March, ] 909 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



85 



The tree poppy (Dendromecon rigidum) is the only 

 true shrub, attaining ten feet in California 



situations it becomes a hardy perennial. 

 There is an especially spiny form of this, 

 var. hispida. Equally with the California 

 poppy this should be sown where it is to 

 stand, as it shares the peculiarity common 

 to the poppy family of disliking transplanting. 

 Give a light soil and full sun. 



Inferior to the California poppy in vigor 

 of growth, in brilliancy and variety of color, 

 and in size of flowers, is the cream cups (Pla- 

 tystemon Calif ornicus), which is frequently 

 confused with Eschscholzia as the "Cali- 

 fornia poppy." Its chief interest lies in the 

 fact that it is one of the few members of 

 the poppy family having entire leaves; and 

 further, that the petals, instead of falling, 

 wither and remain attached to the ripening 

 fruit. It does not appear to be of easy culti- 

 vation in the East . 



Very similar is the closely allied genus 

 Platystigma, which is also Californian. 

 The flowers are smaller, less than an inch 

 across, and pale yellow. This genus does 

 not seem to be offered in any of the American 

 seed catalogues, and is, in all probability, 

 difficult of cultivation. 



THE TWO SHRUBBY KINDS 



The delicate beauty and immense flower 

 ■of the Matilija poppy (Romneya Coulteri) 

 is matched only by the single Moutan peonies. 

 Not so large as they, however, the absolute 

 purity of the white petals, with their pecu- 

 liarly crimped texture, surrounding a great 

 cluster of prominent yellow stamens, and 

 delicate fragrance (recalling that of the 

 magnolia), places the Matilija poppy on a 

 par with it, if, indeed, it is not superior in 

 actual beauty — a shrubby perennial, with 

 deeply cut, glaucous foliage, that does not 

 come to its own because of certain difficul- 

 ties in its cultivation. Not generally con- 

 sidered hardy in the East, it is grown suc- 

 cessfully in Westchester County, N. Y., and 

 in northern New Jersey. 



Romneya is difficult to transplant because 



it has very few fibrous roots. It has been 

 transplanted successfully when cut to the 

 ground before lifting, and the operation 

 done just before it starts into growth but is 

 still dormant. Surely it is well worth the 

 effort to try to grow this beautiful plant with 

 its flower as large as that of the oriental 

 poppy. The great secret of its success is 

 to get fresh seed, which germinates slowly. 

 Give it a warm, deep, well-drained loam, 

 if possible one overlying rocks. But in 

 regions where the plant is not hardy, the 

 trouble and uncertainty of handling the 

 seed is often more than the final result may 

 be worth. 



The only true shrub in the poppy family 

 is another California genus, Dendromecon, 

 or tree poppy, which popular name, however, 

 is sometimes applied to the preceding genus. 

 I do not know of anyone in the East who has 

 succeeded in growing this plant, which is 

 only successfully grown in a few isolated 

 spots, even in England. Normally, the 

 flowers are bright yellow, up to three inches 

 in diameter. The plant is said to attain a 

 height of ten feet. 



THE BEST LOW PERENNIAL HERB 



The nearest approach that Eastern gar- 

 dens can have to this giant tree poppy is the 

 erect-growing, herbaceous perennial, Hunne- 

 mannia fumaricBJolia, usually treated as an 

 annual, however. It attains a height of 

 three feet or less, and throughout the season 

 is literally covered with its profusely produced 



The blood root (Sanguinaria Canadensis) one of the 

 earliest spring flowers, and a valuable rockery 

 plant 



Hunnemannia (H. fumaricefolia) . A profuse bloom- 

 ing herbaceous perennial, having yellow flowers all 

 the year ; ,.- . . 



bright yellow flowers, like small-editions of 

 the California poppy, to which' it shows 

 a distinct alliance, also, in its finely cut and 

 glaucous foliage. Sow seed early in May, 

 and from the middle of July until hard frost 

 the bed will never be without flowers. It 

 is one of the most showy, larger-growing, 

 hardy annuals, that may be wintered over 

 with moderate protection, although it is so 

 easily raised from seed that it hardly pays to 

 do so. It can be grown in the open border 

 in any ordinary garden soil. 



THREE WHITE-FLOWERED PLANTS 



The horned poppies (Glaucium) are a 

 straggly looking lot of plants, mostly bien- 

 nials — some are perennials — but the two 

 species that are found in gardens are usually 

 grown as annuals. They are low-branched 

 herbs, attaining a height of from one to two 

 feet, with somewhat succulent stems and 

 large flowers of orange-yellow varying to 

 reddish and purple. The flowers fade 

 quickly, but are borne in quick succession. 

 Their proper place in the garden is for 

 foliage effects in so-called sub-tropical beds 

 and borders. The long, horn-like seed-pod 

 is very characteristic. Grown in an open, 

 sunny situation, they will thrive in any sort 

 of good soil. They may be raised by seed 

 sown in the open air. There are two species 

 — one, luteum, has yellow flowers; the other, 

 corniculatum, red or purplish, with a black 

 spot at the base of the petals. 



The rarest of the hardy herbaceous peren- 

 nials of the poppy family is the Eastern 

 or cyclamen poppy (Eomecon chionantha), 

 having white flowers two inches across, 

 borne one foot high on reddish stalks. 

 The "Cyclopedia of American Horticulture" 

 states that "this plant is destined to no great 

 popularity, but interesting to lovers of hardy 

 borders." It is hardy in the neighborhood 



