PART II.] 



ALPINE FLOWERS FOR GARDENS 



331 



but weeds succeed ; it will form carpets 

 for open groves or the fringes of woods, 

 or in open parts of copses, or on hedge- 

 banks, demanding in such positions no 

 care, and rewarding the planter by filling 

 the cold March air with sweetness ; and 

 in the garden, instead of confining it to a 

 solitary bed for cutting from, as is often 

 the case, it should be used on the rock- 

 garden, and it grows well on dry walls. 



The newer seedling forms, like La 

 France, are so good that if used more 

 as carpets in the rock-garden and near, all 

 the better. It will grow in almost any 

 soil, but succeeds best in free sandy loams, 

 and should be put in such when there is 

 any choice. 



The varieties of the Violet are 

 numerous. We have the Single White 

 and the Single Rose, the Double White, the 

 Czar, the Queen of Violets, Admiral 

 Avellan, La Grosse Bleue, La France, 

 California, Princess of Wales, Luxonne, 

 Belle de Chatenay, White Czar, Marie 

 Victoria Regina, Wellsiana, and the 

 perpetual blooming Violet wMl known 

 in France as La Violette des Quatre 

 Saisons. It differs slightly from the 

 Sweet Violet, but is valuable for flower- 

 ing long and continuously in autumn, 

 winter, and spring. It is the variety used 

 by the cultivators round Paris. The 

 Neapolitan Violet comes from a different 

 and more delicate species, and its varieties 

 are not fitted for open-air culture, save in 

 very favoured districts. 



Viola pedata (Bird-Foot Violet}. The 

 most beautiful of the American Violets, 

 with handsome flowers, an inch across, 

 pale or deep lilac, purple or blue, the 

 two upper petals sometimes deep violet, 

 and velvety like a Pansy ; the leaves 

 deeply divided, like the foot of a bird, and 

 the plant dwarf. In a wild state it in- 

 habits sandy or gravelly soil in the 

 Northern States of America, flowering in 

 summer, and increased by seeds or 

 division. It is best adapted for the rock- 

 garden, where the soil is sandy and moist. 



V. rothomagensis (Rouen Violet). 

 A handsome plant belonging to the tri- 

 color group, dwarf, and with low creep- 

 ing stems which bear in spring numerous 

 purple and white blossoms. It is a free 



grower, but, being a native of Sicily, is 

 not so hardy as some Violets, and should 

 be grown in a light soil and a warm spot. 

 Viola tricolor (Heartsease). The com- 

 mon Pansy is usually included under the 

 head of V. tricolor, though it is more likely 

 to have descended from V. altaica; in 

 any case, from some kinds nearly allied 

 to that species. But the kinds are so 

 numerous, so varied, and, withal, so- 

 distinct from any really wild species of 

 Violet in cultivation, that little can be 

 traced of their origin. Of one thing we 

 may be certain : the parents of this 



Specious race were true mountaineers, 

 nly alpines could give birth to such rich 

 and' brilliant colour and noble amplitude 

 of bloom, considering the size of the plant. 

 Its season never ends, it blooms often 

 cheerfully enough at Christmas, and is 

 sheeted with delightful gold and purple 

 when the Hawthorn is whitened with 

 blossoms. Such a flower must not be 

 forgotten on our rock-gardens, even though 

 it thrive in almost any soil and position. 

 It may be treated as an annual, biennial, 

 or perennial, according to climate, position, 

 and soil. Good varieties are quickly and 

 easily raised from seed, while the plant 

 may be raised freely from cuttings or by 

 division. Only the most delicate colours 

 are worthy of the rock-garden. 



In addition to the Violets here described, 

 other species are worthy of cultivation in 

 large collections, for example : V. striata, 

 V. canadensis, V. obliqua, V. palmata, 

 V. blanda, V. pennata, V. palmaensis; 

 but most of these are all exceeded in size 

 and beauty of flower by those described, 

 and surpassed in odour by the Sweet 

 Violet. 



Hybrids of Viola. The common Pansy 

 of our gardens is a hybrid Viola. Of late 

 years a beautiful race of plants has been 

 raised by crossing this with other Violas, 

 giving us the plants I call Tufted Pansies, 

 which are of the highest value for the 

 rock-garden or any other flower-garden 

 use. The delicate colours, facility of 

 increase, and almost perennial character 

 make them more precious than the older 

 race of Pansies, which are rather of a 

 biennial character, and not easy to per- 

 petuate. For a full account of these 



