226 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 4S5. 



ing, two inches long, and are borne singly on upright stems 

 three or tour inches high. This choice alpine plant is quite 

 noticeable, even when not in blossom, on account of its bright 

 green shining leaves which nestle close to the ground in 

 rosettes. A deep light loam with a bit of limestone will suit 

 this plant. 



Primula Japonica is a desirable plant for the rock garden, 

 and it is not generally known that it will withstand the most 

 severe winters here. It will even ripen seeds freely, and if 

 these are not collected they are scattered about the old plants, 

 where they germinate and become healthy seedlings. Here 

 P. Japonica thrives in a slightly damp, deep, rich soil, and is 

 now throwing up flower-stems to a height of a foot and a half. 

 The crimson flowers are produced in whorls along the stems, 

 and as they do not all open at the same time, the flowering 

 season is much lengthened. My experience with the seeds is 

 that they germinate about a year from the time of sowing. 



Another Japanese Primrose blossoming now is the lovely 

 Primula Sieboldii, one of the most floriferous and showy of all 

 the Primroses. We have extra-strong healthy plants, which 

 keep on increasing every year. The flowers, an inch and a 

 half in diameter, are produced in umbels of eight or ten on 

 stems about a foot long. This deciduous species, if grown in 

 a warm sheltered place and covered over with leaves in win- 

 ter, proves quite hardy. A slightly moist, rich, loose soil suits 

 the plants here, and in a somewhat shaded place the flowers 

 last longer. 



For the front row of the mixed border, or for slightly 

 elevated parts of the rock garden, Aster alpinus is deserving 

 of notice at this time. It is an attractive species with a dwarf, 

 stout habit, and grows vigorously here. The bright purple 

 flower-heads are produced singly on stout stems which rise 

 six or nine inches, and they measure two inches in diameter. 

 This Aster can be increased easily by division and is readily 

 raised from seed. 



The native leguminous plant, Thermopsis mollis, should be 

 in all gardens, and is an excellent perennial for the border. It 

 has a stout, bushy habit and needs no staking to keep it in 

 position. It flourishes in deep rich soil in an open position. 

 This plant is about three feet high and its stems have pal- 

 mately three-foliate leaves. The flowers are yellow and are 

 borne in long terminal racemes, which last in good condition 

 for a considerable length of time. The seeds are sometimes 

 slow to germinate, and show no sign for more than a year 

 after they are sown. 



The horned Pansy, Viola cornuta, is valuable for its contin- 

 uous blooming qualities. In a cool, shaded spot it flowers all 

 summer. The flowers are pale blue and of good size. A 

 variety of this species, Perfection, is a desirable plant, having 

 a dwarf habit and abundant blue flowers as large as an ordi- 

 nary-sized Pansy. Violas are easily grown and flower pro- 

 fusely during the hot weather and deserve a prominent place 

 in our borders. 



Calamintha alpina, a hardy plant from the south of Europe, 

 is one mass of small blue labiate flowers. It is a valuable 

 plant for the rock garden, and also grows freely in any ordi- 

 nary good garden soil. It is a low-tufted plant, about six inches 

 in height. 



The large patches of Stellaria holostea are now out of blos- 

 som, and in the borders the Cerastiums are the most promi- 

 nent low-growing plants, with white flowers. C. arvense gran- 

 diflorum is remarkably good, with large white flowers. C. 

 Boissieri is a distinct species, with silvery foliage and medium- 

 sized white flowers. It is quite hardy here and grows 

 vigorously, while C. tomentosum, another species with silvery 

 leaves, does not stand the winter well with us. Other species 

 in bloom now are C. oblongifolium, C. arvense, C. dichoto- 

 mum and C. alpinum Fischerianum. The double form of the 

 rich yellow-flowered Ranunculus acris, commonly called 

 Bachelor's Buttons, is a profuse bloomer in a slightly damp 

 and cool place. 



In the rock garden Silene alpestris has proved quite hardy 

 and is a choice plant for a slightly elevated position. It has 

 panicles of pleasing white shining flowers and a dwarf com- 

 pact habit. This native of the Austrian Alps was introduced 

 more than a century ago. Another choice species with much 

 the same habit and requiring the same treatment and situation 

 is S. quadrifida. Saponaria ocymoides is valuable for the drier 

 parts of the rock garden and the front row of a dry sunny bor- 

 der. The prostrate stems of this beautiful trailing plant are 

 almost hidden by its rosy flowers. 



