198 



ALPINE FLOWERS FOR GARDENS 



[PART II. 



Crocus chrysanthus. A vernal Crocus, 

 flowering from January to March, accord- 

 ing to elevation, which varies from a little 

 above the sea-level to a height of 3000 or 

 4000 feet. The flowers are usually of 

 bright orange, but occasionally bronzed 

 and feathered externally. A white variety 

 is also found in Bithynia and on Mount 

 Olympus above Broussa ; this species also 

 varies with pale sulphur-coloured flowers, 

 occasionally suffused with blue towards 

 the ends of the segments, dying out to- 

 wards the orange throat. There are 

 several varieties of this Crocus. 



C. Imperati (Naples Crocus). This is 

 very early flowering, and one of the very 

 best kinds, even in this large family. Ex- 

 cepting G. vernus and its varieties, it is 

 one of the most variable species we have 

 in the colour markings and size of its 

 flowers. It is splendid for lawns, useful 

 on the rock-garden as being an early and 

 certain flower, while it will remain in 

 condition without lifting, as long or longer 

 than any other species. Majus is a large 

 form of it. In addition to being one of 

 the most free-flowering, it is one of the 

 easiest to manage, and flourishes where 

 many of the others would fail. It is 

 admirable to grow among shrubs near 

 the rock-garden, or in the grass around, 

 flowering in the earliest days of spring. 



C. iridiflprus. Bears in September and 

 October bright-purple flowers before the 

 leaves. Remarkable for purple stigmata 

 and the marked difference between the 

 size of the inner and the outer segments 

 of the perianth. 



C. aureus (Yellow C.). One of the 

 commonest and most vigorous of all our 

 garden Crocuses, a native of Eastern 

 Europe, and, it need hardly be added, 

 at home everywhere in Britain. "It is 

 observable that all the wild specimens 

 of this species seem to have grown with 

 the bulbs 5 inches or more underground. 

 Depth is very necessary to their preserva- 

 tion, for mice, which I have found usually 

 to meddle with no other species, will 

 scratch very deep in quest of them. All 

 the varieties of this species seem to prefer 

 a very light soil upon a clay subsoil." 

 (Herbert, in " Trans. Hort. Soc."). 



C. nudiflorus (Purple Autumn C.). A 



beautiful bright purple Crocus, flower- 

 ing in autumn after the leaves of the 

 year are withered, thriving freely in any 

 light soil, and naturalised in meadows 

 about Nottingham and Derby. Flower 

 with the tube from 3 inches to' 10 inches, 

 and the segments l inch to 2 inches 

 long ; stigmas reddish-orange, cut into 

 an elegant fringe. It is very beautiful 

 in colour, and groups charmingly on the 

 rock-garden. 



Crocus Orphanidis (Orphamdes 1 C.). 

 Lovely soft lilac-blue flowers, having yellow 

 throats, 2^ inches in diameter, and open- 

 ing in autumn. The bulbs are large, 

 nearly 2 inches long, "closely covered 

 with a bright chestnut-brown tissue." 

 The leaves appear with the flowers, ex- 

 ceeding them in length, and getting much 

 longer afterwards. A native of Greece, 

 and, till plentiful, should be exclusively 

 planted on warm slopes of the rock- 

 garden. 



C. pulchellus. An autumnal species, 

 invaluable for the garden. The pale 

 lavender flowers, with bright yellow 

 throat, are freely produced from the 

 middle of September to early in December. 

 Seed. 



C. reticulatus (Cloth-of-Gold a). This 

 is the little rich golden Crocus with the 

 exterior of its flowers of a brownish black. 

 It is the earliest of the commonly culti- 

 vated spring Crocuses, and a native of 

 South-Eastern Europe. There are several 

 varieties, and among them a lilac and a 

 white, but these I have never seen in 

 cultivation. Suitable for association with 

 the earliest and dwarfest flowers of the 

 dawn of spring, thriving in ordinary soil. 

 It is generally known as G. susianus. 



C. sativus (Saffron C.). This species 

 was formerly cultivated in England for 

 the production of saffron, which is made 

 from the fringed and rich orange style. 

 Its native country is not known with 

 certainty, but it is probably from S. Europe. 

 It blooms in autumn from the end of 

 September to the beginning of November, 

 according to position and soil. The 

 flowers have a delicate odour. The bulbs 

 of the Saffron Crocus should be planted 

 from 4 to 6 inches under the surface, and 

 it loves a sandy loam and a warm position. 



