The Hydrangeas 



hidden by a wealth of creamy-white clusters of flowers 

 which exhaled the most fragrant of scents. In the 

 centre of each cluster were hundreds of small flowers, 

 all spiky, with myriads of tiny projecting stamens, while 

 at intervals round them were six to eight sterile florets, 

 each with four cream sepals, surrounding an immature 

 seed-case. And over the whole shrub were buzzing and 

 crawling endless flies and small bees lured by the 

 fragrance and tempted by the honey. It was a re- 

 markable sight, and might, with great advantage, be 

 reproduced in many a garden, for this Hydrangea is 

 unusually hardy. In Japan it is said to creep up to 

 the top of the tallest trees. 



The Oak-leaved Hydrangea, H. quercifolia, is charac- 

 terised by large, lobed leaves, and its flower clusters, 

 white at first, turn a greenish-purple later and tend to 

 be pyramidal. It is not very hardy, but it is distinctly 

 ornamental in such places as it will grow. 



The Hydrangeas belong to the family of plants 

 known as the Saxifragacece, in which are included 

 also a number of other charming flowering shrubs, such 

 as the deutzias, the mock oranges or syringas, and the 

 gay flowering currants. The little fertile flowers have 

 five sepals, five petals, two rings of stamens each, and a 

 single seed-case. 



Soil and Cultivation. A warm rich soil with a top 



dressing of manure in winter should be given these 



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