or spring six inches apart. Easy to grow.
PROPAGATION. Seeds in spring, division.
SPECIAL USES. Rock gardens, dry-wall planting, ground cover, edging.
=Alyssum= _Cruciferae_ Madwort
Plushy, mat-forming, like a silver-gray rug with flecks of white or
golden flowers in spring and summer. The grayish leaves are small, the
flowers in thick clusters. Popular forms are:
_alpestre_ (_serpyllifolium_)--Three-inch gray carpet
with bright-yellow flowers through June.
_montanum_--Fragrant gold flowers in June; about eight
inches high.
_mulfenianum_--Smaller (four-inch) version with balls of
yellow flowers from May to June.
_saxatile_--basket of gold--Blooms in May; nine inches
high; spreads thickly. Variety compactum is more compact and
shorter; about eight inches. Variety citrinum has lemon-yellow
flowers.
_spinosum_--Dense growth, shrubby and spiny, about eight
inches high. White flowers sometimes tinged with pink, in June
and July.
CARE. Any ordinary soil with drainage. Sunny, open location. Plant in
spring or fall six to eight inches apart.
PROPAGATION. Seeds in fall, division of roots in spring.
SPECIAL USES. Rock gardens, borders, dry walls, pavements, edging,
carpet for bulbs, ground cover.
=Anemone= _Ranunculaceae_ Windflower
One of the earliest to bloom in the spring, it has lacy leaves and
colorful flowering saucers not made up of petals but of sepals (leaves
that encircle the flowers at the base).
_apennina_--Tuberous species six or seven inches high
with deeply cut leaves; arrives in March with bright, sky-blue
flowers. Variety alba has white flowers; purpurea, rich
lavender-rose.
_blanda_--Resembles apennina but is slightly larger and has
darker flowers.
_nemorosa_--European wood anemone--Similiar to American
forms. Variety alleni has lavender flowers. Variety rosea, pink.
_palmata_--Six-inch dwarf with whorls of leathery leaves,
golden-white flowers in May or June. The flowers of the variety
albida are heavenly white with gold centers.
_pulsatilla_--pasque flower--A more robust alpine growing
to eight inches tall. Hardy even in Maine rock gardens. Flowers
are purple-blue bells that come early and last as long as the
weather is cool. Its finely cut leaves are softened with silky
hairs. Other varieties are alba, white; rubra, plum red; and
camla, silvery lilac surrounded by white.
CARE. Rich sandy loam with leaf mold. Part shade for some varieties.
PROPAGATION. Seed in late fall, root division in early spring.
SPECIAL USES. Wild gardens, rock gardens, forcing, flower beds.
=Antennaria= _Compositae_ Pussy-Toes
This is a furry little creeper with flat, silvery, spoon-shaped leaves
and bristly flowers sometimes dried as everlastings.
_dioica_--Fast-creeping carpet with pink-tipped flowers in
spring.
_microphylla (parvifolia)_--Western native, slower growing,
with white flowers.
_neodioica_--Eastern native that makes a low mat of
silver-hairy leaves and sends up pink-tipped white flowers in
early summer.
CARE. Sandy, even poor, soil; full sun; dry. Cut off leaves after
flowering to make neater plants.
PROPAGATION. Seeds and division.
SPECIAL USES. Rock walls and pavement.
=Aquilegia= _Ranunculaceae_ Columbine
Hardy little perennials with two-or three-part leaves like clover but
often cut or indented on the edge, and drooping or noddling flowers
with flaring sepals and spurs of different sizes and shapes.
_akitensis_--Six-inch Japanese doll with stemless
blue-green leaves and large lavender-blue flowers with yellow at
the center. June flowers.
_discolor_--Alpine with glowing blue flowers, white inside
and frosty-green leaves. Five inches tall.
_flabellata nana-alba_--fan columbine--Three divided leaves
like blue-green fans, lustrous white flowers in May.
_jonesi_--Diminutive, two to three inches tall. Small
leaves in small mounds, flowers upturned and deep blue in June.
