wer continuously=, and look very well in a bed with the
double _potentillas_, which are described further on.

=Coreopsis grandiflora= is handsomer than the old _lanceolata_, and bears
large bright yellow flowers, which are very handsome when cut and =bloom
for a long period=.

It is difficult to imagine what we should do without =delphiniums=
(larkspurs) in the hardy flower-border; they are absolutely invaluable,
and seem to have almost =every good quality=, neither are they at all
difficult to grow; some of their blossoms are of an azure blue, a rare
colour in nature; then they can be had of a Cambridge blue, purple, white,
rose, and even red; the last, however, is a fickle grower and not to be
recommended, save for the rockery. Though one may give 21s. and even more
per dozen for them, beautiful kinds can be had for 10s.; these plants run
from two to five feet high in good soil, but need plenty of manure to do
them really well, as they belong to the tribe of "=gross-feeders=."

The =erigerons= are useful plants to grow, very much like the
large-flowered Michaelmas daisies, except that they come in earlier and
are of a dwarfer habit; they may be had in orange as well as blue shades.

The =funkias= are grand plants, grown chiefly for their =foliage=, which
is sometimes green margined with white, or green mixed with gold, and in
one kind the leaves are marbled blue and green; they =set off the flowers
near them= to great advantage. In the early spring slugs attack them;
these must be trapped and killed (see Chap. VIII.).

Why are the old =Christmas roses= seen so little, I wonder? Grown in heavy
soil and cold aspect they do beautifully, and bring us their pure white
flowers =when little else is obtainable outside=. One thing against them
in this hurry-skurry age is the fact that they increase so slowly; this
makes them rather expensive too. Good plants of _helleborus niger maximus_
may, however, be bought for half-a-crown; this variety has =very handsome
leaves=, and is all the better for a little manure.

=A flower that everybody admires= is the =heuchera sanguinea=, a rare and
lovely species; it has graceful sprays of coral-red flowers, borne on
stems from one to two feet high, which generally appear in June, and are
first-rate for cutting. =Lobelia fulgens= is a brilliantly beautiful
species, not to be confounded with the dwarf blue kinds; these tall
varieties have quaintly-shaped red flowers, and narrow leaves o