THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. AMPHtcOMfe. 337 





the drainage open, and feed the plant. 

 If the natural soil is not good, add some 

 sandy mellow loam, or if stiff a few 

 barrow-loads of leaf mould, and one 

 or two of sharp sand mixed with it. 

 Tread this firm, plant the bulbs in small 

 groups, about i foot apart, and if the 

 border is of such a width as to take a 

 double row, the plants in the second 

 should be alternate with those in the 

 first. Place a handful or so of sharp 

 sand round the bulbs to keep them 

 from rotting. If planted in autumn, 

 or at any time during the winter, it 

 will be well to protect them from severe 

 weather by half-rotten leaves, cocoa- 

 nut fibre, or fern. The plants begin 

 to push forth their new leaves early in 

 spring, and upon the freedom with 

 which they send forth these during 

 summer the bloom in the autumn 

 depends. During dry weather give an 

 occasional soaking of water, and with 

 liquid manure once or twice. As soon 

 as the foliage ripens off, remove it, 

 and clean the border before the blooms 

 begin to come through the soil. A. B. 

 blanda is a variety with larger bulbs, 

 bearing noble umbels of white flowers, 

 turning to pale rose in summer, and 

 there are other varieties. 



Amberboa. See CENTAUREA. 



AMELANCHIER (Snowy Mespilus}. 

 Pretty hardy shrubs and low or 

 medium-sized trees. A. canadensis is 

 one of the best of our flowering trees, 

 and long before it comes into flower it 

 is pretty with its soft brown-grey 

 masses. -It is more slender in habit 

 than many of our flowering trees, and 

 often weakened in the crowded masses 

 of the shrubbery. In its own country 

 it varies very much in size, some forms 

 being mere shrubs, whilst others make 

 trees 40 feet and even more in height. 

 In botanic gardens and nursery cata- 

 logues we find the names of several 

 other trees of this genius, but there 

 seems to be little distinction among 

 them, and none is quite so good as this, 

 though the one which grows in the 

 Maritime Alps (A. vulgaris} should be 

 worth a place. The Americans have 

 selected some forms of the shad bush, 

 which bear better fruit than the com- 

 mon form ; if they would bear it in 

 our own country it would make the 

 bush more valuable. It has also the 

 advantage of being raised very easily 

 from seed, and increases rapidly by 

 suckers. Other American kinds as 

 yet little grown in our gardens are 



Botryapium, alnifolia, oligocarpa, spic- 

 ata, and utahensis. 



AMELLUS. A. annuus is a pretty 

 dwarf hardy annual, with Daisy-like 

 flowers of a deep purple, but with 

 white, rose, scarlet, and violet varieties, 

 which are named injcatalogues alba, 

 rosea, kermesina, and atro-violacea. It 

 forms a compact tuft, suitable for 

 groups or masses, if sown in the open 

 in April, flowering in June. It makes 

 a pretty ground or "carpet" plant 

 with taller plants here and there through 

 it. Cape of Good Hope. Compositae. 

 Syn. Kaulfussia amelloides. 



AMI CIA. A. zygomeris is a quaint 

 plant from Mexico. Mr E. H. Woodall 

 praises it for those who like a bold and 

 distinct plant in a warm situation in 

 summer, and have means to protect or 

 take it up and pot it in winter. The 

 flower, though bright, is not effective. 



AMMOBIUM (Winged Everlasting}. 

 A. alatum is a handsome everlasting 

 from New Holland, i| to 3 feet high, 

 bearing white chaffy flowers with 

 yellow discs from May till September. 

 In sandy soil it is perennial, but on 

 heavy and damp soils must be grown 

 as annual or biennial. Seed. 



AMORPHA (Bastard Indigo}. 

 Hardy shrubs of the Pea order, thriv- 

 ing in ordinary garden soil, but requir- 

 ing a sheltered situation in bleak 

 localities. increased by layers or 

 cuttings in autumn, or from suckers. 

 A. canescens (the Lead Plant) is a 

 native of Missouri. It has clusters of 

 blue flowers and hoary leaves. A. 

 fruticosa (the False Indigo) comes from 

 California, and there are many forms 

 of it, differing but slightly, all having 

 bluish or dark purple flowers. I have 

 not seen any good effects from these 

 plants. 



Ampelopsis. See VITIS. 



AMPHICOME. Dwarf shrubby 

 plants allied to Incarvillea, with trum- 

 pet-shaped flowers and elegant foliage. 

 In A . arguta the flowers are red, coming 

 as drooping racemes during August, 

 and the finely-cut leaves are deeply 

 serrated. A. Emodi is dwarf er and 

 hardier, its pale-red flowers with an 

 orange throat being 2 inches long and 

 held erect. Freely produced from 

 August, they are very showy, and con- 

 tinue for weeks in a genial autumn. 

 They grow well in loam or leaf mould, 

 but are not hardy enough for per- 

 manent cultivation in the open air. 



