Gardening for Amateurs 



153 



roots, July being the best time to do the 

 work ; or by seeds sown in a cold frame as 

 soon as they are ripe. Raising the plants 

 from seeds is rather slow, the young plants 

 taking from three to four years to flower. 

 It is, however, most interesting, especially 

 with the Lenten Roses, and if a few seeds 

 are sown each year there will be young plants 

 flowering for the first time 

 every season. So long as 

 they are thriving and flower- 

 ing freely it is not desirable 

 to transplant Hellebores un- 

 less for purposes of propaga- 

 tion, as they dislike being 

 disturbed, and take two years 

 at least to recover from the 

 cheek of lifting. An annual 

 top-dressing of equal parts of 

 leaf-mould and old manure 

 is very beneficial in May or 

 .June. 



Christmas Roses. The old 

 white Christmas Rose (H. 

 niger) is at its best from 

 December to March. Altifo- 

 lius (syn. maximus) is taller 

 and more vigorous, with large 

 tlo\\ers. usually tinged with 

 pink ; they are the first to 

 expand, generally opening in 

 November. Angustifolius, 

 pure white, is the variety usu- 

 ally chosen for cultivation in 

 the cold frame or greenhouse ; 

 it produces fine flowers on 

 long stalks ; this variety is 

 sometimes grown as luvernis, 

 the St. Brigid Christmas 

 Rose ; major, a large- flowered 

 variety, opens durinir l>-<-rm- 

 }>or and January ; and Madame 

 Fourcade is a fine white- 

 tli'uered French variety. The height of 

 the plants is about 1 foot, the leaves 

 generally being rather taller than the 

 flowera. 



The Lenten Roses are much more 

 numerous than the Christmas Roses, and 

 rather taller in growth. They comprise 

 many lx>autiful shades of rose, purple, and 

 white, some of the varieties being hand- 

 somely spotted. They thrive excellently on 



a shady border in the suburban garden. A 

 selection of good sorts comprises Bismarck, 

 deep plum purple ; Brutus, coppery-rose ; 

 Councillor Benary, snow white, purple spots ; 

 Chancellor, rose ; Frau Irene Heinemann, 

 purple spotted flowers ; Gertrude Jekyll, 

 pure white ; Gretchen Heinemann, light 

 purple ; Harlequin, rose, spotted, lighter 





A showy, free-blooming: Sunflower (Helianthus Miss Mellish). 



centre ; Lasandra, rosy-purple, spotted ; 

 P. R. BAIT, rich purple, spotted ; Unique, 

 blush-white, crimson spots ; W. E. Glad- 

 stone, soft rose. The flowers of these varieties 

 are very attractive \\li.n cut and daintily 

 arranged in a vase. In addition to these, 

 IGYWal species and \ arieties ,l,-^-r\ .it tent i.-n. 

 and thrive under similar conditions: H. 

 viridis, bright green : H. foctidus, green 

 t!..uer> \Mth red tip-: H. colchicus. rich 



