618 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
May 30, 1891. 
N. rufescens tripinnatifida bears large plume-like 
fronds that are comparatively erect in habit, dark 
green in colour, and the entire plant is more or less 
covered with reddish brown tomentum, the pinnpe 
being much cut or divided, so that they have the 
appearance of being crested. 
There are several others catalogued in addition to the 
species and varieties briefly referred to above, but these 
comprise the cream of the genus, and give variety 
enough for all ordinary purposes.— IV. H. Taplin, in 
American Florist. 
-- 
HARDY FLOWERS AT 
TOTTENHAM. 
As with all other outdoor subjects, hardy-herbaceous and 
alpine plants are very late this season. At the time of 
our visit to the grounds of Mr. T. S. Ware, Hale Farm 
Nurseries, Tottenham, the Daffodils were mostly out 
of bloom, with the exception of the late varieties of 
Narcissus poeticus, N. biflorus, N. Nelsoni, N. 
Barnardi, and a few other late stragglers. The early 
summer-flowering subjects are not yet in bloom, but 
what are usually termed spring-flowering plants are 
yet pretty plentiful. 
Batches of various species of Primula may be seen 
here and there in the grounds, or under the shade of 
trees. The pretty sulphur-yellow, nodding-flowered 
P. sikkimensis was flowering in several places, but 
being a bog plant was happiest where planted near 
water. A colony of P. Sieboldi behind a hedge should 
demonstrate that it is perfectly hardy, notwithstanding 
the statements of those who coddle their plants under 
glass. The type has large, deep rosy purple flowers, 
with a white eye. Alongside of it was P. S. lilacina, 
equally robust, with lilac flowers, but mostly white on 
the upper surface. P. cortusoides, the nearest ally of 
the above, although it has much smaller rosy purple 
flowers, yet the lobed and wrinkled leaves, taken in 
conjunction with the flowers, render the whole pretty 
and interesting. Near this was a large batch of the 
Bird’s Eye Primrose (P. farinosa), with flowers of 
various shades, from lilac to deep purple. Closely 
allied to the Primroses are Cortusa Matthioli and 
C. pubens, with nodding, deep purple flowers. The 
latter is the smaller, and has pubescent leaves. 
A collection of Globe Flowers (Trollius) is now quite 
gay, and shows what might be done with them at this 
early part of the season. Very floriferous is T. euro- 
pseus Loddigesianus, with large soft yellow flowers and 
stems 12 ins. to 15 ins. high. T. e. altissimus is 
similar, but more robust, and 2 ft. high. T. Fortunei 
flore pleno has semi-double orange flowers. Those of 
T. caucasicus are probably larger than any other, and 
golden yellow. Several other forms are also very gay, 
and some are past their best. The foliage of the 
Funkias close by is now beginning to show its 
character, especially the yellow and green variegated F. 
japonica lutea, and the white and green F. undulata 
variegata. 
The deep rosy purple flowers of Aubrietia Leichtlinii 
show off well by contrast with those of A. Campbelli. 
There is always a considerable variety of subjects on 
the rockery, and Cyclamen repandum, the latest of its 
kind, still puts forth its rosy purple flowers. The blue 
and purple-margined flowers of Camassia Fraseri are 
now in fine condition, and will continue so for some 
time to come. The fragrant Daphne neapolitanum, 
guided by the season, is flowering late ; and the twiggy 
pink or pale purple-flowered Cytisus purpureus is 
keeping it company. There are two forms of the 
Snowdrop Anemone (A. sylvestris), a tall pure white- 
flowered one, and a dwarf one with creamy white 
flowers, produced in profusion at different times of the 
season, whereas the first flowers only once. 
A number of hardy Cypripediums are both free 
flowering and attractive. The flowers of C. parviflorum 
are fragrant, which is not the case with C. pubescens ; 
it is also notable for its long, twisted petals, while 
those of C. calceolus have shorter and less twisted 
petals, but of a much darker brown, as are the sepals. 
