204 
HERBACEOUS GARDEN 
rosy pink, but the effect is mauve, and it grows 
5 to 6 feet high. It is not well known in 
England, though a very old plant ; once 
known as clary, and used by cottagers for 
making wine. The variety I grow is far 
better than the one usually seen, and the 
original seed of it was picked in the garden 
of the Vatican. It is perfectly hardy, but 
except in mild winters only a biennial, and 
is grown from seed. 
The back border on the other side of the 
phloxes (which faces west) is planted with 
China roses, chiefly Comtesse du Cayla and a 
few white Irene Watts and red Fellenberg. 
Between these roses are iris of all kinds, 
flowering at different times, Jiavescens , 
dalmatica , jlorentina , and the old purple flag. 
Here there is an undergrowth of Gommelina 
ccelestis , whose vivid blue blossoms each last 
but a day. 1 It is grown from seed, flowering 
freely the first year if sown in heat, and its 
tuberous roots remain and go on flowering for 
years if the soil is not too damp. 
On the far side and facing west is a border 
1 This little gem deserves to be more widely known. 
The leaves are of the freshest spring green and the flower 
the colour of an Italian sky, and it grows from I foot to 
1 8 inches high. 
