HARDY PERENNIALS FOR SPRING 99 



otherwise the variety is so great that they are apt to lose their 

 refinement of character, which is never the case when care is 

 taken in the juxtaposition of tones. The fine race of Poly- 

 anthus Primrose may be used in the same way, and if there 

 be no wild garden or bit of mossy woodland where they can 

 be grown as Nature would have them, it is a moot question 

 whether the next best way of enjoying these beautiful plants 

 is not in the cold greenhouse, coaxed into flower a little in 

 advance of their kith and kin out of doors. 



Primula Sieboldi, of very different character to either of 

 the above, is another elegant species, especially when the best 

 hybrid forms are chosen, as the type unfortunately has flowers 

 of rather an ugly shade of rose-purple, but this has been much 

 improved upon by careful selection and inter-crossing. This 

 Primrose throws up its tall slender stems and clusters of six 

 to ten large flowers well above the pale green leaves, and is 

 very distinct. It is also better suited for pot culture than for 

 the garden on account of the thin fragile nature of both 

 flowers and leaves, which are, moreover, deciduous. The 

 creeping rhizomes, which are slender and not very noticeable, 

 are apt to be dug up and lost in the open border, and 

 therefore it is a good practice to divide and re-pot the plants 

 as soon as the leaves show signs of dying down. The pans 

 for these are best for this Primrose can be plunged in a 

 shady place to take care of themselves until the time arrives 

 in the autumn to remove them to the frame or greenhouse, 

 when they will need nothing more than a little top-dressing. 

 Auriculas, too, of the so-called alpine section, are very good, 

 and it is interesting to raise seedlings both of Primroses and 

 Auriculas, taking care in the first instance to buy seed of a 

 thoroughly reliable strain, and afterwards, by rigorous selection 

 and casting away of all doubtful and mixed colours, to work 

 up a first-rate stock of one's own choosing. All these arc 

 common, everyday plants, yet a most effective greenhouse 



