358 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



Mat 4, 1912. 



AMONG THE ALPINE 



FLOWERS. 



" Flowers worthy of Paradise, which not nice 

 art 



In beds and curious knots, but Nature boon 

 Poured forth profuse on hill, and dale, and 

 plain." „ 



— John Milton, in Paradise Loet. 



Worthy indeed of Paradise are the alpine 

 flowers of the time. They are enchanting 

 in their loveliness, some spreading into 

 gieat sheets of floral beauty, and others 

 smiling modestly up to catch our eyes 

 we wander among our favourites, looking 

 for aught fresh or new for the season. Old 

 favourites there are among them — flowers 

 which have delighted long-departed gene- 

 rations of flownr lovers, and which will, 

 let us hope, give equal pleasure to the 

 generations to come after us. As we look 

 upon these flowers we feel linked with the 

 old gardeners, who had fewer flowers to 

 love than we, but who could hardly admire 

 their plants more than do we of this gene- 

 ration, for whose benefit all corners of the 

 world seem to be ransacked for floral trea- 

 sures. 



It is strange to feel that many of these 

 alpines of ours were cultivated by men of 

 the olden time; and that many of those 

 we love have come from far-off lands, whose 

 wealth of floral beauty was unknown to 

 Parkinson and others whose memory we 

 revere still as true admirers of our flowers. 

 This is not in the way of our notes, but 

 is merely a reflection which presses upon us 

 as we walk among our plants, and enjoy 

 their fascinations in the most brilliant 

 weather . 



Erythronium Johnsoni Pink 



Beauty. 



One who has known and loved this 

 flower for several years cannot refrain from 

 expressing pleasure that it has of late been 

 favourably noticed in the gardening Press 

 when shown in London. It is a beauty 

 indeed, with its exquisitely marbled foliage, 

 which is not only wonderfully beautifully 

 marbled, but is glossy, as if it had been 

 polished to the highest degree. Of beau- 

 tiful form, tinting, and texture, is this leaf- 

 age of the lovely Pink Beauty, one of the 

 prettiest of the American erythroniums, to 

 whose charms the writer has long fallen a 

 victim J and which he must bow down and 

 worship for their loveliness. As for the 

 flowers, who can attempt to describe the 

 colour? *'Pink Beauty,'' indeed, is this 

 plant, but the name, as do all names of 

 flowers, with perhaps a few exceptions, fails 

 to convey the impression of the colouring. 

 Looking at these flowers this morning in 

 the bright light of the morn, it seemed as 

 if the delicate pink colouring was slightly 

 veiled by a delicate frosting — a film of some 

 material, which softened, yet did not lower 

 the wonderful colouring of these graceful 

 petals of this lovely flower. It is many 

 years now since the writer first tasted the 

 delights of these American dog's-tooth 

 violets in his garden, and he would be un- 

 willing to be without their beauty now. 

 As for their culture, it seems an anti-climax 

 to discuss such a matter-of-fact theme. 

 Suffice it to say that these American ery- 

 throniums do well wuth the writer in the 

 rock garden and in a border in a light and 

 open soil. They last longer in flower in 

 partial shade, but are lovely anywhere. 

 Pink Beauty is one of the many charmers 

 we cannot do Avithout. 



Trillium erectum. 



One may speak of this as representing 

 the lovely Trinity flowers we have avail- 

 able for our rock gardens, and when pro- 

 }>erly placed, can add so greatly to its many 

 pleasures. The writer well remembers the 



rock garden of a friend who has long crossed 

 the bourne, and where a noble clump of a 

 splendid variety of Trillium grandifloruni 

 delighted in a shaded part, where it grew 

 partially under trees, and where it had 

 the moisture it loved. To perch the tril- 

 liums on a dry rockery, high to the winds 

 that blow, and to be scorched by the sun- 

 shine, would only be to court disaster, and 

 a corresponding disappointment. But there 

 are few rock gardens where a group of 

 some of the trilliums cannot be aoommo- 

 dated in congenial quarters, where they 

 would thrive happily and flower bravely 

 year after year. A low corner, well shaded 

 from the sun, and with plenty of moisture 

 for the delectation of the Trinity flowers, 

 but not, it must be enforced, in stagnant 

 wet, would suit them well, and there they 

 would eive pictures of beauty in their sea- 

 son. 'Riere is hardly a poor trillium, and 

 T. erectum is only selected because the 

 group of this species is the largest of those 

 in the writer's garden. It is looking very 

 attractive as this is written, the white 

 flowers of the prettiest variety being most 

 beautiful. 



Geum montanum. 



Bright now is the Mountain Avens (Geu: 

 montanum), whose yellow flowers look so 

 well on the attractively formed and 

 coloured foliage. There are good and there 

 are poor forms of this geum, and those 

 who have seen the best varieties, and have 

 obtained the poorer ones when ordering 

 them, may take heart of grac-e, and try 

 again, so as to obtain a good variety. One 

 has seen some people who had purchased 

 a poor specimen when not in bloom ^ and 

 who were attributing the small flowers to 

 errors in cultivation. Not, perhaps, so 



brilliant as its sister, G. reptans, it is 

 a much easier flower to grow, and I have 

 it excellent, both well up on a terrace of the 

 ix)ck garden, and also on a low level part 

 at the base. In both cases the geum 

 thrivevS, and flowers well in the ordinary 

 soil. Some six inches or more high, this 

 is a long-flowering, satisfactory, kindly 

 plant to the rock gai^dener. 



