334 



ALPINE FLOWERS FOR GARDENS 



[PART IT. 



Wahlenbergia dinaricus. It is one of 



the smallest, and more compact than the 

 robust W. dalmaticus. The flowers are 

 nearly as large, of a more purplish shade 

 of colour, more bell-shaped in form, singly, 

 or two or three on a stem. The leaves are 

 very small and narrow, covered with very 

 minute hairs on the upper surface. May 

 and June. 



W. pumilio. A very small kind, the 

 flowers solitary and 1 inch in length, and 

 about | of an inch in diameter, of a 

 bright purplish blue. The upper surface 

 of the leaves is covered with minute 

 hairs to such an extent as to have quite 

 a silvery appearance, which in all plants, 

 as a general rule, is a sure indication of 

 the requirement of a sunny position. 

 But though the plant itself grows best 

 when its foliage is moderately dry, its 

 roots, though well drained, should never 

 want for moisture. 



W. Kitaibeli is a robust kind. It is a 

 native of Bosnia, and growing about 6 

 inches high, the flowers large, purplish 

 blue. 



W. serpyllifolius. A gem for the rock- 

 garden, and, planted sideways into an 

 upright fissure, does remarkably well. 

 The flowers are very much like those of 

 W. pumilio, but of a deeper bluish shade. 



W. tenuifplius. A native of the moun- 

 tainous districts bordering on the Adriatic 

 from Trieste to Montenegro. 



WALDSTEINIA FRAGARIOIDES 



(Strawberry Waldsteinia). A showy 

 plant from North America, with creep- 

 ing bright-red, hairy stems, growing 

 about 6 inches high, bearing in summer 

 bright-yellow blooms about J incb 

 across, and thriving in ordinary soils. 

 Waldsteinia trifolia (Three-Leaved W.}. 

 A dwarf vigorous plant, spreading about 

 with stout stubby strawberry-like runners. 

 The trifoliate and rich yellow flowers in 

 April, on dwarf stems, with a dense brush 

 of golden stamens in the centre. A hardy 

 plant, good for any kind of rock or wall 

 gardening. Division. 



WULFENIA W. carinthiaca is a 

 dwarf, almost stemless, evergreen herb, 



12 to 18 inches high, bearing in 

 summer spikes of drooping purplish- 

 blue flowers, and found only on one 

 or two mountains in Carinthia. It is 

 a plant for rock-gardens or borders, 

 thriving in a light moist sandy loam. 

 W. Amherstiana from the Himalayas 

 is similar to the Carinthian species, 

 but more showy and rare, and we have 

 seen it only in Kew Gardens. It is 

 hardy, grows freely in any position in 

 the rock-garden, but prefers a shady 

 spot and light rich soil. 



XEROPHYLLUM ASPHODE- 

 LOIDES (Turkey's - Beard). A 

 tuberous-rooted plant with the aspect 

 of an Asphodel, beautiful, forming a 

 spreading tuft of grassy leaves, and 

 bearing on a flower-stem, from 2 to 4 

 feet high, a raceme of numerous white 

 blossoms. It grows well in a moist 

 sandy peaty border, or in the drier 

 parts of the bog-garden. A common 

 plant in the Pine barrens in North 

 America. 



YUCCA (Adam's Needle). Ever- 

 green plants of good and distinct form, 

 which, although used much as lawn- 

 plants, are best for the rock-garden or 

 dry banks, coming as they do from 

 arid and sandy regions in North 

 America. 



Their varieties really hardy in our 

 climate are Y. gloriosa,* recurva, ftla- 

 mentosa, flaccida. In damp localities 

 Yuccas are apt to form soft growths, 

 easily pulped by severe frosts. Planted 

 on dry mounds, or in sand and stones, 

 and lime rubble, or among sheltered 

 rocks by the sea, they are quite at 

 home, and flower well. Starvation is 

 the best treatment for them, especially 

 in cold inland places. 



In the rock-garden the best way is 

 to keep to the dwarfer free-flowering 

 kinds, which have the merit also of 



