SAXIFRAGA. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDE fr. SAXIFRAGA. 801 



thread-like runners similar to the stems of 

 a Dodder, and distinguished from S. sar- 

 mentosa by smaller leaves and more 

 uniform petals. It may be used in much 

 the same way as S. sarmentosa, but being 

 more delicate and fragile, requires more 

 care. It is a beautiful plant for growing 

 in Moss in a cool fernery, for it is perfectly 

 at home, and the delicate markings of its 



Saxifraga sarmentosa. 



leaves show up against the green of 

 its surroundings. The plants grown in 

 gardens, as S. japonica and S. tricolor, 

 are varieties of S. sarmentosa. 



S. Stracheyi is a strong plant with 

 leaves nearly as broad as long. Its 

 flowers, produced on broad branching 

 panicles, are of a light pink with a shade 

 of lilac. It is hardier than its closest 

 ally S. ciliata, blooms in March, and 

 should be sheltered against bleak winds. 

 It is suited for borders and rock-gardens. 



S. tenella. A handsome plant, form- 

 ing tufts of delicate fine-leaved branches, 

 4 or 5 in. high, which root as they grow. 

 The flowers, which appear in summer, are 

 numerous, whitish-yellow, and arranged 

 in a loose panicle. Similar in growth are 

 S. aspera, S. bryoides, S. sedoides, S. 

 Seguieri, S. Stelleriana, and S.tricuspidata, 

 all suitable for clothing the bare parts of 

 the rock-garden and slopes, but require 

 moist soil and cool positions. Division in 

 spring or the end of summer. 



S. umbrosa (London Pride]. This al- 

 most universally - cultivated plant is 



abundant on the mountains round Kil- 

 larney, though it has long been grown in 

 our gardens. In old gardens it is much 

 used for edging, and, being a pretty 

 evergreen, should be freely used in the 

 rough parts of rock-gardens, the fringes 

 o'f cascades, etc. It is naturalised in 

 several parts of England, and grows freely 

 in dwarf herbage, or in rocky parts of 

 woods. There are several varieties, for 

 example, S. punctata, S. serratifolia, and 

 Oglivieana, which is a most distinct form of 

 this species, with pinkish blossoms in dense 

 dwarf panicles not over 6 in. high. S. rotun- 

 difolia and similar kinds are related to S. 

 ! umbrosa, but are unimportant. This plant 

 I and its forms will thrive in the cold shade of 

 j high walls where few other things will live. 

 There are other good kinds, but less 

 important than the foregoing, such as S. 

 mutata, S. florulenta, very difficult to 

 grow, the London-Pride-like S. Geum, the 

 native S. Hirculus, and the small gray 

 tufted S. aspera. 



GIANT ROCKFOIL HYBRIDS. The 

 Giant Saxifrages of our gardens, known as 

 Megaseas, are so variously beautiful at all 

 seasons that the wonder is they are not 

 even more popular than they now are 

 in all good gardens. From all the other 

 Saxifrages they are known by their mas- 

 sive size and breadth of leaf, while, as a 

 general rule, they are of evergreen habit, 

 and so are effective at all times. Most of 

 them are beautiful when in blossom during 

 the earlier months of spring. Now and 

 then, it is true, their flowers become 

 nipped in the bud by spring frosts ; but 

 even if this occasionally happens, general 

 results are enough to justify their culture. 

 Besides, it is so easy to pot up the plants 

 in autumn and give them the shelter of a 

 cold frame or an awning of mats, since 

 plants so treated bloom freely and form 

 handsome plants for cool greenhouse or 

 conservatory decoration. 



One of the best for pot and tub culture 

 is M. crassifolia, which has large clusters 

 of its peach or almond-tinted blossoms on 

 tall stalks, its fragrance on a warm day 

 being like that of Hawthorn. Another fine 

 variety is cordifolia purpurea, which bears 

 its pendulous bell-shaped flowers on vivid 

 red scapes 18 in. or 2 ft. in height, the 

 blossoms being darker in colour than 

 those of crassifolia. 



Other very fine species are purpur- 

 ascens, Stracheyi, cordifolia, and ciliata r 

 the last with large hairy leaves, but it 

 is the most tender of the whole group, 

 and its leaves succumb to the first sharp 

 frosts. Its flowers are whitish with a rosy- 

 red centre, and effective in warm sheltered 



3 F 



