6 4 2 



POPULUS. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



POTENTILLA. 



POPULUS (Poplar).- Usually forest 

 trees of northern and temperate coun- 

 tries, often of rapid growth, mostly 

 hardy, in our country, some giving 

 very fine effects in the landscape, and 

 others of value in wet woodlands. 

 Among the best are the. white, or 

 the Abele Poplar (P. alba), and 

 its variety Bolleana nivea, which 

 is whiter in the foliage than the wild 

 tree ; the great P. momlifera of N. 



um dryopteris). 



America, grown under various names 

 in our gardens, and the most rapid 

 grower of Poplars ; the Balsam Poplar 

 (P. balsamifera) ; Fremont's Poplar 

 (P. Fremonti) ; P. grandidentata ; P. 

 heterophylla of N. America, of which 

 there is a pendulous variety ; P. 

 laurifolia of Siberia ; the Black Poplar 

 (P. nigra), a native tree which has one 

 or two varieties, one the Lombardy 

 Poplar ; P. Sieboldi of Japan ; P. 

 Simoni of China ; P. suaveolens of 

 N.W. India ; P: tremuloides of N. 

 America, and P. trichocarpa, one of 

 the finest, and P. lasiocarpa, a native of 

 C. China, with large and handsome 

 leaves : a tree for the moist woodland, 

 hardy, and of promise for our British 

 woods. 



The true Aspen is one of our native 

 trees we may see here and there wild, 

 in woodland places, often grouping 

 itself very prettily. I know nothing 



more attractive than a group of the 

 Aspen by the waterside or in almost 

 any position. In Ireland, and on warm 

 limestone soils elsewhere, the leaves 

 become a lovely colour in autumn, but 

 not on cold soils. 



PORTULACA (Purslane}. This 

 bright little annual, P. grandiflora, has 

 been introduced many years from its 

 native home in Chili, and few Chilian 

 plants have spread so widely all over 

 the world. It seems as happy under 

 a tropical sun as in an English gar- 

 den, where no other annual excels it 

 in brilliancy, delicacy, and diversity of 

 colour. It is at home as well on a 

 dry, poor bank as in a rich border 

 among taller things. One can see 

 by its growth that it is a child of 

 the sun, and that is why one finds it 

 so fine in gardens in the parched plains 

 of India and Egypt, as well as through- 

 out N. America. The colours vary 

 from crimson and white through every 

 shade to pure yellow. Seeds of the 

 Portulaca should be sown thinly 

 during the month of April in pans in a 

 frame, and the seedlings be planted 

 out early in June. They can be also 

 sown in the open ground in May. 

 The best plants are got when the 

 seedlings, as soon as they are large 

 enough to handle, are pricked out into 

 small pots of rich soil and kept in an 

 airy frame. The seed is best sown in 

 light soil, and only just covered. 

 In planting out, choose the sunniest 

 and warmest spots in the garden. 



POTENTILLA (CinquefoiT). A large 

 family, many hardy herbs and alpine 

 flowers among them. The most im- 

 portant are the fine hybrid varieties 

 got by crossing showy Himalayan 

 species such as P. insignis and P. 

 atro-sanguinea, a form of P. argyro- 

 phylla. These two species are well 

 worth growing. The first has clear 

 yellow and the other has deep velvety 

 crimson flowers. Other useful tall- 

 growing kinds are glandulosa from 

 California, a good plant for very dry 

 places, where the large golden flowers 

 come freely for several weeks during 

 the hottest weather. It is fully hardy, 

 and with leaves deeply cut. Other 

 plants for just such a position are P. 

 hippiana, with laige leaves of a decided 

 grey, and P. crinata, with silvery- 

 white leaves, the flowers bright yellow 

 in both kinds. One of the best, 

 however, is P. nepalensis (or formosa), 

 from the Himalayas, with stems of 

 1 8 inches, and fine bright red flowers 



