THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



665 



folium, are very pretty plants, but coming 

 from sunnier lands than ours are not really 

 at home in our climate, and for the most 

 part they can only be grown well on dry 

 ledges of the rock-garden in the most 

 favourable districts. 



LLOYDIA {Moimtain Spider-wort).— 

 L. serotma is a small bulbous Liliaceous 

 plant, suitable for the cool parts of the 

 rock-garden, and not of the showy order of 

 beauty. It is one of the first flowers the 

 early visitor to the Alps sees by the 

 pathway over the high mountains. 



LOASA. — Curious prickly annuals 

 with singular flowers and stinging foliage. 

 L. hispida is pretty, growing about 18 in. 

 high, with deeply-cut foliage and short 

 stinging hairs, the flowers i in. across, of 

 a bright lemon-yellow, the centre prettily 

 marked with green and white. It blos- 

 soms several weeks in succession during 

 August and September. The other kinds 

 in cultivation are the beautiful L. vul- 

 canica, with its pure white flowers and 

 red-and-white striped centres ; L. lateritia, 

 a twining species, with orange-red flowers ; 

 and L. triloba. All are natives of the 

 cool regions of Peru and Brazil, and can 

 be grown in the open air during summer. 

 Treated as half-hardy annuals, and grown 

 in a light fertile soil, they are interesting 

 for open borders ; the climbing species, 

 such as lateritia, require branches to 

 twine among. All may be freely raised 

 from seed. 



LOBELIA. — Distinct and much varied 

 perennials and annuals, some of high 

 value for the flower garden. The peren- 

 nial Lobelias, of which L. splendens 

 and L. syphilitica may be taken as 

 types, are amongst the most useful of 

 autumn flowers. Although fairly hardy, 

 they are impatient of excessive moisture, 

 and in most districts require protection 

 during winter. This may be done by 

 placing ashes in the shape of a cone over 

 the crowns, or lifting and storing in a dry 

 shed or frame. The latter method, though 

 perhaps more troublesome, is safer, as 

 the plants are always under control and 

 easier propagated in spring. By storing 

 the roots in frames they begin to grow 

 earlier, and where large stocks are re- 

 quired it is most convenient. Although 

 impatient of moisture during the resting 

 period they revel in it when in active 

 growth, and where beds can be prepared 

 in the vicinity of lakes or streams, better 

 results will be obtained than in the mixed 

 border or flower beds. In propagating in 

 early spring they can be divided into 

 single crowns, and these potted on soon 

 form sturdy plants ready to plant out on 



the approach of warm weather. They 

 thrive best in a free vegetable soil and 

 like plenty of sun, unless in the case of L. 

 cardinahs, which I find thrives best in a 

 partially-shaded bed. In some districts 

 with lisrht soils and often near the sea 



j The scarlet Lobelia. 



these plants do not require protection in 

 ! winter. 



j L. cardinalis {Cardinal Flozi'er).—i:\i& 



true plant is one of the rarest and one of 



the prettiest of the genus. The brilliant 



j effect produced in autumn by tufts of this 



species well repays any trouble it may 



give, for though by no means fastidious, 



I the difficulty of growing it well in small 



i gardens in the absence of shade and 



\ moisture is great. It is a bog-loving 



i plant, being found in wet ground in 



! Brunswick, Florida, and the borders of 



Te.xas, and is not very hardy. It is, how- 



