Brodiaea.—Pretty bulbous plants. B. grandiflora, 1 ft., has large
bluish-purple flowers; B. coccinea, 2 to 3 ft., has tubular campanulate
nodding flowers of a rich crimson with green tips. Sandy loam.
Bulbocodium.—Pretty spring-flowering crocus-like bulbs. B. vernum, 4 to 6 in. high, purplish-lilac, blooms in March. Good garden soil.
Buphthalmum.—Robust composite herbs with striking foliage, for the back of herbaceous or shrubbery borders. B. cordifolium, 4 ft., has large cordate leaves, and heads of rich orange flowers in cymose panicles in July. Also called Telekia speciosa.
Calandrinia.—Showy dwarf plants for sunny rockwork, in light sandy soil. C. umbellata, 3 to 4 in., much branched, with narrow hairy leaves, and corymbs of magenta-crimson flowers in the summer months.
Calochortus.—Beautiful bulbous plants, called mariposa lilies, requiring warm sheltered spots in rich gritty and well-drained soil. There are several species known, the best being albus, elegans, luteus, Plummerae, splendens, Purdyi, venustus and Weedi.
Caltha.—Showy marsh plants, adapted for the margins of lakes, streamlets or artificial bogs. C. palustris flore-pleno, 1 ft., has double brilliant yellow flowers in May.
Calystegia.—Twining plants with running perennial roots. C. pubescens flore-pleno, 8 to 10 ft., has showy double-pink convolvuloid flowers in July; C. dahurica is a handsome single-flowered summer-blooming kind, with rosy-coloured flowers.
Camassia esculenta.—A beautiful bulbous plant 2 to 3 ft. high with large pale blue flowers. Also a white variety.
Campanula.—Beautiful, as well as varied in habit and character. They are called bell-flowers. C. pulla, 6 in., purplish, nodding, on slender erect stalks; C. turbinata, 9 in., purple, broad-belled; C. carpatica, 1 ft., blue, broad-belled; C. nobilis, 112 ft., long-belled, whitish or tinted with chocolate; C. persicifolia, 2 ft., a fine border plant, single or double, white or purple, blooming in July; and C. pyramidalis, 6 ft., blue or white, in tall branching spikes, are good and diverse. There are many other fine sorts.
Centaurea.—Bold-habited composites of showy character; common soil. C. babylonica, 5 to 7 ft., has winged stems, silvery leaves, and yellow flower-heads from June to September; C. montana, 3 ft., deep bright blue or white.
Centranthus.—Showy free-flowering plants, for rockwork, banks, or stony soil. C. ruber, 2 ft., branches and blooms freely all summer, and varies with rosy, or crimson, or white flowers. It clothes the chalk cuttings on some English railways with a sheet of colour in the blooming season.
Cheiranthus.—Pretty rock plants, for light stony soils. C. alpinus, 6 in., grows in dense tufts, and bears sulphur-yellow flowers in May. C. ochroleucus is similar in character.
Chionodoxa.—Charming dwarf hardy bulbous plants of the liliaceous order, blooming in the early spring in company with Scilla sibirica, and of equally easy cultivation. C. Luciliae, 6 in., has star-shaped flowers of a brilliant blue with a white centre. C. gigantea is the finest of the few known species. It blooms from February to April.
Chrysanthemum.—Apart from the florist’s varieties of C. indicum there are a few fine natural species. One of the best for the flower border is C. maximum and its varieties—all with beautiful white flowers having yellow centres. C. latifolium is also a fine species.
Colchicum.—Showy autumn-blooming bulbs (corms), with crocus-like flowers, all rosy-purple or white. C. speciosum, C. autumnale, single and double, C. byzantinum, and C. variegatum are all worth growing.
Convallaria.—C. majalis, the lily of the valley, a well-known sweet-scented favourite spring flower, growing freely in rich garden soil; its spikes, 6 to 9 in. high, of pretty white fragrant bells, are produced in May and June. Requires shady places, and plenty of old manure each autumn.
Coreopsis.—Effective composite plants, thriving in good garden soil. C. auriculata, 2 to 3 ft., has yellow and brown flowers in July and August; C. lanceolata, 2 to 3 ft., bright yellow, in August; next to the biennial C. grandiflora it is the best garden plant.
Corydalis.—Interesting and elegant plants, mostly tuberous, growing in good garden soil. C. bracteata, 9 in., has sulphur-coloured flowers in April, and C. nobilis, 1 ft., rich yellow, in May; C. solida, with purplish, and C. tuberosa, with white flowers, are pretty spring-flowering plants, 4 to 6 in. high. C. thalictrifolia, 1 ft., yellow, May to October.
Cyclamen.—Charming tuberous-rooted plants of dwarf habit, suitable for sheltered rockeries, and growing in light gritty soil. C. europaeum, reddish-purple, flowers in summer, and C. hederae-folium in autumn.
Cypripedium.—Beautiful terrestrial orchids, requiring to be planted in peat soil, in a cool and rather shady situation. C. spectabile, 112 to 2 ft., white and rose colour, in June, is a lovely species, as is C. Calceolus, 1 ft., yellow and brown, in May; all are full of interest and beauty.
Delphinium.—The Larkspur family, tall showy plants, with spikes of blue flowers in July. Distinct sorts are D. grandiflorum and D. grandiflorum flore-pleno, 2 to 3 ft., of the richest dazzling blue, flowering on till September; D. chinense, 2 ft., blue, and its double-flowered variety, are good, as is D. Barlowi, 3 ft., a brilliant double blue-purple. D. nudicaule, 2 ft., orange-scarlet, very showy, is best treated as a biennial, its brilliant flowers being produced freely in the second year from the seed.