Both this and C. parviflorum are mostly twin flowered, 
with a white lip, whereas in C. montanum that organ 
is white. The curious C. arietinum is hardy, as well as 
C. macranthum with its large deep purple flowers, 
somewhat later than the others, with the exception of 
C. montanum. A colony of hardy Orchids may be 
seen under the shelter of a hedge. The species of Bee 
Orchis are very pretty, including the Fly (Oplirys 
muscifera), the Looking-glass (0. speculum), with the 
large, steel-blue disc on the lip, also 0. lutea, with its 
large yellow lip and brown centre. Orchis longicornis 
reminds us of our British 0. Morio, but the flowers 
are differently coloured, with the large, reflexed lateral 
lobes of the lip of a -velvety blackish purple. The 
flowers of 0. Branciforti are rosy pink and small, but 
very pretty. 0. undulatifolia has large flowers of a 
pale lilac-purple, with the lip four-lobed, and nearly 
white. Closely surrounded by tall hedges was a bed 
of Trillium grandiflorum in great vigour, and a mass of 
white bloom. Shelter, shade, and a peaty soil are no 
doubt the secrets of success. 
A large collection of Tulips shows what amount of 
variety they furnish, not only in the colour of the 
flowers, but in their shape and the stature of the plants 
themselves. Tulipa Gesneriana has deep scarlet-red 
flowers, while those of T. G. maculata are flamed with 
yellow or white. T. viridiflora, with its deep green 
segments and broad yellow margins, is undoubtedly 
very distinct and also floriferous, and although some 
might object to it, admirers could certainly be found. 
Similar in size to the last is T. flava, with bright yellow 
flowers ; but T. cornuta is strikingly different with its 
long, narrow-pointed, yellow segments and red 
margins. Very handsome is T. retroflexa with its tall 
stems and clear yellow segments, the outer three of 
which are reflexed above the middle. Very useful for 
cut bloom is T. Diedieri, of dwarf habit, with red 
flowers of moderate size ; internally there is a bluish 
blotch on the yellow claw of each segment. Every 
offset flowers. Another dwarf kind is T. Hageri, with 
bright scarlet-red flowers and a large black blotch at 
the base of each segment. The huge scarlet flowers of 
T. Greigi with their black base require no praise, as 
they supply their own recommendation as to beauty. 
Very different from any of the above is T. persica, on 
account of its dwarf habit, as the leaves spread on the 
ground, and the short scapes bear from one to four 
flowers. 
A large collection of Tree Pseonies (Pteonia Moutan) 
has been flowering for some time in one of the cool 
span-roofed houses. Those on the rockery are still in 
bud. A very dwarf and slow-growing sort is Osiris, 
which has double, deep red flowers, and although only 
10 ins. high, is five or six years old. Similar in colour 
is Zenobia, but the stems are taller. Carnea plena has 
pleasing salmon-pink flowers, while those of Blanche 
de Noisette are white with some bluish markings on 
the edges of the petals. Van der Mcelin is notable for 
the huge size of its rosy flowers, which are darker in 
the centre. The bright rose flowers of Rainieri and 
the salmon-pink ones of Caroline are also very fine. 
All are very double. 
Mr. Ware has now commenced the culture of tuberous 
Begonias, and has got a number of the finer strains, 
both of this country and from the Continent. Many 
of them are now in the flowering state, and only require 
to be potted on, while others are in the seedliDg stage. 
Single varieties are most plentiful, but several fine 
scarlet and white double varieties may also be noted, 
particularly a pure white one having the petals 
arranged round one centre. The single varieties show 
flowers of good shape. 
-- 
BLUE FLOWERS OF EARLY 
SPRING. 
I overheard a lady say the other day that she wished 
there were more blue-coloured spring flowers for the 
garden in early spring, which somewhat surprised me, 
because there is on the whole a good quantity, and a 
fairly numerous supply can be had at a comparatively 
small cost. One of the earliest to flower is a bulbous- 
rooted plant that is not half so much known as it 
deserves to be—namely, 
The Glory of the Snow, 
hionodoxa Lucilue. This lovely little bulb came 
came to this country a few years ago from Syria. It 
has all the character of a Scilla, or Squill, and a strong 
bulb when in good soil will throw up a flower stem 
with several blossoms on it, and they are of a bright 
turquoise-blue—a real blue—with a white centre. 
Anyone who essays to grow it should treat it much as 
a Crocus, planting the bulbs in a warm, sunny spot, in 
good soil, and then letting them alone. When once 
established in the soil, it multiplies rapidly and soon 
forms a good clump, and it is perfectly hardy. Plant 
it and let it alone to multiply its bulbs and flower 
year after year ; that is my advice. It is now so much 
grown by the bulb cultivators that a few can be had at 
a small cost. There are three or four other species of 
the genus. The one next in importance is C. nana, or 
perhaps best known under the terrible name of Puseh- 
kinia Scilloides, very early to flower, but the blossoms 
are only about half the size of those of C. Luciliie. If 
five or six bulbs of the latter are placed in a pot, and 
kept in a cold frame all the winter, they will bloom 
nicely in the spring ; but the plant is seen at its best 
when grown in the open ground. The best time to 
obtain bulbs is in the autumn. 
