August  29,  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
197 
Wild  Flowers  of  Old  English  Gardens. 
Several  of  the  Saxifrages  (plants  thus  styled  from  their  power  of 
breaking  or  splitting  stones  in  their  upward  movements)  have  long 
been  garden  favourites,  and  amongst  our  native  species  we  must  allot 
a  place  of  honour  to  the  pretty  London  Pride.  Many  a  small  garden 
plot  in  a  dingy  suburb  has  been  enlivened  by  this  flower,  which 
blooms  under  circumstances  very  unfavourable.  Who  brought  it  first 
to  London  from  Yorkshire  or  Ireland  is  not  on  record.  Its  Latin 
name  of  Saxifraga  umbrosa  tells  us  that  the  plant  occurs  in  woods  or 
shady  places.  It  is  rich  also  in  other  popular  Dames  besides  that  one 
connecting  it  with  the  British  capital.  “None  So  Pretty  ”  is  excessive 
praise  indeed,  but 
this  is  an  old  name ; 
’tis  said  that  in  the 
west  of  Ireland  folks 
call  it  after  I  St. 
Patrick.  Bird’s  Eye 
is  a  name  it  shares 
with  several  flowers; 
Plince’s  Feather  is 
another  ;  Kiss  Me 
Quick  is  a  Devon¬ 
shire  one,  and  there 
are  more.  The  white 
Meadow  Saxifrage 
(S.  granulata)  has 
also  been  called  the 
White  Pride.  Itctill 
occurs  on  gravelly 
soil  about  a  few 
meadows  near 
London,  but  was 
formerly  commoner. 
[It  is  fairly  com¬ 
mon  on  the  banks 
of  the  Thames  be¬ 
tween  Richmond 
and  Ivew  ]  This  is 
notably  distinct  from 
the  Alpine  kinds, 
and  taller  than  the 
preceding  species. 
The  white  flowers 
are  large,  and  open 
in  early  summer ; 
its  stem  is  some¬ 
what  downy  and 
viscid.  A  double 
variety  has  been  cul¬ 
tivated  many  years, 
aod  proves  a  capital 
plant  for  borders, 
succeeding  in  any 
soil. 
The  Irish  is  the 
S.  Geum,  the  kidney 
leaved  species,  or 
Round  Pride.  This 
was  under  cultiva¬ 
tion  in  the  reign 
of  George  III. ;  it 
much  resembles  the 
familiar  sp<  cies  of 
London.  A  variety 
was  brought  from 
Kerry,  which  gar¬ 
deners  succeeded  in 
multiplying  ;  the 
petals  are  larger,  and  have  crimson  spots.  Another  variety,  or  sub¬ 
species,  was  got  with  a  hairy  panicle  and  leaves.  It  is  a  plant  that  ma\ 
be  recommended  for  the  rougher  parts  of  a  rock  garden,  being  usually 
increased  bv  division.  Very  distinct  and  attractive  is  the  yellow  Marsh 
Saxifrage  (S.  Hirculus),  an  exceedingly  rare  native  species,  which  has 
been  in  gardens  a  good  while ;  possibly  it  was  introduced  from  the  con¬ 
tinent.  Its  leaves  are  entire,  mostly  smooth  or  slightly  hairy  ;  the 
flowers  rich  yellow,  having  orange  dots  near  the  base  of  the  petals.  Bogs 
are  its  natural  home,  and  in  gardens  it  must  have  a  moist  situatioi  . 
So  must  the  allied  S.  aizoides,  which  is  an  evergreen  shrub,  of  low 
growth,  abundant  beside  rills  of  our  northern  hills.  This  expands  its 
yellow  flowers  during  the  summer  and  autumn  ;  they  are  in  a  panicle, 
which  is  frequently  branched  and  many-flowered.  Its  leaves  are 
crowded  near  the  root,  smooth,  or  sometimes  notched.  Both  these 
may  be  propagated  by  seed  and  division. 
