726 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



forms, and one in which the petals are fringed. 

 There is a hairy variety also, with showy 

 orange flovs'ers ; this grows best in granite 

 soils. P. Pyrenaicuni is like this, but taller, 

 and with similarly varied colours. 



P. nudicaule [L-elaiid Poppy), — A dwarf 

 robust kind, with leaves deeply lobed, and 

 large rich yellow flowers on stems of 12 to 

 15 inches. It thrives in rich light soils, and 

 is useful for cutlinij, if \-ounr; flowers are 



Diiiiiata is a good dwarf kind for the rock- 

 garden, with deep orange flowers. 



P. orientale. — The most showy of poppies, 

 and among the noblest of hardy plants, being 

 robust, long-lived, with stout hairy leaves and 

 stems, and of easy increase by seeds or divi- 

 sion. A fine distinct form of P. orientale is 

 P. bracteatiun, and the two have been freely 

 crossed with good results. Bracteatiun is the 

 betlLT plant, rising with masses of luxuriant 



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gathered early in the day. Though a peren- 

 nial, it is a short-lived one, and worth little 

 after its second season. Coming readily from 

 seed and blooming in its first year, it is more 

 often grown as an annual, flowering from May 

 to October if kept from seeding. The flowers 

 give many pretty shades, from orange to pale 

 red, yellow, and white, the petals whh a .satin 

 sheen and crumpled. One of the prettiest 

 forms is a soft pale yellow, but others equally 

 fine may be raised from the best ' ' Excelsior " 

 strain offered in the catalogues. The var. 



foliage and huge blood-red flowers with bold 

 dark blotches, 6 to 9 inches across, and 

 carried on stout stems with blooms set among 

 large leafy bracts, the flowers coming a little 

 earlier and lasting longer. Other forms are 

 concolor, an unspotted variety ; and tritiin- 

 ■phans, ot dwarf habit. The named garden 

 hybrids in red, orange, salmon, pale pink, 

 purple, and maroon, with many intermediate 

 shades, are useful for bold effects in border or 

 among shrubs. 



NAMED HYBRIDS.— The best of these are 



