440 DELPHINIUM. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. DELPHINIUM. 



blossom being about i inch in length ; 

 the colour varies from light scarlet to 

 a shade verging closely on crimson, 

 and when seen in the open air, especi- 

 ally in sunshine, dazzles the eye by 

 its brilliancy. D. nudicaule is per- 

 fectly hardy, and commences growth 

 so early that it may almost be termed 

 a spring flower, but it may be had in 

 bloom during several of the summer 

 months, and is handsome for warm 

 borders. Although somewhat apt to 

 damp off on level ground, it is a per- 

 ennial on raised ground, and keeps up 

 a succession of bloom. Seed. 



THE ANNUAL LARKSPURS. In these 

 hardy annuals there is also a wealth 

 of beauty for the summer garden, and 

 we have a host of beautiful sorts with 

 a wide range of colour. There is great 

 diversity, too, in the habit of growth, 

 some being as dwarf as a Hyacinth, 

 others 3 or 4^ feet high, others with a 

 branching habit resembling a candela- 

 brum. The species which have given 

 rise to these varieties are D. Ajacis 

 (Rocket Larkspur) and D. Consolida. 

 D. Ajacis has the flowers in long, loose 

 spikes forming an erect and spreading 

 panicle, the stem vigorous with open 

 spreading branches. All the varieties 

 of the Rocket Larkspur may be 

 arranged in three great groups : 

 (i) D. Ajacis majus (large Larkspur). 

 The stem of this is single, and varies 

 in height, from 3 to 4 feet 6 inches ; 

 the flowers double, in a long, single, 

 and compact spike, generally rounded 

 off at the extremity. This kind has 

 given the following varieties white, 

 flesh-coloured, rose, mauve, or puce- 

 coloured, pale violet, violet, ash- 

 coloured, claret, and brown. (2) D. 

 Ajacis minus (dwarf Larkspur). The 

 stem of this is from 20 to 24 inches in 

 height, and is even shorter when the 

 plant is sown thickly or in dry or poor 

 soils. The flowers are very double, 

 and in a single well-furnished spike, 

 usually cylindrical, and rounded off at 

 the extremity, but rarely tapering. 

 The principal varieties are white, 

 mother-of-pearl, flesh colour, rose, 

 mauve, pale mauve, peach blossom, 

 light violet, violet, blue -violet, pale 

 blue, ash-grey, brown, light brown, 

 white striped with rose, white striped 

 with grey, rose and white, and flax- 

 coloured and white. (3) D. Ajacis 

 hyacinthiflorum (dwarf Hyacinth - 

 flowered Larkspur). The varieties of 

 this group have been raised in Belgium 

 and Germany. They do not differ 



from other kinds in form of flower, 

 but only in the spike on which the 

 flowers are set, being more tapering, 

 and the flowers farther apart than 

 those of the two previously mentioned 

 groups. There is a strain called the 

 tall Hyacinth Larkspur. Other strains 

 mentioned in catalogues are the Ranun- 

 culus-flowered (rannnculiflorum] and 

 the Stock-flowered, both of which are 

 worth cultivating. 



D, Consolida (branched Larkspur). 

 This species has branching stems and 

 beautiful violet-blue flowers hung on 

 slender stalks, and coming later than 

 those of D. Ajacis. It embraces 

 several varieties, both single and 

 double, all of which may be reproduced 

 from seed. The principal sorts are 

 white, flesh colour, red, lilac, violet, 

 flaxen, and variegated. The varieties 

 especially worthy of cultivation are 

 candelabrum, bearing pyramidal spikes 

 of flowers of various colours ; and the 

 Emperor varieties, of symmetrical bushy 

 habit, which form compact and well- 

 proportioned specimens, i| feet high 

 by 3^ feet in circumference, doubleness 

 of flowers possessing great constancy. 

 There are three colours viz., dark 

 blue, tri-coloured, and red-striped. In 

 D. tricolor elegans the flowers are 

 rose-coloured, streaked with blue or 

 purple, and about 3 feet high. 



Annual Larkspurs should be sown 

 where they are to remain at any 

 time after February when the weather 

 permits usually in March and 

 April. They may also be sown in 

 September and October, and even 

 later when the ground is not frozen, 

 but the produce of winter sowing is 

 liable to be devoured by slugs and 

 grubs. The sowing may be made 

 either broadcast or in rows 4 inches to 

 8 inches apart, and the plants should 

 stand 4 inches or 5 inches asunder. 

 The branching varieties may be sown 

 in reserve beds, and in March when 

 about 12 inches or 16 inches high should 

 be transferred to the flower-beds, lifted 

 carefully with balls of earth round 

 the roots, so that they may not suffer. 

 These branching varieties are well 

 suited for the garden, either in masses 

 of one colour or of various colours. 

 They may be planted in borders or 

 among shrubs thinly planted. Azure 

 Fairy and Blue Butterfly are very 

 beautiful sorts. Larkspurs are at their 

 best in June and July. Sown in March, 

 a succession is obtained into Septem- 

 ber. 



