874 spiR^A. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



S. salicifolia. — A plant covering an immense 

 area in Europe, Asia, and North America, and 

 even naturalised in parts of Britain. It reaches 

 a height of 3 to 5 feet, with long serrate leaves 

 and rosy flowers in July and August, their 

 precise character differing in the many forms 

 in cultivation. The best of these are 

 grandijlora, a shrub of dwarf habit with large 

 pale pink flowers ; lanceolata (or alba) with 

 white flowers ; and latifolia with larger white 

 or rose-tinted flowers. 



S. tomentosa is a little shrub of about 4 

 feet, with down-covered branches, oblong 

 leaves grey or woolly with down on the under- 

 side, and white, pink, or purplish flowers in 

 dense spikes. North America. This is a 

 pretty plant, one of the best in its autumn 

 flowers, and with roots not much inclined to 

 roam. It is specially good in damp ground 

 and overhanging water. 



it is perplexing to single out the choice 

 few required for the garden. 



The fact is, we have too many Spiraeas 

 and too great a similarity among kinds 

 flowering about the same time. No col- 

 lection need number more than a dozen 

 kinds, and good grouping of these in a 

 garden would produce better effect than 

 the dotting about of many sorts. My 

 dozen would be the following : — S. Lind- 

 leycwa, discolor, Dottglasi, Van Hout- 

 tei, prunifolia fl. pi., japonica siiperba, 

 arguta, cmiescens \2iX.fiagellaris, canto7ii- 

 ensis, bella, Thimbergi, a.ndjaponica Bum- 

 alda Afiihofjy Wa'terer. This selection 

 embraces all the sections, and is sufficient 

 in a general way, but should more be re- 

 quired, a second dozen might include : — 



Spiraea Bumalda. 



S. Thanbergi {Thttubergs Meaaow Sweet). 

 It is a dense bush, with small bright green 

 leaves, and in early spring a profusion of tiny 

 white blossoms. It is hardy, and especially 

 suitable for planting in a bold rock-garden or 

 on a raised bank among tree-stems. Few 

 shrubs are so fine in autumn, its small leaves 

 changing to brilliant crimson. 



S. Van Houttei. — Another garden cross — 

 this between media (confiisa) and trilobata. 

 In late spring it bears masses of white flowers 

 so thickly clustered as to hide all else and 

 emphasise the graceful droop of the stems. 

 Indeed, these sometimes droop too much, 

 allowing the clusters to drag and spoil in bad 

 weather. The flowers open about the middle 

 <)f May, and the wand-like shoots are useful 

 for cutting. Being sensitive to cold winds 

 and late fro.>t, a sheltered place is best for this 

 kind. 



In a genus like Spiraea numbering 

 many reputed species and these encum- 

 bered with endless names and synonyms, 



S. decumbens, salicifolia grandijlora, 

 Nobleana, Aitchisoni, Japonica coccinea, 

 Billardii, Blwnei, japonica riiberrivia, 

 tojtieniosa, confusa, japonica alba, and 

 bullaia {crispifolia). 



Let me protest against the planting of 

 such shrubs in the "mixed" shrubberj', 

 where the delicate have to fight the 

 strong. Such is no place for these elegant 

 plants, which being surface-rooters cannot 

 contend with ravenous Laurels and the 

 like. They need an open, sunny spot, 

 away from the roots of big trees and 

 shrubs, and where the g|^arden is large 

 enough, I should have isolated groups 

 (bold masses from 10 to 15 ft. across) of 

 the taller kinds, such as Lindlcyana, 

 discolor, Douglasi, and others, and lesser 

 groups of the dwarfer kinds — or these 

 may form masses jutting^-out from other 

 groups. 



