CHAPTER XXII 



SECOND WEEK IN JUNE 



ONE of the loveliest of the hardy bulbs for the garden 

 is St. Bruno's lily (Anthericum liliastrum), with its 

 graceful spikes of bloom in white satin, slightly 

 frilled at the edges. Each blossom is about 3 inches across, 

 and the foliage, something like that of the daffodil, is 

 graceful too. In a Devonshire garden it needs no protection, 

 appearing yearly in spring on the herbaceous border ; 

 but possibly in colder districts a conical pile of ashes may 

 be needed to keep it dry and free from frost in winter. 

 With this slight protection many an uncommon bulb will 

 do well, even in the northern parts of our islands, and 

 it is a very easy and simple process, covering the bulbs 

 in November yearly, and uncovering them with care in 

 March. 



Anthericum liliago (St. Bernard's lily) is also charming, 

 but its blossoms are much smaller. These bulbs soon form 

 a fine clump in the border, and the lace-like mass of their 

 little white lilies is useful amongst heavier blossoms. 



A fine variety is A. plumosum, with larger flowers than 

 the type ; and the Algerian anthericum (Algerense) is also 

 white. A. Hookeri (syn. Chrysobactron) has brilliant 

 yellow blooms, and appears to do well in the garden, the 

 bulbs put in last year being now in bud. One of the best 

 of the anthericums is A. variegatum, the foliage plant 

 which is so useful in our rooms, for it is most longsuffer- 

 ing, and will do well in a small pot for a year or two. This 

 plant has the singular power of propagating itself from the 

 seeds it produces on its long sprays of small starry flowers, 



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