244 



The Wild Garden 



blue of this flower is most vivid; it is one of the 

 most charming of all Alpine flowers, and should be 

 in every garden of hardy plants, on the rock-garden, 

 or borders where only dwarf plants are grown. It 

 may be grown well in sandy loam mixed with broken 

 limestone or gravel, and indeed is not particular as 

 to soil, provided that it be mixed with sharp sand 

 or grit, and kept moist, and left for several years 

 undisturbed. It is best suited for a level spot on 



THE VERNAi GENTIAN. "(Engraved from a photograph.) 



the rock-garden with a good body of soil into which 

 its roots may descend. It may be grown in rock- 

 gardens, the surface of the ground being studded here 

 and there with small stones, among "which this lovely 

 plant will grow and flower. It is abundant in mountain 

 pastures in central and southern Europe ; it is, in fact, 

 a true Alpine, and may now be had in various nurseries. 



