12 PHLOX. 



'I HE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



ft. high, strong growers, and do well for 

 naturalising. The very dwarf P. armeni- 

 aca has silvery leaves and reddish-purple 

 flowers. P. cashmeriana somewhat' re- 

 sembles P. Herba-venti, but its flower- 

 heads are denser, and its flowers, besides 

 being larger, have a broad violet-purple 

 lip. All the species are easily propagated 

 the shrubby kinds by cuttings and seed, 

 the herbaceous sorts by division and seed. 



PHLOX. For the most part showy 

 garden perennials ; but the annual P. 

 Drummondi alone has produced distinct 

 varieties enough to furnish a garden with 

 almost every shade of colour. The peren- 

 nials are numerous, and present such 

 variety in habit, that for the garden they 

 may be divided into three distinct groups. 

 One is alpine in habit ; of this the beauti- 

 ful P. subulata, or Moss Pink, is the best 

 known, but there are many others in the 

 Rocky Mountains and westward, some of 

 them more truly alpine. Next to these are 

 several that may be grouped as running 

 or creeping Phloxes, perennial, but with 

 prostrate stems. Lastly, there are the 

 well-known tall garden Phloxes, generally 

 called the perennial Phloxes, though all 

 Phloxes but P. Drummondi are perennial. 

 Perennial Phloxes have been so hybridised 

 that the types are quite lost sight of in a 

 vast number of garden forms. P. subulata, 

 for instance, varies so much in the wild 

 state that its forms have been described 

 as species. 



EARLY OR SUMMER - FLOWERING 

 PHLOXES have chiefly come from P. 

 suffruticosa. They include many varieties, 

 varying principally in colour, and flowering 

 during June and July. They grow in any 

 good border or bed, and if the subsoil be 

 too wet, it must be drained, and about 9 

 in. of good Hazel-loam enriched with good 

 old manure and a small quantity of broken 

 bones laid on the surface. In the herba- 

 ceous border a pit can be dug say, 12 in. 

 square and 9 in. deep and filled with this 

 compost. Summer Phloxes are useful in 

 June and July, as they come between the 

 spring and autumn sorts. The following 

 are twenty-four of the finest : Beauty, 

 Beauty of Edinburgh, Bridesmaid, Con- 

 queror, Caller O', George Eyles, James 

 Nicholson, Mrs. P. Guthrie, Mrs. Burton, 

 Mrs. Gellatly, Philip Pollock, William 

 Mitchell, Allen M'Lean, Dr. Robert 

 Black, Duchess of Athole, Indian Chief, 

 Mary Shaw, Mrs. Ritchie, President, 

 Redbraes, Socrates, The Bouquet, The 

 Deacon, and The Shah. 



AUTUMN OR LATE-FLOWERING 

 PHLOXES have been obtained by hybri- 

 dising and selecting from various N. 



American species, principally P. panicu- 

 lata and its varieties acuminata, decussata, 

 and pryamidalis, which are stronger and 

 taller than the early Phloxes, and immedi- 

 ately succeed them in flower, thus prolong- 

 ing the season at least two months from 

 the end of July. They are bright and 

 varied in colour, including all shades from 

 rich vermilion to pure white, but the many 

 shades of dingy purple and magenta are 

 objectionable. There are endless varieties, 

 more or less distinct, but the following 

 will be found a good selection : Coccinea, 

 David Syme, Gavin, Greenshields, Jane 

 Welsh, Jenny Grieve, Lothair, Matthew 

 Miller, Mrs. Keynes, Monsieur Rafarin, 

 Reve d'Or, Robert Paterson, William 

 Blackwood, Andrew Borrowman, Carna- 

 tion, Henry Cannell, James Alexander, 

 James Cocker, Madame Yerlot, Major 

 Molesworth, Miss Wallace, Mrs. Tennant, 

 Thos. Chisholm, Triomphe du Pare de 

 Neuilly, and William Veitch. For large 

 beds, and to get bold masses of distinct 

 colour, the following are the most effec- 

 tive and can be used according to the 

 shades of colour required, viz. : Coccinea, 

 rich vermilion ; Carnation, white and 

 spotted with purple ; James Alexander, 

 rich crimson ; Lothair, bright scarlet ; 

 Mrs. Keynes, pure white ; Robert Paterson, 

 rich crimson ; William Blackwood, rosy- 

 salmon ; Miss Wallace, pure white ; and 

 Major Molesworth, scarlet with a crimson 

 eye. When in beds or borders, the early 

 and late sorts should be planted alternately, 

 and arranged according to height and 

 colour, a mass of bloom, lasting for at 

 least three months, being produced. After 

 planting give each plant a good stake, and 

 tie it up when necessary. In spring the 

 number of shoots should be reduced ac- 

 cording to the strength of the plant and 

 nature of the variety. Phloxes of this 

 group are also improved by a top-dressing 

 of good rich soil every spring; and in very 

 hot and dry seasons good watering will 

 prolong the bloom. 



The way to propagate Phloxes is by 

 seed, cuttings of the stems and roots, and 

 division. Seed should be taken from the 

 best sorts, and sown in boxes or pans in 

 good free loam, immediately after being 

 ripe. Keep it in a greenhouse or warm pit 

 close to the glass. The young seedlings 

 will appear in February and March ; and 

 when fit to handle prick them into boxes 

 of good soil and keep close and warm for 

 a short time ; they can then be grown with 

 the other plants intended for the flower 

 garden. The strongest will be fit to plant 

 out in April and May. They will flower 

 the first season, but will not be strong 



