164 



Gardening for Amateurs 



Paeonies may be raised from seeds 

 also, but this is not a method much in 

 favour. Planting may be done during 

 mild weather from September to April, 

 choosing for preference September and 

 October. When the young growths in spring 

 are crowded, some of the smaller, weaker 

 shoots should be carefully pulled out. As 

 a rule few if any flowers are produced the 

 first season after planting ; it takes two or 

 even three years for the roots to recover 

 fully from the check. Mulch annually with 

 well-decayed manure in spring, or give 

 several applications of weak liquid manure 

 at intervals, and water liberally during dry 

 weather. 



In addition to producing a, wealth of 

 blossoms for garden decoration Paeony 

 flowers are excellent to cut for filling large 

 vases. The blooms last a long time in 

 water, especially if cut before they are fully 

 expanded. 



Among the single, semi-double, and double 

 sorts almost every shade of colour from pure 

 white to rich deep crimson is represented, 

 while many of the flowers are deliriously 

 fragrant. Space here can only be found for 

 description of a few of the best and most 

 distinct named sorts of the dozens or even 

 hundreds grown by florists. 



May-flowering Single Paeonies : Anomala 

 insignis, crimson ; officinalis alba, white ; 

 off. lobata, cerise-salmon ; Rosy Gem, rose- 

 pink ; Sunbeam, cerise- salmon ; and *tenui- 

 folia, crimson with fern-like foliage. 



June - flowering Single Paeonies : *Ava- 

 lanche, white ; *Darius, rose-pink ; Dread- 

 nought, crimson ; Enchantress, silvery -pink ; 

 Venus, bright rose, lighter edge ; Vulcan, 

 carmine-rose. 



May-flowering Double Paeonies: *Rubra 

 plena, crimson ; *alba plena, white ; car- 

 nescens plena, flesh -pink ; *rosea plena, 

 rose ; atro-rubens, deep rich red ; anemone- 

 flora plena, red. (All are varieties of 

 P. officinalis.) 



June and July-flowering Double Chinese 

 Paeonies : Ambrose Verschaffelt, reddish- 

 purple ; *Arethusa, blush-pink ; Buyckii, rose, 

 salmon centre ; Candidissima, sulphur-yellow, 

 anemone-flowered ; *Charles Binder, silvery- 

 rose ; Comte de Nanteuil, salmon-rose ; 

 Delacour Verhille, pure white ; Duchesse de 



Nemours, white, primrose centre ; *Festiva 

 maxima, snow-white ; Fra^ois Ortecat, dark 

 purple, anemone-flowered ; *carnea rosea, 

 bright pink ; *Louis van Houtte, violet- 

 crimson ; *Marie Lemoine, pure white ; 

 Souvenir d'Auguste Miellez, crimson-carmine ; 

 Sir William Harcourt, crimson ; Virginie, 

 blush-rose, showing yellow anthers ; Whitlejii, 

 white, tinged rose. 



The varieties named may be purchased 

 from about twelve shillings to forty shillings 

 a dozen. Newer sorts may cost from five 

 shillings upwards each. Twelve of the best 

 sorts for the town, suburban, and small 

 gardens are marked with an asterisk. 



Papaver orientale (Oriental Poppy). 

 For providing masses of brilliant colour in 

 the garden during June, no perennial equals 

 the Oriental Poppy. The plants will thrive 

 in most soils, and flower freely in both small 

 and large gardens, in sun or partial shade. 

 Until within comparatively recent years the 

 flowers varied little in the shade of colour 

 when raised from seeds, and were all scarlet 

 or crimson-scarlet. These still provide the 

 most brilliant display in the border, yet 

 space should also be found for some of the 

 newer varieties, of which at least fifty have 

 been given distinctive names. A wide range 

 of colour, including many " art " shades, is 

 given by the following list of named sorts ; 

 Blush Queen, blush-pink, deep purple blotches 

 at base ; Jeannie Mawson, delicate salmon- 

 pink ; Lady Roscoe, orange- terra- cotta ; 

 Marie Studholme, salmon tinged with car- 

 mine and silver ; Mrs. Perry, orange- apricot ; 

 Prince of Orange, orange-scarlet ; Princess 

 Ena, light orange- salmon ; Queen Alexandra, 

 salmon-pink ; Royal Scarlet, glowing scarlet, 

 very effective black blotches. Papaver 

 bracteatum, though similar in growth, is 

 rather more vigorous than the true Oriental 

 Poppy, and the petals are surrounded by 

 green leafy bracts. There are several 

 distinct varieties, the best being Beauty 

 of Livermere, crimson ; Boadicea, blood- 

 crimson; Minerva, soft flesh, black blotches; 

 and Monarch, orange-scarlet. 



The Oriental Poppy may be propagated 

 by division of the clumps in autumn or 

 early spring, September, perhaps, for prefer- 

 ence, and from seeds sown on a border out 

 of doors from April to June. Seeds may be 



