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Garden and Forest. 



[Number 440. 



beautiful in early morning. They have thickened fleshy roots 

 and must be lifted before winter and stored in sand, as Dahlia 

 roots are, and they must not be allowed to get dry. C. Hass- 

 karlii, an East Indian species, is more spreading and weedy in 

 habit, though the flowers are of the same color as those of 

 C. ccelestis. 



Last year we received a plant from Thomas Meehan, of Ger- 

 mantown, Philadelphia, under the name of Betonica rosea, 

 and this is one of the best perennials we have. It belongs to 

 the Labiate family and grows a foot and a half high. The 

 leaves are opposite, oblanceolate in outline, four inches long 

 by two wide, with crenated edges. The flowers are in close 

 terminal whorls and of a lovely rosv pink color. This plant 

 has often been mistaken for an Orchid. According to the 

 Index Kewe?isis, the name of this plant is now changed to 

 Stachys grandiflora. A mass of the well-known and useful 

 Stachys Betonica is now in full bloom, and the purple spikes 

 of flowers make a good display at this season. The variety 

 grandiflora has much larger leaves and flowers than S. Be- 

 tonica, but does not appear to flower as freely. They both do 

 well in almost any position, but they like best a moist rich soil. 



Trachymene ccerulea, a west Australian umbelliferous an- 

 nual, is now flowering in this garden. The stems are two feet 

 in height and branched. The trifoliate leaves are sessile and 

 about three inches long by two wide and deeply lobed. Both 

 stem and leaves are thickly covered wilh soft hairs. The 

 flowers are light blue in color and borne in a simple umbel 

 from two to three inches in diameter. The flower-stalks are 

 about eight inches in length. I consider this one of the best 

 annuals we have. Erysimum Perowskianum is another good 

 annual belonging to the Mustard family, and which deserves 

 to become popular. The plant grows to about one foot in 

 height and is of a bushy habit. The leaves are lanceolate, four 

 to six inches long by half an inch wide, and sessile. The 

 flowers are borne on erect racemes and are of a reddish orange 

 color and sweet-scented. Both plant and flowers closely re- 

 semble some of the dwarf forms of the English Wallflower. 

 It stands the sun well and flowers almost all summer. It is 

 most useful for the front of the herbaceous border and for cut- 

 ting purposes. It is a native of the Caucasus. 



Catananche lutea, a composite annual, is of a low straggling- 

 habit, but is very showy and useful for cutting. The leaves 

 are sessile, six to eight inches long by two wide, with toothed 

 edges. The flowers are yellow, with a chocolate centre, and 

 about two inches in diameter. C. ccerulea is a perennial spe- 

 cies, with blue flowers, from two to three feet high. 



Botanic Garden, Northampton, Mass. Edward J. Canning. 



Some Good Annuals. 



THE dwarf compact Swan River Daisy, Brachycome iberidi- 

 folia, makes a handsome bed at this time. It is only some 

 eight inches high, and the many-branched stems are termi- 

 nated by loose clusters of small, blue, Cineraria-like flowers. 

 The flowers are produced abundantly, and a single flower 

 measures one inch across. The white-flowered form of this 

 plant is very desirable and makes a good companion for the 

 one with blue flowers. To secure the best effect a number of 

 plants should be massed together in a light sandy soil and an 

 open sunny position, where they keep on blossoming for 

 many weeks. 



Another showy genus from Australia is Rhodanthe, now 

 included in Helipterum, although for garden purposes it is 

 distinct enough to be kept separate. R. Manglesii is a distinct 

 plant, a foot in height, with erect, glabrous and corymbosely 

 branched stems. The bright rose-colored flower-heads are 

 produced on long peduncles. The flowers are "everlasting," 

 and when dried are useful for winter bouquets. A light sandy 

 soil and a sunny position also suits this plant well. It also has 

 a white-flowered variety and a form with double flowers, both 

 of which are desirable garden annuals. 



Sanvitalia procumbens is a dwarf Mexican annual that was 

 introduced from there in 1798. It is a slender, trailing plant 

 about six inches in height, and its compact habit makes it use- 

 ful for edging beds or planting in masses in small round beds, 

 where it makes a conspicuous yellow mass of color. The 

 flower-heads are small, but they are produced in great num- 

 bers. The form with double flowers is very desirable and 

 grows with as much ease as the typical plant. 



Monolopia major is an annual composite plant from Cali- 

 fornia that has showy terminal, solitary, sulphur-yellow flower- 

 heads about an inch in diameter. The plants grown here are 

 about fifteen inches high, and they have narrow entire leaves 

 and are attractive now with their distinct flowers. This plant 



grows freely in any ordinary garden soil, but prefers a sunny 

 situation. 



