Hardy Perennials and Old Fashioned Flowers Part 46

The flowers, as before stated, are of a pure white--an unusual colour amongst the genus; they are bell-shaped but erect, the ovate petals reverse. Well-grown specimens with me have flowers quite an inch across.

The individual blooms last more than a week, and the succession is well maintained during summer. The panicles are leafy, having small entire leaves, and others once and twice-cut. The stems of the present season's growth are stout, semi-transparent, and ruddy; the leaves are palmate, slender at the bottom, mostly five-fingered, fleshy, and covered with long silky hairs which stand well off; the fine apple-green foliage is shown to great advantage by the ruddy stems.

This plant may be grown in pots or borders, as edging, or on rockwork, and in any kind of soil; but to have fine specimens and large flowers it should be planted in calcareous loam, and be top dressed in early spring with well rotted manure. I have it as an edging to a small bed of roses; the position is bleak, but the soil is good; it furnishes large quant.i.ties of cut bloom, and otherwise, from its rich hawthorn-like scent, it proves a great treat. So freely is its handsome foliage produced that it, too, may be cut in quant.i.ties for table decoration. If the flowers, or some of them, be left on, the tufts will form a pretty setting for a few other small flowers of decided colours.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 93. SAXIFRAGA WALLACEI.

(One-half natural size.)]

To increase this Saxifrage is a simple matter during the warm season: The twiggy tufts should be pulled asunder, no matter whether they have roots or no roots; if dibbled into fine soil, deeply dug, and shaded for a week or two, they will form strong plants before the winter sets in.

Flowering period, April to August.

Scilla Campanulata.

BELL-FLOWERED SCILLA _or_ BLUEBELL; _Nat. Ord._ LILIACEae.

A hardy bulbous perennial, introduced from Spain 200 years ago. It very much resembles the English hyacinth--_H. nutans_, or _Scilla non-scripta_--better known as the wood hyacinth. Handsome as this simple flower is, it might have been omitted from these notes as a plant too well known, but for the fact that there are several varieties of the species which are less known, very beautiful, and deliciously fragrant, ent.i.tling them to a place amongst other choice flowers, both in books and gardens.

Of the typical form little need be said by way of description. The flowers are bell-shaped, pendent, blue, and produced in racemes of many flowers. The leaves are lance-shaped, prostrate, and of a dark shining green colour.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 94. SCILLA CAMPANULATA ALBA.

(One-fourth natural size; single flower, one-half natural size.)]

_S. c. alba_ differs from the type in having its white flowers arranged more evenly round the scape, being shorter in the divisions of petals and wider at the corolla; the habit of the plant, too, as may be seen by the ill.u.s.tration (Fig. 94), is more rigid and neat. In a cut state the flowers are not only very lasting, but if gathered clean, they are suitable for the most delicate wreath or bouquet.

_S. c. carnea_ has pink flowers.

All the forms of _S. campanulata_ are cheerful and effective spring flowers. They should be grown in bold clumps, and if under slight shade, where many other things cannot be well grown, all the better; still, they are in no way particular--any aspect, position, or soil will answer for these robust flowers. Such being the case, few gardens should be without at least the finer forms of the large Bluebell. So fast do these varieties increase by seed and otherwise, that any remarks on their propagation are unnecessary.

Flowering period, April to June.

Sedum Sieboldi.

SIEBOLD'S STONECROP; _Nat. Ord._ CRa.s.sULACEae.

This is a capital species. It is perfectly hardy, though not generally known to be so. It is more often seen under gla.s.s, and is certainly a pretty pot plant.

Its stems are 12in. or less in length, slender and proc.u.mbent. The leaves, which are rather larger than a shilling, fleshy, cupped, and glaucous, are curiously arranged on the stems, somewhat reflexed, and otherwise twisted at their axils, presenting a flattened but pleasing appearance. The small flowers, which are bright rose, are borne in cl.u.s.ters, and remain two or three weeks in perfection.

It is a fine subject for rockwork, and, moreover, likes such dry situations as only rockwork affords. It should be so planted that its graceful stems can fall over the stones. There is a variety of this species, with creamy foliage, but it is less vigorous; neither are the flowers so fine in colour. Slugs are fond of these, and sometimes they will eat off nearly every leaf. A sprinkling of sharp sand once a week keeps them off, but trapping them with hollowed turnips is a more effective remedy. Propagated by cuttings p.r.i.c.ked into sand in summer, or division of roots when the tops have died down.

