GERANIUM. 



55 



as G. platypetalum. The flowers are deep blue and large, and when the de- 

 cumbent stems hang over stones on the edge of a raised border the effect is 

 good. The leaves become beautifully coloured in autumn. It thrives in any 

 soil, doing well in partial shade, and should be allowed to trail unrestrained, 

 as should all other Geraniums. G. gymnocaulon (that is, bare stalked) is con- 

 sidered a variety of this species, but is a distinct form, having smaller and 

 flatter leaves with more rounded lobes, and a more compact and low growth. 

 There may be intermediate forms which I have not seen. In De Condolle's 

 " Prodromus " this is made a species. 



G. Wallichianum, from the Himalayas, comes very near the last in merit, 

 and at its best may perhaps be preferred to it. The conditions essential to 

 its successful cultivation are a perfectly drained site, a cool, moist soil, and 

 moderate shade. I have sometimes been told by gardeners who have to deal 

 with sandy soils that it is not worth its room, and it is true that in dry, hot, and 

 gravelly gardens, such as many in the lower Thames Valley, it never does well ; 

 the colour of the flowers, which ought to be as blue as those of Nemophila in- 

 signis, degenerates to dull red, and the growth becomes stunted and shabby. 

 In Sweet's " Monograph," tab. 90, and Botanical Magazine^ tab. 2377, the 

 type is represented with dingy red flowers, but in gardens these shades ought 

 not to be tolerated. On a well-drained rocky bank, facing east or south and 

 partly shaded, a well-selected plant is a first-rate ornament covering a wide 

 space — the flowers growing gradually of a purer blue during August and Sep- 

 tember as the nights become cooler and the days shorter. Selection is of the 

 greatest importance in this species and should be continued in every genera- 

 tion of seedlings, which should be potted till their first flower appears, and 

 the inferior shades rejected. In this way a good strain will be insured, and 

 the best, when planted out in suitable surroundings, will flower for four or five 

 seasons without further attention. This, like most other hardy Geraniums, 

 ripens seed plentifully. High winds derange the long prostrate stalks, and 

 should be avoided. 



For those who can, like the writer, admire flowers of rich crimson, G. 

 armenum will be welcome as a sure ornament through July and August. This 

 species prefers hot sun, and is not at all exacting as to soil. The flowers are 

 abundant and of large size, and their conspicuous gaiety is generally approved. 

 It increases readily, either by division or self-sown seeds, which it shoots out to a 

 considerable distance, and the seedlings are easily transplanted. Most Geraniums 

 like a rocky slope, partly shaded, and having deep crevices amongst the stones : 

 the soil of edge garden is not good for them, being too retentive and heavy. 

 Such conditions are especially bad for G. sanguineum and its white variety. 

 Beautiful as the type is when hanging down from clefts of the rocks on Great 

 Orme's Head, where it grows wild in profusion, it becomes a troublesome weed 



