744 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



and varied in colour, including all shades 

 from rich vermilion to pure white, the old 

 dingy purples and magentas having dis- 

 appeared. There are endless varieties, 

 more or less distinct, but the following- 

 will be found a good selection : Am- 

 azone, Coccinea, Cyrano, Dr. Bois, 

 Esclarmonde, Etna, Eurydice, Gourdan, 

 Independence, James Hamilton, James 

 P. Robertson, Joseph Jerbrand, L'Aiglon, 

 Lothair, Lottie, Lucy Genin, Matthew 

 Miller, Mrs. John Barker, Mrs. Pem- 

 berton, Pantheon, Papillon, Reuone, 

 Roger Marx, Simplon, Sylphide, and 

 Tapis Blanc. For large beds, and to get 

 bold masses of distinct colour, the follow- 

 ing are the most effective and can be 

 used according to the shades of colour 

 required ,viz. : Mrs. Jenkins and Sylphide, 

 white ; Etna, orange-red ; Eclaireur, car- 

 mine and salmon ; Cceur de Lion, rosy- 

 purple ; Coquelicot, rich vermilion, but 

 not always easy to grow ; Boule de feu, 

 scarlet with a dark eye ; Roi des Roses, 

 salmon-red ; Iris, bluish-violet ; Eclatante, 

 crimson-shaded orange ; Esperance, pale 

 mauve ; Crepuscule, silvery mauve with 

 crimson centre. When in beds or 

 borders, the early and late sorts should 

 be planted alternately, and arranged 

 according to height and colour, a mass 

 of bloom, lasting for at least three 

 months, being produced. After plant- 

 ing give each plant a good stake, and 

 tie it up when necessary. In spring the 

 number of shoots should be reduced ac- 

 cording to the strength of the plant and 

 nature of the variety. Phloxes of this 

 group are also improved by a top-dressing 

 of good rich soil every spring; and in very 

 hot and dry seasons good watering will 

 prolong the bloom. 



The way to propagate Phloxes is by 

 seed, cuttings of the stems and roots, and 

 division. Seed should be taken from the 

 best sorts as soon as ripe, and sown in 

 boxes or pans in good free loam, keeping 

 them in a greenhouse or warm pit close 

 to the glass. The young seedlings will 

 appear in February and March ; and 

 when fit to handle prick them into boxes 

 of good soil and keep close and warm for 

 a short time ; they can then be grown with 

 the other plants intended for the flower 

 garden. The strongest will be fit to plant 

 out in April and May. They will flower 

 the first season, but will not be strong 

 until the second. In the second year all 

 the best sorts ought to be marked and 

 then grown a third year, to test them with 

 the best named kinds. Cuttings can be 

 taken at all seasons, and in propagating 

 from roots cut the oldest into pieces about 



\ in. in length, sown, so to speak, in boxes, 

 and treated like seedlings. 



The leaves also strike, but this is a very 

 slow way. As regards division, this con- 

 sists in taking the old plant and cutting it 

 into small pieces. The habit of the plant 

 should be strong and erect, with plenty of 

 broad and healthy foliage, and not exceed 

 3 or 4 ft. 



P. divaricata. — A handsome plant from 

 North America, larger than either the 

 Creeping Phlox (/". reptans) or the Moss 

 Pink {P. siibulata), and about i ft. high, 

 with large lilac-purple blossoms in summer, 

 while the leaves are rounded at the 

 base, and are egg-shaped or lance-shaped. 

 There is a good pure white form, and 

 a new garden variety Laphai)iii, with 

 larger flowers of deeper colour and of much 

 stronger growth, reaching i8 or 20 inches. 

 Its great value is, however, the fact that 

 it flowers considerably later. Rock-garden 

 in good soil. Increased by division. 



P. Drummondi. — One of the most 

 beautiful of half-hardy annuals, varied and 

 brilliant in colour, and not injured by bad 

 weather, like many other flowers. It may 

 be used in a variety of ways, such as a 

 carpet to beds of standard Roses, as it 

 does not interfere with the well-being of 

 the Roses, but hides their naked stems. 

 It is also suitable for rustic vases and 

 boxes ; but it is when in masses that its 

 beauty and diversity of colour are best 

 seen. Seed should be sown about the 

 first week in March in shallow pans or 

 boxes, in a light rich soil, and a warm 

 and rather moist temperature. Prick off 

 the seedlings when fit to handle in boxes 

 or a bed in a warm house in a tempera- 

 ture of 50° to 60"^. Here they will soon 

 grow, and place them out in the shade to 

 harden as the weather gets warm. Those 

 growing in a bed should be again trans- 

 planted to a prepared bed in a cold frame, 

 kept covered for a few days, and hardened 

 gradually. When the plants are 3 to 4 in. 

 high, pinch out the main shoot, to induce 

 bushy growth and prolong the flowering 

 period. The bed should be fully exposed 

 to the sun, and if good moist soil, the 

 plants will be uninjured even in the hottest 

 weather. .A.lthough generally treated as 

 an annual, P. Drummondi strikes freely 

 from cuttings in autumn; these are useful 

 for pots and early spring bloom in the 

 conservatory or the greenhouse. \'arieties 

 are endless, and some very distinct named 

 sorts differ from the type not only in 

 colour, but in growth and the shape of 

 their flowers. 



P. ovata Carolina is a handsome plant, 

 about I ft. high, with slender stems ter- 



