  is  that  in  the  "  Iliad  "  and  the 
<^Eneid"  this  "lady  of  colour"  has 
important  business  to  transact,  and, 
as  a  matter  of  course,  her  traffic 
between  heaven  and  earth  is  facili- 
tated by  that  prehistoric  railroad 
and  aerial  bridge,  the  "bow  bent 
in  the  sky,"  resplendent  with  in- 
numerable tints.  The  hues  of  the 
rainbow  are  seen  in  the  human  eye, 
for  in  truth  the  bow  is  there — 

"Bespeaking  our  fears,  dissolving  in 

tears, 

And    looking    to    heaven    through 
colours  of  love." 

Hence  the  eye,  which  is  the  sole 
source  of  our  knowledge  of  colour, 
is  the  symbol  of  Iris,  and  the  flower  before  us  derives  its 
name  from  the  variety  and  splendour  of  its  painting,  and 
is,  as  our  cousins  of  the  West  might  say,  a  genuine  "  eye- 
opener  "  when  summer  has  renewed  the  beauty  of  its  bloom. 


126  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

The  common  iris,  or  "  flag-,"  is  Iris  Germanica.  This 
is  well  known  by  its  distinct  sabre-shaped  leaves  and 
noble  blue  flowers.  It  may  be  seen  everywhere  in  London 
gardens,  and  yet  where  a  London  garden  is  managed  in 
first-rate  style,  it  cannot  be  counted  among  the  most 
desirable  plants  for  it.  But  we  have  now  to  do  with 
its  intrinsic  merit,  which  is  known  to  all.  Given  an 
ample  range  of  border  enclosing-  a  croquet  or  bowling- 
green,  or  a  free  range  of  woodland  walks,  and  we  have 
a  suitable  domain  for  a  collection  of  varieties  of  German 
iris,  of  which  there  are  about  fifty  in  cultivation.  These 
present  us  with  all  possible  colours  save  pure  yellow  and 
pure  scarlet.  They  are  wonderful  in  shades  of  blue, 
purple,  lilac,  lavender,  brown,  orange,  buff,  and  pearly 
grey,  put  on  in  blotches,  patches,  circles,  spots,  marginal 
lines,  and  delicate  pencilling^.  Any  garden  would  be  rich 
with  a  collection  of  these,  and  to  examine  and  criticise 
them  when  in  flower  would  afford  many  a  summer  clay's 
delight.  Any  good  deep  ga'rden  soil  will  suit  the  German 
iris. 

Another  remarkable  section  of  the  family  is  that  known 
to  botanists  as  Iris  lavigarta,  but  in  ga'rdens  denominated 
Iris  Kampferi.  This  species  has  been  for  centuries  cul- 
tivated by  the  Japanese,  and  the  best  of  their  varieties 
have  been  subjected  to  comparison  and  improvement  in 
Holland  and  Germany,  and  one  result  is  that  the  named 
sorts  now  available  for  the  English  garden  are  as  worthy 
of  a  place  in  it  as  any  hardy  plants  known.  They  differ 
from  all  other  irises  in  the  size  of  the  flowers  as  compared 
with  the  leaves,  the  large  lobes  of  the  flowers,  and  the 
predominance  of  rich  deep  hues  of  crimson  and  purple 
with  other  colours  amongst  them.  A  rich  deep  soil  and 


THE    IRIS.  127 

an  ojvn  sit  tuition  are  requisite  to  ensure  a  good  growth 
of  Iris  Kampferi,  and  it  thrives  best  in  open  beds. 

A  third  section  comprises  those  known  in  gardens  as 
Crimean  irises,  Iris  puinila.  These  are  of  dwarf  growth ; 
they  flower  freely,  and  are  very  gay,  while  their  neatness 
of  habit  tits  them  for  edging  flower-beds,  and  of  course 
they  would  be  appropriate  to  give  a  finish  to  beds  con- 
taining the  larger  and  grander  varieties.  The  colours  that 
prevail  amongst  these  dwarf  irises  are  purple,  dark  blue, 
pale  blue,  straw-yellow,  and  white.  They  will  thrive  ia 
any  soil,  but  attain  to  their  fullest  perfection  in  a  rather 
dry,  deep  sandy  loam  or  sandy  peat.  They  have  increased 
and  flowered  freely  on  our  heavy,  damp  clay,  and  therefore 
we  are  not  afraid  to  say  that  any  soil  will  suit  them. 

It  is  proper  now  to  remark  upon  a  few  species  that  are 
calculated  to  afford  much  entertainment  to  the  amateur  of 
hardy  plants,  and  it  is  the  more  desirable  to  mention  them 
in  this  notice,  because  they  are  at  once  cheap,  beautiful, 
interesting,  and  but  little  known  beyond  the  narrow  circle 
of  advanced  florists  and  horticultural  botanists.  Iris  cris- 
tata  comes  near  to  the  Crimean  iris  in  general  characters ; 
the  flowers  are  blue,  with  deeper  blue  spots,  and  wavy  ribs, 
or  "crests,"  tinted  yellow  and  orange.  Iris  Florentine 
may  be  added  to  the  Germanic  group  as  nearly  related  to 
them  ;  the  flowers  are  white,  with  a  blue  tinge  and  a  yellow 
beard,  agreeably  fragrant.  Iris  fcetidissima  has  a  bad 
name,  but  it  is  a  tine  plant,  bearing  lead-coloured  or  dull 
yellow  flowers,  which  are  succeeded  by  clusters  of  scarlet 
berries,  that  are  very  useful  in  Christmas  decorations.  A 
damp  situation  suits  this  plant.  The  variegated-leaved 
variety  is  one  of  the  handsomest  plants  of  its  class  in 
cultivation.  Iris  ibericot,  is  a  remarkable  plant,  with 


128  FAMILIAR    GARDEN    FLOWERS. 

immense  dark  flowers,  superbly  streaked,  veined,  and 
spotted.  This  is  scarce  at  present,  and  may  be  ad- 
vantageously grown  in  pots  as  a  frame  plant.  It  is, 
however,  hardy  enough  for  a  dry,  warm  nook  in  the  rock 
garden.  Iris  Monnieri  is  a  grand  plant,  with  fragrant 
yellow  flowers.  It  requires  a  rich,  deep,  moist  soil,  and 
a  warm  situation.  Iris  pallida  is  distinct  and  fine;  the 
flowers  are  pale  blue,  with  pale  yellow  beard ;  it  will  thrive 
in  almost  any  soil  and  situation,  and  may  be  classed  with 
the  German  irises.  Iris  pseudacons  is  the  common 
English  water-flag,  a  truly  noble  species,  which  adorns 
with  its  golden  banners  many  a  broad  river  and  sluggish 
meadow  stream.  It  is  worth  a  place  in  the  woodland  border, 
and  the  variegated-leaved  variety  is  a  good  garden  plant, 
Iris  reticulata  is  an  exquisite  gem,  with  narrow,  rush-like 
leaves,  and  flowers  plentifully  produced,  the  colours  rich 
violet-purple,  strongly  stamped  in  the  centre  with  deep 
rich  gold.  The  extreme  elegance  and  fragrance  of  the 
flowers,  and  the  tendency  of  the  plant  to  suffer  from 
damp,  render  it  desirable  to  treat  this  as  a  pot-plant. 


CRIMSON    PETUNIA. 


THE 
CRIMSON   PETUNIA. 

Petunia  ph&nicea. 

LANTS  of  the  new  world  often 
lack  interest  through  sheer 
meagreness  of  "  associations/' 
and  the  petunia  is  a  trite  ex- 
example  of  this.  Its  useful- 
ness as  a  garden  flower  rests 
on  its  beauty  first,  and  next 
on  the  ease  with  which  it 
may  be  adapted  to  a  variety 
of  circumstances  for  deco- 
rative effect.  At  page  10 
of  the  present  Series  will  be 
found  some  remarks  upon  the 
name  and  character  of  the 
plant,  and  we  shall  therefore 
now  speak  of  its  cultivation 
only. 

