FREMONTIA. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



FRITILLARIA. 



5 6l 



and hardy tree in England, and even in 

 London gardens is vigorous and hand- 

 some. It is grafted on the Common Ash, 

 so what it would be if on its own roots 

 we have no knowledge. Its place is among 

 the larger flowering' trees. Syn. Ornus. 



FREMONTIA (F. californica). A 

 handsome Californian shrub, but scarcely 

 hardy enough for the open air without 

 protection. There are few more beautiful 

 wall shrubs. It has large yellow bowl- 

 shaped flowers, 2 in. across, the deep 

 green leaves being lobed. In favourable 



Fraxinus. 



spots it reaches 10 or 12 ft. in height, and 

 flowers in early summer. It succeeds best 

 against a north, west, or east wall, a 

 southern exposure being usually too hot 

 and dry. 



FRITILLARIA (Fritiiiary). Bulbs of 

 the Lily family, several of which are valu- 

 able, some, such as the Crown Imperial, 

 being stately, others such as F. recurva, 

 being delicate and pretty, but most have 

 dull-tinted curiously interesting flowers. 

 They may be put to many uses : the Crown 

 Imperial is a fine plant for the mixed 

 border or the shrubbery, and, being 

 vigorous, is able to take care of itself in 

 the wild garden. Its early spring growth 

 makes it valuable. The Snake's-head 

 (F. Meleagris) and others, such as F. 

 latifolia, pyrenaica, together with the 

 choicer kinds, are fitted for the bulb 

 border and for grassy places. Only one 

 or two require special treatment ; all the 

 others thrive in ordinary garden soil. 

 They may all be readily increased by 

 offsets from the old bulbs, which should 

 be lifted every three or four years and 

 planted in fresh soil a process very 



beneficial to the plants. The lifting 

 should be done in autumn, and the bulbs 

 replanted without delay. The following 

 are among the most desirable for general 

 cultivation : 



F. aurea, one of the prettiest of the 

 genus, is quite hardy, is about 5 in. high, 

 and has a stem of four to six in. thick, 

 fleshy, deep green leaves, with a nodding 

 flower, which is pale yellow spotted, or 

 chequered with brown. Silesia. 



F. Burneti, a handsome hardy plant 

 about 9 in. high, with solitary drooping 

 ; blossoms, 2 in. long, which are of a plum 

 colour chequered with yellowish-green. 

 Alps. Flowers with the Snowdrop, and is 

 as easy to grow. 



F. imperialis (Crown Imperial}. A 

 ! showy and stately plant, from 3 to 4 ft. 

 high, with stout bright green shoots, 

 crested by large dense whorls of drooping 

 bell-like flowers and a crown of foliage. 

 There are several varieties, differing chiefly 

 in the colour of the flowers. The princi- 

 pal are lutea (yellow), rubra (red), double 

 red and double yellow, rubra maxima 

 (very large red flowers), Aurora (bronzy 

 orange), sulphurine (large sulphur-yellow), 

 Orange Crown (orange-red), Stagzwaard 

 (a fasciated stem form, with very large 

 deep red blossoms), and aurea marginata 

 (gold-striped foliage) ; every lead being 

 margined with a broad golden-yellow 

 band, blending with the rest of the 

 foliage. This plant thrives best in a rich 

 deep loam, especially if the bulbs remain 

 undisturbed for years. Its best place, per- 

 | haps, is in a group on the fringe of the 

 I shrubbery or a group of American plants. 

 | For artistic effects it is not so valuable as 

 ; the common Snake's-head ; and its odour 

 i is against it when gathered. 



F. Karelin!. An interesting kind, 4 to 

 5 in. high, with two or three broad leaves 

 clasping its stem, and having a terminal 

 raceme of slightly-drooping bell-like 

 flowers. These flowers, about I in. 

 across, are of a pale purple, with darker 

 veins, a few darker spots, and a distinct 

 yellowish-green pit at the base of each 

 reflexed segment. It is a native of 

 Central Asia, and, flowering in late autumn 

 or early winter, is valuable for a collec- 

 tion of winter-flowering outdoor plants. 

 According to Dr. Regel it must be kept 

 in dry sand until November, and should 

 not grow or show bloom before spring. 

 If planted in November, growth is re- 

 tarded, and it does not bloom in 

 spring, which it ought to do ; while 

 those flowering in autumn invariably 

 dwindle away, and do not produce any 

 new bulbs. It should be planted in light 



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