RIBBON-PLANTING. 



424 



RICINUS. 



of all. Ribbons are also very pretty 

 planted with annuals, as Phlox Drum- 

 mondiiy stocks, asters, zinnias, xeranthe- 

 mums, and sweet peas, all which graduate 

 in height and vary in colour. These may 

 be raised in frames in March and planted 

 out in May, or sown in the open ground in 

 May. Hardy annuals may be sown early 

 in spring, and be allowed to flower, and 

 then followed by bedding-plants or by 

 biennials, which are best sown in May 

 and planted out. Hardy herbaceous plants 

 alone may keep a border perpetually gay, 

 but are not well suited for massing. They 

 hould, however, be arranged with regard 

 o height and colour. Pansies, daisies, 

 primroses, selines, &c. , being dwarf ; pinks, 

 cloves, carnations, veronicas, &c., taller ; 

 phloxes, various sorts of campanulas, 

 chrysanthemums, &c. ; starworts, rudbeck- 

 kias, c., being tallest of all. Plants of 

 this class flower at various times of the year, 

 from early spring to late in the autumn. 

 When spring-flowering bulbs are mixed up 

 with them, it is not advisable to plant them 

 near the edge of the beds. Plant them far 

 back ; as they flower when the borders are 

 comparatively bare, they are sure to be seen 

 to advantage ; and the long grassy leaves 

 do not disfigure the borders after they have 

 flowered. Late bulbs, as gladiolus and 

 lilies, being tall, should be placed far 

 enough back to correspond with the other 

 plants. A very good effect may be pro- 

 duced by planting a ribbon-border or clump 

 with plants of ornamental foliage. These 

 look better than most people would imagine. 

 The very commonest and cheapest of plants 

 may be made use of; for instance, a front 

 row of variegated arabis, which is a very 

 common, hardy, herbaceous plant ; second 

 row, Henderson's beet, treated as an 

 annual. This is a dwarf, and very bright 

 crimson-coloured sort, and grows about 

 eight or ten inches high ; third row, 

 Antenaria, or variegated mint ; fourth row, 



Perilla nankinensis annual ; fifth row, 

 ribbon-grass ; sixth row, purple orach, 

 otherwise, Atriplex rubra. These graduate 

 in height and colour, have a very pretty 

 effect, and last the whole summer and 

 autumn. 



Ribes (nat. ord. Saxifra'gese). 



A genus of pretty shrubs akin to the 

 currant and gooseberry, hardy, deciduous 

 perennials, bearing red, white, yellow, and 

 green florets, clustered together in racemes. 

 They are easily propagated by means of 



layers and cuttings, and thrive in any ordi- 

 nary garden soil. They are treated in the 

 same way as gooseberries and currants, and 

 are subject to the same pests. Ribes san- 

 guineuniy or the flowering currant, with 

 pendant racemes of pink flowers, some- 

 times deepening to light crimson, and R. 

 Grossilaria, or the flowering gooseberry, 

 with greenish yellow flowers, are the best- 

 tnown varieties, and most used as garden 

 shrubs. 



Richardia .flCthiopica. See Arum, 



or Calla. 



Ri'cillUS (nat. ord. Euphorbia'cese). 



A magnificent and highly ornamental 

 genus of half-hardy annuals, whose pictur- 

 esque foliage and stately growth (6 to 10 

 "eet in height), combined with the brilliant 



