August 4, 1897.] 



Garden and Forest. 



307 



comparatively large flowers, is not as ornamental as our road- 

 side Butter and Eggs, L. vulgaris, but has the good quality of 

 being a perennial. Masses of Monarda didyma are effective 

 and sure to please those who want a border plant which will 

 take care of itself. The whorls of red labiate flowers come 

 near the tops of the stems and give the appearance of heads of 

 bloom. It needs watching, or it will crowd other plants. The 

 majestic Veronica longifolia subsessilis, where it succeeds, is 

 a splendid border plant. It delights in a good deep soil, and in 

 a situation where it is fully exposed will grow four feet high. 

 It is the finest of all the Speedwells and the latest to bloom. 

 Hydrangea radiata has little in outward appearance to suggest 

 relation to any other Hydrangeas we know. It is sub-her- 

 baceous, sending stout stems up every spring clothed with 

 blue-green ovate leaves, downy beneath, and terminated with 

 large flat corymbs of fertile flowers. Here and there a sterile 

 flower may be noticed, but there are not enough of these to 

 attract attention. In appearance the flowers resemble those of 

 the common Elder. Here also is the true H. paniculata, a 

 much stouter plant than the variety Grandiflora commonly 

 seen. The light graceful panicles of the species are a relief, 

 for it must be confessed that the big lumpy heads of the variety 

 Grandiflora become a trifle wearisome in the late season, since 

 they display themselves in almost every door-yard, although 

 a large and well-grown plant is very showy when it stands 

 alone with plenty of room. 



Wellesley, Mass. 1 . L). Hatjieht. 



Herbaceous Perennial Plants in Flower. 



ETHYRUS LATIFOLIUS, or the Everlasting Pea, should 

 have a place in every garden where herbaceous perennials 

 are grown. The typical plant is not as showy as some im- 

 proved forms found in cultivation. Those grown here and in 

 blossom now reach a height of five or six feet in a medium 

 rich soil and open position. When the plants are about a foot 

 high a few loose branches should be setabout them to clamber 

 upon. Grown in this way the flowers are produced for many 

 weeks. These are of a dark rose color and borne in clusters 

 of about twelve on long peduncles which measure six or nine 

 inches in length. The variety albus makes a good companion, 

 as it is similar in all its parts, but it has flowers which are of a 

 white so pure that it may be called dazzling. The white-flow- 

 ered form is rather more difficult to keep than the type, but 

 both are invaluable for cutting purposes. 



In the front row of the herbaceous border where the soil is 

 light and in a sunny position, Stokesia cyanea proves itself one 

 of the best of the showy composites of the season. It is slightly 

 above a foot in height, branched, and the branches are termi- 

 nated with bright blue flower-heads not unlike Chinese Asters. 

 Although it is sometimes considered not quite hardy in this 

 locality, there are plants in this garden which have been grown 

 successfully in the borders for several years, probably because 

 the situation and exposure are just suited to their needs. 



The Wall Germander, Teucrium Chamaedrys, is completely 

 covered with its reddish purple flowers and makes an excel- 

 lent plant for a dry, sunny position, either in the rock garden 

 or the front row of the herbaceous border. Its flowers are 

 produced in leafy terminal spikes and the individual flowers 

 measure about three-fourths of an inch in length. The stems 

 are six or eight inches high and rise from a creeping root- 

 stock. This compact, dwarf, showy perennial comes from 

 Europe and is quite hardy here and well worth extended cul- 

 tivation. Another species of Germander grown here for some 

 years is also worthy of notice for its showy flowers. It is 

 known as Teucrium Hyrcanicum, and, although introduced 

 into cultivation from Persia as long ago as 1763, is but little 

 known in America. In the border the plants become twelve 

 or fifteen inches high, and the stems are clad with ovate-cor- 

 date deeply crenated, slightly pubescent leaves. The purple 

 flowers are in dense spikes about six inches long, and a plant 

 with a dozen spikes or more is pleasing and effective. It enjoys 

 a light warm soil in a sunny position. Our plants were raised 

 from seed four years ago and have proved quite hardy with- 

 out any protection in winter. 



Of a large number of species of Mullein grown here the best 

 and most satisfactory perennial among them is Verbascum 

 nigrum. Another good perennial, which, however, cannot be 

 relied upon to flower every year, is V. Olympicum. If this 

 species would flower as freely as some of the other kinds it 

 would hold first rank, and, indeed, few perennials would com- 

 pare with it. On the other hand, V. nigrum is an exceedingly 

 floriferous plant, and is almost constantly in flower from July 

 until frosts destroy the blossoms. It grows about four feet 

 high and the stems are clothed with long cordate leaves. The 

 flowers are produced in branched racemes ; the corollas are 



yellow and the filaments of the stamens are covered with 

 bright purple hairs. It grows well in any good garden soil, 

 but does best in an open sunny position. 



