THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



JANK/EA. 631 



IXIA. Charming South African bulbs, 

 slender and elegant in growth, and 

 brilliant in flower. They are not grown 

 much because some are tender and 

 require glass protection. For culture 

 outdoors, choose a light loamy soil, 

 thoroughly drained, and with a due south 

 aspect ; if backed by a wall or a green- 

 house, so much the better. Plant from 

 September to January, 3 to 4 in. deep, 

 and i to 3 in. apart. As the early plant- 

 ings make foliage during the autumn, it is 

 necessary to give protection during severe 

 frost, and this may be best accomplished 

 by hooping the beds over and covering 

 when necessary with mats ; or if tiffany is 

 used it may be allowed to remain till the 

 danger of severe frosts has ceased. The 

 December and January plantings require 

 no protection in winter, but as they will 

 flower later in the summer than the early 

 plantings, an aspect where the sun's rays 

 are somewhat broken will prolong the 

 blooming period. On stiff soil, or on 

 soils that lie rather wet in winter, the 

 beds should be raised, and the bulbs 

 should be surrounded with sand, care 

 being taken that they are planted i or 

 2 in. above the level of the path ; and, 

 where protection cannot conveniently be 

 given, planting should not take place till 

 December or January. A large number 

 of varieties are in cultivation, and the 

 chief species from which they appear to 

 be derived are /. crateroides, patens, 

 metadata, fusco-citrina, ochroleuca, colu- 

 mellaiis, speciosa, and viridiflora, which 

 last is of a beautiful sea-green, a colour 

 quite unique among cultivated plants, 

 and in no case to be omitted. A collec- 

 tion of varieties might include the follow- 

 ing : Achievement, Amanda, aurantiaca, 

 Cleopatra, Conqueror, Duchess of Edin- 

 burgh, Gracchus, Hercules, Hypatia, 

 Isabelle, Lady of the Lake, Lesbia, 

 Loela, Miralba, Nosegay, Pallas, Pearl, 

 Princess Alexandra, Sunbeam, Surprise, 

 Titian, and Vulcan. 



IXIOLIRION (Ixla Lily}. Beautiful 

 plants of the Amaryllis Order somewhat 

 resembling each other, and about i to i^ ft. 

 high, with grassy foliage, and bearing large 

 trumpet-shaped flowers in a loose, elegant 

 manner. /. Pallasi has flowers of the 

 deepest shade, and /. tataricum of the 

 palest, the intermediate shades being /. 

 montanum and /. Ledebouri. Such 

 beautiful hardy plants are deserving of 

 a place in the most select collection, and 

 the flowers last long on the plants. They 

 should be treated like the rarer bulbs, 

 such as Calochorti, Habranthi, and 

 Zephyranthes, for though they may be 



hardy, it is not advisable to plant out 

 such rare bulbs in ordinary borders. 

 They should be grown in an open and 

 dry position in a sunny border, for 

 example, which is all the better with a 

 wall at the back, so as to catch all the 

 sun-heat possible in early spring, when 

 the bulbs are pushing up their young 

 leaves. The border should be well 

 drained, and a bed of light, rich 

 loamy soil, about I ft. in depth, placed 

 upon the drainage. When the young 

 growth appears, place a common hand- 

 light over the plants even two panes of 

 glass will be beneficial and if similar 

 protection is afforded at the latter part of 

 summer, it will tend to keep the soil dry 

 and warm, and so ripen the bulbs. A 

 handful of dry sharp sand placed in a 

 layer under and around the bulbs is 

 conducive to the formation of roots. 

 Western Asia. 



JABOE-OSA (/. intezrifolia).b.T\ in- 

 teresting dwarf perennial, allied to the 

 Mandrake, growing 9 to 12 in. high, with 

 broad leaves, and white tubular flowers 

 about 2 in. long, fragrant and handsome. 

 A native of Buenos Ayres, it is somewhat 

 tender, only succeeding in light warm 

 soils in sheltered situations, and is best 

 close to the foot of a south wall in warm 

 loamy soil. Here it makes a good plant, 

 sometimes spreading so rapidly as to 

 become a weed. Division of the long 

 creeping stems. Solanacese. 



JAMESIA. (/. americana). A dwarf 

 shrub from the Rocky Mountains, about 3 

 ft. high, summer-leafing, many clusters of 

 white flowers. It is hardy, of easy cul- 

 ture, and fitted for association with 

 flowering shrubs of a medium size, but is 

 of no high garden value in view of the 

 many handsome hardy shrubs we possess. 



JANK.32A. /. Heldreicki\* one of the 

 prettiest of the Ramondia family, a native 



Janksea Heldreichi. 



