THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



PHLOX. 



745 



minated by a cluster of large showy 

 deep rose flowers very useful for cutting. 

 P. ovata has broader leaves, while P. 

 nitida is also handsome. P. glaberrima is 

 far less important. These kinds flower in 

 summer, in ordinary soil and an open spot. 

 P. pilosa is a pretty plant i to 2 ft. 

 high, large flat clusters of white, pink, or 

 purple flowers, ^ to in. in diameter, 

 appearing from June to August. It is one 

 of the rarest of cultivated Phloxes, though 

 a spurious kind is sometimes sold for it. 

 The true plant reminds one of P. Drum- 

 mondi. Another rare species is the true 

 P. bifida, an elegant plant, the flowers 

 bluish-purple. 



P. reptans (Creeping Phlox]. This is 

 a beautiful little plant sending up numbers 

 of stems from 4 to 6 in. at the end of 

 April or beginning of May, each bearing 

 from five to eight deep-rose flowers. It is 

 useful on the rock-garden or border, and 

 makes pretty tufts of soft woolly foliage 

 round beds of hardy plants, thriving 

 in peat or light soils. In some soils, 

 especially in the south of England, this 

 little plant burns in the sun and loses its 

 leaves ; it should then have a moist and 

 shady place on the rock-garden. Syn., P. 

 verna and P. stolonifera. 



P. setacea is sometimes considered the 

 same as P. subulata, but its leaves are 

 longer and farther apart on its trailing 

 stems, the whole plant being less rigid. 

 The flowers are of a charming soft rosy- 

 pink, and have delicate markings at the 

 mouth of the tube. P. s. violacea is a 

 handsome Scotch variety, more lax in 

 growth and with deeper coloured flowers, 

 almost crimson. Both the variety and 

 the type are lovely plants for the rock- 

 garden, where, with roots deeply seated 

 among the fissures and enjoying coolness 

 and moisture, they thrive luxuriantly in 

 any amount of sunshine. 



P. Stellaria. This little plant is 

 often confused with P. subulata, but is 

 quite distinct, with much longer, narrow, 

 pale green leaves, and white flowers. 

 There are several fine garden varieties 

 belonging here, with lilac or mauve 

 flowers on dark wiry stems, their petals 

 set starwise. They flower in May and 

 June, and are exceedingly beautiful in 

 masses, but they do not hug the ground 

 like the more mossy forms of subulata. 

 The kind called lilacina in particular is so 

 strong that it is best used by itself, or its 

 stems overrun the dwarfer kinds. Its 

 leaves are beautifully clean-looking and 

 healthy, and the charming pale mauve 

 flowers are carried in profusion. Other 

 good kinds belonging to this group are 



Annulata, bluish-white and purple ; Atro- 

 lilacina ; Bridesmaid, white shaded lilac ; 

 Eventide, bluish-white ; Newry Seedling, 

 very pale mauve ; and Seraph, white with 

 a blue eye. 



P. subulata (Moss Pink\k. Moss-like 

 little Evergreen, the flowers pinkish- 

 purple or rose-colour, with a dark centre, 

 and so dense as to completely hide the 

 plant. The stems, though 4 in. to i ft. 

 high, are always prostrate, so that the 

 dense matted tufts are seldom more than 

 6 in. high ; but in moist, sandy, and well- 

 drained soil, when the plant is fully ex- 

 posed, the tufts attain a diameter of 

 several feet and a height of i ft. or more. 

 P.frondosa is a vigorous form, and in 

 light garden soil its trailing branches 

 will soon cover almost a square yard of 

 surface. P. nivalis is as trailing, but 

 smaller, and with shorter, more densely 

 arranged leaves. Its flowers are snow- 

 white. P. Nelsoni is a hybrid between P. 

 subulata and its forms, as it possesses 

 foliage of an intermediate character ; the 

 flowers pure white with a charming pink 

 eye. Besides this, the late Mr. Nelson, of 

 Aldborough, and Mr. Thomas Smith, of 

 Newry, have raised a large number of 

 seedlings, as varied in hue as Phlox 

 Drummondi. Among the best are 

 Atropurpurea and Vivid, both of rich 

 colour ; Fairy, a good rosy-lilac with 

 purple eye ; Kathleen, a shade paler 

 with a crimson eye ; Leila, a distinct 

 shade of rosy-grey ; Little Dot, very com- 

 pact, with small white flowers shaded blue; 

 and Model, flowers of bright clear rose. 



The dwarf Phloxes are so closely allied 

 that general cultural remarks will suffice. 

 Well-drained ordinary garden soil and 

 sunny exposure are essential. Though 

 perfectly hardy, the damp atmosphere of 

 mild winters is fatal, and as the plants do 

 not seed freely, they must be increased by 

 cuttings. A sharp knife and a careful 

 hand will soon remove the two or three 

 pairs of leaves with their included buds 

 without damaging either the slender stem 

 or the joint. These should be taken off 

 in July, when the branches are just com- 

 mencing to harden, and inserted in sandy 

 soil in a frame where they can be shaded 

 from full sunshine and given the benefit 

 of the night dews by the removal of the 

 lights. They will soon root and become 

 good flowering plants the following season. 

 With large patches, the readiest way is to 

 sprinkle sandy soil over the entire plant 

 and to work the same gently amongst the 

 branches with the hand. If this be done 

 during the summer or the early autumn, 

 the trailing branches will form roots the 



