204 



ALPINE FLOWERS FOR GARDENS 



[PART II. 



hairy stems, which are as thick as one's 

 little finger, bearing two plicate fan- 

 shaped leaves of bright green, rather 

 jagged round the margins. The flowers 

 are solitary, the sepals being of an apple- 

 green tint ; the petals, too, are of the same 

 colour, but are dotted with purplish - 

 crimson at the base ; the lip large, and 

 folded in front ; the colour of the lip is 

 a soft creamy yellow, with bold purple 

 dots and lines. Thrives in half-shady 

 spots, with plenty of leaf-soil. 



Cypripedium spectabile (Nolle Lady's 

 Slipper). A noble hardy Orchid ; a native 

 of meadows, peat bogs, and woods, in the 

 Northern,ana on mountains in the Southern, 

 United States. When grown in the open 

 air, I know of no hardy plant to surpass 

 this in delicate purity of colour. The best 

 plants I have ever seen were at Glasnevin, 

 on the cool side of one of the ranges of 

 plant-houses there, planted close against 

 the wall in deep rich soil a mixture of 

 free moist loam and peat. Wherever 

 there is any kind of a rock- or marsh- 

 garden, there should be no difficulty in 

 succeeding with this fine plant. It should 

 be placed on the lower flanks, and in 

 different positions and aspects, mostly 

 sheltered ones ; and if it does not in all 

 cases attain the stature of the Glasnevin 

 plants, it will command admiration as 

 the finest of hardy Orchids. 



C. calceolus (English Lady's Slipper). 

 The handsomest of our native Orchids, 

 and therefore an object of much interest. 

 When grown under tolerably favourable 

 conditions, the stem rises to a height of 

 from 16 to 20 inches, with large pointed 

 leaves, and bearing large flowers ; the lip 

 yellow, variegated with purple ; the long 

 sepals and petals of a brownish-purple. 

 Although reputed to be extinct in Britain, 

 it is known to exist yet in a wild state 

 with us, but in very few places, and let 

 us hope the last remaining plants may 

 long remain undisturbed ; it is abund- 

 antly distributed over Continental Europe, 

 and should not be difficult to obtain. I 

 have never seen this fine plant nearly so 

 well grown as by the late Mr James 

 Backhouse, of York. He planted it on 

 an eastern shaded aspect of his rock- 

 garden, in deep, fibrous loam, in narrow, 



well-drained fissures, between limestone 

 rocks. The condition in which this and 

 other Orchises are obtained, has a great 

 influence on their well-being. The roots 

 are often dried up, and nearly or quite 

 dead when obtained ; and in this- con- 

 dition they would have but a poor chance 

 of surviving, even if planted in the wilds 

 most favourable to their natural develop- 

 ment. Given good sound roots, there will 

 not be the least difficulty in establishing 

 plants in deep loam, in any well-drained, 

 half shady spot, with some shelter afforded 

 by low bushes and plants to prevent the 

 leafy growth of the plant from being de- 

 stroyed or injured by wind. It is propa- 

 gated by division of the root, but should 

 not be disturbed for that purpose till the 

 plants are well established, and have 

 begun to spread about. 



Cypripedium acaule (Moccasin Flower}. 

 A handsome, fragrant, hardy dwarf 

 Orchid, with a large purplish-rose flower, 

 blooming in summer nearly 2 inches long, 

 with a deep fissure in front. It is common 

 in North America, usually growing in sandy 

 or rocky woods under evergreens, and the 

 best position for it in cultivation is in 

 some sheltered and half shaded spots on 

 the lower flanks of the rock-garden, or 

 among shrubs planted near it in sandy 

 loam, with plenty of leaf -mould. It also 

 .succeeds in sheltered and shaded spots. 

 It is found with pale, and, more rarely, 

 with white flowers. 



C. guttatum (Spotted Ladijs Slipper). 

 A beautiful Siberian plant, growing from 

 6 to 9 inches high, flowering in June ; 

 solitary, rather small snow-white flowers, 

 blotched with deep rosy-purple. The 

 flower-stem rises from a single pair of 

 broadly-ovate downy leaves. It requires 

 a shady position in leaf -mould, moss, and 

 sand, and should be kept rather dry in 

 winter. In heavy soil the roots soon 

 perish, and it does not care for lime, but 

 if planted shallow and kept moist, it will 

 usually thrive in the leafy soil. 



C. hirsutum (Yellow Lady's Slipper} is 

 a tall-growing, handsome Orchid. The 

 flowers are large and handsome, the sepals 

 and narrower petals pale yellow, streaked 

 and spotted with brown ; the lip pare 

 yellow. A far northern kind, Nova Scotia 



