December 20, 1877. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE ASD COTTAGE GARDENER. 



475- 



blue flowers which are sweet-scented. It is an excellent De- 

 cember flower of the easiest culture. Bcavardias are indis- 

 pensable for December, especially for (affording bouquet flowers, 

 and are largely grown. The most popular varieties are Vree- 

 landii, Hogartb, Loogiflora Flammulu, Reine des Roses, and a 

 new dwarf bright-coloured sort named Leeiantha. Abutilons j 

 are nearly alwavs in flower, and perhaps none are more useful 

 than the white Boule de Nt-ige. The new yellow Boule d'Or is I 

 distinct and bright, and RosEeuorum is a pleasing variety, j 

 FucliBia Dominiana, which has almost been forgotten for years, j 

 is well to the fore. Since it has been 6een how easily it can be 

 grown and how bright and effective it is in December there 

 has been "quite a run" on it. Heaths — especially Ericas 

 byemalis, gracilis, and caffra— are December flowers of recog- 

 nised merit, and cannot well be dispensed with, as also are - 



Statices Holfordi and profusa, and Lasiandra macrantha fiori- 

 bunda. The new rosy scarlet Poinsettia, has fine headB and 

 bracts. It is quite distinct from the " old sort," and affords 

 an acceptable change. The double variety is not yet in beauty. 

 Such plants as Eupborbiajaoquinia;3ora, Centropogons Plum- 

 hago rosea, Eranthemums, Amaryllises, double PrimulaB, and 

 Epiphyllums violaceum and tricolor, contribute to the general 

 display. In one of tbe stoves the fine Ipomsa HorEfallire is 

 flowering profusely. Besides the handsome flowers tbe black 

 glossy flower buds of this plant are effective. Several small 

 plants of Ixoras are yielding bright trusses. I. Williameii and 

 I. Fraserii are very free, and flower attractively in 4 and 5-incb. 

 pots. In the stove also a number of plants of the brilliant 

 Aphelandra Roezli are showing ; also Gesneras, which are not 

 much less bright, and are of easy culture. A shelf in n, rtova. 



tig. 90. — ADIANTUil LUDDEMANNIANU3I. 



■will accommodate these plants during their season of growth, 

 and when flowering they are worthy of the most prominent 

 positions. G. exoniensis, G. refulgens, and G. einnabariaa 

 combine handsome foliage with beautiful flowers. Perhaps 

 the last named sort is as useful as any for general decorative 

 purposes. 



Of greater intrinsic value than many of the plants named 

 for producing high-class flowers during the winter — indeed, 

 nearly at all seasons of the year, are the jasminifiora-javanico 

 type of Rhododendrons. One of the parents of the type, 

 R. jasminiflorum, is yielding beautiful white flowers now, 

 while ether colours, also better foliage and habit of growth, 

 are provided by the newer varieties. A beautiful trio are the 

 following: — Taylori, bright rose, white tube; Duchess of 

 Edinburgh, scarlet; and Princess Alexandra, white faintly 

 suffused with rose. A smaller and new plant which must not 

 be overlooked for winter decoration is Col. Trevor Clarke's 

 Begonia Moonlight. It has the dwarf habit and rich dark 

 foliage of Pearcei, with a profusion of round flowers neither 



white nor yellow, but ' : moonlight" colour. It is very free 

 and attractive. There is a remnant of Lapagerias — a few- 

 blooms of the lovely L. alba, which is quite one of tho most 

 charming flowers in creation. Of Pitcher-plants there is a 

 considerable display. The flowers enumerated are not grouped 

 together to produce an imposing effect, but are scattered over 

 a great number of structures according to the requirements of 

 the several plants. 



Ornamental-foliaged plants — Crotons, DracffinaB^ Palms, 

 Aralias, Tillandsias, Marantas, AlocasiaB, and Palme — are very 

 numerous, and are as beautiful in their way as flowers, and 

 cannot be dispensed with for winter decoration. Ferns also 

 are ever charming. The crested Maidenhair (fig. 90), Adiantum 

 Liiddemannianum, is both curious and elegant, and its dwarf- 

 habit of growth renders it suitable as a fringe plant in pro- 

 minent positions. 



Camellias are swelling their buds ; they are mentioned , how- 

 ever, for the purpose of directing attention to the exumples of 

 handsome specimen plants in tubs, which illustrate in a. 



