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Apeil 6, 1912. 



THE 



GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



283 



MOSS PINKS. 



The pi^tty Alpine ]\Io«s Pink, as Phlox 

 subulata is called^ is one of tlie most charm- 

 ing and reliable subjects for rock garden 

 planting. Of easy groAvth under litt-le 

 more than ordinary renditions,, the pros- 

 trate stems form a moss-like carpet, and 

 radiate in all directions ; the leaves being 

 evergreen, are attractive at all seasons, but 

 specially when they provide an effec^tive set- 

 tmg to the brightly-coloured blossoms that 

 break from the stems in all directions. 



It is a hardy plant, of free growth, and 

 exceedingly free flowering, and this descrip- 

 tion applies without distinction to all its 

 varieties*, the majority of which are greatly 

 in advance of the type, in Jiaving larger 

 flowers ; all are low -growing and rarely 

 excc^ six inches in height, whereas their 

 spreading habit often enables them to cover 

 over a yard in width. As carpet plants they 

 have many uses in gardens; as edgings to 

 borders or as groundwork for beds of early- 

 flowering bulbs, they excel, and they are 

 used most successfully in level planting, but 

 their highest decorative beauty is, I think, 

 only revealed when they are seen draping 

 -vonie weathered boulder on the rock garden, 

 and in a k'sser degree when suspended from 

 the ahnost vertical face of a 'rough dry 

 wall. In either of these positions the cha- 

 racteristic prostrate habit of the hranches 

 lo'.eives free expression, and the flowers 

 likewise appear to the very best advantage ; 

 further, such positions are also most favour- 

 able to the thorough ripening of the stems, 

 being exposed to reflected as well as direct 

 sunlight. 



Phlox su'bulata and its varieties succeed 

 in any good garden soil, to which some 

 fresh loam and a quantity of stone chips 



Chalk 



addiptl at the time of planting, 

 is a valuable ingredient in the soil intended 

 for Moss Pinks^ and should be introduced 

 wherever possible in a broken state. I havo 

 always experienee<l the highest results from 

 plants grown on natural chalk formation, 

 and this material as a soil constituent ren- 

 ders the plants to a great extent immune 

 from winter damp. 



Moss Pinks are propagated by cuttings or 

 layers, the former taken in July and in- 

 -'Ttifl in -;nu!y soil in lunid frames -dnd 

 l<''pt <lo.>e till rooted. Layering may be 

 p*'Mornietl throughout the growing period, 

 ;'"d consists of simply pressing the stems 

 »nto the soil and covering them when thev 

 *^nnt roots freely. 



W the varieties of Phlox subulata that 

 named G. F. Wilson is one of the most dis- 

 ^nict. tlie flowers being a fine shade of 

 |*^^»nve: the foliage is narrow and needle- 

 nk*.. the stems slender; old masses of this 

 n"y>lant develop mounds about nine inches 

 'n height: being particularlv hardy, it is 



of the best for loved planting. llie 

 ^'^'•'J'ty bhu iuH, so finely illustrated here, 

 P»^;<i'K-es flow(M-s of a rich shade of lilac; 



n^>t unlike G, F. Wilson in growth but 

 ^l^varfer and ratlier mor(> r-onipact,' and 

 •> altogether a spring-flowering subject 

 difiicult to mi.splace. In Fairy the 

 nosers Hu^ a near approach to lilac, of a 

 nost plo i>,nii shade : the growth is neat and 

 ^^^f^ly execed> six inches in height. Abso- 



fern ^T^*^' ""^^ among the white 



nearest approach occurs in 



V^^^'-'^'^ li^^l^ subject of compact 

 1. and most free in flowering ; it rarely 

 a height of three or four inches 

 forVw stronger growth, and, except 



Tho T? ' flowers are white, 



th*. . r -omewhat similarly coloured, 



m on!'l^" 1 '"'^ <^^^^l^r red, A variety 

 the luerit Tlie Sprite ; in this 



tre hp ' ''^'^g^^^ the cen- 



mclu 1 ' T/ ''^"^^^ ^^'^^^^ varieties of merit 

 '''^^ H' lghtnes.., bright rose ; Daisy Hill, 



a deeper sliade than last; Little Dot, one with lier self-sown seedlings, perfecting her 

 of the dwarfest, having distinct flowers of plant* in the most unexpected and often 

 white and blue; and Model, in wJiich the apparentlv impossible spots. From the drv 



flowers are pink. 

 The fact that iMoss Pinks are in flower 



wall her chinniey campanulas lise robustly 

 with crowded stems five feet or more in 



from April till June enables this fine class heig^ht ; from the narrow chink between the 



to be used in spring bedding arrangements, 

 to which they add by their distinctiveness ; 

 they bear moving in June without any ill 

 after-effectSj so that by simply dividing 

 them, tlie same plants will do for tseveral 

 years. Thomas Smith. 



AUBRIETIAS ON A WALL- 



Nature has often a happy way of gar- 

 landing the face of a bare wall with flower- 

 ing plants, and in the illustration on jiag** 



country station wall an<l the paved i^l^it- 

 forni, down which one can Inirdly pass a 

 knife-blade, rise strong ])lants of valerian, a 

 3ard in height, and from mortar not five 

 yeiirs old seedlings of shrubby veronicas 

 push a few inches of giowth. Man may 

 ofton be discouraged in comparing his ill- 

 fortune with Nature's ai)i)arently never- 

 failing success. He ha^* sown in carefully- 

 prepared soil a pa<'ket of seed, out of which, 

 ]>erha])s, sea reel}' one has germinattHl. 

 Nature's seed, thiown on a ro: k or into the 



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1 o : s. Arnott. 



rilLr»X srUT'LAlA L1LA( INA. 

 A beauli.Td vari<'tv, witli Hlae-coloured flowers 



285 may be seen a high wall over the 

 face of which numbers of self-sown aubne- 

 tias luxve .spread into large breadths, and 

 are very beautiful when in full flower. 

 Everv endeavour should be made to raotlify 

 the original unattractiveness of bare w-alls 

 by clothing them with plant life. Walls 

 may l>e rendered objects of beauty, instead 

 of eyesores. Nature gives us ]u-oof of th s 

 again and again. Here ^he t':K-. s ;i wall 

 with countless upright, y(dl<.w-^\ h it*' s|.d<es 

 of navelwort rising from flat r(»ett*'s <d 

 roundeil leaves; here she drai>es the ilat 

 surface with lilac flower-tniils of rnother-^d- 



thousands ; 



here criinson-leavt^Ml herb, 



Robert anil ]>imitorv. paint the wall with 



red and vellow. Nature works wonders 



mi<lst of wetnls, flourishes an.n^/ngly. But 

 t.ne onlv sees NaUire's success's ami knows 

 nothing of Ium- taiiures. Indi'oil of tlifse 

 latter l^he is her<lle.ss, "so car^^ul <>f the 

 tvpe she st^^ms. so careless ot tlie suigle 

 life," and nuin nuiy well take In art ot grace 

 if his expectations hr hut half tuliilled. 



Manv simi)le cot^ag*^ gardens art* ren- 

 dered Vliarniijig in the sjjringtide of the 

 year l\v anhrietias. wh vh arr of the easiost 

 <-idtur»\ and ^iK-rrrd alniust a> ned in heavy 

 M>d as in ]>nrous eompost. Hn sh>]>nig 

 hanks and in retaining walls the auhnetia 

 will iloiirish an<l produce its ever-enla rgnig 

 mantle of fh)wers vrar by year. Althougli 

 ornameiital under su(h div*>rse eirruni- 

 stances, it is. ]>erha])s. when plante<i in 



J. 



