HOME, PENNSYLVANIA 
quality in mass. Blooms chiefly in May. Light hard- 
wood shade, or full sunlight. An evergreen, creeping, 
ground cover. 30c each; $3.00 for 12. 
Phlox, Sweet William (Phlox maculata). Wild Sweet 
William Phlox has richly pink flowers in a long cluster. 
It is found on stream banks, in open sunshine. It re- 
quires soil that is constantly moist. Blooming in meadow 
grass, it catches the eye for half a mile. It also flourishes 
in moist, rich, open woods. Flowers from mid-June to 
late August. Several blooming stalks from a single root. 
1 to 2 feet high. 45c each; $4.50 for 12. 
Rattlesnake Plantain (Epipactis pubescens; Goodyera pu- 
bescens). An Orchid with little leaves in a low cluster, 
dark olive green with white veins, resembling rattle- 
snake skin, makes this plantain an odd and striking fea- 
ture for a dry and shady spot. Stout, woolly stem, 
4 to 6 inches high, bears a plume of tiny, white, sac- 
like blossoms, in July and August. Evergreen, it likes 
coniferous woods in nature. Adapts to indoor use, 
potted or dished in wet moss and leaf mold. Colonizes 
in clumps of a dozen little rattlesnakes around the 
parent plant. Indians firmly believed that the leaves 
cured snake-bite —the old “signature” idea of herbs 
antidoting the things they resemble. 40c each; $4.00 
for 12. 
Saxifrage, Early; Virginia Saxifrage (Saxifraga virgin- 
iensis). The very name, meaning “Rock-Breaker,” sug- 
gests the favored habitat, in rocky crevices, giving the 
illusion of having split the stones apart. Especially 
suited to the rock garden. Saxifrage grows almost any- 
where, in full sunshine or light shade, in dry or rocky 
woodland, hugging banks and ledges. Small, clustered 
white flowers rise 3 to 6 inches above the flattened 
rosette of basal leaves, which seem to cling to shaly 
steeps. Quite early, blooming mainly in April, seeding 
freely. 30c each; $3.00 for 12. 
Shinleaf (Pyrola elliptica). The “Shin-plaster’ plant so 
named because of early English peasant use of its leaves 
on bruises (any plaster was a shin plaster), is a very 
fragrant, bell-like flower, nodding in a vertical cluster 
at the top of a stem 4 to 6 inches high, suggesting lilies 
of the valley. Leaves are dark, olive-green, elliptical, 
compared by the Romans with pear leaves, whence the 
name Pyrola. Likes the company of Pipsissewa and 
Spotted Wintergreen, its Chimaphila cousins of the 
Heath Family, with very similar long roots extending 
a summer to form next year’s bud. 30c each; $3.00 
or 12. 
Shooting Star; American Cowslip (Dodecatheon meadia). 
Like a miniature burst of fireworks, the rose-pink, dart- 
shaped blossoms point downward in a group at the 
top of a slender stalk, 8 to 15 inches high, thrusting up 
from low root foliage. Blooms in May and early June. 
Good for the hardy border, grows anywhere, but more 
beautiful when planted in conditions resembling moist 
hillsides, cliff and open woods. Can be propagated bet- 
ter and faster from root-cuttings than from seed. The 
Greek name means “twelve gods,” and it is so striking 
that it has acquired nicknames like Indian Chief, 
Roosterhead, Johnny-Jump-Up and Pride of Ohio. 35c 
each; $3.50 for 12. 
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