_saximontana_--Alpine with two-inch tufts of crisp leaves;
aquamarine flowers with yellowish sepals on four-inch stems in
April.
CARE. Soil light and sandy, with leaf mold; drainage; shade or
semishade. Hardy. Plant in fall.
PROPAGATION. Seeds in the spring (flowers the following year), division
in the spring.
SPECIAL USES. Rock and wall planting, wild-flower gardens, beds.
=Arabis= _Cruciferae_ Rock Cress
Mat-forming perennials with blankets of hairy leaves under spreads
of flowers rather like stocks or candytuft. They flower in spring or
summer and are often fragrant.
_albida_--Unless the form is marked “compact” the species
may top ten inches. Leaves green and woolly, flowers white
(in April and May). Variety flora plena is about six inches
tall with double white flowers; rosea, orchid pink and single;
variegata, white-marked leaves. ‘Pink Charm’ is single with
bright-pink flowers.
_blepharophylla_--Clusters of deep-green leaves with
eyelashes on the edge; pink-purple flowers in April. Height,
four inches.
_procurrens_--Matting plant with creeping stolons, white
flowers in May. Dwarf variety, stari, spreads slowly and stays
under four inches.
CARE. Medium, even poor, soil; warm and sandy. Not too moist. Sun or
light shade. After flowering cut back straggly stems.
PROPAGATION. Division (in spring or fall), seeds, cuttings.
SPECIAL USES. Rock gardens, wall planting, ground cover, edging.
=Aster alpinus= _Compositae_ Rock Aster
Small leaves mat closely to make a mound four inches high. The flat
lilac daisy-like flowers come in June and July on eight-inch stems. The
variety superbus is slightly larger; albus has white flowers. ‘Goliath’
is a variety with flowers ranging from yellow-centered lavender to
near-purple. ‘Spring Charm’ is a midget with lavender-pinkish flowers.
CARE. Any good soil, full sun.
PROPAGATION. Seeds in the spring (flowers the next year).
SPECIAL USES. Rock gardens, borders, edging.
=Bellis= _Compositae_ Daisy
Miniature daisies of cheerful charm, some varieties barely six inches
tall.
_perennis_--English daisy--Nests of green leaves sprinkled
in spring and summer with flowers of white, rose, or red.
Several new strains are now being offered in singles, doubles
(some have quilted petals), and varied colors.
_rotundiafolia caerulescens_--alpine daisy--Soft-blue
flowers all summer long.
CARE. Fertile soil; moist, but good drainage; sun or semisun. A cool
summer produces larger flowers. Not suitable for hot climates.
PROPAGATION. Seeds (flowers following year), division in cool weather.
SPECIAL USES. Rock gardens, edging, ground cover.
=Campanula= _Campanulaceae_ Harebell, Bell Flower
These are the beloved bell flowers which should be included in all
gardens. Included on page 264 are varieties that are easy to get and
grow.
CARE. Light loamy soil, slightly on limy side; drainage. Sun, except
dwarfs, which take light shade. Remove dead flowers. Shelter with
evergreen boughs in severe winter.
PROPAGATION. Division in early spring or fall, seeds (plant as soon as
ripe), cuttings.
SPECIAL USES. Rock gardens, walls, borders, edging, pots, and baskets.
=Cerastium= _Caryophyllaceae_
Perennial creepers and carpeters with slim silk-hairy leaves and
showers of white flowers with an over-all effect of soft fuzzy wool.
Maximum height six inches, but most plants less.
_alpinum lanatum_--Smallest downy leaves, white flowers in
clusters in June and July.
_bierbersteini_--Longer leaves, flowers one month earlier.
_tomentosum_--snow in summer--This, the most popular
species; quickly forms a large mat like a silver carpet under
starry white flowers in May and June. It is said it will grow in
pure sand.
CARE. Ordinary soil, sun, dry. Easy to grow.
PROPAGATION. Seeds (plant in fall or spring), division, cuttings after
flowering.
