CHOICE PLANTS FOR ROCK GARDENS 157 
the vast majority of enthusiasts for rock gardening would 
say the same. It is a plant that instantly attracts atten- 
tion, and annexes affection that grows as surely as the 
plant itself. Shrubby in habit, with evergreen foliage, 
the plant may be said to bloom in every month of the 
year, for when well established in a sunny position and 
well-drained soil, one may almost always find a flower 
or two at least, whilst from May to July the whole plant 
is freely besprinkled with its intense blue flowers. Cuttings 
peeled off from the sides of the branches, when about 
an inch long, and inserted round the edge of a pot of light 
sandy soil, will root if kept close in a cool situation. Side 
branches may also be weighted down with stones and 
will root in the course of a season, so that the layered 
limb may be severed and removed in the form of an 
already well-developed plant. The main part of an 
established plant should not be disturbed, for the roots 
are hard and wiry and do not take kindly to fresh soil 
when broken. 
There are several other Lithospermums that are quite 
good plants, although none quite the equal of prostratum. 
L. canescens and L. hirtum are yellow flowered with hoary 
foliage. L. angustifolium is also yellow, and its variety 
longifolium is sulphur coloured. Then we have L. gramini- 
folium (grassy leaved), with rich blue flowers in pendent 
clusters. L. rosmarinifolium is yet another interesting 
plant, the flowers of which are blue with white stripes. 
This species, however, is a little more difficult to manage, 
and requires the protection of a glass shade or hand-light 
in winter except in favoured and sheltered gardens. 
