BIGNONIA.

BIGNONIA CAPREOLATA—­Virginia and other parts of America, 1710.  This is not so hardy as to be depended upon throughout the country generally, though in the milder parts of England and Ireland it succeeds well as a wall plant.  It is a handsome climbing shrub, with long, heart-shaped leaves, usually terminating in branched tendrils, and large orange flowers produced singly.

BILLARDIERA.

BILLARDIERA LONGIFLORA.—­Blue Apple Berry.  Van Diemen’s Land, 1810.  If only for its rich, blue berries, as large as those of a cherry, this otherwise elegant climbing shrub is well worthy of a far greater share of attention than it has yet received, for it must be admitted that it is far from common.  The greenish bell-shaped blossoms produced in May are, perhaps, not very attractive, but this is more than compensated for by the highly ornamental fruit, which renders the plant an object of great beauty about mid-September.  Leaves small and narrow, on slender, twining stems, that clothe well the lower half of a garden wall in some sunny favoured spot.  Cuttings root freely if inserted in sharp sand and placed in slight heat, while seeds germinate quickly.

BRYANTHUS.

BRYANTHUS ERECTUS.—­Siberia.  This is a pretty little Ericaceous plant, nearly allied to Menziesia, and with a plentiful supply of dark-green leaves.  The flowers, which are borne in crowded clusters at the points of the shoots, are bell-shaped, and of a pleasing reddish-lilac colour.  It wants a cool, moist peaty soil, and is perfectly hardy.  When in a flowering stage the Bryanthus is one of the brightest occupants of the peat bed, and is a very suitable companion for such dwarf plants as the Heaths, Menziesias, and smaller growing Kalmias.

B. EMPETRIFORMIS (syn Menziesia empetrifolia).—­North America, 1829.  This is a compact, neat species, and well suited for alpine gardening.  The flowers are rosy-purple, and produced abundantly.

BUDDLEIA.

BUDDLEIA GLOBOSA.—­Orange Ball Tree.  Chili, 1774.  A shrubby species, ranging in height from 12 feet to 20 feet, and the only one at all common in gardens.  Favoured spots in Southern England would seem to suit the plant fairly well, but to see it at its best one must visit some of the maritime gardens of North Wales, where it grows stout and strong, and flowers with amazing luxuriance.  Where it thrives it must be ranked amongst the most beautiful of wall plants, for few, indeed, are the standard specimens that are to be met with, the protection afforded by a wall being almost a necessity in its cultivation.  The leaves are linear-lanceolate, and covered with a dense silvery tomentum on the under side, somewhat rugose above, and partially deciduous.  Flowers in small globular heads, bright orange or yellow, and being plentifully produced are very showy in early summer.  It succeeds well in rich moist loam on gravel.