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i
THE WILD GARDEN.
V
Works by the same Author,
ALPINE FLOWERS FOR ENGLISH GARDENS.
With 70 inofltrattonB.
THE PARKS, PROMENADES, AND GARDENS OF
PARIS. With 430 Illustrations.
MUSHROOM CULTURE : its ExteDsion and Improve-
ment. With lUastratious.
^ V w ■
le framed, ns mueli a? may Iw, ro a luliir.iU u
THE WILD GARDEN
OR,
OUR GROVES & SHRUBBERIES
MADE BEAUTIFUL
BY THE NATURALIZATION OF HARDY EXOTIC PLANTS
WITH A CHAPTER
ON THE GARDEN OF BRITISH WILD FLOWERS.
' ».^
By W. ROBINSON, T.i s
"N
AUTHOR OP
"ALPINB flowers for ENGLISH GARDENS," '* THE PARKS, PROMENADES,
AND GARDENS OP PARIS,'* ETC.
LONDON:
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.
1870.
LOHDOV :
SATILL, BDWAKDB AHD CO., PKISTERS, CHAVDOS STBBBT,
COYSVT eAXDXK.
I
CONTENTS.
PART I.
VAOB
EXPLANATORY I
PART II.
AN ENUMERATION OF HARDY EXOTIC PLANTS, SUITABLE
FOR NATURALIZATION IN OUR WOODS, SEMI-WILD
PLACES, SHRUBBERIES, &C, WITH THE NATIVE
COUNTRY, GENERAL CHARACTER, HEIGHT, COLOUR,
TIME OF FLOWERING, MODE OF PROPAGATING, AND
THE POSITIONS MOST SUITABLE FOR EACH . . 39
PART III.
v^ SELECTIONS OF HARDY EXOTIC PLANTS FOR NATURALI-
5» ZATION IN VARIOUS POSITIONS 123
W
a PART IV.
THE GARDEN OF BRITISH WILD FLOWERS . . . .155
* ■> -^S
„J
f
" I wiNT, for the first time in my life, some years ago, to stay at a very
grand and beautiful place in the country, where the grounds are said to
be laid out with consummate taste. For th^ first three or four days I
was perfectly enchanted; it seemed something so much better than
nature that I really began to wish the earth had been laid out according
to the latest principles of improvement. ... In three days* time I
was tired to death : a thistle, a nettle, a heap of dead bushes — anything
that wore the appearance of accident and want of intention — ^was quite
a relief. I used to escape from the made grounds, and walk upon an
adjacent goose-common, where the cart-ruts, gravd-pits, bumps, irregu-
larities, coarse ungentlemanlike grass, and all the varieties produced by
neglect, were a thousand times more gratifying than the monotony of
beauties the result of design, and crowded into narrow confines."
Sydney Smith.
1
PART I.
EXPLANATORY.
I
i
THE WILD GARDEN.
To understand the aim of this little book, it is
desirable to take a broad glance at the past and
present state of our flower-gardens. From about
twenty years ago, back to the time of Shake-
speare, the flowers of an English garden were
nearly all hardy ones : they came from northern or
temperate regions, in most cases from climates
very like our own ; they were as hardy as our
weeds ; they bloomed early in the keen spring air,
and late in the wet autumn gusts, as well as in the
favoured summer's day.
The daughters of the year,
One after one, thro' that still garden passed.
Passages from our greatest poets and writers —
Shakespeare, Milton, Bacon, and others — embody
the names of the principal classes of flowers used
in this ancient style of gardening, and show us what
infinite delight it was capable of aflbrding ; and its
B 2
The Wild Garden.
charms we may yet see in little cottage gardens in.
Kent, Sussex, and many other parts of England,
though the scarlet geranium has begun to eradicate
all the fair blossoms of many a sweet little garden,
once, and often yet, " embowered in fruit trees and
forest trees, evergreens and honeysuckles rising
many-coloured from amid shaven grass plots, flowers
struggling in through the very windows . . . where,
especially on long summer nights, a king might
have wished to sit and smoke and call it his." From
these little Elysiums, where the last glimpses of
beautiful old English gardening may yet be seen,
we will now turn to the modern system which re-
places it.
About a generation ago a taste began to be
manifested for placing a number of tender plants in
the open air in summer, with a view to the produc-
tion of showy masses of decided colour. The sub-
jects selected were mostly from sub-tropical climates
and of free growth ; placed in the open air of our
genial early summer, and in fresh rich earth, every
year they grew rapidly and flowered abundantly
during the summer and early autumn months,
and until cut down by the first frosts. The bril-
liancy of tone resulting from this system was very
attractive, and since its introduction there has
I- J I ^. ,j ■ X -J I 7^p^9BHia^smHMai^S9Hi«a^^i9MHBniq
Explanatory.
been a gradual rooting out of all the old favourites
in favour of the bedding system. This was carried
to such an extent that of late it has not been un-
common, indeed it has been the rule, to find the
largest gardens in the country without a single hardy
flower, all energy and expense being devoted to
the production of the many thousand exotics re-
quired for the summer decoration. It should be
distinctly borne in mind that the expense for this
systQm is an annual one ; that no matter what
amount of money may be spent in this way, no
matter how many years may be devoted to perfect-
ing it, the first sharp frost of November merely
prepares a yet further expense and labour.
Its highest results need hardly be described ;
they are seen in all our great public gardens ;
our London and many other city parks show theni
in the shape of beds filled with vast quantities
of flowers, covering the ground frequently in a
showy way, and not unfrequently in a repul-
sively gaudy manner : every private garden is
taken possession of by the same simple beauties.
Occasionally some variety is introduced. We go
to Kew or the Crystal Palace to see what looks
best there, or the weekly gardening papers tell us ;
and the following season sees tens of thousands of
The Wild Garden.
the same arrangements and patterns scattered all
over the country. I will not here enter into the
question of the comparative advantages of the two
systems ; it is enough to state that even on its
votaries the system at present in fashion is beginning
to pall. Some are looking back with regret to the
old mixed-border gardens ; others are endeavouring
to soften the harshness of the bedding system by
the introduction of fine-leaved plants, but all are
agreed that a great mistake has been made in de-
stroying all our sweet old border flowers, from
tall Lilies to dwarf Hepaticas, though very few
persons indeed have any idea of the numbers of
beautiful subjects in this way which we may gather
from every northern and temperate clime.
What is to be done } Every garden should have
a mixed border, but except in the little cottage
gardens before alluded to — "umbrageous man's
nests," as Mr. Carlyle calls them, gardens depen-
dent on it solely are quite out of the question. It
is also clear that, base and frightfully opposed to
every law of nature's own arrangement of living
things as is the bedding system, it has yet some
features which deserve to be retained on a small
scale. My object is now to show how we may,
without losing the better features of the mixed
Explanatory,
bedding or any other system, follow one infinitely-
superior to any now practised, yet supplementing,
both, and exhibiting more of the varied beauty of
hardy flowers than the most ardent admirer of the.
old style of garden ever dreams of. We may do
this by naturalizing or making wild innumerable
beautiful natives df many regions of the earth in
our woods, wild and semi-wild places, rougher parts
of pleasure grounds, etc., and in unoccupied places
in almost every kind of garden.
I allude not to the wood and brake flora of any
one alp or chain of alps, but to that which finds its
home in the immeasurable woodlands that fall in
furrowed folds from beneath the hoary heads of all
the great mountain chains of the world, whether
they rise from hot Indian plains or green European
pastures. The Palm and sacred Fig, as well as the
Wheat and the Vine, are separiated from the stem-
less plants that cushion under the snow for half the
year, by a zone of hardier and not less beautiful life,
varied as the breezes that whisper on the mountain
sides, and as the little rills that seam them. I allude to
the Lilies, and Bluebells, and Foxgloves, and Irises,
andWindflowers,and Columbines, and Aconites, and
Rock-roses, and Violets, and Cranesbills, and count-
less Pea-flowers, and mountain Avens, and'Brambies,
f \
8 The Wild Garden.
and Cinquefoils, and Evening Primroses, and Cle-
matises, and Honeysuckles, and Michaelmas Daisies,
and Feverfews, and Wood-hyacinths, and Daffodils,
and Bindweeds, and Forget-me-nots, and sweet
blue Omphalodes, and Primroses, and Day Lilies,
and Asphodels, and St. Bruno's Lilies, and the
almost innumerable plants which form the flora of
*
regions where, though life is yet rife on every inch
of ground, and we are enjoying the verdure and the
temperature of our lowland meadows, there is
a " sense of a great power beginning to be mani-
fested in the earth, and oi a deep and majestic
concord in the rise of the long low lines of piny
hills; the first utterances of those mighty moun-
tain symphonies, soon to be more loudly lifted
and wildly broken along the battlements of the
Alps. But their strength is as yet restrained, and
the far-reaching ridges of pastoral mountains succeed
each other, like the long and sighing swell which
moves over quiet waters, from some far-off stormy
sea. And there is a deep tenderness pervading
that vast monotony. The destructive forces, and
the stem expression of the central ranges, are alike
withdrawn. No frost-ploughed, dust-encumbered
paths of the ancient glacier fr^t the soft Jura pas-
tures ; no splintered heaps of ruin break the fair
Explanatory.
ranks of her forests ; no pale, defiled, or furious
rivers rend their rude and changeful ways among
her rocks. Patiently, eddy by eddy, the clear
green streams wind along their well - known
beds; and under the dark quietness of the
undisturbed pines there spring up, year by year,
such company of joyful flowers as I know not the
like of among all the blessings of the earth. It was
spring-time, too ; and all were coming forth in
clusters crowded for very love. There was room
enough for all, but they crushed their leaves into all
manner of strange shapes, only to be nearer each
other. There was the Wood Anemone, star after
star, closing every now and then into nebulae ; and
there was the Oxalis, troop by troop, like virginal
processions of the Mois de Marie, the dark vertical
clefts in the limestone choked up with them as with
heavy snow, and touched with Ivy on the edges —
Ivy as light and lovely as the Vine ; and, ever and
anon, a blue gush of Violets and Cowslip bells in
sunny places ; and in the more open ground, the
Vetch, and Comfrey, and Mezereon, and the small
sapphire buds of the alpine Polygala, and the Wild
Strawberry, just a blossom or two, all showered
amidst the golden goftness of deep, warm, amber-
coloured moss."
lo The Wild Garden.
This is a picture of but one of innumerable
and infinitely varied scenes in the wilder parts
of all northern and temperate regions, at many
different elevations. The loveliness and cease-
lessly varying charms of such scenes are indeed
difficult to describe or imagine ; the essential
thing to bear in mind is that the plants that go to
form them are hardy ^ and will thriite in our climate
as well as native plants.
Such beauty may be realized in every wood and
copse and wild shrubbery that screens our '' trim
gardens." Naturally our woods«and wilds have no
small loveliness in spring ; we have here and there
the Lily-of-the-valley and the Snowdrop wild, and
everywhere the exquisite Primrose and Cowslip ; the
Bluebell and the Foxglove sometimes take nearly
complete possession of whole woods, and turn them
into paradises of vernal beauty ; but, with all our
treasures in this way, we have no attractions in semi-
wild places compared to what it is within our power
to create. A certain number of beautiful plants
occur amongst the weeds in our woods, and there
we stop. But there are many countries with winters
as cold as, or colder than, our own, possessing
a rich flora ; and by taking thp best hardy exotics
and establishing them with the best of our own wild
Explanatory. 1 1
flowers in wild or half-wild spots near our houses
and gardens, we may produce the most charming
results ever seen in such places. To most people a
I pretty plant in the wild state is more attractive than
any garden denizen. It is free, and taking care of
itself, it has had to contend with and has over-
come weeds which, left to their own sweet will
in a garden, would soon leave very small trace
of the plants therein ; and, moreover, it is usually
surrounded by some d^ree of graceful wild spray
— the green above, and the moss and brambles
and grass around. Many will say with Tennyson,
in " Amphion," —
!
I Better to me the meanest weed
That blows upon its mountain,
The vilest herb that runs to seed
! Befflde its native fountain —
' but by the means presently to be explained, num-
bers of plants, neither " mean " nor " vile," but of
I the highest order of beauty and fragrance, and
clothed with the sweetest associations, may be seen
to greater perfection, wild as weeds, in the spaces
now devoted to rank grass and weeds in our shrub-
beries, ornamental plantations, and by wood walks,
than ever they were in our gardens.
My reasons for advocating this system, as I do,
12 The Wild Garden.
are as follows : first, because hundreds of the finest
hardy flowers will thrive much better in the places
I recommend for them than ever they did in the
old-fashioned border. Even comparatively small
ones, like the ivy-leaved Cyclamen, a beautiful
plant that we rarely find in perfection in gardens,
I have seen perfectly naturalized and spread all
over the mossy surface of a thin wood. Secondly,
because they will look infinitely better than ever
they did in gardens, in consequence of fine-leaved
plant, fern, and flower, and climber, ornamental
grass and dwarf trailing shrub, mutually relieving
each other in ways innumerable as delightful. Any
one of a thousand combinations, which this book
will suggest to the intelligent reader, will prove as
far superior to any aspect of the old mixed border,
or the ordinary type of modern flower-garden, as is
a lovely mountain valley to a country in which the
eye can see but canals and hedges. Thirdly, be-
cause, arranged as I propose, no disagreeable effects
result from decay. The raggedness of the old mixed
border after the first flush of spring and early sum-
mer bloom had passed was intolerable, bundles of
decayed stems tied to sticks making the place look
like the parade-ground of a number of crossing-
sweepers with their " arms piled." When Lilies are
1
Explanatory. j 3
sparsely dotted through masses of Rhododendrons
as I recommend, their flowers are admired more
than if they were in isolated showy masses ; when
they pass out of bloom they are unnoticed amidst
the vegetation, and not eyesores, as when in rigid
unrelieved tufts in borders, &c. In a wild or semi-
wild state, the beauty of individual species will pro-
claim itself when at its height ; and when passed
out of bloom, they will be succeeded by other
kinds, or lost among the numerous objects around.
Fourthly y because it will enable us to grow hun-
dreds of plants that have never yet obtained a
place in our " trim gardens," nor ever will be ad-
mitted therein. I allude to the multitudes of plants
which, not being so showy as those usually con-
sidered worthy of a place in gardens, are never seen
there. The flowers of many of these are of the
highest order of beauty, especially when seen in
numbers. An isolated tuft of one of these, seen in
a formal border, may not be considered worthy of a
place at any time — in some wild glade, in a wood,
associated with other subjects, its eflfect may be
exquisite. We do not usually cultivate Gorse or
Buttercups, yet Mr. Wallace, the distinguished natu-
ralist and traveller, says — "During twelve years
spent amidst the grandest tropical vegetation, I have
14 The Wild Garden.
seen nothing comparable to the effect produced on
our landscapes by Gorse, Broom, Heather, Wild
Hyacinths, hawthorn, and Buttercups;" and
these are but a few conspicuous members of our
indigenous flora, which is by no means as rich as
those of many other cold countries! In every
county in the British Isles there are numbers of
country seats in which one hundred types of vege-
tation, novel, yet as beautiful as, or more beautiful
than, those admired by Mr. Wallace, may be estab-
^shed ; for there are in the colder parts of Europe,
Asia, and other countries. Heaths handsomer than
those usually grown, many " wild Hyacinths " be-
sides the common English one, many finer " Butter-
cups " than those commonly seen, and numbers of
Hawthorns besides our common May ; not to speak
of many other families and plants equally beautiful
Among the subjects that are usually considered
unfit for garden cultivation may be included a
goodly number that, grown in gardens, are little
addition to them ; I mean subjects like the American
Asters, Golden Rods, and like plant% yAdcYi merely
tend to hide the beauty of the choicer and more
beautiful border-flowers when planted amongst them.
These' coarse subjects would be quite at home in
copses and woody places, where their blossoms
Explanatory. 15
might be seen or gath^ed in due season, and their
vigorous vegetation form a covert welcome to the
game preserver. To these two groups might be
added subjects like the winter Heliotropes, the hand^
some British Epilobium angustifolium, and many
other plants which, while attractive in the garden,
are apt to spread about so rapidly as to become a
nuisance there. Clearly these should only be planted
in wild and semi-wild places. Fifthly ^ because we
may in this way settle also the question of spring
flowers, and the spring garden, as well as that of
hardy flowers generally. In the way I suggest, many
parts of every country garden, and many suburban
ones, may be made alive with spring flowers.
The blue stars of the Apennine Anemone will be
«een to greater advantage " wild," in shady or half-
shady bare places, under trees, than in any con-
ceivable formal arrangement, and it is but one of
hundreds of s^veet spring flowers that will succeed
perfectly in the way I propose. Sixthly^ because
there can be few more agreeable phases of com-
munion with nature than naturalizing the natives
of coimtries in which we are infinitely more
interested than in those of greenhouse or stove
plants. From the walls of the Coliseum, the prairies
of the New World, the woods and meadows of all
1 6 The Wild Garden.
the great mountains of Europe ; from Greece and
Italy and Spain, from the sunny hills of Asia
Minor ; from the arctic regions of the great conti-
nents — in a word, from almost every region inte-
resting to the traveller he may bring seeds or plants
and establish round his home the pleasantest
souvenirs of the various scenes he has visited.
Moreover, the great merit of permanence belongs
to this delightful phase of gardening. Select a wild
rough slope, and embellish it with the handsomest
and hardiest climbing plants, — say the noble moun-
tain Clematis from Nepal, the sweet C. Flammula
from Southern Europe, and the magnificent new
hybrid Clematises, (if the earth be rich and there
are rocks and banks on which they can be so
arranged that they will not be overrun by coarser
kinds, and that their masses of shoots may spread
and bask in the sun till they glow into sheets of
purple of various shades) " Virginian creepers " in
variety, Rubus biflorus, with its whitewashed stems,
and other kinds ; various species of hardy vines,
Aristolochias, Jasmines, Honeysuckles — British
and European, wild Roses, etc. Arranged with
some judgment at first, such a colony might be left
to take care of itself; time would but add to its
attractions, and the owner might go away for tenf
^r
Explanatory. t 7
years, and find it more beautiful than ever on his
return. As much may be said of all the other com-
binations which I suggest.
I will now endeavour to illustrate my meaning
by showing what may be done with a few diverse
types of northern vegetation. We will take the
Forget-me-not order to begin with, and as that is
one far from being as rich as others in subjects
suited for naturalization, the reader may be able to
form some idea of what we may do, in this way, by
selecting from the numerous families of plants that
grow in the meadows and mountain-woods of
Europe, Asia, and America.
The Forget-me-not or Borage family is a well-
marked and well-known one, containing a great
number of coarse and ugly weeds, but which, if it in-
cluded only the common Forget-me-not among its
beauties, would have some claims to our attention.
Many persons are not acquainted with more than a
couple of the Forget-me-nots ; but what lovely
exotic plants there are in this order that would
afford delight if met with creeping about along
our wood and shrubbery walks ! Nature, say some,
IS sparing of her deep true blues, and generally
spreads them forth on the high Alps, where the
Gentians bloom near to the sky ; but there are.
C
i8 The Wild Garden.
obscure plants in this order that possess the truest,
deepest, and most delicate of blues, and which will
thrive as well in the positions I allude to as common
weeds. The Gentians and high alpine plants require
some care in our sluggish lowlands, but not so these.
The creeping Omphalodes verna even surpasses the
Forget-me-not in the depth and beauty of its blue
and its general good qualities, and runs about quite
freely in any shady or half-shady shrubbery, wood,
or rough rockwork. Its proper home is the wood
or semi-wild spot, where it takes care of itself. Put
it in a garden, and probably, unless the soil and re-
gion be moist, it soon perishes. Besides, in the
border, it would be a not very agreeable object
when once the sweet spring bloom had passed ;
whereas in the positions spoken of, in consequence
of the predominance of trees, shrubs, and tall herbs,
the low plants are not noticed when out of flower,
but crawl about unobserved till returning spring re-
minds those fortunate enough to see them how
chaste and superior is the inexpensive and natural
kind of gardening here advocated.
Another plant of the order is so suitable and use-
ful for this purpose, that if a root or two of it be
planted in any shrubbery, it will soon run about,
exterminate the weeds, and prove quite a lesson
Explanatory, 19
\
in wild and natural gardening. I allude to the
beautiful Caucasian Comfrey (Symphytum cauca-
sicum), which grows about twenty inches high,
and bears quantities of the loveliest blue pendulous
flowers. It, like many others, does much better in
a wood, grove, or any kind of shrubbery, than in
any other position, just filling in the naked spaces be-
tween the trees and shrubs, and has a quick-growing
and spreading tendency, but never becomes weedy
or objectionable. As if to contrast with it, there is
the deep crimson Bohemian Comfrey (S. bohemi-
cum), which is sometimes startling from the depth
of its vivid colouring, and the white Comfrey (S.
orientale), quite a vigorous-growing kind, blooming
early in April and May, with the blue Caucasian C.
I purposely omit the British Forget-me-nots,
wishing now chiefly to show what we may do with
exotics quite as hardy as our own wildings ; and we
have another Forget-me-not, not British, which sur-
passes them all — the early Myosotis dissitiflora.
This is like a patch of the bluest sky settled down
among the moist stones of a rockwork or any
similar spot before our own Forget-me-not has
opened its blue eyes, and is admirable for glades
or banks in wood or shrubbery, especially in moist
districts.
C 2
20 The Wild Garden.
For rocky bare places and sunny sandy banks
we have the spreading Gromwell (Lithospermum
prostratum), which, when in flower, looks just as if
some exquisite alpine Gentian had assumed the
form of a matted hispid bush, to enable it to hold
its own among creeping things and stouter herbs
than accompany it on the Alps. Also the dwarf
spring-blooming Lungworts (Pulmonarias), the
handsome profuse-flowering Italian Bugloss (An-
chusa),and the Apennine Hounds-tongue (Cynoglos-
sum), and that strong old plant the Cretan Borage
(generally known as Nordmannia cordifolia), which
opens its lavender-blue and conspicuous flowers in
early spring, and is tall and strong enough to main-
tain its position even among Docks or Nettles. It
would be found to delight in any old lane or by-
path with the winter Heliotrope or the like, while
there would be no fear of its becoming a weed, like
that sweet-scented wilding.
We will next turn from the Forget-me-not order
to a very different type of vegetation — ^hardy bulbs.
Howmany of us really enjoy the beauty which a judi-
cious use of a profusion of good and cheap Spring
Bulbs is certain to throwaround a country seat or villa
garden } How many get beyond the miserable con-
ventionalities of modern gardening, with its edgings
Explanatory. %\
and patchings, and taking up, and drying, and mere
playing with our beautiful Spring Bulbs? How
many enjoy the exquisite beauty afforded by Spring
flowers of this type, established naturally, and crop-
ping up full of beauty, without troubling us for
attention at any time ? None. The subject of deco-
rating with Spring Bulbs is merely in its infancy ; at
present we merely place a few of the showiest of
them in geometrical lines. The little we do leads to
such a very poor end, that numbers of people, alive
to the real charms of a garden too, scarcely notice
Spring Bulbs at all, regarding them as things which
require endless trouble, as interfering with the
" bedding-out," and in fact, as not worth the pains
they occasion. This is likely to be the case so long
as the most effective and satisfactory of all modes
of arranging them is quite unused by the body of
the gardening public ; that way is the placing of
them in wild and semi-wild parts of country seats
and gardens, and in the rougher parts of a garden,
no matter where it may be situated or how it may
be arranged. It is a way never practised now, but
which I venture to say will yield more real interest
and exquisite beauty than any other.
Look, for instance, at the wide and bare belts of
grass that wind in and around the shrubberies in
M The Wild Garden.
nearly every country place ; generally, they never
display a particle of plant-beauty, and are merely
places to be roughly mown now and then. But if
planted here and there with the Snowdrop, the blue
Anemone, the Crocus, Squills, and Winter Aco-
nite, they would in spring surpass iiji attractiveness
to the tasteful eye the primmest and gayest of
spring gardens. Cushioned among the grass, these
would have a more congenial medium in which to
unfold than is offered by the beaten sticky earth of
a border : in the budding emerald grass of spring,
their natural bed, they would look far better than
ever they do when arranged on the brown earth of
a garden. Once carefully planted, they — ^while an
annual source of the greatest interest — occasion no
trouble whatever. Their leaves die down so early
«
in spring that they would scarcely interfere with
the mowing of the grass, if that were desired, but
I should not attempt to mpw the grass in such
places till the season of vernal beauty had quite
passed by.
Surely it is enough to have the lawn as smooth as
a carpet at all times, without sending the mower
to shave the 'Mong and pleasant grass" of the
remoter parts of the grounds. It would indeed be
well worth while to leave many parts of the grass
Explanatory. 23
unmown for the sake of growing Spring Bulbs.
Observe how the poet's eye is caught by the
buttercups that " shine like gold" there ; and we,
who are continually talking of our " horticultural
skill and progress," never so much as get near the
effect produced by this very glinting field of butter-
cups, or attain to anything which at all equals it in
beauty, although our opportunities to do so are un-
rivalled ! Now suppose a poet, with an eye for natu-
ral beauty, or an artist, or any person of taste, to
come upon some spot where a wide fringe of grass
spreads out in the bay of a shrubbery or plantation,
and upon this carpet of rising and unshaven verdure
there were dotted, in addition to the few pretty
natural flowers that happened to take possession of
it, the blue Apennine Anemone, the Snowdrop,
Crocuses, " both the yellow and the gray," as Lord
Bacon has it, Scillas in variety. Grape Hyacinths,
Wood Anemone, and any other pretty Spring
flowers that you found suitable to your soil and
position — say, for instance, a sprinkling of the
Sweet Violet — what would you have done for
him here? Why, more than the gardener has
ever yet accomplished, because you would have
given him a glimpse of the choicest vernal beauty
of temperate and northern climes, every flower
%4 The Wild Garden,
relieved by grass blades and green leaves, the
whole devoid of any trace of man and his mud-
dlings in the earth, or his exceeding weakness for
tracing wall-paper patterns, where everything should
be varied, indefinite, and changeful, as the flowers
that bloom and die ; and he would acknowledge
that you had indeed caught the true meaning of
nature in her disposition of vegetation, without
sacrificing one jot of anything in your garden,
but, on the other hand, adding the highest
beauty to spots hitherto devoid of the slightest
interest.
It is not only to places in which shrubberies, and
plantations, and belts of grass in the rougher parts
of the pleasure-ground, and shady moss-bordered
wood-walks occur that these remarks apply.
The suburban gardener, with his single fringe of
planting, may do likewise, to some extent, with
the best taste. He may have the Solomon's Seal
arching forth from a shady recess behind a tuft of the
sweet-scented Narcissus, while in every case he can
make preparations for wild fringes of strong and
hardy spring flowers. In front of a shrubbery with
a sunny aspect is the best of all places for a cheerful
display in early spring, as the shelter and warmth
combined make them open forth in all their glory
Explanatory. %j^
under a spring sun, and they cannot be cut off by
harsh winds as when exposed in the open garden.
What has already been stated is, I hope, sufficient
to hint to everybody the kind of place that may be
used for their culture. Wild and semi-wild places,
rough banks in or near the pleasure-ground or
flower-garden, such spots as perhaps at present
contain nothing but weeds, or any naturally rough
or unused spot about a garden — ^such are the places
I recommend. It is true there are thousands of
places without these, and where every inch of the
lawn must be mown ; but even on such the
Snowdrop may be enjoyed in early spring, for its
leaves die down, or at all events ripen sufficiently
before there is any occasion to mow the grass.
I have spoken of the Buttercups ; let us next see
what may be done with the order to which they be-
long. It embraces many subjects widely diverse in
aspect from these burnished ornaments of northern
meadows and mountains. The first thing I should
take from it to perennially embellish the wild wood is
the sweet-scented Virgin's Bower (Clematis Flam-
mula), a native of the south of Europe, but as hardy
and free in all parts of Britain as the common Haw-
thorn. And as the Hawthorn sweetens the breath
of early summer, so will this add fragrance to the
26 The Wild Garden.
autumnal months. It is never to be seen half so
beautiful as when crawling over some old rockwork
or decayed stumps of trees ; it is excellent for
gathering in wreaths for use along with other flowers
in autumn ; and if its profuse masses of white
bloom do not attract, its fragrance is sure to do so.
An open glade in a wood, or open spaces on banks
near a wood or shrubbery, would be charming for
it ; while in the garden or pleasure-ground it may
be used as a creeper over old stumps, trellising, or
the like. C. campaniflora, with flowers like a cam-
panula, and of a pale purplish hue, and the beau-
tiful white Clematis montana grandiflora, a native
of Nepaul, are almost equally beautiful, and many
others of the family are worthy of naturalization.
The fine new hybrids and varieties (in the way of
C. lanuginosa) will, on good warm sandy soil, spread
over the ground without any support or training,
and in the most luxuriant way. In making mixed
borders, rockwork, fringes of plantation, or anything
of the kind, we must not be confined by any rules
except those of the judgment, and must draw from
all sorts of stores ; therefore these new varieties of
Clematis should not be overlooked, and if one were
making a bold rockwork, a grand use might be
made of them for dressing precipitous points with
Explanatory. %*j
richest colour and noblest flowers, putting the roots
in a position where they could descend at pleasure
into a rich and deep vein of good earth. The
warmth of the recumbent position on the stone, and
the shelter, could not fail to make them feel at
home, and I can imagine nothing more effective
than a sheet of these falling over the face of such
large stones as those in the rockwork at Chatsworth,
and a few other gardens where large things in this
way have been attempted. The beauty displayed by
these large varieties of Clematis when planted in a
deep light soil is only to be realized by those who
have seen it.
Next we come to the Wind Flowers, or Ane-
mones, and here we must pause to select, for a
more attractive class of hardy flowers does not
beautify any northern clime. Have you a bit of bare,
stony ground, slightly shaded perhaps i If so, the
beautiful downy white and yellow Anemones of the
Alps (A. alpina and A. sulphurea) may be grown
there. Any kind of wood or shrubbery which you
wish to embellish with the choicest vernal beauty ?
Then select Anemone blanda,a small but lovely blue
kind ; place it in open bare spots to begin with, as
it is very dwarf, and it will at Christmas, and from
that time onward through the spring, open flowers
%8 The Wild Garden,
as large as a five-shilling piece, and of the deepest
sky blue. The common garden Anemone (A. Coro-
nana) will not be fastidious, but had better be
placed in open bare places ; and the splendid Ane-
mone fulgens, when it can be spared for the pur-
pose, will prove a most attractive ornament, as it
glows with the most fiery scarlet. It should have
an open spot where the herbage is dwarf. Of other
Anemones, hardy, free, and beautiful enough to be
made wild in our shrubberies, pleasure-grounds, and
wilds, the Japan Anemone (A. japonica), and its
white descendant, A. j. Honorine Jobert, A. trifolia,
and A. sylvestris, are the best of the exotic species.
The Japan Anemone and A. hybrida, and the white
Honorine Jobert, grow so strongly that they will
take care of themselves even among stiff brushwood,
brambles, &c. ; and they are beautifully fitted for
scattering along the low, half-wild margins of shrub-
beries, &c. The interesting little A. trifolia is not
unlike our own wood Anemone, and will grow in
similar places.
As for the Apennine Anemone, it is simply one
of the loveliest spring flowers of any clime, and
should' be in every garden, in the borders, and scat-
tered thinly here and there in woods and shrubberies,
so that it may become " naturalized." The flowers
Explanatory. ag
are freely produced, and of the loveliest blue. It is
scarcely a British flower " to the manner bom," so
to speak, being a native of the south of Europe ;
but having strayed into our wilds and plantations
occasionally, it is now included in most books on
British plants. A. ranunculoides, a doubtful native,
found in one or two spots, but not really British, is
well worth growing, being very beautiful, and form-
ing tufts of golden yellow.
The beautiful new and large A. angulosa I have
seen growing almost as freely as Celandine among
shrubs and in half-shady spots, and we all know how
readily the old kinds grow on all garden soils of
ordinary quality. There are about ten or twelve
varieties of the common Hepatica (Anemone Hepa-
tica) grown in British nurseries and gardens, and all
the colours of the species should be represented in
every collection of spring flowers.
Many will doubtless remember with pleasure
the prettily-buttoned white flowers of the Fair
Maids of France (Ranunculus aconitifolius fl. pL,)
and in a half-shady rich border it is a beautiful and
first-class plant ; but I am disposed to think more
of the double varieties of the British Ranun-
culuses, because of their greater hardiness and
vigour. Weed as is the common R. acris, its
30 The Wild Garden.
double variety, with the perfectly formed and
polished golden buttons, is a charming hardy plant,
flowering profusely, and not of a very transient
character ; the flowers are even useful for cutting.
Good also are R. repens fl. pi. and R. bulbosus fl. pi.
R. montanus is a pretty little species, better
suited for rockwork, stony ground, or a spot where
it would be safe from injury ; it is very dwarf and
neat, and the flowers comparatively large. Quite
distinct from all these, and of chastest beauty when
well grown, is R. amplexicaulis, with flowers of
pure white, and simple leaves of a dark glaucous
green and flowing graceful outline ; a hardy and
charming plant on almost any soil. It is, indeed, a
beautiful and distinct plant, and generally speaking
so rare, that had I not seen it selling in the Notting-
ham market for a few pence per tuft (!) some
months ago, I should not mention it here, for
usually it is rare even in botanic gardens, and I
was much surprised to see it selling like Musk-
Plant or Bachelor's-buttons.
There is, however, a handsome double variety of
our fine wild Marsh-marigold sold rather plentifully
in London during the spring months, and it, unlike
the single one, is not so generally known or grown
»as it ought to be. Of the Globe Flowers (TroUius),
Explanatory. 3 1
the best are T.. Napellifolius, T. asiaticus, and the
British T. europseus. These are all rich in colour,
fragrant, and striking in a remarkable degree.
The Winter Aconite (Eranthis hyemalis,) should
be naturalized in every country seat in Britain — it
is as easy to do so as to introduce the thistle. It
may be placed quite under the branches of deci-
duous trees, will come up and flower when they are
as naked as stones, have its foliage developed before
the leaves come on the trees, and be afterwards
hidden from sight. Thus masses of this earliest
flower may be grown without the slightest sacrifice
of space, and only be noticed when bearing a bloom
on every little stem. That fine old plant, the Christ-
mas Rose, (Helleborus niger,) likes shade or partial
shade better than full exposure, and should be used
abundantly, giving it rather snug and warm posi-
tions, so that its flowers may be encouraged to open
well and fully. Any other kinds of which there
was a surplus stock might also be used. And here
I might incidentally suggest that every time the
borders of hardy plants are dug over, the trimmings
and parings of many garden ornaments will do for
planting in the woods and wilds.
Of the Monkshoods the less we say the better,
perhaps. Some of them are handsome, but all of
3a The Wild Garden.
them virulent poisons ; and, bearing in mind what
damage has been done by them from time to time,
they are better not used at all. Not so the Delphi-
niums, which are amongst the most beautiful of all
flowers. They are now to be had in such profuse
variety that particular kinds need not be named, all
being good. A " mixed" packet of seed from any
seedsman would afford a number of fine plants.
They embrace almost every shade of blue, from the
rich dark tone of D. grandiflora to the charming
caerulean tints of such as D. Belladonna; and
being usually of a tall and strong type, will make
way among long grasses and vigorous weeds,
unlike many things for which we have to recom-
mend an open space, or a wood with nothing but a
carpet of moss under the trees.
We have thus seen, from examples of three
groups, what may be done in the way I propose. I
might go through all the other orders in the same
way, but as this is done more systematically further
on, it is not needful here. I might go from glade to
glade and bank to bank, and show how a different
aspect of vegetation might be produced in each ;
but that will be suggested by the natural orders,
by the lists of selections, and, better than all,
by a knowledge of the plants themselves. One
Explanatory. 33
of the most delightful phases of the subject is
that of naturalizing alpine and rock plants on ruins
and old walls : there are scores of kinds that not
only thrive on such places, but are to be seen to
greater advantage on them than in any other posi-
tions ; but as this is very fully dealt with in an
illustrated chapter in my "Alpine Flowers/' I
content myself in the present work with giving a
carefully drawn up list of the best species that will
succeed on ruins and old walls.
By these means it is quite practicable to create
aspects of vegetation along our wood and shrubbery
walks, and in neglected places, superior to any
seen in nature, because we may cull from the flora
of every northern, temperate, and alpine region ;
whereas in nature comparatively few plants exist
wild in a restricted space, while the effect of the
planting which I suggest need be in no sense
inferior in any one spot to that of the sweetest
wild of Nature's own arranging.
