630 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



August 17, 1912. 



i 4 



our alpine 



AMONG THE ALPINE 



FLOWERS. 



Season of mists and yellow fruitfulnees. 

 Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun. " 



— Keats. 



Sometimes the poets are in happier mood 

 than the gardeners, who find that the sea- 

 do not always come as the bards would 

 lead us to believe. As this is written the 

 maturing sun has ofttimes been for- 

 saking its bosom-friend. Instead of the rock 

 garden t>eing bathed in the mellow sun- 

 shine of the time, it has been too often 

 sliouide'r in rain, and has. had lalJ its 

 brighter colour tones dulle<l by the cloudy 

 skies. Yet, despite all this, 

 flowers have tried their \yest to give 

 good cheer, and they are able to bestow 

 upon us some joyfulness of heart as we see 

 their winsome flowers. Few they are com- 

 pared with those whiih gladdened ns in 

 the earlier months, yet their flowers are 

 welcome indt^ed, even though we are feel- 

 ing that the hopes of the future bulk more 

 largely in our minds now tlian in the 

 earlier months. Truly the alpinist is in 

 his seventh heaven early in the year, and 

 already he thinks hopefully of what will 

 meet his eyes in spring, though these 

 thoughts ur<> almost heresy towards the 

 flowers of the present time. 



Campanula excisa. 



From among the comparatively few 

 flowers which meet our admiring eyes in 

 the fast-shortening days we may choose for 

 notice the curious, yet pretty, little bell- 

 flower called Campanula excisa, which is 

 flourishing hero in what may be called a 

 modified moraine, this only consisting of a 

 thick cox^ering of whinstone chips on an 

 ordinary flat part of the rock garden. The 

 moraine is in fashion now, but the system 

 of cultivating in the moraine is one which 

 may be overdone. It is not so necessary with 

 many plants as may be supposed, and many 

 of these will thrive equally well with simply 

 an inch or two of gravel or chips 

 above the or<liiiary soil, through which they 

 will grow and luxuriate. The charming 

 little Campanula excisa will doubtless 

 flourish in th© moraine, but it will grow 

 quite well under the conditions indicated, 

 and here there is a nice little specimen, 

 not only thriving, but spreading among the 

 chips which cover the light sandy soil in 

 which it is planted. Very quaint are the 

 drooping pale blue flowers, each with a bit 

 taken out of each petal, just as if some 

 envious insect had eaten a piece out of it. 

 With its narrow^ foliuge, its dwarf ha.bit, 

 and its curiously pretty flowers, Campa- 

 nula excisa makes a strong claim upon us 

 now. 



Erica vagans 



lymp 



Our familiar little friend — for we can call 



it nothing but a 



deed — Tunica 



saxifraga, which spreads its lace-like rosy 

 flowers so gracefully over the rocks and 

 stones at this time, has now^a worthy com- 

 panion in the sister flower. Tunica olym- 

 pica. In T. olympica, however, the dainty 

 little flowers are white, and the two to- 

 gether form a pleasing feature of the 

 alpine garden at this season. Of the most 

 graceful foliage and of slenderest habit, 

 these Olympian and rock tunicas are de- 

 lightful little plants, and are, withal, easy 

 to grow in any light soil, loving the sun, 

 yet not detesting comparative shade, and 

 delighting to throw their delicate trailing 

 branches over the rockwork to its adorn- 

 ment, and our corresponding delight. They 

 are easy plants to raise from seeds, and, 

 with the double form of T. saxifraga, form 

 a trio of good and appreciated rock nlants. 



of the alpines 



iate 



As the flowering term 

 draws to an end we learn to appr 

 more and more the autumnal heaths, of 

 which we have now a considerable number. 

 Without appearing to <f-eprec^ite any of 

 these one would like to draw the notice of 

 the reader to the Cornish heath, Erica 

 vagans, and its varieties. They are excel- 

 lent plants for the rockery, and by reason 

 of their accommodating ways are valuable 

 for rock gardens large and rock gardens 

 small, seeing that they can either be 

 allowed to grow into large and handsome 

 bushes, several feet across, or kept to a 

 few inches in width. There are several 

 varieties besides the type, which has pretty 

 racemes of purplish-red flowers, with pro- 

 jecting, chocolate-coloured anthers. The 

 white variety, E. v. alba, is very attractive 

 with the contrast afforded by the white 

 bells and the chocolate anthers. In E. v. 

 grandiflora we have a larger-flowered 

 variety of much beauty. Peat is not neces- 

 sary for this Cornish heath, and it can be 

 grown in some rough pa/rts among stones 

 and loam, quite as well as in richer soil — 

 if not better, in fact. Like its allied 

 forms, E. vagans stands clipping or prun- 

 ing back well, and this should be performed 

 as soon as the flowering is over. With the 

 writer E. vagans and its varieties always 

 come in earlier than the lovely forms of 

 Calluna vulgaris, the common heath. 



Veronica Aiiioni. 



There are three claimants in the field 



for the name of Veronica AUioni. 



It is 



not difficult to account for the fact that 

 this is the case^ as the foliage of each of 

 the three resembles so nearly that of the 

 others that confusion is not difficult unless 

 the plants are seen in flower. 



