PART II.] 



ALPINE FLOWERS FOR GARDENS 



253 



of the rocks, or in mossy rocky ground 

 among bushes, on the fringes of the 

 bog garden, or in some half-shady 

 position, in the hardy fernery. It 

 usually enjoys a somewhat shady 

 position, but, if in proper soil, will 

 bear the sun. Readily increased by 

 division. 



LINUM (Flax). Annual and bien- 

 nial plants of much delicate beauty 

 of colour. Some of the dwarfer 

 perennial kinds are most charming 

 flowers in their various shades of blue, 

 and well deserve to be grown in groups. 

 The habit of "dot" planting is 

 against our seeing the best effect of 

 the mountain flaxes. 



Linum alpinum (Alpine Flax). A 

 dwarf and quite smooth Flax, growing only 

 from 3 to 8 inches high, and bearing large 

 dark-blue flowers in summer. A charming 

 rock plant, native of the Alps, Pyrenees, 

 and many hilly parts of Europe, thriving 

 well in warm well-drained spots on rock- 

 work, in a mixture of sandy loam and 

 peat. There are several varieties alpicola, 

 collinum, and crystallinum ; L. austriacum 

 is intimately related to it. 



L. arboreum (Evergreen Flax). This is 

 the neat, glaucous, dwarf, spreading shrub, 

 with many clear large yellow flowers, an 

 inch and a half across, sometimes seen in 

 our gardens under the name of L. flavum. 

 Although said to be tender in the colder 

 and drier parts of the country, it thrives 

 well in others in the open air, and in all 

 is well worthy of a place. A native of 

 hilly parts of South-Eastern Europe, Asia 

 Minor, and North Africa ; usually propa- 

 gated by cuttings. It is sometimes grown 

 as a frame and greenhouse plant, but 

 should be tried everywhere in warm 

 spots on dry borders, banks, or rockworks. 

 It begins to bloom in early summer, often 

 flowering for months at a time. 



L. campanulatum (Yellow Herbaceous 

 Flax). A herbaceous plant, with yellow 

 flowers in corymbs on stems from 12 to 

 18 inches high, distinct from anything 

 else in cultivation, and well worthy of 

 a place in a collection of alpine plants. A 



native of the South of Europe, flowering 

 in summer and flourishing freely in dry 

 soil on the warm sides of banks, and 

 propagated by seeds. Linum flavum is 

 said to be different from this by its 

 shorter sepals, and several minor 

 characteristics ; but Messrs Grenier and 

 Godron found these very inconstant and 

 differing very much in the French plant. 

 Syn., L. flavum. 



Linum narbonnense. A beautiful and 

 distinct sort, bearing during the summer 

 months large, light sky-blue flowers, 

 with violet-blue veins. A fine plant for 

 the lower flanks of the rock-garden, 011 

 rich light soils, forming lovely masses of 

 blue, from 15 to 20 inches high. A native 

 of Southern Europe, thriving in any good 

 soil. 



L. perenne (Perennial Flax). A plant 

 found in some parts of Britain, particu- 

 larly in the Eastern countries, but rare, 

 usually growing in dense tufts from 12 to 

 18 inches high, with bright cobalt-blue 

 flowers more than an inch in diameter, 

 the stamens in some being longer than 

 the styles, in others shorter, the petals 

 overlapping each other at the edges. 

 Mr Syme considered it probable that 

 L. alpinum and L. Leonii are forms that 

 may be included under L. perenne. L. 

 perenne album is also an ornamental plant, 

 and there is also a variety with blue 

 flowers variegated with white, known in 

 gardens as L. Lewisii variegatum, but this 

 marking is not very conspicuous or con- 

 stant. L. sibiricum and L. provinciale are 

 also included under perenne. They are 

 all of very easy culture in common garden 

 soil. 



L. monogynum (New Zealand Flax). 

 A beautiful kind, with large pure white 

 blossoms, blooming in summer. It grows 

 about 1^ feet high in good light soil, and 

 its neat and slender habit renders it 

 particularly pleasing for the borders of 

 the rock-garden or for pot-culture. It 

 may readily be increased by seed or divi- 

 sion ; it is hardy in the more temperate 

 parts of England, but in the colder dis- 

 tricts is said to require some protection. 

 L. candidissimum is a finer and hardier 

 variety. Both are natives of New 

 Zealand, 



