HARDY PERENNIALS AND 



few stones all the better this will be found ample food for it ; 

 poor soil and a dry situation grow this subject in its finest 

 form. I may perhaps usefully give the method by which my 

 specimen is grown, after experimenting with it in various parts 

 of the garden, and also the substance of a few notes I made of 

 it. In pots the fine roots soon formed a matted coat next the 

 sides, when the foliage would turn sickly and yellow, so that, 

 useful as the practice is of growing alpines in pots, it does 

 not answer in this case. On rockwork, in vegetable soil, this low 

 shrub grew taller, being less woody, and was killed by severe 

 weather. On the flat, in borders, in rich soil, it did well for a 

 season, then damped off, a branch or two together. On the flat, 

 in sand alone, it does well, also on the top of a wall, such being a 

 position especially provided for hardy sempervivums and a few 

 cacti. A bit of the Fairy Wallflower was tried there in a thin 

 layer of sandy loam, and for two years my finest specimen has 

 occupied that position, flowering more or less throughout the 

 winter. Where there are old walls or rockwork it should be 

 introduced. A ready and effective way of planting it is to get a 

 sod of grass 3in. thick ; measure with the eye the size of the 

 interstice in the side of a wall, partly cut through the sod on the 

 earthy side, open it by bending, and insert the roots of a small 

 specimen ; close up, and cram the planted sod tightly into the 

 selected opening. In one season the shrub so planted will have 

 a snug and pretty appearance. It is self -propagating, from the 

 fact of its lower branches rooting where they touch the soil. 

 These may be taken any time and planted separately. 

 Flowering period, April to winter. 



Erythronium Dens-canis. 



DOG'S-TOOTH VIOLET; Nat. Ord. 

 A HARDY bulbous perennial. There are several varieties of this 

 species, and all are very handsome. 



The variety shown at Fig. 38 is the large white-flowering kind ; 

 others have yellow, pale purple, and lilac-coloured blooms. All 

 are produced singly on stems 4in. or Sin. long, and gracefully 

 bending. During bright weather the divisions of the lily-like 

 flowers become reflexed and otherwise show themselves to advan- 

 tage. Their foliage forms a rich setting for the flowers, being 

 variously coloured with red, brown, and different shades of 

 green, all charmingly blended or marbled. The leaves are broad 

 and oval, and open out flatly, so that their beauties can be well 

 seen ; if they are grown amongst the very dwarf sedums or 

 mosses, they look all the better and are preserved from splashes. 

 Two leaves, one stem, one flower, and one bulb constitute a whole 

 plant; both flowers and foliage remain in beauty for a long 

 time. 



