548 ERIN us. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



ERODIUM. 



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 phila- I 

 delphicus the last two being the prettiest, j 

 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 j 

 easily established on old ruins by sowing \ 

 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 I 

 with down. There is a white variety. 

 Pyrenees. 



ERIOBOTEYA (Loquat). ^ large- j 

 leaved shrub from Japan, E. japonica be- j 

 ing in our country tender, and only suitable I 

 for walls. Its large evergreen leaves are 

 handsome at all seasons, and in warm dis- I 

 tricts it flowers freely, the blossoms being I 

 white, but it does not fruit in the open air 

 in England. 



ERIOGONUM. North American 

 alpine plants which, in the mountain 

 regions of California, are of much 

 beauty, but are rarely good in culti- 

 vation, with the exception perhaps of 

 E. umbellatum. From a dense tuft of 

 leaves E. umbellatum 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. The variety Sileri is much 

 better than the type. Other species are 

 E. compositum, flavum, racemosum, 

 ursinum. 



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- 

 no t\ E. nanum is an alpine gem, closely 

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

 ever, it far excels in the intensity of the 

 azure-blue of its blossoms. Thou ghre- 

 puted 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 masses 

 of half-buried rock, to the sides of which 

 they delight to cling. 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. G. 



ERODIUM (StorVs-bilt).Lfc 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 charming 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, which at once distinguishes 

 them from other Erodiums. This plant 

 should be exposed to the hottest sun. 

 The best position for it is a crevice 

 where it is tightly placed between two 

 rocks, and where the roots can pene- 

 trate dry, sandy, or stony soil to the 

 depth of 3 ft. When grown in this 

 way, it is extremely pretty ; the dry- 

 ness of the situation keeps the leaves 

 dwarf, they nestle to the rock, and the 

 flowers come in great abundance during 

 the summer months. The plant has an 

 aromatic fragrance. 



E. Manescavi is a vigorous herba- 

 ceous plant, and the most showy of the 

 Erodiums. It grows I to \\ ft. high, and 

 throws up strong flower-stalks above the 

 foliage, each with seven to fifteen showy 

 purplish flowers, I to \\ in. across. It 

 is not fastidious as to soil or situation, 

 but its best place is in dry, hard soil, 

 fully exposed to the sun. If the soil be 

 too rich, the plant bears so many leaves 

 that the flowers are hidden. Seed, or 

 careful division. 



E. petrseum (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 



