PArAVER. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



PARXASS1A. 



701 



showy of all Poppies, is among the noblest 

 of hardy plants, and the variety bracteatum 

 is larger and handsomer. This variety 

 forms huge masses of handsome foliage ; 

 the flowers on stiff stalks, with leafy bracts 

 at intervals, are 6 to 9 in. across, and of 

 brilliant scarlet, each of the four petals 

 marked inside at the base with a purple- 

 black spot, the whole forming a cross, 

 which gives the flower a striking effect. 

 P. orientale has naked flower-stalks, and 

 as a rule the flowers are pure scarlet, but 

 some have a black spot. It seems as if 

 orientale has been crossed by bracteatum, 

 for there are a good many hybrids in 

 gardens. The fault of this Poppy is its 

 weak stalk, owing to which it does not 

 hold its large flowers erect like its rival, 

 and its bloom is sooner past. There are 

 several varieties besides bracteatum ; 

 concolor has no spots at the inner base of 

 the petals ; triumphans is dwarfer. These 

 are effective for borders, or for isolated 

 masses on Grass, and flourish in almost any 

 well-drained soil. They are most effective 

 in groups in the rougher parts of the 

 pleasure-ground, or in the shrubbery. 



P. Rhseas (Common Corn Poppy}. 

 The Carnation, Picotee, and Ranunculus 

 Poppies are double forms of the common 

 red fie4d Poppy, possessing almost every 

 colour except blue and yellow ; some being 

 self-coloured, others beautifully variegated. 

 They are also known as French and 

 German Poppies. Some are dwarfer than 

 others, but all are between 2 and 3 ft. in 

 height. Of recent years pretty single forms 

 of the Corn Poppy have become popular 

 under the name of "Shirley Poppies." 

 Being hardy annuals, they can be sown 

 where they are to bloom, but should be 

 grown in good soil to bring out fully their 

 size and colour. The seed, being very 

 small, should be sown thinly, and the 

 plants eventually thinned out to 6 or 8 in. 

 apart, so that the lateral shoots may 

 develop and the flowers have sufficient 

 space. Few annuals afford such a brilliant 

 display as the different kinds of Corn 

 Poppy in outlying beds and borders during 

 summer. 



P. somniferum (Opium Poppy]. This 

 beautiful and variably-coloured Poppy is 

 a valuable hardy annual. It generally 

 grows about 2^ ft. in height, and varies 

 from white to deep crimson. The double 

 scarlet, the double striped, and the double 

 white are all varieties of it, and their great 

 flower-heads have a bold and striking 

 effect planted in masses. By selection, a 

 type called the Paeony-flowered Poppy has 

 been obtained from them ; it has large 

 and very double broad-petalled flowers, 



which vary in colour from white to dark 

 crimson, and is distinct. P. somniferum 

 and its varieties are treated as hardy 

 annuals in the same way as P. Rhaeas. 



P. umbrosum is a brilliant hardy annual, 

 about 2 ft. high, in habit like the common 

 field Poppy, the flowers dazzling scarlet, 

 with a jet-black blotch on the inner base 

 of each petal, conspicuous also on the 

 outer face of the petals, making masses of 

 the plant a grand sight early in summer. 

 Its seeds should be sown in autumn, so 

 that strong plants may be ensured for the 



Opium Poppies (Papaver somniferum). 



following summer. Caucasus. P. aren- 

 arium is another showy annual from the 

 Caucasus. Other handsome Poppies, such 

 as P. spicatum, pilosum, and lateritium, 

 are perennial, and all are of the simplest 

 culture. 



Paradisia. See ANTHERICUM. 



PARNASSIA (Grass of Parnassus]. 

 Interesting and pretty plants for the bog- 

 garden or for moist spots in the rock- 

 garden. In our moist heaths and bogs 

 Parnassia palustris is frequent, and a very 

 pretty plant it is handsome enough to 



