Beautiful Flowering Shrubs 



In V. angustifolia, the pale lilac clusters are in pairs, 

 and three or four inches long ; in V. anomala, they tend 

 to be pink, and are but short, while the individual 

 flowers composing them are very minute, but the fact 

 that several are clustered together at the tip of a branch, 

 causes the shrub to provide quite a good floral ^how, 

 and makes it a desirable addition to a garden. 



The very formal V. Traversii, and the less known 

 but handsome V. anomala are the hardiest, and will 

 grow in most places if not too exposed ; V. buxifolia 

 may perhaps be also classed with them ; the more 

 graceful and ornamental V. salicifolia needs sunshine 

 and a certain amount of shelter here, though in New 

 Zealand it is the most widely spread of all the species ; 

 and the same remark, as regards sunshine and shelter, 

 applies to the gay V. Andersonii and the quaint 

 V. cupressoides. 



These shrubs belong to the botanical family, Scrophu- 

 lariacece, and have the foxglove, snapdragon, musk, 

 calceolaria, etc., as fellow members. 



Soil and Cultivation. The cultivation is of the 

 easiest, and the soil they prefer is a sandy loam. They 

 are best propagated by cuttings taken in early autumn 

 and placed in a cold frame. 



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