e are not more than a few inches high, and each flower no bigger
than a ladies' glove-button. In spring and early summer they become
=perfect sheets of bloom=, so that the foliage is completely hidden; when
out of flower, they are soft green cushions of plants, and serve to cover
bare bricks well.

The =alpine potentillas= are pretty, and keep in flower for a long time.
_P. nepalensis_ is a good one, but the merits of _p. fruticosa_ are much
exaggerated, its dirty-looking yellow flowers are by no means
prepossessing.

=No rockery is complete= without several specimens of the family of
_saxifrages_. One cannot do better than make a beginning with them, as
they are so fine in form and diverse in style. _S. aizoon compactum_ is
one of the best rosette species, and _S. hypnoides densa_ of the mossy
tribe; other kinds well worth growing are _S. burseriana_, which has
pretty white flowers on red hairy stems in early March; _S. cunifolia_,
with charming fresh pink blossoms, and of course _S. umbrosa_, the sweet
old-fashioned =London pride=. A dry sunny situation suits the _saxifrages_
best.

The =House leeks= are somewhat similar in appearance, but like drier
situations than the last-named plants. The _sempervivums_ delight to creep
along a piece of bare rock, and one marvels how they can derive enough
sustenance from the small amount of poor soil in which they are often seen
growing. The =cobweb species=, called _arachnoideum_, is most interesting,
and invariably admired by visitors; it has greyish-green rosettes, each
one of which is covered with a downy thread in the form of a spider's
web. A kind more often seen is _sempervivum montanum_, and certainly it is
a =very handsome species=, with curious flowers supported on firm
succulent red stems. It is to be seen in broad clumps at Kew, and very
well it looks.

There are no better carpetters than the =dwarf sedums=, or =stone crops=.
_S. glaucum_ has blue-grey foliage, and spreads rapidly; _S. lydium_ is
the variety most in use, and can be had very cheaply. The tall, old
variety, _sedum spectabile_, has been improved upon, and the novelty is
called _S. s. rosea_. Another novelty is _shortia galacifolia_; it is a
native of North America, and has white, bell-shaped flowers supported on
elegant, hairy stems, the leaves are heart shaped, and turn almost scarlet
in autumn; thus, the plant has =two seasons of beauty=, as it blooms in
the spring. A peaty soil, with a little sand