Angast 12, 1869. ] 



JOUENAL OF HOETICDLTUEE AND COTTAGE GAKDENEB. 



123 



Taking the floral department first, among the Tiscarias car- 

 dinalis is pre-eminent from the brilliancy of its colour, far sar- 

 pasaing the older V. ocalata, pretty as it is, and being without 

 doubt one of the most effective of all annuals. The new variety 

 of ocnlata called perfecta nana, with lilac and white flowers, is 

 a neat dwarf kind ; a variety of Visearia, or Agrostemma, coeli- 

 rosa, with rose-coloured flowers having a brighter eye and 

 presenting a fringed appearance in consequence of the petals 

 being variously indented, was also pleasing, but it was largely 

 mixed with V. ooulata. Of Candytufts that called Very Dwarf 

 White answered well to its description, not exceeding 6 or 

 7 inches high when in flower, and being of very close habit, 

 with neatly cut leaves. A continental novelty named the New 

 Dwarf Lilac appeared to be a mixture of the ordinary purple and 

 lilac ; and several of the white Candytufts under various names 

 scarcely differed from each other. Not unlike Visearia eardinalis, 

 and rivalling it in brightness of colour, is the splendid scarlet 

 Linum grandiflorum. Linum narbonense, with pale blue flow- 

 era ; L. Lorei, which Mr. Barr describes as having been covered 

 with flowers of an intense blue throughout May and June ; 

 L. Lewisii variegatum, L. perenne, and perenne roseum, the 

 last with rosy lilac flowers, are also very desirable Flaxes. Mr. 

 Barr prefers sowing the seed of these perennial kinds in autumn. 

 Of those beautiful everlastings, the Ehodanthes, E. Manglesii 

 is so well known that it requires no recommendation ; and 

 there is a variety, E. Manglesii major, which, though probably 

 of somewhat stronger growth, as grown here did not materially 

 differ from the older kind ; but E. maculata and E. maculata 

 alba, the latter a beautiful white everlasting, may be confidently 

 recommended to every one. Instead of coddling them in pots, 

 Mr. Barr recommends sowing the seed in prepared beds in the 

 open ground any time after the middle of April, either where 

 they are to remain for flowering, or to be transplanted. Atro- 

 sanguinea, darker in colour, is also very pretty, and is not so 

 robust in growth as maculata. Another everlasting which can 

 be recommended is the golden-flowered Helichrysum brachy- 

 rhynchium. There were several others of the same family, but 

 not in flower, as also of Xeranthemums. The latter are sown 

 in autumn to stand the winter, and are then much finer than 

 those from seed sown in spring. Waitzia aurea is a rather new 

 and pretty everlasting, but it appeared anything but flourishing. 

 Acroclinium roseum, one of the prettiest of everlastings, must 

 not be omitted. 



The Dianthus family are grown in considerable numbers, 

 and the older varieties of the Indian Pink appear destined to 

 give place to those of Heddewigii, japonicus, &o., which are 

 much superior in size and brilliancy of colour. Those who do 

 not possess the means of wintering bedding plants, might with 

 the different kinds of Dianthus alone form a good display, 

 especially if the seed were sown in the previous autumn, and 

 the plants transplanted to the beds, for then the flowers are 

 produced earlier in the season, and are much larger than 

 those from plants sown in spring. Among the showiest were 

 the varieties of imperialis, laciniatus, characterised by their 

 much-cut petals, and Heddewigii. Of the last, the sub- 

 varieties atropurpureus and striatus were very pretty, so were 

 some of the double forms, and D. dentosus hybridus, purple 

 and lilac, with a regularly marked centre. Dianthus deltoides, 

 red and white, is a pretty plant for rockwork. The various 

 forms of Dianthuses which have been recently introduced de- 

 serve more attention than they have hitherto received. Some 

 of them are of exquisite beauty, others are most brilliant in 

 colour, and they offer the advantage of being easily raised from 

 seeds, and grown in any good garden ground. 



Among Campanulas, Lorei and Lorei alba, pentagonia and 

 pentagonia alba, and strigosa, were the most effective ; and 

 there were several varieties of Chrysanthemum tricolor, which 

 from the size of their flowers and diversity of colouring, are 

 amongst the most showy of hardy annuals. Of these aureum, 

 Burridgeanum, atrocoocineum, atropurpnreum, and venustum, 

 are very effective. Of Clarkias, the single and double integri- 

 petala varieties, rosy crimson or white, integripetala margi- 

 nata, and the Tom Thumb varieties of dwarf er free-flowering 

 habit, are good. Another good annual bearing considerable 

 resemblance to the Clarkias, is Eucharidium grandiflorum, 

 of which there are white and rose-coloured sorts. The follow- 

 ing are also very desirable — viz., Eutoca viscida and Wrangel- 

 iana, blue; Fenzlia diauthiflora, very pretty, but apt to fail 

 unless the seed bed be kept damp till the seedlings appear ; 

 Palava flexuosa, with beautiful pink flowers having a dark eye ; 

