THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



771 



thriving almost anywhere and sowing 

 itself freely. There are several forms 

 differing in colour : there is a white form, 

 a pale pink, and a rose form, but the best 

 is the original rich crimson form. In 

 raising P. japonica from seed it should 

 be borne in mind that the seed remains 

 some time dormant, unless it is sown as 

 soon as ripe, and that it must oh no 

 account be sown in heat. A cool frame 

 is the place for the seed-pan, and till the 

 seed has germinated care must be taken 

 to prevent or keep down the growth of 

 Moss and Liverwort on the soil. A 

 new plant, P. pulvernlenta, which comes 

 very near P. japonica, has recently come 

 from Western China ; it differs in its 

 larger and more deeply coloured flowers 

 and in the thick white powder which 

 covers the scape and calyces. 



P. latifolia. A handsome Primrose, 

 with from two to twenty violet flowers in 

 a head. It is less viscid, but larger and 

 more robust than its alpine congener, 

 the better-known P. -viscosa. Its leaves 

 sometimes attain a height of 4 in. and a 

 breadth of nearly 2 in., and it grows to a 

 height of 4 to 8 in. Its fragrant flowers 

 appear in early summer, and in pure air 

 it thrives on sunny slopes of the rock- 

 garden, if it has sandy peat, plenty of 

 moisture during the dry season, and per- 

 fect drainage in the winter months. Like 

 P. viscosa, it will bear frequent division, 

 and may be easily grown in cold frames 

 or pits. Alps. 



P. luteola. One of the handsomest of 

 the yellow Primroses, and a noble plant 

 when well grown. The flower-stems are 

 often \\ to 2 ft. high, though they 

 are usually under I ft. in height. They 

 sometimes become fasciated, and thus 

 carry a huge cluster of flowers 4 to 6 in. 

 across. These flowers are like those of 

 a Polyanthus or an Auricula, but they 

 are borne in more compact heads. It 

 likes a moist situation in full exposure, 

 and if put out in rich borders of rather 

 moist soil, or on the lower banks of the 

 rock-garden, or in a copse with a good 

 bed of leaf-soil, it will soon repay the 

 planter. Caucasus. It has been well 

 figured in The Garden, from plants that 

 flowered at Chipping Norton, in Oxford- 

 shire. 



P. marginata. One of the most attrac- 

 tive of the alpine Primroses, and distin- 

 guished by the silvery margin of its grey- 

 ish leaves and by its soft violet-rose 

 flowers in April or May. Our mild 

 winters are the cause of its becoming 

 rather lanky in the stems after being more 

 than a year or so in one spot. When 



the stems become long, and emit roots 

 above the ground, it is a good plan to 

 divide the plants, and to insert each 

 portion firmly down to the leaves. In 

 the open ground a few bits of broken 

 rock placed round the plants, or among 



Primula nivalis. 



them if they are grown in groups or tufts, 

 will prevent evaporation and protect them, 

 as they rarely exceed 3 to 5 in. in 

 height. There is a wild form of this kind 

 named ccentlea, in which the flowers are 

 nearly blue, and some garden varieties 

 with several shades of colour and varia- 

 tion in the leaf margins from silvery white 

 to gold. Alps. 



P. minima (Fairy Primrose). One ot 

 the smallest of European Primroses. 

 Usually there is only one flower, which 

 is generally rose-coloured, and sometimes 

 white, and appears in summer. The 

 plant is only an inch or so high, but its 

 single flower is nearly i in. across, and 

 almost covers the tiny rosettes of foliage. 

 Bare spots in firm open parts of the rock- 

 garden are the best places for the plant, 

 but the soil should be very sandy peat 

 free from lime, and must never become 

 too dry. It is peculiarly suited for 

 association with the very dwarfest and 

 choicest of alpine plants. Division or 

 seed. Mountains of S. Europe. P. 

 Flcerkiana is much like it, and prob- 

 ably is only a variety, since the sole 

 difference is that it bears two, three, or 

 more flowers, instead of only one. It 

 enjoys the same treatment in the rock- 

 garden. Austria. Of both kinds it is 

 desirable to establish wide-spreading 

 patches on firm bare spots, scattering 

 half an inch of silver sand between the 

 plants to keep the ground cool. 



HYBRIDS. P. minima has also come 

 in for a good deal of crossing. In union 

 with Flcerkiana, it has given P. biflora, 

 3 D 2 