It must not be thought that my proposal can
only be carried out in places where there is some
extent of rough pleasure-ground, or some approxi-
mation to what I call half-wild places. Un-
doubtedly the finest effects may be obtained in
these ; but excellent results may be obtained from
D
34 'The Wild Garden.
the system in comparatively small villa-gardens, on
the fringes of shrubberies, and marginal planta-
tions, open spaces between shrubs, the surface of
beds of Rhododendrons, etc. In a word, every
shrubbery and plantation surface that is so need-
lessly and relentlessly dug over by the gardener
every winter, may be embellished in the way I
propose, as well as wild places. As I have said
in " Alpine Flowers," no practice is more general, or
more in accordance with ancient custom, than that
of digging shrubbery borders, and there is none in
the whole course of gardening more profitless or
worse. When winter is once come, almost every
gardener, although animated with the best inten-
tions, simply prepares to make war upon the roots
of everything in his shrubbery border. The gene-
rally accepted practice is to trim, and often to
mutilate the shrubs, and to dig all over the surface
that must be full of feeding roots. Delicate half-
rooted shrubs are often disturbed ; herbaceous
plants, if at all delicate and not easily recognised,
are destroyed ; bulbs are often displaced and in-
jured ; and a sparse depopulated aspect is given to
the margins, while the only "improvement" tha^ is
eflfected by the process is the annual darkening of
the surface by the upturned earth.
Explanatory. 35
Illustrations of my meaning^ occur by miles in
our L6ndon parks in winter. Walk through any
of them at that season, and observe the borders
round masses of shrubs, choice and otherwise. In-
stead of finding the earth covered, or nearly
covered, with vegetation close to the margin, and
each individual developed into something like a
respectable specimen of its kind, we find a spread
of recently-dug ground, and the plants upon it
with an air of having recently suffered from a
whirlwind, or some calamity that necessitated the
removal of mutilated branches. Rough-pruners
precede the diggers, and bravely trim in the shrubs
for them, so that nothing may be in the way ; and
then come the diggers, who sweep along from
margin to back, plunging deeply round and about
plants, shrubs, or trees. The first shower that
occurs after this digging exposes a whole network
of torn-up roots. There is no relief to the spec-
tacle ; the same thing occurs everywhere — in a
London botanic garden as well as in our large
West-end parks ; and year after year is the process
repeated.
While such is the case, it will be impossible to
have an agreeable or interesting margin to a
shrubbery ; albeit the importance of the edge, as
D 2
36 The Wild Garden.
« ■ I ■ I ' ■ ' ' '
compared to the hidden parts, is pretty much as
that of the face to the back of a mirror. Of course
all the labour required to produce this happy result
is worse than thrown away, as the shrubberies
would do better if let alone, and merely surface-
cleaned now and then ; but by utilizing the power
thus wasted, we might highly beautify the positions
that now present so objectionable an aspect.
If we resolve that no annual manuring or digging
is to be permitted, nobody will grudge a thorough
preparation at first Then the planting should be
so arranged as to defeat the digger. To graduate
the vegetation from the taller subjects behind to
the very margin of the grass is of much importance,
and this could only be done thoroughly by the
greater use of permanent evergreen and very dwarf
subjects. Happily, there is quite enough of these
to be had suitable for every soil. Light, moist,
peaty, or sandy soils, where such things as the
sweet-scented Daphne Cneorum would spread
forth its dwarf cushions, would be somewhat
more desirable than say, a stiff clay ; but for
every position suitable plants might be found.
Look, for example, at what we could do with the
dwarf-green Iberises, Helianthemums, Aubrietias,
Arabises, Alyssums, dwarf shrubs, and little conifers
Explanatory. 37
like the creeping Cedar (Juniperus squamata), and
the Tamarix-leaved Juniper ! All these are green,
and would spread out into dense wide cushions,
covering the margin, rising but little above the
grass, and helping to cut off the formal line which
usually divides margin and border. Behind them
we might use very dwarf shrubs, deciduous or ever-
green, in endless variety ; and of course the margin
should be varied also.
In one spot we might have a wide-spreading tuft
of the prostrate Savin pushing its graceful ever-
green branchlets out over the grass ; in another the
dwarf little Cotoneasters might be allowed to form
the front rank, relieved in their turn by pegged-
down Roses ; and so on without end. Herbaceous
plants, that die down in winter and leave the
ground bare afterwards, should not be assigned any
important position near the front. Evergreen
Alpine plants and shrubs, as before remarked, are
perfectly suitable here ; but the true herbaceous
type, and the larger bulbs, like Lilies, should be
"stolen in" between spreading shrubs rather than
allowed to monopolize the ground. By so placing
them, we should not only secure a far more satis-
factory general effect, but highly improve the
aspect of the herbaceous plants themselves. Of
38 The Wild Garden.
course, to carry out such planting properly, a little
more time at first and a great deal more taste than
are now employed would be required ; but what a
difference in the result ! In the kind of borders
I advocate, nearly all the trouble would be over
with the first planting, and labour and skill could be
successively devoted to other parts of the grounds.
All that the covered borders would require, would be
an occasional weeding or thinning, &c., and perhaps
in the case of the more select spots, a little top-
dressing with fine soil. Here and there, between
and amongst the plants, such things as Forget-me-
nots and Violets, Snowdrops and Primroses, might
be scattered about, so as to lend the borders a
floral interest even at the dullest seasons; and
thus we should be delivered from digging and
dreariness, and see our ugly borders alive with
exquisite plants. The chief rule should be — never
show the naked earth : carpet or clothe it with
dwarf subjects, and then allow the taller ones to
rise in their own wild way through the turf or
spray. It need hardly be said that this argument
against the digging applies to two or three beds of
shrubs, and places where the " shrubbery" is little
larger than the dining-room, as much as to the
large country seat, public park, or botanic garden.
Explanatory. 39
It would require a long list to enumerate
the many unattractive places that may be
beautified by the adoption of this system of
naturalization. Take for example a common
ditch shaded with trees. There would be
no difficulty in enumerating many plants that
would thrive better in such a position, with a little
clearing and preparation, than we have ever seen
them do in any position they now occupy in
gardens. It would in fact be a perfect paradise
for such plants as Trillium grandiflorum and other
inhabitants of dense woods. My friend Dr. Hud-
son, of Dublin, has converted an old ditch of
this kind bordering his place at Merrion into a
very agreeable walk, by simply putting a foot or
so of coal-ashes and lime-rubbish into it so as to
form a dry walk ; and the banks of this shady,
narrow alley, he will convert into " mixed borders"
of the most charming kind, by selecting plants
that love, and thrive in, shady sheltered spots, and
by so arranging them that no two parts of the
scene shall present the same aspect of vegetation.
I will next enumerate, and indicate the best
positions for, the plants suitable for the system.
n
PART II.
AN ENUMERATION
or
HARDY EXOTIC PLANTS,
SUITABLB FOR
Naturalization in our Woods, Semi-wild Places,
Shrubberies, etc.,
WITH THB
NATIVE COUNTRY, GENERAL CHARACTER, HEIGHT, COLOUR,
TIME OF FLOWERING, MODE OF PROPAGATING, AND
THE POSITIONS MOST SUITABLE FOR EACH.
HARDY EXOTIC PLANTS
FOR NATURALIZATION.
THE BUTTERCUP FAMILY.
Hare-bell Virgin's Bower. Clematis campaniflora.
Native country: S. Europe. Habit: a climber. Height:
6 to I o feet Colour of flower : purplish. Time of flower-
ing: summer. Manner of propagation: by seed, as in
all the kinds, to be sown as soon as gathered, division, or
layers. — Suitable positions : copses, banks, old stumps,
hedgerows, &c. in ordinary soil
American Traveller's Joy. Clematis Viorna, North
America. Climber ; 8 to lo feet ; purple ; summer and
early autumn ; seed, division, or layers. — Thin low copses,
open sunny banks, rootwork, hedgerows, etc
Vine-bower Clematis. Clematis Viticella, South
Europe. Climber; lo to i6 feet; blue or purple;
summer and early autumn ; seed or layers. — Fringes of
woods, copses, hedgebanks ; through wild or semi-wild
shrubby vegetation on high banks, tall old stumps, or
high rootwork.
Sweet-scented Virgin's Bower. Clematis Flammula,
Southern Europe. Climber; lo to 30 feet; white;
autumn ; seed or layers. — Excellent for almost every use
to which a hardy climber may be put, and in the semi-
44 The Wild Garden.
wild state for banks, stumps, chalk-pits, hedges, copses,
and even for planting in masses in grassy places.
Richer sheets of noble bloom are not to be seen in
the open air in any northern clime than those produced
by the new hybrid clematises raised by Jackman of
Woking and others. They are capable of beautifying
any position, and seem to conform to almost any mode
of culture or training — pegged down, trained up on
stakes, or nailed against walls ; but there is certainly
no spot which suits them so well as the face of a large
rock, natural or artificial. Planted in deep good soil,
above and behind such an object, the shoots will fall
over the face of the rock in vigorous matted tufts, and
in due season become so densely covered with flowers as
to resemble a truly imperial robe of purple. They may
also be planted so as to fall over the side-walls of rustic
bridges either over walks or streams, and may be allowed
to run over the face of bare sunny banks, where they
would produce a magnificent effiect. The variety best
known at present is Jackman's (Clematis yackmant)'^
but there are many other kinds.
Meadow Bues. Thalidrums, This large and well-
marked family is of somewhat too coarse and weedy a
nature for garden culture ; but, being possessed of a very
vigorous habit, and being also distinct in aspect, it is
precisely one of those that are suitable for planting here
and there in the wildest and roughest parts of our planta-
tions. Of the rather numerous kinds of these grown in
our botanic gardens, the most ornamental are the plumy
Meadow-rue and the fetid Meadow-rue : as these are
capable of producing distinct and desirable effects, I will
Hardy Exotic Plants for Naturalization. 45
speak of them separately. As regards all the other species
likely to be met with in gardens, and including also any
plants of the plumy Meadow-rue, they may be planted
among any coarse herbaceous vegetation. For the most
part they attain a height of three or four feet, and are as
easily propagated by division as the common balm.
Fetid Meadow Bue. Thalictrum fxtidum, Europe.
Herbaceous perennial ; 9 inches to one and a half feet
high ; brownish ; summer ; division or seed. — A plant
not worthy of cultivation on account of its flowers ; but
having very gracefully cut leaves, very like those of our
own Lesser Meadow-rue — ^and resembling, when grown
on established plants, those of the Stove Maiden-hair fern
{Adiantum cuneatum)^ it deserves to be grown, as does also
the Lesser Meadow-rue, for the beauty of its leaves. It
is, like diat plant, hardy enough to grow in almost any
soil or position, but will be seen to greatest advantage on
open spots or banks with a dwarf vegetation of late
spring and early summer flowers. In such places tufts
of it ought to look as well as plants of the Maiden-
hair fern do among conservatory flowers. It is, however,
only just to the British Thalictrum minus to say that it
produces a very similar effect and quite as good, so that
anybody possessing it need not seek our present subject.
Fliiiny Meadow Bue. Thalictrum aquilegifoliutn.
Middle and Southern Europe. Herbaceous perennial;
5 to 4 feet ; whitish rose or purplish ; summer ; division.
— Will grow in almost any soil or position, but prefers a
somewhat humid spot. The variety with purplish instead
of yellow stamens is a pretty one, and both are well
suited for a position near wood walks.
46 The Wild Garden,
Alpine Wind-Flower. Anemone alpina, Alps. Her-
baceous perennial ; 4 to 20 inches ; white and purplish on
the outside of the petals ; summer ; seed and division. —
On grassy banks, in unmown parts of the pleasure-grounds
or open spots in woods, in which it ought to attain as
great perfection as it does in sub-alpine meadows.
Apennine Wind- Flower. Anemone apennina.
Europe. Tuber; 3 to 9 inches ; blue; spring; division.
— Rocks, stony places, in exposed positions, and also in
bare shady or half-shady places, in groves, and by the
side of avenues and wood walks. It may, in fact, be grown
with success wherever the common wood-anemone thrives.
Pop^y Wind-Flower. Anemone Coronaria, Levant
Tuber ; 6 to 12 inches ; striped ; spring ; seed and divi-
sion. — Open sunny places, fringes of shrubberies, banks,
eta, where there- is a dwarf vegetation.
Japanese Wind-Flower. Anemone japonica, Japan.
Herbaceous perennial; 2 feet; reddish ; autumn; division.
— ^Woods, copses, brakes, amongst masses of Cotoneaster
and other prostrate shrubs, margins of shrubberies, in fact
in almost any position and soil
White Japanese Wind-flower. Anemone Japonica var.
Honorine Johert, Garden variety. Herbaceous perennial;
2 feet; white; autumn ; division. — Similar positions to those
for the preceding, than which it is even a finer plant
Crowfoot Wind-Flower. Anemone ranunculaidet.
Middle and Northern Europe. Tuber ; 6 inches ; yellow ;
spring ; seeds or division. — Does best in chalky or warm
dry soils, in spots where there is a dwarf vegetation.
Snowdrop Wind-Flower. Anemone sylvestris,
Europe. Herbaceous perennial; i to i^ feet; white
Hardy Exotic Plants for Naturalization. 47
spring ; seeds or division. — Margins of shrubberies,
copses, and by wood-walks associated occasionally with
the Alpine Anemone, and the finer Crowfoots.
Hepatioa. Anemone Hepaiica, Europe. Herbaceous
perennial; 3 or 4 inches; various colours; spring;
division.— A native of mountain woods, this thrives
very well in bare places, in shady or open woods and
shrubberies; also in rocky places, the chief care re-
quired being to plant it where it& beauties may be seen.
Tbree-leaved Wind-ilower. Anemone trifoiia,
France. Tuber ; 6 to 9 inches ; white ; spring or early
summer ; seed or division. — Suitable for the same uses
as the wood and Apennine wind-flowers, and for asso-
ciation with them.
Aoonite-leaved Orowfoot. Ranunculus aconiHfoiius,
Europe. Herbaceous perennial; i to i^ feet; white;
early smnmer; seed or division. — Similar positions to those
for the Alpine wind-flower. — It is often found wild in great
luxuriance in rather low meadows under conditions nearly
like those enjoyed by our own meadows.
Iiarge Double Crowfoot. Ranunculus ** dullalus"
fl, pL Garden variety. Herbaceous perennial ; \ foot ;
yellow; summer; division. — A handsome double variety,
which will thrive well by wild wood-walks, and in the
rougher parts of the pleasure-ground, where the vegeta-
tion is dwarf.
Stem-olaspiiig Orowfoot. Ranunculus amplexkaidis,
Pyrenees. Herbaceous perennial ; ifoot; white; spring
and early summer ; division. — A lovely subject for
naturalization in open rocky spots, where there is a
moist free soil. Near the maigins of a moimtain bog
48 The Wild Garden.
would suit it well, though it is yet so scarce that all the
supply is required for the select rockwork. It might also
be tried with success in an open bare spot, amidst vegeta-
tion, not rising above six inches high.
Glacier Orowf cot. Ranuncitlus glacialis, Lapland. 6
inches to a foot; white ; summer; seed or division.— Worthy
of attention where there is stony and cold mountain ground,
elevated bogs, and the like. In such places one might
be proud of having naturalized such a high Alpine plant
Hountain Orowfoot. Ranunculus tnontanus, Austria.
Herbaceous perennial ; 6 to 9 inches ; yellow ; summer ;
seed or division. — Bare spots, or where the vegetation
consists of such plants as the spurrey or the shortest
grasses, and where the soil is somewhat moist and free.
Spiked Orowfoot. Ranunculus spicattis, Algiers.
Herbaceous perennial ; i to 1 J feet; yellow; spring and
summer; division. — Excellent for association with the
Snowdrop Anemone, and other choice plants, reaching
a height of something over one foot, by wood-walks, in
rather open simny spots.
Altaian Globe-flower. TroUius cUtaicus, Altai
mountains. Herbaceous perennial; 2 feet; yellow;
summer; division. — By shrubbery walks in immown
places, amidst rather strong-growing, herbaceous vegeta-
tion, and also in open grassy glades in woods.
Napelliuhleaved Globe-flower. TroUius napdlifolius,
Europe. Herbaceous perennial; 2 or 3 feet; yellow;
early summer ; division. — A noble plant, useful for
positions similar to those for the preceding kind, and for
association with it
Common Winter Aconite. Eranthis hyemalis.
Hardy Exotic Plants for Naturalization. 49
Europe. Tuber j 4 inches ; yellow \ winter ; division. —
Bare places in woods or copses, shady or sunny
banks, and also under isolated trees, of which the
branches rest on the grass of the lawn or pleasure-
ground.
Christmas Bose. Hdlehorus niger. Europe, i foot ;
white; winter; division. — A well known plant, which
will be seen to greater advantage on sunny, yet sheltered
grassy banks, than on the margins of shrubberies, if any
choice as to position may be made.
Olympian Hellebore. ITelleborus olympicus, India.
Evergreen perennial ; 2 feet ; green ; winter ; division. —
Grassy, sunny banks, like preceding, and also for the
margins of shrubberies, and for broken ground.
Alpine Columbine. Aquilegia alpina, Switzerland.
Herbaceous perennial ; 9 to 12 inches ; blue ; early
summer ; seed or division. — Well worthy of natu-
ralization in cool, moist, sandy soil, in stony places
near cascades, and on similar places in elevated posi-
tions.
Canadian Columbine. Aquilegia canadensis, N.
America. Herbaceous perennial ; i to 2 feet ; red and
orange; sprii^. and early summer; seed or division. —
Sandy soils in rather open spots, amidst thin grass and
not very rampant herbaceous plants.
Sky-blue Columbine. Aquilegia ccerulea, N. Ame-
rica. Herbaceous perennial; i to 2 feet; blue and
white; summer; seed or division. — Excellent in very
sandy, well-drained soil in an open position among herbs
not too vigorous in habit, and not reaching much over
one foot high.
50 The Wild Garden,
Perennial Larkspur. Delphinium, Gardens are
now enriched by a multitude of beautiful and vigorous
varieties of perennial Delphiniums, and new kinds of the
most delicate and attractive appearance are annually
raised. Growing from 2 to nearly 6 feet high, per-
fectly hardy and thriving in ordinary soil, any of these
plants which may be spared from the garden should be
planted out in half-wild places amidst herbaceous vegeta-
tion. They would be particularly appropriate in wide
open spaces in woods or near wood-walks, associated with
Pseonies, Asters, and plants of like stature.
Variegated Monkshood. Aconitum vari^tum.
Southern Europe. Herbaceous perennial j 4 to 6 feet j
purple and white; summer; division. — Makes noble
tufts in positions recommended for the Delphiniums,
and is suited for association with the most vigorous and
showy herbs. Other kinds of Monkshood are ornamental,
but they are all so frightfully poisonous that even this
one is perhaps better avoided.
White-flowered F»ony. Paonia albiflara. Siberia.
Herbaceous perennial ; 2 to 3 feet ; white ; early
summer; seed or division. — Margins of shrubberies,
wood-walks, etc. From this species have sprung many of
the noble varieties of Paeony which are now in cultivation.
Officinal FflDony. Paonia officinalis andvars, Europe.
Herbaceous perennial ; 3 to 4 feet ; red ; division. — Rough
rocky places, banks, and edges of woods and copses.
Fine-leaved FflDony. Pceonia tenuifolia, Siberia.
Herbaceous perennial ; i to i J feet ; red ; early summer;
division. — Rough rockwork, margins of low shrubberies,
rocky places, banks, and glades.
Hardy Exotic Plants for Ndturalization. 51
THE BARBERRY FAMILY.
Pinnate Barren Wort. Epimedium pinnatum. Persia.
Herbaceous perennial \ 9 to 30 inches ; yellow; spring ;
division. — Warm half shady spots on the margins of
shrubberies, or beds of American plants, or naturalized
in copses, in moist, peat, or vegetable soil.
Alpine Barren Wort. Epimedium aipinum. South-
em Europe. Herbaceous perennial; 9 to 12 inches;
purplish ; spring ; division. — Same positions as for the
preceding, but amid dwarfer vegetation.
THE DUCK'S FOOT FAMILY.
May Apple. Podophyllum pdtatum. North America.
Herbaceous perennial ; 6 to 9 inches ; white ; early
summer; seed or division. — Grows quite vigorously in
half-shady spots on the margins of beds of Rhododen-
drons, &a, in peat soil An interesting plant, yielding
the now popular medicine, Podophyllin.
THE WATER LILY FAMILY.
Large Yellow Water Lily. Nuphar advena. North
America. Aquatic; yellow; summer; division — ^A
noble plant for the margins of ornamental water, asso-
ciated with our beautiful British Water-Lily.
THE POPPY FAMILY.
SafOron-oolonred Poppy. Papaver croceum, Altai
Mountains. Herbaceous perennial ; i to i| feet ; saffiron^
early summer ; seed or division. — Rocky groimd in moisl
districts, in rather moist sandy soil
£ 2
52 The Wild Garden.
Great Scarlet Poppy. Papaver hracteatum, Siberia.
Herbaceous perennial ; 3 to 5 feet ; red \ early summer ;
seed or division. — Open spots in woods j a splendid plant
in almost any position, growing well in the worst soils.
NakedHsrtienimed Poppy. Papaver nudicaule, Siberia.
Herbaceous perennial ; 9 inches to i^ feet ; yellow ;
summer ; seed.— Open rocky ground in moist sandy soil
—a very handsome plant
Oriental Poppy. Papaver orientals Eastern Europe.
Herbaceous perennial ; 2 J to 4 feet ; red \ early summer ;
seed or division. — Nearly allied to P. bracteatum, and
also a magnificent plant for naturalization.
Opium Poppy. Papaver somniferutn. Southern
Europe. Annual ; 3 to 4 feet ; various ; summer ; seed. —
The varieties of this are showy in sunny spots in open
parts of copses and woods, growing in any soil
Canadian Blood Boot. Sanguinaria canadensis.
North America. Tuber ; \ foot ; white ; spring or early
summer ; division. — Bare places in woods and copses.
Cordate Macleya. Macleya cordata. China. Her-
baceous perennial ; 4 to 6 feet ; brownish ; summer ;
division. — As single specimens by half-wild pleasure-
ground walks, growing best in deep sandy loam.
Callfomian Eschscholtzia. Eschscholtzia califomica.
North America. Annual ; i foot ] yellow ; all summer ;
seed. — ^Any place rather open, and amidst rather dwarf
vegetation. It comes up self-sown year after year.
Callfomian Platystemon. Platystemon caiifarnicum.
N.America. Annual; 6 to 12 inches; yellow; summer;
seed. — On very bare and open spots, where there is a
spare and minute vegetation, in light soil
Hardy Exotic Plants for Naturalization. 53
THE FUMITORY FAMILY.
Plumy Dielytra. Didytra eximia. North America,
Herbaceous perennial; i foot; flesh- colour; summer;
division.— Amid rock plants, on the fringes of very low
shrubberies, on bare banks, or in open rocky spots in
any soil
Showy Dielytra. Dielytra spectabilis, Siberia.
Herbaceous perennial; i to 2 feet; fine rose; early
summer; seed or division. — ^Fringes of woods, and
shrubberies, and all like positions, in almost any soil
Yellow Oorydalis. Corydalis lutea. Southern
Europe. Perennial ; i to 2 feet ; yellow ; all smnmer ;
seed. — Loves stony banks and old ruins, and often
establishes itself on very high walls not in a ruinous con-
dition. It is quite at home on very ugly common-place
rockworks on which little else will thrive.
THE CRUCIFER FAMILY.
AnTiiial Stock. Matthiola annua. Southern Europe.
Annual; i to 2 feet; red; all summer; seed — Any
bare open spots in woods or copses, or on stony banks,
or old ruins.
Window Stock. Matthiola fenestralis. Southerr
Europe. Biennial; i foot; purple; late in summer;
seed.— Sunny margins of shrubberies, and in deep good
soil
Two-homed Stock. Matthiola bicornis, Greece.
Annual; 6 to 12 inches; bright rosy purple; summer;
seed. — ^Warm and bare, or stony open ground amidst low
vegetation ; it is deliciously scented.
54 The Wild Garden.
Emperor Stock. Matthiola semperflorens. Evergreen
perennial; i to i J feet; summer; seed — Rocky places,
banks, ruins, fringes of shrubberies, etc.
Night-Boented Stock. Matthiola tristis. Southern
Europe. Biennial; i to ij feet; brown; simmier;
seed. — May be established on the simny sides of old
ruins and walls, in old chalk-pits, etc
Alpine Wallflower. Erysimum ochroleucum. Nor-
thern Europe. Evergreen perennial; \ foot; yellow;
early simmier ; cuttings, seed, or division. — Bare or stony
earth in moist soil, and in a fully exposed position.
Garden Wallflower. Cheiranthus Chdri, Europe.
Evergreen perennial; 2 feet; rich brown and yellow;
early summer; seed or cuttings. — ^This, as everybody
knows, is quite at home on old walls, on many of which
it is abundantly naturalized.
White Wall-cress. Arabis albida, Caucasus. Ever-
green perennial; J foot; white spring; seed, division,
or cuttings. — ^Anywhere amid vegetation not over i foot
high. Should be used abimdantly in stony places and
ruins.
Sand Wall-cress. Arabis arenosa, Europe. Annual;
\ foot ; purplish ; seed. — On mossy old ruins or walls,
or on ground fully exposed, and where the vegetation
is not much more than 6 inches high.
Biennial Honesty. Lunaria biennis, Germany.
Biennial; 2 to 3 feet; purplish; sununer; seed. — On
warm chalky banks, or slopes, or indeed in almost any
position in woods, and by walks in half-wild spots.
Perennial Honesty. Lunaria rediviva, Europe.
Herbaceous perennial; 2 to 3 feet; purple; early
Hardy Exotic Plants for Naturalization. 55
summer ; seed or division. — Margins of shrubberies, beds
of American plants, and copses.
Purple Aubrietia. Aubrietia deitoidea, and vars.
Southern Europe. Evergreen perennial ; 4 inches ;
purple; spring and early sununer; seed, division, or
cuttings. — Anywhere amidst very dwarf vegetation : on
rocky or bare ground, banks or slopes, it should be
planted in profusion.
Alpine Mad-wort. Alyssum alpestre. Southern
Europe. Evergreen perennial ; 4 inches ; yellow ;
summer ; seed or cuttings. — ^A very neat littie plant to
establish on bare rocky upland ground, or on ruins.
Book Mad-wort. Alyssum saxaHle. Russia. Ever-
green perennial: 12 to 18 inches; yellow; spring and
early summer; seed, cuttings, or division. — Should be
abundantly planted on bare and rocky ground, on banks
and slopes, associated with all showy alpine plants like
the white Arabis and purple Aubrietia.
Sweet Alyssum. Alyssum mariHmum. ^outhem
Europe. Annual ; i foot ; white ; summer ; seed — Stony
or bare groimd where the vegetation is dwarf and sparse.
Mountain Mad-wort. Alyssum montanum. Germany.
Evergreen perennial ; 3 to 6 inches ; yellow ; summer ;
seed, cuttings, or division. — On rocky ground that is
rather sandy and not too wet, or on bare banks.
Sea-green Whitlow Grass. Draba aizoides, Europe.
Evergreen perennial ; 3 inches ; yellow ; spring ; seed or
division. — Old ruins, walls, and rocks, on which there is
a very minute vegetation. It is natvualized in one or
two places in England.
Stemless Violet^Cress. lonopsidium acaule. Portugal.
5<S The Wild Garden.
Annual ; i to 2 inches ; lilac \ summer ; seed. — Only
where the vegetation is no larger than mosses, on moist
sandy slopes, rocky or bare ground.
Broad-leaved Bastard-Cress. Thlaspi latifolium.
Herbaceous perennial ; i foot ; white ] early spring ; seed
or division. — Positions similar to those recommended for
the White Arabis. Good also for low fringes of shrubberies
or bare parts of copses, associated with early flowers.
Coris-leaved Candy Tuft. Iberis corifolia. Southern
Europe. Evergreen perennial ; 6 to 9 inches ; white ;
early summer -, seed or cuttings. — Rough rockwork, stony
places, or bare banks, fully exposed. The smallest good
evergreen Candy Tuft It ought to be placed amidst
very dwarf vegetation.
Gibraltar Candy Tuft. Iberis gibraitarica. Spain.
Evergreen perennial ] 1 foot and over ; pinkish ; spring
and early summer; seed or cuttings. — ^Warm spots on
banks or rocky places in the milder parts of the country.
G-arrex's Candy Tuft. Iberis Garrexiana, Pyrenees.
Evergreen perennial ; 6 to 9 inches ; white \ summer ; seed
or cuttings. — Same positions as for the preceding kind.
Crown Candy Tuft. Iberis Coronaria, Southern
Europe. Annual ; i foot, white ; summer ; seed. —
Open spots in any aspect in ordinary soil
Book Candy Tuft. Iberis saxatilis. Southern
Europe. Evergreen perennial; 6 to 12 inches; white;
early summer ; seed or cuttings. — Rocks, banks, slopes,
margins of shrubberies or woods ; best in open spots.
Tenore's Candy Tuft. Iberis Tenoreana, Naples.
Probably biennial; 6 inches; white, changing to pale
purple ; summer ; seed. — Similar positions to the pre-
Hardy Exotic Plants for Naturalization. 57
ceding, but warmer and always in light, sandy soil, or
thoroughly well drained sandy loam.
Purple Candy Tuft. Iberis umbellata. Southern
Europe. Annual ; i foot ; purple ; summer ; seed.—
Bare open spots in woods or on slopes, in any soil
Common Bocket. Hesperis matronalis. Europe.
Biennial ; i to 3 feet ; various ; summer ; seed. — In
shrubberies ; the single variety will sow itself very
freely. The double ones would probably " die out."
Virginian Stock. Makolmia maritima. Southern
Europe. Annual ; 6 to 12 inches ; lilac purple ; summer ;
seed. — Pretty in any spots where it would not be overrun
by grass, etc.
Ferofikki's Erysimum. Erysimum Peroffskianum.
Palestine. Annual ; i to 2 feet ; deep orange ; summer ;
seed. — Rather bare spaces in copses, and on banks, in
ordinary soil, " sows itSelf."
Coris-leaved JaSthionema. ^thionema coridifolium.
Southern Europe. Evergreen perennial ; 6 inches ; Ulac
rose ; summer ; seed or division. — Exposed rocks amidst
dwarf vegetation, or on bare banks.
Heart-leaved Seakale. Crambecordifolia, Caucasus.
Tuber ; 4 to 6 feet ; white \ summer ; seed or division.—
Grassy spaces beside wood and pleasure-ground walks.
Isolated plants in rich ground are most effective.
Arabia -like Heliophila. Heliophila araboides.
South Africa. Annual ; 6 to 9 inches ; blue ; summer ;
seed.- — Sunny banks and rocky ground, with sparse low
vegetation, in sandy soil.
58 The Wild Garden.
THE BASTARD HEMP FAMILY.
Bastard Hemp. Datisca cannabina. Southern Eu-
rope. Herbaceous perennial ; 4 to 6 feet ; yellowish ;
summer ; seed or division. — Open grassy spaces by wood-
walks, and in spots where its graceful habit may be seen.
Male and female plants should be planted together, as
the female, laden with fruit, is the more graceful of the
two. The male is the one commonly seen in England,
but both sexes may be had by raising the plants from
seeds.
THE CAPER FAMILY.
Common Caper. CappaHs spinosa. Southern Eu-
rope. Deciduous shrub ; 3 to 4 feet ; white \ summer ;
seed or cuttings. — I believe this interesting and most
beautiful, as well as useful plant, may be grown on old
walls and ruins, in chalk pits, and on the sunny flanks
of rockwork, in warmer parts of Southern England much
as it is in various countries warmer than ours. It should
always be placed in as warm and sunny a position as
possible, and would be best if arranged so that it should
project from the face of the sunniest and warmest part of
the wall or ruin on which it is placed.
THE ROCK ROSE FAMILY.
Gum Cistus. Cistus iadaniferus, Spain. Evergreen
shrub ; 2 to 3 feet ; white ; summer ; seed or cuttings. —
Rocky ground, stony banks, or almost auywhere in a
somewhat dry soil
There are many others of this family that may be used
in like positions. Even more valuable for rocky ground,
Hardy Exotic Plants for Naturalization. 59
slopes, and margins of shrubberies are the numerous kinds
of Helianthemums. They flourish to greatest perfection
in chalky or warm soils.
THE VIOLET FAMILY.
Two-flowered Violet, Viola biflora, Europe. Her-
baceous perennial ; 3 to 6 inches ; yellow j spring and
early summer; seed or division. — In moist, rocky, or
stony places, between the stones in rockworks, etc.
Homed Viplet. Viola comuta. Pyrenees. Herba-
ceous perennial ; 3 to 6 inches ; blue ; summer ; seed,
division, or cuttings. — Rocks, banks, fringes of low shrub-
beries, or indeed in almost any position where it may not
be overrun by coarse plants.
Canadian Violet. Viola canadensis. North America.
Herbaceous perennial ; 4 to 6 inches ; white, streaked
with violet ; summer ; seed or division. — ^A vigorous kind,
good for running beneath fringes of shrubberies and
woods.
THE SUNDEW FAMILY.
American Grass of Parnassus. Pamassia asarifolia.
North America. Herbaceous perennial j 3 to 6 inches ;
white ; summer ; seed or division. — ^Would be well worth
naturalizing in such moist, boggy spots as our own Grass
of Parnassus delights in.
THE MILKWORT FAMILY.
Bastard-Box. Folygala Chamabuxus, Austria.
Eveiigreen trailer ; 3 to 6 inches j yellowish ; early sum-
mer; division. — Bare rocky places, in a somewhat moist
6o The Wild Garden.
peat or fine sandy soil, associated with such dwarf shrubs
as Daphne Cneorum, and Erica camea.
THE PINK FAMILY.
Tall Gypsophila. Gypsophila altissima. Siberia.
Herbaceous perennial ; 3 to 5 feet ; pinkish ; summer ;
seed or division. — Banks, rocks^ and stony places.
Elegant Gypsophila. GysophUa degans. Eastern
Europe. Annual ; i to 2 feet ; pale rose ; summer ;
seed. — Same positions as for the preceding kind
Fanicled Gypsophila. Gypsophila paniculata. Si-
beria. Herbaceous perennial ; 2 to 4 feet ; white ; sum-
mer 'y seed or division. — Rough, rocky places and in thin
woods.
Trailing Gypsophila. Gypsophila prostrata, Europe.
Herbaceous perennial ; i foot ; pale rose ; summer ;
seed or division. — Rocks, banks, and heaps of stony
rubbish amid dwarf plants.
Creeping Gypsophila. Gypsophila repms, Pyrenees.
Deciduous trailer ; 3 to 6 inches ; striped ; summer \ seed
or division. — Same positions as for the preceding.
Steven's Gypsophila. Gypsophila Steveni, Iberia.
Herbaceous perennial; 2 to 3 feet; white; summer;
seed or division. — Fringes of shrubberies and in open
spots in thin woods, among strong perennials.
Alpine Pink. Dianthus aJpimis. Austria. Ever-
green perennial ; 3 to 4 inches ; red ; summer ; seed or
division. — In peat or very sandy moist soil, on bare and
exposed rocky or very stony spots, amid minute plants.
The beautiful, brilliant, and recently introduced Dian-
Hardy Exotic Plants for Naturalization. 6i
thus negkctus would succeed in similar positions even
more freely than this, as it grows well in common soil.
Carnation. Dianthus Caryophyllus, Europe. Ever-
green perennial ; i to 2 feet ; various ; summer ; seed,
layers, or pipings. — The Carnation grows in a wild state
on walls and ruins, and is worthy of being naturalized in
such places : also in very rocky ground or stony banks,
in ordinary sandy or gravelly soil.
Common Fink. Dianthus plumarius, Europe.
Evergreen perennial ; \ foot ; white ; summer ; seed,
layers, pipings, or division. — On ruins, walls, banks, and
dry rocks, on any of which the plant will prove more
enduring than on the level moist groimd.
Superb Fink. Dianthus superbus. Europe. Ever-
green perennial; i to 2 feet; pale purple; summer;
seed or division. — Sandy moist fields, or open spots in
woods : also on similar soil in rocky or stony places.
Bock Tnnioa. Tunica Saxifraga, Europe. Ever-
green perennial ; i foot ; pale purple ; summer ; seed or
division. — ^Walls, ruins, rocks, or dry, bare, and poor
soil, on banks or slopes.
Calabrian Soap-wort. Saponaria caiabrica. Cala-
bria. Annual ; 6 to 12 inches ; deep rose ; all summer;
seed. — In half-bare, wild places this popular annual
would take care of itself, but it is not nearly so ornamental
as the following perennial kind.
Bock Soap-wort. Saponaria ocymoides, Alps of
Europe. Evergreen trailer ; 3 inches ; red ; early summer ;
seed, cuttings, or division. — Rocks, banks, stony slopes,
or in tufts on the edges of shrubberies.
• Lobars Catohfly . SiUne Armeria, Southem Europe.
62 The Wild Garden.
Annual; i to \\ feet; red; late summer and early
autumn; seed. — Slopes, banks, and almost anywhere
amidst vegetation from 1 2 to 20 inches high.
Alpine Gstohfly. Silene alpestris. Austrian Alps.
Evergreen perennial ; 4 to 6 inches ; white ; early sum-
mer; seed or division. — ^Well-exposed rocky, stony, or
bare places. A beautiful little plant
Pendulous Gatchfly. Silme pendula. Sicily. Bi-
ennial ; i foot ; red ; summer ; seed. — Grows in any soil
or position, but being rather dwarf, is best in rather
bare spots or slopes, among spring and early summer
flowers.
Dwarf Gatchfly. Silene Fumilio. Germany. Ever-
green perennial ; . 4 to 6 inches ; rose ; summer ; seed
or division. — When easily obtainable, would be worth
trying in moist spots on mountains similar to those
inhabited by our own Moss Campion.
