VESICARIA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. VIBURNUM. 



cuttings. Syn., V. orientalis var. tenui- 

 folia. 



V. TEUCRIUM. A Continental plant, 

 which forms spreading masses from 8 to 

 12 inches high, covered in early summer 

 with flowers of an intense blue, at first 

 in dense racemes which lengthen pro- 

 gressively. It is excellent for the rock 

 garden or borders, and grows freely in 

 any soil. Seeds or division. 



Though a very great genus in the 

 world flora Veronicas have not nearly 

 so much importance for the garden. 

 Many of the New Zealand kinds are 

 tender, and of the European or 

 northern kinds rather a few have 

 much beauty, except, perhaps, the 

 silvery ones, which come well into the 

 flower garden. 



VESICARIA (Bladder Pea}. Hardy 

 evergreen perennials, of which V. 

 grcBca is the handsomest, and bears 

 a strong resemblance to the better- 

 known V . utriculata, long cultivated 

 in gardens. The bright yellow flowers 

 open in succession for a length of 

 several inches on each stem. Rocky 

 places in South Europe. Cuttings or 

 seed. Both kinds flourish in dryish 

 soil, on dry sunny parts of the rock 

 garden. 



VIBURNUM (Guelder Rose}. Hand- 

 some and vigorous shrubs of northern 

 regions, beautiful in berry as well as 

 flower, and, with few exceptions, of the 

 easiest cultivation. They simply need 

 a fair soil and plenty of moisture. 

 Increase by cuttings and layers or 

 seed the best way. Some kinds are 

 not worth growing, being either too 

 much like others or tender and delicate 

 with us. Those admitted here are 

 distinct and of value, and it is best to 

 limit ourselves to them. 



V. ACERIFOLIUM. A shrub of 4 to 6 

 feet, from the mountains of New England, 

 and distinct in its broad and glossy three- 

 lobed leaves. The flowers are not showy, 

 but give place to oval red berries, blackish- 

 purple when ripe. The leaves turn a fine 

 crimson-purple in autumn, and the plant 

 will grow in dry rocky soils. 



V. CARLESII. A charming Japanese 

 shrub of rather loose habit, with roundish 

 leaves, silvery on the underside and 

 greyish-green above from their coating 

 of fine . hairs. The flowers expand as 

 rounded clusters of good size in the latter 

 part of April, though the buds are formed 

 early the previous autumn. They are 

 pink in bud, opening white and retaining 

 a flush on the outside ; they are finely 

 fragrant and last a long time. Though 

 uninjured at Kew during recent winters, 

 the plant is still on trial as to its hardiness 



in this country, and might possibly lose 

 its buds in a severe winter. Cuttings. 



V. CASSINOIDES. Of the American 

 Viburnums, one of the best, growing 

 some 6 feet high, with thick leathery 

 leaves, 3 to 4 inches long, and yel- 

 lowish white flowers, during the early 

 part of June, in flat cymes 4 to 5 

 inches across, and handsome fruit, the 

 berries changing first to rose colour and 

 finally to bluish-black. As they do not 

 ripen simultaneously, fruits of both these 

 colours, as well as green ones, occur on 

 a cluster at the same time. N. and Arctic 

 America. 



C. COTINIFOLIUM. A spreading shrub 

 or low tree of 20 feet, found high on the 

 Himalayas, yet so tender as to need shelter 

 or a place on a warm wall during our 

 winters. Its young leaves are downy 

 but wear smooth, remaining grey and 

 woolly beneath, ovate in shape, and 

 4^ inches long by -2\ wide. The flower- 

 clusters appear in May and June upon 

 short woolly stalks, the small white flowers 

 flushed with pink, and succeeded by bright 

 scarlet berries. A beautiful shrub for 

 warm districts. 



V. DAHURICUM. A spreading shrub of 

 5 to 8 feet, with grey stems and small 

 woolly leaves. It is spread from Dahuria 

 to W. China, and is hardy, thriving in 

 light moist humus, and covered during 

 early summer with white funnel-shaped 

 flowers in small clusters, followed by 

 fragrant oval berries, at first red, but 

 black and sweet when ripe. 



V. DAVIDII. Of little flower beauty, 

 this distinct species is valuable for its 

 evergreen character, hardiness, and the 

 mound-like cushions formed by its hand- 

 some leathery foliage. It is I to 2 feet 

 high, and often the same across, attributes 

 which fit it well for certain positions in 

 the rock garden. Its dull white flowers 

 are in stiff terminal heads ; the fruits 

 blue. W. China. 



V. DENTATUM. A bushy shrub of 15 

 feet, with ovate leaves on slender stems 

 and abundant white flowers in June and 

 July, when the shrub is at its best. These 

 give place to small rounded berries of a 

 bright dark blue, covered with a fine 

 bloom. There are two varieties, one with 

 finely variegated leaves, and Icsvigatum, 

 which flowers later and is larger in leaf. 

 They are handsome shrubs for damp 

 ground. N. America. 



V. DILATATUM. A shapely shrub of 

 erect growth, brought long ago from the 

 East and fully hardy, yet almost unknown 

 in our gardens. Its bright green leaves 

 resemble those of the common Hazel, 

 and its showy heads of pure white flowers, 

 appearing in May and June, sometimes 

 measure 6 inches across. These give place 

 to scarlet berries, hanging for many weeks, 

 and making this one of the most handsome 

 of hardy shrubs. 



