206 



ALPINE FLOWERS FOR GARDENS 



[PART II. 



blossoms shaded with the most deli- 

 cate rose-colour. It loves a deep, 

 peaty soil ; and, though hardy, by no 

 means of rapid growth. Nova Scotia 

 and N.E. America. 



DAPHNE (Garland Flower). M- 

 pine and mountain shrubs, some dwarf 

 as well as beautiful, fragrant, and of 



can scarcely hope to witness in our 

 gardens under ordinary treatment. 

 They have but few roots, and are 

 best transplanted when young. The 

 best soil is a mixture of free loam and 

 decayed leaf-mould, with some old 

 road sand added. None of the 

 Daphnes require a rich soil, and some 

 of them even prefer old road sand to 



Daphne Blagayana. 



the highest value for the rock-garden. 

 Where the bushy rock-garden is made, 

 the larger kinds will be useful ; the 

 smaller may go with the choicer and 

 more diminutive alpine plants. They 

 are chiefly natives of Europe, and in 

 cultivation do best when shaded in 

 summer from the mid-day sun, and in 

 winter screened from cold winds. If 

 nurtured by the fallen leaves of trees, 

 they will grow with a vigour that we 



any other ; this is especially the case 

 with the Mezereon. 



Daphne alpina (Mountain Mezereon). 

 A dwarf summer-leafing and distinct rock 

 shrub, reaching 2 feet high, the flowers 

 yellowish-white, silky outside, fragrant, 

 in clusters of five from the sides of the 

 branches. It is a low, branching shrub, 

 flowering from April to June, and bearing 

 red berries in September. Central and 

 S. Europe. 



D. Blagayana (Tlie King's Garland 



