COLEUS. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. COLLINS: A. 



405 



of about six, 2 or 3 inches above the sur- 

 face, flowering from September to Novem- 

 ber. There are several varieties, the chief 

 being the double purple, white and striped ; 



Colchicum in Grass. 



rose-lilac ; rose-lilac, striped with white, 

 pale rose ; and pure white. 



C. PARKINSONI. A distinct plant, 

 readily distinguished from any of the fore- 

 going by the peculiar chequered markings 

 of its violet-purple flowers. Its flowers 

 come in autumn, and its leaves in spring. 

 Similar kinds are Bivonce, variegatum, 

 agrippinum, chionense, tessellatum, all of 

 which have the flowers chequered with 

 dark purple on a white ground. 



C. SPECIOSUM, from the Caucasus, is 

 large and beautiful, and valuable for the 

 garden in autumn, .where its large rosy- 

 purple flowers appear nearly i foot above 

 the ground. C. s. rubrum is a very hand- 

 some variety, the pure white C. s. album 

 being unique. These speciosum varieties 

 make excellent groups in grass and on the 

 fringes of woodland places. Like the 

 rest of the Meadow Saffrons, they are as 

 well suited for the rock garden as the 

 border, thriving in any soil ; but to have 

 it in perfection, choose a situation exposed 

 to the sun, with sandy soil in fact, a 

 spot likely to dry up during summer. 



COLEUS. A few kinds of these 

 pretty-leaved plants, of the Sage order, 

 succeed in the open air in summer. In 

 some of the London parks they are 

 arranged by themselves in large masses, 

 generally of one kind only. Though 

 there is a host of varieties, few succeed 

 in the open air. Mr Wildsmith, of 

 Heckfield, wrote : " We have tried at 

 least a score of varieties, with the result 



that the first kind recommended ( Vers- 

 chaffelti} is still the only one that 

 succeeds well." The culture of all the 

 varieties is of the simplest nature ; 

 cuttings strike freely in any sandy soil 

 in a moist heat of 70. 



COLLETIA. Curious shrubs of the 

 Buckthorn order from Chili, some 

 species of which are hardy enough for 

 the open air in all but the coldest 

 parts of the country, in free sandy 

 soils. They have spiny branches with 

 a few minute leaves. C. cruciata is 

 the commonest ; its stems are armed 

 with stout flattened spines, its flowers 

 white and small, making a bush about 

 4 feet high. C. spinosa has its spines 

 round or awl-shaped, the white flowers, 

 though small, are very numerous in 

 summer. Under favourable conditions 

 it makes a formidable hedge in the 

 southern counties, where it flourishes. 

 Colletia are often neglected and placed 

 against walls, but it will be found that 

 the hardiest one is much better in the 

 open sun, and best, perhaps, in sandy 

 or stony ground, in which it is very 

 effective in autumn. 



COLLINSIA. Annual flowers mainly 

 of N.W. America. Some of real value 

 for gardens, and often enduring our 

 winters, so admitting of autumn sow- 

 ing, which gives a better bloom, and 

 frequently also sown in spring. 



Colletia cruciata (C. bictoniensis). 



C. BICOLOR (Chinese Houses). A beau- 

 tiful and free-growing annual of very good 

 effect in the spring. Often sows itself in 

 free soil, and sown in September in any 

 spare bed blooms finely in May. 



