694 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



NARCISSUS. 



leaves, the leaves being striped with gold 

 or silver, or spotted and blotched. In 

 planting a myrtle against a wall, choice 

 should, if possible, be given to a space 

 protected from northerly and easterly 

 winds, which in early spring are in- 

 jurious to the leaves. In old gardens 

 the Myrtle is often grown in tubs or 

 pots for placing on lawns or terraces 

 in summer, and is put under protection 

 during winter. 



NANDINA {Heavenly Bamboo).--N. 

 domestica is a distinct and graceful shrub 

 with dark leathery leaves, often flushed 

 with red towards autumn. The flowers 

 are small and whitish, in panicles, the 

 berries about the size of peas, of a fine 

 red. In our climate, it does not pro- 

 duce these freely, but it thrives in 

 southern and western gardens, and is 

 best grouped with American plants on 

 peatv or free soil, best in half-shade. 



NARCISSUS {Daffodil). — Beautiful 

 bulbous flowers of mountain and alpine 

 pastures, plains, or woods, thriving ad- 

 mirably in most parts of our islands ; if 

 anywhere, better in the cooler northern 

 parts and in Ireland, though excellent in 

 cool soils in the south. They are to the 

 spring what Roses, Irises, and Lilies are 

 to summer, what Sunflowers and Chrys- 

 anthemums are to autumn, and what 

 Hellebores and Aconite are to winter. 

 No good garden should be without the 

 best of the lovely varieties now known. 

 Narcissi vary so much in form, size, 

 colour, and in time of flowering, that a 

 most attractive spring garden could be 

 made with them alone ; provided one 

 had suitable soil, and a background of 

 fresh turf, shrubs, and trees. The best 

 of the commoner kinds should be planted 

 by the thousand, and, indeed, in many 

 cases this has been done with the best 

 results. On grassy banks, on turfy 

 bosses near the roots of lawn-trees, or in 

 meadows near the house, their effect is 

 delightful. All the best Narcissi, and 

 practically all the forms of the yellow and 

 the bicolor Daffodils, may be planted in 

 June, July, or August, in three ways — in 

 the lawn or meadow, in the beds and 

 borders of the garden, or in 6 or 8 in. 

 pots. Five bulbs should be planted in a 

 pot, and covered over with coal-ashes or 

 sand until January, when they may be 

 placed in a sunny frame, pit, or green- 

 house, or even in a sunshiny window, and 

 a crop of flowers can be secured earlier 

 than on the open ground. The main 

 points in beginning the culture of Narcissi 

 are to get sound and healthy bulbs as early 

 as possible after June, and to plant or pot 



them at once in good fibrous, sandy, or 

 gravelly loam, or in any virgin soil. 

 They like fresh deep-tilled loam, and 

 the strongest of the bicolor and star 

 Narcissi do not object to soils rich in 

 manure ; but it is as well to remember 

 that no manure should be used in its 

 raw or crude state, and that wild species 

 and wild-collected varieties suffer and 

 often fail if planted at once in heavily 

 manured soils. 



In naturalising the Daffodilon the Grass, 

 the Poet's Narcissus, or the Star Narcissus 



(N. incomparabilis in all its forms), do 

 not begin as late as November or 

 December by planting the sweepings out 

 of the bulb-stores, since such bulbs are 

 weak and flabby, and are liable to rot in 

 the frozen ground. The time to begin 

 planting is June and July, and it is a 

 good rule to refuse to plant in quantity 

 after August or September. 



In grouping border Narcissi it will 

 usually be found advisable to lift and 

 replant the clumps every three or four 

 years, but if any delicate varieties do not 

 flower well, or if they show signs of weak- 

 ness or of disease, they should be lifted 

 not later than July, and, after being cleaned, 

 at once replanted, in fresh and good soil, 

 and, if possible, in sandy or gravelly loam 

 free from fresh manures. It is better to 

 dig and replant Daffodils too soon than 

 too late. The best time is when the 

 leaves turn yellow in June or July. On 



