144 THE WILD GARDEN. 
any position or soil ; but to get the full benefit of their early-blooming 
tendency it is desirable to place them on sunny grassy banks in tufts 
or groups, and not far from the eye, as they are usually of unobtrusive 
colours, They form beautiful ornaments near wild wood walks, 
where the spring sun can reach them. There are various kinds useful 
for naturalisation. 
Sun Rose, Helianthemum.—Dwarf spreading shrubs, bearing 
myriads of flowers in a variety 
of showy colours. The most 
tasteful and satisfactory way of 
employing these in our gardens 
is to naturalise them on banks 
or slopes in the half-wild parts 
of our pleasure-grounds, mostly 
in sandy or warm soil. They 
are best suited for chalk districts 
or rocky ones, where they thrive 
most luxuriantly, and make a 
very brilliant display. There 
are many varieties, mostly differ- 
ing in the hue of the flowers. 
Perennial Sunflower, 
Helianthus, Rudbeckia, Silphium. 
—Stout and usually very tall 
perennials, with showy yellow 
flowers, the best known of which 
is Helianthus multiflorus fl. pl, 
of which plenty may be seen in 
Euston Square and other places 
in London. As a rule these 
are all better fitted for rough 
places than for gardens, where, 
like many other plants mentioned in these pages, they will tend to 
form a vigorous herbaceous covert. H. rigidus is a brilliantly showy 
plant, running very freely at the root, and an excellent subject for 
naturalisation. H. giganteus, common in thickets. and swamps in 
America, and growing as high as 10 ft., is also desirable. The showy 
and larger American Rudbeckias, such as laciniata, triloba, and also 
the small but showy hirta, virtually belong to the same type. All 
these plants, and many others of the tall yellow-flowered composites that 
Sun Rose on limestone rocks. 
