UMBELLlFERyt 33y 



time of inflorescence takes in the upper half a cool tinge 

 of steely blue ; the broad, hearted-shaped leaves that 

 spring right healthily green from the roots ; the feathery 

 bracts and massive cup of violet- blue, placed there 

 (so naturalists tell us) to bar against thievish insects 

 the way to the honey reserved for higher creatures, but 

 which artists expressly affirm to be created to hail its 

 Maker a cup wondrous in grace, in dignity and serene 

 majesty all combine to make the absolute perfection. 

 Queen of the Alp, who set thee there and why unfoldest 

 thou all these charms? Who hath spun thy royal mantle 

 and dyed it with the blue of the Tyrrhenian sea? Thou 

 seemest to flee from man and choose some secret cliff, 

 hidden far from noise, vulgarity and prying eyes. Abide 

 there, then, mountain flower ; sing in thy solitude the 

 joy of living under the blue sky and in the alpine sun ! 



There are few plants which succeed better or thrive 

 more generously in gardens than the Eryngos. E. 

 alpinum 1 loves a deep soil, sound and rather dry, where it 

 can thrust far its Jong taproot, and a situation partly 

 shaded from the sun. It is a majestic ornament for 

 lawns, rockeries, the front of shrubberies and borders. 

 To ensure certain germination, the seed must be sown 

 immediately it is gathered ; this is our experience at 

 Floraire, where thousands upon thousands are raised for 

 sale and exportation. 



There are other species, equally beautiful. From the 

 Pyrenees comes E. Bourgati, of low, squat habit, and 

 flowers of a curious violet-blue ; from the western Alps 

 E. spino-alba, equally dwarf, of a clearer blue ; from the 

 eastern Alps E. amethystinum, with much divided leaves, 

 and tinged in all the upper portion of the plant an 



1 "Eryngium alpinum has been taken as the base of ornamentation for 

 the chalet at Floraire and the convential scheme of decoration is much 

 admired. 



