THE AMATEUR’S FLOWER GARDEN. 
231 
purpose, for even the humblest occupants of the stove and 
greenhouse may be turned to account, to afford relief and 
support to more stately subjects. We must be careful, how¬ 
ever, to repeat that it 
is not tenderness of 
constitution that ren¬ 
ders a plant suitable 
for the picturesque 
garden; it must have 
character of some 
sort, if even it be 
only grotesque, and 
it must be capable of 
withstanding a small 
gale, a smart show¬ 
er, and a few chilly 
nights, without col¬ 
lapsing into rags and 
litter. 
Picturesque 
Plants that are 
NEARLY OR QUITE 
Hardy. —The range 
of selection amongst 
plants of this class 
is immense, for we 
have but to look for 
distinctive forms of 
leaf beauty, or of leaf 
and flower combined, 
in plants notable for 
elegance or massive¬ 
ness, and sufficiently 
hardy to need at the 
utmost nothing more 
than frame protec¬ 
tion in winter. The 
variegated Aspidistra 
may be regarded as a good type of the class, a noble, tropical- 
looking plant, that endures without harm our severest 
winters, but attains to fullest development only when aided 
with protection in winter and a kindly heat in spring, when 
ASPIDISTRA LURIDA. 
