PANICUM. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



PAPAVER. 



609 



Increased by offsets. P. maritimum is 

 also hardy in the south, if planted at 

 the foot of a warm wall in light soil 

 its large white flowers, in clustered 

 heads, are very fragrant and semi- 

 transparent in texture. The hardiest 

 of the other species are P. parviflorum, 

 littorale, and rotatum, but these only 

 succeed on warm soils in mild locali- 

 ties, and are best in a frame or a 

 cool greenhouse. 



PANICUM. Grasses, chiefly tropical, 

 though a few are hardy enough for 

 outdoor cultivation, and easy to grow 

 in ordinary garden soils. 



P. ALTISSIMUM is a handsome hardy per- 

 ennial grass, forming dense erect tufts, 3 

 to 6 feet high, according to climate and 

 soil, the flowers being a dark chestnut-red. 



P. BULBOSUM. A stout kind, with a 

 free and beautiful inflorescence, about 

 5 feet high ; the flowers spread gracefully. 

 It is suited for grouping near the margins 

 of shrubberies. 



P. CAPILLARE. A hardy annual, growing 

 in tufts from 1 6 to 20 inches high, pretty 

 in full flower, the tufts being then covered 

 with large pyramidal panicles of graceful 

 airy form and purplish in colour. It 

 grows in any soil, often sows itself, and 

 is suited for borders or beds, being one 

 of the most graceful of grasses. 



P. VIRGATUM. A handsome hardy grass, 

 4 to 6 feet high, forming close tufts of 

 leaves i to 3 feet long, with graceful 

 branching panicles of dull purple, the 

 spikelets drooping and curiously twisted. 

 Admirable for borders or for isolation in 

 the picturesque flower garden or pleasure 

 ground. Its colour, though quiet, is 

 pretty throughout the autumn, and not 

 without effect even in winter. Division. 



PAPAVER (Poppy). Some of the 

 most brilliant of hardy flowers, and of 

 the simplest culture. There are a few 

 good perennials, but the majority are 

 annual and biennial. They range from 

 the tiny alpine Poppy to the stately 

 Eastern Poppy and its varieties. All 

 are easily 'raised from fresh seeds. 

 Most Poppies re-sow themselves, and 

 sometimes too freely, and these self- 

 sown plants are always the first to 

 flower. Where seed is not wanted, the 

 pods should be removed as fast as they 

 form, to prolong the show of flowers. 

 The following are the best garden 

 kinds : 



P. ALPINUM (Alpine Poppy). A plant 

 of dwarf habit from the limestone rocks of 

 the Alps, about 6 inches high, with finely 

 cut grey-green leaves and large white 

 flowers of silky texture, yellow at the 

 centre, with sometimes a green spot at 

 the base of each petal. When in good 



condition, from May to September, this 

 little plant is charming, but it is apt to 

 perish, unlike a true perennial, especially 

 if disturbed. It does best in the rock 

 garden, in rather poor soil, with good 

 drainage and full sunlight, and will thrive 

 in walls and rocky clefts ; it will sometimes 

 " sow itself," coming easily from seed. 

 It varies much in colour, with scarlet, pale 

 rose, and yellow forms, and one in which 

 the petals are fringed. 



P. NUDICAULE (Iceland Poppy). A 

 dwarf robust kind, with leaves deeply 

 lobed, and large rich yellow flowers on 

 stems of 12 to 15 inches. It thrives in rich 

 light soils, and is useful for cutting, if 

 young flowers are gathered early in the 

 day. Though a perennial, it is a short- 

 lived one, and worth little after its second 

 season. Coming readily from seed and 

 blooming in its first year, it is more often 

 grown as an annual, flowering from May to 

 October if kept from seeding. The flowers 

 give many pretty shades, from orange to 

 pale red, yellow, and white, the petals 

 with a satin sheen and crumpled. 



P. ORIENTALE. The most showy of 

 Poppies, and among the noblest of hardy 

 plants, being robust, long - lived, with 

 stout hairy leaves and stems, and of easy 

 increase by seeds or division. A fine 

 distinct form of P. orientate is P. brac- 

 teatum, and the two have been freely 

 crossed with good results. Bracteatum is 

 the better plant, rising with masses of 

 luxuriant foliage and huge blood-red 

 flowers with bold dark blotches, 6 to 9 

 inches across, and carried on stout stems 

 with blooms set among large leafy bracts, 

 the flowers coming a little earlier and 

 lasting longer. Other forms are concolor, 

 an unspotted variety ; and triumphans, 

 of dwarf habit. The named garden 

 hybrids in red, orange, salmon, pale pink, 

 purple, and maroon, with many inter- 

 mediate shades, are useful for bold effects. 



NAMED HYBRIDS. The best of 

 these are Blush Queen, Loveliness, and 

 Medusa, in carmine and pale pink ; with 

 Psyche, Vesta, and Silver Queen coming 

 nearest white. Rosea, Rose Queen, and 

 The Shah are fine shades of deep rose 

 approaching crimson ; with Pride of 

 Livermere, an immense flower of blood- 

 red, and Waterloo, a dark crimson suffused 

 with violet, the leaves remarkably woolly. 

 Salmon Queen, Lady Roscoe, Brightness, 

 and Hesperia give charming shades of 

 salmon-red, and Prince of Orange, Mogul, 

 Fire-King, Trilby, and Duke of Teck 

 flowers of crimson or scarlet. Mahony 

 and Darkness are in shades of deep 

 maroon ; Distinction is rosy-lilac shading 

 to maroon ; the Princess of Wales a 

 peculiar satin-grey tint shot with pink. 

 There are now many seedlings in such 

 soft " art shades," and though not pleasing 

 to all tastes, these flowers gain in value 

 for decoration by their milder poppy 



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