BAPTISIA BORAGO. 



77 



of the Laburnum. North America. 



Borders, in deep loamy soils. 



Seed or division. 



Baptisia australis (Southern B.} A 

 handsome plant, with spreading, 

 branched, smooth stems, 2 to 3ft. high. 

 Flowers, in summer ; dark - blue or 

 purple, in few- flowered racemes shorter 

 than the branches ; calyx with 4 di- 

 visions, lower one blunt. Leaves, 

 stalked, smooth; leaflets oblong- 

 wedge-shaped, blunt. Banks of rivu- 

 lets in North America. Borders, 



margins of shrubberies, or naturaliza- 

 tion in any soil. Division or seed. 



Baptisia exaltata (Tall B.)A fine, 

 showy perennial, with erect stem, 3 to 

 4 ft. high. Flowers, in summer ; deep 

 blue, scattered in many-flowered ra- 

 cemes, longer than the branches ; 

 calyx with 4 divisions, lower one 

 acute. Leaves, ternate ; leaflets lance- 

 shaped - obovate. North America. 



Borders, by wood- walks, margins 



of shrubberies, or naturalization in 

 ordinary soil. Division or seed. 



Barnardia scilloides (Squill-like B.} 

 A pretty squill-like bulbous plant, 

 about 6 in. high. Flowers, in summer ; 

 pale blue, green on the outside, with 

 yellow anthers, numerous in dense 

 terminal racemes. Leaves, linear, 

 channelled, pointed, 6 in. long; bulb 



tunicated. Macao. Rockwork, in 



light sandy loam, and on warm bor- 

 ders. Division. 



Begonia Veitchii (Veitch's B.} A 

 brilliant and large-flowered, hardy 

 kind, resembling Saxifraga ciliata in 

 habit, 8 in. to 1 ft. high. Flowers, in 

 autumn ; 2 to 2 4 in. across, of a vivid 

 vermilion cinnabar-red, usually 2 on 

 each stem. Leaves, of a rich, glossy, 

 dark green, nearly circular, about 

 3 in. across. Found near Cuzco, in 

 Peru, at an elevation of upwards of 

 12,000 feet, and proved in this country 

 sufficiently hardy to withstand seven 

 degrees of frost without the least in- 



jury. Rockwork, or slightly raised, 



choice borders, in rich, light, and 

 very well-drained soil. Division and 

 seed. 



Bellis perennis (Daisy.} It is need- 

 less to describe this well-known na- 

 tive plant, but the handsome double 

 varieties, from the quilled white 

 and the double red, to the sin- 

 gular aucuba -leaved one, with its 

 leaves so richly stained and veined 

 with yellow, and the quaint hen-and- 

 chicken variety, are among the most 

 effective and easily- managed subjects 

 we can use for the spring and early 



summer garden. They grow best in 



rich garden soil, and may be increased 

 rapidly by dividing them into small 

 pieces in April. 



Betonica grandiflora (Large-flowered 

 B.) A dwarf, hairy, erect perennial, 

 12 to 18 in. high. Flowers, in summer ; 

 purplish, in whorls of from 10 to 20 ; 

 corolla 3 times as long as the some- 

 what bell-shaped calyx. Leaves, 

 stalked, broadly-ovate, blunt, heart- 

 shaped at the base ; floral ones stalk- 

 less, stem-clasping. Siberia. Bor- 

 ders, margins of shrubberies, or natu- 

 ralization in common soil. Division. 



Bocconia cordata (Heart-shaped B.) 

 Macleya. A stately perennial, 

 4 to 8 ft. high. Flowers, in summer ; 

 brownish, in large panicles. Leaves, 

 roundish-heart-shaped, whitish be- 

 neath, shortly lobed. China. In 



borders or in isolated tufts in the turf 

 of the pleasure-ground. This attains 

 greatest vigour and beauty in deep, 

 warm, sandy loam, and in a sheltered 

 and sunny position. Division of well- 

 established plants. 



Borago orientalis (Early Borage) 

 Borago cordifolia. A somewhat 

 coarse but pleasing herb, 8 in. to 15 in. 

 high. Flowers, early in spring ; bluish, 

 with five reflected ovate-obtuse divi- 

 sions longer than the tube, in panicled 

 clusters ; stamens projecting very far 