_ ni. 



In our desire to obtain large-flowered, 

 red, mossy saxifrages, we are, I fear, likely 

 to lose sight of some of the smaller ones, 

 which are very bright and beautiful, and 

 I wish to put in a plea on behalf of S. 



after the tvne of Guild- 



type 

 little earlier. 



Of 



Fergusoni, 



ford Seedling, but a 

 close growth, with charming little deep 

 crimson flowers, it is a plant worth cherish- 

 ing for the cooler slopes of the rock garden. 



Other Flowers. 



With a good variety of erythroniums, 

 some fritillarias, scillas, ornithogalums, 

 violas in plenty, arabises, aubrietias, the 

 lovely Cytisus kewensis, and other brooms, 

 and the host of flowers with which the 

 season has dowered us, we are by no means 

 willing to admit that any other season can 

 surpass this in the rock garden. Our 

 treasures are many, and our delights are 

 correspondingly great, as we gaze upon and 

 cherish our flowers. S. Aknott. 



Psychotria jasminiflora.— Tlie 



blossoms of this pretty stove shrub may be 

 described as being among the whitest of the 

 whites, for they are absolutely clear in tint, 

 without a tinge of colour. In general ap- 

 pearance the blossoms suggest those of a 

 bouvardia, and like a bouvardia this plant 

 blooms in great profusion. It is of rather 

 upright growth, and somewhat sparingly 

 furnished with oblong-shaped leaves of a 

 palish green hue. This psychotria, which is 

 also know by the generic name of gloneria, 

 flowers principally during the spring and 

 early summer months. — ^T, 



ROSE ENEMIES. 



Already, towards end of April, our roses 

 are badly infested wnth green-fly^ not 

 only in sheltered corners and upon walls, 

 but quite in the open. I do not pretend 

 to account for it, but these pests always 

 seem to come more abundantly during the 

 prevalence of easterly Avinds, which have 

 been frequent here (Mid-Sussex) of late. 

 There are a large number of reliable in- 

 secticides upon the market, and most of 

 these can be purchased in small quantities 

 well suited for growers of only a few roses. 

 All of these are good, and it would scarcely 

 be fair to mention any one spe^'ially^ and 1 

 will therefore give a few that are cheap, 

 and, when properly prej^ared and applied, 

 are most satisfactory. 



Very simple to use is Cyllin soft soap, 

 which is now largely used in Kew and other 

 well-known botanic gardens. A fact that 

 should speak for itself. This can be used 

 at the rate of one pound dissolved in a pint 

 and a-half of hot water. The solution 

 should be further diluted by using three 

 ounces — or about a small teacupful — of it 

 to a gallon of soft water. It may also be 

 used at the rat-e of one ounce of the soft 

 soap to a gallon of water, without the 

 aid of hot water first, but I find it dissolves 

 l>etter with partial boiling. 



One cannot really be too careful in using 

 poisons. Think of the painful cases so 

 often brought out at the coroner's inquest, 

 and make sure that no insecticides or weed- 

 killers are available to thoughtless persons 

 and children. This soft soap also has the 

 advantage of killing mildew. Used at fort- 

 nightly intervals, it will keep all clean, and 

 protect the younger gro\vths. 



Carbolic soap at the i-ate of half an ounce 

 to two gallons of water is a very cheap 

 remedy against insects, but more especially 

 against mildew. Mo-Effic can be used as 

 directed upon the packets, and is very 

 effective, without leaving any sediment 



Calvert's 



upon the foliage and flowers, 

 carbolic soap makes a cheap wash, and is 

 prepared by boiling one and a-half pounds 



or seven quarts of water, afterwaixls 



diluting this at the rate of one in seven 



A very good home-made wash can be made 

 from one pound of quassia chips, one pound 

 of soft soap, and ten gallons of water. 

 Bring to the boil, and let it simmer for 

 about an hour. It may afterwards be used 

 diluted with an equal amount of water. It 

 put into jars this will keep well. 



An ounce of sulphide of potassium dis- 

 solved in a gallon of hot water, and then 

 diluted by the addition of two gallons ot 

 w^ater, may be used when cold, but is more 

 effective at a temperature of 70 to 

 degrees. , 

 Under glass one has the additional help 

 of fumigation, and I have great faith ^ 

 this when not overdone. There , 

 little doubt that a good syringing on tne 

 morning following fumigation renders tti 

 latter more effective. One not only cleans^ 

 the foliage of dead insects, but kilk those 

 that have not quite succumbed, an 

 would probably revive. If fumigation anc 

 syringing are used in connection upon ^ 

 successive days, the newly-born insects 



also exterminated. 



greatest mistake when 

 against insects and diseases is '^^^^.^ 

 using remedies at too great a streng^^ 

 The gro^^^;h is checked by this error. e\e^ 

 to being equally as bad as the fault 



The 



wished to remedy. 



Much may aiso'be said in favour of e^r| 



operations, while the constant use of 

 solutions from the time growth beconi 

 active, often leads to almost complete n 



dom from insects and mildew. 



Rosartan 



