334 



Garden and Forest. 



[Jl'LY 9, 189O. 



Several good varieties of Hydrangea hortensis have lately 

 been added to those which for many years have ranked 

 among' the most useful of garden plants. The best of the new 

 ones is called H. rosea, under which name it has lately been 

 exhibited by the Messrs. Veitch. It appears to be a variety of 

 H. japonica rather than of H. hortensis, but the size, com- 

 pactness and form of the Mower-heads resemble those of the 

 last named. Its charm is in its color — a rich blush rose, 

 almost a red. It is by far the most attractive of the Hydrangeas 

 grown here. The leaves are broad, with deeply toothed mar- 

 gins, and a soft, deep green, as in H. Japonica. As a market 

 plant this variety is certain to become very popular. Another 

 new addition is one called H. cyanoclada in some gardens, but 

 which is properly H. hortensis, var. Mandshurica. It is distinct 

 in having its stems colored purplish and in the flower pedicels 

 being deep rose-red, contrasting prettily with the creamy white 

 of the flowers themselves. H. stellata flore plena is a curiosity 

 rather than a good decorative plant. In the large temperate 

 house at Kew, Hydrangeas are a pretty feature at this time of 

 year. The varieties of H. Japonica are particularly ornamen- 

 tal, as they form loose, elegant bushes, whilst their flower 

 heads are handsome, though not so massive as those of the 

 H. hortensis forms. A variety of the last named known as 

 Dr. Hogg is represented just now by a handsome bush four 

 feet through and bearing dozens of heads of white flowers. 

 H. Thunbergii, H. paniculata, H. acuminata and H. Lindleyana 

 are also grown in this house. For covering pillars or clothing 

 a wall there are few better plants than H. altissima, oftener 

 called H. scandens and almost invariably the plant grown as 

 Schizophragma liydrangeoides, the genuine plant of this last 

 named Japanese shrub being scarcely known in English gar- 

 dens. H. altissima is hardy in the warmer parts of England 

 and is a most useful wall creeper. 



Clematis Sta7ileyi. This very interesting plant is showing 

 flower at Kew. Although figured in Hooker s Ico?ies Plantarum, 

 t. 589, where it is described as the most beautiful of the genus, 

 it does not appear to have ever been introduced into gardens 

 before now. It is a native of Lower Guinea, Macalisberg, and 

 the Transvaal, where it forms a shrub two to four feet high, 

 more or less casspitose and woody at the base. A correspon- 

 dent in Barberton describes it as being as handsome and free 

 flowered as Ane?none Japonica. The flowers are three inches 

 across, and are composed of from four to six broad sepals 

 forming a shallow cup, purple or pinkish in color, with yellow 

 stamens. The heads of fruit are beautifully silvery, " a spray 

 looking not unlike a bunch of ostrich feathers." The leaves 

 are decompound. It is possible that from the high altitude at 

 which this species is found it may prove hardy in England. 



The Foxglove as a garden plant is really first rate. Several 

 large beds on the lawn as well as masses in the borders here 

 are simply glorious. If some plant-breeder would take the 

 Foxglove in hand and produce a variety of color in the flow- 

 ers, what a value this common British hedge-row flower would 

 have in the garden. As it is there are few if any amongst the 

 wealth of herbaceous plants at Kew that can be called superior 

 to the Foxglove as an ornamental garden plant. 



London. W. WatsOH. 



Cultural Department. 



Notes on American Plants. 



Galax aphylla, which is closely related to the Shortia 

 galicifolia, is a reliable little evergreen, a native of thesouthern 

 states. Its numerous round, heart-shaped, crenately toothed 

 leaves are at first of a bright, shiny green color, but as the 

 season goes on they turn to a rich reddish brown. The naked 

 scape, which is a foot or more high, bears at its summit a 

 spike of pretty white flowers. This spike is about three inches 

 long by a third of an inch thick. It is a plant that needs time 

 to become established before it will show to its best advan- 

 tage, but it is not difficult to grow in a thin shade and a fine 

 soil. 



Thermopsis Caroliniana, one of the Pulse family from the 

 mountains of North Carolina, has its flowers in a long, thick 

 raceme or spike sometimes ten inches long by more than an 

 inch thick. The plant itself is often five feet high and the 

 flowers are of a rich, bright yellow and in shape resemble those 

 of a pea. These large racemes are admirable for cutting. It 

 seems to be perfectly hardy and is a desirable plant for warm, 

 sunny situations. 



Phlox amosna, formerly known as Phlox proctimbens, is with 

 us the last species to flower. It is a native of dry hills and 

 barrens of Virginia, Kentucky and southward; yet it it is per- 

 fectly hardy in southern Massachusetts. The stems grow from 

 six to eighteen inches high and bear a close sessile cyme of pink- 



ish purple, or sometimes white flowers, half an inch wide. It is 

 the more valuable for blooming after the other natives of this 

 genus are out of flower. It does well in any ordinary soil and 

 might be useful on dry banks where few other plants would 

 thrive. 



