88 STUDIES IN GARDENING 



None of the pinks which we have mentioned are at 

 all difficult to grow. There are, however, one or two 

 high Alpine species which require some care, and one, 

 D. glacialis, which is so difficult as to be scarcely 

 worth attempting in England. 



The most beautiful of the higher Alpine species is, 

 perhaps, D. neglectus. It can be distinguished from 

 all other pinks by the pale yellow colour of the under- 

 side of its petals, which are otherwise of an extraor- 

 dinarily brilliant pink. The leaves are grassy and 

 short and grow in close tufts; they also are not quite 

 evergreen, like those of most pinks, but almost wither 

 up in the winter. D. neglectus is not really difficult 

 to grow. It should be planted tight in chinks between 

 the rocks, in a soil consisting mainly of mortar rubble, 

 with a little leaf -mould and sandy loam. It roots 

 deeply, and when established does not suffer from 

 drought, if rocks are all round the roots. It can be 

 easily raised from seed, and this is the best way to 

 grow it, as the plants become enervated if they are 

 kept too long in frames. The seed should be sown 

 when ripe or in spring in pans of light, gritty soil, 

 and the seedlings planted out into their permanent 

 homes as soon as possible. D. neglectus likes the 

 fullest sun, and is the most brilliant coloured of all 

 wild pinks, and one of the most brilliant coloured of 

 all Alpines. It appears to hybridize pretty readily, 

 and one sometimes sees seedling forms with all the 

 beauty of the type, but more vigorous and larger in 

 all respects. There seems to be no reason why a very 



