112 HARDY PERENNIALS AND 



and when there are no flowers upon it it forms a rich covering- 

 for the otherwise bare ground ; its blooms will each keep good a 

 week. They are rarely produced in great numbers at one time, 

 but the plants will continue for a long while to yield them 

 sparingly. 



I find G. acaulis to thrive well at the base of rockwork, as an 

 edging to a flat bed, and in the gutters of the garden walks 

 it likes moisture. To me this is clearly proved by other plants, 

 which, in all respects but one, are treated the same, the excep- 

 tional condition being that they are planted on the sloping face 

 of rockwork, where they scarcely grow and never bloom. With 

 reference to soil, rich or silky loam is best for it, but any kind, if 

 sweet and retentive, will do Its propagation may be effected by 

 division of the rooted creeping stems after they have made four 

 leaves. Yery early in spring is a good time to do this, but 

 neither these nor the old plant, if it has been much disturbed, 

 will flower the same season after being so mutilated. 



Flowering period, May to July. 



Gentiana Asclepiadea. 



SWALLOW-WORT-LEAVED GENTIAN; Nat. Ord. GrENTIANACE^. 



A TALL and beautiful alpine species from Austria, very hardy 

 and herbaceous. It has long had a place in English gardens 

 fully 250 years and is described by Parkinson in his " Paradise 

 of Flowers." The tall stems are very showy, having an abund- 

 ance of shining dark green foliage, amongst which nestle the 

 large and bright purple-blue flowers ; it is a subject that looks 

 well at a distance, and, as a rule, flowers with that quality are of 

 the greatest value for borders and cutting purposes. 



It grows nearly 2f fc. high ; the stems are round, erect, short- 

 jointed, and very leafy ; the flowers are produced on a third of 

 their length, they are stalkless, and spring from the axils of the 

 leaves in pairs ; the calyx is ^in. long, tubular, angled, and having 

 fang-shaped segments ; the corolla is also tubular and angled, 

 somewhat bellied, the divisions being deeply cut and reflexed ; 

 the whole flower will be fully l^in. long. The inside of the 

 corolla is striped with white and various shades of blue and 

 purple. The leaves are 2in. long, oval, lance-shaped, distinctly 

 ribbed, somewhat lobed at the base, and stem-clasping, which 

 gives the pair of leaves a joined or perfoliate appearance ; the 

 nodes are short, or near together, the lower ones being the more 

 distant, where also the leaves are much smaller ; the foliage is 

 a glossy dark green colour, the whole plant having a sombre 

 but rich effect. 



From the fact that the long stems are top-heavy and of a 

 brittle character, a sheltered position should be given to this 

 plant, or the wind will snap them off. It ought not to have 



