THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



533 



the tips of the branches, encircling dense 

 clusters of fragrant, creamy-white flowers, 

 blooming in spring and thriving in the 

 rock-garden in well-drained spots sur- 

 rounded by stones ; increased by layers 

 pegged down in spring. 



I). Cneorum (Garland Flower). A 

 dwarf spreading shrub, from 6 inches to 

 10 inches high, and bearing rosy-lilac 

 flowers, and so sweet that, where much 

 grown, the air often seems charged with 



Garland-flower (Daphne Cneorum). 



their fragrance. It is a native of most of 

 the great mountain chains of Europe, and 

 is one of the best plants for the rock- 

 garden, thriving in peaty and very sandy 

 soils ; in stiff soils often fails ; is usually 

 increased by layers. 



D. Collina (Box-leaved Garland 

 Flower}. The leaves of this much re- 

 semble in shape and size those of the 

 Balearic Box, the upper surface of a dark 

 glossy green. The flowers are in close 

 groups, and of a light lilac or pinkish 

 colour, the tubes rather broad and densely 

 coated with silky white hairs. It forms a 

 low, dense, evergreen shrub, the branches 

 of which always take an upright direction 

 and form a level head, covered with 

 flowers from February to May. S. Europe. 

 D. NeapolUana is a variety of it. 



D. Fioniana (Fiorts Garland Flower). 

 A compact shrub, the heads of bloom are 

 in clusters, five fragrant flowers in each, 

 of a pale lilac colour, the tubes densely 

 covered externally with short silvery 

 hairs. This shrub flowers from March to 

 May, and is hardy about London. 



D. G-enkwa (Lilac Garland Flower) is 

 a summer-leafing shrub of from 2 feet to 

 3 feet in height, with downy branches 

 and fragrant violet-coloured flowers 

 thickly set on the leafless branches in 

 early spring. There appear to be several 



varieties of D. Gcnkwa, some with much 

 larger flowers than others, and some of a 

 darker shade of purple. It is not quite 

 hardy in cold districts. Syn., D. Fortunei. 



D. Houtteiana (Van Houttes Meze- 

 reon). This forms a robust spreading 

 bush, 3 feet or 4 feet high, with all the 

 leaves collected on the young branches, 

 while the old ones are naked. It is dis- 

 tinct, hardy, flowering in the spring 

 before the leaves appear, and is said to 

 be a hybrid between Mezereon and the 

 Spurge Laurel. Its leaves are from 3 

 inches to 3^ inches long, purple on the 

 upper side when fully developed, and, 

 when quite young and in the bud state, 

 of a dark purple colour. The flowers are 

 small, dark purple, quite smooth, and are 

 borne along the shoots of the previous 

 year before the young leaves appear. 



D. Mezereum (Mezereon). A wild 

 plant in English woods, is a charming 

 and fragrant bush, and the earliest to 

 flower, often in February. Where the 

 shrubby rock-garden is carried out, no- 

 thing is more lovely for its adorning than 

 a group of this. Though quite hardy, it 

 is slow, and not so pretty on some cold 

 soils. It is best to begin with little 

 plants ; and it is easily raised from seed. 



D. odora (Sweet Daphne). A fragrant 

 and beautiful kind, in mild and southern 

 districts hardy on the rock-garden, 

 usually best on western aspects ; but in 

 the north a greenhouse plant. There 

 are varieties called alba, rubra, Mazeli, 

 punctata. Mazeli is, according to Max 

 Leichtlin, hardier than the older kind. 

 Syn., D. indica. China. 



D. rupestris (Rock Garland Flower). 

 A neat little shrub, with erect shoots 

 forming dense, compact tufts, 2 inches 

 high, often covered with flowers of a soft- 

 shaded pink, in clustered heads. It is a 

 mountain plant, growing wild in fissures 

 of limestone in peaty loam, of slow 

 growth, and it takes some years to form 

 a good tuft. It seems to thrive in very 

 stony and peaty earth, with abundance of 

 white sand, and should be planted in a 

 well-drained but not a dry spot. 



D. striata (Alps Fairy Garland 

 Flower). A hardy trailing kind, forming 

 dense, spreading masses, I foot to 3 feet 

 across, in June and July are covered with 

 rosy-purpled, scented flowers in clusters. 

 The spreading habit of this plant recom- 

 mends it for covering bare spots in the 

 rock-garden. Alps. 



Species. D. alpina (S. Europe and Himalayas), 

 altaica, Siberia, aurea, Orient. Blagayana, CAT- 

 niolia. cannabina, Himal. caucasica, Caucas. Cham- 

 pioni, China. Cneorum, S. Europe, decandra (Java). 

 Genkwa, China, glomerata, Caucasus, gnidioides, 



