THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



727 



Blush Queen, Loveliness, and Medusa, in 

 carmine and pale pink ; with Psyche, Vesta, 

 and Silver Queen coming nearest white. 

 Rosea, Rose Queen, and The Shah are fine 

 shades of deep rose approaching crimson ; 

 with Pride of Livermere, an immense flower 

 of blood-red, and Waterloo, a dark crimson 

 suffused with violet, the leaves remarkably 

 woolly. Salmon Queen, Lady Roscoe, Bright- 

 ness, and Hesperia give charming shades of 

 salmon-red, and Prince of Orange, Mogul, 

 Fire-King, Trilby, and Duke of Teck flowers 

 of crimson or scarlet. Mahony and Darkness 

 are in shades of deep maroon ; Distinction is 

 rosy-lilac shading to niarpon ; and Princess of 

 Wales a peculiar satin-grey tint shot with 

 pink. There are now many seedlings in such 

 soft " art shades," and though not pleasing to 

 all tastes, these flowers gain in value for 

 decoration by their milder poppy smell, this 

 being a serious fault with the more showy 

 kinds. Other distinct varieties are Grenadier 

 and semi-plenum with duplicate petals ; 

 Fringed Beauty, in which the crimson- 

 scarlet petals are deeply cut ; Tulip, with 

 long tapering buds of lasting character ; and 

 Mrs. Marsh, a fine flower with a showy 

 blending of scarlet and white. Dividing is 

 best done after flowering in autumn, and the 

 choicer kinds may be raised from root- 

 cuttings. 



P. pavoninum {Peacock Poppy). — An annual 

 from the sandy plains of Turkestan, where 

 it makes neat little tufts of about 12 inches, 

 free in flowers of crimson-scarlet with an 

 inside ring of black. The flowers are pe- 

 culiar in bearing two horns upon the sepals ; 

 the brilliant flowers and compact growth of 

 the plants make this one of the best of 

 annual poppies. 



P. pilosum. — A perennial Poppy from the 

 mountains of Greece, with tall much-branched 

 stems and hoary leaves. The flowers are 

 borne very freely, several together upon a 

 stem ; they are about 3 inches across, and of a 

 pretty soft shade of reddish-buft", with a pale 

 spot at the base of the petals. A good kind 

 for grouping on dry banks. A cross between 

 this plant and P. riipifragiini, known as 

 tiiostim hybfidui/i, is a pretty little perennial 

 of fine habit, with orange-salmon flowers, 

 excellent for cut-work. 



P. Rhseas {French Poppy).— AxmnaX flowers 

 raised from the scarlet Poppy of our fields, in 

 varied colours ; single and double forms, some 

 self-coloured, and others variegated or fringed. 

 A well known strain is that of the "Shirley 

 Poppy," now much varied as to colour, the 

 latest gains being pretty salmon tints. These 

 little plants should be sown thinly in light 

 rich soil, and thinned to prevent crowding. 

 There are several double-flowered strains, 

 known as French, German, and Ranunculus 

 flowered Poppies. A new \2.x\eiy,japoiticu>ii, 

 from Japanese gardens, has smaller and fuller 

 flowers, more varied as to shape. 



P. rupifragum. — Little hairy plants like a 

 perennial Shirley Poppy, of delicate appear- 



ance, I to 2 feet high, w-ith a neat habit, and 

 useful for cutting, The flowers are 2 to 3 inches 

 across when fully open, and a soft orange or 

 terra-cotta colour. The variety atlanticuin 

 bears bright scarlet flowers. Crossed with 

 orientate this species has given P. Riiporient, 

 with blooms of a soft cherry-red. Morocco 

 and S.W. Europe. 



P. somniferum {Opium Poppy). — An annual 

 stately and showy, with large flowers, the 

 foliage grey-green, the flowers variable in 

 form and colour, rank in smell, and useless 



Opium Poppies (Papaver somniferum). 



j for cutting, but of good effect when grouped 



I boldly. The plants mostly grow 2 to 3 feet 



' high, with single flowers ranging from white to 



! deep crimson, and double ones with heavy scar- 



I let, white, or striped flowers, of great beauty. 



! Good single kinds are Maid of the Mist, white 



I with finely fringed petals ; The Bride, also 



white ; Flag of Truce, Miss Sherwood, with 



pale pink edges ; Danebrog, a very handsome 



I flower in scarlet and white : and Mephisto, 



scarlet and black. The double forms are yet 



more varied, including those known as the 



Carnation and Pceony- flowered Poppies, the 



first with fringed petals, and the second with 



very full broad ones. Favourite double kinds 



coming fairly true are Mursellii and Mursellii 



splendens ; Mikado, in white and crimson ; 



