WHITLAVIA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. WISTARIA. 781 



The best of the older kinds are : Abel 

 Carriere, numerous large flowers of 

 soft pink ; Isolinse, large flowers of 

 white or pale rose with yellow mark- 

 ings ; Van Houttei, large and showy 

 white and red flowers ; Lemoinei, 

 numerous small deep crimson -red 

 flowers ; Groenewegenei, one of the 

 best, the flowers being large, of pink 

 or pale rose, with a yellow blotch ; 

 striata, a pretty sort, having flowers 

 striped with red and white ; Stelzneri, 

 with numerous deep red flowers ; 

 LavalUi, with numerous crimson-red 

 flowers ; hortensis nivea, more spread- 

 ing than that of others, with larger 

 and paler foliage, and large pure white 

 flowers ; and Candida. Good new 

 kinds are Conquete, deep rose, with 

 the largest flowers yet seen in these 

 plants ; Dame Blanche, large creamy- 

 white flowers with a yellow throat ; 

 Descartes, crimson-purple ; Diderot, 

 deep bright red ; Emile Galle, deep 

 red ; Eva Rathkie, one of the best, 

 deep rich crimson ; floreal, pink, and 

 very early ; Gloire des Bosquets, very 

 free in its deep rosy flowers ; Heroine, 

 rosy-white, with fine foliage ; hortensis 

 nivea, pure white ; Perle, creamy-white 

 edged with rose ; Montesquieu, wine- 

 purple ; Mt. Blanc, the best white ; 

 Othello, bright rose ; Pascal, blood- 

 red ; Pavilion blanc, blush-white ; and 

 Saturne, rosy - carmine. The new 

 Japanese species, D. prcecox, bears 

 large pink flowers with a yellow throat, 

 opening nearly a month earlier than 

 other kinds. Its influence as a parent 

 is already seen in a race of early- 

 flowering" hybrids. All sorts are of 

 free habit if planted in good soil in an 

 open position. They should never be 

 crowded, but grown as isolated groups 

 on lawns, or placed on the margins 

 of shrubberies. Weigelas make large 

 bushes, 6 to 10 feet high and as much 

 in diameter, and their graceful drooping 

 branches are ornamental, even when 

 leafless in winter. They should be 

 top-dressed annually with good rich 

 soil, and pruned, leaving the vigorous 

 stems and the branches that yield the 

 finest bloom. 



WHITLAVIA. W. grandiflora is a 

 beautiful herb about a foot high, allied 

 to the Nemophila, with an abundance 

 of showy bell-shaped blossoms of a 

 rich deep blue. There is a white 

 variety, and also one called gloxinioides, 

 with white and blue flowers. These 

 are hardy annuals, and may be sown 

 either in autumn or in spring in the 



open border, in good friable soil. 

 California. 



WIGANDIA. Fine-leaved plants of 

 the tropics, which succeed in the open 

 air in summer in a few warm southern 

 gardens. The best is W. Caracas ana, 

 from the mountainous regions of New 

 Granada ; but even this will only 

 succeed in the warmest and best shel- 

 tered spots. The stems of W. macro- 

 phylla, from Mexico, are covered with 

 short stinging hairs, bearing brownish 

 viscid drops, which adhere to the hand 

 like oil. But the truth is, they are of 

 slight value for our gardens, in view 

 of the far more beautiful hardy plants 

 we have. 



WISTARIA (Glycine).The noblest 

 of all woody climbers introduced to 

 Europe. Besides giving a beautiful 

 covering for houses, pergolas, etc., 

 the Wistaria is of great value in 

 other ways, and can be grown on 

 trees. In Mr Waterer's nursery at 

 Knap Hill it has been trained up 

 Laburnum trees. In the end, no 

 doubt, the Laburnums will get the 

 worst of it, but meanwhile the two 

 flower together, and the pale blue- 

 purple racemes of the Wistaria and 

 the golden ones of the Laburnum make 

 a fine contrast. An old Oak that has 

 seen its best days would be a suitable 

 support for it. In getting this or any 

 other climber to grow on living trees, 

 the difficulty is at the start, chiefly 

 because of the living roots of the tree 

 on which it is to grow, and then the 

 Wistaria should be planted well away 

 from the trunk where sun and rain 

 can reach it. 



It now and then makes very graceful 

 standards at least in the good situations 

 in the south, and bowers and most 

 beautiful lace-work for summer-houses 

 may be formed with this climber alone. 

 A strong framework of tent shape 

 might easily be covered with it. The 

 timbers or irons of the roof might be 

 close enough for the foliage of the 

 Wistaria to cast a slight shade over 

 the interior, and the motive would be 

 the grace and beauty of the shrub 

 when in flower, garlanding it, and 

 forming a temple of graceful bloom. 



W. BRACHYBOTRYS. Although many 

 years since a Wistaria under this name 

 was brought to Europe from Japan by 

 Siebold, but little can be said of it. 

 Judging by published figures, it appears 

 to be a dwarf variety of W. chinensis, with 

 racemes of the same blue-purple flowers, 

 only shorter, as the specific name suggests. 



