PART II.] 



ALPINE FLOWERS FOR GARDENS 



207 



Flower}. A dwarf alpine shrub, 3 inches 

 to 8 inches high, of straggling growth, the 

 leaves forming rosette-like tufts at the 

 tips of the branches, encircling dense 

 clusters of fragrant, creamy-white flowers. 

 It blooms in spring for several w r eeks, 

 and thrives in the rock-garden in well- 

 drained spots surrounded by stones for its 

 wiry roots to ramble among. It is hardy, 

 and in open spots thrives in any good 

 soil ; increased by layers pegged down in 

 spring and separated from the plants as 

 soon as roots are emitted. 



Daphne Cneorum (Garland Flower}. A 

 little spreading shrub, growing from 6 

 inches to 10 inches high, and bearing rosy- 

 lilac flowers, the unopened buds crimson, 

 and so sweet that, where much grown, the 

 air often seems charged with their fra- 

 grance. It is a native of most of the great 

 mountain chains of Europe, and is one of 

 the best of all plants for the rock-garden, 

 thriving in peaty and very sandy soils, 

 but in stiff soils often fails. Wherever 

 the soil is favourable, it should be much 

 used, and is usually increased \>\ layers. 



D. Collina (]>ox-leaved Garland Flower). 

 The leaves of this much resemble in shape 

 and size those of the Balearic Box, the 

 upper surface of a dark glossy green. 

 The flowers are in close groups, and of a 

 light lilac or pinkish colour, the tubes 

 rather broad and densely coated externally 

 with silky white hairs. It forms a low, 

 dense, evergreen shrub, the branches of 

 which always take an upright direction, 

 and form a level head, covered with 

 flowers from February to May. S. Europe. 

 D. Neapolitana is a variety of it. 



D. Fioniana (Fioris Garland Flower}. 

 A compact shrub, not uncommon in 

 gardens, the heads of bloom are in clusters, 

 five fragrant flowers in each, of a pale 

 lilac colour, the tubes densely covered 

 externally with short silvery hairs. This 

 shrub flowers from March to May, and is 

 hardy about London. 



D.' Genkwa (Lilac Garland Flower), is 

 a summer-leafing shrub of from 2 feet to 

 3 feet in height, with downy branches 

 and fragrant violet-coloured flowers thickly 

 set on the leafless branches in early spring, 

 giving the plant the appearance of a small 

 Persian Lilac. There appear to be several 



varieties of D. Genkwa, some with much 

 larger flowers than others, and some of a 

 darker shade of purple. It is not quite 

 hardy in cold districts. Syn., D. Fortunei. 



Daphne Houtteiana (Van Houttes 

 Mezereon). This singular kind forms a 

 robust spreading bush, 3 feet or 4 feet high, 

 with all the leaves collected on the young 

 branches, while the old ones are naked. 

 It is a distinct bush, hardy, flowering in 

 the spring before the leaves appear, and 

 is said to be a hybrid, which originated 

 in one of the Belgian Nurseries, between 

 the common D. Mezereum and Spurge Laurel. 

 Its leaves are from 3 inches to 3^ inches 

 long, and 1 inch broad, stained with 

 purple on the upper side when fully 

 developed, and when quite young and in 

 the bud state, of a dark purple colour. 

 The flowers are small, dark purple, quite 

 smooth, and are borne along the shoots of 

 the previous year, before the young leaves 

 appear. 



D. Mezereum (Mezereon}. A wild 

 plant in English woods, is a charming 

 and fragrant bush, and the earliest to 

 flower, often in February. Where the 

 shrubby rock-garden is carried out, no- 

 thing is more lovely for its adorning than 

 a group of this. Though quite hardy, it 

 is slow, and not so pretty on some cold 

 soils ; but on such soils as we use on the 

 rock-garden it will thrive. It is best to 

 begin with little plants ; and it is easily 

 raised from seed. 



D. odora (Sweet Daphne}. A fragrant 

 and beautiful kind, in mild and southern 

 districts hardy on the rock-garden, usually 

 best on western aspects. It is a green- 

 house plant of exceptional merit when 

 well grown. We know no fragrance more 

 pleasant than that emitted by the pinkish 

 flowers of this Daphne. There are 

 varieties called alba, rubra, Mazcli, punc- 

 tata. Mazeli is, according to Max Leicht- 

 lin, hardier than the older kind. Syn., D. 

 indica. China. 



D. rupestris (Rock Garland Flower) is a 

 neat little shrub, with erect shoots form- 

 ing dense, compact tufts, 2 inches high 

 and 1 foot or more across, often covered 

 with flowers of a soft-shaded pink, in 

 clustered heads. It is essentially a rock 

 plant, growing wild in fissures of lime- 



