Flowers of May. 



269 



apt to perish in our less rigorous but more capricious winters. A deep 

 covering of snow, without a January thaw, is an excellent protection against 

 the frosts, the wind, and the sun, which, by their alternate action, often 

 prove so deadly. Alpine plants, as a rule, need this protection. Anetnone 

 narcissiflora,\iO^QSQ.x, usually escapes uninjured; though, in one or two 

 cases, we have known it to succumb. 



The veronicas form a very numerous family, of which some of the mem- 

 bers are among the best of hardy flowering-plants. Among them all, there 

 is no one more to our liking than the dwarf species Veronica pulchella, 

 which, after a year or two of culture, will form a mass of bloom half-spheri- 

 cal in form, and of the deepest sky-blue color. Its utmost height does not 

 exceed eighteen inches. It is easily increased by seed or division, and we 

 never knew it to suffer in the hardest winter. 



■r sy^ 



Verbascum Phxniceiim, Lupinus polyp/iyllus, Dianthus cruaittis, Ranunculus 

 aconitifolius, and countless other flowering perennials, make this season gay 

 with a brilliant and varied bloom. We must pass them all over in silence; 



