ALPINE FLOWERS. 



305 



ALPINE FLOWERS. 



" Avec leurs grands sommets, leurs glaces diernelles, 

 Par un soleil d'dtd, que les Alpes sont belles ! 

 Tout dans leurs frais vallons sert k nous enchanter, 

 La verdure, les eaux, les bois, les fleurs nouvelles. 

 Heureux qui sur ces bords peut longtemps s'arreter ! 

 Heureux qui les revolt, s'il a pu les quitter ! " — GuiRAUD. 



Of late years bedding plants — that is to say, plants kept under glass 

 during the winter and planted out in the spring — have been the rage. 

 Geraniums and calceolarias, thus treated, yield thousands of blossoms, 

 and, for some situations, geometric beds filled with them are beautiful . 

 nevertheless, thus arranged, except in their proper places, they do not 

 satisfy the mind, and when the inevitable geranium is seen in every 

 garden alike, the charm of novelty is wanting. 



Perpetual variety is to be found in the almost countless multitude 

 of species of the beautiful little flowers which adorn the Alps, the 

 Pyrenees, or even the wild banks and heaths of this country, and which 

 may be grown in the alpineries.^ I have two alpineries, besides a 

 sedum, a saxifrage, and a sempervivum garden ; and there is scarcely 

 any time of the year when some lovely object may not be found in 

 them : — indeed at most times of the year such varieties of graceful 

 form are in blossom as completely to satisfy and gratify the mind. 



My alpineries are peculiarly constructed. The one at the eastern 

 part of the fern glen is a small mound, in the formation of which, 

 top-spit, fibrous loam is chiefly employed. Large pieces of sand- 

 stone are inserted in an irregular manner eight or ten inches into 

 the ground, and stand out as much or more above ground. The earth 

 underneath the stone is adapted for the roots of delicate plants, many 

 of which form masses of roots against the stone, which permanently 

 holds moisture. Some plants will not succeed without this kind of 



^ The word alpinery has been constructed as a companion word to fernery, 

 and, although not etymologically correct, is nevertheless a convenient word for 

 general use. 



