234 A BOOK ABOUT THE GARDE ti. 



bearing its beautiful head, like its namesake, when he 

 admired himself reflected in the fountain, but without 

 his fatal conceit ; sheets of myosotis, arabis, and 

 aubrietia, the latter from selected seed, and notably 

 large and good ; the tulip, holding up its golden 

 chalice for a shower. 



Charming contrasts ! Deep blue scillas glowing 

 here and there amid the white arabis ; the silver leaf 

 of the euonymus, intermixed with the roseate flowers 

 of erica carnea ; the scarlet anemones, rising out 

 from a patch of forget-me-nots. Novelties ! That is, 

 to me. A pale pink aubrietia from Mount Athos ; 

 Chionodoxa Lucilise, an exquisite little starry flower, 

 blue, with white centre ; a deep rose double primula, 

 of which I forget the name ; Azara microphylla, a 

 shrub with yellow flowers, giving forth a strong 

 perfume, exactly like vanilla, and, as these flowers 

 are much visited by bees, Mr. Ingram anticipated a 

 new delight for epicures in his " Vanilla Honey." 

 Olearia Hosti, a white flowering shrub ; cum multis 

 aliis, of which I have no record. 



Which was the most beautiful flower of all ? 

 Saxifraga ligulata, first introduced into this country 

 (so Paxton tells us) from Nepaul in 1821, with its 

 great, round, glossy leaves, and its. beautiful bunches of 

 rosy blooms, it was certainly the belle of the season at 

 Belvoir. I shall never forget my first sight of it, forming 

 the central line of a large bed, surrounded by dark 

 purple hyacinths and other lovely handmaids, but far 

 eclipsing them all. Mr. Ingram thought that he had 

 in Saxifraga Schraderi a debutante for next spring, who 

 would be even more admired than her sister. 



