OXYDENDRUM. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



IVEONIA. 



697 



it should be borne in mind that it is very 

 difficult to preserve the correctness of the 

 names, for the minute bulblets become 

 mixed up with the earth, and the elasticity 

 of the seed-pods permits the seeds to 

 scatter in all directions. 



OXYDENDEUM (Sorrel Tree}.K 

 handsome flowering tree reaching a 

 height of over 50 ft. in its native country, 

 with rather large fine leaves and many 

 racemes of white flowers ; thriving in 

 our country, at least on peaty soils, and 

 flowering freely in summer. Ohio and 

 Pennsylvania to Florida, both in moun- 

 tain and coast lands. The tree is as yet 

 far from common, and the best way at 

 first is to group it with the American 

 shrubs in peaty and free soils. I have 



a manageable plant in the rock-garden in 

 deep moist loam. O. uralensis, a dwarf 

 species from the Ural Mountains, has 

 rosy-blue flowers in compact heads, 

 about 4 in. high. Other kinds are O. 

 montana, fcetida, strobilacea, campestris, 

 and its several varieties ; all of these 

 are dwarf, and thrive in sandy loamy soil 

 in open spots in the rock-garden. 



OZOTH AMNUS. O. rosmarinifolius 

 is a neat little evergreen shrub from Tas- 

 mania, almost hardy in the south and coast 

 districts, with small, Rosemary-like leaves, 

 and about the end of summer bearing 

 dense clusters of small white flowers. It 

 thrives in any light soil, and should be 

 planted in an open sunny spot or on a 

 warm bank. Svn., Helichrysum. 



Ozothamnus rosmarinifolius. 



planted it in rich leafy soil in most spots 

 in woods, where even small plants so far 

 hold their own among the stoutest sedges 

 of such spots. 



OXYTROPIS. Plants of the Pea 

 family, nearly allied to Astragalus, the best 

 of which is O. pyrenaica, a dwarf species, 

 with pinnate leaves covered with silky 

 down, barely rising above the ground, the 

 flowers a purplish-lilac, barred with white, 

 and borne in heads of from four to fifteen 

 in early summer. It is a native of the 

 Pyrenees, rare in gardens, and increased 

 by seed or division. It should be planted 

 on well-exposed and bare parts of rock- 

 gardens, in firm, sandy, or gravelly soil. 

 O. Halleri has charming, compact flowers, 

 of a decided self colour as deep a 

 blue as that of the Gentian?, and proves 



P-ffiONIA (Pceony}. Paeonies are 

 among the most beautiful of hardy 

 flowers, combining good form of growth 

 with beauty of colour and often frag- 

 rance. Though there are several typical 

 species in collections, the most important 

 I are the hybrids obtained by inter- 

 ! crossing. Paeonies are divided into 

 i two groups the tree or shrubby kinds, 

 comprising the varieties of P. Moutan ; 

 and the herbaceous kinds, of which 

 the common P. officinalis is typical. 

 The hybrid sorts have been obtained 

 chiefly from P. officinalis and other 

 European kinds, together with the 

 Chinese species albiflora, sinensis, and 

 edulis, the forms of the latter class 

 being particularly fine. The European 

 varieties flower early and the Chinese 



