THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. ^THIONEMA. 421 



a shrub or twiggy branch, placed either 

 against a wall or in the open. 



ADONIS (Pheasants Eye}. Beautiful 

 perennial or biennial plants, belonging to 

 the Buttercup order, chiefly natives of 

 cornfields in Europe and Western Asia, 

 dwarf, with finely divided leaves, and red, 

 yellow, or straw-coloured flowers. A. 

 vernalis (Ox-Eye) is a handsome Alpine 

 herb, forming dense tufts 8 in. to 15 in. 



Adonis pyrenaica. 



high of finely divided leaves in whorls 

 along the stems, blooming in spring, 

 with large, yellow, Anemone-like flowers 

 3 in. in diameter. Of A. vernalis there 

 are several varieties, the chief being A. 

 v. sibirica, which differs in having larger 

 flowers. A. apennina is a later-blooming 

 form, and is a good plant for moist spots 

 on the rock-garden. A. pyrenaica is from 

 the Eastern Pyrenees, but with broader 

 petals. A. amurensis is a new kind from 

 Manchuria, with finely cut leaves, bloom- 

 ing with the snowdrop, and seems to be 

 of easy culture. A. Davurica is a very 

 early kind. A. autumnalis is a pretty 

 bright-coloured annual. 



The rock-garden or borders of sandy 

 loam suits the perennial kinds well. 

 Division, or by seed sown as soon as 

 gathered. 



.S1SCULUS (Horse Chestnut, Buckeye}. 

 The Horse Chestnuts are mostly me- 

 dium-sized trees, hardy in nearly every 

 soil, and excellent for park and garden. 

 The common variety is an exception as to 



size, and one of the most beautiful of 

 flowering trees. There is at least one 

 handsome variety of it with very long 

 spikes. The red Buckeye (;E. Pavia) 

 is a handsome small tree, with dense and 

 large foliage, together with bright red 

 flowers in large loose clusters in early 

 summer. Sometimes it rises from 15 to 

 20 ft. high, but some of its varieties are 

 only low-spreading or trailing shrubs. ;E, 

 humilis, pendula, arguta, and laciniata 

 are forms of^\ Pavia, and the plants 

 are useful for grouping with taller trees. 

 ;E. flava (the yellow Buckeye) is common, 

 and sometimes 40 ft. high. It has some- 

 thing of the habit of the red Horse Chest- 

 nut (s. rubicunda), but smoother leaves. 

 A variety called purpurascens (sometimes 

 jE. discolor) has much showier flowers, 

 larger, and of a reddish tint. The yEsculi, 

 named in gardens and nurseries as jE. 

 neglecta, hybrida, pubescens, Lyoni, rosea, 

 and pallida, may be included in one of 

 the foregoing species, and some differ 

 but slightly from them. They are all low 

 trees or large shrubs, coming into leaf 

 early and losing their foliage in early 

 autumn, especially in light or dry soils. 

 One of the best of all the forms is the 

 brightly-coloured ^E. Brioti. A distinct 

 species is the Californian Buckeye (/. 

 californica), which in this country does 

 not usually rise above shrub height. It 

 has slender-stalked leaves, broad leaf- 

 lets, and in early summer dense erect 

 clusters of white or pinkish fragrant 

 flowers ; a valuable hardy tree. Quite 

 different from the rest is the North 

 American ;E. parviflora (dwarf Horse 

 Chestnut), a handsome shrub, 6 ft. to 

 10 ft. high, flowering in late summer. Its 

 foliage is much like that of other yEsculi, 

 and its small white fragrant flowers are 

 in long, erect, plume-flowers. A variety 

 of the preceding, AZ. macrostachya, is an 

 August-blooming North American shrub 

 of great beauty. The growth is spreading 

 and bushy, with creamy white flowers in 

 dense plumy spikes. A specimen on the 

 outskirts of the lawn is effective. We have 

 grouped the Pavias with the yEsculus. 



JETHIONEMA. A beautiful group of 

 Alpine and rock plants found on the 

 sunny mountains near the Mediterra- 

 nean. They grow freely in borders of 

 well-drained sandy loam, but their true 

 home is the rock-garden. The tall JE. 

 grandiftorum forms a spreading bush 

 about r ft. high, from which spring 

 numerous racemes of pink and lilac 

 flowers. It also grows well in borders 

 in ordinary soil, and, when in flower 

 in summer, is among the loveliest of 



