flowers

Grows spontaneously in dry situations, in the southernmost parts of Europe, where it is shrubby, and in similar situations it is so in some degree with us, but on our flower borders, where it is usually sown, it grows so luxuriantly, that the stalks becoming juicy and tender, are generally destroyed by our frosts, hence it is an annual from peculiarity of circumstance, as such, it is very generally cultivated, the flowers exhibit a pretty, innocent appearance, and strongly diffuse an agreeable honey like smell. They continue to blow through most of the summer months.It is a very proper plant for a wall or piece of rock work, care must be taken, however, not to sow too much of the seed in one pot, as it spreads wide, but it may easily be reduced at any period of its growth, as it does not creep at the root.The specific description in the Hortus Kewensis above referred to, admirably characterizes the plant, but surely at the expence of its generic character.

Grows wild among the corn in the South of Europe, is an annual, and, like the Sweet Alyssum, generally cultivated in our gardens, and most deservedly so indeed, for when a large assemblage of its blossoms are expanded by the rays of the sun, their brilliancy is such as almost to dazzle the eyes of the beholder.Those annuals which bear our winters frosts without injury, are advantageously sown in the autumn, for by that means they flower more early, and their seeds ripen with more certainty, the present plant is one of those it usually sows itself, and is therefore raised without any trouble.It begins to flower in May and June, and continues to enliven the garden till August or September.

Mons. LHeritier, the celebrated French Botanist, who in the number, elegance, and accuracy of his engravings, appears ambitious of excelling all his contemporaries, in a work now executing on the family of Geranium, has thought it necessary to divide that numerous genus into three, viz. Erodium, Pelargonium, and Geranium.The Erodium includes those which Linnaeus (who noticing the great difference in their appearance, had made three divisions of them) describes with five fertile stamina, and calls Myrrhina, the Pelargonium those with seven fertile stamina, his Africana, the Geranium, those with ten fertile stamina, his Batrachia.They are continued under the class Monadelphia, in which they now form three different orders, according to the number of their stamina, viz. Pentandria, Heptandria, and Decandria. If the principles of the Linnaean system had been strictly adhered to, they should perhaps have been separated into different classes, for though the Pelargonium is Monadelphous, the Geranium is not so, in consequence of this alteration, the Geranium peltatum and radula, figured in a former part of this work, must now be called Pelargonium peltatum, and radula, and the Geranium Reichardi be an Erodium.The leaves of this plant have somewhat the taste of sorrel, whence its name, it flowers during most of the summer, and is readily propagated by cuttings. Miller mentions a variety of it with scarlet flowers.It is a native of the Cape, and known to have been cultivated in Chelsea Garden, in the year 1724.

In the spring of the year 1781, I received roots of this plant from Mr. Robert Squibb, then at New York, which produced flowers the ensuing summer, since that time, I have had frequent opportunities of observing a very peculiar circumstance in its [oe]conomy, after flowering, instead of producing seeds, it throws out gemmae vivaces, or bulbs of an unusual form, from the alae of the leaves, which falling off in the month of October, when the plant decays, produce young plants the ensuing spring.As it is distinguished from all the known species of Lysimachia by this circumstance, we have named it bulbifera instead of stricta, under which it appears in the Hortus Kewensis.Some Botanists, whose abilities we revere, are of opinion that the trivial names of plants, which are or should be a kind of abridgment of the specific character, ought very rarely or never to be changed we are not for altering them capriciously on every trivial occasion, but in such a case as the present, where the science is manifestly advanced by the alteration, it would surely have been criminal to have preferred a name, barely expressive, to one which immediately identifies the plant.The Lysimachia bulbifera is a hardy perennial, grows spontaneously in boggy or swampy ground, and hence requires a moist soil. It flowers in August.

