194 



ALPINE FLOWERS FOR GARDENS 



[PART II. 



Convolvulus lineatus (Dwarf Silvery 

 Bindweed}. This is quite a pigmy, the 

 whole plant often showing nothing but a 

 tuft of small silky, rather narrow, and 

 pointed leaves above the ground. Among 

 these appear in summer delicate flesh- 

 coloured flowers more than an inch across, 

 and in full perfection at less than 3 inches 

 high, though in warmer soils and districts 

 than those on which I have seen the 

 plant, it sometimes grows an inch or two 

 higher. Few plants are better for embel- 

 lishing some arid part of the rock-garden 

 near, and somewhat under the eye as its 

 beauty is not of a showy order. Mediter- 

 ranean region. Better increased by divid- 

 ing the root. 



C. mauritanicus (Blue Rock Bindweed). 

 A beautiful plant, without the ram- 

 pant growth of many of its race, but 

 withal throwing up graceful shoots, which 

 bear numbers of clear, light-blue flowers. 

 It is quite distinct from any other plant, 

 and, happily, is hardy in sunny chinks. 

 It is seen to the best advantage in a 

 somewhat raised position, so that its free- 

 flowering shoots may fall freely down, 

 though it may also be used with good 

 effect on the level ground in the flower- 

 garden, or as a vase plant. Mountains 

 of North Africa ; readily increased by 

 cuttings and by seeds. 



C. scammonia (Scammony). A twining 

 kind of slender growth, and bearing in 

 summer creamy -white flowers. Although 

 doing well in any position, it seems to 

 want plenty of sun, and thrives best in 

 a light deep sandy soil, as the large roots 

 go a long way down. Syria. 



C. soldanella (Shore Bindweed). This 

 is recognised by its leathery, roundish 

 leaves, and by its stems being short, 

 heavy, and without the twining habit 

 so common in the family. The flowers 

 are large, of a light pink colour ; thrives 

 and flowers freely in ordinary soil far 

 away from the seaside, and therefore the 

 plant is worthy of a place among the 

 trailers of the rock-garden. A native 

 of maritime sands, in many parts of the 

 world ; not uncommon on our own coasts, 

 and flowering in summer. Where difficult 

 to establish, plenty of coarse river sand 

 might be mixed in the soil. 



Convolvulus tenuissimus. A pretty 

 climbing species from the Mediterranean 

 region, much in the way of C. althceoides, but 

 in the present kind the foliage is much 

 more divided. A marked feature is the 

 way the leaf segments radiate around a 

 common centre, the central leaf being 

 of considerable length and of long linear 

 lance-shaped outline. 



The plant known in gardens as Calys- 

 tegia pubescens fl.-pl. is really a Bindweed, 

 and a pretty kind, with double flowers 

 of white and pale rose. In warm or 

 light stony soil this plant grows apace, 

 and in summer for a long time the 

 twining stems are thickly studded with 

 the flowers. 



COPTIS TRIFOLIATA (Gold 

 Thread). A little evergreen bog-plant, 

 3 inches or 4 inches high, with three- 

 leafleted or trifoliate shining leaves. It 

 derives its common name from its long 

 bright yellow roots. It is occasionally 

 grown in botanic gardens. A native 

 of the northern parts of America, Asia, 

 and Europe, flowering in summer ; 

 white, and easily grown in moist peat 

 or very moist sandy soil. Division. 



CORIS MONSPELIENSIS (Mont- 

 pelier (7.). A rather pretty dwarf, 

 branching plant, about 6 inches high, 

 usually biennial in our gardens. 

 Thrives on dry and sunny spots of 

 the rock-garden, in sandy soil, and 

 among dwarf plants. Seed. South 

 of France. 



CORNUS (Dogwood). Hardy and 

 valuable shrubs with, so far as yet 

 grown, few kinds dwarf and compact 

 enough for our purpose. 



Cornus canadensis (Canadian Cornel). 

 A very pretty but neglected miniature 

 shrub, of which each little shoot is tipped 

 with white bracts, pointed with a tint 

 of rose. I know nothing prettier than 

 this Cornus when well established, and 

 it is not at all difficult to grow, but 

 rarely conies in for a proper situation. 



