Hardy Perennials and Old Fashioned Flowers Part 36

Thus potted, plunged in wet sand, and placed in a northern aspect, it will be found not only to thrive well, as several specimens have done with me, but also to be worth all the trouble. To propagate it, the long creeping roots should be cut in lengths of several inches, and to a good bud or crown. When so cut in the autumn, I have proved them to rot when planted, but others buried in sand until February, and then planted, have done well.

Flowering period, May and June.

Polyanthus.

_Nat. Ord._ PRIMULACEae.

This, with its numerous varieties, comes under _Primula veris_, or the common Cowslip. The improved varieties which have sprung from this native beauty of our meadows and hedgerows are innumerable, and include the rich "gold-laced" kinds--which are cared for like children and are annually placed on the exhibition tables--as well as the homely kinds, which grow in the open borders by the hundred. The Polyanthus is eminently a flower for English gardens; and this country is noted for the fine sorts here raised, our humid climate suiting the plant in every way; its flowers offer a variety of colour, an odour of the sweetest kind, full and rich, reminding us not only of spring time, but of youthful rambles and holidays.

As an "old-fas.h.i.+oned" flower for garden decoration it is effective and useful, from the great quant.i.ty of bloom it sends forth and the length of its flowering season; from its love of partial shade it may be planted almost anywhere. Its neat habit, too, fits it for scores of positions in which we should scarcely think of introducing less modest kinds; such nooks and corners of our gardens should be made to beam with these and kindred flowers, of which we never have too many. Plant them amongst bulbs, whose leaves die off early, and whose flowers will look all the happier for their company in spring; plant them under all sorts of trees, amongst the fruit bushes, and where only weeds have appeared, perhaps, for years; dig and plant the Polyanthus, and make the wilderness like Eden.

Flowering period, February to June.

Polygonum Brunonis.

KNOTWEED; _Nat. Ord._ POLYGONACEae.

This is a dwarf species from India, but quite hardy. It is pretty, interesting, and useful. The flowers are produced on erect stems a foot high, and formed in spikes 3in. to 5in. long, which are as soft as down and smell like heather. The colour is a soft rose. These flowers spring from a dense ma.s.s of rich foliage; the leaves in summer and early autumn are of a pleasing apple-green colour, smooth, oblong, and nearly spoon-shaped from the narrowing of the lower part; the mid-rib is prominent and nearly white; the leaf has rolled edges, and is somewhat reflexed at the point. Let the reader closely examine the leaves of this species while in their green state, holding them up to a strong light, and he will then behold the beauty and finish of Nature to a more than ordinary degree. This subject is one having the finest and most lasting of "autumnal tints," the dense bed of leaves turn to a rich brick-red, and, being persistent, they form a winter ornament in the border or on rockwork. The habit of the plant is creeping, rooting as it goes. It is a rampant grower, and sure to kill any dwarf subject that may be in its way.

It may be grown in any kind of soil, and almost in any position, but it loves suns.h.i.+ne. If its fine lambtail-shaped flowers are desired, it should be grown on the flat, but, for its grand red autumnal leaf tints, it should be on the upper parts of rockwork. It is self-propagating, as already hinted.

The flowers prove capital for dressing epergnes. I had not seen them so used, until the other day a lady visitor fancied a few spikes, and when I called at her house a day or two later saw them mixed with white flowers and late flowering forget-me-nots--they were charming.

Flowering period, August to the time of frosts.

Polygonum Cuspidatum.

CUSPID KNOTWEED; _Nat. Ord._ POLYGONACEae.

A recent introduction from China, perfectly hardy, shrub-like but herbaceous; a rampant grower, attaining the height of 6ft. or 7ft., and spreading fast by means of root suckers. During the early spring it pushes its fleshy shoots, and the coloured leaves, which are nearly red, are very pleasing; as they unfold they are seen to be richly veined, and are as handsome as the beautiful Fittonias, so much admired as hothouse plants.

The long slender stems grow apace, and when the growth has been completed the flowers issue from the axils of the leaves; they are in the form of drooping feathery panicles, 4in. to 5in. long, creamy white, and produced in cl.u.s.ters, lasting for three weeks or more in good condition. The leaves are 3in. to 4in. long, nearly heart-shaped but pointed, entire, and stalked, of good substance, and a pale green colour; they are alternately and beautifully arranged along the gracefully-arching stems. The specimens are attractive even when not in bloom. If the roots are allowed to run in their own way for two or three years they form a charming thicket, which must prove a pleasant feature in any large garden.

