730 



SOLIDAGO. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



plants growing near the snow-line on 

 the great mountain-chains of Europe. 

 The plants thrive best in moist dis- 

 tricts, and in dry ones evaporation 

 may be prevented by covering the 

 ground near them with cocoa-fibre 

 mixed with sand. The most suitable 

 position is a level spot in the rock 

 garden near the eye. The plant is 

 increased by division, though being 

 often starved and delicate from con- 

 finement in small worm-defiled pots, 

 exposed to daily vicissitudes, it is 

 rarely strong enough to be pulled to 

 pieces. 5. montana is allied to 5. 

 alpina, but with larger leaves and 

 purer blue flowers. It comes from the 

 same regions and needs the same treat- 

 ment. It is readily increased by divi- 

 sion, but like the last, is often too weak 

 for this. 5. pusilla has kidney-shaped 

 leaves, and a corolla less deeply fringed. 

 The very small S. minima, with its 

 minute round leaves and its single 

 flower, fringed for a portion of its 

 length only, is rare. These plants 

 thrive under the same conditions as 

 the' others, but, being much smaller, 

 require more care in planting, viz., in 

 a mixture of peat and good loam with 

 plenty of sharp sand, and associated 

 with minute alpine plants. They 

 require plenty of water in summer. 



SOLIDAGO (Golden Rod). These 

 N. American Composites exter- 

 minate valuable plants, and give a 

 coarse, ragged aspect to the border. 

 They are also gross feeders and im- 

 poverish the soil. They hold their 

 own, however, in a copse, or a rough 

 open shrubbery among the coarsest 

 vegetation, and the silky seeds of some 

 kinds persist, with a pretty effect, far 

 into the winter. There are nearly 

 100 kinds, of which the best are S. 

 Buckleyi, a dwarf species with bluish- 

 green foliage and orange flowers ; 

 ccesia, another dwarf kind of slender 

 growth with pale yellow flowers ; 

 Gattingeri, of good habit, with abun- 

 dant plume-like sprays ; latifolia, a 

 dwarf early kind with broad rounded 

 leaves ; odora, of slender growth, with 

 fragrant deep yellow flowers, quite one 

 of the best ; rigida, of dwarf erect 

 growth, with downy leaves, fine 

 flowers, and roots which do not run ; 

 serotina lepida (gigantea), often 6 feet 

 high, with dark stems and large heads 

 of flower ; Shortii, the best of the tall 

 kinds, with spreading, finely - arched 

 heads, very useful for cutting ; spec- 

 tabilis, of medium height, with fragrant, 



deep yellow flowers, and not too strong 

 at the root ; and Virgaurea nana, the 

 neatest of all, with compact heads only 

 a foot high. 



SOLLYA (Blue-bell Creeper}. Beau- 

 tiful evergreen climbing shrubs from 

 Australia, mostly grown under glass 

 but hardy in the open air in the warm- 

 est parts of the south-west of England, 

 Wales, and Ireland. Trained around 

 the pillars of a sunny verandah, or 

 against a warm wall, the dark wiry 

 stems extend freely, bearing narrow 

 deep green leaves and small drooping 

 bell-flowers of a clear blue, continued 

 through a long season. The best 

 known kind is S. heterophylla, and of 

 this there is a distinct narrow-leaved 

 form, angustifolia, which twines less 

 freely. Swan River. Increase by 

 seeds and by cuttings of half-ripe 

 shoots, which root with some diffi- 

 culty. 



SOPHORA (New Zealand Labur- 

 num] . 5. tetraptera is a large tree in its 

 own country, and makes a charming 

 wall-plant here. The variety grandi- 

 flora has larger flowers and is more 

 robust, while the variety microphylla 

 is remarkable for finely-divided leaves 

 and smaller flowers. In sheltered 

 gardens against walls in the southern 

 and the mild parts all may be grown, 

 though they may need extra protection 

 in severe winters. Another species in 

 cultivation is S. chilensis, which also 

 needs protection. Syn., Edwardsia. 



Sophora japonica. 



S. JAPONICA (Pagoda Tree). One of the 

 finest of flowering trees, elegant in foliage, 

 and in September covered with clusters of 

 white bloom. It is one of the largest of 

 trees, and when old has a wide-spreading 

 head with huge limbs. Its long pinnate 

 leaves retain their deep green colour until 



