544 THE GARDENER. [Dec. 



they are not usually classed with them, seeing that they are found, 

 with one or two exceptions, to be equally at home in ordinary gardens 

 and shrubberies. One of the most important of these exceptions is 

 that of D. cneorum, which, if we would see its beauties fully developed, 

 must be liberally supplied with peat ; and well does it deserve the 

 best place and the kindliest treatment that can be given it, as there is 

 not a lovelier gem among hardy shrubs. It is a native of Switzerland 

 and several other countries in central Europe ; evergreen, with a dense, 

 twiggy, procumbent habit, rarely rising above one foot from the 

 ground ; the leaves are small, of a lanceolate form, sharply pointed, and 

 of a light shining green colour ; it flowers about the beginning of May, 

 every twig producing its terminal cluster of deliciously-scented, rosy- 

 pink blossoms. The berries are pure white, but rarely if ever come to 

 perfection in this country. 



Of several varieties, two are sufficiently distinct to be worthy of 

 special notice. The one called elegans or variegatus has smaller leaves, 

 narrowly margined with yellow ; and the other, majus, with a more 

 robust and compact habit, larger and deeper -coloured flowers, and 

 blooming earlier than the species, is a most useful plant for spring- 

 bedding, and invaluable for potting for the early decoration of the con- 

 servatory. All the sorts have a pretty effect in rockeries, or as 

 margin-plants, and are unsurpassed for massing by themselves in per- 

 manent beds. 



In concluding our papers upon peat-soil shrubs, we may remark that 

 there are many highly-ornamental plants, which, either from their being 

 herbaceous, or the facility with which they grow in common soil, do 

 not properly come within the scope of our notes, but which grow well 

 in peat, and may, with skilful selection and judicious arrangement, be 

 introduced into the American garden with the happiest effect, pro- 

 longing the flowering season, and by their distinct foliage imparting 

 a richness and beauty which could not otherwise be obtained. If there 

 is a weak point in a garden specially set apart for American shrubs, it 

 is the paucity of flowers in midsummer and autumn ; and in the selec- 

 tion of such plants preference should be given to those that bloom 

 after the Rhododendrons, so as to secure a succession during the greater 

 portion of the year. Among the many plants suitable for this purpose, 

 we may instance Yucca gloriosa, recurvifolia, and filamentosa ; Tritoma 

 uvaria and Burchellii ; Gynerium argenteum (Pampas grass) ; Arundo 

 donax variegata and conspicua, the latter resembling the Pampas 

 grass, but more slender and elegant, besides blooming earlier in sum- 

 mer ; Phormium tenax, and its pretty variety, variegatum ; the various 

 species and varieties of the Royal Fern, Osmunda ; and the Gladiolus, 

 with its many shades of colour — which, without interfering with the 



