232 ALPINE FLOWERS AND ROCK GARDENS. 



GERANIUM (Cranesbill).— The name "Gera- 

 nium " has been so thoroughly usurped by the brilliant 

 bedding plants called Zonal Geraniums, which are 

 really Pelargoniums, that its association with rockery 

 plants may strike uninitiated amateurs as surprising. 

 The hardy species under consideration now are the true 

 Geraniums. Several species are British plants, and 

 they are very showy, but they are such vigorous growers 

 that they are unsuitable for the rockery. The Alpine 

 species are not so rampant, and may be introduced 

 with safety. They are not particular as to soil. A 

 gritty loam suits them very well. They are propagated 

 by division between autumn and spring, or by seeds 

 sown out of doors late in spring. The silver-leaved 

 Cranesbill, G. argenteum, is one of the most beautiful. 

 It bears rosy flowers in early summer, on stems only 

 three or four inches high. It is the better for having 

 a square of glass set over it in winter. Cinereum has 

 pink- veined flowers in summer, and grows six to nine 

 inches high. Sanguineum, magenta, has a good 

 variety in lancastriense, which produces rose-veined 

 flowers in June. There is also a white variety (album), 

 which many people like. Both are suitable for the 

 purpose. Wallichianum is a trailing Himalayan 

 species, which bears purple flowers in summer. The 

 Geraniums are hardly plants for very small rockeries, 

 but they are worth including whenever there is a fair 

 amount of room. 



GEUM (AvENs). — ^The Geums are popular plants 

 for the border, growing in almost any soil, and par- 

 ticularly useful because they begin to produce their 



