BULBS 131 



in color combinations with the bizarres, bybloemens 

 and roses. 



Parrot, or dragon, tulips are a very old class. 

 The large blossoms have deeply toothed petals 

 and the color variegations are extraordinarily pic- 

 turesque. They remind one rather of macaws 

 than parrots. Golden inside and the outside shaded 

 and feathered with scarlet, purple and green is a 

 summary of the gorgeousness of one variety. The 

 parrot tulips bloom in May. While they are very 

 showy, their somewhat artificial air, weak stems 

 and irregular flowering habit have always kept 

 them out of the foreground. 



A further classification of English tulips is some- 

 times made. These are the old English florist 

 tulips and are merely another group of breeders 

 that have broken, being sub-divided into bizarres, 

 bybloemens and roses. Then there are the tulip 

 species, a great number of which have been brought 

 into cultivation; there are thirty-four of them in 

 a single English list and of these not one has 

 been more than a rare visitor to an American gar- 

 den. So it is plain that the cup of tulip hap- 

 piness is being only sipped. 



Of the species, a few are in the American mar- 

 ket. The sweet-scented Florentine tulip (T. syl- 

 vestris, or florentina) is a very pretty yellow one 

 and the little lady tulip ( T. Clusiana) is a perfect 

 gem. The latter, which is pale red outside and 

 white inside, will do well in the garden if planted 

 among stones and plant roots in light soil and a 



