THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



SALVIA. 



835 



S. HORMINUM (Bhtebeard}. Auseful annual 

 kind from the south of Europe, of dwarf 

 spreading habit, with oval. or wedge-shaped 

 leaves and showy clusters of coloured bracts 

 around inconspicuous blue flowers. , These 

 showy clusters are produced on every shoot 

 and last fresh for a long time, their colour 

 varying from white to reddish-violet and deep 

 purple, according to the variety. The plants 

 stand drought and bad weather, are easily 

 raised from seeds sown in February, and are 

 better in poor dry soils than in those that are 

 rich and fertile. The sprays are useful for 

 cutting, and the plant frequently sows itself 

 without trouble. 



S. IANTHINA. A large soft-wooded shrub 

 with bunches of violet- purple flowers sur- 

 rounded by violet bracts, which, however, are 

 easily detached. They come freely during 

 spring and early summer, upon stout branches 

 covered with wrinkled and downy leaves. Re- 

 quires greenhouse protection in winter. 



S. INTERRUPTA can only be grown out of 

 doors in the warmest of our seaside gardens. It 

 is one of the finest wild flowers of Morocco, 

 with long downy leaves which are deeply cut 

 and rest upon the ground in spreading tufts, 

 from which the blue and white flowers stand 

 out upon long erect stems. It blooms early, 

 and is one of the most beautiful of border plants 

 where it does well. 



S. INVOLUCRATA. A free-growing, erect 

 shrub, with reddish stems and heart-shaped 

 leaves somewhat drooping, their stems and 

 nerves threaded with purple veins. In autumn 

 massive heads of rosy-purple flowers appear, 

 their effect enhanced by bracts of the same 

 colour and the velvet richness of the whole. 

 There are several forms, including Bethelli, of 

 better habit, with long rosy-crimson spikes in 

 which the bracts are large and the flowers 

 marked with white ; Deschampsiana is another 

 good form of bright colour. These make good 

 .pot plants, attractive alike in the greenhouse or 

 planted in sheltered coast gardens. Grown 

 against a warm wall, they are hardy in favoured 

 places. Frequent stopping is necessary in the 

 early stages to correct a lank, loose habit. 



S. LYRATA is one of the few hardy peren- 

 nial kinds from North America, with a tube- 

 rous root, lyrate leaves, and small spikes of 

 bluish-violet flowers about an inch long. 



S. OFFICINALIS (Common Sage). Apart 

 from its value as a garden herb, this is good as 

 a border plant when covered with its flowers, 

 either purple, blue, or white. There are several 

 garden varieties with beauty of leaf, such as 

 aurea with golden leaves, crispa in which they 

 are finely curled, and others in variegated 

 colours green and white, green and gold, and 

 tricolor with blending shades of grey-green, 

 gold, and rosy-purple. The form salicifolia 

 from Spain has long and narrow whitish leaves, 

 and is strongly aromatic. 



S. PATENS is without question one of the best 

 plants in cultivation, the intense blue of its 

 flowers making it a charming object. Though 

 tender in most gardens, the tuberous roots are 



easily wintered in a frost-proof place, and in- 

 crease is easy from seed or cuttings rooted in 

 early spring. There is a less vigdfous form 

 with white flowers. 



S. PRATENSIS (Wild Sage) is one ofrour 

 prettiest native plants, and withal so uncom- 

 mon as to be worth a place?in gardens, its 



graceful stems of about 2 ft. high bearing 

 showy flowers of rich*purple, white, rose, blue, 

 or reddish-purple, according to the variety. 

 The best named kinds are Baitmgarteni, 

 violet ; lupinoides, bluish-purple and white ; 

 rosea, rosy-purple ; Tenorii, a pretty blue ; 

 and a scarce P'rench form with deep pure red 

 spikes. 



S. PRUNELLOIDES. A low perennial border 

 plant, with long slender spikes of small blue 

 flowers, coming in late summer. There is a 

 variety with reddish-purple flowers. 



S. PRZEWALSKII is a new hardy kind from 

 China and Central Asia, growing as a stout 

 perennial with conspicuous bluish-violet 

 flowers of a pretty pale shade, coming in June. 

 Its earliness, resistance, and vigour make it a 

 useful border plant. 



S. RINGENS is a low shrubby kind, with 

 handsome Sage-like leaves and large flowers of 

 lavender-blue and white. The plant will bear 

 a mild winter in the south of Britain. There 

 is a variety with rosy flowers. 



S. ROEMERIANA. A bright dwarf plant from 

 Texas, of such neat growth as to be well fitted 

 for edgings or the front of borders. It flowers 

 early, and the deep crimson flowers are con- 

 tinued through several weeks. Increase by 

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