POPULAR GARDEN PLANTS. 



401 



favourite florists' flowers, and they have con- 

 sequently developed a considerable range in 

 variety of colour, size, shape, &c. The oldest 

 of these is the Poppy Anemone (A. coronaria), 

 which has been a garden plant for the last three 

 centuries. It requires a rich, deeply-dug soil, 

 light rather than heavy, and well-drained. 

 Some growers place a layer of cow-dung a 

 foot below the surface of the soil for the 

 roots to lay hold on when growth is vigor- 

 ous. The bed should be raised a few inches 

 above the ground level. The tubers, which 

 are dry and shrivelled as obtained from 

 dealers, should be planted on an open day in 

 January or February rather than in October, 

 the danger from early spring frosts being 

 thus avoided, although better results are 

 undoubtedly obtained when the planting is 

 done in September or October, and the 

 weather is favourable for the development 

 of the flowers in spring. The tubers should 

 be planted 2 inches deep and 9 inches apart. 

 The bed should be kept clear of weeds, and 

 a mulching with fine decomposed manure 

 and leaf-mould be given in early spring. This 

 assists to economize moisture in summer. 

 The beds must be watered freely in dry 

 weather. Early in August the plants show 

 signs of ripening by the foliage turning 

 yellow; the tubers should then be lifted 

 with some earth attaching to them, and 

 stored away for planting another season. 

 Seedlings can be raised from the best varie- 

 ties. The seeds should be sown as soon as 

 ripe in a box of sandy loam and leaf -mould, 

 distributing them thinly over the surface, and 

 just covering them with soil. Over this lay a 

 covering of moss, and place the box in a cold 

 frame; the seeds germinate in about a month, 

 and the seedlings, if planted out in the autumn, 

 should bloom the following spring. 



A. hortensis (fig. 507) is best known by its beautiful 

 variety the scarlet Wind-flower, popularly known as A. 

 fulgens. It is not always happy in the open air in Eng- 

 land, but in sheltered situations where the conditions are 

 favourable its rich scarlet flowers produced in May are 

 a brilliant picture. It likes the same sort of soil as A. 

 coronaria, and should be transplanted in the autumn. A 

 few patches of it in the rock garden are effective. It is 

 also useful as a pot plant for the conservatory. For this 

 purpose the tubers should be potted in autumn rather 

 thickly in 6 -inch pots of good loamy soil, and kept in a 

 sunny cold frame all winter. Tbey flower usually in 

 March or April, when they are valuable for decoration. 

 Other varieties of the Garden Anenome are stellata and 

 pavonine/,, which are also worth growing as advised for 

 the first-named. 



A. japonica (the Japanese Wind-flower) and its varie- 

 ties are useful for flowering in late summer and autumn. ' 

 Vol. I. 



They are perennial, perfectly hardy, succeeding in any 

 good garden soil, and in almost any position ; growing 

 and blooming abundantly when subject to generous cul- 

 tivation. The type is about 2£ feet in height, with large 

 rose-coloured flowers, semi-double, and very handsome. 

 The variety alba or Honorine Jobert is taller in growth, 

 and has pure-white, quite single flowers ; another form, 



Fig. 507.— Anemone hortensis. 



called Lady Ardilaun, also pure-white, has larger flowers 

 and bolder foliage. A form of American origin. Whirl- 

 wind, is also white, semi-double, and a striking border 

 plant. Rosea or hybrida has pale rose-coloured flowers. 

 This species and its varieties are propagated with great 

 readiness from pieces of the root-stock. They are all most 

 useful plants for the border, and also for beds on lawns. 



[K. D.] 



Antirrhinum (Antirrhinum majus, fig. 508). 

 — The great Snapdragon, originally introduced 

 from the shores of the Mediterranean, is now 

 abundantly naturalized in this country. It also 

 ranks among the most constant and showy of 

 our hardy summer and autumn flowers, having 

 been improved and varied by cultivators in the 

 size, shape, variety of hue, and rich marking in 

 the flowers, as well as in the height and habit of 

 the plant. With liberal treatment it has been 

 known to reach a height of 7 feet, by 5 feet in 

 diameter. On the other hand, there is now a 

 dwarf strain which rarely exceeds a foot in 

 height, although the flowers are as large as in 

 the tallest forms. AVell-grown plants of some 

 of the forms have produced racemes 20 inches 



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