Late Gatchfly. Silene Schafta, Caucasus. Ever-
green perennial; 6 to 12 inches; reddish; summer and
autumn; seed or division. — Positions similar to those
recommended for Silene alpestris.
Bose Gampion. Lychnis coronaria, Italy. Ever-
green perennial; i to 2 feet; rosy purple; summer;
seed. — Thrives with imusual vigoiu: on dry, warm banks,
though it grows well in almost any soil
Dark-eyed Bock Lychnis. Viscaria oculata, Al-
giers. Annual; i foot; rosy purple with dark eye;
simimer ; seed. — In good sandy soil in warm positions.
Balearic Sand-wort. Arenaria balearica, Majorca.
Evergreen perennial ; i to 2 inches ; white ; spring and
early summer ; seed or division. — This plant crawls over
Hardy Exotic Plants for Naturalization. 63
wet or moist rocks, rooting on them, somewhat as a
moss would, and forms sheets of starry flowers thereon.
Mountain Sand-wort. Arenaria montana, Europe.
Evergreen perennial ; 4 to 6 inches ; white ; spring and
siunmer ; seed or division. — In good sandy loam, either
on bare level ground, or on banks or rocks.
Bieberstein's Mouse-ear Ghickweed. Cerastium
Biebersteinii, Caucasus. Evergreen perennial; 2 to 6
inches ; white ; summer ; seed or division. — Banks, fringes
of shrubberies, rough, rocky places, or almost any kind
of situation, in ordinary soil
Large-flowered Cerastium. Cerastium grandi-
flarum. Siberia, Evergreen perennial ; 2 to 6 inches ;
white ; summer ; seed or division. — Similar positions to
the foregoing ; is not so common as the preceding or
following kind.
Woolly Mouse-«ar duckweed. Cerastium tomen-
tosum. Southern Europe. Evergreen perennial ; 2 to 6
inches; white; summer; seed or division. — Equally
useful and hardy as the two foregoing kinds.
THE FLAX FAMILY.
Alpine Flax. Linum aipinum. Austria. Herba-
ceous perennial ; 4 to 9 inches ; blue ; summer ; seed or
division. — Open rocky places, or fully exposed spots in
sandy soil, associated with the more vigorous alpines.
Narbonne Flax. Linum narbonnense, S. France.
Herbaceous perennial ; i to 2 feet ; blue ; summer ; seed
or division. — In deep sandy loam amidst mediimi-sized
herbaceous plants, or on banks, rocky or stony ground.
64 The Wild Garden.
THE MALLOW FAMILY.
Moreni's Mallow. Malva Moreniu Italy. Herba-
ceous perennial; 2 to 3 feet; reddish; late summer;
seed or division. — Edges of woods, banks, hedges, etc.
Showy Malope. Malope trifida, var, grandiflora,
Barbary. Annual ; 2 to 4 feet ; crimson purple ; late
summer; seed. — Bare spaces in shrubberies, and also
among coarse annual and biennial plants, in any position.
Brilliant MalUow. Callirhoe involucrata, N. Ame-
rica. Herbaceous perennial ; i foot ; crimson ; summer ;
seed. — Open places, associated with choice herbaceous
and alpine plants, excellent for banks and slopes.
Vine-leaved Eitaibelia. Kitaibdia vitifolia, Hun-
gary. Herbaceous perennial ; 5 to 8 feet ; whitish ; late
summer; division or seed. — Among the most vigorous
herbs ; in grassy places near wood-walks.
Fig-leaved Hollyhock. Althceaficifolia, Herbaceous
perennial ; 4 to 6 feet ; yellow or orange ; summer ; seed
or division. — Similar positions to those for the preceding.
Tsnrian Marsh Mallow. Alihaa taurtnensis.
Southern Europe. Herbaceous perennial; 4 to 6 feet;
reddish ; summer ; seed or division. — Amidst tall herbs
by the margin of water, grouped with the foregoing.
Downy-leaved Lavatera. Lavatera Olbia. France.
Half shrubby ; 3 to 6 feet ; reddish ; summer ; seed or
cuttings. — ^A warm nook in a chalk-pit, or a position on
sunny banks among shrubs, brings out the flowers of this
plant in great profusion.
Mallow Bose. Hibiscus Moscheutos. North America.
Hardy Exotic Plants for Naturalization. 65
Herbaceous perennial; 2 to 4 feet; purplish; late
summer ; seed or division. — In rich soil in small open
glades near wood walks ; to be planted in isolated tuits
or small beds, always in warm positions.
Military Hibisous. Hibiscus militaris. North Ame-
rica. Herbaceous perennial ; 3 to 5 feet ; purple ;
summer; seed or division. — Similar positions to those
for the preceding ; a noble plant
Bose-coloured Hibisous. Hibiscus roseus. France.
Herbaceous perennial ; 3 to 5 feet ; rose ; late summer
and autumn ; seed or division. — ^Also a very remarkable
plant, and suitable for positions like those recommended
for the preceding.
THE ST. JOHN'S WORT FAMILY.
Large-flowered St. John's Wort* Hypericum ccUy-
cinum. Southern Europe. Evergreen shrub ; i to 3
feet; yellow; summer; seed or division. — This well-
known plant is, it need hardly be said, capable of
enduring any hardship, or of embellishing any position in
the wilderness. Any other members of the family that
may be admired may b£ grown in copses and on the
fringes of woods in any kind of soil.
THE GERANIUM FAMILY.
Iberian Crane's Bill Geranium Ibericum, Levant.
Herbaceous perennial ; i to 2 feet ; violet ; summer ; seed
or division. — Woods, copses, shrubberies, by wood walks,
and in open grassy glades.
Lambert's Crane's Bill. Geranium Lamberti. Ne-
F
66 The Wild Garden.
pauL Herbaceous perennial; i to 2 feet; reddish;
summer; seed or division. — Similar positions to those
for the preceding, but not so very hardy.
Striped Crane's Bill. Geranium striatum, Italy.
Herbaceous perennial ; i to 2 feet ; striped ; summer ;
seed or division. — Fringes of shrubberies and low banks,
Wallich's Crane's Bill. Geranium Wailichianum.
NepauL Herbaceous perennial; i foot; mauve with
purple veins; summer; seed or division. — Similar
positions to those for the preceding.
Manesoavi's Heron's-Bill. Erodium Manescam.
Evergreen perennial ; 6 inches to 2 feet ; reddish ; sum-
mer ; seed or division. — Margins of shrubberies, or rocky
or stony ground, banks, or by open wood walks,
THE INDIAN CRESS FAMILY.
Five-leaved Indian Cress. Tropmlum pentaphyllum.
Southern America. Trailer; yellow; summer; division
or cuttings. — Banks, copses, or any position where it may
trail over shrubs, &c., in light soil.
Showy Indian Cress. Tropceolum speciosum, ChilL
Trailer ; red and yellow ; summer ; division or cuttings.-—
Against terrace walls, among shrubs, and on slopes, on
banks, or bushy rockwork near the hardy fernery; in
deep, rich, and light soil. In such positions it is a brilliant
plant well worth any trouble to establish.
THE WOOD SORREL FAMILY.
Bowie's Wood Sorrel. Oxalis Bowieana. Cape of
Good Hope. Bulb ; 6 inches ; scarlet ; spring and sum-
Hardy Exotic Plants for Naturalization. 6j
xner; division. — In rocky, bare, and sunny places, in
light dry loam, or very sandy soil.
Free-flowering Wood Sorrel. Oxaiis fiorihunda.
Brazil. Evergreen perennial; 9 to i8 inches; red;
summer ; seed or division. — Among dwarf Alpine plants,
in almost any soil or position.
THE BEAN CAPER FAMILY.
Greater Honey Flower. Melianthus major. Cape
of Good Hope. Herbaceous perennial ; 4 to 6 feet ;
brownish; summer; seed, cuttings, or division. — ^This
elegant-leaved plant will be found to thrive well on
slightiy elevated banks, in the south of England, in well-
drained loam. It may be cut down in winter, but will
come up the following season.
THE PEA FAMILY.
Faba-like Thermopsis. Thermapsis fabacea, Siberia.
Herbaceous perennial ; 2 to 3 feet ; yellow ; summer ;
seed or division. — ^Among strong herbaceous plants,
by wood walks, on the margins of woods, or in open
spots in shrubberies or pleasure-grounds.
Blue False Indigo. Baptisia australis. Carolina.
Herbaceous perennial, 2 to 3 feet ; blue ; midsummer ;
seed or division. — ^Woods, copses, banks, among low
shrubs and stout herbs in any kind of soil
Cluster-flowered Cytisus. Cytisus capitatus. Aus-
tria. Shrub ; 2 to 3 feet ; yellow ; summer ; seed or
cuttings. — In positions similar to the preceding.
F 2
68 The Wild Garden.
Winged Genista. Genista sagittalis. Alps of Europe.
Small shrub; 6 to 12 inches; yellow; summer; seed
or division. — In grassy open places and on banks ; also
on rocks or slopes.
Shrubby Bestharrow. Ononis fruticosa. France.
Small shrub ; i to 2 feet ; rose ; early summer ; cuttings
or seed — Copses, open glades, or rough rocky ground.
Bound-leaved Bestharrow. Ononis rotundifolia.
Switzerland Small shrub ; i to 2 feet ; rose ; summer ;
seed or cuttings. — Similar positions to the preceding.
Mountain Kidney Vetch. Anthyllis montana. South-
em Europe. Herbaceous perennial ; 2 to 4 inches ; pur-
plish; summer; seed, division, or cuttings. — Bare rocky
ground and banks, or in short grass, in any soil.
Two-lobed Gk>at's Bue. Galega biloha. Persia.
Herbaceous perennial ; 2 to 3 feet ; blue ; summer ; seed
or division. — ^With the taller and handsomer-flowering
herbs, in open spaces, in shrubberies, and on the margin
of woods ; also in long grass and on rough stony ground.
Officinal Gk>at's Bue. Gal^a officinalis. Southern
Europe. Herbaceous perennial ; 3 to 4 feet ; lilac-purple ;
summer ; seed or division. — ^Amidst long grass or vigo-
rous herbs, in almost any position and soil, in copses,
shrubberies, and open spots by wood walks.
Oriental Gtoat's Bue. Galega orientalis. Levant
Herbaceous perennial ; 3 to 4 feet ; blue ; summer ; seed
or division. — Similar positions to those for the Officinal
Goat's Rue and in ordinary soil.
MontpeUer Milk Vetch. Astragalus monspessulanus.
France. Evergreen perennial ; 9 inches to i foot ; red or
purple ; summer; seed or division. — Rocky places, banks
Hardy Exotic Plants for Naturalization. 6g
or slopes, where its prostrate shoots may show to greatest
advantage, m any soiL
Pontic Milk Vetch. Astragalus ponticus, Tauria.-
Herbaceous perennial ; 2 to 4 feet j pale yellow ] summer ;
seed or division. — ^Amidst vigorous perennials ; chiefly
valuable for the effect of its handsome leaves on bold
stems ; it thrives in any ordinary soil.
!Kosy Coronilla. Coromlla varia, Europe. Herba-*
ceous perennial ; i to 2 feet ; pink ; summer ; division. — >
On grassy banks, stony heaps, rough rocky ground,
spreading over slopes or any like positions, A fine plant
for naturalization, thriving in any soil
GanadiaiL Desmodiiim. Desmodium canadense, Nordi
America. Herbaceous perennial \ 6 feet ; purple ; sum^
mer; seed or division. — ^Associated with the strongest
herbaceous plants in copses, woods, or any place where a
vigorous herbaceous vegetation is desired,
French Honeysuckle. Hedysarum coronarium,
Italy. Biennial ; 3 to 5 feet; bright red; summer ; seed. —
Somewhat open places in woods, shrubberies, and copses,
where it would sow itsel£
Bock Hedysajmni. Hedysarum obscurum. Europe.
Herbaceous perennial; 9 to 18 inches; purplish; sum-
mer ; seed or division. — Positions similar to those for the
Rosy Coronilla ; like it, a valuable plant for naturalization.
Silvery Vetch. Vicia argentea. Pyrenees. Herba-
ceous perennial; 9 to 15 inches; pink; summer; seed
or division. — Rocks, stony places, and thinly clad banks
in sandy, or ordinary soil.
Iiarge Flowered Pea. Lathyrus grandiflarus.
Southern Europe. Climber; 3 to 4 feet; purple;
yo The Wild Garden.
summer; seed or division. — Copses, fiinges of woods,
banks, hedges, margins of walks in the wilderness,
or any position in which its free-flowering shoots may
trail over shrubs, or fall over the face of rocks or
banks : it will grow in almost any kind of soil.
. Everlastixig Pea. Lathyrus iatifoiius. Southern
Europe. Climber ; 4 to 8 feet ; rose ; all summer ; seed
or division. — Similar positions to the preceding. The
white and the deeper-coloured varieties are even mart
beautiful than the common one.
Flaccid Bitter Vetch. Orobus flaccidus. Switzer-
land. Herbaceous perennial; i foot; blue and lilac;
spring ; seed or division. — In almost any soil or position
where the vegetation does not exceed 18 inches.
Pea-like Bitter Vetch. Orobus lathyroides, Siberia.
Herbaceous perennial ; i to 2 feet ; violet-blue ; early
summer; seed or division. — Similar positions to the pre*
ceding, but will thrive where the surrounding vegetation
is taller, and in ordinary soil.
Spring Bitter Vetch. Orobus vemus, Europe.
Herbaceous perennial; i to 2 feet; blue and lilac;
spring ; seed or division. — Banks, grassy unmown mar-
gins of wood walks, rocks, fringes of shrubberies, and
like places ; best in deep and sandy loam, well drained,
though it will grow in almost any position.
Many-leaved Lupine. Lupinus polyphyllus, Co-
lumbia. Herbaceous perennial; 2 to 4 feet; blue 5
summer ; seed or division. — Amidst the tallest and hand*
somest herbaceous plants, grouped where they may be
seen from grass drives or wood walks, or in any position
or soil. There are several varieties, all worthy of culture4<
Hardy Exotic Plants for Naturalization, ji
THE ROSE FAMILY.
Bosy SpirsMt. Spinea venusta. North America.
Deciduous shrub; 2 J feet to 3 J feet; purplish-rose;
summer; seed or division. — ^Associated with the hand-
somer and taller perennials.
Chili Avens. Geum chilense. Chili. Evergreen
perennial ; 2 to 3 feet ; scarlet ; summer ; seed or divi-
sion. — In any grassy or rocky places, or on banks.
MotLhtain Avens. Geum montanum, Alps and
P)rrenees. Herbaceous perennial ; 8 to 10 inches ;
yellow ; summer ; seed or division. — In upland pastures
or boggy places, or on stony ground or banks.
Indian Strawberry. Fragaria indica, India. Trail-
ing herb ; 3 to 6 inches ; yellow ; summer ; seed or
runners. — Rocky places and banks, amidst dwarf Alpine
plants and trailers in ordinary soil.
White-stemmed Bramble. Rubm biflorus. Western
America. A vigorous erect bramble ; white ; summer ;
seed or cuttings. — ^Warm places in woods, copses, and
on sunny wood banks, where its large white stems will
show to great advantage ; also fine for rocky places.
Kootka Sound Bramble. Rubus nutkanus. North-
ern America. Shrub; 3 to 6 feet; white; summer;
seed or cuttings. — ^Almost any positions in woods, shrub-
beries ; best near the walks ; in all cases allowed to " run
wild" — ^an excellent subject for naturalization.
Sweet-scented Bramble. Rubus odoratus. Northern
America. Shrub ; 4 to 6 feet ; purplish-red ; summer 5
seed or cuttings. — Similar positions to those for the pre-
ceding kind, and associated with them.
jz The Wild Garden,
Showy Bramble. Rubus spectabilis. Northern Ame>
rica. Shrub ; 4, 5, or 6 feet ; dark purple ; spring ;
seed or cuttings. — In warm sunny parts of sheltered
shrubberies, where its early-blooming tendency may be
encouraged ; thrives freely in any soil.
Galabrian Cinquefoil. Potentilla caldbra, Italy.
Herbaceous perennial ; i foot \ yellow ; summer ; seed
or division. — Rocky places and warm banks, where its
prostrate silvery shoots may be seen to best advantage.
The numerous showy forms of Potentilla that may be
easily raised from seed are all excellent for naturalization
in any position or soil, and well able to take care of
themselves among long grass and vigorous perennials.
THE EVENING PRIMROSE FAMILY,
Fraser's Eyening Friinrose. (Enothera Fraseri.
Northern America. Herbaceous perennial ; i to 2 feet ;
yellow; summer; seed or division. — Copses, grassy
banks, and fringes of shrubberies in any soil
James's Evening Primrose. CEnoihera Jamesi.
North America. Biennial; 4 feet; yellow; summer;
seed. — ^Associated with vigorous herbaceous plants, in
groups, near grass drives or wood walks. Very sweet in
the evening, and worthy of being grown in quantity.
Missouri Eyening Primrose. CEnothera missaun*
ensis. North America. Herbaceous perennial; i foot;
yellow ; summer ; seed or division. — Banks, edges of low
shrubberies, fringes of copses, or rocky ground.
Lamarck's Evening Primrose. (Enothera Lamarck"
tafia. North America. Biennial ; 3 to 4 feet ; yellow ;
Hardy Exotic Plants for Naturalization. 73
summer; seed. — ^A noble plant, suitable for the same
positions as those recommended for (E. JamesL
Swamp Eyening Frimrose. (Enothera riparia.
North America. Herbaceous perennial; i to 2 feet;
yellow ; summer ; seed or division. — Positions like those
recommended for OE. Fraseri.
Dandelion-leaved Evening Primrose. (Enothera
iaraocacifolia, Peru. Evergreen perennial ; 6 to 9 inches ;
white ; summer ; seed or division. — The same positions as
those recommended for the Missouri Evening Primrose.
Showy Evening Frimrose. (Enothera speciosa. North
America. Herbaceous perennial ; i to 2 feet ; white ;
summer ; seed or division. — Rocky places, banks, and on
the margins of shrubberies, in good Ught soil.
Lindley^s Gk>detia. Godetia Lindleyana, North Ame-
rica. Annual; 2 feet; rosy-purple; summer; seed. — Banks,
or any position in which vigorous annuals may be sown.
Reddish Gk>detia. Godetia rubicunda, California.
Annual ; 2 to 3 feet ; red ; summer ; seed. — Similar posi-
tion to the preceding, and in ordinary soil.
Elegant Clarkia. CZ:;r>&^ ^a/tx. California. Annual;
I to 2^ feet ; purple ; summer ; seed. — Should be sown
with showy and vigorous annuals, like the preceding, on
somewhat bare places in copses, and on slopes.
Pretty Clarkia. Clarkia pulcheila. North America.
Annual ; i to 2| feet ; purple ; summer ; seed. — Similar
positions to preceding, and like it grows in any soil.
THE PURSLANE FAMILY.
TJmbelled Galandrinia. Calandrinia umbeliata,
ChilL Eveigreen perennial; 3 to 6 inches; purple*
74 The Wild Garden:
crimson ; summer \ seed or division. — ^A gem for chinks
in rocks, or on very sandy or peaty soils, in op«i and
bare positions ; it perishes in winter on day.
THE STONECROP FAMILY.
Ewers's Stoneorop. Sedum Ewersti, Siberia.
Evergreen perennial ; 3 to 6 inches ; rose ; late smnmer ;
seed or division. — Rocks and old walls.
Orange Stoneorop. Sedum kamtschaticum. Siberia,
3 to 6 inches ; summer ; deep orange ; seed or division^
— Rocky and bare places, and banks.
Siebold's Stonecrop. Sedum SidfoMiL Japan..
Perennial ; 2 to 4 inches ; pinkish ; late summer and
autumn ; division. — ^Warm, rocky banks.
Great Stoneorop. Sedum speddbile, Japan. A
stout perennial ; 15 to 24 inches ; rose ; autumn ; divi-
sion or cuttings. — In any position where vigorous herbs
may be grown ; best in open spots, associated with fine
autumn plants, like Anemone japonica, the Tritomas, and
the large Statice.
Webbed Houseleek. Sempervivum arachnoideum.
Italy. — Evergreen perennial ; 3 to 6 inches ; red ;
summer ; seed or division. — Rocks and bare stony banks,
or on mossy old walls and ruins.
Glaucous Houseleek. Sempervivum cakareum.
France. An evergreen plant with gkucous rosettes ; 2
to 8 inches ; pale rose : late in summer ; division. — In
any position where the common Houseleek may be
grown, and in any soil A fine plant.
Hairy Houseleek. Sempervivum hirtum, Italy.
Evergreen perennial ; 6 to 9 inches ; red ; summer ; see4
Hardy Exotic Plants for Naturalization. 75
or division. — ^In rocky or very bare places, in any aspect
or soil. Bees are very fond of the flowers of this plant.
Mountain HouflaLeek. Sempervhnim mantanum,
Switzerland. Evergreen perennial ; 6 to 9 inches ; red ;
summer; seed or division. — Same positions as for the
preceding ; both will thrive on walls.
Soboliferoufl Houseleek. Sempervivum soboliferum,.
Evergreen perennial; 4 to 6 inches; pale yellow;
summer ; seed or division. — ^Very bare and fully exposed
places on rodcy or stony ground. Should be allowed to
spread into compact tufts.
THE SAXIFRAGE FAMILY.
Silvery Saxifrage. Saxifraga Aizoon. Pyrenees.:
Evergreen perennial ; 6 to 9 inches ; white spotted ;
early summer; seed or division. — Open bare spots on
folly exposed rocky or bare ground, in any soil
Two-flowered Saxifrage. Saxifraga biflora. Swit-
zerland. Evergreen perennial ; 2 to 4 inches ; fed ;
early summer ; seed or division. — Moist rocky, bare spots,
folly exposed, and in sandy peat or loam«
Heart-leaved Saxifrage. Saxifraga cordifolia,
Siberia. Evergreen perennial; $ to 18 inches; rose;
spring and early summer ; division. — Banks, rough rock-
work, by wood walks, on wild, sunny slopes.
Thick- leaved Saxifrage. Saxifraga crassifolia.
Siberia. Evergreen perennial; i to i^ feet; rose;
spring and early summer ; division. — Same situations as
the preceding, and like it grows in any soil.
. Crustate Saxifrage. Saxifraga crustata. Pyre-
nees. Evergreen perennial ; 3 to 6 inches ; whitish ;
^6 The Wild Garden,
early summer ; seed or division. — On walls, bare rocky
spots, or where there is a very dwarf and stunted vege-
tation ; thrives best in a moist, sandy soil.
Jumper Saxifrage. Saxifraga juniperina, Cau-
casus. Evergreen perennial ; 2 to 4 inches ; yellow ;
summer ; division or seed. — Same positions as preceding,
but 1 have no proof that it would grow on walls.
Long-leaTed Saxifrage. Saxifraga iangifolia,
Pyrenees. Silvery perennial ; 10 to 18 inches ; white,
with pink spots ; early summer ; seed. — ^Walls, ruins,
rocks, and bare exposed spots, in ordinary soil.
Yellow Annual Saxifrage. Saxifraga Cymbalaria,
The East Annual or biennial ; 4 to 6 inches ', yeUow ;
summer; seed. — Rocky, gravelly, or bare places, pre-
ferring a rather moist soil, and " sowing itself."
Pyramidal Saxifrage. Saxifraga pyramidalis, Eu-
rope. Evergreen perennial ; i to 2 feet ; white, with
reddish dots ; summer ; seed or division. — Same situa-
tions as those for the long-leaved Saxifrage.
Bivulet Astilbe. Astilbe rivularis. Nepal Her*
baceous perennial ; 3 to 4 feet ; whitish ; summer ;
division. — ^Among plants of striking habit or fine foliage,
by wood walks, or in glades — ^best in deep soil.
THE PARSLEY FAMILY.
Buenos Ayres Pennywort. Hydrocoiyk Bonariensis,
Southern America. Trailer; 2 to 3 inches ; green ; summer ;
seed or division. — Shrubberies, copses, or banks; de-
sirable for the peculiarity of its leaves.
Greater Masterwort. Astrantta major, Europe.
Perbaceous perennial; i to 2 feet; striped red; simi*
Hardy Exotic Plants for Naturalization. 77
mer; seed or division. — ^Among the medium-sized her-
baceous plants in glades, copses, and by wood walks.
Dwarf Dondia. Dondia EpipacHs, Alps of Europe,
Herbaceous perennial; 2 to 4 inches; yellow; early
spring; seed or division. — Banks, or anywhere amidst
a very dwarf vegetation ; grouped with early flowers.
Alpine Eryngo. Eryngium alpinum, Switzerland.
Herbaceous perennial ; i to 3 feet ; blue ; summer ; seed
or division. — In glades, copses, margins of shrubberies, etc.
A noble plant, thriving ever3rwhere.
Amethystine Eryngo. Eryngium amethystinum.
Europe. Herbaceous perennial; 2 to 3 feet; blue;
summer; seed or division. — Similar situations to pre-
ceding ; also worthy of extensive cultivation.
Tall Meadow Saxifrage. Sesdi datum, Austria.
Herbaceous perennial; i to 2 feet; white; summer;
seed or division. — Banks, wild walks, margins of shrub-
beries, etc ; desirable for the beauty of its leaves.
Slender Meadow Saxifrage. Sesdi gracile, Hungary.
Herbaceous perennial; i to 2 feet; yellow; summer;
seed or division. — Similar uses to preceding.
Matthioli's SpigneL Athamanta Matthioli, Central
Europe. Herbaceous perennial ; i to 2 feet ; white ;
summer ; seed or division. Banks, rough rockwork, and
bare places. Valuable for its graceful tufts of leaves.
Cicuta-like Molopospermum. Molopospermum dcu-
tarium, Pyrenees and Alps. Herbaceous perennial ; 3
to 5 feet ; white ; early summer ; seed or division. — By
wood walks, among hardy plants with fine leaves or
striking habit, or isolated among flowering plants.
Common Giant FenneL Ferula communis. Southern
78 The Wild Garden.
Europe. Herbaceous perennial ; 8 to 1 2 feet ; yellow ;
early summer ; seed or division. — Isolated specimens by
wood walks, and in glades, or grouped with other striking
hardy plants. A noble plant
Glaucous Giant Fennel. Ferula glauca. Southern
Europe. Herbaceous perennial; 5 to 8 feet; pale
yellow ; early summer ; seed or division. — Similar positions
to the preceding ; also a very remarkable plant
Tangier Giant Fennel. Ferula HngUana. Southern
Europe. Herbaceous perennial ; 5 to 8 feet ; yellow ;
summer ; seed. — ^Another fine species, suitable for the
same purposes, and thriving in ordinary soil
Involuored Snlphnrwort. Peucedanum itwolui'
cratum, France. Herbaceous perennial ; 3 to 6 feet ;
summer ; seed or division. — Here and there among flow-
ering plants for its graceful leaves and habit ; on banks
and bare glades in common, sandy soil
Long-leaved Snlphnrwort. Peucedanum longifih
Hum. Hungary. Herbaceous perennial; 4 to 5 feet;
yellow; summer; seed or division. — Similar uses to
preceding. P. Petteri is also very suitable for like
purposes ; both thrive in common soil.
Giant Cow Parsnip. Heracleum giganfeum, Si-
beria. Biennial; 6 to 10 feet; white; summer; seed. —
Among the most vigorous herbaceous vegetation, in rich
soil near river banks, or in any position where a striking
distant effect is sought
THE ARALIA FAMILY.
Naked-stalked Aralia. Aralia nudicaulis. North
America. Herbaceous perennial; 4 to 5 feet; white;
Hardy Exotic Plants for Naturalization, 79
summer ; division. — By wood walks, isolated, or grouped
with fine-foliaged herbaceous plants.
Berry-bearing Aralia. Aralia racemosa. North
America. Herbaceous perennial; 4 to 5 feet; white;
summer; division or seed. — Similar positions to pre-
ceding, in deep ordinary soil.
THE HONEYSUCKLE FAMILY.
Canadian Dogwood. Comus canadensis. North
America. Herbaceous perennial ; 6 to 9 inches ; yellow ;
summer; division. — Rocky and bare places, in sandy,
moist soil ; a singularly pretty plant.
Northern LinnsBa. Lintuea barealis. Northern
Europe. Trailer; 2 to 3 inches; flesh-coloured; all
summer ; division. — In moist rocky dells.
It need hardly be remarked that many of the shrubby
honeysuckles are among the most desirable subjects for
naturalization.
THE BEDSTRAW FAMILY.
Long-styled Crosswort. Crudandla stylosa, Persia.
Herbaceous perennial; i to ij feet; pink; summer;
seed or division. — Rocky places and banks, or in level
spots where the vegetation is dwarf.
THE VALERIAN FAMILY.
Bed Valerian. Centranthus ruber. Europe. Her-
baceous perennial ; 2 to 3 feet ; red ; all summer ; seed
or division. — This and its white variety are admirable for
banks, on which they frequentiy thrive far better than on
the level ground, though they thrive well almost anjnvhere.
8o The Wild Garden.
THE TEASEL FAMILY.
Cut-leaved TeaseL Dipsacus ladniatus. Gennany.
Biennial ; 4 to 6 feet ; purple ; summer ; seed. — In open
glades, and by wood walks, or on rich banks.
Long-leaved Morina. . Marina langifolia. Indi^u
Evergreen perennial; 2 to 3 J feet; reddish; summer;
seed or division. — Banks and margins of shrubberies,
and on rough rockwork, near the eye.
Caucasian Soabious. ScoHosa caumsica, Cau-
casus. Herbaceous perennial ; i to 2 feet ; pale blue ;
summer ; seed or division. — By wood walks, and on
margins of shrubberies, in warm soil
Grass-leaved Scabious. Scabiosa gramini/oiia. Swit-
zerland. Herbaceous perennial ; 1 foot ; blue ; summer ;
division or seed. — Rocky, or very bare places or banks ;
always in light warm soil.
THE COMPOSITE FAMILY.
Orange-ooloured Hawkweed. Hieradum aurantr
acum. Europe. Evergreen perennial; 1 to i^ feet;
orange; summer; seed or division. — In any position
where the vegetation is not too coarse to hide it
Plunder's Mulgediuin. Mulgedium Flumieri. France.
Herbaceous perennial ; 4 to 6 feet ; summer and early
autumn ; blue ; seed or division. — Grouped with the most
vigorous herbaceous plants, or as isolated tufls in wood
walks, in deep rich soil.
Azure Catananohe. Catananche oBrulea. Southern
Europe. Herbaceous perennial ; 3 to 4 feet ; blue ; mid-
Hardy Exotic Plants for Naturalization. 8i
summer to autumn; seed or division.-:- Banks, rocky
ground, or on fringes of copses or woods.
Broopiiig Alfredia. Aifredia cemua. Siberia. Her-
baceous perennial ; 3 to 5 feet ; yellow ; summer ; seed or
division. Grouped with the stoutest and most vigorous
herbaceous plants in wild places.
niyrian Ck>ttoxi Thistle. Onopordum iliyricum.
Southern Europe. Biennial; 6 to 8 feet; purplish;
summer ; seed. — Shrubberies, copses, or glades in
woods.
French Artichoke. Cynara Scolytnus, Southern
Europe. Herbaceous perennial ; 4 to 8 feet ; purplish ;
summer ; seed or division. — In glades near wood walks,
or sloping ground, in dry deep soil. Most effective
as isolated plants, though always very striking.
Babylonian Knapweed. Centaurea babylonica, Le-
vant Herbaceous perennial ; 5 to 10 feet ; yellow ; sum-
mer ; seed or division. — Associated with the most vigo-
rous herbs, by wood walks, in any soil.
White-leaved Knapweed. Centaurea dealbata, Cau-
casus. Herbaceous perennial; 2 to 3 feet; purplish;
summer ; seed or division. — Fringes of shrubberies and
on banks, in ordinary soil
Mountain Knapweed. Centaurea montana, Austria.
Herbaceous perennial ; 2 to 3 feet ; blue ; summer ; seed
or division. — Similar positions to the preceding.
One-flowered Knapweed. Centaurea uniflora. South-
cm Europe. Herbaceous perennial ; i to 2 feet ; purple ;
summer and. autumn ; seed or division. — Rocky places
and banks. A handsome mountain plant
Hungarian Globe T}iistle. Echincfs bannoHcus,
G
^
^% The Wild Garden.
Hungary. Herbaceous perennial; 5 to 8 feet; blue;
summer ; seed or division. — ^Woods, copses, or by plea-
sure-ground walks ; and also for • association with herba-
ceous plants of some vigour and character.
Tall Globe Thistle. Echinops exaltatus, Austria:
Herbaceous perennial ; 6 to 8 feet ; white ; summer ; seed
or division. — Similar uses to the preceding, and suited for
association with even more vigorous vegetation.
Bussian G-lobe Thistle. Echinops ruthenicm, Russia.
Herbaceous perennial ; 6 to 8 feet ; blue ; summer ; seed
or division. — A fine subject for planting in tufts in
open spots by wood walks, and for association with the
handsomest and most vigorous herbaceous flowering
plants.
Elegant Liatris. Liatris degans. North America.
Herbaceous perennial ; 3 to 4 feet ; purple ; autumn ;
seed or division. — Fringes of shrubberies, in open sunny
places on warm soils.
Dotted Liatris. Liatris punctata. North America.
Herbaceous perennial ; 4 feet ; reddish-purple ; summer ;
seed or division. — Similar uses to the preceding.
Long-spiked Liatris. Liairis spicata North America.
Herbaceous perennial; 4 feet; late summer and early
autumn ; seed or division. — Similar uses to the preceding.
Caucasian Leopard's Bane. Doronicum caucasicum,
Caucasus. Herbaceous perennial ; i to 2 feet ; yellow ;
spring and summer; seed or division. — Rocky places,
banks, fiinges of low shrubberies in any soil. Best in
sunny positions, as it flowers early in the year.
Pearl Cudweed. Antennaria margaritcuea. North
America. Herbaceous perennial ; i to 2 feet ; white ; sum-
Hardy Exotic Plants for Naturalization. 83
mer ; seed or division. — Banks, open spots in copses or
fringes of low shrubberies, in any soil
Iiion's Foot Everlasting. Gnaphalium Lemtopodium.
Switzerland. Herbaceous perennial; \ foot; white;
summer ; seed or division. — Bare rocky places, in moist
sandy soil, amidst vegetation not over 6 inches high.
A most interesting plant for naturalization, in upland
districts, especially where the rock crops out
Yellow Everlasting. Hdkhrysum armarium,
Europe. Herbaceous perennial ; 6 to 1 2 inches ; yellow ;
summer; seed or division. — Bare rocky places or
banks, on a sandy warm soil, always in positions where
it may not be overrun by other plants. Perishes on cold
clay soils.
Showy Stenactis. Stenactis spedosa. California.
Herbaceous perennial ; 2 feet ; purplish ; summer ; seed
or division. — Among medium-sized, choice herbaceous
plants, on the fringes of shrubberies, banks, or in rocky
places, in ordinary soil
Alpine Starwort. Aster alpinus, Europe. Herba-
ceous perennial; 6 to 12 inches; purplish; summer;
seed or division. — An interesting plant for naturalization
in upland meadows, or in the rougher grassy parts of plea-
sure grounds, as it grows abundantly in many sub-alpii^e
pastlires, always much smaller than when grown in rich
garden soil ; will also suit rocky places, banks, or borders,
among plants not more than a foot high.
Italian Starwort. Aster Amellus, Southern Italy.
Herbaceous perennial ; 2 feet ; purple ; summer ; seed
or division. — Banks, fringes of shrubberies, or rough rocky
places, in almost any soil
G 2
84 The Wild Garden.
Heart-leaved Starwort. Aster cordifolius. North
America. Herbaceous perennial ; 3 to 4 feet ; purplish ;
summer ; seed or division. — Open spaces, glades in woods,
by wood walks, and on banks, in any soil
Spreading Starwort Aster diffusus. North America.
Herbaceous perennial ; 3 to 5 feet ; white ; autumn ; seed
or division. — Similar uses to the preceding.
Heath-like Starwort. Aster ericoides. Herbaceous
perennial ; 3 to 5 feet ; white ; late summer ; seed or divi-
sion. — Banks, rough rocky places, fringes of woods or
copses, in ordinary soil.
Many-flowered Starwort. Aster floribundus. North
America. Herbaceous perennial ; 4 to 5 feet ; purple ;
late summer and autumn; seed or division. — Similar
positions to preceding.
New York Starwort. Aster Novi Belgii, North
America, Herbaceous perennial ; 4 to 6 feet ; pale blue ;
autumn ; division. — ^Association with the most vigorous
herbaceous plants, in copses, fringes of woods, or in
glades, flowering best in sunny spots.
New England Starwort. Aster Nova Anglice.
North America. Herbaceous perennial ; 6 feet ; purple ;
autumn; division. — Similar positions to preceding, and
suitable for association with it
Pyrenean Starwort. Aster pyrenceus. Pyrenees.
Herbaceous perennial; 4 to 6 feet; violet; sunmier;
division. — ^A very handsome summer-flowering kind,
suited for banks, fringes of shrubberies, and rocky
ground, in any position, cold or hot.
