122 



THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 



Hedera continued. 



FIG. 191. HEDERA HELIX R^GNERIANA. 



H. H. rhombea (rhomboid).* I. rhomboid, green, narrowly mar- 

 gined with creamy-white. A distinct form of medium, or, rather, 

 small size, and of somewhat slow growth. 



H. H. sagittaefolia (arrow-leaved). I. usually bluntly three- 

 lobed, the central lobe projecting forward in the form of a letter 

 V; colour a dull dark green, with a few patches of blackish- 

 bronze, which change, in autumn, to a rich purplish-bronze ; prin- 

 cipal veins light green. A free grower, of wiry habit. (S. H. 



H. H. scutifolia (shield-shaped-leaved). I. medium size, roundish 

 triangular, or obscurely three-lobed, dull green ; veins obscurely 

 marked. A distinct variety, but not a robust grower. SYN. 

 H. eordata. (S. H. Ivy, 74.) 



FIG. 192. HEDERA HELIX VARIEGATA. 



H. H. variegata (variegated). 



of our native Ivy, has lighter green leaves, 



This, one of the numerous 

 yy, has li_' 



ith creamy-white. It keeps very con- 

 or so handsome as 

 wall or an old tree 



variegated forms 



margined and blotched r _ 



stunt, and, although not so quick a grower or so liandsoine as 



ill 



some others, is well worth a place agai 

 trunk. See Fig. 192. 



H. H. Willscana (Wills's). This is a dark-leaved form, nearly 

 allied to H. H. lobata major, from which it differs in the veins 

 being less distinctly marked, and in the colour being much 

 darker in the summer, and in winter deepening to almost 

 black. SYN. //. ni<,ra. (S. H. Ivy, 62 and 72.) 



H. nlgra (black). A synonym of II. Helix Willseana. 



I. tricolor (three-coloured). A 

 rubra. 



lynonym of H. Helix marginata 



H. vlridis (green). A synonym of H. Helix alyeriensis. 



HEDEBACEJE. A name given to the order Araliacece. 



HEDGEHOG THISTLE. See EcMnocactus. 



HEDGE HYSSOP. See Gratiola. 



HEDGE MUSTARD. Sec Erysimnm. 



HEDGES. Hedges of various descriptions are exten- 

 sively planted in connection with gardens. They may 



Hedges continued. 



either form the boundary fence, or be intended for screens, 

 shelter, &c. Various shrubs and plants are available for 

 utilising, according as any one may succeed better than 

 another, or to suit the special requirement for which the 

 Hedge is intended. Different soils and localities must also 

 be taken into consideration. Box, Privet, Thuja, &c., suc- 

 ceed almost anywhere as Hedges, the last-named doing best 

 on rather heavy soil ; but neither is suited for anything 

 beyond a screen where there is a paling as well, or for 

 dividing one part of a garden from another. As a 

 boundary fence, Whitethorn and Beech, planted together 

 when young, and afterwards kept frequently cut in, form, 

 eventually, a Hedge which is practically impassable. Black- 

 thorn may also be similarly used, but it has the dis- 

 advantage of throwing up quantities of suckers from 

 creeping roots. The Myrobalan, or Cherry Plum (Prunus 

 cerasifera) is sometimes used, and forms, when esta- 

 blished, an excellent Hedge. It is, moreover, very attrac- 

 tive when in flower. Hornbeam grows quickly, and makes 

 a capital deciduous Hedge, either for a boundary or for 

 shelter. Common Laurel may also be planted for the 

 purpose, but it is liable to injury from severe frosts. Yew 

 and common Holly make the thickest and best Hedges for 

 shelter. The former is rather slow-growing, and both suc- 

 ceed best on a rich, rather heavy soil. Hollies transplant 

 readily in April or September, when of a good height; 

 consequently, a full-sized, thick Hedge may be at once 

 secured in necessary cases. When inserting young 

 plants, autumn or early spring should be selected for 

 the operation ; the ground should be previously well pre- 

 pared by trenching, and by the addition of a little manure, 

 if it is poor. In the case of a Hedge which is eventually to 

 be a boundary division for keeping cattle, &c., out of a 

 garden inclosure, a wooden fence will be requisite for some 

 time as well. This may be made of rough posts, with 

 long bars fitted in them. Thorns should be cut nearly 

 to the ground the first year, and stopped enough after- 

 wards to keep them thick at the bottom. They should 

 be trimmed once or twice each summer after becoming 

 established. Holly and Yew Hedges are usually clipped, 

 with shears, in September, when growth is completed. 

 Broad-leaved shrubs, such as Laurels, should be cut in 

 with a knife, in preference to shears, which sever the 

 leaves, rendering them unsightly, and the Hedge ex- 

 ceedingly formal. Young Hedges are much improved, 

 and their growth encouraged, when the soil is kept open 

 round their roots with a hoe or fork, which also destroys 

 weeds at the same time. 



HEDWIGIA (named after John Hedwig, 1730-1799, a 

 celebrated muscologist and Professor of Botany, at Leipsic). 

 SYNS. Caproxylon, Tetragastris. OBD. Burseracece. A 

 genus containing four or five species of glabrous trees, 

 natives of the West Indies, Northern Brazil, and Guiana. 

 H. balsamifera, the species best known to cultivation, is 

 a tall-growing stove evergreen tree, yielding an exudation 

 of a balsamic nature. It requires a sandy loam soil, with 

 a little peat added. Propagated by ripened cuttings, in- 

 serted in sandy soil, in a rather strong heat. 



H. balsamifera (balsam-bearing). /. whitish, small, in panicled 

 racemes. I. impari-pinnate, with stalked, quite entire, coriaceous 

 leaflets, h. 60ft. West Indies, 1820. 



HEDYCHIUM (from hedys, sweet, and chion, snow; 

 referring to the sweet-scented snow-white flowers of 

 H. coronarium, which was the first species introduced). 

 Indian Garland Flower. OBD. Scitamineas. A genus of 

 about twenty-five species of handsome stove herbaceous 

 plants, all natives of tropical Asia. They have terminal 

 spikes of white, scarlet, or yellow flowers, and fine foliage. 

 Some of the species, particularly H. Gardnerianum, thrive 

 well planted out in a wide conservatory border, in a com- 

 post of good loam enriched with a little thoroughly decayed 

 manure, and the whole rendered porous by the addition of 

 some sharp sand. Hedychiums are exceedingly ornamental. 



