306 



ALPINE FLOWERS FOR GARDENS 



[PART II. 



though some consider this at least a 

 variety, having a more erect habit, 

 narrower leaves, and somewhat larger 

 flowers. 



Saxifraga cymbalaria (Golden Rockfoil). 

 Quite distinct in aspect from any of the 

 family, and one of the most useful of all, 

 being a continuous bloomer. I have had 

 little tufts of it, which, in early spring, 

 formed masses of bright yellow flowers 

 set on light green, glossy, small ivy- 

 like leaves, the whole not more than 

 3 inches high. These, instead of 

 falling into the sere and yellow leaf, 

 and fading away into seediness, kept 

 still growing taller, still rising, and still 

 keeping the same little rounded pyramid 

 of golden flowers until autumn, when 



Saxifraga geum (Kidney-Leaved London 

 Pride). Like the London Pride in habit 

 and flowers, but with the leaves roundish, 

 heart-shaped at the base, on long stalks, 

 and with scattered hairs on the surfaces ; 

 flowers about a quarter of an inch across, 

 and usually with reddish spots. A native 

 of various parts of Europe, useful for 

 the same purposes and cultivated with 

 the same ease as the London Pride ; 

 will grow freely in woods or borders, 

 particularly in moist districts. Saxifraga 

 hirsuta comes near this, and is probably 

 a variety. 



S. granulata (Meadow Rockfoil). A 

 lowland plant, with several small scaly 

 bulbs in a crown at the root, and common 

 in meadows and banks in England, 



Saxifraga cordifolia (Broad-Leaved Rod-foil). 



they were about 12 inches high. 

 It is an annual or biennial plant, which 

 sows itself abundantly, is useful for 

 moist spots, growing freely on the level 

 ground. 



S. diapensiodes. One of the best of 

 the dwarf Rockfoils, and also one of 

 the smallest. I have grown it very well 

 in an open bed in London, and it would 

 flourish equally well everywhere if kept 

 free from weeds, and in a well-exposed 

 spot; the soil should be very firm and 

 well-drained, though kept moist in 

 summer. The flowers are of a good 

 white, three to five on a stem, rarely 

 exceeding 2 inches high ; the leaves 

 packed into such dense cylindrical 

 rosettes that old plants feel quite hard 

 to the hand. A native of the Alps of 

 Switzerland, Dauphiny, and the Pyrenees. 



with numerous white flowers, f 

 inch across. I should not name 

 it here, were it not for its hand- 

 some double form, S. granulata fl. pi., 

 which is often grown in cottage gardens 

 in Surrey. It is very useful in the spring 

 garden as a border-plant, or on rougher 

 parts of rockwood. Mr Bentham con- 

 siders that the small bulb-bearing S. 

 crenua of Ben Lawers may be a variety of 

 the Meadow Saxifrage. As a garden- 

 plant, S. crenua, however, is a mere 

 curiosity, though it may be acceptable in 

 botanical collections. 



S. hirculus ( Yellow Marsh Rockfoil). 

 A remarkable species, with a bright 

 yellow flower on each stem, or sometimes 

 two or three, f inch across, and 

 quite different in aspect from any 

 other cultivated kind. A native of 



