144 



THE WILD GARDEN. 



any position or soil ; bnt to get the full benefit of their early-blooming 

 tendency it is desirable to place them on sunny grassy banks in tufts 

 or groups, and not far from the eye, as they are usually of unobtrusive 

 colours. They form beautiful ornaments near wild wood walks, 

 where the spring sun can reach tliem. Tliere are various kinds useful 

 for naturalisation. 



Sun Rose, Helianthemum. — Dwarf spreading shrubs, bearing 



myriads of tlowers in a variety 

 of showy colours. The most 

 tasteful and satisfactory way of 

 employing these in our gardens 

 is to naturalise them on banks 

 or slopes in the half-wild parts 

 of our pleasure-grounds, mostly 

 in sandy or warm soil. They 

 are best suited for chalk districts 

 ( ir roclvy ones, where they thrive 

 most luxuriantly, and make a 

 very brilliant display. There 

 are many varieties, mostly differ- 

 ing in the hue of tlie flowers. 



Perennial Sunflower, 

 Helianthus, RudbecMa, Silphium. 

 — Stout and usually very tall 

 perennials, with showy yellow 

 flowers, the best known of which 

 is Helianthus multiflorus fl. pL, 

 of which plenty may be seen in 

 Euston Stj^iiare and other places 

 in London. As a rule these 

 are all better fitted for rough, 

 places than for gardens, where, 

 like many other plants mentioned in these pages, they will tend to 

 form a vigorous herbaceous covert. H. rigidus is a brilliantly showy 

 plant, running very freelj* at the root, and an excellent subject for 

 naturalisation. H. giganteus, common in thickets and swamj^s in 

 America, and growing as high as 10 ft., is also desirable. The showy 

 and larger American Rudbeckias, such as laciuiata, triloba, and also 

 the small but showy hirta, virtually belong to the same type. All 

 these plants, and many others of the tall yellow-flowered composites that 



Sun Rose on limestone rocks. 



