Hardy Exotic Flowering Plants 147 



Bear's Breech, Acanthus. — Vigorous perennials with hand- 

 some foliage, mostly from Southern Europe. Long cast out 

 of gardens, they are now receiving more attention, and in no 

 position will they look better than planted here and there on 

 the margin of a shrubbery, where the leaves of the Acanthus 

 contrast well with those of the ordinary shrubs or herbaceous 

 vegetation. Hardy 

 in all soils, they 

 flower most freely 

 in free loamy soils. 

 Not varying very 

 much in character, 

 all obtainable 

 hardy species 

 would group well 

 together. The most 

 vigorous kind at 

 present in cultiva- 

 tion is the one called 

 A. latifolius, which 

 is almost ever- 

 green, and a fine 

 plant when well 

 established. Few 

 plants are more 

 fitted for adorning 

 rough and stony places, as they grow and increase without 

 care, and are, for foliage or bloom, unsurpassed by any of the 

 numerous plants that have been so long neglected because 

 they have not been available in ' flower gardening.' 



Monkshood, Aconitum. — Tall, handsome perennials, with 

 very poisonous roots, which make it dangerous to plant 



L 2 



THE MONKSHOOD, naturalized. 



