12 MIDSUMMER AND AUTUMN FLOWERING SHRUBS. 



de Brabant with very full flowers of reddish lilac color may also be 

 regarded as an acquisition, while Leopold!! flore pleno with large, double 

 flesh-colored blooms, together with Totus albus, having single snowy white 

 flowers, are, I think, all destined to become favorites so soon as known. A 

 few of the older varieties like the Double Variegated or Painted Lady, 

 PSBOniflora, and the Double Red, cannot yet be dispensed with. They 

 flower from the first of August till the first of October. In this latitude an 

 objection is sometimes raised to the Althaea, because it is said to winter- 

 kill in severe seasons. This occurs, however, only with young plants or 

 with specimens- recently transplanted, which are not yet fully established. 

 Young plants should be protected with straw or evergreen boughs the first 

 and second winter after being set out, and as soon as they are well rooted 

 they become perfectly hardy. 



Another real treasure which all plant lovers esteem highly, on account of its 

 many good qualities, is the 



Hydrangea panieulata grandiflora, or Plum- 

 ed Hydrangea, 



Planted singly or assembled in groups or masses, it becomes in August 

 and September, when in full bloom, a real curiosity to many, while 

 to others fully impressed with its magnificence, it is a noble object deserving 

 the highest praise it is possible to bestow on any hardy plant. A circular 

 bed of this shrub occupying a prominent position on our lawn, has been 

 the object of so much attention every year that I furnished a brief descrip- 

 tion, of it for the London Garden. The plants composing the bed were in 

 full flower on my return from Europe two years ago, and I wrote the Editor, 

 Mr. Robinson, that notwithstanding the many remarkable and effective 

 beds of flowering and fine foliage plants which I had seen abroad, I thought 

 nothing equaled this. " The mass consists of thirty-five plants, with a broad 

 edging of the Coleus ' Shah ' around it. The contrast between the green 

 grass, the crimson and yellow foliage of the Coleus, and the immense white 

 and pink panicles of the Hydrangea, was novel and beautiful. I have often 

 seen and admired large single specimens of this Hydrangea, but masses like 

 this are uncommon, and I call attention to this manner of planting as it 

 tends greatly to heighten the effect and increase the attractiveness of this 

 noble shrub." A few hints relative to its culture and management may not 

 be amiss. Being a robust, rank grower, and a very free bloomer, it requires 

 to be well fed. The more food the larger will be the panicles, the greater 

 their number, and the longer they will remain in perfection. I think that I do 

 not exaggerate when I say that most cultivators actually starve this plant, 

 and this fact explains why fine specimens are not oftener seen. A top 

 dressing of the very best manure should be given the plants every fall, and 

 in spring as early as possible, it should be incorporated with the earth by 

 means of the spading fork. During the dry summer weather, when the 

 earth around the plants is apt to become hard, it should be loosened and 

 made mellow. If drouth should prevail at the flowering period, which is 

 generally the case, then apply water liberally every evening. Another im- 

 portant operation connected with its management, is the pruning of the 

 plant every spring. This should be performed early, say in March before 

 the sap begins to move, and the stem should be cut back within two or 



