GAILLARDIA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. GAILLARDIA. 



477 



GAILLARDIA (Blanket Flower}. 

 Handsome perennial and biennial herbs 

 including some of the showiest flowers, 

 valuable for their long duration both 

 on the plants and in a cut state; The 

 genus numbers some half a dozen 

 species from N. America, and many 

 garden varieties. The numerous kinds 



G. picta somewhat resembles G. aristata, 

 but has smaller flowers, and is a biennial. 

 It is dwarfer, and its flowers are brighter. 

 G. amblyodon is a beautiful Texan annual, 

 introduced a few years ago. Its flowers 

 are even smaller than those of G. picta, 

 and are of a deep cinnabar red. 



The garden varieties, as has been 



Gaillardia. 



now in gardens appear to fall under 

 three species, but there is a strong 

 family likeness throughout the series. 

 The kinds are : 



G. ARISTATA. A perennial i to i feet 

 high, with narrow leaves, sometimes 

 deeply cut. The flowers are i to 4 inches 

 across, the ray florets having an outer zone 

 of orange-yellow and an inner one of 

 brownish-red, while the centre is deep 

 bluish-purple. It is the commonest kind, 

 and having been raised largely from seed, 

 has many varieties, differing more or less 

 widely from the type, with various names. 



stated, are numerous, but the most 

 distinct of those named are : 



G. GRANDIFLORA. Said to be a hybrid, 

 presumably between G. picta and G. aris- 

 tata, is a beautiful and vigorous plant'with 

 large brightly-coloured flowers, which are 

 only surpassed by its variety maxima. It 

 is by far the finest of all. 



The hybrid Gaillardias of to-day are 

 a great advance upon those of former 

 years. Among modern improvements 

 are Aurora, Brilliant, Lady Rolleston, 

 Monarch, Shirley, Sulphur Gem, 