The genus Phacelia contains many showy garden annuals 

 which are easy to grow. P. viscida is a showy species with 

 branched stems, a foot in height and broadly ovate, sub- 

 cordate leaves. The blue flowers are of a good size and borne 

 on racemes. P. tenacetifolia makes a handsome bed of blue. 

 It grows about eighteen inches high, and the flowers are car- 

 ried in dense spike-like racemes. P. divaricata is a desirable 

 plant ; so is P. Parryi, a dwarf species about six inches high, 

 with tine large flowers of a dark violet-blue. All these species 

 flower plentifully and the plants are very attractive for some 

 length of time. 



A small bed of Lychnis cceli-rosea in the garden has been 

 very bright for several weeks, and is much admired. The 

 plants are about fifteen inches high and are just now all ablaze 

 with bright rosy purple flowers. This Lychnis is well adapted 

 for growing in masses, and in this way it is most effective. It 

 was introduced from the Levant one hundred and eighty years 

 ago, but is now rarely seen in gardens here. 



The annual Bellflowers when well grown make neat plants, 

 and they produce a good supply of showy flowers. Perhaps 

 the most singular plant in the genus Campanula is C. macro- 

 styla. The height of the plants grown here is about fifteen 

 inches and the stems and leaves are bristly. The lower leaves 

 are ovate-oblong and acute, while those on the upper part of 

 the stems are ovate-lanceolate, hispid on both sides and ciliated 

 with bristles. The flowers are large and borne singly on stout 

 hairy stalks, and their color is dull purple, reticulated with 

 violet. The length of the stigma is the most remarkable part 

 of the flower, and the large calyx is interesting. This showy 

 Belltiovver is a native of Asia Minor. The seeds from which 

 our plants were raised were received from Mr. J. N. Gerard, 

 Elizabeth, New Jersey, who said they came from Asia Minor. 

 We have grown this plant many times before, but the plants 

 now in bloom have larger flowers than the ones we once grew. 

 The plant ought to have a place in every garden of any pre- 

 tensions. Another good annual Bellflower is C. Loreyi, a plant 

 that comes from the south of Europe. It makes nice, com- 

 pact, bushy plants about nine inches in height, with stalkless 

 shining leaves. The flowers are produced in quantity, so that 

 the plant is quite decorative when its blue-violet flowers are in 

 good condition. The white-flowered form of this plant is 

 common and makes a neat and distinct plant. A position near 

 the front of a sunny border, in light and fairly rich soil, is best 

 suited to their wants. 



The genus Clarkia has a few showy species and varieties 

 which are common and useful garden annuals. These native 

 annuals are very effective, robust in growth and showing a 

 profusion of showy flowers for a long time during the sum- 

 mer. Clarkia elegans is a much-branched plant, having long 

 leafy racemes. It is about two feet high and has lanceolate- 

 dentate leaves ; the petals entire, broader than long, and are 

 of a lilac-purple color. There are quite a number of desirable 

 varieties of this plant ; some of them have white flowers, 

 others rose, and the double-flowered kinds are good. C. pul- 

 chella is another species with a good habit, and it is also very 

 floriferous. The height of this plant is about eighteen inches, 

 and its stems are clothed with linear leaves. The pretty flow- 

 ers are of a purple color and plentifully produced. The 

 varieties of this species make desirable plants. Clarkias grow 

 freely in rich light sandy soil and a sunny position, and as 

 their flowering season lasts for some time they are well adapted 

 for planting in small beds. They should be planted six or 

 eight inches apart each way as they grow fast and do not make 

 such stocky plants unless they have plenty of room to show 

 their character and develop themselves properly. 



Emilia sagittata is a pretty compositas nearly related to the 

 Senecios. Its bright orange-scarlet flower-heads are produced 

 very plentifully on long slender stems and they measure about 

 one inch across. A small piece of ground planted with this 

 Emilia makes a good mass of a bright taking color just now. 

 In a light sandy soil and a sunny position it will produce a 

 wealth of flowers for two or three months. 



Crepis rubra, or sometimes found under the name Bark- 

 hansia, is a serviceable annual about a foot high, and it has 

 large showy flower-heads. This plant is the best species 

 belonging to the large genus. Crepis has one hundred and 

 thirty species, but most of them are weedy and inferior as gar- 

 den plants. The red flower-heads are borne singly on long 

 stems, and they measure over two inches across. The white- 

 flowered variety is also desirable. All these annuals are raised 

 from seed sown about the beginning of April in pots, or boxes 

 if a large number of plants are needed, in a moderately warm 

 greenhouse. When the seedlings are large enough to handle 



