WINTER MEETING AT CARTHA.GE. 155 



IIAKDY HERBACEOUS X'LANTS. 



This class abounds with choice and attractive varieties, many of which are 

 already well known; their claim to popularity lies in the possession of the same 

 characteristic as the shrubs already mentioned : that is, they are perfectly hardy, 

 bearing the cold of our winters with impunity. 



The Old German Irises, or so-called " Flags" of our grand-parents' gardens, 

 are now as popular and deservingly so as ever. What- colors are there in many of 

 the high-priced orchards of diflicult cultivation to compare with the many wonder- 

 ful shades of lavender which the blooms of these old favorites posses^y And now 

 of recent years there have been introduced and extensively disseminated from 

 Japan, the single and the double-flowering Iris Kaeoapheri, with immense stately 

 blooms produced in the summer, long after the German Irises have faded. There 

 are many varieties of them, all deserving of cultivation. 



Piconias I need scarcely mention, yet if I did not, you might laugh at my 

 ignorance; they are grand, and L assume that you know it as well as I do; but, 

 perhaps, you do not know that grand blood-red variety, "Officinalis Fl. PI.," 

 which blooms before the ordinary varieties have opened their eyes to the spring 

 sunshine; if you do not, put it down for one of your first investments early next 

 spring. A root planted then may not bloom at once, but it will the following year, 

 if properly cared for, and you will enjoy its presence. Of the later blooming 

 varieties there are so many that it would be a waste of time to describe them par- 

 ticularly, as they are all good. 



Dklytra, SpectaLilis (Bleeding Hearts) need only a passing mention. Your 

 garden would miss them badly if you were to part with them. 



Helianthus Multiflorus Plenus, the dwarf double Sunflower, grow to a height of 

 three or four feet, making a perpetual show of yellow throughout the summer; 

 they are a little coarse, but efl'ective. 



Achillea Plarmica, "the Pearl," introduced about four years past, has grown 

 into one of the most popular of its class ; the plant is dwarf, growing to only about 

 one foot or eighteen inches high, but it blooms very freely, and, though principally 

 in one crop, there are flowers throughout the summer; these are double, small, 

 white, and last well. 



Astilbe, or Spirea Japonica, is a very useful plant, blooming early in the spring; 

 the plant grows to the height of about one foot ; the flowers are feathery and white. 



Pansies, Violets and English Daisies belong to this class, but are not suffi- 

 ciently hardy to stand* through our winters without some protection; they are 

 beautiful, however, and fully repay all proper care bestowed upon them. 



Coreopsis Lanceolate blooms almost all summer, producing yellow flowers, 

 resembling single daisies in form and size. 



A few specimens of the grasses, Erianthus Ravennae, Eulalius Japonica Variegcta 

 E. Jap. Zebrina, E. Oracillima Univaiiata, with their graceful varicolored foliage and 

 tall trusses of long-keeping blooms, are always desirable, especially on extensive 

 ground. 



White and blue Funkias or Day Lilies deserve good places, as they grow and 

 bloom well. 



The Hemerocallis , or Lemon Lily, is as pretty a yellow in color as any plant we 

 have, and their being in almost every garden does not destract one particle from 

 their usefulness. 



