THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



119 



Trillium Grandiflorum in Mr. Alexander's Garden 



they are still excellent in cultivation, 

 and their foliage is attractive at all 

 times. It is best to plant them in groups 

 of from 6 to 10 plants if possible, where 

 they will not be disturbed. 



SANGUINARIA CANADENSIS 



, The next plant I would commend, 

 as deserving a place in the garden, is 

 the blood-root, Sanguinaria Cana- 

 densis. This flower has the purest 

 white color of any plant known. Each 

 flower comes out of the cold, moist 

 earth wrapped securely in its own pale 

 green leaf, and this leaf is not unrolled 

 until the flower is strong enough to 

 bear the light and winds. The flower 

 falls apart so easily that when in full 

 bloom it will scarcely hear Iransporta 

 tion, but with a touch the stem stands 

 naked — a bare, gold-tipped sceptre, 

 amid drifts of snow. It is one of the 

 most shy of wild plants, easily banished 

 from its locality by any invasion, but 

 it takes to the garden with the most 

 perfect readiness, doubles its size, blos- 

 soms earlier, repudiates its love of water 



Anemone Pennsylvanica 



and flaunts its great leaves in its 

 unnatural confinement. I have two 

 colonies of this flower in my garden, 

 planted about 15 years ago, and it has 

 increased both by ordinary increase of 

 the roots, and by seed, and in a dry and 

 sandy soil, the very opposite of that in 

 which it seems to thrive best in a wild 

 state. It seems throughout a con- 

 tradiction, the purest white flower, from 

 a root so bloody red, that the Indians 

 use it for staining their baskets; and 

 it was used in old times for staining 

 their faces. 



CLAYTONIA VIRGINICA 



The wild flower I would next speak 

 of is the spring beauty, Claytonia Vtr- 

 ginica. This plant has a tenderness 

 and delicacy of expression that is very 

 charming. It is very delicate, and as 

 soon as picked it fades. I have had 

 it blooming in a shady nook of a rockery 

 for years. It rises from the ground by 

 a stem like a thread, connected with a 

 tuber about the size of a pea several 

 inches below the surface. The color of 

 the flower is a pale pink with deeper 

 colored veins. It is the Indian Mis- 

 kodecd, and was said to have been left 

 behind when mighty Peboan, the Win 

 ter, was melted by the breath of Spring. 

 Unlike most of the early wild flowers 

 it bears its blossoms in clusters, and 

 opens in succession each white and pink- 

 veined bell. It grows in moist places, 

 and prolongs its career from the middle 

 of April to the end of May. 



TRILUUM GRANDIFLORUM 



The white trillium, sometimes called 

 the wood lily, is so well known that little 

 need be said about it. Too much can- 

 not, however, be said about its peculiar 



adaptability to the perennial flower 

 border. If the tubers are dug up in 

 late summer, or early fall, and planted 

 in soil as recommended above, a good 

 crop of flowers will delight you. The 

 next spring, and year after year, they 

 will increase in number and size. A 

 single tuber planted many years ago 

 near a cedar hedge has so increased 

 that last year there was a dense cluster 

 of 10 flowers. All these early wild 

 flowers are most satisfactory when 

 several are planted in a group. In a 

 circular space of, say, two feet in diam- 

 eter, 10 or 12 tubers might be 

 planted. In a few years these would 

 appear as shown in the illustration, 

 which is reproduced from one of several 

 groups in the garden. 



ANEMONE THALICTROIDES 



Another very sweet little flower is 

 the Rue anemone, which is found 

 growing around the roots of large 

 trees in open woods, and often in com- 

 pany with the wood anemone or wind, 

 flower. Anemone nemorosa. Unlike its 

 companion which bears only one flower, 

 the Rue Anemone has a cluster of 

 flowers at the top of a slender stem, 

 with a whorl of leaves under them like 

 the leaves of meadow rue. Its root is 

 a cluster of small tubers, and looks like 

 a very miniature dahlia root. 



ANEMONE PENNSYLVANICA 



The Fennsylvanian anemone is a 

 very common one, and is found growing 

 at the borders of woods, and on the sides 

 of railway embankments and ditches. 

 It is usually found in patches, and forms 

 a very showy addition to the hardy 

 garden. It spreads by underground 

 runners, and if allowed will soon mon- 

 opolize .the surrounding area. It con- 

 tinues to bloom for two or three weeks, 

 and is a very striking object. The cut 

 represents only a section of the mass, 

 all from a single root planted a few years 

 ago. It requires no looking after except 

 to keep it within due bounds. 



All the above, if planted as indicated, 

 will be a source of pleasure for years to 

 those interested, and will be admired 

 bv all flower lovers. It is not diflScult 

 to start them and very Httle work is en- 

 tailed in looking after them. 



Spring Beauty 



