MYOSOTIS. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN 



MYRICA. 



6 7 I 



isle it is a seaside plant, in damp sand. It 

 is said not to be difficult to grow, but to be 

 naturally short-lived. It has a thick root- 

 stock, from which arise the large heart- 

 shaped, shining green leaves, the stalks of 

 which are grooved, and from 6 to 9 in. 

 long ; the flowers are borne on an erect 

 stem which springs from the apex of the 

 prostrate stem and rises to the height of 

 i or i^ ft. ; it is leafy all the way up, and 

 is terminated by a loose corymb of flowers 

 in colour exactly like Forget-me-Not, but 

 the shade of blue varies. After flowering, 

 the plants should be kept in a cool and 

 light position in a frame, and be liberally 

 watered in dry weather. It is a native of 

 the Chatham Islands, a small group in the 

 Pacific, lying 400 miles east of New Zea- 

 land. It was flowered in several gardens 

 of recent years by Mr. Watson,- of St. 

 Albans ; the late Mr. Niven, of Hull ; 

 and very finely by Mrs. Rogers in Corn- 

 wall in the open air. 



MYOSOTIS (Forget-me-Not}. Beauti- 

 ful perennial and biennial marsh and alpine 

 plants, children of the mountain and marsh 

 land from many parts of Europe and our 

 own land, and of high value and charming 

 in all ways for gardens. 



M. alpestris (Alpine Forget-me-Not} a 

 compact plant, a cushion of the loveliest 

 blue flowers, thriving on the rock-garden, 

 in moist gritty soil. It should be sur- 

 rounded by half-buried pieces of sand- 

 stone. There are various forms, some 

 very dwarf, with white and rose flowers. 

 Princess Maud is a robust variety with 

 rich deep blue flowers. 



M. azorica (Azorean Forget-me-Not} 

 is a beautiful somewhat tender kind, with 

 dark blue blooms, 6 to 10 in. high, and, 

 coming from the extreme western Azores, 

 will not survive except in warm corners 

 of the rock-garden. It grows freely in 

 light soil, and may be raised from seed 

 or cuttings. The var. Imperatrice Eliza- 

 beth is a form or hybrid from it. 



M. dissitiflora (Early Forget-me-Not}, 

 a beautiful and early flowering plant, 6 to 

 12 in. high, with large handsome flowers 

 deep sky-blue, continuing till midsummer. 

 It is best in broad masses in open spots 

 of the rock-garden, or wherever spring 

 flowers are much valued. 



M. palustris. Although common in 

 wet ditches and by streams and canals, 

 throughout Britain, M. palustris should be 

 grown in the garden among shrubs in peat 

 beds, or for edgings, or as a carpet to 

 taller subjects, in small beds or borders in 

 moist soil. There are forms of this, one 

 with white flowers, another with larger 

 flowers than the type, whilst one is called 



semperflorens, from its long season of 

 flowering. 



M. lithospermifolia. I think this has 

 the largest flowers of any of the true 

 Forget-me-Nots, flowering freely at a 

 height of 8 in. ; the flowers striking for 

 their size, the leaves distinct and small, 

 but otherwise resembling those of our 

 British Lithospermum purpureocceruleum. 

 The plant is gay from its abundance of 

 flowers and their large size. W. 



M. Rehsteineri. Under this name I 

 have received one of the prettiest Forget- 

 me-Nots, an effective close-to-the-ground 

 creeper, practically forming a dense 

 cushion of blue for several weeks in April 

 and May. The plant thrives and spreads 

 like a mossy Saxifrage, but keeps flat to 



Myosotis alpestris. 



the ground. This will be a charming sur- 

 facing plant, through which the rarer 

 Snowdrops and Crocuses may spear during 

 winter and early spring. W. 



M. sylvatica ( Wood Forget-me-Not}. 

 A beautiful woodland plant and of great 

 value for the garden and wild garden. It 

 should be abundant in a wild state by wood 

 walks, in copses, etc., and sows itself 

 freely in half-shady places. For the 

 garden sow seeds in beds in August every 

 year. Britain. Seed. There is a white, a 

 rose-coloured, and a striped variety. 



MYRICA (Sweet Gale}. The Myricas, 

 though not showy flowering shrubs, are 

 desirable on account of their scented 

 foliage. The native Sweet Gale or Dutch 

 Myrtle (M. Gale) should be wherever 

 sweet-smelling plants are cared for. It 



