566 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



about i ft. high. It bears an abundance 

 of large, purple, yellow-eyed blossoms 

 in summer, and, like E. speciosus, will 

 grow in any soil. E. mucronatus, known 

 also as Vittadenia triloba, is a valuable 

 border flower, neat and compact, and for 

 several weeks in summer is a dense 

 rounded mass of bloom about 9 in. 

 high. The flowers are pink when first 

 expanded, and afterwards change to 

 white, and the plant therefore presents 

 every intermediate shade. Other kinds 

 in gardens are E. multiradiatus, glabellus, 

 glaucus, bellidifolius, strigosus, and^/7<z- 

 delphicus the last two being the prettiest. 

 All are easily increased by division in 

 autumn or spring. The most effective 

 and useful of the genus is E. speciosus, 

 which is excellent for groups or borders. 



ERINUS ( Wall E.).E. alpinus is a 

 pretty alpine plant, with racemes of violet- 

 purple flowers, abundant on dwarf tufts of 

 leaves in early summer. In winter it 

 perishes on the level ground in most gar- 

 dens, but it is permanent when allowed to 

 run wild on old walls or ruins, and it is 

 easily established on old ruins by solving 

 seeds in mossy or earthy chinks. It is 

 well suited for the rock-garden, where it 

 grows in any position, and often flowers 

 bravely on earthless mossy rocks and 

 stones. E. hirsutus is a variety covered 

 with down. There is a white variety. 

 Pyrenees. 



ERIOBOTRYA (E.japonica : Loquaf). 

 A large-leaved shrub from Japan ; in our 

 country tender, and only suitable for walls 

 in warm and sheltered places. Its large 

 evergreen leaves are handsome, and in 

 warm districts it flowers, the blossoms 

 white, but it does not fruit in the open air 

 in England. 



ERIOGONUM. North American 

 alpine plants which, on the mountains 

 of California, are of much beauty, but 

 are rarely good in cultivation, with 

 few exceptions. From a dense tuft of 

 leaves E. umbellatwn throws up numer- 

 ous stems, 6 to 8 in. high, on which golden- 

 yellow blooms, in umbels 4 in. or more 

 across, form a neat and conspicuous 

 tuft. In light sandy soil of the rock- 

 garden it has never failed to bloom 

 profusely. Other kinds are E. composition, 

 ftavum, Jamesi, racemosum, urstmim. 



ERIOPHORUM (Cotton Grass}. 

 Sedge-like plants, whose heads of white 

 cottony seeds make them interesting in 

 the bog-garden or in wet places in grass. 

 E. polystachyon is the best for a garden ; 

 it is plentiful in some marshy districts. 



ERITRICHIUM (Fairy Forget-me- 

 not). E. nanum is an alpine gem, closely 



allied to the Forget-me-nots, which, how- 

 ever, it excels in intensity of azure-blue. 

 Though reputed to be difficult to cultivate, 

 a fair amount of success may be ensured 

 by planting it in broken limestone or sand- 

 stone, mixed with a small quantity of rich 

 fibry loam and peat, in a spot in the 

 rock-garden where it will be fully exposed 

 and where the roots will be near half- 

 buried rock. The chief enemy of this 

 little plant, and indeed of all alpine 

 plants with silky or cottony foliage, is 

 moisture in winter, which soon causes it 

 to damp off. In its native habitat it is 

 covered with dry snow during that period. 

 Some, therefore recommend an over- 

 hanging ledge, but if such protection be 

 not removed during summer, it causes 

 too much shade and dryness. A better 

 plan is to place two pieces of glass in a 

 ridge over the plant, thus keeping it dry 

 and allowing a free access of air, but 

 these should be removed early in spring. 

 Alps, at high elevations. A stone or slate 

 over the plant for the worst months (Nov. 

 to end February) is a good way. G. 



ERODIUM (StorKs-bilt). Like hardy 

 Geraniums, but usually smaller and more 

 southern in origin. Suited for chalky 

 banks or the rock-garden, and some are 

 suited for borders, while others may be 

 naturalised in the Grass in warm soil. 

 Among the best species are 



E. macradenium. A dwarf Pyrenean 

 plant, 6 to 10 in. high, with the blooms 

 of French white delicately tinged with 

 purple, and veined with purplish-rose ; 

 the lower petals are larger than the 

 ' others ; the two upper ones have each 

 a dark spot. This plant should be 

 exposed to the full sun, in crevices 

 situated between two rocks, and where 

 the roots can penetrate gritty or stony 

 soil to the depth of 3 ft. The flowers 

 come in abundance during the summer 

 months, and the plant has an aromatic 

 fragrance. 



E. Manescavi is a vigorous herba- 

 ceous plant, and the most showy kind. 

 It grows I to i^ ft. high, and throws up 

 strong flower-stalks above the foliage, 

 each with seven to fifteen purplish flowers, 

 i to i^ in. across. It is not fastidious 

 as to soil or situation, but its best place 

 is in dry soil, fully exposed. If the soil 

 be too rich, the plant bears so many leaves 

 that the flowers are hidden. Seed, or 

 careful division. 



E. petraeum (now Moltkia petraea). 

 This has three to five purplish-rose 

 flowers on each stalk, which are 4 to 6 

 in. high. The leaves and flower-stalks 

 are densely clothed with minute hairs. 



