July 29, 1896.] 



Garden and Forest. 



305 



rest. Its flowers are borne on long stems and they are a 

 clear yellow, of a lighter tint even than those of H. flava. 

 It has the merit of being later than any of those mentioned, 

 and is at its best here in the latter half of July. 



Cultural Department. 



The Hardy' Plant Border. 



AMASS of the common Prickly Pear, Opuntia vulgaris, has 

 been one of the most attractive features of the hardy 

 plant border for the past month. The flowers are two inches 



them in winter, though I believe they are perfectly hardy with- 

 out. The plants are easily propagated from seed or by break- 

 ing- up the stems in early spring. 



Callirrhoe involucrata, a prostrate malvaceous plant, is just 

 now one of the best things in flower in that family. The beau- 

 tiful crimson flowers are two inches in diameter, and are fine 

 for cutting, the flower-stalks being from eight to twelve inches 

 long. It blooms continuously from July until October. It is 

 a perennial and delights in a good rich soil and an open posi- 

 tion. Sida indica, another malvaceous plant, is in flower here 

 for the first time. The stems are eighteen inches high and 

 much branched. The leaves are cordate, three inches long 

 by two wide. The flowers are carried singly on short petioles 





Fig. 41. — Viburnum cassinoidea. — See page 304. 



in diameter, and of a bright yellow color and produced in 

 great numbers, each of the flattened stems bearing from three 

 to seven flowers. O. Rafinesqii has also flowered well. The 

 flowers of this species are rather larger and have more sub- 

 stance than those of O. vulgaris. O. oplocarpa is a larger- 

 growing species than either of the preceding; the flattened 

 stems are more rhomboidal in outline, and ot a bluish green 

 color. Opuntias should be massed to be seen at their best. 

 They are not particular as to soil, but they require an open 

 sunny position. We usually throw a little light covering over 



from the axils of the leaves ; they are about one and a half 

 inches in diameter and of a pale buff, a color unusual among 

 flowers. The whole plant is covered with soft downy hairs. 

 Commelinas deserve to become more popular than they are 

 at present. A bed of C. ccelestis, a Mexican species, is just 

 now in full bloom. The plants are of bushy habit, one foot high, 

 with sheathing oblanceolate leaves three to six inches long by 

 two broad. The flowers are in clu tersand produced on stalks 

 two to four inches long. The color is of the brightest blue ; 

 they close, however, about noon, but they are particularly 



