HELIOPHILA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. HELLEBORUS. 495 



and H . bmcteatum. They are generally 

 treated as annuals, and, unless excep- 

 tionally well managed by being sown 

 early under glass, they commence 

 flowering so late that the best period 

 for laying on the brightest colours is 

 lost, and early frosts find them just 

 approaching their best. They are 

 particularly suited for background 

 plants on dry borders. If they are 

 sown in pans or boxes where they can 

 be slightly protected during winter, 

 and are planted out early in April, 

 they have a chance of producing a 

 good crop of flowers for drying. The 

 colours vary from deep crimson to 

 yellow and white. The hardy peren- 

 nials are not important, and seldom 

 succeed. H . orientale, which furnishes 

 the Immortelle of the French, flowers 

 poorly except in very hot seasons. 

 Hardy kinds worth growing are H. 

 arenarium, flowers bright yellow ; H. 

 bellidioides, mats of grey - green 

 studded in May with white flowers ; 

 H . frigidum, a tiny grey plant with 

 white flowers ; and H. rupestra, whose 

 silvery foliage is usually retained 

 during winter. 



HELIOPHILA. Small and pretty 

 Calif ornian annuals. H. araboides is a 

 pretty blue plant, of which occasional 

 use might be made, being dwarf, and 

 free in growth and flower. Another 

 kind is H. pilosa. 



HELIOTROPIUM (Cherry Pie}. A 

 great favourite for flower gardens on 

 account of its delicate fragrance. For 

 the flower garden spring-struck plants 

 are the best. It is a good plan to 

 take root cuttings in August or Sep- 

 tember, winter them in a greenhouse, 

 and in spring to put them in a warm 

 place, where they will soon produce 

 plenty of cuttings. These cuttings 

 may be struck on slight heat like 

 Verbenas, potted on, made to grow 

 rapidly, so as to be fit to plant out at 

 the end of May when danger of frost 

 is past. Heliotropes may be raised 

 from seed and flowered the same year ; 

 in fact, treated as annuals. Sown 

 early in February or the beginning 

 of March they become sturdy little 

 plants before planting time. When 

 bedded out they should be placed 

 in good dry soil. The following are 

 good varieties, and new varieties are 

 raised from time to time : Anna Tur- 

 rell, General Garfield, Roi des Noirs, 

 Triomphe de Liege, and the old 

 H. peruvianum, which many like from 

 its associations, if for no other reason. 



Heliotropes, though quiet in colour, 

 are charming flower garden plants, 

 either when grown for their own sakes 

 as simple masses or when associated 

 with tall plants which grow above 

 them. In cold soils and upland dis- 

 tricts they are very slow at starting if 

 not brought on and hardened off before 

 being planted out in early June, and 

 even then the growth is very slow, and 

 the plant does much better in valley 

 soils and sheltered gardens. 



HELIPTERUM. H. Sandfordi is a 

 pretty, bright yellow, half-hardy annual 

 " everlasting," of dwarf, branched 

 habit of growth. Its merits are not 

 remarkable, and the short season of 

 bloom of spring - raised everlasting 

 annuals leads to a poor result. 



HELLEBORUS (Christmas Rose). 

 One of the most valuable classes of 

 hardy perennials we have, as they 

 flower in the open air when there is 

 little else in bloom. They appear in 

 succession from October till April, 

 beginning with the Christmas Rose 

 (H. niger), and ending with the hand- 

 some crimson kinds. The old white 

 Christmas Rose is well known and much 

 admired, but the handsome kinds with 

 coloured flowers have, hitherto, not 

 been much known. Recently, too, 

 some really beautiful hybrids have 

 added a great deal of beauty to our 

 winter and spring garden, for their 

 flowers withstand the winter, and their 

 verdure and the vigorous growth of 

 their leaves distinguish them through- 

 out the year. 



The Hellebores, besides being excel- 

 lent border flowers, are suited for 

 naturalising. There are a few kinds 

 those with inconspicuous flowers, but 

 handsome foliage whose only place 

 is the wild garden, such as the native 

 H. fcetidus, H. lividus, viridus, and 

 H. Bocconi, which have elegant foliage 

 when well developed in a shady place 

 in rich soil, like that usually found in 

 woods. The Hellebores may be classed 

 in three groups, according to the colour 

 of the flowers white, red, or green, 

 which last will get little place in the 

 garden. The white-flowered group is 

 the most important, as it contains the 

 beautiful old Christmas Rose. 



H. niger is a well-known kind, scarcely 

 needing description. It may be recog- 

 nised at once by its pale green 

 smooth leathery leaves, divided into 

 seven or nine segments, 3 to 6 inches 

 long and .1 to 2 inches broad. The 

 flowers, which are usually borne singly 



