638 
THE GARDENERS* MAGAZINE. 
$ ^ 
i NOTES ON HARDY FLOWERS. I 
Statice latifolia. 
This is the best of all the sea lavenders 
or statiees for the ordinary flower border, 
and it is a pity such a plant is so little 
known, although, of course, it is not a rare 
one. In a gowi border, not too wet, yet 
not poverty-stricken, S. latifolia is really 
very fine. A large plant, between two and 
three feet high, is most ornamental with 
its handsome spreading spikes of blue or 
lilac-blue (flowers, which, though indivi¬ 
dually small, are effective in a mass. The 
leaves are handsome, and the general effect 
of a specimen is decidedly good. Although 
a nominal June flowerer, it lasts a long 
time in bloom, and we see it in flower into 
August. Apart from its value in the gar¬ 
den, the flowers are in request for cutting, 
and the fact that they can be dried for win¬ 
ter decoration adds greatly to their value 
to many. One finds that a good, though 
not too heavy, soil suits it well. S. lati¬ 
folia is increased by means of division or 
seeds, and is quite hardy. It is a native 
of South Russia, whence it was introduced 
in 1791. 
Chrysanthemum maximum 
Hendersoni. 
There is a bewildering array of varieties 
of Chrysanthemum maximum nowadays, 
and the purchaser is at a loss which to 
choose from among such a host, many of 
which differ only in name. The laciniated 
varieties are highly ornamental, and lend 
themselves to purposes where the other 
forms are not so valuable, and quite a 
number of those with the ends of the ray 
petals laciniated are in commerce. One 
which is, am certain, of long-past in¬ 
troduction is named C. m. Hendersoni, 
and, when well grown, is very difficult to 
beat in its way. Growing variously from 
two to three and a-half feet high, it gives 
a mass of shapely, prettily-cut flowers of 
purest white, save for the golden centre, 
for a considerable time in succession. This 
is a very handsome chrysanthemum, and 
may well be placed among the best of the 
really good varieties now so common. In 
a goicxi soil it is of special excellence, and 
ives for a considerable time handsome 
owers for cutting, as well as for the de¬ 
coration of the border. I do not know its 
origin with any certainty, but, unless I 
am mistaken it came from the once-famous 
nursery of E. G. Henderson and Son, 
St. John’s Wood, London, who sent put so 
many good hardy plants. 
Agrapanthus umbellatus, var, 
Mooreanus. 
For garden purposes we may well be 
content to call this little blue African lily 
simply Agapanthus Mooreanus, although 
we have it on the highest authority that 
it is only a variety of the well-known A. 
umbellatus. It is inferior in size and 
effect to the ordinary A. umbellatus, but 
to the many who are debarred from cul¬ 
tivating its more impressive sister flower 
it has the merit of being much hardier, 
and of thriving where the other would fail 
because of the severitv of the winters. 
Of course, when properly treated, A. um¬ 
bellatus itself, and its white variety, are 
much hardier than is generally understood, 
but A. Mooreanus is reallv hardy through¬ 
out a ^eat part of the United Kingdom. 
The writer has grown it for five and twenty 
years or more in the open border, and that 
without a shred of protection during win¬ 
ter. A. Mooreanus is much smaller in its 
scapes and individual flowers than the 
type. It has also shorter and blunter 
leaves, and does not usually grow so tall. 
I see that an authoritative work gives the 
height as eighteen inches, but I have mea¬ 
sured a clump in my own garden to-day, 
and the stems and their surmounting scape 
reach at least fifteen inches more. The 
flowers are of a good blue, and a large 
clump in autumn is a pleasing feature of 
the border. It likes a good, but well- 
drained soil, and occasional applications of 
weak liquid manure will help to give the 
plant vigour and the flowers a greater size. 
This is not necessary, however^ and in 
fairly good soil the agapanthus will increase 
in size and beauty with the ordinary treat¬ 
ment afforded to other border plants. I 
prefer spring planting, and the crowns 
should be about two inches beneath the 
surface. Increase is effected by division. 
Inula Hookeri. 
A capital hardy effective border plant 
for autumn flowering is Inula Hookeri, a 
handsome subject, with ornamental flowers 
of a good orange, with a deep centre, and 
very pleasing in the autumn months from 
July, late in the month, to the end of 
September, and in this garden even into 
October if the frost is only moderate in 
its touch. It is variously from two to 
three feet high, according to the nature of 
the season or the character of the soil 
^d position. Its one fault in the border 
is that it is apt to spread too much at the 
roots, but this is easily condoned for the 
sake of the effectiveness of this handsome 
composite plant, and the value of its 
blooms, either in the garden or cut for the 
home. It is increased by division, and 
is quite hardy. S. Arnott. 
