92 



THE ILOWEB QABDEN. 



Larkspur. — Delphinium. — Hardy, herbaceous. perennial 

 Larkspurs are the Siberian, B. grand iflorum, with a tall 

 branching stem, which bears, in July and August, an 

 abundance of flowers brilliantly tinted with a cobalt or 

 smalt-like blue. There is a double-flowered variety. 

 Propagate by seed and onsets. Tall Larkspur. B. elatum, 

 with light-blue flowers, remarkable for its stature. Less- 

 known species, all with blue flowers, are B. cheilanthum, 

 var. Hendersoni. B. Wheeleri, var. speciosum, B. azureum, 

 and B. Barlowii. B. alpinum has a bluish calyx and 

 yellowish petals ; B. albiflorum, from Armenia, produces 

 pure white flowers in long bunches, which have a fine 

 effect when the plant is vigorous. All these larkspurs 

 are propagated in the same way ; they like a warm, light, 

 rich loam, and bear drought better than excess of humidity. 

 B. Ajacis and Consolida are the common Wild Larkspurs 

 of the fields. The dwarf annual florists' Larkspur pro- 

 duces single, semi-double, and double flowers, in various 

 shades of white, grey, pink, red, blue, and violet. They 

 are most effective in beds or rows. Lor a bed, sow the 

 seed, saved from the most double and finely-coloured 

 flowers, either in autumn or spring — a sowing at both 

 those epochs, will give you a longer succession of bloom 

 — in shallow drills eight inches apart. "When the plants 

 are well up, thin them out to six inches' distance. 



Lily of the Valley. — Convallaria maialis. — Grows freely 

 in light moist soil, in a half-shady spot. Leaf-mould 

 suits it best, as most resembling the soil of its native 

 woods. Produces seed, but is easiest propagated by its 

 creeping roots, of which take up a good large patch. 

 Forces well in a pot, in the ordinary temperature of a 

 keeping-room. Its perfume, form, and purity of colour 

 combined, render this plant a universal favourite. Its 

 near relations, the Solomon's Seals, Bolygonatum vulgare 

 and mult if! or urn, of less humble stature, thrive under the 

 same culture as the Lily of the Valley. 



Lobelia cardinalis, the Cardinal Flower, and also L. 

 fulgens and sjilendens, have been held in esteem as 

 bedding plants, but have gone somewhat out of fashion. 



