330 ^SCULUS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. AGAPANTHUS. 



garden, and it will some day prove a 

 good fencing plant. 



( Buckeye) .Mostly 

 medium-sized trees, hardy and excel- 

 lent for park or garden. The common 

 variety is an exception as to size, and 

 one of the most beautiful of flowering 

 trees. There is at least one handsome 

 variety of it with very long spikes. 

 The red Buckeye (JE. Pavia) is a small 

 tree, with dense and large foliage, 

 together with bright red flowers in 

 large loose clusters in early summer. 

 Sometimes it rises from 15 to 20 feet 

 high, but some of its varieties are only 

 low-spreading or trailing shrubs. JE. 

 humilis, pendula, arguta, and laciniata 

 are forms of M. Pavia, and the plants 

 are useful for grouping with taller 

 trees. JE. flava (the yellow Buckeye) 

 is sometimes 40 feet high, with some- 

 thing of the habit of the red Buckeye 

 (IE. rubicunda), but smoother leaves. 

 A variety called purpurascens (some- 

 times JE. discolor) has much showier 

 flowers, larger, and of a reddish tint. 

 The JEsculi, named in gardens and 

 nurseries as JE. neglecta, hybrida, pubes- 

 cens, Lyoni, rosea, and pallida, may be 

 included in one of the foregoing species. 

 They are all low trees or large shrubs, 

 coming into leaf early and losing their 

 foliage in early autumn, especially in 

 light or dry soils. One of the best of 

 the forms is the JE. Brioti. The Cali- 

 fornian Buckeye (JE. Californica) in this 

 country does not usually rise above 

 shrub height. It has slender-stalked 

 leaves, broad leaflets, and in early 

 summer dense erect clusters of pinkish 

 fragrant flowers ; a valuable hardy 

 tree. The N. American SE. parviflora 

 (dwarf Buckeye) is a handsome shrub, 

 6 to 10 feet high, flowering in late 

 summer. Its white, fragrant flowers 

 are in long, erect plumes. JE. macro- 

 stachya is an August-blooming N. 

 American shrub of great beauty. The 

 growth is spreading and bushy, with 

 creamy white flowers in dense plumy 

 spikes. 



RL. INDICA, the Indian Horse Chestnut, 

 is as handsome as IE. Hippocastanum, and 

 flowers about the end of June. In the 

 Himalayas it sometimes grows 100 feet 

 high. The leaves are larger and smoother 

 than those of other tall-growing kinds, 

 whilst the panicles of flowers are sometimes 

 a foot long. The fruits are free from 

 spines. 



JE. WILSONI, a Chinese species, is closely 

 allied to the Indian kind. It is remarkable 

 for its large, leaves, the centre leaflet some- 



times exceeding a foot in length, and for 

 its long panicles of small white flowers. 

 There are other species not yet introduced 

 or tried in Britain. 



2ETHIONEMA. A beautiful group 

 of alpine and rock plants found on the 

 sunny mountains near the Mediterra- 

 nean. They grow freely in borders of 

 well-drained sandy loam, but their 

 home is the rock garden. The tall 

 M. grandiflorum forms a spreading bush 

 about a foot high, from which springs 

 racemes of pink and lilac flowers. It 

 also grows well in borders in ordinary 

 soil, and, when in flower in summer, is 

 among the loveliest of plants. As the 

 stems are prostrate, a good effect will 

 come from planting them where the 

 roots may descend into deep earth, and 

 the shoots fall over the face of rocks 

 at about the level of the eye. Easily 

 raised from seed, and thrive in sandy 

 loam. There are many species, but 

 few are in gardens. All the cultivated 

 kinds are dwarf, and may be grouped 

 with alpine plants. The other best 

 kinds are A. coridifolium, A. pulchel- 

 lum, A . persicum. 



#!THIOPAPPUS PULCHERRIMUS. 



A charming pink, Centaurea-like 

 flower, the blooms borne singly on 

 stems each about 18 inches in height. 

 The foliage is greyish- white. I first 

 planted this in the mixed border, but 

 it was not happy in that position, so it 

 was moved to a warm, sunny bank, 

 where it is more at home. The centre 

 of the flower is creamy- white, outside 

 pink. A rather rare and most desirable 

 plant for the alpine garden. 



AGAPANTHUS (African Lily). 

 | Beautiful plants from S. Africa, with 

 blue or white flowers in umbels on 

 stems 1 8 inches to 4 feet high. A. 

 umbellatus, the old kind, is hardy in 

 some mild seashore districts, and a 

 fine plant in rich warm soil, but better 

 for the protection of leaves round the 

 root in winter. It is worth growing 

 for the flower garden and vases in 

 summer, but should be protected in 

 winter by storing under stages, in 

 sheds or cellars. It likes plenty of 

 water during out-of-door growth, and 

 is easily increased by division. Of the 

 best- known kind, A. umbellatus, there 

 are several varieties ; major and maxi- 

 mus are both larger than the type, and 

 of maximus there is a white-flowered 

 variety. There is a smaller one with 

 white flowers, one with double flowers, 



