5o6 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



COl.I.OMIA. 



being grown in bare beds of soil, where 

 the splashing of the soil in heavy rains 

 impairs their beauty. In the rock- 

 garden among dwarf plants Col- 

 chicums thrive, and make a pretty show 

 in autumn, when rock-gardens are often 

 flowerless. They look better in grassy 

 places or in the wild garden than in any 

 formal bed or border. Their naked 

 flowers want the relief and grace of Grass 

 and foliage. There are about thirty kinds, 

 though only about half of them are in 

 cultivation, and among these the 

 differences are often slight. Though 

 there are so many names to be found 

 in catalogues, the distinct kinds are 

 few, and there is such a striking similarity 

 among these that they may be con- 

 veniently classed in groups. The best 

 known is 



C. autumnale, commonly called the 

 autumn Crocus. The flowers appear 

 before the leaves, rosy purple, in clusters 

 of about six, 2 or 3 in. above the surface, 

 flowering from September to November. 

 There are several varieties, the chief 

 being the double purple, white and 

 striped ; rose-lilac ; rose-lilac, striped 

 with white ; pale rose ; and pure white. 



C. Parkinsoni. — A distinct and beautiful 

 plant, readily distinguished from any of 

 the foregoing by the peculiar chequered 

 markings of its violet-purple flowers. 

 Its flowers come in autumn and its 

 leaves in spring. Similar kinds are 

 BivoncB, variegatwn, agrippimciit, chio- 

 nense, tessellattan, all of which have 

 the flowers chequered with dark purple 

 on a white ground. 



C. speciosum, from the Caucasus, is 

 large and beautiful, and valuable for the 

 garden in autumn, when its large rosy- 

 purple flowers appear nearly i ft. above 

 the ground. Like the rest of the Meadow 

 Saffrons, this is as well suited for 

 the rock-garden as the border, thrivmg 

 in any soil ; but to have it in perfection, 

 choose a situation exposed to the sun, 

 with sandy soil — in fact, a spot likely to 

 dry up during summer. 



COLEUS.— A few kinds of these pretty- 

 leaved plants, of the Sage Order, 

 succeed in the open air in summer, 

 and, when used judiciously, give a fine 

 effect. In some of the London parks 

 they are arranged by themselves in 

 large masses, generally of one kind only. 

 Though there is a host of varieties, few 

 succeed in the open air. Mr. Wildsmith, 

 of Heckfield, wrote : " We have tried at 

 least a score of varieties for bedding-out, 

 with the result that the first kind recom- 

 mended (Verschaffelti) is still the only 



one that succeeds well. The culture of all 

 the varieties is of the simplest nature ; 

 cuttings strike freely in any sandy soil, in 

 a moist heat of 70'. 



COLLETIA.— Curious shrubs of the 

 Buckthorn Order from Chili, some species 

 of which are hardy enough for the open air 

 in all but the coldest parts of the country, 

 in free sandy soils. They have spiny 

 branches with a few minute leaves. C. 

 cruciata is the commonest ; its stems are 



CoUetia cruciata (C. bktotiiensis.) 



armed with stout flattened spines, its 

 flowers white and small, making a bush 

 about 4 ft. high. C. spittosa has its 

 spines round or awl-shaped, the white 

 flowers, though small, are very numerous 

 in summer. Under favourable conditions 

 it makes a formidable hedge in the 

 southern counties, where it flourishes. 



COLLINSIA. — Pretty N. American an- 

 nuals. If sown in autumn, they will, on 

 some soils, survive the winter, and flower 

 much better than spring-sown plants, the 

 flowers coming early. They are of the 

 easiest culture. Plants from seed sown in 

 spring flower in twelve weeks. There 

 are from nine to a dozen species or 

 varieties in cultivation and enumerated 

 in the catalogues, the only one requiring 

 special treatment being C. verfia, which 

 must be sown in autumn. The prettiest use 

 for these plants is for the spring-garden 

 in l)eds, or occasionally as abroad edging. 



COLLOMIA. — C. coccinea is a bright an- 

 nual,! ft. to 18 in. high, flowering in summer 

 and autumn. Sow it in April in open 

 ground ; or else in a frame in autumn 

 and protect it during winter, if good 



