68S 



MIRABILIS. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



flowers spring upon the upper leaf-axils, 

 deep crimson in bud fading to pale yellow 

 as they open, giving a parti-coloured 

 effect. It is easily grown, flowers freely 

 until frost, and continues until winter if 

 taken under glass. M. cordata conies very 

 near the older kind, save that its leaves 

 are rounded and tapering like those of a 

 Con\olvulus, and the flowers ha-\e traces 

 of a magenta- purple. Both kinds are 

 raised from seeds sown in heat early in 

 the .year, and the tips of old plants 

 rooted under glass come into flower earlier 

 than seedlings. 



MIRABILIS {Mar-c'd ^/P^r//).— Hand- 

 some herbaceous plants, the most familiar 

 of which is M. Jalapa, a dense, round bush 

 covered \\ith flowers, nearly 3 ft. high, the 

 flowers about i in. across, white, rose, lilac, 

 yellow, crimson (of various shades), and 

 purple — striped, mottled, and selfs. The 

 plants may be treated as half-hardy 

 annuals, raised from seed in a warm 

 frame, potted on, and planted out in May. 

 They are, however, perennial, and when 

 the leaves are killed by frost the tapering 

 black root must be lifted and stored in 

 sand during the winter. The plants 

 should be started in pots in spring and 

 planted out as before ; but after the second 

 year the roots become unwieldy, and 

 should be discarded. They require a 

 warm soil and all the sunshine of our 

 climate. The seeds ripen rapidly and 

 readily ; each flower produces one seed 

 only, and as the seeds are large they can 

 be gathered from the ground beneath the 

 plants. M. multiflora is somewhat similar 

 to M. Jalapa, but dwarfer, and the bright 

 crimson-purple flowers are in large clusters, 

 expanding in bright sunshine. It is a 

 hardy perennial in light warm soils, and 

 is a good border plant. M. longiflora, 

 having long tubular flowers with carmine 

 centres, is capital for the foot of a warm 

 south wall. Ale.xico. 



MITCHELLA {DeerBcrry).—M. repcns 

 is a neat, trailing, small evergreen herb, 2 

 or 3 in. high, with white flowers in summer, 

 succeeded by small bright red berries. 

 It thrives in shady spots on the rock- 

 garden or the hardy fernery, in sandy peat. 

 Division. N. America. 



MITR ARI A {Mitre-flower).-M. coccinea 

 is a bright charming little shrub from Chili, 

 hardy in mild districts, but generally 

 requiring winter protection. It is a small 

 evergreen shrub, bearing in summer 

 numerous urn-shaped flowers about \\ in. 

 long and of a brilliant scarlet, thriving 

 in a mixture of sandy peat and loam, 

 in a moist sheltered spot with perfect 

 drainage. 



MOLOPOSPERMUM.— i^/. cicuiarium 

 is a hardy perennial, 5 ft. or more high, 

 with large handsome leaves which form 

 a dense bush. It thrives in good garden 



cicutarmm. 



soil and is useful for grouping with fine- 

 leaved plants. Division and seed. Car- 

 niola. 



MOLUCCELLA.— il/ Iccvis is a singu- 

 lar plant of the Dead Nettle family. It is by 

 no means showy and its only recommenda- 

 tion for the garden is the singular forni 

 of its calyces, which are bell-shaped and. 

 densely arranged on erect stems about 

 I ft. in height. It is a fine subject for 

 skeletonising, and the stems, bracts, and 

 calyces may be skeletonised intact. For 

 Ihis purpose they should not be cut before 

 autumn, when the plant is fully matured. 

 Should be treated as a half-hardy annual. 

 Eastern Mediterranean. 



MONARDA {Bee Balm). — Border 

 perennials of the simplest culture, thriving 

 and flowering in any soil ; and admirably 

 suited for borders, and for naturalisation 

 in open woods and shrubberies. The- 

 red kind scattered through American 



I woods in autumn is very handsome. M. 



i fistidosa (Wild Bergamot) is a robust 

 perennial, 2 to 4 ft. high, the flowers 

 variable ; the usual colour pale red, and 

 every gradation almost to white may be- 

 found in it. J\L didyma (Oswego Tea) is. 



