plants--Tufted pansies._

We will begin alphabetically, therefore I will first say a few words
regarding the =pink-flowered anemone japonica=. Though the white variety
(_alba_) is to be seen in every garden, the older kind is not grown half
enough; perhaps this is owing to the peculiar pinkish shade of the petals,
a colour that will harmonize with few others, and might be termed
aesthetic; it should be grown in a large clump by itself or mixed with
white; it flowers at the same time as _A. j. alba_, and equally approves
of a rich and rather heavy soil, and also likes a shady place. Both kinds
spread rapidly.

=Aquilegias, or columbines, are most elegant plants=, generally left to
the cottage garden, though their delicate beauty fits them for the best
positions; they do well on borders, and generally flower about the end of
May; in a light soil they seed freely, and spring up all round the parent
plant. =Asters=, the botanical name for Michaelmas daisies, are beautiful
flowers for a small garden if the right sort are chosen; those that take
up a great deal of room should be discarded where space is an object, and
such kinds as _A. amellus bessaribicus_, planted instead; this is perhaps
the finest of the genus, and is =first-rate for cutting=. It is only two
feet high, of neat habit, and bears large, bright mauve flowers with
golden centres very freely, from the beginning of August right into
October. =A. ericoides= is another one of neat habit, and is only half a
foot taller than the last; it bears long sprays, covered the whole way up
the stem with tiny white flowers and mossy foliage. Some of the
_novi-belgii_ asters are also very good and easy to grow. One of the most
=effective and beautiful= plants in the summer months is _bocconia
cordata_; it has delicate, heart-shaped foliage of a clear apple-green,
silvered beneath, and creamy flower-spikes which measure from three to
five feet in height; though so tall, it is eminently =fitted for the town
garden=, for it is not a straggling plant and rarely requires staking. At
Hampton Court Palace it is one of the most striking things in the
herbaceous border during July.

The hardy =campanulas= are good things to have, and in their own shade of
blue are not to be beaten; of the taller varieties, the blue and white
peach-leaved kinds are the handsomest, and come in very usefully for
cutting. _C. carpatica_ and _C. c. alba_ are shorter, being only one foot
high; they =flo