Hardy and Half-hardy Plants 41 



rose purple; purpurascens, pale yellow tinted purple; and revolutum, pink 

 to deep purple, with several varieties. They all flower between February 

 and May, and are excellent for pot culture in cold greenhouses. Propaga- 

 tion, chiefly by offsets from the older bulbs, may be practised after the 

 foliage has died down each year. 



Eschscholtzia californica (CALIFOHNIAN POPPY). A free-flowering and 

 popular Californian annual with grey-green finely divided leaves and 

 bright orange-yellow flowers. There are now many charming and much- 

 improved varieties, such as Carter's Carmine King, with beautiful carmine- 

 rose-coloured flowers; Mandarin, orange crimson; Rose Cardinal, delicate 

 bright rose; Golden West, almost entirely orange ; and others. The ordinary 

 form is little better than a weed, but the other varieties make charming 

 border flowers, and are easily raised from seeds sown about the middle of 

 March and thinned out about 1 ft. apart. 



Eucomis. Large bulbous-rooted plants from South Africa, almost hardy, 

 and best grown in south borders at the base of a warm wall in rich well- 

 drained soil. They have large bulbs, strap-shaped rosettes of leaves mottled 

 beneath, and fleshy spikes of starry flowers. They are best increased by 

 offsets. The following kinds are known: bicolor, greenish yellow; guttata, 

 3 ft, greenish white and purple; punctata, 3-4 ft., similar; and regia, 2-3 ft, 

 white all blooming in late summer and autumn. 



Eupatorium ageratoides. This is a fine hardy plant about 4 ft. high, 

 with dense feathery masses of white Ageratum-like flowers in August and 

 September. It grows freely in any soil, and may be increased by division 

 or seeds. 



The following species are best grown in a greenhouse, and may be 

 propagated from cuttings inserted in sandy soil in spring: atrorubens, 

 reddish purple; probum, white; riparium, white, red stems; trapezoideum 

 (or adenophorum), white, tall-growing. 



Euphorbia. There are several species of hardy Spurge worts, all easily 

 grown in ordinary soil, and increased from seeds or division. The best 

 selling kinds are capitata, 6 in., yellow; Cyparissias, the Cypress Spurge, 

 1-2 ft, with narrow leaves and dense masses of yellowish-green roundish 

 bracts (commonly called flowers); epithymoides, 1 ft, golden yellow; 

 Lathyris, 3 ft., the Caper Spurge, greenish-yellow; Myrsinites, 9 in. golden- 

 yellow; and Wulfeni, a fine plant with dense heads of greenish-yellow cup- 

 like bracts. 



Everlasting 1 Flowers. This name has been given several plants the 

 flowers of which retain their colour and shape for several months in a 

 dried state. Amongst the best "Everlastings" are the following: 



Helichrysum monstrosum, a South African plant 2-3 ft high, having 

 double flower heads of golden yellow, crimson, white, rose, sulphur yellow, 

 violet, and orange red, &c., which are freely produced in open sunny situa- 

 tions or under glass. H. arenarium, 6-12 in. high, has golden-yellow 

 flowers; and H. bracteatum, a beautiful Australian annual, 3-4 ft high, 

 has flower heads varying from pure white to rose, light and pale yellow. 



