LIST OF FLOWERS 



great value, and the early-flowering kind, such as Due Van Thol in 

 all its varieties, are best adapted for this purpose, as they are of 

 dwarf growth and take kindly to a raised temperature. But Tulips 

 should not be given a high temperature, and plunging is generally 

 the most satisfactory method of forcing. The wUd Tulips are a 

 distinct class from the garden varieties, and among them are many 

 kinds well suited for the Rock Garden, such as T. sylvestris, the 

 British species, useful also for planting in gprass and bearing frag- 

 rant flowers of pale yellow edged with red; T. montana, only about 

 6 inches high, with red or yellow flowers; T. nitida, of elegant 

 dwarf growth, with flowers of bright scarlet spotted black; and T. 

 alherti, of low-growing, trailing habit, with red flowers splashed with 

 yellow and edged with black. Finally it may be remarked that the 

 enormous range of varieties in the Tulip — it has been cultivated 

 in Europe for more than 350 years — renders it impossible to give 

 more than a cursory description in these notes. 



VALERIAN. See Centranthus. 



VALLOTA-PURPUREA. A handsome bulbous plant of the 

 Amaryllis type, with flowers of bright, deep scarlet, sufficiently 

 hardy to be grown out of doors in mild districts and useful as a pot- 

 plant in a cool greenhouse. The bulbs should be planted in good 

 firm loam and are considered to flower more freely when pot-bound. 

 As soon as growth begins in spring they should be watered freely 

 and receive an occasional dose of liquid manure, and even through 

 the winter they should not be allowed to get dry. 



VENIDIUM. V. calendulaceum is best treated as a half-hardy 

 annual, sowing in heat in March and planting out in May in friable 

 soil. It is a pretty little plant of spreading habit, making a good 

 display in summer with yeUow Marigold-like flowers, and is useful 

 for the Rock Garden or for border edgings. 



VENUS'S LOOKING-GLASS. See Specularia. 



VERBASCUM {Mullein). A family of stately plants which, 

 though biennial, are practically perennial by self-sowing and are 

 most effective when massed in bold groups, to which their fine stems 

 and dense flower spikes well lend themselves. V. phlomoides is one 

 of the best, growing 6 to 9 feet high with splendid spikes of 

 yellow flowers and continuing long in bloom; moreover, it will 

 thrive in almost any soil, though a rich soil will produce a finer 

 growth. V. olympicum is another sturdy variety, with flowers of 



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