218 



HARDY PLANTS FOR THE 



Fia. 79. 



When well grown the leaves are often more than a yard 

 long^ and present a vivid and most striking coloration. 



Their midribs reach 

 fonr inches or more 

 across^ and vary from a 

 dark deep waxy orange 

 to vivid polished crim- 

 son. The splendid hue 

 of the lower part of the 

 leaf stalks flows on to- 

 wards the point; and 

 spreads in smaller 

 streams through the 

 main veins and ramifi- 

 cations of the great soft 

 blades of the leaf, often 

 a foot and even fifteen 

 inches in diameter^ if 

 the plant be in rich 

 ground. The under 

 sides of the leaves are 

 the most richly colour- 

 ed; and the habit such 

 that these sides are well 

 seen. It requires the 

 treatment of an annual 

 — to be raised in a 

 gently heated frame^ 

 and afterwards planted 

 out in very rich ground^ 

 though it may also be 

 kept over the winter in pots. It varies a good deal from 

 seed; and the most striking individuals should be selected 

 before the plants are put out. Used sparingly, its eficct 

 would perhaps be more telling than if in quantity,, and it is 

 well suited for isolation — that is to say^ placing singly on the 

 grass near a clump of shrubs. Everybody who values a 

 really distinct object in the flower garden should have it. 

 During the past season it attained splendid dimensions and 



V 



Centaurea babylonica. 