The  flower  before  us,  which  for  convenience  sake  we 
name  Petunia  phcenicea,  is  a  garden  variety,  therefore 
not  to  be  regarded  as  typical  for  botanical  purposes. 
Indeed,  we  can  scarcely  speak  of  it  as  a  proper  hybrid, 
but  rather  a  cross,  no  one  knows  how  many  times  re- 
moved, from  P.  violacea,  P.  nyclaginijlorat  P.  phosnieea. 


130  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

and  others  that  have  been  bred  from  in  gardens,  and 
so  often  crossed  that  it  is  in  vain  to  look  for  distinct 
specific  characters  in  the  named  varieties  that  now  find 
favour.  The  seed-growers  select  certain  showy  types, 
taking  care  to  insure  plants  of  good  habit,  and  they  allow 
them  to  seed  in  a  wild  sort  of  way,  the  bees  being  free  to 
cross  them  as  they  will,  and  the  customers  who  buy  and 
grow  the  seed  being  equally  free  to  select  from  their  seed- 
ling plants  such  as  they  consider  worth  a  better  fate  than 
to  be  disposed  of  as  annuals,  which  are  here  to-day  and 
gone  to-morrow. 

Garden  petunias  may  be  classed  under  three  heads : 
unnamed  seedlings  of  various  colours,  named  single 
varieties,  and  named  double  varieties.  The  cheapest  of 
all  modes  of  obtaining  a  tine  lot  is  to  sow  the  seed  thinly 
on  a  well-made  sunny  border  about  the  middle  of  April. 
As  soon  as  the  plants  are  furnished  with  three  or  four 
leaves,  those  that  are  crowded  should  be  drawn  out  and 
transplanted  to  a  similarly  favourable  spot,  but  as  many  as 
possible  should  be  allowed  to  remain  to  flower  where  sown. 
When  they  are  in  flower  the  best  should  be  marked ;  and  if 
it  is  desired  to  perpetuate  them,  cuttings  should  be  struck 
in  August,  five  or  six  together  in. five-inch  pots  in  sandy 
loam,  and  in  these  pots  they  should  remain,  having  the 
shelter  of  a  frame  or  greenhouse  during  the  winter 
months.  Thus  you  will  have  secured  for  flowering  a 
second  time,  and  indeed  for  as  many  years  thereafter  as 
may  suit  your  pleasure  or  convenience,  the  best  of  the 
kinds  that  were  in  the  first  instance  produced  from  pur- 
chased seed. 

Npw,  if  you  have  in  you  the  spirit  of  a  florist  you  will 
regard  this  little  lot  of  selected  sorts  as  the  traditional  half- 


THE   CRIMSON   PETUNIA.  131 

crown  that  the  enterprising  lad  starts  from  home  with  when 
destined  to  marry  his  master's  daughter  and  become  Lord 
Mayor  of  London.  The  way  to  make  your  floral  fortune 
is  to  plant  them,  let  them  run  to  seed,  and  thereby  begin 
the  world  anew  by  means  of  seed  of  your  own  saving. 
You  will  sow,  and  grow,  and  select  as  befoi'e ;  and  there 
is  in  truth  no  knowing  to  what  glorious  pitch  of  perfec- 
tion you  may  eventually,  by  patience  and  skill,  bring  the 
petunia  or  any  other  flower  that  you  may  deal  with  in 
the  same  way. 

We  began  on  a  cheap  plan ;  but  there  is  a  better.  It 
consists  in  buying  plants  of  the  best  named  varieties,  and 
raising  seeds  from  these,  thus  securing  all  that  has  been 
done  by  a  thousand  florists  at  the  first  start.  But  you  are 
not  bound  to  raise  seedlings  at  all.  If  you  want  to  have 
the  best  possible  petunias  for  the  least  possible  trouble,  you 
have  but  to  purchase  the  named  sorts  and  grow  them  well, 
and  there  is  an  end  of  the  matter. 

To  grow  nice  pot  specimens  of  petunias  is  evidently  not 
an  easy  matter,  because  we  meet  with  very  many  at  exhi- 
bitions that  are  not  nice.  The  general  fault  consists  in 
the  growth  being  prolonged  and  rusty,  suggesting  to  the 
critical  observer  that  the  plants  have  been  crowded  and  far 
from  the  glass,  and  in  soma  degree  neglected  as  regards 
watering.  The  petunia  is  a  veiy  accommodating  plant ;  it 
is  very  nearly  hardy,  and  therefore  should  have  plenty  of 
air  when  growing  freely.  A  light,  rich,  sandy  soil  should 
be  employed  in  the  growth  of  pot  specimens,  and  the  shoots 
should  be  pinched  back  in  a  slight  degree  in  the  early 
stages  to  promote  a  dwarf,  bushy  habit ;  and  of  course  the 
training  to  neat  stakes  should  proceed  with  every  advance 
in  the  growth  of  the  plants. 


132  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

When  kept  under  glass  during  the  summer,  the  petunia 
soon  becomes  infested  with  green-fly,  the  only  mode  of 
removing  which  is  to  fumigate  with  tobacco  smoke  at 
night,  when  the  plants  are  quite  dry,  and  early  the  next 
day  to  give  them  a  slight  cleansing  shower  of  clean  water 
with  the  syringe.  All  plants  that  are  nearly  hardy  will 
thrive  better  in  frames  than  in  greenhouses  from  Mav  to 
October,  as  they  can  be  fully  exposed  to  light,  air,  and 
dew,  and  may  be  protected  at  any  time  from  storm  and 
frost. 


THE      ASTEK. 

CaUistemma  hortemis. 

HIS  charming  flower,  which  ranks 
with  the  balsam  in  importance 
as  an  annual,  has  no  history,  and 
is  nothing1  unless  well  grown ; 
therefore  the  best  employment 
of  the  space  at  our  command 
will  be  to  frame  a  compact  essay 
on  the  cultivation  of  the  aster  in 
first-rate  style,  with  a  view  to 
the  production  of  flowers  good 
enough  for  exhibition. 

It  is  impossible  to  grow  good 
asters  in  a  poor  soil,  and  the 
water  supply  should  be  constant 
and  plentiful.  If  grown  in  the 
same  bed  every  year,  it  should  be 
regularly  well  dug  and  tolerably 
manured,  as  if  intended  for  a  crop  of 
peas  or  cauliflowers.  But  finer  flowers 
may  be  secured  by  growing  them  every  year  in  fresh  soil 
that  has  not  carried  «sters  before,  or  at  least  only  once  in 
seven  years  or  so. 

The  seed  is  usually  sown  too  early,  and  the  plants  get 
starved  before  the  season  is  sufficiently  advanced  to  allow 


134  FAMILIAR    GARDEN    FLOWERS. 

them  to  be  put  out.  The  last  week  in  March  is  early 
enough  for  the  first  sowing,  and  a  cold  frame  will  be  the 
best  place  for  the  pan  or  box  in  which  the  seeds  are  sown. 
For  all  ordinary  purposes  it  is  not  desirable  to  sow  until 
about  the  15th  of  April,  as  there  is  then  no  probability  that 
the  plants  will  suffer  a  check.  The  young  plants  should 
have  as  much  air  and  light  as  they  can  bear,  the  cul- 
tivator, of  course,  keeping  in  mind  that  they  are  tender 
in  constitution.  If  they  have  insufficient  light  they  will 
become  weak  and  wiry,  and  if  insufficient  air  they  will 
soon  be  smothered  with  green  fly,  and  thereby  seriously 
impoverished. 

As  soon  as  large  enough  to  handle,  prick  out  the  young 
plants  in  a  bed  of  light  rich  soil  in  a  frame ;  put  them 
three  inches  apart,  water  them  well,  and  keep  the  frame 
rather  close  for  two  or  three  days ;  then  give  air  with 
caution,  and  increase  the  ventilation  daily,  and  they  will 
become  strong  and  well  prepared  for  planting  out. 

