886 



Gardening for Amateurs 



required it should be given the prefer- 

 ence. Growing 8 or 10 feet high, it has 

 slender, wand-like branches, which are 

 clothed with the daintiest of bright green 

 leaves. A. pygmaea is the dwarf est of all 

 kinds, for it rarely grows more than 1 foot 

 high. It is excellent for clothing the bank 

 of a lake or pond and is improved by being 

 cut down, biennially. A. Simoni, a Chinese 

 plant, is a well-known kind which grows 

 18 or 20 feet in height. The tall, stately 

 branches are produced in dense clusters, and 

 are imposing when clothed with dark green 

 leaves 6 inches long and 1| inches wide. 



Phyllostachys may be easily recognised 

 by reason of their sheaths losing their leaves 

 very early, and by the side branches being 

 arranged in groups of three, two branches 

 being much larger than the third. The 

 stems are also glossy. P. aurea forms a hand- 

 some clump, 12 to 15 feet high. It may be 

 distinguished from other kinds by the nodes 

 at the base of the stem being arranged very 

 closely together. P. fastuosa is the most 

 dignified of all the hardy kinds, for its tall, 

 stately branches rise to a height of 20 feet 

 or more and assume a somewhat columnar 

 habit. The leaves are large, dark green, and 

 handsome, and they keep their colour better 

 in spring than those of other kinds. It is a 



native of Japan. P. flexuosa grows 12 to 

 15 feet high, and is noticeable by reason 

 of its elegant outline. For general pur- 

 poses P. Henonis is one of the best kinds. 

 It is of ornamental appearance, of vigorous 

 constitution, and sometimes grows 18 feet 

 high. P. nigra is an elegant kind with 

 dark-coloured stems. It and its varieties 

 Boryana and punctata are excellent plants. 

 P. Quilioi, a Japanese species, is less 

 generally useful than some of the other 

 kinds, but its variety Castillonis must be 

 considered as a really good Bamboo. Of 

 vigorous growth, it attains a height of 15 

 feet. A peculiarity of this variety is the 

 curious bright green mark which occurs 

 on the flattened parts of the stems, the 

 remainder being golden. P. viridi-glauces- 

 cens is another free-growing, vigorous species 

 from China. It is very hardy and has long 

 been an occupant of our gardens. 



Bambusa. Little need be said of the Bam- 

 busas. for there are few species, and those are 

 less generally useful than the kinds already 

 mentioned. B. tessellata, a native of China 

 and Japan, is the largest -leaved of all the 

 hardy Bamboos, for the leaves are frequently 

 13 inches long and 4 inches wide. It is not 

 an imposing plant, however, and scarcely 

 exceeds 3 feet in height. 



Acantholimon (Prickly Thrift) is a 



low-growing, tufted plant, a native of the 

 Orient and Asia Minor. It is essentially 

 a plant for the rockery, and should be planted 

 in light soil in sunny positions, where its 

 evergreen leaves and compact tufts will be 

 as attractive in winter as its Thrift-like 

 flowers are in summer. Propagation may 

 be carried on by means of seeds or cuttings. 

 A. glumaceum and A. venustum each grow 

 about 6 inches high and produce rose- 

 coloured flowers in summer, whilst A. 

 Kotschzi, about the same height, bears 

 statue-like inflorescences of white flowers. 



Acanthus consists chiefly of plants of 

 herbaceous habit, suitable for borders in 

 this country, but at least one kind of shrubby 

 habit requires warm house culture. The 

 herbaceous kinds are characterised by long, 

 ornamental leaves, with deeply lobed margins, 



and they bear tall, strong, upright spikes of 

 white or white and pink or purplish flowers. 

 They are excellent for massing in irregular- 

 shaped groups in the wider parts of the garden 

 in addition to being useful border plants. 

 They are increased by division of the clumps 

 and give the best results when planted in 

 deep, rich, loamy soil. A. candelabrus, A. 

 hirsutus, A. longifolius, A. mollis and A. 

 spinosus should all be grown. A. montanus 

 is the best known of the tender kinds ; it 

 is usually grown as a hothouse plant, and is 

 increased by cuttings in spring, placed in a 

 warm propagating case. A compost of 

 3 parts loam to 1 part of leaf-mould and | a 

 part each of well-rotted manure and sand 

 suits. The flowers are rose-coloured and 

 borne during summer. Bear's Breach and 

 Bear's Foot are common names applied to 

 the Acanthuses in Europe and the Orient. 



