for February, 1921 



463 



Walks and Talks Among the Spring Flowers 



FLORUM AMATOR 



IT is a pure dc-light lo saunter along the paths of our 

 riower gardens in the Spring months and observe the 

 resurrection of the flowers. They remind us of that 

 beautiful old Greek myth of Persephone and her mother 

 Demeter, and its interpretation. 



Let us take daily walks together through our gardens, 

 and the Botanical gardens too, if possible, for we find 

 flowers there which we do not see elsewhere, and let us 

 talk in an informal wa}- about what we see during 

 .March and in the first half of April. 



A large majority of the flowers appearing during this 

 period come from bulbs, but some are from tubers and 

 perennial roots. Such of the bulbs, as are not natives 

 of the United States and their possession, with the ex- 

 ception of Crocus, Hyacinth, Narcissus and Tttlips, are 

 now forbidden by the Federal Horticultural Board for 

 reasons which appear sufficient to it to be imported from 

 the several sources from which they used to come. For- 

 tunate are they in whose gardens these bulbs are already 

 established. 



Let us begin now our garden walks. Here in bloom 

 is the \Miite Glory of the Snow, Chionodoxa lucilicr alba. 

 with about a dozen white star-shaped flowers, on each 

 stem, a bulbous plant thriving in sunshine or half shade 

 in any good soil in border or rock garden ; here also sev- 

 eral other species, and varieties of this flower, the Giant 

 Glory of the Snow, C. lucilicc gii^antca, whose blue flowers 

 are larger than those of C. lucilicc, excellent for grouping 

 in the border : C. lucilicr fiiiohis, with blue and white 

 flowers, blooming later than the others and excellent in 

 a rock-garden ; the Sardian species, C. Sardicnsis, having 

 flowers of Gentian blue on branching stems, thriving in a 

 fertile border : here are two more, C. lucilicr with white 

 based flowers tipped with blue, about a dozen on each 

 stem growing in any good soil in border or rock-garden : 

 and Allen's Glory of the Snow, C. Allcui, dili'ering little 

 from C. lucilicc. 



Now we come upon not more Glory of the Snow, but 

 Snow Drops of several species all with white flowers : 

 the common Snowdrop, Galanthus nivalis, whose droop- 

 ing flowers appear as soon as the snow leaves the ground : 

 G. eki'esii. with more globular blooms than G. iiiz'alis: 

 and the Plaited Snowdrop, G. plicatus, whose lovely soli- 

 tary hell-shaped flowers on long stems appear a little 

 later than those of G. nivalis. All of these charming 

 liulbous plants thrive in any rich border in sun or half 

 shade. 



The Crocuses begin to throw up from their bulbs quaint 

 funnel-formed flowers of several colors ; first the Stem- 

 less White Crocus, next the deep yellow variety, Cloth 

 of Gold, Crocus Susianus, and later, the Cloth of Silver, 

 Crocus biflorus; others follow with blue, and yellow and 

 variegated flowers. All Crocuses are suitable for group 

 planting in border or naturalizing in grass ground or 

 under trees. 



Here are the Hellebores, six in number. They are throw- 

 ing up from their roots their cup-shaped blooms of several 

 colors ; the much talked-abcut Christmas Rose, HcUcborus 

 niger; the tall leaved variety of this, H. nigcr altifolius, 

 wliose flowers are the largest of all the Hellebores ; also 

 the ( )lympic Hellebore, H . oricntalis Olyinpicus. with 

 smaller and more spreading white flowers : another va- 

 riety of oricntalis we see here, the Dark Red Eastern 

 Hellebore, C. oricntalis atronibens, with large reddish 

 purple flowers. Look at these very odd colored purplish 

 green drooping blooms of HcUcborus viridis piirpurcs- 



cciis, and these large flowers, purple without, but green- 

 ish within and dotted and streaked of another variety of 

 H. oricntalis, Fratt Irene Heineman. The flowers of 

 this variety as well as those of Olynipicus are good for 

 cutting. Frau Irene Heineman and H. i-iridis purpur- 

 csccns are suitable for iilanting amidst shrubber\-, and 

 the others in border or rock-garden. All the Hellebores 

 thrive best in a well drained rich soil in half shade, and 

 should not be disturbed often by taking up or dividing. 



This pretty little yellow flower comes with the Snow- 

 drops and from a bulb and prefers the partial shade. 

 It is the Common Winter Aconite, Eranthis hyenuilis. 



Xow in mid-AIarch the spikes of the pretty Squills, 

 some white, others in different shades of blue, spring up 

 from their bulb mother in the earth to greet us; the 

 Early Squill, Scilla bifolia, is the earliest of all the 

 Squills ; its starry flowers, about six in each spike of 

 blooms, are, you see, dark blue : here is another early 

 species, .S". .S'ibirica, with pretty nodding China-blue 

 flowers oh slender stalks, and also its white flowered 

 variety, 6". S'ibirica alba, and another species 5. ainocna, 

 the Star Hyacinth Squill, whose blue flowers, you see, 

 are not, in spite of its name anwcna, as pretty as those of 

 other species. All the Squills prefer a sandy soil either 

 in sun or half shade, in the border or rock-garden. 



Here are some flowers of a quite dift'erent form. ])ut 

 also from bulbs, the Netted Iris, Iris reticulata, with 

 fragrant yellow crested flowers : there are several blue 

 flowered varieties of this which we do not yet see in 

 flower. Nearby we see Krelage's Netted Iris, /. reticulata 

 Krclagci; its flowers we note are not as fragrant as those 

 of reticulata or its color as clear. These Irises like a shel- 

 tered, but suimv spot in a fibrous or sandy well drained 

 soil. 



April is now here with its fickle weather, but its sun- 

 shine and its showers, alike bring out the Spring flowers. 

 Though in our garden walks we notice that the flowers 

 from bulbs are still in the majority, nevertheless, we see 

 that not a few plants from perennial roots which are not 

 bulbous are beginning to bloom. This is the White Bane- 

 berry, Actcca alba, displaying its clusters of snowy white 

 flowers above its finely cut foliage : a little later we will 

 see its white berries. This plant which thrives best in 

 a loose soil and shade is suitable for a rock-garden or 

 wild garden. 



A\'e come now upon a pure white sheet of fragrant 

 flowers of the White Rock Cress, Arabis albida, excellent 

 for covering rocky, bare places and for edgings. Not 

 far away we see the Alpine Rock Cress, Arabis aJp^ina. 

 adapted to the same uses as A. olbida and with flowers 

 of like color, but smaller, and, like albida, loving the sun. 

 Trailing over this rock-garden we see the Ruiming Rock 

 Cress. Arabis procurrcns. 



In the full sunlight here, though it thrives in the shade 

 too. we find the Double Snowdrop \\"indflower. Anemone 

 syk'cstris florc plena, equally at home in the border or 

 the rock-garden. 



Growing both in the half shade and also in the full 

 shade of the shrubbery we see the Pepper Root. Dcntaria 

 dipliylla. whose flowers are white above, but pale purple 

 beneath. The root stocks of this plant, which prefers a 

 light peaty soil, are edible. 



Here are two Spring flowers very different from any 

 which we have met in our walks, the Squirrel Corn. 

 Dicentra Canadensis, with its pendent, pink tipped 

 flowers on leafless stems, and its fern-like foliage, suitable 



