HEDYCHIUM. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. HELIANTHUS. 493 



mids also, and anywhere so long as it 

 is away from any kind of building. 



HEDYCHIUM. Tall and graceful 

 tropical plants. H. Gardnerianum, 

 though usually grown in the green- 

 house, will flower out of doors, and 

 live through an ordinary winter with 

 a little protection. 'It should be 

 planted out in May, in a loose, sandy 

 loam, and in a warm sheltered spot. 

 A heap of cinders or half-rotten leaves 

 laid over the crowns in winter will 

 ensure their safety ; or the roots may 

 be lifted in autumn and wintered in any 

 dry cellar. It is increased by dividing 

 the roots in spring. 



HEDYSARUM (French Honey- 

 suckle}. Plants of the Pea order, 

 mostly weedy, only a few perennials 

 being ornamental. H. coronarium is 

 a showy plant, 3 or 4 feet high, bearing 

 in summer dense spikes of red flowers. 

 It grows in any ordinary soil, but is 

 not a perennial, though it usually sows 

 itself where it is established. There is 

 a white variety. Among the dwarfer 

 kinds the following is desirable : H. 

 obscurum, a brilliant and compact 

 perennial ; 6 to 12 inches high, with 

 racemes of showy purple flowers. It 

 is suitable for the rock garden, for 

 borders, and for naturalisation amongst 

 vegetation not more than i foot high, 

 chiefly on banks and slopes in sandy 

 loam, and is increased by division or 

 seed. 



HELENIUM (Sneeze-weed}. Vigor- 

 ous and showy plants, flowering in 

 autumn, and thriving in any soil, 

 and, where rightly used, excellent 

 plants. There are two or three 

 species, the most useful being H. 

 autumnale, about 6 feet high, bear- 

 ing yellow flower-heads. The varieties 

 grandiceps and pumilum are very dis- 

 tinct : grandiceps being of gigantic 

 growth with a fasciated head of bloom, 

 which makes it very showy ; pumilum 

 being much dwarfer and better than the 

 type. The variety magnificum is the 

 best. H. atro-purpureum grows 3 or 4 

 feet high, and has reddish-brown flower- 

 heads. H. Hoopesi flowers in early 

 summer, but is a rather coarse grower, 

 with large orange-yellow flowers. The 

 best modern varieties are H . autumnale 

 rubrum, H. a. superbum, and H. a. 

 Riverton Gem, which, producing great 

 masses of crimson and yellow flowers, 

 grows 5 to 6 feet high. All are very 

 useful for cutting, and remain & long 

 time fresh. N. America. 



HELIANTHEMUM (Sun Rose}. 

 There are few more brilliant sights than 

 masses of these when in full beauty, 

 and they are of the easiest culture, 

 dwarf, and bearing in great profusion 

 flowers with fine diversity of colour. 

 The common Sun Rose (H. vulgare} is 

 variable in colour, and from it have 

 sprung the many varieties. The 

 colours range from white and yellow 

 to deep crimson. There are also 

 double-flowered kinds and one with 

 variegated foliage. Other pretty, 

 dwarf, shrubby species, similar to H. 

 vulgare, are H. rosmarinifolium, philo- 

 sum, and croceum. There is also a 

 herbaceous perennial species. H, 

 Tuberaria (Truffle Sun Rose), which 

 in aspect differs from the shrubby 

 species, and is second to none in beauty. 

 It grows 6 to 12 inches high, with 

 flowers 2 inches across, resembling a 

 single yellow Rose, with dark centre, 

 and drooping when in bud. It is 

 suited for warm ledges on the rock 

 garden in well-drained sandy or cal- 

 careous soil. It is propagated by 

 either seed or division. If a full collec- 

 tion is required there are other species, 

 but the above fairly represent the 

 beauty of the family. The shrubby 

 kinds are easily increased in July and 

 August if young shoots are used as 

 cuttings. 



HELIANTHUS (Sunflower}. Usually 

 stout, vigorous, and showy plants, 

 abounding in N. America, of which not 

 a few have found their way into 

 English gardens. All the perennials 

 are vigorous growers, and generally 

 attain a great height, being most 

 precious for the autumnal garden 

 when well placed. Sunflowers may be 

 cultivated with the greatest ease ; 

 they are gross feeders, and the richer 

 the soil the better the result. All are 

 benefited by periodical division and 

 replanting in spring. 



H. DECAPETALUS. One of the best 

 species in the whole genus as a background 

 to mixed borders, or as a feature in open 

 shrubberies. It forms large, bushy plants 

 4 to 6 feet in height, with strong, much- 

 branched stems, rough on the upper 

 half and usually quite smooth on the 

 lower. 



H. GIGANTEUS. A very tall, elegant 

 plant. The stems often exceed 10 to 

 12 feet high, the leaves narrow, tapering 

 to both ends ; the flowers deep yellow, 

 2 to 3 inches in diameter. It is one of 

 the latest to flower, and has been found 

 variable under cultivation, giving rise to 

 several garden names. Moist ground. N. 

 America. , 



