XXX 



ON PHLOXES 



BEAUTIFUL as a flower, and magnificent as a garden 

 plant, the Phlox is fortunately in a position to arouse 

 interest by its own merits. I say " fortunately/' because 

 tracing its history unfolds no pageant of the past. It 

 cannot appeal to patriotism as a native, or to sentiment 

 as one of those sweet old favourites which have been 

 linked with the lives of centuries of generations. It is 

 a modern plant. True, some of the species have been 

 grown for a hundred years or more, but they are of 

 little historic interest or garden value, and only concern 

 us as parents of the beautiful varieties which we grow 

 in our gardens to-day. 



The name Phlox comes from flame, in allusion to 

 the brilliance of the flowers. Short, simple, easy of 

 pronunciation with the national custom of turning the 

 first two letters into "F" brought into play, it soon 

 became familiar, and no folk-name was required to 

 facilitate popularity. No sooner had the florists given 

 us good varieties than the plants spread from garden 

 to garden, and in a few brief years Phloxes were grown 

 everywhere. They are now so abundant and familiar 

 that they are associated in the public mind with old 

 favourites like Snapdragons, Columbines, Lilies, and 



Michaelmas Daisies, and it comes as a surprise to 



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