Bee Balm, Monarda.—Large and very showy herbaceous plants, with scarlet or purple flowers, conspicuously beautiful in American and Canadian woods, and capital subjects for naturalisation in woods, copses, etc., or anywhere among medium–sized vegetation, thriving best in light or well–drained soils.[ill150]
The Bee Balm, Monarda. American wood plant.
Mallow, Malva, Althœa, Malope, Kitaibelia, Callirhoe, Sida.—Plants of several distinct genera may be included under this type, and from each very showy and useful things may be obtained. They are for the most part subjects which are somewhat too coarse, when closely examined, to be planted in gardens generally; but among the taller vegetation in wild shrubberies, copses, glades in woods, etc., they will furnish a magnificent effect. Some of the Malvas are very showy, vigorous–growing plants, mostly with rosy flowers, and would associate well with our own handsome M. moschata. The Althæas, close allies of the common single hollyhock, are very vigorous and fine for this purpose, as are also the Sidas and Kitaibelia vitifolia. The Malopes are among the best of the annual subjects for naturalisation. The Callirhoes are dwarf, handsome trailers, more brilliant than the others, and the only ones of the type that should be planted on bare banks or amidst dwarf vegetation, as all the others are of the most rampant character.
Mulgedium Plumieri.—A herbaceous plant of fine and distinct port, bearing purplish–blue blossoms, rather uncommon among its kind. Till recently it was generally only seen in botanic gardens, but it has, nevertheless, many merits as a wild garden plant, and for growing in small groups or single specimens in quiet green corners of pleasure–grounds or shrubberies. It does best in rather rich ground, and in such a position will reward all who plant it, being a really hardy and long–lived perennial. The foliage is sometimes over a yard long, and the flower–stems attain a height of over six feet in good soil.
Water Lily, Nymphœa and Nuphar.—Two noble North American plants well deserve naturalisation in our waters, associated with our own beautiful white and yellow water lilies—the large Nuphar advena, which thrusts its great leaves well out of the water in many parts of North America, and the sweet–scented Nymphæa odorata, which floats in crowds on many of the pine–bordered lakes and lakelets of New England, to a non–botanical observer seeming very like our own water lily.
Daffodil, Narcissus.—Most people have seen the common daffodil in a semi–wild state in our woods and copses. Apart from varieties, there are more than a score distinct species of daffodil that could be naturalised quite as easily as this in all parts of these islands. We need hardly suggest how charming these would be, flowering in early spring and summer in the rougher parts of pleasure grounds, or along wood–walks, or any like position.
Bitter Vetch, Orobus.—Banks, grassy unmown margins of wood–walks, rocks, fringes of shrubberies, and like places, with deep and sandy loam, well drained, will grow the beautiful spring Bitter Vetch or any of its varieties or allies perfectly.
Evening Primrose, Enothera.—Among the largest–flowered and handsomest of all known types of herbaceous vegetation. The yellow species, and varieties like and allied to the common Evening Primrose (Œ. biennis), may be readily naturalised in any position, from a rubbish–heap to a nice, open, sunny copse; while such prostrate ones as Œ. marginata and Œ. macrocarpa will prove very fine among dwarf herbs on banks or in open sunny places, in light or calcareous soil. These noble and delicately–scented flowers are very easily grown and very beautiful in any position. They, however, from their height and boldness, and the freedom with which they grow in almost any soil, are peculiarly suited for the wild garden, for shrubberies, copses, and the like, sowing themselves freely.