The little one-flowered Pyrola (Moneses wiiflora), one of the 

 Heath family, closely resembles a Pyrola, except that it has 

 only one flower. The leaves, usually three, are clustered near 

 the base. The flower is one-half to three-quarters of an inch 

 wide, usually white, but sometimes rose colored, and usually 

 nodding on an almost naked stem three to five inches high. 

 It grows in cool woods, usually under Pines. Though some- 

 what difficult to establish it is well worth a trial. It must have 

 a firm soil in the shade and a mulch of Pine needles about its 

 roots will be beneficial. 



Two very interesting Pitcher plants, Sarracenia flava 

 (Trumpet Leaf) and S. Drummondii, have both flowered. The 

 former is a native of Pine barrens from Florida to North Caro- 

 lina. Its leaves are trumpet-shaped, large and erect, are often 

 two feet long, and its scape bearing the single flower is about 

 the same height. Its flower is yellow, from three to five inches 

 wide and quite pretty. The latter species is a more southern 

 plant, growing from Florida to the middle of Georgia and 

 westward. Its height is a little more than two feet. The leaf 

 is nearly two feet in length and as beautiful in its variegation 

 at the summit as a flower. The flower, which is single at the 

 end of the naked stalk, is sometimes three inches wide and 

 purple in color. Both species are easily grown in boggy soil, 

 and after being established seem quite hardy. Their beauti- 

 ful leaves alone would well repay the trouble of establishing 

 them. They must have a wet, sandy or peaty soil and full sun- 

 light. Until well established they should be protected by a 

 mulch of leaves in winter, and even after this they will stand 

 the severe cold better if covered. The covering is not so 

 much to protect them from severe frost as to prevent the 

 thawing and freezing alternately in open weather. 



The Lizzard's Tail [Saururus cemnns) is a perennial herb 

 not uncommon in swamps. It grows a foot or more high and 

 bears a dense spike of fine white flowers wdiich endure for 

 several days. The spike is six inches or more in length by 

 half an inch thick, at the summit of a naked stem, and might 

 be useful for cutting. It thrives in the shade, in any light 

 moist soil. 



Thalictrnm purpurascens (Purple Meadow Rue) is quite 

 common in parts of southern Massachusetts, where it is fre- 

 quently found growing on sandy soil with the Tall Meadow 

 Rue of our northern wet meadows. Its most natural loca- 

 tion according to Gray's description is "dry uplands and rocky 

 hills." It is a slimmer plant than the common one, with pur- 

 plish stem and fewer leaves. It is easy of culture, and would, 

 no doubt, thrive in much drier soil than the other species. 

 The delicate purple and white flowers are quite pretty for 

 bouquets, and the purple stalks, which are scarcely hidden by 

 the thin foliage, make it a pretty garden plant. 



Calochortns luteus from California is one of the many little 

 beauties of this rich genus. Its usual height is about a foot, 

 bearing one to three erect yellow flowers over an inch wide. 

 A brownish stripe crosses the lower half of each petal, below 

 which it is covered with short but stout yellow beards. It is a 

 good species for cutting and the flowers are unlike most of 

 the yellow sorts. It is intermediate in time of flowering. It 

 needs a fine, light soil, with protection in winter. Another in- 

 teresting species quite unlike the above is C. splendens, w r hich 

 flowers about the same time. This grows two feet high, bear- 

 ing in succession five to ten large pale purple flowers two 

 inches wide on ample stems for cutting. In some ways it is 

 much like C. longibarbatus, formerly mentioned, but is not 

 so thrifty a plant in this climate, and few of this genus are, 

 but it cannot fail of being admired by all who see it in flower. 

 It should be treated like the others with protection in winter. 



Habenaria fimbriata, one of the Purple Fringed Orchids, is a 

 species that is well worthy of cultivation and has been exported 

 to European dealers in considerable quantities. It is often 

 taken for H. psycodes, which it somewhat resembles. But its 

 time of flowering is much earlier, and its spike is smaller, with 

 much larger flowers. The lilac-purple flowers are very showy 

 and endure for many days. It is found in wet meadows and 

 swamps, coming into flower the last of June or early in July. 

 It must have a wet or moist situation, and a thin shade is bet- 

 ter. For artificial bogs this plant is very useful and it will 

 thrive in the sun in such wet soil. 



Iris Virginica (Slender Blue Flag) is a very slender species 

 a foot and a half high, with long, narrow, grass-like leaves and 

 small violet-blue flowers. It is a native of marshes near the 

 coast from Maine to Virginia. It is not so easy to establish as 



