The pretty little Rosy Bindweed that one meets often upon the shores of the Mediterranean is here depicted at home in an English garden, creeping up the leaves of an Iris in Mr. Wilson’s garden at Heatherbank, Weybridge Heath. It is a great privilege we have of being able to grow the fair flowers of so many regions in our own, and without caring for them in the sense, and with the troubles that attend other living creatures in menageries, aviaries, etc. This is an advantage that we do not evidently consider when we put a few plants in lines and circles only, oblivious of the infinite beauty and variety of the rest. This beautiful pink Bindweed is the representative, so to speak, of our own Rosy Field Bindweed in the south, but nevertheless it is perfectly hardy and free in our own soils. Its botanical name is Convolvulus althæoides.[ill135]
A South European Bindweed creeping up the stems of an Iris in an English garden.
Marsh Calla, Calla palustris.—A creeping Arum–like plant, with white flowers showing above a carpet of glossy leaves, admirable for naturalisation in muddy places, moist bogs, on the margins of ponds, etc.
Rosy Coronilla, Coronilla varia.—Europe. On grassy banks, stony heaps, rough rocky ground, spreading over slopes or any like positions. A very fine plant for naturalisation, thriving in any soil.
Giant Scabious, Cephalaria.—Allied to Scabious but seldom grown. They are worth a place in the wild garden for their fine vigour alone, and the numerous pale yellow flowers will be admired by those who do not limit their admiration to showy colours.
Coral–wort, Dentaria.—Very showy perennials, the purplish or white flowers of which present somewhat of the appearance of a stockflower, quite distinct both in habit and bloom, and very rarely seen in our gardens; they will be found to thrive well and look well in peat soil beneath rhododendrons, and towards the margins of clumps of American shrubs.
Leopard’s Bane, Doronicum.—Stout, medium–sized, or dwarf perennials, with hardy and vigorous constitutions, and very showy flowers; well suited for naturalisation among herbaceous vegetation, in any position where the beauty of their early bloom can be enjoyed.
American Cowslip, Dodecatheon.—All who care for hardy flowers admire the beautiful American cowslip (D. Meadia), found in rich woods in Pennsylvania, Ohio, to Wisconsin and south–westward, in America. This would be a charming plant to naturalise on rich and light sandy loams, among dwarf herbs, low shrubs, etc., in sheltered and sunny spots. Jeffrey’s American cowslip (D. Jeffreyanum), a vigorous–growing kind, is also well worth a trial in this way, though as yet it is hardly plentiful enough to be spared for this purpose.
Fumitory, Fumaria, Dielytra.—Plants with graceful leaves and gay flowers suited for association with dwarf subjects on open banks, except D. spectabilis, which in deep peat or other rich soil will grow a yard high. The simple–looking little Fumaria bulbosa is one of the dwarf subjects which thrive very well under the branches of specimen deciduous trees, and Corydalis lutea thrives in every position from the top of an old castle to the bottom of a well shaft. I saw Dielytra eximia naturalised in Buckhurst Park, in a shrubbery, the position shady. Its effect was most charming, the plumy tufts being dotted all over with flowers. Had I before wished to naturalise this, I should have put it on open slopes, or among dwarf plants, but it thrives and spreads about with the greatest freedom in shady spots. The blossoms, instead of being of the usual crimson hue, were of a peculiar delicate pale rose, no doubt owing to the shade; and, as they gracefully drooped over the elegantly–cut leaves, they looked like snowdrops of a faint rosy hue.