The Salvia. jgg 



the garden. The former is Mexican, the latter comes from South 

 America. 



S. coccinea is an excellent plant for bedding. The flowers are small, 

 and soon drop if gathered ; but with a little care in pinching, the plant 

 may be made very bushy, and will bloom freely all summer. We have 

 seen a bed of this species very effective in a lawn. 



S. paiens is the best of the blue-flowered species. The blossoms are 

 ver}' large, of the richest blue, and are freely produced all summer. 

 The root is a tuber, which may be taken up in the autumn, and pre- 

 served during the winter in dry sand in a frost-proof cellar. There is 

 also a white-flowered variety. 



It is best to set out strong plants in the spring, as they begin to bloom 

 early in July, and continue until killed by the frost ; whereas if seed is 

 planted, the first flowers are often destroyed by the cold. Cuttings 

 strike freely, and seed ripens from early-blooming plants. This species 

 is almost too straggling in its habit to form a good mass, but the spikes 

 of large blue flowers are very showy, and no garden should be without 

 a bed of it. It may be pegged down to advantage, as the branches are 

 very brittle. We know of no blue flower which can rival it in depth 

 and purity of color. 



Many other tropical species are useful for bedding, but they are not 

 generally grown, although they would doubtless be acquisitions to the 

 garden. S. kians is a fine herbaceous species, with large blue and 

 white flowers. S. I'ugosa has fine woolly foliage, and if not allowed 

 to bloom is very ornamental. The flower is white, and not showy. It 

 is a biennial, and must be sown every year for succession. 



There is notjiing easier than the general culture of all the species. 

 All do well in a rich, light soil. The annual and biennial species should 

 be sown where they are to bloom, or may be started in a moderate hot- 

 bed or cold-frame, and planted out when they become large enough 

 to transplant. The biennial kinds are the better for a slight protection, 

 such as evergreen boughs, in winter ; and of these, seed should be sown 

 every year to keep up a succession of bloom. The greenhouse species 

 root freely from cuttings in common loam and sand ; but the stove kinds 

 do better if Struck in bottom heat. 



All of them make good bedding plants, but the soil in the garden 



