290 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



June, 1909 



The plantain-leaved thrift (Armeria plantaginea) has balls of pink flowers and long, picturesque stems. The 

 sedum is a new species from Japan, with large yellow flowers, red stems and gray leaves borne in rosettes 



gardenesque for alpine effects, and I 

 heartily agree that improved pinks, colum- 

 bines and daisies would not be appropriate. 

 It would be impure design to use big masses 

 of them on rocks. But the wild forms of 

 these plants are as dainty as any other 

 alpine flowers, and it is easy to get the 

 seed of any wild forms from Geneva, 

 Switzerland. 



This reminds me that the cheapest 

 and easiest way to start a collection of 

 alpine flowers is to import the seed from 

 Europe, because flower seeds can now be 

 mailed without duty, and without vexa- 

 tious delays. There are no American 

 catalogues of alpine plants, but there are 

 many in England. There is a Swiss cata- 

 logue that offers 2,500 different kinds of 

 seeds; and a German that lists about 3,400. 

 This illustrates the immense range there 

 is for individual taste and experiment. 



However, beginners are appalled by such 

 big lists, and most Americans want to 

 know where they can buy plants, because 

 they are generally in a hurry and do not 

 mind the extra expense if they can get 

 results the first year. Unfortunately, there 

 is no way of buying alpine seeds or plants 

 in America, except by picking out the 

 alpine species from general catalogues. 

 As beginners do not know which plants 

 are alpines, I shall be forced, at the risk 

 of seeming unduly technical, to give lists 

 of alpine plants and indicate how they can 

 be secured. But you would find it much 

 pleasanter to buy a good book, like Hulme's 

 "Familiar Swiss Flowers," decide from 

 the colored plates what you want, and then 

 send your list to one of the specialists in 

 hardy perennials for an estimate; because 

 they often have many species which they 

 do not catalogue. 



THE TALLER ALPINE FLOWERS 



I will begin with the flowers that actually 

 grow in the Alps, not because they are 



any better than those of our own White 

 Mountains, but because they are more 

 famous and easier to get. Doubtless you 

 know most of these already, and think of 

 them only as border plants, for they will 

 grow in lowlands without rocks, and you 

 can buy the plants from any one of a dozen 

 American nurserymen. In rich soil they 

 may grow two to four feet high, but in the 

 rockery they will be smaller and corre 

 spondingly prettier. For even coarse weeds 

 become refined and look like wild flowers 

 when grown in thin, poor soil, and on rocks. 

 However, I believe you will agree that there 

 is nothing coarse in the following list: 



Columbine {Aquilegia vulgaris), violet Apr.-June 

 St. Bernard's lily {Anthericum Lilias- 



trum), white: Apr.-July 



Feathered columbine {Thalictrum 



aquilegijolium), rosy . . . June 

 Bush clematis {Clematis recta), white June 

 Pale yellow wolfsbane {Aconitum Ly- 



coctonum), yellow June-Sept, 



Yellow foxglove {Digitalis ambigua), 



yellow June-July 



Jacob's ladder {Polemonium cceru- 



leum), blue June-July 



Spiked speedwell {Veronica spic'ata), 



blue July-Aug 



Swallow-wort gentian {Gentiana ascle- 



piadea), blue July-Aug. 



Bee larkspur {Delphinium elatum), 



blue June-July 



Meadow sage {Salvia pratensis), blue June-Aug. 

 Clustered bellflower {Campanula glo- 



merata), blue July-Aug. 



DWARF ALPINES ANYONE CAN GROW 



But the peculiar charm of a rock gar- 

 den is not in plants that are two feet high 

 or more. It is in the plants that grow only 

 a few inches high, for it is a never-ending 

 delight to see them spread out until they 

 carpet a space three to ten feet square. Do 

 not forget that all the plants in the next 

 list really grow on the Alps, and have the 

 true alpine charm; yet you can order the 

 plants right now from any American nur- 

 seryman for September delivery, so as to 

 have a good show next spring. As a 



rule, it is not safe to set out newly bought 

 alpine plants in autumn, but you need not 

 be afraid of these. 



Hepatica {Hepatica triloba), white, 



purple, pink, blue .... March 



Spring Adonis {Adonis vernalis), yel- 

 low April 



Wood anemone {Anemone nemorosa), 



white April 



Yellow fumitory {Corydalis lutea), 



yellow Apr.-Oct. 



Lungwort {Pulmonaria officinalis), 



blue April 



Pyramidal saxifrage {Saxifraga- Coty- 

 ledon), white Apr. -May 



Geneva bugle {Ajuga Genevensis), 



blue May 



Common bugle {Ajuga reptans), 



purple May 



Snowdrop windfiower {Anemone syl- 



vestris), white May- July 



Fringed pink {Dianthus superbus), 



lilac May-June 



Marsh gentian {Gentiana Pnemo- 



nanthe), blue May- July 



Cushion pink {Silene acaulis), pink . May-Aug. 



Mountain speedwell {Veronica mon- 



tana), blue May-June 



Woolly yarrow {Achillea tomentosa), 



yellow June 



Alpine aster {A ster alpinus), purple . June 



Cheddar pink {Dianthus ccesius), 



rose June 



Harebell {Campanula rotuniijolia), 



blue June-Aug. 



Maiden pink {Dianthus deltoides), 



pink, white June 



Yellow gentian {Gentiana lutea), yel- 

 low June-July 



Bird's foot trefoil {Lotus corniculatus) , 



yellow June-Aug. 



Wall pepper {Sedum acre), yellow. . June-Aug. 



Coat flower {Tunica Saxifraga), pink June-Aug. 



Alpine soapwort {Saponaria ocymoi- 



des), crimson July-Aug. 



White stonecrop {Sedum album), 



white July 



Cobweb houseleek {Sempervivum 



arachnoideum) , red .... July 



ALPINES THAT ARE HARD TO GROW 



The way to grow all the difficult alpines 

 is to have a first class rockery, but I estimate 

 that only 5 or 10 per cent, of the really 

 desirable rock-loving flowers require such 

 treatment. Among these are the edelweiss, 

 the alpine poppy, the pasque flower, the 

 gentians, the saxifrages, the cyclamen, the 

 evergreen daphne with its divine odor and 

 the wonderful soldanella which is said to 

 force its way right up through a solid block 

 of ice. These world-famous flowers are 

 so celebrated for their exquisite beauty that 

 it is only natural that we should bewail 

 our inability to grow them in an ordinary 

 garden, whereas the big, cheerful fact is 

 that anyone can grow 90 per cent, of the 

 showiest rock plants without the expense of 

 a rockery. Even in England they do not 

 expect to grow the plants just named with- 

 out rocks and therefore we should rejoice 

 that we too can grow these treasures in a 

 good rockery. 



GARDEN EFFECTS WE CAN'T HAVE 



As nearly as I can judge the English get 

 their great and glorious mass effects from 

 only six or seven groups of rock plants: 

 I think they depend chiefly on the saxifrages 

 for white and for lace-like effects; on the 

 rock roses, or helianthemums, for a wide 



