554 



LOMARIA. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



LON1CERA. 



the mountains usually perish, because 

 perhaps the strongest specimens are 

 selected instead of the younger ones. 

 Its true home is the rock garden, and 

 it prefers deep sandy peat. Heath 

 order. Arctic and alpine Europe and 

 Asia and higher Scottish mountains. 

 Syn. Azalea procumbens. 



LOMARIA. Ferns, for the most 

 part tropical, and requiring artificial 

 heat ; but in mild parts two or three 

 thrive in the open air. L. alpina, a 

 native of New Zealand, is dwarf, and 

 produces from a creeping rhizome 

 abundance of dark shining green 

 fronds, 4 to 6 inches in height. It is 

 specially adapted for the rock garden, 

 should receive similar treatment to the 

 Ceterach (to which it forms a charming 

 companion), and should, like it, be 

 associated with Sedums and alpine 

 plants. L. crenulata is similar, but 

 not quite so hardy, though it succeeds 

 iii the mildest localities, as will also 

 the Chili L. chilens'is, a tree Fern of 

 noble growth. These Ferns should be 

 placed in the snuggest quarters of the 

 hardy fernery, and care should be 

 taken to protect them during severe 

 cold. A fine bold kind is L. magel- 

 lanica. 



L. PROCERA. A handsome large-grow- 

 ing Fern, thriving in the open air in the 

 milder parts of Britain, particularly where 

 the atmosphere is moist, as in Ireland and 

 the south-west of England. It is a 

 variable plant, spread over nearly half 

 the world, the hardiest forms coming from 

 Chili, New Zealand, and Tasmania. L. p. 

 chilensis, one of the best, grows in com- 

 paratively cold regions of S. America, its 

 stout leathery fronds once cut to the mid- 

 rib being 4 or 5 feet long, and produced on 

 stout red stalks from a prostrate fleshy 

 stem or trunk. This trunk never rises, 

 but creeps along the ground, its under- 

 ground rhizomes freely giving off young 

 plants in rich open soils. L. p Gilliesii, 

 another fine evergreen form from Chili, 

 differs from that just described in its short 

 erect trunk, and shorter fronds on pale 

 green stalks. 



LOMATIA. Evergreen shrubs of 

 slow growth, with finely-cut fern-like 

 leaves so tough in texture that they 

 outlast almost any other foliage. 

 Several kinds are hardy in the milder 

 parts of Britain, and deserve a more 

 extensive trial. L. ferruginea, from 

 Chili, has grown well for many years 

 in the north of Ireland, at Castlewellan, 

 making a bush 9 feet high and 27 feet 

 in circumference, flowering freely, and 

 never yet injured during the winter, 



though grown in the open during the 

 past twenty years. L. longifolia, an 

 Australian species, planted out in a 

 bed of Rhododendrons at Forest Hill, 

 near London, grew luxuriantly in the 

 open air, flowering and bearing seed, 

 and only twice cut to the ground by 

 frost during twenty years. L. elegan- 

 tissima, of New Zealand, has also proved 

 fairly hardy, and with other kinds, 

 such as L. filicifolia and L. propinqua, 

 might be given a trial with the choicer 

 evergreen shrubs in the sheltered shore 

 gardens of Devon and Cornwall. The 

 rather difficult increase of these shrubs 

 has probably been against them. 



LONICERA ( Honeysuckle) .Grace- 

 ful and fragrant woody climbers and 

 bushes precious for gardens. The 

 Twining Honeysuckles form a distinct 

 group of species with whorled clusters 

 of flowers terminating the young 

 shoots. The erect-growing or Bush 

 Honeysuckles have the flowers axillary 

 and generally in pairs, Among the 

 twining species there are a few that 

 have axillary flowers, and of these 

 Lonicera japonica is a typical example, 

 while the commonest example of the 

 Bush Honeysuckles is the Tartarian 

 Honeysuckle. 



They all flourish best in a light rich 

 soil in a fully-exposed sunny position. 

 It is a mistake to plant Honeysuckles 

 at the base of shady trees and expect 

 them to climb up and produce crops 

 of flowers as they do when in the open. 

 Honeysuckles naturally delight to 

 twine upon other plants, but in shade 

 they do not flower. One often sees a 

 thicket overrun with common Honey- 

 suckle, but until the trees have been 

 cut the Honeysuckle does not flower 

 so well. It loves to ramble over a 

 hedge, as we see it by the wayside, and 

 in the garden one can make various 

 hedge combinations with it and some 

 other hedge plants, such as Sweet 

 Brier and Holly. To cultivate Honey- 

 suckles to perfection, they should not 

 be planted near any other living shrub, 

 but should be supported by a dead 

 tree trunk or trellis, as then the Honey- 

 suckle gets all the food from the soil. 

 This is why one sees plants of Honey- 

 suckle on a wire trellis bearing much 

 finer blooms than is the case when 

 growing over trees or hedges. A good 

 plan is to plant some in good soil 

 against wooden posts at distances of 

 12 feet apart, and when they have 

 reached the top of the posts to connect 

 them by a festooning chain from post 



