586 



NEMOPHILA. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



NICANDRA. 



out. Sow in heat in March, and trans- 

 plant the seedlings in May, or sow in 

 the open ground after the middle of 

 May. S. Africa. 



NEMOPHILA (Calif ornian Bluebell). 

 Pretty Californian hardy annuals of 

 much value for our gardens. The 

 species from which the cultivated 

 varieties have been derived are N. 

 insignis, N. atomaria, N. discoidalis, 

 and A T . maculata. N. insignis has 

 sky-blue flowers, and its varieties are 

 grandiflora, alba, purpurea-rubra, and 

 striata. N. atomaria has white flowers 

 speckled with blue. Its varieties are 

 .ccelestis (sky-blue margin), oculata (pale 

 blue and black centre), and alba nigra 

 (white and black centre). N. dis- 

 .coidalis has dark purple flowers edged 

 with white, and the flowers of its 

 variety elegans are maroon margined 

 with white. N. maculata has large 

 white flowers blotched with violet, and 

 its variety purpurea is of a mauve 

 colour. These kinds are all worth 

 growing. They thrive in any soil, and 

 are of the simplest culture. In spring 

 some pretty combinations may be 

 effected by arranging the masses in 

 harmonising colours. All Nemophilas 

 .are well suited for edgings and for 

 filling small beds, as they are compact 

 in growth. The insignis section should 

 always be preferred to the others. 

 Seeds should be sown early in August 

 ior spring flowering, and in April for 

 summer flowering. To secure a good 

 display of flower, however, the best 

 time to sow is in August, and the soil 

 should be a light one, where the seed 

 can germinate freely, and where the 

 plants will not become too robust 

 before winter sets in. If the seed be 

 sown where the plants are to flower, 

 the results will be most satisfactory ; 

 but if transplanting be necessary, it 

 should be done early in the winter. 

 These plants often give prettier effects 

 in the cooler northern parts of the 

 country and in Scotland. 



NEPETA (Cat Mint] .Herbaceous 

 perennials, of which N. macrantha has 

 rather showy purple flowers, but is too 

 tall and coarse for the border. N. 

 Mussini is an old plant, flourishing in 

 ordinary garden soil, and was once 

 used for edgings to borders, a purpose 

 for which its compact growth suits it 

 well ; but none of these plants are 

 among the best for choice borders. 



NEPHRODIUM. N. American 

 Ferns, some, hardy and very hand- 



some, and these thrive under the 

 same conditions as our native Ferns. 

 The chief sorts are N. Goldieanum, 

 N. intermedium, N. marginale, and N. 

 noveberacense. Several Japanese and 

 Chinese species thrive without pro- 

 tection in mild localities, but they 

 cannot be recommended for general 

 culture. N. fragrans is a sweet- 

 scented little form. It is somewhat 

 delicate, but thrives in a sheltered 

 situation. 



NERTERA (Fruiting Duckweed). 

 N. depressa is a pretty creeping and 

 minute plant, thickly studded with 

 tiny reddish-orange berries, and with 

 minute round leaves which are sugges- 

 tive of the Duckweed of our stagnant 

 pools. It forms densely matted tufts 

 in the open air, best perhaps on level 

 spots in the rock garden. It is also 

 often grown in pans, and out of doors 

 in some places may require protection 

 in winter. N. depressa may be pro- 

 pagated by dividing old plants into 

 small portions and placing them in 

 small pots in a gentle heat until they 

 start into growth, and then removing 

 them to a cooler atmosphere. New 

 Zealand. 



NEVIUSIA ALABAMENSIS (Snow 

 Wreath). Introduced in 1882, the 

 objection generally made to it is that 

 the flowers, instead of a snowy white- 

 ness, are a dingy green. The foliage 

 resembles that of Spirtea opuli folia. 

 Of this shrub Mr John Saul, of Wash- 

 ington, U.S.A., has written : " Large 

 bushes in my nursery were covered 

 with flowers of the purest snow-white. 

 The small flowers, from their immense 

 number and purity and their light 

 airiness, could be likened in justice to 

 waves of flickering snow. It appears 

 quite hardy, as it passed through 

 10 degs. of frost on four nights last 

 winter, which killed many tender 

 subjects, without being harmed in the 

 least. It is easily raised from suckers, 

 which spring up in numbers aroim'd 

 the parent plant and can be taken off 

 with roots attached." 



NICANDRA. N. physaloides is a 

 pretty Peruvian half-hardy annual, 

 about 2 feet high, of stout growth, 

 bearing in summer numerous showy 

 blue and white bell-like flowers, and 

 thriving in an open position in light 

 soil. Seed should be sown in heat in 

 early spring or in the open air about 

 the end of March, and the seedlings 

 should be transplanted in May. One 



