264 ALPINE FLOWERS AND ROCK GARDENS. 



its charming deep pink flowers in ApriL Schafta is 

 largely grown, in part, perhaps, because it is a late 

 bloomer. It bears its pretty purplish flowers in 

 August. It is somewhat taller and looser in habit 

 than the rest. Virginica, the Fire Pink, is taller still, 

 the flower-stems rising a foot high or more. It is a 

 most brilliant plant, the scarlet flowers being remark- 

 ably vivid. 



SOLDANELLA.—LoweXy little Alpines; well 

 worthy of special attention. In their natural wild state 

 on the Alps they push their way through the mantle 

 of snow, and open their flowers without waiting for the 

 general thaw of spring. They form close cushions 

 of thick, round leaves, and bear charming, deeply cut, 

 bell-shaped flowers. They belong to the Primula 

 order, and have all the refined grace of the best Prim- 

 roses, with, perhaps, a greater degree of lightness. 

 They do best in cool, moist places, and must not be 

 set on high arid spots. Loam with abundance of sand 

 suits them. They will appreciate watering in summer 

 during dry spells, and a mulch of sandy peat or leaf 

 mould in autumn. If seed can be procured it should 

 be sown in pots or pans in spring, and set in a frame 

 or on a greenhouse shelf. Well estabHshed plants can 

 be divided after flowering. The best known species 

 is Alpina, one of the most refined and graceful of all 

 rock plants, which is shown in one of the coloured 

 plates. It produces its blue flowers in spring, on stems 

 four or five inches high, and has kidney-shaped leaves. 

 It is a native of the European Alps. Pyrolce folia, 

 often grown as a distinct species, is probably a form 