 Oxalis valdiviana, with bright yellow flowers, forming a good 

 associate for OxaUa rosea — the last two are recent introductions 



by Messrs. Veitch, and the Palava will be a pretty plant for pot 

 culture as well as for beds ; Gilia laciniata, dwarfer than 

 achilleiBFolia, lavender blue ; Shortia californica, yellow, and free- 

 flowering, especially if sown in autumn ; Kauifussia amelloides, 

 and amelloides atroviolacea, both with fine blue flowers, but the 

 latter preferable ; Lasthenia californica, good for spring flower- 

 ing, but not 90 desirable for summer ; Leptosiphon androsacens 

 and deneiflorus, of both of which there are lilac and white va- 

 rieties ; luteus, yellow, very dwarf and free-flowering ; and 

 hybridus, of various colours ; Centranthus macrosiphon nanns, 

 a pleasing little rose-coloured-flowered plant ; Erysimum 

 arkansanum, sulphur-coloured ; E. Periff skianum, well known ; 

 Calliopsis Drummondi and coronata ; Sphenogyne speciosa 

 aurea and sulphurea; Schizanthus oculatus atropurpureus and 

 grandiflorns albus, the one purple, the other white ; double 

 Sanvitttlia procumbena; Zinnia mexicana, yellow flushed with 

 orange, dwarf and spreading, and besides this a number of 

 other varieties will shortly be in flower. Lupines, Salvias, 

 Statices, Daturas, Petunias ; Ten-week, Intermediate, and 

 Brompton Stocks ; and Balsams are grown in numbers, but for 

 the most part were not in bloom. There are also collections of 

 different kinds of Salpiglossis, Sweet Williams, new dwarf 

 Scabious, which is useful for bouquets, and of French and 

 African Marigolds. Of the French Marigolds, the Superior 

 Striped Single is very distinct. In a collection of Poppies, only 

 a few of which were in bloom, Marseilles splendens was large 

 and very fine. 



Mr. Barr justly complains of the same plant being frequently 

 supplied under dift'erent names, as well as of stocks of seeds 

 b-jing so mixed that they cannot be depended upon. An an in- 

 stance of the former evil, in a large collection of Lathyrus, all 

 supplied by one firm, he has found the plants under the names 

 of Lathyrus azureus, hybridus azureus, and magellanicus, the 

 same; L. Clymenum and tingitanus striatus the same; tingi- 

 tanus and mauritanicus the same ; and Napoleonensis and 

 species nova so like the preceding, as not to be worth distin- 

 guishing. As an instance of the latter evil, out of a bed of 224 

 Tropseolums, only 153 were true, and 71 were a mixture of 

 various other kinds. Of the Tom Thumb varieties, cceruleum 

 roseum, of which there was a fine bed, is quite distinct from any 

 other in colour, and is very free-flowering, whilst of scarlet 

 kinds, Pyramidal Tom Thumb, and Lilli Schmidt, are excellent 

 dwarf scarlet varieties. Among very dark sorts, King Theodore 

 was conspicuous. Of Antirrhinums, several varieties are grown, 

 but the Tom Thumb race of various colours, the plant bushy 

 and a foot high, was by far the most desirable for beds. One 

 plant which we noticed formed quite a bouquet of flowers. 

 Geum atrosanguineum and coccineum superbum, apparently 

 the same, are good plants for rockwork ; so, too, are the pink- 

 flowered Crncianella stylosa, which continues in bloom a long 

 time, and Tunica saxifraga. Gaura Lindbeimeri, with white 

 flowers and a pink calyx; ffinothera macrantha, with large 

 yellow flowers; and Statice pseudo-armeria, the latter producing 

 rosettes of rose-coloured flowers, are also good border plants. 



Of plants grown for the ornamental character of their foliage 

 there was a quantity of Golden Feather Pyrethrum, which is 

 even more golden in its hue in winter and spring than ia 

 summer ; but the object being to save seed, the flower stalks 

 had not been cut over, as would be the case if it were grown ill 

 a bed ; but it is almost unnecessary to mention a plant like 

 this, for it is now to be found in most suburban gardens, and 

 scarcely anything can be neater or more graceful as an edging. 

 Solanums for subtropical effect had just been planted out, but 

 small as they were, the characters of some of them, as in 

 S. pyracanthum, citrulifolium, marginatum, glaucophyllum, 

 and Balbibii were becoming apparent. Several of the Arte- 

 misias, as A. gracilis, A annua, and A. argentea, from their 

 graceful elegintly divided foliage are suitable for the same pur- 

 pose as the preceding ; and Cosmos atropurpureus and bipin- 

 natus, plants belonging to the same natural order, might even 

 be employed for table decoration. 



Mesembryanthemnms were not in flower, with the exception 

 of tricolor, rose-coloured with a dark disk, nor were the Mar- 

 tynias, which are here treated as half-hardy annuals; but the 

 orange and white-flowered Thunbergias were, the plants having 

 been raised under glass and planted out in June. 



Among those showy but rather coarse annuals, the Esch- 

 scholtzias, Mr. Barr pointed out a new continental kind sent 

 out under the name of Eschscholtzia croeea rosea, not one 

 flower out of a thousand of which he considered came within 

 50 per cent of the description given. How this might be we 

 could not say, for the bed had been " rogued " out in the mom- 



