•^ The Scented garden Q£ 



and seventeenth centuries an oil was made from them 

 which the apothecaries sold under the name ' Cheirinum/ 

 Mixed with honey the petals were used to cure ulcers, 

 the juice was dropped into the eyes to remove dimness of 

 sight, the leaves bound to the wrist with bay salt were 

 accounted good for ague, and a conserve made of them 

 was a remedy for palsy. 



Wallflowers which grow out of the crevices of walls are 

 naturally hardier than those of the garden. The stems 

 of the former become firm and woody, whereas the stems 

 of the latter are too succulent to resist severe frost. Owing 

 to the florist's skill we can now have wallflowers almost 

 the year round, for the early flowering varieties sown 

 under glass in February and March flower early in October 

 and in a mild season will continue flowering throughout 

 the winter. The Siberian Wallflower (Cheirantbus 

 Allionii) is valuable not so much for its fragrance as for its 

 gorgeous orange colour. One does not so often see Erysi- 

 mum Perofskianum, which is more fragrant, has flowers of 

 as brilliant an orange, and grows i£ feet. The old ' fairy- 

 wallflower ' (E. rupestre) is a charming little perennial for 

 sunny parts on a rockery. Also E. linifolium, the little 

 Portuguese wallflower, with slightly fragrant mauve- 

 coloured flowers, a hardy perennial about 6 inches high, 

 and flowers the first year from seed. The most sweetly 

 scented of all is the little old-fashioned Harpur Crewe. 

 It is curious how seldom one sees this, yet one little spike 

 of its double yellow flowers smells like the quintessence 

 of a whole bunch of wallflowers with just a trace of 

 mignonette scent also. There is also the little C. 

 alpinus compactus, which is smothered in spring with little 

 yellow flowers. A few days ago I was looking at some 



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