848 SCABIOSA. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



SCHIZANTHUS. 



To secure gay groups for the flower 

 borders, order mixed packets of seeds, 

 which should be sown in the reserve 

 ground along with other annuals in May, 

 or even later, to bloom the following year. 

 If sown earlier, however, the Scabious will 

 bloom the same year, for though considered 

 a biennial by many growers, we have al- 

 ways looked upon it as a hardy annual. 

 By sowing the seed in the open towards 

 the end of March and thinning out as 

 required, the plants will bloom well to- 

 wards the latter end of summer. To get 

 earlier bloom, those sown the previous au- 

 tumn may be transplanted in early spring 

 to their flowering quarters ; the succession 

 will then be continued from early summer 

 until late autumn. South-western Europe. 



S. caucasica {Caucasicm Scabious) is 

 the handsomest and most useful. It 

 flowers from early summer to late autumn, 

 a true perennial on warm soils, but often 

 perishes on cool soils. It forms dense 

 tufts, which yield large quantities of blue 

 flower-heads, each usually from 3 to 4 in. 

 in diameter, on long foot-stalks, and use- 

 ful for cutting, as they last a long time. 

 There is a white variety, and others such 

 as atroccerulea^ which is very dark ; fiiii- 

 briata, with the petals finely fringed ; and 

 perfecta., with semi-double flowers. S. 

 amcena comes very near caucasica, but is 

 more vigorous and with flowers of rosy- 

 lilac colour. Caucasus. Division and seed. 



S. graminifolia (Grass-leaved S.). — A 

 graceful Scabious from I5 to 2 ft. high, 

 with pale blue flowers and silvery white 

 leaves ; it is very useful for the rock-garden. 

 Southern Europe. June to October. 

 Division and seed. 



S. maritima {Sea Scabious). — This re- 

 sembles S. ah'opurpurca, and is equally 

 beautiful, a hardy annual, yielding abund- 

 ance of purple-crimson flowers, useful for 

 cutting. 



S. pterocephala (Wijig-headed S.) 

 is a very dwarf-tufted hardy perennial, 

 with greyish-green foliage, and rarely 

 exceecling 4 in. or 6 m. in height even 

 when in flower ; flower-heads pale purple 

 in summer. We find it very useful and less 

 troublesome than most of the other species. 

 Greece. Division. Syns., S. Parnassi and 

 Pteroccplialus Parnassi. 



S. Webbiana is another useful species 

 for the rock-garden or border, forming 

 neat little masses of hoary leaves, which 

 are attractive, especially when the plant 

 is grown in poor soil. Its creamy yellow 

 flowers, borne on long stalks, are pretty 

 from July to August. Division. 



Other kinds are succisa, arvensis., Porta:., 

 suaveole?ts, Columbaria., graniutiiia, but 



the above will be found a fair selection for 

 most gardens. In addition to the annual 

 species given above, .S'. stellata will nO' 

 doubt find a place in many gardens. It 

 grows about 2 ft.in height, the large florets 

 spreading open like a star, of a pale purple 

 colour,perhaps more curious than beautiful. 

 A near ally of the above is S.fialccstina, a 

 little taller, flowers larger, but paler ; 

 both are hardy annuals, but not to be 

 compared with the Sweet Scabious and its- 

 varieties. — D. K. 



SCHISTOSTEGA {Iridescent Moss).— 

 This Moss {S. pcnnata) is so small that it 

 would hardly be noticed by the naked eye 

 but for the iridescent gleams of beautiful 

 colour which it displays in suitable posi- 

 tions. Some of the stones and sods on 

 which it grows look as if sown with a 

 mixture of gold and the material that 

 forms the wings of green humming-birds. 

 It was supposed to require a particular 

 kind of rock, but its wonderful corusca- 

 tions have lately been seen to spread over 

 sods of turf and masses of peat, as well as 

 over chips of rock brought from its native 

 place. Messrs. Backhouse have it in per- 

 fection in the open air, in a quiet deep 

 gorge of rocks, where it obtains suffi- 

 cient moisture without being washed by 

 rains. 



SCHIZANDRA.-A small group of 

 summer-leafing climbing shrubs allied to 

 Magnolia, and mostly from the Far East, 

 but with one kind from North America. 

 The best known is S. chifiensis, with 

 twining stems of 10 to 25 feet, bear- 

 ing simple glossy leaves and pale rosy 

 flowers during early summer, half an inch 

 across, and fragrant. These are followed 

 by dense clusters of showy scarlet berries, 

 which ripen in August and hang far into 

 the winter. China and Japan. The 

 plant needs a sheltered place if it is to do 

 well, but with protection in winter is 

 hardy over at least the south of Britain. 

 A rich sandy loam, moist yet well-drained, 

 and partial shade during the hottest 

 hours of the day, are the best conditions. 

 Though mostly grown against a trellis or 

 sunny wall, in sheltered places it is quite 

 at home roaming among shrubs and low 

 trees, as in its own land. Increase by 

 cuttings of the ripened shoots, root-cut- 

 tings, layers, and suckers when these can 

 be had. Syn., Maxiviowiczia sinensis. 



SCHIZANTHUS {Fringe -flozver).— 

 Pretty annuals of elegant growth, which 

 bear in summer many showy and curiously- 

 shaped blossoms. There are in cultiva- 

 tion a few species, and these have yielded 

 numerous varieties. The hardy kinds are 

 .S". pinnatus, li to 3 ft. high, its rosy- 



