52 ALPINES AND BOG-PLANTS 



of maturity. The Adonises are quite easy to cultivate, 

 but I rather hope, by now, that I have lost or parted 

 with all mine. 



Paeonia and Delphinium, those very gorgeous persons, 

 are not, of course, suited to the small rock-garden. But 

 hard indeed must be the heart that can exclude them. 

 The species of Delphinium that I have grown are dictyo- 

 carpurn, scopulorum, and tatsienense. Of these tatsien- 

 ense is so immeasurably the best, that I shall let the 

 others go without replacing tliem. Tatsienense grows 

 anywhere in the sun, is about a foot or eighteen inches 

 high, and produces clouds of bright blue flowers on 

 graceful branching stems. I have also wrestled with 

 cardinale and nudicaule, the two scarlet species. The 

 sun-loving, delicate Californian nudicaule has been an 

 utter failure here. Cardinale, also a Californian, seems a 

 better plant, but I cannot really do it justice until I 

 have given a good trial to the stout little seedlings that 

 I now have ready to go out.'' Of better-known species, 

 I will only say that the tall Hybrids are glorious for 

 high places on the rock-work, and that the dwarf. 

 Delphinium grandiflorum, has the largest flowers and the 

 most brilliantly splendid blue. The old Belladonna, too, 

 is among the best, small enough for the rock-garden, 

 bearing loose spires of big blossoms, tender in their 

 Cambridge blue as the sky of early morning. This 

 delight thrives anywhere, but very rarely seeds. There 

 is also a white form of grandiflorum and an exquisite 

 gentian-, or pale sky-coloured form, as there is also 

 of its twin, cashmerianum grandiflorum. And all are 

 perfectly easy to grow. 



Paeonia wittmaniana is a rarity, a herbaceous species 

 with big sulphur-yellow flowers, which, like all the 



' They throve robustly, and sent up stalwart spikes. And then the 

 slugs came and ate every one of them clean down to the ground. 



