July 9, 1874. ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



23 



FLOWER GARDENS IN WINTER AND SPRING. 



No. 2. 



rHE first paper upon this subject was devoted 



Kolely to the consideration of winter and 

 spring iJower-gardening from an economical 

 point of view, and it was clearly shown that 

 a bright and pleasing effect can be imparted 

 throughout the spring to any design of mode- 

 rate extent by means of annuals alone. Such 

 being my object, I refrained altogether from 

 any mention of bulbous-rooted plants for two 

 important reasons — the first being that an 

 annual outlay for bulbs is inconvenient to many, besides 

 which I was anxious to do away with the very general, 

 but erroneous, impression that bulbs and spring-gardening 

 are inseparable; and the second, that owing to the very 

 brief duration of the blossom of many of the bulbs, they 

 ought not to be planted alone in beds forming part of a 

 small design, or in a conspicuous position, but should be 

 so intermingled with more durable plants that when the 

 fading flowers and foliage are cut off no blemish or blank 

 spaces may be perceptible. So used, bulbs are most 

 desirable, serving as they do by their early-flowering habit 

 to impart life and beauty to a design much earlier in the 

 season than is possible when they are not available. 



The rich blue Scilla sibirica ; Snowdrops ; purple, 

 white, yellow, and striped Crocus ; and such Tulips as 

 Comte de Mirabeau, white ; Canary Bird, yellow ; 

 Drapeau de France, rosy lilac ; Queen Victoria, white, 

 tinged with rose ; Rembrandt, rich scarlet ; Couleur Pon- 

 ceau, pink ; Moliere, purple violet, or kindred varieties; 

 with some of the old kinds of Hyacinths, such as Re- 

 gina Victoria, pale pink ; Bouquet, deep red ; Sultan 

 Abdul Aziz, striped pink ; Lilac Queen ; Livingstone, 

 deep purple ; Pearl Gem, pale blue ; Grand Due, rosy 

 white ; Purity, pure white ; would afford ample materials 

 for the plan on page 8. 



Where extensive borders are available our selections 

 would be far more extensive, embracing the numerous 

 varieties of Narcissus, Iris, Anemone, Cyclamen, Scilla, 

 Grape Hyacinth, and many miscellaneous bulbs ; and as 

 most of these do not require to be annually renewed, I 

 will give a useful selection of a few of the best. 



Taking Narcissus first, we have the Spanish N. Bul- 

 bocodium, which, with its rich golden-yellow cups, is a 

 very beautiful and distinct kind ; Sulphur Kroon, with its 

 large yellow and white double flowers ; the old favourite 

 and very sweet-scented Double White ; the pretty poetious 

 (Pheasant's Eye) ; the rich yellow N. odorus and its 

 double form, better known, perhaps, as Queen Anne's 

 Double Jonquil, and the Pseudo-Narcissus or Dafi'odils, 

 of which there are whole acres of the common yellow 

 form growing wild in tjussex. There are very many 

 other varieties of Narcissus, but as they all range through 

 various shades of white or yellow, to enumerate others 

 would be to puzzle rather than assist. 



Of Iris — another extensive class — I may call special 

 ■attention to the lovely Iris reticulata ; it has a delicious 



No. 693.-y8L. XXVII., New Sheiss. 



perfume, and its flowers are of a deep glowing violet, with 

 blotches of rich yellow on the lower segments, and it is 

 altogetlier a distinct and most desirable kind. Most of 

 the English, Spanish, and German kinds form valuable 

 border plants; but for early flowering, the very dwarf 

 Iris persica, the striking " Great-spotted Iris " (I. tusiana), 

 and the pretty little Crimean section, Iris pumila, are 

 jireferable. 



There are few spring flowers at all equal to Anemone 

 coronaria, the Poppy Anemone, either for brilliancy or 

 variety of colour ; its foliage, too, is particularly elegant, 

 the flexible leafstalks curving gracefully down cause the 

 foliage to form a soft and pleasing foil to the brilliant 

 flowers which, nestling in its moss-like greener> , produce 

 an effect of the most "charming description. It is to the 

 single varieties I allude more particularly, the doulde 

 flowers being neither so durable nor brilliant, and being 

 only desirable for clumps in mixed borders ; but the 

 single kinds rank first even for such a position. To see it, 

 however, in perfection, so as to realise its true value, con- 

 siderable numbers of it must be massed together, in fact 

 a bed or border must be devoted to its sole use and 

 benefit. Its merits from a cultural point of view rank 

 equally high, the plants derived from seed now sown 

 yielding their first flowers in fair quantity next spring, 

 just like an annual, but with this material advantage, 

 that once established it requires very little after-care, 

 thriving best if left in undisturbed possession of the same 

 situation for a course of years. 1 he dry roots procured 

 from the shops, and planted in a rich sandy soil, give 

 flowers in April and May, but they require a second 

 season to develope their full beauty ; the drying process 

 to which the roots are of necessity subjected by exposure 

 proving so exhaustive and detrimental that its effects are 

 plainly visible in the ensuing season's growth. 



The Cyclamen is another fine, but less common, hardy 

 flower, which, from the susceptibility of its roots, is best 

 adapted for rockeries or sloping banks in deep, rich, gritty, 

 well-drained soil. C. europajum, C. Coum, C. vernum, 

 and C. hederffifolium are the best hardy kinds, the latter 

 thriving well in an ordinary border. Most of them, bow- 

 ever, are impatient of cold cutting winds or any great 

 accumulation of water in the soil ; but with a little care, 

 most attractive groups of them may be established in 

 any sunny sheltered nook, if the position is sufficiently 

 elevated, "by the side of shrubbery walks or other parts 

 of dressed gi-ounds. 



First among the Seillaa is the lovely bright blue bcilla 

 sibirica; it is very dwarf, not more than 4 or 5 inches 

 high, and when well established it forms a carpet of the 

 most intense blue. For edgings to beds of Rhododen- 

 drons, for enamelling patches of rockwork, or for any 

 position where it may remain intact year after year, there 

 is not a more desirable or ornamental plant to be seen in 

 the months of March and April. It also forms a lovely 

 pd<nng in pots for mixed groups in the conservatory. 

 Tliere are other eariy-flowering kinds, such as S. bifolia, 

 S. amcena, and the varieties of S. nutans, all worthy of 

 culture, but none of them are equal to sibirica. FoUow- 



No. Uie.— Vol. LU, Om> Siami. 



