ON FOUR DOORYARD FLOWERS 



One of the distant relatives of the fragrant ver- 

 bena is a fine shrub, worthy of introduction, known 

 as the Alovsia citriodora. Another, as different as 

 possible in appearance, is a little trailing plant 

 known as Lippia repens. 



This little trailing plant is very valuable as a 

 substitute for lawn grass. It requires less than 

 one tenth the water required by blue grass, and 

 only a fraction of the care. It need be sown only 

 once or twice in a season, and throughout the sum- 

 mer it will cover the lawn with a dense foliage, 

 and bear a mass of small blossoms resembling 

 those of white clover and fully as attractive to the 

 bees. 



Unfortunately the lippia is not very hardy, and 

 when the temperature goes much below freezing 

 it turns to a disagreeable brownish color. Thus it 

 is not adapted to the cold climates of the Northern 

 United States. 



If it could be given hardiness through selection 

 and cultivation, it would prove a very important 

 acquisition for the making of lawns that will with- 

 stand the summer drought. 



An allied species is the moss-like Verbena eri- 

 moides, which is an exceedingly pretty plant grow- 

 ing wild in the high Chilean mountains. In Cali- 

 fornia it produces seed so abundantly and hence 

 multiplies so rapidly that it becomes almost a 



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