THE SECJIETARY'S PORTFOLIO. 419 



■blue or purple volvofc, the base of the sepals takes on a more violet tinge, espec- 

 ially under strong sunlight. The width of the entire flower is often five inches, 

 and down the center of the sepal extends a bar, while tlie wliole is relieved by 

 a broad, central tuft of pale green statneus. Equally striking is the great pro- 

 fusion of flowers borne during parts of June and July, with tlio effect of almost 

 hiding at that time, all foliage, which, as already remarked, forms so notable 

 a feature in the usual appearance of the plant. 



This luxurious development of flower and leaf may, of course, be enhanced 

 by adopting the proper system of pruning. The pruning, however, is very sim- 

 ple, consisting merely in cutting back the old wood to short stems of a few 

 inches, in order to renew every year a vigorous young growth, which may be 

 ■depended on to bear flowers freely, and produce abundant, but not far-reaching 

 foliage. This quality of bushiness renders it peculiarly fitted for covering with 

 bloom and foliage any stump of moderate dimensions, or training into the cu- 

 rious and beautiful "pillar" forms. The hardiness of Clematis Jackmanii is 

 iinquestionable ; an assertion not to be made safely concerning some other 

 choice varieties when brought to our climate. 



Therefore, while welcoming and urging the most extended employment of 

 all kinds of Clematis, affording, as they do, a continuous series of flowers 

 throughout the entire growing season, we would at the same time deem any 

 •collection very incomplete without Jackmanii. It will be a long time before 

 any new varieties can entirely supersede it, or make it other than a leading 

 kind — for the simple reason that a plant with a high general average of good 

 ■qualities, must always retain a recognized value, even among companions evinc- 

 ing'greater perfection in single traits. 



S. Paksons. 



BEDDING PLANTS. 



SEDUMS AS BEDDING PLANTS. 



Sedums are choice, hardy bedding plants, and the more they are known the 

 ■more their beauty is appreciated. Silvery and variegated in their foliage, 

 glossy in all their shades at any time of the year, bedded among a mass of 

 rocks or broken stones on which our wild mosses will grow, they are, winter 

 and summer, a collective mass of flowering plants hardly equaled. They bloom 

 from early spring till late autumn, and once planted no more care is needed. 

 When planted with medium-sized boulders mingled in the soil of the bed, they 

 will bear great heat or any amount of rain without injury. 



Of varieties they now number over forty, but we shall only name a few that we 

 know, giviiig at the same time their period of bloom and color. As edging bor- 

 der plant?, and as plants for vases in the house, they are among the best, where 

 no extra care can be daily given. A bed of them made as we say, will be more 

 beautiful year after year than the best of verbenas or phlox drummondii, and 

 once made, the plants and bed are there; no renewal needed. Now to varie- 



