IRISH GARDENING 



13 



Pentstemon Scouleri 



The handsome and attractive Pentstemon illus- 

 trated is one of the most beautifvil of all this 

 genus. The pale blue violet flowers are produced in 

 April in great profusion, almost completely 

 hiding the foliage of the plant ; its great flori- 

 ferousness and its adaptability to exposure makes 

 it valuable as a subject either for the rock garden 

 or the herbaceous border, and when established 

 it soon forms large plants, the flowering season 

 lasting for several weeks. Its native home is North 

 America, and 

 is considered 

 by some as a 

 variety of P. 

 Menziesii. The 

 flowers resemble 

 the last named, 

 but the plant 

 differs in that 

 the leaves are 

 smaller and 

 s o m e w h a t 

 narrower : t he 

 flowers are also 

 produced in 

 greater profu- 

 sion, although 

 there are 

 several inter 

 mediate forms. 

 The propaga 

 tion is easily 

 effected by 

 cuttings taken 

 f r o m t h e 



young shoots 

 jiroduced after 

 flowering, and 

 r o o t e d i n 

 sandy soil, 

 ])laced under 

 a bell glass : 

 seedlings are 

 also easily 

 raised — H. C. 

 Elsdox. 



Thiaspi rotundifolium. 



The round-leaved Penny Cicss is a ])rt'tty little 

 Alpine, only a few inches high, suitable for the 

 moraine or for very gritty soil. Our illustration 

 shows a ]dant growing in a shingly nioraine 

 deposited bv a river, but it is more often found 

 in rocky debris at an altitude of (i.OOO to 8,000 

 feet, and is fairly well distril)uted over the Alps, 

 being found on both granite and limestone. 



The leaves are small, deei)-green and fleshy, 

 closely i)ressed to the stone, and in (!arly spring 

 flattened racemes of four-petalled flowers appear 

 of a i)leasing rich lavender colour and sweetly 

 scented. 



Thiaspi rotuiidifoliiuii and the newer and scarce 

 T. iimosellaefoliinn make long taproots in nature. 

 l)ut are both adai)table to cultivation in tlic 

 moraine. 



T. Hinosella'folium is a finer and larger plant 

 than the older cultivated form, with lighter green 

 leaves, long and s])oon-shaped. nnd longer 

 racemes of bright lilac pink flowers, altogether a 

 desirable and beautiful little jilant. 



A Search for Alpines in the 



Granite Region of the Maritime 

 Alps. 



Stii-l persevering along the snow-covered i)ath 

 in the Ciriegia Gorge we eventually reach the toj) 

 of the pass and feel the warmth of the sun with 

 pleasvu'e and enjoy a well earned breakfast, while 

 behind and around us were the lofty i)eaks of the 

 Mercantour, Mount Matteo, and the Argentera. 

 The snow has left the summit, and looking about 



we came across 

 (ientiana bra- 

 chyi)hylla and 

 a dwai'f Phy- 

 teunui in flower 

 Our steps were 

 directed to a 

 stee]) mountain 

 slojx'. and here 

 we came across 

 Viola nunimu- 

 laria^folia, not 

 only in hun- 

 dreds but in 

 thousands, 

 sometimes 

 peeiJing out 

 f r o m under 

 huge blocks of 

 stone or in 

 loose tumbled 

 gi*anite, and 

 some plants, 

 even in gritty 

 turf, where one 

 could lift a 

 clum]) a foot 

 across. But 

 few of the 

 indi\ idualsare 

 so accommoda- 

 ting, the wan- 

 dering shoots 

 are usually 

 amonj; the stones, 

 and then below these are some good roots. This 

 Viola has thread-like stems, round leaves only 

 half an inch across with i)etioles nearly an incli 

 long. The flower stems carry the flowers well 

 above the foliage. The flowers are true violet 

 shape of a i)ale violet. Some i)lants were only 

 just opening their blossoms even in August, 

 others in the full sun were flowering more freely 

 than any oth(>r Violet I havi' ever seen, Init un- 

 fortunately no seed was ri|)e. The \"iola was often 

 growing through tufts of Saxifraga retusa. which 

 delights in the granite moraine. Its pink flowers 

 were past ami seed i)ods here already forming. 

 Leaving this nu)raine and going up the rocks, 

 Thlasjii linu)sella^folium gives a touch of colour 

 to the (hdl grey rocks, its leaves ai-e green and 

 spoon-shaped, and the flowers are borne on stems 

 :! to .") inches high, of the most beautiful lilac 

 pink. The most luxm'iant ]>lants were found in 

 the crevices of the solid rock. One of the prettiest 

 of natiu-al combinations was to be found where 

 the ])ink Thlasiti came down to the screes and 

 ai)i)eared among the white daisy flowers, flushed 

 with i)uri)le-ro.sc towards the centre, of Chrysan- 

 themum tomentosum. 



[j;. A. M. 



Thi^\spi rotundifolit'm in a Xatttrat. Moraine. 



