PART II.] 



ALPINE FLOWERS FOR GARDENS 



171 



regions, and of the northern Highlands 

 of Scotland, distinguished by its thin, 

 toothed leaves, which are not evergreen, 

 but wither away at the end of the season, 

 and by its bluish-black berries. 



Arctostaphylos alpina (The Black Bear- 

 berry). The badge of the Clan Koss is rare 

 as a native plant, being confined to dry, 

 barren Scotch mountains from Perth and 

 Forfar northwards, and ascending to eleva- 

 tions of nearly 3000 feet above sea level. 

 It forms compact, woody patches, with 

 stout, leafy branches, and scaly bark. 

 The deciduous leaves, wrinkled above, 

 have ciliated margins, and are narrowed 

 into a short stalk. They vary in length 

 from ^ inch to 1^ inches, and are coarsely 

 toothed above the middle ; the white 

 blossoms are produced in twos or threes, 

 and appear with the young leaves. The 

 berry is black, and measures | inch in 

 diameter. 



A. uva-ursi (Bearberry). A small and 



E rostrate creeping mountain shrub, with 

 iathery leaves, and their under side 

 netted with veins, and with the sepals 

 at the base and not at the crown of the 

 berry. The flowers are of a rose-colour 

 in clusters at the apex of the branches ; 

 the berries of a brilliant red. It is a 

 native of dry heaths and barren places 

 in hilly countries, and is easier to culti- 

 vate than almost any other small 

 mountain or bog shrub, thriving well 

 in common garden soil. It is a useful 

 plant in the rock-garden, when its shining 

 evergreen masses of leaves fall over rocks, 

 and also on the margins of beds of 

 shrubs. 



Another kind widely different from 

 all the foregoing, is one cultivated in 

 the Edinburgh Botanic Gardens under 

 the name of A. californica; this is a 

 very vigorous, trailing, evergreen shrub, 

 with spathulate, leathery, entire leaves. 

 A. pungens is a much branched, erect- 

 growing shrub, with leathery-pointed 

 leaves, from 1 inch to 1^ inches long, 

 downy when young and smooth, when 

 old, the blossoms white, tinged with 

 rose. 



A. Manzanita. A native of Cali- 

 fornia, where it gets to be a good- 

 sized shrub, and bears abundantly large 



drupe-like fruits of a pleasant taste, 

 which are much used as food by the 

 Indians of that region, but it is not of 

 proved hardiness in our islands. 



ARENARIA (Sandworfy Moun- 

 tain and heath plants of great variety, 

 of dwarf and sometimes mossy habit, 

 and some bearing pretty flowers. They 

 are easy to cultivate, quite hardy, 

 and though not alpine plants of the 

 highest importance, they are, never- 

 theless, of value in the rock-garden, 

 grow freely in almost any garden 

 soil, and are of facile increase by 

 division or seed. 



Arenaria balearica (Stone Sandwort). 

 A tiny self -nourishing plant, coating the 

 face of stones with a close, Thyme-like ver- 

 dure as with Moss and then scattering 

 over the green mantle countless little 

 starry flowers. I write this sitting on 

 a rock, to which it clings closer than 

 Moss. It has crept over the edge of 

 some rocks which slope to water, and 

 dropped its little mantle of green down 

 to within 18 inches of the water, but 

 all the flowers look up from the shade 

 to the light. Right and left there are 

 boulders in various positions, on every 

 face of which it may be seen, as every 

 tiny joint roots against the earthless face 

 of the stones. To establish it on stones, 

 plant in any soil near on the cool side, 

 and it will soon begin to clothe them. 

 It flowers in spring, is readily increased 

 by division, and quite easy to grow on 

 most soils, and even on the face of walls 

 (north side), and on stones and rocks in 

 the sunnier districts on the cool sides. 

 Easily naturalised in rocky places. 



A. Huteri (Huter's Sandivort), is a 

 charming alpine form, growing freely 

 in sandy loam in the level parts of the 

 rock-garden. A top-dressing of sand and 

 leaf -mould is very beneficial, enabling the 

 young shoots to root freely. 



A. laricifolia (Larch-leaved Sandwort). 

 The leaves of this are narrow, and 

 arranged in clusters, bearing some slight 

 resemblance to those of the Larch, the 

 flowers white, in clusters of three to six 

 on each stem, This is a native of Svvit- 



