The Water Hawthorn (Aponogetou Distachyon) does well in a warm, sheltered position, and may be grown in loam, plunged in a pan of water.  Calla Ethiopica bears pretty white flowers, so also does the before-mentioned Aponogeton Distachyon.  The Flowering Rush (Butomus Umbellatus), produces fine heads of pink flowers.  The Water Violet merely needs to be laid on the surface of the water; the roots float.  For shallow water Menyanthus Trifoliata (Three-leaved Buckbean) and Typha Latifolia (Broad-leaved Cat’s Tail) are suitable.  Weeping Willows grow readily from cuttings of ripened shoots, planted in moist soil in autumn.  Spiraea does well in moist situations, near water.  Aquatics are propagated by seed sown under water:  many will allow of root-division.  Tender Aquatics are removed in winter to warm-water tanks.

Aquilegia (Columbine).—­Very ornamental and easily-grown hardy perennials.  Sow seed in March in sandy soil, under glass, and transplant when strong enough.  Common garden soil suits them.  The roots may be divided in spring or autumn.  The flowers are produced from May to July.  Height, 2 ft.

Arabis Alpina (Rock Cress, or Snow in Summer).—­Pure white hardy perennial, which is valuable for spring bedding.  Not particular to soil, and easily raised from seed sown from March to June, placed under a frame, and transplanted in the autumn, or it may be propagated by slips, but more surely by rootlets taken after the plants have done flowering.  Plant 3 in. apart.  Height, 6 in.

Aralia (Fatsia Japonica).—­Fine foliage plants, very suitable for a shady situation in a living-room.  They may be raised from seed sown in autumn in a gentle heat, in well-drained pots of light sandy soil.  Keep the mould moist, and when the plants are large enough to handle, pot them off singly in thumb pots, using rich, light, sandy soil.  Do not pot too firmly.  Keep them moist, but do not over water, especially in winter, and re-pot as the plants increase in size.  Be careful not to let the sun shine on them at any time, as this would cause the leaves to lose their fresh colour.

Aralia Sieboldi (Fig Palm).—­This shrub is an evergreen, and is generally given stove culture, though it proves quite hardy in the open, where its large deep-green leaves acquire a beauty surpassing those grown indoors.  Slips of half-ripened wood taken at a joint in July may be struck in heat and for the first year grown on in the greenhouse.  The young plants should be hardened off and planted out in May in a sunny situation.  It should be grown in well-drained sandy loam.  Is increased also by off-sets, and blooms (if at all) in July.  Height, 3 ft.

Aralia Sinensis. See “Dimorphantus.”

Araucaria Imbricata (The Monkey Puzzle, or Chilian Pine).—­This strikingly handsome conifer is very suitable for a forecourt or for a single specimen on grass.  Young plants are sometimes grown in the conservatory and in the borders of shrubberies, as well as in the centres of beds.  It requires a good stiff sandy loam, which must be well drained, and plenty of room for root action should be allowed.  Young plants are obtained from seed sown in good mellow soil.  Water sparingly, especially during the winter.