AUGUST 93 



of England, 1 believe, they all may be grown as hardy 

 herbaceous plants, except, perhaps, the beautiful F. 

 triphylla, which is a tropical species. They are evi- 

 dently very fond of the neighbourhood of the sea ; on 

 the coasts of Devon and Cornwall they grow luxuri- 

 antly, and do not require cutting down in winter ; and 

 at Kirkwall in the Orkneys I have seen houses covered 

 with them from the ground to the roof, with spaces 

 cut out for the windows. The hardiest I find to be F. 

 discolo)', F. macrostennna, F. Riccartoni, and F. glohosa. 

 Of the Japanese privets I need say nothing ; there are 

 many varieties, and they all make good flowering 

 shrubs for the late summer, but the Hibiscus, or Althcea, 

 is such an old favourite in English gardens that it 

 deserves a little more notice. The Hibiscus Syriacus, or 

 Althcea frutex, was brought to England at the beginning 

 of the seventeenth century, and it was not considered 

 hardy : ' In the winter it must be kept in a large pott 

 or tubbe, in the house or in a warme cellar, if you 

 would have them to thrive ' (Parkinson). It is, how- 

 ever, perfectly hardy, and forms a handsome bush, and, 

 where the soil suits it, there are few handsomer flower- 

 ing shrubs. It seems to like my soil, for my plants 

 are covered with handsome flowers, which remain on 

 the bush a long time. The prevailing colour is purple 

 of different shades, but the one I admire most is 



