102 



CASSELL'S POPULAR GARDENING. 



■Skelton's poem upon Eleanor Rumming, "Her 

 kyrtle Bristow red." This plant does well in a rich, 

 light loam, and it can be propagated by means of 

 •seed, also b}'- division of the roots. In addition to 

 the red, there is a white variety, known as L. chalce- 

 donica alba; and besides these there is the double 

 scarlet, which is a very fine border flower ; and the 

 double white also. The two last are best increased 

 by division of the roots. Lychnis dioica Jiore plow is 

 a very handsome and neat border plant, commencing 

 to bloom in April, and continuing at intervals the 

 whole of the summer, especially if the flowering- 

 shoots are picked off as soon as they have done 

 blooming ; it j)roduces myriads of large double crim- 

 son flowers ; it is exceedingly fine for cutting, and 

 most useful for massing, and can be highly recom- 

 mended as a free-growing hardy border plant. 

 Lychnis Haageana is, as its name implies, a German 

 bybrid ; a very showy perennial, about one foot in 

 height, remarkable for its striking flowers nearly two 

 inches across, of every shade of colour, from brilliant 

 scarlet to pure white ; hardj^, and very easily grown, 

 doing well in any ordinary garden soil. "We are unable 

 to give particulars as to its parental origin, but it was 

 raised by Mr. Haage, of Erfurt, Germany. It seeds 

 very freely, and seed is found to produce many fine 

 varieties. The seed can be sown in the open ground. 

 This is Icnown by the name of the Shaggy Lychnis, 

 because the flowers are somewhat divided. L. Lagasccc 

 is the Rock Lychnis, and is a native of the sub- 

 alpine region of the Western Pyrenees. It is a 

 pretty plant, forming compact tufts from two to 

 three inches in height, producing slender stems bear- 

 ing deep rose-coloured flowers ; it makes a very use- 

 ful and beautiful rock plant, because so free of growth, 

 from its producing such an abundance of flowers, and 

 its adaptability for planting on the sunny slopes of 

 the rock- work. It does well in the open border in a 

 good loam, and makes a pretty pot-plant. L. Viscaria 

 is known as the Red German Catchfly, and it is found 

 in Wales and near Edinburgh ; it is also freely dis- 

 tributed over Europe and Asia. There is a white 

 variety also, both bearing single flowers. This has 

 also been produced in double forms, all of which are 

 fine border flowers ; one of the finest of these is L. 

 Viscaria splendens plena — one that is totally distinct in 

 colour and time of flowering. The flowers are very 

 large and double, of a bright flery-rose, and arranged 

 very closely together on erect slender stems. It is 

 perfectly hardy, very free-flowering, and one of the 

 best and most useful of perennials, doing well in 

 garden soil. The old Rose Campion of our gardens is 

 L. coronaria. There are the white, flesh-coloured, 

 and deep red varieties, but the latter is mostly grown, 

 its large ruby-coloured flowers being very handsome. 

 There are the double red and double white varieties, 



but the latter are scarcer, because, unlike the former, 

 or single types, they cannot be raised from seeds. 

 Some years ago, a beautiful Lychnis, named Soino, 

 was introduced from Japan by Messrs. Veitch and 

 Sons, but it did not succeed in this country, and we 

 fear it has become almost lost to cultivation. 



Trollius, Troll Flower, or G-lobe Flower. 



• — ^The generic name, TroUixs, is said to have come 

 from the Swedish troll, or Danish trold, and indi- 

 cates a malignant supernatural being, a name cor- 

 responding to the Scotch Witches^ Goican, and given 

 to this plant on account of its acrid poisonous 

 qualities. It is called the Globe Flower from its 

 form; the flowers are composed of about fifteen 

 concave petals, which converge into the form of a 

 globe. The common form, T. europcetis, is a large, 

 handsome plant, common in gardens, and growing 

 wild in the mountainous parts of Scotland, "Wales, 

 and the North of England. Some very fine and 

 richly-coloured varieties have been found growing- 

 wild by English botanists. There are a few intro- 

 duced species, such as T. asiaticus, the Asiatic Globe 

 Flower, an introduction from Siberia ; the leaves 

 larger than those of T. curopccus, and of a palei- 

 green, the flowers deep golden-yellow, T. napelli- 

 folins has been introduced from various parts of 

 Europe. It is considered by some to be merely a 

 variety of T. eitroprnxs, from which it appears to 

 differ in its colour, in not being quite so tall, and in 

 having a greater number of lobes in its leaves. 

 There are T. japonicus, with double flowers, T. ameri- 

 canus, and others ; and in addition not a few good 

 scaling varieties have also been raised. But it is 

 T. asiaticus and T. curopceus that are best known in 

 our gardens. 



They are all sjjring-flowering, and are extremely 

 showy. They should be planted out in a good, deep, 

 yellow loam, where they can root freely and deeply ; 

 at the same time they will do in almost any soil and 

 situation. But to have large specimens luxuriant in 

 growth a moist shady spot is the best ; and in such a 

 place they are objects of great beauty ; and any one 

 variety can be increased by division of the roots, 

 carefully dividing the plants in the autumn, and 

 placing the divided pieces round the sides of pots 

 until they have drawn root sufiiciently to be planted 

 out permanently in the open ground. All the 

 species and varieties are true herbaceous plants, 

 losing their foliage in the autumn, and breaking up 

 into fresh growth in spring. 



The Poppy [Tapaver). — Everybody, we may 

 reasonably suppose, knows the Common Red Poppy 

 of our fields, for during summer its rich scarlet 

 flowers can be seen among the corn ; short-lived 



