HARDY AND HALF-HARDY PLANTS 



HARDY AND HALF-HAKDY BULBOUS AND 

 TUBEROUS PLANTS 



Under this heading may be grouped all those plants having 

 bulbs, corms, tubers, or rhizomes that may be grown in the open air 

 in almost any part of the British Islands, that is between the 50th 

 and 61st northern parallels of latitude, and from the 2nd degree 

 of longitude east of Greenwich to the 11th west of Greenwich. Even 

 within this area there will be a good deal of difference in the climate, 

 due not only as to whether a place is north or south, but also to 

 altitude and other causes, such as that of the Gulf Stream on the 

 coast of Ireland and the west of Scotland. The mean annual 

 temperature of England is 49°- 5 F., that of Scotland 47°- 5, and of 

 Ireland 50°- 0, so that the Emerald Isle is on the whole warmer and 

 more equable than either England or Scotland. In Great Britain 

 there is a difference of fully 6° between Falmouth in Cornwall and 

 the Shetland Islands — chiefly owing to the difference in latitude. 

 But in Ireland there is a difference of only 3° between the extreme 

 north and south. 



As to the annual rainfall, there is of course also great variation 

 in different parts of the Kingdom. Where the country is flattish 

 and free from hills the average annual rainfall in England is about 

 25 inches, and in similar parts of Scotland about 28 inches. In 

 south-western districts, however, as much as 40 inches of rain fall 

 annually ; and in certain parts like the Western Highlands, the Isle of 

 Skye, the Lake District, and in Wales, there is a rainfall of 80 

 ■ inches and more in the course of the year — each inch of rain 

 representing rather more than 100 tons of water to the acre. 



In Ireland, as in Great Britain, there is also much variation in the 

 annual rainfall. About one-half of the country — the eastern portion 

 — has from 30 to 40 inches of rain yearly, the other or western half 

 having from 40 to 50 inches. Dublin in the east has an average of 28 

 to 48 inches, wliile Kylemore in Galway has as much as 89-40 

 inches. 



These geographical and meteorological facts are given, so that the 

 reader may realise the varying conditions under which plants exist 

 in the open air. In one part of the Kingdom plants will flourish, 

 while in other parts the same species will be so tender or half-hardy 

 that protection may be needed during the winter season. In the 



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