A  bed  for  asters  should  be  made  ready  a  few  weeks 
before  it  is  wanted.  The  third  week  in  May  is  soon 
enough  for  planting  out,  and  dull  warm  weather  should  be 
chosen  for  the  business;  in  any  case,  if  the  nights  are 
frosty,  the  plants  had  best  remain  in  their  snug  bed  under 
glass  until  a  change  occurs.  If  put  out  in  sunny  weather, 
turn  empty  pots  over  them  for  a  day  or  two  to  save  them 
from  exhaustion.  As  a  rule,  they  should  lie  planted  a  foot 
apart  every  way,  but  this  rule  may  be  varied  as  circum- 
stances may  suggest.  They  should  be  lifted  with  care,  so 
that  every  tuft  of  roots  is  kept  intact,  and  should  be  firmly 
though  gently  pressed  into  their  places,  and  then  have  a 
good  watering  to  finish  the  work.  The  remainder  of  the 
management  will  consist  chiefly  in  watering  and  weeding, 


THE    ASTER,  135 

and  both  tasks  must  be  pursued  assiduously,  or  the  flowers 
will  be  below  exhibition  mark. 

Well-grown  plants  will  usually  produce  more  flower- 
heads  than  they  can  fully  develop ;  therefore  it  is  a  nice 
point  to  thin  them  in  good  time.  The  beginner  may 
with  advantage  remove  all  the  heads  save  the  centre  and 
three  side  shoots,  thus  leaving  only  four  heads  of  bloom 
to  each  plant.  As  experience  is  acquired,  the  rule  may  be 
varied,  and  it  will  be  found  that  French  asters  require 
to  be  thinned  more  severely  than  German,  which  may 
in  a  good  soil  be  allowed  to  carry  half  a  dozen  ;  but  they 
should  never  be  thinned  down  to  one  or  two,  because  while 
this  spoils  the  appearance  of  the  plants,  it  does  not  result 
in  the  production  of  better  blooms,  for  when  asters  are 
grown  beyond  a  certain  degree  of  strength  they  are  likely 
to  become  coarse. 

In  a  hot  dry  season,  asters  are  peculiarly  liable  to  the 
attacks  of  "  red  spider "  or  acarus,  and  "  green  fly "  or 
aphis.  A  precaution  often  adopted  to  prevent  this  con- 
sists in  covering  the  bed  with  a  mulch  of  two  or  three 
inches  of  half-rotten  dung.  This  should  be  put  on  as 
soon  as  the  crown  bud  is  visible,  and  should  be  followed  by 
regular  and  copious  watering.  The  healthy  and  vigorous 
growth  that  this  treatment  promotes  is  calculated  to  keep 
insect  foes  at  a  distance,  for  the  sickly  plant  is  soonest 
attacked  by  them.  When  the  young  plants  are  infested 
by  green  fly  it  is  safer  to  dust  them  with  tobacco  powder 
than  to  use  any  kind  of  wash.  As  a  rule,  indeed,  tobacco 
powder  is  always  to  be  preferred,  because  dry  and  clean 
and  easily  washed  off. 

The  immense  popularity  of  the  aster  accounts  for  the 
number  of  varieties  that  are  offered  in  the  seed  lists,  for 


136  FAMILIAR    GARDEN    FLO  WEES. 

one  of  the  first  objects  of  the  cultivator  of  a  flower  is  to 
promote  variation  and  establish  the  most  distinct  and 
beautiful  varieties.  For  exhibition  purposes  the  best 
varieties  are  those  known  as  the  Victoria,  French  Paeony, 
Giant  French,  and  Betteridge's. 

For  large  beds,  mixtures  of  colours  are  desirable,  but 
the  flowers  should  be  uniform  in  style,  and  therefore  only 
one  sort  or  section  of  asters  should  be  grown  in  a  bed. 
Those  who  know  the  sorts  well  may  indeed  use  several  in 
the  same  bed,  but  the  safe  way  for  the  beginner  is  to  be 
content  with  one  or  two — say  a  moderately  tall  kind  for  the 
mass,  and  a  dwarf er  sort  for  the  margin.  One  of  the  best 
sorts  for  beds  is  the  Tall  Chrysanthemum-flowered,  and 
the  Globe  German  may  be  used  next  the  margin.  The 
Washington  makes  a  fine  bed,  with  immense  flowers  of  all 
colours.  If  a  choice  dwarf  sort  is  wanted  for  a  bed,  there 
is,  perhaps,  none  better  than  the  Dwarf  Pseony  Perfection. 

For  pot  culture  the  Dwarf  Victoria,  Dwarf  Schiller, 
and  Dwarf  Chrysanthemum-flowered  are  invaluable,  and 
in  common  with  other  kinds  may  be  had  in  a  variety  of 
colours.  To  grow  them  well  in  pots  great  care  is  requisite. 


SNOWDROP. 


THE    SNOWDROP. 

Galon  thus  nivalis. 

,5vT  will  appear  to  the  casual  reader 
that  the  snowdrop  is  regarded, 
in  the  light  of  its  name,  as  "  a 
drop  of  snow."  The  philologists 
often  remind  us  that  "  obvious  " 
derivations  are  always  wrong. 
We  may  doubt  if  the  sweeping 
declaration  is  a  good  one ;  but 
the  present  case  justifies  it  so 
far,  because  the  snowdrop  is 
not  a  drop  of  snow.  The  reader 
may  have  seen  in  the  jewellers' 
shops  and  in  the  ears  of  some 
fair  lady  imitations  of  fuchsia 
flowers  in  precious  stones,  and 
called  "fuchsia-drops."  The 
word  before  us  is  an  exact 
parallel  thereto.  These  flowers 
are  likened  to  eardrops,  and  they  are  called  "  white  flower- 
drops,"  and  that  is  the  proper  interpretation  of  snowdrops. 
The  name  is  from  the  German  schneetropfen ;  it  implies 
that  the  flower  affords  a  type  of  a  class  of  personal  adorn- 
ments, and  to  copy  it  in  jewellery  would  be  in  perfect  taste, 
other  matters  having  concurrent  consideration.  The  Germans 


138  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

have  schneehlnme,  whits  winter  flower,  and  schneeflocke, 
snowflake.  To  liken  a  flower  to  a  drop  of  snow  is  not 
reasonable,  because  there  is  no  such  thing  as  a  drop  of 
snow,  and  there  never  will  be.  The  decorative  notion  of 
the  name  has  not  escaped  the  poets,  as,  for  example — 

'  While  still  the  cold  north-east  ungenial  lowers, 

And  scarce  the  hazel  in  the  leafless  copse, 
Or  sallows  show  their  downy  pendent  flowers, 
The  grass  is  sprinkled  with  its  silver  drops." 

The  snowdrop  was  known  to  the  old  or  British  botanists 
as  a  bulbous  violet,  and  also  as  the  Fair  Maid  of  February, 
and  by  them  it  was  properly  recognised  as  an  introduction 
from  the  Continent.  Gerarde  speaks  of  it  as  growing-  wild 
in  Italy,  and  as  having  been  thence  introduced  to  "  our 
London  gardens ."  It  is  a  native  of  Switzerland,  Austria, 
and  of  Southern  Europe  generally.  When  met  with  as  a 
British  wilding  it  appears  to  be  as  happy  as  its  near  rela- 
tion, the  daffodil,  for  it  spreads  into  considerable  masses, 
and  though  a  local  flower,  is  plentiful  enough  in  the  places 
where  it  occurs.  There  are  many  stations  in  Worcestershire, 
Herefordshire,  and  Gloucestershire  where  wild  snowdrops 
may  be  found ;  and  the  county  of  Sussex  can  boast  of  a  few, 
as  it  can  of  daffodils  also.  When  met  with  in  places  of 
its  own  choosing,  it  is  usually  in  some  degree  shaded,  as 
though  full  exposure  to  the  glare  of  the  sun  and  the  fury 
of  the  wind  were  not  to  its  liking.  As  regards  soil,  how- 
ever, it  is  not  at  all  particular ;  but  we  may  say  that  in 
cultivation  a  deep  sandy  loam  is  best  for  it,  as  it  is  for 
about  nine-tenths  of  all  the  border  and  rockery  flowers  that 
are  most  valued  in  gardens.  Snowdrops  increase  quickly, 
and  flower  freely  if  allowed  fair  play ;  but  unfair  play 
obliterates  the  plant,  for  it  resents  insult  by  terminating  an 


THE    SNOWDROP.  139 

objectionable  existence.  To  do  justice  to  it,  the  planting 
of  the  bulbs  should  take  place  early  in  the  autumn,  for 
they  require  time  to  prepare  themselves  for  their  early 
flowering-.  And  the  next  thing-  is  to  leave  them  alone,  for 
annual  disturbance  is  fatal  to  their  prosperity. 

