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DOMESTIC NOTICES. 



Salvia Patens. — This Salvia, with large flowers 

 of the finest ultramarine blue perhaps to be found 

 in the vegetable kingdom, is a very line plant for 

 budding-out, to form a mass of colour in the flower 

 garden. By pegging down the shoots as they grow, 

 the dwarfish compaet habit will be attained, so ne- 

 cessary to good effect in flower gardens arranged 

 in this way. Yours, ^7i Amateur Florist. New- 

 York, March, ISiS. 



Culture of the Blue Commelina — {Comme- 

 Una celestris.) — This is one of the loveliest of all 

 blue flowers : and I am surprised, considering its 

 easy culture, that it is not more frequently seen in 

 our flower gardens. 



It is properly a tuberous perennial, — each plant 

 with a cluster of tubers like those of the dahlia in 

 miniature. These tubers are as easily preserved 

 as those of the dahlia; and when the roots get 

 large, the plants put out in May ia the open border, 

 and'^ produce an uninterrupted series of flowers the 

 whole summer and autnmn. 



The Commelina is so easily raised from seeds, 

 (which may be had of all our leading seedsmen,) 

 that any person may soon get a good stock of it. 

 Besides, if sown pretty early, say the middle of 

 April, in a warm border, it comes into bloom like 

 an annual the same summer. It may then be ta- 

 ken up at the commencement of frost, and the roots 

 put away in a box or pot of sand, or coal ashes, and 

 placed under the green-house stage, or in a cellar 

 free from frost. loid. 



The Gladiolus.— This is one of the finest bulbs 

 in the world for the open border in this country. 

 The common Gladiolus, or •' sword lily," (G. com- 

 munis,) with purple flowers, and the green striped, 

 or Parrot Gladiolus, (G. psittacina,) are well known 

 hardy border flowers. But the finer new hybrid spe- 

 cies and varieties, so well known in Belgium, (where 

 they cultivate above 40 sorts,) are very seldom seen 

 in the United States, except in the gardens of the 

 largest collectors. 



They are well worthy of more attention. The 

 roots of these new sorts are very easily preserved 

 through the winter in a cellar or green-house ; and 

 nothing can well be more gay, brilliant or delicate 

 than the colours of many of the finer sorts,— G. 

 cardinahs, gardavensis, roseus, etc, with all the 

 shades of flesh colour, rose, pink, deep scarlet and 

 purple, in their long spikes of blossoms. They also 

 come into bloom at midsummer, when there are, 

 comparatively, few flowers in our borders. Good, 

 rich, sandy loam, and an open exposure, will, in 

 this climate, grow them to our great satisfaction. 

 Ibid. 



Hard/ AND Showy Annuals. — A correspondent 

 in Maryland desires a list of hardy and showy an- 



nuals ''that will grow with little care, and pro- 

 duce a gay efTect in the flower garden." 



We recommend the following species : Collinsia 

 bicolor, Collinsia grandiflora, Phlox Drummondii, 

 Nemophila insignis. Erysimum Peroffskianum, Hi- 

 biscus jlfricauus, Schlzanthus pinnatus. Coreopsis 

 tinctoria, Bartonia aurea, Portulacca splendens 

 and Thcllusonii, Malope grandifloru. Convolvulus 

 minor, Gillia tricolor, Eutoca viscida, Iberis urn- 

 bellata, Abjssum maratimum. To these may be 

 added the fine Double German Asters, Double Bal- 

 sams and Double Dwarf Rockets, to be had of most 

 of the seedsmen. 



Martynia Fragrans. — This is a new annu- 

 al, well worthy of cultivation. We received some 

 seeds lately from a friend, with the following ac- 

 count of its growth. Ed. 



It is considered very difficult to raise this annu- 

 al in England ; but here, in our genial sunshine, it 

 grew to a most prodigious size. A young friend in 

 London sent me, last March, a few seeds. Know- 

 ing it required active heat in starting, I sowed the 

 few seeds in a pot about St Patrick's day, and kept 

 them in the dahlia propagating house, in a tempe- 

 rature of about 80°. In about two weeks one seed 

 came forward, (and the only one ;) this " lone star" 

 I steadily watched and helped along, with a couple 

 of shiftings into pots, until by the 10th of May it 

 was a strong showy plant. At this time I turned 

 it into the ground, in a rich warm spot, and never 

 did I before see such rapidity of growth, especially 

 in spreading; it sent out lateral hra.nches Jive feet 

 in length, but never attained more than three feet 

 in height. The whole habit is very robust ; the 

 foliage thick, but more soft and velvety than M. 

 proboscydea, and flowering, in immense profusion, 

 from the middle of July till stopped by frost in Oc- 

 tober. No other Martynea can compare with this 

 fine variety ; the flowers are larger than the Glox- 

 inia, which they indeed much resemble, only that 

 they are thickly set on a spike, and are of a delicate 

 rosy lilac, blotched and shaded with bright crimson, 

 with an agreeable odor. I consider it one of the 

 greatest acquisitions to our annuals, which are sel- 

 dom of any size, and for the most part, of late, the 

 novelties have been of a trifling character. This is 

 a gigantic addition. I have raised from this one 

 plant a fair quantity of seed, which I have sent to 

 Messrs. Thorburn it Co., in John-street. I forgot 

 to say that the seed capsules for a month be- 

 fore ripening add much to the appearance of the 

 plant. When this plant becomes more plentiful, I 

 have no doubt the green pods will make a pickle 

 quite equal to the M. proboscydea capsules, which 

 are much used for that purpose by many good house- 

 wives. Yours, T. Astoria, Long-Island. 



