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ACROCLINIUM. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GAI^DEN. 



leaves. This plant is often seen in the 

 little bronze trays of water-plants in 

 Japanese gardens and houses. China. 



ACROCLINIUM.— ^.;w^^^w, the only 

 species, is a pretty half-hardy annual 

 from Western Australia, growing over 

 I foot high with rosy-pink flowers, used 

 as "everlasting" flowers. Seeds should 

 be sown in frames in March, and the 

 seedlings planted at the end of April or 

 early in ]\Iay in a warm border ; or the 

 seeds may be sown in the open ground 

 in fine rich soil at the end of April. If the 

 flowers are to be dried, it is best to gather 

 them when fresh and young — some when 

 in the bud state. This annual might 

 be made graceful use of in mixed beds. 

 There is a white variety. Co)nposita. 



AGTJEA {Bancherry). — Vigorous 

 perennials of the Buttercup order, 3 ft. 

 to 6 ft. high, thriving in free soil ; flower 

 spikes, white and long-, with showy 

 berries. The white Baneberry has white 

 berries with red footstalks. The var. 

 rubra of A. spicaia has showy fruit ; the 

 plants are best suited for rich bottoms 

 in the wild garden, as though the foliage 

 and habit are good, the flowers are short- j 

 lived in the ordinary border, and some- 

 what coarse in habit. A. spicata (com- 

 mon Baneberry or Herb Christopher), 

 A. raceviosa (Black Snakeroot), A. alba 

 (white Baneberry), having white berries 

 with red stalks, and one or two American ! 

 forms of the common Baneberry are in j 

 cultivation. The flowers have often a | 

 very unpleasant smell. 



ACTINELLA.— North American com- 

 posites of which there are three kinds in 

 gardens, dwarf-growing plants with yellow 

 flowers. The finest is A. grandiflora 

 (Pigmy Sunflower), a native of Colorado, j 

 an alpine plant with flower-heads 3 in. 

 in diameter, growing from 6 in. to 9 in. 

 high. The other species, A. acaulis, A. 

 Brandegei, and A. scaposa, are somewhat 

 similar. They are all perennial, and - 

 thrive in a light soil. ] 



ACTINIDIA.— Climbing summer-leaf- 

 ing shrubs of the Camellia order from 

 Japan and China,thriving in warm rich soil. \ 

 They all have climbing or twining stems i 

 and iDear waxy white flowers. A. Kolomik- \ 

 ta should be grown against a wall or | 

 against a buttress or tree trunk placed 

 against the wall, on which the stems sup- 

 port themselves. The leaves are brightly 

 tinted in autumn, and the flowers of A. 

 polyga))ia are fragrant. A. voliibilis is 

 free-growing and has small white flowers. 

 ADENOPHORA iGUmd Bcllflower).— 

 Hardy perennials of the Bellflower family. 



mostly from Siberia and Dahuria, with 

 flowers generally blue in colour. Some 

 of the most distinct species are A. corono- 

 pi folia, A. denliculala, A. Lamar ckii^ A. 

 liliiflora, A. polynwrpha^ A. stylosa^ and 

 A. pereskicrfolia. In these occur slight 

 variations in colour and size of flower. 

 Their thick fleshy roots revel in a rich 

 loam, and like a damp subsoil ; they are 

 impatient of removal, and should not be 

 increased by division. Unlike the Platy- 

 codons, they seed freely, and are easily 

 increased. 



ADIANTUM {Maidenhair Fern).— 

 Elegant ferns, few of which are hardy, 

 growing best in a rough fibry peat, 

 mixed with sand and lumps of broken 

 stone or brick. A. pedafiim, the hardy N. 

 American kind, is charming among shade- 

 loving plants in the wild garden with the 

 more iDeautiful wood-flowers, such as 

 Trillium, Hepatica, and blue Anemone, in 

 moist soil. A. Capillus veneris, the 

 British Maidenhair Fern, is best in a 

 sheltered nook at the foot of a shady wall, 

 and in the southern warmer countries 

 might be found near fountain basins and 

 moist corners of the rock garden and 

 hardy fernery. There are several varie- 

 ties or forms of this Maidenhair. 



ADLUMIA {Climbing Fumitory). - 

 Climbing biennial plants. One species 

 only {A.cirrhosa) is known, a rapid grower. 



Atilumia cirrhosa. 



18 



to over 3 ft. high. They are 



Its Maidenhair-Fern-like leaves are borne 

 on slender twining stems with abundant 

 white blossoms, about \ in. long. There is 

 a variety with purple flowers. It thrives in 

 a warm soil, and its place is trailing over 



