Lobelia plants that have gone over, or for grouping where colour is 

 and wanted. Down a Rose Pergola, for instance, one may be 

 Penstemon sun k at every post ; the green Rose sprays make a good back- 

 ground to their upright growth, and if the dead flowers are 

 picked off they will flower from the end of July to the 

 beginning of November. 



Lobelia cardinalis and L. fulgens both flower the 

 same year from seed sown early in heat, but they are really 

 perennial, and should be stored in a cold frame through the 

 Winter, and kept rather dry while they are at rest. Lobelia 

 fulgens or splendens is the handsomer variety, as the foliage 

 and stems are dark plum colour ; it is more delicate than 

 cardinalis, being apt to die from disease in the Winter if not 

 carefully looked after and all signs of rust cut away. When 

 planted out in the early Summer they need a moist, leafy soil, 

 and plenty of water. The stock can be increased by standing 

 a few plants in heat early in the Spring and making cuttings of 

 the young shoots, which will become good flowering plants the 

 same year. Their handsome red spikes, set off by the dark 

 leaves, are very effective, and are worth massing in beds by 

 themselves, with Gannas and Castor Oil plants, or with plants 

 of a cooler tone, such as Variegated Maize or Hyacinthus 

 Candicans. 



The Hybrid Penstemons also make rich beds through the 

 Autumn, the shape and setting of the flower-heads reminding 

 one of Foxgloves. They are easily raised from seed sown 

 in heat early in the year ; the young plants should be put out 

 in May in a well-drained bed of good rich soil, and will flower 

 well through the Summer and up to the end of November. 

 We cannot rely on them here to stand the Winter ; those that 



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