DIANTHUS. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



DICENTRA. 



551 



the rock-garden. Mr. J. Grieve, who 

 raised them, says ; " Both the single and 

 the dwarf double varieties will prove quite 

 a boon to the flower-gardener and for 

 bouquets. To the ordinary eye all florists' 

 Pinks consist of but one variety ; whereas 

 amongst the single and dwarf sorts there 

 are endless colours, and many of the 

 flowers are so varied in colour as to 

 render them easily mistaken for other 

 plants. Numbers of the single sorts look 

 like miniature Petunias." Carnea Beauty, 

 Delicata, Rosea, Spicata, and Odorata 

 are among the best of these new dwarf 

 Pinks, and the class will no doubt be 

 added to. 



D. sinensis {Chinese Pink). — This has 

 given rise to a race of beautiful garden 

 flowers. It is an annual, or biennial, ac- 

 cording to the way it is sown and grown. 

 If sown early, the plants will flower the 

 first year ; if late, the second. On dry 

 soils, and if the winters be mild, they will 

 live for two or three years. The varieties, 

 both single and double, are now very 

 numerous and beautiful, and may be 

 classed under D. Heddewigi and D. 

 laciniatus. The forms of Heddewigi, the 

 Japanese variety, are dwarf and handsome, 

 while there are double-flowered forms, 

 particularly diadematus, the flowers of 

 which are large and very double. The 

 petals of the laciniated section are very 

 deeply cut into a fine fringe. Of this 

 class there are also double-flowered forms. 

 The colours of both are much varied, and 

 there are striped crimson and white sorts. 

 There is a pretty dwarf class (nanus), 

 about 6 in. high, but it is less useful 

 than the taller varieties for cutting from. 

 Two beautiful and distinct selected sorts. 

 Crimson Belle and Eastern Queen, are 

 among the best varieties. Sow D. 

 sinensis under glass in February, with 

 very little or no bottom-heat ; give air 

 freely during open weather, and in April 

 plant out in well-cultivated soil, which 

 need not be rich. Place the plants 9 in. 

 to 1 2 in. apart each way, and they will form 

 compact tufts. Encourage the laterals by 

 pinching ofl" decayed flowers, and the 

 result will be a mass of blossom through- 

 out the summer, and probably till 

 November. Some sow in autumn, and 

 winter the young plants in frames or under 

 hand-glasses, — hardening them off by 

 degrees in spring, until they have become 

 fully established. These Pinks are ad- 

 mirable for the flower garden, either in 

 beds by themselves, or mixed ; they may 

 be well used with taller plants of a 

 different character dotted sparsely among 

 them. 



D. superbus {Fringed Pink). — A fragrant 

 wild pink, easily known by its petals 

 being cut into strips for more than half 

 their length. It inhabits many parts of 

 Europe from Norway to the Pyrenees, and 

 is a true perennial, though it perishes so 

 often in gardens that many regard it as 

 a biennial. It is more likely to perish in 

 winter on rich and moist soil than on poor 

 and light soil, and, when it is desired to 

 establish it as a perennial, it should be 

 planted in fibry loam, well mixed with 

 sand or grit. It grows, however, on 

 nearly any soil ; and, by raising it every 

 year from seed, an abundant stock may be 

 kept up even where the plant perishes in 

 winter. It comes true from seed, and is 

 often more than i ft. high ; flowering in 

 summer or in early autumn, and is better 

 suited for mixed beds and borders than 

 for the rock-garden. 



DIAPENSIA {D.lapponica) is a sturdy 

 and dwarf evergreen alpine shrub, often 

 under 2 in. in height, growing in dense 

 rounded tufts, having narrow closely 

 packed leaves, and bearing in summer 

 solitary white flowers, about half an inch 

 across. It may be grown well on fully ex- 

 posed spots on the rock-garden, in deep 

 sandy and stony peat which is kept well 

 moistened during the warm season. It 

 is a native of N. Europe and N. America, 

 being found on high mountains or in arctic 

 latitudes. 



DICENTRA(i5/^^^/«^i%'^jr/).— Grace- 

 ful plants of the Fumitory Order, including 

 about half a dozen cultivated species, of 

 which the finest are — 



D. chrysantha. — This handsome plant 

 forms a spreading tuft of rigid glaucous 

 foliage, from which arises a stiff leafy 

 stem, 3 to 4 ft. high, with long branching 

 panicles of bright golden-yellow blossoms, 

 about I in. long in August and September ; 

 it seems hardy in light rich soil if warm 

 and sheltered. Seed. California. 



D. Cucullaria {Dutchman' s-breeches) 

 and D. thalictrifolia are less important, 

 and rather belong to the curious garden. 



D. eximia combines a Fern-like grace 

 with the flowering qualities of a good 

 hardy perennial. From i to I5 ft. high, 

 with numerous reddish-purple blossoms 

 in long drooping racemes. It is useful 

 for the rock-garden and the mixed border, 

 or for naturalising by woodland walks ; 

 thriving in rich sandy soil. Division. N. 

 America. 



D. formosa is similar to the preceding, 

 having also Fern-like foliage, but is dwarfer 

 in growth, its racemes shorter and more 

 crowded, and its flowers lighter. Suitable 

 for same positions as D. eximia. California. 