Australian Daisy. Vittadenia triloba, Australia.
Evergreen perennial; i foot; pale lilac; all simimer;
■ Ml ■ •— ^w^»"wr'^^""»^^^ig^^^^^p«^caF'
Hardy Exotic Plants for Nattiralization. 85
seed. — This pretty plant may be naturalized on the warm
slopes of old quarries, &c., in the southern and milder
parts of the country, in light or stony soil
Gk>lden Bod, Solidago. The numerous species of
this genus, yellow-flowered, and for the most part tall
and vigorous herbs, are well fitted for naturalization in
woody places and copses. Indeed, wild or semi-wild
places are the only ones for which they are suited.
They are all as easily propagated as the Michaelmas
Daisy, and will grow in any soil.
Ageratum Xhipatory. Eupaiorium ageratoides.
North America. Herbaceous perennial ; 4 feet ] white ;
late in summer ; seed ot division. — Similar positions to
those for the medium-sized Michaelmas Daisies, and
suited for association with them in any soil.
Purple-stalked Eupatory. Eupaiorium purpureum.
North America. Herbaceous perennial ; 4 to 5 feet ;
purple ; autumn ; seed or division. — Fringes of woods
and shrubberies, in sunny aspects.
Winter Heliotrope. Tussilago fragrans, Europe.
Herbaceous perennial ; i foot ; blush ; winter ; division. —
Naturalization in any wild places in the shade of trees,
on banks, in lanes, and neglected places. Valuable for
cutting from in winter or early in spring, but being a fast-
spreading "weed" should not be planted where its rapid
increase could prove objectionable.
Sea Bagwort. Cineraria maritima. Southern
Europe. Evergreen perennial; 2 feet; yellow; late
summer ; seed. — Dry sandy banks, in warm rocky spots,
old quarries, &c. In some parts it will survive on level
ground, especially in very light soils.
85 * The Wild Garden.
Glaucous Bagwort. Othonna chdrifolia, Barbary.
Evergreen perennial ; i foot ; yellow ; early summer ;
cuttings. — Banks, borders, or rocky places. Sometimes
perishes in winter on the level ground in voy cold soils,
but generally free and hardy.
Heart-leaved Telekia. Tdekia cordifolia. Hungary*
Herbaceous perennial ; 3 to 5 feet ; yellow ; summer ;
division. — ^A vigorous herbaceous plant, suited for asso-
ciation with Echinops, Rheum, and subjects grown for
their foliage and character.
Double Sunflower, Hdianthus multiflorus. North
America. Herbaceous perennial ; 6 to 8 feet ; yellow ;
summer ; seed or division. — ^The double variety of this
is that most commonly seen. It is very ornamental,
and will thrive in almost any soil, in woods and
copses.
Drooping-leaved Sunflower. Hdianthus orgyalis.
North America. Herbaceous perennial ; 9 to 10 feet ;
orange-yellow; autumn; seed or division. — ^An exceed-
ingly graceful plant, when seen in an isolated tuft, near a
wood walk. Also suited for association with plants of
fine leaf and character, in rich soil
Newman's Budbeckia. Rudbeckia Newmanu South
America. Herbaceous perennial ; i to 2 feet ; yellow ;
summer ; seed or division. — ^A very showy vigorous plant ;
fine for fringes of shrubbery, copses, and groups of late
perennials.
Bigid Sunflower, Harpalium rigidum. North
America. Herbaceous perennial ; 3^ feet ; dark yellow ;
late summer ; division. — A brilliant and showy free-run-
ning perennial, excellent for copses, fringes of woods^
Hardy Exotic Plants for Naturalization. 87
or almost any position in the wilder parts of a country
place, thriving in ordinary soil.
Common Marigold. Calendula officinalis. Southern
Europe. Annual ; i^ feet ; orange ; all sunpimer ; seed.
— Suited for ahnost any position or soil in semi-wild
places, not overrun by very coarse vegetation.
Cup Plant Silphium perfoliaium. North America,
Herbaceous perennial > 5 to 7 feet ; yellow ; summer ;
seed or division. — Association with the tallest and most
vigorous herbs in rich or deep soil.
Alpine Lavender Cotton. Saniolina alpina.
Southern Europe* Evergreen perennial ; 3 to 6 inches \
yellow; late in summer; division or cuttings. — ^Very
bare rocky places, or banks, amidst dwarf rock plants.
Ground Cypress* Saniolina Chamacyparissus,
Southern Europe. Evergreen perennial ; 2 to 3 feet ;
yellow ; summer ; cuttings. — ^A fine plant for banks, rocky
places, or the outer fringes of shrubberies.
Hoary Lavender Cotton. Saniolina incana. Southern
Europe. Evergreen perennial ; i foot ; yellow ; summer ;
seed or cuttings. — A variety of the preceding, but
dwarfer; suited for rather bare banks and rocky
places, in ordinary soiL
Hoary Wormwood. Ariemisia cana. North America.
Shrub; i to 3 feet; yellowish; summer; division or
seed. — Fringes of woods and shrubberies, or rough
rocky ground or banks. A vigorous silvery - leaved
plant.
Cape Marigold. Dimorphoiheca pluvialis. Cape of
Good Hope. Annual; i to 2 feet; whitish-purple;
88 The Wild Garden.
summer ; seed. — Sumiy and rather bare banks, or slopes,
in somewhat dry and good soil
Noble Achillea* AchUled Eupatorium, Shores of
the Caspian. Evergreen perennial ; 3 to 5 feet ; yellow ;
summer ; seed or division. — Fringes of shrubberies, and
associated with the noblest herbaceous plants, in almost
any position or soil
Boey Feverfew. Pyrdhrum roseum, Caucasus.
Evergreen pereimial ; 2 feet ; rose ; summer ; seed or
division. — The numerous single and double varieties of
this fine hardy plant grow freely in almost any soil of
position, but are most suitable for the low fiinges of
shrubberies, or low-l)dng banks, in rich soil.
Marsh Feverfew. Pyrethrum uliginosum. Hungary.
Herbaceous perennial ; 3 to 4 feet ; white ; late in sum-
mer; seed or division. — A showy late-flowering plant,
fine for grouping with the best Michaelmas daisies and
other large and effective plants, in rich moist soil
THE BELL-FLOWER FAMILY.
FendulouB Bell-flower. Symphyandra pendula,
Caucasus. Herbaceous perennial ; i to i J feet ; white ;
summer; seed or division. — Banks or rocky places,
amidst vegetation not more than about i foot high.
Bearded Bell-flower. Campanula barbata, Italy,
Herbaceous perennial ; i foot ; pale blue ; summer ; seed
or division. — Banks, rocky places, or in grass.
Carpathian Bell-flower. Campanula carpatica. Mid^
Europe. Herbaceous perennial; i foot; blue; smnmer;
*■"■ ^^^F^av-v^v^v-^-M^^^r^^a^^^^^^^^^^^^Vl^^l^^^^^^^i^^^a^lBVnP^iOTIPWF
\
Hardy Exotic Plants for Naturalization. 8g
seed or division. — A lovely plant for banks, rocky places,
or any position in which it may not be overrun by taller
vegetation. It thrives in any soil
Fragile Bell-flower, Campanula fragilis. Italy.
Herbaceous perennial ; J foot ; pale blue \ summer ;
seed or division. — On dry sunny banks, amidst dwarf
rock plants, or in crevices in old quarries, &c
Gurgano Bell-flower. Campanula garganica, Italy.
Herbaceous perennial ; 3 to 6 inches ; blue ; sunmier ;
seed or<iivision. — Similar uses to the preceding.
Tall Bell-flower. Campanula grandis, Asia Minor.
Herbaceous perennial ; 3 feet ; blue ; summer ; seed or
division. — ^Association with the finer medium-sized her-
baceous plants, on fringes of shrubberies, and in open
glades in woods.
Equal-leaved Bell-flower. Campanula isophylla,
J North Italy. Herbaceous perennial ; 3 to 6 inches ; blue \
I summer ; seed or division. — Similar positions to those for
C. fragilis, or C. gaiganica.
Wall Bell-flower. Campanula muralis. Dalmatia.
Herbaceous perennial; 8 to 12 inches; pale blue;
summer ; seed or division. — Rocky places or old quar-
ries ; if possible, in chinks against a vertical face of rock,
where it will prove most ornamental.
Long Bell-flower. Campanula nobilis. China. Her-
baceous perennial ; i to 2 feet ; purple or white ; sum-
mer; seed or division. — ^Banks and rocky places, or on
the level ground, on which, however, its large pendulous
blossoms will not be seen to such great advantage as
when the plant is somewhat elevated.
90 The Wild Garden.
Feaoh-leaved Bell-flower* Campanula persidfolia.
Southern Europe. Herbaceous perennial ; 2^ feet ; blue ;
summer; division. — Similar positions to those for C*
grandis.
THE HEATH FAMILY.
Spring Heath. Erica camea. Germany. Small
shrub ; 6 to 12 inches ; pale purple ; winter ; division
or cuttings. — Among our wild heaths, or on margins of
shrubberies, in ordinary garden soil, though it thrives best
in peat.
Empetmm-like Menziesia. Menziesia empdriformis.
North America. Small shrub ; pale red ; summer ; divi-
sion or cuttings. — ^Very bare rocky places, in moist peaty
soil ; chiefly suited for moist or upland districts, unless
when carefully grown in the rock-garden.
Partridge Berry. Gaultheria procumbens. North
America. Trailing shrub ; 2 to 4 inches ; white ; sum-
mer ; division. — Rocky and bare places, or in almost any
position amidst very dwarf vegetation ; always in rather
moist soil ; best in that which is somewhat peaty.
THE PERIWINKLE FAMILY.
Herbaceous Periwinkle. Vinca herbacea, Hungary.
Perennial ; i to i J feet ; blue ; summer ; division. — ^Woods,
copses, fringes of shrubberies, banks, rough rockwork, &c.
Greater Periwinkle. Vinca major. Southern Eu-
rope. Trailer; i to ij feet ; blue; summer; division. —
Similar positions to preceding, but this is a much stronger
Hardy Exotic Plants for Naturalization. 91
plant The fine variegated kinds thrive perfectly in
woods and semi-wild spots, in any kind of soil.
Lesser Periwinkle. Vinca minor. Europe. Trailer ;
I foot ; blue ; summer ; division. — Similar positions to
preceding. There are many varieties, all good. J
THE SWALLOWWORT FAMILY.
Douglas's Swallowwort. Asdepias Douglasiu North
America. Herbaceous perennial ; 4 feet ; purple ; siun-
mer; seed or division. — ^Among the finer herbaceous
plants in copses, on margins of shrubberies, or on
banks, in rich and deep soil
Comuti's Swallowwort. Asdepias ComuH. North
America. Herbaceous perennial ; 5 feet ; purple ; sum-
mer ; seed or division. — Similar positions to preceding ;
but this plant is suited for association with the tallest and
most vigorous herbaceous subjects.
THE GENTIAN FAMILY.
Stemless Glentian. Gentiana acaulis. Central
Europe. Evergreen perennial ; 2 to 4 inches ; blue ;
early summer; division. — Bare rocky places; seldom
thrives in dry soil. Would grow on bare ground on our
mountains or high hills as well as it does on the Alps.
Swallowwort Glentian. Gentiana asdepiadea,
Austria. Herbaceous perennial ; i to 2 feet ; blue ;
summer; seed or division. — Amidst the finer dwarf
herbaceous plants, on the margins of woods and copses,
on rough rockwork, &c., in ordinary soil ; best, however,
in pe^t or very light sandy loam.
/
gz The Wild Garden.
Womi Grass. Spigdia marUandica, North America.
Herbaceous perennial; i to i^ feet; red; summer;
division. — Now perhaps too rare for naturalization but
well worthy of trial where there is any moist, sandy,
peat soil, in a semi-wild place, on the fringes of copses,
or open bare glades in woods.
THE PHLOX FAMILY.
Creeping Fhlox. Phlox reptans. North America.
Evergreen perennial ; 3 to 6 inches ; reddish ; spring ;
division. — Bare rocky places, fringes of low copses, or
wherever there is a very dwarf vegetation.
Awl-leaved Phlox. Fhlox subulata. North America.
Evergreen perennial ; 4 inches ; pink ; early summer ;
division. — Similar positions to the preceding.
THE BINDWEED FAMILY.
Lined Bindweed. Convolvulus Hneatus. Southern
Europe. Trailer; 3 to 6 inches; bluish; summer;
division. — In sandy soil, amidst the very dwarfest vege-
tation, on slopes, banks, &c
Dahnrian Bearbind. Calysie^ dahurica, Dahuria.
Climber; i to 5 feet; pink; summer; division. — In
copses, hedges, over old stumps, railings, &c. A lovely
twining plant, hardy and vigorous.
Pubescent Bearbind. Calystegia pubescms. China.
Climber; 10 to 15 feet; pale rose; summer; division. —
Similar uses to preceding ; plant not so vigorous.
Hardy Exotic Plants for Naturalization. 93
THE BORAGE FAMILY.
Prostrate GromwelL Lithospermutn prostraium.
Southern Europe. Evergreen trailer; 6 to 12 inches;
blue ; summer ; cuttings. — Rocky or bare places, margins
of copses, banks, &c. ; flourishes best in deep, well-
drained, sandy loam.
Bough Comfrey. Symphytum asperrimum. Cau-
casus. Herbaceous perennial; 4 to 6 feet; blue; ^
summer ; seed or division. — In woods and rough
shrubberies. A 'grand plant for naturalization.
Bohemian Comfrey. Symphytum bohemicum. Bo-
hemia. Herbaceous perennial ; 3 feet ; red ; early
^summer; division. — Copses, margins of plantations, by
wood walks, &c. in ordinary soil
Oriental Comfrey. Symphytum orientaie. Tauria.
Herbaceous perennial ; 2 to 3 feet ; white ; early summer ;
seed or division. — Similar positions to those for the Bo-
hemian Comfrey.
Caucasian Comfrey. Symphytum caucasicum. Cau-
casus. Herbaceous perennial ; 3 to 4 feet ; blue ; sum-
mer ; division. — In shrubberies, copses, fringes of woods,
&c, also in more open positions amongst medium-sized
herbs. A lovely plant for naturalization, and thriving
freely in any soil.
Italian Bugloss. Anchusa itaiica. Southern Europe.
Herbaceous perennial; 2 to 3 feet; blue; sununer;
seed or division. — Fringes of woods, copses, &c., or
among the stronger herbaceous plants.
Azorean Eorget-me-not. Myosotis azorica. Azores.
94 The Wild Garden.
Biennial ; i foot ; dark blue ; autumn ; seed. — In wann
nooks in sandy, moist soil
Early Forget-me-not. Myosoiis dissitiflora, Alps.
Herbaceous perennial ; 6 to 12 inches ; blue ; early
spring; seed or division. — Rocky places, banks, fringes
of shrubberies and thin places in copses.
Creeping Forget-me-not. Omphalodes.vema. Alps
of Europe. Evergreen perennial; 6 inches; blue;
spring; division. — In rocky places, fringes of low shrub-
beries, open spots in copses, by wood walks, &c ; prefers
a somewhat moist soil
Apennine Hound's Tongue. Cynoglossum apen-
ninum, Italy. Herbaceous perennial; i to 2 feet;
blue ; summer ; division or seed. — ^Amongst herbs from
I foot to 18 inches high, on margins of shrubberies.
Cretan Borage. Borago cretica, Crete. Herbaceous
perennial; i to 2 feet; blue; spring; division. — By
wood walks, or in lawns in quiet shady places.
Oriental Borage. Borago orienicUis. Turkey. Her-
baceous perennial ; 2 to 3 feet; blue ; summer; division. —
Similar positions to preceding.
IfOose-flowered Borage. Borago laxiflora, Corsica.
Biennial; 6 to 12 inches; blue; summer; seed. — In
bare places, banks, &c ; best in sandy soil ; too small for
association with the other Borages and Comfreys recom-
mended ; sows itself freely.
' THE NIGHTSHADE FAMILY.
Fyrenean Bamondia. Ramondia pyrmaka, Pyre-
nees. Herbaceous perennial; 4 inches; purple; sum-
Hardy Exotic Plants for Naturalization. 95
mer ; division. — Moist and warm rocky spots facing
south, in woods or shrubberies ; should be isolated from
coarse or creeping plants, and put in spongy loam or
peat, and never among coarse plants.
Winter Cherry. PhysaJis Alkekengi. Southern Eu-
rope. Herbaceous perennial ; i foot ; white ; late sum-
mer ; seed or division. — Fringes of copses, or banks near
wood walks ; best in warm soil.
THE FIGWORT FAMILY.
Perennial Mullein. Verbascum ChaixiL Southern
France. Herbaceous perennial ; , 4 to 6 feet ; yellow, with
brown and purple centre ; summer ; seed or division. —
A few feet or yards within fringes of woods, or associated
with the largest and handsomest herbaceous plants.
Other large kinds are good, but the preceding is a true
perennial.
Great Snapdragon. Antirrhinum majus, Europe.
Evergreen perennial ; 2 feet ; red ; summer ; seed or
cuttings. — Rocky places. Although this grows in almost
any soil, it is on walls and ruins that it becomes
thoroughly established.
Bock Snapdragon. Antirrhinum rupestre, — Peren-
nial ; J foot ; purplish-pink ; summer ; seed. — Rocky and
bare places, walls, and on banks.
Alpine Toadflax. Linaria alpina. Austria. Ever-
green perennial ; 6 to 1 2 inches ; violet ; summer ; seed.
In bare, open, sandy, gritty, or gravelly spots, in the
moister and more elevated districts.
Broom-leaved Toadflax. Linaria gmistafolia. Aus-
96 The Wild Garden.
tria. Herbax:eous perennial ; 2 feet ; yellow \ summer ;
seed or division. — Banks or copses.
Hartweg'8 Pentstemozi. Pentstemon Hartwegi.
Mexico. Evergreen perennial ; 2 feet ; red ; summer ;
cuttings or seed. — Margins of shrubberies, open places in
copses and on banks ; growing best and enduring longest
in a light rich soil, not very wet and cold in winter.
Tufted FentBtemozi. Pentstemon procerus. North
Amaica. Evergreen perennial ; i foot ; purple ; sum-
mer ; seed or division. — Bare and rocky places, or almost
ainywhere amidst very dwarf vegetation, in ordinary soiL
Bearded Chelone. Chdone barbata. Mexico. Her-
baceous perennial ; 2 to 3 feet ; orange-scarlet ; summer ;
seed or division. — Among the finer herbaceous plants on
margins of shrubberies, in copses, or in rocky places. The
variety Torreyi is very large and fine.
Conmion Musk. Mimulus moschatus. Colmnbia.
Perennial; 9 to 12 inches; yellow; summer; seed or
division. — Best in somewhat shady -positions, but will
grow anywhere.
Many of the varieties of Monkey flower {Mimulus) are
more ornamental than the species in cultivation. They
may be naturalized in moist rich soil, on margins of
shrubberies, and beds of American plants, or in open
shrubby or heathy places, where there is a moist soil
Alpine Erinus. Erinus alpinus. Pyrenees. Ever-
green perennial ; 3 to 4 inches ; rosy purple ; summer ;
seed. — ^Walls and ruins : grows better in these positions
than on the level ground.
Amethystiiie SpeedwelL Veronica amethysHna.
Hardy Exotic Plants for Naturalization. 97
Southern Europe. Herbaceous perennial ; 3 feet ; blue ;
summer; seed or division. — Margins of shrubberies,
copses, or anywhere associated with the medium-sized
herbaceous plants in any soil.
Austrian Speedwell. Veronica austriaca, Austria.
Herbaceous perennial ; i foot ; light blue ; summer ; seed
or division. — ^With the neater herbaceous plants on mar-
gins of shrubberies, banks, and slopes.
Hoary Speedwell. Veronica incana, Russia. Her-
baceous perennial; 2 feet; blue; summer; seed or
division. — Rocky places, or bare banks in ordinary soil.
THE SAGE FAMILY.
Lemon Thyme. Thymus citriodorus. Dwarf ever-
green ; 4 to 6 inches ; flowers inconspicuous ; division. —
Rocky and bare places, dry, sandy, or gravelly banks.
Corsioan Thyme. Thymus corsicus. Corsica. Ever-
green perennial; i inch; lilac; summer; seed or divi-
sion. — ^A very diminutive, strongly peppermint-scented
pl^t, that will creep about amidst the very dwaifest
vegetation in rocky places, and on moist banks.
Variegated Common Garden Thyme« Thymus
vulgaris. Variegated garden variety; evergreen peren-
nial; I foot; purplish; summer; division. — Banks or
rocky places, in dry soil*
Common (Germander. Teucrium Chamcedrys, Eu-
rope. Herbaceous perennial ; f foot ; purple ; sununer ;
division. — Banks and fringes of shrubberies, among the
dwaifer herbaceous plants.
Hyroanian (Germander. Teucrium hyrcanicum,
H
t
98 The Wild Garden,
Persia. Herbaceous perennial ; i to 3 feet ; purple ;
summer; division or seed. — Copses, bare openings in
shrubberies, among the stronger herbaceous plants.
(Geneva Bugle. Ajuga gmevensis, Switzerland.
Herbaceous perennial ; \ foot ; flesh ; summer ; seed or
division. — Margins of shrubberies, banks, or anywhere
amongst vegetation not above i foot high, in ordinary
soil.
Oswego Tea. Monarda didyma. North America.
Herbaceous perennial ; 2 to 3 feet ; red ; summer ; seed
or division. — Margins of shrubberies, copses, or open
spots in glades, associated with large herbaceous plants ;
thrives best in sandy loam.
HoUow-stenuned Monarda. Monarda fisiulosa.
North America. Herbaceous perennial; 2 to 4 feet;
purplish ; summer ; seed or division. There are several
varieties. — Similar soil and positions to preceding.
Ealm's Monarda. Monarda Kalmiana, North
America. Herbaceous perennial ; 3 to 4 feet ; purple ;
summer ; division or seed. — Similar soil and positions to
those recommended for the two preceding kinds.
Wind-herb Fhlomis. Phlomis herha-venti. Southern
Europe. Evergreen perennial ; i to 2 feet ; red ; late
summer; seed or division. — Sloping banks, margins
of shrubberies, in tufts by wood walks, in oidinary
soil.
BuBsell's Phlomis. Phlomis Russdliana, Levant.
Herbaceous perennial ; 3 to 4 feet ; brownish ; early
summer; seed or division. — Similar positions to the
preceding, but may be put among bolder vegetation.
Hardy Exotic Plants for Naturalization. 99
Spotted ArehangeL Lamium maculatum, Italy.
Herbaceous perennial ; r foot ; purple ; summer ; divi-
sion. — Fringes of plantations, banks, and rocky places.
The white variety is very showy and good.
Showy Fhysostegia. Physostegia spedosa. North
America. Herbaceous perennial; 2 to 3 feet; pink;
summer ; seed or division. — ^Among the finer perennials
on the margins of shrubberies, in copses, or in groups
by wood walks.
Imbrioated Physostegia. Physostegia imbricata.
North America. Herbaceous perennial ; 4 to 6 feet ;
rose; summer; seed or division. — Similar positions to
preceding, but suited also for association with larger
plants.
Virgiiiian Physostegia. Physostegia virginiana.
North America. Herbaceous perennial; 2 to 3 feet;
red; summer; seed or division. — Similar positions to
those for P. speciosa.
Woolly Woundwort. Siachys lanata. Siberia.
Herbaceous perennial; i to 2 feet; purple; summer;
division or seed. — Margins of shrubberies or on banks
in any kind of soil
Lavender-leaved Zietenia* Zietenia lavandulafolia,
Levant Evergreen perennial ; i foot ; purple ; summer ;
division. — Similar positions to preceding; very fi-ee on
warm and sandy soils.
Fisher's Dragon's Head. DracocephcUum argunmse.
Siberia. Herbaceous perennial ; i foot ; blue ; siunmer ;
division or seed. — Rocky places and bare banks, in
sandy soil or free loam.
H 2
Y
loo The Wild Garden.
Austrian Dragon's Head. Dracocephalum austri-
acutn. Austria. Herbaceous perennial ; i to 2 feet ; blue ;
summer ; seed or division. — Similar soil and positions to
preceding.
Prickly-leaved Dragon's Head. Dracocephalum
per^rinum, Siberia. Herbaceous perennial; i foot;
blue ; summer ; seed or division. — Banks and rocky
places, amongst dwarf vegetation, in light, well-drained
soil
Common ^ Balm. Mdissa officinalis. Southern
Europe. Herbaceous perennial; i foot; white; all
summer; seed or division. — ^Margins of shrubberies,
copses, or in tufts by wood walks. Only desirable for
the odour of its leaves.
Alpine Skullcap. Scutellaria alpina. Hungary.
Herbaceous perennial; i to 2 feet; blue and white;
summer ; seed or division. — Dry sandy slopes or banks,
on margins of shrubberies. Best in warm sandy loam,
but easy to grow in ordinary soil.
Tartarian Skullcap. Scutellaria lufulina, Tartary.
Herbaceous perennial ; i to 2 feet ; yellow ; summer ;
seed or division. — Similar soil and positions to pre-
ceding.
Silvery Sage. Salvia argentea, Crete. Herbaceous
perennial ; 3 feet ; white ; early summer ; seed. — Rocky
places or banks, in good soil
Wild Sage. Salvia sylvestris. Europe. Herbaceous
perennial ; 3 feet ; purplish ; smnmer ; seed or division. —
In copses, &c, and on rough banks, amongst the coarsest
herbaceous plants.
Hardy Exotic Plants for Naturalization, loi
Ifarge-flowered Self-heal Prundla grandiflora.
Europe. Herbaceous perennial; f to i^ feet; blue;
summer; seed or division. — Fringes of shrubberies,
banks, rocky places, &c, in soils not too wet in winter.
THE VERVAIN FAMILY.
Knot-flowered Zapania. Zapania nodiflora. South
America. Evergreen perennial ; 3 to 6 inches ; pink ;
summer ; division or cuttings. — Banks and rocky places,
amidst dwarf trailing herbs.
THE BEAR'S BREECH FAMILY.
Broad-leaved Bear's Breech. Acanthus latifoHus,
Portugal Herbaceous perennial ; 2 to 4 feet ; purplish ;
summer ; seed or division. — In isolated tufts by wood
walks, or grouped with herbaceous plants having fine
foliage, always in deep rich soil
Soft Bear's Breech. Acanthus mollis. Italy. Her-
baceous perennial ; 3 feet ; pale purple ; summer ; seed
or division. — Similar soil and positions to preceding.
Bristling Bear's Breeoh. Acanthus spinosissimus.
Southern Europe. Herbaceous perennial ; 3 feet ; pale
purple; summer; division or seed. — Similar soil and
positions to preceding. Not so vigorous, but a very
singular and desirable plant
Spiny Bear's Breeoh. Acanthus spinosus. Southern
Europe. Herbaceous perennial; 3 to 4 feet; pale
purple; summer; seed or division. — Similar soil and
positions to preceding.
loa The Wild Garden.
THE PRIMROSE FAMILY.
European Cyclamen. Cyclamen europcsum, Europe.
Tuber ; 4 inches ; light red ; summer ; seed. — Rocky
places and banks amidst very dwarf plants.
Ivy-leaved Cyclamen. Cyclamen hederafoHum. Eu-
rope. Tuber; 4 inches; purplish; summer; seed. —
Similar positions to preceding. I have seen it natura-
lized with success in woods under the shade of high
trees. In moss or short grass, but not in the neigh-
bourhood of coarse herbs, brambles, &c. Other kinds of
Cyclamen maybe tried, notably C. coiun and C. vemum.
Jeffrey's American Cowslip. Dodecatheon Jeffreyu
North America. Herbaceous perennial; i^ feet high;
j purplish; early summer; seed or division. — Rocky
places or low banks, in rich light and deep soil. A noble
plant, as yet rare.
Mead's American Cowslip. Dodecatheon Meadia.
, North America. Herbaceous perennial; i to i^feet;
purplish ; early summer ; seed or division. — Similar soil
and positions to those for D. JeflfreyL Not so vigorous.
Small American Cowslip. Dodecatheon integrifolium.
North America. Herbaceous perennial ; \ foot ; pale
purple; spring; seed or division. — Rocky places or
banks, in moist sandy or peaty soil and amid dwarf
plants.
Alpine Soldanella. Soidanella alpina. Switzerland.
Evergreen perennial ; \ foot ; purplish blue ; summer ;
seed or division. — Bare rocky places, amidst minute
vegetation, in moist very sandy soil.
Hardy Exotic Plants for Naturalization. 103
Aurioula. Primula Auricula. Switzerland. Ever-
green perennial; \ foot; various; spring; seed or divi-
sion. — Rocky or bare places. Might be naturalized
in upland districts wherever the grass is rather short
Snowy FrimroBe. Primula nivalis, Dahuria. Ever-
green perennial ; \ foot ; white ; early summer ; division
or seed. — Bare rocky places, in humid, elevated parts
of the country, in moist sandy or peaty soil.
Fairy Frimrose. Primula minima. Southern Europe.
Evergreen perennial ; 2 to 3 inches ; purple ; spring ; seed
or division. — Very bare rocky places, in northern and
elevated parts of the kingdom only, associated with such
dwarf plants as P. scotica, and the Pinguiculas.
Large-leaved Primroefe. Primula Palinuri. Ever-
green perennial; i foot; yellow; early summer; di-
vision. — Similar soil and positions to those recommended
for the American cowslips.
Sikkim FrimroBe. Primula sikkimensis. Himalayas.
Evergreen perennial ; i to 2 feet ; yellow ; summer ; divi-
sion or seed. — ^At present a somewhat scarce plant
May, when sufficiently plentiful, be naturalized in rocky
places, or on low banks in somewhat sheltered positions
in moist, deep and light soils.
. Long-flowered FrimroBe. Primula langifolia. Eu-
rope. Herbaceous perennial ; 3 to 6 inches ; red ; sum-
mer ; division or seed. — May be naturalized in positions,
and under conditions, in which our own Bird's-eye
Primula is found to thrive.
Clammy Frimrose. Primula viscosa. Piedmont
Evergreen perennial; 3 to 6 inches; purple; spring.;
104 1^^ Wild Garden.
division or seed. — Similar soil and positions to those re-
commended for the Snowy Primrose.
Book- jasmine. Androsace Chamajasme. Austria.
Evergreen perennial ; 2 to 3 inches ; pink ; summer ;
seed or division. — Similar positions and soil to those
recommended for the Fairy Primrose.
Woolly-leaved Androsaoe. Androsace lanuginosa,
Himalayas. Evergreen perennial ; ^ foot ; lilac ; summer ;
division or seed. — Rocky bare places and banks only,
in the southern and milder parts of the country, and
amongst very dwarf trailing herbs, in free soil
Yellow Androsace. Androsace Vitaliana. Pyrenees.
Evergreen perennial ; 3 inches ; yellow ; early summer ;
division. — Positions and localities similar to those re-
commended for the Fairy Primrose, in light and
moist soil.
Willow-leaved Loose-Strife. Lysimachia Epheme-
rum, Spain. Herbaceous perennial; 2 to 3 feet;
white; summer; division. — Margins of plantations and
copses.
THE PLUMBAGO FAMILY.
Broad -leaved Sea Lavender. Statice latifolia,
Siberia. Evergreen perennial ; 2 to 3 feet ; blue ; sum-
mer ; seed or division. — Isolated tufts in glades by wood
walks, and also associated with the finer autumnal
flowering herbs in almost any position.
Tartarian Sea Lavender. Statice tatarica, Russia.
Evergreen perennial ; 2 to 3 feet ; pink ; summer ; seed
-^j
Hardy Exotic Plants for Naturalization. J05
or division. — Rocky places amidst vegetation not much
over a foot high.
Priokly Thrift. Acantholimon glumaceum. Armenia.
Evergreen perennial ; 6 to 9 inches ; rose ; summer ; seed
or cuttings. — Bare rocky places, banks or slopes, amidst
vegetation not over 5 inches high.
Bound-headed Thrift. Amieria cephaJotes, Europe.
Evergreen perennial ; i to 2 feet ; pink ; summer ; seed
or division. — Banks, slopes and rocky places, associated
with Aquilegias and the finer and dwarfer perennials.
Lady Larpent's Plumbago. Plumbago Larpentce,
China. Evergreen perennial ; i foot ; dark blue ; sum-
mer; division or cuttings. — Banks, slopes or rocky
places, in any soil, amidst dwarf or prostrate plants.
THE VIRGINIAN POKE FAMILY.
Virginian Poke. Phytolacca decandra, Virginia.
Herbaceous perennial ; 4 to 6 feet ; purple ; summer ; divi-
sion or seed. — Isolated tufts near wood walks, associated
with the largest and most vigorous herbaceous plants ;
in copses, margins of plantations, &c. Worth planting
for the sake of its berries.
Kernel-like Fhytolaooa. Phytolacca adnosa. Nor-
thern India. Herbaceous perennial; 4 to 6 feet;
summer ; division. — Similar positions to preceding.
THE RHUBARB FAMILY,
Alpine Persioaria. Polygonum alpinum, Switzer-
land Herbaceous perennial ; 2 to 3 feet ; white ;
summer ; seed or division. — ^Woody places or copses.
io6 The Wild Gardens
Brown's Persioaria. Polygonum Brunonis. Nor-
thern India. Evergreen perennial ; 6 to 9 inches ; pink ;
summer; division or seed — Slopes, banks, or rocky
places in any soil
New Zealand Persicaria. Muhlmbeckia complexa.
New Zealand. Evergreen climbing shrub ; 2 to 4 feet ;
yellowish ; summer ; cuttings. — Banks, slopes, or rocky
places, among twining or trailing plants.
Siebold's Peraioariai. Polygonum Sieboldiu Japan.
Herbaceous perennial ; 4 to 6 feet ; yellowish green ;
summer ; division or cuttings.: — Isolated specimens near
wood or pleasure-ground walks, but most striking in
the former position; or associated with the most vigorous
herbaceous plants cultivated for the effect of their leaves
or habit.
Whortleberry Persioaria.. Polygonum vaccinifolium.
Northern India. Perennial ; 6^ to 1 2 inches ; pink ;
summer; division or cuttings. — Banks, slopes, rocky
places, or margins of low shrubberies..
Emod's Bliubarb. Rheum Emodi, Nepal. Her-
baceous perennial; 4 to- 6« feet; purple; summer; divi-
sion or seed. — Isolated tufts near wood-walks, or asso-
ciated with other noble-leaved plants. The tufts to be
planted in the grass a few feet or yards from the margin
of a plantation, in very deep, rich soil
Palmate Bhubarb; Rheum palmatum, China.
Herbaceous perennial ; 4 to 6 feet ; whitish ; summer ;
division or seed. — Similar positions to the preceding, and
associated with the Acanthuses, etc
Common Bliubarb. Rheum rhaponticum, Asia.
Hardy Exotic Plants for Naturalization. 107
Herbaceous perennial; 4 to 6 feet; white and green;
summer; division or seed — Similar positions to preceding.
Wave-leaved Bliubarb. Rheum undulaium. China.
Herbaceous perennial; 4 to 6 feet; white and green;
.summer ; division or seed. — Ditto.
THE^BIRTHWORT FAMILY.
Great Birthwort. Aristoiochia Sipho, North
America. Deciduous climber ; 10 to 30 feet ; summer ;
division and cuttings. — A noble plant for covering
arbours, banks^ stumps of old trees, &c, also wigwam-
like bowers, formed with blanches of trees..
THE SPURGE FAMILY.
Cypress Spurge. Euphorbia Cyparissias, Southern
Europe. Herbaceous perennial; i to 2 feet; yellow;
summer; division or seed — Slopes^ banks, margins of
copses, or rocky places^ in any soiL
Glaucous Spurge. Euphorbia Myrsinites. Southern
Europe. Evergreen perennial^ ; 6 to 9 inches ; yellow ;
summer; seed or cuttings. — Bare banks and rocky
places in warm soils.
THE NETTLE FAMILY.
Bough Gunnera. Gunnera scabra. South America.
Herbaceous perennial; 2 to 4 feet; siunmer; flowers
inconspicuous ; seed or division. — In warm and
sheltered spots, in very deep and moist soil. Fine foliage.
THE ARROWHEAD FAMILY.
Broad-leaved Arrowhead. Sagittaria laHfolia plena.
North America, Aquatic ; i to a feet ; white ; summer ;
io8 The Wild Garden.
division,— In margins of ponds, rivers, boggy ground, or
any position where there is mud or water.
THE ORCHID FAMILY.
Showy Lady's Slipper. Cypripedium spectabile.
North America, Herbaceous perennial; i foot; white
and rose ; smnmer ; division. — In places where boggy or
deep, rich, moist, peaty or vegetable soil occurs. As it
is rare it is better planted in a somewhat sheltered
position, where it may escape injury from wind.
THE INDIAN SHOT FAMILY,
Mealy Thalia. Thalia dealbata, Carolina. Aquatic ;
4 feet; blue; summer; division or seed. — Planted in
the water near the margins of streams or lakes in deep
soil; usually grown as a stove plant, but will be
found to succeed well in the southern parts of this
country.
