86 THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



Daffodils. By and by the leaves of the Colchicums and Daffodils are dry enough 

 to pull away, and then the Campanula, be it pusilla, pusilla alba, or turbinata 

 alba, comes into a sheet of bloom. Before the bloom has passed away the 

 Colchicum blooms begin to push up, and as some of my Colchicums are 5 inches 

 across, of the richest rose colour, I do not exactly feel that this is a colourless 

 kind of gardening, and as I have a hundred different kinds of Daffodils, this 

 little arrangement will not be without interest in spring. 



The Daffodils and Colchicums root deeply and grow mostly in winter, 

 requiring water then, and not in summer, when the Campanula carpet is taking 

 it all. There are some, however, which one must be careful about — the common 

 white Lily, for instance, which wants exposing to the sun in the autumn. I do 

 not mind the exquisite French Poppies among these candidum Lilies, because the 

 Poppies die about August, and then the Lilies get their baking and refuse to show 

 the bare earth, soon covering it all with their leaves. For the extreme front of 

 the border hundreds of combinations will occur — Pansies over Daffodils, Portulacas 

 over Central Asian bulbs, Christmas Roses and Hellebores over the taller 



Flower border in fruit garden at Dunrobin Castle, N.B. 



Daffodils, with Gladioli, Tritomas, and giant Daffodils, Hepaticas, and autumn- 

 blooming and spring-blooming Cyclamens, with Scillas and Snowdrops. When 

 Anemone japonica is low, up come the taller Tulips, sylvestris for instance, and 

 higher still out of the dark green leaves come the bejewelled Crown Imperials. 



As for the cultural advantages, I can imagine this system in the hands of a 

 skilful gardener to be the best of all In the first place, the plants suffer much less 

 from drought, because there is so much less surface exposed to sun and wind. 

 Examine, not right under the root, but under the spreading part of a Mignonette, 

 and see if, on a broiling hot day, the ground is not much cooler and moister than 

 on the bare ground. Irises are almost the only plants I know of that do require 

 the soil bare about their rootstocks, but then Irises are a carpet of green always, 

 and a few clumps of Tiger Lilies or Tiger Irises will not seriously injure their 

 flowering prospects. And what cannot be done with an herbaceous border edge 

 when that edge is the green Grass ? Crocuses and Crocuses all the autumn and 

 winter and spring in the Grass. The tiniest Scillas and Hyacinths, and Daffodils, 



