HARDY PLANTS 



suflfieient protection against severe freez- 

 ing. When early flowers are not an 

 object, better to plant in April, and the 

 following October take up and keep in 

 a cool dry cellar away from frost. 



Lilies appear to have no superior in 

 popularity, and but few plants are better 

 known. They cover a vast range in 

 variety of form and color, the different 

 species furnishing an abundance of 

 bloom a considerable portion of the 

 season. Candidum, or the Annuncia- 

 tion lily, is the oldest and the general 

 favorite. It blooms in June, sheds 

 leaves in July or August, and again 

 begins growth in October, root action 

 continuing through the winter. They 

 should be planted in August or Septem- 

 ber, six inches deep, requiring no 

 further care for years, although a sum- 

 mer mulch may improve their quality 

 by keeping ground cool and moist. 

 Other desirable lilies are Tigridumyf^r^ 

 pleno^ speciosum rubrum and excel- 

 sum. These are planted in autumn, 

 otherwise treated as Candidum. 



There are several kinds of autumn 

 flowering bulbs, although none, I be- 



lieve, are very generally planted. In 

 Garden and Forest for November 17th, 

 1896, Mr. J. N. Gerard, of Elizabeth, 

 N. J,, mentions two Grecian forms of 

 our common snowdrop, Olgea and 

 Octobrensis, which flower in autumn, 

 the former appearing in September, 

 followed by the latter in October. He 

 further says that " under the prevailing 

 low tem.perature their blooming period 

 is prolonged, and they still ornament 

 the border." In addition to these there 

 are several species of the true late- 

 blooming crocus, as well as the one 

 commonly catalogued as the Autumn 

 Flowering crocus, but which really 

 belongs to a different genus — Colchicum 

 autumnale. The latter can be distin- 

 guished from the true blue crocus only 

 after careful examination. Their simi- 

 larity, together with the fact that Col- 

 chicum blooms more freely, makes the 

 latter more desirable. They should be 

 planted in August to secure bloom the 

 same fall ; plant about six inches deep, 

 otherwise giving the same treatment as 

 for crocus.— Rept. Mo. H. Soc. 



HARDY PLANTS. 



"TTJARDY plants alone possess much 



u 



m 



interest for me. Plants in pots 

 \y savour too much of the pet-bird 

 idea. Keeping a loose domestic 

 dog or cat is one thing, but keeping a 

 lark or even a canary is quite another. 

 Besides, I like my plants to establish 

 relations with definite spots in the gar- 

 den. It is pleasant to feel that the 

 fading Crocuses will come up again in 

 the same spot next year ; that the Snow- 

 drops may be expected to brighten the 

 base of the Pear tree each spring with 

 increasing effect. Therefore I have 



planted my garden with Roses in great 

 variety, of the best kinds (not Hybrid 

 Perpetuals and Teas only, but also the 

 sweet old summer Roses, and many of 

 the single species, such as alpina, acicu- 

 laris and bracteata, with all kinds of 

 Daffodils, Narcissi, Irises, Anemones, 

 Primulas, Cyclamens, Crocuses, Tulips, 

 Gladioli, Snowdrops, Aconites, Col- 

 chicums. Columbines, Campanulas, and 

 the like. I hope to have flowers out of- 

 doors the year through, except perhaps 

 in the very heart of winter. — H. R., in 

 Gardeners' Chronicle. 



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