112 ft., scarlet; and L. grandiflora, 1 to 2 ft., with clusters of scarlet,
crimson, pink and white flowers. All large-flowered and showy,
but require a little protection in winter.
Lysimachia.—The best known is the Creeping Jenny, L. Nummularia, much used for trailing over rockeries and window boxes, with bright yellow flowers. The variety aurea with golden leaves is also popular. Other species that grow from 2 to 3 ft. high, and are good border plants, are L. clethroides, with white spikes of flowers; L. vulgaris, L. thyrsiflora, L. ciliata, L. verticillata and L. punctata, all yellow.
Malva.—M. moschata, 2 ft., with a profusion of pale pink or white flowers, and musky deeply cut leaves, though a British plant, is worth introducing to the flower borders when the soil is light and free.
Meconopsis.—The Welsh poppy, M. cambrica, 1 to 2 ft. high, yellow, and M. Wallichi, from the Himalayas, 4 to 6 ft. high with pale blue flowers, are the best known perennials of the genus. The last-named, however, is best raised from seeds every year, and treated like the biennial kinds.
Mertensia.—M. virginica, 1 to 112 ft., azure blue, shows flowers in drooping panicles in May and June. It does best in shady peat borders.
Mimulus.—Monkey-flower. Free-blooming, showy scrophulariaceous plants, thriving best in moist situations. M. cardinalis, 2 to 3 ft., has scarlet flowers, with the limb segments reflexed; M. luteus and its many garden forms, 1 to 112 ft., are variously coloured and often richly spotted; and M. cupreus, 8 to 10 in., is bright coppery-red. M. moschatus is the Musk-plant, of which the variety Harrisoni is a greatly improved form, with much larger yellow flowers.
Monarda.—Handsome labiate plants, flowering towards autumn, and preferring a cool soil and partially shaded situation. M. didyma, 2 ft., scarlet or white; M. fistulosa, 3 ft., purple; and M. purpurea, 2 ft., deep purple, are good border flowers.
Muscari.—Pretty dwarf spring-flowering bulbs. M. botryoides (Grape Hyacinth), 6 in., blue or white, is the handsomest; M. moschatum (Musk Hyacinth), 10 in., has peculiar livid greenish-yellow flowers and a strong musky odour; M. monstrosum (Feather Hyacinth) bears sterile flowers broken up into a feather-like mass. Good garden soil.
Myosotidium nobile.—A remarkable plant, 112 to 2 ft. high, with large blue forget-me-not-like flowers. Requires gritty peat soil and cool situations, but must be protected from frost in winter.
Myosotis.—Forget-me-not. Lovely boraginaceous plants. M. dissitiflora, 6 to 8 in., with large, handsome and abundant sky-blue flowers, is the best and earliest, flowering from February onwards; it does well in light cool soils, preferring peaty ones, and should be renewed annually from seeds or cuttings. M. rupicola, 2 to 3 in., intense blue, is a fine rock plant, preferring shady situations and gritty soil; M. sylvatica, 1 ft., blue, pink or white, used for spring bedding, should be sown annually in August.
Narcissus.—See Narcissus.
Nepeta.—N. Mussinii, 1 ft., is a compactly spreading greyish-leaved labiate, with lavender-blue flowers, and is sometimes used for bedding or for marginal lines in large compound beds.
Nierembergia.—N. rivularis, 4 in., from La Plata, has slender, creeping, rooting stems, bearing stalked ovate leaves, and large funnel-shaped white flowers, with a remarkably long slender tube; especially adapted for rockwork, requiring moist sandy loam.
Nymphaea.—See Water-Lily.
Oenothera.—The genus of the Evening Primrose, consisting of showy species, all of which grow and blossom freely in rich deep soils. Oe. missouriensis (macrocarpa), 6 to 12 in., has stout trailing branches, lance-shaped leaves and large yellow blossoms; Oe. taraxacifolia, 6 to 12 in., has a stout crown from which the trailing branches spring out, and these bear very large white flowers, changing to delicate rose; this perishes in cold soils, and should therefore be raised from seed annually. Of erect habit are Oe. speciosa, 1 to 2 ft., with large white flowers; Oe. fruticosa, 2 to 3 ft., with abundant yellow flowers; and Oe. serotina, 2 ft., also bright yellow.
Omphalodes.—Elegant dwarf boraginaceous plants. O. verna, 4 to 6 in., a creeping, shade-loving plant, has bright blue flowers in the very early spring; O. Luciliae, 6 in., has much larger lilac-blue flowers, and is an exquisite rock plant for warm, sheltered spots. Light sandy soil.
Onosma.—O. taurica, 6 to 8 in., is a charming boraginaceous plant from the Caucasus, producing hispid leaves and cymose heads of drooping, tubular, yellow flowers. It is of evergreen habit, and requires a warm position on the rockwork and well-drained sandy soil; or a duplicate should be sheltered during winter in a cold, dry frame.
Ornithogalum.—The Star of Bethlehem. O. arabicum can only be grown in the warmest parts of the kingdom, and then requires protection in winter. Other species, all bulbous, are O. nutans, O. pyramidale, O. pyrenaicum, and the common Star of Bethlehem, O. umbellatum; all are easily grown, and have white flowers.
Ostrowskya magnifica.—A magnificent bellflower from Bokhara, 4 to 5 ft. high, and white flowers tinted and veined with lilac, 3 to 5 in. across. Requires rich, gritty loam of good depth, as it produces tuberous roots 1 to 2 ft. long.
Ourisia.—Handsome scrophulariaceous plants, from Chile, thriving in moist, well-drained peaty soil, and in moderate shade. O. coccinea, 1 ft., has erect racemes of pendent crimson flowers.
