258 



ALPINE FLOWERS FOR GARDENS 



[PART II. 



wide and dense tufts, yet rarely reach- 

 ing more than an inch in height. The 

 flowers are on very short steins, so 

 as barely to show above the leaves, 

 are pale violet, with white centres ; 

 the leaves with a tendency to lie 

 flat on the surface of the soil. It 

 thrives in pots, cold frames, or in the 

 open air, and is best placed in firm 

 open, bare v spots, in free sandy soil 

 in warm positions. It is not showy 

 but is an interesting plant, easily in- 

 creased by division, flowering in early 

 summer. 



MECONOPSIS (Satin Poppy}. 

 These are perennials and biennials of 

 the Poppy family, of exquisite beauty 

 of colour and, usually, stately form. 

 Well grown, they are almost taller 

 than the plants that we usually as- 

 sociate with the rock-garden ; but 

 they are true mountaineers, and can 

 hardly fail to give distinction to a 

 cool ledge. They mostly come from 

 the Himalayas, or Manchuria, or 

 China, while a yellow one is a native 

 of Britain, and a pretty plant too, 

 often sowing itself in all sorts of 

 places, and looking well everywhere, 

 though it shows no trace of the 

 startling dignity and fine charm of 

 the Indian kinds, which are almost 

 as distinct in leaf as in flower. They 

 are all, we believe, quite hardy, but 

 require attention on account of their 

 biennial duration. As they have to 

 be raised annually from seed, the 

 young seedlings require great care in 

 handling. They are also difficult to 

 please as regards position, and strong- 

 vigorous plants are almost impos- 

 sible, unless in rich, deep, light soil 

 and in the south of England a partially 

 shady situation, where they can have 

 abundance of moisture without its 

 becoming stagnant. The better way 



in handling seedlings is to grow them 

 in pots during the first winter, plant- 

 ing out early in spring, when the 

 stronger plants may be expected to 

 show flower in July. The smaller 

 ones will go on growing, forming 

 large rosettes which will make robust 

 specimens the following summer. 

 Except under the most favourable 

 conditions, a slight protection will 

 be required in wet autumns and 

 winters for the rarer kinds, this being* 

 best effected by squares of glass raised 

 a few inches above the crowns. All 

 the species usually flower the second 

 year, and the grower's aim should be 

 to get as much vigour into them in 

 that time as possible. 



Meconopsis aculeata is usually a small 

 plant in gardens, but well grown, forming 

 bold pyramids of purple flowers. It is a 

 singularly beautiful plant. The leaves are 

 cut up. It is a biennial also, and a native 

 of the Himalayas. 



M. cambrica (Welsh Poppy}. Fpr the 

 rock-garden, or for the flower bed, the 

 Welsh Poppy is one of the most useful. 

 On old crumbling walls wherever it can 

 get hold, its ample Fern-like foliage 

 and abundance of orange-yellow blossoms 

 are attractive, and it will grow almost 

 anywhere. Where it can be allowed space 

 in out-of-the-way corners, stony ground, 

 or even the edges of gravel paths, it flowers 

 freely. Seed. 



M. Nepalensis (Nepal Satin Poppy). 

 The commonest Indian species found in 

 gardens, is smaller than M. Wallichi, and 

 a pretty fine-foliaged plant. The soft 

 yellow-green leaves form dense rosettes, 

 which are said in a young state to close 

 up or fold over as a protection to the 

 tender crowns. The flower-stems vary 

 from 3 feet to 5 feet high, bearing nodding 

 blossoms 2 inches to 3 inches in diameter, 

 and of a soft yellow. It is also biennial, 

 requiring a rich deep soil and partial 

 shade. Nepaul. 



M. Wallichi (Wallich's Satin Poppy) is 

 the finest of the Poppy- worts in cultiva- 

 tion, and a handsome biennial, remarkable 



