836 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



SAMBUCUS. 



seed or cuttings, which should be wintered 

 under glass. Syn. , S. porphyrantha. 



S. scAPiFORMis. — A pretty little perennial, 

 with the appearance of an alpine plant about 

 its neat tufts of olive-green leaves resting on 

 the soil, whence spring slender whorled spikes 

 of lavender-blue flowers, 6 to 10 ins. high. 

 Coming from Formosa, this little plant is only 

 useful in the summer garden. 



S. SCABIOS.T.FOLIA is a good hardy peren- 

 nial from Asia Minor, and one of the best 

 kinds with white flowers ; sometimes, how- 

 ever, they are more or less speckled with pink. 



S. ScLAREA (C/arj').— One of the old plants 

 long grown in British gardens, and still valued 

 in country districts for brewing herb-wine. It 

 is a biennial from the south of Europe, with 

 clammy hairy stems, ample heart-shaped leaves, 

 and bluish-white flowers in August. Freely 

 massed in dry places, this old plant has a fine 

 appearance, and frequently sows itself in warm 

 soils. A strong form of this, known as brac- 

 teata {gigantea), bears pale mauve-coloured 

 bracts ; and S. Forskohlei, which comes very 

 near Sclarea, shows a blending of violet, blue, 

 and white. Where too coarse for the flower 

 garden, a dry bank in the wild garden may be 

 made attractive by a good breadth of Clary. 



S. SPLENDENS. — This is the most showy 

 and useful of the family, in its clear green 

 foliage and glowing scarlet flowers. A native 

 of Brazil, it needs care in winter ; if in too low 

 a temperature the roots perish, and if too warm 

 the plants become weak and liable to red spider. 

 The old plan was to take cuttings in autumn 

 and winter them under glass, these plants 

 flowering earlier than the more vigorous seed- 

 lings. From careful selection, however, there 

 are now good early-flowering varieties which 

 come fairly true from seed, and (except it be 

 for a small stock of the best named kinds) this 

 is the best means of increase. These forms are 

 vastly superior to the original plant, which, 

 besides being of ungainly habit, had few and 

 small flowers. Wherever a glowing touch is 

 wanted in the autumn garden, nothing is more 

 useful than one or other of the following named 

 varieties, raised for the most part in France 

 and Germany, and differing widely from one 

 another. 



Two kinds rising to a good height are grandi- 

 flora and gigantea; though Fanfare and Feu 

 de Joie are fairly tall, they begin to flower 

 early ; Gloire de Stuttgart and Rudolph Pfiitzer 

 are shorter ; and Boule de P"eu, Alfred Rage- 

 neau, Bolide, Phare Poitevin, and Lord 

 Fauntleroy are very dwarf kinds, flowering 

 through a long season and admirable for mass- 

 ing in the front of borders. There are also 

 colour variations — alropiirpurea, with flowers 

 of dark violet-purple ; alrosangiiinea, deep 

 crimson ; and M. Issanchou, a blend of red and 

 white, from which a poor white form has since 

 been developed. In an American seedling 

 called Drooping Clusters the spikes hang 

 down with a pretty eff"ect, while in Charles Le 

 Couteulx the flowers are gathered into rounded 

 masses rather than spikes. There are forms 



with variegated leaves, and one called Silver 

 Spot in which they are speckled over with pale 

 yellow. These garden forms have all come by 

 careful selection within the last few years, 

 giving proof of the value of systematic cultiva- 

 tion in such cases. 



S. SYLVESTRis ( IVood Sage). — A hardy peren- 

 nial with hairy leaves, fine as a border plant 

 with its long spikes of bluish-purple flowers in 

 late summer, coming well in partial shade. 

 There is a variety with white flowers. 



S. TARAXACIFOLIA is a rare and pretty- 

 shrubby plant from the north of Africa, with 

 its lower leaves like those of a Dandelion, and 

 pale pink or purple flowers with a yellow lip, 

 gathered in whorls of six to ten together. It 

 needs light soil and a sunny place in the rock- 

 garden, but is of doubtful hardiness even under 

 the best conditions, and plants should always 

 be held in reserve. 



S. TURKEYSTAXICA is a hardy perennial 

 kind from Western Asia, with angular stems 

 3 ft. high, ample foliage which is strongly 

 fragrant, and large white flowers gathered in 

 whorls and surrounded by pale pink-edged 

 bracts. The plant is so hardy and vigorous, 

 and indiff"erent to heat and cold, that it 

 promises to render good service in the border. 



S. Verbenacea is a pretty native plant 

 about 18 ins. high, with oblong wrinkled 

 leaves and blue or whitish flowers gathered in 

 sixes upon its numerous spikes. It is coarse 

 for the border, but interesting in the wild 

 garden. 



S. viRGATA is a good kind for massing freely, 

 where its abundant blue flowers and violet 

 bracts give good effect in July and August. The 

 plant is of low growth, fully hardy, and easily 

 increased by seed or division. 



S. YUNNANENSIS. — A hardy perennial kind 

 from China, growing at a height of 6,000 ft., 

 where it forms low tufts of leaves with light 

 flower-spikes of a pretty cobalt blue. 



Few of those described require special 

 treatment, the herbaceous perennials be- 

 ing rapidly propagated by division or seed, 

 and the half-shrubby species by cuttings 

 of the young soft shoots in heat. In 

 August and September they should be 

 raised in a close cold frame, and in spring 

 they should be treated like Heliotropes 

 or Ageratums. When large plants are 

 required, the old ones can either be 

 potted, or put close together in deep 

 boxes ; and, if potted, they should be cut 

 down to within 6 in. of the soil. Both 

 old plants and potted cuttings are easily 

 wintered in any dry place where frost is 

 excluded. The tender Sages thrive in 

 any good garden soil. 



SAMBUCUS {Elder).— Our native 

 Elder is little valued in gardens, yet a well- 

 grown tree, laden with its clusters of 

 creamy-white blossoms or a profusion of 

 purple fruits, is not without effect. Added 

 to this, it will hold its own in any poor, dry 



