June 7,1894 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
443 
R eluctantly do we part with the flowers of spring, yet 
gladly hail those with which early summer seeks to console us 
for the loss of the delicate blossoms of the budding season. As 
we look from the window or walk among the flowers it is felt that 
the wealth of bloom is well nigh beyond the limits of these notes 
to describe. Glowing with colour are these masses of golden 
Alyssum, graceful and beautiful are the flowers of the Saxifrages, 
some sheets of white blossoms only slightly upraised from the 
foliage, and others forming plume-like panicles. Dwarf Phloxes, 
too, have been seeking to give us the highest pleasure with their 
floral carpets hanging over the stones of the rockeries. Irises, 
ever delightful to the lover of flowers, are full of beauty ; while 
gorgeous Paeonies, which have proved ineffective to ward off tem¬ 
pests despite their fabled powers, have expanded their great globes 
of bloom. Still, though these and many others are full of beauty 
we miss the golden Daffodils, the Trilliums, and the many early 
flowers which these green leaves beginning to assume a yellow 
tone tell us have gone from us for this year at least. But it is 
not my task to sing the requiem of the dead flowers, but to speak 
of those now in full beauty. 
In the borders and at the base of rockwork at the time of 
writing some of the Squills still shine, and very beautiful do they 
appear in their varied colours. The Spanish Squill, S. campanulata, 
is very ornamental, and ranges in colour from white to flesh and 
bright pink, and from porcelain blue to deep blue. Two of the 
shades of pink I have are very pretty, and are much admired. A 
fine white variety of S. patula has been extremely ornamental 
planted in a low nook at the foot of a rockery near some plants 
of Primula sikkimensis. The supply of moisture which is so 
welcome to the Primula in summer seems to suit this “ Spreading 
Squill ” admirably, and long spikes of handsome flowers are the 
result. In stray spots, too, some plants of our native Squill, the 
“ Crawtae ” of our Scottish lowlands, and the “ Bluebell ” of the 
English, grow in considerable variety. These I collected in the 
neighbourhood, and among them there is found much diversity of 
shade and size, whites of different kinds and porcelain blues being 
particularly fine. 
Growing in a rather moist place is a neat little plant with 
pretty, if modest, spikes of creamy flowers. This is Mitella 
diphylla, the Twin-leaved Mitreflower. It is one of the many 
hardy flowers which have come to us from North America, whence 
it was introduced more than 160 years ago. It was figured in the 
“Botanical Register,” table 166, and though so long introduced, is 
not often seen. The flowers, which appear in April, are small, and 
of a creamy white, but are beautifully fringed. The radical leaves 
are rather heart-shaped and are on footstalks, while the stalk leaves 
are smaller and almost sessile. The latter are arranged in pairs 
opposite each other, whence one would conclude the specific name 
of diphylla was applied to this Mitella. It may be increased by 
division or seeds, and is not difficult to grow, preferring, however, 
a peaty soil. 
The Violas are indispensable flowers, and are generally doing 
well this season. The Journal of Horticulture has, however, among 
its correspondents others who, like Mr. Wm. Dean, are more 
competent to speak critically of these useful and beautiful flowers 
than the writer. One cannot, though, refrain from speaking in 
No. 728.—VoL. XXVIII., Third Series. 
praise of such charming flowers as Duchess of Fife, Snowflake, 
Countess of Wharncliffe, and the brilliantly coloured Bullion. A 
very beautiful Viola, named George LDrd, I have lately received, 
and if one can safely use the expression of any flower taken in 
hand by the “ florist,” it is “ perfection.” Good alike in form, 
habit, and in the beautiful bright primrose colour of its flowers, 
which are quite free from rays, this is a flower which will be of 
great worth in the garden. The miniature Violas, as those of the 
Violetta type are called, are very beautiful, and are quite in place 
in the best rock gardens as well as in the choicest borders. They 
are just coming in flower, and some of the newer sorts are 
evidently acquisitions, although it is difficult to conceive anything 
prettier in its way than Violetta, the first of the section. 
Old-fashioned and well known as is Iberis sempervirens, the 
Evergreen Candytuft, it is without doubt of very great value for 
the garden of hardy flowers. With me it blooms earlier than 
I. correaefolia, and is otherwise so distinct from the latter that both 
may with advantage be included in almost any collection. I do 
not feel called upon to discuss their respective merits, for this is a 
matter in which position must decide which of the two should be 
grown where there is only room for one. The erect habit of 
I. sempervirens makes it suitable for many places where the 
procumbent growth of the other would render it objectionable. I 
have a good bush of sempervirens on the top of a rockery, where 
its white flowers look even whiter and more freely produced than 
in the borders. It is an old plant introduced from the south of 
Europe in 1731, and is easily grown from seed or by means of 
cuttings or division. 
It may seem superfluous to write of the Daisies, but I fancy 
these flowers are not so much cared for as they were at one time. 
I fear I must plead guilty to a share of any blame which may be 
attached to the double Daisies being less grown, as eight or nine 
years ago I had many varieties. These, unfortunately, suffered 
in the Jubilee year when we had an exceptional drought. I 
became rather careless of those I had left, and they missed the 
dividing and replanting so necessary for their well-being. At the 
time referred to I had some very fine ones raised from seed obtained 
from a Sussex nursery where a speciality was made of Daisies. I 
fear the collection in this nursery no longer exists, but it is to be 
hoped that these old favourites which have adorned gardens for 
years may not become lost, but that newer sorts will be added. I 
have been trying to make a collection of Daisies, and I think when 
it is fairly complete it will form an attractive feature in my 
garden. I do not intend at present to speak in detail of those I 
already have, but would only call attention to a charming little 
pink one named “ Dresden China,” which I have had for a few 
years, and is much admired especially by lady visitors to my 
garden. The flowers are little over half an inch in diameter, and 
the stems and other parts are in proportion to the size of the 
bloom. 
A very beautiful little Iris is just going out of flower, but it is 
one which is well worthy of some notice. This is I. lacustris, which 
belongs to the sub-genus Evansea, and, according to Mr. Biker’s 
handbook of the genus, is found on the gravelly shores of Lakes 
Huron and Michigan, both on the United States and Canadian 
sides. As Mr. Baker says, it is very near I. cristata, but is much 
dwarfer, and of a denser habit of growth. The flowers are smaller 
also, and deeper in colour, but in one respect at least are inferior 
to those of I. cristata. This is in their being less beautifully 
fringed or crested. It is, however, a very useful member of 
that genus which so attracts hardy flower growers. I have a little 
clump of I. lacustris growing in sandy peat on the terrace of a 
rockery facing west. Here it is quite hardy, and has given me a 
number of blooms both last year and this. The largest leaf is 
only 7 inches long, and the flowers are about 3^ inches from the 
soil. In some gardens, I regret to learn, this charming Iris does 
not do well. This may be owing to the soil being too heavy, and 
No. 2384.--VoL. XC., Old Series. 
