PART II.] 



ALPINE FLOWERS FOR GARDENS 



181 



pale purple or lilac, on stems rarely 

 more than 9 inches high. It is suited 

 to dry, peaty positions, or in peat 

 or leaf-soil will make itself at home in 

 a half shady spot in the garden. 



BRYANTHUS (Rocky Mountain 

 Heath). Alpine bushes of the Heath 

 family, mostly natives of the mountains 

 of North America, and little known 

 in gardens. I brought one handsome 

 species from the sierras of California, 

 but it is lost. They are pretty little 

 shrublets which well deserve introduc- 

 tion, and growing as they do on some 

 of the coldest mountains of the world, 

 I have little doubt that they will prove 

 as easy to cultivate as many other 

 American bushes which thrive in our 

 gardens. Mr Bulley, in the Gardener's 

 Chronicle, describes Bryanthus glan- 

 duliformis as a dwarf, peat-loving 

 plant, not reaching a greater height 

 than 3 inches, and notable for the 

 large size and striking colour of its 

 Pentstemon-like flowers. These, which 

 are borne profusely, are l inches 

 long, and of the most vivid magenta- 

 red. 



Bryanthus erectus. A dwarf ever- 

 green bush, from 8 inches to a foot high, 

 bearing pretty pinkish flowers. It is said 

 to be a hybrid. In very fine sandy soil or in 

 that usually prepared for American plants, 

 it grows well, and is worthy of a place 

 in collections of very dwarf alpine shrubs, 

 whether planted in the rock-garden or in 

 peat beds. 



B. Breweri. A neat little plant has 

 been introduced under this name, but is 

 little known in cultivation. 



BULBOCODIUM VERNUM (Spring 

 Meadow Saffron.) Grown in our 

 gardens for generations, this very early 

 bulb is one of the earliest of spring 

 bulbs, sending up its large rosy-purple 

 flower buds earlier than the Crocus. 

 The flowers are tubular, nearly 4 

 inches long, and usually best when 



in the bud state, the colour being 

 a violet purple, the large buds ap- 

 pearing before the concave leaves, 

 which attain vigorous proportions after 

 the flowers are past. Associated with 

 very early flowering plants like the 

 Snowflake and Snowdrop, it is welcome 

 in the rock-garden, or in warm sunny 

 borders. A native of the Alps of 

 Europe, easily increased by dividing 

 the bulbs, in July or August. B. 

 Versicolor is a variety. 



BUXUS (Box). The dwarf forms of 

 the common Box are very pretty little 

 evergreens, and the Japanese Box has 

 the merit of being extremely hardy, 

 as it endures the winter in North 

 Germany, where the common Box does 

 not. In dealing with those limestone 

 and other rocks which abound in many 

 parts of the country, I think this and 

 dwarf forms of our native Box might 

 be very well used in giving ever- 

 green effects. Many stony and rocky 

 districts which are now uninhabited 

 will some day be valued as among 

 the most pleasant places to live in, and 

 planting the naturally rocky surface 

 will have to be faced, and I can think 

 of no more beautiful way of adorning 

 it than with such hardy mountain 

 shrubs, among which this is one of 

 the most pleasant of evergreens. 



CALAMINTHA GLABELLA is a 



minute plant, forming neat little tufts 

 about 3 inches high, flowering in 

 summer, tubular, lilac-purple, scented, 

 very numerous and large for its size. 

 May be grown on the rock-garden 

 in sandy loam, and among the very 

 dwarfest plants. Division. 



CALANDRINIA UMBELLATA 



(Brilliant (7.). A native of Chili, 

 with reddish, much branched, little 

 stems, half-shrubby, and rarely grow- 