THE FLOWER-DE-LUCE FAMILY.
Crested Flower-de-Luee. Iris cristata. North
America. Herbaceous perennial ; 3 to 6 inches ; pale
blue ; summer ; seed or division. — Low banks and rocky
places, amidst very dwarf vegetation, in light sandy soil
De Berg's Flower-de-Luce. Iris De Bergii, Bel-
gian Hybrid. Herbaceous perennial ; 2 to 3 feet ; yellow
and black ; early summer ; division. — Banks, margins of
shrubberies, copses, groups, or in open glades, and asso-
ciated with large and handsome herbaceous plants;
thrives best in rich soil
Hardy Exotic Plants for Naturalization. 109
Pale Flower-de-Luoe. Iris flavescens. Southern
Europe. Herbaceous perennial ; 2 to 3 feet \ yellow ;
early summer ; seed or division. — Similar positions and
soil to preceding ; not so ornamental.
FLorentme Flower-de-Luoe. Iris flormtina. South-
em Europe. Herbaceous perennial ; 2 feet ; white ; early
summer ; seed or division. — Same soil and positions ; an
excellent plant for naturalization.
Common Elower-de-Luoe. Iris germanica. Ger-
many. Herbaceous perennial ; 2 feet ; blue ; early sum-
mer ; division or seed. — Same soil and positions as for
I. De BergiL There are many fine varieties.
Grass-leaved Elower-de-Luoe. Iris graminea,
Austria. Herbaceous perennial ; i foot ; purplish blue ;
early summer ; division or seed. — Fringes of shrubberies
or in rocky places, in ordinary soil.
Monnier's Flower de Luce. Iris Mannieri, Levant
Herbaceous perennial; 6 to 9 inches; yellow; early
summer ; division or seed. — In moist soil in glades and
open parts of copses, or on fringes of shrubberies.
Tall nower-de-Luoe. Iris ochroleuca. Levant
Herbaceous perennial ; 3 feet ; creamy yellow ; summer ;
seed or division. — Fringes of woods and copses or
shrubberies, somewhat within the margin.
Pale Blue Plower-de-Luoe. Iris pallida, Turkey.
Herbaceous perennial ; 3 feet ; pale blue ; early
summer; division or seed. — Similar positions to those
for the common Iris germanica.
I>warf Flower-de-Luoe. Iris pumila. Austria.
Herbaceous perennial ; 3 to 6 inches ; purple ; spring ;
jio The Wild Garden.
division. — Bare, low, rocky places, or level banks, always
amidst dwarf vegetation. Thrives in ordinary soil, but
best in peat.
Netted Elower-de-Luoe. Iris reticulata. Iberia.*
Bulb; 6 inches; blue; spring; division. — Sunny spots
on low warm banks in well-drained, rich, light soil
Elder-soented Flower-de-Luoe. Iris sambudna.
Southern Europe. Herbaceous perennial ; 3 feet ; light
blue; summer; division or seed. — Similar positions to
those for Iris De BeigiL
Violet FLower-de-Luce. Iris subbifiora, Portugal
Herbaceous perennial ; 2 feet ; violet ; summer ; division
or seed. — Similar positions to those for Iris germanica,
but amidst dwarfer vegetation.
Vairiegated FLower-de-Luoe. Iris variegata. Hun-
gary. Herbaceous perennial ; 2 to 3 feet ; pale yellow ;
early summer; division or seed. — Similar soil and positions
to those for Iris De Bergii, which is probably a variety of it
Haked-flowered Croous. Croats nudiflarus. South-
em Europe. Bulb ; 6 inches ; purple ; autumn ; division.
— In the grass in glades, by wood-walks, &c This plant
is naturalized in several parts of England.
Showy GrociLS. Crocus speciosus, Hungary. Btdb;
3 inches ; purple ; autumn ; division. — In similar positions
to preceding : also on banks and bare spots near fringes
of shrubberies, &c, in simny spots.
Snsian Croons. Crocus susianus, Turkey. Bulb ;
3 to 4 inches ; yellow ; early spring ; division. — Sunny
banks, in short grass, in any soil
Imperati's Croous. Crocus Imperatonius. Italy.
Hardy Exotic Plants far Naturalization, iii
Hardy bulb ; 4 to 6 inches ; lilac purple ; very early
spring. — In short grass not mown till rather late in the
season, in warm, sunny spots where its early-flowering
habit may be encouraged.
The common yellow and blue Crocuses, C. aureus and
C. vemus may be naturalized with facility in grassy spots,
as may the Scotch. Crocus, C. biflorus, and indeed most
of the other species.
THE DAFFODIL FAMILY.
Yellow Stembergia. Sternbergia lutea. Southern
Europe. Bulb ; 6 to 9 inches ; yellow ; late in summer ;
division.— Bare places or low banks, well exposed to the
sun, in grs^velly and dry soil.
Atamasoo Idly. Zephyranthes Atamasco, North
America. Bulb ; 6 to 9 inches ; white \ early summer;
division or seed. — Low banks and rocky places, or here
and there amidst very dwarf shrubs.
Hoop-petticoat DaflfodlL Narcissus Bulbocodium.
Southern Europe. Bulb; 6 inches; yellow; spring;
division. — Low sunny banks and slopes, near pleasure-
ground walks.
Two-coloured Daffodil:. Narcissus bicolor. Southern
Europe. Bulb ; i foot ; white and yellow ; early sum-
mer ; division. — In grassy places near wood-walks.
Peerless DaffodiL Narcissus incomparaitilis. Por-
tugal Bulb ; I foot ; yellow ; early summer ; division. —
On banks or slopes, in glades, or almost any position in
any soil.
Great DaffodiL Narcissus major. Spain. Bulb;
iij* The Wild Garden.
I foot ; yellow ; spring ; division. — In tufts by pleasure-
ground or wood-walks, in any soil
Small DaffbdlL Narcissus minor, Spain. Bulb ; 2
to 4 inches ; yellow ; spring ; division. — Associated with
the dwarfest bulbous plants, on warm banks, and amidst
very dwarf vegetation, in light sandy soil
Sweet-scented DaffodiL Narcissus odarus. Southern
Europe. Bulb ; i foot ; yellow ; early summer ; division.
— Fringes of shrubberies, low simny banks, in tufts in
glades, and by wood walks, in any soil
Poet's BaffodlL Narcissus poeticus. Southern Eu-
rope. Bulb; I foot; white; early summer; division. —
Banks, by pleasure-ground or wood walks, margins of
shrubberies, or in glades ; in fact, in almost any position,
and in almost any soil.
Plaited Snowdrop. Galanthus plicatus. Crimea.
Bulb ; 6 inches ; white ; winter ; division. — In any
position where the common Snowdrop succeeds.
Late Snowflake. Leucojum Hemandezii, Europe.
Bulb ; I to 2 feet ; white ; early smnmer ; division. — In
tufts in grassy places near wood and pleasure-ground
walks, associated with the larger Daffodils.
THE DAY LILY FAMILY.
Two-rowed Day Lily. Hemerocallis disticha, China.
Perennial; 2 feet; deep orange; summer; division. —
Banks, slopes, tufts in glades, or associated in almost any
position, with the stronger herbaceous plants. Grows in
almost any soil.
Yellow Day Lily. Hemerocallis flava. Siberia.
Hardy Exotic Plants for Naturalization. 1 1 3
Perennial; 2 feet; yellow; summer; division. — Similar
I>ositions to the preceding.
Tawny Day Lily. HemeroaUlis fulva. Levant.
2 feet; tawny; summer; division. — Similar positions
and soil to those for H. disticha.
Grass-leaved Day Lily. Hemerocallis graminea.
Siberia. Herbaceous perennial; i foot; yellow; sum-
mer ; division. — Banks, slopes, or fringes of shrubberies,
amidst very dwarf vegetation.
White Fiinkia. JFimkia grandiflora, Japan. Her-
baceous perennial ; I to i^ feet; white; summer; divi-
sion or seed. — ^Wann banks, or sunny nooks amidst dwarf
shrubs in good sandy loam.
Siebold's Funkia. Funkia Sieboldiana. Japan.
Herbaceous perennial; i foot; whitish; sununer; seed
or division. — Isolated tufts near pleasure-ground walks.
Thrives best in deep sandy peat.
Showy Tritoma. Tritoma Uvaria. Cape of Good
Hope. Perennial ; 3 to 4 feet ; scarlet and yellow ; late
in summer; division. — Isolated tufts in glades, or
associated with groups of the nobler autumnal-flowering
herbaceous plants by wood walks.
THE LILY OF THE VALLEY FAMILY.
French Solomon's SeaL Polygonatum intermedium,
A fine plant resembling our own Solomon's Seal, and
suitable for similar positions. I have only seen it with
M. Boreau in the Botanical Garden at Angers.
Large-flowered Trillium. Trillium grandiflorum.
North America. Tuber; 6 to 9 inches; white; early
I
J
1 14 The Wild Garden.
summer ; division. — In moist, depressed, perfectly shel-
tered and shady nooks, in rich, deep vegetable soil
BoBe-oolonred Lapageria. Lapageria rosea. Chili.
Climber; 6 to 15 feet; red; summer; cuttings or seed*
L — I have been informed that this plant has been success-
fully established in the south of England in peat beds,
pnd allowed to twine among shrubs.
THE ASPHODEL FAMILY.
Yellow AsphodeL Asphoddus ItUeus, Sicily. 2 feet ;
yellow; summer; division or seed. — In copses, margins
of shrubberies, and associated with medium-sized her-
baceous plants.
St. Bruno's Iiily. Czackia (Faradisia) Liliastrum.
Europe. Herbaceous perennial; i to 2 feet; white;
early summer ; division or seed. — In glades, near wood
walks, or in the rougher parts of the pleasure-grounds^
Till plentiful it would perhaps be best tried in favourable
spots on low unmown banks in sandy loam.
Narbonne Star of Bethlehem. Omithogalum nor-
bonnense. Southern Europe. Bulb ; i to 2 feet ; white ;
summer; division. — On low banks, associated with the
finest daffodils.
Pyramidal Star of Bethlehem. Omithogalum pyra-
midale. Spain. Bulb; i to 2 feet; white; summer;
division. — Fringes of shrubberies, here and there among
dwarf shrubs, and associated with the finer Irises and the
dwarfer Lilies.
Byzantine SquilL Scilia amana. Levant. Bulb ;
3 to 6 inches ; blue ; spring ; division. — On low, waml
Hardy Exotic Plants for Naturalization. 1 15
banks, or in a sunny aspect amidst the grass, near the
fringe of a shrubbery, or on slopes.
Two-leaved SquilL Scilla bifolia. Europe. Bulb ;
4 inches; blue; spring; division. — On low banks, in
light soil ; also associated with the crocuses, snowdrops,
&c. here and there in the grass. It is very hardy and
free, but it is better to encourage its early-flowering
tendencies by placing it in a warm and sunny position.
Bell-flowered SquilL Scilla catnpanulata. Spain.
Bulb; I foot; blue; early smnmer; division. — Fringes
of shrubberies, or in almost any position.
Spreading SquilL Scilla pattUa, Southern Europe.
Bulb; I foot; blue; early summer; division. — ^Will
thrive in positions in which, the bluebell is found, but it
is best first established on a sheltered sunny bank.
Italian SquilL Scilla italica. Italy. Bulb; 6 to
12 inches; blue; early summer; division. — Should be
first established on warm banks or slopes, amidst very
dwarf vegetation in light soil.
Siberian SquilL Scilla sibirica, Siberia. Bulb;
3 to 4 inches; blue; spring; division. — Bare sunny
banks, slopes, rocky places, &c. Thrives well in good
sandy loam, amongst very dwarf vegetation.
Amethyst Hyaointh. Hyadnthus amethystinus.
Southern Europe. Bulb; ffoot; blue; early summer;
division. — Similar positions to preceding.
Grape Hyacinth. Muscari botryoides. Italy. Bulb ;
6 inches; blue; early summer; division. — Fringes of
low shrubberies, and also on banks, associated with the
finer squills and the amethyst hyacinth.
I 2
J 1 6 The Wild Garden.
Mtuk Hyaointh. Muscari Moschatum, Levant
Bulb; 6 to 12 inches; brown and yellow; early
summer ; division. — Bare sunny banks near walks ; only
desirable for its odour, as the flowers are almost incon-
spicuous.
Large Yellow Allium. Allium Moly, Southern
Eiu-ope. Bulb; i foot; yellow; summer; seed or
division. — Fringes of copses, banks, and woody places.
Associated with Ramsons (A. Ursinum).
Neapolitan Allinm. Allium neapolitanum, Italy.
Bulb ; I foot ; white ; summer ; seed or division. — ^Asso-
ciated with the finer daffodils on banks, fringes of shrub^
beries, and in rough rocky places.
BrousBonet's Asparagus. Asparagus Brousscneti.
Canaries. Perennial ; 3 to 10 feet ; white and green ;
early summer; seed or division. — In shrubberies and
copses, or among the most rampant climbing plants. Runs
speedily up the stem of a dead tree or any similar object.
Esculent Camassia. Camassia esculenta, Columbia.
Bulb ; I foot ; light blue ; summer ; division or seed. — On
low banks, margins of shrubberies, and associated with the
taller bulbous plants in light, well-drained, and warm soil.
New Zealand Flax. Phormiumtenax. New Zealand.
Evergreen perennial ; 5 to 6 feet ; buff; summer ; division
or seed. — This plant is tender in many parts of the country,
but thrives very well in mild districts in the south and
west of England and Ireland, in deep rich soil, and in
shady or half-shady spots, in woods and copses. Where
it grows well, isolated tufts of it have a fine effect near
wood walks.
Hardy Exotic Plants far Naturalization. 117
/
THE LILY FAMILY.
Thready Adam's Needle. Yucca JUamentosa^
North America. Evergreen herb; 2 to 3 feet; white
and green ; summer or autumn ; suckers. — Margins
of shrubberies, on banks or rough rockwork, near cas-
cades, &c ; and also, as it is a free-flowering kind, for
association with the nobler herbaceous plants.
FLaooid Adam's Needle. Ytuca flaccida. North
America. Evergreen herb ; 3 to 5 feet ; whitish ; sum-
mer or autumn ; suckers. — Similar uses and positions to
the preceding ; and, as it flowers more freely and regu-
larly, it is very valuable as a flowering plant
Adam's Needle. Yucca gloriosa, America. Ever-
green shrub ; 4 to 6 feet ; white ; smnmer ; suckers. —
Isolated specimens by wood walks, on very rough, rocky
ground, near cascades, &c. ; or grouped with tall herba-
ceous plants of striking foliage and habit.
Beotirved Adam's Needle. Yucca recurva. North
America. Evergreen shrub ; 3 to 4 feet ; white ;
summer; suckers. — Similar uses and positions to pre-
ceding.
Gtesner's TiQip. Tulipa Gesneriana, Levant. Bulb ;
i^ feet ; striped ; spring ; division. — This, or any of its
varieties, might be naturalized with the finer daflbdils, or
hardy bulbs in warm good soil
Sweet-scented Tidip. Tulipa suaveolens. Southern
Europe. Bulb ; 6 to 9 inches ; red and yellow ; spring ;
division. — ^Warm and sunny banks where there is not a
rank vegetation.
ii8 The Wild Garden.
Bough-stemmed Tulip* Tidipa scdbriscapa, Italy.
Bulb; I to I J feet; red and yellow; spring; division.
— ^Associated with dafifodils and finer hardy bulbs, on
banks, Mnges of shrubberies, &c Many of our earlier,
or bedding tulips, are nearly related to this plant
Crown ImperiaL Fritillaria imperialism Persia.
Bulb; 3 feet; yellow; spring; division. — Fringes of
woods and shrubberies; sometimes in isolated tufts at
some distance from the margin of wood walks.
White Lily. Lilium candidum, Levant Bulb; 3
to 4 feet ; white ; summer ; division. — Fringes of shrub-
beries, single plants dotted, here and there, in beds of
Rhododendrons or low shrubs, where they make a fine
show when in flower, and do not afterwards, as the leaves
die down, interfere with the general eflfect of the other
plants.
Trumpet Lily. Lilium Icngiflorum. China. Bulb;
I to 2 feet ; white ; summer ; division. — ^The outer fringes
of plantations, and beds of shrubs, or low banks and
slopes, in light and sandy but deep soil
Orange Lily. Lilium croceum, Italy. Bulb ; 3 to
4 feet; yellow; summer; division. — Isolated tufts in
glades, and similar positions to those for the White
Lily. Like all Lilies, best in deep soil.
Gk>lden-rayed Lily. Lilium auratum. Japan.
Bulb ; 3 to 4 feet ; white, with golden stripes and dark-
brown spots ; summer ; division. — Single plants of this
fine Lily placed here and there among choice shrubs
in good soil will produce a very fine eflfect
American Turban Lily, Lilium superbum. North
Hardy Exotic Plants for Naturalization. 119
America. Bulb; 4 feet; light orange; summer; divi-
sion. — In shrubberies or the shade of trees planted in peat
soil
THE COLCHICUM FAMILY.
Biilbooodiiim. Btdbocodium vemum, Spain.
Bulb ; 3 to 4 inches ; purple ; spring ; division. — ^With
the dwarfest and earliest Crocuses and other spring bulbs
on warm banks and slopes.
Cheokered-flowered Meadow Saffron. Colchicum
variegatutn, Greece. Bulb; 3 to 6 inches; lilac;
autumn ; division. — ^With the Crocuses and dwarfer bulbs,
or in any position where our native Colchicum will grow.
Blistered Helonias. Hdanias buUcUa. North Ame-
rica. Tuberous perennial ; i foot ; piu^le ; early summer;
division. — In boggy or moist sandy soil, associated with
Cypripedium spectabile, Rhexia virginica, and other
first-rate bog-plants.
White Veratrum. Veratrum album, Europe. Pe-
rennial ; 4 to 5 feet ; white ; summer ; division. — ^Asso-
ciated with fine-foliaged plants, or by itself on fiinges of
3hrubberies, or in rocky places.
THE PONTEDERIA FAMILY.
Heart-leaved Fontederia. Pontederia cordata. North
America. Aquatic ; 2 feet ; blue ; summer ; division. —
In water, within a few feet* of the bank of lakes, ponds,
&c, associated with such plants as the Sagittarias and
the flowering rush.
lao The Wild Garden,
THE SPIDERWORT FAMILY.
Virginian Spiderwort. Tradescantia virginica. North
America. Herbaceous perennial; i to 2 feet; blue;
summer; seed or division. — Naturalization on the low
fringes of shrubberies, on low banks, rocky places, or
slopes where there is a heavy soil or otherwise, or on
level, wet, cold ground, or in bogs. There are several
varieties, all equally free and hardy in the worst and
coldest ground.
THE AROID FAMILY.
Aquatio Qrontiimi. Orantium aquaticum. North
America. Aquatic ; 10 to 18 inches ; striped ; early
summery seed or division. — Margins of ponds and
fountain basins, in rich soil, and kept apart from coarse
aquatic plants.
Ethiopian Lily. Calla cethiopica. South Africa.
Aquatic ; a to 3 feet ; white ; early summer ; seed or
division. — Ponds and fountain basins in warm districts.
Marsh Calla. Calla palustris. North America.
Aquatic ; 6 to 9 inches ; white ; summer ; division. — ^Wet
muddy soil on margins of ponds, in shallow water, or in
bogs and marshy places.
Common Dragon Arum. Arum Drucunculus.
Southern Europe. Tuber ; i to i ^ feet ; brown ; sununer ;
'^ division. — ^Among shrubs on the sunny side of walls or
banks, preferring a warm sandy soil.
Hairy-sheathed Arum. Arum crinitum, Minorca.
I to 2 feet ; brown ; spring ; division. — ^Warm spots on
Hardy Exotic Plants for Naturalization. \%\
sunny banks, where it may not be ovenrun by coarse
plants. This remarkable kind is at present rare in culti-
.vation, and deserves a favourable position.
THE GRASS FAMILY.
Bulbous Panieizm. Fanicum bulbosum. South
America. Perennial ; 3 to 4 J feet j seed or division. —
Low banks and unmown spots in wild parts of the plea-
sure-ground, or associated with the finer perennials or
with plants grown for the beauty of their leaves or habit
Elegant Paniciun. Fanicum capillare, America.
Annual ; i J to 2 feet ; summer j seed — Banks, slopes,
fringes of shrubberies, or with strong annuals in almost
any position. If the Pampas, Anindo Donax, A. con-
spicua, and other ornamental grasses were grouped in a
glade, this and the following might be associated with
them, though less vigorous, in deep, rich, and well-drained
soil
Twiggy Panic Ghrass. Fanicum virgatum. North
America. Perennial; 3 to 6 feet; summer; seed or
division. — Similar uses to preceding. This is an elegant
plant, intermediate in stature between the small and very
large ornamental grasses.
Feather Grass. SHpa fennata. Southern Europe.
Perennial; i to 2 feet; summer; seed or division.^
Banks, rocky places, or unmown spots near wood walks.
Great Heed Grass. Arundo Donax, Southern
Europe. Perennial ; 8 to 10 feet ; summer ; division. —
In isolated tufts in glades open and simny, but sheltered ;
or grouped with other noble grasses like the Pampas
122 The Wild Garden.
Grass or Arundo conspicuay in a deep sandy soil, on a
free dry bottom.
Pampas Grass. Gynerium argmteum. S. America.
6 to 9 feet; autumn; seed or division. — It is need-
less to recommend this noble plant, which is suited
for and will adorn almost any position, but attains
greatest perfection in warm and sunny, but sheltered
spots, where its long leaves may not suffer from winds.
It loves a rich, deep, sandy loam. Where wild groups of
the nobler herbaceous plants are formed, this should
always be a conspicuous object
GraoefOl Bamboo. ArundinariafaUata, China, Japan.
Evergreen shrub ; 6 to 20 feet ; summer ; division only.
— ^Positions similar to those for Arundo Donax. In south-
em and western districts, particularly near the sea, this
plant thrives vigorously, attaining great size and beauty
of habit
Greyish Bamboo. Bambusa viridi-glaucescens. China.
7 to 12 feet ; division. — ^A fine hardy bamboo, which will
thrive in similar positions and districts to those for
A. fialcata, growing even more rapidly than that plant
Brisa-like Brome Grass. Bramus brizcefarmis,
Sicily. Annual; i to i J feet; summer; seed. — ^A beau-
tifiil and graceful grass, which it would be well worth
while to try and establish on rather bare, warm banks, or
slopes in good warm soil
Quaking Grass. Briza maxima. Southern Europe.
Aimual; i to 2 feet; summer; seed. — Might be natura-
lized with Bromus brizadformis.
PART IIL
SELECTIONS
OP
HARDY EXOTIC PLANTS
FOB
Natuiralization in Various Positions.
SELECTIONS
FOR NATURALIZATION.
As It 18 desirable to know how to procure as well as
how to select the best kinds, a few words on the first
subject may not be amiss here*
A very important point is the getting of a stock d(
plants to begin with. In country or other places where
many good old border flowers remain in the cottage
garden, many species may be collected there. A
series of nursery beds should be formed in some by-
place in which such subjects could be increased to any
desired degree. Free-growing spring-flowers like Aubrietia,
Alyssum, and Iberis may be multiplied to any extent by
division or cuttings. Numbers of kinds may be raised
from seed sown rather thinly in drills, in nursery beds in
the open air. The catalogues should be searched every
Spring for suitable and novel subjects. The best time
for sowing is the Spring, but any time during the Summer
will do. Many perennials and bulbs must be bought in
nurseries and increased as well as may be in nursery beds.
As to soil, &c, the best way is to avoid the trouble of
preparing it except for specially interesting plants. The
great point is to adapt the plant to the soil — in peaty
places to place plants that thrive in peat, in clay soils
12j6
The Wild Garden.
those that thrive in clays, and so on. My list of selec-
tions will to some extent help the reader in this way,
while the soil suited for every plant has been, so far as
I could advise, indicated under each in Part IL
A Selection of Plants for Naturalization in Places
devoid of any but dwarf vegetation, on bare
banks, etc.
»
»9
Helleborus niger
olympicus
atrorubens
Aquilegia, in var.
Pseonia tenuifolia
Epimedium pinnatum
„ alpinum
Dielytra eximia
Cheu-anthus alpinus
Arabis albida
Aubrietia, in var.
Alyssum saxatile
Odontarrhena Carsinum
Iberis corifolia
sempervirens
corresefolia
Thlaspi latifolium
i£thionema coridifolium
Helianthemum, in var.
Viola comuta
„ cucullata
Gypsophila repens
Dianthus n^lectus
»
»
Tunica Saxifiaga
Saponaria ocymoides
Silene alpestris
„ Schafla
Cerastium Biebersteinii
„ grandiflorum
„ tomentosum
linum alpinum
„ arboreum
„ flavum
Geranium Wallichianum
„ striatum
„ cinereum
OxaUs floribunda
Genista sagittalis
Anthyllis montana
Astragalus monspessulanus
CoroniUa varia
Hedysarum obscurum
Vicia aigentea
Orobus vemus
„ lathyroides
Waldsteinia trifolia
Selections far Naturalization. i %^
Potentilla calabra
Symphyandra pendula
(Enothera speciosa
Campanula carpatica
„ missouriensis
1
,, fragilis
,, taraxacifolia
„ garganica
Sedum dentatum
„ csespitosa
,, kamtschaticum
Erica camea
„ Sieboldii
Menziesia empetriformis
„ spectabfle
Gaultheria procumbens
„ spurium *
Vinca herbacea
Sempervivum calcareum
Gentiana acaulis
y, hirtum
Phlox stolonifera
y, montanum
„ subulata
„ soboliferum
Lithospermum prostratum
„ sedoides
Pulmonaria grandiflora
Saxifraga Aizoon
cordifolia
crassifolia
crustata
longifolia
Cotyledon
Tosularis
Astrantia major
Dondia Epipactis
Athamanta Matthioli
Comus canadensis
Scabiosa caucasica
Hieracium aurantiacum
Doronicum caucasicum
Aster alpinus
Tussilago fragrans
Achillea aurea
»
>j
»
mollis
Myosotis dissitiflora
Physalis Alkekengi
Pentstemon procerus
Veronica austriaca
Candida
taurica
Teucrium Chamaedrys
Ajuga genevensis
Dracocephalum argunense
,, austriacum
Scutellaria alpina
Prunella grandiflora
Stachys lanata
Zietenia lavandulsefolia
Zapania nodiflora
Dodecatheon Meadia
ia8
The Wild Garden.
Primula, in var.
Acantholimon glumaceum
Armeria cephalotes
Plumbago Larpentse
Polygonum Brunonis
„ vacdnifolium
Euphorbia Cyparissias
Iris cristata
„ graminea
„ pumila
,, reticulata
y, nudicaulis
Plants of vigorous Habit for Naturalization.
Trollius altaicus
„ napellifolius
Thalictrum aquilegifolium
Delphinium, in var.
Aconitum, in var.
Pd&onia, in var.
Papaver orientale
Macleya cordata
Datisca cannabina
Crambe cordifolia
Althaea ficifolia
„ nudiflora
„ taurinensis
Lavatera Olbia
Hibiscus militaris
Moscheutos
roseus
palustris
Melianthus major
Galega officinalis
Lathyrus latifolius
Lupinus polyphyllus
«
»
»>
»
»
Thermopsis barbata
Spiraea, in var.
Astilbe rivularis
„ rubra
Molopospermum cicutarium
Ferula communis
glauca
tingitana
„ sulcata
Peucedanum involucratum
„ longifolium
Heracleum eminens
flavescens
giganteum
Morina longifolia
Dipsacus laciniatus
Mulgedium Plumiai
Alfredia cemua
Onopordon tauricmn
Cynara Scolymus
Centaurea babylonica
Echinops bannaticus
»
»
Selections far Naturalization. 1 09
»
99
>J
Echinops exaltatus
9, ruthenicus
„ purpureus
Aster elegans
Novi Belgii
Novae Angliae
pyrenaeus
„ ericoides
Eupatorium purpureum
Telekia cordifolia
Helianthus angustifolius
muldflorus
orgyalis
Haipalium rigidum
Silphium perfoliatum
Campantda pyramidalis
Asclepias Comuti
9, Douglasii
Phlox, tall herbaceous vars.
Verbascum Chaixii
Physostegia imbricata
„ speciosa
Acanthus latifolius
spinosus
>j
»
99
Acanthus spinosissimus
Phytolacca acinosa
yy decandra
Polygonum Sieboldii
Rheum Emodi
,, palmatum
Gunnera scabra
Thalia dealbata
Tritoma Uvaria
Achillea Eupatorium
Arundo Donax
yy conspicua
Gynerium argenteum
Bambusa falcata
El3rmus arenarius
Veratrum album
Yucca filamentosa
flaccida
recurva
gloriosa
Treculeana
aloifolia
Peucedanum ruthenicum
Carlina acanthifolia
99
99
99
99
99
A Selection of Plants with large or graceful foliage
suitable for naturalization.
Acanthus, several species
Asclepias syriaca
Statice latifolia
Morina longifolia
Polygonum cuspidatum
Rheum Emodi, & other spec
K
I30
The Wild Garden.
•f..'
Euphorbia Cyparissias
Datisca cannabina
Veratrum album
Tritomas, in var.
Thalictrum foetidum
Crambe cordifolia
Althaea taurinensis
Geranium anemonsefolium
Melianthus major [cus
Dimorphanthus mandchuri-
Elymus arenarius
Bambusa, several species
Arundinaria falcata
Yucca, several species
Verbascum Chaixii
Aralia spinosa
Spiraea Aruncus
„ venusta
Astilbe rivularis
„ rubra
Eryngium, several species
Ferula, several species
Seseli, „
Chamserops excelsa
Hibiscus roseus
Rhus glabra laciniata
Artemisia annua
Phytolacca decandra
Centaurea babylonica
Lobelia Tupa
Peucedanum ruthenicum
Heracleum, several species
Aralia japonica
„ edulis
Macleya cordata
Panicum bulbosum
y, viigatum
Kochia scoparia
Dipsacus laciniatus
Aliredia cemua
Cynara horrida
,, Scolymus
Carlina acanthifolia
Telekia cordifolia
Echinops exaltatus
„ ruthenicus
Helianthus argyrophyllus
„ orgyalis
,, multiflorus
Gunnera scabra
Salvia argentea
Arundo Donax
„ conspicua
Gynerium argenteum
Silybum ebumeum
„ marianum
Onopordon Acanthium
arabicum
»>
i^s^^m
dU.I I U
Selections for Naturalization. \ 3 1
i
A Selection of Hardy Plants of fine habit y that may
be raised from Seed.
Among suitable haidy plants that may be raised from
seed, the following are offered in recent seed cata-
logues : —
Acanthus latifolius
„ mollis
„ spinosus
Artemisia annua
Astilbe rivularis
Campanula pyramidalis
Cannabis gigantea
Carlina acanthifolia
Datura ceratocaula
Echinops, several species
Eryngium bromeliaefolium
campestre
ccelestinum
„ giganteum
Ferula communis
„ tingitana.
Geranium anemonsefolium
Gunnera scabra
Gynerium argenteum
99
99
5>
5>
Helianthus argyrophylliis
„ orgyalis
Heracleum eminens
giganteum
platytaenium
Kochia scoparia
Lobelia Tupa
Morina longifolia
Onopordon arabicum
„ tauricum
Centaurea babylonica
Panicum, several species
Phytolacca decandra
Salvia argentea
Silybum marianum
„ ebumeum
Statice latifolia
Tritomas, in var.
Yucca, several species
Plants for Hedgebanks and Bushy Places,
Clematis in great var.
Thalictrum aquilegifolium
Anemone japonica & vars.
Delphinium, in var.
Aconitum, in var.
Macleya cordata
K 2
13a
The Wild Garden.
Hibiscus militaris
Kitaibelia vitifolia
Tropaeolum speciosum
Baptisia australis
Coronilla varia
Galega officinalis
Astragalus pondcus
Lathyrus giandiflorus
rotundifolius
latifolius
,, albus
Lupinus polyphyllus
Rubus biflonis
CEnothera macrocarpa
„ Lamarckiana
Astilbe rivularis
Eryngium amethystinum
Molopospermum cicutarium
Ferula, in var.
Morina longifolia
»
»
9)
Campanula, in var.
Calystegia dahurica
„ pubescens
Verbascum Chaixii
Pentstemon barbatus
Veronica, tall kinds in var.
Phlomis Russelliana
„ herba-venti
Physostegia speciosa
„ virginica
Dracocephalum, in var.
Acanthus spinosus
Statice latifolia
Phytolacca decandra
Boussingaultia baselloides
Aristolochia Sipho
Asparagus Broussoneti
Vitis, in var.
Honeysuckles, in var.
Ivies, in var.
Trailers^ Climbers^ etc.
The selection of plants to cover bowers, trellises, rail-
ings, old trees, stumps, rootwork, &c. suitably is an im-
portant matter, particularly as the plants fitted for these
purposes are equally usefiil for rough rockwork, pre-
cipitous banks, flanks of rustic bridges, river-banks, ruins
natural or artificial, covering cottages or outhouses, and
many other uses in garden, pleasure-ground, or wilder-
ness.
Selections far Naturalization, 133
Vitis aestivalis
Clematis
nivea
,» amooriensis
»
patens Amelia
„ cordifolia
yy
„ Helena
„ heterophylla variegata
91
yf insignis
„ Isabella
99
,, Louisa
„ T^abrusca
»
,, monstrosa
„ laciniosa
99
„ Sophia
„ riparia
»
„ violacea
„ Si^boldii
»
pubescens
„ vinifera apiifolia
»
i:ubro-violacea
„ vulpina
>»
Shillingii
Hedera (the Ivy; all the
»
Sieboldii
named varieties, both
>»
tubulosa
green and variegated)
>»
Viticella
Aristolochia Sipho
99
„ alba
„ tomentosa
99
„ venosa
Clematis azurea-grandiflora
Calystegia dahurica
„ campaniflora
5>
pubescens plena
„ elliptica
Wistaria
sinensis
„ Flammula
Asparagus Broussoneti
\ ,y florida
Periploca gneca
„ plena
Hablitzia tamnoides
„ „ Standishi
Boussingaultia baselloides
„ Fortunei
Menispeimum canadense
„ Francofurtensis
»
virginicum
„ Hendersoni
Cissus orientalis
'* „ insulensis
„ pubescens
„ Jackmani
Ampelopsis bipinnata
„ lanuginosa
»
cordata
„ montana
w
hederacea
134
The Wild Garden,
Ampelopsis tricuspidata
Jasminum nudiflorum
yy officinale
y, revolutum
Passiflora cserulea
Lonicera Caprifolium
confusa
flava
japonica
Periclymenum
9»
»
»»
M
Spring and Early Summer Flowers for
naturalization.
Yt
»»
19
n
99
99
99
99
Anemone alpina
„ Sjulphurea
apennina
blanda
Coronaria
fulgens
Hepatica
ranunculoides
trifolia
Ranunculus aconitifolius
amplexicaulis
montanus
Helleborus niger
„ olympicus
Eranthis hyemalis
Aquilegia alpina
y, canadensis
„ caerulea
Pseonia albiflora
officinalis
tenuifolia
Epimediiun pinnatum
99
99
99
99
Epimedium alpinum
Papaver croceum
bracteatum
orientale
Dielytra eximia
yy spectabilis
Corydalis capnoides
„ lutea
Cheiianthus alpinus
„ Cheiri
Arabis albida
Aubrietia deltoidea
Alyssum saxatile
Draba aizoides
Iberis corifolia
99
99
99
sempervirens
„ correaefolia
Viola biflora
„ comuta
Dianthus neglectus
Saponaria ocymoides
Silene alpestris
Selections for Naturalisation. 135
Arenaxia balearica
„ montana
Ononis fruticosa
Vicia aigentea
Orobus flaccidus
„ cyaneus
„ lathyroides.
,, variegatus
„ vemus
Centranthus ruber
Centaurea montana
Doronicum caucasicum
Thlaspi latifolium
Hesperis matronalis
Erica camea
Vinca major
Gentiana acaulis
Phlox reptans
„ subulata
Lithospermum prostratum
Pulmonaria grandiflora
„ mollis
Symphytum bohemicum
>9
caucasicum
Myosotis dissitiflora
Omphalodes vema
Verbascum Chaixii
Dodecatheon Jefire)d
„ Meadia
Cyclamen europa&um
»
»
»
Cyclamen hederaefolium,
Soldanella alpina
Primula Auricula
ciliata
nivalis
Palinuri
„ sikkimensis
Iris amcena
cristata
De Bergii
flavescens
>
florentina
germanica
graminea
ochroleuca
pallida
sambucina
sub-biflora
variegata
Crocus aureus
»
».
»
speciosus
versicolor
susianus
Narcissus angustifolius
Bulbocodium
bicolor
incomparabilis
major
montanus
odorus
»
»
»
»
»
»
136
The Wild Garden.
Narcissus poeticus
Hyacinthus amethystinus
Galanthus plicatus
Muscan botiyoides
Leucojum pulchellum
„ moschatum
Paradisia Liliastrum
Allium neapolitanum
Omithogalum timbellatum
„ ciliatum
Sdlla amoena
Tulipa Gesneriana
yy bifolia
„ suaveolens
„ campanulata
„ scabriscapa
y, patula
Fridllaria imperialis
y, italica
Bulbocodium vemum
„ sibirica
Helonias bullata
Plants for Naturalization beneath Specimen Trees
on LawnSy etc.
