the front line planted between suitable pieces of stone, or they
may be relegated to a particular spot, and placed on an artificial
rockery. Most of the hardy bulbs will do well enough in the border,
care being taken not to disturb them while leafless and dormant.
Some deep-rooting perennials do not spread much at the surface, and only require refreshing from time to time by top-dressings. Others, as the asters, spread rapidly; those possessing this habit should be taken up every second or third year, and, a nice patch being selected for replanting from the outer portions, the rest may be either thrown aside, or reserved for increase; the portion selected for replanting should be returned to its place, the ground having meanwhile been well broken up. Some plants are apt to decay at the base, frequently from exposure caused by the lifting process going on during their growth; these should be taken up annually in early autumn, the soil refreshed, and the plants returned to their places, care being taken to plant them sufficiently deep.
Only a section of some of the best of the decorative hardy perennials can be noted, before we pass on to those popular subjects of this class which have been directly influenced by the hybridizer and improver. Many more might be added to the subjoined list:—
Acaena.—Neat trailing plants adapted for rockwork, thriving in sandy soil. A. microphylla and A. myriophylla have pretty spiny heads of flowers.
Acantholimon.—Pretty dwarf tufted plants, with needle-shaped leaves, adapted for rockwork. A. glumaceum and A. venustum bear bright pink flowers in July and August. Light sandy loam.
Acanthus.—Bold handsome plants, with stately spikes, 2 to 3 ft. high, of flowers with spiny bracts. A. mollis, A. latifolius, and A. longifolius are broad-leaved sorts; A. spinosus and A. spinosissimus have narrower spiny toothed leaves.
Achillea.—Handsome composite plants, the stronger ones of easy culture in common soil. A. Eupatorium and filipendula, 3 to 4 ft., have showy yellow corymbose flowers; A. rosea, 2 ft., rosy-crimson; and A. Ptarmica flore-pleno, 2 ft., double white flowers. Others suitable for front lines or rockwork are A. tomentosa, 9 in., bright yellow; A. aegyptiaca, 1 ft., silvery leaves and yellow flowers; A. umbellata, 8 in., silvery leaves and white flowers; and A. Clavennae, 6 in., with silvery leaves and pure white flowers.
Aconitum.—Handsome border plants, the tall stems crowned by racemes of showy hooded flowers. A. Camarum, 3 to 4 ft., has deep purple flowers in August; A. sinense, 112 to 2 ft., has large dark purple flowers in September; A. variegatum, 3 ft., has the flowers white edged with blue; A. autumnale, 3 ft., has pale blue flowers; A. Anthora, 1 to 2 ft., yellow; and A. japonicum, 212 ft., deep blue flowers, produced in September and October. A. Wilsoni, a new species from China, 6 ft. high, with bluish-purple flowers.
Adenophora.—Bell-shaped flowers. A. stylosa, 2 ft., pale blue, elegant; A. denticulata, 112 ft., dark blue; and in A. liliifolia, 112 ft., pale blue, sweet-scented—all blooming during summer. Light soil.
Adonis.—A. vernalis, 1 ft., has large bright yellow stellate flowers in April. Deep light soil. A. amurensis is a fine Chinese species.
Ajuga.—Free growing, dwarf and showy. A. reptans, 8 in., has creeping runners, which A. genevensis has not; both bear handsome spikes of blue labiate flowers. Ordinary soil.
Allium.—Hardy bulbs of the garlic family, some species of which are ornamental; the inflorescence is umbellate. In A. azureum, 1 to 2 ft., the flowers are deep-blue; in A. Moly, 1 ft., golden yellow; in A. neapolitanum, 112 ft., white, very handsome; in A. triquetrum, 8 in., white with green central stripes; in A. pedemontanum, 9 in., reddish-violet, very beautiful, the umbels nodding.
Alstroemeria.—Beautiful plants with fleshy tuberous roots, which are the better if not often disturbed. A. aurantiaca, 2 to 3 ft., orange streaked with red, in July and August; A. chilensis, 2 to 3 ft., blood-red, streaked with yellow, affording many varieties. Deep sandy loam or peat. Should be planted at least 6 or 8 in. deep.
Althaea rosea.—The hollyhock is a noble perennial, 6 to 15 ft. high, with flowers of every colour except blue. Requires rich loamy soil and plenty of space.
Alyssum.—Showy rockwork or front row border plants of easy culture in any light soil; the plants should be frequently renewed from cuttings. A. saxatile, with greyish leaves, and deep yellow flowers, produced in April and May, and the dwarfer A. montanum are useful.
Amaryllis.—Noble half-hardy bulbs, for planting near the front wall of a hothouse or greenhouse; the soil must be deep, rich and well drained. A. Belladonna, the Belladonna Lily, 3 ft., has large funnel-shaped flowers in September, of a delicate rose colour. The variety A. blanda has paler flowers, almost white.
Anchusa.—Pretty boraginaceous herbs, easily grown. A. italica, 3 to 4 ft., has blue star-like flowers. A. sempervirens, 112 ft., rich blue, is well suited for rough borders.
Androsace.—Pretty dwarf rock plants, requiring rather careful management and a gritty soil. A. Vitaliana, yellow; A. Wulfeniana, purplish-crimson; A. villosa, white or pale rose; A. lactea, white with yellow eye; A. lanuginosa, delicate rose; and A. Chamaejasme, delicate rose, are some of the best.
Anemone.—The Japanese kinds, A. japonica, flowers white and purple, are very easily grown and are particularly fine in autumn. The scarlet A. fulgens, and A. coronaria, the poppy anemone, are useful for the front, or in nooks in the rockery; while the common hepatica (A. hepatica) with its bright blue flowers should also have a place.
