a year old, has a half-shrubby appearance, and if I said that it
was but half hardy I should probably be nearer the mark than if I
pronounced it quite hardy. It may, therefore, appear odd that I should
class it with hardy perennials; there are, however, good reasons for
doing so, and as these extra fine border plants are great favourites and
deserve all the care that flowers can be worth, I will indicate my mode
of growing them; but first I will state why the hybrid Pentstemons are
here classed as hardy. One reason is that some varieties really are so,
but most are not, and more especially has that proved to be the case
during recent severe winters--the old plants, which I never trouble to
take in, are mostly killed. Another reason why I do not object to their
being classed as hardy is that cuttings or shoots from the roots appear
to winter outside, if taken in the summer or autumn and dibbled into
sand or a raised bed (so that it be somewhat drier than beds of the
ordinary level), where they will readily root. Such a bed of cuttings I
have found to keep green all the winter, without any protection other
than a little dry bracken. My plants are so propagated and wintered.

The Pentstemon has of late years been much improved by hybridising, so
that now the flowers, which resemble foxgloves, are not only larger than
those of the typical forms, but also brighter, and few subjects in our
gardens can vie with them for effectiveness; moreover, they are produced
for several months together on the same plants, and always have a
remarkably fresh appearance.

The corolla, which can be well seen both inside and out, has the
pleasing feature of clearly pronounced colour on the outside, and rich
and harmonious shadings inside; such flowers, loosely arranged on stems
about 2ft. high, more or less branched, and furnished with lance-shaped
foliage of a bright glossy green, go to make this border plant one that
is justly esteemed, and which certainly deserves the little extra care
needful during winter.

[Illustration: FIG. 73. PENTSTEMON.

(One-fourth natural size.)]

It is grandly effective in rows, but if in a fully exposed position it
flags during hot sunshine; it is, therefore, a suitable plant to put
among shrubs, the cool shelter of which it seems to enjoy. The remarks I
have already made respecting its hardiness sufficiently indicate the
mode of propagation. Old plants should not be depended upon, for though
they are thoro