1 1 8 Cushion Saxifrages 



their disposal, they are not only likely to acquit them- 

 selves well : they will bejewel the positions for which 

 they are so well suited. Moreover, the measure of 

 protection needed, the uniform conditions of heat or 

 moisture, and not least, the sympathetic association 

 with rock which is so much to these miniatures, are 

 theirs by the same token. In other words, these 

 ti'easures of the race cannot be seen to a like advan- 

 tage anywhere else. In the ordinary planting areas 

 they are either lost or do not attract. Soils rich in 

 humus are more or less abhorrent to them, and often 

 fatal to success. Continuous rains, in conjunction 

 with the humid growth-exciting conditions obtaining 

 in lowland gardens, are inimical to their well-being, 

 the absence of the snow-protecting mantle of the 

 homeland but adding to their discomfiture, probably 

 hastening their death. It is in such circumstances that 

 the rock-builder should remember them and cater for 

 their special needs. 



All the cushion Saxifrages — species or home-raised 

 — prefer an abundance of grit about their roots; 

 indeed, it is surprising how long they endure and to 

 what perfection they attain in grit alone. It is true 

 that in such material greater attention to watering in 

 summer-time is required. That, however, is a detail 

 now. On the other hand, the richer alien soils in 

 which they grow and flourish for a time but accelerates 

 the end. It is "the pace which kills": a phrase as 

 true of the vegetable as of the animal kingdom. 



Most popular among them is S. Burseriana from 

 the Southern and Eastern Alps, with tufts of grey 

 spiny-pointed leaves, above which rise glistening white 

 shilling-large flowers to the accompaniment of red- 

 dish stems and calyces. It is 2 inches or 3 inches high, 

 a veritable gem. Notable form_^ of it are S. b. major 

 and S. b. gloria. These flower m February, and occa- 

 sionally earlier. S. b. macrantha follows in April. 

 Having a certain affinity with this set are the yellow- 

 flowered hybrids, S. Boydii and S. Faldonside, the last 



