HARDY FLOWERS, 



73 



A. viridiflora, from Siberia, bears fragrant green 

 flowers on stems i .'.It. in height. A curious but not 

 particularly showy species. There is a variety called 

 A. v. atro-purpurea, with chocolate-coloured flowers. 

 A. vulgaris, the common Columbine so often met with 

 in our woods, is to lie found in many colours, and both 

 in single and double forms. It is useful for naturalising 

 in out-of-the-way places and in the wild garden, sonic ol 

 the better forms being very ornamental. Wittmani is a 

 variety of the last-named, growing to a height of from 

 2ft. to 3ft., and bearing large flowers with while cups 

 and dark purple perianth. It is a strong-growing plant, 

 and succeeds well in moist deep loam in the ordinary 

 border. There are several forms ol A. vulgaris besides 

 this, alba being the white variety. 



Aquilegias, though strictly perennials, very often die out 

 after their second year, and should therefore be treated as 

 biennials and raised annually from seed. This is produced 

 in abundance, and should be sown as soon as ripe in a 

 shady position in the garden or in pans in a cold frame, 

 care being taken to sow the seed very thinly. When the 

 seedlings are large enough lo handle, they should be 

 lifted and planted out in their permanent quarters. 

 There is a beautiful race of hybrid Aquilegias, packets of 

 seed of which may be obtained for a small sum, that 

 produce a wonderful variety of charming flowers which 

 are invaluable in the decoration of the garden. These 

 hybrids have been wonderfully improved of late years, and 

 most delicate gradations of colour are to be found in the 

 flowers, saffron cups and deep purple perianths, palest 

 sulphur and blue-grev, while and dark blue, primrose 

 yellow and light pink, chrome and scarlet being some of 

 the combinations, while pure white and pure yellow are 

 also present. The shapes of some of these flowers are 

 very graceful, many of them having long, outward- 

 sweeping spurs over 3m. in length. They lend themselves 

 to artistic arrangement, as cut flowers last well in water, 

 and are easily raised from seed. The strongest of the 

 seedlings usually prove to be coarse double flowers, and 

 such plants should be weeded out of the bed as soon as 

 this extra vigorous growth is apparent, this course 

 allowing the others greater room for expansion. Plants 

 producing double and badly-coloured flowers can be 

 removed as soon as they reveal their characteristics. 

 Aquilegias growing in the same garden are almost 

 invariably cross-fertilised, and it is therefore necessary, 

 where more than one variety is in bloom al the same 

 time, to procure the seed from some other dependable 

 source, unless the plants while in flower are covered 

 with gauze to prevent the insects from reaching the 

 blossoms. This unsightly plan cannot, however, be 

 recommended in the private garden. 

 Armenia {Thrift). — Visitors to the sea-coasts will 

 probably have noticed a pretty tufted plant with rosy 

 flower heads. This is the Sea Pink, or Thrift (A. 

 maritima), a plant that will live almost anywhere and 

 makes a very charming edging. Propagate all the 

 Thrifts by pulling the plants apart in spring, a necessary 

 operation once in three or four years, as the old tufts get 

 too dense, and flowers are few and far betw een. Another 

 way is to increase by seeds, and some kinds, such as 

 A. latifolia (A. cephalotes), the big Thrift, which is 

 considerably taller than the Sea Pink, are perhaps be>t 

 increased in this way, sowing the seed as soon as ripe 

 under glass in a cold frame, and pricking and planting 

 out the seedlings in the usual way. The Thrift is pretty 

 as an edging ; it forms a dense soft growth, and in summer 

 a mass of bloom, but a sprinkling of flowers is produced 

 for many weeks. Thrills worth planting in the rod; 

 garden are those above mentioned and the tufted 

 A. coespitosa, the white and deep-coloured varieties of 

 A. maritima named Alba and Laucheana respectively, 

 and the beautiful, richly-coloured A. plantaginea splen- 

 dens, but it is only the dwarf kinds that are of value as 

 edgings. 



Arums. — These are more curious than beautiful, anil for 

 the most part evil smelling. To this family belong the 

 n\tive Cuckoo Pint, or Lords and Ladies (Arum maculatum), 



and the distinct A. italicum, which has prettily-veined 



leaves, interesting when seen in a group in 51 • moist, 



sheltered position in the rock garden or similar place. 

