August  15,  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
147 
named,  hut  it  was  given  because  some  of  the  better  species  were  used 
as  a  vermifuge.  One  of  them  that  adorns  sandy  slopes  of  south 
England  is  our  old  favourite  the  Southernwood  or  Suttywood,  also 
“  Old  Man,”  and,  what  seems  strange,  “  Lad’s  Love.”  It  makes  a 
dense  bush  2  feet  high,  and  with  it  are  sometimes  grown  smal'er 
species,  such  as  Artemisia  nana  and  sericea.  We  may  have,  too, 
the  evergreen  Hyssop,  producing  blue  flowers  lrom  July  to  September 
that  greatly  charm  the  humble  bees,  and  one  or  other  of  the  Catmints, 
such  as  the  ho  try  foliaged  and  pretty  Nepeta  Mussoni.  Upon  some 
banks  Sage  can  flourish  as  an  .under  shrub,  a  healthful  plant  by  old 
repute,  and  even  supposed  to  be  a  flower  of  Paradise;  and  Marjoram, 
-of  some  variety  that  likes  a  dry 
soil  ;  the  Thymes,  too,  mav 
succeed  in  sheltered  spots. 
Of  course  there  are  poor  soils 
where  scarcely  anything  will 
grow  unless  the  land  is  ma¬ 
nured,  but  the  poorest  may  be 
much  improved  by  deep  stirring 
or  trenching.  Hardy  Heaths 
will  grow  where  other  plants 
are  starved  out,  and  many  hand¬ 
some  kinds  are  placed  in  masses 
with  good  effect,  also  they  may 
be  set  in  long  drifts,  having 
fine  grasses  interspersed.  Miss 
Jekyll,  in  her  “  Home  and  Gar¬ 
den,”  states  her  method  of  en¬ 
riching  the  sandy  soil  of  Hamp¬ 
shire,  as  follows  : — “The  system 
I  find  to  work  admirably  is  to 
open  a  trench  nearly  3  feet  wide 
and  deep,  laying  aside  the  top 
spit,  and  some  of  the  sand  close 
at  hand,  and  wheeling  most  of 
it  from  below  right  away.  Two- 
thirds  of  the  depth  is  then  filled 
with  vegetable  refuse  from  the 
rubbish  heap,  or  with  green 
waste  from  any  part  of  the 
garden.  We  are  careful  to  sepa¬ 
rate  our  waste  products,  burning 
only  that  which  is  absolutely 
dry,  and  rotten  woody  material 
that  would  breed  fungus.  If 
this  stuff  is  already  more  than 
half-dec  yed  we  fill  it  in  higher, 
but  if  still  rather  green  it  is 
rammed  down,  mixing  in  some 
of  the  sand.  The  top  soil  is 
then  returned  to  the  surface  and 
the  next  trench  opened.” 
The  Broom  and  Gorse  tribes 
are  easily  grown  on  light  or  poor 
soils;  that  ornament  of  many 
heaths  and  wastes,  Cytisus 
scoparius  may  have  a  place  in 
the  sandy  gardeu.  and  be  accom¬ 
panied  by  the  white  Portugal 
Broom,  C.  albus,  and  the  pale 
yellow  C.  prsecox,  .with  here 
and  there  a  specimen  of  the 
reddish  variety  of  the  common 
Broom,  C.  Andreana,  inter¬ 
spersed,  or  other  plants  having 
dark  flowers.  Very  compact 
and  elegant  is  the  Spanish  Gorse 
(Ulex  hispanicjs),  full  of  bright  bloom  during  early  summer.  Several 
Andromeda?,  sucn  as  the  diminutive,  waxy-flowered  A.  fastigiata,  like 
sandy  ground,  but  they  cannot  do  without  moisture.  There  are  some 
dwarf  Rhododendrons,  and  even  Azaleas  ;  they  may  be  planted  in  poor 
soil,  not  much  exposed,  though,  as  Tennyson  says  in  “  Amphion,” 
they  1  ok  unhappy.  Two  North  American  thornless  Brambles  are  very 
suitable,  Rubus  spectabihs  and  R.  nutkanus;  the  latter  is  tall,  but  not 
at  its  best  till  late  in  summer.  That  flower  of  cottage  gardens, 
the  T^a  Tree  (Lycium  europseum)  is  a  shrub  of  the  sand,  so  too 
the  bands. me  Oorchorus  japonicus.  It  is  of  no  use  to  plant  Roses, 
except  it  be  one  of  our  wildings,  and  even  they  prefer  chalk  or 
clay.  But  should  the  soil  have  been  somewhat  enriched,  we  might 
have  Burnets  and  Scotch  Briers. 
Sea  Hollies  are  plants  to  which  sandy  ground  is  congenial,  and 
they  may  become  the  ornaments  of  unpromising  slopes  or  ridges. 