The European Salvia pratensis is the first species of this 

 large and showy genus to blossom. It makes a good border 

 plant, and its long, graceful racemes of blue flowers are con- 

 spicuous now. In the front row of the mixed border patches 



of Veronica rupestris are decorative. The flowers are pleas- 

 ing and produced in great abundance. V. paniculata is slightly 

 taller than V. rupestris and has larger panicles of flowers. 

 Other choice species now blossoming, and all easily cultivated, 

 either in the border or rock garden, are V. Austriacum, V. 

 Tencrium and V. gentianoides. 



Harvard Botanic Garden, Cambridge, Mass. Robert Cameron. 



May Irises. 



T RIS BOSNIAC.E, as suggested by Herr Leichtlin last week, 

 ■^ is a handsome dwarf species, and it has been described in 

 Garden and Forest. But the leading idea in these Iris notes 

 has been to call attention only to those which have proved 

 reliable in my garden and are presumably those best adapted 

 to general cultivation. I. Bosniacse has dwindled away twice 

 here, and for this reason was omitted. To my taste I. cristata, 

 which was inadvertently overlooked, is the choicest dwarf 

 species of the family. It is very dwarf, indeed, and has beau- 

 tiful light lavender flowers with fine markings, and generally 

 thrives in the border without special care. Another bright 

 Iris of May is I. Hookeri, the Canadian common species, 

 which has very small standards and very bright purple-blue 

 flowers and leaves an inch broad. The Iris of the middle west, 

 I. Missouriensis, is also a very gracefully habited plant with 

 linear leaves and small blue-purple flowers of a medium 

 shade, but it scarcely flowers as freely as I. Sibirica, nor are its 

 stems as tall. The two best forms off. Sibirica are I. Sibirica 

 flexulosa, with white flowers, and I. Sibirica haematophylla 

 (or sanguinsea, from the reddish young leaves and spathes). 

 The latter form is often sold as I. orientalis, but this name is 

 properly applied to I. ochroleuca, which will be noted among 

 the June Irises. I. orientalis is one of the species which are 

 usually sent out incorrectly by dealers. I. Sibirica is very 

 common in eastern Asia, and as it seeds freely is often sent 

 home by travelers with provisional names which stick to it. 



No collection of May Irises would be complete without two 

 noble plants, I. pseudacorus and I. pallida, var. Dalmatica. 

 The former is a tall-growing kind, thrives well in the border, 

 but is especially attractive in wet places on margins of streams 

 or ponds. The yellow flowers vary in different forms, from 

 vellow to cream color. The Dalmatian Iris is a stately plant 

 which should be isolated where its distinction may be noted. 

 It has very broad short leaves, and the large light purple flow- 

 ers are carried well above these on tall stems. It is very 

 fragrant with an Elder-like odor. 

 Elizabeth, N.J. J.N.Gerard. 



Notes from the Arnold Arboretum. 



SO numerous are the desirable trees and shrubs in bloom in 

 this well-kept and orderly department of the park system 

 of Boston that it is impossible to give even a list of them. By 

 systematic care, a perfect record and up-to-date nomenclature, 

 this institution is becoming of inestimable value, not alone to 

 Boston, but to the whole country. As soon as established 

 plants are available, representatives of every genus of culti- 

 vated shrubs and trees — often by many species and varieties — 

 are planted in order, which is a great convenience to those 

 who desire to study them, for one's interest is certainly in- 

 creased by the assurance that they are all properly classified 

 and named. 



During a visit made a month ago, a thousand or more seed- 

 lings of Azalea Indica, var. Ksempferi, were in full bloom. 

 These have stood two winters unprotected, and there is no 

 reason why they should not be accounted hardy. These seed- 

 lings were part of a lot of ten thousand raised by Jackson 

 Dawson from seeds gathered by Professor Sargent in Japan, 

 and consignments have been made to all the best gardens of 

 England and the continent of Europe. Their earliness is 

 remarkable ; they flower ten days before Azalea mollis, and 

 more than two weeks earlier than the Ghent Azaleas. The 

 Indica type are mostly in colors of warm red, orange-red and 

 reddish pink. The markings of the standard petal show their 

 affinity clearly. Here is an opportunity, which undoubtedly 

 will be taken advantage of, to hybridize these with other spe- 

 cies and varieties. 



The Japan Quince was at its best at the time of my visit, and 

 represented by many peculiarities in habit of growth and color 

 of flower. Some are upright, others prostrate, and the salmon- 

 tinted and white-flowered were exceedingly effective. The 

 Crab-apples, a study of themselves, are seen in several types, 

 which merge into one another. Those of upright habit, 

 with larger leaves, flowers and fruit, known as the Baccata 

 group, resemble more nearly our cultivated Apple. The 