Where, as is frequently the case, the branches of trees,
both evergreen and deciduous, sweep the turf — ^and this,
as a rule, they should be allowed to do in nearly all cases
where they are planted in purely ornamental grounds —
a great number of pretty Spring flowers may be naturalized
beneath the branches, where they thrive without attention.
It is chiefly in the case of deciduous trees that this could
be done ; but even in the case of conifers and evergreens
some graceful objects might be dotted beneath the
outermost points of their lower branches. However,
it is the specimen deciduous tree that offers us the best
opportunities in this way. We know that a great number
of our Spring flowers and hardy bulbs mature their foliage
and go to rest early in the year. They require light and
sun in Spring, which they obtain abundandy under the
deciduous tree ; they have time to flower and develop
Selections for Naturalization. 137
— - - - - — — "- I I II
their leaves under it before the foliage of the tree appears;
then, as the Summer heats approach, they are gradually
overshadowed by a cool canopy, and go to rest undis-
turbed ; but the leaves of the trees once fallen, they soon
begin to appear again and cover the ground with beauty.
An example or two will perhaps explain the matter
more fully. Take the case of, say, a spreading old speci-
men of the handsome Weeping Mountain Elm. Scatter
a few tufts of the Winter Aconite beneath it, and leave
them alone. In a very few years they will have covered
the ground ; every year afterwards they will spread a
golden carpet beneath the tree ; and when it fades there
will be no eyesore from decaying leaves as there would
be on a border — no necessity for replacing the plants
with others ; the tree puts forth its leaves, covering the
ground till Autumn, and in early Spring we again see oiur
little friend in all the vigour of his glossy leaves. In this
way this pretty Spring flower may be seen to much greater
advantage, in a much more pleasing position than in the
ordinary way of putting it in patches and rings in beds or
borders, and with a tithe of the trouble. There are many
other subjects of which the same is true. We have only
to imagine this done in a variety of cases to see to what
a beautiful and novel result it would lead. Given the
bright blue Apennine Anemone under one tree, the
Snowflake under another, the delicately toned Triteleia
under another, and so on, we should have a Spring
garden of the most beautiful kind. Of course the same
thing could be carried out under the branches of a grove
as well as of specimen trees. Very attractive mixed
'38
The Wild Garden.
plantations might be made by dotting tall subjects like
die large Jonquil (Narcissus odorus) among dwarf spread-
ing subjects like the Anemone, and also by mixing dwarf
subjects of various colours : diversely coloured varieties
of the same Anemone, for example, would look very,
attractive.
Omitting the various pretty British plants that would
thrive in the positions indicated — ^these are not likely to
be unknown to the reader interested in such matters — and
confining myself to dwarf, hardy exotic flowers alone, die
following are selected as among the most suitable for such
arrangements as that just described, with some litde
attention as to the season of flowering and the kind of soil
required by some rather uncommon species. A late-
flowering kind, for example, should be planted under late-
leafing trees, or towards the points of their branches, so
that they might not be obscured by the leaves of the
tree before perfecting their flowers.
Anemone angulosa
apennina
blanda
Coronaria
fiilgens
Hepatica
stellata
sylvestris
trifolia
Arum italicum
Bulbocodium vemum
i>
»
Corydalis solida
„ tuberosa
Crocus Imperati
biflorus
reticulatus
„ versicolor
Cyclamen hedersefolium
Eranthis hyemalis
Er3rthronium Dens-canis
Ficaria grandiflora
Galanthus plicatus
Selections far Naturalization. 1 39
Iris reticulata
Scilla bifolia
Muscari botryoides, and
y, sibirica
vars.
„ campanulata
„ moschatum
Sisyrinchium grandiflorum
Narcissus, in var.
Trillium grandiflorum
Puschkinia scilloides
Tulipa, in var.
Sanguinaria canadensis
Plants for very
Althasa, in var.
Aphyllanthes monspelien-
sis
Astilbe rivularis
Aralia edulis
„ nudicaulis
Artemisia, in var.
Asclepias Comuti
Asphodelus ramosus
Aster, in var.
Baptisia exaltata
Butomus umbellatus
Calla palustris
Caltha palustris fl. pL
Chrysobactron Hookeri
Campanula glomerata
Convallaria multiflora
Colchicum, in var.
Crinum capense
Cypripedium spectabile
Datisca cannabina
moist rich Soils.
Echinops, in var.
Elymus, in var.
Epilobium, in var.
Eupatorium, in var.
Ficaria grandiflora
Galax aphylla
Galega officinalis
Gentiana asclepiadea
Gunnera scabra
Gynerium argenteum
Helianthus multiflorus pL
„ orgyalis
„ rigidus
Helonias bullata
Hemerocallis, in var.
Heracleum, in var.
Iris, the beardless kinds
in variety.
Juncus effiisus spiralis
„ „ variegatus
liatris, in var.
C40
The Wild Garden.
Lythrum (roseum super-
Physostegia speciosa
bum)
Phytolacca decandra
Mimulus, in var.
Rudbeckia hirta
Molopospermum cicuta-
Ranunculus amplexicaulis
rium
,, pamassifolius
Mulgedium Plumieri
Sanguinaria canadensis
Myosotis dissitiflora
Sparaxis pulcherruua
Narcissus, stronger kinds.
Solidago, in var.
Nierembergia rivularis
Statice latifolia
CEnothera, in var.
Swertia perennis
•
Omphalodes vema
Telekia speciosa
Onopordon, in var.
Thalictrum, in var.
Pancratium illyricum
Trollius, do.
Pamassia caroliniana
Vaccinium, do.
Phlomis herba-venti
Veratrum, do.
„ Russelliana
Plants suited
Abtroemeria, in var.
Andromeda, in var.
Azalea amoena
Bryanthus erectus
Calandrinia umbellata
Calluna, in var.
Cassiope, in var.
Chimaphila maculata
Chrysobactron Hookeri
Coptis trifoliata
Comus canadensis
Cypripedium spectabile
for Peat Soil
Dentaria laciniata
Daphne Cneorum
Dryas octopetala
Epigoea repens
Epimedium, in var.
Erica, in var.
Funkia Sieboldii
„ grandiflora
Galax aphylla
Gaultheria procumbens
Gentians, in var.
Helonias bullata
Selections for Naturalization, 141
Iris nudicaulis, piunila, and
Ramondia pyrenaica
vars.
Rhododendron, small kinds
Jeffersonia diphylla
Schizostylis coccinea
Lycopodium dendroideum
Sarracenia purpurea
Leiophyllum buxifolium
Sisyrinchium grandiflorum
Linnaea borealis
Spigelia marilandica
Menziesia, in var.
Trientalis europsea
Pamassia caroliniana
Trillium grandiflorum
Podophyllum peltatum
Vaccinium, in var.
„ Emodi
Zephyranthes Atamasco
Polygala Chamsebuxus
„ Candida
Pyrola, in var.
Lilium superbum
Plants suited for
Adenophora, in var.
iEthionema cordifolium
Anemone, in var.
Alyssum saxatile
Anthyllis montana
Antirrhinum rupestre
Cistus, in var.
Cheiranthus, in var.
Campanula, in var.
Carduus eriophorus
Cerastium, in var.
Coronilla, in var.
Dorycnium sericeum
Dianthus, in var.
Echium, in var.
Erodium, in var.
Calcareous or Chalky Soil
Genista,, in var.
Geum, in var.
Geranium, in var.
Glaucium Fischeri
Gypsophila, in var.
Hedysarum, in var.
Helianthemum, in var.
Hemerocallis, in var.
Lunaria biennis
Lupinus polyphyllus
Onobrychis, in var.
Ononis, in var.
Ophrys, in var.
Othonna cheirifolia
Phlomis, in var.
Prunella grandiflora
142
The Wild Garden.
Santolina, in var.
Trachelium oeruleum
Saponaria ocymoides
Trifolium alpinum
Saxifraga (the encrusted
Triteleia uniflora
and the large-leaved
Tunica Saxifraga
kinds.)
Vesicaria utriculata
Scabiosa, in var.
Vicia, in var.
Sempervivwm, in var.
Vittadenia triloba
Sedum, in var.
Waldsteinia trifoliata
Stokesia cyanea
„ geoides
Symphytum, in var.
Zietenia lavandul^folia
Thermopsis fabacea
Pyrethrum Tchihatchewi
Thymus, in var.
„ roseum
Plants suited for
Achilla&a, in var.
iEthionema cordifolium
Agrostemma coronaria
Alyssum saxatile
Antennaria dioica
Anthyllis montana
Antirrhinum rupestre
Arabis albida
Aubrietia, in var.
Armeria cephalotes
Artemisia, in var.
Cerastium, in var.
Carlina acanthifolia
Cheiranthus, in var.
Chrysopsis mariana
Cistus, in var.
Dry and Gravelly Soil
Corydalis, in var.
Dianthus, in var.
Dracocephalum, in var.
Dielytra eximia
Dorycnium sericeum
Echium, in var.
Erinus alpinus
Erodium, in var.
Eryngium, in var.
Euphorbia Myrsinites
Fumaria, in var.
Geranium, in var.
Gypsophila, in var.
Helianthemum, in var.
Helichrysum arenarium
Hypericum, in var.
Selections for Naturalization. 143
Iberis, in var.
Bahialanata
Jasiohe perennis
Reseda odorata
Lavandula Spica
Santolina, in var.
Linaria purpurea
Scabiosa, in var.
Tiinum, in var.
Sedum, in great var.
Lithospermum prostratum
Sempervivum, in great var.
Lupinus polyphyllui^
Saponaria ocymoides
Modiola geranioides
Stachys lanata
Narcissus, in var.
Stembergia lutea
Nepeta Mussinii
Teucrium Chamsedrys
Onobrychis, in var.
I'hlaspi latifolium
Ononis, in var.
Thymus, in var.
Opuntia Rafinesquiana
Trachelium, in var.
Omithogalum, in var.
Tussilago fragrans
Paronychia serpyllifolia
„ Farfara variegata
Plumbago Tarpentse
Umbilicus chrysanthus
Polygonum vaccinifolium
Verbascum, in var.
Pyrethrum Tchihatchewi
Vesicaria utriculata
Plants for Fringes
Iberis, in var.
Helianthemum, in var.
Genista prostrata
„ sagittalis
Daphne Cneorum
Polygonum Brunonis
„ vaccinifolium
Santolina Chamsecyparissus
„ incana
Ivies, in var.
of Cascades y etc,
Cistus, in var.
Rhododendron hirsutum
„ femigineum
Arabis albida
Alyssum saxatile
Lithospermum prostratum
Saponaria ocymoides
Phlox subulata
Saxifraga, in var. particu-
larly the large-leaved ones
144
The Wild Garden.
Pentstemon, several vars.
Vinca major
minor
9^
Vinca herbacea
CEnothera macrocaipa
taraxacifolia
»
>9
99
99
Selection of Alpine and
on Old WallSy RuinSy
Corydalis lutea
Cheiranthus Cheiri
„ „ pi. in var.
Arabis albida
arenosa
lucida vari^ata
petraea
„ blepharophylla
Aubrietia, all the vars.
Hutchinsia petraea
Vesicaria utriculata
Schivereckia podolica
Alyssum montanum
saxatile
spinosum
Koniga maridma
Petrocallis pyrenaica
Draba aizoides
„ boeotica
lonopsidion acaule (north
side of old walls)
Thlaspi alpestre
Iberis, in var.
Reseda odorata
99
99
99.
99
99
Rock Plants for Growing
very Stony Banks, etc,
Helianthemum, in var.
Gypsophila muralis
„ prostrata
Tunica Saxifraga
Dianthus caesius
deltoides
monspessulanus
petraeus
Saponaria ocymoides
Silene acaulis (moist walls,
to be first carefully
planted in a chink)
„ alpestris
„ rupestris
Silene Schafla
Lychnis alpina
„ lapponica
Sagina procumbens pleno
Arenaria balearica
caespitosa
ciliata
graminifolia
montana
99
99
99
99
99
vema
Selections for Naturalization. 145
linum
alpinum
Sedum sexfidum
Malva
campanulata (ruins)
yy spurium
Erodium romanum (old
Sempervivum arachnoi*
walls)
deum
9>
Reichardii
99
arenarium
Ononis alba
99
calcareum
Astragalus monspessulanus
99
globiferum
Coronilla minima
99
Heiiffelli
n
varia
99
hirtuin
Acaena
Novae Zealandise
99
montanum
(moist mossy walls)
99
piliferum
Cotyledon Umbilicus.
99
tectorum
Umbilicus chrysanthus
Saxifraga bryoides
Sedum
acre
99
OBsia
99
„ variegatum
99
crustata
99
Aizoon
99
cuscutseformis
99
album
99
diapensioide$
99
anglicum
99
Hostii
99
brevifolium
99
intacta
99
oeruleum
99
lingulata
99
da-syphyllum
99
longifolia
99
elegans
99
pectinata
99
Ewersii
99
pulchella
99
farinosum
99
retusa
99
hispanicum
99
rosularis
99
kamtschaticum
99
Rocheliana
99
multiceps
99
Rhei
99
pulchrum
99
sarmentosa
99
sempervivoides
Asperula cynanchica
99
sexangulare
Centranthus ruber
.146
The Wild Garden.
Centranthus albus
•
Veronica saxatilis
„ ooccineus
Iris germanica and vars.
Santolina incana
„ pumila
Achillea tomentosa
Polypodium vulgare
Symphyandra pendula
Adiantum Capillus- Veneris
Campanula Barrelieri
(on moist warm walls)
„ fiagilis
Asplenium Adiantum -ni-
„ garganica
grum
„. csespitosa
„ fontanum
„ „ alba
„ septentrionale
,y rotundifolia
„ Ruta-muraria
Antixrhinum rupestre
,, germanicum
,, majus
,y lanceolatum
„ Orontium
„ Trichomanes,
Linaria Cymbalaria
and vars.
w » alba
„ viride
^ vulgaris
Ceterach officinarum
Erinus alpinus
Matthiola tristis
Veronica fruticulosa
A Selection of Alpine and Rock Plants for
Naturalization,
Anemone, in var.
Helleborus niger
Cheiranthus alpinus
Arabis albida
Aubrietia deltoidea
., purpurea
Alyssum- montanum
Alyssum saxatile
Draba aizoides
„ boeotica
Iberis corifolia
„ sempervirens
,, coEreasfolia
iEthionema coridiiblium
Selections for Naturalization. T47
»
»
»
^thionema saxatile
Helianthemum, in var.
Cistus, in van
Polygala Chamaebuxus
Gypsophila repens
„ prostrata
Dianthus, in var.
Tunica Saxifraga
Saponaria ocymoides
Silene alpestris
Pumilio
Schafta
Elizabeths^
Spergula pilifera
Cerastium, in var.
Erodium Manescavi
Oxalis floribunda
Astragalus monspessulanus
Fragaria indica
Potentilla calabra
CEnothera taraxacifolia
„ maxginata
Calandrinia umbellata
Sedum, in var.
Sempervivum, in var.
Saxifraga, in var.
Hydrocotyle bonariensis
Dondia Epipactis
Linnsea borealis
Hiexadum auiandacum
Helichrysum arenarium
Othonna cheirifolia
Santolina, in var.
Achillea tomentosa
Erica camea
Menziesia empetriformis
Gaultheria procumbens
Gentiana acaulis
Phlox stolonifera
„ subulata
Convolvulus lineatus
Lithospermum prostratum
Myosotis azorica
„ dissitiflora
Omphalodes verna
Linaria alpina
Antirrhinum rupestre
Pentstemon procerus
Erinus alpinus
Wulfenia carinthiaca
Veronica Candida
Thymus corsicus
Zietenia lavandulsefolia
Zapania nodiflora
Soldanella alpina
Primula, in var.
Androsace Chamaejasme
„ lanuginosa
Aretia Vitaliana
Acantholimon glumaceum
2
148
The Wild Garden.
Armeria cephalotes
Plumbago Larpentae
Polygonum Brunonis
Polygonum vaccinifolium
Euphorbia Myisimtes
Selections of Alpine and Rock Plants with Prostrate
or Drooping Habit, suited for placing so thai
they may Droop over the Brows of Rocks^ and
like Positions,
Arabis albida
„ procurrens
Aubrietia, in var.
Alyssum saxatile
Iberis corifolia
„ Tenoreana
Helianthemum, many
kinds
Gypsophilas, several
Dianthus deltoides, and
others
Tunica Saxifraga
Saponaria ocymoides
Cerastium Biebersteinii
,, grandiflorum
„ tomentosum
Callirhoe involucrata
„ pedata
Tropseolum speciosum
„ polyphyllum
Genista prostrata
tinctoria
)i
Ononis arvensis albus
Lotus comiculatus
„ „ fl. pL
Astragalus monspessulanus
Coronilla vana
Vicia argentea'^
Orobus roseus
Fragaria indica
Potentilla alpestris
calabra
Hopwoodiana
M*Nabiana
vema, and nu-
merous vars. and hybrids
CEnothera acaulis
macrocarpa
taraxacifolia
Sediun spurium
kamtschaticum
reflexum
Sieboldii
sempervivoides
91
»
»
»
»
»
»
»
»
»>
» M^^i^^pg^^-
Selections for Naturalization. 149
Saxifraga, hypnoides and
Thymus Serpyllum, white
vais.
var.
„ oppositifolia, and
Zietenia lavandulaefolia
vars.
Dracocephalum argunense
T.tnn»vi borealis
Zapania nodiflora
Galium verum
Plumbago Tjarpentss
Scabiosa graminifolia
Lysimachia Nummularia
Diotis maritima
Polygonum vaccinifolium
Artemisia argentea
Euphorbia Myrsinites
Campanula Barrelieri
Salix lanata
„ carpatica
„ reticulata
„ „ alba
Empetrum nigrum
„ fragilis
Polygonum complexum
1
y, ,, hiisuta
Boussingaultia baselloides
„ gaxganica
Medicago falcata
„ muralis
Lathyrus grandiflorus
Erica camea
y, latifolius
1
Epigsea repens
„ „ albus
Phlox subulata
Vicia Cracca
„ reptans
Calystegia dahurica
\
Convolvulus mauritanicus
„ pubescens
Lithospermum prostratum
Vinca major
Antirrhinum rupestre
„ minor
Linaria Cymbalaria
„ herbacea
Veronica taurica
Clematises, the new varie-
Thjonus lanuginosus
ties of the lanuginosa
>
r
.
section
I50
The Wild Garden,
List of Alpine and Rock Shrubs ^ etc, suitable for
Naturalization in Bare, Rocky ^ and Peaty Places^
associated with the finer Herbaceous Plants,
yy
yy
IberiSy in var.
Helianthemum, in var.
CistuSy in var.
Polygala Chamsebuxus
Hypericum
Genista tinctoria
sagittalis
prostrata
Hedera, variegated and
other curions vars.
Otiionna cheirifolia
Erica camea, and all hardy
species and vars.
Arbutus Uva-ursi
Pemettya mucronata
Gaultheria procumbens
Andromeda hypnoides
„ fastigiata
,, tetragona
Menziesia caerulea
empetriformis
polifolia, and
vars.
Daphne Cneorum
Lithospermum prostratum
Polygonum vaccinifolium
I)
»
Veronica saxatilis
,, taurica
Euphorbia Myrsinites
Salix lanata
„ reticulata
„ serpyllifolia
Empetrum nigrum
Santolina Chamsecyparis-
sias
„ incana
Euonymus radicans varie-
gata
Rhododendron hirsutum
y, ferrugineum
„ Chamsecistus,
and others
Bryanthus erectus
Azalea amoena
Epigsea repens
Skimmia, in var.
Vaccinium Myrtillus
macrocarpum
Oxycoccos
Vitis-idaea
uliginosum
Juniperus squamata
»y
»
»
»)
Selections for Naturalization. 15 1
A Selection of Annual Plants for Naturalization:
Papaver somniferam
Eschscholtzia califomica
Platystemon califomicum
Matthiola annua
bicomis
Aiabis arenosa
Alyssum maritimum
lonopsidium acaule
Iberis coronaria
„ umbellata
Malcolmia maritima
Erysimum Feroffskianum
Heliophila araboides
Gypsophila elegans
Saponaria calabrica
Silene Armeria
Viscaria oculata
Malope trifida
Tropaealum majus
Linmanthes Douglasii
Ononis viscosa
(Enothera odorata
Godetia Lindleyana
rubicunda
tenella
})
»
Clarkia elegans
„ pulchella
Eucharidium concinnum
grandiflorum
Amberboa moschata
„ odorata
Helianthus annuus
Dimorphotheca pluvialis
Gilia capitata
„ tricolor
CoUomia coccinea
Leptosiphon androsaceus
„ densiflorus
Nicandra physaloides
Collinsia bicolor
„ vema
Dracocephalum nutans
„ moldavicum
Blitum capitatum
Polygonum orientale
Panicum capillare
Bromus brizseformis
Briza maxima
„ gracilis
Agrostis nebulosa
y
*s«
The Wild Garden^
A Selection of Biennial Plants for Naturalization,
Matthiola, in var.
Lunaiia biennis
Hesperis matronalis
Erysimum asperum
Silene pendula
Hedysarum coronarium
(Enothera Jamesi
CEnothera lAmarckiana
Dipsacus ladniatus
Silybum ebumeum
Onopordum illyricum
Campanula Medium
9)
9>
rosea
Verbascum phlomoides
Ornamental Grasses for Naturalization.
Agrosds nebulosa
Briza maxima
Brizopyrum siculum
Bromus brizseformis
Hordeum jubatiun
Panicum virgatum
,y bulbosum
„ capillare
Arundo conspicua
Arundo Donax
„ „ variegata
Erianthus Ravennse
Gynerium argenteum, and
vars.
Polypogon monspeliensis
Stipa gigantea
„ pennata
Milium multiflorum
Aquatic Plants for Naturalization.
Nuphar advena
Nymphsea Kalmiana
„ odorata
Calla palustris
Pontederia cordata
Aponogeton distachyon
Orontium aquaticum
Trapa natans
Selections for Naturalization. 153
ww^vw^^w^
Hardy Bulbs far Naturalization,
99
M
Allium Moly
„ fragrans
,, neapolitanum
paradoxum
roseum
£rodi;ea congesta
Bulbocodium vemum
Camassia esculenta
Crinum capense
Crocus, in great van
Colchicum, in var.
Cyclamen, in var.
Erythronium Dens-canis
Fritillaria, in var.
Galanthus plicatus
Gladiolus communis
Hyacinthus amethystinus
Iris, in great var.
Leucojum vemum
lilium, in var.
Merendera Bulbocodium
Muscari, in var.
Narcissus, in great var.
Omithogalum, in var.
Scilla, in var.
Sparaxis pulcherrima
Stembergia lutea
Trichonema ramiilorum
Triteleia uniilora
Tulipa, in var.
Zephyranthes Atamasco
Candida
ff
List of Plants for Naturalization in Lawns and
other Grassy Places thai are frequently mown.
This must of necessity be a limited list — ^being confined
to subjects that will grow and flower very early in the
season, and not form tufts or foliage large enough to injure
the turf. Even with these it will be desirable to refrain
from rolling or cutting the Grass as early as usual. For this
and like reasons this is by no means so desirable as other
ways which I recommend, and which can be carried out
without check of any kind, and without interfering with
154
The Wild Garden.
anything except indeed the monotonous and uninteresting
surfaces now seen in every pleasure ground.
Galanthus plicatus
„ nivalis
Leucojum vemtun
Scilla bifolia, in var.
sibirica
)i
Anemone blanda
Narcissus minor
Erodium Reichardi
Sagina glabra
Crocus, in var.
Plants for Dotting over Grass in Spots seldom Mown,
or Mown very late in tlie Season,
Bulbocodium vemum
Colchicum, in var.
Cyclamen hedersefolium
Galanthus plicatus
„ nivalis
Leucojum vemum
Scilla bifolia
alba
sibirica
italica
amoena
»
»>
91
»
»
j>
Anemone apennina
ranunculoides
blanda
,, trifolia
Antennaria dioica rosea
Anthyllis montana
Dianthus deltoides
Erodium romanum
Fumaria bulbosa
Helichrysum axenarium
Iris reticulata
linum alpinum
Narcissus minor
bicolor
Bulbocodium
juncifolius
Stembergia lutea
Zephyranthes Candida
Hyacinthus amethystinus
Merendera Bulbocodium
Muscari, in var.
Trichonema ramiflorum
Triteleia tmiflora
w
»
99
PART IV.
THE GARDEN
OF
BRITISH WILD FLOWERS.
THE
GARDEN OF BRITISH WILD FLOWERS,
However well people may be acquainted with the
floral beauties of our fields and woods in Spring or
Summer, few have any conception of the great
number of really pretty flowers that may be selected
from wild places in various parts of the British
isles, and cultivated with success in a garden. Few
of us, except working botanists, and they are
sparsely scattered beings, have much notion of the
great variety of beauty that may be culled from
British flowers alone ; and as botanists very rarely
cultivate wild flowers, they can quite as rarely
select the kinds best suited for our gardens. Most
of us have full opportunity of seeing the beauties of
the fields and hedges ; not so many the mountain
plants, and few such rare gems as Gentiana vema,
which grows wild in Teesdale, and here and there
on the western shores of Ireland, or the mountain
Forget-me-not, a precious little dwarf alpine that is
158 The Wild Garden,
found but rarely in Yorkshire and Scotland. It is
only by a careful selection from all classes of the
plants of the British isles that we can hope to
arrive at anything satisfactory in the way of a
" garden of British plants." I do not by this mean
a " scientific " or botanical arrangement of English
flowers, but a charming little hardy garden, or series
of beds filled exclusively with the better kinds of
our native plants, dotted here and th^re with our
native shrubs, and surrounded, if the situation
required it or admitted of it, with English
trees and shrubs, from the sweet gale to the
fragrant "May," or scarlet-berried Mountain Ash.
There is nothing difficult in the making of such
a garden, and I think its charms, to lovers of the
garden generally, would be very great. In it might
be exhibited the beauties of some of our prettiest
spring flowers, of not a few really showy plants and
neat dwarf shrubs, and of most of the charming
meadow flowers worth cultivating : while the
Orchids, which we generally have to seek with
some little patience, even in good plant districts,
might also be seen thriving in it. However, the
best plan of all is to scatter about our own wild
flowers in the wild and semi-wild places so often
before alluded to.
The Garden of British Wild Flowers. 159
.' It is not only the curious and rare that may
afford us interest among the vegetable natives of
Britain ; among them are included things of a high
order of beauty, that will flourish and keep their
own ground without any watching or special pre-
paration of the soil ; and even for the sake of
selecting plants wherewith to embellish the mar-
gins of lakes, rivers, ponds, or beds of fountains in
our parks, pleasure grounds, or gardens, the subject
is worthy attention. For the rockwork, too, many
of our wild flowers are well suited : and, if in
making a special little arrangement for English
plants, a bit of rockwork could be introduced,
and near it, in the shade, a position for ferns, they
would prove a useful addition. As regards the
best way of growing them, or utilizing them in
gardens generally, all will depend upon the size
or nature of thq place. Many of the plants may be
grown with advantage in the small villa (or even
the suburban)' garden, and in a large one with
plenty of space, a very pretty distinct feature might
be made of them. In any part of the country
where the soil or surface of the ground suits the
,habits of a variety of native plants, it would prove
-a most interesting employment to collect kinds not
found in the neighbourhood, and naturalize them
i6o The Wild Garden.
therein ; and wherever the natural rock crops
up in a picturesque way, a great deal of beauty
may be added to the place by planting these
rocky spots with wild flowers of a suitable nature*
There are hundreds of parks and grounds all. over
the country that would grow to perfection the finer
wild flowers, in which noticeable kinds are not to be
seen, and when once a collection is obtained there
can be little difficulty in making good use of it
Need we grow weeds to have a fair representa*
tion of beautiful British wild flowers? No such
thing ! It will be my pleasant task to look over
the whole British flora with the reader, to tell him
where to find and how to grow the rarer kinds, and
to enumerate all that are ornamental ; and in
doing so I shall have to name a great variety of
plants, but not one weedy subject I hope. In
the season of wild flowers, when many of us stray
into the fields, or on to the hills, to find many a
gem which I advfee should be growft in the garden
instead of being made a mummy of, the more
beautiful British flowers will prove much more
delightful in wild and half-wild places near our
gardens, and scrambling over slopes and through
hedgerows, alive and full of change, than ever they
have done in the best herbarium.
The Garden of British Wild Flowers. i6i
So far as I am acquainted with the labours of
British botanists or horticulturists, none of them
have ever attempted a selection from our wild flowers
as adapted for garden use. The botanist, as a rule,
deals with things in a wild state only, and therefore
the subject has never been thought of by him ; the
horticulturist generally deals only with the useful or
the conspicuously attractive, and has'never thought
of culling the higher beauties of our flora. But why
should this be so } " Botany," says Emerson, " is
all names, not powers ;" and assuredly, if it does not
lead us to a real enjoyment of our wild flowers, it
is barely worthy of a better character. To flatten
and dry a number of wild plants and leave them
in dust and darkness is necessary for botanists, but
it is not likely to cause any wide-spread human
interest in such things ; and therefore I propose that
we look through the list of British wild flowers and
endeavour to rescue the subject from its present
dry-as-dust character.
First it will be necessary to have a complete list
of British wild flowers, which would be found in the
index to Syme's, Bentham's, Babington's, or any
other good book on our flora ; but best of all is a
special list called the '' London Catalogue of British
Plants/' which used to be published by Pamplin,
M
i6a The Wild Garden:
and is now, I think, published by Dulau, of Soho,
This is particularly useful, because it gives a full
list of all the species, and by means of numbers
indicates their comparative prevalence. The com-
pilers adopted Mr. Hewett Watson's division of
Britain into a number of botanical districts, and
after the name of each species a number is placed,
which tells the number of districts in which that
particular plant is found. Thus on the first page,
" 1 8" is placed after the name of the Marsh-
marigold, indicating that this strong and beautiful
herb is found in the eighteen districts, or, in other
words, that it is very common. The Seakale
(Crambe maritima) is put down as an inhabitant
of twelve districts ; and that pretty alpine plant
the Yellow Draba (D. aizoides), is marked "1.,"
because it is only found wild in one district
in Britain.
I think it very desirable that those who wish to
work at the collecting and culture of wild flowers
should provide themselves with one or more of these
lists, simply for convenience sake, as on them may
be at once marked the kinds we have or want ; and
I myself have found them very useful to effect
exchanges, marking the species I had and could
spare, and sending the list to friends in distant
The Garden of British Wild Flowers. 163
parts of the country, who could collect many kinds
not in my neighbourhood, and who in their turn
required many things that I could collect plentifully
enough : thus we exchanged the Orchids of the
Surrey hills for the Alpines of the higher Scotch
mountains, and so on throughout the country. It
need scarcely be said that every student, cultivator,
or admirer of British plants should possess himself
of a manual by which he can identify the species,
and which will also probably hint where the species
may be found, and some other useful particulars.
Another valuable aid to some would be a '' local
flora," a list of the plants growing in any particular
neighbourhood, or county, such, for instance, as the
*' Flora of Reigate," Baines's " Flora of Yorkshire,"
and Mackay's " Flora Hibemica," or the recently
issued *' Cybele Hibernica ." It might prove in-
teresting to some to cultivate the best of the local
plants, even if those from distant parts could not
be conveniently obtained.
So much for books ; we will next turn to the
plants themselves, beginning with the natural
order of Crowfoots, or Ranunculaces. This
is the order which brightens the moist hollows
in the Spring with the glittering gold of the
lesser Celandine, the meadows in May with Butter-
M 2
1 64 The Wild Garden.
cups, when "those long mosses in the stream
begin to assume a livelier green, "and the wild
Marsh Marigold shines like a fire in swamps and
hollows grey." " Those long mosses in the stream'^
of " The Miller's Daughter" are simply some of the
Water Crowfoots that silver over the pools with their
pretty white cup-like blossoms in early Summer;
and it is precisely the same brotherhood which
burnishes our meadows and " stamps the season of
Buttercups " with a glistening glory of colour not
equalled by any tropical flowers I have ever met
with. Now in going completely through the known
sipecies of British plants I propose to enumerate
only those that are really worthy of garden culture,
and certain to reward our trouble in gathering and
planting them, and I do not recommend them from
published plates and descriptions, but from actual
experience in their culture.
The first plant named in books of British
Plants is the Traveller's Joy (Clematis Vitalba),
the well-known common clematis that streams over
the trees, and falls in graceful folds from many a
low tree in many parts of the south of England, and
which is generally conspicuous enough in autumn
from the heads of large feathery awns that abound
on it at that season. It is of course well known
^^tm^m\ LUmu iWi^B^^^NIBnBe9C9BS9BIBBg
The Garden of British Wild Flowers. 165
and deservedly employed as a garden plant, and
from its rapidity of growth nothing is better adapted
for quickly covering objects such as rough
mounds, &c. However, it may be most tastefully
used in the shrubbery or wilderness, and parti-
cularly so on the margin of a river, or water, where
the long streamers of its wiry branchlets look
effective and distinct at all times. It is the only
indigenous plant that affords any idea of the all-
embracing and interminable twiners or "bush
ropes," that run about in wild profusion in tropical
woods ; and in some places in England it grows so
freely as to become a nuisance. The most natural
looking and prettiest bower I have ever seen was
formed by this plant running up a low oak and
falling down in thick festoons to the ground ; by
pushing the twiners a little aside in the summer,
a most agreeable bower was at once formed.
There is scarcely any end to what may be done
with it in this way. The plant is to be had fof a
trifle in most nurseries ; it is abundantly wild in
the southern counties, and to be had in numerous
gardens.
Next we have the elegant lesser Thalictrum (T.
minus) — elegant, I say, because I have grown it, in
the open bed, so like the Maidenhair fern that som^
1 66 The Wild Garden.
»
of our most experienced cultivators were surprised
at the resemblance, and declared it to be every
whit as pretty for the open air as the Maidenhairs
are for the greenhouse; therefore I have recom-
mended it as the " Maidenhair Fern" for the open
garden. It only requires to be planted in ordinary-
soil and left alone till it gets established. Then^
when the elegant leaflets unfold, all the g^race and
distinctiveness of the fern before named will appear
in the open air, able to withstand all the sun that
can assail it in our clime, and charming for close
association with flowering plants. It is wild in
many parts of Britain, particularly in Scotland
and North-western England, and rather abundant
on the island of Ireland's Eye, near Dublin, in
many parts of the limestone districts of Clare and
Galway, and rises to a considerable elevation on
the mountains. It produces very insignificant
flowers, which should be pinched off" immediately
when they are noticed, or rather, the flower-stem
should be pinched off the moment it begins to rise,
as all the beauty lies in the foliage, and therefore
the flowers must not be suffered to weaken it in
any way. It grows about a foot high, or perhaps
more in rich soil and when well established. There
are several other species natives of Britain, but
The Garden of British Wild Flowers. 167
none of them nearly so well worthy of culture as
this.
Next come the windflowers, or Anemones, four
kinds, all good; two of them — A. nemorosa,
the wood anemone, and A. apennina, the blue
anemone — ^indispensable. The wood anemone is
a charming thing, either in its wild or cultivated
state, and besides the normal white variety there
are a red and a bluish one, also a double white
variety, very desirable, though not common. They
grow in the open border, on rockwork, &c., quite as
well as in the shade. As for the blue anemone, it
is simply one of the loveliest spring flowers of any
clime and should be in every garden, both in the
borders and scattered thinly here and there in
woods and shrubberies, so that it may become "natu-
ralized." The flowers are freely produced, and of
the loveliest blue. It is scarcely a true British flower,
so to speak, its home being the south of Europe ;
but, having strayed into our wilds and plantations
occasionally, it is now included in books on British
plants, and may be easily obtained in most nur-
series that grow spring flowers or herbaceous plants.
The Pasque anemone, or Pasque-flower, is
an important native, bearing large flowers of
a dull violet purple, silky outside. It is fond
1 68 The Wild Garden,
of limestone pastures, and occurs in several dis-
tricts in England, though it is wanting in Scot«
land and Ireland. It is, however, a rare plant in
England, but may be seen occasionally in a garden
or nursery. Another kind, A. ranunculoides (yellow)/
is a doubtful native found in one or two spots.
It is worth growing as a border plant, and must be
had from a nursery or garden, as it is not to be
found wild except in one locality.
So much for the Anemones, of which the first
two are the gems. Adonis autumnalis is the very
pretty and conspicuous-flowered "pheasant's -eye,"
an annual plant of easy culture found occasionally
in corn-fields, and of which the seed is in-
cluded in most lists under the name of Flos
Adonis. It is singular rather than beautiful, and
though the flowers are very bright, it is not very
attractive.
The Ranunculuses, or crowfoots, begin with R.
aquatilis and its several varieties, and several other
species of Water Ranunculi with divided leaves.
Few gardens offer any facilities for cultivating these.
