HOUSTONIA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. HYACINTHUS. 503 



bog may be associated with the rock 

 garden, this plant may with advantage 

 be grown at its margin in the water or 

 on a bank of wet soil. It grows from 

 9 inches to 2 feet high, flowers in early 

 summer, and is abundant in many 

 parts of England. 



HOUSTONIA ( Bluets] . A very 

 pretty little American plant, H. ccerulea 

 forming small, dense, cushion-like tufts, 

 and from late spring to autumn bearing 

 crowds of tiny slender stems, about 

 3 inches high. The flowers are pale 

 blue, changing to white. There is also 

 a white variety. It succeeds best in 



Houstonia cuerulea. 



peaty or sandy soil, in sheltered shady 

 nooks on well - drained parts of the 

 rock garden. As it sometimes perishes 

 in winter, it is advisable to keep reserve 

 plants in pots. Propagated by careful 

 division in spring, or by seed. H. 

 serpyllifolia and H. purpurea are allied 

 species and alike in stature and wants. 



HOUTTUYNIA CORDATA. This 

 small genus contains only three species. 

 They are beautiful as well as graceful 

 plants, and are the only hardy repre- 

 sentatives of the natural order Piper- 

 aceae. All of them are well suited for 

 the bog garden, where, in a peaty soil, 

 they have quite a tropical appearance. 

 The spathe bracts resemble a corolla, 

 and consist of four large pure white 

 spreading leaves from the base of the 

 spadix or cone of flowers. Thunberg 



first found this plant in Japan, growing 

 in great abundance in ditches by the 

 wayside. 



HUMEA. A very graceful half- 

 hardy biennial, 3 to 8 feet high, H. 

 elegans having large leaves with a 

 strong odour, and forming, when 

 in flower, an elegant feathery pyra- 

 mid of reddish-brown blossoms. It 

 is highly ornamental as a back line 

 to a long border, as a single specimen 

 to let into the lawn, as the centre 

 of a bed or vase, or in masses with 

 other elegant foliage plants. Excellent 

 effects may be obtained by combining 

 it in masses or groups with other good 

 plants. For cutting, its light feathery 

 sprays are useful. The proper time to 

 sow seed is July or August, as plants do 

 not bloom the first year, and, if raised 

 before those months, get too large to 

 winter conveniently, often becoming 

 leafless below, and the nakedness of 

 stem detracts from their beauty. 



HUMULUS (Common Hop}. H. 

 lupulus, a well-known, vigorous, twin- 

 ing perennial, is admirable for bowers, 

 especially when vegetation that dis- 

 appears in winter is desired. It will 

 soon run wild in almost any soil, among 

 shrubs or hedgerows. A slender 

 plant climbing up an Apple or other 

 fruit tree, near the mixed border, 

 looks well. Division. H.japonicus,a,n 

 annual plant of merit, quick growth, 

 and graceful festooning habit. 



HUNNEMANNIA. H. fumaria- 

 folia is an erect perennial, 2 to 3 feet 

 high, with glaucous foliage, like some 

 of the Fumitories. Its flowers are 

 large and showy, of a rich orange, and 

 in form are like Eschscholtzia califor- 

 nica. They continue long in perfec- 

 tion. Being a native of Mexico, it is 

 rather tender, and not satisfactory for 

 open-air culture. Poppy family. 



HUTCHINSIA. A neat little alpine 

 plant, H. alpina having shining leaves 

 and white flowers, in clusters about 

 i inch high, quite free in sandy soil, 

 and easily increased by division or 

 seeds. In an open spot, either in the 

 rock garden or in good free border 

 soil, it becomes a mass of white flowers. 

 Its proper home is the rock garden, 

 though in borders of dwarf and 

 choice hardy plants it may be grown 

 with success. Central and S. Europe. 

 Cruciferce. 



HYACINTHUS ( Hyacinth] . The 

 familiar garden Hyacinth is not gener- 

 ally included among hardy plants, 



