732 PRIMULA. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



freely in common borders, and is one of 

 the most valuable additions to the early 

 spring garden and mixed border that have 

 been made for many years. It is charm- 

 ing for the rock-garden or for well-arranged 

 borders, and, when plentiful enough, will, 

 no doubt, be used in various ways. There 

 is a st.emless variety, which would prob- 

 ably prove a great addition to our gardens. 

 P. sibirica is somewhat similar to P. 

 amoena, but is rare. Division of the root. 

 Caucasus. 



P. auricula (Common Auricula}. In 

 a wild state this is one of the many 

 charming Primulas that rival Gentians, 

 Pinks, and Forget-me-nots in making the 

 flora of alpine fields so exquisitely beauti- 

 ful and interesting. Possessing a vigorous 

 constitution, and sporting into a goodly 

 number of varieties when raised from 

 seed, it attracted early attention from 

 lovers of flowers ; its more striking varia- 

 tions were perpetuated and classified, and 

 it became a "florists' flower." Its cultivated 

 varieties may be roughly thrown into two 

 classes : first, self-coloured varieties, or 

 those which have the outer and larger 

 portion of the flower of one colour or 

 shaded, the centre or eye white or yellow, 

 and the flowers and other parts usually 

 smooth, and not powdery ; second, those 

 with flowers and stems thickly covered 

 with a white powdery matter or " paste." 

 The handsomest of the former kinds are 

 known by the name of " alpines," to distin- 

 guish them from the florists' varieties, and 

 are the hardiest of all. The florists' fav- 

 ourites are distinguished by the dense 

 mealy matter with which the parts of the 

 flower are covered. They are divided by 

 florists into four sections green-edged, 

 gray-edged, white-edged, and selfs. In 

 the " green-edged " varieties, the gorge or 

 throat of the flower is usually yellow or 

 yellowish ; this is surrounded by a ring, 

 varying in width, of white powdery matter, 

 which is surrounded by another ring of 

 some dark colour, and beyond this a 

 green edge, which is sometimes ^ in. in 

 width. The outer portion of the flower 

 is really a monstrous development of the 

 petal into a leaf-like substance, identical 

 in texture with the leaves. The "gray- 

 edged" varieties have the margin of a 

 green leafy texture, but this is so thickly 

 covered with powder that the colour can- 

 not be distinctly seen. The same occurs 

 in the " white-edged " kinds, the difference 

 being in the thickness and hue of the 

 powdery matter. In fact, the terms 

 " green-edged," "gray-edged " and " white- 

 edged," are simply used to indicate slight 

 differences between flowers having an 



abnormal development of the petals into 

 leafy substance. It is a curious fact that 

 between the white and the gray the line 

 of demarcation is imaginary, for both 

 classes occasionally produce green-edged 

 flowers. The " selfs " are really distinct, 

 since the outer portion of the corolla is of 

 the ordinary texture, though a ring of 

 powdery matter surrounds the eye. 



The classification of such slight differ- 

 ences merely tends to throw obstacles in 

 the way of the general growth and enjoy- 

 ment of the flower in gardens. Let the 

 florists maintain these fine distinctions ; 

 those who merely want to embellish their 

 gardens with the prettier varieties need 

 not trouble themselves with named sorts 

 at all. It should be borne in mind that 

 the florists' kinds are the most delicate 

 and difficult to cultivate. The curious 

 developments of powdery matter, green 

 margins, &c., tend to enfeeble the plant. 

 They are, in fact, variations that in Nature 

 would have little or no chance of surviv- 

 ing in the struggle for life. The general 

 grower will do well to select the free 

 sorts alpines, and good varieties of the 

 common border kinds. The special 

 merit of these is that they may be grown 

 in the open air on the rock-garden and 

 in borders, while the florists' kinds must 

 be grown in frames. 



The free-growing kinds are most likely 

 to be enjoyed in all classes of gardens. 

 Their culture is very simple, light vege- 

 table soil and plenty of moisture during 

 the growing season being the essentials. 

 In many districts the moisture of our 

 climate suits the Auricula to perfection, 

 and great tufts of it are grown in gardens 

 without any attention. In others it must 

 be protected against excessive drought 

 by stones placed round it, and cocoa- 

 fibre and leaf-mould are also useful as a 

 surfacing. However, as none but good 

 varieties of the alpine section are worthy 

 of even this trouble, we would prefer, 

 wherever practicable, that they should 

 be placed in the rock-garden on spots 

 where they would have some shelter and 

 could root freely into rich light soil. 

 They would cause no trouble beyond 

 taking up, dividing, and replanting. This 

 should be done every second or third 

 year, or as often as they become too 

 crowded or lanky. The very common 

 kinds may be planted as edgings or in 

 beds in the spring garden, but wherever 

 the plant is free, naturally improved 

 varieties should be substituted for the 

 common old border kind. 



Auriculas are easily propagated by 

 division in spring or autumn, but best in 



