Hardy Perennials and Old Fashioned Flowers. John George Wood

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      This little plant is most enjoyed when grown in pots. It may be plunged in sand or ashes in an open space, but it should never be allowed to suffer for moisture. When so grown, and just before the flowers open, it should be removed to a cool, airy frame, where it should also be plunged to keep its roots cool and moist; it will require to be very near the glass, so as to get perfect flowers. Such a method of growing this flower affords the best opportunity for its close examination; besides, it is so preserved in finer and more enduring form. It thrives well in lumpy peat and loam, but I have found charcoal, in very small lumps, to improve it, as it does most plants grown in pots, especially such as require frequent supplies of water. The slugs are very fond of it; a look-out for them should be kept when the plants are growing, and frequent sprinklings of sharp ashes will be found useful.

      Flowering period, April and May.

      Anthericum Liliago

      This may be grown as a companion to St. Bruno's Lily, though not so neat in habit or rich in bloom. In all respects it is very different. It is taller, the flowers not half the size, and more star-shaped, foliage more grassy, and the roots creeping and jointed.

      All the Anthericums named by me will do in ordinary soil, but prefer a fat loam of considerable depth. If, therefore, such conditions do not exist, there should be a good dressing of well-rotted stable manure turned in, and a mulching given in early spring.

      Anthericums are propagated by division of the roots, which should be carefully performed during the autumn. After such mutilation they should not be disturbed again for three years, or they will deteriorate in vigour and beauty.

      Flowering period, June and July.

      Anthericum Liliastrum

      This charming plant is a native of Alpine meadows, and is known by other names, as Paradisia and Cyackia, but is more commonly called St. Bruno's Lily. It is emphatically one of the most useful and handsome flowers that can be grown in English gardens, where, as yet, it is anything but as plentiful as it ought to be. Not only is it perfectly hardy in our climate, but it seems to thrive and flower abundantly. It is fast becoming a favourite, and it is probable that before long it will be very common, from the facts, firstly, of its own value and beauty, and, secondly, because the Dutch bulb-growers have taken it in hand. Not long ago they were said to be buying stock wherever they could find it. The illustration (Fig. 13) shows it in a small-sized clump. Three or four such specimens are very effective when grown near together; the satin-like or shining pure white flowers show to greater advantage when there is plenty of foliage. A number planted in strong single roots, but near together, forming a clump several feet in diameter, represent also a good style; but a single massive specimen, with at least fifty crowns, and nearly as many spikes of bloom just beginning to unfold, is one of the most lovely objects in my own garden.

      The chaste flowers are 2in. long, six sepalled, lily-shaped, of a transparent whiteness, and sweetly perfumed; filaments white, and long as the sepals; anthers large, and thickly furnished with bright orange-yellow pollen; the stems are round, stout, 18in. high, and produce from six to twelve flowers, two or three of which are open at one and the same time. The leaves are long, thick, with membranous sheaths, alternate and stem-clasping, or semi-cylindrical; the upper parts are lanceolate, dilated, subulate, and of a pale green colour. The roots are long, fleshy, brittle, and fasciculate.

      Fig. 13. Anthericum Liliastrum.

      (One-sixth natural size); blossom, one-fourth natural size.)

      This plant for three or four weeks is one of the most decorative; no matter whether in partial shade or full sunshine, it not only flowers well, but adorns its situation most richly; the flowers, in a cut state, are amongst the most useful and effective of hardy kinds—indeed, they vie with the tender exotics.

      Flowering period, June and July.

      A. l. major is a new variety in all its parts like the type, with the exception of size, the flowers being larger by nearly an inch. The variety is said to grow to the height of 8ft.

      Anthyllis Montana

Mountain Kidney Vetch; Nat. Ord. Leguminosæ

      For rockwork this is one of the most lovely subjects. It is seldom seen, though easy to grow, perfectly hardy, and perennial. It is classed as an herbaceous plant, but it is shrubby, and on old specimens there is more wood than on many dwarf shrubs. It is of a procumbent habit, and only 4in. to 6in. high in this climate. It comes from the South of Europe, where it probably grows larger.

      In early spring the woody tips begin to send out the hoary leaves; they are 3in. to 6in. long, and from their dense habit, and the way in which they intersect each other, they present a pleasing and distinct mass of woolly foliage.

      The leaves are pinnatifid, leaflets numerous, oval, oblong, and very grey, nearly white, with long silky hairs.

      The flowers are of a purple-pink colour, very small, and in close drumstick-like heads. The long and numerous hairs of the involucre and calyx almost cover over the flowers and render them inconspicuous; still, they are a pretty feature of the plant; the bloom stands well above the foliage on very downy, but otherwise naked stalks.

      When planted in such a position that it can rest on the edge of or droop over a stone, strong specimens are very effective. It seems to enjoy soil of a vegetable character, with its roots near large stones. I have heard that it has been found difficult to grow, but that I cannot understand. I fear the fault has been in having badly-rooted plants to start with, as cuttings are very slow in making an ample set of roots for safe transplanting. Its increase by division is no easy matter, as the woody stems are all joined in one, and the roots are of a tap character. Seed seldom ripens; by cuttings appears to be the readier mode of propagation; if these are taken off in early spring, put in a shady position, and in leaf soil, they will probably root as the seasons get warmer.

      Flowering period, June and July.

      Apios Tuberosa

Syn. Glycine Apios; Nat. Ord. Leguminosæ

      This is a pretty climber, or, more strictly speaking, a twiner; it is hardy, tuberous, and perennial. The tubers resemble potatoes, but incline to pear-shape, as implied by the generic name. 240 years ago it was introduced from North America; still, it is seldom met with, notwithstanding its good habit and colour. It is one of those happy subjects which most conduce to the freshness and wild beauty of our gardens; the dark and glossy verdure is charmingly disposed in embowerments by means of the delicate twining stems; and though it grows apace, there is never an unsightly dense or dark mass, so СКАЧАТЬ