294 STUDIES IN GARDENING 



them could be covered with the leaf of a geranium. 

 And saxifrages are no less varied in their habits and 

 requirements. Some species could be found to thrive 

 in almost any part of the largest and most diversified 

 garden that it is possible to conceive. The greater 

 number are rock plants, indeed, they are the chief 

 of all rock plants; but some are natives of marshes, 

 others like cool, shady places in an ordinary border, 

 others will grow anywhere. Few are really difficult, 

 and the difficult ones are seldom the most beautiful 

 in a genus that is full of beauty. The saxifrages are 

 never likely to be popular with those who grow plants 

 only for their flowers, for their beauty and their peculiar 

 charm are nearly always as much in their habit of 

 growth as in their blossoms. These are seldom bril- 

 liant or conspicuous. No one would use saxifrages 

 for bedding out or "to make a show." The best of 

 them are plants for the gardener who delights in char- 

 acter and in fitting the plant to the place. Saxifrages 

 seem to belong to a situation that suits their char- 

 acter like moss to a stone; and, even if they thrive 

 in one that does not, they look like exiles making the 

 best of their banishment. Even the familiar London 

 Pride does not consort well with the ordinary plants 

 of the border; and those who think of it as a dull 

 thing will be surprised at its beauty when they see 

 it in some cool, rocky place among oak-ferns and 

 Primulas. In fact, all, or nearly all, saxifrages are 

 determinedly wild plants. They have suited their 

 character to certain natural conditions; and, al- 



