246 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 276. 



on the base of the petals. The Howers are very attractive, while 

 lacking the vivid coloring of the ordinary Poppies. 

 Elizabeth. N.J. ' J.N.Gerard. 



The Hardy Plant Garden. 



ALTHOUGH the season is later than usual, it has been alto- 

 gether favorable to plant-growth in the garden. We have 

 had no late frosts, and frequent rains have brought about a 

 vigorous growth which promises well for the summerdisplay. 

 Lilies of all kinds are coming on stronger than ever, and will 



is most brilliant in color, darker than the common Oriental 

 Poppy, but similar to the best forms known as the variety 

 Bracteatum. P. glaucum has been called the Tulip Poppy, 

 owing to the peculiar arrangement of the two sets of petals, 

 one within the other, each forming perfect circles. This Poppy 

 is an annual, but has a habit of branching from the base unlike 

 any other species with which I am acquainted, and promises, 

 in consequence, to flower all the season if not allowed to ex- 

 haust itself in seeding. I am indebted to Herr Max Leichtlin, 

 of Baden-Baden, for this and many other valuable garden- 

 plants, one of which, Lindelofia spectabilis praecox, noted last 



Fig- 37- — Bismarckia nobilis. — See page 244. 



keep the grounds brieht with their flowers for the greater 

 part of the summer. I had fancied there were symptoms of 

 the Lily disease last season, and anxiously watched for the re- 

 appearance of the plants this spring, anticipating a weaker 

 growth than last year's ; but, for some cause, the disease is not 

 here, and, if we except the rose-bug, there are few insects that 

 cannot be circumvented in some way. 



A most promising plant, although no longer neu-, is Papaver 

 glaucum. Seeds were started early in the greenhouse, and the 

 plants grown on into six-inch pots. They were set out May 

 loth, and are now covered with buds and flowers. This Poppy 



season, is again in vigorous bloom. It is perfectly hardy and 

 of the true Gentian blue, rare among hardy plants. The best 

 form of Dicentra eximia, that from Tennessee, is in bloom 

 with us from April to November. Flowers come with the first 

 leaves, and continue until severe frosts kill them||down. We 

 use the foliage, which is beautifully cut and lasts well, for ar- 

 ranging with cut flowers. Seedling-plants bloom well the first 

 year, and make plants two feet across in one season. This 

 plant seems to be specifically distinct from that usually sold as 

 D. eximia. It is not stoloniferous, is a much better garden- 

 plant, and, unlike all other Dicentras, it is a persistent bloomer. 



