HARDY AND HALF-HARDY ANNUALS. 



397 



blossoms; (E. bistorta Veitchii, yellow, with slight crimson 

 blotches, 1 foot ; (E. rosea, rose-coloured ; (E. Drummondii, 

 yellow, and its varieties tall and dwarf; and others. 

 They all grow rampantly in any garden soil, and are 

 most effective in the evening. In some gardens they are 

 naturalized, coming up promiscuously like weeds. Their 

 near allies, the Godetias, are powerful rivals to them as 

 far as use in the flower-garden is concerned. (E. biennis 

 is a handsome biennial, which may be grown as an annual 

 by sowing the seeds in autumn. It is 3 to 5 feet high, 

 with large bright-yellow flowers. (E. triloba (rhizocarpa) 

 is a hardy annual of dwarf growth, with large showy 

 yellow flowers. 



Omphalodes linifolia (Venus's Navelwort) is a silvery - 

 foliaged hardy annual growing to a height of nearly 

 9 inches, and bearing white flowers. 



Papaver (Poppy) includes many brilliant annuals, 

 some of mixed parentage, and difficult to fix botanically. 

 Shirley Poppies are improved forms of P. Rhceas, which 

 have developed many beautiful tints and com- 

 binations of colours. They produce the finest 

 blossoms when they are sown in the open in 

 late summer where they are to flower. P. 

 pavoninum, the Peacock Poppy, is represented 

 in gardens by named varieties. P. umbrosum 

 appears to be a dwarf form of P. Rhceas. P. 

 somniferum, the Opium Poppy, has produced 

 many varieties, double and single ; some entire - 

 petalled, others with laciniated margins, but 

 the duration of the flowering period of these 

 is short. P. Rhceas and its allies are better, 

 because they continue in flower longer, espe- 

 cially if the decaying blossoms be kept picked 

 off. The double forms of this are known as 

 Ranunculus Poppies. 



Petunia. — A most useful addition to half- 

 hardy annuals has been developed from P. 

 violacea, previously known only as a greenhouse 

 plant, and grown along with Heliotrope, &c, 

 for summer bedding. The colours of the 

 flowers are varied and pleasing, whilst the 

 habit of the plants is all that could be desired. 

 They like a sunny position and a light well- 

 drained soil. The seeds should be sown in heat in 

 February, and the seedlings, when large enough, should 

 be transplanted singly into small pots to be planted out 

 in borders, &c, towards the end of May. 



Phacelia campanularia (fig. 501) has bright-blue bell- 

 shaped flowers which are highly attractive. It is an ex- 

 cellent plant for sowing over ground containing bulbs at 

 rest. The seeds can be sown in the open in March, and 

 the plants, which reach a height of 6 to 9 inches, come 

 into bloom early and continue to flower till autumn. P. 

 Whitlavia, a Californian annual from which some fine 

 varieties have been obtained, particularly grandijiora, 

 violet, and gloxinoides, blue with a white throat. They 

 flower freely, the colours being intensified by cultivation 

 in rich soil. 



Phlox Drummondii may be said to have taken the 

 place of the Verbena in the flower-garden, as it has at 

 many provincial flower-shows. The Continental florists 

 have done much to improve the strain, the large -flowered 

 varieties being really superb. Graf Gero, hortensicvflora, 

 Heynholdi, and cuspidata are some of these forms. The 

 last-named has irregularly-edged corollas which have 

 developed spines of varying length. It is requisite to 

 sow the seeds in heat and transplant to open ground to 

 flower. 



PlatysTEMON californicus, the Californian Poppy, is a 

 showy dwarf hardy annual, bearing bright lemon-coloured 

 flowers, and growing to a foot in height. 



Portulacca, popularly termed the Sun Plant, is an 

 improved form of the Brazilian P. grandiflora. Of 

 dwarf tufted growth, and bearing saucer-shaped corollas 

 of various brilliant hues; there are double-flowered forms 

 also. They do best on a warm sunny border in a light 

 sandy soil. The seeds can be sown in the open in light 

 soil, otherwise in boxes, and transplanted in May. 



Reseda odorata (Mignonette) is one of the most fragrant 

 of hardy annuals. When first introduced from North 

 Africa the blossoms were yellowish-white, but by cultiva- 

 tion and selection they have nearly approached white on 

 the one hand, and yellow, orange, and red on the other. 

 The quality of the flowers is very much a question of 

 selection. Only by saving seeds from the very finest 

 can the strains be maintained. It is largely grown in 

 pots for market, the seeds being sown in September in 



Fig. 501.— Phacelia campanulai 



the pots in which the plants are to bloom. Mignonette 

 requires rich soil, with ample space for the individual 

 plants to develop, and then the result is satisfactory. 

 The varieties Bismarck and Matchet are the best of the 

 reds. Cloth of Gold and Golden Queen among the yellows, 

 and Parson's White among the whites. 



Rhodanthe (fig. 502). — This genus is now included in 

 Helipterwm. R. Manglesii, and its varieties atrosanguinect, 

 macidata, and carmine double, are largely grown in pots 

 for market. The flowers are also useful as Everlastings 

 for winter decoration. If to be grown in the open 

 ground, the seeds should be sown on rich, light, sandy 

 soil in March. 



RlCTNUS communis, the Castor-oil Plant, and its varieties 

 are worthy plants for borders or beds in summer. They 

 are readily raised from seeds sown in warmth in March, 

 and put out in the open when hardened off. 



Salpiglossis. — The varieties of £. sinuata, a native of 

 Chili, are so varied and rich in colour that they have 

 been described as the Orchids among hardy annuals. 

 When well grown they average 2 feet in height, and they 

 are both profuse and lasting in bloom. Seeds sown in 

 the open ground in good soil in March yield plants 

 which, if allowed ample room, will be full-grown and in 

 flower by June. In colder parts of the country the seeds 