All through the summer its branches are used as dressings for large vases, and, either alone or with bold flowers, they prove most useful.

In the shrubbery, where it can bend over the gra.s.s, from its distinct colour and graceful habit, it proves not only an effective but a convenient subject, as it allows the mowing machine to work without hindrance or damage. It is a capital plant for the small town garden.

After sending to a friend several hampers of plants season after season, all without satisfactory results, owing to the exceptionally bad atmosphere of the neighbourhood, I sent him some of this, and it has proved suitable in every way.

Flowering period, July and August.

_P. c. compactum_ is a variety of the above. It is, however, very distinct in the way implied by its name, being more compact and rigid, and not more than half as tall. The leaves, too, are somewhat crimped, and of a much darker colour, the stems are nearly straight and ruddy, and the flowers are in more erect racemes, the colour yellowish-white.

It forms a handsome bush, but is without the graceful habit of the type.

Like the other knotweeds described, it enjoys a sandy loam, and requires nothing in the way of special culture. The roots may be transplanted or divided when the tops have withered.

Polygonum Filiformis Variegatum.

KNOTWEED; _Nat. Ord._ POLYGONACEae.

Very hardy and effective. I simply mention this as a foliage plant. The leaves are large, drooping, and finely splashed or marbled with pale green and yellow, in shape oval-oblong, being crimped between the veins.

It is a scarce variety. Fine for the sub-tropical garden. Culture, the same as for all the Knotweeds.

Flowering period, late summer.

Polygonum Vaccinifolium.

VACCINIUM-LEAVED KNOTWEED; _Nat. Ord._ POLYGONACEae.

It may seem odd that we should go into the Dock family for plants and flowers for our gardens; still we may, and find some truly beautiful species. The above-named is a charming alpine, coming from the Himalayas, and proves perfectly hardy in our climate; it is seldom met with and cannot be generally known, otherwise it would be more patronised; it forms a pretty dwarf shrub, with woody slender stems, clothed with small s.h.i.+ning foliage.

The flowers are very small, resembling those of the smaller ericas, and of a fine rosy colour; the unopened ones are even more pretty, having a coral-like effect; they are arranged in neat spikes, about 2in. long, and tapering to a fine point; they are numerously produced all along the proc.u.mbent branches, becoming erect therefrom. As the specific name denotes, the leaves are Vaccinium-like--_i.e._, small and oval, like box, but not so stout; they are closely set on the stems, are of a pale s.h.i.+ning green, and somewhat bent or rolled. The habit is exceedingly neat, and, when in flower, a good specimen is a pleasing object; it is only a few inches high, but spreads quickly.

On rockwork it seems quite at home. My example has shade from the mid-day sun, and, without saying that it should have shade, I may safely say that it does well with it. The plant will thrive in sandy loam and is readily increased by putting small stones on the trailing stems, which soon root.

The leafy stems, with their coral-like, miniature spires, are useful in a cut state, so pretty, in fact, that it does not require any skill to "bring them in."

Flowering period, August to the frosts.

Potentilla Fruticosa.

SHRUBBY CINQUEFOIL; _Nat. Ord._ ROSACEae.

In mountainous woods this native deciduous shrub is found wild, and it is much grown in gardens, where it not only proves very attractive, but from its dwarf habit and flowering throughout the summer and autumn months, it helps to keep the borders or rock garden cheerful.

The flowers, which are lemon yellow, are in form like those of its relative, the strawberry, but smaller; they are produced in terminal small bunches, but seldom are more than two or three open at the same time, and more often only one; but from the numerous branchlets, all of which produce bloom, there seems to be no lack of colour. In gardens it grows somewhat taller than in its wild state, and if well exposed to the sun it is more floriferous, and the individual flowers larger.

It attains the height of 2ft. 6in.; the flowers are 1in. across; the petals apart; calyx and bracteae united; ten parted; each flower has a short and slender stalk. The leaves are 2in. or more in length, pinnate, five but oftener seven parted, the leaflets being oblong, pointed, entire and downy; the leaf stalks are very slender, and hardly an inch long; they spring from the woody stems or branches, which are of a ruddy colour, and also downy. The habit of the shrub is densely bushy, and the foliage has a greyish green colour from its downiness.