February 8, 1913. 
91 
THE GARDENERS’ MAGAZINE. 
THE MADWORTS. | 
The Madwort family includes some of 
the most attractive and useful of the 
spring and early summer-flowering plants. 
Most of them are of dwarf and neat habit, 
and, with few exceptions, are good peren¬ 
nials. To fully appreciate the beauty of 
the free-blooming A. saxatile it must be 
planted in a good-sized group, hence it is 
most valuable for the purpose of spring 
bedding. Single plants, however, growing 
ill the joints of a wall, and hanging down 
m high exposed rocks in i 
V^alais at ~ ~ ' 
desirable, from a collector s point of view, 
a few of the more distinct kinds will suffice 
to provide a very attractive display. Some 
’of the best are: 
Alyssum alpestre.—This is 
prostrate in growth and is found 
is found growing 
the Nicolaithal in 
Valais a canton of Switzerland. It has a 
shrubby base and is freely branching, with 
greyish leaves, and numerous corymbs of 
rich yellow flowers. This madwort is best 
the rock garden, or for planting in the 
crevices of old walls. Its earliness also 
makes it valuable for other spring decora¬ 
tion. As this species is naturally found 
growing on the open hills in Southern 
Europe, it should be planted in positions 
fully exposed to the sun. Bits of broken 
limestone or old mortar rubbish may with 
advantage be mixed with the soil when 
planting. The lemon-coloure' 
citrinum, is a charming companion for i 
above, with its masses of pale yellow 
flowers. It is'of the same habit, and quite 
as hardy, and is very beautiful growing on 
the face of a ^wall. There is a dwarf 
form of this known as var. compactum, 
or Tom Thumb; it is compact in habit. 
The double-flowered variety is not so 
floriferous as the type, but the flowers 
are large, and rich yellow. 
ALYSSUM ARGENTEUM. 
A bold-growing and highly attractive madwort, with silvery leaves and bright yellow flo^ 
ti'fu^ 'it. effective and beau- 
Ermirw • advantage planted in 
bord^ rows of the herbaceous 
more aV V* smaller-growing species are 
lodges. ™ *^*’®*^ garden on sunny 
gr^'i^'-*'^^ the Madworts will 
be con«'^^ 'rell-drained soil, and they may 
Plante to r f the easiest of 
afford a*Cuttings also 
"‘av be marl^ ™®ans of increase, and these 
to th^e incL!*^”"' shoots two 
®oen as thev length in summer, as 
®tt€r flowerlno- ™'‘^e sufficient growth 
them in samlv l necessary to insert 
elese, sLdv nT ^eep them in a 
species that small, dwarf-growing 
' though they may be 
adapted for a sunny corner in the rock 
garden, planted on a ledge or sloping stony 
bank. 
A. laTgenteum.—Some idea of the very 
effective appearance of this species may be 
gathered from the illustration. It makes 
a bold, bushy plant, from one foot to eigh¬ 
teen inches high, and often two feet or 
more through, with a shrubby base. The 
silvery-grey foliage is very attractive even 
when not surmounted by its corymbs of 
bright yellow flowers. Large isolated plants 
form an attractive feature in the rock gar¬ 
den when planted on prominent knolls, and 
as it is practically evergreen, provides a 
furnishing for the winter months. 
A. saxatile.—Few plants are better 
known or more valued in the garden than 
this madwort. Its brilliant flowers, pro¬ 
duced in a dense mass, and its dwarf habit 
of growth, render it particularly useful for 
A. spinosum.—A South European spe¬ 
cies, whioh forms dense bushes of spiny, 
woody branches, clothed Avith small hoary 
leaves. Planted in the rock garden so that 
it may grow over a protecting stene, it 
Avill make a striking object, growing in a 
compact hummock about one foot high and 
two or three feet through. The flowers 
vary from white to pink, and they are 
produced freely throughout the summer 
months. Seeds are produced very freely, 
and seedlings come up in great numbers 
round about the old plants. 
The best of the smaller sj^ecies is the 
sweet-scented A. montanum, only an inch 
or high, with prostrate branches, hoary 
leaves, and rich yellow flowers. It is an ex¬ 
cellent plant for a sunny bay in the rock 
garden, and should be planted in very 
gritty soil, otherwise it damps off in winter 
W. I. 
