290 HARDY HERBACEOUS FLOWERS. 



HAEDY HEEBACEOUS FLOWERS. 



We group undei this head some of the most interesting and 

 desirable of our hardy plants, whose foliage may nearly or quite 

 disappear upon the advent of winter, hut whose roots remain 

 unharmed in the soil, and send up in spring new shoots, stalks, 

 and leaves, hearing flowers, and often maturing seed hefore the 

 return of winter. All the care these require is to keep them 

 free from grass and weeds, giving them an occasional top-dressing 

 of weU-rotted manure, and when they seem to have become over- 

 grown or tired of their position, giving them a shift to a new 

 spot, and, if need be, dividing the root. They should be trans- 

 planted in spring, if possible. Among these will be found some 

 of our most showy flowers, some of them exquisitely fragrant, 

 and old favorites that no one can do without. 



Achillea. — The Milfoil or Yarrow. — The varieties of this 

 plant are mostly very hardy, of easy culture in any garden soU, 

 and those named worthy of a place in the garden, especially on 

 account of the length of time they continue in bloom. Propa- 

 gated mostly by dividing the roots. 



Millefolia Rosea. — Produces rosy-Ulae flowers, grows a little 

 over a foot in height, and blooms from June to August. 



Millefolia Rubra. — ^Deep red flowers, which continue aU 

 summer. Plant grows about fifteen inches high. 



Ptarmiea Pleno. — Is double white, flowers in July, and attains 

 a height of about eighteen inches. 



Micropliylla. — Produces white flowers in July, and is quite 

 attractive on account of its neat, pretty foliage. 



AcoNiTUM. — Tlie Monkshood or Wolfsbane. — ^Very pretty 

 taU-growing plants, blossoming freely in spikes, varying from 

 eighteen inches to three feet in height ; singularly formed, 

 resembling the cowl or hood of a monk, and are mostly of some 

 shade of blue. They are all violent poisons if eaten, and must 

 not be allowed to find their way into the salads or greens. They 

 are grown from seed and by divisions of the root. 



