LIST OF FLOWERS 



sown in heat in spring, the seedlings being duly potted off and planted 

 out in rich soil. 



MARVEL OF PERU. See Mieabilis. 



MATHIOLA. In most gardening books this name is confined 

 to the Night-Scented Stock, and though from|the Mathiola all the 

 Ten- Week, Intermediate and Brompton Stocks (not the Virginian 

 Stock) have been derived, they are referred to in these notes under 

 the name of Stock. M. dicornis or odoratissima is that which is 

 commonly named the Night-Scented Stock, and is a hardy annual, 

 easy of culture and sending out a delightful perfume which permeates 

 the still evening air for a long distance. It is, however, an insignifi- 

 cant-looking plant and comparatively scentless during the day. 



MECONOPSIS {Indian Poppy). The common Welsh Poppy 

 (M. camhrica) is a member of this family and is a hardy perennial, 

 but the kinds most useful for the garden are biennials — ^hardy, but 

 requiring two years to bring them to good flowering plants. Seed 

 should be sown about March in a frame, and the young plants kept 

 well watered, with the frame-lights removed, throughout the summer. 

 By the following May or earlier they should have become fair-sized 

 plants and should then be transplanted, with as much soil as possible, 

 to the border where they are intended to flower. A good well- 

 drained soil is essential to their welfare as any cold moisture is in- 

 jurious to them, though they need plenty of water during the 

 smnmer. There are many varieties well suited for the Rock Garden, 

 such as M. WalUchi, a fine plant between 4 and 5 feet high, of erect 

 growth and bearing dainty blossoms of pale blue, peculiarly graceful 

 in the manner in which they hang from their slender stems. Another 

 beautiful kind is M. aculeaia, with large purple flowers and bright 

 yellow stamens poised on stems some 3 feet high; while for the Wild 

 Garden M. camhrica, the Welsh Poppy above referred to, is most 

 useful, as it needs no special care and wiU hold its own in almost any 

 situation. 



MERTENSIA. The handsomest of this family is M. virginica, 

 the Virginian CowsUp, which comes into bloom in April or early in 

 May and bears charming clusters of lavender-blue flowers drooping 

 from stems 12 or 18 inches high. But it is a little difficult of culture 

 and needs a moist, peaty soil and a sheltered position. M. sibirica, 

 though generally classed as a hardy perennial that wiU grow in ordi- 

 nary soH, also thrives best in moist peaty soil, but it is well worth 

 cultivating for its beautiful clusters of small beU-like flowers, the 



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