yellow, pea-shaped flowers. 
June 1, 1905 
ter end of August and September. [tis very 
easily raised from cuttings or by division. 
Aster alpina is another beautiful dwarf, 
| with large blue flowers and yellow centze. 
growing 9 in. high, flowering about ths 
third week in May. It does best in light, 
sandy ground; in heavy soils it is very apt 
to not come cut during summer ; at least, 
that has been my experience. It ts readily 
increased from seed, or by division. I was 
almost forgetting to mention the saxifraga- 
—that is, the broad-leaved section. They 
are about our first plants to flower in spring, 
and very often they get nipped by late 
frosts. I would also be sure to include 
the armerias, or sea pinks. They are fine 
for the front of the border. Armeria mari- 
tima and A. formosa are both good, with 
bright pink flowers. One of the most beai- 
tiful spring-flowering plants is the Iberis 
sempervirens, or candytuft, with flat heads 
of flowers of the purest white; easily raised 
from cuttings or by division of seed. 
And now we come to the Iris family, 
- which is often called the orchid of the gar- 
den, ‘They are all very ornamental, and 
present a wide range of delicate colors, 
flowering from: early spring to the middle 
| of July. The German iris are all grand. 
- blooming in May and the early part of 
June. They all do well in ordinary garden. 
soil. I would advise not to plant them too 
deep; otherwise they are liable to rot, if 
the ground is toorich. Then we have the 
Japan iris, which are considered by many 
to be the best of all, with large single and 
double flowers, often 9 to 10 in. in dia- 
meter, with a great variety of colors, from 
purest white, through all the various shades 
of purple, lilac, pink, and deep marcon. 
They like rich, moist ground, and, if pos- 
sible, I would give them plenty of water 
when. coming into bloom. They are better 
for being transplanted every three or four 
ecther. I prefer to transplant them about 
years; unless that is done they die away in 
the centre and eventually die out alto- 
the latter end of September. 
No garden should be without the dif- 
ferent varieties of lychnis; they all de 
well in full sunlight, are of the easiest culti- 
vation; but my experience has been that 
some of them like to be transplanted about 
every two years or so, especially Lychnis 
flcs-cuculi and L. viscaria splendens flore- 
plena. September is a good time for divid- 
ing them. I think the two varieties named 
are the best. But, of course, we cannot 
get along without L. chalcedonica’ and L. 
Haageana. The latter embraces quite a 
variety of color, from purest white through 
all the various shades of red, pink, and 
crimsan. The two varieties named are 
readily increased from: seed. 
The spireas are a beautiful class of 
plants, doing best in partial shade in moist 
ground. A few of the best varieties are 8. 
aruncus, 8. filipendula fl. pl. gigantea, 
-yenusta, palmiata, ulmaria, fl. pl. 
Another very showy plant is the Ther- 
monpgis caroliniana, growing about 4 ft. 
high, with clover-like foliage and spikes of 
After being 
planted T alwaiys found it best to disturb 
very stately in their growth. 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
them. as little as possible. To increase your 
stock the best way is to raise them from 
secd sown as soon as ripe. They require 
staking. Campanulas are another very 
beautiful class of hardy plants; a good 
many are evergreen. ‘There are also some 
I would not care to plant in the border on 
account of their weedy nature: Campan- 
ula carpathica, white and blue, is very 
choice for the front of the border; so is 
tho C. rotundifolia (blue bells of Scotland). 
C. persicifolia, white and blue, double and 
single, are verly handsome, growing from 2 
to 3 ft. high. The above-named varicties 
are raised trom seed and by division. We 
must not forget the Canterbury bells, Cam- 
panula media, whicly are biennials. 
The digitalis, or foxglove, are beautiful, 
tall-grewing plants, suited for the back of 
the border. I have found it best to raise 
them every year from seed, and treat them 
the same ad Canterbury bells, as they seem 
to have a habit of dying out after flowering. 
But any plants that do survive the summer 
I would cover up for the winter, and they 
will make a glorious showing next season. 
