126 
THE AMATEUR’S FLOWER GARDEN. 
D. s. alba , are worth growing. These two plants are alike 
in constitution, and may be spoken of as one for the purpose 
we have now in view. The hardiness of the Dielytra, is in a 
great measure determined by the nature of the soil in which 
it is grown. When planted in a dry sandy loam, it is rarely 
injured by the severest winter weather ; but, on the other 
hand, long-continued frost and snow will completely destroy 
the plants that grow in a deep, strong, damp loam. We have 
seen it standing five feet high, and broader across the head 
than a man could span, and then it was indeed indescribably 
beautiful. On our cold, heavy, damp soil it is comparatively 
useless, and we therefore grow it as a pot plant in the alpine 
house, and thus enjoy its elegant lively figure at the same 
time as the scillas, epimediums, drabas, and alpine primulas 
are in flower. The plant is easily multiplied by dividing the 
roots in autumn. 
Digitalis (Foxglove).—The perennial species are second- 
rate things ; the Common Foxglove, D. purpurea, is a biennial, 
and must therefore be kept up by sowing seeds, unless, as 
commonly happens, after once obtaining a place in a garden, 
it maintains its position by means of self-sown seed. Where 
a considerable variety of herbaceous plants is required, the 
following may be planted—namely, D . grandiflora, 3 feet high, 
flowers yellow; D. ferr-uginea , 3 feet, bronze coloured ; D. 
ochroleuca , 3 feet, pale yellow. They require a deep sandy 
loam, well drained, and it is well to put into the holes in 
which they are planted two or three whole bricks or large 
stones, so that the roots stand on a hard platform a foot or so 
below the surface. 
Dodecatheon (American Cowslip).—Here is a charming 
little group of primulaceous plants, with flowers like those of 
a cyclamen. They require a rich, light, moist soil, and a shady 
situation, and should be taken up and divided in spring every 
three years. They may also be increased by seeds sown as 
soon as ripe in a cold frame. The best are D. integrifolium , 
flowers rosy crimson ; D. Jeffreyi , very large leaves, and four- 
parted puce-coloured flowers; D . meadia elegans , rose and 
lilac ; JD. m. albiflorum , white. 
Erythronium. —The Dog’s-tooth Violet may be regarded 
as a companion to the American cowslip, though it belongs 
to the lilies, and not to the primulas. It will grow in a deep, 
light, mellow loam, or in peat or leaf-mould, or in heavy loam 
