GYPSOPHILA. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. habranthus 



597 



with silvery sheen. It is a native of 

 Ecuador, and is earher in bloom than G. 

 argentciim. The sexes are borne on 

 separate plants in all the species, and the 

 plumes of male flowers are neither so 

 handsome nor so durable as the plumes of 

 female flowers. 



GYPSOPHILA.— Plants of the Stitch- 

 wort family, the larger kinds usually very 

 elegant, and bearing myriads of tiny 

 white blossoms on slender spreading pani- 

 cles. One of the best is G. pankiilata^ 

 which forms a dense compact bush, 3 ft. 

 or more high, the numerous flowers small 

 white, on thread-like stalks on much- 

 branched stems, with the light, airy effect 

 of certain Grasses, and very useful for 

 cutting. It thrives in any soil, and is 

 suitable for borders and for naturalisa- 

 tion. There is a double variety. G. aciiti- 

 ^olia, altisstina, fasfigiata, glauca, man- 

 gini, pcrfoliata, Rokcjeka, Stevent, tran- 

 svlvaiiia are \ery similar. G. prostrata 



Gypsophila cerastioides. 



is a pretty species for the rock-garden 

 or the mixed border. It grows in spread- 

 ing masses, and from midsummer to Sep- 

 tember has loose graceful panicles of small 

 white or pink flowers, on slender stems. 

 G. cerastioides is about 2 in. high, and has 

 a spreading habit ; the leaves are about i^ 

 in. long, and small clusters of blossoms 

 I in. across, white with violet streaks. 

 It is from Northern India, and quite 

 unlike any of the group now in our 

 gardens, being dwarfer and having larger 

 flowers. It is a rapid grower, and in 

 good soil and an open position on the 

 rock-garden soon spreads into a broad 

 tuft. Division, seeds, or cuttings in spring. 

 G. repens is a pretty dwarf rock-plant, 

 thriving also in borders ; flowering long 

 in summer and autumn, and with foliage 

 of a pleasant glaucous colour. G. ehgaiis 

 is a graceful feathery annual much used 

 for bouquets. 



HABENARIA {Rein Orc/ns).— Terr es- 

 trial Orchids from N. America, i to 2 ft. 

 high, some of which are pretty. For out- 

 door culture, a partially-shaded spot should 

 be prepared with about equal parts of leaf- 

 mould or peat and sand, and well mulched 

 with leaves, grass, or other material, to 

 keep it moist. //. blepJiariglottis bears 

 in July spikes of white flowers beautifully 

 fringed. H. ciliaris has bright orange- 

 yellow flowers with a conspicuous fringe, 

 which appear from July to September. 

 H. fimbriata has a long spike of lilac- 

 purple flowers beautifully fringed. H. 

 psy codes bears spikes 4 to 10 in. long 

 of handsome and fragrant purple flowers. 

 They are charming plants for the bog- 

 garden. 



HABERLEA.— //. rhodopensis is a 

 pretty little rock-plant resembling a 

 Gloxinia in miniature, forming dense tufts 

 of small rosettes of leaves, which somewhat 

 resemble those of the Pyrenean Ramondia 

 {R. pyi-enaica)^ every rosette bearing in 

 spring one to five slender flower-stalks, 

 each with two to four blossoms nearly 

 I in. long, of a bluish-lilac colour with a 

 yellowish throat. Messrs. Froebel, of 

 Zurich, who grow it well, write of it : 

 " We have treated this plant in the same 

 manner as the Pyrenean Ramondia, i.e 

 we have planted it on the north side of 

 the rock-garden, so that the sun never 

 directly reaches it. We grow it in fibrous 

 peat, and fix the plants, if possible, in the 

 fissures of the rock-garden, so that its 

 rosettes hang in an oblique position, just 

 as they do in their native country. It 

 succeeds well in this way ; but if no rock- 

 garden be at hand, it may be grown 

 equally well on the north side of a 

 Rhododendron bed. We have it thus 

 situated quite close to a stone edging — a 

 way in which we also grow the Ramondia, 

 — and the Haberlea flowers profusely 

 every year in May and June. The plant 

 is very hardy, having withstood our often 

 very hard winters, without any protection." 

 It is a native of the Balkan Mountains, 

 where it is found among moss and leaves 

 on damp, shady, steep declivities at high 

 elevations. 



HABRANTHUS.— A brilliant bulb 

 of the Amaryllis family, hardy, at least 

 in the southern and eastern parts of the 

 country. H. pratensis has stout and 

 erect flower-stems, about i ft. high, and 

 the brightest scarlet flowers, feathered 

 here and there at the base with yellow. 

 The \-&x\e\.y fid gens is the finest form. It 

 blooms freely in the open border of the 

 Rev. Mr. Nelson's garden at Aldborough, 

 in Norfolk, flowering at the end of May 