A  very  serious  mistake  is  made  in  many  gardens  in  the 
tying  of  the  leaves  of  snowdrops  and  crocuses,  to  make 
them  look  "  tidy."  '  What  an  absurd  proceeding- !  Tidy, 
indeed!  The  leaves  fall  over  in  the  most  graceful  lines 
when  left  alone,  and  may  supply  an  artist  with  a  subject 
worthy  of  loving-  attention;  but  when  tied  they  are 
hideously  ug-ly  and  altogether  ridiculous. 

The  varieties  of  snowdrops  are  about  half  a  dozen  in 
number.  The  first  to  flower  is  a  dwarf  sort,  called  pneco.r. 
In  about  seven  days  after  this  has  flowered,  the  common 
nivalis  shows  its  familiar  flowers.  These  are  succeeded  by 
the  princely  imperati,  which  rises  above  all  the  rest,  and  pro^ 
duces  larger  flowers.  Plicatus  is  the  folded-leaved  Crimean 
snowdrop,  known  by  the  folding  of  the  edges  of  its  leaves, 
which  are  larger  than  the  leaves  of  the  common  variety. 
The  flowers  of  this,  however,  are  often  smaller  than  those 
of  the  common  snowdrop,  and  they  are  always  somewhat 
greener.  As  regards  colouring,  green  is  often  objectionable 
in  a  flower,  but  its  combination  with  white  in  the  sub- 
ject before  us  is  exquisitely  beautiful.  A  variety  with  the 
divisions  of  the  perianth  bent  back  is  called  reflexm. 

In  parlour  gardening,  the  snowdrop  is  occasionally 
grown  in  water-glasses,  in  association  with  crocuses,  hya- 
cinths, tulips,  and  polyanthus-daffodils.  These  bulbous- 
rooted  flowers  are  all  amenable  to  the  water  culture,  and 
afford  agreeable  amusement  to  fireside  gardeners.  There 
are  two  points  of  importance  in  the  management  that  it 


140 


FAMILIAR    GARDEN    FLOWERS. 


may  be  well  to  mention.  It  is  not  well  for  the  bulbs 
to  touch  the  water ;  there  should  be  a  space  of  at  least 
an  inch  between  the  water  and  the  bulbs.  The  other 
point  is  that  the  first  growth  should  be  made  in  the 
dark,  to  promote  the  free  action  of  the  roots  before  the 
leaves  appear.  When  the  flower-stem  and  leaves  push  in 
advance  of  the  roots,  a  poor  bloom  may  be  expected ; 
but  when  the  roots  move  first  and  spread  freely,  a  good 
bloom  may  be  expected,  and  there  will .  be  a  saving  of 
time  in  the  end.  It  should  be  remembered  further  that 
full  exposure  to  light  is  absolutely  essential  to  the  produc- 
tion of  healthy  leaves  and  flowers. 


' 


PURPLE    CLEMATIS- 


THE 
PURPLE  CLEMATIS. 

Clematis  rttbro-violacea. 

YBRIDS  of  the  more  showy 
species  of  clematis  are  now  so 
numerous  as  to  constitute  a  dis- 
tinct and  large  class  of  garden 
flowers.  The  parents  of  these 
many  splendid  varieties,  of 
which  Clematis  patens,  C.  lartu- 
f/inosa,  C.  vilicella,  and  C.  For- 
tnnei  may  be  named  as  having 
afforded  the  strongest  characters, 
are  for  the  most  part  traceable 
in  them  by  the  eye  of  an  expert; 
but  it  happens  that  in  a  majority 
of  instances  the  pedigrees  have 
been  preserved,  and  therefore  a 
collection  of  clematis  may  be 
studied  with  advantage  by  the  scientific  botanist,  as  they 
may  be  by  the  lover  of  flowers,  for  the  sake  of  their  beauty 
only.  The  variety  figured  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  in 
the  scientific  and  historical  view  of  the  subject.  In  the 
year  1835  Mr.  Henderson,  a  London  nurseryman  and  hor- 
ticulturist, raised  a  new  hybrid,  which  was  named  in  his 
honour  Clematis  Hendersoni.  It  was  believed  to  be  the 
result  of  a  cross  between  C.  viticella  and  C.  int-egrifolia. 


142  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

This  "Henderson's  clematis"  is  a  fine  climber,  running  ten 
to  fifteen  feet,  and  producing-  an  abundant  display  of  large 
handsome  flowers  of  a  purplish-blue  colour.  One  of  the 
grandest  natural  species  .(as  distinguished  from  garden 
varieties)  is  Clematis  latiuginosa.  This  produces  flowers  of 
immense  size,  the  colour  a  soft  lavender-blue  or  lilac- 
tinted  grey,  which  is  enriched  with  a  tuft  of  reddish 
anthers.  This  plant  does  not  flower  so  freely  or  so  con- 
tinuously as  to  satisfy  the  exigent  florists,  and  the  question 
has  arisen,  What  can  we  do  to  improve  it  ? 

In  the  year  1858  Mr.  George  Jackman,  of  the  Woking 
Nurseries,  made  an  endeavour  to  meet  that  question,  and 
extraordinary  results  have  followed  therefrom.  He  crossed 
C.  lanuginoaa  with  C.  Hendersoni,  and  obtained  two  new 
and  splendid  varieties,  producing  flowers  remarkable  for 
their  richness  of  colouring,  their  excessive  profusion,  and 
their  long  continuance.  Rarely  in  the  history  of  practical 
floriculture  have  we  seen  so  great  a  triumph  accomplished 
at  one  bound.  The  two  new  sorts  were  named  respec- 
tively C.  Jackmanni  and  C.  rubro-violacea.  The  first- 
named  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  popular  garden  flowers 
known.  The  other,  of  which  we  present  a  faithful 
portrait,  is  less  popular,  but  not  less  worthy  of  esteem ; 
for  its  flowers  are  exquisitely  coloured  and  lustrous,  and 
are  produced  in  the  most  prodigal  profusion — in  fact, 
a  verandah  well  clothed  with  this  clematis  will  present 
during  the  later  summer  months  a  display  of  colour  of 
the  most  surprising  and  delightful  character. 

These  two  varieties  have  in  their  turn  produced  in- 
numerable seedlings ;  and  from  other  crosses,  effected  by 
various  cultivators,  there  have  been  secured  valuable 
additions  to  the  list  of  garden  forms  of  this  hardy  and 


THE   PURPLE   CLEMATIS.  143 

useful  flower.  The  free-growing  sorts  are  amenable  to  the 
simplest  treatment;  but  it  should  be  said  that  they  flower 
so  freely  that  they  must  be  well  fed,  or  they  will  actually 
die  out  and  give  no  account  of  themselves  at  all.  They 
should  be  planted  in  well-prepared  soil,  consisting  of  good 
loam,  liberally  enriched  with  half-rotten  manure — in  fact, 
such  a  bed  as  would  be  prepared  for  climbing  roses  or 
wistarias  ;  for  plants  that  grow  fast  and  far  need  to  be  well 
sustained  at  the  root.  These  clematis,  being  planted  in 
the  spring,  will  probably  run  ten  or  twelve  feet  the  same 
season,  and  will  flower  fairly  weil.  The  second  year  they 
will  make  a  most  vigorous  growth  and  flower  profusely. 
The  third  year  they  may  be  expected  to  do  still  greater 
things,  and  then  they  must  have  fresh  food,  or  they  will 
begin  to  travel  down  hill.  If  left  alone  they  will  still 
flower  freely ;  but  the  flowers  will  become  smaller  year  by 
year,  and  the  plants  will  be  bare  of  leaves  except  at  the  top. 
If  still  left  without  help  they  will  dwindle  away,  and  die  at 
last  through  sheer  exhaustion,  unless  indeed  they  happen 
to  be  peculiarly  circumstanced  as  regards  the  food  their 
roots  can  reach. 

