COlVmON GAEDEN FLOWERS. 



371 



growth, or they will prove useless. The growth from 

 these buds in spring produce flowers. 



It is well known that the flowers of Hydrangeas 

 will frequently turn blue. This is entirely owing to 

 a certain condition of the soil, which means the pre- 

 sence of oxide of iron. In some districts of Ireland, 

 where the oxide abounds in the soil, the Hydrangeas 

 take on very rich tints of blue, and the plants attain 

 to a great size. It is said that where iron-filings and 

 a solution of alum are used, in some soils the blue 

 colour is produced, while the same means will not 

 produce it in others ; and other soils will invariably 

 produce this blue colour without any peculiar matter 

 whatever being added. The loams at Kenwood, at 

 Hampstead Heath, and Stanmore Heath, and the peats 

 at Wimbledon, as 

 well as some bogs 

 near Edinburgh, 

 are famous for 

 producing this 

 blue in the Hy- 

 drangea. Cut- 

 tings have fre- 

 quently been 

 taken from plants 

 bearing blue 

 flowers, but the 

 plants generally 

 produce pink- 

 coloured blos- 

 soms. 



H. Thomas 

 Ilogrj is a very 



fine and distinct white-flowered form of hortensis 

 obtained from America. H. stellata prolifera and 

 S. paniculata rjrancTiflora are two Japanese tj-pes that 

 should be treated as ordinary greenhouse plants, 

 though in warm positions both will succeed in the 

 open air. The last-named is a fine object in the 

 conservatory when bloomed in pots. 



The Pseony. — There are two distinct sections of 

 Paeonies — one is the Tree, or Moutan, the other the 

 Herbaceous. "Paeony" is derived fromPseon, a phy- 

 sician, who used the plant medicinally, and at that 

 time the roots of the common P»ony (P. officinalis), 

 which was introduced to Europe some 350 years ago, 

 were held in high repute as powerful antispasmodics, 

 and as one of the most efficacious remedies against 

 epilepsy, convulsions, and hysteria; but they are 

 now totally disregarded for any medical properties 

 they may have been supposed to possess. It would 

 appear that about the time that the common crimson- 

 flowered P. officinalis — or, as it is sometimes termed, 

 r. herbacca — was introduced to England, P. alhiflora, 

 a white flowered form, came at the same time. From 



TsEE PiEONY (Single Forsi). 



these two have sprung many varieties, but the crim- 

 son-flowered types are most common in gardens. Of 

 varieties there are a large number, and of many 

 shades of colour, from white to deep purplish- 

 crimson. One catalogue gives quite 160 varieties, 

 classed under the name of P. herbacea. They 

 are nearly all double ; a few single. The Pseony 

 is a plant that does well in the open border, 

 flourishing in any good loam where it can root firmly 

 and find moisture during the summer months. When 

 planted, they should be put in rich soil, and some 

 mulching with manure will be found very useful 

 diu-ing winter and spring. Some have richly frag- 

 rant flowers. 



The following is a selection of choice varieties : — 



Alba sulphiirea, 



creamy-white. 

 Anemonseflora, 



crimson. 

 Artemise, rosy- 

 pink. 

 Candidissima, pi:re 



white. 

 Charles Binder, 



lilac-purple. 

 Duchess of Or- 

 leans, lake and 

 salmon. 

 Doyen d'Enghien, 

 red, margined 

 white, 

 Eugene 

 rosy - 

 blush. 

 Humea alba, rosy- 

 white. 

 Jeanne d'Arc, rosy- 

 pink. 

 Lutea plenissitna, 



l^ale yellow. 

 Madame Chaumy, 

 satiny rose. 

 Queen Victoria, blush. 

 Eosamond, bright rosj- 

 pink. 



Speciosa striata, rose and 



white. 

 Splendida, bright rose. 

 Surpasse Pottsii, puri^lish- 



crimson. 

 Teuuifolia, deep blood-red. 

 Versicolor, rich rose. 

 Virginie, blush and pink. 

 Whitleyi, single white. 



Verdier, 

 pink and 



Madame Vilmorin, blush- 

 white and crimson. 



Magnifica, delicate pink. 



Oberliii, rosy-lilac. 



Prince Prosper, deep crim- 

 son. 



Prolifera tricolor, white and 



yellow. 

 Pulcherrima, satin-rose and 



white. 



Queen Perfection, white 

 and yellow. 



Tree Pseony.— This is Paonia Moutan, perhaps 

 better known as the Moutan or Chinese Tree Pfeony. 

 This and several others, mainly varieties, were intro- 

 duced from China between 1789 and 1846. The 

 flowers of these Pa?onies must be truly magnificent 

 in their own country, for we are informed on high 

 authority [The Gardener'' s Chronicle, of June 4th, 

 1864") that "the common varieties — that is, those which 

 have been in cultivation in oui- gardens for many 

 years — beautiful though they are, give but a faint 

 idea of the beauty of these other kinds which have been 

 lately introduced. The flowers of the older sorts are 

 mostly light-coloured — white, blush, or pink — and 

 they are generally only semi-double. It used to be 



