144 



Gardening for Amateurs 



The seeds may be sown on a border out of 

 doors or in a cold frame from April to June 

 and in a heated greenhouse during February. 

 When large enough to handle conveniently, 

 the seedlings are transferred to shallow boxes 

 or on a prepared border. Division of the 

 clumps or roots and planting generally may 

 be carried out during favourable weather 

 from October to March, in one of the two 

 months named for preference. Provided 

 the plants are flowering freely they should 

 not be lifted and divided more than once 

 in four or five years. Cuttings made of the 

 young shoots when they push up during 

 March and April will root if inserted in pots 

 of sandy soil in a cold frame kept closed or 

 under a handlight. 



Soil and Planting. Delphiniums should 

 be planted in sunny positions. The plants 

 delight in a rich, deep soil which should be 

 trenched and manured 1| to 2 feet deep 

 some weeks previous to planting. It is 

 worth while digging in some chopped turf 

 on light, sandy soil, and for this kind of 

 land cow-manure is preferable to horse- 

 manure. Heavy, clay soils are improved by 

 mixing in road-grit and leaf-mould, throwing 

 up the ground roughly during the winter, 

 and postponing the planting until March. 



The Best Kinds. The best of the pe- 

 rennial species or wild types are D. Brunoni- 

 anum, the Musk-scented Larkspur from the 

 Himalayas, 1 to 1J feet, light blue, darker 

 centre, in flower June to August ; D. 

 cardinale, the Scarlet Larkspur, a Californian 

 kind, 3 feet high, with scarlet flowers, July 

 and August ; D. cashmirianum, native of 

 the Himalayas, 1| feet high, pale blue, 

 July and August ; D. grandiflorum, from 

 Siberia, 2 to 2J feet high, dark blue, July 

 and August album, a variety of this, has 

 satiny-Avhite flowers ; D. nudicaule, from 

 California, 1| feet, orange-red, June to July ; 

 D. sulphureum (syn. D. Zalil), from Syria, 

 2 to 3 feet high, sulphur-yellow, July and 

 August. 



Named Varieties. Grouped under the 

 heading of Delphinium hybridum scores of 

 named sorts or florists' varieties are in cul- 

 tivation. For anything like a complete 

 list of these readers should refer to the 

 catalogue of a hardy plant nurseryman. 

 The following twelve sorts will be found a 



useful selection to begin with : Belladonna, 

 sky blue ; Carmen, gentian blue, centre 

 suffused rosy-purple ; Duke of Connaught, 

 blue, flushed rosy-lavender, white eye ; 

 General Baden-Powell, sky blue, centre rosy- 

 mauve ; Julia, rich blue, veined rose, white 

 centre ; King of Delphiniums, gentian blue, 

 white centre ; La France, blue, shaded rosy- 

 lavender ; Lizzie van Veen, azure blue, 

 white centre ; Moerheimi, one of the best 

 whites ; Persimmon, sky blue ; Rev. E. 

 Lascelles, deep blue, white centre ; True 

 Blue, gentian blue, black centre. 



The Annual Larkspurs or Delphiniums 

 (varieties of D. Ajacis, the Rocket Larkspur, 

 and D. consolida, the Branching Larkspur) 

 are very popular for the mixed border, 

 being showy and easy to grow. The plants 

 vary in height from 1 foot to 3 feet. Some 

 of them have single flowers on elegant 

 branching stems, while others, notably the 

 Dwarf Rocket varieties, produce closely 

 packed flowers on spikes a foot high. 



Eryngium (Sea Holly). The popular 

 name of Sea Holly has reference to the spiny 

 character of the leaves and the bracts round 

 about the flowers. They are extremely 

 attractive border plants. The varied, steel- 

 blue colouring of the stems, the ornamental 

 character of the leaves, and the singularly 

 attractive flower heads combine to make 

 the Sea Hollies unusually handsome and 

 distinct. Their flowering season extends 

 over a lengthy period, from June to Sep- 

 tember. The flowers are also valuable for 

 cutting ; they last well, and are most 

 decorative material for indoor decoration, 

 either as fresh flowers or dried for use in 

 Avinter. They Avill groAV in most soils, pro- 

 viding it is well drained ; for choice plant 

 the Sea Hollies in light sandy soil to which 

 some decayed manure has been added. 

 Our native Sea Holly (Eryngium maritimum) 

 is found growing in pure sand by the seashore. 

 Though they will grow in partial shade, they 

 much prefer the sunshine, as this alone 

 develops to perfection the exquisite blue 

 sheen on stems, leaves and flower heads. 

 Planting should be done in autumn or spring. 



When to Sow Seeds. The Sea Hollies 

 may be increased by division or root cuttings, 

 but as a rule the best results are obtained 

 when plants are raised from seeds. These 



