RHODODENDRON. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. RHODODENDRON. 675 



Mrs F. J. Kirchner. 



Mrs Fitzgerald. 



Mrs Fredk. Hankey. 



Mrs Harry Ingersoll. 



Mrs John Glutton. 



Mrs John Kelk. 



Mrs John Penn. 



Mrs John Waterer. 



Mrs Mendel. 



Mrs Milner. 



Mrs R. S. Holford. 



Mrs Russell Sturgis. 



Mrs Thomas Agnew. 



Mrs Tritton. 



Mrs Walter. 



Mrs W. Agnew. 



Mrs William Bovill. 



Mum. 



Nero. 



Odoratum. 



Old Port. 



Perfection. 



Pictum. 



Pink Pearl. 



Prince Camillede Rohan. 



Princess Christian. 



Princess Mary of Cam- 

 bridge. 



Purpureum elegans. 

 Purpureum grandiflorum. 

 Purity. 



Ralph Sanders. 

 Rosabel. 

 Roseum elegans. 

 Sappho. 



Sherwoodianum. 

 Sigismund Rucker. 

 Silvio. 



Sir James Clnrk. 

 Snowflake. 

 Stella. 

 Sultana. 

 Surprise. 

 The Queen. 

 The Warrior. 

 Titian. 

 Vandyck. 

 Vauban. 



Viscount Powerscourt. 

 White Pearl. 

 William Austin. 



RHODODENDRONS GROUPED FOR 

 EFFECT OF COLOUR. Reds, rose - 

 colours, and pinks, with a few whites, 

 viz., Reds James Marshall Brooks, 

 John Waterer, Atro-sanguineum, Alex- 

 ander Adie, Baron Schrceder. Rose 

 and rosy-pinks Mrs Penn, Ingrami, 

 Lady Armstrong, Mrs Charles Sargent, 

 and Mrs W. Agnew. Whites Mrs 

 John Clutton, Minnie, Madame Car- 

 valho, Duchess of Connaught, and 

 Sappho. Rhododendrons of salmon- 

 red colour are best kept separate from 

 others ; of these, good colourings are 

 Lady Eleanor Cathcart and Mrs R. S. 

 Holford. Purples must be kept away 

 from reds, but group well with any 

 whites ; some of the best for col- 

 our are Everestianum, Album elegans, 

 Fastuosum, Cyaneum, Countess of 

 Normanton, Caractacus, and Sigismund 

 Rucker. Pretty shades of pale blush 

 are found in Lady Grey Egerton and 

 Marie Stuart, while for bold groups of 

 one colour Chas. S. Sargent, Edward 

 S. Rand, and James Mason are clear 

 shades approaching scarlet, and James 

 Macintosh, Maxwell T. Masters, and 

 Warrior, rich crimsons. 



There are some dwarf kinds which 

 may be associated with alpine plants 

 in the rock garden. ; indeed, some 

 are but a span high. One of the 

 prettiest of these is R. Cham&cistus, 

 which has tiny leaves, and in early 

 summer exquisite purple flowers, of 

 the same size as those of Kalmia 

 latifolia. It is rarely seen in good 

 health in gardens, and is best in lime- 

 stone fissures, filled with peat, loam, 

 and sand, mixed in about equal pro- 

 portions. A native of calcareous rocks 

 in the Tyrol, and one of the most 

 precious of dwarf rock shrubs. The 



well - known R. ferrugineum and R. 

 hirsutum both bear the name of Alpine 

 Rose, and often terminate the woody 

 vegetation on the great mountain 

 chains of Europe. They are easily 

 obtained from nurseries, and are well 

 suited for the large rock garden, where 

 they attain, in deep peat soil, a height 

 of about 1 8 inches, with red flowers 

 from June to August, hirsutum, having 

 hairy leaves and stems. But the best 

 of all the dwarf Rhododendrons is R. 

 arbutifolium (Wilson's Rhododendron), 

 a hybrid between R. ferrugineum and 

 R. punctatum, forming a dense bushy 

 plant with small, oval, pointed, dark 

 glossy green leaves assuming bronzy 

 winter shades, and bearing many 

 clusters of fragrant porcelain - pink 

 flowers in July. For hardiness, free- 

 dom, and fine habit, it is a choice little 

 plant when isolated, or as an edging 

 to plantations. R. myrtifolium is a 

 cross between punctatum and hirsutum 

 and intermediate in form and habit, 

 bearing clusters of deep rosy - red. 

 Besides these there are R. caucasicum 

 from the Caucasus Mountains, forming 

 a dense low shrub 2 feet high, with 

 clusters of pink to yellowish - white 

 flowers spotted with green within ; 

 the leaves oval, dark green above, and 

 velvety - brown beneath. R. Metier - 

 nichii, from Japan, 4 feet high, with 

 narrow leaves and rosy flowers spotted 

 with purple. Also R. brachycarpum, 

 another larger Japanese species, with 

 lighter green and more rounded foliage, 

 and creamy-white flowers spotted with 

 green. These are known to be exceed- 

 ingly hardy, but are as yet only to be 

 had with difficulty. R. amcenum, R. 

 hybridum, R. dauricum-atrovirens, R. 

 Govenianum, R. odoratum, and R. 

 Torlonianum are other dwarf kinds, 

 which may be used in the rock garden, 

 the last two being sweet - scented. 

 They should not be planted near 

 minute alpine plants. 



As providing a more searching test 

 than our own climate affords, we give 

 here a list of kinds proved hardy in 

 the New England winters under very 

 varied trial, over a large range, and 

 for a good many years past : Album 

 elegans, light blush marked with straw 

 colour, fading to white, free, with an 

 upright habit well suited to the centre 

 of groups ; Album grandiflora, light 

 blush fading to white, strong growing, 

 and very free ; Alexander Dancer, 

 light rose with paler centre, open and 

 irregular habit, with a larger truss than 

 any other hardy kind ; Atrosan- 