Thus  we  reach  the  second  chapter  in  the  management. 
When  the  plants  are  becoming  "  leggy  "  and  the  flowers 
small,  they  should  be  cut  down  to  within  eighteen  inches 
of  the  ground.  This  may  be  best  done  at  the  end  of  the 
year,  or  early  in  January.  Some  time  in  February,  or  early 
in  March,  remove  the  top  soil  from  over  the  roots,  but 
taking  care  to  injure  them  as  little  as  possible,  and  put  in 
its  place  a  mixture  of  half-rotten  manure  and  fresh  turfy 
loam;  at  the  same  time  take  out  a  trench  two  feet  deep 
and  one  foot  wide  at  a  distance  of  two  feet  from  the  stem 
of  each,  and  fill  this  with  a  similar  mixture.  Then  spread 


144  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

over  all  a  coat  of  fat  stable  manure,  and  leave  the  rest  to 
nature,  and  you  will  be  well  rewarded  in  due  time. 

It  is  a  matter  of  interest  that  hybrid  clematis  may 
be  grown  in  beds,  and  in  this  case  require  to  be  trained 
over  hoops  to  form  a  low  convex  shield-shaped  mass  of 
green  leaves  and  gorgeous  flowers.  For  this  purpose  -the 
best  are  Jaekmaiini,  with  violet-purple  flowers ;  linltro- 
violacea,  with  maroon-purple  flowers  ;  Alexandra,  reddish- 
violet;  Magnified,  purple  and  red;  &*6eHa,foep  claret; 
Star  of  India,  reddish-plum  with  red  stripe  ;  Ttinbridgense, 
reddish-lilac  with  mauve  stripe.  Another  use  for  them  is 
as  pillar  plants,  both  in  the  garden  and  the  conservatory; 
but  when  so  grown  out  of  doors,  measures  must  be  taken 
to  prevent  birds  lodging  on  the  tops  of  the  pillars  :  sharp 
spikes  will  generally  accomplish  the  purpose.  Finally, 
when  grown  as  round-headed  bushes  in  tubs  and  pots  they 
are  superb  adornments  for  the  conservatory,  the  entrance 
hall,  and  the  public  exhibition. 


YELLOW    MARTAGON    LILY. 


YELLOW  MAETAGON 
LILY. 

Liliitm  pomponiitm. 

IJRING  the  last  ten  years  or  so 
t'.ie  cultivation  of  lilies  has  ex- 
panded and  intensified  into  a 
distinct  floral  passion,  and  as 
the  prominent  leaders  have 
a  considerable  following",  the 
passion  is  embellished  with  a 
fringe  of  fashion,  and  conse- 
quently many  people  dabble 
in  lilies  who  have  not  much 
real  enthusiasm  and  still  less 
knowledge  of  the  subject.  The 
introduction  of  the  noble  Lilium 
auratum  may  be  credited  with 
the  initiation  of  this  new  taste, 
and,  beyond  doubt,  that  lily  of 
lilies  is  the  true  luminous  centre 
around  which  the  passion  near, 
and  the  fashion  far  off,  continually  revolve.  It  is  but 
a  necessary  circumstance  that  mistakes  have  been  made 
in  the  selection  and  cultivation  of  lilies,  and  it  is  now 
beginning  to  be  dimly  discovered  that  certain  members  of 
this  glorious  family  are  not  worth  the  serious  attention  of 
8 


146  FAMILIAR    GARD.EX   FLOWERS. 

any  except  enlightened  enthusiasts,  and  amongst  those  the 
best  chance  of  success  will  be  by  fate  allotted  to  such  as 
have  the  longest  purses.  It  was  the  way  of  Auratum,  the 
golden-rayed  lily  of  Japan,  when  the  bulbs  were  worth  from 
one  to  five  guineas  each,  to  die  ignominiously  instead  of 
gladdening  with  its  magnificent  flowers  the  devotee  who 
had  bled  for  it.  Now  that  it  is  cheap  it  lives,  and  the  reason 
is  that  we  have  learned  to  manage  it  both  as  to  the  buying 
and  the  planting ;  for  lilies  have  soft  bulbs,  and  if  exposed 
to  the  exhaustive  action  of  the  air  for  any  length  of  time 
are  apt  to  resent  the  ill-treatment  by  shuffling  off  their 
mortal  coil. 

Certain  of  the  lilies  are  not  only  deserving  of  a  place, 
but  are  very  much  to  be  desired  in  every  garden.  The  best 
for  the  borders  and  shrubberies  are  the  Common  White 
(L.  can.didnm),  the  Orange  (L.  bulbiferum),  the  Canadian 
(L.  Canadense),  the  Scarlet  Martagon  (L.  chalcedonicum) , 
the  Turk's-cap  (L.  martagon),  the  Tiger  (L.  tigrimim),  the 
Turban,  or  Yellow  Martagon  (L.  pomponiutn),  here  figured, 
and  Thunberg's  (L.  Thnnbergiamini).  All  these  thrive  in  good 
loamy  soil ;  they  are  rather  injured  than  benefited  by  the 
addition  to  the  soil  of  strong  manures,  but  rotted  turf  and 
leaf  mould  are  of  great  service  when  added  to  a  loamy 
staple,  when  the  beds  are  prepared  for  them. 

The  sorts  that  thrive  best  in  peat,  and,  therefore, 
are  admirably  adapted  for  planting  in  the  front  of  rhodo- 
dendron beds,  are  the  Golden-rayed  (L.  avratnm),  the 
Carolina  (L.  Carolinianum] ,  the  Japan  (L.  Japonicuw] ,  the 
American  L.  superbnm),  the  Spotted  (L.  speeioswm),  and 
the  Long-flowered  (L.  longifloriim).  These  constitute  a 
fine  collection,  and  all  are  hardy  enough  for  open  ground 
cultivation  in  the  warmer  parts  of  the  British  Isles, 


YELLOW    MART  AGON   LILY.  147 

where  the  soil  is  well  drained,  and  positions  somewhat 
sheltered  are  selected  for  them.  The  best  time  to  plant 
lilies  of  all  kinds  is  when  the  flowering  is  over  and  the 
leaves  are  turning  yellow,  as  the  growth  of  a  lily  is  like  the 
movement  of  a  pendulum — when  the  energies  are  expended 
above,  new  growth  begins  below,  and  when  the  season  of 
fresh  root-action  returns,  the  bulbs  may  be  transplanted 
with  safety. 

The  second  selection  which  it  is  proposed  to  plant  in 
peat  constitutes  a  suitable  selection  for  pot  culture.  First- 
class  lilies  are  valuable  pot  plants,  and  if  only  a  few  sorts 
can  be  grown  in  pots  for  the  conservatory,  the  best,  beyond 
doubt,  amongst  the  cheaper  kinds  are  Auratum,  Speciosum, 
and  Longiflorum,  for  their  flowers  are  exquisitely  beautiful, 
richly  scented,  and  last  as  long  as  any  lilies  known  to  us. 
To  succeed  with  these  as  pot  plants  it  is  necessary  to  keep 
in  mind  that  they  should  never  be  distressed  at  the  root, 
and  should  never  suffer  through  drought,  or  be  excessively 
stimulated  by  liquid  manure.  Liberal  treatment  they 
should  have,  and  a  certain  amount  of  fresh  soil  every  year. 
To  supply  this  the  ball  of  roots  should  be  turned  out  care- 
fully, and  a  lot  of  the  old  soil  removed,  without  denuding 
the  bulbs  completely ;  then  they  should  be  replaced  in  the 
same  (or  larger)  pots,  and  filled  in  with  fresh  soil,  into 
which  they  will  soon  strike  roots  and  grow  with  renewed 
vigour. 