The most we can do is to introduce them to a pond
or stream in which they are not already found, or
add one of the long-leaved or rarer kinds to the
common kind or kinds ; but their home is in the
wmm^m^^
The Garden of British Wild Flowers. 169
fresh stream, "hither, thither, idly playing," or in.
the lake or ornamental water, and therefore they
hardly come among garden plants. I have tried to
grow all the kinds I could get in a small pond ;
but the Canadian weed, or the common R. aqua-
tilis, soon exterminated my rarities, and I was
compelled to give it up, and look for the varied
beauty of the water crowfoots in any paissing
stream. R. Ficaria is the pretty little shining-leaved
yellow-flowered species which abounds in moist and
shady land in spring, one of the earliest spring
flowers that appears, and very common throughout
Britain and many parts of Europe ; but it is none
the less beautiful because common, and although
not fit for the garden, is very pretty in a woody
waste in early spring. The roots are, to a great
extent, masses of little cylindrical tubers, by which
it is easily known.
R. Flammula (the spearwort) is a native of wet
marshes and river-sides in all parts of Britain, and
is well suited for planting by the side of a pond,
brook, or ornamental water, though not so fine as
the greater spearwort, R. Lingua, which is a noble,
strong-growing kind, often growing two or three
feet high, and bearing large, showy, yellow flowers.
Jt is very fine near the margins of water, and is
170 The Wild Garden.
rather freely scattered over the British isles, but
not common. These plants are of course only to
be collected in a wild state, though they are grown
in some botanic gardens. The others are what we
would mostly call wild field kinds, and are too apt
to become dangerous weeds to be admitted to the
garden. R. acris pleno and R. repens pleno are
double forms of the wild kinds, and well worth
growing, from their exceedingly pretty " bachelor's-
button" flowers, bright yellow, neat, and very
double. From being double they last longer in
flower than the single kinds, are well suited for use
among cut flowers, and are, in fact, very desirable
border plants. They must be had from a nursety,
or from a place where herbaceous flowers are
grown, though possibly they may be found wild
occasionally, though very rarely.
Then we have the large marsh marigold (Caltha
palustris), which makes such a glorious show in
spring along moist bottoms, or by river banks in
rich soil — notably on the left bank of the Thames
as you go to Kew, where, when there has been a
very high tide during the flowering season, I have
seen ^he ground for many feet under the water look
as if strewn with gold, in consequence of the water
having overflowed the banks and covered numbers
The Garden of British Wild Flowers. 171
of tliese showy flowers when fully expanded. This
is well worth introducing to the margin of all
garden waters, or even to moist ground, where it
is not already established, because it makes a truly
fine spring-flowering plant. There is a double
variety sold rather plentifully in Covent Garden in
early summer, which is very desirable, bearing per-
fectly double flowers of large size, which, like the
double Crowfoots last longer than the single blooms.
TroUius europaeus is the pretty Globe-flower, well
worthy of a place from its clear yellow colour,
pleasing outline, and sweetness. Not a common
plant in England, but rather frequent in the north
and west, from Wales to the Grampians, and in
Ireland. It grows nicely as a border plant. That
ipretty and dwarf little spring flower, the Winter
Aconite (Eranthis hyemalis), also belongs to this
order, and is most worthy of culture. It is
naturalized here and there, and may be had
abundantly from any bulb merchant or grower of
spring flowers.
The English hellebores are barely worth grow-
ing except in a botanic garden. The common
columbine (Aquilegia vulgaris) is desirable, and
often very pretty. It is not very common in the
wild state, but undoubtedly a real native in several
17a The Wild Garden,
counties of England. In one gorge on Helvdlyn
I have found it ascend almost to the top of that
mountain, flowering beautifully in most inacces-
sible spots ; it is rather common in gardens, and to
be had from the seedsmen. Delphinium Consolida
is somewhat frequent in the eastern counties ; it is
an annual, interesting and desirable where a full
collection is sought, but has hardly quality enough
for the choice selection. The common poisonous
aconite (A. Napellus) is rather an ornamental
native plant, though only locally distributed ; it is,
however, very commoa in gardens, where it should
be carefully isolated from any roots likely to be
used as food, in consequence of the frightfully
poisonous character of its roots.
The common Berberis vulgaris, which is rather
widely distributed, must not be forgotten among
British plants, for I doubt if there be a more
beautiful sight afforded by any shrub than by this
when draped over with its brightly-coloured racemes
of fruit, which are also so useful in the edible de-
partment. I remember having been more struck
with the beauty of several fine old bushes of this
plant at Frogmore than with any other shrubs in
the wide gardens there. There is a vulgar but
quite unfounded prejudice which charges the plant
The Garden of British Wild Flowers. 173
— - I - - - - - - - - - ----- — — ■ _
with blighting crops, but it should be in every
gardetiy and in a large place might be planted in
the shrubbery or adjacent to the British collection.
The queenly white Water-lily, so common in our
rivers, should be seen in all garden waters, not
thickly planted, but a single specimen or group
here and there. It is most effective when one or
a few good plants are seen alone on the water ;
then the flowers and leaves have full room to de-
velop and float right regally ; but when a dense
crowd of water lilies are seen together, they are
usually poorly developed, and crowd each other out.
The effect is never half so beautiful as when —
Some scattered water-lily sails
Down where the shallower wave still tells its bubbling tales.
See how the author of " Childe Harold" chances
inadvertently to note the beauty of the Water-lily
when isolated, compared to what it is when choked
together in a river bed or garden water. With it
should be associated the yellow Water-lily (Nuphar
lutea), and if the small and rare Nuphar Pumila
can be had, so much the better.
Among the poppies, the only one really worth
gfrowing as a garden plant is the Welsh Poppy
(Meconopsis cambrica), which grows so abundantly
along the road sides in the lake district It is a
J 74 The Wild Garden.
pretty perennial of a clear yellow, and thrives well
at the bottoms of walls and such positions. Some
might care to grow the large Opium Poppy (P^
somniferum) ; its finer double varieties are doubt-
less very good, but these can scarcely be called
British. The Homed Poppy of our sea shores is
distinct and curious, and on that account might be
grown in a garden ; but it must be treated as an
annual or biennial. Corydalis solida is a pleasing
and dwarf spring flower, scarcely a native, or very
rare; and the seakale, really ornamental when
in flower, is well worthy of a place on a wild
bank.
In the natural order Cruciferae, Thlaspi alpestre
(a pretty Alpine), Iberis amara (a fine white
annual), Draba aizoides (a rare and beautiful
Alpine), Koniga maritima, the sweet Alyssum, and
Dentaria bulbifera, rare, pretty, and curious ; Car-
damine pratensis, the ladies' smock, and its double
variety ; Arabis petraea, a sweet dwarf alpine ;
the common wallflower, and the single rocket
(Hesperis matronalis) will be found the most orna-
mental, and all of them are worth growing. Any
Flora of the United Kingdom will tell their habitats.
None of the mignonettes found in Britain are worthy
of cultivation.
The Garden of British Wild Flowers. 175
All the British Helianthemums or rock roses are
-worthy of a position on the rockwork, and the
annual kind H. guttatum^ is a singularly pretty
thing, with black spots at the base of its clear yellow
petals. Of the Violets, in addition to the sweet
violet, which should be grown on a north aspect,
V. lutea and V. tricolor will be found the most distinct
w
and worthy of culture. The Droseras, or sun-dews,
are very pretty, but cannot be long preserved in a
garden ; nor have I ever seen the pretty Polygalas
cultivated with success. The very dwarf trailing
Frankenia laevis (Sea Heath) runs over stones, and
looks neat and mossy on a rockwork.
In the Pink tribe, the scarce, single, wild Car-
nation (D. Caryophyllus), D. plumarius, by some
supposed to be the parent of the garden pinks, and
D. caesius, the Cheddar Pink, which does so nicely
on an old wall or on rockwork, D. deltoides, the
maiden pink, the common soapwort (Saponaria
officinalis), the sea bladder-campion (Silene mari-
tima), Silene acaulis, the beautiful little alpine that
clothes our higher mountains, the com cockle
(Lychnis Githago), the Ragged Robin, and the
alpine lychnis ; the vernal sandwort (Arenaria
vema), Arenaria ciliata, found on Ben Bulben, in
Ireland, and Cerastium alpinum are the best, and
176 The Wild Garden.
these are all worthy of culture. The last is as
shaggy as a Skye terrier, and does not gfrow more
than an inch high. I have found it thrive out of
doors in a garden near London, though people
generally treat it as a delicate alpine plant, and
grow it in frames.
A really ornamental species of Flax is not by
any means a common inmate of British gardens,
but a pretty species occurs in some of our eastern
counties, and may be seen in most botanic gardens
and some nurseries. This is Linum perenne, a
pretty blue-flowering, medium-sized border plant.
There is a pure white variety, which is fully equal
to the blue, or even better, because pure white
border flowers are not so plentiful. Both are quite
hardy and perennial, well suited for rockwork or
the most select mixed border. There is also a
rose-coloured . variety, but whether the '* rose" be
worthy of that name or not I cannot say, as I
have not flowered the plant. The Perennial
Flax, or any of its varieties, will be found to
thrive in any place where the grass is not mown
as well as on borders. Seed is offered by
various seedsmen, so that there need be no
difficulty in raising plants of this most desirable
British species. None of the other British Flaxes
The Garden of British Wild Flowers. \t*i
are worthy of cultivation. The common flax is
sometimes found wild, but it is not a true, or at all
events is a very doubtful, native.
In the natural order Malvaceae, we have several
showy plants, but none particularly worthy of
garden cultivation, except it be Lavatera arborea
(the Sea Lavatera), which is sparsely distributed
along the south and west coasts, and on the Bass
Rock in the Frith of Forth. It is a plant of
vigorous habit and noble leaves, which might be
used with advantage in what is nowadays called
the subtropical garden, or, indeed, in almost any
position, for it is a plant of very distinct habit. It
grows five or six feet high when in a favourable
situation. The best of the mallows is the Musk
Miallow (M. moschata), which bears a profusion of
rather showy flowers in summer. It is not an un-
common English plant, and would not discredit
the mixed border. The Marsh Mallow (Althaea
officinalis) will of course be cultivated for other
reasons than its beauty, which is not very
striking. The Marsh Mallow is found in the south
of England, but does not go far north, nor is it
very common, whereas the common mallow is to
be seen everywhere, except perhaps in the extreme
north.
N
178 The Wild Garden.
Among the Hypericums there is something to
admire ; indeed, nearly all of them possess some
beauty, and might find a place among low shrubs ;
but by far the best is H. calycinum, or " St. John's
wort," a kind which is not perhaps truly British
naturally, but which is to be seen in many gardens,
and is now naturalized in several parts of England
and Ireland in bushy places. The very large and
showy flowers of this species, combined with its
dwarf and neat habit, make it fit for a place in any
garden, and it is particularly adapted for rough
rockwork, or will crawl away freely under and near
trees, &c. ; though of course, like most things, it
will best show its beauty when fully exposed to
the sun and air. It is a plant that can be had
everywhere.
In the Geranium order there are a few pretty
things for the garden — notably, G. pratense, G.
sylvaticum, and G. sanguineum, with its fine variety
G. lancastriense. This variety was originally found
in the Isle of Walney, in Lancashire, and some
writers have made it a species under the name
of G. lancastriense, but most good botanists now
consider it a variety of G. sanguineum. Both
plants are well worth growing in a garden. The
latter is widely distributed in Britain, and yet is
The Garden of British Wild Flowers, 179
not very general. It is what might be called a
local plant, while G. lancastriense must now be
sought for in nurseries or botanic gardens. G.
sanguineum makes a very pretty border plant of
dwarf and compact habit. G. phseum is a species
with flowers of a peculiar blackish colour, and is
more curious than beautiful. It is wild in some
parts of Westmoreland and Yorkshire, and is worth
a place in a full collection from its distinctness, if
nothing else.
The common Oxalis (O. Acetosella) is the
prettiest among its British allies ; and a chaste little
plant it is, too, when seen luxuriating in shady,
woody places, along hedge-banks, &c. It cannot
be cultivated to perfection fully exposed, but in all
gardens where there is a little diversity, or any
half-wild, shady spot, it might be introduced with
advantage. Some say it is the shamrock of the
ancient Irish, but they are certainly wrong. Estab-
lished custom among the Irish during the expe-
rience of the oldest inhabitants, and everything
that can be observed or gleaned, tend to point to
the common trifolium as the true shamrock.
In the Pea tribe there are a few plants of great
merit, and the first we meet with is the very pretty
dwarf shrub Genista tinctoria, or Dyer's genista.
N 2
1 8o The Wild Garden.
This is an exceedingly neat little shrub, very low
and dwarf, but vigorous in the profusion of its
bright yellow flowers. It ought to be in every
garden, and would be equally at home on the select
rockwork, the border, or among very dwarf shrubs.
It is rather frequent in England, but rare in Scot-
land and Ireland. It can be had from most shrub
nurseries. Its two allies, G. pilosa and G. anglica,
are also neat and interesting little shrubs, and
though not so decidedly ornamental as the Dyer's
genista, they are well worth a place in an interest-
ing collection of dwarf British shrubs.
Most people who admire wild flowers must
have been struck with the beauty of the common
Restharrow, which spreads such a sheet of delicate
colour over many a chalk cliff and sandy pasture
or roadside. It bears garden culture willingly, and
is prettier when in flower than numbers of New
Holland plants, which require greenhouse pro-
tection and ceaseless expense to keep them alive
at all. There is a smoother, taller, and more bushy
form of this sometimes admitted as a species, G.
antiquorum, which is also a very ornamental plant,
and well suited for the mixed border. These
plants grow very freely from seed, and are of the
easiest culture.
Juwwi I J. i|.^^..llLXJ.W U,M m^MitaFm^m'^^m^m^mm^mmfmKgmif^mm
The Garden of British Wild Flowers. i8i
Among the Medicagos there is a good deal of
coarse vigour ; but one of them, while not lacking
vigour, I have found a very lovely plant for large
rockwork or for the mixed border. M. falcata has
decumbent stems, and forms a dense, wide-spread-
ing mass upon the ground, the whole plant being
covered with yellow flowers. Now, if M. falcata
be planted on a rough rockwork, or any other
position from which it can let fall its luxuriant,
low-lying growth, it will prove a most ornamental
object, and is of an almost perennial duration
and great hardiness. Founci only in southern and
eastern England. The other Medicks and their
allies possess some beauty, but scarcely sufficient
to warrant their garden culture, and all of them are
Inferior to M. falcata.
None of the Clovers or Trifoliums can be recom-
mended for garden culture, because the most
showy kinds are common in our fields ; and there-
fore whatever garden space we can spare for wild
flowers had better be devoted to things we are not
likely to meet with every day. Here again it may
be said that Trifolium repens is the true shamrock,
and has been so since the days of St. Patrick.
Some say that it is of comparatively recent intro-
duction to Ireland^ but without either proof or
i8a The Wild Garden.
probability on their side, as it reaches nearly as
far north as the Arctic circle ; and why it should '
avoid such a genial spot as the green isle, we a.re
not informed. Though comparatively common,
the lotus or bird's-foot trefoil is so thoroughly dis-
tinct and beautiful, that it must not be omitted in -
" The Garden of British Wild Flowers," flowering-
as it does nearly the whole summer, and keeping-
so dwarf and neat in habit. There are several
forms. I know of no better plant for the front
edge of the mixed border. The lady's fingers, or
Anthyllis vulneraria, is rather a pretty thing found
in chalky pastures and dry stony places in England,
and often grown as a farm plant.
The three British kinds of Astragalus are worthy
of cultivation, and still more so is the allied genus,
Oxytropis. Both O. campestris and O. uralensis
are neat dwarf plants, the foliage of the last being
quite silvery, and its habit one of the neatest. The
first is only found in one spot among the Clova*
mountains in Scotland ; the second is rather
common on the Scotch hills. Hippocrepis comosa
is rather like the bird's-foot trefoil, both in habit
and flower, and is well worth a place among the
choice dwarfs. Not found in Scotland or Ireland,
but rather abundant in some parts of England.
■•"■ ■ ■^^■^^■■■M^iwsHiwippBaaaBe
The Garden of British Wild Flowers. 183
Of the several kinds of Vicia, or vetch, two at
least are eminently worthy of culture — ^V. Cracca
and V. sylvatica. The first of these makes a
charming border plant if slightly supported on
stakes when young, so that it may have hidden its
supports by the time the flowers appear. I have
grown this a perfect wide-spreading mass of bluish
purple, and it is one of the most conspicuous of
herbaceous plants. The other kind is of a climb-
ing habit, but most elegant when seen running
up the stems of young trees or over bushes. This
is found in most woody hilly districts of Britain
and Scotland, and V. Cracca is common every-
where in this country. Among British peas
decidedly the best is the Sea Pea, Lathyrus
maritimus, which makes a remarkably hand-
some plant in rich deep ground ; and, indeed, its
large bluish purple flowers make it attractive on
any soil. It. occurs on the coast of southern and
eastern England, of Shetland, and of Kerry, in
Ireland. The seeds are edible, and have been
used ere now by the country people as food.
In the Rose order both the Spiraeas will repay
attention ; certainly S. filipendula, which, in addi-
tion to its pretty flowers, has leaves cut somewhat
after the fashion of a fern, and may indeed be used
184 The Wild Garden.
in that capacity in the flower garden: it would
furnish somewhat of the effect of a Blechnuxn.
The double variety is very desirable. It is found
freely enough in England, but does not go far into
Scotland ; nor is it recorded from Ireland. Dryas
octopetala, a plant found on the limestone moun*
tains of North England and Ireland, and abun-
dantly in Scotland, makes a neat border plant in
light free soil and where the air is pure. About
Edinburgh I have noticed .pretty edgings made
of it in some of the nurseries. Very near London
it does not seem to do well ; but in all cases it is
worthy of a trial, being an interesting and distinct
wild flower.
As for the blackberry, raspberry, dewberry, and
cloudberry, many may desire to cultivate them in
the shrubbery, and very interesting it is to observe
the differences between some of the sub-species
and varieties of blackberries, and the beauty, both
in fruit and flower, of the family. The cloudberry
can only be grown in a cold, wet, boggy soil, and
is almost impossible of culture as a garden plant,
except in moist and elevated spots. The dew-
berry, distinguished principally by the glaucous
bloom on the fruit when ripe, is of easy culture.
Of the Potentillas, P. rupestris, white-flowered.
fft ■ I J . B^vij ■> ■■ * nwm^^^^^^mi^^^'^^m^^^mmm^Km^^^^'^/ma^a^H^mmmKmmmitfmKmHK^
The Garden of British Wild Flowers. 185
found on the Breiddin Hills in Montgomeryshire,
and the large golden-yellow-flowered P. alpestris,
found on the higher limestone mountains, are the
test. P. fruticosa, found in the north of England
and in Clare and Galway, in Ireland, makes a
neat, free flowering bush ; and the marsh poten-
tilla (P. Comarum) will do well in boggy ground, if
you have such, though it is more distinct than
pretty. As to the wild roses, it is difficult to make
any selection, because of their great interest. All
the species and varieties that could be collected
would surely prove of great interest in the shrub-
bery, as would all the British trees and shrubs of
the Rose family.
Everybody at all familiar with our native plants
knows the common Willow-herb (Epilobium an-
gustifolium), so showy, and so apt to become a
disagreeable weed in some places. But if properly
placed in some out-of-the-way spot, where it cannot
overrun or interfere with rarer and less vigorous
plants, it becomes a real ornament, even when
contrasted with the most showy of exotic herbs.
Even the botanist, in describing it, says, " a hand-
some plant" — an expression very rarely used by
gentlemen who write on English botany. Though
very widely distributed over Britain, it is not what
1 86 The Wild Garden.
would be called a common plant ; but in no case
can there be any difficulty in obtaining it. Planted
and allowed to have its own way in a shrubbery, or
any other position you care little about, it will
furnish a rich display with its purplish red flowers
in summer. Behind the late Sir Joseph Paxton's
fine house at Chatsworth, there is a little private
garden, and the shrubbery that . encloses this ex-,
hibits an abundance of the Willow-herb, planted
there by Paxton, who, though he enjoyed the
noblest tropical plants near at hand in the great
conservatory and Victoria Regia house, yet was
alive to the charms of this fine native plant.
There are many other kinds, but none of them so
worthy of culture as this.
The Evening Primrose (^Enothera biennis), de-
serves a place from its fragrance ; and, as it is apt
to go wild, it is as well to place it in some out-of-
the way spot, where it may be found when desired,
and yet not have an opportunity to become a weed.
I observe it has quite covered waste building
ground near Westminster. As for the Marestail,
it is an aquatic plant, in general outline somewhat
resembling the Equisetums, and suited for the
curious and interesting collection rather than the;
ornamental ; it flourishes healthfully in a ditch,
The Garden of British Wild Flowers. 187
margin of pond, or fountain basin, placed in a pot,
which will prevent its running about too much.
Next we have the distinct and showy purple
Loosestrife (Lythrum Salicaria), a ditch and marsh
plant, abundant in many parts of Britain. There
is a variety of this plant known in nurseries and
gardens by the name of L. roseum superbum,
which should be in every garden, whether the
owner takes an interest in English plants or not.
This, planted by the side of ornamental water,
nlakes a splendid object, and is also a first-rate
border plant. The colour of its long spikes of
flowers is of the most charming character. So,
whatever you do in British flowers, do not forget
Lythrum roseum superbum, or, in more correct
language, the fine rose-coloured variety of the
common Loosestrife. It may now be had in the
nurseries, and is used as a flower-garden plant in
s6me parts of the North. It may be easily
raised from seed, which is offered in some
catalogues.
The common Herniary (Herniaria glabra) and.
Scleranthus perennis are two very dwarf green.
s|)reading plants, found in some of the southern
and central counties of England, and which would
furnish a neat Lycopodium^-like effect on rockwork
1
i88 The Wild Garden.
or anything of the kind. Their flowers are almost
inconspicuous, but the habit is neat, and the tone
refreshing.
Then we come to the Roseroot (Sedum Rhodioia)
and the tribe of neat, pretty, and interesting
Sedums, every one of which is worthy of a place on
the rockwork or rocky bed in the "garden of
British wild flowers" — from the common stonecrop,
which grows on the thatch of cottages and abun-
dantly in many parts of Britain, on walls and rocky
places, to that little gem for a wall or rockwork, the
thick-leaved Sedum dasyphyllum of the south of
England. This last is perhaps not truly native in
Britain, but can be readily had wherever collections
of these plants are grown. The Roseroot is so
called from the drying root-stock smelling like
roses. The Orpine or Livelong (Sedum Tele-
phium) is also a flne old plant of this order.
Grow the British sedums on a little slightly rocky
or elevated bed, but they will do quite well on the
fully exposed level ground ; only keep them free
from weeds, or, from their diminutive size, they
may become exterminated by these, or even by the
common stonecrop, which usually makes a vigorous
attempt to grow through and choke up the smaller
members of its family. If you have any old
The Garden of British Wild Flowers. 189
walls or buildings try and establish a few of the
smaller kinds on these ; and while it is very in-
teresting to have rare plants established in such
places, you will find that the timid and tenderer
kinds will always survive on them ; whereas they
may get cut off by the winter when on level ground
or in pots. This is particularly true of the charm-
ing little Sedum dasyphyllum, which everybody
having an old wall, or mossy old building of any
kind, would do well to endeavour to establish, by
putting a young plant in a suitable chink with a
little sandy soil around it. Once it has seeded, in
all probability the plant will become firmly esta-
blished ; the seedlings raised on the wall are sure
to live long and perpetuate themselves.
Not a few small and delicate plants that can
hardly be preserved long in a garden in any other
way may be grown on a wall. If you are a fern-
grower, you will know how difficult it is to establish
the little Wall Rue (Asplenium Ruta-muraria) in
pots, pans, or any way in the hardy fernery ; but
by taking a few of the spore-bearing little fronds,
and putting a little of the "fern-seed" into the
chinks of an old wall, you will soon establish it ;
and in like manner it is quite possible to cultivate
the Ceterach and the graceful Spleenwort (often
190 The Wild Garden.
erroneously called the Maiden-hair), only that the
wall must be somewhat older and richer, so to
speak, to accommodate these than the Wall-rue.
Indeed, this little fern will grow on a wall that is in
perfect condition, as may be seen by any person
driving past Lord Mansfield's place at Highgate,
where the high garden-wall that runs for some dis-
tance parallel with the road running from Hamp-
stead to Highgate is covered in its upper part with
this plant, and would be so lower down, and more
abundantly, were it not for the depredations of
plant-collectors. In a moister district, or on an
older wall, it would, of course, be far more luxu-
riant ; but the fact that you may establish it on a
sound wall is worth relating. Nothing could be
more interesting than to see an old wall covered
with ferns, draped here and there with Linaria, and
studded in spots with the Sedum above recom-
mended for this purpose, or with others.
The Sedums are succeeded in the natural classi-
fication of British plants by the Saxifrages —
beautiful, most interesting, and very neat in habit,
like the Sedums in size, but distinct and even n^ore
indispensable for the garden. First, there is the
Irish group of Saxifrages, the London Pride and
its varieties ; and the Killarney saxifrage, S.
The Garden of British Wild Flowers, 191
Geum and its interesting varieties, both species
very pretty for rockwork and borders.
Next we have the mountain S. stellaris and
S. nivalis, and the yellow marsh S. Hirculus,
and the yellow S. aizoides, which fringes the
rills and streams on the hills and mountains in
Scotland, and the north of England and Ireland,
all interesting and worthy of a trial — but far
surpassed by the purple Saxifraga oppositifolia,
which opens its vivid purplish-rose flowers soon
after the snow melts on its native rocks in the
Scotch Highlands, and as far north, among the
higher mountains of Europe, Russian and Central
Asia, as the Arctic circle. It bears garden culture
well, either as a pot plant in the cold frame or pit,
on the rockwork, or in patches in the front of a
border. In planting this it would be well to exca-
vate holes a couple of feet deep, filling them again
with a mixture of broken stone and earth, so that
when the roots descended among these evaporation-
preventing stones, they might find a good substitute
for that moisture and that nutriment which they
enjoy among the dS^^m and in the chinks of their
native rocks. The purple saxifrage should be
planted in the full sun.
This caution is the more necessary in conse-
192 The Wild Garden.
quence of nearly every person who grows these in-
teresting dwarf plants, keeping them in a shady-
position, in which they soon perish, or never look
such far-glistening ornaments as when grown in the
full sun, and supplied with a sufficiency of water.
The meadow Saxifraga granulata differs in most
respects from most of the other members of the
family that are in cultivation, and is worth grow-
ing ; its double variety, which may be seen in many
cottage gardens, is much used in some places for
the spring garden, and is in all respects a most de-
sirable garden plant It flowers so abundantly
that the very leaves are hidden by the profusion of
rather large double flowers. I have noticed it fre-
quently in small cottage gardens in Surrey, and it
may now be had easily from the nurserymen. It
is a pleasing and much admired subject for the
spring garden.
The dense green moss-like Saxifrages are a
most important group for the garden, in conse-
quence of the fresh and living green which they
assume in winter, when everything else begins to
look lamentable and ragged — when the fallen
leaves rush by, driven by the wet gusts of autumn
— and when geraniums and all the fleeting flower-
garden plants are cut off by the frost. They grow
The Garden of British Wild Flowers, 193
on almost any soil or situation, and may be grown
"w^ith ease even in large towns, provided always
t:Iiat they are fully exposed to the sun, and get a
few thorough waterings during very dry summers.
TThey are dotted over with white flowers in early
Summer, the stems of which should be cut off as
soon as the flowers perish ; but to me their great
beauty is in Autumn, when they glisten into various
tints of the most refreshing g^reen, and all through
the winter, when they remain in the same condi-
tion, or emerge from the deepest snows verdant as
leaves in June. S. hypnoides, abundant in Scot-
land, Wales, and northern England, with its varieties,
is our most important plant in this way ; and S.
caespitosa, found on some of the higher Scotch moun-
tains, is nearly allied to it, and of nearly equal merit.
There is no necessity for going to the Scotch or
any other mountains for these mossy Saxifrages,
as they are grown a great deal here and there — may
be had from many nurseries — and seed is offered
in some catalogues.
Green is attractive to many people, especially
in winter, and to those whose eyes require refresh*
ment after severe mental exertion or sedentary*
work — ^a very large class indeed, nowadays. In
towns it is difficult to get shrubs to retaiii>
O
1
194 The Wild Garden.
their verdure, in consequence of smut and other
adverse influences ; in all places these mossy-
Saxifrages will afford it most attractively if
planted on some borders near the window, or
better still, on a rather flat-lying fringe of rockwork
opposite them. I have seen a gentle bank, facing
the drawing-room window of a house, covered most
effectively in this way, having it studded with a few
*' rocks," and then planting it with a variety of these
mossy Saxifrages and a few other perpetually green,
hardy dwarf plants. In winter it was most refresh-
ing to look upon — more attractive than the ever-'
green shrubs beyond it.
Next we have the beautiful Grass of Parnassus
(Parnassia palustris), a distinct and charming native
plant, rather frequent in Britain in bogs and moist
heaths. I have grown it very successfully in a small
artificial bog, and still better in six-inch pots in
peat soil, the pots being placed in a saucer of water
during summer, and preserved in a cold frame in
winter. It is, however, much better to '* naturalize"
it in moist grassy places than to grow it in this way.
The Spignel or Baldmoney (Meum athamanti-
cum), which is found in the Scotch highlands, in
Wales, and the north of England, and has most
elegantly divided leaves, being very dwarf and neat
wmm^wimm^mBV^
The Garden of British Wild Flowers. 195
in habit^ is a most desirable border or rock plant.
The flowering stems should be pinched out, as it is
for the much-dissected leaves only that the plant is
Avorthy of cultivation. In the whole of the umbelli-
ferous ordet there is hardly another plant worthy
of cultivation, if we except the Sea-holly (Eryn-
gium maritimum), a striking subject, and the Sweet
Cicely (Myrrhis odorata) an interesting old plant,
often cultivated in old times and gardens for various
uses ; not a rare plant, but most plentiful in the
hilly parts of the north of England. The rest of
the order are best admired in their wild haunts, like
a great many other British plants.
The Linnaea borealis is one of the prettiest and
most distinct things among our native plants, and,
moreover, highly attractive to all who know anything
about botany, in consequence of its being named
after the great master of natural science, Linnaeus
himself, who was very fond of this plant, which
trails about so prettily in fir woods in the North.
It is found, though rarely, in Scotland ; but being
a favourite plant with many, may be purchasysd in
many nurseries. The only question is, how to keep
a plant so interesting and pretty ? To place it in
the ordinary earth of our dry southern gardens
would be a ready way of extinguishing it ; but by
O 2
196 The Wild Garden,
a little management it may be grown quite readily
by anybody. I have grown it in three different
ways. First in the open garden, planted in deep
silvery peat, and covered with a hand-glass,
rubbed over with a half-dry paint brush, to furnish
the necessary amount of shade. In that way it did
very well, — luxuriantly, in fact. The glass, nearly
quite close at all times, preserved the desired
moisture around the plant, and it never required any
attention, except to remove weeds now and then.
Of course anybody can follow the same practice.
As a painted handlight is not a very ornamental ob-
ject, it would of course be better to place it in some
shady or out-of-the-way spot. Such will also accord
better with its character. Another equally successful
way is to plant it in a moist, cool, shady, cold frame,
such as you would use for bringing on a batch of
young hardy ferns — the frame to face the north
instead of the south, as is usually the case. By
putting some peat and leaf-mould in the back of
such a frame, and planting a nice little specimen
or t^o of the Linnaea, I have had it nearly fill
the frame. In a like kind of frame it may be
grown to perfection in pots of peat, the peat to
be kept very moist. In such, when it becomes well
established, the graceful shoots hang in a mass
_j J i^T'-iwwrm uip i»^^H)^iep^y«*Mw^^m^-^«^w7S^pK^ne7^^nie^<^V
^
7J4^ Garden of British Wild Flowers, 197
over the pot, and then it may be removed for some
time to the outside of a window on the shady side
of a house, the pot being placed in a saucer con-
stantly filled with water. Thus you may enjoy,
even without leaving the house, a plant that any
botanist would be grateful to you for growing, so
much do botanists admire it, while it is at the same
time pretty enough to ensure admiration from those
unlearned in plants.
That the Heath family is likely to afford much
»
interest I need hardly remind any person who has
seen the wide spread of beauty on our heaths and
mountains in summer or autumn. But of the variety
of loveliness which exists among our native heaths
few people have any idea : not ^ven the sportsman
or botanist, who continually wanders over their
native wilds, or the plant collector, with a quick
eye for everything attractive or noble in the way of
a plant. The species themselves are of course very
beautiful ; but from time to time sports have ap-
peared amongst them which nurserymen have pre-
served ; and thus, where you see a good collection
of these, the variety of gay colour is quite sur-
prising. Though I knew all the species and ad-
mired them, I had no idea of the beauty of colour
afforded by the varieties till I visited the Comely-
198 The Wild Garden.
bank nurseries at Edinburgh a few years ago/ and
there found a large piece of ground covered with their
exquisite tints, and looking like a most refined flower-^
garden. But if all this beauty did not exist, the
charms of the usual form of the species, as spread out
on our sunny heaths, should suffice to warrant their
culture on the rockwork or among dwarf shrubs.
As for the Ericas, all are worthy of a place,
beginning with the varieties of the common ling
(Calluna vulgaris) — ^the commonest of all heaths.
It has "sported" into a great number of varieties,
many of which are preserved in nurseries, and
these are the kinds we should cultivate. Some of
them are better, brighter, and different in colour ;
others differ remarkably in habit, some sitting close
to the ground in dense, green, tiny bushes ; others
forming fairy shrubs of a more pyramidal character,
and all most interesting and pretty. These tiny
shrubs and their allies in size might form a sort of
edging or marginal line round a bed of choice
shrubs planted in peat, as they frequently are and
must be in gardens. I will merely mention the
varieties pygmaea, pumila, and coccinea. Then we
have the "Scotch heather" (Erica cinerea), the
reddish purple showy flowers of which are very
attractive, but far surpassed in beauty of colour by
The Garden of British Wild Flowers, 199
a variety of the same plant called coccinea ; and
there is also a white variety, as there is of Erica
Tetralix, to which is also closely related the Irish
E. Mackaiana, a plant named after Dr. Mackay of
Dublin, who found so many of the plants in Ireland
that connect its flora with that of south-western
Europe. Next we have a ciliated Heath (Ei
ciliaris), a very handsome species, with flowers as
large as those of St. Daboec's heath, and the Irish
heath (E. hibernica), one of the most valuable of
all hardy plants, in consequence of its blushing into
masses of rosy red in our gardens in early spring.
It is found in some of the western counties of Ire-
land, and of course after it had been discovered in
other European countries. This forms a neat,
low- lying bush ; grows on almost any soil, and is
one of the most valuable of dwarf shrubs ; ad-
mirable for making an edging round a bed of
choice shrubs or anything else, for the rockwork or
for the mixed border. Finally, we have among
these interesting things the Cornish Heath (E.
vagans), and from what has been said of the family
it will be perceived that a very interesting bed or
group might be made from these alone. Indeed,
they would be most desirable to introduce wherever
the soil is peaty or not over arid, and might be
aoo The Wild Garden.
grown anywhere by excavating a bed and filling it
with peat : but our great object should be to make
the most of natural advantages, and as many per-
sons must have gardens suited for what are called
American plants, they would find it worth while to
devote a spot to the British Heaths and their
varieties.
Nearly allied to them we have the interesting
bog Vacciniums, which may be cultivated in marshy
or peaty ground. To these belong the cranberry,
bilberry, and whortleberry ; and for some of these
and the American kinds, people have ere now made
artificial bogs in their gardens. The little creeping
evergreen, Arctostaphylos Uva-ursi, or bearberry, is
very neat in the garden or on rockwork. It is found
in hilly districts in Scotland, northern England, and
Ireland, and maybe had from the nurserymen. Then
the Marsh Andromeda (A. polifolia), found chiefly in
central and northern England, bears very pretty
pink flowers, and grows freely in a bog or peat-bed.
The very small English Azalea procumbens is also
an interesting native which some people try to cul-
tivate, and where they succeed nothing can be more
satisfactory, for the plant forms a cushiony bush not
more than a couple of inches high. In Britain it is
found only in the Scotch highlands* I have only
The Garden of British Wild Flowers, aoi
r 111 I
once seen this firmly established in cultivation.
Few people who admire what are called American
shrubs can have failed to notice from time to time
the beautiful St. Daboec's Heath (Menziesia poli-
folia), a plant found rather abundantly on the
heathy wastes of the Asturias and in south-western
France, and also in some abundance in Connemara,
in Ireland. It is usually associated with American
plants in our nurseries and gardens, preferring peat
soil and the treatment given to such subjects. It is
an elegant and beautiful plant in every way, and
should be in every garden. The flowers are usually
of a rich pinkish colour, but there is a pure white
variety equally beautiful, while quite distinct from
the commoner one. It is grown in every nursery, for
its great beauty, and is therefore to be had without
trouble. The very rare blue Menziesia of the Sow
of Athol, in Perthshire, is also very desirable if you
can get it, and I think it is sold in the Edinburgh
nurseries.
