870 



WHITLAVIA. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



WISTARIA. 



red flowers ; hortensis nivea, more spread- 

 ing than that of others, with larger and 

 paler foliage, and large pure white 

 flowers; and Candida. If a large collec- 

 tion is needed, the following may be added 

 to those already enumerated : Carminea, 

 Emile Galle, Docteur Baillon, Edouard 

 Andre, Aug. Wilhelm, Diderot, Montes- 

 quieu, and Desboisi. The golden-leaved 

 W. Looymansi aurea is a very fine orna- 

 mental shrub, usually retaining its bright 

 golden foliage through the season. Its 

 variegated-leaved form is also excellent. 

 All sorts are of free habit if planted in 

 good soil in an open position. They 

 should never be crowded, but grown as 



Weigela grandiflora. 



isolated groups on lawns, or placed on 

 the margins of shrubberies. Weigelas 

 make large bushes, 6 to 10 ft. high and 

 as much in diameter, and their graceful 

 drooping branches are ornamental, even 

 when leafless in winter. They should be 

 top-dressed annually with good rich soil, 

 and pruned, leaving the vigorous stems 

 and the branches that yield the finest 

 bloom. Weigelas are now classed botani- 

 cally in the genus Diervilla, which also 

 includes other species, such as D. sessili- 

 flora and D. trifida, from N. America. 

 Neither of these is to be recommended 

 for general cultivation, though both are 

 worth planting for the bright tints of 

 their autumn foliage. 

 WHITLAVIA. K grandiflora is a 



beautiful plant allied to the Nemophila, at- 

 taining a height of about i ft. of branched 

 growth, with an abundance of showy bell- 

 shaped blossoms of a rich deep blue. There 

 is a white variety, and also one called 

 gloxinioides with white and blue flowers. 

 W. grandiflora is a hardy annual, and 

 may be sown either in autumn or in 

 spring in the open border, in good 

 friable soil. California. Hydrophyl- 

 laceas. 



WIGANDIA. These noble-leaved 

 plants are natives of the Tropics, but they 

 succeed in the open air in summer. The 

 best is W. caracasana, from the moun- 

 tainous regions of New Granada ; but 

 even this will only succeed in the warm- 

 est and best sheltered southern gardens. 

 W. caracasana may be used with superb 

 effect either in a mass or as a single 

 plant. It is propagated by cuttings of the 

 roots, shoots, or from seeds, the young 

 plants grown in a moist and genial 

 temperature through the spring months, 

 and kept near the light, so as to preserve 

 the plant in a dwarf and well-clothed 

 condition. It should be very carefully 

 hardened off previous to being planted 

 out at the end of May. The stems of W. 

 macrophylla, from Mexico, are covered 

 with short stinging hairs, bearing brownish 

 viscid drops, which adhere to the hand 

 like oil. W. imperialis, a new variety, 

 is said to excel the others in its growth. 

 W. Vigieri is another fine kind, of quick 

 and vigorous growth, and of remarkable 

 habit. Its leaves are 3 ft. 9 in. long 

 (including the leaf-stalk), and are 22 in. 

 across, and its stem, nearly 7 ft. high and 

 3 in. in diameter, bears a column of leaves. 

 This plant is distinguished by its leaves 

 and stem being covered in a greater 

 degree with glossy, slender, stinging 

 bodies, so thick as to give the stems 

 a glistening appearance. W. urens is 

 often planted, but is decidedly inferior to 

 the foregoing, except in its power of sting- 

 ing, in which it is not likely to be surpassed. 

 All Wigandias have clusters of blue or 

 violet blossoms, which are not often 

 borne in the open air with us. In 

 their native habitats they range from 

 3 to 12 ft. high, W. caracasana being 

 the tallest. 



WISTARIA (Glycine).~-1\K noblest 

 of all woody climbers ever introduced to 

 Europe. Besides giving a beautiful cover- 

 ing for houses or other buildings, the 

 common Wistaria is of great value used 

 in various other ways. It can be grown 

 on pergolas, on arbours, and even on 

 trees. In Mr. Waterer's nursery at Knap 

 Hill it has been trained up Laburnum 



