LATHYRUS. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



LAVATERA. 



645 



fresh growths and a profusion of flowers. 

 If this way of growing Sweet Peas is 

 adopted, it is a good plan to put the seed 

 singly into small pots, and when the seed- 

 lings are strong enough to plant them 

 out ; in doing so make the ground very 

 firm about them they delight in firm 

 ground. If the weather be dry tread 

 well in." 



Sweet Peas do admirably in Scotland. 

 Mr. Brotherston thus writes concern- 

 ing his mode of treatment at Tynning- 

 hame : Mr. Eckford (the raiser of many 

 charming varieties of Sweet Peas) was 

 here a few weeks ago, and he confessed 

 to be unabje to grow them so fine. He 

 said that he had never previously seen the 

 flowers of his own Peas grown to so large 

 a size or so fine in colour. Grow the 

 plants singly, allowing each plenty of 

 room. If you are able to get plenty of 

 good loam, allow each plant one and a 

 half barrowfuls, and of leaf-soil half a 

 barrowful, incorporating these with the 

 top spit of the garden soil. Heavy dress- 

 ings of manure produce rank growth 

 when the plants are young. I prefer to 

 add manure as a surface dressing ; 

 my favourite manures for this purpose 

 being soot, pigeon manure, superphos- 

 phate of lime and sulphate of ammonia. 

 Peat litter, which has passed through a 

 stable, is also good. Manure water will 

 of course be also beneficial. For train- 

 ing on, nothing is more satisfactory than 

 a dead Spruce Fir for each plant. Pinch- 

 ing is important, as it not only keeps the 

 plant within bounds, but all through the 

 season it causes the formation of young 

 flowering growths. Seeding is so fatal to 

 the production of bloom, and exhausts the 

 energies of the plant so rapidly and 

 immediately, that in hot weather I should 

 not hesitate to remove every flower and 

 opening bud rather than risk leaving 

 them to form seed-pods. A position little 

 exposed to continuous sunshine will be 

 advantageous. I would make a late sow- 

 ing about the middle of June, or perhaps 

 even later, always, however, allowing 

 each plant plenty of room. Some sorts 

 are less given to form seed-pods than 

 others. Captain of the Blues and Car- 

 dinal produce seed the most freely here. 

 Orange Prince, Countess of Radnor, Mrs. 

 Sankey, and Blanche Burpee are shy to set. 



OTHER ANNUAL PEAS. Though none 

 of the other annual kinds of Lathyrus 

 rival the Sweet Pea, there are several 

 pretty ones. Of these the Tangier Pea 

 (L. tingitanus) grows about 3 ft. high, and 

 has small dark red-purple flowers ; the 

 Chickling Vetch (L. sativus) has flowers 



varying from pure white to deep purple. 

 The variety azureus is a remarkably elegant 

 dwarf 'kind with many clear blue flowers ; 

 L. s. coloratus has flowers, white, purple, 

 and blue ; L. Gorgoni, about 2 ft. high, 

 pale salmon-coloured flowers ; L. articu- 

 latus, Clymenum, and calcaratus are other 

 pretty kinds for borders. 



LAURUS (Poefs Laurel}. L. nobilis 

 is generally known as Sweet Bay, but 

 its true name Laurel should be kept, 

 for it is the true Poet's Laurel, the 

 vigorous Cherry Laurel having wrongly 

 taken the name. Perhaps there is no 

 evergreen shrub we oftener see in cottage 

 and other little gardens. In England it 

 is hardy over large areas, if it suffers 

 occasionally, especially on cold soils, 

 where the ripening of the shoots is not 

 completed. Gardeners in the larger 

 places rather neglect it, and seldom 

 plant it in groups and colonies, as they 

 might well do on dry banks. The plant 

 is interesting in every way for its associa- 

 tions as well as for it3 beauty. There 

 are several slight varieties, in addition to 

 the common form. It requires some care 

 in transplanting or it will be a long time 

 rooting well. Warm and sheltered places 

 are best for it, if possible on sandy or free 

 soil ; and it might be planted in different 

 aspects with advantage. 



In northern and central Europe it is 

 grown to an enormous extent in tubs, as 

 in these countries it is quite a tender plant, 

 and the same thing may sometimes be 

 worth doing in colder and more inland 

 and northern parts of our islands, where 

 this handsome evergreen is often cut down 

 by frost. 



L. sassafras, which used to be in- 

 cluded in this genus, is now referred to 

 Sassafras. 



LAVATERA ( Tree Mallow}. For the 

 most part vigorous and somewhat coarse 

 annuals, biennials, and perennials, few of 

 great value in the garden. The most 

 useful is L. trimestris, a beautiful South 

 European annual, from 2 to 3 ft, high, 

 bearing in summer large pale rose or white 

 blossoms, thriving in rich and light soil. 

 It may be sown in the open border in 

 autumn or early spring. Among the 

 taller kinds the best is L. arborea, which 

 has the look of a small tree, in the 

 southern counties sometimes 10 ft. high. 

 The stem branches into a broad, compact, 

 roundish, and very leafy head. In rich 

 well-drained beds it would be a worthy 

 companion for the Ricinus and the Cannas. 

 It is most at home on dry' soils, but during 

 the summer months it does on all kinds 

 of soil. A biennial, it should be raised 



