PART II.] 



ALPINE FLOWERS FOR GARDENS 



309 



glows into solid sheets of purplish 

 rose-colour ; the flowers solitary,' on 

 short erect little stems, and often hiding 

 the leaves, which are small, and densely 

 crowded. In a wild state on the higher 

 mountains of Britain and the Continent, 

 in which it has to submit to the struggle 

 for life, it usually forms rather straggling 

 little tufts ; but on exposed parts of 

 the rock-garden, in deep and moist loam, 

 it forms rounded cushions fringing over 

 the sides of rocks. Propagated by division, 

 and flowering in early spring. Old plants 

 should be divided. There are the follow- 

 ing varieties in cultivation : 8. opp. major, 

 rosy pink, large ; S. opp. pallida, pale 

 pink, large ; S. opp. alba, white. 



Saxifraga peltata (Great Calif ornian 

 Rockfoil). A remarkably distinct species, 

 found on the banks of streams in 

 California, well known and a Eockfoil of 

 large size, the hairy flower-stems, which 

 are of an almost purplish-red colour, 

 sometimes attaining a height of more 

 than 3 feet, and terminating in a large 

 umbel of white flowers, with bright rose- 

 coloured anthers. The leaves resemble an 

 inverted parasol in shape, and are large 

 and dark green. They do not appear until 

 after the plant comes into flower. This 

 kind should be grown in a rich, deep, 



rngy soil, also in a half-shaded position, 

 Itered from cold, drying winds. It is 

 multiplied by division of the rhizomes 

 and also by seed, and is effective in the 

 dark parts of the bog-garden. 



S. retusa (Purple-Leaved Rockfoil). A 

 purplish species, closely allied to our own 

 S. oppositifolia, but, in addition to the 

 different character of the leaves, dis- 

 tinguished by the flowers having distinct 

 stalks, and being borne two or three 

 together on their little branches. The 

 small, opposite, leathery leaves are 

 closely packed in four ranks on the 

 stems, which form dense prostrate tufts. 

 A native of the Alps and Pyrenees, 

 flowering in early summer, may be cul- 

 tivated in the same way as S. oppositifolia, 

 and well merits a place in the rock-garden. 



S. Rocheliana (Rochel's Rockfoil). A 

 compact and dwarf kind, forming dense 

 silvery rosettes of tongue-shaped white- 

 margined leaves, and with large white 



flowers on sturdy little stems in spring. 

 I know no more exquisite plant for 

 the rock-garden, or for small rocky or 

 raised borders. Any free, good, moist, 

 loamy soil will suit it, and I have seen 

 it thriving very well on borders in 

 London. It should be exposed to the 

 full sun, and associated with the choicest 

 alpine plants. A native of Austria ; 

 increased by seeds or careful division. 



Saxifraga sancta. A native of Mount 

 Athos, at an altitude of 6000 feet. A 

 dwarf species, forming closely -set tufts 

 of foliage, composed of numerous leafy 

 branches of a dull green colour, the 

 leaves pointed, flowers bright yellow, in 

 panicles of two to five blooms. 



S. sarmentosa (Creeping Rockfoil). A 

 well-known old plant, with roundish 

 leaves, mottled above, red beneath, 

 with numbers of creeping, long, and 

 slender runners, producing young plants 

 strawberry fashion. Striking in leaf, it 

 is also pretty in bloom, and growing 

 freely in the dry air of a sitting- 

 room, may be seen suspended in 

 cottage windows. It perhaps is most 

 at home running free on banks or 

 rocks, in the cool greenhouse or con- 

 servatory ; however, it lives in the 

 open air in mild parts of England, 

 and, where this is the case, may be used 

 in graceful association with Ferns and 

 other creeping plants. A native of 

 China, flowering in summer. Closely 

 allied] to 8. sarmentosa is the delicate 

 dodder-like Saxifrage, S. cuscutceformis, so 

 called from having thread-like runners like 

 the stems of a dodder, and distinguished 

 by having much smaller leaves, and the 

 petals more equal in size than those 

 of sarmentosa, in which the two outer 

 ones are much larger than the others. 

 It will serve for the same purposes as 

 the Creeping Saxifrage, but, being much 

 more delicate and fragile in habit, 

 will require a little more care. The 

 plants grown in gardens as S. japonica 

 and S. tricolor are considered varieties of 

 the Creeping Saxifrage. 



S. tenella. A very handsome prostrate 

 plant, forming tufts of delicate fine-leaved 

 branches, 4 or 5 inches high, which root 

 as they grow. The flowers, which appear 