SPECIAL USES. Rock gardens, edging, flower beds, ground cover.
VARIETIES OF HAREBELL, BELL FLOWERS
_Leaves_ _Flowers_ _Blooming
season_
_carpatica_ mats 4″ tall blue saucers June to Oct.
_carpatica alba_ mats 4″ tall white June to Oct.
_carpatica_ ‘Wedgwood’ cushions violet-blue cups June to Oct.
_carpatica_ ‘White
Wedgwood’ cushions white June to Oct.
_carpatica turbinata_ low mass large, flat, violet June to Aug.
_cochlearifolia_ shell-shaped mass blue bells May and June
_cochlearifolia alba_ shell-shaped mass white May and June
_cochlearifolia_
‘Mironda’ shell-shaped mass silver-blue June to Aug.
_collina_ fuzzy clumps purple bells June
_elatines_ dense 3″ mass stars, white center June and July
_elatines alba plena_ double white ‘Star for baskets
of Bethlehem’ and pots
_garganica_ may be woolly blue June and July
_portenschlagiana roundish, toothed
(muralis)_ crinkled tufts violet bells June and July
_saxifraga_ broadened upturned violet
bells spring
=Ceratostigma plumbaginoides= _Plumbaginaceae_ Leadwort
Shrubby little perennial “bushes” about eight inches high and spreading
into clumps twice as wide, with hairy-edged leaves which are green with
bronze overtones. It turns to a brickish color in autumn. In August the
plants cover themselves with blue phlox-like flowers and continue to
bloom until heavy frost.
CARE. Most any soil with drainage. Will grow in sand. Full sun best but
semishade is acceptable. Don’t plant in moist location. In winter give
protection.
PROPAGATION. Seeds in the spring, division at time of new growth in
spring, cuttings.
SPECIAL USES. Borders, edging, rock gardens, ground cover.
=Coreopsis auriculata nana= _Compositae_
Neat little plant with tufts of divided, or lobed, leaves;
golden-orange daisy-like flowers on three-to six-inch stems, from June
through August.
CARE. Light sandy soil. Shade in extremely hot climate. Cut faded
flowers.
PROPAGATION. Sow seeds in fall for flowering next year; division of
clumps.
SPECIAL USES. Rock gardens, edging.
=Corydalis= _Fumariaceae_ Fumitory
Ferny-leaved herbaceous perennials with spurred flowers like bleeding
heart but more colorful and blooming in the spring. Some types are
tuberous-rooted, or partly so, but are grown more like other perennials.
_cava (bulbosa)_--Tuberous type, about eight inches tall,
with gaudy clusters of purple flowers in April.
_cheilanthifolia_--Perennial with thickened roots, finely
dissected eight-inch leaves, sprays of yellow flowers from May
to frost. Requires shade from hot sun. Striking for its foliage
alone.
_halleri (densifolia)_--March bloomer, tuberous. Not many
leaves but plenty of clusters of rosy, or purple, flowers; six
to eight inches.
_lutea_--Eight-inch clump-makers with lacy blue-green
leaves. Yellow flowers appear in June and repeat later. Likes to
keep cool in the shade, or have its roots under a rock. Won’t
grow in extreme heat.
_nobilis_--Tuberous type, upright to eight inches, with
leaflets both wedge-shaped and deep-toothed. It may have as many
as twenty spurred white flowers per cluster, tipped with yellow
and spotted with purple.
_rupestris_--Ferny-leaved eight-inch perennial with
short-spurred yellow flowers. Nontuberous.
CARE. Any garden soil with drainage. Partial or light shade, or sun.
Plant tuberous types in fall.
PROPAGATION. Division, seeds.
SPECIAL USES. Borders, rock gardens, wall plantings, edging.
=Dianthus= _Caryophyllaceae_ Pink
There are some very special treasures for every garden in this big
family of spicy-scented plants with flowers that seem to have been
fringed with pinking shears. There are impermanent perennials that
flower the first year like annuals, biennials like sweet William that
often self-sow, longer lived types that tuft or spread out to make
low flowering mounds or mats, elusive alpines for the rock-garden
connoisseur, pixies with tiny half-inch flowers, and great garden
carnations. Every year new hybrids make the list longer.
