214 BRECK'S BOOK OF FLOWERS. 



dark-purple, rose, scarlet, crimson, white, white with red eye, 

 scarlet with purple eye, rosy with red eye, shaded, striped, &c.; 

 in fact, every shade of the colors named. The habits of all are 

 similar, naturally prostrate creeping plants, taking root freely 

 wherever the stems come in contact with the ground, arid send- 

 ing forth innumerable clusters of their many-hued, brilliant 

 flowers from May to November. 



It is kept with difficulty through the winter, except in rooms 

 or in the green-house. In the cellar the roots soon perish ; nor 

 are any of them quite hardy enough to stand the winter. 



They are all so easily raised from cuttings that they can be 

 obtained at any green-house, for about two dollars a dozen for 

 small plants, which, when turned into the ground in June, soon 

 make large plants, and by October will be three feet across. 

 They continue to flower after severe frosts, and are among the 

 last lingering flowers of autumn. 



They flower from seed sown in the open ground, in May, the 

 same season, commencing their bloom in August. Seedling 

 plants produce seed in abundance, but those that have been a 

 long time propagated from cuttings lose that power in a great 

 measure. There is no end to the variety from seedling plants. 

 To have them come early in flower, the seed may be brought 

 forward in the frame. No plant equals the Verbena for masses, 

 particularly when grown in beds cut out on lawns, as the bril- 

 liancy of the flowers contrasts finely with the green grass. 



VIOLA. 



Viola tricolor has already been treated of as a biennial or 

 perennial ; it may also be considered as an annual, as it flowers 

 finely the first year. See page 157. 



