TlLIA. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



Till A. 



temperate regions, often cut into ugly 

 shapes in continental gardens. By far 

 the best effect of the tree is when it is 

 allowed to take its natural shape, and 

 its fragrance is often welcome on the 

 lawn. The " pleached " alleys of old 

 English gardens were often made of 

 this tree, but these are much easier got 

 now from various trees of better colour 

 and leaf, such as the fine-leaved 

 Acacias or graceful fruit trees like the 

 Japanese and other crabs, which, 

 while giving us the shade we seek, give 

 flowers in season. Some of the Limes 

 are very handsome trees, hardy, fine 

 in form and leaf, and good on the lawn 

 or in grove, but, as few places have 

 space enough to represent all the trees 

 of this genus, the best way is to make 

 a selection of the stateliest and best. 

 There is some talk now of hybridising 

 forest trees, which, considering the 

 beautiful ones we already have, seems 

 no very necessary mode of research ; 

 also, variegated and mean types of the 

 tree should be avoided, and especially 

 grafted trees. Some of the rarer kinds 

 are grafted on the common one. 



T. AMERICANA (Basswood). A vigorous 

 round-headed tree covered with ruddy 

 bark, the leaves larger, more pointed, and 

 of darker green than in the Common Lime, 

 while the flower bracts are also larger and 

 come about ten days later, giving place 

 to yellow pea-like fruits. The tree is 

 spreading and needs space, and it bears 

 drought better than the Limes of Europe. 



T. ARGENTEA (White Lime). A stately 

 tree sometimes 80 feet high, but mostly 

 about half that height, with heart-shaped 

 leaves of a fine silvery colour underneath, 

 and lasting fresh much longer than on the 

 Common Lime. This is a precious tree 

 for grouping where its fine colour can tell 

 in open park-land or upon the fringes of 

 woodland, for which seedlings can be used, 

 but not grafted trees. 



T. DASYSTYLA (Crimean Lime). A 

 handsome tree from S. Russia, with lus- 

 trous dark-green leaves on bright-green 

 twigs, lasting fresh longer than on the 

 Common Lime. The young growths give 

 pretty tints of red and yellow, and the 

 pale flowers come early in August. 



T. PETIOLARIS (Weeping White L.). 

 Though the silvery effect of this tree is 

 fully as beautiful as that of the White 

 Lime, it is very different in habit, every 

 shoot drooping gracefully, while the leaf- 

 stalks are fully twice as long as in T. 

 argentea. It is a strong grower even on 

 poor soils, reaching a height of 60 feet or 

 more, and resisting drought ; the flowers 

 large, in July. The leaves are large, 

 rounded, and so twisted as to show the 

 hoary underside even in repose. S. 

 Russia. 



T. PLATYPHYLLOS (Broad-leaved L.). 

 A variable tree, attaining at maturity a 

 height of 90 feet, with dense ample leaves, 

 sometimes downy on both sides and always 

 underneath. It is the first of the Limes 

 to bloom, the flowers coming in June and 

 followed by hairy thick-celled capsules. 

 The effect of this stately tree is marred 

 by its early loss of leaf, especially in a 

 dry season. There are many varieties, 



Tigridia Pavonia alba imniaculata. 



including pyramidalis, of erect habit ; 

 rubra and aurea, with red or yellow bark ; 

 asplenifolia and laciniata, dwarf trees 

 with cut leaves ; and vitifolia, in which 

 they are lobed like a Vine. 



T. VULGARIS (Common L.). Not a 

 native of Britain, though freely natura- 

 lised. The Lime seldom sows itself in 

 this country, but no tree is more easily 

 increased by layers. 



Two or three new Limes have come 

 from E. Asia, and are coming into cultiva- 

 tion. These are T. mandschurica, which, 

 in its own land, makes a spreading tree of 

 50 to 60 feet, of pendulous habit. From 

 nearly the same region conies T. mon- 

 golica, a slender low-growing tree of grace- 

 ful appearance, with very small rounded 

 or three-lobed leaves. Perhaps the finest 

 of the entire genus is T. miqueliana, from 

 the forests of Japan, where it reaches a 

 height of 100 feet. There are also an 



