STIPA. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



STUARTIA. 



827 



instead of autumn, and by its stalked 

 ovary and capsule. Caucasus. 



S. lutea. This is the great autumn 

 or winter Daffodil of Parkinson, and a 

 very pretty hardy plant, best on some 

 gravelly soils. The absence of seed on 

 this bulb in a cultivated state is remark- 

 able, seeing how plentiful it is and also 

 how well it flowers in many parts of the 

 country. 



My experience tells me that the bulbs 

 must be large before they will flower 

 freely, and imported bulbs are generally 

 small, and will take a year or two to attain 

 flowering size. S. lutea has five or six 

 leaves, each about half an inch broad, 

 about a foot long, and appearing at the 

 same time as the flowers in autumn. It 

 is supposed by some writers to be the 

 Lily of Scripture, as it grows abundantly 

 in the vales in Palestine. S. angustifolia 

 appears to be a narrow-leaved form, very i 

 free-flowering, and growing rather more 

 freely than S. lutea. 



S. graeca, from the mountains of j 

 Greece, has very narrow leaves and broad j 

 perianth segments. 



S. sicula is a form with narrower j 

 leaves and segments than the type, while ] 

 the Cretan variety has considerably larger 

 flowers. 



S. macrantha. This is a really hand- 

 some species, the leaves blunt and slightly 

 glaucous, about an inch broad when fully 

 developed about midsummer ; flowers 

 bright yellow in autumn. Asia Minor. 

 D. D. 



As for some time these plants are 

 not likely to be common, the rarest of 

 them should have a place in our bulb 

 borders, or on rocky borders in gritty or 

 open soil, associated with the rarer 

 Narcissi and the choicer hardy bulbs. 

 The effect of the oldest cultivated kind 

 in masses near the shelter of walls in 

 autumn is very fine. 



STIPA (Feather Grass}. None of the 

 stipas is so elegant as the S. European S. 

 pennata. In bundles its beauty almost 

 equals that of the tail of a bird of paradise. 

 S. pennata is hardly to be distinguished 

 from a strong stiff tuft of common Grass, 

 except in May and June, when the tuft is 

 surmounted by numerous gracefully-arch- 

 ing flower-stems, nearly 2 ft. high, and 

 covered with long, twisted, feathery spikes. 

 It loves a deep sandy loam, and may be 

 used either in an isolated position or in 

 groups of small plants, but its flowers 

 are too short-lived except for borders. 

 Division or seed. S. calamagrostis, S. 

 capillata, and S. elegantissima are other 

 good Feather Grasses. 



STOKESIA. S. cyanea is a handsome 

 hardy American perennial, 18 to 24 in. high, 

 and of stout free growth, with, in Septem- 

 ber, large showy blue flowers somewhat 

 similar to those of a China Aster. It grows 

 freely in good warm soils, but from its late 

 flowering does not always expand its 

 flowers well. In damp localities, place a 

 hand-light over the plants at the flowering 

 season, but so arranged as to allow free 

 admission of air. S. cyanea is useful for 

 the conservatory in autumn and winter. 

 Division in spring. Insert the slips a few 

 inches apart in a warm border or a frame, 

 in sharp sandy soil. As soon as they get 

 well rooted and begin to grow, transplant 

 them. A little river sand and leaf-mould 

 should be mixed with the soil. 



STRATIOTES (Water Soldier}.- S. 

 aloides is an interesting native water-plant 

 with a compact vasiform tuft of leaves, 

 from the centre of which arises in summer 

 a spike of unattractive blossoms. In 

 artificial lakes or ponds it will take care 

 of itself. 



STRUTHIOPTERIS ( Ostrich Fern}. 

 The fronds of these fine hardy exotic Ferns 

 are not unlike ostrich feathers. They are 

 of two kinds, fertile and sterile, the former 

 being always grouped in the centre of the 

 plant, and the latter forming a cordon 

 round them. Struthiopteris can be in- 

 creased by division of the creeping under- 

 ground stems, which run for some distance 

 round well-established plants. Good well- 

 drained peat and loam is necessary, and 

 group the plants in bold slightly-sheltered 

 spots, where their noble appearance will 

 tell. As they are deciduous, plant among 

 and around them, for winter effect, some 

 Polystichums or other robust evergreen 

 Ferns, while, for effect at other seasons, 

 some of our finer Lilies would form a 

 useful mixture. The kinds suited for 

 gardens are S. germanica and S. pennsyl- 

 vanica. The former is one of the most 

 elegant of hardy Ferns, having fronds 

 nearly 3 ft. long, and well suited for the 

 slopes of pleasure - grounds, cascades, 

 grottoes, the rough rock-garden, and for 

 the margins of streams and pieces of 

 water ; it will thrive either in the full sun 

 or in the shade. S. pennsylvanica closely 

 resembles it, but has narrow fertile fronds. 

 Both kinds add much beauty of form to a 

 garden, and should not be confined to a 

 fernery. 



STUARTIA. Among the rarest and 

 choicest of hardy - flowering deciduous 

 shrubs. They are allied to the Camellia, 

 and S. virginica and S. pentagyna are 

 both natives of N. America, being intro- 

 duced during the last century. The 



