200 HARDY PERENNIALS AND 



indebted to them; the great variety in colour and shade is as 

 remarkable as it is effective. The finer sorts are known as 

 " florists' flowers," being named. Whence they came (from which 

 species) is not so clear, but in other respects than form and habit 

 they are much in the way of P. paniculata. The Phlox family is 

 a numerous one, and the species are not only numerous but 

 extremely dissimilar, consisting of the dwarf woody trailers, or 

 P. procumbens section, the oval-leafed section (P. ovata), the 

 creeping or stolon-rooted (P. stolonifera) section, and the one now 

 under notice, which differs so widely that many have seemed 

 puzzled that these bold tall plants are so closely related to the 

 prostrate, "Whin-like species. The sub-divisions of the section 

 under notice, viz., early and late flowering varieties, in all other 

 respects except flowering period are similar, and any remarks 

 of a cultural nature are alike applicable. This favourite part of 

 the Phlox family is honoured with a specific name, viz., P. omni- 

 fiora (all varieties of flowers), but notwithstanding that it is a 

 most appropriate name it is seldom applied. 



As the flowers must be familiar to the reader, they need 

 hardly be described, and it is only necessary to mention the 

 general features. They are produced on tall leafy stems in 

 panicles of different forms, as pyramidal, rounded, or flattish; 

 the clusters of bloom are sometimes Sin. in diameter in rich soil ; 

 the corolla of five petals is mostly flat, the latter are of a velvety 

 substance, and coloured at their base, which in most varieties 

 forms the "eye;" the tube is fine and bent, so as to allow the 

 corolla to face upwards ; the calyx, too, is tubular, the segments 

 being deep and sharply cut ; the buds abound in small clusters, 

 and although the flowers are of a somewhat fugacious character, 

 their place is quickly supplied with new blossoms (the succession 

 being long maintained) which, moreover, have always a fresh 

 appearance from the absence of the faded parts. The leaves, as 

 indicated by the name suffruticosa, are arranged on half wood 

 stems, and, as implied by the name decussata, are arranged in 

 pairs, the alternate pairs being at right angles ; these names are 

 more in reference to the habit and form of the plants than the 

 period of flowering, which, however, they are sometimes used to 

 indicate ; the leaves of some early kinds are leathery and shining, 

 but for the most part they are herb -like and hairy, acutely lance- 

 s.haped, entire, and 2in. to 5in long. 



Under ordinary conditions these hybrid forms of Phlox grow 

 into neat bushy specimens of a willow-like appearance, 2ft. to 4ft. 

 high, but in well-prepared richly-manured quarters they will not 

 only grow a foot taller, but proportionally stouter, and also pro- 

 duce much finer panicles of bloom ; no flower better repays liberal 

 culture, and few there are that more deserve it. In the semi- 

 shade of trees, the more open parts of the shubbery, in borders, or 

 when special plantings are made, it is always the same cheerful 



