136 FLOWER GARDENING 



others to do is to get a better understanding of 

 the superiority of the new named spring crocuses 

 over the old. As with hyacinths, it is inexcusable 

 to buy mixtures when there are such fine named 

 varieties, with larger bloom, for producing sheets 

 of early spring color at about one cent a bulb 

 by the hundred. These improvements of C. vernus 

 and C. aureus answer ordinary garden purposes 

 so well that there is no special need of extending 

 one's knowledge of the spring-blooming species. 



Of the host of other spring bulbs the fritillaries 

 have two very hardy representatives that have been 

 gradually disappearing from old gardens without 

 being asked to enter new ones. Yet one of these, 

 the crown imperial (Fritillaria imperialis) is a 

 grand and stately figure in the hardy garden in 

 spring; the yellow, orange or red bloom is rich 

 in color and the form of the plant unique. The 

 other is the snake's head fritillary, or guinea-hen 

 flower (F. meleagris). The white or nearly white 

 kinds are best for garden pictures; the dull purple 

 shades do not show up well at any distance. There 

 are many other charming fritillary species, but most 

 of them are for specialized culture. 



For intense blue in March the Siberian squill 

 (Scilla sibirica) is unrivalled unless it is by the 

 early S. bifolia of the Taurus mountains. These 

 two, which have white varieties, are the most de- 

 sirable of the very low scilla species that are usually 

 called squills. The taller May-flowering species 

 are distinguished as wood hyacinths, though the 



