PART II.] 



ALPINE FLOWERS FOR GARDENS 



227 



are no doubt other alpine and choice 

 kinds worth seeking by rock gardeners, 

 and not a few yet to be introduced to 

 gardens. 



Fritillaria alpina is a pretty species, 

 of dwarf growth, and bearing drooping 

 flowers, chocolate on the outside and 

 yellow within, while its margin of brighter 

 yellow gives the flower a pretty effect. 

 It blooms quite early in spring, and is of 

 easy culture. 



F. armena, from Asia Minor, is a dwarf 

 form, with soft yellow bell-shaped blossoms 

 on frail stems less than 6 inches high. 

 This kind is best suited for sunny spots 

 in the rock-garden or for planting freely 

 in pots or pans for very early flowering. 

 A soil of peat and loam suits this admir- 

 ably. Next in order is 



F. aurea (Golden Snakeshead). A large 

 and beautiful flower, though the plant is 

 quite dwarf, and perhaps the gem of the 

 family. I have often found it stricken 

 with frost in my garden, owing, no doubt, 

 to its coming from a country where the 

 snow protects it long, and, therefore, I 

 think it is safer to put it on the cool side 

 of the rock-garden where it might flower 

 later. A dwarf carpet of Sandwort or 

 Rockfoil above looks well, and may be 

 otherwise a gain. 



F. Burnati, a handsome hardy plant 

 about 9 inches high, with solitary droop- 

 ing blossoms, 2 inches long, which are of 

 a plum-colour, chequered with yellowish 

 green. Alps. Flowers with the Snow- 

 drop, and is as easy to grow. 



F. Moggridgei is a beautiful kind, with 

 handsome drooping blossoms of golden- 

 yellow, prettily chequered with chestnut- 

 brown on the inner surface. It is a dwarf 

 kind, requiring treatment like F. atirea 

 above noted. Maritime Alps. 



F. pudica, a lovely kind with blossoms 

 of a clear yellow, about three-quarters of 

 an inch across, of much substance, and 

 lasting long. Not the least attractive part 

 of the plant is the fragrance of its golden 

 bells. It is quite hardy, and, grown in 

 mixture of loam and leaf soil with plenty 

 of sand and a little manure, gives a charm- 

 ing effect. California. 



F. Whittalli, a recent introduction, is 



beautiful and quite distinct, the blossoms 

 of a red-brown on a yellow ground, tes- 

 sellated on both surfaces. 



GALANTHUS (Snowdrop). Of late 

 a host of forms of the Snowdrops have 

 come into gardens, many of them with 

 Latin names, and some as beautiful 

 in their way as the old Snowdrop. 

 There is reason to believe that these 

 are not species, but varieties from 

 very different localities, but this can- 

 not affect their garden value. They 

 are, however, so easily grown in any 

 open soil, that there is no occasion 

 to devote the rock-garden space to 

 them, fair as they are, springing here 

 and there in groups through moss-like 

 rock plants. Usually, however, the 

 Snowdrops are best naturalised in 

 grass. 



GALAX APHYLLA (White Wand 

 Plant). A distinct Evergreen perennial 

 from North America, forming a thick 

 matted tuft of scaly creeping root- 

 stocks, thickly set with fibrous red 

 roots, from which it sends up a 

 number of roundish, shining leaves 

 (about 2 inches wide) on slender 

 stalks. The flowers appear in June, 

 and form a wand-like spike of small 

 and minutely-bracted white flowers, 

 on the summit of a slender stem, 1 to 

 2 feet high. Useful for the rock-garden, 

 in loam and leaf-mould. 



GAULTHERIA PROCUMBENS 



(Creeping Wintergreeri). This plant 

 barely rises above the ground, on 

 which it forms dense tufts of shining 

 leaves, with small drooping white 

 flowers in June, succeeded by a multi- 

 tude of bright red berries about the 

 size of peas. The neat little shrub is 

 of itself pretty, and the berries give 

 it a charm through the winter months. 

 A native of North America, in sandy 

 places and cool damp woods, often 



