264 



MY GARDEN. 



glass fernery, and at Christmas time, when in flower, is so delicately 

 beautiful that on one day it was the finest flower in the garden. 



^ii 



Fig. 544- — Achimenes. 



Fig. 543. — Pancratium zeylanicum. 



There is also another class of plants, the Achimenes (fig. 544), of 

 which there are numerous varieties of different colours. They occupy 

 almost too much space for us, yet certainly a few should be grown. 

 They have little bulbs which can be preserved from year to year by 

 keeping the pots free from frost. 



Amongst the various plants having beautiful leaves, we may par- 

 ticularly note the Caladiums. They, however, take up much room, and 

 therefore I have almost entirely discontinued their growth, as they 



exclude plants of higher merit. 

 Nevertheless, their leaves are 

 exceedingly beautiful, and per- 

 haps one of the dwarf varieties, 

 the Caladium argyrites (fig. 545), 

 is the best adapted for private 

 gardens. Their culture is easy, 

 as they simply require warmth 

 and moisture. 



There is perhaps no bulbous plant of recent introduction which 

 adorns a stove-house more than the Eucharis amazonica (fig. 546), a 

 lovely plant which has a white flower of surpassing beauty, much used 

 at Covent Garden Market for nosegays. It requires stove heat : I lost 



Fig. 545. — Caladium 

 argyrites. 



Fig, 546. — Eucharis amazonica. 



