104 OUR ROCK-GARDEN 



strawberries are very good, and cultivated ones 

 are yet better. 



The various species of wild geraniums, or 

 crane's-bills, will of necessity find a place in our 

 rock-garden, since no plants possess a greater 

 charm, though the various stone-crops and saxi- 

 frages run them hard. 1 The commonest is the 

 herb Robert, and it is as beautiful as any of 

 them, its delicate pink flowers and richly cut foliage 

 being a most welcome addition to our wild garden. 

 While throughout the summer the leaves are of a 

 bright green, in the Autumn they and the numerous 

 and freely branching stems turn to a rich crimson. 

 It seeds so freely that we may presently find our 

 store growing too abundant, but it is very easily 

 kept within bounds. Variation to white is one of 

 the commonest colour changes in plants ; we may 

 see it in the hyacinth, bugle, violet, and various 

 other flowers, and we have sometimes found the 

 herb Robert bearing blossoms of a pure white. A 

 variety may sometimes be found near the coast that 

 has smaller leaves and flowers than the normal 

 plant : this has been differentiated by some writers 

 as the Geranium purpurem. On gathering the 



1 Those who would stray beyond the limits of our in- 

 digenous flora will find in the Geranium argenteum Plate 

 XXX. a charming Alpine plant, with silvery foliage and pale 

 rose flowers. R. cinereum, R. armenium, R. angulatum, are 

 other excellent rock plants, and to these many others might 

 be added. 



