232 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



health and vigour at Park Place, Henley-on-Thames. Mr. Stanton, 

 the gardener, raised a batch from seed, and it was surprising 

 what fine plants they became in fifteen months. The plant is 

 quite as effective ' in a conservatory in winter as out-of-doors in 

 summer. 



In the illustration of a bold mass of fine leaved plants near Hyde 

 Park Corner, we see some of the best features of recent fine-leaved 

 gardening. It had a great Abyssinian Plantain in the middle, and 

 was fringed by a few sub-tropical plants, and edged by an extra- 



Fine-leaved herbaceous plant (Plantain Lily). 



ordinary fringe of the fine hardy Siebold's Plantain Lily, long- 

 enduring in beauty. The reason of the success of this bed is clear ; 

 it was not a finicking angle or a wormy scrawl, but a bold circle, and 

 presented no confusion to the observer, who simply saw the plants 

 rising in a well-defined group from the turf. It was by itself, could 

 be seen unopposed, and was not hedged in by a lot of other beds. 

 Lastly, the plant forms were strong and well selected, and contrasted 

 well with the ordinary tree vegetation near. The way in which the 

 Plantain Lilies began early in the year to adorn the spot, and continued 