Flowering period, August and September.

Sedum Spectabile.

SHOWY STONECROP; _Nat. Ord._ CRa.s.sULACEae.

Hardy and herbaceous. This is one of our finest autumn bloomers. During September, the broad ma.s.sive heads of small rosy flowers, which are arranged in cymes 6in. across, are very attractive, and will, with average weather, keep in good form for a month. This species is somewhat mixed up with another called _S. Fabarium_; by many they are said to be identical, but such is not the case. I grow them side by side, and I may say that they are as "like as two peas" up to midsummer, when they begin to diverge. _S. Fabarium_ continues to grow to the height, or rather length, of 2ft., and tumbles over; the foliage has a lax appearance, and the flowers are very pale. Concurrently _S. spectabile_ has grown its stems and glaucous leaves to stouter proportions, and crowned them with more ma.s.sive heads of bright rose-coloured flowers, at the height of 15in. It is larger in all its parts, with the exception of length of stem, and by September it is nearly twice the size of _S. Fabarium_; it also stands erect, so that then the two species suggest a contrast rather than a comparison, _S. spectabile_ being by far the more desirable.

I find, however, that it is much slower in increasing itself; the best way to propagate it is by cuttings dibbled into sand in early summer.

The commoner one increases rapidly and often bears the wrong name; care should therefore be taken to obtain the true species, after which it will not give much further trouble, thriving in any kind of soil, but it should be planted in the full sunshine, when its habit and flowers will be greatly improved. It will bear any amount of drought--indeed, it seems to enjoy it. My finest clump is on a very dry part of rockwork, where it has always flowered well. These two Stonecrops and a variegated variety are some of the very few hardy plants which slugs do not graze; at any rate, it is so with me; neither do other pests attack them, but the humble bees literally cover their flowers the whole day long at times.

Flowering period, August to October.

Sempervivum Laggeri.

LAGGER'S HOUSELEEK; _Nat. Ord._ CRa.s.sULACEae.

Of the numerous species and varieties of Houseleek, this is at once the most curious, interesting, and beautiful. It is by far the finest of the webbed forms. It has, however, the reputation of not being quite hardy, but that it will endure our severest winters is without doubt, and if we recall its habitats, which are in alpine regions, its hardiness in a low temperature need not be further questioned. Still, partly from its downy nature, and partly from the dampness of our winters, this climate causes it to rot. There are, however, simple and most efficient remedies, which shall be mentioned shortly.

The ill.u.s.tration (Fig. 95) gives some idea of its form and habit. The flowering rosettes send up stems 6in. high; they are well furnished with leaves--in fact, they are the rosettes elongated; they terminate with a cl.u.s.ter of buds and flowers, which remain several weeks in perfection, however unfavourable the weather may be.

The flowers are more than an inch across, of a bright rose colour, and very beautiful; the central flower is invariably the largest, and the number of petals varies from six to twelve. The leaves are in rosette form, the rosettes being sometimes 2in. across, nearly flat, and slightly dipped in the centre; a downy web, as fine as a cobweb, covers the rosette, it being attached to the tips of the leaves, and in the middle it is so dense that it has a matted appearance. The leaves are very fleshy, glandular, and of a pale green colour. Slow in growth, habit very compact; it has a tender appearance, but I never saw its web damaged by rain or hail.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 95. SEMPERVIVUM LAGGERI.

(Two-thirds natural size.)]

Many grow it in pots for indoor use; it finds a happy home on rockwork or old walls; it should have a dry and sunny situation, and, with these conditions, it will prove attractive all the year round. It thrives well in gritty loam; a little peat rubbed in with the grit will be an improvement and also more resemble its native soil. To preserve it from the bad effects of our damp winters, it need not be taken indoors, but sheets of gla.s.s should be tilted over the specimens during the short days, when they are dormant; the gla.s.s should not touch the plant. This seems to be the nearest condition we can afford it as a subst.i.tute for the snows of its mountain home, and I may add, for years it has proved effective; in fact, for several years I have left specimens in the open without any shelter whatever, and the percentage of loss has been very low, though the seasons were trying. It propagates itself freely by offsets; if it is intended to remove them from the parent plant, it should be done early in summer, so that they may become established before winter, otherwise the frosts will lift them out of position.

Flowering period, June to August.

Senecio Pulcher.

n.o.bLE GROUNDSEL; _Nat. Ord._ COMPOSITae.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 96. SENECIO PULCHER.