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JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



I suppose that covers the time when the last of spring flowers has 

 faded away till signs of autumn appear. Between the departure 

 of Scillas and Narcissi towards the end of May, and the com- 

 mencement of the long reign of Composite flowers in August, lies 

 the period of the year with which I am concerned. 



All I can attempt to do is to give a few running notes, or 

 memoranda of what has occurred under my own eyes, for it is 

 utterly beyond my power to offer anything new to the members 

 of the Royal Horticultural Society, and with which they are not 

 already familiar. 



Of very striking plants, then, which blossom at Midsummer 

 or thereabouts, I should give high rank to Eremuri. I have 

 often wondered why they are so seldom seen in our gardens. In 

 my judgment they have only one fault which cannto be obviated. 

 They flower up the stalk, and one part of the spike is clothed 

 with the very highest possible beauty, while the other part of it 

 is in a dying-off state. Of course, this cannot be helped ; but 

 take an Eremurus at its best — Eremurus Bungei for instance — 

 when it is sufficiently out, and before any part of it has begun to 

 fade away, and I doubt if anything more arresting to the eye can 

 be oftentimes met with. The clear bright yellow colour is so 

 very good, and it stands up so well in the border, and the foliage 

 befits it so nicely, that it would be difficult to say where a more 

 beautiful picture could be found in all of Flora's domains. 



I remember once returning home after the absence of a year y 

 and the first thing that caught my eye after I had passed through 

 the garden gate was the unlooked-for spectacle of Eremurus 

 rohustus, which was more than twelve feet high. It quite took 

 away my breath for a moment, and I saw that till then I never 

 had the slightest idea of what an Eremurus could do. There 

 are, of course, many species of it, and they come into flower one 

 after the other in a most convenient way. A specimen which I 

 have, without a name, from the Sairem Sea usually leads the 

 van, and the rear is made up by Eremurus Olgce, which flowers 

 latest of all some weeks afterwards. Pink, yellow, a sort of 

 brickdust-red, white — these are the colours which the Eremuri 

 seem to affect. The yellow is of the very clearest sort, and the 

 white is white beyond all suspicion, and very pleasant to look 

 on. I suppose that Eremurus himalaicus, which is the white 

 sort to which I refer, would be considered one of the best of 