 A. crinitum (the Dragon's-moul h), A. 1 traconl ium, and 

 the big A. Dracunculus, which have large lurid-coloured 

 spathes, may be grown in warm bordersof light soil, bill 

 they are by no means important garden plants. 

 Asclepias. This is an interesting family of about fifteen 

 species of perennial plants, the greater number of which 

 are hard)-. These latter make handsome summer- 

 blooming border plants, and delight in a porous, rich Soil. 

 They are easily increased by division of roots in spring, 

 and may also be propagated by seed. A winter mulch 

 ox er the roofs is advisable in case of severe frosts. All 

 the species are nati\ es ol America. The following are 

 best know 11 : 



A. incamata, grows 2ft. high, and bears umbels of 

 purplish red How ei s. There is a very distinct variety 

 named pulchra, ol whii h the flowers are similar to those 

 ol the type, but the leaves are broader. it likes 

 moisture. 



A. Syriaea, grows to a height of 5ft., and bears pale- 

 purple fragrant flowers. 



A. tllberOSa, height 2ft., bears bright orange flowers. 

 This is the most generally grown species in English 

 gardens, and is a very handsome plant when covered with 

 its umbels ol bright blooms. This is one of those plants 

 thai deserves lo he more seen in English gardens. The 

 orange scarlet colouring of the flow ers is wonderfully rich, 

 and by the sea, in particular, the plant seems to grow with 

 unusual vigour. A soil composed of light, moist, and 

 rich loam is most suitable. A correspondent writing 

 some time ago, in a contemporary, from New Jersey, 

 mentions that it frequently grows wild by the wayside. 

 " Perfect exposure to all the sun possible seems of more 

 importance than special composts ; indeed, here are 

 magnificent plants growing, with little or no soil at all, 

 on stony railway slopes or along the fringes of rocky 

 woods, and the most casual observer cannot fail to note 

 their beauty, with flowers so distinctly rich in colour. 

 Its relatives prefer swampy ground, and are also very 

 abundant in this district, but cannot compare with this 

 one in point of beauty, even in all their natural 

 luxuriance. 



A. Variegata, grows to a height of from 3ft. to 4ft., and 

 bears wdiite and red flowers. The stems of this plant are 

 variegated with purple. 



Asphodeline. -An easily-grown class of plants similar to 

 the Asphodelus. A. lutea is the yellow Asphodel, and is 

 pretty in the shrubbery border, appreciating a little shade. 

 A. liburnica and A. taurica possess some beauty. 



AsphodelllS.- -A family perhaps better known under the 

 more English name of Asphodel. The plants are not 

 difficult to grow , but usually best placed in wilder parts 

 ol the garden. A. ramosus, white albus, asiaticus, and 

 fistulosa are the chief kinds. 



Asters [Michaelmas Daisies or Starwoits). — No hard)- plant 

 of autumn is better than the Starwort, which pours forth 

 its wealth of colouring when Flame-flowers (Kniphofias), 

 Hydrangeas, and other rich flowers of September and 

 October gladden the garden. Vet the Starwort is little 

 understood. It is seldom planted in the best ways, and 

 to bunch up the stems like a sheaf of corn is to deprive the 

 plant of all natural grace and beauty. The Starworts 

 should be grouped freely and well, clustered may he 

 near some dark-stemmed pine, or throwing their flower- 

 laden shoots over evergreen shrubs. The whole garden 

 may be filled with colour when ihey are used unsparingly, 

 rich masses of purple here, warm clouds of rose there, and 

 again a sea of softest mauve, a spicy perfume scenting the 

 air, and a thousand stems moving gently in the soft wind. 

 It is not, of course, possible for everyone to grow the 

 Starworts in bold masses, but where it can be done, 

 these free groups are delightful. It must lie a poor soil 

 that w ill not satisfy the Starwort, hence in the woodland, 

 even when the flower-rimmed growths are screened from 

 full sunshine, it succeeds, in truth, is as happy in the wild 

 garden as in the trimmed bonier. These flowers of the 



