690 OMPHALODES. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



ONOCLEA. 



0. Luciliae, a lovely rock-plant, with 

 flowers a pretty lilac-blue, and glaucous 

 grey foliage. It is hardy, and succeeds 

 in the rock-garden, but the soil must be 

 thoroughly drained, for though the plant 

 requires abundance of water during growth, 

 it suffers from stagnant moisture. To pro- 

 tect it against slugs, which are too fond of 

 it, strips of perforated zinc, about 3 in. 

 wide, bent so as to form rings round the 



den : no plant is more worthy of naturalisa- 

 tion ; in cool, thin woods it runs about like 

 a native plant ; it thrives by woodwalks, 

 and also in open places, and in any position 

 is one of the prettiest plants. There is a 

 white variety, not so pretty as the blue 

 kind. 



ONOCLEA (Sensitive Fern}. O. 



sensibilis belongs to the group known 



j as " flowering Ferns," from the fertile frond 



Olearia Haasti. 



plants, are used. Division or by seeds, 

 [t grows freely in some light soils, as in 

 Wheeler's nursery at Warminster. Asia 

 Minor. 



0. verna (Creeping Forget-me-nof)k 

 pretty 'little plant, bearing in early spring 

 handsome flowers of a deep clear blue 

 'with white throats. The plant is useful 

 for borders and the rock and spring gar- 



being contracted so as to give it the 

 appearance of an unopened spike of flowers. 

 The fronds are a beautiful fresh green, 

 especially in spring. Though not very 

 fastidious as to soil, it succeeds best in a 

 cool and moist situation, such as the base 

 of the rock-garden, or in the American 

 garden, especially if a little sheltered by 

 neighbouring plants. If the fronds arc 



