PART II.] 



ALPINE FLOWERS FOR GARDENS 



159 



ant on the Alps in various parts of 

 Europe, and is increased by careful 

 division or by seeds. Syn., Aretia 

 Vitaliana. 



Androsace laggeri. This is one of 

 the most distinct of the family, and is 

 easily recognised by its tiny rosettes of 

 sharp-pointed leaves. The flowers are of 

 a bright pink, with a lighter centre. 



A. foliosa is the handsomest species, 

 the flowers borne in large bunches, rosy- 

 red, and larger than in the others. This 

 plant revels in good deep limestone soil. 

 The stone should be broken into pieces 

 about the size of a walnut, and add good 

 heavy loam in full sun. Thus the plant 

 will form bushes one foot across in one 

 season. 



A. wulfeniana. This is a very distinct 

 plant flowering later than A. ciliata, with 

 much deeper blood-rose flowers, borne 

 close to the foliage, the whole plant being 

 very compact, and forms quite a cushion. 

 It does much better when planted on the 

 level, and makes a good companion for 

 such as A. carnea, A. C. eximia^ A. 

 ciliata, A. mtaliana, A. laggeri, A. 

 duimmjasme. The above all love the 

 sandstone, and should be well looked 

 to in the autumn and spring, and be well 

 top-dressed with sand and leaf-mould. 



ANEMONE (Windflower). Beauti- 

 ful alpine and meadow plants, to which 

 is due much of the flower beauty of 

 spring and early summer in northern and 

 temperate countries. In early spring, 

 or what is winter to us in Northern 

 Europe, when the valleys of Southern 

 Europe and all round the basin of the 

 Mediterranean are beginning to glow 

 with colour, we see the earliest Wind- 

 llowers in all their loveliness. Those 

 arid mountains that in the distance 

 often look so barren, have on their 

 sunny sides carpets of Windflowers in 

 countless variety, often belonging to 

 the old favourite in our gardens the 

 Poppy Anemone. Later on the Star 

 Anemone troops in thousands over the 

 terraces, meadows, and fields of the 



same regions. Climbing the mountains 

 in April, one finds A. Hepatica nest- 

 ling in nooks all over the bushy parts 

 of the hills. Farther east, while the 

 common Anemones are aflame along 

 the Riviera valleys and terraces, the 

 blue Greek Anemone is open on the 

 hills of Greece ; a little later the blue 

 Apennine Anemone blossoms. Mean- 

 while our Wood Anemone adorns the 

 woods throughout the northern world, 

 and here and there through the brown 

 Grass on the chalk hills comes the 

 purple of the Pasque-flower. The grass 

 has , grown tall before the graceful 

 Alpine Windflower blooms in all the 

 natural meadows of the Alps ; while 

 later on bloom the high Alpine Wind- 

 flowers, which are soon ready 'to sleep 

 again for months in the snow. These 

 are but a few examples of what is done 

 for our northern world by these Wind- 

 flowers, so precious for our gardens 

 also. 



With many handsome kinds, every- 

 one is not worth growing, and so we 

 make a choice of the best for the rock- 

 garden. Whatever the difficulties in 

 the growth of other alpine flowers, 

 there are none with the Windflowers ; 

 free in most soils, and hardy. There 

 are few groups of plants so precious for 

 the garden, whether we look at the 

 more strictly alpine kinds, the free- 

 growing "florists'" kinds, such as the 

 Poppy Anemone, or the autumn- 

 blooming Japanese Anemones. 



In the rock-garden alpine kinds are 

 essential, and, although some are slow, 

 they are not difficult to grow. As in 

 the case of so many mountain plants 

 which grow in soil composed of decayed 

 rock, open or warm soils are usually 

 best for the alpine kinds in our country. 

 The Poppy Anemone is so free in such 

 soils that many people raise it as an 

 annual, and flower it within the year 



