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PART II. 
HARDY PLANTS. 
(ANNUALS, BIENNIALS, AND PERENNIALS.) 
Abronia (Sand Verbena). — Half-hardy annuals and peren- 
nials belonging- to the Marvel of Peru family (Nyctaginiaceae). 
The verbena-like flowers are noted for their honey-like fra- 
grance as well as their beauty. They succeed best on a sunny 
rockery in sandy loam. Their habit of growth is trailing. All 
the species named below may be raised from seeds. As the 
seeds take a long time to germinate, their outer skins should 
be peeled off before sowing in well-drained pots of sandy 
soil in a cold frame in autumn. Keep the seedlings in the 
frame till May, then harden off and plant out later in the 
month. The perennial species may be increased by cuttings 
inserted in sandy soil in spring. The chief species are : A. 
arenaria, lemon-yellow, July, i2in., half-hardy perennial; A. 
fragrans, white, June, i 8 in., half-hardy perennial; A. umbel- 
lata, rosy-pink, summer, i2in., half-hardy annual. Natives of 
California. 
Acaena. — A genus of dwarf sub-shrubby plants belonging 
to the Rose family (Rosaceae), and grown chiefly as edgings 
to beds or on rockeries. The flowers are not attractive, the 
chief charm lying in their neat foliage. We find them most 
useful for dry rockeries, or for carpeting a dry border in which 
bulbs are growing. They will succeed in any soil or position 
that is not too damp. Readily increased by seeds sown out- 
doors in spring, by cuttings in pots in a cold frame in summer, 
also by division at any time. The only species we consider 
