57 



MEUM. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



MIMULUS. 



also called M. Smithi. It is a good 

 lawn tree. About the middle of May 

 it is attractive with its large flowers. 



MEUM (Spignel). M. athamanticum 

 is a graceful fine-leaved perennial, 

 dwarf in habit, 6 to 12 inches high, 

 free in ordinary soils, and hardy. In 

 dry seasons it might wither too soon, 

 but it is pretty for the rock garden or 

 borders. A British mountain plant 

 and aromatic. Division. 



MICHAUXIA (Michaux's Bellflower}. 

 M. campanuloides is a remarkable 

 plant of the Bellflower family, 3 to 

 8 feet high, the flowers white tinged 

 with purple, and arranged in a pyra- 

 midal candelabra - like head. Some- 



Michauxia cainpanuloides. 



times it flowers in the third or even in 

 the fourth year, but is usually con- 

 sidered a biennial, and should be 

 treated as a hardy one. Seedlings 

 should be raised annually, so as to 

 always have good flowering plants. 

 It flourishes best in a deep loam. Its 

 stately form and tall stature are 

 effective in the mixed border or in a 

 nook in a bed of evergreen shrubs. 

 Warm sheltered borders and borders 

 on the south side of walls suit it best. 

 Levant. 



M. TCHIHATCHEFFII. A remarkable 

 species from Asia Minor, rare 'in cultiva- 

 tion and difficult to flower. It forms large 

 spreading rosettes of leaves and produces 

 pale blue flowers. It should be tried in a 

 sunny, well-drained position in loam and 

 lime rubble. As a plant difficult to culti- 

 vate, it ranks with, or surpasses, the 

 equally remarkable Ostrowskia magnified. 



MIGHELIA. Very interesting trees 

 and shrubs of the Magnolia order ; 

 mostly from Asia and China. Little 

 known in our gardens as yet, except- 



ing one kind, which is grown in con- 

 servatories. They are only likely to 

 succeed in the southern most favoured 

 parts of the country. 



MICROLEPIA. M. anthriscifolia is 

 an elegant Fern, 6 to 12 inches high, 

 hardy, deciduous, charming in spring 

 and summer, and of easy culture. It 

 thrives in the open as well as in the 

 shade, and may be used with good 

 effect as an edging to a sheltered 

 border. 



MICROMERIA (Pepper Nettle}. 

 Dwarf plants of the Sage family, with 

 strong odours, chiefly from S. Europe, 

 W. Asia and America ; as yet little 

 known in gardens and mostly fitted 

 for the rock garden or dry banks. 



MIKANIA (German Ivy}. M. scan- 

 dens is a slender twining perennial, 

 with Ivy-like foliage and small flesh- 

 coloured flowers. It is hardy in light 

 warm soils, and is used for cover- 

 ing trellises. N. America. 



MILIUM (Millet Grass}. Grasses, 

 some of them graceful. Our native M. 

 effusum is worth cultivating for its 

 feathery plumes. It is suitable for 

 associating with flowers in summer, 

 and grows in any soil, preferring moist 

 places. There are one or two other 

 kinds worth growing. 



MILLA. The bulbous plants for- 

 merly known under this name are now 

 described under the name of Brodiaea. 

 The only true Milla is said to be 

 M. biflora, a beautiful plant with 

 large snow-white blossoms deliciously 

 scented. It is rather difficult to cul- 

 tivate, but it is well worth any care. 



MIMULUS (Monkey-flower}. The 

 cultivated species are valuable showy 

 border flowers, and are for the most 

 part natives of California. They love 

 moisture, and are suitable for damp 

 places, such as bogs, moist borders, 

 and the margins of streams and 

 artificial water. The old M. cardin- 

 alis is showy when well grown, and is 

 deserving of a place. There are several 

 varieties of it. The common Musk, 

 so hardy and enduring for many years, 

 is now lost. M. luteus and its varie- 

 ties, cupreus, guttatus, and others, are 

 typical of the beautiful hybrids which 

 are now in gardens, and which combine 

 the dwarf habit and hardiness of M. 

 cupreus with the large flowers, richly 

 spotted and blotched, of the other 

 parent, the old M. variegatus. These 

 hybrids, wliich are knowri as M. 



