ROGK GARDENING FOR AMATEURS 



Orchis. The easiest of all are some of the Orchis. 

 The Madeira Orchis (O. foliosa) is exceptionally hand- 

 some, having large attractive leaves, and spikes of rosy 

 purple flowers, some eighteen inches or more high, in 

 May. The Marsh Orchis (O. latifolia) is a showy purple 

 sort, some twelve inches high, while O. maculata, of 

 similar height, has prettily spotted leaves, and pale rose- 

 purple blooms. Both these grow wild in Britain, and 

 bloom in June. A variety of O. ! maculata called 

 superba is especially fine ; the flower stem reaches a 

 height of eighteen inches or two feet, and the blooms 

 are lilac spotted with purple. Other pretty native 

 kinds are O. mascula, only four or five inches high, bear- 

 ing spikes of purple blossom in April ; O. pyramidalis, 

 twelve to fifteen inches high, with rose-red flowers in 

 June ; and O. militaris (the Soldier Orchis), about eighteen 

 inches high, bearing a spike of purple blossom in April. 

 O. spectabilis, native of North America, is a pretty 

 pinkish kind, only some six inches tall, and blooming 

 in May. 



All these may be grown in deep, moist soil, consisting 

 of turfy loam with which some peat and sand are inter- 

 mixed. They should be given a sheltered but not a 

 shady spot, though they are better when not exposed to 

 the midday sun. 



Cypripedium. The Cypripediums, or Lady's Slipper 

 Orchids, are perhaps the most fascinating of all. Some 

 are easy, while others are just the reverse. The Moccasin 

 Flower of North America (C. spectabile), with white sepals 



