OUE JUNE FLOWERS. 109 



hardly be able to notice the dwarfer plants ; with a nominal reference, therefore, to the beautiful 

 Kaluiias and Rhododendrons, to the Deutzia scabra, the Buddha glubosa, which survived the winter 

 in our neighbourhood though a good deal cut ; and the yellow revolute Jasmine (a plant worthy a 

 place in every garden), all of which are in flower at some period of June, we pass on to another 



class of plants. 



There are some highly ornamental bulbs in bloom at this period ; as being one comparatively 

 little o-rown we will notice first the Pancratium Illyricum, a most beautiful hardy plant, producing 

 generally ten or twelve large white deliriously fragrant flowers on each stalk. It commences 

 blossoming in May, but continues into the next month, so that we may claim it as a June bulb. 

 Another first-rate hardy bulb now in bloom, which is unaccountably absent from most gardens, is 

 the Camassia esculenta, with a spike of beautiful purple blossoms, often eighteen inches high. It is 

 comparatively cheap, easily grown, and as easily increased. All who have not this fine plant should 

 procure it in autumn, when it may be had in a dormant state, of most of the London Seedsmen. 

 Mr. Carter is sure to have it in stock. A more common, but equally interesting bulb is the Scilla 

 Peruviana, often, but erroneously termed the Blue Star of Bethlehem, though, except in colour, it 

 differs so little from several of the Ornithogalums that we can hardly be surprised at the misnomer. 

 Several of the Lilies are now expanding their showy blossoms, chiefly the common white, L. 

 candidum, than which few plants are more ornamental ; the Monadelphous Lily, L. monadelphum, a 

 very beautiful and somewhat rare species, with pale yellow flowers, spotted with red ; the orange Lily, 

 L. bulbiferum or auranlium, one of the mo st widely diffused of all the species, and the different 

 varieties of the Martagon Lily, many of which are very handsome. The majority of the species, 

 however, flower in July. The Allium roseum is a pretty, hardy Lily-wort, of some interest, about 

 eighteen inches high, with pink flowers, and the yellow Allium Moly, with its white variety, is 

 also quite hardy, and as cheap as a Hyacinth. They should be planted in groups of at least three 

 bulbs. The Czackia Liliastrum, sometimes classed with the Anthericums, is very pretty, its white 

 flowers recalling those of the Lilies, but on a smaller scale ; and the Phalangium liliago, which 

 resembles the preceding, is a desirable plant of the easiest cultivation ; they are not, strictly speaking, 

 bulbous plants, but belonging to the Lily-worts, are appropriately mentioned here. Then there is the 

 common Asphodelus ramosus, or Baton royal, with its tall spike of crowded white flowers, which 

 in sunshine open in a star-like form, and are marked externally by a brownish line in the centre 

 of each division of the flower ; the yellow Asphodel, A. luteus, is also in bloom. 



These clumps of the English Iris, J. Xiphioides, now full in flower, have a very refreshing 

 appearance, and would make a delightful bed, where there is sufficient space. The colours of many 

 of them are splendid, and one cannot but regret their blooming season is rather short. The 

 lurid Spanish Irises, which are varieties of the same plant, are some of them remarkable for their 

 singular tints, and a few, at least, should be seen in every garden ; they, as well as the English 

 Iris, are running into innumerable shades of colour, and are very hardy ; the bulbs of both descend 

 deep in sandy soils, and should be dug up and replanted each autumn, as soon as the leaves have 

 decayed ; they are injured by being kept long out of the ground. The Bobartia aurantiaca proves 

 perfectly hardy, and its orange-coloured flowers are very showy, though short-lived ; as a cheap 

 and easily grown bulb, it deserves especial mention, but to produce much effect it should 

 be planted in clusters. The genus Sisyrinckium contributes several very interesting plants 

 to our list of June flowers. The S. odoratissimum, which is generally classed with the greenhouse 

 species, has proved quite hardy, and is a very free flowerer, each stem producing several spathes, 

 containing eight to ten blossoms of a yellowish white tint, striped with purple. The S. anceps, of 

 a pretty blue, is also quite hardy, and the white S. grandijlorum is a good border plant, but dwarfer 

 than the two others. The 8, Bermudianum has borne ordinary winters, but not possessing 



