140 



CASSELL'S POPULAR GAKDENING. 



number are in cultivation. All hail from temperate 

 regions of the Old World. D. alpina, from the Euro- 

 pean Alps, is a pretty dwarf evergreen, with white 

 or rose-coloured deliciously fragrant flowers. D. 

 Blagayana, a. rather recent introduction from the 

 mountains of Eastern Europe, has dense heads of 

 somewhat large fragrant flowers.' S. Cneorum, with 

 bright pink scented flowers, is an evergreen trailer ; 

 this, as well as the two preceding species, hardly 

 attains a foot in height. The first flowers from May 

 to July, and the second and third in April. B. coUina 

 is an erect hardy evergreen, two to three feet high, 

 with silk}' pinkish flowers, and hlunt oblong-ovate 

 leaves, shining above and wooUy beneath; it is a 

 native of Southern Europe. D. Genkiva is a hand- 

 some Japanese species, with purple flowers springing 

 from the slender leafless branches in April. D. 

 laureola, the Spurge Laurel of the British flora, is 

 an evergreen two or three feet high, with leathery 

 leaves some four or flve inches long, and clusters of 

 greenish-yellow flowers appearing from January to 

 April ; it generally affects stiff soils, and thrives well 

 under the shade of trees. D. Fontica, a species from 

 Asia Minor, is very similar to 23. laureola, but differs 

 in its light green leaves and deeper yellow flowers ; 

 these two are frequently used as stocks whereon to • 

 graft the smaller-growing rarer kinds. I). Mezereiim, 

 a deciduous shrub, with very fragrant red or white 

 flowers, which open from Februarj' until April, is a 

 popular old-fashioned plant, which thrives under 

 various conditions as regards soil, but appears to do 

 best in a good stiff loam. All the other Daphnes 

 above mentioned like a well-drained, moist, peaty 

 border. 



■ Desmodium penduliflorum is the > garden 

 name for the very handsome Sespedeza bicolor. It 

 has trifoliolate leaves and long drooping racemes of 

 beautiful purple-red Pear-shaped flowers ; it attains 

 a height of about six feet, and should be attached to 

 a stake in good rich ground, so that its graceful 

 habit and wealth of richly-coloured flowers may be 

 seen to best advantage. A native of North-eastern 

 Asia. 



Deutzia. — Of the half-dozen species of this genus, 

 aU of which are now or have been in cultivation, the 

 two best are the Japanese D. erenata and D. gracilis. 

 Both do well, either as pot plants or in the open shrub- 

 bery, and thrive best in a good stiff loam. The flrst- 

 named varies somewhat in colour, and possesses both 

 single and double forms — one, candidissima, having 

 pure white double flowers — and extus purpurea, double 

 purplish-tinted blossoms. These grow, under favour- 

 able conditions, about six feet high, and flower 

 profusely, D. gracilis is the sinaUest of the group ; 



it rarely exceeds a couple of feet in height, and 

 produces a profusion of elegant racemes of pure 

 white flowers. Both species are excellent subjects 

 for forcing purposes. 



Diervilla. — There are about seven species in this 

 genus, which is restricted to North America, China, 

 and Japan. Only the Japanese and Chinese ones 

 can be recommended for general cultivation, and 

 these are very beautiful, free-flowering, and easily- 

 grown deciduous shrubs. The garden varieties are 

 especially noteworthy, as these vary from pure white 

 to dark red and rich deep rose. 



Slseagnus. — The genus hardly contains, so far as 

 at present known, more than a dozen really distinct 

 species ; these are distributed over South Europe, 

 temperate and tropical Asia, Australia, and North 

 America. E. amgmtifolia., a native of Southern 

 Europe, is a small hardy tree, with entire narrow 

 leaves, which, as well as the twigs, are clothed with 

 glistening silvery scales. The yellowish fragrant 

 flowers are produced in clusters of three or four, or 

 singly, from the axils of the leaves ; the red fruits 

 are eaten in some countries. Apart from flowers 

 and fruit, both certainly ornamental, this handsome 

 little deciduous tree is well worth a place in the 

 park or pleasure-ground for the distinctly silvery 

 foliage. E. argentea, the Silver Berry of North 

 America, has oval sUvery leaves and edible mealy 

 fruit ; it is a very hardy deciduous shrub. E. glabra, 

 a Japanese species, is an evergreen, vrith dark green 

 leathery leaves, which in the adult condition are 

 smooth above and clothed beneath with rusty- 

 coloured scales. There are several distinct and 

 desirable variegated forms of this. E. longipes has 

 oval leaves, green above and silvery- white beneath ; 

 the long-stalked, translucent, orange-red fruits are 

 studded with small reddish-brown scales, and a bush 

 laden with them is most ornamental. E. macro- 

 phyUa, like the last, a Japanese spineless shrub, is an 

 evergreen, with large roundish - ovate leaves. E. 

 pungens, from the same botanical region, is a smaller- 

 leaved evergreen, of which there are several varie- 

 gated garden forms, with spiny branches. AU the 

 Elaeagnus seem to prefer a rather dry soil, and are 

 readily raised from seeds, cuttings, or layers. 



Empetrum nigrum., the Orowberry of Britain, 

 is a neat, compact-growing, trailing evergreen, with 

 Heath-like leaves and black fruits ; the North 

 American form of the species has often purple fruits, 

 whilst those of the South Chilian and Fuegian 

 variety (rubrum) are red. It grows freely in any 

 peat border, and makes a deep green dense 

 sdging. 



