May 5. 1906 



HORTICULTURE, 



179 



The Rock Garden 



Illustration From Catalogue of Frpd'k YV. Kelsey. 



The season is again here when the first flowers of the 

 early spring can be found peeping up, as each spring 

 day brings forth new life among the occupants of a well- 

 planted rock garden. The collection which we have 

 among our rocks is too large to give it a full description, 

 and many varieties have been only tested for this past 

 season and can not be vet described as to then- effective- 

 ness of blooming or even hardiness, 1 nit a few varieties 

 are well worth a notice. One of the mosl effective and 

 the first to bloom as the snow melts away is Primula 

 rosea grandiflora which is a very bright and soft rose 

 and a xcrx free bloomer with a straight stem six inches 

 above the ground and with a small narrow lanceolate 

 brownish leaf. Primula denticulata alba with a dense 

 round head from two to three inches across and with 

 deep broad leaves powdered with sulphur yellow under 

 the leaf, is a splendid companion to the similar variety 

 denticulata with purple flower blooms at the same time. 

 Primula acaulis with its blue, and even indigo blue is 

 a great favorite and very much admired at this moment. 

 Primula veris with its great variety of color is appropri- 

 ately called the bride of spring- The English cowslip, 

 as it is called, is not as largely cultivated here as its 

 beauty deserves. A beautiful miniature of the same 

 family is Primula farinosa with a rosette of green foli- 

 age, silvery underneath and umbels of rosy lilac flowers 

 which in groups of a couple of dozen plants is a 

 splendid sight. Arabis alpina is a very desirable plant; 

 a large patch among the rocks with its wooly whitish 

 leaves and abundant flowers of pure white is a grand 

 sight. There is a double variety which is a great im- 



provement on the single. This variety must be prop- 

 agated from cuttings, while the other is grown from 

 seed. Alyssum saxatile compactum or rock mad-wort is 

 a true companion for the above varieties, with alyssum 

 saxatile flora plena, both being of a bright golden yel- 

 low. 



Anemone pulsatilla, or pasque flower, grows from 9 

 to 12 inches high, producing a violet or purple, quite 

 large flower. Anemone sylvestris, or snowdrop wind- 

 flower, is a large cup-shaped pure white flower on clean 

 straight stems held well above the handsomely cut foli- 

 age, one of the most satisfactory plants for rock gardens. 

 There is Elza Fellman, a double flowering variety of the 

 same growth, dwarf and very interesting. A. Hudson- 

 ianum alpinum, and Halleri from the Swiss Alps are 

 good companions for the above and extremely interest- 

 ing. Ranunculus alpestris, with a half-dozen other 

 Alpine varieties has proven very hardy in this climate. 

 Papaver alpinum with small, very compact, laciniated 

 leaves and soft, silky and often beautifully fringed little 

 flowers, from five to six inches high, are excitingly inter- 

 esting. Papaver nudicaule is also a very nice variety 

 for the rock garden. 1 Iraba aizoon. armata. frigida. and 

 pyrenaica from the Swiss xAlps have proven hardy and 

 with their white speck-like flowers are very interesting. 

 Iberis saxatilis. sempervirens, and stylosa, or candy 

 tuft, are indispensable in a rock garden. Viola cornuta. 

 lutea and alba, with many others are just a grand sight 

 "and cannot be left out. We have also a number of the 

 very old varieties of dianthus including Dianthus del- 

 toides, arenarius, alpinus, glacialis and moshotas, all 