Make your selection, of course, according to size, scent, growing
habits, and the color scheme of your little garden. For the miniature
rock garden, the rose-colored species _D. alpinus_ stays under three
inches; _D. neglectus_ combines pink and buff, and there are many more.
The Allwoodi hybrid varieties are sturdy, lasting, and flower freely
for most of the summer. The cheddar pinks (_D. casius_ varieties) are
clumpy; the maiden pinks make mats; the cottage or grass pinks are
tufted; sweet William (_D. barbatas_) is one of the clusterheads; the
“annuals” (usually forms of _D. chinensis_) will flower early when seed
is started indoors, repeat the performance if cut back after the first
flowering, and may even live to bloom once more the second year.
For the most miniature, look for these newcomers: double pink,
three-inch ‘Pixie’; rose-red ‘Tiny Rubies’; four-inch ‘Wee Willie’
(sweet William’s son), not reliably perennial but behaves beautifully
as an annual; deep-red ‘Little Joe.’ One seed house offers a perennial
‘Midget Double’ sweet William under four inches high and like a
button-size carnation.
CARE. Warm sandy soil, not too rich. Lime, dryish, drainage. Full sun,
cool temperature. Cut off faded flowers.
PROPAGATION. Division, layers, cuttings, seeds.
SPECIAL USES. Flower beds, rock gardens, edging.
=Geranium= _Geraniaceae_ Cranesbill
This is not the popular potted plant (pelargonium) or the wild geranium
of the Eastern woods (_G. maculatum_). These are lacy-leaved perennials
with a delicate look but a tough constitution. Here are some of the
smallest available types, flowering mostly in the spring but often
repeating in spurts throughout the summer.
_farreri_--A little three-inch doll from China, the
many-fingered leaves making a low nest under the astonishingly
large, black-anthered, blush-pink-on-white flowers.
_macrorrhizum_--The species is largish and makes a buxom
six-inch bush with light sprays of pink flowers. The foliage is
aromatic and turns beautifully bronzy in fall.
_pylzowianum_--Eager spreader, two to three inches high,
with finely divided leaves and rosy flowers in May and June.
CARE. Gravelly soil with drainage, dryish. Sun or light shade. Mostly
hardy.
PROPAGATION. Seeds; root division in spring or fall.
SPECIAL USES. Border and dry-wall planting.
=Gypsophila= _Caryophyllaceae_ Baby’s Breath
Here is something for every rock garden, the beginner’s or the
connoisseur’s. Over a soft cushion of tiny leaves the foamy flowers are
heart-tuggingly romantic and delicate. The plants are hardy, eagerly
branching and spreading, and veiled in bloom for most of the summer.
_cerastioides_--Four-inch creeper with gray-velvet
mouse-ear leaves, sprays of white flowers with pink veins. Soil
should be alkaline, sandy or gritty, and perfectly drained.
_muralis_--An unusual “annual” about six inches high, with
narrow leaves and warm rosy flowers. Looks and grows best when
crowded.
_repens_--Midget trailer with slim, silvery blue-green
leaves and white or pinkish flowers only a few inches above
them. Available varieties include, white-flowering alba, compact
double pink bodgeri, and single rose-pink rosea.
CARE. Not too rich soil, dryish, with drainage. Full sun or light
shade. Usually hardy. Don’t thin too much.
PROPAGATION. Seeds (sow where you want the plant), division.
SPECIAL USES. Rock gardens, wall plantings, pavements, ground cover.
=Iberis= _Cruciferae_ Perennial Candytuft
Extremely decorative and useful evergreen with durable, fresh-looking
foliage and clusters of sparkling white or pale-tinted flowers in
spring. The plants spread, but not enough to be troublesome in small
gardens.
