4 Commercial Gardening 



Alchemilla alpina (LADY'S MANTLE).-A native plant, 6-9 in. high, 

 witfpalTate silvery leaves and small greenish-yellow flowers. It grows 

 in ordinary soil and is suitable for rockwork. 



Allium -There are many kinds of ornamental Onion, but they are not 

 largely grown. Amongst the best kinds are: acuminatum, rose; albo- 

 ptioJn violet; cabulicun, whitish; SUM, rose; ErdeU, white .with a 

 crimson centre; karataviense, white or lilac; Holy, yellow; neapohtanum, 

 white; narcissiflorum (pedemontanum), rose purple, drooping; cceru m, 

 sky blue; Schuberti, lilac or rose, &c. 



AlstrOBmeria.-Although these fleshy-rooted plants from Chili and 



Brazil are becoming 

 more widely recog- 

 nized for their value as 

 border plants and for 

 cut flowers, they are 

 scarcely yet known to 

 the market grower. A 

 good trade in them, 

 however, is done by the 

 nurserymen. Owing to 

 their long, wiry stems, 

 and beautiful orange- 

 yellow or golden blos- 

 soms streaked and 

 spotted with red or car- 

 mine, the Alstroemerias 

 are worthy of more ex- 

 tensive culture. They 

 should be grown in 

 good well-drained soil 

 on south borders, the 

 rootstocks being buried 

 from 6-9 in. deep as 

 a protection against 

 frost. The best kinds 

 are: A. aurantiaca (or 



A. aurea, fig. 181), deep orange; A. brasiliensis; A. chilensis', A. hcemantha', 

 A. Ligtu (a very variable plant); A. Pelegrina and its variety alba', A. 

 pulchella (or psittacina) ', and A. versicolor (or A. peruviana) all of 

 which grow from 2-4 ft. high, and flower during the summer months. 



Alyssum. Of the eighty or ninety species in this genus the best 

 known is A. maritimum or Kceniga maritima, the Sweet Alyssum of 

 Britain. It forms dense masses of narrow leaves and small white sweet- 

 scented blossoms during the summer months, and is extensively used as 

 a carpeting plant beneath taller subjects. It is largely grown for market, 

 and is sold in pots or shallow boxes, the greatest trade being done during 



Fig. 181. Alstraemeria aurantiaca 



