August is really but July continued, for no important new feature is peculiar to it. July is very distinct from June, as the latter is from May, and that again from April, but July and August are essentially alike. The weather is similar, the flowers are similar, and, as a result, it is probable that the enthusiasm of gardeners reaches a lower point in August than in any other month of the year.

Roses and Carnations are still among the most important flowers in the garden, and the majority of summer blooming annuals and perennial herbaceous plants are still flowerful.

It is somewhat depressing to observe how the beautiful race of Fuchsias has gone out of cultivation since it went out of fashion. I do not know quite when the Fuchsia was introduced into this country, but I believe it was about the middle of the eighteenth century. The Rev. William Hanbury, "Rector of Church Langton, in Leicestershire," in a two volume work in folio, entitled "A Complete Body of Gardening and Planting," published in 1771, of which I possess a copy, says that in his time only one species of Fuchsia was known. "This being the only species of the genus, it is named simply Fuchsia. Father Plumier calls it Fuchsia triphylla flore coccinea. It grows naturally in most of the warmest parts of America." Hanbury included it among stove plants, alleging that it is "very tender at all times," but as a matter of fact F. coccinea can easily be grown in the open air in most districts of England, though it thrives best in the milder parts. The scarlet drops hanging from a tall bush of this plant—and it sometimes reaches a height of five or six feet, or even more—are very attractive, and one can but admire the taste of the humming birds which in its native home the Fuchsia seeks to attract.

Except near the sea and in certain warm situations, Fuchsias can hardly be regarded as thoroughly hardy plants; but, wherever they will succeed, they should certainly be grown, for they are amongst the most beautiful ornaments of the garden in late summer and autumn. Perhaps the hardiest of all is F. Riccartoni, with bright red flowers, but the old F. globosa is almost its equal in vigour.

F. macrostema gracilis is of taller and, as its name implies, of more slender habit than the other hardy kinds. It has the further advantage of producing its pretty scarlet and purple drops somewhat later in the autumn. A Fuchsia bush rarely looks shabby on account of dead and dying flowers, for, when their work is done, the petals usually fall before they have begun to wither.

I am sure that gardeners who study the native flora of England derive much more pleasure from their flowers than those who focus all their attention on the cultivated species and hybrids which are grown in gardens. The hedges and woodlands are full of examples and full of suggestions, for they show us the habit and manner of life of the English relatives of our exotic plants. By studying the wild species with their wonderful grace and simple beauty, indicative of adaptation of means to ends, we are less liable to become the slaves of the florists.

The hedges, or rather the wayside patches at the hedgerow's base, are very beautiful just at this season, with the yellow flowers of two of the Cinquefoils, the silky fern-like-leaved Potentilla Anserina (Silver weed) and the creeping P. reptans. The Cinquefoil much resembles the Strawberry, producing its honey by means of a dark-coloured ridge which runs round the tube of the flower near its base. Its stamens and pistil however develop coincidently, whereas the stigmas of the Strawberry ripen long before the stamens, and consequently self-fertilisation is far more common than is the case with the latter.

It must have been the quinately leaved P. reptans which was formerly in favor as a heraldic device. Folkard says that the number of the leaves answered to the five senses of man. The right to bear Cinquefoil was considered an honourable distinction to him who had worthily conquered his affections and mastered his senses.

Many species of Potentilla are valuable garden plants, from the little Alpine P. nitida, whose leaves shine more brilliantly than our Silver weed, to the showy P. atrosanguinea, and the hybrid varieties derived from it, which are the kinds usually seen in gardens. Among these hybrids are a number of single and double sorts, nearly all of which possess good colour—mostly ranging from yellow to scarlet.

Two other races of garden hybrids are of extreme importance in late summer, the Pentstemons and Phloxes, the latter being among the most valuable of border plants. In selecting varieties of either of these flowers one should be careful to avoid the very washy and hateful magentas and purples which are but too frequently seen. The Pentstemons are worthy of greatly increased culture, for they often continue to flower until the frosts of November.

The great race of hybrid Gladioli derived from G. brenchleyensis and G. gandavensis are now fashionable, as they deserve. The scarlet G. brenchleyensis is itself very hardy and should be grown in quantity.

The hybrids require some care and should be planted in March at a depth of three inches and a distance of nine inches apart in deeply dug, rich, well-drained soil, free from fresh manure. About the second week in September, before the foliage has died down, the corms should be lifted and thoroughly dried off in a freely ventilated shed.

But most brilliant of all the flowers of August are the scarlet Lobelias, L. cardinalis (described by Parkinson), and L. splendens with their varieties. They are not very hardy, but with a little protection during winter can be grown in most well-drained gardens. Moisture during summer is essential, so that a slightly shaded position should be selected.