The Siberian Squill. 
This is a native of Siberia, and floods the Siberian 
deserts with a vernal carpet of blue, when the 
warmth of spring melts the snows of winter. What 
a lovely blue it is! It follows the Chionodoxa 
in the order of flowering, and like it, should be 
planted in the border and let alone. By planting 
on different aspects—open, warm and sunny spots, 
and those that are shaded, and even sunless—a 
succession of lovely blue flowers can be had. This 
charming early-flowering bulb should be in every 
garden; a garden without it is one that lacks a real 
thing of beauty. Enormous quantities of it are grown 
in France, Belgium, Holland, and other countries for 
the supply of the London markets, and it comes into 
them by thousands in the autumn. Scilla bifolia is 
earlier to flower—a charming subject—smaller in size, 
and not so richly blue, still a delightful plant for early 
spring. S. siberica has no variety to my knowledge, 
though I have heard of, but never seen, a white form 
of it. S. bifolia has, on the other hand, several 
varieties—white, pink,’ rose, pale blue, &c., all very 
pretty, but not so showy as the type. 
The Blue Hepatica. 
In my own garden the single blue Hepatica precedes 
in flowering the Glory of the Snow. It is the 
commonest, the most vigorous, and the hardiest of all 
the Hepaticas. The Hepaticas are classed with the 
Anemones by some, and called Anemone Hepatica ; 
others make it a separate genus. Those who attempt 
to grow Hepaticas are generally advised in garden 
books to plant them in cool, moist, and shady spots. 
But when once established, they will grow in any 
position, provided they can have a deep loam to root 
into. They put forth stout, stiff, hair-like roots, and 
they will send them down into the soil to a great 
depth. I have some plants of the single blue at the 
foot of the west wall—that is, a wall having a west 
aspect, and where the sun shines on it after eleven 
o’clock in the day—and the plants, during the last 
five or six years, have grown into a great size, and 
blossom most abundantly in March. The single i^hite 
is a counterpart of the single blue, except in colour, 
and does admirably by the side of it; but the single 
and doublo red and the double blue are more delicate, 
and require more moisture and shade. The latter is 
very scarce. Strange to say, there is no double white 
form. The Hepaticas have been cultivated for many 
years in this country. 
The Creeping Forget-me-not. 
Not long since, I drew attention to this lovely clear 
blue spring flower, Omphalodes verna, one of Venus’s 
Navelworts, and so named from the shape of the 
seeds. To do it justice, it requires plenty of shade, 
coolness, and moisture, and then it flowers abundantly 
very early. It is worth a journey to Belvoir Castle in 
order to see how it heaps up its blossoms so plenteously 
in that unrivalled spring garden, spread out on the 
warm and sunny slopes of the huge mound upon which 
the castle stands. 
The Winter Windflower. 
This is Anemone blanda, a native of classic Greece, 
flowering in the open ground in this country in early 
spring. It is named the Windflower from the Sanscrit 
anila, wind ; and an, to blow. The Anemone is said 
by Bion to have sprung from the tears that Venus wept 
over the body of Adonis, a myth that seems to whisper 
that the tears of that frail and loving goddess were 
soon blown away. It is the Winter Windflower because 
so early to blossom ; the flowers are of a deep blue. 
There is a very fine variety of it known as A. Robinson- 
iana. 
The Apennine Anemone. 
Anemone Blanda is somewhat earlier to bloom and of a 
deeper blue than the Apennine Windflower, but the 
latter is extremely pretty, and grows freely in the 
garden, especially if it can enjoy the shade of tall trees. 
It is one of those things which, if once planted and let 
alone, will grow into a large clump. I can remember, 
in the time of Mr. J. S. Budgett, there was a very large 
clump of it indeed in one of the shrubbery borders at 
Ealing Park, growing in an opening in the shrubs, where 
it was shaded and cool. It was a great sight when in 
full bloom. I wonder if it is still there. Unfortunately, 
the flowers of the Apennine Windflower burn somewhat 
when the plant is growing in the sun—that is to say, 
the sun appears to draw the colour out of them, and so 
it should go into the shade. 
