140 



THE WILD GARDEN. 



might seem choice positions in borders, many of the pLants attain- 

 ing greater beauty and remaining longer in bloom in the shade and 

 shelter of shrubby places than when fully exposed. As an instance 

 of this, I saw Funkia coerulea the other day, showing a size and beauty 

 in a shady drive at Beauport, near Battle, which I never saw it attain 

 under other circumstances. The plant was over a yard high, and bore 

 many stately stems hung with blue flowers. The Funkias are exceed- 

 ingly valuable iilants for the wild garden, not being liable to accidents 

 which are fatal to Lilies and other plants exposed to the attacks of 

 slugs and rabbits. 



Groups of Funkia .Sieboldi. 



Snakes-head, Fritillaria. — The beautiful British snakes-head 

 (F. Meleagris) grows wild, as most people know, in ]neadows in various 

 j)arts of England, and we should like to see it as well established in 

 the grassy hollows of many a country seat. A^'arious other Fritillarias 

 not so pretty as this, and of a peculiar livid dark hue, which is not 

 like to make them popular in gardens, such as F. tristis, would be 

 worthy of a position also ; while the Crown Imperial would do on the 

 fringes of shrubberies. 



Giant Fennel, Ferula. — Noble herbaceous plants belonging to 

 the parsley order, with much and exquisitely divided leaves ; y\\\&\\ 

 well developed forming magniticent tufts of verdure, reminding one 

 of the most finely-cut ferns, but far larger. The leaves appear very 

 early in sjiring, and disappear at the end of summer, and the l)est use 

 that can be made of the plants is to plant them here and there in 

 places occupied T)y spring and early summer flowers, among -which 