LEUCOPHYTA BROWNEI. 
The above is the name most generally 
used in gardens for this well-known plant, 
but by botanists it is placed in the genus 
Calocephalus, the specific name remaining 
the same. Owing to the intense silvery- 
whiteness of the entire plant, it is much 
used for bedding purposes, the neutral tint 
serving admirably as a foil to the brighter- 
hued blossoms. It is employed in several 
different ways—rfirstly, when pegged down, 
it majr be used as an edging or a carpet to 
taller-growing subjects; next, as dot plants 
of any height from 1ft. to 4ft., it is in 
considerable demand. It can be readily 
struck from cuttings inserted at any time 
during the growing season, and kept close 
till rooted. In early spring they are bene¬ 
fited by a gentle bottom heat, but in sum¬ 
mer this is not needed. The cutting-pots 
should be filled with light, sandy soil, 
sifted moderately fine and pressed down 
firmly. Plants ^riick in the autumn, or 
even early in the spring, are available for 
edging or for carpeting, but the dot plants 
will, of course, be older. From a flower¬ 
ing point of view, this leucophyta has 
nothing to recommend it. the whitish blos¬ 
soms being borne in small terminal heads. 
It is a native of Australia, and has been 
long grown in this country, but it has not 
previously been so popular as it is at the 
present time, . W, 
August 23, 1913. 
SAXIFRAGA UMBROSA AND 
ITS ALLIES. 
There is Jirobably no befter-kribwn plant 
than the old “London Pride” (Saxifragi 
umbrosa), which is still one of the deli^u 
of the old cottage gardens. This useful 
species, which is charming by reason of its 
clouds of pinkish blossom and its evergreen 
foliage, is a wildling in many parts of the 
west and south-west of Ireland, and natu. 
ralised in other places. 
The easy manner in which S. umbrosa 
adajits itself to varied positions and soils 
is very noticeable, and it seems to delight 
in a cool, sandy soil, either in sunshine or 
half-shade. It is especially suitable for 
rock garden grouping, particularly where 
one has plenty of space to fill, and it can 
be used in conjunction with some of the 
stronger-growing, spring-flowering bulbs, 
which should be chosen so as to give early 
patches of colour before the saxifrages are 
in blossom. 
Selected spots in the wild garden might 
also be planted up with this subject, it 
being extremely pretty for crowning small 
hillocks, or for breaking over the edges of 
informal pathways. Gracilis, the dainty 
w^hite-flowered variety of S. umbrosa, ii 
charming, with its misty masses of graceful 
blossoms. Serratifolia, a slightly dwarfer 
form, with serrated foliage, is much the 
same colour as its parent, while variegau 
is interesting by reason of its white and 
green foliage. 
Saxifraga geum^ a near relative of S. 
umbrosa, is found in quantity on the moun¬ 
tains of Cork and Kerry, and is a useful 
little plant for the rock garden. Its neit 
habit, its white blossoms borne freely upon 
slender stems, and the toothed, reniforn, 
hairy leafage, combine to make it a serviw- 
able little subject. There are several in¬ 
teresting varieties of S. geum, among wnic 
are minima, Doni, Linnsei, and others. * 
these differ slightly in size and in formatioo 
of the foliage, while occasionally the 
flowers exhibit pinkish or ros^pot 
colourings, they are certainly replete wim 
interest. 
In S. cuneifolia^we have one of 
tiest gems of the whole group. Rs s® 
tufts of green, leathery, miniature leav^ 
which possess a reddish 
tiny spikes, gemmed with white blossomy, 
spotted with yellow are delightful . 
drained spots on the rocks. Its variet.^ 
which include the snow-white appenn 
subintegra) and multicaulifi, are full 01 
terest and charm. 
Other interesting allies of s. 
S. Andrewsi, a natural hybrid 
umbrosa and S. aizoon which was ^ 
Ireland. The foliage is bright 
the serrate edges are margined witn^ 
The blossoms are white, 
with red. S. hirsuta, a useful sax 
dwarf habit in character cha<k<^ 
S. umbrosa and S. geum, has pi ’j-inty 
flowers, and S. pseudo-Forsteri, ^ 
hybrid form, which claims 
one of its parents, is also g . * , 
In addition to these there » 
pink-flowered S. primuloid^, :jjiatui« 
choice little subject and .i Robert 
plant. Taken together, the li , coi|- 
sonia section of the «i.ieti«6» ^ 
tains the foregoing species an 
well worth the attention of 
the planning and planting of 
and during early summer the . - $0^ 
blossoms produced by ^ i tiB®^’ 
their neat, effective appearan . . • ^ froi* 
the garden lover. 
