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Gardening for Amateurs 



the previous year. Usually a small tree, 15 

 feet or so high, it sometimes occurs as a 

 shrub and at others as a tree 25 to 35 feet 

 high. 



False Acacia (Robinia Pseudacacia) 

 is one of the best of the many June- 

 flowering trees. Under normal conditions it 

 grows from 40 to 70 feet in height, and is of 

 interest by reason of its elegant pinnate leaves 

 and racemes of white flowers. It has many 

 varieties, of which angustifolia, with smaller 

 leaves than the type ; bella-rosea, with rose- 

 coloured flowers ; decaisneana and decais- 

 neana flore rubro, both of which have rose or 

 pinkish flowers ; fastigiata, of stiff upright 

 habit ; and monophylla, which has often 

 single-lobed leaves, are the best. R. viscosa 

 is another showy Robinia. It may be dis- 

 tinguished from the former tree by its sticky 

 flowers and by its curious trunk. R. neo- 

 mexicana is a Rocky Mountain kind, which 

 bears dense heads of pinkish flowers in May 

 and again during August. 



Indian Horse Chestnut. Aesculus 

 indica, the Indian Horse Chestnut, is quite 

 as decorative a tree as the common Horse 

 Chestnut, but it blossoms in July. Another 

 Chestnut flowering at the same time is the 

 Calif ornian Aesculus calif ornica. This, how- 

 ever, does not grow into an imposing tree, 

 but develops with a short trunk and wide- 

 spreading head. 



Catalpa, or Indian Bean Tree. Catalpa 

 bignonioides, the Indian Bean Tree, of the 

 S. United States, is the most ornamental 

 of all summer-flowering trees. Attaining 



a height of from 20 to 40 feet and forming 

 a wide-spreading head, it is conspicuous by 

 reason of its large heart-shaped leaves and 

 panicles of white flowers, marked inside 

 with yellow and purple. There is no more 

 suitable lawn tree for the midland and south- 

 ern counties. It thrives in loamy soil. A 

 number of other Catalpas are known, notably 

 C. cordifolia from the United States (which 

 has much in common with C. bignonioides), 

 C. Kaempferi, a yellowish-flowered Japanese 

 tree, less showy than the American kinds, 

 and a number of new Chinese sorts, such as 

 C. Bangei and C. Fargesi, which are said to 

 be very handsome when in flower, but are 

 still too young to bloom well in this country. 



Magnolia Fraseri is a low, wide-headed 

 tree with large, handsome leaves, and bear- 

 ing sulphur-coloured flowers in June. M. 

 tripetala, an allied tree, bears white flowers 

 during the same month, whilst M. hypoleuca 

 is another large-flowered kind flowering 

 during July. 



The latest attractive tree to bloom is the 

 white Sophora japonica. It is of vigorous 

 growth and bears white, pea-shaped blossoms 

 during September. 



Manna Ash. Fraxinus Ornus, the 

 Manna or Flowering Ash, represents a group 

 of Ashes that bear inflorescences of white, 

 fragrant flowers in June. It is a native of 

 the Mediterranean region and Orient, and is 

 the tree from which the manna of commerce 

 is obtained. F. Mariesii is a Chinese Ash 

 of decorative merit belonging to the same 

 group. 



Saintpaulia ionantha. This is a charm- 

 ing little plant for those having a warm 

 greenhouse, and it is easily raised from seed 

 sown at practically any time. From a 

 sowing made in spring the plants will come 

 into bloom at mid-winter. The plants only 

 need 3^-inch pots, as they are compact in 

 growth ; the flowers are violet -blue with 

 bright yellow centres, and freely produced, 

 and even though the plants are so small they 

 never fail to attract attention. The same 

 treatment as is usually given Begonias or 

 Gloxinias in the seedling stage will suit this 

 plant 



Gomphrena globosa (Globe Amar- 

 anth) is a pretty half-hardy annual. It is 

 included in the group of plants with dry 

 flower -heads, which are popularly termed 

 Everlasting Flowers. Gomphrena globosa 

 gives good results if the seeds are sown out- 

 of-doors in any good garden soil in April, or 

 in pots or boxes under glass in March ; the 

 seedlings are pricked off 2 inches apart in 

 boxes, to be planted out in May. Four or five 

 plants placed in 5- or 6-inch pots and grown 

 in a greenhouse or frame are very attractive 

 in the conservatory. Varieties with white, 

 pink, red and purple flowers may be procured. 



