CHOICE HARDY BORDER PLANTS. 



237 



terries, very useful for decoration at Christmas ; this well in an ordinary border. All the foregoing are 

 also has a variety with handsome variegated foliage ; natives of North America, and well deserve a place 



Zieiffi?, longipe- 

 tala, iindicaulii, 

 orientalis, Rohin- 

 sonianUj Susiana, 

 retmilata, Virgiii- 

 ica, and its va- 

 rieties eUgantii- 

 sima, pallida, and 

 purpurea. But 

 these require dif- 

 ferent position^ 

 and soils, which 



in the garden, but 

 they should have 

 ample space in 

 which to develop 

 themselves. 



liinarla (the 



Toad-Jlax}.—Thia 

 is a very large 

 genus, comprising 

 half-hardy hcrba- 

 ceous, hardy 



can be ascertami d 

 the time of purchasi 



Liatris. — This re- 

 presents a genas of 

 hardy herbaceous per- 

 ennials from South 

 America, doing well in 

 a light, sandy loam, 

 blooming freely, and 

 which are increased 

 by division. One of 

 •the best known is L. 

 spieata, a handsome 

 plant growing three to 

 four feet in height, the 

 flowers pale purple, a 

 very iine border plant. 

 i. tquarrosa is a little 

 dwarf er in growth, the 

 flowers of a deeper 

 purple, and the root 

 tuberous. Z. pycno- 

 ataehya is the Dense- 

 spiked Liatris, a stout- 

 ■ growing species with 

 very leafy stems, and 

 thick and dense spikes 

 of bloom, the flowers of a pale purple colour; it does 



Iris geemanica, var. Victorine, 



under the denomination 



herbaceous, and hardy, 

 annuals, a few of which 

 shall be passed under 

 review. Why called 

 "Toad-flax" it is a 

 little difficult to de- 

 termine ; perhaps from 

 its narrow, linear. 

 Flax-like leaves ; and 

 froni some incorrect 

 description, such as 

 that of Dodoens, who 

 wrote, " Herba assi- 

 milis cum Buhonio 

 faculatis,'' Btihonio 

 having been mistaken 

 for Biifvn'w, from biifo, 

 "a toad." The ge- 

 neric name, Zinariat 

 is derived from the 

 Greek Zinoti, "Flax" 

 — the leaves of the 

 species on which the 

 genus is founded re- 

 sembling those of the 

 Flax plants. 



There are four forms 



of the Zinaria that come 



of hardy annuals. Three of 