Antennaria.—Composite plants, with everlasting flowers. A. margaritacea, 112 to 2 ft., has white woolly stems and leaves, and white flower-heads.
Anthericum.—Charming border flowers. A. Liliastrum, St Bruno’s Lily, 112 ft., bears pretty white sweet-scented flowers in May; A. Hookeri (Chrysobactron), 2 ft., with long racemes of bright golden yellow flowers, requires cool peaty soil.
Aquilegia.—The Columbine family, consisting of beautiful border flowers in great variety, ranging from 1 to 2 or 3 ft. in height. Besides the common purple A. vulgaris with its numerous varieties, double and single, there are of choice sorts A. alpina and A. pyrenaica, blue; A. glandulosa, A. jucunda, and A. coerulea, blue and white; A. leptoceras, blue and yellow; A. canadensis, A. Skinneri, and A. truncata (californica), scarlet and yellow; A. chrysantha, yellow; and A. fragrans, white or flesh-colour, very fragrant. Light rich garden soil.
Arabis.—Dwarf close-growing evergreen cruciferous plants, adapted for rockwork and the front part of the flower border, and of the easiest culture. A. albida forms a conspicuous mass of greyish leaves and white blossoms. There is also a charming double variety. A. lucida, which is also white-flowered, bears its bright green leaves in rosettes, and has a variety with prettily gold-margined leaves.
Arenaria.—Evergreen rock plants of easy culture. A. graminifolia, and A. laricifolia are tufted, with grassy foliage and white flowers, while A. balearica, a creeping rock plant, has tiny leaves and solitary white flowers.
Armeria.—The Thrift or Sea-Pink, of which the common form A. maritima is sometimes planted as an edging for garden walks; there are three varieties, the common pale pink, the deep rose, and the white, the last two being the most desirable. A. cephalotes, 112 ft., is a larger plant, with tufts of linear lance-shaped leaves, and abundant globular heads of deep rose flowers, in June and July.
Asclepias.—A. tuberosa is a handsome fleshy-rooted plant, very impatient of being disturbed, and preferring good peat soil; it grows 1 to 112 ft. high, and bears corymbs of deep yellow and orange flowers in September. A. incarnata, 2 to 4 ft., produces deep rose sweet-scented flowers towards the end of summer.
Asperula odorata.—The woodruff, a charming white-flowered plant with leaves in circles. Well adapted for carpeting the border or rockery.
Asphodelus.—Handsome liliaceous plants, with fleshy roots, erect stems, and showy flowers, thriving in any good garden soil. A. albus, 4 ft., A. aestivus, 4 ft., and A. ramosus, 4 ft., have all long tapering keeled leaves, and simple or branched spikes of white flowers; A. luteus, 2 ft., has awl-shaped leaves and dense spikes of fragrant yellow flowers; A. capillaris is similar to A. luteus, but more slender and elegant.
Aster.—A very large family of autumn-blooming composites, including some ornamental species, all of the easiest culture. Of these, A. alpinus, 1 ft., and A. Amellus, 112 ft., with its var. bessarabicus, have broadish blunt leaves, and large starry bluish flowers; A. longifolius formosus, 2 ft., bright rosy lilac; A. elegans, 3 to 5 ft., small pale purple or whitish; A. laxus, 2 ft., purplish-blue; A. pendulus, 212 ft., white, changing to rose; A. pyrenaeus, 2 to 3 ft., lilac-blue; A. turbinellus, 2 to 3 ft., mauve-coloured, are showy border plants; and A. Novae Angliae, 5 to 6 ft., rosy-violet; A. cyaneus, 5 ft., blue-lilac; and A. grandiflorus, 3 ft., violet, are especially useful from their late-flowering habit.
Astilbe.—A. japonica, 1 to 112 ft., better known as Hoteia japonica or Spiraea japonica, thrives in peaty or sandy soil; its glossy tripinnate leaves, and feathery panicles of white flowers early in summer, are very attractive. It proves to be a fine decorative pot-plant, and invaluable for forcing during the spring.
Astragalus.—Showy pea-flowered plants, the smaller species adapted for rockwork; sandy soil. A. dasyglottis, 6 in., has bluish-purple flowers in August and September; and A. monspessulanus, 8 in., crimson-purple in July; while A. hypoglottis, 6 in., produces in summer compact heads of pretty flowers, which are either purple or white. There are many very ornamental kinds.
Aubrietia.—Beautiful dwarf spring-blooming rock plants, forming carpety tufts of flowers of simple cruciferous form. A. delioidea is of a deep lilac-blue; A. Campbelliae is more compact and rather darker, approaching to purple; A. grandiflora and graeca are rather larger, but of a lighter hue. Light sandy soil.
Bambusa.—The bamboo family are elegant arborescent grasses (see Bamboo).
Baptisia.—Stoutish erect-growing, 2 to 3 ft., with smooth foliage and spikes of pea-like flowers. B. australis is purplish-blue, B. alba, white, B. exaltata, deep blue; all flowering in the summer months.
Bellis.—B. perennis flore-pleno, the Double Daisy, consists of dwarf showy plants 3 to 4 in. high, flowering freely in spring if grown in rich light soil, and frequently divided and transplanted. The white and pink forms, with the white and red quilled, and the variegated-leaved aucubaefolia, are some of the best.
Bocconia.—Stately poppyworts, 6 to 8 ft. B. cordata has heart-shaped lobed leaves, and large panicles of small flesh-coloured flowers. Sometimes called Macleaya. Deep sandy loam.
