William Curtis

“ Like most of the Cape plants, it is well adapted to the greenhouse, and succeeds best when placed on a front shelf of the house, where it can have plenty of light and air; some keep it in the stove, but there the plant is drawn up, and the flowers lose a part of their brilliancy: in no situation do they ever expand but when the sun shines on them ”

“ With us, it has been customary for Gardeners and Nurserymen to distinguish this species by the name of Virginia Stock, a name highly improper, as it is found to be a native of the Mediterranean coast.
The blossoms which this plant first puts forth are of a lively red, in a few days they become of a blueish purple colour; to this variety of hues the plant owes its chief beauty.
Being of humble growth, and producing a profusion of bloom, which is of long duration, it is frequently used as an edging to borders, and sometimes sown in little patches with other annuals ”

“ The Dwarf Almond, a native of Russia and Tartary, is justly considered as one of our most ornamental shrubs; it rarely rises above the height of three feet, and hence becomes very suitable for the shrubbery of small extent. It flowers about the middle of April, somewhat later than the common Almond.
Miller observes, that the roots are apt to put out suckers, by which the plant may be increased in plenty; and if those are not annually taken away, they will starve the old plant. ”

“ It has been customary, in consideration of its native place of growth, to treat it here as a greenhouse plant, for which situation it soon becomes unfit from its magnitude; some have ventured to plant it in the open borders in warm sheltered situations, where it has been found to succeed very well, producing its beautiful yellow blossoms in abundance; care must be taken, however, to guard it carefully from severe frosts, which are apt to destroy it. ”

“ It is a hardy perennial, increasing much by its roots, which are of the creeping kind, and by parting of which in the autumn it is most readily propagated; like the periwinkle, it is a plant well adapted to cover a bank, or bare, spots under trees, where other plants will not thrive. ”

“ Most of the plants of this genus are natives of North-America, and remarkable for their beauty; they were first introduced under the name of Lychnidea, which, though a Latin term, is now familiarized to the English ear.
Mr. Aiton has given to this species the name of early-flowering, it coming much sooner into blossom than any of the others, beginning to flower in May with the yellow Alyssum; its blossoms, however, are not of so long duration, nor so ornamental as some others of the same family.
It seldom exceeds a foot in height, and, on this account, may be regarded as a suitable rock-plant. ”

“ Two principal varieties are usually kept in the gardens, the common small sort with a strong disagreeable smell, and a larger one here figured, usually called sweet-scented, the former is of more humble growth, its branches more spreading, its blossoms smaller than those of the latter, the flowers of which have usually a greater portion of the yellow tint, and the smell of the other so modified as to be far less disagreeable; sweet-scented we fear it can scarcely be called: from the seed of both sorts some flowers will be produced extremely double, and others single. ”

“ It is one of those annuals whose seeds should be sown in the autumn, as it thereby comes much forwarder into bloom, and its blossoms are more lively than those arising from seeds sown in the spring; by varying the time of sowing, it may be had to flower in spring, summer, and autumn. ”

“ The plant here figured, a native of the German Alps, is one of those whose beauty cannot be shewn in a small detached piece of it; to be admired, it must be seen in a tuft of some considerable size, which it is much disposed to form when growing among rock-work, for which, like many other small Alpine plants, it is well suited ”

“ The Aitonia is a native of the Cape, and was introduced by Mr. Masson, in the year 1774.
It is a greenhouse shrub of slow growth, seldom exceeding three feet in height; producing, when of sufficient age, flowers and fruit through most of the year; the fruit is a large dry angular berry, of a fine red colour.
Our drawing was made from a very fine plant, formerly Dr. Fothergill's, now in the collection of Messrs. Grimwood and Co. Kensington.
It is only to be raised from seeds, which are sparingly produced in this country. ”

“ This genus, of which there is only one known species, has been named by the younger Linnæus, in honour of Mr. William Aiton, author of the Hortus Kewensis, and Botanic Gardener to his Majesty. The great length of time [5] , Mr. Aiton has been engaged in the cultivation of plants, the immense numbers which have been the constant objects of his care through every period of their growth, joined to his superior discernment, give him a decided superiority in the prima facie knowledge of living plants over most Botanists the present day ”

“ It is a native of Crete, and was first cultivated in this country by Mr. Miller, in 1731 [3] , at Chelsea garden.
It begins to flower about the latter end of April, and continues to blossom through great part of May; and it is not uncommon for it to flower again in autumn.
If it has a pure air and a dry situation, it will grow in almost any soil.
The usual mode of propagating it is by slips, or cuttings. As it is a small, shewy, hardy plant, and not disposed to over-run others, it is very suitable to embellish rock-work. ”