All  lilies  may  be  forced,  but  it  should  be  done  gently. 
The  last-named  three  are  the  best  for  forcing,  and  perhaps 
Longiflorum,  because  of  the  pure  ivory-white  of  its  elegant 
flowers,  is  most  to  be  desired  as  a  forced  plant.  A  fine 
companion  plant  to  force  with  it  is  the  Trumpet  Lily,  Calla 
(or  liichardia)  ^ffithiv^ica,  which  is  not  a  lily  but  an  arum. 


148  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS 

These  two  charming-  plants  are  of  about  equal  value  for 
decorative  purposes.  Of  the  two  the  Calla  is  the  easiei 
to  force. 

The  Japanese  cook  and  eat  the  bulbs  of  lilies,  those  of 
the  Common  White  being  much  esteemed  when  served  with 
white  sauce.  Tastes  differ,  as  do  sentiments ;  to  us  the 
eating-  of  lily  bulbs  seems  as  foolish  a  proceeding-  as  the 
eating-  of  nightingale's  tongues  or  the  dissolving  of  pearls 
in  vinegar  to  make  sauce  for  a  leg  of  mutton. 

The  place  of  the  lily  in  literature  would  make  a 
charming  study  for  a  lover  of  books,  and  the  botanist  might 
help  sometimes  to  determine  the  meaning  of  delicate  similes 
and  comparisons.  We  cannot  even  touch  the  fringe  of  the 
subject  here,  but  the  thought  has  brought  to  our  remem- 
brance the  heart-moving  story  of  the  "  Lily  Maid  of 
Astolat/'  whom  Lancelot  rudely  slighted — 

"  The  dead, 

Steer'd  by  the  dumb,  went  upward  with  the  flood- 
In  her  right  hand  the  lily,  in  her  left 
The  letter — all  her  bright  hair  streaming  down." 

Elaine,  1149. 


CROCUS. 


THE    CROCUS. 

Crocus  vernm. 

HE  season  when  the  crocuses  are  in 
their  full  splendour  is  pretty  sure 
'  to  give  us  a  glorious  burst  of  sun- 
shine for  a  day,  or  even  a  week, 
and  then  the  flowers  expand  to 
their  utmost,  and-  surprise  us  with 
their  splendour.  They  seem  to 
surprise  the  honey-bees  no  less, 
for  the  music  they  make  as  they 
brush  up  the  pollen  is  just  that  of 
a  crowd  of  working  people  rendered 
half  delirious  by  the  discovery  of 
a  gold-mine.  And,  indeed,  it  is  a 
gold-mine  to  them,  or,  better  still, 
a  bread-mine,  for  the  pollen  be- 
comes "  bee-bread  "  when  carried 
into  the  hive,  and  constitutes  the 
first  food  of  the  callow-worm  hidden 
in  its  cellular  cot,  and  feeding  itself 
up  to  the  point  when  it  will  emerge 
as  a  perfect  bee  and  join  the  general  congregation.  Bee- 
keepers cannot  have  too  many  crocuses,  because  at  the  time 
they  flower  the  bees  are  more  or  less  distressed  and  cannot 
travel  far,  and  it  is  of  immense  value  to  them  to  find 


150  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

refreshment  near  home,  and  thus  be  enabled  without  risk 
to  "  improve  the  shining  hour." 

The  spring-flowering  crocuses  are  as  well  known  in  a 
general  way  as  any  flowers  of  the  garden.  But  those  whose 
knowledge  of  horticulture  is  more  than  skin-deep  can  tell 
us  of  crocuses  that  flower  in  almost  every  month  of  the 
year.  For  the  present  purpose,  however,  we  may  divide 
them  into  two  classes — those  that  flower  in  autumn  and 
those  that  flower  in  spring.  The  naturalist  may  prove 
to  us  that  the  season  in  which  a  plant  produces  its  flowers 
is  determined  by  circumstances  acting  through  many  long 
years ;  but  the  poet  has  a  perfect  right  to  take  another 
view  of  it  as  having  no  relation  to  heredity,  elimatical  in- 
fluence, or  the  origin  of  species.  Good  Gilbert  White  found 
in  the  crocus  a  sermon  so  plainly  written  that  he  who  runs 
may  read  it  for  himself,  and  it  might  be  interwoven  with 
the  pregnant  text,  "  My  times  are  in  thy  hand/' 

Three  species  of  crocus  claim  priority  of  attention  in 
this  brief  essay.  The  common  yellow  crocus  of  gardens 
is  the  Crocus  luteus  of  the  botanist.  The  native  country 
of  this  is  at  present  unknown,  but  it  probably  is  "at 
home"  somewhere  on  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean. 
The  finest  of  the  yellow  crocuses  is  known  to  traders  in 
bulbs  as  the  "  Cloth  of  Gold  •"  this  is  the  Crocus  susiana 
of  the  botanist,  native  of  the  "  Levant,"  which  may  mean 
anywhere  in  Asia  Minor.  The  blue,  white,  and  striped 
crocuses  are  the  product  of  the  spring  crocus,  Crocus 
vernus  of  the  botanist,  native  of  the  Alps  and  Apennines. 

The  following  less  known  species  are  worthy  of  especial 
attention  by  such  as  find  amusement  in  collecting  choice 
hardy  flowers.  Crocus  Imperati,  flowering  in  spring, 
creamy  white  with  purple  stripes,  a  very  fine  sweet-scented 


THE    CROCUS.  151 

species,  the  leaves  distinctly  marked  with  a  central  white 
line.  Crocus  boryanns,  flowering  in  autumn,  white  with 
yellow  throat  with  a  stain  of  purple  outside.  Crocus  pul- 
<•//<'/ /its,  flowering  in  autumn,  pearly  blue  with  dark  pencil 
lines,  the  throat  orange-yellow.  Crocus  sativus,  the  saffron 
crocus,  an  autumn -flowering  plant,  the  flowers  violet 
with  long  tubes,  sweet-scented  ;  requires  a  dry  warm 
soil,  or  it  will  but  rarely  flower.  The  dried  stigmas  of 
this  crocus  constitute  the  genuine  saffron  of  commerce. 
We  say  "  genuine,"  because  common  shop  saffron,  like 
restaurant  soup,  is  made  of  anything  that  comes  nearest 
to  hand,  several  other  species  of  crocus  being  pressed  into 
the  service,  with  florets  of  the  marigold  and  slices  oi 
the  flowers  of  the  pomegranate.  It  is  not  unlikely  that 
a  very  nice-looking  sample  might  be  made  from  scraped 
carrots.  The  matter  is  not  of  great  consequence  now, 
because  saffron  has  parted  from  the  fame  it  enjoyed  as 
a  drug  that  "  maketh  the  sences  more  quicke  and  liuely, 
shaketh  off  heauie  and  drowsie  sleepe,  and  maketh  a 
man  merrie."  Gerarde,  from  whom  the  foregoing  is  a 
quotation,  figures  several  "  saffrons,"  including  crocuses 
and  colchicums,  and  he  reminds  us  that  Saffron  Walden 
obtains  its  name  from  the  abundance  of  saffron-producing 
flowers  in  its  vicinity.  Finally,  Crocus  speciosns  is  a  par- 
ticularly fine  autumn-flowering  species,  with  flowers  of  a 
rich  violet  colour,  striped  with  purple  lines. 

