lEISH GAKDENING 



H7 



Notes from my Rock Garden, 

 Autumn Work. 



By Amaranthe. 



Therk is much useful and necessary work to be 

 done through the autumn weeks, 1 find, in the 

 Rock Garden. 



The Burseriana and encrusted Saxifrages now 

 require a " moulding up "' treatment of shaley 

 stuff, such as pounded old mortar, sand or 

 limy rubbish. 



The mossy varieties like lime and good soil, 

 but are not very j^articular; they do best when 

 not parched, and slightly shaded from sun. 



IS. oppositifolia, our own native Saxifrage 

 of the Porphyrion section, thrives under frequent 

 topdressings of fine leaf -mould, and, as it is 

 the first to bloom, it is worthy of attention and 

 a prominent place. It is a little jewel amongst 

 the early blooming Primula denticulata, when 

 its deep rose cups, seemingly stemless, and rest- 

 ing on a clear green, very close carpet, contrast 

 charmingly with the Primulas that vary from 

 white to deep mauve and lilacs ; and in the 

 same locality ver\- interesting are the little, 

 ■round, blue, pink and white heads of the 

 Hepaticas, too wise to open wide till the sun 

 gains some strength. 



We owe a great deal to the very large family 

 (jf Saxifrages; they give something to admire, 

 if cared for at all, all through the year, and 1 

 tir)d them very easy to manage, the silvery en- 

 ci'usted varieties are very ornamented, and, 1 

 think, no Rock garden should be without a 

 large proportion of Saxifrages — there is a wide 

 choice, so that, though many are alike, it is 

 not necessary to have them so. I have two 

 special favourites among the mossy section, 

 " Wenlock Beauty," the loveliest of pink 

 shades, and " Rubra," the darkest and richest 

 of crimsons, vvhile I find S. valdensis amongst 

 the silvery very valuable; those that display the 

 long, graceful plumes are many in number, 

 but, I think, few of these can be dispensed 

 with in the earW summer Rock Garden. 



Next come the Gentians for treatment. Fine 

 sand, rich soil, and tiny stones for the roots to 

 r\m amongst seems to be the most suitable. G. 

 verna, my most precious one, requires all the 

 above, wjth more care thrown in, and all re- 

 ([uire to be taken up and divided every four or 

 five years — this latter treatment suits most 

 plants, though I had an old friend the possessor 

 of beautiful, rare and much coveted plants, 

 who ign(jred all hints as to dividing, by saying, 

 " No, dear, I can't give you a piece, for if it 

 was moved it would die. " All the Primulas re- 

 quire moving and dividing, and if P. cajiitata. 



P. Sieboldi, P. farinosa and P. Cockburniana 

 are to live, it is absolutely necessary to divide 

 them every year after flowering. 



A ver,y important work that must not be 

 neglected is to cover the cushion Androsaces 

 with a pane of glass before winter sets in. Sol- 

 danellas and Eritrichium must be treated in 

 the same way; it is well to uncover occasionally 

 should a glimpse of sunshine appear, but always 

 replace again until late spring. Verbena Cham- 

 oedrifolia, that most brilliant of rock treasures, 

 must be slightly covered. 



I do not grow any of the larger bulbs in my 

 Rock Garden, but I delight in the tiny Hoop- 

 petticoat Daffodils of the Bulbocodium series, 

 and the Tiandrus or "Angels' tears " Narcissi, 

 especially the wliite ones, these little gems 

 should be planted now, also Scillas and Grape 

 Hyacinth in several varieties ; they are very 

 unobtrusive, as they can be planted in little 

 colonies beside and amongst the smallest flat- 

 growing Dianthus, Sedums, Thymus, Aren- 

 arias, and the beautiful new Anemone Robin- 

 soni or the old blue or double white woodland 

 varieties, thus they will flourish, and come 

 before the first full galaxy of bloom takes 

 place. 



The autumn Crocus, C. speciosus, Colchicum 

 autumnale plenum and album are now making 

 tilings cheery, and will help to shorten the dull 

 time until the first blooms come after the new 

 year has dawned. 



Paeonia Emodi. 



A 1}K.\UTIFUL and distinct Pteony, with pure 

 white flowers, a native of the Himalayas, and 

 nearly allied to P. albiflora, differing from that 

 species by its deep green leaves, although the 

 chief difference appears to be in the carpels, in 

 P. Emodi, there being one carpel to each flower, 

 rarely two, and tomentose, whereas in P. albi- 

 flora the carpels are glabrous, and number three 

 to four. 



Although there exists the differences already 

 mentioned, the above Pteonies naturally group 

 together as distinct from others of the genus. 

 This difference is marked by the feature of 

 more than one flower on a stem — the second 

 flowers being borne close to the first flowers are 

 hidden in the illustration by the open flowers — 

 \\-hilc more than one flower on the stem of other 

 Paeonies would be abnormal. 



The cultivation of P. Emodi is quite eas}', 

 but it benefits from the protection of a wall, 

 as Himalayan plants are sometimes liable to 

 injury in spring; and as Paeonies suffer more 

 from the sudden thawing than from the frost 

 direct, a wall facing east is best avoided. 



F. G. Prestox, 



