94 COLOUR SCHEMES 



larger-growing kinds. It is a common practice to fill 

 up the edges of their prepared places with a collection 

 of Heaths. The soil will no doubt smt Heaths, but I 

 never do it or recommend it because I feel that the 

 right place for Heaths is quite open ground, and there 

 are other plants that I think look better with the young 

 Rhododendrons. For my own liking the best of these 

 are hardy Ferns — Male Fern, Lady Fern and Dilated 

 Shield Fern, with groups of Lilies : L. longiflorum and 

 the lovely rosy L. rubellum towards the front, and 

 L. auratum further back. Some of the Andromeda^,- 

 especially Catesbcei and axillaris of the LeucothoS 

 section, are capital plants for this use. Besides Lilies, 

 a few other flowering plants suitable for the Rhodo- 

 dendron walk are : white Foxgloves, white Columbine; 

 white Epilohium angustifolium, Trillium, Epimedium 

 pinnatum, Uvularia grandiflora, Dentaria diphylla and 

 Gentiana asdepiadea. In the same region, and also partly 

 as edgings to the Rhododendron clumps, suitable small 

 bushes are Rhododendron myrtifolium, the Alpenrose 

 (JR. ferruginium) and the sweet-leaved Ledum palustre. 

 Later it was found that these wood-path edges 

 offered such suitable places for the late-blooming Willow 

 Gentian (G. asdepiadea), that it was still more largely 

 planted. It delights in a cool place in shade or half- 

 shade, and when in mid-September so many flowers 

 are over and garden plants in general are showing 

 fatigue and exhaustion, it is a pleasure to come upon 

 the graceful arching sprays, their upper portions set 

 with pairs of long blue flowers, looking fresh and 

 bright and full of vigour. 



