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MOLUCCELLA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. MONTBRETIA. 



MOLUGCELLA (M. Icevis}. A sin- 

 gular plant of the Dead Nettle family. 

 It is by no means showy, and its only 

 recommendation for the garden is the 

 singular form of its calyces, which are 

 bell-shaped and densely arranged on 

 erect stems about i foot in height. 

 It is a fine subject for skeletonising, 

 and the stems, bracts, and calyces 

 may be skeletonised intact. For this 

 purpose they should not be cut before 

 autumn, when the plant is fully 

 matured. Should be treated as a 

 half-hardy annual. Eastern Mediter- 

 ranean. 



MONARDA (Bee Balm) . Border 

 perennials of the simplest culture, 

 thriving in any soil, and suited for 

 borders or for naturalisation in open 

 copses. The red kind scattered 

 through American woods in autumn 

 is very handsome. M. fistulosa (Wild 

 Bergamo t) is a robust perennial, 2 to 

 4 feet high, the flowers variable ; the 

 usual colour is pale red, and every 

 gradation almost to white may be 

 found in it. M. didyma (Oswego Tea) 

 is robust, about 3 feet high, the deep 

 red flowers, borne in head-like whorls, 

 continuing a long time in summer. 

 M. Kalmiana is a showy plant, often 

 4 feet high, the deep crimson flowers 

 in dense whorls. To see the true effect 

 of this fine plant it must be massed in 

 groups. In M. purpurea the deep 

 purplish-crimson flowers are smaller. 

 N. America. Division or seed. 



MONTAGN^IA HERACLEIFOLIA 



( Polymnia grandis) . A half-hardy 

 shrub with large, much divided, and 

 elegantly-lobed leaves, about 3 feet 

 long, presenting luxuriant masses of 

 foliage. The stem and leaf -stalks are 

 spotted with white, and the leaves 

 when young are covered with a soft 

 white down. Easily multiplied from 

 cuttings, which plants freely produce 

 if placed in heat in January, but it is 

 only useful where sub-tropical plants 

 are put out for the fine months in 

 sheltered dells. 



MONTBRETIA ( Tritonia] .Grace- 

 ful and showy plants from the Cape, 

 better than most S. African plants in 

 their hardiness and vitality, even in 

 the poorest conditions of soil and 

 exposure, growing, indeed, like weeds, 

 and so close that I have used them 

 between shrubs to keep the ground free 

 from weeds ; and well they do it, 

 giving very graceful bloom in masses 

 towards the summer and autumn. In 



rich light soils they give little trouble ; 

 in clay soils where the drainage is less 

 under control they are apt to fail, but 

 we have seen them thrive in poor 

 clayey soil if not wet. In badly- 

 drained soils it is best to grow them in 

 raised beds of good soil. All danger 

 can be avoided by lifting, though some 

 hold that this is injurious. The suc- 

 cess which attends the planting of dry 

 bulbs during the early spring months - 

 frequently as late as April is the best 

 proof that the harm from drying such 

 things is of small moment. Where both 

 systems can be pursued in one garden 

 a long succession of bloom will be the 

 result. The spring planted stock of 

 this year may remain undisturbed 

 through the coming winter, to yield 

 early bloom next year, while the batch 

 that remained in the ground the winter 

 previous is the one to be lifted this 

 coming autumn. In this way there is 

 little loss in a single year by deteriora- 

 tion, and the corms, if harvested at 

 the right time and well kept i.e., cool 

 and dry will more than repay the 

 labour and trouble involved. Even in 

 those gardens where there is no real 

 need to lift the roots the plan is of 

 value for the longer time of blooming 

 it ensures. 



During recent years the Montbretia 

 has been much improved, both as 

 regards the size of the flowers and their 

 colour. Of more imposing stature 

 than aforetime varieties, with freer 

 branching habit, more erectly-held 

 sprays, and widely expanded flowers 

 that face the observer, they make for 

 greater garden display ; in fine, are 

 immeasurably superior even when 

 compared to those raised little more 

 than a decade ago. Those named are 

 among the best of this modern race. 

 Comet, crimson stained, very large ; 

 King Edmund, 3 to 4 feet, rich yellow ; 

 Lord Nelson, deepest of all, orange- 

 scarlet and crimson, 3^ feet ; Prome- 

 theus, one of the giants, orange and 

 crimson flowers, 4 inches across ; Star 

 of the East, pure orange-yellow with 

 lemon centre, probably the best yet 

 raised ; Westwick, orange and maroon ; 



eueen Alexandra, apricot-yellow ; 

 ueen Mary, orange, dark purple 

 stems ; Nimbus, golden-yellow, very 

 fine ; Citronella, pale refined yellow, 

 very beautiful ; Queen Boadicea, 

 4 feet, orange and copper ; His 

 Majesty, yellow and brownish crimson ; 

 and Una, pale refined orange with 

 crimson zone. 



