XVII 

 THE WEIGELAS 



Diervilla florida . . or Weigela amabilis 



rosea 



floribunda multiftora 



grandiflora 

 japonica 



lonicera . f or D. canadensis, or D. lutea, D. 



Tournefortii 



IN one of the most beautiful islands of the world, 

 the island of Chusan, off the coast of North 

 China, the common Weigela, W. rosea, of our 

 gardens, was first found by an Englishman. It was 

 growing in the garden of one of the mandarins there, 

 a garden famed for its pretty rockwork, and commonly 

 known as " the grotto garden " ; and when, in 1843, 

 Robert Fortune's eyes first fell upon it, it was loaded 

 with noble rose-coloured flowers, the pride of the old 

 mandarin and the admiration of all beholders. No 

 doubt it was a magnificent plant, well displayed, for 

 the mandarins' gardens there are but small, and since 

 but few plants can be grown, these are always selected 

 for their beauty and individually treated. 



Like everyone else, Fortune fell under the shrub's 



spell, and he promptly acclaimed it as one of the most 



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