912 VERONICA. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



VERONICA. 



though tender even there in hard winters. 

 The hills round Queenstown Harbour were 

 once covered with this shrub plants 8 ft. 

 high and 20 ft. in diameter yet all perished 

 in one cold season. There are several 

 varieties with flowers in shades of blue, 

 lilac, and crimson, and one with variegated 

 leaves. 



V. ANOMALA, a neat, much-branched shrub 

 with small narrow leaves densely set on slender 

 reddish stems, of which every twig is tipped 

 with starry white flowers in July. There are 

 several garden forms differing slightly. 



V. BIDWILLII is a little creeping shrub, 

 spreading carpet-like beside the mountain 

 streams of its own land, and changing into 

 sheets of pink, white, or pale violet flowers 

 in July. It is best in the upper part of the 

 rock-garden, where its neat leaves are 

 attractive the year through, and unhurt in any 

 ordinary winter. 



V. CARNOSULA. A little hardy shrub of 

 erect growth, with thick leathery leaves of 

 glaucous green, flowers pure white. 



V. CATARRACT^: is a slender, much- 

 branched shrub of I to 2 ft., with long, 

 narrow, pointed leaves, evenly serrate at the 

 edges, and large white flowers in July. 



V. CHATHAMICA makes dense trailing 

 cushions of glossy-green glaucous leaves, with 

 close cone-shaped flower-clusters of pale 

 mauve or rosy-purple fading to white. There 

 is a distinct form called minor. Chatham 

 Islands. 



V. COLENSOI. A variable little shrub 

 running into several other kinds by inter- 

 mediate forms. It is one of the best for the 

 rock-garden, hardy, with narrow stemless 

 leaves tapering towards the base, and dense 

 clusters of pure white flowers from every leaf 

 axil during June and July. 



V. CUPRESSOIDES is one of the strangest of 

 the alpine kinds resembling conifers. This is 

 like a little Cypress, with slender, bright green 

 branches rising erect from 2 to 4 ft. , bearing 

 pale violet flowers in small clusters at the tips 

 of the shoots. It is fully hardy and grows 

 best on light gritty soils of fair depth, over- 

 laid with flat stones to retain moisture. There 

 are several varieties with grey or bronze tints, 

 and -variabilis (V. salicornoides of gardens), 

 which is only 6 or 8 in. high and a fine golden- 

 green. All are of slow growth and only 

 bloom well when old. They often die off 

 without apparent cause and are difficult to 

 preserve in the south, though there are fine 

 plants in parts of Scotland and Ireland. 



V. DIEFFENBACHII. A shrub with tough 

 leathery leaves 3 in. long and an inch broad, 

 and large crowded spikes of blue flowers in 

 August, fading to white with exposure. 

 Coming from the shores of New Zealand, it 

 is tender with us in all save the most favoured 

 ' places. 



V. DIOSMAEFOLIA is a dainty little shrub 

 but tender. The leaves are borne in pretty 

 flatly-spreading sprays, and taper sharply to 

 each end ; the flowers are white with pink 



anthers, opening in June. It is useful under 

 glass in winter, and bears gentle forcing. 



V. ELI.IPTICA. The only tree-like species, 

 growing 30 ft. high in parts of S. America 

 and New Zealand. In the mildest parts of 

 Britain (Scilly Is. and Isle of Man) it also 

 reaches a large size, flowering almost continu- 

 ously even in winter. The leaves are narrow, 

 closely set, and bright green ; the flowers white, 

 rather large, fragrant, appear as lax few- 

 flowered heads at the tip of every shoot. Syn. 

 V. decussata. 



V. EPACRIDEA. A pretty little shrub, 

 tender, not easily grown, and shy in flower, 

 yet charming where it thrives. The rigid 

 much-branched shoots are very like those of 

 an Epacris, with leaves dark, glossy, and 

 curving upwards. Though small, the flowers 

 last a long while, and once established on the 

 rock-garden, few shrubs are more interesting. 



V. FAIRFIELDII is a hybrid of uncertain 

 parentage, about a foot high, with purple 

 stems, and toothed leaves purple beneath. 



V. GLAUCO-C^ERULEA. A choice hardy 

 plant about a foot high, with neat oblong 

 leaves barely half-an-inch long, bluish-grey 

 with purple edges, and borne on dark purple 

 stems. The bright blue flowers are beautiful 

 and it is one of the most charming of hardy 

 shrubs for the rock-garden. V. canterburiensis 

 is like this save in its lively shining green 

 colour, and its white flowers with blue anthers. 



V. HECTORI belongs to the alpine group 

 from the mountain tops. Its stems are like 

 green and polished whipcord, upon which the 

 leaves appear as tiny scales. It is of slow 

 growth, standing only a few inches high, while 

 the white or rosy flowers are seldom seen even 

 in its own land. It does best in gritty soil, 

 and though hardy needs care as to soil and 

 position. Cuttings of this kind root slowly 

 and with difficulty. V. Armstrongii resembles 

 this except in its golden tint, and its more 

 abundant pale blue flowers. 



V. HULKEANA. One of the most charming 

 of Veronicas, tender save in the milder parts 

 of Britain and in warm nooks near the sea, and 

 even then best against walls where shelter can 

 be given from late frosts. A light soil and 

 partial shade are the best conditions, resulting 

 in a free growth several feet in height, with 

 oval notched leaves and many spikes of pale 

 lilac flowers in May. For cutting it is one 

 of the prettiest of flowering shrubs, the spikes 

 often 2 ft. long and gracefully curved. Where 

 tender in the open air there is no prettier pot- 

 plant for the conservatory, where it flowers 

 early. Increase by cuttings rooted in a cool 

 shaded frame during summer and early autumn, 

 and as the plant often dies suddenly, some 

 should be always in reserve. 



V. KIRKII is a tall, handsome shrub, fairly 

 hardy near the sea, with fresh green leaves, 

 narrowly lance-shaped, set on dark polished 

 stems. The graceful spikes of white or pale 

 mauve flowers 4 to 8 in. long, appear only on 

 large plants during early summer, and are 

 highly useful for cutting. 