The Pyrolas^ or Winter-greens, are charming
native plants, some of them deliciously fragrant,
and all interesting, but they are difficult to culti-
vate. P. rotundifolia and P. uniflora are among
the best, and both are rare. Should any reader
attempt their culture, it will be well to bear in mind
aoa The Wild Garden.
that light free leaf-mould, with sand and a little
good loam, are necessary : they delight in a light
spongy sort of soil, with good drainage, abundant
moisture, and shade. Vinca minor and V. major
are too well known to need recommendation ; there
are now some finely variegated forms of the larger
periwinkle, and a white-flowered kind of the smaller
one is not uncommon.
One of the most precious gems in the British
flora is the vernal Gentian (G. verna), which grows in
Teesdale and in a few places on the western shores
of Ireland. The blue of this flower is of the most
vivid and brilliant description ; it is in fact the
bluest of the blue, one of the most charming of all
Alpine flowers, and should be in every garden of
hardy plants. It may be grown well in sandy loam
mixed with broken limestone or gravel, and indeed
is not very particular as to soil, provided that it be
mixed with sharp sand or grit, kept moist, and well
drained A very important point in the cultivation
of this plant is to leave it for several years undis-
turbed. It is best suited for a snug spot on rockwork,
where, however, it should not be placed, unless there
is a good body of soil into which its roots may de-
scend and where they will find moisture at all times.
It cannot be too well known that rockworks, as
The Garden of British Wild Flowers. 203
generally made, are delusions — ugly, unnatural, and
quite unfit for a plant to grow upon. The stones
or "rocks" are piled up, with no sufficient quantity
of soil or any preparation made for the plants, so
that all really beautiful rock-plants refuse to grow
upon them, and they c^re taken possession of by
weeds and rubbish, which also often refuse to
grow upon the " rockwork," because they cannot
lay hold of it, so to speak. They are generally
made either too perpendicular or too ambitiously,
even in tne best gardens in England^-masses of
rock being used merely to produce an effect, or
masses of stone piled up without any of those
crevices or deep chinks of soil into which rock-
plants delight to root in a native state.
The right way is to have more soil than "rock," to
let the latter suggest itself rather than expose its un-
covered sides, and to make them very much flatter
than is the rule, so that the moisture may percolate
in every direction, and that the rockwork may
more resemble a jutting forth of stony or rocky
ground than the ridiculous half-wall-like structures
which pass for rockworks in this country. I have
grown this Gentiana verna very well in well-drained
pots, giving it plenty of water in summer^ and also
in the open border in fine sandy soil, the surface
204 The Wild Garden.
being studded here and there with small stones,
among and around which this lovely plant made
its way and flowered " deeply, darkly, beautifully
blue" every season. It is abundant in mountain
pastures in central and southern Europe ; it is, in
fact, a true Alpine, and may now be had in various
nurseries.
The Marsh Gentian (G. Pneumonanthe) is also
a lovely plant, more so perhaps than many would
think this dull clime capable of producing. It
should have a moist spot in a border, and is not
difficult to find in the north of England ; it also
grows, though less plentifully, in central or southern
England. The Brighton Horticultural Society is
in the habit of giving prizes for collections of wild
plants, and thereby doing much harm by causing
a few rude collectors, anxious to win a few shillings,
to gather bunches of the. rarest wild flowers, and
perhaps exterminate them from their only habitats.
When at one of its meetings a few years ago, I
observed among the collections competing for a
paltry prize large bunches of this beautiful Gentian,
which had been pulled up by the roots, to form
one of one hundred or more bunches of wild
flowers torn up by one individual. To exhibit our
wild flowers at a "flower show," where they are
•^t^m^^^^f^mmm^f^m^mmm^
The Garden of British Wild Flowers. 205
contrasted with hosts of Geraniums and showier
subjects, is a very doubtful way of attracting people
to study them ; but to give prizes for the rarest
plants of a locality, which in consequence are
exterminated to form part of a collection of this
kind, is very reprehensible. The system is bad,
root and branch, and should be discouraged by
every lover of wild flowers, as well as any other
plan that would cause quantities of our rarest plants
to be exterminated.
In the Gentian order we have also the beautiful
Buckbean or Bogbean (Menyanthes trifoliata), a
plant that will grow on the margin of any water or
ditch or moist spot ; it even grows and flowers in
a moist border. It is a well-known and widely-
distributed plant — everywhere over Britain, in fact;
nevertheless, too much cannot be said in praise
of this singularly beautiful native, with its flowers
deeply and elegantly fringed on the inside with
white filaments, and its unopened buds tipped with
apple-blossom red. It is not often seen in a garden,
though no plant, British or exotic, is more worthy
of that position. It would be worthy of culture if
a stove were necessary for its preservation ; but, as
it is accommodating enough to grow strongly under
the same conditions as the water-cress, and is even
2o6 The Wild Garden.
less fastidious than that, there is nothing to prevent
all from enjoying its beauty. Villarsia nymphae-
oides is also another capital water plant, with float-
ing, small, water-lily-like leaves, which are dotted
in July with a profusion of yellow flowers — so
much so as to produce a very showy effect on a
piece of garden water ; and on such it associates
very well with the white water-lily. In fact, the
prettiest effect I have ever seen on any ornamental
water was produced by this plant lining a small
shrub-bordered bay, a group of water-lilies appear-
ing on its outer or deep-water side. Seen from the
opposite shore the effect was charming — large
queenly water-lilies in front, then a wide-spreading
mass of green thickly sprinkled with starry yellow,
and behind all the green healthy shrubs which came
to the water's edge on the shores of the little bay.
Jacob's Ladder, or Greek Valerian as it is some-
times called, also belongs to the Gentian order, and
is an ornamental border planty» but its variegated
variety (Polemonium caeruleum variegatum) is of
the highest character and value. It resembles a
variegated fern, each pinnate leaf being decidedly
and well marked, and the plant forms a capital
subject for edgings, or the flower garden in any
way. It is much used in fine flower gardens.
i^m^^^mm^mmmmm^'^tm^
The Garden of British Wild Flowers, 207
and also in borders for bedding out. The
flower-stems must be prevented from rising, as it is
in the foliage that its beauty consists; and by
allowing it to flower we of course tend to prevent the
spread of the leaves and plant by the roots, or what
may in fact be called " lateral extension." Besides,
the rising flower-stems would destroy the "fern-like"
illusion. Whether British flowers are collected or
not, this will prove a decided acquisition to any
garden. Do not buy it in the form of a small and
sickly plant if you can help it, as it may " go ofi""
in the winter before becoming established ; and
buy it or have it sent in spring— in the montH of
March or April — when it may be planted in rich
light earth, and allowed to grow away at once. It
is propagated by division of the roots.
Most worthy of notice, in the Stellate or Galium
tribe, is the little white-flowering Woodruff" (Aspe-
fula odorata), which bears its white flowers pro-
fusely in many British woods in spring, and I have
seen it flowering very abundantly among the trees
and shrubs round some of the Colleges at Oxford.
It should be known to every garden, in consequence
of the sweet smell it yields when dried, and kept
for a long time. There is no plant more worthy of
culture for this purpose alone, the dried stem being
ao8 The Wild Garden.
as fragrant as the sweetest new hay, and continuing
to give forth its odour for a long period^an in-
definite one, so far as I know. It is fond of slight
shade, and worth planting where not found in a
wild state. When green, the "haulm" of this plant
betrays no noticeable fragrance, but begins to emit
it very soon after it is cut, and merely requires to
be placed on some dry shelf or half-open drawer,
where it may become quite dry and ready for use.
The common Red Valerian, as it is called, or
Centranthus ruber botanically, is a really orna-
mental garden plant, and makes a conspicuous
object on banks, borders, or large rockwork.
As it may be readily raised from seed, there can
be no difficulty in procuring it, and it should be
noted that there is a fine deep red as well as the
ordinary, variety, and also a pure white, and all the
three are really ornamental plants. Their best use
is for studding here and there on diversified or
sloping banks, in wild and half-wild spots. They
are also useful in the picturesque garden. Like
the Wallflower, they do well on old walls, &c., and
thus have become " naturalized" in many parts of
the country. It is the first plant that occurs wild in
newly-opened chalk-pits.
The composite or Dandelion family is generally?
The Garden of British Wild Flowers. 209
so ragged in appearance, that I scarcely like to in-
troduce it here. Some unattractive members of the
family are so commonly seen wherever we walk
abroad, that the greatest care must be made in select-
ing garden subjects from it The Hieraciums are in
some cases showy and fine plants. • Here I will
merely mention H. aurantiacum, a neat border
plant; and distinct in colour, and pass on to
Silybum marianum, the milk thistle; Carduus
eriophorus, a noble thistle, found chiefly in the
limestone districts of the south of England — and
to the great, woolly, silvery cotton-thistle, or Scotch
thistle, as it is often called. These are sure to be
useful, especially now, when people are begin-
ning more to admire plants of noble or distinct form
and habit Though frequently selected as the
thistle of Scotland, the Onopordum is not a native
of that country; so the Scotch thistle is a more
dubious vegetable than the Irish shamrock. But,
if you search the whole vegetable kingdom, you
will not find among plants that are at home in our
climate anything more distinct than this Cotton
Thistle. A single specimen, standing in the midst
or in front of g^een shrubs, produces a noble effect,
and the plant should be in eveiy garden. Easily
raised from seed, and once established in a garden,
iiio The Wild Garden.
it sows itself. Then the precaution should be taken
of thinning down the young seedlings, or you may
have far too many of them. One isolated plant or
a group or two is quite sufficient for ordinary
gardens ; but where there is sufficient space, it, with
many other fine wild plants, might be naturalized
with great advantage by simply sowing a few of the
seeds in any waste or half-wild spot, or in the
shrubbery. The Milk thistle, with its shining green
leaves and white markings, is also very desirable
among the British plants, though scarcely so much
so as the great cotton or Scotch thistle.
Everywhere the common corn-flower, Centaurea
Cyanus, makes a beautiful garden plant, if sown in
autumn and allowed to flower with all its accumu*
lated vigour in spring. Sown in spring, it is far
inferior. I know of nothing more beautiful than a
large group or small bed of the various coloured
forms of Corn-flower in full bloom in spring and
early summer ; the bloom is so prolonged and
vigorous, the flowers so pretty and so useful for the
usual purposes of cut flowers. It is common, and
easily had from any seedsman.. One of the pret-
tiest of all dwarf trailing silvery plants is the
tomentose Diotis maritima, which is found on the
southern shores of England, coming up as far as
The Garden of British Wild Flowers, 21 r
Anglesea on the west and Suffolk on the east, but
generally a rare plant in this country; it may,
however, be had in nurseries, and is worthy of a
plate in every garden, and especially in every col-
lection of variegated or silvery leaved plants.
The common Tansy is too coarse for any place
but the herb ground, but there is a variety with
leaves cut into numerous segments, and crisped up.
as elegantly as the New Zealand Todea superba,
and this should be provided with a nook, its flower-
ing stems requiring to be pinched off when they
show. The name of this tansy is Tanacetum
vulgare crispum. The double variety of Pyrethrum,
now so frequent in our flower gardens, is a native
plant — or, at least, the single or normal form of the
species is. The Sea Wormwood (Artemisia mari-
tima), is a neat silvery bush, freely distributed on
our shores, and worthy a place in our gardens.
There is a deep rose-coloured variety of the
common Yarrow (Achillea Millefolium rosea)-r-pity
one cannot avoid these hard names — ^which should
be in every garden, and there is a very pretty
double white variety of the " Sneezewort" (Achillea
Ptarniica), which will be found highly ornamental.
At ifr. Paul's Cheshunt nurseries I noticed it
being cut extensively for wedding bouquets, durihjg
P 2
212 The Wild Garden.
the past summer — the flowers are so purely white
and neat.
Perhaps some readers may regret that I do not
give the English names of all the plants, and
that I do not is explained by the fact that they
have no English names in a great many in-
stances ; and would it not be a foolish barbarism
to give awkward translations of the Latin names ?
Many people have an idea that every plant has, or
should have, a " common name," whereas such only
belongs to plants that have been much noticed by
the people either for their beauty or " virtues."
Now, as hundreds of plants are so inconspicuous,
or so rare that they were never noticed till the
sharp-sighted botanist took them up and gave them
a Latin name, which is on the whole the best, because
the language is fixed, and common to the learned
of all countries, it will be readily seen why we have
not English names for all our plants. However,
the next member of this natural order Compositae,
or the Daisy order, which I shall notice, is endowed
with several common names, such as "Moun-
tain Cudweed," " Cat's Ear," and " Mountain Ever-
lasting," — the botanical one being Gnaphalium
dioicum. It is a beautiful dwarf plant, admirable
for rockwork or the front of a border, or in any
The Garden of British Wild Flowers. %\%
way amongst alpine plants, and abounds on moun-
tains in Scotland, Wales, and many parts of Eng*
iand. There is a variety called G. d. roseum, to be
had in some nurseries, that has its dwarf flowers
delicately tinted with rose ; a most desirable thing.
Neat edgings are sometimes made of this plant ;
so that there should be no difficulty in procuring
it, even supposing we cannot find it wild ; but it v&
a popular plant wherever Alpines are grown, and
therefore not difficult to obtain anywhere. Gna-
phalium margaritaceum is a common old plant in
gardens, its flowers having been often dried for
"everlastings," and altogether it makes a re-
spectable, though not first-rate, border-plant,
and should be in the "garden of British wild-
flowers."
We will now turn to the extensive Harebell order,
where we shall find much beauty with little or no
raggedness — ^from the Harebell which swings its
bonny blue flower above the blast-beaten turf on
many an upland pasture, to the little prostrate Ivy
Campanula (C. hederacea), which is rather plentiful
in most spots in Ireland and Western England.
The giant Campanula (C. latifolia) is one of the
handsomest, and is pretty frequent. The spreading
Campanula (C. patula), of the central and southern
dl4 The Wild Garden.
counties of England is also very ornamental. C
Trachelium is also good, and indeed nearly all the
members of the family are of a character superior
to that of most of our wild plants ; but none of
them surpass in beauty the common Harebell^
which> although it may look struggling for exis-
tence on comparatively poor or exposed pastures
and elevated spots, yet, when transferred to a gar-
den, makes a vigorous plant and flowers profusely
—a mass of pleasing colour. It is capital for the
border or large rockwork.
The little Ivy Campanula had better be grown in
a pot or peat soil, or in some moist and slightly
.shaded spot where it may not be overrun by tall
plants. If you grow it in a pot, stand that in a saucer
of water, and then the tiny Ivy-like shoots will fall
down over the edge of the pot, and when dotted over
with its pale blue flowers will look very interesting,
especially to those acquainted with our native plants.
Both this plant and the even more interesting Linnaca
borealis may be grown well on the outside of the
window, with a north or shady aspect during the
seven warmest months of the year, by planting them
in pots of peat earth, and standing these in pans of
water. In winter they would be better placed in ^
cold frame or pit To be able to cultivate things
The Garden of British Wild Flowers. %\j^
so interesting to the botanist, and to all who know
plants, as these are, would surely be more gratifying
than any amount of such subjects as we see dis-
played in every window.
The Ivy-leaved Cyclamen, or the common Cycla-
men (Cyclamen hederaefolium), a native of
Southern Europe, but not supposed to be truly
British^ has been found in several places, apparently
wild, and as such is generally included among
British plants. Being a very beautiful one, it is in
all respects worthy of a place. You cannot, per-
haps, easily find it wild in England, but it is not
difficult to obtain, and a lovely plant it is when
seen in flower. A ring of it planted round a small
bed of choice shrubs forms a pretty sight, and it
may be naturalized in all parts, in bare places,
in woods and shrubberies. Like those of all
the Cyclamens, the flowers are singularly pretty,
and being densely produced in low masses, both
rosy purple and pure white, they are invaluable
ornaments to the autumnal garden. The Water
Violet (Hottonia palustris), which bears such
handsome whorls of pale purple flowers, sent
up on its erect stems from its dissected leaves
submerged under the water, is a choice plant
for a fountain-bed or pond. Though .usually
ii6 The Wild Garden.
—
supposed to grow under water, I have seen quan*
titles of it growing most luxuriantly on soft mud-
banks.
I had almost forgotten our native Primroses and
Cowslips, but surely there is no need to plead for
these and their numerous and beautiful varieties
The Bird's Eye Primrose of northern England —
one of the sweetest of our native plants, is, how-
ever, very rarely seen in gardens. It would thrive
well in wet spots on pastures and heaths, and also
in bare moist spots by the side of rivulets, and in
the bog bed, and on rock work, as would the
smaller and beautiful Scotch Bird's Eye Primrose.
The Loose-strifes, or Lysimachias, are sufficiently
ornamental for cultivation ; L. Nummularia, the
Creeping Jenny of the London windows, trailing
its luxuriant leaves where few other plants would
thrive so well. The upright-growing species L.
thyrsiflora fs very desirable for the margin of water
in consequence of the curious habit it has of half-
hiding its flowers among the green of its leaves-
A mass of it by a river, or pond, or ditch, looks
very distinct and pleasing. Finally, we have in the
Primula order the beautiful Trientalis of the north,
a wood plant, and somewhat difficult to cultivate,
but one that may be well grown in shady and
The Garden of Briiisk Wild Flowers. 217
• ■ ■ ■! II I - - — ^^^^— ~^^^^*
halfr-shady spots in peat soil — a position among
Rhododendrons etc., will do well
Of the Thrift family, certainly the most valuable
plant isra deep and charming rose-coloured variety of
the common Thrift (Armferia vulgaris). Everybody
knows the Thrift of our sea-shores, and of the tops
of some of the Scotch mountains, with its pale pink
flowers ; but the variety I allude to is of a deep and
showy rose, and one of the sweetest things you can
employ in a spring garden as an edging plant, or in
clumps here and there in borders. This kind is
sold and known as Armeria vulgaris rubra, or A.
rubra. The conmion kind is not worth growing
beside it, but the white variety is. Any of the
British Statices that may be collected are worthy a
place in a collection of wild flowers. In the Goose-
foot and Dock order Atriplex portulacoides and
Polygonum Bistorta will be found the best. The
first is a silvery-looking shrubby herb, frequent on
the sea-shores ; the second a showy herb, most
plentiful in the north. Euphorbia Lathyris is the
distinct-looking and handsome Caper Spurge, which
is established here and there with us ; it is worthy
of a place, though not for the beauty of its flowers.
Nor must we forget the common Hop (Humulus
Lupulus), which I need hardly say, is very oma*
Ii8 The Wild GardeH.
mental when well grown over a bowef, or in any
other position where it may have an opportunity to
become fully developed.
The beautiful " Poet's Narcissus " (Narcissus
poeticus), hawked about the streets of London so
abundantly in spring, is generally included in native
plants^ though not considered truly British ; but
whether it be so or not, such a distinctly beautiful
plant should be in every garden. The Snowflake
(Leucojum aestivum) occurs in several of the south-
eastern counties, and makes a handsome border
bulb ; the dwarf, sweet, and fine vernal Snowflake
has been recently found in Dorsetshire in some
abundance ; while thecommon Snowdrop is perfectly
naturalized in various parts of the country. These,
it need hardly be said, should all be in any living
collection of British wild flowers, and with them the
Daffodil and the Wood-tulip (T. sylvestris). This
last is found most frequently in some of the eastern
counties of England, but may be had readily from
the nurserymen, who sell it as T. florentina and cor-
nuta. Lloydia serotina is an extremely rare little
bulbous plant, found in North Wales. It is also
known as Anthericum serotinum.
A Gladiolus (G. illyricus) has recently been
found in the New Forest, near Lyndhurst ; it is
The Garden of British Wild Flowers. 219
worthy of culture, and indeed is, or was, a favourite
plant in many gardens before it was discovered as
a British plant, having formerly been introduced
to our gardens from central and southern Europe.
The spring Crocus (C. vemus) is abundant in
the neighbourhood of Nottingham, and other parts
of England and Ireland ; and the less known
but equally beautiful autumn Crocus (C. nudiflorus)
is also naturalized in Derbyshire, about Nottingham,
and in a few other places. It is quite needless to
praise either. The blue or normal form of the
vernal crocus is, or ought to be, in nearly every
garden ; but the autumnal crocus is quite of rare
occurrence in gardens, and should be introduced to
all, because it opens its handsome flowers when most
others have perished or are perishing, and closes
the season of flowers so well opened by the spring
crocus. It is equally easy of culture with the spring
crocus, but, being so much scarcer, deserves to
have a good position, good soil, and some watch-
fulness, to prevent its being dug up by care-
less workmen, that it may increase, and be-
come a conspicuous autumnal ornament in our
gardens.
The embellishment of water is really much more
,of an important subject than is generally supposed
aao The Wild Garden.
It is true that by following the directions of the
garden books, or even the best examples that we
see of water in our public gardens, nothing to boast
of can be done, but nevertheless, by a tasteful selec-
tion of really good and hardy water plants, and above
all, a judicious disposition of them, a great deal of
exquisite beauty may be produced. Hitherto this
has been very badly performed by the designers of
pieces of water, or by those who plant the margins
of them. Usually you see the same monotonous
vegetation all round the margin if the soil be rich ;
in some cases, where the bottom is of gravel, there
is little or no vegetation, but an unbroken ugly line
of washed earth between wind and water. In others
aquatic plants accumulate until they are a nuisance
and an e3^esore ; and I do not simply mean the be-
low-surface weeds, like the Anacharis, but the White
Lily when it gets too profuse. Now a well developed
plant, or group of plants, of the queenly Water
Lily, floating its large leaves and noble flowers, is
an object not surpassed by any other plant in our
gardens ; but when it increases and runs over the
whole or a large part of a piece of water, and
thickens together, and the fowl cannot make their
way through in consequence, then even the queen
of British water plants becomes a nuisance. No
The Garden of British Wild Flowers. %%\
garden water, however, should be without a few fine
plants or groups of the Water Lily, and if the bottom
did not allow of the free development of the plants
a lot of scrapings or rubbish might be accumulated
in the spot where it was desired to exhibit the
beauties of Nymphaea, and, thus arranged, it could
not spread too much. But it is not difficult to pre-
vent the plant from spreading ; indeed, we have
known isolated plants and groups of it remain of
almost the same size for years. Where it in-
creases too much, reducing it to the desired limits
is of very easy accomplishment, either by cutting off
the leaves or by trimming the roots in the bottom.
The yellow Water Lily, though not so beautiful as
the preceding, is worthy of a place ; and also the
little Nuphar pumila, a variety or sub-species
found in the lakes of the North of Scotland, if you
can get it In collecting these things, the true and
the only way is to get as many as possible from
ordinary sources at first, and then exchange with
others who have collections, whether they be the
curators of botanic gardens or private gentlemen
fond of interesting plants. With a little perseverance
many good things may soon be collected in this way.
I have already (at page 206) mentioned the beau*
tiful effect of a sheet of Villarsia nymphsoides
%22 The Wild Garden.
belting round the margin of a lake near a woody
recess, and before it, more towards the deep water,
a fine group of water lilies. The beauty of this
Villarsia is very insufficiently developed in garden
waters. It is a charming little water plant, with
Nymphaea-like leaves and numerous golden-yellow
flowers, which furnish a charming effect on fine
days when the sun is " out." It is not very com-
monly distributed as a native plant, though where
found generally very plentiful, and not difficult to
obtain in gardens where aquatic plants are g^own.
It is in all respects one of the most serviceable of
hardy water plants.
Not rare — growing, in fact, in nearly all districts
of Britain — but exquisitely beautiful and singular
is the Buckbean or Marsh Trefoil, before alluded to,
with its flowers elegantly and singularly fringed on
the inside with white filaments, and the round un-
opened buds, polished on the top with a rosy red
like that of an apple blossom. In early summer
when seen trailing on the soft ground near the
margin of a stream, this plant is very beautiful, and
should be grown in abundance in every piece of
ornamental water. It will grow in a bog or any mdist
place, or by the margin of any water. Though a
rather frequent native plant, it is not half sufficiently
The Garden of British Wild Flowers. 22^
grown in garden waters ; but, indeed, these are in-,
variably neglected.
If you have ever seen the Flowering Rush (Buto-
mus umbellatus) in flower, you are npt likely to
omit it from a collection of water plants, as it is
conspicuous and distinct. It is a native of the
greater part of Europe and Russian Asia, and dis-
persed over the central and southern parts of Eng-
land and Ireland. Plant it not far from the margin ;
it likes rich muddy soil. The common Sagittaria,
prevalent, very prevalent in England and Ireland,
but not in Scotland, might be associated with this;
but there is a very much finer double kind to
be had here and there, and which is probably
a variety of the common kind. It is really a fine
plant, its flowers being white, and resembling, but
larger than, those of the old white double rocket.
It grows in abundance in the tea or pleasure
gardens of the Rye House at Broxbourne,
where it fills a sort of oblong basin or wide
ditch, and looks quite attractive when in flower.
Its large tubers, or rather receptacles of farina,
are frequently discovered and destroyed by wild
fowl, which suggests that it might be worth plant-
ing as food for such birds.
Among bold and picturesque plants for the
a24 The Wild Garden.
water*side, nothing equals the great Water-dock
(Rumex Hydrolapathum), which is rather genersdly
dispersed over the British isles, and has leaves quite
sub-tropical in aspect and size, becoming of a lurid
red in the autumn. It forms a grand mass of
foliage on rich muddy banks. The Typhas must
not be omitted, but they should not be allowed to
run everywhere. The narrow-leaved one is more
graceful than the common one. Carex pendula is
very fine for the margins of water, its elegant
drooping spikes being quite distinct in their way.
It is rather common in England, more so than
Carex Pseudo-cyperus, wjiich grows well in a foot
or two of water, or on the margin of a muddy pond.
Carex paniculata forms a strong and thick stem,
sometimes three or four feet high, somewhat like a
tree-fern, and with luxuriant masses of falling
leaves, and on that account is transferred to moist
places in gardens and cultivated by some persons,
though generally the larger specimens are difficult
to remove and soon perish. Scirpus lacustris (the
" Bulrush") is too distinct a plaiit to be omitted, as
its stems, sometimes attaining a height of more
than seven and even eight feet, look very imposing ;
and Cyperus longus is also a desirable thing, re-
minding one of the aspect of the Papyrus when in
The Garden of British Wild Flowers. 225
' ■ ' ' -'■ -- - I , 11
flower. It is found in some 61 the southern counties
of England. Cladium Mariscus is also another
distinct and rather scarce British aquatic which is
worth a place.
As for the Ferns, it is needless to mention them,
considering the immense attention that has been
paid them of late years. Whole nurseries are now
almost exclusively devoted to the production of
British ferns and their varieties. My object is to
encourage the culture of things that are compara-
tively neglected, and however graceful and beauti-
ful ferns may' be, and however indispensable the
fernery, as an adjunct to the flower-garden, my
readers have but to attempt the culture of the
handsome British flowering-plants, combined,' if the
cultivator so desires it, with the best alpines, spring
flowers, and herbaceous plants of all countries, to
find infinitely more enjoyment therefrbm than ferns
are capable of affording.
But though ferns are not in need of advocacy,
their allies the Equisetums are, some of them being
of graceful and distinct habit. One of the -most
strikingly distinct and' elegant plants in the Oxford
Botanic Garden grows profusely along by the wall,
in the shady fern border, in that very old and most
interesting botanic garden. It is the British Equi-
Q
226 The Wild Garden.
setum Telmateia, or "Great Equisetum," which^
grows pretty commonly in the greater part ofq
England and Ireland, attaining its greatest developn:
ment in rich soil and in shady spots. It there
attains a height of three or four feet, and the num-
bers of slender branches depending from each
whorl look most graceful. It should be planted in
a shady place, near water if convenient, but it
thrives famously in deep moist soil, in any position
in a garden where ferns thrive, and as it associates
well with them, in or near the fernery will be found
a good position for it. The wood Equisetum (E.
sylvaticum) common all over Britain, is conside-
rably smaller than the preceding, but even more
graceful ; indeed, sufficiently so to warrant its being
grown in pots, though it thrives well in any shady
moist position. The long simple-stemmed Equi-
setums, or Horse-tails, are also interesting to culti-
vate in wet or marshy spots, or by the sides of
water, but are not so graceful or ornamental as the
species above-named, which are as well worth
growing in a garden as the costliest productions of
tropical climes, which entail endless 'work and a
perpetual cost to maintain.
Passing by the numerous British Willows and
the few British Pines, we come to the interesting
The Garden of British Wild Flowers. %%"]
order of Orchids — everywhere beautiful and sin-
gular, whether gorgeously developed, as in the hot
or moist East, or small and tiny on the Kent and
Surrey hills, where the Bee Orchis produces its
peculiar flowers so abundantly. Now, many of these
small British Orchids are, in my opinion, as pretty
as many of those cultivated in the stove or green-
house. It is most interesting to see and to collect
them when wild, and still more so to cultivate
them. If you can succeed in growing the British
Orchids, you are not likely to fail with any other
hardy plants. They are the most difficult of all to
cultivate, but amongst the most interesting things
which can be grown. In many or most parts of the
country the Bee Orchis and some other rare ones do
not grow ; how interesting it would be in such dis-
tricts to have the Bee Orchis to show in one's garden !
I have never seen our Orchids grown in more than
half a dozen gardens, but, nevertheless, have no
doubt that they can be very well grown therein, be-
cause I have cultivated the Bee Orchis and the Fly
Orchis and the Hand Orchis, and a number of other
British Orchids, for several years, and flowered them
annually too. People generally make a mistake
by putting them in pots. If the plants should
make a good attempt to grow there, the long fleshy
Q 2
228 The Wild Garden.
roots that some species produce have no chance
of finding a suitable, steady medivim in which to
thrive. The pot with its soil is liable to vicissitudes
from want of water, and from the hot dry jur of
summer always playing upon its porous surGsice.
Therefore, though pots are the usual resource even
in a botanic garden, Orchids never do well in them,
but usually live for a year or two and then perish.
I succeeded with them by devoting a small bed to
their culture, in a somewhat open but sheltered spot.
The first thing I did was to. dig some chalk into
the bed, so as to give the plants the constituent in
which they are found most abundantly. Of
course, I should not have had to do this if the
soil were chalky ; and as numbers of my readers
must have gardens upon chalky soils, I . may
assure them that they will have no difficulty in
growing the choicest British Orchids. Then I
planted the various kinds, and succeeded with
every one of them except the parasitic one, which,
indeed, it was vain to attempt. I allude to those
kinds that are parasitic on the roots of trees,
though apparently depending on their own roots
in the ground.
My only difficulty was to imitate, to some extent,
the state of the surface of the ground which exists
The Gar dm of British Wild Flowers. 22,g
where they live in a wild state. I knew that the
surface dressing oC stunted^ storm-beaten grass
among which tiiey nestle prevents the ground from
cracking, hinders a good dieal of evaporation, and
also^sheltdrs the plants ia winter — in short, keeps
the surface open, 'natural, and healthy. To plant
grass ovei" a bed in a garden would never do, be-
cause the shelter and richness of the ground would
induce it to grow so sthjng that unless we were to
look after and - shorten it very frequently there
would be ho chance of keeping it within bounds;
and if we did not do that, it would soon
smother all the- Orchids. I found a s/ubstitute
in cocoa-fibre mixed with a good sprinkling of
silver sand and a little peat to give it some
weight and consistency. An inch or two of this
material was spread over the bed, and it suc-
ceeded perfectly in answering my ends, i,e., it pre-
vented cracking and evaporation, and kept the
surface in an open, healthy state. Of course I
inserted the plants firmly and without injuring
their roots — ^a great point. Few people know how
to plant anything beyond a strong bedding plant
If one of these Orchids which are accus-
tomed to send their fleshy roots down belOw moist
accumulations of broken chalk in search of food,
23© The Wild Garden.
were to be planted like a bedding plant, it would
soon perish. I made the ground quite firm, then out
a straight deep little trench with a straight trowel,
and against the flat side of this little cut placed,
lengthwise of course, the spreading hand-like roots
of my Orchids, pressing the soil firmly but gently
against them, and being particular that the ''neck'*
or collar of the plant was nicely pressed round and
firm — a thing that is worth attending to in every
case of planting. If you examine a plant after
some people have inserted it, you will find the
whole of the top of the ball loose, and perhaps un-
covered by soil — a state most conducive to an early
death or stunted growth if the weather prove dry ;
therefore always plant firmly, and try and place the
roots and neck of the plant as much as possible in
the condition that plants enjoy in a wild state.
Well, in this way I have grown and freely
flowered the most curious and beautiful Bee Orchis,
the Spider Orchis, the Fly Orchis and a dozen others
less difficult to cultivate. The marsh Epipactus
palustris is one of the easiest native Orchids to
cultivate, growing well in an artificial bog or moist
border ; whilst most of the Orchises will do well
under the treatment above described. The Bee, Fly,
and Spider Orchids belong to the genus Ophrys.
The Garden of British Wild Flowers. 1231
^■' M_,^ . - ■ I I I II ■ I
The common Orchis maculata, found almost every-
,: where in the British islands, is one of the freest to
, I grow in a garden; it makes large tufts of the
, greatest beauty in a stiff good loam, and I have
found it grow with ease in almost any position;
It wants no chalk, though it does not refuse to
grow in it. The best wild spread of it I have
ever seen was in some meadows in Buckingham-
shire, where there was "a strong bloom of this
sweetly-coloured Orchid for almost every flower-
head of grass in the fields ; and I need hardly say
the effect was of the most beautiful description.
Lately nurserymen have been offering a plant
which they think a variety of this, under the
name of O. maculata superba. This is in reality
the true British Orchis latifoHa, a noble species,
easy to grow in a moist spot, and producing long
spikes of bloom. O. militaris and O. fusca are
among the handsomest species ; but all are inte-
resting, even when not pretty, from the early
spotted O. mascula to the Butterfly Orchis, both
of which are of easy culture in a garden.
Perhaps the rarest and finest of all the British
Orchids is the Lady's-slipper, nearly extinct, but
still probably to be found in the North, though too
rare to be looked for in the hope of transferring it
aj* The Wild Garden.
to the garden. Some of our nurserymen supply it,
and they get their supplies from the> Continent,
where it is a widely distributed plant. It should
be planted in broken limestone and fibrous loam,
on the eastern side of a rockworlc When well
grown it is a beautiful plant, quite as much so as
some of the 'CypripediumS gfowh in the Orchid
house, biit, being perfectly hardy, is of course far
more interesting and suitable for the British garden.
The most important thing with regard to the
Orchids is the procuring of them in a suitable
state for planting. When they are gathered in a
wild state, the roots should be taken up as carefully
as possible, and transferred to their garden home
quickly and safely. They are very often sold
cheaply in Covent Garden, but the roots are
generally mutilated, not ohly from careless and
shallow taking up, but from being so tightly bound
round with moss and matting that any bit of root
they had when taken up is bruised to death. I
got a capital stock by finding one of the men who
collected ferns and wild plants for Covent Garden,
showing him the kinds I wanted, and telling him
not to bind them up individually, but to lay them
in loose layers iii moss, having taken th^m up care-
fully, with the roots or tubers entire. Of course, if
The Garden af British Wild Flowers. 233
I lived near localities in which the rarer and more
interesting Orchids are found, such as many parts
of Kent and Surrey, I should gather them myself,
using a very strong spade, or instrument, to get
them well up out of the firmly-bound ' chalky
earth.
Amonig native bulbs there are some very inte-
resting. The Snake's Head (Fritillaria Meleagris)
is abundant in some parts of the south and east of
England, and it is in all respects worthy of the
best attention in a garden, though it requires very
little beyond being planted and allowed to grow
away undisturbed. I know of nothing prettier in
the Spring Garden than the singular suspended
bells of the English Fritillary, often so prettily
spotted, and occasionally white. The white form
is sometimes called F. praecox, and being of a
good white, it is a most desirable plant to en-
courage in every garden, the large, white, drooping
bells being so distinct from most other hardy plants
that flower at the same season. Of the British
Alliums, A. triquetrum, found somewhat abun-
dantly in the island of Jersey, is best worthy of a
place, its white flowers striped with delicate green
being pretty. The two British Squills, though not
so ornamental as some of the Continental species,
^34 ^>^ Wild Garden.
so conspicuous among spring flowers, must not be
forgotten in a full collection, nor the varieties of
the wood hyacinth, and there are several of interest^:
both white and pink. The Two-leaved Lily-of-
the-valley (Convallaria bifolia) is a diminutive and
sweet little herb, found in only a few localities. In
Lord Mansfield's woods, near Hampstead, I gathered
it a few months ago, and it is abundant there in a
well-shaded spot. It does well either on border,
or rockwork, or in the wilderness. It is common
on the Continent, and may be readily had from
some nurseries, and in all botanic gardens in this
country.
The common Lily-of-the-valley is a true native
plant, abundant in some counties, though wanting
in others. It is surely needless to recommend it to
my readers as a garden ornament, but I may sug-
gest that it might be " naturalized" in many woods
and shrubberies with the best effect — it is so in-
teresting to meet with things like this in an appa-
rently wild state. The handsome, graceful Solo-
mon*s-seal (Polygonatum multiflorum) and the
Lily-of-the-valley should be planted to establish
themselves in a wild or semi-wild state in every
place which possesses the smallest resemblance to
a shrubbery or wood ; nothing can be more grace-
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