512 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
June 24, 1905. 
Notes on . . . 
Our Illustrations. 
Calico Bush (Kalmia latifolia). 
One of the prettiest of the American pi ante 
belonging to the Heath, and Rhododendron 
iamily is Kalmia latifolia. It is a native of 
the mountainous districts of Canada and 
Western Florida, and varies in height from 3tt. 
to 10 ft. or 20 ft. The latter height is only 
attained by plants which grow in the more 
southern latitudes of the United States, as in 
the southern Alleghany Mountains, in this 
country it is seldom, seen above 2 ft. or 3 ft., 
forming a compact spreading bush and flower¬ 
ing most profusely in the southern part of 
Britain. 
The leaves are oblong or elliptic, and about 
the size of those of the Portugal Laurel, and, 
like them, evergreen and of a dark green hue 
at all periods of the year. Flowering takes 
place in the summer time, and one can 
scarcely conceive neater or more beautiful 
flowers. They are saucer-shaped, shallowly 
live-lobed, and vary in colour from rose to 
pink and white according to the individual 
and according to treatment. A very striking 
feature of the flower is the presence of ten 
little pits or cavities in which the anthers are 
contained and held down, as it were, previous 
to the ripening of the pollen grains. No 
doubt this has some connection with the visits 
of insect friends and the plan to ensure cross 
fertilisation. The anthers are darker in 
colour than the resit of the flower, and that 
has the effect of giving it a beautiful and 
regularly spotted appearance. 
The shrub is usually planted in beds in this 
country, which we consider a good plan of 
showing off its particular beauty. Where 
fewer plants are grown they are simply planted 
in the mixed shrubbery. Grown under either 
of these conditions the cultivator would do 
well to use peat or a considerable proportion 
of it in the soil in order to keep the roots cool 
and moist, which is conducive to the welfare of 
the plant, as in the case of other members of 
this order coming from America. Where peat 
is scarce and difficult to obtain except at great 
expense a fine sandy soil with an abundance of 
leaf mould would meet the requirements of 
the roots. No lime in any form should be in¬ 
corporated with the soil or compost employed. 
Another method of employing this bearrti- 
ful shrub is as a pot plant, by which it can be 
brought into bloom at a much earlier period 
than it does naturally in the open air. Grown 
in this manner it can be utilised for the em¬ 
bellishment of the conservatory or greenhouse 
in company with bulbs or other early-flowering 
plants. If grown in pots or tubs a compost 
consisting of fibrous peat and sand should 
always be employed if possible, though in its 
absence leaf mould may be made to do duty. 
A portion of a bush may be seen on the top 
left-hand comer of our sheet of illustrations. 
The Spanish Squill (Scilla hispanica) 
Under the name of Scilla campanulata the 
above plant is, perhaps, best known in this 
country. It differs chiefly from the English 
Bluebell (S. nutans) by the bell-shaped and 
more widely expanded character of the flowers. 
It also differs more or less in colour, especially 
in the typical form, which is a lighter blue 
with darker blue midribs to the segments. 
Owing to this more expanded condition of the 
towers thev appear larger than those of the 
English Bluebell, which might he described 
as cylindrical with the tips of the segments 
rolled back. 
.besides the ordinary light blue form, 
several varieties have been named, including 
8. h. alba, with pure white flowers ; S.Ji. rubra, 
with rose flowers; and some others with 
flowers differing from the type in being either 
larger or smaller. Readers may remember 
that there are corresponding varieties in the 
English Bluebell, but so there are in various 
other allied flowers. Plants which in the 
typical form have blue or purple flowers are 
liable to give rise to seedlings with rose, red, 
pink, flesh, or white flowers. It simply means 
that these highly evolved colours may at any 
time give rise to seedlings which have lost the 
faculty of producing the amount of colour re¬ 
quisite to appear blue to our eyes. In the case 
of white varieties it merely indicates that the 
colouring pigment has been entirely lost. 
In the matter of cultivation few plants are 
more easily.managed than the Spanish Squill. 
The bulbs may be planted in the autumn in 
the herbaceous border on the rockery or in 
the wild garden and left to take care of them¬ 
selves. As in the case of many other hardy 
bulbs, a loose and friable soil is most suited 
to their welfare and gives rise to the greatest 
number of offsets. It is also equally amen¬ 
able to pot culture, as may be seen by refer¬ 
ence to our illustration. 
The Spanish Hyacinxh (Hyacinthus 
amethystinus). 
Almost ever since the introduction of the 
Oriental Hyacinth (H. orientalis) it has over¬ 
shadowed every other species in the estimation 
of gardeners. Of course this was due in the 
first place to the large size of the flowers and 
the tendency of the plant to vary and give rise 
to new colours with single and double flowers 
varying more or less in size. 
