IXIOLIRIOX. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



JASIONE. 613 



beds should be raised, and the bulbs 

 should be surrounded with sand, care 

 being taken that they are planted i or 

 2 in. above the level of the path ; and, 

 where protection cannot conveniently be 

 given, planting should not take place till 

 December or January. A large number 

 of varieties are in cultivation, and the 

 chief species from which they appear to 

 be derived are I. crateroides, patens, 

 maculata, fusco-citrina, ochroleuca, colu- 

 mellaris, speciosa, and viridiflora, which 

 last is of a beautiful sea-green, a colour 

 quite unique among cultivated plants, 

 and in no case to be omitted. A collec- 

 tion of varieties might include the follow- 

 ing : Achievement, Amanda, aurantiaca, 

 Cleopatra, Conqueror, Duchess of Edin- 

 burgh, Gracchus, Hercules, Hypatia, 

 Isabelle, Lady of the Lake, Lesbia, 

 Loela, Miralba, Nosegay, Pallas, Pearl, 

 Princess Alexandra, Sunbeam, Surprise, 

 Titian, and Vulcan. 



IXIOLIRION (Ixia Lily}. Beautiful 

 plants of the Amaryllis Order somewhat 

 resembling each other, and about i to i| ft. 

 high, with grassy foliage, and bearing large 

 trumpet-shaped flowers in a loose elegant 

 manner. I. Pallasi has flowers of the 

 deepest shade, and I. tataricum of the 

 palest, the intermediate shades being I. 

 montanum and I. Ledebouri. Such 

 beautiful hardy plants are deserving of 

 a place in the most select collection, and 

 the flowers last long on the plants. They 

 should be treated like the rarer bulbs, 

 such as Calochorti, Habranthi, and 

 Zephyranthes, for though they may be 

 hardy, it is not advisable to plant out 

 such rare bulbs in ordinary borders. 

 They should be grown in an open and 

 dry position in a sunny border, for 

 example, which is all the better with a 

 wall at the back, so as to catch all the 

 sun-heat possible in early spring, when 

 the bulbs are pushing up their young 

 leaves. The border should be well 

 drained, and a bed of light, rich 

 loamy soil, about i ft. in depth, placed 

 upon the drainage. When the young 

 growth appears, place a common hand- 

 light over the plants even two panes of 

 glass will be beneficial and if similar 

 protection is afforded at the latter part of 

 summer, it will tend to keep the soil dry 

 and warm, and so ripen the bulbs. A 

 handful of dry sharp sand placed in a 

 layer under and around the bulbs is 

 conducive to the formation of roots. 

 Western Asia. 



JAMESIA. /. americana is a dwarf 

 shrub from the Rocky Mountains, 2 to 



3 ft. high, with deciduous leaves, and in 

 summer many clusters of white flowers, 

 which, with the whitish foliage, give the 

 plant a pretty appearance. It is hardy, 

 of easy culture in ordinary soil, and fitted 

 for association with flowering shrubs of a 

 medium size. 



JANK-ffiA. /. Heldreickiis one of the 

 prettiest of the Ramondia family, a native 

 of the mountains of Macedonia, growing 

 in ravines. It has been considered a miffy 

 plant, dying away in our gardens in spite 

 of the most careful handling, but it is 

 likely to grow as well as other Ramondias 



Jankaea Heldreichi. 



if its special wants are attended to. It likes 

 to be moderately moist at the roots and 

 have shade and moisture in the air. Some 

 place on a well-constructed rock-garden 

 should be chosen, where it will thrive in 

 peat. The blooms are of a deep blue, nod- 

 ding, and shaped like those of a Soldanella, 

 and it has silver grey leaves. M. L. 



JASIONE (Sheep's Scabious). Dwarf 

 perennials and annuals of the Bell-flower 

 family. J. humilis is a creeping tufted 

 plant, about 6 in. high, bearing small 

 heads of pretty blue flowers in July and 

 August. Though a native of the high 

 Pyrenees, it often succumbs to the damp 

 and frosts of our climate, and it therefore 

 requires a dry well-drained part of the 

 rock-garden, and should have a little 

 protection in winter during severe cold 

 and wet. J. perennis is taller, often 

 above i ft. high, with dense heads of 

 bright blue flowers, from June to August ; 

 it is a rock-garden plant, stronger than 

 the preceding, thriving in good light loam, 

 and a native of the mountains of Central 

 and South Europe. These perennial 

 kinds may be propagated best from seed 

 as they do not divide well. J. montana 

 is a neat, hardy annual with small, pretty 

 bright blue flower-heads in summer. 



