Swamp Honeysuckle

Swamp Honeysuckle (Azalea) - Beautiful upland and bog shrubs from N. America, and, it only as a relie from the heaviness of Rhododendrons, their graceful growth is precious. Nothing in the open garden is so charming as old Azalea bushes in flower, with their branches in table-like tiers; but the brilliant tints always seem most effective in the subdued light of a shady wood, and happily few shrubs flower better in partial shade than Azaleas. They like shelter, even from southerly winds, and peaty soil suits them best, though they grow well in loam.

The hardy Azaleas, called Ghent Azaleas, have sprung chiefly from the wild kinds of N. America—A. nudiflora, A. calendulacea, and A. viscosa. These and A. pontica have been so hybridised with the wild Azalea of S. Europe that we have a race in which the colors of the various species are blended and diversified in a great variety of tints, and they all intercross so freely that it is difficult to single out a variety identical with any of the wild species. Fifty years ago, Latin names were given to every fine variety, but they could soon be numbered by the hundred from Belgian gardens alone. Now very few so1 ts are named. Every variation of tint, from the most fiery scarlets to delicate pinks, whites, and dark and pale yellows, is to be had in Ghent Azaleas, a very beautiful one being the pure white Mrs Anthony Waterer. Of late years there has sprung up a new race with double Hose-in-hose flowers, collectively called the Narcissi-flora group, the chief sorts of which number about a score—Graf von Meran, one of the first, being still among the best yellows. A Californian species, named A. occidentalis, is distinct from the deciduous Azaleas, as it flowers after the others are past. It has bunches of fragrant white flowers and broad foliage. A. mollis, a dwarf deciduous shrub from Japan and China, has given rise to a variety of kinds, yellow, salmon-red, and orange-scarlet being the prevailing colors. It is hardy, and being dwarf may be grouped as a foreground to a mass of the tall kinds. The Chinese A. amoena, with small magenta flowers, common enough in greenhouses, is quite hardy in mild localities and rich in bold masses. The Chinese A. indica, the ordinary Azalea of greenhouses, is hardy in many places, especially the white variety, which, even in mid-Sussex, thrives in the open air. The Ledum-leaved Azalea (A. ledifolia) is a hardy evergreen shrub, also from China, with white flowers, large and open, like A. indica. It grows from 5 to 6 feet high, and Loudon states that in Cornwall, on Sir Charles Lemons estate at Carclew, it was planted in hedges, which flowered magnificently without the slightest protection. Though Azaleas are now in botanical books made synonymous with Rhododendrons, I have preferred to deal with them separately here.

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