GARDEN FLOWERS. 



187 



PURPLE LOOSESTRIFE. 

 (lythrum'salicaria.) 



August, and September, witli numerous square, stout, 

 woody stems bi'ancliing a little at the top, and terminating 

 in long spikes of rosy purple flow- 

 ers. L. Viscaria splendens, German 

 catchfly, is a dense tufted species 

 twelve to fifteen inches high, with 

 brilliant scarlet flowers in summer. 

 Monarda didyma, bee balm, grows 

 about three feet high, with erect 

 stems clothed with large egg-shaped 

 leaves. The flowers are in close 

 head-like whorls at the extremity 

 of the stem, and are deep red, 

 appearing in June or July, and lasting a couple of months. 

 It is sometimes called the Oswego tea, and comes from 

 North America. One of the most showy and interesting 

 flowers that bloom all summer is the evening primrose. 

 Many bloom for a very long time, and have unusually 

 large flowers of striking and attractive appearance, and are 

 besides pleasantly fragrant. (Enoth^ra Missov/riensis is 

 perhaps the most showy of the group. The plant pro- 

 duces many prostrate stems, branching freely about a foot 

 high. The leaves are large and lance-shaped, and the flow- 

 ers are very large, several inches across, and bright yellow. 

 It grows luxuriantly in warm, sunny aspects and light rich 

 soil, but in soil that is not exactly favorable it soon dies 

 off and needs to be replanted every year or two, like an 

 annual or biennial. 



Opuntia Rafinesquii, Western prickly pear, forms curi- 

 ous broad mats six to ten inches high. It is a hardy cac- 