5 
plants, with handsome foliage and large 
lcwers of various shades of red. A clump 
of them seen from a distance is very effec- 
tive. After they are through flowering, 
the tops can be cut down and annuals plant- 
ed in their place. The Iceland poppy, 
Papaver nudicaule, is very pretty, too, with 
yellow, orange, and white flowers. They 
are much dwarfer growers than the Oriental 
poppies. The gaillardias are very impor- 
tant plants, with red and yellow flowers, 
blooming all summer until late fall; they 
ara very easily raised from seed. It is 
best to cover them for the winter; and I 
would not advise to transplant them in the 
fall, as they are apt to rot out during: win- 
ter. Gypsophila paniculata is an elegant 
plant, growing about 3 ft. high, with small 
white flowers, and grand for cutting pur- 
poses; very fine for mixing in with a bunch 
of cut flowers, giving them a nice, airy 
effect. It is raised from seed, and’ when 
once established should be left alone, as the 
plants don’t like being disturbed. Coreop- 
sis lanceolata is another fine plant, bloom- 
ing all summer, with yellow flowers. I 
“1W1° . ‘ oS 
Sweet Williams are capital subjects plant would advise cutting off the dead flowers 
ed in masses near the front of the border ;. 
are easily raised from seed, but bei sure you 
get a good strain, and sow some every year, 
as they, too, have a habit of dying off dur- 
ing summer. They require covering for 
the winter. Agquilegias, cr columbines, 
are charming plants with a great variety of 
colors, including white, rose blue, purple, 
yellow, and scarlet. A. coerulea, the 
Rocky Mountain columbine, is one 
of the best, with blue and white 
flowers. A. chrysantha is  anothier 
good variety with’ yellow flowers, about the 
latest of all to flower. A. Skinneri is an- 
other good variety, with red and yellow 
flowers. There are a great many more 
varieties too numerous to mention. It is 
best to raise some every year from seed, 
sowing in spring, as a good many of the 
‘older plants die out during summer. 
Peonies are among the most beautiful of 
all the herbaceous plants for the garden, 
Their flowers 
are very fragrant, and the colors are simply 
grand. No garden should be without a 
good collection of them’; besides, they do 
well in the shade, where other plants would 
not grow. I think one of the best, also 
one of the oldest, varieties and earliest to 
flower is Peonia officinalis, double dark 
red. Seen from a distance, the effect of 
this is simply grand. I have found that 
September is the best time to transplant 
peonies. 
The delphiniums are another very de- 
sirable class of plants for the garden. They 
are mostly tall growing, and are of very 
easy culture. From seed sown in gpring. 
they will bloom the summer following. But 
of late years they have been attacked with 
a disease which’ cripples the foliage and 
flowers, rendering them worthless for cut- 
ting purposes. I don’t know of any re- 
medy for it ;but my plan has been to dig 
up tho plants attacked and throw them 
away. 
The Oriental poppies are very showy 
onee a week; otherwise the plants won’t 
bloom so freely. To keep up stock of 
them, sow some seed every year, as the old 
plants die out occasionally. Clematis David- 
jana, integrifolia and recta are fine for the 
border. C. Dayidiana is readily increased 
by division. The other two named varic- 
ties can be raised from seed. Sown in a 
cold frame, they will come up the next 
spring. 
If I were limited to one class of hardy 
plants I would choose the Phlox decussata. 
They are grand, and have such a variety 
of colors, flowering all summer. By cutting 
off the seed vessels they branch out from! the 
stems and keep on flowering. They are 
easily raised from cuttings, seed, or division. 
T used to sow thie seed, from selected flowers, 
in a cold frame, and they would all germi- 
nate and coma up in the spring. Then T 
would transplant the seedlings, and all of 
them would flower the same season. Any 
poor varieties I threw away and kept the 
good ones. By practising this method one 
will gradually get a fine collection in a few 
years. 
The helianthus, or sunflowers, are plants 
of very easy culture, with showy yellow 
blessoms, but there are some of them I 
would not care to have in the border on 
account of their weedy nature. <A: few of 
the best are H. multiflora, with large single 
flowers. H. multiflora fl. pl., with double 
’ yellow flowers, I think, is about the best of 
all. Tho H. Maximilliana grows about 8 
ft. high, and the latest of all to flower. I 
prefer to transplant them in the spring. 
The rudbeckias are very similar to the sun- 
flowers. R. golden glow is a tall growing 
plant, with double flowers, requiring stak- 
ing. R. subtomentosa is a fine variety, 
growing about 4 ft. high. R. speciosa 
makes a fine display with; its yellow blooms 
and dark centre. R. maxima, with glau- 
cous foliage, grows from 4 to 6 ft. high, with 
large, yellow flowers and a dark cone-like 
centre, 
