APRIL oS 



"black root is like so much wire. It is a good plan with 

 plants that have such roots, when dividing- time comes, 

 to take the clumps to a strong bench or block and cut 

 them through at the crown with a sharp cold-chisel 

 and hammer. Another of the showiest families of 

 plants of the time is Doronicum. D. austriacum is 

 the earliest, but it is closely followed by the fine B. 

 plantagineum. The large form of wood Forget-me-not 

 {Myosotis sylvatica major) is in sheets of bloom, opening 

 pink and changing to a perfect blue. This is a great 

 improvement on the old smaller one. Grouped with 

 it, as an informal border, and in patches running 

 through and among its clumps, is the Foam-flower 

 {Tiarella cordifolia), whose flower in the mass looks 

 like the wreaths of foam tossed aside by a mountain 

 torrent. By the end of the month the Satin-leaf 

 {Reuchera Richardsoni) is pushing up its richly-coloured 

 leaves, of a strong bronze-red, gradating to bronze- 

 green at the outer edge. The beauty of the plant is 

 in the colour and texture of the foliage. To encourage 

 full leaf growth the flower stems should be pinched 

 out, and as they push up rather persistently, they 

 should be looked over every few days for about a 

 fortnight. 



The Primrose garden is now in beauty, but I have 

 so much to say about it that I have given it a chapter 

 to itself towards the end of the book. 



The Scotch firs are shedding their pollen ; a flower- 

 ing branch shaken or struck with a stick throws out a 