Under the name of Spiderwort, the old Botanists arranged many plants of very different genera the name is said to have arisen from the supposed efficacy of some of these plants, in curing the bite of a kind of spider, called Phalangium, not the Phalangium of Linnaeus, which is known to be perfectly harmless under this name, Parkinson minutely describes it, he mentions also, how he first obtained it.This Spiderwort, says our venerable author, is of late knowledge, and for it the Christian world is indebted unto that painful, industrious searcher, John Tradescant, who first received it of a friend that brought it out of Virginia, and hath imparted hereof, as of many other things, both to me and others.Tournefort afterwards gave it the name of Ephemerum, expressive of the short duration of its flowers, which Linnaeus changed to Tradescantia.Though a native of Virginia, it bears the severity of our climate uninjured, and being a beautiful, as well as hardy perennial, is found in almost every garden.Though each blossom lasts but a day, it has such a profusion in store, that it is seldom found without flowers through the whole of the summer. There are two varieties of it, the one with white the other with pale purple flowers. The most usual way of propagating it is by parting its roots in autumn to obtain varieties, we must sow its seeds.

The Candy Tuft is one of those annuals which contribute generally to enliven the borders of the flower garden its usual colour is a pale purple, there is also a white variety of it, and another with deep but very bright purple flowers, the most desirable of the three, but where a garden is large enough to admit of it, all the varieties may be sown.For want of due discrimination, as Miller has before observed, Nurserymen are apt to collect and mix with this species the seeds of another, viz. the amara, and which persons not much skilled in plants consider as the white variety, but a slight attention will discover it to be a very different plant, having smaller and longer heads, differing also in the shape of its leaves and seed vessels, too trifling a plant indeed to appear in the flower garden.Purple Candy Tuft is a native of the South of Europe, and flowers in June and July it should be sown in the spring, on the borders of the flower garden in patches, when the plants come up, a few only should be left, as they will thereby become stronger, produce more flowers, and be of longer duration.

A native of the West Indies, and of Virginia according to Linnaeus, not common in our gardens, though cultivated as long ago as 1699, by the Duchess of Beaufort, (vid. Hort. Kew.) unnoticed by Miller.This species, superior in beauty to many of the genus, is an annual, and consequently raised only from seeds, these must be sown in the spring, on a hot bed, and when large enough to transplant, placed separately in pots of light loamy earth, then replunged into a moderate hot bed to bring them forward, and in the month of June removed into a warm border, where, if the season prove favourable, they will flower very well towards August, but, as such seldom ripen their seeds, it will be proper to keep a few plants in the stove or greenhouse for that purpose, otherwise the species may be lost.

An annual, the spontaneous growth of Spain, Italy, and Sicily, flowers in the open border in July, and ripens its seeds, in September.Long since cultivated in our gardens, but more as a rare, or curious, than a beautiful plant.Its seeds are to be sown in April, on a bed of light earth, where they are to remain, no other care is necessary than thinning them, and keeping them clear of weeds.

Our plant is undoubtedly the Spanish blush Mallow of Parkinson, and the Lavatera althaeaefolia of Miller according to the former, it is a native of Spain, according to the latter, of Syria.Mr. Miller considers it as distinct from the trimestris, Mr. Aiton has no althaeaefolia in his Hort. Kew. we are therefore to conclude that the althaeaefolia of Miller, and the trimestris of Linneus are one and the same species.Of the annuals commonly raised in our gardens, this is one of the most shewy, as well as the most easily cultivated, its seeds are to be sown in March, on the borders where they are to remain, the plants, thinned as they come up, and kept clear of weeds.It varies with white blossoms, and flowers from July to September.

The radical leaves of plants usually differ in shape from those of the stalk, in some plants remarkably so, the Lepidium perfoliatum figured in the Flora Austriaca of Professor Jacquin is a striking instance of this dissimilarity the Lathyrus Aphaca, a British plant, figured in the Flora Lond. is still more such, as large entire leaf like stipulae grow in pairs on the stalk, instead of leaves, while the true leaves next the root, visible when the plant first comes up from seed, are few in number, and those pinnated. The present plant no less admirably illustrates the above remark, the leaves which first appear on the seedling plants being pinnated, as is represented in the small figure on the plate, while those which afterwards come forth grow in whorls. We have observed the same disposition to produce dissimilar leaves in several other species of Mimosa, which have arisen from Botany Bay seeds, lately introduced.

This singular species, on the authority of Mr. David Nelson, is a native of New South Wales, and was introduced to the royal garden at Kew by Sir Joseph Banks, Bart.
We first saw it in flower, and have since seen it with ripe seed pods, at Mr. Malcolms, Kennington.
It is properly a green house plant, and propagated only by seeds, which are to be sown on a gentle hot bed.
It is some years in arriving at its flowering state.