124 HARDY PERENNIALS 
leaf-soil, and the other half fibrous loam and sharp 
silver sand in equal proportions. When roots appear 
round the sides of the pot the plants may be bedded 
out, and when growth ripens off cover the crowns 
with an inch of good leaf-soil. C. coum and its 
varieties will begin to bloom in January, the iberi- 
cum class follow in February and March, repandum 
flowers from April to June, Neapolitanum is in 
full splendour from early August to late September, 
and latifolium and cilicicum carry on till toward 
Christmas. 
Cypripedium. — The Lady's Slipper is one of the 
largest flowered and most effective of the several 
species of Orchids that may find a place among 
Hardy Perennials. One species of British nativity, 
although but seldom to be met with in a wild state, 
is C. calceolus, and as its name implies it likes a 
calcareous or limy soil. In this respect it differs 
from the rest of the genus, for a peaty soil and 
almost boggy conditions suit them best. Cypri- 
pediums are most frequently planted in the Rock 
garden, but they are well adapted for companionship 
with hardy ferns, and with primulas, the choicer 
Irises, Astilbes, and that daintily beautiful plant 
Gillenia trifoliata. C. spectabile is without doubt 
the finest and most striking of the hardy species, 
its large rose-coloured pouch or slipper contrasting 
finely with the white sepal and strap-like petals. 
There are, however, quite a number of other interest- 
ing kinds, some of which are veined and marked 
