HARDY FLOWERS. l°3 



flowers in autumn, white ; but the 



most common of the whole race 



is I. sempervirens, and it has a 



distinct variety named Garrexiana. 



This Candytuft is seen in quite 



small gardens, and is the hardiest 



and most easy to grow, spreading 



about freely on the ground, or 



hanging over old walls and ledges 



upon the rock garden. Superba is 



a well-named variety. Gritty soil is 



necessary. Garrexiana is a dwarfer 



variety, with smaller flower clusters. 



I. Tenqreana has purple flowers, 



and is not hardy, except in the 



Southern Counties. All the peren- 

 nial Candytufts are, however, very 



easily raised by cuttings, which may 



be taken in the autumn, dibbled into 



pots of light soil, kept through the 



winter in a cold frame, and planted 



out in the following spring. In the 



case of such kinds as the last, this 



constant renewal is necessary if one 



desires the plant always in the gar- 

 den. Propagate the perennial Candy- 

 tufts by seed and cuttings in summer. 

 InulaS. — These are picturesque plants for the most part, 



especially the big orange yellow H. glandulosa, which is 



sufficiently vigorous and handsome to make a group of in 



the rougher and wilder parts of the garden. If one kind is 



grown, this is certainly the finest. I. Helenium is the 

 British Inula, and I. Oculus-Christi maybe also mentioned. 

 All the plants are a success in good soil, and will grow 



almost anywhere. When an increase of stock is desired, 

 propagate by root division. 

 Kniphofia (Flame-flower). — This is a noble group, 

 frequently catalogued as Tritoma, the old name for the 

 family, and one frequently hears them described by the 

 ugly but apt title of Red-hot Poker plant. The brilliant 

 orange and scarlet spikes suggest flames of fire seen from 

 a distance. sl>The Kniphofias are indeed a sumptuous 

 group of hardy perennials, noble flowers to enrich the 

 autumn garden. Plant them near Bamboos or any tall 

 vigorous plants, to throw into relief the wonderful 

 colouring. Masses in the wild garden or by the lakeside 

 are beautiful too. 

 K. Uvaria, or Aloides, as it is also called, is the most 

 common species, and is the true Red-hot Poker plant of 

 the cottage garden. It is more vigorous perhaps than 

 any, ami has given rise to numberless hybrid forms, 

 which are in many cases very beautiful and distinct in 

 colour. The most noble of all the varieties is grandis, 

 which produces spikes 5ft. or even more in height, and 

 the flowers are orange scarlet in colour or shades of it. 

 Nobilis is, as the name suggests, another handsome form, 

 and others worthy of mention are longiscapa, maxima 

 globosa, prascox, serotina, and Saundersi. In a large 

 collection would also be included K. Burchelli, 

 K. caulescens, the pretty K. corallina, K. Macowani, 

 K. Nelsoni, K. Rooperi (very early flowering), and K. 

 sarmentosa ; but restrict the kinds, where a group or two 

 only of the most effective Flame-flower is desired, to K. 

 grandis, or the common Uvaria. 



Hybrid Flame-flowers are very beautiful, but they srs 

 yet uncommon. Leda is as charming as any, beir.g 

 of strong growth, with coral red flowers, touched with 

 orange. A very bright flower, Matador, has dark red 

 spikes ; and those of Obelisk are self golden yellow, a 

 distinct colour, very free, strong, and with broad leaves. 

 This is often preferred to any other because of its clear 

 self colour. Pfitzeri, rich scarlet and yellow, and strong 

 in growth, is another good kind. Kniphofias like a 

 thoroughly deep soil, not in any way damp, through the 

 winter. During hard winters the plants suffer severely, 

 and sometimes are killed outright ; but deep planting and 

 a covering of dry leaves are as a rule sufficient protection. 

 When new growth begins in spring, a top dressing or 



IBF.RIS (Perennial Candytuft) 



mulch of well-decayed manure is helpful. The easiest 

 and most generally adopted method of propagation is by 

 division of the roots in the autumn or spring. One may 

 also raise the plants from seed sown an eighth of an inch 

 deep in sandy soil in shallow boxes in a cold frame in 

 April. But this is a considerably more lengthy process 

 than root division. 



KnotweedS. — See Polygonums. 



Lake Flowers. — See streamside gardens. 



Larkspur. — See Delphinium. 



Lavender. — This precious, fragrant, hardy bush is neces- 

 sary in the garden. Its sweet -smelling leaves and blue 

 flowers are ever welcome, whether in the border or as a 

 low hedge separating perhaps the flower garden from the 

 kitchen or fruit domain. A very light soil and sunshine 

 are essential. It is a warmth-loving plant, and may be 

 used to beautify banks. One should grow the white 

 Lavender also. Old bushes in some sunny border or 

 coiner of the garden are always pretty in colour and 

 picturesque in grow th. Lavendula vera is the name of 

 the Lavender of gardens. Propagate by cuttings in quite 

 early autumn out of doors, in a sheltered but not shady 

 place, and plant out when rooted or divide in March, 

 planting out the rooted slips about I ft. apart in light 

 soil. 



Leiieojum (Snowflake). — A dainty group of bulbous 

 plants, as dainty even as the Snowdrop. There are only 

 about three kinds of importance, and all are pretty in the 

 grass, by the margins of shrubberies, or in the border, and 

 increased either by seed or separating the bulbs. It 

 would be better to plant the Acis, or L. autumnalis, in 

 the rock garden, to derive full satisfaction from its beau- 

 tiful pinkish flowers. The summer Snowflake (L. 

 a;stivum) is the strongest. It bears its white green-tipped 

 bells in clusters upon a stem about I Sin. high, and 

 groups near to trees, by the shrubbery, or associated 

 with such plants as the Solomon's Seal, are very charming. 

 L. autumnalis, the autumn Snowflake, formerly called 

 Acis, is a delightful flower, and should be planted in the 

 rock-garden, or in some spot where the soil is warm, 

 well drained, and there is a carpeting of some creeping 

 plant, as Saxifrage, Herniaria, or Sedum, to prevent rain 

 splashing up the soil and injuring the delicate pinkish 

 flowers. Seeds will ripen sometimes, and should be 

 sown as soon as ripe in a cold frame, whilst in very con- 

 genial soils it will sometimes sow itself. The flowers 

 appear before the leaves. L. vernum, the spring Snow- 

 flake, is charming in rock garden or border, liking a rich, 

 well-drained soil. Its flowers are white, tipped witli 

 green, those ol the variety L. carpaticura appearing a. 

 lew weeks later. 



