GAY FLOWERS AND EASY CULTURE

Otago Witness, Issue 4041, 25 August 1931, Page 11

GAY FLOWERS AND EASY CULTURE

PERENNIALS AND BIENNIALS The value of the anchusa for garden decoration in summer is shown by the extensive use made of it in beds and borders. Not only is the beautiful gentian blue of the flowers most appeal ing, but the habit of the plant, a perfect pyramid furnished with blossoms from the b.ase upwards, and attaining, in vigorous specimens, as much as six feet, is stately. It has been described as one of the most satisfactory hardy flowers ever introduced. When it is considered how well the plant grows in most soils—even chalk—and the ease with which it is raised from root cuttings or seeds, as well as frequently springing up self-grown, such high praise certainly appears justified. ANCHUSA S. Seeds offer the easiest method of propagation, but tlie seedlings sometimes vary from the type, although a good strain will give a high percentage true to character. To be certain, however, it is best to raise the plants from root cuttings. These arc made about two inches long and inserted in a sandy rooting medium in rows in boxes or shallow pans, with the top of the cutting just above the surface. The best time to take the cuttings is at the end of the season, from November to February. If afforded a temperature of 50deg they will soon start into growth, and may subsequently be treated as ordinary cuttings in a frame. The sky-blue flowered variety Opal is a fine companion to Dropmore. Of somewhat the same Oxford blue tone as the latter is the newer Pride of Dover, which is quite as robust as Dropmore. There is also a fine gentian blue form, known

as Lissadell, with very large flowers, and a rich, deep blue variety called Morning Glory. Of annual anchusas the best is the new Blue Bird, because of its compact habit of growth. Most others have a tendency to make sprawling plants. The colour of this novelty is vivid indigo blue, and it grows about 18 inches high. Anchusa myosotidiflora may be mentioned for its big sprays of small deep blue forget-me-not-like, Howers, and its big, heart-shaped radical leaves, noble in themselves: also A. sempervirens, sometimes found wild with two-feet tall leafy stems and axillary clusters of small blue flowers. MULLEINS. The verbascum or mullein was a favourite garden plant long before anchusa.; attained popularity. Indeed, the. mullein was much more highly prized by the older generation of gardeners than it is to-day. In its largest development it. is a noble plant, sending up a tall, spire-like inflorescence in some cases six feet or more high, densely crowded with blossoms. The newer hybrids cover a considerable range of colour. The rosettes of leaves are in themselves imposing, in some of the species reaching to nearly a yard across. Verbascums make splendid subjects for the hardy flower border and the wild garden. Harkness’s Hybrid is one of the best, producing five-feet tall spires of large yellow flowers from June to September. Caledonia is not quite so tall, attaining four feet or so, and has coppery buff coloured flowers. The variety Gainsborough only grows about three feet high, and has sulphur yellow blossoms. Others of merit are Cot-wold Queen, buff terra-cotta; Miss Willmott, white, one of the, tall growers: A. M. Burnie. bronzy mauve: and Winnie Walker, palbuff.

Seeds of all these varieties may bsown in the open in April, the seedlings being transplanted as soon as they are large enough to be handled. Established plants may be obtained from the hardy plant nurseries at a modest figure.

Both the anchusa and verbascum belong to a class which may be designated short-lived hardy perennials. They require renewing from time to time, their floriferous character causing them to losttheir vigour after a few years. Amongst others of the same character may be classed oenotheras, foxgloves, and sweet williams. OLD-WORLD FAVOURITES. The cenothera family is a very large one, and includes a number of very useful garden plants. The best-known member is the Evening Primrose. CE. biennis, a biennial species, native of North America, bearing large, delicately fragrant yellow flowers. It has occupied a promi nent place in our gardens for hundreds of years, and has always an interest bv reason of its habit, of expanding its blooms when evening sets in. It is then that the particular moth which visits the flower, and serves to transfer the pollen is finding it safe to venture abroad, its enemies, the birds, having retired to rest. The variety, Lamarkiana, which de Vries utilised for his studies on mutation, lias larger flowers than the type. It is also known as graudiflora. The Evening Primrose is a favourite cottager’s plant, and is nearly always included in those beautiful Old World gardens, such as we find in the pleasaunces of the squire and vicar in country districts.

CE. fruitieosa is a beautiful perennial plant for the border, bearing a profusion of deep yellow flowers on erect stems that attain a height of about two feet. There are many varieties of this floriferous plant, one of the best being Fraseri with rich golden yellow flowers The one named Afterglow has a brilliant red calyx. The perennial species may be increased by means of cuttings inserted in the spring, and this method of raising ensures the plants being true to type. Seeds are also offered, and may be sown either in the open or a cold frame in April. FOR WOODLAND AND BORDER. The stately native foxglove is probably seen at its best when naturalised in woodland glades, but is also very pleasing also in the mixed flower border or on the margins of low evergreens. The earliest of gardening books mentioned the foxglove, and refer to a white variety. In modern times a beautiful strain with spotted flowers has been raised. ■Where the foxglove is allowed to seed and grow undisturbed, self-grown seedlings will spring up plentifully. For furnishing borders seeds should be sown each year in May in a convenient spot, the seedlings being transferred to their bloom quarters as soon ns they are large enough for handling. Being of tall and somewhat slender habit, a spot sheltered from high winds should be selected. If interspersed amongst the occupants of a mixed border towards the back, they will hold their own with the rest. —G. F. T., in Amateur Gardening.