THE LADIES’ FLORAL CABINET. 
173 
fulness, either as a house plant or for the greenhouse, or 
for growing in a frame for early spring flowers. It thrives 
well with the same treatment as is required for the ixia. 
The only species of importance is S. aurea, a plant grown 
largely in England as a border flower, where it will endure 
the rigors of their winter with but slight protection. A 
popular writer there, in describing this plant, says: “ I 
prefer this to the gladioli, as it is not so stiff-looking, and 
keeps longer in bloom ; besides, it looks well from the 
day it is planted, with its graceful, drooping, ribbon-like 
leaves, which are worthy of their place although it never 
flowered; and I think its bright orange color and tall 
habit are much needed where tall plants are required.” 
Differences in climate make a great difference in the use¬ 
fulness of a plant. In this locality, where we have far 
more sunshine in winter than England can boast in sum¬ 
mer, the tritonia is a magnificent plant for the conserva¬ 
tory or greenhouse, and does fairly well as a window 
plant. But in the ordinary greenhouse the freedom with 
which it produces its gorgeous yellow flowers, from Feb¬ 
ruary until May, is truly astonishing. A ten-inch pot 
planted with a dozen bulbs will afford a continuous mass 
of bloom for two or three months. This plant is also 
known as Crocosmia aurea. It was introduced from 
South Africa in 1846. 
In close alliance with those described is the 
BABIANA, 
a charming genus of bulbs from South Africa, differing 
from the sparaxis and tritonia in having much broader 
foliage, which is often hairy and plaited. The plants grow 
from six to twelve inches high, and produce spikes of 
brilliant flowers, ranging in color from blue suffused with 
white to the richest crimson-magenta; many of them are 
sweet-scented. They are natives of arid plains, and dur¬ 
ing their growing season will bear much wet, and when 
dry will not be injured by great heat. In their native 
habitat the ground often becomes powdery, and the bulbs 
lie exposed to the fierce rays of the sun. The bulbs are 
eaten by the Hottentots, and are said to resemble 
chestnuts when roasted. All the species have showy 
flowers of various colors, blue predominating. Some of 
the varieties are finely variegated. They require the 
same treatment as the ixia, but being of slender growth, 
the bulbs can be put much more closely together in pots. 
They are exceedingly useful as a window plant, or for 
the conservatory or greenhouse. 
FLOWERS OF JULY. 
r pHE sweetly pretty flowers of spring are past, the 
X summer’s heat is at its height, dust abounds every¬ 
where, berries are abundant in the woods, brilliant foli¬ 
age paints pretentious garden beds, and vacations are in 
order. But our homes are not bereft of beauty, nor our 
garden plats of interest, and it depends upon ourselves 
alone whether or no we can go away and find more July 
flowers in mountain, field or wood, the seaside maybe, 
or neighbor’s yard, than we have around our doors at 
home. 
What a host of hardy perennials are now in bloom ! 
Koempfer’s irises are at their gayest; they are large and 
showy, single and double, white, blue and purple, self- 
colored or marbled or pencilled. Perennial larkspurs are 
in their prime. As soon as they have done blooming 
and before they go to seed, cut them down, and they will 
grow up again and bloom in the fall. Among lilies the 
white lily has about gone by, but the trumpet lilies are in 
their prime; the scarlet martagon, the nankeen, Hum¬ 
boldt’s and many others are in perfection. The Califor¬ 
nian red columbine (. Aquilegia truncata) and the long- 
spurred yellow one (A. chrysantha) and their hybrids 
alone among their kind remain with us. The double¬ 
flowering Achillea Ptarmica is a mass of white. It 
lasts a long time in bloom and is very serviceable for flor¬ 
ists’ work. The blue, variegated and white-flowered 
monkshoods are showy enough, but we should handle 
them carefully, as they are poisonous plants. Many her¬ 
baceous spiraeas are pretty in our borders, for instance, 
the double white meadow-sweet, the red S. palmata and 
the pink S. venusta. We have lots of pentstemons, es¬ 
pecially the scarlet wands of P. barbatus and P. Torreyi. 
Many of the showier sorts, as P. Cobcea Murrayanus 
and Eatoni are not hardy enough for general outdoor 
work, and when wintered in frames, bloom in June 
rather than in July. Fringed pinks, Carpathian and Pla- 
tycodon bell-flowers; blue, purple-red and white spider- 
worts ; blazing stars ( Liatris ), double-flowering bouncing 
bet ( Saponaria ), purple and white prairie clover (Peialos- 
temon), perennial scabios, Pyrenean and large-flowered 
brunellas, the large-flowered betony, stately hollyhocks, 
and many other common plants are now in bloom. 
Among coreopsis we have several handsome species, but 
none more useful and copious than C. lanceolata, which 
is a continuous bloomer, and blossoms the first season 
from seed. Several of the tall blue veronicas are in 
bloom. To name them accurately is exceedingly hard, 
the species are so mixed. 
The large-flowered lychnises, as L. grandiflora and 
Haage’s varieties, are hardy, showy and worth growing 
and as easily raised from seed as are annuals. Yucca 
filameiitosa is in full beauty and makes a capital clump in 
open, rocky places, or, in fact, anywhere in dry ground 
where we wish for a permanent group. The fat-leaved 
sedums add their contingent in the way of the yellow 
stonecrop- like 5 . sexangulare, the white S. album and the 
red S. spurium-splendens. One of the strongest and 
sweetest of hardy perennials is David’s clematis, a herba¬ 
ceous species from Northern China; C. tubulosa is not 
unlike it, but a poorer plant. The perennial peas (Za/Ar- 
rus latifolius), white and purple, are aquisitions in roomy 
gardens, and although they blossom freely when sprawl¬ 
ing on the ground, do better and take up less room when 
we give them stakes or brush. The stronger gypsophilas 
