646 



LAVANDULA. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



LEONTOPODIUM. 



from seed annually. L. cashmeriana, un- 

 guiculata, thuringiaca, sylvestris, and 

 others of a similar character are not 

 worth growing except in the wild garden, 

 or naturalised. 



LAVANDULA (Lavender). Grey, 

 half-shrubby plants, mostly dwarf with 

 greyish leaves and warm and grateful 

 odour ; mostly coming from warmer coun- 

 tries than ours, but, happily, one of the 

 most beautiful survives on all our light and 

 warm soils', and may be cultivated almost 

 everywhere, as even if in winter killed in 

 valleys and on cool soils it is easily raised 

 by division or by seeds, and will escape 

 all save the most severe winters. It 

 succeeds best in an open sunny position, 

 in light soil. The white-flowered variety 

 is as sweet as the blue, and flowers 

 at the same time. Though a bush, the 

 Lavender has been for centuries associ- 

 ated with our old garden-flowers. For 

 low hedges, as dividing lines in or around 

 ground devoted to nursery beds of hardy 

 flowers, and many other purposes, it is 

 admirable, and for dry banks and warm 

 slopes. There appear to be two species 

 and a variety in cultivation L. spica and 

 L. vera ; and there is a dwarf variety also, 

 probably of garden origin, which is very 

 pretty where taller forms might be out of 

 place. The known species are : 



L. abrotanoides (Canaries) ; atriplicifolia (Egypt) ; 

 burmanni (E. Indies); cariensis (Asia Minor); coro- 

 nipifolia (Egypt) ; dentata (Orient regions) ; Gibsoni 

 (E. Indies) ; lanata (Spain) ; minutolii (Canaries) ; 

 multifida (S. Europe); nitnmoi (Socotra) ; peduncu- 

 lata (Spain) ; pinnata (Canaries) ; pubescens (Arabia) ; 

 rotundifolia (Cape Verde) ; setifera (Arabia) ; spica 

 (Mediterranean regions) ; stceclias (ditto) ; subnuda 

 (Arabia) ; tenuisecta (Morocco) ; vera (S. Europe) ; 

 viridis (Portugal). 



LEDUM (Labrador Tea}. Dwarf hardy 

 shrubs, of which the best of the few species 



Ledum. 



grown in gardens is L. latifolium, which 

 represents the genus well. Its usual height 

 is under 2 ft., but sometimes it reaches 3 ft. ; 

 it is dense and compact, and has small 

 leaves, of a rusty brown beneath. During 

 the latter part of May it bears clusters of 

 white flowers. It is a very old garden 

 plant, and was brought from North 

 America more than a century ago. The 



Canadian form of it (canadense) is found 

 in some gardens, but does not differ 

 materially from the type. A form called 

 globosum is finer, as the flower-clusters 

 are larger and more globular. L. palustre 

 is commoner than L. latifolium, but being 

 smaller in every part is not so good ; it is 

 dwarf and spreading, and its flowers are 

 white. The Ledums thrive best in a 

 peaty soil or sandy loam, and are usually 

 included in a collection of so-called 

 American plants. They are charming 

 grouped in the bog-garden, fully ex- 

 posed if possible. North Europe and 

 America. 



LEIOPHYLLUM (Sand Myrtle}. L. 

 buxifoliitm is a neat, pretty, and tiny shrub, 

 forming compact bushes 4 to 6 in. high, 

 with evergreen leaves resembling those of 

 the Box. The small white flowers are 

 borne in dense clusters in early summer, 

 the unopened buds being of a delicate 

 pink hue, and it is suited for grouping 

 with diminutive shrubs, such as the 

 Partridge Berry, Daphne Cneorum, the 

 small Andromedas, and with Willows like 

 S. reticulata and serpyllifolia, that rise 

 little above the ground. It is generally 

 planted on the margins of peat beds with 

 other American peat-loving shrubs, and it 

 is also a good plant for the rock-garden. 

 A native of sandy " pine barrens " in New 

 Jersey. There is more than one variety 

 in cultivation. 



Leontopodium alpinum (Edelweiss). 



LEONTOPODIUM (Edelweiss). A 

 pretty and hoary-leaved alpine plant, L. 

 alpinum, having small yellow flowers sur- 



