HERBACEOUS PLANTS IN THE OPEN 41 



its name at once suggests. There is always the tendency 

 to overname varietal forms, and sometimes the slighter 

 the difference the thicker the names fall. Thus among 

 snowdrops and Christmas roses we wade amidst names 

 and must note several of the latter. The largest flowered 

 is maximus, with 4-inch blossoms ; in some districts it is 

 past before the close of the year. This form is also 

 known as major and altifolius. A much smaller variety, 

 angustifolius, is good. But description of the numerous 

 varieties serves no purpose, as they for the most part are 

 difficult to distinguish unless one has the actual speci- 

 mens at hand. As the flowers of H. niger are easily 

 soiled by bad weather, by far the best plan when they 

 are required for cutting is to cover the plants (they 

 / should be planted close together in a bed for conveni- 

 ence) with hand-glasses or a few panes of glass. With 

 this protection the flowers will expand untarnished. It 

 is well to sprinkle a little coal ash among the crowns in 

 early autumn and after to ward off slugs from the young 

 flower buds. 



Lenten Roses 



{Helleborus). — These are cross-breds of the Grecian H. 

 orientalis, which, like the Christmas rose section, has 

 evergreen leaves ; the flowers, however, are much 

 spotted, often with curious and sometimes with melan- 

 choly colours. Among the best are — Afghan Prince, 

 deep purple ; Apotheka Bogren, spotted purple ; Chan- 

 cellor, rose ; Dr Hogg, deep rose ; Psyche, pink and 

 crimson ; Sylvia, rose. 



H, viridis is another species that has several garden 

 forms, all deciduous, however. 



A strong grower, producing quantities of whitish 

 flowers, is H. antiquorum. 



Many of these Lenten roses expend their first flowers 



