Monkey flower

Monkey-flower (Mimulus) - The cultivated species are valuable showy border flowers, and are for the most part natives of California. They love moisture, and are suitable for damp places, such as bogs, moist borders, and the margins of streams and artificial water. The old M. cardinalis is showy when well grown, and is deserving of a place. There are several varieties of it. The common Musk, so hardy and enduring for many years, is now lost. M. luteus and its varieties, cupreus, guttatus, and others, are typical of the beautiful hybrids which are now in gardens, and which combine the dwarf habit and hardiness of M. cupreus with the large flowers, richly spotted and blotched, of the other parent, the old M. variegatus. These hybrids, which are known as M. maculosus, bear exposure to the sun better than the parents. These sorts should be grown, and a packet of seeds affords a wonderful variety. The seeds of the Mimulus should be merely sprinkled on the soil; if covered by it they may vegetate less quickly and abundantly. A little damp moss may, however, be laid over the surface, but should be removed as soon as the seeds have germinated.