33° 



THE BOOK OF GARDENING. 



(known as Christmas Roses). Their chief value lies in the fact 

 that they are white, and if carefully managed will be in 

 perfection in mid-winter. To have them in the best of condition 

 it is necessary to cover with a bell-glass, or the blossoms soon 

 get spoilt by dashing rains. 



Christmas Roses blossom very early. The first to show flower is 

 H. niger maximus in November ; this is followed by H. n. 

 altifolius (Madame Fourcade, Fig. 207) in January; and lastly by 

 the type H. niger. 



Equally deserving of praise are the Lenten Roses (H. orien- 

 talis), whose flowers embrace all the shades of rose and purple, 

 as well as white and cream. Many, too, are exquisitely spotted. 

 No hardy plants are more valuable than these, giving as they 

 do of their best in February — a season of the year when out- 

 side blossoms are scarce. Other good kinds are H. 

 guttatus, H. colchicus, H. punctatus, H. abchasicus, H. viridis, and 

 Gertrude Jekyll. 



Hellebores will thrive in most garden soils, but they require 

 partial shade, a west or north-west aspect, and a fairly stiff loam. 



During summer they re- 

 quire either to be well 

 watered or to be heavily 

 mulched. If this important 

 detail be neglected the 

 crop of blos- 

 soms is poor. 

 They are pro- 

 pagated by di- 

 vision, which is 

 best performed 

 soon after 

 flowering has 

 ceased. April is a 

 good month to take 

 the Lenten Rose 

 section in hand. 



Hemerocallis 

 (Day Lily).— These 

 hardy plants of the 

 Lily family are worth 

 attention : as they 

 will grow in almost 

 any soil, and under 

 almost any condi- 

 tions, they are valuable to a degree. The only thing that can 

 be urged against them is that the individual flowers are fugitive; 

 but the plants are so floriferous that this is not noticed. In 

 the mixed border or in the shrubbery they are equally at 



Fig. 208. — Hemerocallis atrantiaca major. 