“ Peter Collinson, Esq. who was highly instrumental in enriching this country with the native plants of North-America, is said to have introduced this elegant species about the year 1734.
With us it succeeds best when planted with a northern aspect, well sheltered, in a soil composed of loam and bog earth, in a situation moderately moist, where the air is perfectly pure.
Being with difficulty propagated by suckers or layers, it is most commonly raised from American seeds. ”

“ It is at present a rare plant in our gardens, which we attribute to its bulbs not admitting of much increase, as well as to its being liable to be killed by frost, and hence requiring more care than it may be thought entitled to from its appearance. ”

“ The inhabitants of India, he observes, are extremely partial to whatever is red, they consider it as a colour which tends to exhilarate; and hence they not only cultivate this plant universally in their gardens, but use its flowers on all occasions of festivity, and even in their sepulchral rites: he mentions also an œconomical purpose to which the flowers are applied, little consistent with their elegance and beauty, that of blacking shoes, whence their name of Rosæ calceolariæ ”

“ Masson from the Cape, and at the same time one of the most desirable, as its blossoms which are ornamental, are freely produced during most of the summer, and the plant itself is readily propagated by cuttings. ”

“ In its fructification, the Epidendrum obviously agrees with the Orchis tribe, but differs essentially in the œconomy of its roots; in the Orchis the roots spring from the crown of the bulb, which is formed in the earth; in the Epidendrum the bulb, or the part which appears to be analogous to a bulb, though of a green colour, is produced above ground, while the roots or fibres proceed from below it. ”

“ Both Miller and Hanbury recommend the Laburnum to be cultivated not only as an ornamental but as a timber tree, the wood having a very close grain, a good colour, and bearing a high polish; [6] they urge in its favour, that it is very hardy, a quick grower, and one that will thrive in almost any soil ”

“ It will appear strange, we presume, to most of our readers, when they are informed, that the Ixora coccinea, a plant at present in few hands, and which a short time since was sold in some of our nurseries for five guineas, should have been known in this country a hundred years ago; and yet Mr. Aiton, who has so laudably exerted himself, in ascertaining the precise period, when most of the exotics cultivated in the royal garden at Kew first made their appearance in Great-Britain, informs us on very respectable authority, that this plant was introduced by Mr. ”

“ It blossoms in May, and is usually very productive of seeds, by which it may be propagated most readily.
Hares and rabbits being fond of its bark, do great damage to plantations of Laburnum, especially in severe weather; I remember somewhere to have read, that these animals will not touch a tree if soot has been placed about it; perhaps, a circle drawn round the base of the tree with the new coal tar, which has a powerful smell of long duration, might keep off these noxious animals. ”

“ It usually produces a few seed vessels of an uncommon form, having four wings, whence its name of tetraptera; from some of the seeds which have ripened in this country plants have been raised, and by these the plant is found to be propagated with the most success; it may also be increased by cuttings and layers. ”

“ Though it produces blossoms in abundance, it affords but little seed, but may be increased by slips or cuttings.
It is a hardy perennial, a native of France, Italy, Switzerland, and Carinthia, loves a pure air and a dry situation [2] , grows best among rocks, stones, or out of a wall, and certainly is one of the best plants imaginable for ornamenting of rock-work.
I received seeds of it, and many other rare plants, from my very kind friend Mr. ”

“ This species increases sufficiently fast by offsets, but in the open border does not very readily produce flowering stems: as both it and the racemosus are apt to become troublesome in a garden from their great increase, we would recommend their bulbs to be placed in moderately sized pots filled with light earth, and plunged in the borders where they are designed to flower ”

“ Bewick of Clapham in Surrey (both celebrated for their collections of American plants) we cannot with certainty assert; true it is, the Azalea coccinea was little known here till the sale of Mr. Bewick's plant in 1722; a considerable number of these shrubs formed the choicest part of that collection, and sold at high prices, one of them produced twenty guineas: prior to this period, Mr. Bewick had presented one of the same sort of shrubs to Mr. Thoburn, the fruits of whose skill and assiduous care in the cultivation of American plants are apparent in his late nursery at Brompton, now Mr. ”

“ It rarely ripens its seeds with us, but is readily increased either by cuttings or layers; succeeds best in a pure air and a situation moderately dry.
Like most other American plants, it is of modern introduction, was cultivated by Mr. Miller, in 1758, and figured in his Icones. ”

“ Corollæ labium superius integrum, fornicatum; lab. infer. 2-lobum; faux utrinque margine dentata.
Specific Character and Synonyms.
LAMIUM Orvala foliis cordatis inæqualiter arguteque serratis, corollis fauce inflata, caulibus coloratis. Linn. Syst. Vegetab. ed. 14. Murr. p. ”