THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



869 



which do not run ; serotina Icpida (gigan- 

 tea), often 6 ft. high, with dark stems and 

 large heads of flower ; SJiortii, the best 

 of the tall kinds, with spreading, finely- 

 arched heads, very useful for cutting ; spec- 

 tabilis, of medium height, with fragrant, 

 deep yellow flowers, and not too strong at 

 the root ; and Virgattrea nana, the neat- 

 est of all, with compact heads only a foot 

 high. 



SOLLYA (BMe-bell Creeper). Beauti- 

 ful evergreen climbing shrubs from Aus- 

 tralia, mostly grown under glass but hardy 

 in the open air in the warmest parts of 

 the south-west of England, Wales, and 

 Ireland. Trained around the pillars of a 

 sunny verandah, or against a warm wall, 

 the dark wiry stems extend freely, bearing 

 narrow deep green leaves and small 

 drooping bell-flowers of a clear blue, con- 

 tinued through a long season. The best 

 known kind is S. heterophylla, and of this 

 there is a distinct narrow-leaved form, 

 angustifolia, which is less freely twining. 

 Swan River. Increase by seeds, and by 

 cuttings of half-ripe shoots which root 

 with some difficulty. 



SOPHORA (New Zealand Laburnum}. 

 S. tetraptera is a large tree in its own 

 country, and makes a charming wall- 

 plant here. The variety grandiflora 

 has larger flowers and is more robust, 

 while the variety microphylla is remark- 

 able for finely-divided leaves and smaller 

 flowers. In sheltered gardens against 

 walls in the southern and the mild 

 parts all may be grown, though they 

 may need extra protection in severe 



Sophora japonica. 



winters. Another species in cultivation 

 is S. chilensis, which also needs protec- 

 tion. Syn., Edwardsia. 



S. japonica (Pagoda Tree). One of 

 the finest of flowering trees, elegant in 

 foliage, and, in September, covered with 



clusters of white bloom. It is one of the 

 largest of trees, and when old has a wide- 

 spreading head with huge limbs. Its 

 long pinnate leaves retain their deep- 

 green colour until autumn. Where space 

 is limited it may be kept in bounds by 

 hard pruning. There are several varieties 

 a drooping kind, which is one of the best 

 of all pendulous trees, and a variegated- 

 leaved kind, which is not satisfactory, as 

 the variegation is seldom good. 



Another rare and beautiful species is 5. 

 secundiftora from Texas arid New Mexico, 

 a low dense tree or leafy shrub, with orna- 

 mental foliage composed of neat rounded 

 leaflets with a glossy surface, and strongly 

 fragrant violet-blue flowers borne in a 

 dense spike. These are followed by soft 

 silvery pods containing bright red seeds. 

 The plant is not easy to obtain, but is 

 hardy with protection in our more fav- 

 oured districts. 



SPAR AXIS. Charming bulbous plants 

 from the Cape of Good Hope, the many 

 varieties coming chiefly from S. grandi- 

 flora and S. tricolor. They are about i ft. 

 high, of slender growth, and bear large 

 showy flowers which vary from white to 

 bright scarlet and deep crimson, usually 

 having dark centres. Sparaxis are valu- 

 able for early-summer flowers, and should 

 be treated like Ixias. There are a great 

 many named varieties offered by bulb- 

 growers, one of the most showy and 

 popular being Fire King. S. pulcherrima 

 (the Wand-flower) is so distinct that its 

 claim to be a Sparaxis has often been 

 disputed. Its tall and graceful flower- 

 stems rise to a height of 5 or 6 ft., and wave 

 in the wind, but, though slender, are so 

 tough and wiry that they are never injured 

 like the much stronger-looking stems of 

 the Pampas Grass. For six or seven 

 weeks J>. pulcherrima has lovely Fox- 

 glove-shaped bells on almost invisible 

 wire-like lateral foot-stalks. Though the 

 parent flowers are usually rosy-purple, 

 there are forms which are nearly white, 

 and others of every intermediate shade 

 or finely striped. S. pulcherrima is finer 

 and more elegant than S. Thunbergi, 

 which is stiffer and dwarfer about 2^ ft. 

 high with flowers on very short stalks, 

 and not pendulous. The best position for 

 S. pulcherrima is in clumps among shel- 

 tering shrubs. In such a position it might 

 be associated with Tritonia aurea, as the 

 two plants flower together and are about 

 equally hardy, and, though more difficult 

 to establish, it well repays a little care 

 during the first year or two. It has a 

 great objection to removal, and, if neces- 

 sary, this should be done as soon as the 



