August 31, 1907. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. II 
57 1 
= Bulbs - 
For the Rockery. 
Many dwarf bulbs not only look well, 
but thrive well on the rockery. The 
Winter Aconite (Eranthis cilicica), which 
blooms as early as the first Snowdrops, 
has a very pleasing appearance if planted 
in large clumps on the rockery. Nothing 
more cheerful can be imagined in the way 
of early flowers than the beautiful little 
Squills (Scilla sibirica), and even more 
choice are the Chionodoxas (Glory of the 
Snow). Plant in sheltered corners of the 
rockery, and the eye will be gladdened in 
early spring by their lovely shades of 
blue. The best varieties of Chionodoxa 
are Luciliae, sardensis and gigantea. 
A few patches of Crocuses and the small 
dwarf Daffodils are also very pretty, and 
help to brighten up the rockery in the 
early part of the season. Another bulb¬ 
ous plant that should not be forgotten is 
the Dogstooth Violet (Erythronium). 
They may be had in various shades of 
pink, and also white. The beautiful- 
marbled foliage is also very effective. A 
few patches of Snowdrops must not be 
omitted, nor should the beautiful Sisyrm- 
chium be missed. The purple form of this 
(Satin Flower) is very free blooming, but 
the white is rather shy in this respect, 
although bulbs can be used with excellent 
effect on the rockery. I do not advise too 
extensive planting of these flowers, for 
the simple reason that the foliage in every 
case dies down early, and leaves a long 
season of bareness, if large numbers are 
employed. Plant these bulbs, then, spar¬ 
ingly/but in positions where they can be 
easily seen. The bulbs named are fairly 
cheap, and when once planted do not re- 
quire renewal for years, and each succeed- 
ing season they become more effective. 
In large rockeries it is good practice to 
include a few tall growing plants. These 
give a very graceful appearance to an 
otherwise rather flat and stiff arrange¬ 
ment. I was greatly struck a short time 
ago on visiting a garden where alpme 
plants were a hobby to find dotted about 
the extensive rock garden isolated plants 
of tall and graceful growth, such as the 
better varieties of Michaelmas Daisies, 
Phloxes, etc. This had a most pleasing 
effect, and, the plants being judiciously 
used, caused no damage to the dwarfer 
plants. Good plants for this purpose, be¬ 
sides those named, would be Linum 
perenne, Geum coccineum fl. pi., Gypso- 
phila paniculata, Campanula persici- 
folia, and Cistus Florentinus. Many 
others could be named as suitable, and 
evervone can select to suit his own taste. 
F. Haigh. 
--4- ►+—- 
The Largest Greenhouse. 
The largest plant greenhouse in the 
world is the Winter Garden or Temperate 
House at Kew, which is 628 feet long, 
164 feet wide, and 60 feet high. It was 
designed by Decimus Burton, the first 
portion being built in i860, and the last 
in 1899, the cost of the whole being about 
^60,000. 
Corydalis tomentosa. 
[.Maclaren and Sons. 
A Dwarf Fumitory. 
(Corydalis tomentosa.) 
About four years ago-the above fumi¬ 
tory flowered for the first time in this 
country, and proved to be a new one. \\ e 
have seen it on several occasions since 
then, and some plants of it may always be 
seen on the rockery at Kew. It has been 
flowering there for some time past, hav¬ 
ing' stood out the winter. Under these 
condition it is dwarfer and not quite so 
vigorous as when it flowered in a pot in 
an unheated house. It, nevertheless, 
seems perfectly hardy in the south of 
England, and would, no doubt, do well 
in all the drier and warmer parts of Eng¬ 
land and on the west coast within the in¬ 
fluence of the sea where the temperature 
is rendered mild and equable on account 
of the vicinity of deep water. The leaves 
are twice divided, only a few inches m 
length, hugging the ground closely, and 
of an interesting silvery grey colour. 
This hue is due to the presence of short 
white hairs, with which the leaves are 
densely clothed. From the crown rise a 
number of racemes of yellow flowers. 
Such a plant as the above would be 
unsuitable for planting in herbaceous 
borders, or even in the narrow borders of 
a villa garden, as the ’;ny plant would 
be likely to get overgrown with vegeta¬ 
tion or splashed with sand. It would 
make a pet plant, however, for those who 
are fond of alpines; and besides planting 
it on a suitable position on the rockery 
where the roots would be relatively dry 
in winter the owner could also grow it in 
pots in a cold frame, cool conservatory, 
or greenhouse, as the case may be. 
Those who delight in this class of 
plants could not do better than build a 
house for the accommodation of hardy 
plants and those that require a little pro¬ 
tection during the period of blooming, 
especially in the early period of the year. 
By having a house just sufficiently high 
to" walk inside it comfortably, plants of 
this character could be closely inspected 
and enjoyed at any time, whatever the 
nature of the weather might be. No fire 
heat would be necessary. A house of this 
character could scarcely be more expen¬ 
sive than an equivalent number of frames, 
and the enjoyment would be so much 
greater, as no stooping would be neces- 
"sarv to examine the plants, while notes 
could be made or descriptions taken, or 
the plants otherwise studied. Such a 
place could not only be made highly in¬ 
teresting, but also attractive and engag¬ 
ing on account of the great variety of 
beautiful subjects located there. 
-- 
According to statistics compiled by an 
American tobacco merchant 6,500,000 
acres of ground are now required to grow 
the world’s tobacco crop. 