Crocuses  of  all  kinds  require  a  somewhat  sandy  and 
warm  soil,  but  the  common  garden  kinds  will  really  thrive 
in  almost  any  soil  or  situation.  The  rarer  kinds,  at  all 
events,  should  have  well-drained  positions  and  a  some- 
what light  soil,  and,  generally  speaking,  warmth,  for  they 
are  natives  of  the  south  of  Europe  and  Asia  Minor,  and, 


152 


FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 


even  if  mountaineers,  are  accustomed  to  brighter  suns  than 
shine  in  these  foggy  isle?.  All  kinds  of  crocuses  produce 
seed  freely,  and  may  be  multiplied  rapidly  and  with  but 
little  trouble,  by  sowing  the  seed  in  light,  sandy  soil  as 
soon  as  it  is  ripe.  When  the  corms  are  planted,  the  depth 
at  which  they  are  placed  should  be  determined  in  con- 
nection with  the  intention  to  take  them  up  annually  or 
leave  them  untouched  several  years.  If  to  be  taken  up 
and  replanted  every  year,  three  inches  is  the  utmost  depth 
allowable ;  but  if  to  remain  a  few  years,  they  should  be  put 
fully  four  inches  deep,  because  every  year  of  growth  will 
bring  them  nearer  to  the  surface.  When  planted  in  a 
good  soil  they  may  be  allowed  to  remain  undisturbed  for 
several  years,  but  it  is  good  practice  to  lift  them  every 
third  year  in  the  summer,  and  replant  in  October.  They 
appear  to  degenerate  in  English  gardens,  because  the  corms 
we  take  up  are  always  smaller  than  such  as  we  plant  when 
purchasing  a  fresh  stock  of  the  merchants ;  but  these  small 
home-grown  corms  flower  remarkably  well,  and  it  is  quite 
a  question  if  the  large  fresh  corms  from  Holland  flower 
any  better. 


POPPY, 


THE     POPPY. 

Papaver  somniferum. 

O  more  interesting  flower  is  to  be 
found  in  the  garden  than  the 
poppy,  and  a  certain  few  kinds 
are  extravagantly  beautiful, 
though  lamentably  short-lived. 
It  is  essentially  a  classic  flower, 
having  from  the  most  early  times 
had  a  place  of  honour  on  the 
brow  of  the  divine  Ceres  :  for  it 
was  not  left  for  the  people  of 
this  century  to  discover  that 
poppies  love  to  grow  amongst 
the  corn.  Our  blazing  red 
poppy,  that  oftentimes,  as  we 
hurry  along  through  the  sun- 
shine in  a  railway  train,  spreads 
abroad  in  sheets,  and  suggests 
that  we  are  riding  through  lakes  of  blood 
or  seas  of  fire,  according  as  the  light  or  the 
fancy  may  glorify  the  common-place  fact — this  scarlet  poppy 
(Papaver  rhceas]  is,  in  some  respects,  distinct  from  the  classic 
poppy,  for  it  has  an  urn-shaped  capsule,  whereas  the  classic 
poppy  (P.  somniferum},  which  is  the  common  field  flower  of 
Greece,  has  a  roundish  capsule,  and  the  flowers  are  as  com- 
T 


154  FAMlLIAli   GARDEN  FLOWERS. 

monly  white  as  those  of  the  British  poppy  are  commonly 
red.  It  is,  however,  a  sportive  plant,  and  is  met  with  in  a 
variety  of  colours,  of  which  the  sample  here  figured  is 
perhaps  the  most  pleasing-.  The  distinction  we  appear  to 
make  between  the  field  poppies  of  England  and  Greece 
must  be  understood  to  apply  to  them  only  as  common 
flowers  of  the  field,  for  our  red  poppy  is  to  be  found  in 
Greece,  and  the  Greek  white  poppy  is  to  be  found  in  Eng- 
land ;  but  in  each  case  we  may  say  of  them  they  are  as 
strangers  and  pilgrims. 

Our  business  is  to  regard  the  poppy  as  a  familiar 
garden  flower,  and  we  are  therefore  bound,  in  the  first  place, 
to  say  that  the  "  pseony-flowered "  and  the  ' '  double- 
fringed  "  poppies  that  are  described  in  the  seed  catalogues, 
and  that  are  to  be  regarded  as  "  garden  poppies "  in  the 
fullest  sense  of  the  word,  are  really  splendid  flowers  of 
their  class,  and  perhaps  the  cheapest  splendours  available 
for  the  English  garden.  That  they  last  "  no  time "  is 
rather  an  advantage  than  otherwise,  because,  having 
startled  us  by  their  noble  forms  and  gorgeous  colours,  they 
wisely  get  out  of  the  way  to  make  room  for  something 
else,  as  if  well  aware  that  the  evanescence  of  fireworks  is 
one  of  their  charms  :  for  what  would  become  of  us  if  they 
were  to  sparkle  and  crackle  all  night  ?  But  there  are  other 
and  nobler  garden  poppies,  different  in  style,  but  not 
necessarily  more  pleasing,  but,  all  things  considered,  very 
much  to  be  desired  by  those  eclectic  souls  who  look  upon 
the  garden  as  a  sort  of  open-air  museum  for  things  curious 
and  beautiful.  We  must  therefore  attempt  a  little  essay 
on  garden  poppies. 

All  poppies,  without  exception,  thrive  best  when  fully 
exposed  to  sunshine  and  air,,  and  on  a  dry,  gritty  soil. 


THE   POPPY.  155 

They  prefer  silica  to  chalk,  and  hence  our  red  poppy  often 
betrays  the  poor  gravel  it  is  rioting-  on ;  and  its  love  of  a 
dry  foothold  is  proved  by  its  happy  state  when  located  on 
the  topmost  ridge  of  some  old  castle  wall,  where  it  seems 
to  outdo  the  snapdragon  and  the  wallflower  in  its  capability 
of  living  on  nothing.  But  note  what  a  starved  thing  it 
becomes  when  in  this  way  beating  the  Frenchman's  horse, 
and  learn  therefrom  the  lesson  that  even  a  poppy  requires  a 
certain  amount  of  wholesome  food.  With  this  philosophical 
observation  we  conclude  the  first  part  of  the  practical 
essay. 

It  is  a  characteristic  of  poppy  plants  to  make  tap-roots : 
hence,  in  transplanting  them,  there  is  usually  a  season  lost, 
because  the  inevitable  breaking  of  the  tap-roots  prevents 
flowering  the  next  season.  But  if  the  transplanting  is 
done  with  care  during  moist,  cool  weather,  it  will  not  be 
attended  with  loss,  because  the  plants  have  but  to  be  left 
alone  and  they  will  make  new  tap-roots  to  replace  those 
that  have  been  broken  by  removal.  When  the  plants  are 
raised  from  seed,  only  a  few  should  be  sown  in  a  pot,  and 
of  these  the  weakest  should  be  removed  as  soon  as  possible. 
By  carefully  planting  out  from  pots  so  prepared,  serious 
injury  to  the  tap-roots  may  be  avoided ;  and  that  part  of 
the  business  should  be  kept  in  view  as  of  primary  import- 
ance in  the  cultivation  of  poppies. 

In  the  selection  of  garden  poppies,  the  showy  annual 
kinds  should,  as  remarked  above,  have  special  attention; 
and  the  shortest  way  to  deal  with  them  is  to  sow  them 
where  they  are  to  stand,  and  thin  them  out  in  good  time, 
so  that  they  do  not  crowd  each  other  injuriously.  The 
most  generally  useful  of  the  perennial  poppies  is  the  great 
scarlet,  or  Siberian  poppy  (Palaver  bracteatuni).  This  is 


156  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

well  known  for  its  neat,  compact  growth  of  greyish  saw- 
toothed  leaves,  and  its  profusion  of  vivid  orange-scarlet 
flowers  in  the  early  days  of  summer.  This  forms  a  deep 
tap-root,  and  should  be  handled  with  care  in  removal.  As 
it  produces  new  crowns  in  plenty,  the  readiest  way  to 
increase  it  is  by  division ;  but  it  seeds  freely,  and  therefore 
can  never  be  a  scarce  plant. 

