HERBACEOUS PLANTS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 8163, 10 November 1904, Page 3

HERBACEOUS PLANTS.

The beauty of many of the herbaceous flowering plants, and the ease with which they can be grown, make- them favourites in all gardens, and a great deal has been written about them. In a recent paper, the first place is given to the herbaceous pseony. "Pseony roses," as they are commonly called in England (P. officinalis), have now, by dint of careful hybridisation, passed into a florist's flower, and varieties may be counted by the hundred. Very many of them are deliriously scented, and their large, handsome flowers, both double and single, may truly be described as magnificent. There are now many colours to bs found in these plants, crimsons, whites, pinks, sulphur, rose and others. Provided the soil is well trenched, heavily manured, and the plants supplied with plenty of moisture during the growing season, 'the pseony is not very particular. Ib will thrive in peat, and even clay, but the ideal soil ifi a deep loam. It is never attacked' by aaiy blight, and. ifc is said rabbits and other vermin will not touch it. A slight drawback to the general cultivation of these plants is that they take two, three or even mote years before they coma to their full perfection. Perhaps the most useful of all herbaceous plants is tihe perennial phlox. As with the pffiony, the perennial phloa succeeds in almost any soil enriched with manure and supplied with copious waterings in the summer. It is at its best in a cool, moist season. For cutting, their large trusses go a long way in floral decoration. Many have a delicate perfume, while in colour they range from the purest white to the richest crimson and purple, and from soft rose and salrn^h. to bright coral-red. If the decaying flowers are removed the plant will continue for many months in bloom, but the plants must have moisture, and liquid manure assists them a lot. In the third year the plants generally become OXhausteVi, and fresh ones should ba raised from cufcfcinga, which make root readily in. ©Andy soil under a bell-glass. The pentstemon is a must showy summer and autumn plant, producing for a long period its handsome tube-shaped flowers of many colours. Some of the newer varieties "are immense improvements upon the older ones, both in size and colouring. There are blue and purple kinds, but the most effective ax© tlho scarlets with whit? throats, the crimsons and pinks spotted) and veined, and the plum and rosecoloured varieties. These plant* prefer a good, rich soil,, and an abundance of moisture is- necessary in tho summer. Stately and handsome border plants are delphiniums or perennial larkspurs. Colours of these hardy and popular plants are chiefly blue and various 6hades of it, but there is aleo a scarlet, a white and other colours. Deep cultivation, plenty of manure and water, are necessary to grow these beautiful and indispensable plants to perfection. They are propagated by division, cuttings, and seeds. For a pm«ly#utumn flowering plant, the oldrfaehioned Michaelmas daisy (aster) or starwort is most useful. It cannot compare in brightness of colour or in size of flower with the chrysanthemum or dahlia, but it is a veiy hardy thing, frost does not injure it, "and some of the kinds will continue to flower up to mid-winter. Some varieties attain a height of 10ft, others only a few inches ; the most useful are those growing to 3ft or 4ft. There are upwards of one hundred kinds catalogued by some English growers. Most of them have a showy, starry appearance; there are white, lilac, blue, pink, purple, and other colours to be found amongst then}. A fairly rich soil suite them all; they are propagated by division and by seed. For creating a brilliant display in the garden, for vases, and for table bouquets, the gaillardia. is most valuable. All through the long summer, and somstimes in winter, these large yellow and crimßon flowers are produced in profusion. The more, the flowers are cu'fc, and seed vessels removed, tire more the plants will bloom. They wil grow in any soil, provided it be enriched with manure. They are most readily increased by seed, and also by cuttings. Few uMngs stand tlhe sun batter than the-:e. In situations not too warm or exposed 1 , the aquilegia or columbine does well, and is universally appreciated. Their singular-ly-shaped flowers are distinct from everything else. A. cerulea is a glorious blue and whdfce, with elegant long spurs; A. chrysantha is a bright golden-yellow ; A. glandulosa is azure-blue, with white corolla. Very beautiful columbines may be raieed i from Beed. The plants are also increased by division. Where space can be afforded, a few helianthuses or perennial sunflowers should be grown. They are extremely gay, and are suitable for groups or shrubberies. If not allowed to seed, they keep on producing their big sun-like flowers all through late summer and autumn. They succeed' in any soil or situation, and 1 their blooms are useful for ; church decoration and for large bouquets. They are all yellow and gulden. They are great robbers of the soil, and some of the kinds spread so rapidly that they become a nuisance. The rudbeckias or " oone flowers " are allied to the foregoing plants. They will thrive almost anywhere, but are very thirsty subjects in dry weather. Some have single, others double flowers; inosfc of them are yellow. R. Golden Glow is one of the best. A neglected plant in this oountry, but a beautiful one, is tlhe Lobelia fulgen* and its varieties. Fire fly is a glowing crimson scarlet; Cardinalis is deep crimson, with dark leaves and stems ; Ignca is carminerose, with white eye ; Mulberry is purple and mulberry • Sylpbiljtiea is * brilliant blue. There ar» many other colours to be found in these handsome plants. They thrive l>est in loam, some rotten horse manure, and coarse sand. Well-established plants may be treated aa if semi-aquatic. Other beautiful herbaceous plants are the perennial lupines (L. polyphyllus), blue ; and white; Campanula pyranudalis (chimney bell-flower) ; C. persioifolia ; potemtHks, bqth double and single; papavers, irisea of numerous sorts, centa/ureas, and a multitude of other things.

Love is tihe first conafortier, aad where love and truth speak the lova mil b® &"* where the truth uTnever peroeived. Lore, indeed, is the higibeeb in all truth ; .and! the pressure of a 'hand 1 , a kiss, the caress, of a child, will do more Vto save, sometimes, than the -wisest argument, even rightly «p---denrtood. Lot© & \ om> j s wisdom; love alone is power; and where love seems to fail it is where self has stepped between and ■duUed the potency of itarwyA—GeMge i Maodooalid.