506 HYDROCHARIS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



HYPERICUM. 



near French windows, up the sides of 

 which there is lattice-work, and so charmed 

 were the owners with the tender foliage, 

 feathering the coign of the window, that 

 they made more lattice-work in front of 

 the window so that the creeper could 

 extend and form a natural sunshade before 

 the glass. 



H. QUERCIFOLIA (Oak-leaved H.). This 

 is a fine distinct kind, and though not 

 showy like the popular kinds, it is an 

 excellent shrub, and one I have noticed 

 growing with fine vigour in seashore 

 gardens. The leaves have a good deep 

 colour in the autumn, and the flowers are 

 beautiful, while old plants have a pic- 

 turesque habit. 



H. SARGENTIANA. Of the several species 

 of Hydrangea introduced from China, this 

 is the most distinct. The stems are stout 

 and erect ; the large and handsome leaves 

 very hairy on both surfaces, the upper one 

 of a deep velvety green. The flower-heads 

 are broad, but the large white sterile 

 blossoms are limited to a few outside the 

 cluster, the small fertile ones being of a 

 bluish colour. From a flowering point of 

 view it is far from the showiest of the 

 Hydrangeas, but it is a distinct and 

 striking species. An uncommon feature 

 of the plant is the large scale-like hairs 

 with which the stems and leaf-stalks are 

 covered. 



H. VIRENS (Changing H.). This is a 

 remarkable and elegant shrub, varying in 

 height from 2 to 6 feet. The branches, 

 straight, slender, and polished, bearing 

 small, thin, deeply-toothed leaves, 2 to 

 3 inches long, yellowish-green above and 

 pale beneath, with small clusters of 

 flowers, some of which are sterile. Alto- 

 gether this is a pretty little shrub, and it 

 is somewhat surprising that it has not 

 been introduced, as it is common in the 

 neighbourhood of Nagasaki in Japan. 



Although there is a large range of 

 land in Great Britain in which Hydran- 

 geas seem happy, there are other inland 

 and cold districts in which they make 

 poor growth, or are cut down so fre- 

 quently that experiments come to 

 little. I made a trial myself on a cool 

 hill-side in Sussex without getting any 

 bloom or a healthy growth ; but on 

 the other hand we see, especially in 

 the south of England and Ireland, 

 beautiful results in warm valleys and 

 on sandy and alluvial soils even from 

 the use of one kind. 



HYDROCHARIS (Frog - bit}. H. 

 Morsus-rance is a native water-plant, 

 having floating leaves and pretty white 

 flowers, and well worth introducing to 

 ponds. It may often be gathered 

 from pools in spring, when it floats 

 a.fter being submerged in winter. 



HYDRO COTYLE (Penny wort) . 

 Small creeping plants, usually with 

 round leaves and inconspicuous flowers. 

 There are several kinds grown, their 

 main use being as a surface growth 

 to the artificial bog. The best are 

 H. moschata and microphylla, two New 

 Zealand species, and nitidula, though 

 all of these are somewhat tender. 

 The common H. vulgaris is rather too 

 rank a grower, and dangerous to intro- 

 duce among choice bog plants. 



HYMENANTHERA. A small group 

 of shrubs and low trees from New 

 Zealand, only one of which, H. crassi- 

 folia, has been introduced. This is a 

 low evergreen with the spreading and 

 freely-branched habit of a Cotoneaster, 

 with small leathery leaves and incon- 

 spicuous flowers, followed by small 

 berries covered with tiny black specks. 

 These berries are studded thickly over 

 the ash-grey stems and even on the 

 old main branches, the one fault being 

 that, clustering mainly on the under- 

 side, they are not readily seen. The 

 plant seldom exceeds 3 or 4 feet in 

 height, though the branches trail 

 widely, and it is hardier than many 

 New Zealand shrubs, growing in 

 exposed places and without protection 

 in the north of England. Increase by 

 seeds, or cuttings rooted under glass 

 during summer and early autumn. 



HYMENOPHYLLUM (Filmy Fern). 

 Although these tiny Filmy Ferns are 

 hardy and beautiful, yet the conditions 

 for their successful culture occur so 

 seldom that in a general sense they 

 cannot be used with effect in the open 

 air. Still, as they grow abundantly 

 wild in certain hilly districts, in moist, 

 shady, or rocky situations, there is no 

 reason why they should not be grown 

 in some places in the west or north, 

 or in hilly districts. 



HYPERICUM (St John's Wort). 

 For the most part shrubs and under- 

 shrubs, including a few herbaceous 

 perennials and annuals ; these are 

 interesting, though not of high value 

 where effect is sought, and the best 

 kinds do not thrive in the colder lands. 

 The Rose of Sharon (H. calycinum) is 

 probably the most familiar, and there 

 are other shrubby species of some 

 beauty. Some of the perennials are 

 good border and rock garden plants, 

 and the best of these is H. olympicum, 

 one of the largest flowered kinds, 

 though not more than i foot high. It 

 is Icnown by its very glaucous foliage 