_saxatalis_--Miniature even among miniatures, with two-inch
clumps of hairy-edged leaves and flat clusters of white flowers
in May. Needs gravelly, limy soil.
_sempervirens_--The better-known named varieties are
offspring of this stalwart, nearly shrub-like perennial
with blunt-tipped narrow leaves and flowers forming an
umbrella-shaped cluster on six-to eight-inch stems. One plant
can spread out to several feet across. Among the dwarfs are
‘Autumn Snow,’ seven inches high and often blooming again in
September; ‘Little Gem,’ compact mounds four to six inches high;
‘Purity,’ the purest of white; and ‘Snowflake,’ a little later
(June) and a little larger (eight inches).
=Iris= _Iridaceae_
Basically, iris are of two types--bulbous and rhizomatous--each with
miniature species, varieties, and hybrids. Leaves may be broad and
flat, or slim and grass-like. Stems may bear one or several flowers,
the earliest in March and the latest in June. Natural colors include
white, yellow, and all shades of lavender and purple; hybrids widen the
range to many other tints.
There are many miniature species, some with several varieties, and
also hybrids, of their own. By far the largest group is the ‘Dwarf
Bearded Iris,’ so classified by the American Iris Society according to
the height of the flower stalk, and further divided into two series:
miniature dwarfs (four to ten inches) and standard dwarfs, Lilliputs
(ten to fifteen inches). These are rhizomatous, of course, like the
tall bearded giants of the garden, and bloom midway between the earlier
species and the big ones.
* * * * *
_bakeriana_--Bulbous, about six inches high, with round
leaves and early, fragrant, blue-purple flowers.
_cristata_--Crested iris with rhizomes and spreading by
stolons to make wide mats. About six inches high with one or
two white-crested, lilac, fragrant flowers in mid-May. There is
an all-white variety. It likes light shade or dappled shade and
cool moisture for its roots.
_flavissima_--Rhizomatous, spreading by stolons to make
open clumps under six inches high. It has narrow leaves and
several bearded, brown-marked yellow flowers per stem when it
blooms in April and May. It needs gritty or sandy soil, only
slightly acid.
_histroides_--Bulbous, about four inches high, with
pale-blue flowers which appear early before the leaves. Various
colors available.
_innominata_--Rhizomatous West Coast dwarf with long grassy
leaves and flowers varying between yellow and orange, and
between lavender and purple. Blooms in May and June. Takes light
shade and neutral, or even slightly acid, soil.
_orchioides_--Bulbous, with sword-shaped leaves to nine
inches long; has several purple-blotched yellow flowers per stem.
_reticulata_--Bulb covered with netted membrane. Reedy
stems about eight inches long disappearing in June. Crested
flowers on six-inch stems with a fragrance like fresh violets.
Gold-marked on deep purple. Blooms very early in March, even in
snow.
_tenuifolia_--Rhizomatous, about six inches high,
blue-purple flowers in June.
_vartani_--Bulbous, flowering in late winter in mild areas,
stemless slate-blue or violet flowers.
_voina_--Native rhizomatous species which spreads by
stolons; four to six inches tall. Has tufts of narrow leaves and
beardless flowers which are lilac, or velvet marked yellow, on
three-inch stems; blooms in May. Provide light shade and acid
soil.
CARE. For bulbous type: sandy or gritty soil with humus; drainage; sun,
except the hottest. For dwarf bearded type: loamy alkaline soil, and
drainage. Moist. More sun for best flowering.
PROPAGATION. Bulbous: divide bulbs in summer and replant in summer.
Rhizomatous: divide in summer.
SPECIAL USES. Rock gardens, forcing, flower beds.
=Lavandula officinalis= _Labiate_ Lavender
Here is one that deserves a place in every garden, and for many
reasons: Its aromatic foliage and flowers, its nostalgic charm, and the
pleasant sight of it against evergreen with its gray-felt leaves and
dark-lavender flowers. It usually stops growing just under the height
of one foot and can be clipped lower if you wish. The leaves are lacy,
slim, and dainty, especially with their pure-white fur when young.
