Azalea. 27 



in brilliancy and tone. Its numerous flowers are large 

 and very showy, presenting a beautiful appearance in 

 early spring. The shrub is taller than the preceding and 

 much more hardy, as it endures the climate as far north 

 as Canada. It grows well in any good soil, and needs 

 but little care. The flowers are light pink, and appear 

 about the middle of May. The shrub grows to a height 

 of six to ten feet. 



A. calendulacea is a native of the high mountains of 

 North Carolina and other Southern States, where it often 

 grows in such profusion as to make the mountainsides 

 appear, from a little distance, as though covered with a robe 

 of scarlet. It is of larger growth than most other species, 

 either native or foreign, and has the peculiarity of blossom- 

 ing late in the summer, after all the others have ceased to 

 show color. It is popularly known, from the gorgeousness 

 of its hues, as the great flame azalea — a name not at 

 all inappropriate, in view of its crowded mass of scarlet 

 blossoms. Many regard it as the most beautiful of all the 

 native American plants, and not wholly without reason. 

 In England and continental Europe it awakened great 

 enthusiasm when first introduced, and it is still regarded 

 as one of the very best of the flowering shrubs. 



A. arbor escens, or the tree-like azalea, grows from twelve 

 to twenty feet high, and is supposed to be the largest 

 member of the family. It also is of American origin, and pro- 

 duces reddish flowers, in themselves attractive but less bril- 

 liant than those of most of the species already mentioned. 

 It is, however, worthy of cultivation in the border, which 

 it greatly helps to enliven with color in early springtime. 