Dianthus.—Chiefly rock plants with handsome and fragrant flowers, the smaller sorts growing in light sandy soil, and the larger border plants in rich garden earth. Of the dwarfer sorts for rock gardens, D. alpinus, D. caesius, D. deltoides, D. dentosus, D. neglectus, D. petraeus, and D. glacialis are good examples; while for borders or larger rockwork D. plumarius, D. superbus, D. Fischeri, D. cruentus, and the clove section of D. Caryophyllus are most desirable.
Dicentra.—Very elegant plants, of easy growth in good soil. D. spectabilis, 2 to 3 ft., has paeony-like foliage, and gracefully drooping spikes of heart-shaped pink flowers, about May, but it should have a sheltered place, as it suffers from spring frosts and winds; D. formosa and D. eximia, 1 ft., are also pretty rosy-flowered species.
Dictamnus.—D. Fraxinella is a very characteristic and attractive plant, 2 to 3 ft., with bold pinnate leaves, and tall racemes of irregular-shaped purple or white flowers. It is everywhere glandular, and strongly scented.
Digitalis.—Stately erect-growing plants, with long racemes of pouch-shaped drooping flowers. The native D. purpurea, or foxglove, 3 to 5 ft., with its dense racemes of purple flowers, spotted inside, is very showy, but is surpassed by the garden varieties that have been raised. It is really a biennial, but grows itself so freely as to become perennial in the garden. An erect flowered form is called gloxinioides. The yellow-flowered D. lutea and D. grandiflora are less showy. Good garden soil, and frequent renewal from seeds.
Doronicum.—Showy composites of free growth in ordinary soil. D. caucasicum and D. austriacum, 1 to 112 ft., both yellow-flowered, bloom in spring and early summer. D. plantagineum excelsum, 3 to 5 ft. high, is the best garden plant.
Draba.—Good rockwork cruciferous plants. D. alpina, D. aizoides, D. ciliaris, D. Aizoon, and D. cuspidata bear yellow flowers in early spring; D. cinerea and D. ciliata have white flowers. Gritty well-drained soil.
Dracocephalum.—Handsome labiate plants, requiring a warm and well-drained soil. D. argunense, 112 ft., D. austriacum, 1 ft., D. grandiflorum, 1 ft., and D. Ruyschianum, 112 ft., with its var. japonicum, all produce showy blue flowers during the summer months.
Echinacea.—Stout growing showy composites for late summer and autumn flowering, requiring rich deep soil, and not to be often disturbed. E. angustifolia, 3 to 4 ft., light purplish-rose, and E. intermedia, 3 to 4 ft., reddish-purple, are desirable kinds. E. purpurea (often called Rudbeckia) is the showiest species. Height 3 to 4 ft., with rosy-purple flowers.
Eomecon chionanthus.—A lovely poppywort about 1 ft. high, with pure white flowers 2 to 3 in. across. Root-stocks thick, creeping.
Epimedium.—Pretty plants, growing about 1 ft. high, with elegant foliage, and curious flowers. E. macranthum, white flowers, and E. rubrum, red, are distinctly spurred; E. pinnatum and E. Perralderianum, yellow, less so. They bloom in spring, and prefer a shady situation and a peaty soil.
Eranthis hyemalis.—A charming tuberous rooted plant, called winter aconite. Flowers bright yellow, January to March, close to the ground.
Eremurus.—Noble plants with thick rootstocks, large sword-like leaves, and spikes of flowers from 3 to 10 ft. high. They require warm sunny spots and rich gritty soil. The best kinds are robustus, pink, 6 to 10 ft.; himalaicus, 4 to 8 ft., white; Aitchisoni, 3 to 5 ft., red; Bungei, 2 to 3 ft., yellow; and aurantiacus, 2 to 3 ft., orange-yellow. There are now several hybrid forms.
Erigeron.—Composite plants, variable in character. E. purpureus, 112 ft., with pink flower-heads, having narrow twisted ray-florets; E. Roylei, 1 ft., dark blue; and E. pulchellus, 1 ft., rich orange, flowering during the summer, are among the best kinds. Good ordinary garden soil.
Erinus.—E. alpinus is a beautiful little alpine for rockwork, 3 to 6 in., of tufted habit, with small-toothed leaves, and heads of pinkish-purple or, in a variety, white flowers, early in summer. Sandy well-drained soil.
Erodium.—Handsome dwarf tufted plants. E. Manescavi, 1 to 112 ft., has large purplish-red flowers in summer; E. Reichardi, a minute stemless plant, has small heart-shaped leaves in rosette-like tufts, and white flowers striped with pink, produced successively. Light soil.
Eryngium.—Very remarkable plants of the umbelliferous order, mostly of an attractive character. E. amethystinum, 2 ft., has the upper part of the stem, the bracts, and heads of flowers all of an amethystine blue. Some of more recent introduction have the aspect of the pine-apple, such as E. bromeliaefolium, E. pandanifolium, and E. eburneum. Deep light soil.
Erythronium.—E. dens-canis, the Dog’s Tooth Violet, is a pretty dwarf bulbous plant with spotted leaves, and rosy or white flowers produced in spring, and having reflexed petals. Mixed peaty and loamy soil, deep and cool. Several charming American species are now in cultivation.
Euphorbia.—Plants whose beauty resides in the bracts or floral leaves which surround the inconspicuous flowers. E. aleppica, 2 ft.,
