692 MYOSOTIDIUM. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



MYOSOTIS. 



It wants a moist, cool soil, a sunny, airy 

 position, and a few slender Pea sticks to 

 clamber upon. The stems when mature 

 are wiry, the leaves strap-shaped, with the 

 blade extending a long distance down the 

 stem, forming very conspicuous wings. 

 The midrib is prolonged into a stout wiry 

 tendril, which holds on firml)' to anything 

 it once clasps. The flower-heads are ter- 

 minal, 45 in. across, with fourteen ray- 

 florets, each half an inch across, spread- 

 ing, and then curving eleg-antly down- 

 wards, their colour being brilliant orange. 

 The disc is yellow, and the large involucre 

 is bluish-green tinged with purple. 



M. Clematis. — The first coloured 

 picture of this species ever published in 

 any English work was the plate in The 

 Garden, July 27th, 1883. It is a tall 

 herbaceous climber, 10 to 20 ft. high, with 

 pinnate leaves, terminating in branched 

 tendrils, the leaflets being covered on the 

 under side with a fine silky down. The 

 plant grows very freely, does not die off 

 suddenly like the others, and when 

 properly treated it flowers freely. It is 

 probable that this species would thrive 

 out-of-doors in Devon, South Wales, and 

 South Ireland. It grows as fast as Cobjea 

 scandens, and is said to be propagated in 

 the same way, viz. by means of cuttings of 

 the young growth. This species is a native 

 of New Grenada, Peru, and Ecuador, at 

 elevations of from 6,000 to 11,000 ft. — W. 



W^O^OYUiWi'iiti.^AntarcticForget-vie- 

 Not).-AI. nobilex's. a lovely herbaceous plant 

 about which very little is known. In its native 

 isle it is a seaside plant, in damp sand. It 

 is said not to be difficult to grow, but to be 

 naturally short-lived. It has a thick root- 

 stock, from which arise the large heart- 

 shaped, shining green leaves, the stalks of 

 which are grooved, and from 6 to 9 in. 

 long ; the flowers are borne on an erect 

 stem which springs from the ape.x of the 

 prostrate stem and rises to the height of 

 I or \\ ft. ; it is leafy all the way up, and 

 is terminated by a loose corymb of flowers 

 in colour exactly like Forget-me-Not, but 

 the shade of blue varies. After flowering, 

 the plants should be kept in a cool and 

 light position in a frame, and be liberally 

 watered in dry weather. It is a native of 

 the Chatham Islands, a small group in the 

 Pacific, lying 400 miles east of New Zea- 

 land. It was flowered in several gardens 

 of recent years— by Mr. Watson, of St. 

 Albans ; the late Mr. Niven, of Hull ; 

 and very finely by Mrs. Rogers in Corn- 

 wall in the open air. 



MYOSOTIS (/^or^^/-OT^-7V^/).— Beauti- 

 ful perennial and biennial marsh and alpine 

 plants, children of the mountain and marsh 



land from many parts of Europe and our 

 own land, and of high value and charming 

 in all ways for gardens. 



M. alpestris {Alpine Forget-me-Not), a 

 compact plant, a cushion of the lovehest 

 blue flowers, thriving on the rock-garden, 

 in moist gritty soil. It should be sur- 

 rounded by half-buried pieces of sand- 



stone. There are various forms, some 

 very dwarf, with white and rose flowers. 

 Princess Maud is a robust variety with 

 rich deep blue flowers. 



M. azorica {Asorean Forget-me-Not) 

 is a beautiful somewhat tender kind, with 

 dark blue blooms, 6 to 10 in. high, and, 

 coming from the extreme western Azores, 

 will not survive except in warm corners 

 of the rock-garden. It grows freely in 

 light soil, and may be raised from seed 

 or cuttings. The var. Imperatrice Eliza- 

 beth is a form or hybrid from it. 



M. dissitiflora {Early Forget-me-Not), 

 a beautiful and early flowering plant, 6 to 

 12 in. high, with large handsome flowers 

 deep sky-blue, continuing till midsummer. 

 It is best in broad masses in open spots 

 of the rock-garden, or wherever spring 

 flowers are much valued. 



M. palustris.— Although common in 

 wet ditches and by streams and canals 

 throughout Britain, M. palustris should be 

 grown in the garden among shrubs in peat 

 beds, or for edgings, or as a carpet to 

 taller subjects, in small beds or borders in 

 moist soil. There are forms of this, one 

 with white flowers, another with larger 

 flowers than the type, whilst one is called 



