HELLEBORUS. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. hemerocallis. 



605 



flowers much smaller than //. colc/iiciis, 

 the latter dull purple on the outside and 

 greenish-purple within. It is a native of 

 Hungary, and is common in gardens, but 

 is often confused with H. adc/tasicus, a 

 taller and more slender plant, the flower- 

 stems of which are longer, and the blos- 

 soms nodding and smaller. H. abchasicus 

 is much superior to atro-rubots^ the colour 

 of the blossoms — a deep ruby-crimson — 

 making them very attractive. Other fine 

 varieties of the red-flowered group are 

 Gretchen Heinemann, James Atkins, 

 and Apotheker Bogren, all worthy of 

 culture. Other reddish kinds, such as H. 

 purpurascens and H. ciipreics, are not 

 worth growing. 



All the kinds will thrive in ordinary 

 garden soil, but for the choicer kinds a 

 prepared soil is preferable. This should 

 consist of equal parts of good fibry loam 

 and well-decomposed manure, half fibry 

 peat and half coarse sand. Thorough 

 drainage should always be given, as stag- 

 nant moisture is very injurious. A moist 

 and sheltered situation, where they will 

 obtain partial shade, such as the margins 

 of shrubberies, is best, but care should 

 be taken to keep the roots of shrubs 

 from exhausting the border. In the 

 flowering season a thin mulching of moss 

 or similar material should be placed on 

 the soil round the plants, as this prevents 

 the blossoms from being spattered by 

 heavy rains, etc. Any one beginning 

 to grow these useful plants should give 

 the soil a good preparation. If well 

 trenched and manured, they will not re- 

 quire replanting for at least seven years ; 

 but a top-dressing of well-decayed manure 

 and a little liquid manure might be given 

 during the growing season when the 

 plants are making their foliage, as upon 

 the size and substance of the leaves will 

 depend the size of the flowers. The 

 common white Christmas Rose is a fa- 

 vourite pot-plant, and if required for pot- 

 ting its foliage should be protected from 

 injury; when the blooming season is over 

 it should be protected by a frame until 

 genial weather permits it to be plunged 

 in the open air. Hardy subjects like the 

 Christmas Rose frequently sufter when 

 removed from under glass, for although 

 hardy enough to withstand our severest 

 winters when continuously exposed, their 

 growth, when made under more exciting- 

 circumstances, will not withstand sudden 

 variations of temperature. For this reason 

 it is advisable to keep them in as cool a 

 position as possible when in flower, so 

 that the growth of young foliage may not 

 be excited before its natural season. 



Propagation may be effected by division 

 or by seeds, which, in favourable seasons,, 

 are plentiful ; as soon as thoroughly 

 ripened they should be sown in pans 

 under glass, for they soon lose their 

 vitality. As soon as the seedlings are 

 large enough they should be pricked off 

 thickly into a shady border, in a light 

 rich soil ; the second year they should be 

 transplanted to their permanent place, 

 and in the third season most of them will 

 bloom. In division the clumps must be 

 well established, with root-stocks large 

 enough to cut up. The divided plants,, 

 if placed in a bed of good light soil, and 

 undisturbed, will be good flowering plants 

 in a couple of years, but four years are 

 required to bring a Christmas Rose to 

 perfection. By July the Hellebore is in 

 its strongest vigour, and lifting and divid- 

 ing the plants should then be carried 

 out. 



HELONIAS {Stud Flotuer).—\ dis- 

 tinct and handsome bog perennial, H. bid- 

 lata being 12 to 16 in. high, with hand- 

 some purplish-rose flowers in an oval spike. 

 It is suitable for the bog-garden or for 

 moist ground near a rivulet. In fine 

 sandy and very moist soil it thrives as a 

 border plant. N. America. Syn., H. 

 latifolia. 



HEMEROCALLIS {Day Zz//).— The 

 Day Lilies, though not numbering many 

 distinct species, are varied both in habit 

 and flower, and are very useful in the mixed 

 border and in groups by the water-side. 

 Few plants surpass a strong, well-flowered 

 clump of Hemerocallis fulva, as we have 

 seen it, mixed with a group of male Fern 

 near a brook. The leaves of this Day 

 Lily were overhanging the banks of the 

 stream, intermingled with the Fern fronds, 

 while the flower-heads, tall and straight, 

 were towering upwards. If the ground is 

 well broken up and some lasting manure 

 supplied at planting time, they may be 

 left undisturbed for years. The forms of 

 H. disticha, both single and double, are 

 also useful for clumps by water, or inter- 

 mixed with other robust or bold-foliaged 

 plants ; indeed, there seems no reason 

 why all the Day Lilies could not be 

 treated in this picturesque way, the 

 trouble entailed being small, and that 

 chiefly at planting time only. For cut- 

 ting, //. flava, nimor, and Dumortieri are 

 useful, the flowers lasting a few days and 

 the buds opening well in water. The 

 fragrance of these flowers is delightful ; 

 they are readily increased by division, 

 and grow with such rapidity that in the 

 course of a few years they may be in- 

 creased to almost any extent. 



