PRIMULA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. PRIMULA. 647 



wet upland meadows at elevations of 

 many thousand feet, forming a tuft of 

 wrinkled leaves not unlike those of our 

 wild Primrose, and slender stems of 

 12 inches high, with sparse whorls of 

 flowers nearly an inch across. It may 

 become freer in flower under cultivation, 

 otherwise it can hardly be called a showy 

 kind, its great value perhaps being the 

 new colour for our hybridists. Best 

 regarded as a biennial. 



P. CORTUSOIDES. A distinct species 

 bearing clusters of deep rosy flowers on 

 stalks 6 to 10 inches high. Of tall free 

 habit, it is liable to injury if placed in an 

 exposed spot or open border, and should 

 therefore be put in a sheltered position, 

 such as a sunny nook in the rock garden, 

 where it is surrounded by low shrubs, etc., 

 or in any place where it is not exposed to 

 cutting winds, and at the same time not 

 shaded to its injury. It is a charming 

 ornament for the rock garden, for a sunny 

 sheltered border near a wall or a house, 

 or for the margin of the choice shrubbery. 

 The soil should be light and rich, and a 

 surfacing of cocoa-fibre or leaf-mould is 

 beneficial in dry positions. It is one of 

 the most beautiful of Primulas, being 

 readily increased from seed, and hardy in 

 any well-drained and suitable position. 

 Siberia. Near to this comes P. Veitchii, 

 newly introduced from W. China. The 

 new plant is yet more robust, with broader 

 leaves and larger flowers of a deeper rose 

 colour, and comes from open and sunny 

 places at an elevation of many thousand 

 feet. 



P. DEFLEXA. An attractive little plant 

 recently come to us from inland China, 

 where it grows in mountain woods at a 

 great elevation. Its stout scapes rise 

 from a rosette of hairy leaves to a height 

 of 1 2 or more inches, bearing a dense head 

 of small rosy-purple flowers which point 

 downwards, and thus account for the 

 specific name. 



P. DENTICULATA. A pretty Himalayan 

 Primrose, of robust growth, 8 to 10 inches 

 high. It has large tufts of broad foliage, 

 and produces in spring, on stout erect 

 stems, large dense clusters of lilac blos- 

 soms. It is a most variable plant, and 

 some of its more distinct forms have 

 received garden names, of which the 

 principal are mentioned below. It is 

 paler in colour than any of its varieties, 

 and its foliage and flower-stalks are not 

 mealy. An excellent pure white variety 

 is P. d. alba. P. pulcherrima is a great 

 improvement on the original. It grows 

 from 10 to 12 inches high, and has a more 

 globular flower-truss, which is of a deep 

 lilac colour. The stalks are olive-green, 

 and, like the leaves, are slightly mealy. 

 It is very beautiful when in flower. P. 

 cashmiviana is by far the finest variety. 

 The flowers are of a lovely dark lilac, 

 closely set in globe-like heads on stalks 



over i foot high. They last from March 

 till May. The foliage is beautiful, and, 

 like the stalk, is thickly powdered with 

 meal. A new garden-raised variety, 

 Queen of Purples, is very handsome, with 

 large flowers of an intense deep purple. 



All the varieties are hardy, though the 

 flowers are liable to be injured by early 

 spring frosts. They may be placed either 

 in the rock garden or in an ordinary bor- 

 der, and will grow vigorously in a deep, 

 moist, loamy soil, enriched by manure. 

 They prefer a shady situation, with a 

 clear sky overhead, and delight in an 

 abundance of moisture during warm 

 summers. All the forms of P. denticulata 

 are admirably suited for grouping or 

 naturalising in cool moist woodland spots, 

 and for this purpose seedlings should be 

 raised by the hundred. Sow the seeds as 

 soon as ripe, preferably on damp or moist 

 soils, in which the plant revels. On con- 

 sistently moist soil the seedlings virtually 

 carpet the ground in a short time if sown 

 as soon as ripe, and, while growing more 

 vigorously, cost nothing for the raising. 



P. DEORUM. A rare plant from the 

 mountains of Bulgaria, growing in damp 

 grassy places just under the snow-line. 

 Its leaves are rather fleshy, forming a 

 tufted rosette, from which springs a stout 

 stem of 8 or 9 inches with a massive truss 

 of violet-purple flowers. It is hardy on the 

 north side of the rock garden, thriving in 

 sandy loam and in a moist position, such 

 as the foot of a broad flat stone, which 

 gathers the rain and conducts it to the 

 root. It should be shielded from heavy 

 winter rains by a tilted pane of glass. 



P. FARINOSA (Bird's-eye Primrose). A 

 pretty native Primrose with small rosettes 

 of silvery leaves ; the flowers, borne in a 

 compact umbel in early summer, are lilac- 

 purple with a yellow eye. They vary a 

 little in colour, there being shades of pink, 

 rose, and deep crimson. In our gardens 

 it loves a moist vegetable soil, and in 

 moist and elevated parts of the country 

 it flourishes in the rock garden and in 

 slightly elevated beds without any atten- 

 tion ; but in most districts more care is 

 necessary. In the rock garden it thrives 

 in a moist crevice, filled with peaty soil or 

 fibry sandy loam. In the drier districts 

 it would be well to cover the soil with 

 broken bits of sandstone to protect the 

 surface from being baked and from exces- 

 sive evaporation. A dainty plant for 

 colonising. Should be raised from seeds 

 sown while quite fresh. P. f. acaulis is 

 a very diminutive variety of the preced- 

 ing. The flowers nestle in the hearts of 

 the leaves, and both flowers and leaves 

 are very small. When a number of plants 

 are grown together they form a cushion 

 of leaves and flowers not more than \ inch 

 high. Being so small, the plant should 

 have greater care, whether it is grown in 

 the rock garden or in pots. 



