THE SUBTROPICAL GARDEN. 



643 



stands exposure well. Useful as a lawn specimen. It 

 may be wintered in an ordinary greenhouse. 



Asplenium Nidus. — The Bird's-nest Fern is a suitable 

 plant for a shaded position, where it can be secured 

 against drought. Its large Hart's -Tongue -like fronds 

 form a nest-like rosette which in large specimens measures 

 6 feet or more in diameter. It should oe wintered in a 

 warm house. 



Beta Cicla variegata (Sicilian Beet). — A strong, vari- 

 able plant, with massive glossy leaf -stalks varying in 

 colour from orange and yellow to the most brilliant 

 purplish - crimson ; very effective among other foliage 

 plants. Propagated from seed in the spring. 



Blechnum brasiliense. —This thrives in a position and 

 with treatment similar to that recommended for As- 

 plenium. Its pinnate, elegant fronds are handsome, being 

 red when young and glossy-green when mature. 



Bocconia frutescens and B. microcarpa are both worth 

 a place in the subtropical garden on account of their 

 distinct and handsome foliage. In a moist, partially- 

 shaded position they grow to a height of 8 feet or even 

 more. The leaves are pedately-lobed, and the flowers are 

 borne in terminal feathery spikes. Most effective in a 

 large group. 



Canna. — Perhaps the most useful and beautiful of all 

 plants used in the subtropical garden. The tubers should 

 be taken up in the autumn and stored in moist, sandy soil 

 until the spring, when they should be looked over, divided, 

 placed in boxes of earth, and started into growth previous 

 to planting, as with Dahlias. 



Cannabis sativus (Hemp) is a quick-growing annual, 

 10 to 15 feet in height, with elegant lobed foliage. Suit- 

 able to form a background with other tall foliage plants. 

 Prefers a rich sandy loam. Seeds should be sown in 

 bottom heat in March. 



Caryota. — Two species of this genus of Palms, viz. C. 

 sobolifera and C. urens, may be used. They form graceful 

 heads of fresh -green, bipinnate, drooping foliage. 



Centaurea gymnocarpa, a half -shrubby Composite with 

 finely-cut white-haired leaves, and C. ragusina, with bolder, 

 less finely-cut foliage, are useful as margins for large beds 

 of subtropical plants. Propagated from cuttings. 



Cham.edorea. — Several species of this genus of slender 

 Palms, with Bamboo -like stems and elegant heads of 

 usually pinnate leaves, are useful to mix with plants of 

 coarser habit. C. elatior is perhaps the hardiest and most 

 useful. 



CHAMiEPEUCE. — These Thistle-like plants are useful for 

 margins or for associating with plants of dwarf habit. 

 C. diacantha, the Herring-bone Thistle, grows about 

 10 inches high, with rigid leaves in rosette -like tufts, 

 and armed with glistening white spines. C. Casabonce 

 has smaller deep -green leaves, not cut at the edge, and 

 yellow spines. Propagated by seeds in spring. 



CHAMyEROPS excelsa, or Trachy carpus, the Chusan Palm, 

 is the hardiest of fan-leaved Palms, being hardy in the 

 south of England. It is easily grown, and of such a 

 nature as to lend itself readily to many arrangements, the 

 leaves bearing rough usage without showing it. Also 

 known as C. Fortunei. 



Chenopodium Atriplicis. — A strong-growing Chinese 

 annual of erect habit, its slightly-branched reddish stems 

 3 feet in height, and the young shoots and leaves covered 

 with purplish powder. Very ornamental and well adapted 

 for grouping with other foliage plants. Propagated by 

 seeds sown in spring in heat. 



Colocasia (Caladium) csculentum. — This large-leaved 

 Aroid is a first-rate plant for producing striking effects 



both indoors and out. It has fleshy tubers and cordate 

 shield-like leaves a yard across on stalks 3 or 4 feet high. 

 It requires a rich, warm soil, plenty of moisture, and 

 shelter from wind. Propagated by division. 



CojujYLINE. — Popularly known as Dracaena. Most of 

 those used in subtropical gardens are forms of C. o.v.Hrolis 

 (fig. 770), one of the most elegant and useful; gracilis is a 

 narrow-leaved form of it, as also are lineata, atropurpurea 



Fig. 770.— Cordyline australis. 



Schneideri, and Veitchii. They are nearly hardy, thriving 

 permanently out-of-doors in some parts of the United 

 Kingdom. 



Cyathea dealbata. — A New Zealand tree-Fern with a 

 slender stem and a crown of large fronds, dark -green 

 above, silvery beneath. Suitable for placing outside in 

 a sheltered corner. 



Cycas revoluta. — The elegant plumose rich- green leaves 

 of this sturdy Cycad are most effective in the subtropical 

 garden. It is suitable as the centre-piece in a bed of 

 low-growing plants, or it may be used as a single specimen 

 in a conspicuous place on the lawn. It likes a warm, 

 sunny position. 



Datura (Brugmansia). — These showy flowering plants 

 are excellent when placed in a favourable position in the 

 open air in summer, their large, pendulous, white, yellow, 

 or crimson flowers being produced freely all through the 

 summer. Planted in a warm, rich soil in June, young 

 plants grow rapidly under the influence of bright sunlight 

 and warmth. The sorts recommended are : D. chlorantha, 

 flowers bright - yellow ; D. Knight ii, large glossy -green 

 leaves, double white flowers; D. sanguinea, large brick- 

 red flowers; and D. suaveolcns, ereanvy - white fragrant 

 flowers. Propagated from cuttings in spring. 



Dicksonia antarctiea. — An Australian tree-Fern with a 

 thick dark-brown trunk bearing a handsome head of large 

 deeply-divided fronds. One of the hardiest and most 

 serviceable. It requires a moist shaded situation. 



Entelea arborcscens. — An evergreen Xew Zealand 

 shrub, 6 feet high, with large alternate heart-shaped 



