SPIRAEA. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GA&DEN. 



STACHYS. 



735 



flowers in dense spikes. N. America. A 

 pretty plant, one of the best in its autumn 

 flowers, and with roots not much inclined 

 to roam. Especially good in damp ground 

 and overhanging water. 



S. VAN HOUTTEI. A garden cross be- 

 tween media (confusa) and trilobata. In 

 late spring it bears masses of white flowers 

 so thickly clustered as to hide all else and 

 emphasise the graceful droop of the stems. 

 Indeed, these sometimes droop too much, 

 allowing the clusters to drag and spoil in 

 bad weather. The flowers open about the 

 middle of May, and the wand-like shoots 

 are useful for cutting. Being sensitive to 

 cold winds and late frost, a sheltered place 

 is best for this kind. 



In a genus like Spiraea, numbering 

 many reputed species, and these bur- 

 dened with endless names and syno- 



japonica coccinea, Billardii, Blumei, 

 japonica ruberrima, tomentosa, confusa, 

 japonica alba, and bullata (crispifolia] . 

 The ' ' mixed ' ' shrubbery, where the 

 delicate have to fight the strong, is no 

 place for these elegant plants, which, 

 being surface-rooters, need an open, 

 sunny spot, away from the roots of big 

 trees and shrubs, and where the garden 

 is large enough, I should have isolated 

 groups (bold masses from 10 to 15 feet 

 across) of the taller kinds, such as 

 Lindleyana, discolor, Douglasi, and 

 others, and lesser groups of the dwarfer 

 kinds or these may form masses 

 jutting out from other groups. 



SPRAGUEA. 5. umbellata, a sin- 

 gular and pretty plant allied to Clay- 



Spircea Bumaltia. 



nyms, it is perplexing to single out 

 the choice few required for the garden. 

 The fact is, we have too many 

 Spiraeas and too great a similarity 

 among kinds flowering about the same 

 time. No collection need number 

 more than a dozen kinds, and good 

 grouping of these in a garden would 

 produce better effect than the dotting 

 about of many sorts. My dozen would 

 be the following : S. 'Lindleyana, dis- 

 color, Douglasi, Van Houttei, pruni- 

 folia fl. pi., japonica superba, arguta, 

 canescens var. flagellaris, cantoniensis , 

 bella, Thunbergi, and japonica Bum- 

 alda Anthony Waterer. This selection 

 embraces all the sections, and is suffi- 

 cient in a general way, but should 

 more be required, a second dozen 

 might include : S. decumbens, salici- 

 folia grandiflora, Nobleana, Aitchisoni, 



tonia, 6 to 9 inches high, has fleshy 

 foliage, and spikes of showy pinkish 

 blossoms. If seeds are sown in heat 

 early in February, then potted singly, 

 and planted out in May, the plants will 

 bloom in August and September ; if 

 sown in May, the plants will not flower 

 till the following summer. In light 

 soils the plants will stand an ordinary 

 winter, but they are safer in a frame, 

 but like most tap-rooted plants, they 

 do not bear moving well, except while 

 small. California. 



STACHYS (Woundwort).The com- 

 mon 5. lanata, a woolly-leaved plant 

 used for edging, thrives in any soil. 

 5. coccinea is a rather pretty perennial 

 with spikes of red flowers about i foot 

 high, and succeeds in a partially-shaded 

 border anywhere in the south. Coming 