The Hyacinth under notice is a native of 
Spain, the Pyrenees and Croatia. It is 
characterised by the neatness and beauty of 
its flowers, rather than their size. By refer¬ 
ence to our illustration, prepared from a pot 
of bulbs in the Alpine House at Kew, it will 
be seen that the flowers are shortly cylindri¬ 
cal, slightly spreading at the mouth, with six 
short lobes. The colour is of a clear and 
bright amethyst-blue, and therefore veiy 
pretty and effective in the mass. The leaves 
offer nothing special beyond the fact that they 
are much shorter and narrower than those of 
the common Oriental Hyacinth. Indeed, 
they are not unlike those of a Squill, a closely 
allied plant. No improvement has yet been 
effected on the plant, which remains just as 
originally introduced. It has been greatly 
neglected in private gardens, but deserves 
more attention for the cheerful and bright 
appearance of the flowers during April. It 
is also known as the Amethyst Hyacinth, and 
as far ?.s we are aware it is hardy in most 
parts of this counter, this being due to the 
fact that the leaves die down like those of the 
common Hyacinth, and appear when the 
weather is favourable in spring. Any good 
garden soil will meet its requirements, as in 
the case of the Spanish Squill. 
A Beautiful Rockfoil (Saxifraga 
oppositifolia alba). 
The ordinary form of the above Rockfoil is 
a native of Britain, but can oniv be found on 
the mountain tops in Wales, the North of 
England, and in Scotland. Sometimes it 
comes down to the seashore, but then grows 
high up upon the rocks, and may represent the 
remains ot a mountain flora when those rocks 
were yet distant from the sea shore. The 
variety represented on our sheet of pictures 
is one ot the most common in gardens, 
although best known to those who make a 
speciality^ of rock plants. Several of the 
i'yrenean forms have larger flowers than our 
native plant, but otherwise they' cannot be 
considered superior, if indeed they may be 
reckoned so ornamental. When well-grown, 
both the purple and the white-flowerea 
variety bloom very profusely, and are highlv 
effective in early spring, 
Any good soil will suffice to grow it provided 
the supply of moisture is fairly continuous in 
summer. Out of doors the rock garden is cer¬ 
tainly the most appropriate place for it, but 
it is equally amenable for culture in the green¬ 
house or conservatory, provided always the 
house is perfectly cool. 'Some gardens have a 
special house for alpines of this class, but the 
most usual method is to grow the plants in 
pans in a cold frame, and bring them into 
the show house when in bloom. Pans are 
more suitable than pots for the simple reas >n 
that the plant is of a very dwarf habit, simply 
covering the ground with a carpet of dark 
green foliage, above which the flowers rise 
and make a very pleasing picture. 
Good fibrous loam with a sufficient admix¬ 
ture of sand to make it porous will meet the 
requirements of the plants in the matter of 
compost. A fair quantity of leaf mould will 
also add to the vigour of the plant. After 
the plants get out of flower they may very well 
be stood in the opoen air on a bed of ashes, 
as these mountain plants cannot be kept too 
cool in summer. During growth and always 
m warm, dry weather an abundant supply 
of water will be highly advantageous to a 
vigorous, growth. Out of doors this should 
always be borne in mind in selecting a suit¬ 
able moist situation on the rockery,yet at fir 1 
same time freely exposed to sunlight from all 
quarters. 
The Tree-like Linnm (Linnm arboreum). 
The usual height of this beautiful rock 
plant is about 6 in., although it may vary 
between 3 in. and 12 in. in height. The 
botanical name was probably given to it from 
the fact that the foliage is evergreen, and the 
stems, of course, perennial. The common 
Lint (L. usitatissimum) is an annual, but L. 
perenne, as the name implies, is a perennial, 
yet the foliage dies down completely, leaving 
only a crown of hard dead stems. For rock- 
work planting, the subject under notice is 
therefore an advance upon those other types, 
because it keeps the place clothed at all 
periods of the year, not leaving blank spaces. 
The leaves are spathulate or somewhat 
spoon-shaped, and of rich dark green. The 
flowers are of large size for the plant, bright 
yellow, and produced abundantly on the tops 
of the stems and branches. Indeed one could 
hardly wish for a greater amount of blossom 
on the plant, as may be seen by reference to 
our sheet of pictures, where a small plant 6 in. 
high appears smothered with blossom and 
almost hiding the leaves. This particular 
plant has been grown in a pot for keeping up 
a display in the Alpine House at Kew. It is 
hardy, however, and flowers on the rockery a 
little later. Any good garden, soil will meet 
its requirements, and in those districts where 
the natural staple is inclined to clay, special 
composts should always be prepared for the 
building of a rockery, and such would be suit¬ 
able for this plant. 
