THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



eaily summer, struck in sand on a hotbed 

 where they root in six to eight weeks. ! 

 Layering- should be done in early autumn, 

 or suckers may be taken in spring and 

 root readily. When once we ha\e the 

 Lilac on its own roots, increase from 

 suckers is easier than the common nur- 

 sery way, though some kinds sucker less 

 freely than others. Layers are the best 

 for high-class work. As to grafting, 

 though the common Lilac is far better 

 than the fatal and ugly Privet, it is not so 

 good as "own roots," for there is always 

 the chance of finding flowers of a choice 

 variety mixed up with those of the com- 

 mon kind. Beside this, the gardener has 

 no time for the labour of watching and 

 removing suckers, which in a rational 

 system of propagation do not trouble 

 him. 



The Best Kinds.— Though some of 

 the old varieties were beautiful — even the 

 common Lilac when well-grown — to have 

 a good Lilac-time it is essential to have 

 the newer varieties raised in France and 

 remarkable for their size, and range of 

 colour. The best are : — 



Singles. White — Marie. Legraye, 

 Prhicess Alexandra, Fran Da7iiiiiaiin, 

 Madame Moser, alba pyramidaHs. Pink 

 — Dr. Kegel, Eckenholin, Fiirsf Lichte7i- 

 stein, Scherinerhornii, Jacques Callof, and 

 Lovaneiisis. Dark flowers — Dr. Lindley, 

 Licdwig Spdth, Aline Mocqueris, Tous- 

 saint LOuverture, Volcaft, Philemon, 

 President Massart. 



Doubles. White — Madame Lemoine, 

 Madame Casimir Pcrier, Obelisque, 

 Madame Abel Chdtenay. Lavender and 

 blue — Alphonse Lavallee, President 

 Grevy, Lamarck, Leon Simon, Monument 

 Cartiot, Condorcet, Doyen Kcteleer, Guisot, 

 Marc Micheli. Dark shades— Ortr/^J 

 Joly, Colbert, Georges Bellair, La Tour 

 (fAuvergne, Souvenir de Louis Thibaut, 

 Marechal de Bassompierre. Rosy-lilac — 

 Madame Jules Finger, Rosea grandiflnra, 

 and Emile Lemoine. 



These double kinds have denser flower- 

 clusters, and usually last longer than the 

 single varieties. An indispensable Lilac 

 is the small Persian {S.persica) which is 

 distinct from the others, and, being dwarf 

 and erect, is well suited for the outskirts 

 of a group of Lilacs or a shrubbery. Its 

 small flower-clusters are of a pale lilac, 

 or nearly white. The pretty variety, with 

 deeply-cut leaves (laciniata), must not 

 be overlooked. The Rouen or Chinese 

 Lilac {S. chinettsis), also known as S. 

 dubia and 6". rothomagensis, is inter- 

 mediate between the common Lilac and 

 the Persian Lilac, and well worth grow- 



ing. The large 5. Emodi, from the 

 Himalayas, is coarse in growth, and not 

 remarkable for its pale purple flowers, 

 coming later than the common Lilac. 

 There is a variegated form. The Hun- 

 garian Lilac \S. Josikcea) is a pretty shrub, 

 different from other Lilacs. It reaches a 

 height of nearly 6 ft., and bears erect 

 spikes of small pale mauve flowers. 6". 

 japonica, known also as S. amurensis and 

 Li^rustrina amurensis, bears in summer 

 large dense clusters of creamy-white 

 flowers, which somewhat resemble those 

 of the Japanese Privet. Though a native 

 of Japan, it is suitable for English gardens, 

 growing as large as a small tree and 

 blooming after all the others in July. 

 Other kinds that have come to us recently 

 from the Far East are S. villosa from 

 Japan, which also attains a large size 

 with abundant purple flowers about the 

 middle of June. .5". oblata from China is 

 the first of all Lilacs to bloom, with loose 

 clusters of purple or white flowers, and 

 large heart-shaped leaves of glossy green 

 which turn a wine-red colour in autumn. 

 S.pekinensis, from the mountains of North 

 China, belongs to the Privet-like group 

 represented by 5. japonica, and is of 

 graceful form though not quite so large a 

 tree. It is very hardy and keeps its 

 handsome foliage till late in autumn, but 

 does not flower freely in a young state. 

 There is a pretty variety of this, with 

 pendulous slender branches. Interesting 

 as these species are from a botanical 

 point of view, little is yet known of their 

 beauty in our country, and such of them 

 as have been tried have less beauty than 

 the finer hybrid Lilacs. 



The species of syringa are amurensis, Manchoo ; 

 chinettsis, China ; Emodi, N. India ; josiktFa, Trans- 

 sylvania ; oblata, China ; pcrsica, Persia, Caucasus ; 

 rotundifolia, Manchoo ; Tillosa, China ; vulgaris, 

 Transsylvania ; fickineiisis and fiubescens, N. China ; 

 velutina, China ; yunnancnsis, W. China. 



TAGETES.— The beautiful half-hardy 

 French and African Marigolds have long 

 been favourite garden flowers. There are 

 also perennial kinds, but they are too 

 tender for out of doors, though one or two, 

 such as T. lucida and T. Parryi are 

 desirable. The annual kinds are from 

 Mexico, and the best are : — 



T. erecta {African Marigold) easily 

 known by its stiff, erect habit, and massive 

 double yellow blooms. A peculiarity of 

 the African Marigold is that one-third of 

 the seeds saved from the finest double 

 flowers always produce single ones, while 

 the rest are invariably double. The 

 deep orange and pale yellow forms are 

 pretty planted together. Sow seed under 

 glass in April, for then, even without 

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