i8g6. 



' ' GARDENING. 



37 





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THE GOLDEN CHINESE ARBOR VITffi AT DOSORIS. 



ones, such as snowdrops, winter aconite, 

 glory of the snow, grape hyacinths and 

 scillas. Narcissus looks well in clumps, 

 sav six or a dozen bulbs to a clump. 



In planting bulbs of thelarger size, such 

 as hyacinths, narcissus, tulips, lilies, iris, 

 crown imperials, it is best to dig out the 

 beds or border, or wherever they are to 

 be put, say five or six inch's deep. The 

 bottom of the holes or trenches should be 

 dug and a light coating of manure given 

 in the bottom, the bulbs planted and the 

 soil filled in again. In this way the bulbs 

 are all at one depth, and they come up all 

 at once and flower at the same time. 



But by planting with a trowel you 

 always get the bulbs more or less un- 

 evenly planted, which means some days' 

 difference in the time of flowering. 



To have an unbroken supply of spring 

 flowers a selection has to be made from 

 the snowdrops in March to the late 

 tulips and narcissus in May and June. If 

 the garden is not very large snowdrops 

 and crocuses can be planted in the grass. 

 Some plant them by making holes with a 

 sharp pointed stick and dropping the 

 bulbs into these, but the best way is to 

 lift a sod and plant your bulbs under it, 

 putting it back again and tamping it 



down; in this way the bulbs are more 

 evenly planted and come into flower 

 more evenly. The bulbs may be left in 

 the grass from year to year. But don't 

 forget to plant a clump of snowdrops in 

 some sheltered nook t > give you early 

 flowers. 



The early flowering scillas are very 

 showy if grown in a mass and close 

 together; the}' make a nice edging to 

 taller growing bulbs. The same can be 

 said of the chionodoxa. The Muscari 

 hyacinths are other fine soring flowers 

 and lovely when grown in front of a bor- 

 der or bed; grow the blue and white vari- 



