68 Subtropical Gardening. 



graceful. It is of course best suited for warm, free, and 

 good soils, and abhors clay, though it is quite possible to 

 grow it even on that with a little attention to the prepa- 

 ration of the ground. But it is in all cases better to 

 avoid things that will not grow freely and gracefully on 

 whatever soil we may have to deal with : and it is to 

 those having gardens on good sandy soils, and in the 

 warmer parts of England, that I would specially recom- 

 mend this grand variegated subject. For a centre to a 

 circular bed nothing can surpass it in the summer and 

 autumn flower-garden, while numerous other charming 

 uses may be made of it. Not the least happy of these 

 would be to plant a tuft of it on the green turf, in a 

 warm spot, near a group of choice shrubs, to help, with 

 many other things named, to fill up the gap that is now 

 nearly everywhere observed between ordinary fleeting 

 flowers and the taller tree and shrub vegetation. It is 

 better to leave the plant in the ground, in a permanent 

 position, than to take it up annually. Protect the roots 

 in the winter, whether it be planted in the middle of a 

 flower-bed or by itself in a little circle on the grass. 

 Increased by placing a shoot or stem in a tank of water, 

 when little plants with roots will soon start from every 

 joint ; they should be cut off, potted, and placed in 

 frames, where they will soon become strong enough for 

 planting out. 



*Arundo Phragmites (Common Reed}. A native 

 marsh- or water-plant, 5 ft. or 6 ft. high, bearing when in 

 flower a large, handsome, spreading, purplish panicle. The 

 stems are smooth, simple, very erect, and grow closely 

 together. The plant is only attractive when in flower, as 



