108 ALPINES AND BOG-PLANTS 
wettest winters it will take no harm; and then about 
mid-March its leaf-buds are sure to come poking faith- 
fully up, and soon the flowers are budding. So lovely is 
this Oxalis, that it could never in any circumstances 
become a weed. However, it does not try to do so, but 
only increases slowly and modestly, forming larger and 
larger tufts, but never pervading the place like its less 
well-bred kindred, who seem to have no instinct as to 
where they are unwelcome. I believe the only thing that 
Oxalis enneaphylla dislikes is excessive sunshine; put it 
under the shadow of a rock, and it will be pleased with 
any well-drained soil. ‘The other Wood-sorrels can only 
be admitted with caution. The pink form of the ordin- 
ary Oxalis Acetosella is rare and dainty ; Owalis lobata is 
small and pretty, with golden flowers; and the profuse 
Oxalis rosea, with its tall stems and heads of rose-pink 
flowers opening in sunshine, has surprised me by proving 
apparently hardy here in the worst of winters. I think 
these make up the most desirable species; at all events, 
with these four I rest content. 
The vast natural order of the Butterflies, whose Patron 
Saint is the Sweet Pea, have many treasures for the rock- 
garden, though there is a good deal of confusion among 
them, and a certain difficulty of culture now and then. 
Of the larger - growing things the Brooms are most 
precious perhaps. Cytisus and Genista come very near 
together, and both run to yellows, with one exception. 
Cytisus purpureus is a fine dwarf shrub about a foot or 
more in height, which spreads freely about, and would be 
even prettier if its flowers were of a purer, cleaner colour. 
However, the white form is irreproachable, and there is 
a variety incarnatus, and another roseus, in which the 
magenta tone is minimised. Cytisus Ardoini is the gem 
of the race, a rare and fascinating wee golden-flowered 
shrub from the Maritime Alps, for a dry sunny bank ; 
