THE GARDENER'S ASSISTANT. 



L' Elegante. White-edged foliage, flowers single. 



Liberty. Light-magenta. 



Madame Emilee Galle. Pale-lilac. 



Marguerite Jacquot. Rosy-pink. 



Mrs. Cannell. Soft pale-lilac. 



Mrs. Hawley. Bright deep-rose. 



Old White. Single, for baskets. 



Prince of Wales. Cerise. 



Ryecroft Surprise. Salmon-pink. 



Souvenir de Charles Turner. Deep-rose. 



W. F. Dreer. Magenta-red. 



Scented-leaved Pelargoniums. 



These are mostly species or varieties modified 

 more or less by cultivation. They are worth 

 growing for the fragrance of their leaves alone, 

 but many of them are also pretty flowering 

 plants. 



Culture. — Generally these require the same 

 conditions and treatment as the Zonal and Ivy- 

 leaved sections. They may be pruned as in 

 the case of the Shows and Fancies, or grown on 

 from year to year until they are too large. 

 When large plants are grown, they are useful 

 at all seasons, and as the shoots are at times 

 cut for use in vases, it is not a difficult matter 

 to keep them within bounds in combination 

 with occasional staking and tying. Some of 

 them are not by any means the easiest plants 

 to manage — some being delicate growers, whilst 

 others are vigorous for a time, and then go oft' 

 suddenly. Firm potting keeps the plants stmrdy, 

 and is conducive to good health. The best 

 time to repot any that require it is in the early 

 spring, whether the balls be reduced or not. 

 Immediately after repotting, close treatment 

 for a short time will encourage vigorous root- 

 action; the cool house is then the better place 

 for them. Large shifts should be avoided; in- 

 deed plants which have not been repotted for 

 three or four years will continue in good health 

 if cared for as advised in winter. Active growth 

 takes place in June, when an occasional water- 

 ing with sulphate of ammonia, a table-spoonful 

 in a three-gallon can of water, will benefit them. 

 Three doses during the season will be ample. 

 The best position for them is in the open air, in 

 full sunshine, from the end of May until the end 

 of September. The foliage of the highly fra- 

 grant varieties is excellent for use as potpourri 

 when well dried. 



List of Varieties. 



Strong Growers. — Capitatum ( rose-scented ), * Purple 

 or Rollison's and * Scarlet Unique, quercifolium (true oak- 

 leaf), radula (balsam-scented), tomentosum (peppermint- 

 scented), viscosissimum, vars. Pheasant's-foot and Fair 

 Helen. 



Medium Growers. — * Ardens (scarlet flowers), Attar of 



Roses (scent indicated), filicifolium odoratum (Fern-leaf), 

 fragrans (Nutmeg-scented), graveolens, var. * Pretty Polly 

 (Almond -scented), Lady Plymouth (variegated), Mrs. 

 Douglas (dark-zoned), * quercifolium minor (small Oak- 

 leaf), *Shottesham Pet (Filbert-scented). 



Small Growers. — Citriodora, * Countess of Devon (a 

 miniature "Fancy "), crispum (Lemon-scented), denticula- 

 tum major, Lady Mary (small foliage), * Prince of Orange 

 (free-flowering), Prince of Orange (variegated), radula, 

 var. * Little Gem (very compact). 



* Denotes varieties useful also as flowering- plants. The best 

 sorts for cutting purposes are capitatum, radula, Attar of Roses, 

 fragrans, Lady Plymouth, crispum, and Little Gem. 



[j. H.] 



Pentstemon (fig. 594). — Few hardy plants 

 have been so much improved during the last 

 twenty years as the Pentstemon. By crossing 



Fig. 594.— Pentstemon. 



and selecting from P. Hartwegii, P. gentianoides, 

 P. Cobcea, and others, florists have obtained a race 

 of hardy border plants, remarkably floriferous, 

 large-flowered, and very varied in colour. 



Cultivation. — Garden Pentstemons succeed well 

 in any good soil, but a deep and rather moist 

 sandy loam is best. If occasionally dressed 

 with manure and leaf-soil, they produce enor- 

 mous spikes of beautiful flowers throughout 

 summer and autumn. They can be grown in 

 masses in beds, in groups in the herbaceous 



