764 



PORTULACA. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



POTENTILLA. 



often used in that way, and shows its 

 fine form in such situations ; the Grey 

 and White Poplars have claims in the 

 same way, as they, when old, often show 

 very fine form. 



Our gardens are so crowded with 

 exotic things — many of them quite unfit 



Populus nigra. 



for our climate — that it is surprising how 

 little our native Poplars come into the 

 scheme of the planter, and hardly ever 

 into that of the ordinary nursery planters 

 with their conventional trees and pseudo- 

 botanical absurdities in the way of mons- 

 trous forms and variegations. The true 

 Aspen is one of our native trees that is 

 neglected, and rarely ever seen grouped 

 in the pleasure garden in an effective 

 way, though we may see it here and 

 there wild, in woodland places, often 

 grouping itself very prettily. I know 

 nothing more attractive than a group of 

 the Aspen by the waterside or in almost 

 any position. In Ireland, and on warm 

 limestone soils elsewhere, the leaves 

 become a lovely colour in autumn, but 

 not on stiff soils. 



PORTULAC A (Pwr.y/a«^).-This bright 

 little ?LxmM2i\ P . grandiflora\iZS been intro- 

 duced many years from its native home in 

 Chili, and few Chilian plants have spread 

 so widely all over the world. It seems as 

 happy under a tropical sun as in an Eng- 

 lish garden, where no other annual excels 

 it in brilliancy, delicacy, and diversity of 

 colour. It makes itself at home as well 

 on a dry, poor bank as in a rich border 

 among taller things. One can see by its 

 growth that it is a child of the sun, and 

 that is why one finds it so fine in 

 gardens in the parched plains of India 

 and Egypt, as well as throughout North 

 America. The colours vary from crimson 

 and white through every shade to pure 

 yellow. There are single and double- 

 flowered kinds, and it is difficult to say 

 which are the more beautiful. The double 

 flowers last longer, and greater care seems 



to have been made in selecting the finest 

 of the doubles by crossing the various 

 sorts. Forty years ago M. Lemoine, of 

 Nancy, raised many beautiful double sorts, 

 to which he gave names, but it was soon 

 found useless to keep named sorts, so one 

 buys seed now in mixed colours, as with 

 Cinerarias. Seeds of the Portulaca should 

 be sown thinly during the month of April 

 in pans in a frame, and the seedlings be 

 planted out early in June. They can be 

 also sown in the open ground about the 

 end of May, for succession after the frame- 

 raised seedlings. The best plants are got 

 when the seedlings, as soon as they are 

 large enough to handle, are pricked out 

 into small pots of rich soil and kept in an 

 airy frame. The seed is best sown in 

 light and rather rich soil, and only just 

 covered. In planting out, choose the 

 sunniest and warmest spots in the garden, 

 and plant in bold masses to get a rich 

 effect. It has proved in India one of the 

 most useful flowering plants for bedding 



Flowers of Portulaca grandiflora, 



during the cool months. The named 

 varieties of P. grandijiora are Tkellusoni, 

 lutea, splendens, and Rcgeli, while another 

 kind is P. Gilliesi from Mendoza. 



POTENTILLA {Cinquefoi[).-^ large 

 family, many hardy herbs and alpine 

 flowers among them. The most important 

 are the fine hybrid varieties got by 

 crossing showy Himalayan species such 

 as P. insignis and P. atro-sanguinea, 

 a form of P. argyrophylla. These two 

 species are well worth growing. The 

 former has clear yellow and the latter 

 deep velvety crimson flowers. Other 

 useful tall-growing kinds are glandu- 

 losa from California, a good plant 

 for very dry places, where the large 

 golden flowers come freely for several 

 weeks during the hottest weather. It is 

 fully hardy, and with leaves deeply cut. 

 Other plants for just such a position are 

 P. hippiana, with large leaves of a decided 