In  the  production  of  the  potent  drug,  opium,  several 
species  of  poppy  are  employed.  The  "  proper "  plant  is 
Papaver  somniferum,  from  which  opium  of  the  best 
quality  may  be  obtained,  not  only  in  semi-tropical  climates, 
but  in  England.  The  drug  is  obtained  by  making  slight 
incisions  in  the  green  capsules,  the  result  being  that 
a  milky  exudation  appears  in  the  line  of  the  wound,  and 
this  being  scraped  off  is  crude  opium.  Of  its  further 
preparation,  and  of  its  uses  and  abuses,  it  will  not  be 
expected  there  should  be  any  disquisition  here. 


WINTER    ACONITE. 


THE 
WINTER    ACONITE. 

Eranthis  hyemalis. 

'N  common  with  many  of  the 
humbler  kinds  of  garden  flowers, 
the  winter  aconite  is  but  little 
known  to  humble,,  gardeners,  but 
the  managers  of  " great  places" 
know  it,  and  prize  it,  and  turn 
it  to  good  account  in  the  com- 
paratively new  order  of  decoration 
known  as  "  spring  gardening." 
It  is  but  a  little  herb,  with  a 
dark  tuberous  root,  producing  in 
February  or  March  yellow  flowers, 
surrounded  by  a  whorl  of  glossy- 
green  deeply-cut  leaves.  It  lasts 
but  a  short  time,  and  is  not  very 
showy  even  at  the  best. 
But  as  one  star  compels  attention  when  the  sky  is 
black  and  no  other  star  is  to  be  seen,  so  this  little  flower, 
which  is  many  degrees  inferior  in  brightness  of  colouring 
to  a  common  buttercup,  has  a  most  delightful  appearance 
if  we  have  the  good  fortune  to  see  it  on  a  soft  sunny  day 
in  February.  Then,  indeed,  it  seems  to  say  the  spring  is 
surely  coming,  and  even  the  frost-defying  daffodils,  that 


158  FAMILIAR    GARDEN  FLOWERS. 

come  before  the  swallow  dares,  are  outdone  in  their  haste 
to  scatter  gold  upon  the  ground  to  pay  for  the  reckless 
banqueting  that  is  about  to  begin.  In  its  own  grassy 
nooks  of  sunny  Italy  it  flowers  at  Christmas,  but  in  this 
dull  clime  it  does  not  often  dare  to  lift  up  its  head  until 
the  month  of  March,  and  even  later,  if  the  winter  has 
been- of  the  cruel  kind  that  people,  as  if  in  contempt  of 
the  taste  of  their  ancestors,  cruelly  describe  as  Cf  old- 
fashioned."  The  humble  gardener,  as  remarked  above, 
scarcely  knows  this  plant,  although  it  is  one  of  the  cheapest, 
and  will  grow  anywhere.  But  the  gardener  who  has  to 
keep  a  great  parterre  at  all  times  gay  has  long  since  dis- 
covered its  value,  and  therefore  he  plants  hundreds  or 
thousands,  as  the  case  may  be,  to  produce  masses  of  golden 
flowers,  according  to  the  requirements  of  his  complicated 
designs  in  colour.  It  will  not  be  expected  that  in  this 
place  there  should  appear  a  disquisition  on  the  bedding 
system,  but  it  is  proper  to  note  that  in  "spring  bedding" 
the  principal  elements  are  such  homely  flowers  as  daisies, 
polyanthuses,  forget-me-nots,  primroses,  and  pansies ;  and 
where  lines  or  blocks  of  soft  yellow  are  required,  the  artist 
dips  his  pencil  into  Eranthis  hyemalis,  or,  in  other  words, 
he  plants  the  little  herb,  and  leaves  Dame  Nature  to  bring 
out  the  colour. 

But  this  is  not  the  only  way  in  which  the  winter 
aconite  is  employed  in  great  gardens.  One  of  the  most 
pleasing  of  many  good  features  in  the  spring  gardening  at 
Belvoir  Castle  consists  in  the  management  of  grassy  slopes 
that  occur,  as  it  were  casually,  in  connection  with  the 
walks.  These  slopes  are  planted  with  snowdrops,  crocuses, 
winter  aconites,  and  other  flowers  that  mingle  unobtru- 
sively and  naturally  with  the  grass,  and  their  flowers  are 


THE     WINTER    AC02UTE.  159 

indescribably  charming1,  springing  as  they  do  from  the  rich 
green  herbage,  as  if,  like  the  wild  buttercups  and  daisies, 
they  were  members  of  the  guy  family  of  vagrants  to  whom 
the  prairie  is  a  happy  land. 

But  there  is  nothing  new  or  strange  in  the  employment 
of  the  winter  aconite,  either  in  the  formal  parterre  or  the 
half-wild  grassy  bank  that  perhaps  mingles  softly  with  a 
knoll  of  ivy.  These  matters  are  mentioned  for  the  purpose 
of  showing  that  a  very  humble  and  by  no  means  showy 
plant  has  its  uses,  and  is,  in  its  way,  invaluable  to  the 
master  of  decorative  gardening.  The  little  daughter  of 
a  great  painter  said  to  him  one  day,  "  Oh,  how  you  are 
loading  that  picture  with  mud-colour  ! "  The  father  took 
the  pretty  rebuke  laughingly,  and  replied,  "  Yes,  my  little 
cherub,  it  will  prove  the  best  picture  I  have  painted,  and 
enable  you  to  ride  through  the  mud  in  a  painted  coach/' 
And  so  it  proved ;  but  it  was  a  long  time  ere  the  child 
could  see  beauty  in  mud-colour. 

The  winter  aconite  is  a  member  of  the  great  Ranunculus 
family,  in  which  we  meet  with  the  true  aconite.  The  old 
herbalists,  in  their  fulsome  writings,  tired  not  of  speaking 
in  praise  of  the  virtues  of  the  true  aconite.  In  Gerarde 
it  is  admirably  figured  under  the  name  of  "  winter 
woolfesbane,  Aconitum  hyemale."  He  says  :  "  It  groweth 
upon  the  mountaines  of  Germanic;  we  haue  great 
quantitie  of  it  in  our  London  gardens.  It  bloweth  in 
lanuarie  :  the  seed  is  ripe  in  the  end  of  March."  He 
speaks  of  it  as  "  very  dangerous  and  deadly/'  as  it  is,  and 
adds  that  it  is  mighty  against  the  bites  of  scorpions  :  "  If 
the  scorpion  passe  by  where  it  groweth  and  touch  the  same, 
presently  he  becommeth  dull,  heauie,  and  sencelesse." 

The  winter  aconite  is  scarcely  to  be  regarded  as  a  good 


160  FAMILIAR    GARDEN   FLOWERS. 

border  flower.  At  all  events,  when  planted  in  the  border 
it  is  exposed  to  the  risk  of  being  dug  up  and  destroyed — 
a  risk  it  shares  in  common  with  many  good  things  that 
never  last  long  where  the  practice  of  promiscuous  digging 
of  borders  is  permitted.  The  jobbing  gardener  appears  to 
have  been  commissioned  by  Mephistopheles  to  crush  out  of 
existence  all  the  good  hardy  plants,  and  to  supply  in  their 
place  geraniums  at  three  shillings  a  dozen.  He  does  his 
best,  at  all  events,  to  annihilate  daffodils,  and  paeonies,  and 
delphiniums,  and  day-lilies,  and  aconites,  and  dielytras, 
because  they  do  not  show  themselves  at  the  time  when  he 
plies  his  spade  industriously.  Perhaps  he  ought  to  know 
that  their  roots  are  alive  below  ground,  and  ought  not  to 
be  made  into  mincemeat ;  but  we  must  make  allowances, 
for  it  often  happens  that  between  what  is  and  what 
"  ought "  to  be  there  is  a  great  gulf  fixed,  and  a  man 
may  be  a  gardener  and  yet  not  know  everything. 


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