THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



921 



pretty for a bed of peat or very light earth, 

 where taller plants are put out in a scattered 

 way for a time, but being small and delicate, it 

 should not be used with coarse plants. It 

 must be treated like a tender bedding plant 



Viola reniformis (New Holland Violet). 



taken up or propagated in autumn, and put out 

 in May or June. Australia. Division V. r. 

 grandiftora is a larger plant in all its parts. 

 Syn., Erpetion. 



V. rothomagensis (Rouen Violet}. A hand- 

 some plant, dwarf, and with low creeping 

 stems which bear in spring numerous purple 

 and white blossoms. It is a free grower, but, 

 being a native of Sicily, is not so hardy as 

 some Violets, and should be grown in a light 

 soil and a warm border. 



V. tricolor (Hearts-ease}. The Pansy 

 is usually classed under the head of V. 

 tricolor, though it is probably descended 

 from V. altaica to which many Pansies 

 seem nearly allied. But our Pansies are 

 so numerous, so varied, and, withal, so 

 distinct from any wild Violet, that little 

 can be traced of their origin. Of one thing 

 we may be certain : the parents of this 

 precious race were mountaineers. Only 

 alpines could give birth to such rich and 

 brilliant colour and such wealth of bloom. 

 Its season never ends ; it often blooms 

 cheerfully enough at Christmas, and is 

 sheeted with gold and purple when the 

 Hawthorn is white with blossoms. Such 

 a flower must not be ignored on our 

 rock-gardens, though it thrives in almost 

 any soil and position. It may be treated 

 as an annual, a biennial, or a perennial, 

 according to climate, position, and soil. 

 One of the commonest of weeds in Scot- 

 land, the wild V. lutea, may be grown in 

 the south of England, if sheltered from 



the midday sun. It thrives capitally with 

 a north or, better still, a north-east 

 exposure, if sheltered by tall trees or 

 buildings, so that it may get the cool sun 

 of the early morning only. 



For borders one way is to grow the 

 plants from seed. The Belgian or fancy 

 Pansies are remarkable for the strange 

 variety of their colours and the unusual 

 size of the blooms. Theyare more hardy as 

 seedlings, and more robust as plants, than 

 the other kinds, and yield a greater variety 

 of colours. The seed should be sown in 

 July or August, in pans of light leafy soil, 

 such as sand, leaf-mould, and mould from 

 rotted turf, and placed in a cool shady 

 place. When mixed seeds are sown, sow 

 each separately at a distance of i^ in. or 

 so. As soon as the first seeds have ger- 

 minated and the seedlings have three 

 pairs of leaves, they should be removed 

 without disturbing the weaker ones, for 

 amongst the backward ones will be found 

 the greatest proportion of finely-coloured 

 flowers. It is important to sow fresh 

 seed. 



It is rarely convenient to plant the 

 seedlings at once where they are to 

 bloom, therefore they should be placed in 

 pots plunged in a cool place in the open 

 ground, and put out in time to get estab- 

 lished before winter. They stand the winter 

 well, and the only danger lies in heavy 

 rain or sleet succeeded by sharp frosts. 

 A pot inverted ovei each plant to protect 

 the soil from too much wet would be 

 sufficient protection. It is unwise to move 

 Pansies in spring unless they have been 

 kept in pots during winter ; they should 

 then be planted with as little disturbance 

 as possible. 



Pansies are divided into two sections 

 the show or English kinds, and the 

 fancy or Belgian .kinds. The first com- 

 prises five divisions : white and yellow 

 ground, belted Pansies, white, yellow, 

 and purple Pansies. The selfs must be 

 clear decided colours, and should have a 

 black well - defined blotch under the 

 eye. The belted kinds should have a 

 white or yellow ground, together with 

 centre blotch, and a broad margin of 

 bronzy-red, chestnut, purple, crimson, or 

 other hue ; the colours must be dense, 

 and the margins well defined. The flow- 

 ers should be rounded, stout of petal, and 

 of good size, but size is of less importance 

 than the quality of the markings. A fancy 

 Pansy should have a large deep-coloured 

 blotch, covering nearly the whole of the 

 bottom petal and portions of the side 

 petals. The rest of the flower may be 

 white, yellow, buff, red, maroon, purple, 



