COMMON GARDEN' FLOWEES. 



83 



altogether a weaker grower than the plain-leaved. 

 This grows ahout eight inches high, and forms a 

 pretty edging plant, either in or out of bloom. A 

 still richer variegated Wall Cress is A. lucida rarie- 

 gata. There is a coarser variegated Arahis — crUpata, 

 the most effective of all on some soils. There are 

 yet other variegated Wall Cresses, Arahis procurrens 

 varicrjata, and A. prcecox varicgata, so that those in 

 search of variegation have a rich find among the 

 W^all Cresses. Arahis alpina is a good deal like, 

 but is not quite so good as. alhida, and there is 

 a superior strain of this species, called alpbia 

 Chissiana^ introduced from Switzerland in 1596. 

 A. lucida and the two Rock Cresses, A. Alpestris 

 and Fetrcea, are also worth growing. There have 

 long been purple and lilac-flowered Wall Cresses, 

 such as aroiosa, pink ; cehennensis, pale red ; rosea, 

 rose ; retrofrada, blush ; but hardly any of these 

 iire worth growing. Quite recently, however, a 

 charming species has been introduced from Cali- 

 fornia, rejoicing in the name of Arahis hlcpharo- 

 p)hijlla, or Rosy Rock Cress. In general style and 

 appearance this new sj)ecies greatly resembles 

 A. alhida, but it produces its rosy-purple flowers 

 in May. Should it prove as hardy as the other 

 species, this will prove a welcome addition to 

 a useful family of plants, though lovers of old and 

 common favourites will probably think and say 

 that a purple Arabis is a Wall Cress spoilt. 



Aubrietias. — This highly ornamental family of 

 old-fashioned plants belongs to the same great 

 natural order of Cruciferce. The leaves are much 

 smaller, the plants more dense and dwarf, with 

 flowers also smaller and more numerous than in the 

 Arabis. There is another great and broad distinc- 

 tion : hitherto there has been no white Aubrietia, 

 though now a white variety of A. deltoidea is re- 

 ported ; and they are all very much alike in colour 

 — that is, of a lilac-purple or violet shade, differ- 

 ing somewhat in the depth of the shade only. 

 The flowers also vary considerably in shape and 

 size. The first-introduced Aubrietia v^as deltoidea 

 — or Three-angled Flower — introduced from the 

 Levant in 1710. The plant grows about four 

 inches high ; and the small purple flowers are so 

 closely packed over the silvery-greyish leaves, as 

 to hide them beneath a sheet of bloom dui'ing the 

 flowering season, which lasts from March till June, 

 the Aubrietias lasting far longer in flower than 

 the Arabis. A. p)urpurea is a slightly deeper purple 

 than deltoidea, and flowers later and rather longer. 

 The flowers are also of a different form, and a little 

 larger in size, the deltoidea, however, being generally 

 preferred. Auhrietia Kesperidiflora is another purple 

 variety, more like iJ»2r?;^c?(rm than deltoidea. 



All these, however, will speedily be sui^ersedcd by 

 two new varieties, A. grattdijlora and L'amphelld— 

 both wonderful improvements on all iDrevious species 

 and varieties. A. grandiflora is a larger and vastly 

 improved edition of the original species. A. Camp- 

 hellii is also of a deeper colour as well as of larger 

 size, and is, without doubt, the finest Aubrietia in 

 cultivation. Another variety, Grccea, is a better strain 

 of deltoidea. A. Hendersonii is of a deex^er violet- 

 purple than either of the others. Other and superior 

 varieties are said to have been recently raised. The 

 white sport or species will be most welcome, as there 

 is no white common flower that quite matches the 

 purple or violet Aubrietia. Even the smallest-flowered 

 Arabis are too large, and also too tall in the stem, 

 to run nicely with them. There are several par- 

 tially variegated-leaved Aubrietias, but the varie- 

 gation is neither so bold, striking, nor constant as 

 in the case of the closely-related plants, the Arabis. 

 The extreme smallness of the leaves, unless the 

 variegation is very striking, as in the case of the 

 Golden Lemon-thyme, is also against its effective- 

 ness ; and at present Aubrietias are more grown for 

 their flowers than their foliage. Nevertheless, the 

 variegated variety of A. purpurea — which is boldly 

 margined with white — is frequently used as an 

 edging plant. 



The Aubrietias are perfectly hardy, and will 

 grow in almost any soil, though, like most other 

 common flowers, they pay well for a bit of good 

 light loam, with a dash of leaf-mould in it, and 

 fair culture. In good soil, with a dash of water 

 in a dry season, Aubrietias are seldom out of 

 flower throughout the year. On poor dry soil^ 

 the bloom is less dense, and the time they last in 

 bloom is very greatly curtailed. From the dense 

 trailing habit of these plants, they propagate 

 themselves with amazing rapidity, rooting their 

 stems as they run, so that the one speedily becomes 

 any number at the will of the cultivator. 



As to the best time for dividing Aubrietias, most 

 authorities recommend spring and autumn. Neither 

 of these is the best season, but rather about mid- 

 summer. Spring division injures the flower for that 

 season ; autumnal division does not afford sufficient 

 time to permit of the plants being well established 

 before winter, and the flower-buds developed and 

 filled for spring blooming. Divide as soon after 

 flowering as practicable, and the plants will get 

 rapidly established, and will have sufficient time 

 to recoup themselves from the check, and bloom the 

 following season as if nothing had happened. 



Propagation is also effected by cuttings. Small 

 pieces of the half- ripened wood placed under a hand- 

 light or in a close frame will root freely. As soon 

 as rooted, harden off by partially removing the glass 



