HARDY PEA FLOWERS, 



20I 



HARDY PEA FLOWERS. 



(Continued from page 173.) 



Turning now to plants of more distinctly 

 herbaceous and alpine character, I may men- 

 tion the Tree Lupins of California (L. arbo- 

 reus) as a transitional link. These are, in fact, 

 shrubs, raised with the greatest ease from 

 seed, which will not stand a very hard winter, 

 and cannot under any circumstances be ex- 

 pected to last more than three or four years. 

 The commonest and best of them is the yel- 

 low variety, but there is a lilac which should 

 not be introduced into the garden, as it crosses 

 at once with the yellow and spoils the bloom 

 of both. There is also now a white variety, 

 which comes, I understand, more or less true 

 from seed, and is distinct and somewhat of an 

 acquisition. The common perennial Lupin 

 [L. po/yphyllus) is beautiful in leaf and flower 

 (which latter varies greatly in shade), but after 

 flowering it is one of the most unsightly of all 

 the larger herbaceous plants. There is another 

 species, L. nootkatensis, of which I have at pre- 

 sent a large number blooming in this garden. 

 I cannot see that these two species differ in any 

 appreciable degree ; for gardening purposes, 

 at any rate, they cannot be called distinct. Of 

 Thermopsis, closely allied plants, there are, I 

 think, two species — both with yellow flowers 

 — in general cultivation, and both of Ameri- 

 can origin. I have had T. fabacea here for 

 many years, and am very fond of it ; it seems 

 to prefer a dry soil and to dislike shade. I have 

 an idea that there is also a third species with 

 purple flowers, figured in Royle's " Flora of 

 the Himalayas," but if there is I have forgot- 

 ten its specific name. Baptism australis is blue, 

 of a shade not appreciably darker or richer 

 than some of the Aconitums. I nevertheless 

 consider this one of the very finest among the 

 taller-growing herbaceous plants ; apart from 

 the flowers, the habit is neat, and the foliage 

 is singularly rich and beautiful. In a paper read 

 before the Royal Horticultural Society, Mr. 

 Wolley Dod mentions this among plants "that 

 do not succeed at Edge." It seems improbable 

 that a plant of this vigour should refuse to 

 grow anywhere in the southern half of this 

 island, so I assume that by " not succeeding " 

 not flowering is implied, and this is to some 

 extent my own experience, for in 1896 I had 



no flowers, in 1897 the plant bloomed pro- 

 fusely, while on a still stronger plant in 1898 I 

 had but four or five flowering spikes. There 

 is certainly something capricious about its ha- 

 bit in this respect, though of late years it has 

 bloomed pretty regularly. 



Some years ago I bought for half-a-crown 

 a plant under the name of B. australis a/ba, 

 which turned out to be by no means white, 

 but a palish blue of no particular merit; and 

 I have also here B. alba, a plant which reached 

 me as a "legacy" last year. It is alive, though 

 at this date (June 1) it has made no signs of 

 life, and its vitality and constitution, to say 

 nothing of its floriferousness, all alike seem to 

 be doubtful. A yellow species, B. tinctoria, 

 bloomed here once, but died away, apparently 

 having got its root into something that did 

 not agree with it. It did not strike me as of 

 much value or distinctness. The two varieties 

 of Galega officinalis (purple and white) are both 

 good plants, and, among the few Leguminosa?, 

 easy to move. They are common in cottage 

 gardens in the home counties. I am not aware 

 that other species are in cultivation. Psoralea 

 macrostachya has the merit, at any rate, of being 

 uncommon, for I have never seen it in any 

 garden except my own. It is a hardy herbace- 

 ous perennial, with rich ternate foliage, grow- 

 ing 4 or 5 feet high. The foliage is its best 

 point, for the dull mulberry-coloured flowers 

 are of no particular value. It flowers late in 

 the summer and comes from California. 



Of the perennial Peas, Lathyrus grandijlo- 

 rus and L. latifolius are too well known to 

 need mention. The former should never be 

 admitted unless one is prepared to grant a 

 lease of 999 years, for it is as ineradicable as 

 the worst qualities of one's best friends. The 

 white variety of the latter, which blooms 

 later than the type, is one of the most beau- 

 tiful plants of the whole order. It is not 

 always quite easy to establish. One of the 

 best of the Peas is L. rotundifolius (syn. L. 

 Drummondi) , with red, almost scarlet, flowers, 

 and another distinct sort is L. Sibthorpi. This 

 grows slowly, and appears to be far less vi- 

 gorous than others of the species — it has not 

 yet bloomed here — and another, under the 

 j name of L. ochroleucus, disappeared altogether 

 [ soon after it was planted. Probably this is no 