-Given  plenty  of  sptce,  and  the  so-called  Silver  Thistle,  with  blue 
■flowers  (Eryngium  giganteum),  a  biennial  that  will  sow  itself  if  allowed 
Hibbbrtia  perfoliata 
sufficient  space.  Then  there  is  available  the  dwarf  coast  species, 
E.  maritimum,  the  tall  perennial,  E.  Oliverianum,  also  the  Mexican 
E.  bromelisefolinm,  having  Yucca-like  leaves  with  large  teeth  and 
white  flowers.  We  may  find  an  Acanthus  that  will  thrive  in  any  sort 
of  soil,  such  as  the  Armed  Bear’s  Breech,  A.  spinosissimus,  which 
throws  up  a  showy  spike  late  in  summer,  having  pinkish  flowers  and 
leaves  deeply  cut,  leathery,  much  spine  i.  Again,  we  have  exotic 
Thistles  available  that  care  not  how  dry  the  soil  is;  tall  Onopordons 
that  will  make  their  eight  or  ten,  and  our  native  and  familiar  Mils 
Tnistle  (Silybum  Marianum)  makes  a  good  show  with  both  flowers 
and  leaves,  when  grown  in  clumps,  but  needs  more  moisture  than  other 
Thistles.  The  North  American 
thornless  Bramb  e,  Rubus  spec- 
tabilis,  flourishes  on  poor  soil, 
and  is  handsome  during  ti  e 
early  autumn. 
Stobaa  purpurea  has  pricklv, 
silvery  loliage,  and  might  be 
more  frequently  grown  up  n 
the  sand ;  it  rather  resembles 
the  Thistle  tribe,  but  excels 
them  in  its  flower,  which  ex¬ 
pands  like  a  large  Daisy,  and  is 
white  tinged  wi'h  purple,  the 
stems  being  3  feet  high,  their 
leaves  a  contrast  to  the  radical 
leaves,  waved  and  scalloped. 
Good  for  rough  ground  is  the 
Jerusalem  Sage,  Phlomis  fruti- 
cosa,  a  curious  species  ;  the 
leaves  certainly  resemble  those 
of  Sage,  but  they  are  white,  and 
adorned  with  a  woolly  coating 
that  is  like  velvet  to  the  touch  ; 
on  the  stem  it  is  loose  and 
browner.  This  shrub  attains  to 
the  height  of  5  feet,  and  spreads 
when  old  in  a  picturesque  styl  . 
We  may  have,  too,  the  Asphodel 
of  the  Mediterranean,  A.  rarno- 
8us,  a  striking  plant,  exhibiting 
sword-shaped  leaves  and  dense 
clusters  of  white  flowers;  or  the 
smaller  yellow  kind,  A.  luteus, 
which  has  fragrant  bloom,  the 
numerous  leaves  being  awl- 
shaped  and  furrowed.  Several 
giant  Grass  from  Japan,  of  the 
genus  Eulalia,  speedily  become 
strong  and  showy  plants,  har¬ 
monising  with  a  varied  assort¬ 
ment  of  flowering  shrubs. 
When  visiting  the  southern 
counties  of  England  we  may 
notice  many  gardens  that  exem¬ 
plify  the  suitableness  of  the 
hardier  species  of  Cistus  for  a 
poor  soil.  Here  and  there  we 
may  discover  a  Cistus  garden,  a 
circular  area  or  a  space  on  the 
side  of  a  hill  being  specially 
devoted  to  these  shrubs.  Some 
of  the  species  will  not  stand  a 
very  hard  winter,  it  is  true,  but 
such  as  do  attain  old  age  become 
charming  objects.  An  unavoid¬ 
able  defect  the  Cistus  certainly 
has,  the  flowers  are  so  fugacious,  and  ofttimes  a  host  that  expanded 
in  the  morning  have  fallen  before  even  ng.  There  are  two  fine  species 
which  have  deep  green  foliage  in  summer,  turning  to  bluish  grey  in 
winter ;  one  of  these  is  C.  launfolius,  rather  a  ramd  grower,  reaching  the 
height  of  7  leet  sometimes.  Its  large  white  flowers  greet  June  with  a 
delightful  fragrance.  The  other  is  trie  Gum  Cistus,  C.  ladaniterus,  a 
little  tender,  willow-like  in  its  growth,  and  beautiful  ;  the  broad 
blossoms  are  blotched  with  purple.  C.  tioreutinus  is  a  hardy  species 
of  smaller  size,  the  leaves  reddish  bronze  in  summ  r,  and  it  has  a 
long  succession  of  flowers.  Then  C.  populifolius  and  C.  corditoliu?, 
having  lighter  foliage,  will  stand  well  almost  any  winttr.  Allied  to 
the  preceding  are  species  of  Heiianthemum  of  lower  growth,  also 
well  suited  for  poor  soil  and  plenty  of  sun.  Several  have  yellow 
flowers,  others  have  various  tints,  red,  pink,  or  creamy  white,  and  there 
are  double  varieties.  A  handsome  dwarf  bush  is  H.  rosmarinifolium, 
narrow  leaved,  with  many  small  flowers.  H.  formosum  also  blooms 
profusely,  and  makes  a  show  on  a  sloping  bank. — J.  R  S.  C. 
