40 GARDEN PLANTS. 



two Awards. The leaves of this No.rth African shrub 

 are ahnost snow-white beneath, contrasting with the vege- 

 tation and enliancing the colour effects along this rich- 

 hued road. The "Fig Marigold" (Meseinbrvcnitheiumn 

 acinaciformc) adorns numerous walls with its heav\' 

 festoons of thick, llesh^' leaves and purple flowers. The 

 South African Composite, Arctoiis aspcra, a rough, hair\- 

 undershrub, bends over from man^• a garden. It is an 

 unassuming plant and a great favourite here now ; it 

 bears dull-gre\' leaves, pinnatilid and crimped, and bright 

 brownish-fellow flower-heads which in their dull sheen 

 remind one ol some of the Everlastings. The road takes 

 a sudden turning and we pass a steep place completeh' 

 overgrown with Bougainvillea, whose mauve flower bracts 

 are so brighth" coloured that in the sunshine the e\'e is 

 almost dazzled hx them. In delicate contrast with this 

 is the beautiful \\hite Rosa Siiiica. Its blossoms are 

 single with tufts of golden stamens. The splendid Big- 

 nonia, Teconia capcnsis, whose large, carmine flowers 

 show to such good effect in spite of the prolusion of 

 colours around, m.'A\ rival the Bougainvilleas in brilliance. 

 The name of "Trumpet flower" has been given to this 

 genus on account of the slighth" curved, tubular corolla 

 widening at the mouth. Then we pass Orange and 

 Lemon trees, still laden with fruit and alread\' opening 

 their fragrant blossoms. Amid this profusion of flowers 

 ^ve reach the little French Douane hut, and a few steps 

 further bring us to our destination. The Pont St. Louis 

 bridges with its bold arch the Ravine which divides 

 Italy from France. The view over Mentone from here 