Our  British  purple  Saxifrage,  S.  oppositifolia,  which  occurs  on  lofty 
hills,  especially  in  Scotland,  like  several  of  its  foreign  relatives,  differs 
rather  in  habit  from  most  of  the  tribe,  may  have  been  introduced 
to  gardens  by  Continental  specimens.  The  stems  are  prostrate  and 
densely  leafy,  but  the  large  purplish  flowers  are  erect,  sometimes 
almost  hiding  the  foliage  during  early  spring.  Varieties  with  pale 
pink  and  white  flowers  have  been  obtained,  and  another,  having 
rosettes  of  erect  leaves,  also  flowers  three-quarters  of  an  inch  across,  of 
several  tints.  On  Alpine  hills,  near  to  the  limits  of  perpetual  snow, 
grows  S.  biflora,  a  still  fii.er  purple  species,  which  we  see  in  some  rock 
gardens.  Its  flowers  are  in  heads  of  two  or  three,  turning  from  rose  to 
a  violet  colour,  the  leaves  being  flat,  and  thinly  scattered  on  the  stem. 
Another  Saxifrage 
that  occupies  a  dis¬ 
tinct  position  is  the 
mossy  S.  hypnoides, 
P'  pularly  called  in 
some  places  Eve’s 
Cushion.  It  forms 
tults  of  deep  green, 
spreads  quickly,  and 
grows  anywhere, 
being  rather  variable. 
The  names  of  S. 
affinis,  hirta,  and 
platypetala,  and 
others,  represent 
doubtful  species,  dif¬ 
fering  in  stem,  leaf, 
or  flower.  Usually, 
the  rootstock  throws 
out  numerous  de¬ 
cumbent  shoots 
besides  the  tufts. 
Its  stem  has  but 
few  leaves,  and  bears 
a  panicle  of  large 
greenish  white 
flowers ;  sometimes 
these  are  bell¬ 
shaped,  of  starry 
form  occasionally. 
North  of  England, 
the  plant  may  be 
often  seen  growing 
wild  on  walls  or 
roois.  Loudon  re¬ 
cords  the  fact  that 
another  Saxifrage  of 
mossy  growth,  S. 
muscoides,  was  cul¬ 
tivated  in  Kew 
Gardens  as  far  back 
as  1781.  The  plant 
is  more  mossy  even 
than  Eve’s  Cushion, 
the  tufts  being 
crowded  and  dense, 
of  a  deep  green, 
the  flower  -  stalks 
erect  and  viscid, 
having  corymbs  of 
yellow  flowers.  It 
seems  to  have  been 
brought  to  London 
from  Westmoreland 
mountains, occurring 
wild  in  a  few  rocky 
places.  One  of  the 
Saxifrages  that  was  common  near  London  is  the  iue-leaved  species,  or 
Rue  Pride,  S.  tridactylites.  It  is  an  annual,  with  small  white  floweis 
comiDg  up  singly,  and  a  rather  reddish,  downy  plant;  it  is  sometimes 
seen  upon  garden  walls.  Amidst  the  rivulets  of  hills  grows  the  starry 
species,  S.  stellaria,  also  called  Hairy  Pride,  from  its  downy  leaves  and 
stems;  it  is  a  little  like  our  London  Pride,  and  will  flourish  at  the  edge 
of  a  pond.  Moisture  lovers,  too,  are  Golden  Saxifrages,  the  commoner 
of  the  two,  Chrysosplenium  alternifolium,  has  filled  up  damp  patches  of 
old-style  gardens  with  its  low  clusters  of  yellow  flowers. — J.  R.  S.  C. 
Old  Vines. — The  Hampton  Court  and  Cumberland  Lodge  Vines 
are  bearing  well  this  year.  Over  2000  bunches  of  the  luscious 
Hamburgh  variety  are  rapidly  ripening. 
CYRILLA  RACEMIFLORA. 