Papaver.—The Poppy. Very showy plants, often of strong growth, and of easy culture in ordinary garden soil. P. orientale, 3 ft., has crimson-scarlet flowers, 6 in. across, and the variety bracteatum closely resembles it, but has leafy bracts just beneath the blossom. P. alpinum, 6 in., white with yellow centre; P. nudicaule, 1 ft., yellow, scented, and P. pilosum, 1 to 2 ft., deep orange, are ornamental smaller kinds.
Pentstemon.—The popular garden varieties have sprung from P. Hartwegii and P. Cobaea. Other distinct kinds are P. campanulatus, 112 ft., pale rose, of bushy habit; P. humilis, 9 in., bright blue; P. speciosus, cyananthus and Jaffrayanus, 2 to 3 ft., all bright blue; P. barbatus, 3 to 4 ft., scarlet, in long terminal panicles; P. Murrayanus, 6 ft., with scarlet flowers and connate leaves; and P. Palmeri, 3 to 4 ft., with large, wide-tubed, rose-coloured flowers.
Petasites.—P. fragrans, the Winter Heliotrope, though of weedy habit, with ample cordate coltsfoot-like leaves, yields in January and February its abundant spikes, about 1 ft. high, of greyish flowers scented like heliotrope; it should have a corner to itself.
Phlomis.—Bold and showy labiates, growing in ordinary soil. P. Russelliana (lunariaefolia), 4 ft., yellow, and P. tuberosa, 3 ft., purplish-rose, both with downy hoary leaves, come in well in broad flower borders.
Phygelius.—P. capensis from South Africa is hardy south of the Thames and in favoured localities. Flowers tubular scarlet, on branching stems, 2 to 3 ft. high. Requires light, rich soil.
Physalis.—P. Alkekengi from South Europe has long been known in gardens for its bright orange-red globular calyxes. It has been surpassed by the much larger and finer P. Francheti from Japan; the brilliant calyxes are often 3 in. in diameter in autumn. Grows in any garden soil.
Physostegia.—Tall, autumn-blooming labiates, of easy growth in ordinary garden soils. P. imbricata, 5 to 6 ft., has pale purple flowers in closely imbricated spikes.
Phytolacca.—Ornamental strong-growing perennials requiring much space. P. acinosa, from the Himalayas, 3 to 4 ft., with whitish flowers in erect spikes. P. decandra, the North American Poke Weed or Red Ink plant, grows 5 to 10 ft. high, has fleshy poisonous roots, erect purple stems and white flowers. P. icosandra, from Mexico, 2 to 3 ft., pinky white. The foliage in all cases is handsome. Ordinary garden soil.
Platycodon.—P. grandiflorum, 6 to 24 in. high, is a fine Chinese perennial with flattish, bell-shaped flowers, 2 to 3 in. across, and purple in colour. The variety Mariesi (or pumilum) is dwarf, with larger, deeper-coloured flowers. Requires rich sandy loam.
Podophyllum.—Ornamental herbs with large lobed leaves. P. Emodi, 6 to 12 in. high, from the Himalayas, has large white or pale-rose flowers, and in autumn bright red, hen’s-egg-like fruits. P. peltatum, the North American mandrake, has large umbrella-like leaves and white flowers; P. pleianthum, from China, purple. They all require moist, peaty soil in warm, sheltered nooks.
Polemonium.—Pretty border flowers. P. coeruleum (Jacob’s Ladder), 2 ft., has elegant pinnate leaves, and long panicles of blue rotate flowers. The variety called variegatum has very elegantly marked leaves, and is sometimes used as a margin or otherwise in bedding arrangements. Good garden soil.
Polygonatum.—Elegant liliaceous plants, with rhizomatous stems. P. multiflorum (Solomon’s Seal), 2 to 3 ft., with arching stems, and drooping white flowers from the leaf axils, is a handsome border plant, doing especially well in partial shade amongst shrubs, and also well adapted for pot culture for early forcing. Good garden soil.
Polygonum.—A large family, varying much in character, often weedy, but of easy culture in ordinary soil. P. vacciniifolium, 6 to 10 in., is a pretty prostrate subshrubby species, with handsome rose-pink flowers, suitable for rockwork, and prefers boggy soil; P. affine (Brunonis), 1 ft., deep rose, is a showy border plant, flowering in the late summer; P. cuspidatum, 8 to 10 ft., is a grand object for planting where a screen is desired, as it suckers abundantly, and its tall spotted stems and handsome cordate leaves have quite a noble appearance. Other fine species are P. baldschuanium, a climber, P. sphaerostachyum, P. lanigerum, P. polystachyum and P. sachalinense, all bold and handsome.
Potentilla.—The double varieties are fine garden plants obtained from P. argyrophylla atrosanguinea and P. nepalensis. The colours include golden-yellow, red, orange-yellow, crimson, maroon and intermediate shades. They all flourish in rich sandy soil.
Primula.—Beautiful and popular spring flowers, of which many forms are highly esteemed in most gardens. P. vulgaris, 6 in., affords numerous handsome single- and double-flowered varieties, with various-coloured flowers for the spring flower-beds and borders. Besides this, P. Sieboldii (cortusoides amoena), 1 ft., originally deep rose with white eye, but now including many varieties of colour, such as white, pink, lilac and purple; P. japonica, 1 to 2 ft., crimson-rose; P. denticulata, 1 ft., bright bluish-lilac, with its allies P. erosa and P. purpurea, all best grown in a cold frame; P. viscosa, 6 in., purple, and its white variety nivalis, with P. pedemontana and P. spectabilis, 6 in., both purple; and the charming
