10 



FLORA AND SYLVA. 



sandy soil (or leaf mould) with plenty of stones 

 both : buried and lying on the surface, and is 

 easily increased by cuttings or by division of 

 the roots. 



Chilian Evening Primrose (CE. tar'axici- 

 folia). — A trailing plant of biennial duration, 

 with beautiful white flowers changing to a soft 

 pink. On a moist,warmsummer'seveningthey 

 are 5 inches across and visible on the darkest 

 night. Increased from seed, flowering well the 

 first year, and most enduring on warm soils. 

 Syn. CE.acau/is; a less beautiful plant is also 

 known by this name. * * * 



A MARSH GARDEN. 

 As stereotyped plans are a source of the 

 greatest evil to garden design, so the es- 

 sence and heart of good and artistic work 

 lies in taking advantage of natural con- 

 ditions and situations, of which we have 

 an interesting example at Castle Saun- 

 derson, Fermanagh, described in The 

 Field last week. There need be no doubt 

 that, considering the great area of marsh 

 and bog land in our countries, pictur- 

 esque gardens of the most interesting 

 and varied nature could be made there- 

 in at slight expense beyond that of pro- 

 curing the plants. The groundwork and 

 the heavy expense of garden-making is 

 in that way avoided. It is such a gain to 

 find the soil, water, and other condi- 

 tions needed ready at hand, and the only 

 thing then necessary is the thought of 

 the vast number of plants of the high- 

 est beauty that thrive naturally in such 

 ground. We remember in America see- 

 ing a dwarf Magnolia (M.glaucd) beauti- 

 ful in wet bogs ; certain kinds of Azalea, 

 Andromeda, Huckleberry, and other 

 shrubs are quite as much at home there. 

 The EasternStates of North America and 

 theCanadas are rich in lovely bog-plants, 

 including Orchids of great beauty and 



perfect hardiness . Even in our own more 

 limited flora we see lovely things in such 

 ground, and over the vast range of Euro- 

 pean mountains many Primroses attain 

 their highest beauty in bogs and nowhere 

 else, including our own Bird's Eye Prim- 

 rose. Then, again, the dwarf and trailing 

 mountain shrubs, often of great beauty, 

 are happy in boggy haunts, as are also 

 the northern Pines and Junipers. The 

 following lines give some account of 

 what has been done to turn to account 

 a piece of natural bogland, transforming 

 it from an ugly marsh into a spot of 

 beauty : "It is simply about threeacres 

 of a natural bog, sparsely wooded with 

 Birch,and sheltered byPines andSpruce ; 

 some parts have been partly drained, and 

 the whole turned into a garden of beau- 

 tiful and interesting plants. Canals have 

 been cutor deepened so as toallow great 

 masses of spongy peat-earth to stand 

 clear of the water, and walks with cross- 

 ings over log bridges lead one all over 

 the enclosure. The bog garden is quite 

 near — say five minutes' walk from — the 

 house, and I shall never forget the colour 

 and variety of vegetation that flashed 

 upon me on a sunny afternoon in Octo- 

 ber, when I saw the place for the first 

 time. The colour of autumnal foliage 

 and flowers, bright as it was, became in- 

 tensified by the background, and by the 

 low cliffs of black peat rising here and 

 there out of chocolate-coloured water. 

 The rich hues and dark tones of the peat 

 lost nothing by contrast with glistening 

 stems and trunks of Silver Birch, and by 

 the gleam of blue-leaved Pines. To see 

 this unique garden in April or May must 

 be delightful, when it is a fairy land full 