Among the varieties available are the Munstead strain, dwarf, plump,
and bearing pink flowers; ‘Hidcate Blue,’ very hardy; compacta
(nana compacta), earlier flowering and only a few inches high; and
atropurpurea, with dark purple flowers.
CARE. Poor soil so plants will not grow too vigorously and winter-kill.
Drainage, sun, winter protection. Dryish. Lime for maximum fragrance.
Prune almost any time; mulch.
PROPAGATION. Seeds, division, cuttings in late fall or early spring on
this year’s growth with heel of older wood.
SPECIAL USES. Edging, rock gardens, ground cover.
=Myosotis= _Boraginaceae_ Forget-Me-Not
Sentiment, compelling as it is, is not the only reason for having this
delightful little plant in one’s rock garden. Small though it is, it
has its own quiet charm in its delicate foliage and transparent cloud
of tiny blue flowers. The intensity of color of those blooms catches
your eye and draws you to it. You look at it and understand the reason
for its name. Here are a few members of the family:
_scorpioides (palustris)_--Light, low, and sprawling;
light-blue flowers touched with gold at the center during the
spring. (They last much longer if you have the dwarf variety
semperflorens.) The fact that these perennials are often
listed as “half-hardy annuals” indicates their need for winter
protection, but they will self-seed. (Water-lily specialists
offer an aquatic variety that grows in bogs.)
_sylvatica (alpestris)_--Self-sowing biennial (also offered
as an annual) that has blue flowers with touches of pink,
sometimes entirely pink. May flowers.
CARE. Ordinary soil, cool, moist, part shade.
PROPAGATION. Seeds (flowers the second year), division of clumps in
late summer.
SPECIAL USES. Rock gardens, edge of pools.
=Nepeta hederacea (glechoma)= _Labiatae_ Ground Ivy
This is a ground cover, one that can get out of hand unless checked,
but it has its uses in shady spots where other covers do not flourish.
About the best-liked variety is variegata, which has round leaves
neatly scalloped on the edge and embroidered with white. In the spring
it has spires of blue flowers.
CARE. Ordinary or sandy soil. Drainage, either sun or shade.
Cut off faded flowers.
PROPAGATION. Seeds, division.
SPECIAL USES. Ground cover, containers, baskets, house and
greenhouse plantings, rock gardens.
=Oenothera= _Onagraceae_ Evening Primrose, Sundrop
The sundrops bloom by day; the evening primroses stay open at night
and play host to the moths of the garden. There is a miniature of
each type for the small garden. Each has the common characteristic of
large yellow poppy-like flowers which are short-lived but are quickly
replaced by others for most of the summer.
_missouriensis_--Evening primrose from the West, six inches
high. The leaves are long and oval, covered with ash-gray hairs.
The nocturnal flowers, poppy-like, can measure six inches across
and are yellow.
_perennis (pumila)_--sundrop--This is the daytime bloomer,
often with one-inch blooms on a plant only three inches tall.
The silk-hairy leaves make a lush-looking mound.
CARE. Medium sandy soil, dry, with drainage (heavy dampness is fatal).
Lime and manure. Sun. Remove seed pods to promote more flowers. Plant
has long taproot which must not be broken when transplanting.
PROPAGATION. Seeds, division (in early fall or spring), cuttings (in
late summer).
SPECIAL USES. Rock gardens and wall plantings.
=Phlox= _Polemoniaceae_
There are so many varieties of this furiously spring-flowering plant,
and all with many admirers, that the trick is to find the ones which
appeal to you personally. You will be guided by the colors you want and
the amount of space available. Many of them, after the blooming season,
make lush, plushy, green foliage mats.
_amoena (procumbens)_--Neat, not rampant, cushions of
two-inch oval leaves with flat clusters of fragrant pinkish, or
purplish, flowers on six-inch stems in May and June.
_bifida_--sand phlox--A native of the Midwest with low,
tufted, and slightly hairy foliage and starry blue flowers
(early, in April and May).