THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



873 



off its beauty to advantage it requires an open 

 position, and when thus isolated it forms a 

 large bush of good form laden during summer 

 with spray-like panicles of small whitish 

 flowers. Syn. S. aruffolia, 



S. Douglas! and S. Nobleana are so similar 

 in growth and flower that they may be con- 

 veniently coupled, though as they bear their 



Spiraea japonica, A. Waterer. 



clusters of deep red .lowers at different times 

 it is well to have both. N. America. S. 

 Dottglasi succeeds in every part of the British 

 Isles ; S. Nobleana, from California, is less 

 hardy, and flowers earlier. An allied plant of 

 garden origin is S. Billardii, raised from S. 

 Douglasi crossed with salicifolia. It is a 

 pretty shrub of 6 ft., with oblong leaves, and 

 narrow crowded spikes of bright pink flowers, 

 5 to 8 inches long, from July into September. 

 S. pachystachys, another garden hybrid (from 

 cotymbosa and Douglasi} bears broader leaves 

 and pale pink flowers. 



S. hypericifolia from Asia Minor, the type 

 of a small group, all good in growth and 

 flower. The tall slender stems arch gracefully, 

 and under good conditions reach a height of 

 8 ft., wreathed in the flowering season with 

 clusters of small white flowers. S. flagelli- 

 formis and S. actita are forms superior to the 

 type. 



S. japonica (Rosy Bush Meadow Sweet) is 

 easily recognised by its slender stems 3 or 4 ft. 

 high, surmounted by broad flat clusters of deep 

 pink flowers. It is a variable species with 

 several other names such as S. callosa and S. 

 Fortunei. There are also many distinct forms 

 in cultivation, and of these the best are alba, a 

 pretty compact shrub with white flowers ; 

 Buinalda, of the same dwarf habit but with 

 deep rosy flowers ; JSwttalda Anthony Waterer, 

 a good plant richer in colour and approaching 

 the fine form rubra from Japan, in which the 

 flowers are intense crimson-purple and a shade 

 larger. The plants called atropurpurea and 

 cocdnea by some growers hardly differ from 

 this. Other varieties are splendens with 

 flowers of a pale peach colour ; glabrata, of 

 more rigid habit with bright pink flowers ; and 



Frabeli, an early-flowering form with wine-red 

 flowers passing to deep crimson. Of this last 

 there is a charming sub- variety in which the 

 leaves are heavily blotched with creamy yellow, 

 while the young shoots take a cheery shade of 

 rose ; though inconstant, this variegation is 

 often exceedingly pretty, and is sometimes 

 seen to a less degree in the variety of S. 

 B u m a Ida A ntho ny 

 Waterer. S. Bumalda 

 ruberrima is a cross be- 

 tween Bumalda and 

 bullata, dwarfer than 

 its near parent, with 

 larger flowers of deeper 

 colour ; S. Afargaritcz 

 is a cross between 6". 

 japonica and its variety 

 superba, and is a hand- 

 some plant with grace- 

 ful wand-like shoots 

 and large bright pink 

 flowers. S. Foxii, an- 

 other hybrid of dwarf 

 habit, is less good. S. 

 bella from the Hima- 

 layas, comes near S. 

 japonica, but is dwarfer 

 and denser. All these 



kinds flower freely through the summer, and 

 often till late in autumn. 



S. Lindleyana (Plume Meadow Sweet) is a 

 noble shrub, sometimes 10 ft. high, its grace- 

 ful foliage divided, and delicate green, the 

 flower clusters large, white, and plume-like, 

 being at their best in August. It thrives in 

 warm deep soil, not too light or too heavy, 

 and should be sheltered from cold winds, 

 which injure its young growth in spring. It 



Spiraea sorbifolia. 



has in some soils peculiar ways, and in others, 

 especially of a chalky and warm nature, it 

 blooms well enough to deserve the epithet 

 superb. In cool soils it does not do so well, 

 seeming to spread more at the root, but in 

 all cases is beautiful in foliage and habit. 

 Himalaya. Division. Other pinnate-leaved 

 Spiraeas, such as S. sorbifolia and S. Pallasi, 

 are hardier but less desirable. S. Aitchisoni 

 from Afghanistan also comes very near this, 

 differing little save in its larger flowers, ruddy 

 bark, and darker green leaves cut into smaller 

 leaflets. 



