EPIMEDIUM. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. EREMURUS. 



rough shrubbery or copse, where it 

 may bloom with the Foxglove. It is 

 a native of Europe and many parts of 

 Britain. Division. Other kinds some- 

 what less vigorous are E. angustissi- 

 mum, E. Dodon&i, and E. rosmarini- 

 folium. The common native E. hir- 

 sutum is stouter than the French 

 Willow, and is only useful by the 

 margins of streams and ponds, associ- 

 ated with the Loosestrife and such 

 plants. There is a variegated form. 

 The Rocky Mountain Willow Herb 

 (E. obcordatum} is a beautiful rock 

 plant. The Willow Herbs of our own 

 latitudes are very tall and vigorous, 

 but on the dreary summits of the 

 Rocky Mountains and the Californian 

 Sierras one species has succeeded in 

 contending against the elements by 

 reason of its very dwarf stature ; it 

 has imitated the Phloxes and Pent- 

 stemons of the same region ; though 

 not more than 3 inches high, it has 

 retained the size and beauty of flower 

 of the finest species, the colour being 

 rosy-crimson. It is hardy, and thrives 

 in ordinary sandy soil in the rock 

 garden. Some of the small New 

 Zealand species, such as glabellum, 

 nummularicB folium, and longipes, are 

 very useful for draping stones on 

 rock gardens. 



EPIMEDIUM (Barren-wort}. Inter- 

 esting and, when well grown, elegant 

 plants of the Barberry order, but not 

 shrubby. E. pinnatum is a hardy 

 dwarf perennial from Asia Minor, 

 8 inches to 2^ feet high, with hand- 

 some leaves, and bearing long clusters 

 of yellow flowers. The old leaves 

 remain fine until the new ones appear 

 in the ensuing spring. I have found 

 this a most useful bold edging to large 

 beds, and growing so close that it will 

 keep all weeds off. Other species are 

 alpinum, macranthum, Musschianum, 

 purpureum, rubrum, niveum, and viola- 

 ceum, all loving half-shady spots in 

 peat, or in moist, sandy soil. None 

 are so valuable for general culture as 

 the first mentioned. 



EPIPACTIS (Marsh E.). E. palus- 

 tris is a somewhat showy hardy 

 Orchid, i to i feet high, flowering 

 late in summer, and bearing rather 

 handsome purplish flowers. A native 

 of moist grassy places in all parts of 

 temperate and Southern Europe. A 

 good plant for the bog garden, or for 

 moist spots near a rivulet, in soft peat. 

 In moist districts it thrives very well 

 in ordinary moist soil. 



EQUISETUM (Giant Horse-tail}. E. 

 Telmateia is a tall British plant, of 

 much grace of habit when well devel- 

 oped, and from 3 to 6 feet high in 

 moist, peaty, or clay hollows in woods. 

 The stem is furnished from top to 

 bottom with spreading whorls of 

 slender branches, slightly drooping, 

 the whole forming a graceful pyramid. 

 It is fit for the hardy fernery, shady 

 peat borders, near cascades, or among 

 shrubs, and grows in any moist soil. 

 Division. E. sylvaticum is another 

 native Horse-tail, much dwarfer, but 

 graceful when well grown, 8 to 15 

 inches high, and covered with slender 

 branches. Usually these plants are 

 not fit for garden culture, but some 

 are troublesome weeds. 



ERAGROSTIS (Love Grass}. 

 Grasses, some of which are worth 

 cultivating for their elegant feathery 

 panicles. E. cegyptiaca, with silvery- 

 white plumes, maxima, elegans, pilosa, 

 amabilis, pellucida, capillaris, plumosa, 

 are all elegant annuals. They are 

 useful for cutting for the house dur- 

 ing summer. Seed may be sown in 

 autumn or spring in the open air, on 

 or in a slightly heated frame. For 

 preserving, the stems should be 

 gathered before the seeds are too 

 ripe. 



ERANTHIS (Winter Aconite}. E. 

 hyemalis is a pretty early plant with 

 yellow flowers surrounded by a whorl 

 of shining green. It is 3 to 8 inches 

 high, and flowers from January to 

 March. It is seen best in a half-wild 

 state under trees or on banks in woody 

 places, though it is occasionally worthy 

 of a place among the earliest border 

 flowers. It often naturalises itself 

 freely in grass, and is very beautiful 

 when the little yellow flowers peep out 

 in early spring. We may therefore 

 enjoy it without giving it positions 

 suited for more delicate plants, or 

 taking any trouble about it, but it is 

 more vigorous on chalky or warm 

 soils, and dwindles on some cold 

 soils. E. cilicicus is a recent introduc- 

 tion of like stature and character, 

 though distinct as a species, and of like 

 value and hardiness. 



EREMURUS. Noble tuberous - ; 

 rooted plants from N. India, Persia, 

 and C. Asia, now finding favour in our I 

 gardens. Most of the kinds are hand- 

 some, and well suited for the warm 

 sheltered glades of gardens where hardy \ 

 flowers and plants are grown in a 

 natural and informal way. In such a 3 

 home they are seen to advantage in , 



