Hardy Exotic Flowering Plants 169 



well fitted for naturalization^E. exaltatus and E. ruthenicus 

 are among the best kinds. 



May-Flower, Eptgcea repens. — A small creeping shrub, 

 with pretty and fragrant flowers, which come soon after the 

 melting of the snow in N. America, and are there as welcome 

 as the hawthorn with us. In its native country it inhabits 

 woods, mostly in the shade of pines ; and wherever I saw it, 

 it seemed to form a carpet under three or four layers of 

 vegetation, — that is to say, it was beneath pines, medium- 

 sized trees, tall bushes, and dwarf scrub, the plant itself was 

 not more than one or two inches high. It can be naturalized 

 in pine woods on a sandy soil. 



Dog's-tooth Violet, Erythronium. — This beautiful plant, 

 some years ago rarely seen in our gardens, adorns many 

 a dreary slope in the Southern Alps, and there is no difficulty 

 in the way of adding its charms to the wild garden. 



The Winter Aconite, Eranthis hyemalis. — Classed among 

 British plants but really naturalized. Its yellow buttons 

 peeping through the moss and grass in snowdrop time form 

 one of the prettiest aspects of our garden vegetation in spring. 

 It will grow almost anywhere, and is one of the plants that 

 thrive under the spreading branches of summer-leafing trees, 

 as it blooms and ripens its leaves before the buds open on 

 the beech. On many lawns, spring gardens might be formed 

 by planting some spring flowering plants that finish their 

 growth before the trees are in leaf. Another advantage of 

 such positions is, that the foliage of the tree prevents coarse 

 plants taking possession of the ground, and therefore these 

 little spring plants have the ground to themselves, and wander 

 into natural little groups in the moss and grass. The winter 

 Aconite does not thrive in some cool soils. 



Plantain Lilies, Funkia. — The conditions in the wild 



