THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



WEIGELA. 



86 9 



it gives us another shade of colour, smaller 

 and narrower leaves, a more straggling 

 habit, and longer-tubed flowers. We find 

 it an excellent hardy plant for the rock- 

 garden, where on raised mounds of free 

 gritty soil it grows and flowers vigorously. 



W. SAXTCOLA. A beautiful species 

 from the mountains of New Zealand, with 

 leaves in close tufts and pretty flowers 

 which first appear in June and keep 

 coming in succession till November. It 

 is easily raised from seed and varies 

 greatly from white to deep blue. The 

 best forms can be increased by division. 

 It makes a handsome rock plant, and, 

 when left undisturbed and allowed to shed 

 its seeds freely, gives the cultivator no 

 trouble, but makes a highly attractive 

 picture. 



W. SERPYLLIFOLIA, with its small and 

 Thyme-like leaves and abundance of 

 purple-blue flowers, is effective on ledges 

 in the rock-garden. 



W. TENUIFOLIA is a dwarf compact 

 growing species, with hairy stems, short 

 slender leaves and small flowers, six to 

 ten in a head, violet-blue or whitish- 

 purple. 



WAITZIA. Half-hardy annual Com- 

 posites from Australia. Of the four kinds 

 of Waitzias in cultivation all are valuable 

 for their pretty flowers, which are useful 

 for winter bouquets. W. acuminata has 

 a variety with purple flowers, and another 

 with yellow flowers. W. aurea has bright 

 yellow flowers. W. corymbosa has white 

 and purple flowers, and the flowers of W. 

 grandiflora are like those of W. aurea, but 

 finer. All grow about I ft. high, and 

 require to be treated like other tender 

 annuals, such as Rhodanthe. They 

 succeed best in an open position in sandy 

 peat. Seeds. The seedlings should be 

 shifted into different-sized pots before 

 planting out in May. Waitzias flower in 

 August and September. 



WALDSTEINIA. Dwarf Rosaceous 

 plants, three of which, W. geoides, W. fra- 

 garioides, and W. trifolia, are in cultiva- 

 tion. The last is the most attractive, but 

 not one is ornamental enough for border 

 culture, but only for dry banks and such 

 places. Their yellow flowers appear in 

 spring. 



WATSONIA (Bugle Lily}. Bulbous 

 plants representing some of the most beau- 

 tiful of the large Iridaceous family. Several 

 of the finest were, long ago, favourites in 

 gardens. Watsonias cannot be called 

 hardy, but in the southern counties some 

 of them succeed perfectly in open borders. 

 There are only a dozen species and about 

 as many varieties, half of which are varia- 



tions from W. Meriana. All the species 

 are natives of S. Africa, but their head- 

 quarters are at the Cape. There is a 

 great diversity of colours, and some of 

 the trade lists even advertise a " mixed " 

 selection representing " all colours." The 

 commonest species seem to be W. Meriana, 

 W. coccinea, W. iridifolia, W. rosea alba, 

 W. humilis, W. angusta (also known as 

 W. fulgida), and W. aletroides. All these 

 kinds are true Watsonias, and have much 

 more showy flowers than the other sec- 

 tions of the genus. The white Watsonia 

 (W. alba) is a lovely plant, flowering in 

 early summer. With regard to culture, 

 treatment similar to that recommended 

 for the early Gladioli will suit them. 

 Where they are grown in frames, a good 

 deal of trouble is saved, and they give 

 finer flowers as the young growths are 

 protected when they most need it. 

 Generally, however, it will be found best 

 to grow the plants in warm situations in 

 open borders of light rich soil. Of the 

 varieties offered in trade lists, the follow- 

 ing may be taken as representative : W. 

 coccinea, fulgens, Meriana, alba, humilis, 

 marginata, rosea, speciosa, fulgida, brevi- 

 folia, angustifolia, Grootvorst, Louis XVI., 

 Wreede, Duchess, George IV. , Chilea, 

 Due de Berri, and Blucher. 



WEIGELA (Busk Honeysuckle}. The 

 Weigelas have long been in the front 

 rank of flowering shrubs, and are de- 

 servedly popular, being elegant, rapid in 

 growth, and beautiful in bloom. A multi- 

 tude of varieties have sprung from W, 

 floribunda, W. grandiflora (known also 

 as W. amabilis), W. rosea, and W. hor- 

 tensis. These are natives of China and 

 Japan, have been introduced within the 

 last forty years, and so much hybridised 

 that they are rarely found pure. The 

 most valuable sorts have come from W. 

 grandiflora, which has the largest flowers, 

 while the smaller, but more numerously- 

 flowered kinds, have originated from W. 

 rosea and W. floribunda. The varieties 

 have been raised chiefly on the Continent, 

 as may be inferred from their names. A 

 selection of the best kinds should include 

 the following : Abel Carriere, numerous 

 small flowers of deep red ; Isolina?, large 

 flowers of white or pale rose with yellow 

 markings ; Van Houttei, large and showy 

 white and red flowers ; Lemoinei, numer- 

 ous small deep crimson - red flowers ; 

 Groenowegenei, one of the best, the 

 flowers being large, of pink or pale rose, 

 with a yellow blotch ; striata, a pretty 

 sort, having flowers striped with red and 

 white ; Stelzneri, with numerous deep red 

 flowers ; Lavallei with numerous crimson 