The plant 1 grow here a« V. Allioni came 

 to me a good many years ago from a good 

 nursery, where it was catalogued as having 

 erect little spikes of blooms like pencils. 

 This was a figure of speech, intended, one 

 would say, to express the narrowness of the 

 little spikes of blue flowers and their erect 

 habit. Whatever may have been in the 

 mind of the cataloguer, this plant is a 

 most desirable one, though a trifle shy of 

 flowering when it grows into a large plant. 

 It makes a close cushion of deep green 

 leaves with incised margins, and bearing 

 bonny little spikes of deepest purple-blue 

 only some four inches or so high. Another 

 claimant is a trailing, creeping speedwell, 

 with small and inconspicuous light blue 

 flowers, and not worth growing. Still an- 

 other is the Llandudno form of Veronica 

 spicata, a lovely little plant, deserving con- 

 sideration for itself alone, but with taller 

 and more pointed spikes of floTvers. 



Such are some of the flowers of the time 

 when alpines grow fewer, and -when we 

 relish all the morte those which are in bloom 

 or are yet to oome in the still shorter days. 



S. Arnott. 



ISOlepis gracilis.— Though botan- 

 ists tell us that the correct name of this 

 pretty, drooping, dark-green, grass-like plant 

 IS Scirpus riparius, the name at the head of 

 this note is that by which it is generally 

 known in gardens. It is a plant of very easy 

 culture, provided it receives a good supply 

 of water. For some reason or other it does 

 not seem to be grown as generally now as it 

 was at one time, yet for the edging of deco- 

 rative groups it is both distinct and pretty. 

 A striking group of Statice profusa and Mal- 

 maison carnations at the International Show, 

 from the gardens of Mr. Leopold de Roth- 

 schild, Ascott, Bucks, owed not a little of its 



attractiveness to the edging of this isolepis. 

 ■T, 



SCENTED-LEAVED 

 PELARGONIUMS. 



It is not often now that one sees the 

 scented-leaved or Gape pelargoniums grown 

 to any extent in our gardens, though there 

 are places where they constitute a special 

 feature. There is such a diversity of shape 

 and size in their foliage, that one would 

 think this alone was sufficiently interesting 

 to cause them to become more popular than 

 they are at the present day. The neat 

 trusse<s of bloom that some of them produce 

 are also worthy of notice, and this, com- 

 bined with the fragrance of the foliage, 

 ought to make them popular. 



Some of the kinds have a neat, compact 

 habit of growth, which renders them valu- 

 able as basket plants, particularly when in 

 bloom, wihile other^s make grand sufbjects 

 for decorative purposes. The variety of 

 uses to which these plants can be employed 

 are many, and the only draw'back to their 

 popularity that I am aware of is their being 

 so subject to the attacks of green-fly. This, 

 however, can easily be kept down if tem- 

 perature and other conditions are favour- 

 able to growth. As some of the kinds, 

 when liberally treated, give ample supplies 

 of green sprays suitable for mixing with 

 cut flowers, large plants grown against the 

 walls, pillars, or trellises of the greenhouse 

 or conservatory will be found most useful. 

 As these strong growers must be liberally 

 treated, the roots must not be srestricted to 

 small pots ; therefore, where they cannot be 

 planted out, they should be provided with 

 pots of large dimensions. Varieties most 

 useful for cutting are those having light, 

 deeply-cut foliage, such as denticulata and 

 the old lemon-scented form. Most people 

 know Rollisson's Unique, which is an old 

 variety producing large trusses of rich crim- 

 son flowers. Then we have Dale Park 

 Beauty, Duchess of Devonshire, Fair Ellen, 

 Pretty Polly, and a whole host of others, so 

 that there is ample choice for those who are 

 desirous of forming a collection. 



Tliose who visited the International Hor- 

 ticultural Exliibition no doubt observed the 

 fine ooHecftion of well-grown plants staged 

 by iMr. Hudson, of Gtinnersbury House 

 Gardens. They were, indeed, grand speci- 

 mens, the like not often seen, thus showing 

 to what uses these plants may be put, espe- 

 cially if trained with a special object in 

 view. For ordinary purposes sudh plants 

 as these are not needed, though specimens 

 when well grown are often useful for decorat- 

 ing large conservatories, etc., where ample 

 air can be admitted. Pelargoniums will not 

 thrive in a close atmosphere ; neither will 

 they grow in winter where the temperature 

 falls too low, but, given suitable conditions, 

 such as light and air, together with sufli- 

 cient warmth, they make good headway. 

 This class of pelargonium can be propa- 

 gaded at any season of the year except m 

 the dull months of winter, therefore plants 

 of any size may ibe had at all seasons, from 

 those growing in small 60's to large speci- 

 mens. These latter, however, take time to 

 produce, especially in the case of slow- 

 growing kinds. A light, rich soil and ampl^ 

 supplies of water during the growing season 

 are essential, and, above all, it is absolutely 

 necessary that the plants be kept free from 

 nsect and other pests at all times. 



A light, rich, sandy soil, not rammed too 

 firm, is best w hile the plants are small but 

 when older a good turfy loam, with a liberal 

 supply of thoroughly decayed manure, 

 preferable, especially for those that make 

 large foliage and ample growth. Potting 

 is an operation that must receive caretui 

 attention, H. C. Pkinsep. 



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