OLEAUIA. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



OLEARIA. 



597 



the better for the presence of shrubs 

 not really hardy in them, or perhaps 

 in a half-dead or flowerless state, 

 or requiring protection, which has a 

 tendency to make gardens needlessly 

 ugly for half the year. 



O. INSIGNIS. The plant is dwarf, 

 branched, the branches as thick as the 

 little finger ; the leaves from 3 to 5 inches 



and prettiest of the composites which are 

 found in New Zealand. It is a native of 

 Middle Island, where it is said to grow 

 on the driest rocks. 



O. HAASTI. This is pretty hardy in 

 various parts of England, growing to a 

 large size in the more favoured localities, 

 and if planted in groups it has a good effect 

 when covered with its Aster-like flowers, 



Olearia Haasti. 



long, 2 inches broad, rounded at the 

 ends, thick and hard, shining green on 

 the upper surface. With this exception 

 the whole plant is covered with a thick, 

 felt-like coating of pale brownish tomen- 

 tum. The flowers are on erect peduncles, 

 which are as thick as a goose-quill and 

 from 6 to 9 inches long ; the flower-heads 

 are a little over 2 inches across ; remaining 

 fresh on the plant for about six weeks. 

 This plant is one of the most interesting 



and even out of bloom it is attractive. 

 In New Zealand, where it is found at 

 altitudes of about 4,000 feet, it forms a 

 small shrubby tree. The flowers are very 

 numerous, in terminal corymbs, the ray 

 florets \ inch long, white, the disc yellow. 

 The plants usually bloom in August, and 

 remain in perfection several weeks. Other 

 kinds grown against walls and on warm 

 soils with some success are ramulosa, 

 ilicifolia, myvsinoides, nitida, macrodonta, 