The Japan form of Veronica Virginica, which we have grown 

 from seed obtained from the Kew Gardens two years ago, 

 proves itself, with longer acquaintance, to be an excellent 

 perennial. Last year the plants did not grow as tall as the type 

 plant, our native species, but this season they are quite as tall 

 and as vigorous. The main difference isinthe timeof blossom- 

 ing, and the Japanese form is five or six weeks earlier than our 

 North American plant. The best blue Veronicas now in blos- 

 som are V. longifolia and some of its varieties. 



A large mass of Oswego Tea, Monarda didyma, is orna- 

 mental and effective grown on the lawn. The bright scarlet 

 flowers are produced in whorls on the ends of the stems, 

 which are about a foot and a half high. The Wild Bergamot, 

 Monarda fistulosa, and some of its varieties make good border 

 plants when grown in large clumps. The flowers of this 

 species are purple and the stems grow slightly taller than 

 those of M. didyma. M. Bradburyana is the neatest and most 

 compact plant in the genus for gardening purposes. The 

 stems are about a foot in height, terminated with pink flowers 

 and reddish bracts. The Monardas are thrifty plants, increas- 

 ing rapidly, and their flowering season is of long duration. 



A few weeks ago, in the back row of the herbaceous border, 

 large well-established plants of Clematis recta were loaded with 

 white flowers. This plant is the best of the upright Clematises. 

 It is an excellent hardy perennial, growing freely in almost any 

 ordinary soil or situation, and is but little troubled with insects. 

 There are a number of varieties of this species, and all are 

 desirable garden plants. The reason for writing about it now 

 is to recommend a late-flowering variety grown here, and 

 known as C. recta, var. umbellata. It differs from the typical 

 plant in having longer and narrower leaves, and its season of 

 blossoming is two or three weeks later, thus giving us a longer 

 blooming season of this desirable Clematis. C. recta and its 

 varieties do best if not disturbed often. My experience with 

 them is that after being disturbed they do not grow so strong 

 or attain their ordinary height until the second year after 

 transplanting. 



Campanula persicifolia is an old-fashioned plant with blue 

 flowers, but there are few new perennials that can compare 

 with it, and it should be included in every collection of hardy 

 herbaceous plants. There are numerous varieties, and that 

 named Alba grandiflora is particularly floriferous and makes 

 a fine display. If the flower-stems of this Campanula are left 

 on the plants after they have blossomed in early summer they 

 will produce a fairly good second crop. Our plants are now 

 blossoming for the second time this season. 



If mixed borders are backed up by shrubs, Bocconia cordata 

 is effective in such a position. The individual white flowers 

 are not very striking nor handsome, but the large terminal 

 panicles are always effective. This Japanese plant grows with 

 the greatest freedom and increases rapidly. The stems reach 

 to a height of six or eight feet and are thickly set with large 

 glaucous leaves. The desirable Pentstemon barbatus, var. 

 Torreyi, has done remarkably well this summer. Its long, 

 wand-like inflorescences are graceful, and the bright scarlet 

 color of the flowers always attracts attention. 



Harvard Botanic Garden, Cambridge, Mass. Robert Cameron. 



Hybridizing Caladiums. 



A MONG the fancy-leaved Caladiums there are several 

 ■**• varieties that are constituted so as to endure the full sun- 

 shine all day long, but most of them lack the bright coloring 

 which gives these plants their value. The leaves are for the 

 most part green, as, for example, C. Wightii, C. Duchartrei 

 and Queen Victoria. There are a few brilliant-colored ones 

 which do almost as well in the sun as the green kinds ; three 

 of the best are Rossinii, Perle de l'Exposition and Uranus, but 

 the great majority of the showy kinds are not suited for 

 outdoor decoration. 



Some of those kinds which have done best out-of-doors for 

 the last few years were set apart at the beginning of the sea- 

 son for hybridizing purposes in order to see if by crossing 

 them a greater variety of color can be had. The operation 

 has been a successful one so far as it has gone, and as it is 

 exceedingly simple, a description of it might interest some 

 fanciers of these plants. The tubers, as a rule, send up their 

 flowers shortly after they are started into growth in the spring ; 

 large-sized tubers are very apt to flower after the first leaf is 

 developed. The flowers are arranged on a spadix ; the stamens 

 occupy the upper portion which, when shedding their pollen, 

 are exposed to view, but the ovaries, which occupy the lower 



