FEBRUARY 41 



XII 



The extraordinary mildness of the winter of 1905-6 now 

 drawing to a close must have been a grievous winter 

 disappointment to curlers and skaters, but it has Flowers 

 been the source of much rejoicing to those who love their 

 gardens. It is true we cannot reckon ourselves out of the 

 wood yet, knowing by experience how fiercely the month 

 of March can redress the balance of temperature ; but let 

 it do what it may, it cannot rob us of the flowers we have 

 had in unusual abundance through the dark months. 

 Among these, two rhododendrons claim pre-eminence 

 to wit, R. nobleanum, a hybrid between the Himalayan 

 arboreum and R. caucasicum, startling in the profusion 

 and glowing crimson of its blossoms ; and R. prcecox, 

 offspring of the northern Asian dauricum and R. ciliatum. 

 Prcecox is usually described as a dwarf shrub, and re- 

 commended for pot culture in a cool greenhouse ; but 

 the true place for it to display its beauty is the open air. 

 A bush of this variety, seven feet high and nine feet 

 through, began to flower with me about the New Year, 

 and soon became one mass of bloom, the colour being true 

 mauve or mallow tint, not the false violet hue which 

 dressmakers term mauve. What though a single night of 

 frost on February 4 ruined the display. We had enjoyed 

 its loveliness for a full month. 



Another fine winter bloomer is the sweet-scented Ber- 

 beris Bealii. The noble, horny, strongly-spined foliage of 

 this shrub renders it a choice ornament, when well grown, 

 throughout the year ; and in mild winters it crowns every 

 shoot about Christmas-tide with clusters of sulphur- 

 coloured flowers of delicious fragrance. Like the rhodo- 



