CHOICE HARDY BORDER PLANTS. 



237 



berries, very useful for decoration at Christmas ; this 

 also has a variety with handsome variee-ated foliage ; 

 lb erica, longipe- 

 tala, nudicaulis, 

 or ten talis, JRobin- 

 soniana, Susiana, 

 reticulata, Virgin- 

 ica, and its va- 

 rieties elegantis- 

 sima, pallida, and 

 purpurea. But 

 these require dif- 

 ferent positions 

 and soils, which 



well in an ordinary border. All the foregoing are 

 natives of North America, and well deserve a place 



in the garden, but 

 they should have 

 ample space in 

 which to develop 

 themselves. 



Linaria (the 

 Toad-Jlax).— This 

 is a very large 

 genus, comprising 

 half-hardy herba- 

 ceous, hardy 



can be ascertained at 

 the time of purchase. 



Liatris. — This re- 

 presents a genus of 

 hardy herbaceous per- 

 ennials from South 

 America, doing well in 

 a light, sandy loam, 

 blooming freely, and 

 which are increased 

 by division. One of 

 the best known is L. 

 spicata, a handsome 

 plant growing three to 

 four feet in height, the 

 flowers pale purple, a 

 very fine border plant. 

 L. squarrosa is a little 

 dwarf er in growth, the 

 flowers of a deeper 

 purple, and the root 

 tuberous. L. pycno- 

 stachya is the Dense- 

 spiked Liatris, a stout- 

 growing species with 

 very leafy stems, and 

 thick and dense spikes 

 of bloom, the flowers of a pale purple colour ; it does 



Iris Germanica, var. Neglecta Viciorine. 



herbaceous, and hardy 

 annuals, a few of which 

 shall be passed under 

 review. Why called 

 "Toad-flax" it is a 

 little difficult to de- 

 termine ; perhaps from 

 its narrow, linear, 

 Flax-like leaves ; and 

 from some incorrect 

 description, such as 

 that of Do do ens, who 

 wrote, " Herba assi- 

 milis cum Bubonio 

 faculatis," Bubonio 

 having been mistaken 

 for Bufonio, from bufo, 

 "a toad." The ge- 

 neric name, Linaria^ 

 is derived from the 

 Greek Linon, "Flax" 

 — the leaves of the 

 species on which the 

 genus is founded re- 

 sembling those of the 

 Flax plants. 



There are four forms 

 of the Linaria that come 

 under the denomination of hardy annuals. Three of 



