552 DICKSONIA. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



DIDISCUS. 



D. spectabilis. A beautiful plant, too 

 well known to need description, as nearly 

 every garden is adorned with its singular 

 flowers, which resemble rosy hearts, and, 

 in strings of a dozen or more, are grace- 

 fully borne on slender stalks. It succeeds 

 best in warm, light, rich soils, if in 

 sheltered positions, being liable to be cut 

 down by late spring frosts. It is moreover 

 suited for the mixed border, but is of such 

 remarkable beauty and grace that it may 

 be used with the best effect near the lower 

 flanks of rockwork, in bushy places near 

 it, or on low parts where the stone or 

 " rock " is suggested rather than shown. 

 It is worthy of naturalisation on light rich 

 soils by wood walks. It is also excellent 

 for mixed borders, and for snug corners 

 on the fringes of choice shrubs in peat, 

 as such soil suits it well. There is a 

 " white " variety, which is by no means 

 so ornamental, though worth growing for 

 variety's sake. Propagated by division in 

 autumn. 



The species are D. canadensis, N. Amer. 

 chrysantha, Calif. Cucullaria, N. Amer. 

 eximia, do. formosa, do. lachenalitzflora, 

 Siberia, ochroleuca, Calif, pauciflora, Calif. 

 pusilla, Japan. Roylei, Mts. of India, scan- 

 dens, do. spectabilis, Japan, thalictrifolia, 

 Mts. of India, torulosa, do. uniflora, N. 

 America. 



DICKSONIA. A noble evergreen 

 Tree Fern, D. antarctica having a stout 

 trunk, 30 ft. high or more, the fronds 

 forming a magnificent crown, often 20 to 

 30 ft. across. They are from 6 to 20 ft. 

 long, becoming pendulous with age. It is 

 the hardiest of Tree Ferns, and the most 

 suitable for the open air, in sheltered shady 

 dells. From the end of May to October. 

 In favourable localities it may even be left 

 out all the winter. 



D. punctilobula. A beautiful hardy 

 fern found in shady woods and moist 

 copses in North America, from New 

 Brunswick and Canada to the central 

 United States. Its graceful pale-green 

 fronds are I to 2 feet long and 5 to 9 

 inches broad, twice or thrice divided, 

 and carried upon roots which creep just 

 under the ground. The fronds are held 

 very erect upon hairy stems, are soft in 

 texture, and dry prettily in the autumn, 

 when the tiny glands on the under surface 

 give out a pleasing fragrance to which the 

 plant owes its name of the Hay-scented 

 Fern. It is hardy in Britain, thriving in 

 peaty or leafy soils in partial shade. Syn., 

 Dennstaedtia punctilobula. 



DICTAMNUS (Fraxinella). -- D. 

 Fraxinella is a favourite old plant, about 

 2 ft. high, forming dense tufts, flowers pale 



purple, and with darker lines (there is a 

 white form) borne in racemes in June and 

 July. This plant does best in a light soil. 

 It is propagated by seeds sown as soon as 

 they are ripe, or by its fleshy roots, which, 

 if cut into pieces, in spring, will form good 

 plants much quicker than seedlings. It 

 is a slow-growing plant in most gardens, 

 though it is freer in some warm soils, and 



Dictamnus Fraxinella. 



a very long-lived plant where it likes the 

 soil. It is at home in the sunny mixed 

 border among medium-sized plants. 

 Caucasian Mountains. 



DIDISCUS. A native of New Holland, 

 and from i to 2 ft. high. In D. casruleus 

 the stems are erect and much branched, 

 each branch terminating in a flat umbel of 

 small flowers, of a pleasing clear blue 

 colour, which are borne freely from 

 August to October. It is a half-hardy 

 annual, and requires rather careful treat- 

 ment, as it is impatient of excessive 

 moisture, especially in the early stages of 

 its growth. It requires to be raised in a 

 gentle hotbed, and the seedlings should 

 be transplanted in May to a warm friable 

 soil, in which they will flower freely. 

 Those who seek distinct and novel effects 

 might use this plant, as its pretty blue 

 flowers are uncommon in the Parsley 

 Order, which usually has pale flowers. A 

 little bed or groundwork would be charm- 

 ing if only as a change. Syn., Trachymene 

 coerulea. 



