422 AGAPANTHUS. THE ENGLISH -FLOWER GARDEN. 



.AGROSTEMMA. 



alpine half-shrubby plants. As the stems 

 are prostrate, a good effect will come 

 from planting them where the roots 

 may descend into deep earth, and the 

 shoots fall over the face of rocks at about 

 the level of the eye. Easily raised from 

 seed, and thrive in sandy loam. There 

 are many species, but few are in gardens. 

 All the cultivated kinds are dwarf, and 

 may be grouped with alpine plants. The 

 other best kinds are A. coridifolium, A. 

 pulchellum, A. persicum. 



AGAPANTHUS(4A-zVaZz7y). Beau- 

 tiful bulbous plants from the Cape, with blue 

 or white flowers in umbels on stems 18 in. 

 to 4 ft. high. A. umbellatus, the old kind, 

 is hardy in some mild seashore districts, 

 and a fine plant in rich warm soil, but 

 better for the protection of leaves or 

 cocoa fibre round the root in winter. It 

 is worth growing for the flower garden 

 and vases in summer, but should be pro- 

 tected in winter by storing under stages, 

 in sheds or cellars. The fleshy roots may 

 be so stored without potting. Enjoysplenty 

 of water during out-of-door growth, and is 

 easily increased by division. Various new 

 kinds have been introduced, but their out- 

 of-door value has not been so well tested 

 as the favourite old African Lily. Of the 

 best-known kind, A. umbellatus, there 

 are several varieties ; major and maximus 

 are both larger than the type, and of 

 maximus there is a white-flowered variety. 

 There is a smaller one with white flowers, 

 one with double flowers, and variegated- 

 leaved kinds. A. Saundersonianus is a 

 distinct variety with deeper-coloured 

 flowers than the type. 



The largest is A. umbellatiis giganteus, 

 the flower-spikes of which attain a height 

 of from 3 ft. to 4 ft., with umbels bearing 

 from 150 to 200 flowers. The colour is a 

 gentian blue, while the buds are of a deeper 

 hue. A. u. pallidus is a pale porcelain 

 blue, a short-leaved variety. A. u. minor 

 is a dwarf variety. Of A. umbellatus 

 there is a double-flowered variety, a dis- 

 tinct plant. There is, moreover, A. u. 

 atrocosruleus, a dark violet variety. A. u. 

 maximus has flower-stalks 4 ft. long, and 

 full heads of flowers, one set opening while 

 a second is rising to fill up the truss as 

 the first crop fades. A. u. Mooreanus, 

 deciduous and hardy ; it grows from 12 in. 

 to 1 8 in. high, has narrow leaves, and 

 comes true from seed. A, u. albiflorus, 

 a pure white kind, also is deciduous, the 

 leaves turning yellow in autumn and dying 

 off. It forms a stout root-crown. 



AGATH^A (BlueDaisy\A. ccelestis 

 is a tender spreading Daisy-like plant, with 

 blue flowers useful for the margins of beds. 



There is also a pretty golden variegated 

 form. It is among the prettiest of the 

 half-hardy bedding plants, but is not so 

 effective or good on heavy soils. Cuttings 

 or seed. 



AGAVE. Tropical-looking succulent 

 plants of the Amaryllis order, of which 

 the common kind, A. aniericana, and its 

 variegated varieties are useful for placing 

 out-of-doors in summer in vases or pots 

 plunged in the ground, and also for 

 the conservatory in winter. When the 

 plant flowers, which it does only once, 

 and after several years' growth, it sends 

 up a flowering stem from 26 ft. to nearly 

 40 ft. high. The flowers are a yellowish- 

 green, and are very numerous on the ends 

 of the chandelier-like branches. It may 

 be placed out-of-doors at the end of May, 

 and should be brought in in October. 

 Easily increased from suckers. A. Deserti, 

 utahensis, ccerulescens, and Shawi have 

 lately come into cultivation, and are 

 supposed to be hardy, in which case they 

 will be interesting for the rock-garden. 

 North America. A . applanata var. Parryi 

 is said also to be hardy. 



AGERATUM (Floss Flower}. Half- 

 hardy herbaceous plants, varying in height 

 from 6 in. to 24 in., with pale-blue, laven- 

 der, or white blossoms. The dwarf Agera- 

 tums are among the best, but all are great- 

 ly overvalued, though they are among the 

 most lasting of summer bedding plants, 

 and as they will withstand a few degrees 

 of frost they may be planted out earlier 

 than most of the bedding plants. The 

 flowers are not readily injured by rain, and 

 do not fade in colour, but continue the same 

 throughout the long flowering season. 

 There are numerous varieties of varying 

 merit, some in good soil attaining a height 

 of 2 ft., and others not more than 6 in. 

 The very dwarf kinds are disappointing ; 

 they flower so freely, and the growth of 

 the plants is so sparse, that they always 

 appear stunted. For back lines in bor- 

 ders, or for grouping in mixed flower 

 borders, there is no variety better than 

 the oldest kind, A. mexicanum. They strike 

 best when placed on a gentle bottom-heat, 

 and will winter in any position where there 

 is plenty of light, and the temperature 

 does not go below 40. Cuttings. W. W. 



AGRpSTEMMA (Rose Campion). A. 

 coronaria is a beautiful old flower, of the 

 Pink family, hardy and free, most at home 

 in chalky and dry soils. It is a woolly 

 plant, 2 ft. to 3 ft. high, bearing many 

 rosy-crimson flowers, in summer and 

 autumn, easily raised from seed, excellent 

 for borders, beds, and naturalisation on dry 

 banks. It is biennial or often perishes on 



