440 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 238. 



already described, but it is a bold and stately plant and well 

 deserves a place in our gardens. The plants in bloom here 

 are between four and five feet high, and the lanceolate, ser- 

 rated leaves are produced in whorls along the stems. The 

 flowers are arranged in long panicles and are of a whitish color. 

 It is a free-growing plant and likes good, rich soil. 



Sedum spectabile is grown in the herbaceous border in large 

 clumps two feet across, and the clumps are planted about 

 four yards apart. This method of planting is very effective, 

 and will give a display for five 

 or six weeks. This is one of the 

 best of the tall-growing Sedums 

 we have ; it stands drought well, 

 is a good bloomer, quite hardy, 

 and is never much attacked by 

 insects. It throws up erect 

 stems about eighteen inches 

 high which are furnished with 

 broad glaucous leaves. Even 

 before the plant blooms it is 

 , conspicuous for its showy glau- 

 cous leaves. The large massive 

 heads of small rosy flowers, 

 which are arranged in cymes 

 from tive to seven inches across, 

 are very attractive and are no- 

 ticeable from a distance. The 

 plant will grow and flower in 

 the shade, but for perfection it 

 requires to be planted where it 

 will have the full benefit of the 

 sun. It will grow rapidly if 

 planted in good rich soil, and is 

 easily propagated by division of 

 the crowns in spring. It is a na- 

 tive of Japan. Another good 

 Stonecropin bloom is S. Ewersii 

 Turkestanicum. It belongs to 

 the evergreen class of Stone- 

 crops, and is a neat dwarf plant, 

 somewhat like S. Sieboldii, but 

 more compact in habit. It is 

 quite hardy and an excellent rock 

 plant. The long, prostrate stems 

 are covered with smooth glau- 

 cous leaves, about an inch 

 across ; the lower leaves are 

 elliptic and the upper ones heart- 

 shaped. The flowers are dark 

 red-purple and are produced in 

 terminal corymbs. It is easily 

 increased by division or by sow- 

 ing seed early in the spring. 

 The species of which this plant 

 is a variety is a native of Siberia. 

 The plants in bloom here were 

 raised two years ago from seed 

 obtained from Mr. Thomson, 

 Ipswich, England. 



Plumbago Larpentae has been 

 in bloom for more than a 

 month, and will keep on pro- 

 ducing its violet flowers until 

 frost comes. It was introduced 

 into England from China in 

 1846, and was grown in green- 

 houses before it was known to 

 be hardy. ■ When this plant first 

 flowered in England, a year 

 after it was introduced-, a small 

 plant with three or four blos- 

 soms was shown at a meeting of 

 the Horticultural Society by 

 Lady Larpenfs gardener, and 

 was awarded a prize. The 

 judges at once saw the good 



qualities of this Plumbago, and declared that it would become 

 a good bedding plant. Soon after this it was found to be quite 

 hardy, and P. Larpentae was soon generally grown. Plants in 

 our rock-garden have stood for several years, and produce 

 annually an abundance of beautiful flowers. P. Larpentas is 

 dwarf, with prostrate wiry stems about a foot long, covered 

 with leaves about two inches in length. The flowers are pro- 

 duced in trusses at the ends of the slender shoots and are 

 an intense violet color. It does best in a raised position in the 



rock-garden, where there is plenty of light and sun. It is 

 easily increased by division, either in spring or fall. 



Balamacanda Chinensis, better known in gardens under the 

 generic name Pardanthus, is quite hardy and grows into large 

 plants here without any protection. It is a herbaceous plant, 

 growing about three feet high, with root-stock and foliage like 

 an Iris. The flowers are orange-yellow, and mottled above with 

 crimson-purple spots. They are rather fugitive, but, as they 

 are produced abundantly, the plants are at no time without 



Fi,^. 73 Dendrobium Phalsenopsis. Half natural size. — See page 439. 



flowers during their blooming season. It thrives best in a rich 

 sandy soil and in a situation where it can get plenty of light. 

 Seeds are produced abundantly, and these germinate quickly 

 after they are sown. On a recent visit to a nursery near by I 

 saw thousands of these plants, raised from seed sown last 

 spring. 



In the back row of the herbaceous border, the most showy 

 plant is Rudbeckia subtomentosa. Without a doubt, of all 

 the tall-growing Rudbeckias, this is the most compact plant 



