240 



CASSELL'S POPULAR GARDENING. 



viz., Malope grandiflora, with, its large and striking 

 rosy- crimson flowers ; and its white variety, alba. 

 Sown in the open ground, the plants grow to a 

 height of one and a half feet, and bloom profusely. 



The red and white annual varieties of Lavatera 

 are also Malvaceous plants, and make very useful 

 hardy garden plants when the seeds are sown in 

 spring ; they grow to a height of eighteen inches. 



Then there is the Tree Mallow, Lavatera arborea, 

 a perennial, native of Britain, and an imposing- 

 looking plant at the hack of a border of hardy 

 subjects. Its variegated variety — the leaves being 

 handsomely striped and blotched with white — is 

 now being much grown as a hardy decorative plant, 

 and it can be raised from seeds with ease. It is 

 known as Lavatera arborea variegata. 



Matricaria. — This genus, which is allied to the 

 Camomile, is mentioned for the purpose of intro- 

 ducing a most useful hardy perennial, Matricaria 

 inodorum Jl. pi., the flowers of which are pure white 

 and exceedingly double, like those of a giant Camo- 

 mile. It can be raised from seeds, and, when 

 planted out, quickly grows into a good size, and 

 produces large numbers of flowers all the summer. 

 A better plant for cutting from can hardly be named, 

 and it should find a place in every garden. 



Mimulus (Monkey -flower). — The generic name is 

 given to this plant from mimos, "an ape," in reference 

 to the ringent or gaping mouth of the flower. The 

 Mimulus has long been a favourite flower, and our 

 improved large-flowered varieties have been derived 

 from M. luteus, the Yellow Monkey -flower, intro- 

 duced from Chili in 1826. It has been greatly im- 

 proved of late years, and now we are in possession of 

 strains of wonderful size and great beauty, that are 

 valuable as pot plants, or for culture in the open 

 ground. Some years ago, the Coppery Mimulus — 

 M. cupreus — was introduced from the Andes of Chili, 

 a dwarf and very free-blooming species, -with pecu- 

 liar copper- coloured or reddish-brown flowers. It is 

 perfectly hardy, and grows freely in the open ground. 

 This was used for crossing our large-flowered 

 varieties, and a wonderful freak in colour resulted. 

 These fine improved varieties of Mimulus seed freely ; 

 and plants can be raised with the greatest ease by 

 simply sowing a few seeds in a pan or pot of light soil, 

 placing it in a green-house, pricking off the plants 

 when large enough, and growing them on into size. 



M. cardinalis is the Cardinal Mimulus, a native 

 of California. It is a very showy perenniaL and 

 flowers in summer, the blossoms being bright- 

 scarlet. It does well in the open border in moist 

 soil, and, like the large-flowered varieties, can be 

 increased by means of seed or division of the roots. 



It is an excellent pot plant, and in some parts of the 

 country is much grown by cottagers for window 

 decoration. M. Tillingi is a tall, free-flowering, 

 and hardy perennial, much grown in gardens. The 

 flowers are medium-sized, in colour yellow, spotted 

 with brown. 



M. moschatus is the common Musk. It is one of 

 our most popular plants, and was found near the 

 Columbia river, on the north-west coast of America. 

 Every one knows it, and so there is no need to de- 

 scribe it. Harrison's Musk is a large-flowered variety 

 obtained by crossing the Musk with a large-flowered 

 Mimulus ; the flowers are yellow, spotted with brown. 

 It is a strong grower, very free, and much grown for 

 decorative purposes. It is well known as Mimulus 

 Moschatus Harrisonii. A new hybrid, named Grandi- 

 Jlorus, has large pure yellow flowers ; and a variety 

 of this has a very dwarf and compact growth, and 

 has been named Cloth of Gold. A similar dwarf 

 variety has deep brownish-red flowers, and has been 

 named rubrum. All these new forms are very valu- 

 able, and retain the full musk scent. 



[Nierembergia. — This was named after T. E. 

 Nieremberg, a Spanish Jesuit. It represents a 

 genus of pretty half-hardy plants suited for flower 

 beds and pot culture. N. Jilicaulis, the Thread- 

 stemmed Nierembergia, is a native of Buenos Ayres, 

 with lilac blossoms, and makes a pretty bedding plant, 

 while it is also very effective in pots. N. frutescens 

 is the Tall Nierembergia, a very elegant plant, of 

 somewhat shrubby habit, but apt to be cut down by 

 frosts in winter. It is a native of Chili. It should 

 have a place on a warm border or bank, in perfectly 

 drained bight rich soil, where it will produce freely 

 its delicate blue flowers. N. rivularis is the White 

 Cup ; it is a hardy perennial from La Plata, a dwarf 

 plant with creeping, slender stems, forming a thick 

 carpet of foliage, covered during summer with large 

 erect flowers, of a creamy-white colour. It does 

 best on rockwork, or on the margins of borders, in 

 moist sandy loam. 



Omphalodes (the Blue Navelwort). — Omphalodes 

 comes from omphalos, "the navel"; and eidos, "like," 

 referring to the seed. It is sometimes called the 

 Creeping Forget-me-not, which is an admirable 

 name for it, for the plant has a prostrate creeping 

 growth, loving a moist, shady spot, and flowering 

 freely in spring, the blossoms of the loveliest blue. 

 It is a native of Spain and Portugal. We may say 

 of this charming plant that it is a near relative of 

 the Forget-me-nots, quite as beautiful, and on the 

 whole more useful than any of them, because it is a 

 true perennial, and with facility creeps about in 

 shady places. It produces handsome, deep and 



